by Anne Herries
‘Anne would never live there as de Montfort’s cousin or his mistress unless he forced her,’ Rob said. ‘She is a spirited girl and her temper is sometimes hasty—but she would not shame her mother.’
‘Then perhaps it is not her and I have wronged them both,’ De Vere said, his usual urbane self. No one could have known from his manner that he detested everything English and had sworn to help his Spanish masters win superiority over that arrogant nation. ‘We may go there on the morrow and speak with her ourselves, for she is a charming lady, and if I am wrong no harm will have been done. Please, stay as my guests tonight and tomorrow this business is easily settled.’
‘Give yourself time to think,’ St Orleans urged Rob. ‘If by some wondrous chance your daughter still lives, the rest must be as nothing. She will be restored to you and I dare say something may be arranged to protect her from spiteful tongues.’
‘Her mother would welcome her back whatever the case,’ Rob admitted. ‘If her affections are engaged and he will wed her, it might be best that she is married.’
‘He will wed her if she has been his mistress,’ De Vere said and smiled inwardly. ‘The three of us will see to it…’ He knew that Stefan de Montfort would never bow to dictation, and a quarrel might bring about the very result he desired.
Anne could not sleep. Her room seemed stuffy and airless and she thought longingly of the pool in the garden. There was a moon and it would be easy to find her way there. She knew the path well enough, and she would love to cool herself in the water. She knew that Stefan had set the date for their wedding and it was less than a week until their wedding day. Until then he was determined that he would not seek her bed, though they had kissed and touched intimately when they walked in the gardens.
She could hardly wait for the day she became his wife. Her mind had settled to it that she would not now remember her past. The flashes of memory had ceased to come and she thought it must be because she was happy and at peace in this house. She was always busy—she enjoyed helping Ali with the cures he made, and there was usually some small task needing her attention. Her life was much as it must always have been, helping to run a large house, except that she would soon be wed. The thought excited her and she knew that she might as well get up, for she would never settle.
Slipping a thin wrapping gown over her night chemise, she slid on a pair of soft leather slippers and went down through the house and into the gardens. The moon was very bright and she hummed a lullaby to herself as she walked. She knew exactly what she wanted to do and went directly to the pool. Sometimes Stefan came to bathe at night. If he chanced to come, perhaps they might bathe together…
Lost in her dreams of the happiness that was soon to be hers, Anne had no idea of what was about to happen. She did not see the men hiding in the shrubbery or hear them as they crept towards her. When something struck her on the head everything went black and she fell like a stone.
‘Damn you!’ Fritz snarled at the man who had hit her. ‘I told you we needed her alive and well. He will not pay one gold piece if she is dead.’ Stefan de Montfort would seek a terrible revenge on the man who murdered his mistress!
‘It was only a light tap,’ the man said. ‘I didn’t want her to scream and bring the guards down on us. If they caught us here, we should be trapped. For God’s sake hurry up. We need to get out of this place before someone sees us.’
Fritz hoisted the girl over his shoulder. As he did so, one of her slippers fell off. None of the men saw it as they began to creep away into the darkness. Fritz’s plan had seemed a good one when they talked of it over their ale at the tavern, but Stefan de Montfort was known to have the devil of a temper. If he discovered them before they spirited the girl away, none of them would live to see the dawn!
‘I’ll be glad when this is over,’ one of them grumbled. ‘You planned this, Fritz. If anything happens to the girl, you are to blame.’
‘Nothing will happen to her, unless Marc struck her too hard,’ Fritz said. ‘If she doesn’t come to her senses, we’ll dump her in the forest and disappear.’
Stefan rose at first light as was his habit. He walked down to the bathing pool because the night had been hot and he liked to refresh himself in the cool water. He knew that Anne enjoyed it too and he smiled as he thought of the pleasure it would give him to teach her how to swim once she was his wife. The pool was not deep, but there was a river with a sandy bed on his manor and they might swim there together if she mastered the art. She seemed to embrace new things easily—she had already begun to speak French more often than she had and would soon be fluent. Once they were wed he would make it his business to teach her. The thought brought a smile to his face, because he would enjoy teaching his wife many things.
Stefan saw the leather slipper lying on the grass near the edge of the pool. He bent to pick it up, instinctively knowing it belonged to Anne. He was sure it was part of a pair they had bought when they visited the fair at Cherbourg. He frowned as he wondered how it came there. It was possible that Anne had come to the pool to bathe, but why would she leave one of her shoes behind?
Glancing about him, he saw that the grass had been trampled by feet heavier and larger than Anne’s. A bush had been damaged, some of its leaves hanging, as if someone had brushed past it carrying something. An icy chill went down his spine and he clenched his fingers about the delicate slipper. It was not possible! No one could enter these grounds without being seen by his guards…unless they had been negligent. No, it could not be. The footmarks must belong to the gardener or one of his men-at-arms…but none of them would come here. This part of the garden was private. Only the gardeners and a few others were allowed here. Besides, he was certain that none of his men would harm Anne. They all knew that he was intending to marry her.
Turning, Stefan strode back to the house. His heart was thumping wildly as he faced the fact that his enemy might have somehow found a way into his gardens and stolen the woman he had promised to wed. If that were so, he would kill whoever had taken her! Yet perhaps Anne had merely dropped her slipper and not bothered to stop for it. He prayed that it was so; if she had been taken, he did not know how he would bear her loss.
He entered the house at a run, halting in surprise as he saw that three men were standing in the Great Hall. One he knew at once as his neighbour. The others were strangers to him. Hassan was with them and something in his face warned Stefan of trouble. He went towards them, barely controlling his impatience.
‘I do not know what brings you here so early, De Vere, but it is not convenient. I must speak with Anne before I can see you.’
‘Anne has been sent for at Lord Melford’s insistence,’ Hassan told him. ‘However, she is not in her room…’ He saw the slipper that Stefan had crushed in his hand. ‘What has happened?’
‘I found this by the pool,’ Stefan said and his expression was icy. How dare these people come to his home at this hour and demand to see Anne! The rage boiled inside him, but something about Hassan’s manner made him hold his tongue. ‘There were signs of what may have been a struggle. If Anne is not in her room, it is possible that she may have been taken—’
‘No!’ one of the strangers cried angrily. ‘I demand to know what you have done with my daughter!’
‘Your daughter?’ Stefan’s startled gaze flew to his face. Now he understood Hassan’s message, and, looking at the man’s face intently, he saw that there was a certain resemblance. ‘What makes you think she is your daughter?’
‘This gentleman is Lord Robert Melford,’ Comte De Vere said in a reasonable tone, for it suited him to play the diplomat. ‘He is looking for his daughter. She was travelling to France some weeks ago with her brother when a freak wave washed her over the side of the ship. Having seen her brother a few days ago, and noted a faint likeness, I thought that the lady calling herself your cousin might possibly be Anne Melford.’
‘Damn you!’ Stefan cried. Instinct made him distrust his neighbour, though he had no real re
ason for it. ‘Whether she is Anne Melford or my cousin hardly matters for the moment. If she is not in the house, it is likely that she has been stolen.’
‘Why would someone do that?’ Rob asked, his eyes as hard as iron. Clearly he did not believe Stefan! ‘What reason could there be for Anne to be abducted?’
‘If Cowper took her, he did it to gain revenge on me,’ Stefan ground out. His temper hung by a thread and it took all his control not to lash out at the newcomers. They were wasting his time when he needed to look for Anne! ‘He hates me and would see me dead. I had hoped to make peace with him, but if he has taken her I shall see him dead!’
‘Why should he gain his revenge by taking my daughter? What is she to you?’
‘Anne was to marry me as soon as the banns were called.’
‘Never! I shall not allow it,’ Rob said furiously. Lord de Montfort was a stranger to him and his first thought was for his daughter’s safety. ‘If you cannot protect her in your own home, you are not fit to be her husband.’
‘I thought us all well protected,’ Stefan replied coldly. ‘Believe me, you cannot be angrier than I am that this has happened. I do not know if Anne is your daughter or not, sir. It is possible that she may be, of course. However, she was more dead than alive when I snatched her from the sea and brought her here. My physician brought her through the fever and made her well again, but she could not remember her name or where she came from. At times she thought she remembered a house and recently she told me that she thought her father might have some influence with King Henry of England, but though she knew many things, she did not remember her family. And she chose the name Anne for herself from some I suggested.’
‘My God!’ Rob stared at him. A part of his frustration at this situation was that he had been on thorns to discover if the girl was Anne and just when he had hoped to find her she had gone. ‘It must be her. Thank God she is alive!’
‘She was alive last night,’ Stefan said, his expression grim. ‘But I do not know if she still lives.’
‘This man—where can he be found?’ St Orleans asked. ‘What did you say his name was, sir?’
‘Cowper. He is an English lord and a devil,’ Stefan said. ‘Years ago, he and his cousin murdered my brother and blamed me for it. After I left England under a cloud, Cowper gained influence over my father and forced him to sign away his birthright and mine when he became old and feeble of mind.’
‘Can you prove that?’ Rob asked, eyes narrowed, suspicious.
‘I have a witness that my father was treated ill, but actual proof—no,’ Stefan answered. ‘At this moment it hath no importance. I mention it only because it explains why the man wishes me dead and why he may have stolen my promised bride.’
‘Anne may have given you her promise,’ Rob said, his temper controlled but still simmering. ‘If it is what she truly wants, I shall not deny her—but if you have brought pressure to bear, she shall not be forced to it.’
‘Anne has not been ill treated in any way,’ Stefan said haughtily. ‘There were rumours, however, and I sought to protect her reputation by asking her to be my wife. Anne accepted me and I believe it was her true wish. She could not have continued to live here unless it was as my wife, and she had nowhere else to go. If she is your daughter, the case is altered. You should take her home with you and I will come for her when my business with Lord Cowper is ended. If Anne still wishes to be my wife, I shall honour my promise to her.’
‘Spoken like an honest man,’ Rob said, his frown clearing, because, despite some of the rumours he had heard, he discovered that he liked this man. ‘We shall let Anne decide her future.’
‘First we have to find her,’ the Comte De Vere reminded them. ‘Have you any idea where he might have taken her?’
‘I have had one of my men keep an eye on him,’ Stefan replied. ‘He was staying at the King’s Arms in Cherbourg, though I understood it was his intention to take a ship for England soon, for he had been making inquiries. His men made an attack on me some days ago, but were beaten off and several of them were killed. We had hoped that Cowper might have given up the fight. Yesterday, I sent word to him that I was ready to talk. We were to meet at the Abbey of St Michael, which is some twenty leagues on the road to Cherbourg, later today. If Cowper has stolen Anne, he may have hoped to fool me into going to the meeting with him while he slips away to England.’
‘He will not try to ransom her?’ Comte St Orleans said. ‘You believe his motive is to gain revenge rather than for money?’
‘If it were money, I would pay his ransom willingly,’ Stefan said and Rob muttered agreement. ‘Yet I fear he may try to strike a blow at me.’ His eyes met Rob’s. ‘I thought she was safe here. Forgive me for not protecting her. This will be thoroughly investigated; if I find negligence, the men involved will be punished.’
‘There must be a breach in the boundary somewhere,’ Hassan said. ‘I shall have the grounds searched, my lord—unless you have other work for me?’
‘Detail a party of men to search for any clues. I shall take six of our best men and ride to Cherbourg to discover if they have taken Anne there.’ He glanced at the three men who had come in search of Anne. ‘Do you wish to ride with me?’
‘What of your meeting with Lord Cowper?’ Hassan asked.
‘I suggest that you might wish to keep the appointment. If he comes to the meeting, Cowper knows my terms. I shall renounce all my claims to my late father’s estate if he agrees to a peace between us. However, if anything has happened to Anne and I discover that he is responsible, I shall kill him.’
‘If I have not done so first,’ Rob growled.
‘I shall detail the men,’ Hassan said and bowed his head to Rob. ‘I pray that your daughter will be found alive, sir.’
‘Thank you,’ Rob said stiffly. ‘I shall accompany you to Cherbourg, Lord de Montfort. If they are about to board a ship, we shall need a strong force to stop them.’
‘I think I shall take my men and help to make a search of the area,’ the Comte De Vere said. ‘St Orleans, I suggest you accompany Hassan to the meeting with Lord Cowper. If an agreement is reached, there will be need of an impartial witness.’
‘I am not exactly impartial, for our two families are to be joined by the marriage of my daughter and Melford’s son, but I shall be glad to witness the contract if one is drawn up.’
‘Then we are agreed,’ Stefan said. ‘If Cowper defaults, you must return here, Hassan, and we shall return this evening if we have no luck at Cherbourg. If Anne has been taken to England I shall go after her, but we must search the area thoroughly first. Tell the men that no hut is to be left unsearched nor any bush or ditch lest her body has been discarded. I need to know whether she is alive or dead.’ His eyes were bleak, as cold as the North Sea.
‘Your men will search your own estate,’ Comte De Vere said, a flicker of dislike in his eyes, for things had not gone quite as he’d hoped, ‘and mine shall make a search of the surrounding area. They must have taken Anne somewhere and they will have been seen. We shall find them between us.’
‘Has she stirred yet?’ Fritz entered the wooden hut where they had laid the woman on a pile of sacking. He looked down at her face, frowning as he saw how still and pale she was. ‘Damn you, Marc! You have killed her. She is no use to us dead.’ He bent down, placing a hand to Anne’s forehead. ‘She is not cold yet, but I fear she will die.’ He rounded on Marc in a fury. ‘You fool! Lord de Montfort would have paid a fortune in gold for her return, but if she dies he will hunt us down. He can be a ruthless devil and will have no mercy for the men who took his woman.’
‘I didn’t hit her that hard,’ Marc replied in a surly tone. ‘It was your idea to snatch her, not mine, and I’m not staying around to be killed by that devil.’
‘Where do you think you are going?’ Fritz grabbed his arm as he made to leave the hut. ‘We’re in this together! I want you to take the message to de Montfort. Tell him we have the girl and we’ll return her
for five thousand gold pieces.’
Marc shook off his hand angrily. ‘You go and deliver the message yourself,’ he said. ‘I’ll stay here and guard her.’
‘You’ll cut and run the minute I leave,’ Fritz muttered, frustrated as he saw his dreams of riches melting into the mist. ‘The others have run off with their tails between their legs. We have to stick together or we’re dead.’
‘You’re dead,’ Marc muttered in a surly tone. ‘You should have left it to Cowper. You cheated on him; if de Montfort doesn’t kill you, Cowper will! You’re a fool and I’m getting out of here now.’
‘Damn you!’ Fritz said and threw a punch at him. Marc drew a knife from beneath his jerkin and thrust it into Fritz’s side. ‘Fool…we could have been rich.’ Fritz staggered and then fell to his knees, his eyes wide with horror. ‘You’ve killed me.’
Marc withdrew the knife and walked towards the door. As Fritz fell flat on his face, Marc kicked at his body, then left without a backwards glance. If he returned to his master with the story of what had happened here, Cowper might reward him for the information. He would gain something from this if he could.
‘That English pig left for his ship at first light this morning.’ The innkeeper spat on the floor of the taproom, which was covered in rushes and none too clean. The stink of stale ale and body odour permeated the air, bringing a look of distaste to the men’s faces.
