‘I trust I am not interrupting.’ Neither of them looked all that pleased to see him and he wondered what they had been talking about when he’d walked in.
‘Of course not,’ Marian said, standing up and walking towards him, drawing him further into the room, her lips curving in a smile—a little forced, he thought—that left him even further bemused. ‘It’s been lovely having Arlette to talk to and I must thank you for bringing her here. She will come again, is that not so, Arlette? And she has invited me to Oaklands House to meet her sister. You will take me, won’t you, William?’
‘I would be happy to,’ he replied, looking at Arlette keenly. She had slightly more colour in her cheeks than she had earlier, but she did seem on edge. He was aware of the tension in the room and both Arlette and Marian looked slightly uncomfortable as if he shouldn’t be there. What had he interrupted?
They filled a five-minute gap with small talk about the warm weather and matters at Court. Then Arlette ended it.
‘I am ready to leave when it is convenient,’ she said, standing up.
He nodded. Anything, William thought, rather than stay in this emotionally charged atmosphere. ‘Would you care to accompany us, Marian?’
Shaking her head and avoiding his eyes, she scooped Toby up into her arms. ‘No. I can feel a headache coming on so I’m going to lie down for a while and later I’m going to take a hot bath.’
Taking her hand, William looked at her with concern. ‘I trust you will soon feel better. I will call on you later.’
‘Thank you, William. You are always so considerate—but, really, there is no need. I’ll be perfectly all right after I’ve taken a nap.’
He nodded, unconvinced. ‘If you’re sure.’
* * *
When William went ahead of her into the hall, Arlette went to Marian and hugged her before holding her at arm’s length. ‘We must talk some more, Marian,’ she said softly. ‘I’m concerned about you.’ While Marian’s eyes were no longer damp with her tears, there was a new determination about her.
‘Please don’t worry about me,’ she murmured, squaring her shoulders and giving her a wobbly smile.
‘Have you told James about your condition?’
‘No, not yet. I have only just realised it myself.’
‘Did James force himself on you, Marian?’
‘No, he would never do that. I was not unwilling,’ she replied, having the grace to lower her eyes as she confessed quietly to what Arlette might consider to be a sin.
‘Then you must tell him—and you will have to tell William—and soon.’
‘I know, but nothing I say or do now can make any difference. What’s done is done. But emotionally I feel an obligation to people other than myself.’
‘You mean your father and William?’ Marian nodded. ‘And James. You have an obligation to him now.’
‘I know. I have written a letter to James, begging him to come to see me,’ she said, producing a sealed letter from the pocket of her skirt. ‘Will you see that he gets it, Arlette? I have to talk to him.’
Arlette stared at her, aghast at the request. ‘You want him to come here?’
‘Yes. He must.’
‘And what if William should be here?’
‘I’ll face that if it happens. Please do this for me, Arlette. I wouldn’t ask you, but there is no one else—no one I can trust.’
There was such a note of desolation in Marian’s voice and a lost look in her eyes that Arlette’s heart ached for her. After a moment of indecision and with William about to enter the room at any moment, any idea of refusing her request flew out of her mind.
‘Very well, Marian. I’ll see what I can do,’ she said, taking the letter and shoving it into her pocket. Aware that William was waiting for her, she gave Marian a swift hug. ‘Try not to worry. If you need me, send a message to me and I will come right away. Maybe we could arrange for me to come and stay with you awhile. Would that be acceptable to you, Marian? Perhaps you would not feel so alone and it will give us the opportunity to get to know each other better.’
‘Yes, yes, it would,’ she answered eagerly. ‘I would really like that.’
As the carriage moved away Arlette looked back at Marian standing in the doorway, holding Toby close to her chest. Arlette could see Marian’s veneer of determination had seeped away and she seemed to have retreated into herself once again. Arlette felt a deep sadness for her half-sister and was determined to come and stay with her as soon as it could be arranged.
* * *
Seated across from him, Arlette came under William’s scrutiny. Her head was inclined and she was twisting a ring on her finger, seeming unable to look at him. She was trying hard to be calm and composed, but it was not working out that way. Out of earshot and watching them both intently, he had observed Arlette’s farewell to Marian. There had been an undercurrent in their exchange that he couldn’t quite grasp. The expression that had flitted across Marian’s face when he had entered the room had been indescribable—was it fear he had seen or something else?’
‘Did you find plenty to talk about?’ William asked when they pulled away from the house.
‘Yes, we did. I will come and see her again very soon. She appears to be rather lonely despite having people around her when she goes to Court.’
‘Is there something I should worry about?’ he asked, watching her closely. ‘I sense something is the matter. Is it something I’ve done to offend you?’
Arlette glanced at him at once. ‘No, of course not. Please don’t think that.’
‘Then what is it? Tell me. Come. When I leave you I don’t want to remember you with a long face, much rather the lovely smiling one.’
‘There is nothing wrong,’ she murmured.
‘Don’t take me for a fool, Arlette. There is something wrong. Has something happened to upset Marian?’ The mood that had gripped them on their journey into London had been broken.
Arlette was struggling to remain in control and increasingly she didn’t want to lie to him. ‘I—I don’t know, William. It’s not for me to say, but she does have one or two personal matters that only another woman can understand.’ She hoped he would be content with that, but he was looking at her enquiringly, clearly sensing something was wrong and wondering what it was they had been discussing before his arrival, yet reluctant to ask.
William glanced questioningly at her, but she refused to meet his eyes and was looking out of the window—a definite habit of hers when she wanted to disguise her thoughts. Recognising that her explanation was not an answer, nor was it intended to be, he probed a little more.
‘If Marian is to be my wife, I have a right to know if anything is amiss, Arlette.’
‘Then ask her,’ she was quick to reply, looking at him at last. ‘You said if Marian is to be your wife. Is there some doubt that she won’t be, William?’
Her question caught him unawares and his recollections of the journey into London earlier came rushing back. He was unable to shake off the feel of Arlette in his arms. She was lovely. By God, she was lovely and he wanted her with a fierceness that almost shattered him. Even when they were not together there was something invisible and powerful flowing between them, drawing them together. Her gaze seemed to sap his will, throwing him off balance, but only for a moment before his iron control took over.
He’d promised himself not to touch her again. During that one reckless moment he had lost his mind and forgotten who they were and why he couldn’t have her. For that brief time he had seen a woman who was reaching inside him to a place no one had touched before, not even Marian. He brought Marian’s face to mind and in desperation tried to find a connection with the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with and failed. What was happening to him? His mind struggled for answers that wouldn’t materialise.
The look on his face changed. His eyes darken
ed and his voice became thick with passion. ‘It was a slip of the tongue. Of course I’m going to marry Marian. I may have forgotten her when I held you in my arms, but even though I tell myself that I cannot allow it to happen again, I cannot help wanting you, Arlette. I can’t get you out of my mind.’ He let his gaze wander hungrily over the strained beauty of her face which emphasised the largeness of her eyes and the long, slender column of her neck. ‘May God forgive me, but I desire you. You do not know how hard you make it for me to resist you. Whatever secrets you and Marian share, I still have the misfortune to want you.’
‘And I you, William,’ she said brokenly, hot tears burning the backs of her eyes. ‘But don’t you realise how difficult this is for me? Every time you kiss me I weaken a little bit more, knowing there is no future for us together. You are committed to Marian,’ she said, while knowing that their betrothal would be broken when William became aware of her association with James and that she was carrying James’s child. ‘For pity’s sake, if you have any feelings for me at all, why can’t you leave me in peace?’
With recognition of their mutual yearning, William accepted this. With just a small space between them he wanted to reach out and touch her, but he made no attempt to do so. Drawn by the misery in her eyes, which looked enormous in her white face, all the deep emotions and feelings that burned in his heart for her almost overwhelmed him. ‘Please believe me when I say that I never meant to hurt you, Arlette. I have told you how things are between Marian and me and I am committed to her, you know that.’
Arlette hadn’t wanted to tell anyone that Marian was her half-sister just yet. It was something she wanted to get used to herself first, but having no wish for him to find out about Marian’s transgression with James, maybe now was the right time to tell him. She looked at him steadily, preparing herself for his surprise.
‘You were right to suspect there is something amiss, William. It would be foolish of me to conceal it from you since you will find out anyway. It’s just that I wanted to keep it to myself for the time being.’
‘What? What is it?’
‘Do you really not know? Can you not see when you look at us both? I remember you telling me that she reminded you of me. Have you not looked at us together? Seen the resemblance?’
William stared at her, a sudden dawning in his eyes as he realised what she was trying to tell him. Before the thought formulated in his mind, she told him.
‘Marian is my half-sister, William—the sister I told you about. She is of my own flesh and blood.’
William’s face showed his astonishment. ‘Your sister? Yes,’ he murmured, ‘you are right. I have been blind. I should have seen it myself when you told me that you had a sister you had never met. Does Marian know?’
Arlette nodded. ‘I told her today. She was as surprised as I was when I found out.’
‘And how did you find out?’
‘When you let slip that Lord Stanhope was her father—Francis Stanhope. Hester told me he was the man my mother became close to in Warwick. I thought it strange that Marian did not share her father’s name. My mother’s maiden name was Nesbit.’
‘Good Lord! Little wonder Marian looked out of sorts when I arrived.’
‘I am sure she will tell you herself when you next see her. I must say she was quite shocked, which is why she must have seemed upset. She was as much in ignorance as me when she was growing up that she had a sister. My regret is that I never got to see my mother. We would like to get to know each other better and we thought it would be nice if I went to stay with her for a while.’
William nodded. ‘Why not? You have many years to catch up on before Marian and I have to leave London.’
Fully aware that there was no longer any future for William and Marian and feeling that the deception would be difficult to continue until Marian told him about James, Arlette lowered her eyes. She longed to give vent to her own bitter pain. Never had any man appeared so attractive to her and never had her heart called out so strongly to another.
Whether his heart was entwined with Arlette’s or not, she wondered how he could have kissed her so ardently on two occasions. She should have repulsed him, which was what any good, decent, God-fearing young woman would have done. But that wasn’t what she had done. No, indeed. Instead she had encouraged him, revelling in those moments when he had held her in his arms.
* * *
As soon as Arlette arrived at Oaklands House she went directly to find Hester. She was seriously worried about Marian. Marian had dropped her predicament on her so suddenly she had been visibly shocked by it and had no time to adjust her thinking before William had entered the room. She made up her mind to return as soon as possible for she hated seeing her new friend and sister’s unhappiness and felt the weight of it sitting on her shoulders.
Hester was in her chamber, laboriously arranging a layette for the birth of her child. She looked up when Arlette entered, frowning when she saw her, knowing by her dejected look that all was not well.
‘What is it, Arlette? Is something wrong?’ She patted the bed beside where she was sitting, a small pile of neatly arranged baby smocks beside her.
Arlette sat beside her, inhaling heavily. ‘Oh, Hester, everything has suddenly become so complicated.’
‘It has? Now why is that, do you think? Has it got anything to do with William by any chance?’ Arlette nodded. ‘Then perhaps you had better tell me. Have you done anything you have cause to regret?’
Arlette averted her eyes, knowing what Hester was asking and trying, unsuccessfully, to hide the truth and her pain when she spoke of him. ‘There is nothing to tell. We are just two people thrown together by circumstances, that is all. I owe him a great deal for bringing me safely to you. Please believe me when I tell you we have never been lovers—or are ever likely to be,’ she finished quietly.
Hester stared hard at her for several moments. Reaching out, she placed her fingers gently beneath Arlette’s chin, tilting her head so that she was forced to look at her. ‘But I suspect you would have it otherwise if it were not for Sir Ralph. And can you look me in the eye and say truthfully that there is no emotional entanglement between you two?’
Arlette shook her head. ‘No, I cannot. But with Sir Ralph’s proposal of marriage to consider it can go no further. Besides, I have told you he is betrothed to someone else—and this is where it becomes complicated.’
‘Why? Who is she?’
‘She is Marian Nesbit, Lord Stanhope’s daughter. My suspicions were correct, Hester. She is indeed my younger sister. I liked her at once. There are similarities between us.’
‘How long has she been betrothed to William?’
‘I don’t know—possibly a year, I think—ever since her father died in Bruges. They became acquainted on the Continent. William was close to her father, who was very ill. Knowing he would not be there to take care of her, he made William Marian’s guardian. William felt obligated to Lord Stanhope for saving his life in some battle or other when they fought in the French army.’
‘I am curious to know why William has delayed the marriage for so long. Can it be that she no longer holds his heart?’
‘Oh, I believe he loves her and, whatever his feelings are concerning me, he is still determined to marry her,’ she said softly, but she could not hide the hurt and bitterness in her voice.
‘I am not blind, Arlette. I am aware of the feelings you have for William. If I’m honest, I saw it that first night he came to London and sought you out. If he has feelings for you and goes ahead and marries Marian, then he will be doing so out of duty and honour and for no other reason, and these two things can be a heavy burden to bear.’
‘I know. I also know he is impatient to leave London for Warwick as soon as he has news that his home has been given back. There is something else, Hester. Unbeknown to William, everything is about to change. It is something that Marian told m
e just before I left. I already knew that she was romantically attached to James Sefton—they also met in Bruges. I saw them together and questioned her about it. She told me that she loves him and is to bear his child.’
Hester gasped, truly shocked. ‘Oh, that foolish girl.’
‘William has no idea, but I know he suspects there is something amiss. He asked me if Marian had said anything to me. I—I couldn’t tell him, Hester. It is not my place. But Marian is so miserable—so desperately unhappy. She has no one she can turn to—no one close. I thought I might go and stay with her awhile. Would you mind?’
There was a silence between them as Hester considered what she had told her, aware of her misery over William and her sadness caused by Marian’s situation.
‘What can I say, Arlette? If you would like to spend some time with her than that is what you must do—although it’s not going to be easy explaining Marian’s infidelity to William.’
* * *
The following day Arlette went to Willow Hall to give James Marian’s letter. He wasn’t at home so she left it with a servant, who promised to give it to him personally.
* * *
It was several days later that she left Oaklands House to go and stay with Marian.
Marian was expecting her and, looking at her, Arlette knew her decision to come had been the right one. Although Marian’s smile was one of genuine delight, her eyes were shining not with the pleasure of seeing her, but from recently shed tears.
They gave each other a fond hug and then Marian took Arlette’s hand and pulled her into the parlour. Sounds could be heard coming from the kitchen and a gentle smell of roses drifted in through an open window from a small garden.
‘It’s so lovely to see you, Arlette, and I can’t thank you enough for delivering my letter to James.’
Reunited at the King's Court Page 14