Chapter 15
When the fighting was over, everyone except Nicholas, who had gone to see the healer to get a salve for his sore cheek, adjourned for a very merry breakfast. Fenella and Eleanor, who were absolutely in their element, were already writing lists of boys’ and girls’ names.
“Calm down, you two!” Kenneth said, shaking his head in exasperation. “I think it’s a bit too soon to be thinking of names. After all, he or she will not make an appearance before January.”
“But you should be well prepared,” Eleanor told him. “Heavens above, Kenny, do you know how much there is to do before a baby is born? All their clothes have to be made, the nursery has to be decorated, the christening has to be arranged—”
“And in the meantime the Mammy has to be treated like a queen,” Fenella said, smiling. “And I, for one, am going to enjoy doing that!”
“We will have to spread the good news, of course,” Eleanor added. “So tomorrow we can go to see—”
“Stop!” Kenneth cried. “Can you two go away and make your plans somewhere else? I’m exhausted just listening to you!”
Fenella cast her eyes heavenwards. “I forgot that men prefer to talk about fighting and hunting while admiring the bottoms of empty beer glasses!” she said with a theatrical sigh. “We will not stay where we are not wanted. Come, Eleanor.”
Laura tried not to laugh as she watched them leaving the dining room in high dudgeon.
“You were a little hard on them, lovie,” Charlotte said to Kenneth after the door had closed behind them. “They are only trying to help.”
Kenneth looked unrepentant as he kissed Charlotte’s cheek. “I know,” he acknowledged, “but I always feel as if everything is a game to them.”
“I agree. In fact, I think life is one big game to them,” Laura remarked. “And it seems as though they always have a lot of fun. I wish I could be a little more like them.”
Charlotte laughed and stood up. “I think I will have a rest,” she announced. “Did you feel tired all the time when you were expecting, Laura?” She looked at Laura expectantly.
“I-I did,” she replied, feeling the usual spasm of guilt as she told yet another lie.
Laura spent the rest of the day drifting between the nursery and her bedchamber.
Sitting nursing little Andrew on her lap, holding him in her arms while she listened to his little coos and gurgles was one of the most satisfying things she had ever done in her life.
Her biggest regret was that she had no means of feeding him herself, and watching Maisie offer him her breast and seeing him suckling with enthusiasm and enjoyment filled her with an enormous amount of envy.
The news of Charlotte’s pregnancy, although filling Laura with delight for Charlotte and Kenneth, also terrified her.
What if Percival Crowley found out? In her present state Charlotte was infinitely more vulnerable: she was in good health, yes, but any upset or injury could cause her to miscarry the baby.
Laura had seen it happening to other women, sometimes causing their death, and it was not a fate she would have wished on her worst enemy.
She made up her mind to do whatever was in her power to safeguard Charlotte.
As well as that, she knew that Crowley would be infinitely jealous knowing that the child was not his.
In his twisted mind, Charlotte belonged to him, and no other man had a right to touch her, let alone father a baby with her.
And that made her think of the biggest problem of all, one that had been hanging over her head since her last traumatic encounter with Crowley.
He had demanded that she bring Charlotte to him, and Laura had assured him that she would, but her promise had been made under duress.
If she had refused, she doubted that she would still be alive to tell the tale, but keeping up her end of the bargain was out of the question—especially now that Charlotte was carrying a child.
Laura had been trying to shove the problem to the back of her mind, since she had no idea how to solve it.
Should she tell the men about it? Should she tell Charlotte?
She knew what the men’s reaction would be, of course.
Kenneth would be incandescent with rage, but Nicholas would stand firmly behind him in whatever course of action he chose to take.
Everyone in his inner circle knew what a deep and bitter hatred he harboured for Percival Crowley: he would stop at nothing to destroy him.
Laura’s heart twisted as she realised that the man she loved would once more be put in danger, but then she asked herself what else had she expected?
He was a soldier, after all, but then love was not a logical thing: in fact, often it made no sense at all.
If it did, she would have ensured that she fell in love with a merchant, a tradesman, a farmer or someone in an equally safe profession.
‘But no, Laura,’ she thought, laughing inwardly. ‘That would be sensible, and good sense is one quality you do not possess!’
She sighed and returned to her bedchamber.
It was almost time for dinner, but Laura simply could not face the two giddy aunts, and the transparent love that shone from Charlotte and Kenneth was too painful for her to see.
Nicholas would probably be there too, and she felt too vulnerable to face him at that moment after their intimacy of the night before.
Pleading a headache, Laura sent her excuses to Charlotte. She ordered a tray of food to be brought to her chamber but she only managed to eat a few morsels before pushing the rest away untouched.
Laura decided to retire early. She paid a brief visit to the nursery before climbing into bed and willing herself to go to sleep, yet an hour later sleep still had not come.
Presently she heard a knock on her chamber door. She immediately blew out her candle and decided to ignore it and pretend to be asleep. She could think of nothing so important that she could not attend to it in the morning anyway.
Determinedly, she closed her eyes, but the knocking continued.
Flora had drawn the thick curtains some time before, so the room was now almost totally dark.
Lit only by the last faint rays of sunset that leaked around the edges of the windows, it was still and utterly silent, since the knocking seemed to have stopped—or so she thought.
Laura had just managed to relax, and her eyelids were at last beginning to feel heavy with sleep when suddenly she heard the unmistakable sound of the door being unlocked.
She gave a little squeal as it opened, and jerked upright in bed as someone stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind them. In the almost complete darkness Laura could not make out the identity of the person who was now approaching her bed, although she could hear their soft footsteps.
“Who is there?” she asked in a quivering voice. She grabbed the candlestick on her bedside table, not to light the room, but to use it as a weapon against whoever had managed to enter her sanctuary. Then a terrifying possibility sprang into her mind.
‘It’s Crowley,’ she thought desperately.
Somehow the devious swine had managed to creep past every guard and every layer of security to find and punish her.
The thought made her both furious and frightened, but also gave her the strength to leap out of bed, thinking that perhaps she should have kept the guard at her door after all.
Even though she could hardly see a thing, she strode forward into the darkness, holding the candlestick as high as she could, ready to bring it down on Crowley’s filthy head with all the strength she could muster.
She never got the chance. Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, pulling her into a hard and muscular chest. She squealed in panic, but before she had the chance to struggle her question was answered.
“It’s just me.” The deep, familiar voice made Laura almost weak with relief, and she let out a heartfelt sigh as her shoulders slumped and Nicholas let go of her hand.
Then, suddenly annoyed at having been so scared, she demanded: “How did you get a key for my room?”
“I have my ways,” he replied, laughing softly. Laura felt the mattress shift under her as Nicholas sat down on the bed, and she lit the candle, making him visible for the first time. “I missed you at dinner.”
“I wasn’t hungry,” she replied. He was seated only a few inches away from her, within touching distance, and oh, how badly she wanted to touch him!
“I see.” The cold tone of his voice told Laura that he did not believe her. “Are you sure? It wasn’t that you were avoiding me?”
Laura looked away and drew the blankets over her chest as if for protection. “No,” she replied. “Not everything is about you,” she went to turn to face away from him, but he pulled her back.
“What’s wrong, Laura?” he asked in a tender voice.
She took a deep breath debating whether she should say anything. But she had to at least try to protect Charlotte. “I am so happy for Charlotte and Kenneth, but it’s too much for me. I’m scared, Nick.”
“Scared of what?” He put up a hand to touch Laura’s cheek.
“There is something I have not told you,” she confessed. “I-I was too upset to think about it for a while, but you should know.”
“What is it, Laura?” Nicholas frowned, concerned, and took her hands. “I knew something was worrying you.”
Laura took a deep breath. “After you went to find the archer who shot at us the other day,” Laura began, “Crowley came out of the trees. He threatened me. He wants to see Charlotte. He demanded that I bring her to him, and I had to agree, I was afraid for my life. But I didn’t mean it. You need to believe me.”
Nicholas leaned forward and drew Laura into his arms in a tender embrace. “That explains a lot,” he said softly, kissing her forehead. “You were in a terrible state. I knew there was something you hadn’t told me.”