Cordelia Howard greeted her host, then allowed her gaze to encompass the assembled guests. A slight nod of acknowledgment was greeting enough for Quinta, Honoria, and Elspeth, but when Cordelia recognized their male companions, her dark eyes lingered invitingly before sliding away, leaving each man feeling that he'd been singled out as someone special.
It was only then, when Lily became aware of the burning intensity of that gaze, that she realized the woman was now staring directly at Valentine Whitelaw. Looking up into his face, Lily felt her heart miss a beat when she saw the expression on Valentine's face as he succeeded in holding the woman's eyes with his. And as Lily watched, the slow smile she had come to treasure began to curve his lips, but this time the smile was not for her.
Lily continued to stand beside Valentine as the woman and her escort approached. She had not needed the introduction that followed to know that this woman must be Cordelia Howard, the woman Sir Rodger and Honoria Penmorley had mentioned when at Ravindzara. Cordelia Howard was the woman Honoria Penmorley feared. Lily, even in her innocence, could understand the reason behind Honoria's fear of her rival for the affections of Valentine Whitelaw. Although Honoria Penmorley was as beautiful a woman as Cordelia Howard, when in the same room with the other woman Honoria's perfect beauty remained cold and lifeless. Cordelia Howard was a seductress. Her every glance and gesture was captivating. She was a fascinating woman who possessed a vivacity that drew people irresistibly to her.
Even Lily was not immune to Cordelia Howard's allure as she curtsied respectfully before her when introduced. But Cordelia Howard had given her little more than a cursory glance before turning her dark eyes on Valentine Whitelaw. Lily wished she could have said the same about the man who had accompanied Cordelia Howard to Tamesis House.
Raymond Valchamps. Lily shivered, thinking of his strangely colored eyes. It had been like awakening from a nightmare only to discover that it was real. She had looked up into his face, a face that had haunted her in dreams for years, and found herself staring into the eyes that had terrified her for as long as she could remember. As she stood there staring openmouthed at Raymond Valchamps, all of the old terrors had returned. She remembered the day her grandmother had died. She heard the sound of cannon fire and saw the blood staining the deck of her father's ship. Then she saw the hooded priest and the heavy silver cross that gleamed in the sun, and standing next to him was the man with the strangely colored eyes . . .
If it hadn't been for Dulcie, Lily thought she might have screamed. At first, she had thought it was her own scream that had pierced the hall. Then, in the silence that had followed, she had heard muffled crying and felt Dulcie shaking against her
"Good Lord!" Cordelia Howard exclaimed, beginning to laugh. "Those beaux yeux of yours, Raymond, have scared the child half to death. Apparently she has never seen anyone with one blue eye and one brown. My dear, do not be too dejected. Just wait until she is older, then she may find them quite attractive, certainly exciting," Cordelia said, for poor Raymond looked quite pale, stunned, in fact, by the child's frightened reaction when seeing him.
There was an embarrassed titter, quickly muffled from someone, then, after several softly spoken comments, the voices resumed their usual conversational intonations as everyone seemed to resume talking at once.
Artemis, who had finally joined the group in the hall, had rushed over when Dulcie had become hysterical, and, prying her loose from Lily's side, had taken her in her arms, trying to quiet her fears.
"I think there has been too much excitement for her. The children are not accustomed to so much noise and so many people around them," Artemis explained, dabbing at Dulcie's tears.
"Mistake, that. Can't mollycoddle the young," a gray-haired gentleman remarked. "Never did my own. Had my boy here in London as a page when hardly out of swaddling."
"I'm sure you were most wise, Sir Charles," Elspeth said kindly but dismissingly as she smiled at the old busybody. "I was just about to take Betsy and Wilfred upstairs for their nap. Why don't you bring Dulcie along," Elspeth suggested to Artemis as she came forward with her two children.
"Why don't I help you taker her upstairs," Valentine offered, thinking the child looked ill. He glanced over at Lily and was surprised to see how pale she looked. "Lily? Are you well?" he asked in concern.
Almost without volition, Lily glanced toward Raymond Valchamps, her eyes widening slightly as she found him staring at her. Lily continued to meet his gaze, unable to look away. Embarrassed, she felt the heat rising in her cheeks.
"Lily?" Valentine questioned again.
Lily finally pulled her eyes away and as she looked into Valentine's warm, turquoise gaze, she felt her fears beginning to disappear. "I'll help Artemis get Dulcie settled," she offered, welcoming an excuse to leave the hall. She needed time to think. Why did Raymond Valchamps seem so familiar to her? Where had she seen him before?
"That will not be necessary, Lily." Artemis responded quickly as she lifted Dulcie in her arms. "I can take care of her. You might as well remain down here. You will only be in the way upstairs. If I am to calm Dulcie, I do not need that monkey racing around the room."
Lily continued to stand where she was, watching Artemis and Elspeth as they disappeared from the hall with the youngest children.
"Are you certain you wish to stay here, Lily?" Valentine asked in concern.
"Yes, I am fine, thank you," Lily said huskily, her arms tightening around Capabells.
"Well, I, for one, am befuddled," George Hargraves said with a perplexed look. "The child is raised in the wilds, and heaven only knows what kinds of beasts she has seen in the New World, and yet," he paused, casting a curious glance at Raymond Valchamps," she is sent into terror at the sight of 'Sir' Raymond Valchamps. Hmm, now I think 'pon it, could be she had every reason to be frightened," he murmured as he brushed past the tight-lipped gentleman who was still staring at Lily Christian.
"Come along, Sir Charles, I'll lighten your purse in a game of chance. Dice? Cards?" George Hargraves suggested helpfully as he came abreast of the older gentleman and eyed hi as if about to pick his pocket.
" 'Tis a fine afternoon," Sir Charles returned meaningfully.
"The bowling green?"
"Let us see how accurate your aim is, young fellow. What say you to a shilling a--" Sir Charles was offering a worried-looking George Hargraves as he guided the younger man toward the door, his hand firmly beneath George's elbow and not about to let him loose.
Lily started to edge closer to Valentine, but Cordelia Howard moved between them. Grasping his arm, she led him toward his host, who was now engaged in conversation with the lovely young woman with pale blond hair who had entered the hall with Cordelia Howard and Raymond Valchamps.
Simon Whitelaw, who'd been avidly watching everything, especially Lily and her brother and sister, came hurrying over to her side now that she and Tristram stood alone. "Are you hungry?" he asked shyly.
Tristram's eyes brightened. "I am!"
Simon Whitelaw grinned. "That was a great salmon you caught. I caught a river bass almost as big once. Bet you've caught a lot of fish," he said, and even though the boy was younger than he was, Simon was willing to give him the respect her merited for having been raised on an island in the West Indies, and for having sailed with his uncle aboard the Madrigal.
Tristram puffed out his chest importantly, but that caused his stomach to start growling, and he eyed this Simon Whitelaw in speculation, curious if he was as good as his word. "Reckon I could tell you a few stories, but it might help if we had something to eat first," he bargained.
Simon Whitelaw nodded, his dark eyes glowing with excitement. He could hardly wait to hear about the island. "Come on. If I'm not mistaken, they'll be dishing up toffee pudding for the little ones to get them to go to sleep. We might be able to get ourselves some. Maybe even an apple tart or two," Simon Whitelaw enticed his young friend, willing to bribe the boy with anything in order to hear some of the more exciting sto
ries of adventure about his father and the island. "I can even find something for the monkey. What do they eat anyway?" he asked as he eyed Lily and the fuzzy-faced creature peering over her shoulder with beady-looking eyes.
"Lily? Are you going to come with us?" Tristram asked, thinking she was awfully quiet.
Nervously, Lily glanced around, searching for Raymond Valchamps. Almost hypnotically, her eyes found his. He had joined the group in the center of the hall, but his eyes still watched her. Swallowing the fear that was beginning to spread through her, Lily looked away, desperate to escape him.
"Yes, I'll come with you," she said, her quick steps leading the way as the three left the hall.
"Lily?" Tristram said softly as they now hurried to follow Simon's long-legged gait down the corridor toward the kitchens. "I know why Dulcie got so upset. It wasn't just because she hadn't ever seen anyone with one blue eye and one brown eye before. That lady was wrong. Don't you remember? It was the witch who scared her. The witch who's going to hurt the queen has one blue eye and one brown eye," Tristram reminded her.
Lily grasped Tristram's arm, surprising him by the coldness of her hand. "I know, Tristram. But listen, I don't think we should tell anybody about that," she warned him, not quite understanding the reason for caution herself, but she knew she was right not to say anything.
"Why?"
Lily frowned. " 'Tis a secret, that's why," she suddenly said. "Basil didn't want us to say anything about our cave, or the journal. Remember?"
"Yes, but the witch doesn't have anything to do with that, Lily," Tristram said in confusion.
"I don't know. But maybe it does, Tristram. That was a special story Basil told us. He said it was our secret. I remember now, Tristram, and we mustn't say anything about the witch. Besides, if he is the witch, then he could hurt us. He might steal Dulcie," Lily said, more loudly this time as she started even to scare herself with such thoughts.
"The witch could put a spell on her, Lily!" Tristram said, his voice rising shrilly.
"A witch?" Simon Whitelaw repeated curiously as he caught the one word. Glancing over his shoulder at the two who were whispering secrets, he said, "I know all about them. You want to be careful when around them. You don't want even to meet one, or make one mad. They can put the evil eye on you."
Lily and Tristram exchanged knowing glances.
"Do not let Sir Raymond Valchamps frighten you because he looks like a witch with those eyes. Some people might think that he really is a witch, but he is not. I can understand how little Dulcie, my sister, was scared," Simon told them, surprising both Lily and Tristram by his use of the word sister when talking of their sister, Dulcie. Seeing their shocked expressions, he said almost defensively. "Well, she is my sister. Basil was my father. He was Dulcie's father, too. Your mother was her mother. She is, therefore, our sister," he explained, suddenly reminding both Lily and Tristram of Basil trying to explain some finer point to them and they started to giggle.
Simon frowned, halting in his tracks. He did not like being laughed at and was about to say as much when Lily said, "He's just like Basil, isn't he, Tristram?"
"I am?" Simon said.
"Exactly," Lily told him honestly, knowing in that instant that he would become her friend.
"Well," he said awkwardly, feeling ten feet tall all of a sudden, "I am pleased to hear that. Now, what was I saying?"
"The witch. You were telling us about witches," Tristram urged him, despite Lily's warning glance, for although they might be related, it was still their secret.
"Oh? Oh, Sir Raymond Valchamps. Yes, even though he does have those odd eyes, gives me the shivers, he's not a witch. He's a knight. He even saved Elizabeth's life," Simon informed them, pleased to see that he had managed to impress the two, for they had looked at each other in amazement.
"There, you see, Lily. He's not the witch," Tristram whispered thankfully, for he had not looked forward to confronting the man, which he suspected Lily might think their honor would demand.
"Then he would never hurt the queen?" Lily asked, for although she was relieved to hear Simon's reassurances, her dreams had been with her for too long to be completely forgotten now.
"Hurt Elizabeth?" Simon asked incredulously. "Never. Sir Raymond Valchamps is one of her favorites," he said, increasing his pace as he appreciatively sniffed the aromatic smells drifting down the corridor.
But Lily's steps continued to drag behind. She could not forget the sound of Basil's voice when telling them the fable about the wild white horses and the witch with one blue eye and one brown, and how important it was for them to return to England and save the queen. But there was something more that was bothering Lily. She knew with a certainty that she had met Raymond Valchamps before. She had not recognized him merely from the fable or her dreams. Basil had never fully described the witch in the fable, except for the eyes. and the spectral figure in her dreams had always remained slightly blurred, except for the eyes. But she had known Raymond Valchamps. She had seen not only those eyes before, but his face and silvery hair. She could not remember where, but the meeting had left an impression in her mind that she would never forget.
Simon had not misled them, and with Tristram's stomach no longer protesting, they followed Simon into the gardens. Lily kept glancing back over her shoulder as they left the house, but there was no one there, watching. Still engrossed in her thoughts, Lily accompanied Simon and Tristram to the river's edge. But soon she tired of watching the boats sailing up and down the river, and, after her cheeks had flushed with embarrassment for the third time because of some ribald remark from an appreciative lad catching sight of her, she left Tristram and Simon to amuse themselves as best they could.
Lily had more important things on her mind than worrying about whether Tristram or Simon could skip his stone the farthest across the river. When she saw the tall, lean figure leaving the house and walking toward the gardens, she made up her mind.
She could not forget Raymond Valchamps. If it had been just a fable Basil had told to amuse them, or if her nightmares were unfounded, no more than childish fears, why did Raymond Valchamps watch her? Valentine would know, Lily had decided. She did not think that Basil would have objected to her sharing their secret with Valentine. She had to tell someone. And the only person besides Tristram and Dulcie she could trust was Valentine Whitelaw.
Lily's steps quickened as she hurried along the brick path through the gardens. The heady fragrance of lilies and roses filled the warm afternoon air as she ran past neatly clipped yew hedges and box-edged gardens resplendent with spring flowers. Water bubbling from a stone fountain muffled her steps as she approached the arbored entrance to one of the small gardens enclosed within brick walls.
It was there that Lily found Valentine Whitelaw.
He was sitting on a carved seat in the cool shade of the wall, and wrapped in his embrace was Cordelia Howard. As Lily watched, Valentine's lips touched Cordelia's. His hands caressed her as he pulled her closer against his body.
"I have missed you, my love," he murmured against her lips, unable to resist tasting them again as his mouth found hers in a long kiss.
"And I have missed you," Cordelia said breathlessly, her fingers sliding through his hair as she pulled his head down to hers again, not satisfied as she kissed him, her lips clinging to his, and she wished they had more privacy than the garden allowed.
Feeling his hand moving over her breast, she said, "I do not think you have missed me that much or you would not persist in leaving England every few months on this adventuring of yours. I get lonely, and the winters are cold when you are away, Valentine. Never forget that I am a woman who needs constant companionship," she warned him, purposely allowing her mouth to part from his.
Valentine smiled. "I am with you now, and I will not be returning to sea for some time," he told her, his mouth stealing her breath away as he kissed her deeply.
"I suppose I should be thankful for at least these few moments of your time,"
Cordelia said impatiently, for she longed to have him in her bed again.
"What do you mean?"
"With that foolish child clinging to you all of the time, I scarcely could catch your eye all day. She is like a puppy yapping at your heels. Faith, but I expect to see her appear any moment. However did you manage to lose her?" Cordelia said, laughing.
"Lily?" Valentine asked in surprise.
"If that is the redheaded one's name, then yes, Lily."
Valentine laughed. "Don't tell me you are jealous of that child?"
"That child, my dear, is fast becoming a woman. Another few years and you will not even recognize her, except perhaps for that unfortunate red hair. And then, my roguish one, you had better keep on your guard, or you may find yourself married to the chit," Cordelia warned with an unpleasant glint in her eye.
"Don't be ridiculous, Delia."
"If I remember correctly, you said you had a penchant for red hair," she reminded him, pleased to see him frowning over her words. "I suppose, however, that only a queen could manage to receive compliments with hair that color," she added cattily.
"Lily is just a child. No different than Dulcie."
"I seriously doubt that she looks upon you as she would a brother or father," Cordelia said, thinking of the stable hand who had become her first lover when she had not been much older than this young girl.
Valentine stared at Cordelia as if she were mad. "Lily was the daughter of my very good friend. I could never think of her in the manner in which you seem to think. I feel responsible for Lily's welfare, that is all. I could never fall in love with her. I am very fond of Lily, but she is a child, and always will be in my eyes," he said again, this time with a mocking laugh. "Lily Christian means nothing to me beyond being the daughter of a friend of mine," Valentine said more harshly than perhaps he intended, but he was determined to end Cordelia's speculations concerning Lily Christian.
Wild Bells to the Wild Sky Page 25