Rebel Lady, Convenient Wife. June Francis

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СКАЧАТЬ to visit them,’ said Owain, smiling. ‘And I’ll have no talk of nunneries.’ He shook his head. ‘You know you’re welcome to stay here at Rowan as long as you wish. It’ll be good for you to be amongst your family again.’ Anna was silent. She had been away from Rowan too long to fit easily into her former position in the family. Yet where else could she go where she would be safe but here or behind the walls of a convent?

      Restlessly, she rose and went over to the window aperture and gazed out over the darkened garden. The happenings of the day played over in her head and she felt sick with the remembrance of the disgust and terror she had felt when confronted by Will and that figure in the devilish mask. She felt her head was going to burst as images overrode each other. She turned round to face Owain and blurted out, ‘Tell me…did my mother have a lover? Did she cuckold our father?’

      Owain’s expression was enough to make her wish that she had not spoken. Then a sound at the door shattered the strained atmosphere. ‘Did who cuckold our father?’ asked Davy, entering the parlour.

      Anna felt the blood rush to her head and could only gaze at this giant of a man. He was the middle of the Rowan brothers and she knew him the least best of the three. He had married before she was born and lived on the Wirral with his wife and children, having his own stud farm. Suddenly she realised that Kate and Jack Milburn had followed him into the room. Anna wished she could disappear in a puff of smoke. Instead, she turned her back on them.

      The moon had risen and she could make out the shapes of bushes and plants. Then, unexpectedly, she saw a devilish face loom out of the darkness. Her masked attacker! She could see the horns on its head and the same gaping, evil grin. She froze with fear. Was it a projection of her overwrought mind?

      She managed to tear her gaze away and face the room. ‘There’s someone out there!’ she cried.

      ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ said Davy.

      ‘A devil’s face! It was grinning at me,’ she gasped.

      ‘It can’t be,’ said Kate, hurrying over to her.

      ‘There was someone out there,’ whispered Anna. ‘It had a red face and horns!’ She just stopped herself from saying that she had seen it before.

      Davy and Owain exchanged glances. ‘One of my sons playing a trick with that old mask?’ suggested the latter.

      ‘What mask?’ asked Anna, shooting him a glance. ‘Are you telling me that you have such a mask in this house?’

      Owain nodded. ‘I’m sorry it gave you such a fright. I’ll tan the hide off whichever of my sons did this to you,’ he said angrily.

      ‘But why should your boys play such a jape on me?’ asked Anna, unconvinced that either Gareth or his younger brother were responsible.

      Kate said apologetically, ‘Boys will be boys. I’m so sorry, Anna.’

      Jack frowned. He knew only to well the kind of ploys that boys could get up to, but this was not amusing. The sight of Anna’s strained pale face made him feel he had to find the boys and prove to her that it was simply a foolish prank. He left the parlour and followed the passage to the door that led outside.

      He was instantly aware of the scent of honeysuckle, roses and gillyflowers combined with a strong smell of smoke, but there was no one in the garden. He thought he heard a faint sound coming from the stable yard and made his way there. But it, too, was deserted. He went into the stables and asked one of the men there had he seen either of the Rowan lads. He shook his head.

      Frowning, Jack returned to the garden, wondering if Anna’s imagination had run away with her. It was not so surprising, considering all she had endured that day. Even so, he thought to check the soil beneath the window and saw large footprints. There was the proof that someone had stood here. He went inside the house and walked into the parlour.

      ‘Well?’ asked Owain, glancing in Jack’s direction. ‘Did you see anyone?’

      Jack shook his head. ‘But there are footprints in the soil outside.’ He kept silent about the prints being the size of a man’s.

      Anna thanked him. ‘At least you’ve proven tome that I’m not losing my wits.’ She told herself that there was probably more than one such devil’s mask in the Palatine of Chester. They were made for mummers’ plays or the mystery ones acted out at certain holy festivals.

      ‘It is to be expected that you might be a little lightheaded and confused after all you’ve been through,’ said Kate sympathetically. ‘I’ll give you a sleeping draught, so you can have a good night’s sleep. From now on we’ll take care of you.’

      Instead of easing Anna’s mind, Kate’s words made her feel uncomfortable. She did not relish being treated like a child again. Fortunately, at that moment several servants entered the parlour, carrying trays of food and wine.

      ‘Refreshments at last,’ said Kate, sounding relieved.

      With an effort Anna set aside her anxieties. Now she knew a little more about what Jack had suffered, she wondered whether she might be able to draw him out on the subject. But she lost the opportunity because wain had taken him aside and she heard him say, ‘It’s onderful to see you again, Jack. From the little I’ve eard of your adventures, you’re fortunate to be alive.’

      Jack shrugged broad shoulders. ‘I’m glad to have been given a second chance.’

      Owain looked vaguely puzzled. ‘You mean that this time you’re in England you plan to find yourself a wife and raise a family. I have a daughter who might suit you.’

      His words surprised Anna into joining in their conversation. ‘I thought you’d found a husband for Beth, Owain.’

      ‘No. She refused him,’ he said with a grimace. ‘Her head is filled with romantic tales of handsome knights in armour, prepared to commit acts of derring-do for a lady. Alas, a wealthy goldsmith with a fine house in Chester is not good enough for my daughter.’

      Anna said wryly, ‘I remember dreaming of handsome knights once upon a time.’

      ‘You did marry a knight,’ reminded Owain.

      ‘That is true. Giles fought in King Henry’s French wars when he was young.’ She turned to Jack. ‘You never met my husband, did you?’

      ‘Alas, no. I was in France on business when you were betrothed,’ he said smoothly.

      ‘Of course. How could I forget.’ Anna removed her soiled gloves and folded them inside her girdle. She accepted a goblet of wine from a serving-man. ‘Sir Giles was a kind and generous husband and I grew to love him. You chose well, Owain, when you accepted his offer for my hand.’

      ‘Thank you, Anna,’ said Owain, looking gratified. ‘Will you repeat those words to my daughter when you see her? At the moment she is staying at Joan and Davy’s house, helping with the children.’ He turned to Jack. ‘So what do you say to my suggestion? Beth will come to you with a generous dowry if you were to take her for wife.’

      ‘I doubt I’d fit Beth’s notion of a handsome husband with this scarred ugly face of mine,’ replied Jack in a stilted voice.

      Anna made a murmur of protest. ‘Not ugly, Jack.’

      He СКАЧАТЬ