The Earl appeared to weaken. “I will consider it,” he said.
The Countess bit her lip in frustration. Then, obviously deciding to leave the question of the valet to be dealt with some other way, she reached up and traced a finger over the Earl’s lip. Her voice took on a low and seductive tone.
“I ache to have you in my bed,” she murmured. “I have waited so long for you.”
The Earl clenched his jaw. “And I – for you – my dear.”
Felice gave a quick smile to herself and stepped away. She picked up her shawl and moved to the door.
“Zen we will meet – tomorrow – at ze chateau!”
“By all means,” said the Earl.
No sooner had the door closed behind the Countess than Jacina rushed out from her hiding place.
“Please m-my Lord, I beg you, do not go to the chateau. Fronard will be there and your life will be in danger.”
“Do not worry, Jacina,” said the Earl gently. “I have no intention of going. Tomorrow my valet and I are setting out for Rougemont.”
“Rougemont?”
“A village high in the Alps. The Headmistress of the school Felice attended in Geneva retired there. Felice went to live with her after she had recuperated from her illness. If Felice is anywhere, she is there. Though I do not know why I have not heard from her.”
“Perhaps – your letters to her – or hers to you, were intercepted somehow by the Countess.”
“Yes. That is possible. Anyway, now I must think of what to do with you.”
The Earl decided to entrust his valet with the task of finding a room for Jacina in the hotel, a room as far away as possible from prying eyes and wagging tongues. She must keep out of sight, for the Earl was sure her own life would be in danger, if Fronard and the Countess knew that she was here. Tomorrow she must return to England.
“Please do not make me, m-my Lord. I want to stay – here with you.”
The Earl looked troubled. “Jacina, I cannot allow that. Imagine if something happened to you! I could never forgive myself.”
The Earl sent for his valet and gave his instructions. The valet was astonished to see Jacina but went off without a word and returned shortly with a key. Reluctantly Jacina followed him to a little room hidden high in the eaves of the hotel.
Later he brought her a supper of mutton stew. Jacina had earlier felt weak with hunger, but now she had lost her appetite. After a few bites she pushed the tray away. She washed her face and hands in the bowl provided and then slipped under the huge feather-filled quilt on the bed.
She had barely laid her head on the pillow when she heard shouts and oaths from the street. There was the sound of scuffling and a loud cry of pain. She leapt up and rushed to the tiny window.
A figure sat groaning on the cobbles below. A short, stout pole lay in the gutter where it had been thrown. Running footsteps receded up the street.
What should she do? The Earl had told her to keep out of sight, but how could she leave someone lying out there injured in the cold night?
She threw on her cloak and ran into the corridor. She was immediately aware that other doors on the landing below were opening. She moved stealthily down the stairs and listened.
She heard the voice of the concierge reassuring guests as he came up the stairs. Then she heard him knock at the Earl’s door. He spoke to the Earl in a low voice. The Earl sounded anxious as he replied,
“Have him carried to my room,” he ordered. “And send for a doctor.”
The concierge returned to the lobby. The Earl waited, leaning over the balustrade. Jacina crept down the stairs to his side.
“What has happened?” she asked.
“My valet was attacked as he returned to the hotel from a nearby tavern,” said the Earl grimly. “The assailant broke one of his legs with a pole.”
Jacina was shocked. “Who could have done such a thing?”
The Earl glanced at her. “Who else but Fronard? This will ensure that, whether I wished it or not, my valet could not travel with me tomorrow to the chateau. Fronard is convinced I will still go, because the Countess is expecting me.”
Jacina shook her head. “They are so – so evil, my Lord. But what will you do now about Rougemont. Will you still go there – alone?”
“I will and must,” replied the Earl. “The valet will be comfortable in my room until I return.” He saw that Jacina was shivering and gently drew her cloak more closely around her.
“Go back to bed, Jacina. I will deal with everything.”
“But m-my Lord –”
“Jacina!” The Earl’s voice was suddenly sharp. “I command you to do as I say!”
Reluctantly Jacina climbed the narrow stairs to her little room.
She could not sleep however. She heard the heavy knocker on the hotel door announce the arrival of the doctor. She heard the footsteps hurrying up and down the stairs as the valet was attended to. She heard the church bells toll. She heard the first cock crow and saw the first slivers of light in the sky.
Every time she closed her eyes she saw the Earl’s face as he bent to kiss her. She remembered the way his lips lingered on hers in a way that suggested he felt more for her than mere friendship.
She tossed and turned and then threw back the quilt. If she could not sleep there was no point remaining in bed.
She got out of bed and went to the wash-stand. She poured some water from the jug into the pewter basin and slipped her night gown from her shoulders to wash. She leaned forward to splash her face and as she rose met her own reflection in the wash-stand mirror.
Her shoulders looked white as porcelain with a faint flush under the skin. Her cheeks were flushed too and her eyes bright. She thought with faint excitement that there in the mirror was the girl the Earl had called his ‘dearest Jacina,’ his ‘oh so pretty little helper’.
She buried her face in her hands. She must stop this. She could not let herself imagine that the Earl’s heart beat as wildly for her as her heart beat for him. He was not free now and never would be.
When this matter with Fronard and the Countess was resolved, he was still committed to the real Felice. He had reminded Jacina of that and had asked her to help him. More than anything else, the Earl needed her as a friend.
She lifted her head as she heard the wheels of a carriage rattling on the cobbles. This must be the carriage that would bear the Earl away to Rougemont. If she left for England today, who knew when she would ever see him again? He had asked for her help and friendship. Then that was what she would give him.
She washed and dressed hurriedly and was in the hotel lobby as the Earl himself descended. He was taken aback when he saw her.
“I do not think there is transport to Geneva this early,” he remarked.
“I am not going to Geneva, m-my Lord. I am going with you.”
The Earl’s brow darkened. “I cannot agree to this, Jacina. I do not want to have to worry about your safety as well as everything else.”
“But neither Monsieur Fronard nor the Countess know where you are going, do they?”
“No,” the Earl admitted. “They do not.”
“In fact, they will be waiting at the chateau for you to arrive tonight, won’t they?”
The Earl nodded reluctantly. “They will.”
“So!” cried Jacina triumphantly. “What danger can there be if I come along?”
The Earl sighed and shook his head. “Jacina, I –”
“When you find the real Felice,” persisted Jacina. “Think of the tale you will be bringing her. She will find it incredible! Would it not be better if there was a friend with you – who could corroborate your story?”
The Earl considered this. “Perhaps you are right –” he said slowly.
“I am! I know I am, my – my Lord,” cried Jacina happily.
A flicker of a smile hovered on the Earl’s lips as he regarded her.
“Well, my little friend and helper – you will need warmer garments than those i
f you are coming with me. I will ask the concierge if his wife can lend you something.”
Half an hour later Jacina was ensconced in the carriage with the Earl. She knew she looked strange with a woollen cloak that was too big for her, a worsted skirt, a fur hat and a muff the size of a cat, but she did not care!
The Earl had been amused at her attire when she appeared outside the hotel, but he had been careful not to show it. The coachman must believe that the Earl was blind, for he might gossip at stops along the way and word could then travel back to St Moritz.
“I would not want Fronard and my wife alerted to the fact that I am not quite as helpless as they think,” reflected the Earl. “Not yet, anyway.”
The air was sharp as they set out. A cold mist hung over the roofs. Jacina looked at the streets through which they passed with interest. The houses had steep gables and balconies and were brightly painted. The cobbles of the roadway looked scrubbed and clean.
The Earl told her about his valet. The valet had not seen the face of the man who attacked him as the man had been wearing a hooded cloak. He had stepped out suddenly from an alleyway at the side of the hotel. There was nobody about as it was past midnight.
The valet was in great pain but bore it stoically. He said it was his own fault for staying so long in the tavern. He had slipped out without the Earl’s permission to explore the town. The doctor who examined him said his leg would heal in time but he must not walk on it for two months.
“I do not think he will be too heart-sore at having to stay in St. Moritz for a while,” mused the Earl. “It seems he met a very pretty Swiss miss last night!”
At the edge of the town the Earl asked the coachman to stop, so that he and Jacina could take some refreshment at a small hostelry that was just opening its doors. There had been no one about at the Hotel Cronos that morning to serve breakfast.
They were shown to a little table covered with a red check tablecloth. Jacina had not eaten properly for days and she hungrily devoured the warm bread and honey and gulped down a bowl of frothy hot milk.
The Earl did everything as if he could not see. Jacina marvelled at his powers of self-control.
The mist was clearing by the time they left.
The coachman was smoking a pipe up on his box. He nodded amiably as they approached and knocked his pipe out on the roof of the coach. The Earl helped Jacina in and she felt herself shudder at the touch of his hand. Before he settled himself on the seat opposite, the Earl drew a rug over her knees. Then the coach set off again.
If only our errand was not so portentous, thought Jacina, I could imagine that we were simply travellers, exploring a strange country together.
The Earl tapped her arm and pointed out of the window. Jacina looked out and gasped. There were the Bernese Alps, great glittering forms with heads of ice.
Somewhere up there lay the truth about the real Felice Delisle.
CHAPTER NINE
The road wound higher and higher into the mountains. Sometimes it ran through thick forest of pine, where all that could be heard was the grind of the carriage wheels and the tramp of the horse’s hooves. Sometimes it crossed stone bridges where all that could be seen below, far below, was a swift ribbon of water. More often it clung to the side of sheer rock, with nothing but a dizzying chasm for Jacina to look out on.
Now and then the horses slipped on the hard, icy road and for a terrifying moment the coach would begin to slide backwards. Then the coachman would crack his whip and cry “hoi hoi hoi”. The horses would strain harder in their harness and the coach would move on.
The air grew sharper and colder. Jacina was glad of the heavy cloak, unflattering as it might be. She thrust her hands deep in the huge muff.
She was always aware of the presence of the Earl.
Whenever she glanced his way his features were set and stern. His dark eyes brooded under their heavy lids. He hardly spoke, though should Jacina ask him a question, he always answered her with courtesy.
She sensed that as the coach rose into the mountains and into the world of Felice, the Earl’s thoughts lingered more and more on the fiancée he was going to meet for the first time.
She could not help wondering if the real Felice was pretty. The Earl’s brother Crispian had fallen in love with her, she thought wryly. Why should not the Earl himself?
Then she would pinch her own hand sharply inside the muff. This would never do. She had come along as the Earl’s friend and helper and that was how she must behave and think.
At noon the coachman drew up at a tiny hostelry. The patron came out with flagons of Swiss beer and hunks of bread and cheese. Jacina asked timidly if she might have soup instead of beer. The Earl smiled and instructed the patron to bring his guest some potato soup.
After this refreshment they continued on their way. Jacina closed her eyes and in a second was asleep.
When she awoke some two hours later, she could feel that the rug had been drawn up over her shoulders to keep her warm. She opened her eyes and looked straight into those of the Earl. She blushed as she wondered if he had been watching her sleep.
The Earl turned his eyes quickly away.
“It’s snowing,” he said.
Jacina looked out of the carriage window. Huge, dazzlingly white flakes danced in the air.
The road grew steeper. The coach seemed to be almost vertical as it climbed. Then the road levelled out and ran through forest again. As dusk fell, Jacina began to hear the howl of wolves from amidst the trees.
It was dark when the coach rolled into the small town of Savrin. The coachman pulled up in front of the one hotel, which stood opposite the Town Hall.
A porter hurried out to take their bags. He led them into the hotel, while the coachman drove the coach and horses into the stable yard.
The Earl ordered two rooms. The coachman would sleep on the settle in the hotel parlour.
Jacina was glad to be able to refresh herself in her room. She noticed that her skin was glowing from the fresh mountain air. She brushed her hair and changed from her boots into a pair of satin slippers, before walking downstairs to join the Earl for dinner.
A white tiled stove kept the dining room warm. There were two long wooden tables and benches. Some customers were gathered near the stove chatting and drinking tankards of beer.
Jacina sat with the Earl on one of the benches.
The patron bustled up to introduce himself and take their orders. He said there was a tasty rabbit stew on the menu. Jacina said she would be happy with that and the Earl ordered two bowls.
The patron was curious about the blind Earl and his companion. Once he had delivered the order to the kitchen, he returned and hovered at their table. He asked them where they were going.
The Earl hesitated and then said,
“Rougemont.”
There was an immediate silence in the room. The customers around the stove stopped their chatter. The patron stroked his chin.
“How long since you were last there?” he asked.
“I have never been to Rougemont,” replied the Earl.
“Well, if you had, you’d find it much changed.”
The Earl asked him why and the patron explained,
“There was an avalanche there this year. A quarter of the village was destroyed, monsieur. Many people died.”
The Earl sat very still. “When was this exactly?”
Jacina looked on anxiously as the patron wrinkled his brow. “Late March or thereabouts,” he answered.
The Earl drew in his breath.
“A month after the old Earl died,” he muttered.
“Pardon, monsieur?” asked the patron.
The Earl shook his head. “It is not important. Tell me, do you know anything about the Headmistress from Geneva who retired there?”
The patron said he did not, but one of the customers by the stove spoke up,
“She was killed, monsieur. So were other people in the household. Two young women who lived with her were b
rought out alive. One of them died later though.”
Jacina glanced at the Earl. She could not read his features.
“Tell me,” enquired the Earl. “How long will it take to reach Rougemont from here?”
The patron explained that it would not be possible to take the coach all the way. The road was only wide enough for a coach and four until it reached the Saultier Pass. After that, there was only a track into the valley of Rougemont. The Earl would need a packhorse.
The Earl decided that they would hire a packhorse from the hotel tomorrow. They would tie the horse to the back of the coach. When they reached the Saultier Pass, the Earl and Jacina would continue their journey on the packhorse while the coach returned to Savrin.
The rabbit stew then arrived and all conversation ceased. The Earl and Jacina ate quickly and retired to their rooms.
That night, Jacina dreamt of a towering wave of snow bearing down on her out of the mountains.
*
It was twenty miles from Savrin to the Saultier Pass. The horses’ hooves crunched through the powdery snow. The Earl sat silent the whole way. Jacina looked out at the breath-taking scenery. The mountains towered above her. The sky was the colour of a clear pearl.
The landscape was so beautiful that it set Jacina thinking. Perhaps there were other reasons why Felice had not wished to go to Castle Ruven after the death of her fiancé, Crispian. Perhaps here in these mountains she was able to find an inner peace that she feared might be denied her in England and amongst people that she did not know.
At the Saultier pass the coach halted. The road did indeed peter out here. Ahead lay a snowy track that disappeared into a ravine.
The coachman untied the packhorse from the back of the coach. The Earl lifted Jacina into the saddle. Then he mounted behind her.
“From now on I think it is safe for me to be no longer blind,” he whispered.
“I shall be glad of that,” smiled Jacina.
The coachman turned the coach. He called out “au revoir” and set off back to Savrin.
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