Winterset

by Candace Camp

  Arthur had reached them by now, and he swept off his cap, bobbing his head first toward Kit, then to Anna. “We’re that pleased to see you, aren’t we, my lord?”

  “Yes, General. But I—” Charles cast a worried glance at the ground where he had been sleeping. “It is time for my rest.” He looked back at his niece and nephew, then over at a point a little to the right of them. “It is important. You know I have to stand guard at night. That is when they are most likely to come.”

  Kit nodded. “We know, Uncle Charles. Don’t worry. Go ahead and sleep. We’ll just talk to Arthur for a while.”

  Their uncle looked a little doubtful as he glanced at his servant, but Arthur nodded reassuringly, saying, “I’ll keep watch, my lord. Master Kit and Miss Anna will help me look.”

  “Yes. All right. But I’m not sure they’ll know what to look for.”

  “I’ll tell ’em. Don’t you worry yourself, sir. We’ll keep a good lookout, and it’s daytime, after all.”

  “Yes. You’re right, of course. And I have my protection.” Charles de Winter showed them the backs of his hands, where more of the unreadable figures were drawn in charcoal. “I changed them, you see. Much better than the old ones. Gabriel told me.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” Anna nodded and smiled. It was the easiest course to take with her uncle.

  They walked with Arthur back up to the front of the hut, and Arthur dragged out two straight-backed chairs from inside for Anna and Kit to sit in.

  “How is he doing?” Kit asked Arthur, nodding toward his uncle, who was now wrapping himself carefully in his blanket and lying down between the markers.

  “He has his good days and his bad days,” Arthur said noncommittally. He had looked after Lord de Winter from the time Charles was a child, separated from him only when Charles had gone off to school. Many another young man would not have taken Arthur on as his valet when he returned from Oxford, for he was rougher in manner and speech than most valets, but Charles had wanted no other manservant. Arthur, for his part, was intensely loyal to Charles. Anna knew that only a deep affection could have made anyone willing to take on the sort of life he had in order to care for her uncle.

  “How has he been the last two or three days?” Anna asked.

  Arthur looked at her, faintly surprised. “Same as ever, miss.” He nodded toward where Charles lay. “He’s been fairly quiet, just drawing them designs on his hands. He’s happy, thinks they’ll keep him safer.”

  “At night—does he stay here?” Kit asked.

  Arthur drew back, studying them, a frown starting. “Why are you asking all these questions? What’s the matter?”

  “We just want to make sure that Uncle Charles hasn’t gone anywhere the last few nights. That he has been here.”

  “’Course he’s been here. Where else would he go? He spends most nights right here outside the hut or up in one of the trees, keeping watch to make sure the ‘Queen’s assassins’ don’t somehow make it past the rocks.”

  “Doesn’t he patrol sometimes?” Anna pursued. “Roam the whole area?”

  “Sometimes,” Arthur agreed somewhat reluctantly. “But I haven’t heard him say anything about it lately.”

  “But you are asleep during the night. So you wouldn’t know for sure whether or not he left this area?” Anna asked.

  Arthur slowly shook his head. “No, miss. I’m not absolutely sure. Why does it matter?”

  “There’s been some trouble.”

  “Someone’s found out about Lord de Winter?” Arthur asked, worried.

  “No. Nothing like that. Some people have been killed.”

  “Killed!” Arthur stared at her. “What are you saying, miss?”

  “The manner in which they were killed was very odd. There were marks on them that looked as if an animal had clawed them,” Anna explained.

  For a moment Arthur’s face was blank; then understanding dawned on him. “Oh! His nails. But, miss, he would never hurt anyone. He couldn’t. Why, no matter how upset he gets about things, he’s never made the least effort to hurt me. He’s gentle. You know that. He’s just…confused, like, and scared.”

  “But, Arthur, what if—what if he thought those people were the Queen’s spies or her assassins? What if he thought they were going to hurt him? Can you swear that he would not kill them to keep them from harming him—and you?”

  Arthur looked troubled. “Well…no, miss, I might not could swear to it. But he’s been peaceful the last few days. I told you. He thinks this angel told him to draw these other marks on his hands, and he feels safer.”

  Anna bit her lip. She wished Arthur’s answer had been more reassuring. Of course he would not think Charles had done anything so terrible; he was devoted to the man. Nor did she really think that her uncle was capable of murder. Still, there was a niggling little worry in the back of her brain. She wasn’t sure exactly what Uncle Charles might do when he was in the grip of one of his delusions.

  “Keep a careful eye on him, won’t you?” Kit said to the servant.

  “I always do that, sir,” Arthur told him somewhat reproachfully.

  “I know you do. You are excellent with him. But we need to make especially sure that he doesn’t go out anywhere, that no one sees him.”

  “Nobody comes this way, sir. Most people don’t like the woods, and you can’t get to the top of the tor this way, anyway. The time or two anybody’s shown up, trying to climb the tor, they haven’t seen him, and I’ve sent them on their way. He always hides if he hears voices. You know how he is.” He nodded at them gravely. “Don’t you worry. I’ll take care of him. Nobody’s going to find out about him—and nobody’s going to be hurt, not by him.”

  * * *

  “Do you feel better about it now?” Kit asked a few minutes later as he and Anna made their way back down from their uncle’s hideaway.

  “Yes, I suppose.” Anna agreed. “I mean, he says Uncle Charles has been calmer. Surely he would not be calm if he had killed someone, even if he thought they were spies or assassins.”

  “Arthur would have noticed if he had been acting strangely. He is devoted to him, but I don’t think he would cover up something like that for him.”

  They made their way carefully down a slope, not speaking until they reached more level ground. When they did, Anna said with a sigh, “It makes me so sad to see him like that. Do you remember him when we were young? How he always had that bowl of sweets in his study, and he would give us one?”

  Kit smiled faintly. “Yes, I remember. It is sad.” After a moment, he added, “What frightens me is—what if it strikes me later, as it did him?”

  “I know. It’s a terrifying thought. I think about it, too.”

  Their uncle’s madness had not come upon him until after he was grown, and at first, his “spells” had come upon him only now and then. During his “good days,” he had seemed normal. Gradually the spells had become more frequent and his behavior had grown more bizarre, until it was difficult to hide from the servants. His insistence on living outdoors had been the final oddity, impossible to explain, and it was then that Anna’s father had hit upon the plan to hide Lord de Winter’s madness from the rest of the world.

  It was impossible not to look for signs of incipient madness in herself and in Kit, to examine every little oddity for an indication of something worse. Beneath everything that she did, running like a thread through the everyday fabric of her life, was the knowledge that one day her uncle’s fate might be hers or Kit’s, as well.

  When they reached Holcomb Manor, they were surprised to see Kyria McIntyre’s carriage sitting in front of their house. Kyria and her friend Rosemary were in the front drawing room, sipping at the cups of tea that their butler had hastened to provide.

  “Kyria!” Anna exclaimed as she and Kit strode into the room. “What a delightful surprise.”

  “You will think me utterly rude, I’m afraid, to insist upon waiting for you, but your butler said you had already been gone some time on
your walk, and I did so hope to catch you.”

  “Of course I don’t think you are rude,” Anna assured her. “I am glad that you waited. May I offer you anything more than tea?”

  “Oh, no,” Kyria said with a chuckle. “Your butler has already offered us most of the contents of your pantry, I think, but we had a late breakfast.”

  As Kyria and Anna talked, Kit had taken the opportunity to speak to Rosemary Farrington, and now he extended to her an offer to show her the Holcomb gardens. Blushing a little, Miss Farrington did not hesitate to agree, and the two of them slipped out the door. Kyria looked after them for a moment.

  “I think,” she said, turning to Anna with a smile, “that there is a certain fondness between your brother and Miss Farrington.”

  “Miss Farrington is a very pleasant young woman,” Anna replied noncommittally.

  “Unfortunately, I am afraid that I am going to throw a spanner in the works.”

  Anna looked at Kyria questioningly.

  “We came over here today to tell you that we are leaving for London as soon as we can get ourselves packed and ready—probably by tomorrow afternoon.”

  Anna’s heart sank as she thought of Reed no longer being there. She knew it was the best thing, of course, for both of them, but that did not make the future seem any less empty. However, she kept her expression schooled to a mild disappointment as she said, “I—I am sorry to hear that.”

  “Normally I would not be such a coward,” Kyria went on. “But I have to think of baby Emily and the twins, not to mention my guest. It—well, it just seems too dangerous for us to remain here with them, now that there is this person killing at random….”

  “Yes, of course. You cannot expose the children or Miss Farrington to danger,” Anna agreed. “I perfectly understand. Still, I will be sorry to see you go.”

  “Thank you. I will miss you, too. The twins, of course, are most loath to leave. They have been trying to convince us that they should stay and help find the murderer. But I can see that their pleas are lacking their usual spirit. I think that finding that body yesterday has affected them more than they would like to admit.”

  “I am sure it has. I am so sorry they were with me.”

  “You could have had no idea,” Kyria reassured her. “I am very glad you were with them and they did not stumble upon it by themselves.” She leaned forward, impulsively reaching over to take Anna’s hand. “I do hope that this will not be the end of our friendship. I would like it very much if you and your brother would come visit us in London. We could do all sorts of things. It is the height of the Season, and I would love to show you around. Please say you will come and stay with us. I shall have my mother write you an invitation. She would love to meet you. And Broughton House is huge, far too large for our family. You would not have to worry about being squeezed in with all of us.”

  Anna flushed a little with pleasure. She liked Kyria, and she could not help but wish that things had been different, that she and Kyria could have become fast friends. But, of course, they could not. She could not go for a visit to the ducal mansion, living in the same house as Reed. It would be an impossible situation. No, no matter how empty the upcoming days would seem, it would be far better for Reed and Kyria and all the rest of them to leave. In the long run, it would be far easier on her heart.

  “I am sorry,” she said, real regret in her voice. “But I am afraid that Kit and I do not often visit the City. We are simple country folk.”

  “What nonsense. That is the sort of thing Rafe says—usually when he is trying to put something over on someone.”

  Anna laughed. “No, I promise you, I am not trying to ‘put anything over’ on you. But the summer is a very busy time here. Kit has to keep track of everything for both estates, and I could not leave him to do it all by himself.”

  “Well, I shall write you, and you must promise that you will write back to me.”

  “I will, yes.”

  “And I will convince you to visit. You’ll see.”

  Rosemary and Kit strolled back into the room soon after that. Their faces were flushed, and Anna thought that Miss Farrington looked a little teary-eyed. Kyria rose, and they took their leave. Kit and Anna walked with them out to their carriage.

  “Please say our goodbyes to Lord Moreland, as well,” Anna said, carefully keeping her voice neutral.

  Kyria looked at her in surprise. “Reed? Oh, but Reed is not going with us to London. I am sorry, I did not realize you thought that he was leaving, as well. No, it is just Rafe and I and our baby and Miss Farrington and the twins.”

  “Oh.” Anna’s heart was suddenly much lighter. She told herself that the news should not make her happy; she should not be looking forward to seeing Reed again. “He—he really should leave. You must persuade him to go with you for his own safety.”

  Kyria let out a lilting laugh. “Oh, no! If I were to tell Reed that, it would only make him even more determined to stay.”

  Kit handed the women up into the carriage, bowing toward them, his eyes going to Rosemary. She lifted her hand to him, and the carriage pulled away. Anna glanced over at her brother. He was watching the carriage as it receded down the drive.

  “I am sorry, Kit,” Anna said, slipping her hand into his.

  He did not look at her as he said, “It is better that she leave now. It will make it easier in the end.”

  “Yes, but I know that it is hard right now.”

  He squeezed her hand. “We have not fallen in love. But I did like her…very much. She wanted me to come to London to visit. She said that Kyria was inviting us to stay with them at Broughton House.”

  “She did.”

  “I told her it was impossible. It hurt her. I could see it in her eyes, though she tried to hide it. And that makes me feel worse than ever.”

  “Oh, Kit…”

  He mustered up a smile for her. “What a sorry pair we are, eh? Ah, well, I do not suppose I could ask for a better sister to grow old with here. Can you not see us when we are Nick Perkins’ age? Playing cribbage in front of the fire every evening?” He turned back into the house, standing aside for her to walk through the door before him and saying lightly, “It’s the very devil behaving responsibly, isn’t it?”

  * * *

  Anna was surprised the following morning when the butler interrupted her in a conference with the housekeeper to tell her that Lord Moreland and his two younger brothers were there to see her.

  She hurried out of the servants’ area, stopping at a mirror in the hall to examine her face and hair, and to repin a lock that was threatening to slip out. Reed and the twins were waiting for her in the formal drawing room. Alex and Con, who had been tussling with each other, straightened, letting go of each other, and turned to grin at her.

  “Anna!”

  “Hello, Con. Alex.” She went over to them and took their hands. “How glad I am to see you. I was afraid that you were going to leave without saying goodbye to me.”

  “Never!” Con declared stoutly. “Reed told us he would bring us.”

  Anna looked over at Reed. He smiled and made a slight bow to her. Warmth stirred in her. “Thank you,” she told him.

  “I was glad to do it,” he replied.

  “Reed took us to see Perkins yesterday,” Alex told her.

  “Really?” Anna glanced toward Reed, surprised that he would have taken them along the same route where they had found the body.

  “We drove by way of the road,” Reed explained, obviously aware of what she had been thinking.

  “I see. And how was your patient?” Anna asked.

  “Ever so much better. He can get up and walk around, though he still wears a bandage,” Alex went on.

  “And Perkins said he was well enough that he thought we could take him back to London with us if we wanted,” Con finished.

  “That’s wonderful news.”

  “We’ll be very careful to keep him away from the boa,” Alex assured her.

  “I
am sure that would be a good idea.”

  “And the parrot,” he added after a moment’s thought.

  Anna smiled. “Well, I have no doubt that he will enjoy his new home. And I think it’s good that you are going home.”

  Con nodded. “Rafe explained it to us—how Kyria would feel she would have to stay if we stayed, and if she stayed, the baby and Miss Farrington would, too, so the only way he can get them back to London is if we go, too.”

  “That’s a very clever plan,” Anna said, her eyes twinkling.

  “Yes,” Alex agreed, and his eyes twinkled back at her. “Rafe is very good at persuading everyone to do what he wants.”

  “No doubt he told the same thing to Kyria,” Con added. “I told him so, and he laughed. But, still, it’s true. And, actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing Mama and Papa again.”

  “I think you are both very wise,” Anna assured them. “You should go back to London. But I have to tell you that I will miss you both very much.”

  “Will you?” Alex’s smile was radiant. “You’re the best, Anna.”

  Con nodded. “I think you are the first woman who likes us who’s not one of our sisters.”

  “Come, now. Surely not all the women you have met are that foolish.”

  “I think they are,” Alex told her confidentially. “And quite a few men, as well. Kyria had to get rid of more than one suitor because he didn’t like us.”

  “Well, obviously Kyria is not foolish. Now, will you let me give you a hug before you go, or are you too big?”

  In answer she was seized in a double hug. Tears started in her eyes, and she realized, a little shocked, how very much she would miss the twins.

  “All right, boys, we’d best be getting on,” Reed told them. “Why don’t you go on out to your ponies while I say goodbye to Miss Holcomb?”

  The boys did as he suggested. They were, as Kyria had pointed out the day before, more subdued than usual, though “subdued” was a relative term in regard to them.

  “I hope they will be all right,” Anna commented after they had gone. “I would hate for this to have hurt them.”

  “I think they will get over it,” Reed replied. “Children are very resilient. Rafe and Kyria will be a great help to them. But it was a terrible thing to see. I—I wanted to make sure that you were recovering from the shock, as well.”