Kissed by Starlight

by Cynthia Bailey Pratt

  “Clarice!”

  The doctor spoke reasonably. “Your motives do you credit, but of course it’s impossible. I have pledged myself to care for your sister. Come, is that not enough?”

  “No. You are very good, Doctor, and I would in the normal course of events trust you implicitly. But in this instance, I think Felicia will be better served by my remaining. Kindly give orders to the cook, Constable. Meals for two.”

  “B’ain’t no cook, your ladyship. Meals is sent in by my sister.”

  “Then inform your sister. I will require two chairs and a table as well. See that there’s a cloth laid. Clean, mind! As for this place, kindly order some straw to be delivered. I wouldn’t keep a dog in a kennel like this.”

  Felicia began to laugh. The sight of their faces as a spoilt beauty gave them orders as though they were a lot of raw recruits was enough to lighten even her bleak heart.

  “There, you see,” Lady Stavely said. “She’s raving! My love, pray come out before she becomes violent.”

  “The remedy is in your own hand. Mama. May Felicia come to Hamdry?”

  “Certainly not!”

  Within an hour, Felicia was safely installed in her own dear room. It looked odd without her personal ornaments, but the very walls were a comfort. Certainly the bed in which she slept away the better part of the day was far more comfortable than any she’d lain on since leaving. But here too, sorrow awaited her. It was in this bed that she’d first felt Blaic lie down beside her.

  It was this thought that drove her out of bed. She was pacing restless as a leopard in a cage when Clarice knocked at the door. She came in bearing a tray. “They wouldn’t let me bring in a knife.”

  As Felicia ate, she told Clarice enough of her adventures to satisfy at least part of the girl’s curiosity. Halfway through the recital, Clarice sat back in her chair with an amazed sigh and said, “That is why I was cured? Fairy magic?”

  “It seems so. Blaic swore he could lift the enchantment you were under. It was a terrible risk, but I had to let him try. Do you hate me for risking your life?”

  “Hate you? How could I? I remember perfectly what I did during those three years but not my thoughts, or myself. What I was like is very vague. I know, however, that I did not enjoy my second childhood. That part of my life was stolen from me; you’ve kept the rest of it from being taken away. Go on — tell me what happened then?”

  “Many things...” Pushing away her empty plates, Felicia put her elbows on the desk and continued. Clarice only moved once, to light the candles as darkness fell.

  Half an hour later, Clarice shook her head in amazement. “He offered you all that, and you refused? You are mad!”

  “I can’t explain. I only know that it would have been wrong of me to leave my life. Besides, who would you rescue if I left you?”

  “A good point.” Clarice smiled at her and then sobered. “I do not say that I should have acted as you have. To be loved as you are loved is a happiness I dare not even dream of.”

  “You are loved, Clarice. Never doubt it.”

  She shrugged her elegant shoulders. “Mama loves me, but her love is all mixed up with her greed. Sometimes I feel that were I not beautiful, she would not love me at all.”

  A knock against the door, not a demand for admittance but more as though something had fallen, made the girls look up. With both silence and speed, Clarice reached the door and jerked it open. There, kneeling awkwardly on the carpet, was Lady Stavely, her maid behind her.

  “Mama!”

  “That was a very cruel thing to say, but I forgive you.” With tremendous dignity, Lady Stavely accepted Clarice’s arm to rise to her feet. “You cannot know the shifts a woman will make to keep her child safe. I am only concerned for your future, Clarice.”

  “Yes, Mama. Of course.”

  Still cool, still remote, Lady Stavely glanced at Felicia. “If you are not insane, you have rather more imagination than 1 ever gave you credit for. Can you offer any proof of your astounding assertions?”

  “No, I cannot. I know only what I saw and what Blaic told me.”

  “Blaic? That repugnant rustic who betrayed you? If you are relying on his word for your tale, you will be most disappointed, I fear. Has he not abandoned you utterly?”

  “I suppose he has.”

  “So whether he was an unearthly prince or a miserable mortal like the rest of us, he is gone. What do you expect to do now?”

  “She’ll stay with us, Mama, naturally.”

  “There is nothing natural here. I certainly shall not dwell under the same roof with her.”

  Felicia said, “You have been trying to be rid of me since my father died. I understand why you hate me so. It is because I am so like her.”

  “Her?” Lady Stavely drew back.

  “My mother. My father always loved her, didn’t he? There was no room for you, so you will see to it that there is no room for me. I understand.”

  “I do not want your understanding!” She visibly caught at the ends of her self-command. “Clarice, I tell you plainly: I shall not live under the same roof with her. You must choose between your mother and this ...this creature.”

  “My sister. She has given me the example I needed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Clarice looked at Felicia with pride. “Like her, I must live in the real world, Mama.”

  “What do you mean?’’ Lady Stavely demanded a second time.

  “I mean that I cannot live in your dreams. I have always known that I will live out the rest of my life at Hamdry Manor. It is the only life I have ever wanted.”

  “You are young. You will change your mind. Once we go to London, once you see the delights in store....”

  Clarice shook her head, gently yet firmly. “No, Mama. I won’t be marrying a duke or a prince and living in court circles. I should hate it. This is where I belong, here on the edge of the great moor. If I ever do marry, it will most likely be to a country gentleman. Perhaps even a farmer. Handsome, of course.”

  Lady Stavely put her hands up as though she would rip her fine coiffure to shreds. “No. You are young. You will change your mind.” She forced a laugh. “What! A beauty like yours thrown away on some bumpkin! What of your rank, your wealth, your breeding?”

  “What of them? The finest person I know has none of these things, yet I should be happy if I could emulate her.” Clarice smiled at her sister.

  Lady Stavely turned on Felicia, her eyes glowing as though a volcano surged behind them. “This is all your doing,” she whispered, far more threatening than a scream. “It’s your evil influence. What will it take to rid me of you? Do you want the treasure? Take it and get you hence!”

  “I do want part of the treasure,” Felicia said. “I want it for the orphans in Tallyford. That’s why Blaic and I searched for it in the first place. At least — that’s why I searched for it. He only wanted to betray me so that he’d be free to take me with him.”

  “Why didn’t you go? Why were you ever born, to be such a burden to me?”

  “Mama....” Clarice stepped forward to pat her mother’s arm. “Why don’t you go to London? Or Bath? You’ve always wanted to go to Bath. A few weeks away from Hamdry will do you all the good in the world. You haven’t been the same since Papa died. Then all this upheaval. Yes, a little trip to refresh your mind is the very thing you need.”

  “For God’s sake, don’t humor me!” Lady Stavely threw off her daughter’s arm with a violent motion. “You want me to go? Very well. I shall never come here again!”

  She turned to leave. Ignoring her stricken daughter, she said to Felicia, “You have given me the means to go. I shall take everything you found — every stone, every ring. Try to raise your miserable brats on nothing.”

  Catching the door with her hand, she slammed it shut behind her. The key turned and Felicia found herself once again locked in.

  “I do so wish people would stop doing that,” she said under her breath. Then she beg
an the task of comforting Clarice. “I’m sure she didn’t mean those things. She was angry. She’ll think the better of it. She truly does love you.”

  Clarice shook her head. “She can’t take the treasure.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Clarice. Are the servants still in the house?”

  “Yes, some of them. Cook left. Your breakfast was made by the kitchen-maid.”

  Giving the bellpull a sharp tug, Felicia said, “Promote her. She has an excellent way with an egg. But Clarice —”

  “She can’t take the treasure. It belongs to Hamdry. After that Mr. Ashton plundered us, it’s all that does.”

  The doorknob rattled. “Did you ring, Miss Starret?” Rose called.

  “Yes, Rose. The door seems to be locked. Is the key there?”

  “No, miss. I can’t zee it nowheres.”

  “Is my mother out there, Rose?”

  “No, your ladyship. She bustled by me not five minutes ago. On her way somewheres, I reckon.”

  “See if you can release us, won’t you?”

  “T’key to the nursery fits this lock. I’ll be bringin’ it.”

  “Thank you, Rose. Oh, Rose? Did my mother carry anything with her?”

  “Just her jewel case, my lady. Oh, and that Liza had a basket in her hands.”

  “She wasted no time,” Clarice said in a low voice to Felicia. “Hurry, Rose, won’t you?”

  “What will you do?”

  “I don't know.” Clarice bit her lip. “Regardless of everything, she is my mother. I cannot let her go with only hard words between us. Besides, it is too late now. She should wait at least until the morning.”

  Felicia put her arm about Clarice’s waist and offered her support while the maid found the proper key to let them out. The time seemed to go by very slowly. “What is taking so long?" Clarice asked.

  A moment later, they heard the welcome scraping of the key in the lock. Rose stood there, somewhat flushed, and bobbed a curtsy. “Excuse me, Miss Starret, but a gentleman has called askin’ t’zee you.”

  “I can’t see anyone just now.” She turned to Clarice. “Something about this nonsensical charge of your mother’s, no doubt.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I shan’t accuse you of trying to steal a treasure no one knew anything about. Oh, what is it, Rose?” Clarice said impatiently.

  “What am I to tell him, my lady? He’s very eager, miss, and oh, handsome!”

  “Find Varley and have him put the man out. What good is it having a butler if he can’t throw someone out now and again?”

  Felicia said, “Perhaps I’d better see him. What name did he give, Rose?”

  “Oh, a funny one. What was it? You know, miss, he reminded me of that fly-by-night fellow as come here when William Beech went off on his own for ever zo long. Only this ‘un’s a gentleman. Was it Yard now? Or Flower?”

  They walked along the upper landing together, the two young women shaking their heads as Rose ran through a list of names that were not quite right. The sisters were hardly listening, however.

  “I shall have to institute a search for Mama. She’s so obstinate she could try to walk to town sooner than stay here another hour.”

  “I’m sorry for this trouble.”

  “It’s not your fault. It had to happen sooner or later. I could not live under her thumb for always. Now at least I have the chance to live as I like.”

  Rose threw her hands up in the air suddenly. The two young ladies stared at her in surprise. “Gardner! I knew I’d snatch it off my tongue zooner ‘r later.”

  “Blaic?”

  He stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at her. Raindrops spangled his coat and hair. As she ran down the steps, he dropped his hat and threw his arms open wide. They closed about her with a firmness that laid to rest any doubts she had about his substance. She lifted her face to his, a thousand questions trembling on her lips. He kissed her passionately, answering them all.

  Clarice and Rose stole away. Felicia only noted their going after a long time. His kiss took all her attention.

  Before, even when he’d held her in his arms, she’d felt a distance between them, a gulf they could not bridge no matter how earnestly they each might wish they could. He was not a human being, and there was no escape from that essential fact. That had changed. She did not know how she knew, but it was as elemental a change as birth.

  Felicia drew back to look up into his eyes. The faint lines that had always been there had deepened and his light hair had become subtly gray by the temples. “Blaic?’’

  He smiled and the lines deepened. “Yes. It is I. Changed in every particular, except one. I love you.”

  “But what of the Living Lands?”

  “I could not stay there without you. I knew it when I stood in the midst of a crowd of my own People and felt utterly alone. Not even the hand of my father could change that.”

  “Then you broke the curse?”

  He grinned, and the expression brought back the rogue she loved almost as much as the man. “Not entirely. I still cannot sing without making the dogs howl. But the king agreed that loving you made me wise. Wise enough, at any road, to know where my happiness lies.”

  “I know that too. My happiness lies wherever you do.”

  Blaic lifted one of her hands to his lips. He kissed first the back, then, passionately, the palm. “I cannot now promise you forever....”

  “We will have enough of forever to make me content.” Felicia threw her arms about him and gave him her lips in a promise no less binding than a marriage.

  Three weeks later, after every search for Lady Stavely had long since been exhausted, William the Footman’s young brother led a somber party up onto the moor. Not far from a crumbled collection of black and weathered stone, a circle of dark green grass lay in high relief upon the hill. A sodden mass of black clothing had been dropped in a huddle just inside the green band.

  Clarice hurried forward, but Blaic caught her by the shoulder. “Wait. I’ll do it.”

  Clarice knelt as Blaic brought the things to her. “It’s all here. Her gown, her cap, even her petticoat and stockings. Even her shoes.”

  “Wait for us down the hill, William. You, too,” Clarice added, with a half-smile for her former playmate.

  “When Liza came back with the basket of jewels but without Mama, I knew something had to be amiss. But this is worse than I could have thought. What could have happened?”

  Felicia answered because she knew Blaic could not bring himself to. “I think she must have done what you did once. Walked into the midst of a fairy revel. They don’t like that.”

  “So they...killed her?”

  “No,” Blaic said quickly. “No. I think they took her with them.”

  “Why?”

  He looked away from Clarice’s anxious eyes, up toward the rich blue sky beyond. “They might take her, if she asked them to. You said she overheard what Felicia told you about the Wilder World? I have heard the people here call it the Realms of Gold, or Tom Tiddler’s Ground, where gold and silver grows on the trees and can be picked up like leaves in the forest. Don’t you think your mother may have heard these tales?”

  “I’m sure she must have. Liza knows them all.” Clarice turned slowly around to stare at the fairy ring. “You think she might have gone to find wealth there?”

  “It’s possible. It is very rare but it’s happened before.”

  “Will she come back?”

  Blaic looked at Felicia behind Clarice’s back. Slowly, with sorrow in his eyes, he shook his head. Felicia hurried to the girl. “You’ll always have us. Blaic and I have decided that since Mrs. Danby’s sister is doing so well, we will continue with you at Hamdry until you come of age. Only if you wish us to, of course.”

  Clarice caught her sister’s hand in both of her own. “You won’t want to be saddled with me. Not after you are married.”

  Blaic walked up and slipped his arm about Felicia’s waist. “Not only do we require you to
live with us, but my bride tells me that she refuses to go on any wedding trip on which you do not accompany us. I want to go to Greece again, but nothing will content her but Italy.”

  “Greece? Italy? Oh, no, I couldn’t.” Her cheeks, for a moment so pale, brightened with excitement.

  “You must,” Felicia said. “I have already engaged Melissa Bainbridge to come along as your companion. The sights there will do her drawing much good; I should not be surprised if she becomes a talented artist. I tell you, she raised the same objections. If you don’t come, she won’t either, and she would be cruelly disappointed.”

  “I like Melissa. Very well, if you promise I shan’t intrude on your honeymoon.”

  Blaic tilted his bride-to-be’s chin up and kissed her tenderly. Throwing up a hand to shade her eyes, Clarice exclaimed, “No demonstrations, please! I shall take your word for it.”

  She cast her eyes again upon the pitiful bundle of clothes that seemed to be all that remained of Lady Stavely. “I shall miss her. Whatever her faults, she was my mother. I shall feel the want of her, I’m afraid.” Then she raised her eyes to her sister and future brother. “But at least I am not alone.”

  As if uncomfortable at showing so much emotion, a moment later she’d run down the hill to join the two brothers. “She’s still just a girl,” Felicia said, leaning against Blaic, grateful as always for his solid warmth.

  “She may be that, but she has already learned more about being human than I have.”

  “You’ve only had a few weeks of it.”

  “Yes, but I know enough to recognize a truth when I hear it. It is easier to bear mortality with someone else.”

  He ran his hand down the side of her face and kissed her, pulling back just as she reached out to hold him. He turned away, bundling the sodden clothes into the basket they’d brought along. Suddenly he chuckled, as though at an errant thought. “I wonder how she and King Forgall will treat one another. She has many of the qualities of a queen, and he is not married.”

  Felicia refused to be diverted. “Blaic...you have not...we have not....”

  He took her by the arm and began walking down the hill. “And we shall not, until we are married. That much I have learned. What, shall we scandalize the town further? We are going to have quite enough to do in putting your reputation right as it is.”