Andre tried to help her, but Samuel flicked his sword dangerously close, and said, “Come now, Andre, you know it’s for the best. Don’t turn you back on me now, or I’ll finish you off as well.”
Samuel raised his sword to stab downwards, but Vevina rolled away, tossing her sword to her left hand to parry the blow. She backed him into a corner, where Francis stood waiting. His hand rose up in an arc, and Samuel fell, a small knife neatly thrust into his back.
Andre moved over to Vevina, and sat her down on the bottom step of the stairs.
“I’m all right,” she panted. “I must go back to Spain now. Everything is ready. Will you let me go, or are you going to kill me?”
“I will come with you, help you and my brother. My family owes you more debts than money could ever repay.”
“You’ve just paid one of them, Andre, by taking my side against Samuel. And you, Francis,” she sighed, gazing into the intense young man’s brown eyes, “once again you've saved my life, and I hereby hire you as my secretary. Thank you for everything from the bottom of my heart.”
“My pleasure, Lady Vevina. At your service always,” Francis bowed, before taking her hand and helping her to her feet.
Andre took her other hand, and stated, “I shall come with you as far as San Sebastian, where I have been posted. Go back to your lover, and if you have the treasure, be happy with it.”
“Thank you, Andre,” Vevina said gratefully as she looped her arms around him and he carried her up the stairs, with Francis following along behind.
The Chevalier was flabbergasted at the change in his son in law, but the news of the death of Samuel sobered him.
He asked them both to stay, since the sun was already high in the sky, and the urgent threat of Samuel was now past.
“Thank you, but I must hurry,” Vevina argued, struggling in Andre’s arms.
“I am not sure if she is fit to travel, mon pere,” Andre said quietly, setting her down on a chair.
Vevina insisted, “We must go. I keep getting the feeling I must hurry back.”
“Perhaps your brother or Stewart is in danger?” the Chevalier suggested.
“I don’t know. But I must go.”
“My men are outside. They can ride escort along the roads, take turns driving the carriage,” Andre agreed.
"Thank you. Let me just take one last look around, and I shall be ready to leave in ten minutes."
Andre nodded, and she went to use the chamberpot and wash one last time before her journey back down the mountain and towards Spain began.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Once Vevina had performed her last minute ablutions, she descended to the foyer once more, where the three men and the little maid Jeanne were waiting for her.
The Chevalier was holding some heavy winter cloaks for them all. Andre wrapped himself and her up warmly, while Francis Baines also prepared himself for the freezing weather setting in once more.
Francis unloaded the small coach that had brought the three men up to the chateau, taking out his and Andre's valises, and Samuel's personal effects, which he assumed his brother would want.
Then he loaded the food into the coach, while Jeanne the maid bundled in the traveling rugs and some changes of clothing for Vevina which she could get at easily without having to unpack everything from the trunks.
Andre carried Vevina into the coach as a few swirling flakes began to fall, and tucked her into the newly fashioned seats, which securely covered the treasure.
The Chevalier kissed Vevina’s hand, and she waved. “We’ll come back, when it is safe again. Wait for us?”
“You’ve given me new hope, Vevina, and I shall want to see your son and the wonderful man Stewart I’ve heard so much about as soon as you can come again.”
“We will come! Goodbye, and thank you!” Vevina called, as the horses pulled hard and the coach rolled out of the courtyard and down the road towards Serres.
Exhausted, Vevina lay back in the seat, with her head against the side of the carriage. Francis told her in quiet tones of his journeys with Samuel since the last time they had seen each other at Cuidad Roderigo, while Andre wedged himself up tightly against Vevina’s side so the carriage wouldn’t jolt her back and forth on the wide seat so much.
Jeanne sat and knitted, listening to the English intently, the better to learn now that she had thrown her lot in with this rare Irish woman.
Vevina slept soundly for many hours, secure in the warmth of the Colonel’s presence, relieved to know her mission had been accomplished, and she was going back to Stewart.
The following day, they met the Olivier coach carrying Vevina’s other trunks. After transferring the baggage, the Chevalier’s coach thundered on southwards. They had been driving all night, and the Colonel reassured Vevina that they would not stop except for necessities until they reached his parent’s house at Avignon.
The journey through the Alps took an exhausting three days, with Vevina and the rest of the passengers having to walk up the steeper hills while the team of horses laboured to pull the heavy treasure up the hill.
The Colonel stay close by her side, and Vevina could feel his warmth, concern, and regard for her increase. She was very gratified by his attentions, though she knew they were mainly born from a sense of loyalty and gratitude, as well as loneliness after the loss of his wife.
Vevina knew she had to consider the future, but it still looked fairly grim. She loved Stewart, but she didn’t want him to marry her just because she was carrying his child. She wanted to be absolutely certain he loved her for herself.
As for marrying anyone else, she formed a close friendship with the Colonel and Francis Baines as they travelled together, but idea of spending the rest of her life with anyone other than Stewart was unthinkable.
She appreciated the chivalrous behaviour of the two handsome young men, but this time she did not wish to be rescued by anyone other than Stewart.
After a quick visit to Avignon to reassure Andre’s parents that all was well, they headed on to Montpelier, Narbonne, and Carcassone. They were well received everywhere they stopped thanks to the presence of the handsome if grim Imperial Guardsman. As the weeks passed, Vevina’s spirits lifted. She kept calculating their rate of progress, trying to guess the number of hours before they would reach Cuidad Roderigo again.
Of course, there was no telling where Stewart, Wilfred or Wellington might be, and there was no real news of the progress of the war from so far behind the front lines. For all she knew, the English might be beating a hasty retreat back to Lisbon with their tails between their legs. But at least she had Colonel Olivier by her side, and he would guarantee her safety.
She could go to Lisbon, and get a ship back to England, though she was still unsure of her status there. But Samuel had told her where all the incriminating papers were hidden. It would only be a matter of time before the true story of Samuel’s deeds came to light.
Her main fear was Samuel’s boast that Stewart would be blamed for his treason. But surely Wellington would never believe such accusations, not after everything that had happened with the missing code book and Samuel’s unauthorized attack on Cuidad Roderigo.
So she waited, and prayed, and spent the many long hours traveling knitting baby items just as Jeanne was, and hoping she would see her brother and friends, and her beloved, very soon.
Five weeks after they had left the Chateau Gerald in the Alps, an exhausted party of four arrived at Bayonne, at the home of a wealthy merchant friend of the Chevalier’s called le Bec.
The two coachmen unharnessed the horses and tended to their needs, while Jeanne ordered two of the trunks to be brought down, and Francis and Andre helped Vevina out of the coach and up to her room.
They had not stopped for a long rest since Tarbres, several days before, and Vevina was practically unconscious with fatigue. Andre carried her upstairs, and tenderly began to undress her, as he sought to loosen her corsets. The maid soon came, but not before Andre ha
d stolen a kiss from Vevina’s cold lips.
Vevina stirred, and sighed. She had longed to be kissed in her dreams, but the kiss was not quite right. Stewart’s kisses were like a flame igniting a touchpaper of sensations which soon rocketed out of control. She opened her limpid violet eyes, and realized Andre had kissed her.
She sat up on the bed, fearful that he might have discovered the jewels, but then she sat back against the pillows, confident that she could trust him.
“We have nearly reached the end of our journey together, my friend,” she declared, as he took her hand and kissed it.
“Why the end, ma cherie?”
“Surely you have duties back in Paris. And in any case, you cannot come all the way to Cuidad Roderigo with me. It isn’t safe.”
“I was stationed at San Sebastian, to wait for Samuel. Now that he is dead, I am sure they will change their minds about the invasion. I have even heard rumours of a further march to the east, to Russia, so I am certain your lovely homeland is safe.”
“I’m not so sure where my duty is now, and in any case, after meeting you again, I don’t really care,” Andre confided, as he stroked her velvety cheek.
“I am of an age now where I should have family and children of my own. I know it was all taken away from me the first time, with Alicia and the little one, but that was the nature of war, and it was my fault for insisting she come with me everywhere. If I had truly loved her, I would not have allowed her to come with me. She should have stayed at home, safe in Avignon. Then she would still be alive. I no longer care about the army, or my duty. It is all finished.”
She shook her head. “But Andre, Alicia would never have thanked you for protecting her, leaving her behind. If she was anything like me, she would have hated every minute of watching and waiting for your return. Better to be together every day, for however short a time, happy and in love, than spend a lifetime apart, you doing your so called duty, and her left behind, alone, feeling as if she couldn’t follow, or as if she were in the way of your career.”
Andre rose from the bed and stood over by the window, gazing out towards the sea in the distance.
“You are right, of course, Vevina. You understand, you have been through the same things with your Stewart. I can now see how foolish I have been about so many things, Alicia, and also you.”
Vevina gazed at him, puzzled, and he said in a quiet voice, “I have toyed with the idea of asking you to marry me for the past few days, but I see now you love your Stewart, and I can only say, that if you need my protection, if things do not work out as you hope, you will look upon me as a friend, who would make you an excellent husband, and treat your child as his own.”
Vevina smiled shakily, and reached out her hand. “It is kind of you, Andre. If I weren’t so in love with Stewart, I would consider it an honor to be your wife.
"But Stewart is alive, I know it in my heart, and he promised to wait for me, as I have promised to wait for him. I could not marry him before I left, because of Samuel’s hollow ceremony, but I am free now, and will see if he wishes me to keep my promise to him.”
“I understand Vevina, but may I remind you that you are free to choose whatever makes you happy. You have the treasure, and proof of your father’s innocence. Things might change.”
Vevina nodded. “I know. I’m not even sure how Stewart will react to the baby.”
“Then I say it again, if there are any problems, come to San Sebastian, and I will arrange for you to go back to my parents at Avignon, as my wife or not,” Andre promised, as he kissed her soundly and walked out the door.
Vevina rolled over onto her side, and fell asleep dreaming of being reunited with her love at last.
After a sound sleep, Vevina stripped off her travel-soiled clothing and sank into the hot tub the maids had prepared for her, while her own maid Jeanne laid out an entire new ensemble, and sang the praises of Francis Baines.
Vevina could see a romance blossoming, but she said cautiously, “Shouldn’t you return to the Chevalier? Spain might be fairly dangerous now, and you are so young.”
Jeanne looked at her mistress, and said firmly, “I know, but I couldn’t bear to part with him now, though you are not to tell him I said so. And the Chevalier said I could stay with you. He’s paid my wages for the next four years, until I am twenty,” the tiny maid revealed proudly. “So I even have a dowry, if Francis should choose to marry me.”
“Don’t worry, Jeanne, I think he will, but you know what men are like. They don’t always feel happy about revealing their true feelings for fear of getting hurt. Besides, I think you both need to learn a bit more of each other’s language before you can talk to each other, and get to know each other better.”
“I know the important things. He is kind, honorable, and the only woman he’s ever been in love with is you.”
“Me?” Vevina snorted, as she rubbed the sponge over herself idly.
“He follows you with his eyes wherever you go, Madame,” the girl observed without a trace of malice. “But then you are so beautiful, how could one fail to be fascinated?”
“Surely you are imagining things, Jeanne,” Vevina blushed.
“No, he and the Colonel both look at you as though you are a fine piece of porcelain,” Jeanne declared proudly.
"Oh, I'm sure not—"
She nodded. “They do. And yet you are not interested in either one. I should like to meet this man of yours, this Stewart. He must be something very special if you would turn down an offer of marriage from Colonel Olivier of the Imperial Guards,” she remarked in a reverent whisper.
Vevina smiled, and yawned sleepily. “He certainly is special. There’s no other man, except possibly one, who has ever touched my heart.”
“Who was the one?”
“A man at a ball, I don’t know his name, but I wonder....” Vevina mused, until Jeanne scolded, “Time to get out of there, before you catch a chill.”
She helped Vevina dry herself, and then observed, “I know you’re only a few months along, but you’re developing quite a stomach.”
Vevina, looking in the mirror, grimaced. “It’s only because the rest of me is like a stick.”
“All the same, you must take care. Let out those corsets, and maybe you should find somewhere else to hide the jewels?”
“I feel very well, just occasional sickness in the mornings, and a bit of an ache in my back when the coach jolts.”
“How much further to Cuidad whatever you call it?”
“If we keep up the night riding, ten days.”
“How far from there to Lisbon?”
“Again, without any difficulties, and all of us taking turns at night, another ten days,” Vevina estimated.
“What will we do if your Stewart isn’t there?” Jeanne asked worriedly. “Go on to Lisbon and wait?
“No, I must find him, make sure he is all right, and I must locate Wellington, tell him my mission has been successful.”
“You are talking about months then before you are able to go home,” cautioned Jeanne. “Are you sure you're up to this?”
“I must see them, and my brother, so they know I'm alive and well, and the danger from Samuel is passed. Don’t worry, I’ll go to Lisbon as soon as I can, and if we can’t get back to England or Ireland, I shall sit out the rest of the war there like a lady of leisure, or at least hold still until the baby arrives.”
"That I find hard to believe. But I am going to hold you to it."
Vevina smiled. "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you."
"No need to worry. You won't have to. This is my life now, your cause a noble one. And I love Francis. I had no one back at the Chateau. I was naught but an orphan. You're my family now. So come, let's get you dressed, and then find you some food. Will you dine with the Colonel?"
"Er, I don't think so. He's a bit, well, confused about his emotions, and I wouldn't want to encourage him."
She smiled knowingly. "A tray up here then."
&
nbsp; "Perfect, thank you."
"Now hurry, get dressed and back into bed with you. I heard you order another early start, and you need your rest."
Vevina submitted to the tiny maid's mild scoldings with a smile, thinking of a little wren trying to keep a pheasant in line. But it was good to have another friend, and she was pleased that Jeanne and Francis seemed to have a hope of a romantic future together.
She only wished her path with Stewart could be so smooth.
Scars Upon Her Heart (The Scars of The Heart Series) Page 25