A Dangerous Masquerade

by Linda Sole

  ‘Yes, my lord. I’d best tell Arnold to keep back a room for you…he’s another cousin, sir.’

  ‘You have useful relatives.’ Moraven’s smile was barely there.

  Would he find Constance at last? The anxiety had been mounting inside him for a while and he had a terrible fear that something was wrong. He’d been right to suspect she was in trouble. The groom had told him she’d already been robbed of her purse and possessions – what next? A vulnerable woman alone might fall prey to any number of rogues.

  Constance woke as she was shaken roughly. She opened her eyes and peered at the man looking down at her.

  ‘Moraven?’ she whispered.

  Her head was swimming and she felt very unwell. She couldn’t see clearly and when she tried to rise she fell back to the ground. Suddenly, she felt a man lying on top of her. He was clawing at her skirts and dimly through the mists in her head she could smell strong wine on his breath. Alarm bells began to ring. It wasn’t Moraven and she was being attacked.

  She struggled feebly, trying to push her attacker off and screaming. Her peril made her shrug off the feeling of weakness and she bucked and arched beneath his weight, clawing at his face with her nails and trying to throw him off. Screaming again and again, she fought as hard as she could but she knew he was too strong for her. In the end he would overcome her resistance.

  All of a sudden she heard voices and there was light from a lantern hanging from a cart. Two figures loomed out of the darkness and the man attacking her was hauled off of her and sent flying. Dimly aware of a fight and angry voices, Constance tried to gather her senses. She had to get up and run away before someone else grabbed her, but even as she reached her feet her head whirled and she fainted, but this time, though she wasn’t immediately aware of it, someone caught her.

  ‘How ill is she, Doctor Morgan? Will she recover?’ Moraven looked at the physician as he finished his examination. ‘She fainted and she hasn’t come to herself since. What did that devil do to her?’

  ‘Very little, I imagine. She has a few bruises and scratches but she wasn’t violated, as far as I can tell. I think her fever has more to do with the sodden condition of her clothes – and, by the look of her, she hasn’t eaten in a while.’

  ‘I think she didn’t have very much money,’ Moraven said and cursed. ‘She has been ill-treated by people who should have known better, sir. If anything happens to her I swear I’ll bring them to justice if it’s the last thing I do.’

  ‘She has a fever and we must take good care of her until it abates, sir – then she will need rest and good food for a while. Are you able and willing to provide that, my lord?’

  ‘That and more – anything she needs. Please visit her every day, sir. I want her to have the best treatment available.’

  ‘Then I shall send my daughter to nurse her,’ the doctor said. ‘Jane will do the things that need to be done for her. If she is a lady she needs more than the rough services of the innkeeper’s wife, who has enough to do with looking after her customers.’

  ‘I thank you for your kindness,’ Moraven said an oddly humble note in his voice. ‘I am happy to pay for your daughter’s services.’

  ‘ I doubt Jane will take anything from you,’ he replied with a smile. ‘But you shall have my bill when our patient is better.’

  ‘Thank you – and thank you for coming out on such a night.’

  ‘I am dry enough in my carriage and I have other patients to see. If she wakes give her some of the mixture I’ve left for you – and I shall call again in the morning about eleven.’

  Moraven nodded, leaving the doctor to find his own way from the inn. He was not sure when the doctor’s daughter would arrive to nurse Constance, but in the meantime he had no intention of leaving her to the none too clean attentions of the innkeeper’s wife. He would sit with her for as long as she needed him and attend to her wants himself.

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, he stroked her hair back from her forehead. She’d been very cold until they took her wet things off and wrapped her in blankets. As yet she had no nightrobe, but Moraven would send to the market and buy something plain and sensible. Jim was an amenable man and if he had no time to go himself, he would undoubtedly have another relative who would know just where to purchase what was needed for her comfort.

  ‘You have to get better, Constance,’ he said and bent to kiss her softly on the lips. ‘I love you. Truly, I love you. You may not believe it. I can hardly believe it myself, but it’s true. I can be a better man than I am – at least I’m willing to try if you’ll have me.’

  A wry smile touched his sensual mouth. It was easy to say these things when he knew she couldn’t hear him, but would he find it as easy when she came to herself? If she did – but she had to, because her death would send him back to the dark places he’d frequented in his mind before he found her.

  ‘I haven’t been a good man, my love – but if you can care for me I’ll try not to relapse into the bad ways, for your sake.’

  A lump rose to his throat as she made a moaning sound and he touched her forehead, finding it hot and damp. She was so ill and he wasn’t sure what to do for the best. Should he bathe her in cool water – of should he keep her wrapped in blankets?

  ‘You mustn’t die,’ he said fiercely. ‘I won’t let you die, do you hear me, Constance. I won’t let you die.’

  ‘I doubt if she can hear you, sir,’ a voice said behind him and he turned to see a rather plain young woman dressed in grey. ‘I think perhaps she needs to be sponged down to cool her – and that’s something best left to me, wouldn’t you say?’

  Moraven hesitated. She was suggesting he leave the room. He wanted to refuse, but in his heart he knew Constance would prefer to be nursed by this young woman.

  ‘You will take care of her – and send for me if…’

  ‘I shall send for you when she is comfortable. There is no reason why you shouldn’t sit with her for part of the night, sir, if it is your wish – but I can take care of her better if we are private.’ She smiled at him. ‘I am used to nursing my father’s patients. It is my vocation in life.’

  ‘Yes, thank you. I am a fool. She is precious to me.’

  ‘Every life is precious, sir. We shall all take great care of her and with God’s help she will recover.’

  Moraven inclined his head and walked from the room. For a long time he had shut out any beliefs he might once have had about a benign God. It had begun with his mother’s desertion when he was a child, continued when he lost the young woman who had promised to wed him to a virulent illness – and become entirely lost when his friends turned against him. His years of secret work had shown him the evil that was in the world. Could he believe in a divine force for good?

  No one had meant as much to him as Constance. Not his fiancée, not his friends not even his mother who had cheated on his father and deserted him.

  ‘If there is a God then I’m asking…’ he said in a choked voice. ‘No, I’m praying. God damn it, I’m begging. Please don’t let her die.’

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘You may return now, sir,’ Moraven turned from his contemplation of his brandy glance as the young woman entered the private parlour where he’d taken a belated supper. ‘She is sleeping but she responded to the cool bathing and I managed to give her some of my father’s medicine when she was lucid for a moment. We must hope that the fever has broken, but it may come again later. Perhaps if we take it in turns to watch we may both rest for a while.’

  ‘I’ll go up to her now. Please go home and rest for a few hours, ma’am.’

  ‘I am Jane West, sir. I live close by. I will see to my husband and children and then return and sit with her until morning.’

  ‘Thank you. I am grateful to both your father and you, Mistress West.’

  Jane smiled and nodded and went out, pulling her cloak about her. Outside the wind was whistling and it had begun to rain again. Moraven shuddered to think what would have happened
to Constance if he and Jim hadn’t arrived just as that brute was attacking her. If he hadn’t actually killed her, she would almost certainly have died in the night.

  He walked up to her bedchamber and went in. A candle had been left burning on a chest on the far wall. Its light was dim but sufficient for him to see that Constance was more peaceful than she had been. He carried the wooden armchair closer to the bed and sat down so that he could watch her. She looked as if she were sleeping, though as he watched her face creased with pain and she cried out.

  ‘Papa…’ she moaned. ‘Please don’t go tonight…don’t leave me to gamble…’

  ‘I’m here,’ Moraven said. ‘It will be all right, Constance. Everything will be all right…’

  ‘No, it won’t…papa is dead…Madeline is missing. I have to help the children…that man will hurt them. Papa…please don’t leave me again…’

  He stroked her forehead. ‘You won’t be alone again, Constance. I promise I shan’t desert you again. I’ll look after you. You mustn’t be afraid.’

  ‘Moraven…’ Constance moved restlessly. ‘Moraven…’

  For a moment he thought she had woken and knew him, but then he saw that she was still dreaming, tears trickling down her cheeks.

  ‘It’s all right, my love. I’m here. I’m with you.’

  ‘He’s gone…’ Constance turned her head from side to side on the pillow, as if in distress. ‘He’s gone…I don’t know…I don’t know…’ She gave a little sob. ‘Love him…love him…Jonathan…’

  Moraven stiffened as the pain shot through him. Was she crying for him or her lost husband?

  She had cared for him, Moraven, but he’d abandoned her. She had devoted herself to nursing Lord South until he died and then she’d brought hi body home to his family. Had she fallen in love with the young man during the time she was his nurse? It would be the first time it had happened, but the idea was so painful that he hardly knew how to bear it.

  He fought his feelings of despair and reached out to touch her cheek. She was beautiful and he loved her. Even if she had feelings for the man she’d been married to such a short time it didn’t matter. He couldn’t abandon her – but he wouldn’t force her to choose. She had to get better before she made her decision.

  Moraven’s jaw firmed. He would make certain that Summerton gave her what belonged to her. She must know that she wasn’t reliant on his generosity. If she still cared for him, wanted to be with him, it would be all he could ask of life, but he was ready to stand aside. He would be there for her in the background, and he would make certain she was financially independent, but she must choose.

  A wry smile touched his mouth. Always before he’d taken what he wanted without concerning himself about whether it was right or wrong but Constance’s happiness was everything to him. He loved her but if all he could be to her was a friend, then so be it.

  He leaned back against the curved back of his chair, stretching out his long legs and closing his eyes.

  ‘Water…please could I have water…’

  His eyes opened and he stared at the bed. Constance was awake but he wasn’t sure if she knew him. He went to the wash stand in the corner of the room and poured water from a jug into a glass, bringing it to her. She looked up at him, frowning as if trying to place him.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said and bent over her. Placing an arm beneath her shoulders to support her as he held the glass to her lips. ‘Just a few sips. A little at a time.’

  She took three sips and then closed her eyes. He let her sink back against the covers and turned to put the glass down. A hand touched his arm.

  ‘Moraven…is it you? I thought…but it wasn’t and that man…’ she gave a cry of alarm. ‘He tried…he tried…’

  ‘He didn’t manage it, Constance. We found you just in time.’

  ‘Have you been searching for me?’

  ‘Yes. Since I returned to France and found the house for sale.’

  ‘Madeline returned.’

  ‘Yes, Sister Helene told me. I spoke to Summerton in London. He was doubtful at first but he has agreed to give you Jonathan’s own money.’

  ‘Did you force him?’

  ‘No, of course not. What makes you think I would do that?’

  ‘Because I know you…’ She sighed. ‘I feel so ill. My throat hurts and my head is spinning.’

  ‘Do not try to talk or sit up suddenly. You should sleep.’

  ‘I’m not dreaming? You won’t go away?’

  ‘Jane West may take my place for a while. She is your nurse – but I shall not be far away. You should sleep, Constance – unless you would like something to eat?’

  ‘Perhaps later. I’m so tir…’

  Her words were unfinished as she fell asleep mid sentence. Moraven smiled as he looked down at her. She was ill but she seemed to be past the crisis. They had found her just in time. Perhaps someone had been looking after her – perhaps there was a kindly God after all.

  Constance sighed as the soft hand touched her brow. She was having such a pleasant dream and she didn’t want to wake up, but something was calling to her. Opening her eyes, she saw that the sun was streaming in at the window and a young woman in a grey dress was standing by her bed.

  ‘Hello…have you been looking after me?’

  ‘Yes. You’ve been quite ill, Lady South. Your fever broke once but then it came again and we were very worried for a few hours, but I think it has finally gone. You were cool when I touched you.’

  Constance pushed herself up against the pillows. Her body felt as if it were bruised all over but she no longer felt ill and her head had stopped aching.

  ‘I think I am better. Was I dreaming – or was the Marquis of Moraven here earlier?’

  ‘He has only just left you again. We have looked after you together. When I am here he rests and eats, then he returns. He is devoted to you, my lady.’

  ‘Oh please call me Constance. I cannot be formal with you when I may owe you my life.’

  ‘I think it was the marquis and Jim – the head groom here who did that, ma’am. Had they not found you when they did you might have died.’

  ‘Yes…’ Constance shivered. ‘Someone attacked me.’

  ‘You were ill already. Had you lain in the rain all night you would surely have died.’

  ‘The sun is out now. Has the storm worn itself out?’

  ‘It did that yesterday. You’ve been here for two days and three nights.’

  ‘I had no idea…’ Constance frowned because she could not remember much of the past few days. ‘I think I hadn’t eaten and then it kept raining…’

  ‘Would you like me to bring you some food – a nice warming broth would revive you.’

  ‘Yes, thank you. I’m not sure if I’m hungry but I will try a little.’

  ‘Is there anything else I can do for you in the meantime? There is a commode behind the screen. Shall I help you – if you can walk?’

  ‘Yes, I should like to try.’ Constance pushed back the covers and put her feet to the floor. Her first attempt made her dizzy and she sat down with a bump, but after a moment her head cleared and with Jane’s help she managed the walk to the dressing screen.

  ‘I think I can manage now.’

  ‘I’ll fetch your soup, but if you feel dizzy stay where you are and I’ll help when I return.’

  Constance thanked her. She took her time with her ablutions, because she felt weak and did not want to end on the floor, causing more work for her kind nurse. However, she was by way of holding on to the wall and various pieces of furniture able to make her own way back to the bed. Sitting back against the pillows Jane had thoughtfully plumped, the exhaustion washed over her. She closed her eyes. It had taken all her strength to achieve a very small triumph, but she would do better next time.

  Her mind was struggling to cope with all that had happened to her in the last few days. As she waited for Jane to return, she relived her nightmare journey after leaving Jonathan’s family home. If
the earl was not willing to release Jonathan’s money, Moraven must have convinced him that she was entitled to her husband’s money.

  Constance hoped it wouldn’t be too much. She didn’t feel that being Jonathan’s nurse deserved a fortune and she would rather not have taken a penny, but her attempts to find work had made her realise that she was vulnerable. With a small amount of money she could set up as a seamstress and earn her living honestly. She would accept only what she needed to keep a roof over her head and food in the larder.

  Moraven had been searching for her since he learned that she’d come to England – why?

  She wasn’t in the least surprised that he’d saved her from her attacker, brought her here and seen to it that she was cared for while she was ill. She had always known that he would look after her if she permitted him to – but why had he returned to France in the first place? Had he gone to find her? Was he still interested in making her his mistress?

  Constance felt a little flicker of hope. She had thought at first that he believed her easily bought, but he had offered her ten thousand pounds – the bank draft that Heloise had so foolishly destroyed. He must care for her a little to do that surely?

  She did not wish for huge sums of money from him or from the earl. All she needed was a home and a modest income and she was willing to work for her living…but if she could be with Moraven for a while. If he truly cared for her and she was not just one of many, then she was willing to be whatever he wanted.

  Constance had formed a warm affection for Jonathan, but she would never have married him if he hadn’t begged her to let him make her safe. She’d wanted to ease his mind, to make his last days happy, and she believed she had, as much as was possible. He’d been too young to die and her heart bled for the waste of life – but she would not have married him if he’d been in good health.

  She was in love with Moraven. He might not want her to love him, but she did – could she be his mistress and protect herself from heartbreak? The answer was probably no, but to walk away from him would be too painful. He must choose whether he wanted her or not.