Chapter Three
James’s touch was having a strange effect on Anne. She stammered, ‘I d-d-did.’
‘What do you mean, you did? Who left you lying on the floor?’
‘I fell. All by myself. No one else was here.’ ‘You fell? Why wasn’t someone with you?’ ‘They…they thought I was asleep in bed.’ ‘So you should have been! What on earth were you doing over there?’
She hesitated, then hung her head and said in a low voice, ‘I…I wanted to see what I looked like.’
‘See what you…’ James looked at the chest of drawers. ‘Oh! The mirror!’ He regarded her with astonishment. ‘You wanted to see yourself in the mirror? Do you realise that you’ve just given me the devil of a fright! I thought for a moment you’d been attacked!’ He started to laugh. ‘What does it matter what you look like at the moment? Or did you think your bump on the head had given you a black eye?’
‘It isn’t at all funny!’ she said, looking up indignantly. ‘It’s very natural to want to know what one looks like, and I have no idea.’ After a pause, she added, ‘A black eye wouldn’t really matter, it wouldn’t last. But…have I…have I a squint?’
This produced another laugh, but he quickly became serious and said, ‘I’m sorry—I hadn’t realised…No, there’s no sign of a squint.’ He studied her for a moment, then said slowly, ‘In fact, I think your eyes are the loveliest I have seen in a long time.’
She was startled. ‘What?’
He went on, still studying her intently. ‘They are large, the dark blue of lapis lazuli, and they are straight and deep and true. And there’s not even a hint of a black eye. Will that do?’
A delicate rose coloured her cheeks. ‘I’d say it was more than enough, sir! Thank you.’ She gave him a small smile. But something about the way he was looking at her confused her. She looked away and said nervously, ‘Perhaps you’d better put me down before Mrs Culver comes in. She won’t approve of your being here.’
Laughing, he said, ‘Don’t you think I deserve something before I do?’ Then, when she looked up again, puzzled, he kissed her. The kiss was deliberately light and fleeting, nothing more than a casual caress, but her eyes widened and she stared at him in surprise. For a moment his grip tightened, but he put her carefully down on the bed almost immediately and said abruptly, ‘I…I’ll get the mirror for you. Then I’ll find Mrs Culver or Rose.’
He handed the mirror to her. ‘I think you’ll be satisfied,’ he said with a brief smile as he went out.
When Mrs Culver came in a few minutes later she found her patient lying on top of the bed, looking dazed. ‘I’m sorry I was so long—Rose took some time to find me,’ she said. ‘I see one of the others has put you back, but why didn’t they put you properly under the covers? I sometimes ask myself what those girls are thinking about, I really do! Let me straighten you up.’ She picked up the mirror.
‘What’s this?’
‘I wanted to see myself in the mirror.’
‘Now, Miss Anne, you mustn’t be worrying about that sort of thing. You’re not looking your best at the moment, it’s true. Your hair is dirty and it’s in a dreadful tangle, but a good wash will sort out the worst of it. And it’s only natural you should look a bit peaky…’
‘It isn’t that. It’s my memory—I didn’t know what I look like at all!’
Mrs Culver stared, then her face softened. ‘That’s a terrible thing, Miss Anne. I hadn’t thought…But don’t you worry. We’ll soon have you looking a lot prettier than what you see in that mirror at the moment. Now what do you want to do? Do you feel strong enough to sit in a chair while the maids change the bed?’
Meanwhile, James had left the house puzzled and feeling in need of fresh air. ‘Set your mind at rest,’ he had told Liston. ‘I do not make a habit of seducing helpless invalids.’ And when he had half-jokingly claimed a kiss as his reward, nothing had been further from his mind. Her wide-eyed shock had at first amused him, but when he looked into those dark blue eyes it had taken most of his considerable self-control to put her down calmly and gently—and leave her.
James Aldhurst rarely allowed his emotions to run away with him. Personable, rich and eligible, he had been the target of matchmaking mamas and bored sophisticates alike from the day he first entered society. As a result he had learned discretion at a very early age. The young ladies regularly presented to him by their hopeful mamas had left him unmoved, and, though he had conducted affairs with several more experienced beauties with varying degrees of passion, he had never been in any danger of losing his head or his heart. The polite world had learned that, charming though Lord Aldhurst was, he seldom failed to be in complete charge of himself and the situation.
But what had happened when he had held the girl in his arms was disturbingly new, and he was at a loss to explain it. Cully would say it was a case of pity for her situation, and indeed, when he had first come across her, that was exactly what he had felt. But the feeling aroused a short while ago had little to do with pity. It had been totally unexpected, coming quite suddenly out of nowhere, and he was not at all sure he liked the unsettling effect it had on him. It was not only new—it was dangerous. And until he had recovered his senses it would be better for everyone if he kept away from the girl!
So it was a relief to arrive at the stables and find a need for immediate action. The damage done by the storm two nights ago was already being cleared away by men from the estate, and any evidence about what had happened would soon be lost for ever. Accompanied by Sam Trott, he found without difficulty the spot where she had been lying, just where an ancient, rustic bridge crossed a small stream.
James pointed to the path, which ran beside the stream. ‘That path leads to the Portsmouth Road. Perhaps that was where she came from?’ They climbed down to look more closely.
‘You’re right, my lord! Look!’ Sam pointed to a large boulder that formed part of the support for the bridge. It had been loosened by the rain, and was sticking out over the path. ‘I’d say the young lady fell as she was climbing up the path and hit her head on this stone. And then she clambered—no, crawled—up to the drive before she collapsed.’
They looked at the marks made by a girl desperately scrabbling up the bank. ‘She’s a determined lass, that one, all right,’ Sam said. ‘How is she? Has she been able to tell you what happened to her?’
‘She can’t remember anything at all before we carried her into the house. But she was running away from someone. There are rope burns on her wrists where she has been tied up.’
Sam was shocked. ‘Can’t she tell you who kept her or how she escaped?’
‘Not yet. She could still be in danger. Pass the word on—I want to know if any strangers appear in the neighbourhood asking questions.’
‘I’ll do that.’ Sam looked at the marks on the ground. ‘She’s a brave lass, whoever she is.’
They were so deep in thought as they walked back up the drive that they said little to each other. But as they neared the house Sam suddenly said, ‘That young lady can’t have come more than a few miles without being noticed. It was a bad night, but I’d be surprised if someone or other didn’t see her. I’ll ask Mr Norris and one or two of the farmers, shall I?’
‘That’s a good idea, Sam. There’s very little Norris doesn’t hear about sooner or later. Though there won’t have been many travellers on the road that evening. It was a terrible night!’
‘Indeed it was,’ said Sam with some feeling. ‘I heard Mr Norris telling someone only madmen would go out in that storm when they could stay safely indoors.’