'What is that?'
'That he loves you after all, and hoped in time to win you from Gilbert.'
*
'But you said – ' Eva began, a swift surge of hope suddenly suppressed.
'I know,' Blanche said ruefully. 'You love him now, do you not?'
Eva nodded helplessly.
'But I didn't know until too late, and now he thinks I am trying to remain with him only because Gilbert has gone.'
Blanche was thinking hard.
'If, when he met you, he fell in love, which is not difficult to accept, my dear, for you are remarkably lovely, he might have determined to have you and hope in time to change your love for Gilbert to some feeling for him. He would not dare to show his love for fear the same happened as before, and you took advantage of it as she did.'
'He accused me of being Gilbert's mistress,' Eva said slowly. 'Yet he offered me an annulment.'
'Possibly because he loved you and wanted you to be happy. Have you not yourself just offered to release him for the same reason?'
Eva could not allow herself to believe this. The disappointment if it were not true would be too great.
'He hated to touch me,' she told Blanche.
'Perhaps he was afraid of showing his need for you. Surely he has kissed you, apart from in the dances?'
'Usually when he was angry with me,' Eva confessed. 'But not of late.'
'Which indicates he is more afraid of betraying himself. Eva, this cannot go on!'
'But what can I do?'
'What have you tried to do?'
'I have tried to show him I now loved him, but he says it is because Gilbert is no longer here. He thinks I want security, to avoid the shame of his rejecting me. But it is not so.'
'Have you said you have discovered you love him?'
Eva shook her head. 'How could I? Why should he believe me? I made my former hatred so plain I would not expect him to believe me when I said I was now wrong.'
'His love for the other turned to disgust and hatred, so he might understand. Eva, I see two possibilities. I could try to explain to him if you will give me leave, and I think he will believe me.'
'What is the other way?' Eva asked. 'Oh, not that I disbelieve or distrust you any more, Blanche. I have longed to have you as my friend, apart from my suspicions. But I cannot leave it all to you, I should make some effort myself.'
'I think it has gone too far for that, my dear. You both need someone to help unravel the knot. No, the only other way I can think of is for you to pretend some injury, or to be ill, and see whether he reveals his love when he fears for you.'
Eva shook her head slowly. 'I want no more deceit between us. He would be angry if he discovered it, and rightly so.'
'Then I will talk with him when he returns. Go to your room now, I will send him to you.'
Eva hugged Blanche and kissed her gratefully.
'I shall be for ever grateful if you can help us,' she said. 'But unless he tells you he loves me I would prefer he does not remain with me out of pity. Like you, I could not bear it if he felt tied to me.'
'And you love him, my dear, which I did not,' Blanche said softly. 'Quickly, I think I hear Roger's voice. They will be here in a trice.'
*
Eva ran to her room, her heart beating wildly. Would Blanche be able to explain it to Piers? Was it remotely possible he did love her after all? Having heard Blanche's story of his former betrayed love she could understand he would not wish to be vulnerable again. It could explain his actions. But he might simply have become tired of her, having never loved her at all.
Eva alternated between hope and despair for what seemed hours, as she heard the murmur of voices from the solar. If he did not love her, she thought at one point, she would wish to live no longer, and would immure herself in the cloister. There would be no reason for living. But if the miracle happened and he did indeed love her she would be the happiest person alive.
At long last she heard the solar door open and Piers' firm tread as he came slowly towards the bedroom door. He entered and softly closed the door behind him, then looked across to where she stood beside the window, his expression revealing nothing.
Eva made an involuntary move towards him, and then stopped. The uncertainty was unbearable. Then he held out his arms and she gave a sob of relief and ran to fling herself into a fierce embrace.
'Piers, oh Piers, I have been so wickedly foolish,' she sobbed, and turned her tear-streaked face up towards him. 'Do you forgive me? Say you will permit me to try again. I love you so much!'
'Darling adorable Eva, I had given up hope of ever hearing you say those words,' he murmured in an unsteady voice. 'My beloved, I have loved you since I first saw you, and thought the very intensity of my love must bring you to me in the end. I refused to listen to the warning of the past, it seemed unreal compared with what I felt for you. I love you, my darling. Am I forgiven too?'
For answer she held up her lips invitingly and with a groan he bent to kiss her, infusing his kiss with a lingering sweetness different from all the previous embraces they had shared.
'Shall we go home to Granfort?' he asked at length. 'Blanche would be happy for us to stay, but I would like to be in my own home – our own home, my darling, when we come together at last.'
She nodded, suddenly shy.
'That would be pleasant,' she said in a prim little voice, and he shouted with laughter and seized her again, crushing her to him until she thought all her senses were leaving her.
'Pleasant,' he said, still chuckling. 'I promise it will be more than pleasant, my love. I've been no saint, I fear, but I've learnt enough to be able to pleasure you as you deserve!'
She blushed furiously, and he kissed her again.
'Will Blanche mind if we go at once?' she asked doubtfully. 'She has done so much, I feel so ashamed of the suspicions I had of her.'
'Not ashamed of the suspicions you harboured of me?' he teased, and she laughed, secure in her new-found love.
'Not at all, for although it was not Blanche, you have admitted they were justified, or would have been had I known you years ago!'
'If I had known you years ago there would have been no cause for suspicion, for once I had met you how could I possibly need anyone else?' he demanded. 'I believe Blanche and John will be delighted to be left alone. She understands, my dear, and forgives you. Our actions were thoughtless, you were bound to misunderstand, particularly when I was treating you so badly.'
*
Blanche and Lord John were sitting in the hall holding hands when Piers and Eva went out to them, and Blanche jumped up to hug Eva.
'My dear, I can see all is well. Oh, how thankful I am. I beg your pardon for having been a cause of your distress – '
'You must not!' Eva protested. 'It was my fault for being so stupid in not appreciating Piers the moment I saw him. Thank you for all you have done. I can never repay you.'
'Call your first daughter Blanche,' Lord John suggested, and Eva blushed rosily and glanced shyly at her husband.
'If you would agree, I would be delighted to,' she said, kissing Blanche once more.
'It would be perfect. You are going now, I expect. We mustn't delay you, but we will send to tell you when the wedding is to be, and you shall be our guests of honour.'
Sped on their way by Blanche and Lord John, they were soon riding towards Granfort. Eva glanced across at her husband, delighting in the handsome profile, the firm nose and chin and the dark hair she wanted desperately to ruffle with her fingers. Suddenly, as though aware her gaze rested on him, he turned and smiled, and she knew then his love was real. Previous smiles had been brief and cool, but now the smile reached his eyes and had such warmth in it she began to blush as if burnt at a fire.
'Did you truly love me at first sight?' she asked, seeking more reassurance.
'Even though you were clasped in that rascal's arms,' he said firmly. 'I knew nothing about you, and I was on my way to claim my unknown bride. I had
arranged that match out of expediency, when I no longer hoped to find love, and I fell straight into love with a stranger. You may imagine my feelings when I learned who you were. I was delighted and dismayed, not daring to hope. The wife I already loved so desperately was in love with another, and also seemed a wanton. Yet I knew I must have you whatever you had done. I had to try to make you love me. I was convinced of my love when you fell in that dreadful river and for a moment I thought you were dead. That would have been unbearable. It was fury your cousin had the good fortune to have won your love that made me so evil-tempered. But I was confident I could win you away from him. Until the night after the accident when I saw you in the courtyard.'
'You saw me?' Eva exclaimed. 'When? I did not know this.'
'That was another mistake. I saw Gilbert slip into the stable after supper. I had been to look at your mare myself. I was suspicious and stayed to watch, for I had been warned that he was suspected of plotting against Earl Richard. Then I saw a woman go after him. I was so afraid it was you. I watched for a long time, and when it was clear she would not come out soon I went away in despair. But I could not rest and went back. Then I did see you come out of the stable with him. Now, of course, I know Magda was the first woman I saw. She came out after I left, and you saw her before you went in yourself. It was because I thought you had been with him for so long that I was so cruel to you.'
'Not cruel,' Eva said softly. 'If I had seen the same I would have been suspicious too. I was of you and Blanche with far less cause. I wish I had known.'
'There will never be misunderstandings of that sort again,' he promised.
'I shall never meet a man in a stable again,' she promised with a shaky laugh. 'Unless it is you, my lord.'
'I thought you would forget him. I thought to take you by force and try to make you forget, but I feared to alienate you for ever if I did. What a muddle we have made of it!'
'But untangled it, thanks to Blanche. How could she not have loved you?' Eva marvelled.
'She had Hugh as a model, and has known me and my faults for rather longer than you have, my love. She and John will be happy. I hope he intends to spend some time there, for his own castle is two days' journey away and we would see less of them.'
'Does her manor belong to Piers?'
'It will when he is grown. I can pass over my responsibilities for the boys to John now. I shall probably have sons of my own to care about soon,' he added softly, and laughed when she blushed.
'I was so sure her son was yours, he looked so like you,' she said haltingly, 'and had your name.'
'I am his godfather, hence the same name, and as for the resemblance, Hugh's father was my grandmother's son by her first marriage, so we are cousins. I suppose there is a family likeness.'
Eva sighed. 'I have been so foolish.'
'And I, but never again, my love, we will trust one another in future.'
*
They reached Granfort in time for supper, and Gerda greeted them cheerfully.
'How is your leg, Sir Piers?' she demanded.
'How did you know about it?' he countered.
'Some people coming this way home stayed here, and told us. I would not believe them until I heard it from another lot. It isn't like you to rush in so wildly, I thought. Whatever possessed you?'
'Madness, I think,' he replied cheerfully. 'My leg is mended now, thanks to Eva's care of me. But we are both hungry. What is for supper?'
'Lampreys and carp, veal and saffron rice, dried figs and raisins, omelettes, preserved pears in cinnamon water, and the best wine,' Gerda said rapidly. Sir Piers looked startled.
'A feast indeed.'
Gerda grinned. 'Rob was over at the Lady Blanche's manor yesterday, he's taken a fancy to one of the dairymaids there and always making excuses to go. He brought word you were expected, and I thought you'd wish to get home as quickly as possible.'
Sir Piers nodded his agreement to Gerda. She glanced quickly from him to Eva, and smiled to herself.
'There were some travelling jugglers came last night,' she said casually. 'I sent them on their way when I knew you'd be home. Thought you'd be tired, anxious to retire early. Not wanting to spend time watching their antics,' she added, and skipped away towards the kitchen with surprising agility when Piers mockingly threatened her with his whip.
'Gerda knows everything,' he said resignedly.
'Do you think she knew – about us – before?' Eva asked in some trepidation.
'I imagine so, whatever pains I took to conceal it from her. But she would not gossip, and I doubt if anyone else knows, my love. If you are ever hurt or sad, I hope you will come to me, but if you cannot for any reason, go instead to Gerda, she will give comfort and keep your confidence.'
Supper was a merry meal, and the servants pleaded for a few songs and dances to celebrate their master's return, recovered from his injury. Eva added her persuasions to theirs, and she and Piers once more joined in the kissing dance. At the end Sir Piers led Eva towards the solar and the servants dispersed, happy and tired.
'A better wedding celebration than our last,' Sir Piers said softly as he shut the door and turned to pull Eva into his arms.
She sighed contentedly.
'Am I dreaming? Oh, Piers, I love you so!'
He drew her down onto the bed and began to remove her gown, while she trembled slightly.
'Don't be afraid, my beloved.'
'I am not,' she whispered and he bent to kiss her shoulder as he pushed her shift away from it.
'I offered marriage without having seen you. What a crazy thing to do,' he murmured. 'It could have been a disaster.'
'So would it have been if you had not,' she replied, and felt once more the delights he seemed always to be able to evoke in her coursing through her body.
He unpinned her hair and buried his face in it as it tumbled in glorious profusion over her breasts.
'It's happening at last,' he said slowly. 'Eva, my precious, say it is true, not a dream.'
He gently encouraged her and she kissed him, tentatively at first and then with an ardour that matched his own. As his arms came about her and he explored her body she knew that the desires she had resisted before, when she had dreaded being totally subject to his will as he stimulated passion in her, were at last, and wonderfully, to be satisfied. She gloried in his power to arouse her to a crest of delight never before experienced, meeting his passion willingly and without reserve. What marriage not made of love could reach such heights, she wondered as, sated, she lay in the circle of his arms and drifted peacefully to sleep.
THE END
###
Marina Oliver has written over 75 novels, all are available as ebooks.
For the latest information please see Marina's web site:
http://www.marina-oliver.net
More novels by Marina set during the English Civil War:
Highland Destiny
After the Battle of Naseby Sir John Emrey brings a dying Highland chieftain's heir to his home and promises to restore his sword to his clan.
When his mother and sister Blanche are driven from their home in the north of England, they plan to go to relatives in Ireland after delivering the sword, but are persuaded to stay in Scotland where Blanche becomes a friend and companion to Fiona Macdonald, the new heir.
Sir John goes to fight with Montrose, while Fiona is besieged with suitors eager to take control of her inheritance. There are her cousins, and her neighbour the Black Campbell. And there is danger from her aunt and uncle, the next in line to rule the clan.
*
Cavalier Courtship
As a child Caroline helped a fugitive Cavalier escaping from the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
When her aunt dies years later and her Puritan uncle remarries and sires a son, Caroline is disinherited and threatened with a hateful marriage.
Escaping to London where she hopes to find help, she once more meets her Cavalier.
*
Lord Hugo's
Bride
Hugo, Earl of Winton, needs a wife and an heir if his weak cousin William, with his unpleasant French wife Hortense and the son who might not be her husband's, is not to succeed him.
He decides Philippa Stannerly will be suitable. She is pretty and an heiress. Philippa, in love with Charles, is distraught.
Then her French cousin Sophie du Plessis comes to London and promises to help her. Their mothers were twins and the girls are sufficiently alike to confuse people who do not know them well.
When Hugo sees Sophie on her own he offers her a lift home, intending to pursue his suit in the belief she is Philippa. She maintains the deception, hoping to prove to her uncle that Hugo is not a fit husband for Philippa.
Her behaviour is, however, unlike Philippa's shy response and Hugo is intrigued.
*
Sibylla and the Privateer
This privateer is not what Sibylla expects! She is in love with her brother Gerard's former friend, Randolph, and meeting him secretly. When she discovers he means to betray Gerard, who is working to help restore Charles II to the throne, he dare not leave her and abducts her, taking her on a fishing boat. They are captured by Josselin, a French Privateer, who takes them to his chateau. Randolph escapes, and fearing for Gerard they chase him to St Malo, and the wide bay with its rapidly retreating tide. How can Gerard be saved and Randolph defeated?
***
The Baron's Bride Page 15