Daughter of Darkness (11 page)

Gerard chuckled at the thought of this dainty creature performing such an aggressive act.

‘Oh.’ Her violet eyes widened and color suffused her cheeks. Sinking to the floor in a whisper of silken skirts she spread her fan across her face to hide her blush. ‘I did not expect you so soon, sir.’

Bathed, and shorn of his beard, Gerard was younger and more handsome than Willow had expected. The stern look to his fine, hawkish features made her wish she hadn’t been quite so forward with him in the study. His eyes were quite penetrating. A knot of apprehension gathered in her midriff and she lowered her eyes, suddenly shy.

‘Get up, Madam.’ Assisting her to her feet Gerard brushed the fan aside and lazily evaluated her. The child was still there, apparent in the air of innocence she presented. Still petite, she’d blossomed into a beauty. The soft swell of her bosom was just hinted at through the lace of her fichu. Her skin was unblemished and unadorned, possessing a pale translucence that others strove to emulate through artifice. Her long silky lashes quivered slightly, then her eyelids slid upwards. She darted him a swift, curious glance before lowering them again. Her eyes were exquisite, like dark sapphires.

Aware he was still holding her hand, he brushed her fingers gently with his lips. ‘We meet again, wife. I pray my appearance no longer invites your censure, and my odor no longer offends.’

For a moment she looked as though she was about to run, then amusement flared in her eyes. Disengaging her hand, she whispered. ‘My compliments to your servant sir. He seems to be as skilled with soap and a razor as his master is with a sword.’

‘Prettily said, Madam.’ He made her a small bow. ‘I’ll not return the compliment to
your
servant. What nature has provided you with needs no enhancement. You’re exquisite just a you are, and your manners show a distinct improvement.’

‘Thank you My Lord, but I have no disposition towards fishwifery unless the means are justified.’

Her eyes were sparkling now. Gerard smiled to himself. She had enough vanity to appreciate a pretty compliment, and the wit to throw it back at him. Her next words brought his eyes narrowing in on her.

‘You do not mind if I call you Gerard? To do otherwise would be tediously stuffy.’

Head to one side, her eyes appeared innocent of duplicity. Yet lurking in their depths was a tiny core of mockery that rendered him suddenly uncomfortable. He chose his next words carefully. ‘If it pleases you to use my baptismal name then do so.’

Her smile came so suddenly it took his breath away. ‘It would please me also if you would use mine.’

She had guessed! It wasn’t often he felt at a loss with women, but then, she was not like other women he’d known.
A whipped cur,
she’d called him.

Her opinion still rankled. None of his acquaintance would have dared take him to task as she’d done earlier, and none would venture to mock him like this. Her intelligence went beyond that usually attributed to women. But he wasn’t about to play her game, and she had much to learn.

Warily, he returned her smile. ‘If such a small favour brings you pleasure it will please me to grant it.’ He stood aside to let her pass. ‘You’ll excuse me now. My father awaits.’

‘I’m glad you’re home,’ she said simply. ‘You’re sorely needed here.’

A subtle blend of lavender and roses assailed his nostrils as she swept past. After she’d gone he slowly let out the breath that had captured her fragrance. Then something he’d overheard her say kept him staring into the hall whilst the echo of her footsteps whispered back to him.

‘Who the hell is Edward?’ he muttered.

Edwina tried not to appear too eager when Gerard requested permission to attend her in her bedchamber, so she kept him waiting. Willow had already acquainted her with the happenings of the morning, and had invited her involvement in an amusing deception.

Considering his transgressions of late, and Willow’s part in his resurrection, she was only too willing to humor her. Incorrigible as Willow was, he deserved it she told herself.

‘You look ill-used,’ she scolded, managing to hide her delight when he was admitted, and sounding as if he’d been away for one night instead of four long years. ‘I’d decided you were undeserving of my sympathy, but my mind is changed at the sight of you. Your homecoming was beset with sorrow and shock, but I hope your recent indulgence is not to become a habit. We need your strength.’

The shame Gerard felt at her words was not up for discussion. He offered only a brief, ‘I beg your forgiveness, Grandmother.’

‘It’s yours, Gerard, for you are my beloved grandson.’ She smiled at him, noting the lines of maturity the previous few years had marked on his face. ‘Come and give your grandmother a kiss. I’ve missed you.’

‘I thought of you often, Grandmother.’ Kissing both her cheeks he sat on the side of the bed and took her hands in his. ‘I didn’t expect to find you bedridden.’

‘An attack of the rheumatics.’ She made a face. ‘If your good lady has her way she’ll cast it from my bones without delay. She allows no pessimism in the sick. She’s kept your father alive by power of will alone. The doctor is quite out of countenance with her.’

Gerard frowned. ‘He wishes my father to perish?’

‘Of course not. It’s just that he says one thing and she does another.’ Her smile was thoughtful. ‘Ambrose improves a little each day. It’s because he loves her and wishes to please her.’

‘I’ve observed them together. She takes advantage of his helplessness and treats him with no deference.’

Edwina noted the ironic tone of Gerard’s voice. ‘Do not bore me with highhandedness.’ His mouth tightened at her rebuke. ‘Your wife has been the mainstay of this household. Despite her youth she’s worked longer hours than the servants, and performed tasks no lady should be expected to do. She’s kept the household together and earned the respect and love of everyone in it. Yes, she has faults. Flouting convention is one of them.’ Her voice softened. ‘You should not find it difficult to forgive such a small imperfection. She has many graces to make up for it.’

‘She has indeed.’ He gazed somewhere into the distance. ‘I cannot recall meeting a woman both pleasing to the eye and intelligent before.’

‘That’s because you’ve always looked for the one and discounted the other.’ She gave a snort of disbelief. ‘Women are forced by circumstance to submit to men, therefore they emphasise the one trait and hide the other. Will… ?’

Gerard’s eyes sharpened. He should have remembered such an unusual name.

Edwina sucked in her breath. ‘Your wife is not skilled in the art of deception. What she feels is mirrored in her eyes whether it be anger, mischief, or rebellion. She applies herself to life with honesty. Remember that, Gerard. Her happiness means much to me, and it’s in your hands.’

‘I’ll do my best to be a good husband to Willow.’ He was amused to discover the old lady indulging in such a childish game. When he chided her with it she gave a hint of a shrug and smiled. ‘There is much of the child in her to be indulged.’

‘We have much to catch up on, Grandmother.’ Drawn by the sound of laughter he crossed to the window. Willow was comforting a small boy. Jeffrey was chasing a grey pony on horseback. He cornered the pony behind a shrub and led it back to the child. The boy had the look of a Lytton. ‘Your letters didn’t mention that my mother had produced another son?’

‘No such event occurred.’

Jeffrey leaned from his saddle to present Willow with a leafy twig from the shrub. They laughed when she struck his booted leg with it. The flirtatious gesture annoyed him, and he frowned when his grandmother explained.

‘The boy is the child of Daphne de Vere, and heir to Sheronwood.’ The King is his godfather. Daphne has requested we keep Edward here, believing he will be safer at Lytton House than in London. She hopes to visit him in the spring if her duties at court allow.’

Instructions were issued to the boy, who kicked the pony’s flank and set it trotting across the garden. Pleased to observe the child’s fall had not frightened him, he smiled in approval when the boy managed to turn the pony’s head and bring it back to his tutors. Willow hugged the child as she lifted him from the pony, then took his hand and escorted him towards the house. Jeffrey led the pony away towards the stables.

‘Heir to Sheronwood, you say?’ His voice was cynical as he turned from the window. ‘Offering hospitality to relatives of Marquis Lynchcross is fast becoming a habit. Odd, considering he’s suspected of murdering my grandfather.’

‘Your grandfather killed his father. It was that which started the feud.’

‘A duel, I believe.’

‘Aye,’ Edwina said softly. ‘It was a duel over his mother. The marquis was only fourteen when he caught them together. He vowed he’d never rest until his father was avenged. Now hate has consumed him, and he’s unable to stop.’

Startled, he stared at her.

‘Why do you think the earl made you swear an oath not to challenge the man? The feud was caused by a Lytton. Ambrose intends that the Lytton family should not add fuel to the fire.’

‘The reason for his chicanery now becomes clear,’ he reflected. ‘Willow’s mother practiced the black arts, that’s why she was foisted on to me.’

‘If you’re referring to your marriage Gerard, I should like to point out that Willow was blameless of any wrong.’ Edwina’s look was as wintry as the snow-laden sky outside. ‘She was offered no choice. You saw the state she was in when she arrived.’

‘I saw it.’ Shame licked at him. ‘Tell me about the child. How did he come be in our charge?’

‘Daphne feared for Edward’s life with her husband showing signs of madness, so she sent him to Sheronwood to be in his great-grandmother’s care. The boy travelled down with Willow and myself. Smallpox took Rosamond before she could meet her great-grandson, so Edward is now in our charge.’ Edwina smiled. ‘He’s a well-behaved child and, as you’ve observed, favors the Lytton side of the family. Even so, the marquis is fond of him.’

And any other child who takes his fancy by all account, Gerard thought. No wonder Daphne de Vere had sent her son to the country. The marquis had been her stepfather for a major part of her childhood. Gerard tried to put aside the uneasy thoughts that skimmed the surface his mind.

A recollection came to mind, one he didn’t really wish to examine at close quarters. He dismissed it, concentrating instead on amusing his grandmother with stories of his years in America. They passed a pleasant morning, his grandmother listening intently when he described the tobacco plantation he’d won on the turn of a card in Virginia.

‘My husband would have enjoyed hearing about this,’ she said when he’d finished. Her hand covered his. ‘Your memory of your grandfather would be vague.’

‘I remember him as a kindly man who taught me to play chess with great patience. He will always have my respect.’ He stood as a maid entered bearing a tray of food. The delicious aroma made his mouth water. ‘Poached trout,’ Edwina said, lifting the lid from one of the dishes.

‘Begging your pardon, My Lord.’ The maid eyed him nervously as she bobbed a curtsy. ‘Cook says will you be taking dinner tonight.’ ‘Of course I require dinner.’ The girl was a recipient of a frown. ‘Why should the cook need to ask?’

‘Cook didn’t know whether you were still… ?’ The girl hung her head and muttered. ‘She thought you might still be ill sir.’

Was that how his insobriety had been discussed amongst the staff? His head began to throb again, a reminder of his excesses. He’d been a fool. ‘As you can see, I’m not.’

‘You’ll be wanting a tray then?’

‘Why the devil should I need a tray? I’m not indisposed.’

‘Calm down, Gerard.’ Lady Edwina smiled reassuringly at the maid. ‘Because of the epidemic, formal dining was dispensed with.’

‘On whose orders.’

‘Lady Sommersley’s.’

‘I see.’ He began to burn. Dinner at Lytton house had always been an event he enjoyed. He liked a fine table set with polished silver and crystal, enjoyed the company of family and friends, the leisurely ebb and flow of pleasant conversation. He was beginning to feel like a stranger in his own home. The daughter of the marquis would have to learn that some traditions would resume now he was home.

‘Tell Lady Sommersley and my brother I’ll expect them in the dining room for dinner.’

‘But, sir -’

It was time he made his authority felt. ‘Do not question my order, girl.’ Nodding to his grandmother he strode from the room.

‘My Lady?’ The maid turned to Edwina for guidance.

‘Do as he said, my dear.’ She gave the girl a serene smile. It seemed Gerard was about to learn the hard way that disrupting Willow’s routine was not the wisest thing to do.

The meal was quite spoiled. His wife was making a fool of him in front of the servants, Gerard fumed as he paced the length of the dining hall. She’d deliberately set out to thwart him, to undermine his authority as her husband. Had he been a different type of man he’d have taken a horsewhip to her. And where was Jeffrey?

He stopped pacing to bark an order at the footman, then seated himself and began to wait, his fingers drumming on the table.

A few minutes later the door burst open. In a flurry of blue silk Willow advanced on him, her eyes glittering in the light from the sconce she held aloft. ‘I believe you demand my
immediate
presence.’

‘It has always been the custom at Lytton to take dinner in the dining hall,’ he said before she could draw breath. ‘In future you’ll be on time, or you’ll forfeit the right to eat.’

‘Thank you for the advice, husband.’ Her voice trembled with the effort of keeping it calm. ‘If that’s all you wish to relate I’ll go about my business now without further delay. Pray, excuse me.’

‘No I will not!’
He could not believe the insolence of her tone. ‘You will remain until my brother joins us, then we will dine together in a civilized fashion.’

‘I have no time to be civil. If I forfeit my dinner by not being here, then so be it.’
‘

You will stay!’ His voice flayed her like a whiplash when she turned to leave. ‘It’s apparent you’ve had your own way for too long. You’re my wife, and as such will obey me.’