Redemption of a Fallen Woman

by Joanna Fulford

  ‘Here they come,’ muttered Concha.

  Elena checked the priming of her pistol. ‘We’ll give a good account of ourselves anyway.’

  Squinting round the edge of the sheltering rock she saw ten horsemen hurtle down the slope and thence along the dirt road towards them. Even from a distance there was no mistaking who the riders were.

  ‘Bandits, definitely,’ said Jack.

  Concha nodded. ‘Idiots too, if they think to cross such a large area of open ground unscathed.’

  ‘Quite right,’ said Harry. ‘Let’s take advantage of their stupidity, shall we?’

  He lined up his rifle and squeezed off a shot. Almost simultaneously Jack’s gun spoke. Two of the oncoming riders fell.

  ‘Not bad,’ said Concha.

  While the others reloaded Elena took aim. A man cried out, swaying in the saddle and clutching his shoulder. Harry glanced her way and smiled.

  ‘Well done.’

  ‘You also,’ she replied.

  Concha levelled her pistol and fired, bringing down the leading horse. It fell like a stone, catapulting its rider over its head and causing others to swerve around it. Hurriedly she reloaded while Harry and Jack opened fire. Elena heard cries of pain. She ignored it, knowing that sentiment had no place here. If they were captured the best they could expect was to be robbed of everything. In the worst-case scenario... Cold-eyed, she fired and reloaded, her hands moving automatically and with practiced ease. Then she took a deep breath, took aim again. The riders were closer now and thus easier targets. Concha was right, she thought. They were not competent strategists. Montera certainly wouldn’t have let himself get caught in the open like that. She smiled grimly, picked her target and fired. A man clutched his chest and toppled sideways, dead before he hit the ground.

  And then, without warning, the remaining riders veered away. For a second or two the significance escaped her. Then she heard Concha’s voice.

  ‘They’re running! The cowards are running!’

  Jack grinned. ‘They got more than they bargained for, I’ll warrant.’

  Elena leaned back against the rock and let out the breath she had unconsciously been holding.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  She opened her eyes to see Harry. ‘Yes, quite all right, I thank you.’

  ‘That was good shooting. Well done.’

  The words cheered her immeasurably, like the hand squeezing her arm. She smiled wryly. ‘You weren’t so bad yourself from what I could see.’

  He returned the smile. ‘High praise.’

  ‘No, just the truth.’

  Before he could say more, Jack intervened. ‘The question is whether they’ve gone for good or just to fetch reinforcements.’

  Harry nodded. ‘I think we should leave while we can.’

  No one needed telling twice. They remounted and rode fast. Elena urged her horse to a gallop, leaning low over its neck, glancing back from time to time, half expecting to see a larger group of riders behind. The road was empty. Even after several miles there was still no sign of pursuit.

  ‘Maybe just a small group of opportunists, after all, my lord,’ said Jack when at length they pulled up to rest their blowing horses.

  ‘Maybe,’ replied Harry. ‘All the same, we’ll ride on for a while.’

  Once again no one made the least demur, wanting to put as much distance between them and the scene of the attack as possible. Even though the immediate danger was over Elena still felt the residual thrill coursing through her veins. It had been that way when she and Concha had ridden with Montera’s men. The habit was hard to break.

  It was dusk before they eventually stopped. There were still no signs of pursuit but he wasn’t prepared to take chances.

  ‘We’ll exercise caution until we’re sure,’ he said. ‘No fire tonight and we’ll double the watch just in case.’

  ‘Right you are, my lord.’ Jack looked at Concha. ‘Do you take t’first one wi’ me, then, lass?’

  She returned a cool and level gaze. ‘As you wish—lad.’

  Elena caught Harry’s eye and saw the gleam of amusement there. It drew an answering smile from her. Bone-weary now but exhilarated too, it felt as though something in her had awoken after a long sleep. It wasn’t that she relished being attacked by brigands, but rather that the brush with danger made her feel more alive than she had for a long time. Perhaps the present company had something to do with that as well. In any adventure it was important to know that, in a tight spot, one could rely on one’s companions. She’d had no doubts whatever about Concha, but today the two men had proved their worth once more. They were cool-headed, swift to act and prepared to be ruthless when required.

  ‘Can I offer you something to eat?’

  Harry’s voice drew her from her reverie. ‘Oh, yes. I thank you. What is on the menu this evening?’

  ‘Bread and cheese.’

  ‘Bread and cheese sound divine.’

  ‘You are easily pleased, my lady.’

  ‘I am hungry, my lord, and have eaten far worse.’

  He grinned and, having handed her a ration of food, sat down to eat with her. ‘You and Concha handled yourselves well today. Seasoned soldiers could not have done better.’

  His praise created a little glow of warmth deep inside. ‘I suppose we are what you might call seasoned guerrillas.’

  ‘An apt description. You certainly took those robbers in your stride.’

  ‘It’s not the first time we have met their kind. Concha and I were once taken prisoner by El Lobo.’

  ‘I have heard of him. An ugly customer by all accounts.’

  ‘The accounts were true.’

  ‘How did you fall into his clutches?’

  Elena hesitated, regarding him speculatively, wondering whether he would be shocked if she told him the story. On the other hand he already knew a lot of shocking things about her, so perhaps one more wouldn’t make much difference now.

  ‘We had been out hunting in the hills with a small group of companions. We shot a deer and were returning to camp when, by ill chance, we ran into some of El Lobo’s men. I think they were as surprised as we. Unfortunately there were far more of them than there were of us, and so we were captured and taken to his headquarters. It was a remote hill village that had been abandoned by the inhabitants in the early part of the war.’

  ‘There were quite a few of those around by the time the French had finished.’ He made a vague gesture with his hand. ‘Forgive me, I’m interrupting.’

  ‘El Lobo demanded to know where Montera’s hideout was but none of us was prepared to tell. So then our captors entertained themselves by beating one of our companions half to death. Still he wouldn’t talk so El Lobo shot him, as an example. We knew it wouldn’t be long before he killed the rest—the men anyway.’ She hesitated. ‘He announced that he had a very different plan for Concha and me.’

  Harry’s eyes grew steely. ‘I think I can guess what that was.’

  She nodded. ‘We knew there was nothing to lose by attempting to escape. So, while he and his men drank, we pretended to seduce the guard of the hut where we were confined. It wasn’t hard.’

  ‘I almost pity him.’

  ‘When we’d eliminated him we smashed the lamp and set fire to the building as we left to create a diversion.’

  ‘An effective stratagem, I imagine.’

  ‘It was. While all attention was on the fire we released our friends. We also discovered that the room next door to their prison was piled high with weapons and ammunition stolen from the French. There were also several barrels of gunpowder.’

  ‘Let me guess. You set a fuse.’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘A longish fuse, I hope.’

  ‘Long enough to let us get clear.’ She smiled reminiscently. ‘The explosion was huge—the biggest I ever saw, and deafening. It demolished the entire building and half a dozen near it. Debris was flung over a wide area. There were massive casualties among the robbers.�
��

  ‘I have no doubt of that.’

  ‘One of the victims was El Lobo himself— impaled through the chest by a huge splinter of wood.’

  ‘I don’t suppose that grieved you too much.’

  ‘It didn’t grieve me at all.’

  ‘How did you get away?’

  ‘In the confusion we stole some horses and set the rest free. Then we rode fast.’

  Harry shook his head, torn between astonishment and admiration. ‘I’ll wager you did.’

  ‘I’m afraid I have shocked you again.’

  ‘The shocking thing is that women should be forced to such extremities as a consequence of war.’

  It wasn’t what she had been expecting at all and she eyed him curiously. ‘No matter what you learn about my past you never judge me, do you?’

  ‘I have no right to judge you,’ he replied.

  ‘You have secrets of your own, perhaps?’

  Harry avoided her gaze. ‘Who does not have secrets about the past?’

  ‘Is yours about Belén?’

  He flinched as though stung. ‘That need not concern you.’

  ‘Forgive me. I should not have said that. It was only...’

  ‘Only what?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. Forget it please.’

  Harry got to his feet. ‘Since we’re on the next watch we should try and get a little rest now. Excuse me.’

  She stared after him in stunned silence, mentally kicking herself. When she had asked the question it had never occurred to her that he might resent it so fiercely. With hindsight she realised how impertinent it must have sounded. What made it worse was the knowledge that she had inadvertently touched a sore place with him. She bit her lip. How could she have been so foolish as to think his tolerance extended so far?

  Harry shook out his bedroll with unwonted vigour and then climbed in. Despite his weariness though, sleep eluded him. Anger continued to smoulder too, only now it was directed inwards. Being unprepared for her question he had snarled at Elena like an injured wolf. And in truth it had been a defensive response, albeit a churlish one. She had been open with him, after all. He sighed. He had never discussed the subject of Belén with anyone: he’d never told his family about their engagement, even Ross and Giles didn’t know about it. It wasn’t because he had anything to hide—although her birth was not of the highest her family was respectable. He hadn’t intended it to be a secret but events had overtaken him so fast he’d never had time to communicate the matter to his own relations. By the time he could there was nothing that he wished to communicate. He never spoke of it to anyone. Only Jack knew the truth. And then, out of the blue, Elena had unwittingly touched the wound and he’d bitten her head off. She’d tried to apologise and he hadn’t even listened. What must she be thinking now?

  At some point amid these reflections he must have dozed off because the next thing he knew was Jack’s hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. Like most military men he came to at once, alert and ready for action. Hefting his rifle he glanced towards Elena and saw her get up. She paused only to exchange a few quiet words with Concha and then came to join him.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  She nodded and they set off, taking up their position atop a small knoll hard by. Although it wasn’t particularly high, it afforded a good view of the countryside around. In this respect they were aided by the light of the waxing moon. Elena listened intently but the only sounds were the cicadas and, once or twice, an owl. Nothing else stirred.

  Finding a convenient boulder she sat down in its shadow so that she was out of sight. If anyone were to approach they would be on top of her before they became aware of her presence. She saw Harry take up a position a few yards off. However, she made no attempt at conversation, guessing it wouldn’t be welcome. In any case she had no wish to get her head bitten off again.

  Instead she let her gaze range over the hills whose tops were now silvered by the moonlight. Overhead a million stars filled a velvet sky and the air was scented with wild thyme. It was a romantic scene. She sighed, wondering what on earth had put that thought in her head. There was nothing remotely romantic about the situation: she had been foisted off on a man who had unwittingly become embroiled in her family’s sordid affairs, and she had now added insult to injury. Glancing across the intervening space she looked at Harry but his attention was firmly fixed on the land in front of him. No doubt about it, he was still angry. It saddened her to know that she had offended him; his opinion mattered rather more than she had expected. However, the fear of another rebuff held her silent.

  A shooting star flashed a trail of radiance across the heavens and she caught her breath, smiling in spite of herself. Then she heard Harry’s voice, quiet on the night air.

  ‘You saw it too.’

  Her pulse quickened a little. ‘Yes. This is an ideal place.’

  ‘Far from ideal from your point of view, I imagine,’ he replied. ‘You must be wishing me at Jericho. I can only apologise for my foul temper.’

  ‘Well, I should not have asked so impertinent a question and I’m sorry for it.’

  ‘Forget it. It doesn’t matter.’

  Elena strongly suspected that it did, but she wasn’t about to reject the offered olive branch. ‘All right. Let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.’

  ‘Yes, let’s.’

  Hearing him fall in so readily with the suggestion, she wondered then what other pretences they would have to maintain in this relationship: the pretence that he was content to be married to her; the pretence that he wasn’t still in love with another woman? Yet she could hardly criticise him when she had not faced and conquered her own demons. What future could there be for them if they did not confront the past?

  Chapter Nine

  There was no further sign of the bandits who had attacked them so it seemed most probable that it had been a chance encounter with a small band of marauders. The countryside was full of them, men whom war had dispossessed or made desperate. As he and his companions continued on their journey, Harry could only hope that they wouldn’t meet any more. They had been lucky last time. If the robber group had been larger it would have been a different story. Had it been only himself and Jack he would have been less concerned: having women along altered his view substantially, even if the women concerned were able to shoot remarkably well. Elena’s account of their adventure with El Lobo only served to underline this. While Harry applauded her courage and resilience, he was more aware than ever of her vulnerability.

  Since the shared watch their relationship had, superficially at least, settled back into its former pattern of mutual civility. Yet, underneath that, he was aware of a fundamental shift. Even though he had apologised, he knew that he had ducked the issue. The habit of silence had become ingrained. The very mention of Belén was a trigger to close up like a clam. Let’s pretend it didn’t happen. How those words had haunted him in the hours since. By glossing over the matter in that way Elena had only been trying to keep the peace, but her openness with him suggested that she would have welcomed reciprocal honesty. Now that his temper had cooled he realised that her question was never intended to be impertinent, only to open a dialogue between them. A necessary dialogue, he now admitted. No relationship could survive if it were based on pretence.

  He also knew that, one day, they would have a deeper relationship. She was his wife and nothing would change that. It behoved them to make the best of the situation. After all, many marriages were based on mutual respect. There was no reason why they shouldn’t have a future together, even if it wasn’t the one either of them would have chosen. Eventually they were going to have to talk and he would have to tell her the truth. He had no idea what might happen after that, but more than anything else he dreaded her contempt. After what he’d done, or rather failed to do, how could any woman think him worthy of her affection?

  That evening they camped by the side of a small lake. Since water was an important consideration for both horses an
d humans, Harry had planned his route accordingly, making use of the maps Don Manuel had provided. Small streams or springs served their turn and supplied what was essential, but the thought of being able to bathe for the first time in days was very appealing. It seemed he wasn’t the only one to think so.

  ‘A swim would be very agreeable,’ said Elena, when the subject was first broached. ‘But if you and Jack wish to go first Concha and I will prepare things here.’

  Harry grinned. ‘A generous offer. However, I believe the rule is ladies first.’

  ‘Very well. We accept.’

  He reached into his saddlebag. ‘Here. You might want this.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘A bar of soap.’ He placed in in her hand, closing her fingers around it. ‘Don’t lose it. It’s the only one I have.’

  The effect of that casual touch was disturbing. She summoned a smile. ‘I’ll guard it with my life.’

  ‘See you do. The penalty for failure is severe.’

  Although she caught the gleam in the grey eyes her pulse quickened. She had no idea what he might be capable of—in fun or earnest.

  ‘I’m not going to ask.’

  ‘What a pity.’

  Elena’s cheeks grew a shade warmer. This gentle teasing was more difficult to deal with and, more disturbingly still, part of her wanted to push this a little further. Not so long ago she would have avoided any kind of flirtatious behaviour with a man; now the temptation was strong. With a sense of shock she realised that fear had been replaced by something very like suppressed excitement. It was definitely time to leave.

  ‘We won’t take too long.’

  ‘No hurry. The lake will still be there.’

  Leaving the two men to perform the remaining chores, she and Concha took themselves off. They walked a little way from the camp and found a curve in the shoreline which provided a secluded little cove and complete privacy. They lost no time in stripping off and wading in. The water was cold but wonderfully refreshing.