After lunch they all travelled to the village and Celina was able to explain exactly what she wanted the new Steward to do.
He nodded and seemed impressed by her clear mind.
It was, as Robin had said, her moment of triumph, but it was hard to remember that when she was full of fear.
Pierre Vallon had threatened her husband’s life. He was out there somewhere, waiting for the moment to kill him.
She watched Robin, trembling as she felt a cloud of death hanging over him, wondering what the future held.
*
Uncle James stayed to supper, but left early, saying that he was an old man and needed an early night.
Later Celina walked slowly to her room, worn out with the effort of trying to appear bright and normal.
‘I love him,’ she told herself. ‘But how can I make him love me? Whatever is going to happen to us?’
The room was in darkness, save for a flickering light on the dressing table.
Slowly she walked to one of the windows and pulled back the curtains. Immediately the light from the moon flowed into the room, bathing everything in a soft silver that reflected her melancholy mood.
Suddenly a shadow reared up behind the window and the air was rent with the sound of smashing glass. She jumped back with a shriek as a man’s arm came through the broken window, groping towards her
Then the rest of him appeared, his leg, his body and his head.
At the sight of his face she screamed. She had seen the shaven head and dark glinting eyes in the French newspaper. This was Pierre Vallon – the man who was set on murdering her husband.
“Go away,” she cried hoarsely. “Go away.”
His face terrified her. It was dark and bitter, filled with hate and vengeance. “I know who you are,” he said, speaking in English but with a heavy accent.
“That – doesn’t matter – ”
“You’re his wife. I read about your wedding in the paper. Very sudden. He must be madly in love with you, and that’s just what I want.”
She could almost have laughed, bitterly. Madly in love with her. If only he were!
“Get out of here,” she yelled, backing away from him. “Get out!”
On the words she turned and tried to escape. If only she could reach the door!
There was only one thought in her mind. She must not let him reach Robin. Only her husband mattered. Whatever it cost her, she would protect him.
But Vallon threw himself onto her, carrying her to the ground. She screamed and screamed again, until his hand over her mouth silenced her.
He rolled off her onto the floor and yanked her up so that he was holding her with his hands around her throat.
“I told him I’d make him suffer,” he croaked hoarsely. “I said I’d break his heart, and I have waited until now – to escape – to get my revenge – waiting – waiting – ”
She tried to speak but his hands tightened around her neck.
“Now I can do it because his heart is yours – ”
“No – no – you’re wrong – he doesn’t love me – ”
“Liar!”
“No – I love him, but he cares nothing for me – ”
“You don’t fool me. He’s madly in love with you, I know it. He was wild about Marie Lemans and she betrayed him with me. He had me locked away in prison. That was his revenge. But now I am here for my revenge and I will take it with the woman who means more to him than Marie ever did.”
As if from a great distance she heard a door open. Her head was swimming, she was losing consciousness, but she must not give in. Robin was in danger – she must save him – she must –
“Get away from her.”
It was Robin’s voice. She could not see him, but she could see the face of Pierre Vallon as he looked up and beheld the man he hated. A look of evil joy came into his eyes.
His hand moved fast and the next second he was holding a knife.
“You’ll be here to see her die,” he gloated. “That makes it perfect.”
“I said let her go.”
But Vallon only laughed. It was a dreadful sound, and it seemed to fill the whole world.
Slowly he raised the hand with the knife.
The darkness was closing on Celina. From somewhere she heard a shout and the next moment a body came flying through the air to land on Vallon, dragging him away from her, fighting him madly.
“No – ” she whispered. “He will kill you – stay away, my love – ”
Then she lost consciousness.
CHAPTER TEN
It was a long time later that Celina opened her eyes.
At first she did not know where she was, except that she was in a room she had never seen before. She tried to turn her head, but her neck was painful.
Then to her astonishment she heard Robin say gently,
“Are you all right, darling? Speak to me if you can.”
Darling? Had he really said that word?
He was looking down at her, his eyes full of anxiety.
“Tell me that you can hear me,” he begged.
Now Celina remembered what had happened. Pierre Vallon had leapt through the window and seized her. He had drawn a knife, but her husband had thrown open the door and hurled himself into terrible danger to save her.
After that she had known no more.
She wanted to ask him a million questions, but her throat was very painful and it was impossible, for the moment, to speak.
But he was alive. As he leaned over to kiss her very softly and she felt his lips on hers, she was overwhelmed by relief.
“Tell me you are not hurt,” she pleaded in a hoarse whisper. “He held a knife.”
“Which he was going to use on you. I had to stop him.”
“And you did. You saved my life. You could have been killed – ”
“What would I care if you were in such peril?” he said fervently. “Forget that man. He is dead.”
“Dead? But how – ?”
“While we were fighting for the knife, he managed to wrench himself free and run for the window. I don’t know if he had forgotten the long drop or whether he no longer cared what happened to him, but he landed hard on the flagstones below and died instantly.”
“Then you are safe,” she cried joyfully.
“And so are you, which is what really matters.”
“Safe,” she whispered longingly. “If only – oh, there’s so much I do not understand – ”
“Don’t worry about it now. Just think about getting well, and then – ” he checked himself, “well – then – ”
“Yes?” she asked eagerly.
“All in good time. There are questions we must talk about, but only when you have regained your strength.”
Reluctantly she accepted that she would have to be patient, although it would be very hard. With a sigh she lay back on the pillow.
“Where am I?” she asked. “I don’t know this room.”
“This is my room. I had you brought in here because I thought the sight of yours might upset you with so many bad memories.”
“Thank you so much. It was kind of you to think of that.”
She wanted to ask him so much. More than that, she wanted to enjoy the wonder of him being here with her. But suddenly he rose and moved away to talk to someone else who was in the room.
As the other man drew closer, she saw that it was Dr. Landon.
“It is good to see you awake again,” he said. “Your neck is badly bruised, but it will heal. For the moment you must have complete rest and try not to talk too much.”
As they walked to the door Celina wanted to cry out to Robin to stay with her, but she could make no sound.
There was so much to say and yet so much that she did not know how to say.
She remembered telling Vallon that her husband did not love her, although she loved him. Robin had appeared almost at once, but how much had he heard?
Did he know her secret now?
If s
o and he did not love her, how could she ever face him?
But there had been something in his voice as he ordered Vallon to get away from her that had stirred her heart.
Might he love her after all?
If there was even the faintest chance of his love, she felt as if she would die from too much happiness.
She tried to read his expression as he returned to her, just managing to reach out and touch his hand.
“You have been wonderful,” he said. “That devil meant to kill us both.”
“I read about him in the newspaper,” she murmured. “I knew who he was. I was so afraid that he would kill you. He said terrible things about seeking his revenge, and about you – ”
“Never mind that now,” he said quickly. “Just try to sleep.”
He raised her hand up to his lips and kissed it. Then he said,
“I promise you, you are quite safe now and no one will dare come near you.”
He walked to the door and for a moment he looked back at her and next he was gone.
‘He saved me,’ she thought, ‘just as I saved him. He kissed my hand and he said that I was wonderful. But did he say that he loved me? If only I could remember.’
Her mind was clouded and she could not recall whether he had spoken those crucial words. He had said that he was grateful to her, but gratitude was not love.
‘I want his love,’ she murmured to herself. ‘But what will happen now? Since his enemy is dead, perhaps he will return to Paris. How can I bear to lose him when I love him so much?’
Still murmuring, ‘I love him,’ she fell asleep.
She was not aware that Robin had entered the room and came to stand by the bed, looking down at her.
When he saw that she was fast asleep, he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth, so softly that she did not awaken. Then he left the room quietly so as not to disturb her.
*
It was nearly five days before the doctor allowed Celina to get up and sit by the open window.
After another two days she was allowed out on to the balcony.
Nora attended her constantly. So did the Dowager, but neither of them would allow Celina to look into her own bedroom.
“It is being completely redecorated,” the Dowager told her, “so that there will never be anything to remind you of what happened. And Robin’s orders are that you are not to enter the room until it is finished.”
She laughed and clapped her hands.
“He is taking so much trouble. It’s quite delightful to see him. But don’t tell him I told you that.”
Before she left the room she turned back and gave Celina a long intent look. She had done the same many times in the last few days, Celina realised, as though she were studying her for some reason.
“Is something wrong, ma’am?” Celina asked.
“No, my dear, nothing at all. I am just leaving.”
She whisked herself out of the room before Celina could ask her any more questions.
Whenever she saw Robin she insisted that she was better and wanted to get up.
“It is too soon,” he always said. “I want to take no chances.”
They did not speak of love, but his manner to her was always gentle and tender. Several times a day he would come and sit with her and talk about nothing very much, almost as if merely being with her was a pleasure to him.
One evening he told her that he had been to see the tenants and the cottages were being rebuilt in the village while the children were growing stronger every day.
“I am so pleased,” Celina enthused. “I have been thinking about them and wondering how they were faring.”
“All is well now. When you see the progress you will be so pleased.”
“I knew that you would make everything right on the estate,” Celina replied.
“It was not me who did that, but you. When I go there they crowd around asking how you are. I have had to promise to take you to see them soon.”
“How kind they are!”
“No one has earned their gratitude more than you. almost forgot to tell you that a new baby has arrived and they have named it after you.”
Celina gave a soft laugh.
“It should really be your name,” she said.
“Actually it is a girl,” Robin replied with a smile. “But I will have my turn when one of the women produces a boy. In the meantime I have sent ‘baby Celina’ a present from both of us. It is just a little necklace that I bought in the village, not very expensive, but it gave the mother a great deal of pleasure.”
“I want to get up now,” Celina said.
“The doctor says you can tomorrow but you are not to leave the house or do anything too strenuous.”
“Tomorrow,” Celina exclaimed. “Then I will be able to have luncheon with you and perhaps dinner.”
Robin smiled.
“It all depends on how you feel,” he said, “and actually I have something to show you as soon as you are strong enough.”
“Does that mean that my room is finished?” she asked.
He pretended surprise.
“What do you know about that?”
“Nothing at all,” she said with a smile. “But I am still longing to see it.”
“Mama has had a wonderful time choosing wallpaper.”
“It was so kind of you to think of me,” she replied, “but I have been very happy sleeping in your bed except that I worried that you were uncomfortable.”
“I was only uncomfortable,” Robin answered, “because I was worrying about you. As for thinking about you – yes, I have been doing that a lot, although not, perhaps, as much as I should have done.”
She tried to see his eyes, but suddenly he could not look at her. He seemed awkward and uneasy.
“I must go now,” he said. “I will see you again later.”
When he had gone Celina lay wondering about a new note she had heard in his voice. Something was about to happen between them, she was sure of it. Something new and thrilling!
She prayed that by some miracle he would be learning to love her. If it did not happen now –
But she could not bear to think about that.
Nora came to help Celina dress, bringing one of her more elegant new gowns.
‘Please,’ she prayed, ‘let him think me beautiful. Let this wonderful time last. I love him so much.’
When he came to fetch her she crossed her fingers, hoping to find admiration in his eyes. But all she saw was that he was looking serious and wondered if she had been deluding herself.
“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.
“I feel very well,” she assured him.
“Good. Now I have something to show you. Will you come with me?”
“Of course I will.”
She tried to speak confidently, but she felt a sudden fear that perhaps he was preparing her for his departure abroad again.
Instead of going to her bedroom, he led her out into the corridor and up the stairs, walking very slowly in case it was too much for her.
Finally, when she thought they were nearly at the top of the castle, he stopped in front of an oak door.
She was full of misgiving. Now she recalled a rumour she had once heard that Robin kept a special suite of rooms in the castle, which he had built for one of his favourite Parisian mistresses.
No other woman had ever been invited to stay, but this one was different. He had, reputedly, been wild about her, even inviting to stay at the castle while his mother was away.
All the servants and some of his friends had known that she was there. They had even expected him to marry her.
But there had been no marriage. She had left and returned to France and never been heard of again.
She remembered Vallon’s words about Marie Lemans, how wildly Robin had loved her and how bitterly he had taken his revenge when she betrayed him.
Now Celina wondered if her husband wanted her to realise how much Marie Lemans had meant to him, and that she
was still his true love, more important than his wife.
Perhaps she was dead and this room was a shrine to her memory.
As she stood there, waiting in trepidation,
he said, “In this room there is something very dear to my heart. Now I want you to see it.”
Celina drew in her breath. Every nerve in her body made her want to run away and say she had no wish to hear any more.
She wanted to cry out ‘no, spare me this. Let me live in the belief of your affection, even if it is only an illusion.’
But she could not say the words.
Besides, that was the coward’s way and so she would force herself to be strong enough to endure whatever there was to be faced.
“Very well,” she muttered quietly. “I will see whatever you wish me to see.”
“Did you ever hear a rumour that I was once madly in love?”
“You have been the subject of so many rumours,” she said, trying to delay the evil moment.
“But you have heard this one?”
“Yes, I have heard this one.”
“I have brought you here so that you can see the woman who captured my heart and made it hers for eternity.”
Something in the way he spoke was so moving that Celina felt her heart reach out to him. She wanted to run away and back down the stairs they had just climbed.
But she would not allow herself such weakness.
Robin handed her the key of the door in front of them. For a moment she was tempted to throw it down on the floor.
But she forced herself to put the key in the lock and turn it.
The door swung open at once. At first it was impossible for Celina to see what was inside.
Then she realised that they were in the central tower of the castle in a large room. It was empty, save for a picture on an easel.
The sun was coming through the windows of the tower, shining onto the picture at which she dared not look.
This was the woman her husband loved and he had brought her here to make her realise that he would never love anyone else.
Including herself. Or perhaps, most of all, herself.
“I want you to look at this picture,” Robin said to her, “because it is a picture of someone special who captured my heart the moment I saw her, whom I know I will love in this life and into the next.”
Celina trembled.
They Sought love Page 13
