Chapter 6
Ginny crept into the darkened bedchamber assigne
d to
her, listening to the deep breathing of Amelia Hammond
c
om
ing from behind the drawn curtains of
the high feat bed. She had not intended to upset Alex by stating the truth in
that half-joking fashion. It was not a truth that disturbed
he
r in the slightest. Orphaned and friendless, what di
d she
have to lose by being known as the colonel's
mistress? Si
nce
planning for the future was a futile
exercise when one c
ould
not count upon living
beyond the next day
,
worrying about
it
was equally so. She would take her chance and live
one day at a time, accepting the rough with the smooth. And if the time ever
came again when one could conte
m
platw a
future, then it could not possibly be worse than the one that had awaited her,
bound by indissoluble ties to Giles
C
ourtney.
Stripped to her shift, she climbed onto the high
m
attress,
careful
not to disturb her sleeping bedfellow. In spite of her
fatigue, her body was restless—
r
estless because it was unsat
i
s
f
ied, she decided ruefully. Those few
moments in
the
corridor had set off the chain
reaction of a passion that demanded consummation. Presumably it was the same
for Alex, bedded somewhere in this castle. It would be easy e
n
ough for him to obtain release though, Ginny reflecte
d
disconsolately, throwing herself onto her stomach.
There were always women to be found, ready and willing in exchange for a few
coins to . . .
The hand on her shoulder seemed to wake her before she had
even fallen asleep. "It is time to rise, mistress." The serving wench
placed a ewer, from which rose a comforting wisp of steam, on the dresser
beside the window.
"
You are to break your fast in the
small parlor by the east door." She left a candle burning on the mantel
before departing as softly as she had come.
Yawning, Ginny slid to the floor. There was not even a streak
of gray in the sky, and Amelia Hammond barel
y
stirred
as Ginny washed gratefully and dressed again in her riding habit. In her
befuddled, sleep-soaked state, it seeme
d
as
if she had only just taken it off. She braided her hair as best she could in
the dim light of the single candle, which she then took with her as she let
herself out of the chamber. However sleepy some of its inhabitants, the castle
was very much awake at this unearthly hour. Soldiers strode purposefully across
the courtyards, servants scurried through the corridors, and Ginny found one
willing to direct her to the breakfast parlor.
Alex and Diccon were
there
,
examining a map. The aide-de-camp was standing by the table, gnawing on a chop;
Alex, perched casually on the corner of the table, was gesturing with a pewter
tankard as he cut a wedge of cheese from an enormous round. They both looked up
as she entered, and Diccon mumbled an embarrassed greeting through a mournful
of meat, wiping his greasy hand hastily on his britches.
"Good morning, Virginia
.
" Alex looked, to Ginny
'
s
jaundiced eye, as if he had passed a long and peaceful night. His eyes were
bright, complexion fresh, clothing as neat and tidy as always.
"
You slept soundly, I trust."
"Not long enough," Ginny returned, a slight edge in
her voice. She had been somewhat unsure as to how she would greet him after
last night's abrupt departure, but annoyance and fatigue seemed to be providing
the answer.
"You will feel stronger when you have broken your fast,”
Alex replied in soothing tones that irritated her even further.
"It is too early to eat." Ginny filled a tankard
with ale from
the
jug on the laden table. "Pray
do not let me disturb you. You were clearly engaged on some vital military
matter."
"
Ar
e you always so ill-tempered in the
morning?" Alex i
nq
uired, spreading golden butter
thickly on a slice of
whe
aten bread. "You are making poor
Diccon feel most a
w
kward. I am sure he thinks he is in
some way responsible. E
at
this."
G
in
ny, feeling a little ashamed of
herself, took the bread
and
butter and smiled at the
aide-de-camp who did, indeed,
loo
k
ra
ther uncomfortable.
"
Do not mind me, Diccon. I did
not
sleep soundly or long enough last night, a fact for which
you
can hardly be held accountable." The lieutenant
offered her
a radiant smil
e
and his eyes glowed. Ginny blinked. Su
c
h a
simple apology surely did not deserve quite such a degr
ee
of warmth? Alex, interpreting the smile correctly,
gave
an internal sigh. Life was already sufficiently
complicate
d
without young Diccon being smitten
with a case of calf
love
.
"
If
you have breakfasted suff
i
ciently, Lieutenant, would
you
make sure Jed and the horses are ready and waiting at
the gatehouse? We take horse in ten minutes."
Diccon flushed as he recollected himself, saluted smartly,
and
left the room.
"
I
do hope you will become accustomed to early rising," Alex murmured.
"Being subjected to a fit of the sullens
every
morning will prove tedious, I fear."
"I do not object to rising early, if I gain my bed
equally earl
y
,
"
Ginny retorted. "And you are entirely responsible for my disturbed
night."
"How so?" he inquired with more than casual
interest.
Ginny bit her lip crossly. She had not meant to refer to the
wr
etched tossings and turnings of deprivation, or to her
d
is
mal reflection that Alex would not be
obliged to suffer in
t
hat manner. "I meant
nothing." She took a gulp of ale.
"You
did
mean something," Alex insisted
,
“Y
ou
cannot
m
ake such an accusation without explaining it."
"Oh, do not make me say it
,
" Ginny begged. "It is s
o
mortifying
.
"
Alex chuckled. "Shall I guess?" Reaching for her
hands, he drew her between his knees.
"
You
were, perhaps, eager
for love?"
"
And
you were not, I suppose
,"
Ginny mumbled, feelin
g
his knees pressing her thighs warmly through the
material
of
her habit.
"
Or if you were, there was always
something y
ou
could do about it."
"
Like
what?" His eyebrows lifted.
"
You
are not, I trust are not going to say something very shocking."
"
Like
kitchen maids," Ginny snapped, pulling at her hands.
Alex disconcertingly burst out laughing.
"
Kitchen
m
aid
s!
You
ridiculous girl! If it wasn't funny, it would be insulting. I'm not some
rutting stud, whatever you might think."
"
Oh,
do let me go." She pulled at her hands again. "I d
o
not see why you should mock me."
"
You
deserve it for making such an outrageous suggestion. What would you say if I
suggested you could always g
o
down to the
barracks to relieve your needs? It comes to th
e
same thing."
"It does
not
!”
Ginny
protested.
"
But I do not wish to talk o
f
it anymore. I have not yet finished my
breakfast."
"Then you had better do so with all speed." He
opened his knees before releasing her hands. "At some point, Ginny, we
must talk of what you said last night
.
"
He spoke seriously. “I
beg your pardon for
being so brusque. I should not have packed you off to bed quite so abruptly,
but I found the truth somewhat unpalatable
.
"
"
I
do not," she said quietly.
"
It
is a fact I am happy to live with. I do not care if the whole world knows of
it."
"You are speaking without due thought," Alex said
with a sigh.
Ginny spun round on him, saying fiercely, "It is
my
fate
,
Colonel, and I will embrace it as I choose. You have a
car
e
for your reputation and your career,
and leave me to manage my own."
Alex inhaled sharply, and that telltale muscle twitched in
his cheek. "You are going to have to learn not to talk to me in that
fashion, Virginia. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to teach you at the
moment. Finish your meal and be at
the ga
tehouse
in
five
minutes." Swinging on his heel,
he m
arched
from the room, leaving the door
open.
Ginny felt the prick of tears behind her eyes. She had bee
n
outrageously rude in the face of his apology and
genuine concern about a matter that did involve them both,
and
th
e irritability of fatigue was poor
excuse. She simply
wanted
him to accept that the opinion of
the world was of no impotance to her and, while they need not flaunt their r
e
la
ti
onship, Alex
need not exercise an unnecessarily chivalrous restraint that would deprive them
of something that fate could wrench from them at any moment anyway.
Ab
andoning
the breakfast table, she made her way to the
gateh
ouse where Alex, Jed, and Diccon waited, already
m
ounted. Diccon swung to the ground the minute she app
e
ared, ready to assist her to mount Jen. In her anxiety to avo
i
d the colonel's eye, she smiled her
thanks rather more
warm
ly than the help warranted, and was
both comforted and amply rewarded by the lieutenant's glowing response. T
o
Alex, it looked as if she were deliberately
encouraging his aide-de-camp, and his lips tightened. There was nothing he
cou
ld say or do at this point, however. Diccon was
behaving
i
n a perfectly appropriate fashion,
for all that he looked like
a
soulful
puppy, and Virginia had only smiled after all.
Dawn was breaking as the silent group clattered through the
arched gateway, over the drawbridge, and onto the road to Newport, leaving at
their backs the sorrowful image of Carisbrooke Castle and its royal prisoner.
An hour later, t
h
ey rode into Newport, the main town
on the Isle of Wight. Ev
e
n at this early hour, the prosperous
market town was bustling as storekeepers raised their shutters and inn servants
hurried through the paved streets. The air was laden with the mingled smells o
f f
ish, tanning, and hops from the breweries, fisheries,
and leather manufacturers who made up the town's main industries and accounted
for much of its prosperity.
Visits to Newport during her childhood had always been a gr
e
at treat for Ginny, particularly when she was allowed
to accompany her father about his business, or when he sat as
m
agistrate at the assizes. The town seemed little
different now, the older buildings, half-timbered and p
l
aster-fronted standing side by side with the newer
ones of b
ri
ck
and
timber. But where once there had been only farmers,
goodwives going about their household business,
fishermen and storekeepers, there were now soldiers. Tankards in hand, they
lounged outside the inns. Officers strode down
the streets, spurs clinking. Ginny waited for some sign from
the slovenly looking soldiers
that
they acknowledged
their
officers
but saw none, just as the officers appeared not to
notice the slouching men.