She had been staring at him, wide-eyed, trying to believe, but on the last words she leaned forward and buried her face in his shoulder. Perce could feel her shaking, and he was about to beg her not to cry when he realized it was unnecessary. Something had struck her funny, and the release of her tension had sent her into a fit of giggles. He held her patiently, smiling himself because her laughter was contagious. At last she looked up, her eyes tear-drenched.
“Well, what’s so funny?” he asked “It’s very unromantic to laugh in a man’s face when he’s telling you that you’re wonderful.”
“I didn’t laugh in your face,” Sabrina pointed out. “It was that angel bit. I wouldn’t be an angel even if I were wise as Solomon and as persuadable as Griselda. I’m dreadfully…dreadfully… Oh, dear, I can’t think of a polite word. I’m dreadfully lecherous, Perce. And you know what God thinks of that!”
It was Perce’s turn to laugh. “That’s no fault to me,” he exclaimed. “And I’ll tell you something. I don’t believe it’s any fault to God, either—no matter what a bunch of blue-nose zealots who don’t know any better say.”
“But it can be, Perce,” Sabrina said, abruptly serious. “It can be a sin when—when it makes you hurt someone.”
“My name is not William.”
“I didn’t mean—” She slipped off his lap to sit beside him.
“No, I know you didn’t, but he hurt you, Brina and you’re sore. I’ve told you over and over. Chasing women is not my hobby, not even whores or opera dancers. I’ve used them—I’m human—but I’ve never kept one—”
“You’re a very good lover, Perce, far better than William. Oh! I shouldn’t have said that. It isn’t…I wouldn’t have said it to anyone else, but I never do think before I speak when I talk to you.”
“That’s as it should be. Nonetheless, you leave me speechless, or nearly.” Then he smiled slowly. “I think that compliment was really an accusation. You’re being hen-witted again, Brina. Why should I bother to kiss a whore’s toes or—or half kill myself to be sure she would always remember and crave my loving. I lay down my coin, she lays down her body. I don’t need to please her. She’ll lie down any time I put my hand in my purse. You’re different, darling. The only way I can be sure you’ll be willing to lie down with me, the only way I can reciprocate for the exquisite pleasure you give me is to give you—I would hope—just as much pleasure. I’m flattered that you find me so satisfactory, but I swear it’s my imagination, not my experience, you should credit.”
The conversation was having a predictable effect on Perce, and he shifted slightly to ease his position. He also restrained an impulse to look at the bedroom door. He felt it would be crude to suggest sexual congress at this moment, but it was all he could think of, so it took a few minutes before he became aware that Sabrina had not made any reply to what he said.
“Don’t you believe me?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s not that,” she said finally in a small voice, but her eyes were lowered and her cheeks were unusually pink.
“Don’t hide any doubts you have, Brina,” Perce said, trying to keep the impatience from his voice. Sitting close as they were, thigh pressed to thigh and Sabrina’s hand on his leg, Perce’s condition was growing acute. If they were going to talk much longer, he thought, he would have to get up and move away, but that would probably hurt Sabrina. “Let’s get down to the bare truth right now,” he urged.
“Yes,” Sabrina agreed emphatically, with a little smile, “the bare truth, that’s what we need.” Then, when Perce waited for her to go on, she glanced up, hesitated, and added petulantly, “For someone with such an active imagination, sometimes you’re thick as a wall.”
For one instant Perce was completely at a loss at this seeming non sequitur. Then he began to laugh, but that didn’t prevent him from picking Sabrina up and carrying her toward her bedchamber.
“My lecherous little love,” he murmured between chuckles, “I promise never to fail in imagination again.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Both Perce and Sabrina slept after a very imaginative exercise with a very satisfactory culmination. However, Perce woke only an hour or so later, even though he had been tired by lovemaking and by the long ride. The more Sabrina was his, the more concerned he became that nothing he could prevent should hurt her. He was thus subliminally uncomfortable. Somewhere deep in his mind the fear of discovery troubled him. He had a vague memory, too, of the man he had pitched out of his way when he pursued Sabrina up the stairs. With an effort he pushed himself upright.
“What’s the matter?” Sabrina asked, sitting up also.
“You lovely nitwit, I can’t sleep here.”
“Yes, you can. I’ll tell the maid not to wake me tomorrow morning.”
“And not to do the bed in my room? Brina, be sensible.”
He got out of bed and pulled on his shirt and breeches. Sighing, Sabrina gathered the remainder of his clothing and handed it to him. She slipped on a peignoir and opened the door to the corridor, which was empty but still lit up. Sabrina flitted across and opened the door to the principal guestchamber. It was prepared, the bed made, a small fire in the hearth, candles burning in the wall sconces and on the mantelpiece. Katy’s instructions, no doubt. She went back and gestured. Perce stroked her cheek once as he passed her, and then the door closed behind him.
Sabrina was disappointed by Perce’s refusal to spend the night with her. It was not important but by morning the whole idea of avoiding scandal had started a new train of thought. No more unresolved questions, Sabrina vowed. So as soon a Perce entered the breakfast room, she said, “I know you intend to join the diplomatic service, Perce. Will it do you harm to marry William’s widow?”
He paused inside the door, which he then shut carefully, and eyed her glassily. “No,” he said. ”No to everything in turn. One—if you are thinking of more silly reasons to allow me to go back on my proposal, my threat still stands. I will upend you and smack you on your bottom, since the lesson I gave you last night doesn’t seem to have taken hold. Two—if you are trying to make me think you are afraid my affection is already wandering so I will make love to you again here and now, I won’t. I’m too hungry. I had no supper last night, the dinner at the inn I stopped at was inedible, and I had breakfast at four o’clock in the morning—such as it was.”
Sabrina had begun to laugh at the end of item one. Now she sputtered, “Oh, Perce, don’t be so silly. Come and sit down.”
Without a flicker of expression, merely raising his voice to overpower hers he continued, “Three—if that was a serious question, which I have begun to doubt you capable of, it is ridiculous. Of course it will do me no harm to marry William’s widow. It will probably do me good, since your reputation as a diplomatic wife is excellent. Moreover, the marriage in general, will be thought natural and suitable, even decorous, since I have been a family friend for a long time, and we are well matched in age, fortune, and breeding. Any more questions?”
“What do you want for breakfast?” Sabrina said meekly.
The mask shattered into delighted laughter, but in a moment he had sobered again. “How soon can you be ready to leave, Brina?” he asked. “That fool Strangford forgot all about you up here in Lousa, and he told me yesterday that the situation in Spain has changed. There are rumors that Godoy will sign the treaty with Boney any day now.”
“Lord Strangford isn’t a fool,” Sabrina protested. “He has more on his mind than one woman. Fortunately, we’re all packed. We can leave today. Sit down, and have breakfast Perce. I’ll tell Katy to order the carriage brought round and start the men loading.”
But it was already too late. Even before Sabrina had accepted the necessity of leaving Lousa, on the nineteenth of October, Junot started his troops through the Pyrenees. On October twentieth, France declared war on Portugal. Word of these events reached Lisbon on October twenty-third. On the twenty-fifth, a convoy of fifty ships set sail, c
arrying all British subjects with their families and movable goods. But on the twenty-fifth, Sabrina’s party was still twenty miles from Lisbon. By the time they arrived, the ships were well out to sea. Lord Strangford was distraught at the danger in which his forgetfulness had placed Sabrina. Perce was so angry that he left the embassy without a word, to walk off his rage. Sabrina, however, was delighted. She did not regard the danger as significant when British naval vessels were in the harbor, and anyway, Perce was there. Nothing could happen to her.
Nor was her calm shaken when word was brought to the embassy on the seventh of November that Portuguese batteries had fired on a British frigate. She felt sure Lord Strangford was correct when he said angrily that it was a childish attempt to pacify the French. And, indeed, when Strangford went to protest the insult—for the shooting was so bad that it was no more than an insult—Araujo, the foreign minister, assured the ambassador that it was only a mistake.
Nonetheless, further silly attempts at pacification were made. Despite what Araujo had said, the next day an order was published to confiscate all British property and arrest all British subjects. Again Lord Strangford went to court, this time to ask for his passport. The prince regent pleaded with him not to take offense, and indeed, seemed so frightened that everyone began to hope that João would, at last, agree to leave, but still he could not make up his mind. Strangford began to dismantle the embassy, but not in any violent hurry. He would not give up his attempts to remove the Portuguese fleet from Lisbon, without having it sunk, until the French were actually at the gates of the city.
Perce wanted Sabrina and Katy to go aboard one of the ships at once, but it was plain that no attempt was being made to enforce the order to arrest British citizens, and Sabrina protested that it was ridiculous for her to be uncomfortable and cause the myriad difficulties of having a woman aboard a naval vessel until it was absolutely necessary.
Two days later, on the tenth of November, both Strangford and Perce had cause to thank God that they had thought more of Sabrina’s comfort and the sensibilities of the naval officers than of her safety. Nine Russian ships entered the Tagus strait. If there was to be a battle, a fighting ship was no place for a woman. In other ways Lord Strangford’s troubles multiplied, too. Prince Regent João immediately forgot all about leaving Portugal, thinking that the Russians had come to protect his cities from the British ships.
Sabrina alone remained unshaken. She maintained that she was certainly in no danger as long as the Russians were in Lisbon harbor. Russian gentlemen were extremely chivalrous, and she had many friends among the Russian nobility. And she proved to be right. On the eleventh the Russian admiral came ashore. Since Sergei had already been out to the ships on a supply lighter, Perce was there to meet Admiral Siniavin, who was surprised and delighted to be greeted in his own language. He was also shocked when Perce asked whether the residents of the British embassy must consider him an enemy.
“You say our nations are at war?” He shrugged. “I must believe you, of course, and I deeply regret it, but I have had no official instructions, and Lisbon is a neutral port. We have come to take shelter from a storm, to make repairs and purchase supplies—and that is all.”
Perce shook his hand cordially, and they smiled at each other. “There will be British ships coming in a day or two,” Perce warned.
Far from looking worried, the admiral looked interested and eager. “Who commands?” he wanted to know. “Perhaps I will meet an old friend. I was trained in British ships, you know, and served in the Royal Navy.”
“I don’t know who the commanders will be, because I’m not sure which ships will be in this patrol,” Perce said, grinning. “But if you would like to come to the embassy, perhaps Lord Strangford will be able to tell you.”
This was easily agreed, although the visit had to be unofficial. Even so, it had most beneficial results. After the admiral’s official call on the prince regent, João knew that his hopes had been in vain. The Russians had not come to support or protect him. They would put no obstacle in the way of anything the British wished to do. Nonetheless, João still dithered—until Bonaparte outsmarted himself. Because Junot’s troops were already crossing Spain and it was obvious that Portugal was without leadership and defenseless, Bonaparte had published in Le Moniteur an imperial decree stating that “The House of Braganza has ceased to reign in Europe”.
When he received a copy, Lord Strangford hastened to pass it along to the prince regent. It was then that the court and the royal family began to pack. Then Sir William Sydney Smith arrived with six of the line and blockaded the mouth of the Tagus. The Portuguese fleet would leave under their escort or never leave at all. And still João doubted and lingered until, on November twenty-ninth, Colonel Le Cor rushed to the court for instructions and reported that the French had taken Abrantes.
Finally the prince regent and his family went aboard the flagship of the Portuguese fleet about noon and set sail as soon as they could. Sir Sydney and four of his fleet accompanied them, but the other two ships remained offshore, and the embassy party, including Perce, Sabrina, Katy, and Sergei, also went aboard. There were plenty of fishing boats going in and out of Lisbon and plenty of people who were ready to carry news to the British. They reported that General Junot entered Lisbon at about three o’clock on the thirtieth with fifteen hundred half-dead French troops.
“My lord,” Perce said, “if we could land a force even a third of what they have, we could take them. They have not a single gun, or a cartridge that will fire. Boney has tripped himself at last, insisting that Junot take a road that did not exist. Let’s—”
“No!” Strangford exclaimed “I have no instructions that would permit me to order such an attack.” Then he put a hand on Perce’s shoulder. “Easy, now, easy. We aren’t beat. You know it would do no good, even if we could drive Junot out of Lisbon. They have all the other cities. We couldn’t hold on. We’ll be back.”
Perce turned away to stare over the rail, and after a moment Lord Strangford spoke again. “We’ll be under way soon. Why don’t you go below and see whether Lady Elvan is as comfortable as possible.”
As soon as Perce entered the cramped cabin, Sabrina saw that something was very wrong. She asked anxiously, but when she heard the answer she was wise enough not to voice her true feelings, which were intense relief and gratitude for Lord Strangford’s good sense. All she said was that she was sorry and then, seeking to distract Perce, that she was glad he had come down.
“There’s something I must talk to you about. You know, we’ve been so careful not to be private that I haven’t had a chance.”
Perce saw the worry in her eyes. “Good God, you aren’t breeding are you?” he asked. He couldn’t think of anything else that would require a private discussion “It would be a sin to pass the child as Elvan’s, but—” Sabrina was shaking her head, and he sighed with relief. “I was a fool to spend into you,” he went on, “but you drove me so crazy, I didn’t think. I won’t do it again.”
“Maybe it doesn’t matter,” Sabrina said. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Perce, I know you will be Earl of Moreton and will need an heir, and—and I may not be able to give you one.”
“I don’t care,” he said immediately, pulling her into his arms. It was the first time they had been alone since Lousa. “I’m not marrying a brood mare. I have two brothers. But why do you say that, Brina?”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know. It’s just that de Conyers women don’t seem to be fertile. Leonie is barren. It’s the one grief in her life. And I only conceived once. Then I lost the baby.”
He held her tightly “I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t know.”
“No, don’t be sorry. I mean, don’t think I was terribly grieved. I—even then, I think I didn’t want William’s children, but I’ll be dreadfully disappointed if I can’t have yours.”
She never loved him, Perce thought triumphantly, never. It was a final
end to any fear that Sabrina’s first marriage would cast a shadow on their love. He kissed her nose and then her lips, lightly. “Anyway, I suspect you’re worrying about a pack of nonsense. You did conceive. How often did you sleep with Elvan after that?”
“Not very often,” Sabrina said thoughtfully, “that’s true. But before that…”
“You were awfully young, Brina. Maybe it was something to do with that.”
She sighed with relief, and her eyes were like stars. “Yes. You always make everything right for me, Perce.”
He grinned down at her, his eyes lighting with mischief.
“I’ll tell you something. If you want to get with child, the best way is to make love right now.”
Sabrina looked astonished. “Why right now? Do you think the sea air—”
His laugh cut her short, and he said, “Because now is the most inconvenient moment possible for you to conceive. It’s far too late to have been Elvan’s get, so it will make a horrid scandal. You know the rule—if there is anything you don’t want to happen, it will not only happen, but it will happen at the most inconvenient time possible.”
“Perce, you’re crazy,” she giggled, but she put her arms around his neck and pressed her hips against him. “Look at this cabin. Look at the bunk. We’ll fall on the floor and…
Her voice drifted away as his lips moved down from her throat toward her breasts, and his hands slid down her back so he could press her harder into his body. Sabrina made a muffled exclamation and pulled back.
“There’s something hard digging—”
“What do you expect?”
She laughed and pushed him away. “Idiot! Not there. It’s your fob.” Then she kissed his lips lightly. “There’s no time as nice as an inconvenient one. Just open that cupboard. Our bearskin is in there, so we won’t have to worry about falling on the floor.”
The Kent Heiress Page 45