‘I look forward to hearing your story,’ murmured Anna, gazing at his strong back before giving her attention to her horse once more. Suddenly she noticed that a girth strap hung loose. ‘Jack, if you please, I would have you look at this strap.’
He walked over to her and took hold of the girth strap she proffered. He noticed the leather was not only partially torn, but also sawn through. ‘You believe this was done deliberately?’ he asked, raising his dark brows.
‘I am the only one who uses this saddle.’ Anna’s eyes were angry as she tapped a finger against the leather. ‘I am certain Will must have done this, to bring me down if I managed to ride for help. If I broke my neck, it would save his having to rile the villagers further into burning me. I deem that he believes by destroying me he will gain Fenwick Manor.’
‘That would make sense of his insistence on your being a witch and wanting rid of you,’ said Jack, reluctantly drawn into a discussion. ‘Yet why should he gain it on your death…unless there was a clause in your husband’s will?’
‘There was no such clause. Neither is he my nearest kin that it would pass to him on my death.’
Jack’s frown deepened. ‘It does not make sense.’
Anna nodded. ‘But envy is a terrible emotion, Jack.’
He agreed, fingering the cut girth strap, knowing she would not remain in the saddle with the strap in that state. Yet for her to share his horse would be untenable. As for her riding his stallion…
‘Enough of such talk,’ murmured Anna, noticing the sun dipping beyond the horizon. ‘It is time we made a move. I’ll lead my horse as the house is only a short distance away. I suggest, Jack, that you ride on and inform Owain and Kate to expect me.’
‘I would offer you my hired horse but I doubt you’d be able to handle him.’
She looked up at the stallion’s powerful shoulders and knew he spoke the truth. Taking hold of her horse’s bridle, she nodded in the direction of the manor. ‘You go ahead. I will follow.’
Jack hesitated. He knew he could not leave her to walk alone. That cur of a nephew might return. But he hated being ordered about; he’d had enough of that in captivity. He experienced one of those flashbacks that left him cold. He was being forced to his knees and could almost feel the lash of the whip flaying his back. He had not even known why he was being punished, understanding little of the language of his master. It was then he had determined to learn Arabic and to escape.
‘Why do you linger, Jack? Mount your horse and ride on. I will be perfectly safe,’ reassured Anna.
Jack scowled down at her, resenting the instruction. ‘I say it is a fine evening and there will be light in the sky long enough for us both to walk and reach the house before it gets dark.’
Anna flashed him a smile. ‘If that is your wish. No doubt both horses will be glad to be relieved of their burdens for a while. I have ridden mine hard and presumably you have, too.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘What a day it has been and it is not over yet.’
She was aware of a terrible sense of displacement, realising afresh that she was homeless. Although the loss she felt at the destruction of her home could not compare to the grief she still felt for her son, this was just another pain to bear. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she blinked them away, knowing she must not give way to weakness.
She looked up and caught Jack Milburn watching her. There was a bleakness in his expression that caused her to wonder what had happened to him during the years he had been missing. For the rest of the journey, she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, thinking how he had changed almost out of all recognition from the youth she remembered.
Chapter Two
It was a relief to see the sandstone walls of Rowan Manor. Anna’s heart lifted and she thanked the Trinity that soon she would be inside its walls to be welcomed by Kate and Owain and the rest of the family.
She handed her horse over to one of the grooms and removed her saddlebags and lute. Jack, who was unsaddling his own mount, said, ‘Leave them. I’ll carry them in for you when I’m ready.’
She thanked him. So many thoughts were running through her head that she felt quite dizzy. She did not wish to upset Kate and Owain too much and knew she was going to have to think hard about what she should tell them. Turning back to Jack, she said, ‘Please, I beg you, do not mention your confrontation with Will to Kate. They will be deeply concerned about the evil that has befallen me without having to worry about my involving you in my affairs.’
He was about to say he thought she was making a mistake, then he remembered the secret he had kept hidden for years, even from his twin. Besides, hadn’t he decided to not involve himself further with her?
Filled with trepidation, Anna hurried towards the walled garden at the back of the house, guessing that at that time of evening Kate and Owain would be in their parlour. She was not mistaken. Both were sitting in the candlelit room.
As soon as Anna entered the parlour, Kate, a curvaceous woman in her early forties, set aside her sewing and rose to her feet. ‘Anna, what are you doing here? We did not expect to see you until the Michaelmas Fair. My goodness! You’re filthy! What has happened? Is there something amiss at Fenwick?’
‘Indeed there is,’ replied Anna. ‘The house was struck by lightning and all my servants had vanished, so there was no one to help me to douse the flames.’
Kate gasped and, going over to her, enveloped Anna in an embrace. ‘My poor Anna, what a dreadful thing to happen! What of Will and his wife?’
‘Marjorie was sleeping at the time. I managed to get her out of the house, but she died!’ Anna’s voice shook and she tore herself from Kate’s embrace and began to pace the room. ‘It was terrifying. Will had accused me of—’ She stopped abruptly, realising what she had said.
‘Accused you of what?’ asked Kate, starting forward.
Anna shrugged and tried to smile. ‘It does not matter.’
‘Of course it matters,’ said Owain, a handsome man in his mid-forties with dark hair silvering at the temples. ‘You’ve been through so much these past two years and now this! If we are to help you, then you must be honest with us.’
Anna’s face quivered. She had talked herself into a trap and knew she would have to tell them some of what Will had said. ‘He—he accused me of—of being an adulteress—just like my mother!’ She put a hand over her mouth. She had not meant to say the latter either. It showed the state of her mind. Kate and Owain exchanged startled glances. ‘Aye, you might well look like that,’ Anna muttered.
‘What nonsense!’ cried Kate, putting an arm about Anna’s shoulder and noticing the cut on her face. ‘Your cheek is all bloodied! Did that happen while you were trying to escape the fire?’
‘No. Will threw a stone at me,’ said Anna, taking a kerchief from a pocket and dabbing at the cut and then cleaning her face, realising she would have to tell them a little more. ‘I deem he wanted me to believe it was someone from the village, but I recognised his voice. I fear that he wishes to discredit me with the servants and villagers and seize Fenwick.’
‘He must be crazed,’ said Kate, aghast. ‘Owain, you must sort this matter out as soon as possible.’
‘I certainly will,’ said Owain firmly. ‘Although, with the house burnt down and his wife dead, I suspect it is the village where I’ll need to search for him. I’d best take some men with me.’
‘If he is not there, you could try my man-ofbusiness’s house in Chester,’ said Anna. ‘No doubt Will shall try and persuade him that I’m not a fit person to own Fenwick.’
‘You really believe so?’ said Owain, looking deeply concerned. He rose from a table littered with papers. ‘Sit down. You’re obviously distraught and exhausted and need to rest. Kate, fetch some wine.’