Kingdom's Dream (6 page)

Without waiting to say goodbye to the bemused salesman, Jayne hurried out of the shop. The cool breeze soothed her burning cheeks and she climbed up the carriage steps and twitched her skirts into place as she sank into the padded leather seat.

‘That Shanni Morgan is nothing but a slut from the slums, yet she gives herself such airs.'

Katie lowered her head. She'd learned it was best not to interrupt when her mistress was in a bad mood. She hadn't realized when she became a lady's maid that it would mean putting up with a spoiled madam like Jayne Morton-Edwards.

‘If Llinos Mainwaring hadn't taken her in, she would be in the workhouse now and that's good enough for her sort,' Jayne fumed. Why had she allowed that common little peasant to get the better of her? If only she could find out how close Shanni had been to Dafydd she might be able to deal with the situation more appropriately.

When the carriage stopped outside the pillared door of her home Jayne pushed aside the driver and climbed down onto the driveway. Without a backward glance she hurried into the house and flung her coat on the floor. She went immediately to her room and slammed the door behind her. The meeting with Shanni had spoiled her day.

She sank down on the bed, trying to control the trembling in her hands, telling herself to be calm: she was the one marrying Dafydd not Shanni. And what if Dafydd had lain with her? She would have been no more than a casual diversion, quickly forgotten.

She sighed deeply and sank back on the pillows, her thoughts turning to her wedding day. She anticipated the stir it would cause in Swansea. The sun would shine on the pale satin of her gown and a gentle summer breeze would lift her veil to reveal her beauty. Dafydd was a lucky man to have her, and she would never tire of telling him so.

The men in her life, Dafydd and her father, saw her as a child but she had brains in her head and one day she would surprise them. She slipped off the bed, opened a drawer in a chest that smelt of beeswax and camphor and took out the crackling documents nestling beneath her night clothes. ‘Great Western Railways.' She waved the papers in the air. ‘Now that I own part of you I'll bring a great deal more to the marriage than Dafydd ever dreamed of.'

Carefully she folded the papers away again, smiling to herself as she covered them with a soft cambric gown. They might call the enterprise the South Wales Railway for the moment, but everyone knew that the much-respected Isambard Kingdom Brunel had set his stamp on the venture and what he touched always turned to gold.

She returned to her bed, sank back once again into the pillows and turned her mind to more important matters: her gown, the headdress of real pearls, and the golden band that would tie her and Dafydd together in a bond that would never be broken.

Shanni was pleased that she had triumphed over Jayne Morton-Edwards. Now she would shop to her heart's content, secure in the knowledge that she had got the better of the other woman. As well as being intelligent, Shanni was also quick to hear any gossip and what she had overheard had come from the horse's mouth.

She had been about to leave her small room at the pottery when she heard voices in the office across the passageway. Dafydd had been talking to his brother. Shanni peeped round the door and saw that Ceri Buchan looked so pale and thin that a puff of wind might have blown him away. At first the talk was about business and she had been about to leave when she heard the word ‘marriage'.

‘I think you're doing the right thing in marrying Miss Morton-Edwards.' Ceri spoke as if it was an effort to get the words out of his mouth. ‘I know you think she's a spoiled brat but marriage will tame her, especially when children are on the way.'

‘Well,' Dafydd replied, ‘you know how I feel about Llinos, and that will never change.'

‘You've accepted that Llinos will never be yours and we must all compromise a little in life.'

Shanni had returned to her chair to think over what she had heard. So Dafydd was not head over heels in love with his bride. Somehow that gave her a fleeting sense of satisfaction.

Now Shanni chose a frivolous hat, decked with feathers and hand-stitched roses, and a pair of lace gloves. It pleased her that she could shop in the same emporium as Jayne Morton-Edwards. Perhaps her purchases were small, but although Pedr was only a potter he was skilled and earned a generous salary.

Later Shanni took a hansom cab home. She wondered briefly what Pedr would say about the money she'd spent. He was a practical man who did not believe in fripperies, as he called them. On the other hand he loved her to distraction, and Shanni could always coax him out of a bad mood with soft words and passionate kisses.

He was waiting for her in their small neat cottage. Beads of perspiration glistened on his forehead and the flames of the cooking fire roared up the chimney.

‘Hello, husband.' Shanni kissed him soundly. ‘I've bought a new hat,' she said. ‘Guess who I saw in the emporium?'

‘Well,' Pedr sighed – a sigh of exasperation, Shanni knew, ‘who did you see? Surprise me.'

‘I saw Jayne Morton-Edwards and I ruffled her feathers, I can tell you. When I'd finished with her, she flounced out of the place in a fine temper.' She sat on his knee and put her arm around his neck. ‘You're not cross with me, are you, Pedr? I didn't spend much.'

‘What do you need a new bonnet for, love? You're not going to get an invitation to the wedding of the year, are you?'

‘No, I'm not, but as an employee you'll have to turn up to watch Dafydd tie the knot and of course I'll come with you.'

‘You're right as usual, girl. Come here and give me a proper kiss.'

Shanni responded to him eagerly. She might not love Pedr as she should but she enjoyed the intimacies they shared, and Pedr was a wonderful lover. When his fingers brushed her breast, she pushed them away teasingly. ‘Not when I'm wearing my best going-to-town clothes,' she said softly.

‘To hell with your town clothes! I want you, and I want you now.'

‘No, no!' Shanni laughed. ‘You won't have your wicked way with me, you naughty man.'

It was a game they often played, when Pedr was the hunter and she the hunted, he would chase her upstairs and throw her on the bed.

‘Now, Mrs Morgan, I've got you where I want you.' He looked so fierce, his eyes gleaming, his touch on her shoulders urgent, that Shanni found she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Quickly he took off his clothes, fell across her, undid her bodice and pressed his hot mouth to her nipple. Shanni moaned with pleasure. As he took her to the heights of passion she cried out his name, knowing that if this was not love it was the nearest she was ever going to get.

CHAPTER FIVE

Katie was still shy with Bull because he seemed so strong, so self-assured, and she still couldn't believe he might be interested in her. It was too early to say that they were walking out together but Katie knew that she was falling in love with the big, gentle man.

It began to rain but Katie didn't mind: she was with Bull, which took away all thought of the weather.

‘How is work going? Do you like being a lady's maid?' Bull looked down at her from his great height and she resisted the temptation to take his hand.

‘I think I'd rather scrub floors than dress Miss Jayne, but as long as I pretend to be stupid I get on with her.'

Bull stopped walking and put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. ‘You're so lovely, Katie, funny and warm as well as beautiful. I can't believe my luck that you're here with me.'

The words thrilled Katie. Bull was telling her that she was his girl and colour flooded her face. He was a perfect gentleman: when she'd told him she was picking up the last of her belongings today from the house in Greenhill he had insisted on coming with her. When they reached the house she knocked timidly on the door, feeling a flutter of apprehension. What if the new tenant had thrown her things out into the backyard?

A large florid-faced woman opened the door. She stared suspiciously at Katie. ‘If you're beggin' I ‘aven't got nothing so go away.'

‘No, it's not that—' Katie began but the woman was closing the door.

Bull leaned forward and held it open. ‘Miss Cullen has come to collect her belongings. I'm sure that's all right with you, Mrs . . .?' He smiled and the woman was transformed.

‘You're Bull Beynon from the railways. I've heard about you and all good. Come in, don't stand in the doorway there and catch a chill.' She shuffled backwards to let them pass. ‘I'm Maeve O'Connor, got some kin working on the railways, see? Do you know Seth and Dan O'Connor?'

Bull smiled easily. ‘I certainly do. We won't disturb you for too long, Mrs O'Connor, we'll pick up everything now and then we won't have to bother you again.'

Katie followed him into the house, admiring the ease with which he had handled the awkward woman. No wonder they'd made him foreman on the line – he had such a way with people. She put her bits and pieces into a bag – there wasn't much, just the pair of china dogs her mother had loved, and a few clothes she had not been able to carry last time.

As soon as she and Bull left the house she sighed with relief. ‘Thank goodness that's over,' she said. ‘It was kind of you to come with me. I don't think I'd have got past that dragon if I'd been on my own.'

Bull grinned. ‘Well, even I was a bit afraid of her sharp tongue. Give me a tough navvy in drink before a woman in a bad mood any day. Look,' he continued, ‘I'll come with you to the Big House, drop these things off and then perhaps I could take you for a walk along the beach?'

Katie glanced up at the sky. A breeze had sprung up and was chasing away the rainclouds. ‘That sounds lovely . . . Bull.' She said his name shyly.

‘Lovely and safe?' Bull teased. ‘I can hardly take advantage of you outdoors with the rest of Swansea looking on, can I?'

Not that he ever would take advantage of her. Bull had such fine manners and she loved him for it. She longed to tell him how she felt about him, but she didn't want him to think her forward.

‘Right, then, Miss Cullen, let's get you back to the Big House, drop off these things and spend the afternoon doing just as we please.'

Llinos felt at a loose end. Without Joe the house was strangely empty and she missed him badly. She missed Lloyd, too, with his arcane wisdom and his ability to laugh at small things. Even though she had grown used to their son's absences while he was at college, it unsettled her to know that he was in America.

She was troubled: would Lloyd really give up all he had worked for to live with a Native American tribe? Would he exchange a secure future for a dream? It certainly seemed that way.

From upstairs Llinos heard the sound of her younger son laughing, and her features softened. Sion was a joy. He was not too old to hug and kiss her, and when he wound his arms around her neck she felt she held the whole world in her grasp.

The laughter stopped, and the only sound now was the rain. It had been pouring off and on for the best part of a week and the gardens looked dispirited. Standing at the window, looking beyond the garden to where the kilns steamed as the heat inside met the day's chill, Llinos felt as though she had been abandoned by the whole world. And Dafydd would soon be married, lost to her for ever.

She frowned. What could Dafydd have in common with such a selfish girl? Jayne needed to grow up before she was ready for marriage. As for herself, perhaps she was too old for love – at least of the passionate kind. Would she never again know the starburst of sensation that had been so thrilling, so rejuvenating?

She sank into a chair and covered her eyes with her hands. Dafydd. She could picture him now, well built, muscular, with a fine white skin.

The jangling of the doorbell startled her and Llinos looked up and towards the window. Who was visiting her at such an early hour? Her heart leaped as she saw the carriage standing outside the front door. The monogram, gleaming gold in a sudden shaft of sunshine, told her that it belonged to Dafydd Buchan.

The maid looked into the room and spoke in a hushed voice. Ever since Joe had gone away she was acting as though there had been a death in the household. ‘Mr Buchan to see you, Mrs Mainwaring. Shall I show him in?'

Llinos's first instinct was to say no but, heart fluttering inside her like a trapped bird, she nodded. The maid disappeared, and then Dafydd was in the room, filling it with his presence.

‘Dafydd,' her voice was faint, ‘what are you doing here?' She pulled herself up sharply. ‘Please, sit down.' He looked no different from when he had been her lover.

Instead of sitting down, he crossed the room and then she was in his arms. ‘My love, don't talk to me as if I was a stranger.' His hair brushed her cheek and she was filled with an overwhelming longing to lie with him just one more time, to feel his hands on her, to have him move within her and bring her such joy.

It was madness to think like that, and Llinos disentangled herself. ‘Dafydd, please, don't touch me. I can't bear it.'

He took her hands and led her to the sofa, his fingers entwined with hers. ‘Llinos, listen to me,' he said gently. ‘If I could have you I would never look at another woman. As it is,' he shrugged, ‘I'm going to marry Jayne. You must see that I need a marriage and children to take over from me some day. But I will always care for you and Sion, you know that.'

‘I will look after Sion,' Llinos said stiffly. ‘You know I can provide for him so don't trouble yourself.'

Dafydd looked into her eyes. ‘I still love you, Llinos, and, God help me, I still want you as much as I ever did.'