by Julie Matern
“Ah, but we could not speak so openly in a public place, my darling.”
Her breath caught on the intimate word and impropriety shot a lunge back in the battle. Had he really called her, “my darling?” Was this term of endearment not clear evidence of his deep feelings for her?
He slowed the horse and took her hand. “Do you not trust me, little thing? I promise to be very good. Look, it is just yonder.”
She looked over and saw a very secluded little cove with golden sand. She glowered back at him with a deep line between her eyes. He appeared entirely untouched by her fragility; indeed, he seemed to be enjoying the sight of her dangling from his web.
“Yes, yes, it is very pretty,” she said with even less energy.
T
When at last the vital intelligence had been obtained, Phillip spared no time in fetching his horse. The youth in the stable jerked his head up in surprise as Phillip skidded into the stables.
“I have not finished seeing to your horse, sir.”
“It does not matter, it is of the greatest importance that I leave immediately, there is no time to lose!” He thrust a handsome tip into the young man’s hand, pulling himself up into the saddle with ease. “Do you ride well? I need you to come with me.”
“Now, sir?”
“Yes, this instant! It is absolutely essential, and I will take responsibility if this causes trouble with your employer. Make haste! We must leave without delay.”
Now that he knew where to find Langley, speed was of the essence.
T
Langley had the horse trot close to the cove and jumped down, lifting his hand to help Francesca down with such a benevolent air that she felt a momentary lull in her anxiety. As she placed her hand in his, she looked from right to left to discern whether there were any other people in the isolated spot. Her heart sank to see that there was no one. When she hesitated, he placed his hands firmly around her waist and lifted her down. In other circumstances, pleasure would have flowed through her at his masculine touch but in her present state of affairs she felt a searing panic rise in her chest.
The more she hesitated, the rougher he became, taking her hand and almost pulling her down the path to the beach. In his other hand, he held a picnic basket. She felt compelled to be led along, but the hollow feeling inside continued to grow and she could not prevent herself from constantly looking behind her in search of rescuers, while Langley made meaningless banter.
Upon reaching the sand he relinquished her hand and laid out a blanket. He opened the basket and revealed some cold meats, fruit, and bread. On the one hand, she was delighted with his thoughtfulness, but on the other she was very alarmed that they were alone and unchaperoned. Her parents would be very dismayed. Her eyes began to sting.
T
Fewer and fewer dwellings graced the roads, and Phillip wondered at Langley’s audacity in taking Francesca to so remote a location. He pushed his horse as fast as he dared, looking behind sporadically to ensure that the youth from the stables was keeping pace.
The faint roar of the waves sounded in his ears, and he knew he was close. He prayed that he was not too late.
T
Langley sat down and patted the blanket next to him, smiling all the while. He felt a certain ecstasy at seeing her unease. It fed something inside him, leaving him feeling acutely satisfied. She looked so pretty when she was vulnerable. He reached up for her hand and gently pulled her down to the blanket, his heart beating louder as he took pleasure in her obvious agitation. His passions were strangely aroused and he wanted very much to kiss her but knew that he must tread carefully so as not to frighten her and jeopardize his plan.
T
As they broke through the trees, Phillip pulled sharply on the reins. The coastline was spread out before him like a cloth, gritty sand and frothy surf. He looked to his left and then to his right and saw in the distance an empty open carriage. Kicking his mount again, he sped forward.
T
Francesca sat on the blanket as far from Langley as she could. Voices in her head were screaming at her to leave immediately, but to where? She was trapped with no means of retreat and no other persons to entreat for help. Desperation was threatening to overcome her, and she pushed down a sob, biting her lip in distress. This action seemed to heighten Langley’s attraction, and he inched over to her side of the blanket and began stroking her hair, then trailed his finger along her cheek to her chin. This both electrified and terrified her, and she flinched.
“You do trust me don’t you, my darling? I would never hurt you.”
He was leaning so close she could feel his breath on her skin and she braced, holding her breath. He began talking nonsense and she felt his lips touch hers in a hint of a kiss. She reared back.
“Mr. Ashbourne, you are making me very uncomfortable. Won’t you please take me home?”
“I thought you liked me, Francesca. You have given every indication that you do. You have teased me and now it is natural for us to kiss. That is what sweethearts do. I know that you have little experience with men but trust me. No one will think less of you.”
He traced her lips with his finger in a silken touch, and she gulped, a single tear escaping and tracking down to her chin. He lifted the tear off her chin and licked it from his finger. She stiffened in revulsion, but he leaned forward grabbing her shoulders to place a more passionate kiss upon her mouth. As their lips touched and she knew all hope was lost, a masculine shout was heard in the distance. Rescue!
She reared back once more and jumped up, almost faint with relief as she saw Phillip running toward them. She raced to him, unable now to stem the tide of tears. Phillip clasped her in his arms, and she laid her head against his coat in great racking sobs. He looked up and fixed Langley with an icy glare. Langley returned it with defiance. “I do not believe you were invited,” Langley spat acidly.
“And I do not believe it is either virtuous or honorable to take an artless, innocent girl and compromise her character,” shot back Phillip.
“I was doing nothing of the sort! Had you not interrupted, I was going to make a proposal of marriage to her!”
“You have disqualified yourself as a suitor by this and past conduct! Oh yes, I have found you out, Langley! I have come to deliver Francesca from your snare and take her back to the protection of her relatives.”
Without further discourse, he pivoted around with Francesca under his arm and escorted her back to his horse, where the stable boy was waiting upon another horse.
“Oh, you have proclaimed yourself her protector now, have you?” yelled Langley after the retreating couple. Phillip did not dignify him with a reply.
He helped Francesca onto his horse and led it by the reins back along the coastal path as she whimpered in distress. He kept his own counsel as he knew that if he opened his mouth, just then, it would explode with accusations against Ashbourne. The fury he felt throbbed in his head and his nails cut into his hands as he balled his fists.
After they had traveled some distance, giving him time to reign in his emotions so that he could speak without his voice trembling with anger, he attempted to draw Francesca into conversation to assess her condition.
“Francesca, did he … did he hurt you?”
She shook her head, still looking down fixedly at the horse’s back.
He was fearful of the answers but felt that it was of vital importance to ask them. “Did he … force himself upon you in any way?”
She shook her head again and wiped her nose, still hanging her head. He breathed a sigh of relief. All was not lost. “Did he attempt to kiss you?” He waited in anguish for her reply. At length, she slowly nodded.
“The cad! I should challenge him to duel!” he roared, unable to conceal his emotions anymore. This outburst initiated another bout of sobs and he carefully bridled his fervor to save her from more distress.
They walked along in silence for several minutes and at length her weeping subsided.
�
�How did you find us?” squeaked a broken, watery voice.
He seized upon the opportunity to tell her the whole story in detail, in order to allow her sufficient time to recover her composure. “I returned to my lodgings after a morning spent trying to find you. Having traveled long the day before I was in need of a little respite. As I entered the establishment to retrieve the key to my room I happened upon an older gentleman, whom I had bumped into the evening before. I had apologized at the time, but on seeing me, he renewed his grievance that I had jostled him. Given his advanced age I again renewed my apologies and offered to buy him a drink, which he accepted.
“We began a pleasant conversation during which he boasted that his son was, at that moment, wooing a young lady of considerable fortune and that he dearly hoped that he was successful in securing her hand in marriage as they had fallen upon hard times. I experienced a sense of foreboding and asked after the young lady in question, who eerily resembled you.”
Francesca gave a little gasp.
“I calmed myself to inquire as to where the fellow had taken his lady for the proposal as the villain was now succumbing to the effects of the liquor he had consumed. He told me as he drifted off to sleep. I quickly sought directions to the cove from the innkeeper.
“Thank goodness he told you,” she whispered.
“Yes! I promptly fetched my horse and paid this youth here to accompany me. Every furlong was an agony to me as I had very recently learned in Hampshire that Langley had compromised a respectable young lady—”
A gulping cry came forth from the direction of the horse but, Phillip pressed on, “—and ruined her character and thereby her spirit. I felt very unsettled after I heard her story and could not rest until I started out on a journey to find you and warn you. That was, in fact, the very reason that I came into the area, for fear that he had designs on your virtue, but I did not suspect that he had followed you to Brighton!” He chanced a glance at her and saw that she had lifted her head somewhat. “What was her name?”
“Miss Anne Gray.”
“Is she very changed?”
“Her friends tell me that she is, and I can attest that she is a mere shadow of a woman. By all accounts, she has altered from a vivacious young girl of great beauty and opportunities to a slinking figure who hides in the corners of rooms and seems close to tears at all times. She has no chance of marrying.”
Francesca nodded and wiped her nose again. They walked on in silence, some more.
“Do you … think … this will … ruin my character?” she whispered.
“From what you have told me, I appeared before he had time to dishonor you, and I am a witness, as is this fellow behind us. If he dares to mention the incident, I will confront him about Miss Gray and make sure all of society knows about his misconduct regarding her. Did he force you to come here or did you come willingly?”
“Oh, Phillip! He grievously deceived me and my aunt and uncle by telling us we were going nearby to visit with his aunt but he never had any intention of taking me there and brought me here by deception. I was so uncomfortable as soon as I realized his deceit, but what could I do? There were no strangers around to turn to. Oh, I am ruined and I have brought disgrace to my poor parents!”
“Hush, hush you are not ruined,” he said gently. “I am your witness.”
“I was flattered by his attentions, Phillip—in that I am guilty. I am a stupid, stupid, silly girl. What must you think of me?”
“He took shameful advantage of your lack of experience and youth. The fault is all his!” he said with emotion. “And Miss Gray is evidence that he is a serial predator of the worst kind!”
After several more moments Francesca cleared her throat. “I fear that he may have compromised cousin Katherine.”
Phillip whipped his head around. “Pray, tell me why you suspect this?”
Francesca recounted their intimate conversation at her ball and admitted that she had seen Katherine leaving the inn where Langley was staying, in the village. She explained that she had tried to broach the topic but that Katherine repeatedly denied any association.
“I fear that you are right then, but I sincerely hope that you are wrong.”
Eighteen
UV
ITALY
Giorgio swatted the doctor away. “I am well! Stop this fussing!”
“You are not well, Signore. You have suffered several small heart attacks over the last month. You are very lucky that you did not die in France.”
Giorgio tutted in disgust.
“I plead with you not to take what I have said lightly, Giorgio. You must rest. It is rest or death. I cannot state it any plainer than that. I could, perhaps, find you a nurse?”
“I have plenty of servants who can minister to me without hiring a nurse like an invalid!”
The doctor, who had been a close friend of Giorgio’s for thirty years, paused as he put his equipment back in his bag and turned his head, “You are an invalid, my old friend, and if you do not obey my orders I will no longer be able to enjoy a leisurely drink with you. Instead, I will be giving the eulogy at your funeral.”
“Bah, what nonsense! I am fit as a fiddle.”
“Come, you know that you are not. You must rest; your heart is in a delicate state, and it needs time to recover.”
He had finished packing his bag and sat down in an arm chair. “Now, tell me what you have learned on your travels.”
Giorgio’s drooping countenance lifted, and he leaned back in his chair and smiled like a cat, making a tent of his fingers, elbows on the arms of the chair. He recounted in detail all his journeys, the dead ends and frustrations and finally discovering what had happened to the baby. The doctor made the appropriate noises of interest and surprise. “What will you do now?”
“I would have traveled to England as soon as possible”—the doctor shook his head in alarm—“but I see that such a journey would be too risky.” The doctor’s lined face relaxed. “Therefore, I will send my estate manager, Mario, as there is no one else I trust as much, except you, my old friend, and you cannot possibly go. Mario will travel to England and make inquiries as to where this Haversham House is situated and then present the facts to the family. I will request that the child come to me in haste as I am on death’s door”—he winked at the doctor, who shook his head again, but smiled—“and am unable to travel and he will explain that she is my heir.”
“What if she will not come?”
“What nonsense, of course she will come! She is the heiress to a vast vineyard. I know the English. They like money!”
“She may not need money. Have you considered that she may not know she was adopted? The English may be fond of money, but I believe they put blood, blue blood, above all else. You may stir up a hornet’s nest, the consequences of which you cannot possibly foresee. Her parents may even prevent their daughter from ever hearing the news.”
“Ever playing devil’s advocate, Alberto. In that case, I will send my manager with a prayer and pray continually while he is gone, that God may bless him that she may learn her true heritage.”
The doctor did not respond but merely stared at the wall in contemplation.
“I must see her, Alberto. I am so lonely, and it distresses me that this,” and he pointed outside to his property with a sweep of his arm, “should fall into the hands of strangers after I am gone. This is my legacy, and I have been torn with emotion that it would never be passed down to any heirs and now God has seen fit to present me with a granddaughter. I do not believe that He would taunt me with knowledge of her only to snatch her away. God is not cruel. I believe that I have found her for a purpose, and it gives me such joy, such hope!”
The doctor smiled. “Then rest, Giorgio, if not for me, then for her, my friend.”
T
Mario Lombardi looked up at his employer with surprise. “You want me to travel to England to find your granddaughter? But the vineyard, my wife …”
“I will make it worth your
while, Mario, and there is no one I trust more to fulfill this commission. And you speak some English. You know that if it were not for this infernal weak heart, I would travel there myself. But alas, the good doctor has forbidden it. He thinks I may be facing my own mortality, so speed is critical.”
He looked into the eyes of his estate manager with a pleading expression. “I must find her to tell her of her legacy … before I die.”
“Of course, Signore, of course, you are right. I will instruct Angelo on running the vineyard while I am away and promise my wife a big gift from my travels.”
“You are a good man, Mario. Now here are my instructions and the travel plan.”
Nineteen
UV
ENGLAND
The rest of the slow journey passed in silence as Francesca vainly attempted to recover. Phillip directed the horse to the first hostelry they encountered. “I think you need some refreshment to aid with the shock. See, you are shivering, and it is a very hot day. Come, let us take refreshment here, for you cannot return to your aunt and uncle in such a state. We also need to discuss how you prefer to deal with this unfortunate incident.”
Tears sprang to her eyes again but she bit her lip and nodded and allowed herself to be lead into the establishment. It was not a very fashionable place, and thus there were not many people to witness her distress.
Phillip guided her to a table in the rear and allowed her to sit with her back to the rest of the customers. He ordered tea and some hot cakes and then patiently waited for her to gather her wits.
“I have been such a fool!” she whispered.
“You are young, Francesca. You could not have suspected that he had evil intentions. I believe that this was a carefully orchestrated plan. Remember, his father supposed me a disinterested stranger and as such confessed to me that they were in dire need of funds. You presented the perfect solution: beautiful, rich, and the sole heir of an unentailed fortune. And let us not forget that you are not the first young woman to be caught in his web.”