His Runaway Maiden

by June Francis

  Lady Elizabeth began to separate the meat from the bones. ‘My dears, I am thinking that God granted me ten extra years of life so that I could be of help to you both.’ She broke off for several moments and Rosamund held her breath, thinking that her godmother might be about to reveal all to the Baron. Instead she continued with a change of subject. ‘I hope you are both hungry. I asked for toste rialle to be made for pudding. No doubt you have tasted it, Baron. I first did so in Calais.’ She signalled to the servant to pour the wine and drank off a draught all in one go.

  ‘What is toste rialle?’ asked Rosamund, thinking she could not help but be fascinated by all that her godmother did. How could she down her wine so swiftly when there were times when she seemed hardly able to breathe?

  ‘It is a paste of sugar, spices and sweet wine,’ said Alex, smiling at Rosamund as the lady paused to wipe her chin with her napkin.

  ‘There is more to it than that,’ said Lady Elizabeth, ‘there is quince, raisins, nuts and flour spread hot over white bread and sprinkled with sugar.’ She smacked her lips.

  ‘It sounds delicious,’ said Rosamund, quite affected by the Baron’s smile.

  Lady Elizabeth nodded. ‘I want you to have some pleasure in life, Rosamund dear, because I fear you have been dreadfully unhappy. That is why you must marry a rich man.’

  Alex almost choked on a morsel of meat and had to wait for the coughing to subside before saying, ‘You have been discussing marriage with Mistress Appleby?’

  ‘Aye. I have decided what she needs is a childless widower,’ said the lady.

  Rosamund stared at her in astonishment.

  ‘I do not agree,’ said Alex, putting down his knife. ‘I wonder at your making such a pronouncement, Lady Elizabeth.’

  ‘I shall tell you why,’ wheezed the lady. ‘I was younger than Rosamund when my parents chose a much older man for me. My head was full of nonsense. I was convinced I would be happier with a young, brave knight in shining armour. I wept on my wedding night. But when George died I inherited all his money and was still young enough to enjoy being rich.’ She beamed at them both.

  ‘It is vital that a man should be able to support his future wife, but there should be affection and respect and trust in a marriage,’ said Alex, glancing at Rosamund before giving Lady Elizabeth his attention once more. ‘You were obviously not happy living with your husband if you set about enjoying yourself once he was dead.’

  ‘I agree with the Baron,’ said Rosamund bravely.

  ‘You feel like that because you are young, my dears,’ mumbled Lady Elizabeth through a mouthful of food. ‘Your blood gets heated and it is lust that drives you, not wisdom.’

  Rosamund felt her cheeks burning and quickly lowered her gaze to her platter. What would her godmother say next? She hoped the Baron did not think that she had poured out all that had happened between them to Lady Elizabeth.

  ‘You embarrass Mistress Appleby,’ hissed Alex.

  ‘If my goddaughter is to marry, Baron, then she needs to know what to expect when bedded by a young man driven by his animal passions. That is, if she does not know already.’

  There was a whimpering sound from Rosamund.

  ‘You will stop this,’ said Alex in a furious whisper. ‘Are you mad?’

  ‘I do not mean to offend, Baron, but I suggest you remember your manners, too,’ said the old lady, giving her attention to her dinner. ‘You are a guest in my house and should not speak to me in such a way. I understand you are under a great strain and I will forgive you and say no more. Now, let us eat up this good food.’

  Alex wondered what she meant by his being under a great strain, but at least she was as good as her word and did not speak again. But she had created an atmosphere that made him reluctant to break the silence. What had Rosamund been saying to her? Had she lied about what had taken place on their journey to London? He felt so angry that he was tempted to storm out of the parlour and go to stay with Walther and Maud. He glared at Rosamund, who flushed to the roots of her hair, but there was an expression in her lovely eyes that kept him glued to his seat.

  Rosamund was all of a-quiver, remembering how she had felt when she and the Baron were caught in that forced embrace in the snow. Were her feelings then love or lust? What was he thinking? It was obvious he was angry and she did not blame him. No doubt he would never ask her to marry him and she realised that she might just enjoy finding out about love in his arms. This despite his having deceived her about his station in life.

  By the time the meat course was cleared away and the dessert placed in front of them, Alex and Rosamund had calmed down a little and were able to enjoy the delicious confection set before them. More wine was poured and comments made about the food and weather. Rosamund asked when the troupe would be arriving.

  ‘They will soon be here, as will the musicians,’ said Lady Elizabeth. ‘You must come and watch the Baron being taught his steps. I swear he will be in trouble if he treads on my toes.’

  The words had scarcely left Lady Elizabeth’s lips when a servant came hurrying into the hall and whispered in her ear. No sooner had the meal been cleared away than a young woman entered the hall, carrying a black-and-silver gown over her arm. Her eyes alighted on Lady Elizabeth and she hurried over to her. She was followed by several other young men and women. The women reminded Rosamund of butterflies because their skirts fluttered and they were dressed in a variety of colours.

  ‘Lady Elizabeth, I bring bad tidings,’ trilled the first woman. ‘Lady Joan cannot join us. She has caught a fever and is abed. She begs your pardon for disappointing you.’

  Elizabeth uttered a tsk of annoyance before saying, ‘Poor Lady Joan, I hope she will soon be well. It does make matters awkward. The figures will not be right for the dance and we have so little time to find someone else to take her place. The Baron here will partner me.’

  The group stared at Alex and one of the ladies smiled. ‘Introduce us, Lady Elizabeth.’

  ‘This is Baron Dalsland from Sweden. His grandfather was a great friend of mine and brought me many precious jewels from his country,’ said Lady Elizabeth.

  ‘Has he danced before?’ said another lady with bold eyes.

  ‘But of course,’ said Alex, smiling down at her. ‘I would be of little use as a replacement if I could not.’

  ‘I will take you in hand,’ said the bold-eyed lady.

  Rosamund, sitting on a chair in front of the fire, watched this light flirtation with startled eyes and more than a little annoyance.

  ‘That will be unnecessary,’ said Lady Elizabeth firmly. ‘I will allow no dalliance during the dance. I have said that I will partner the Baron.’

  ‘What about this young lady?’ asked one of the men, noticing Rosamund.

  ‘Oh, I cannot dance,’ she said hastily.

  He laughed. ‘I do not believe that is true. Everyone can dance.’

  ‘Not me,’ said Rosamund firmly.

  All attention was now on Rosamund. ‘I could teach you,’ said the fair-haired man who had spoken. ‘The steps are not so difficult and you could fill Lady Joan’s place. We do not have to perform for another three days, so you could perfect the steps in no time. May I introduce myself? I am Lord Bude.’

  Rosamund could not resist looking at Alex to see what he thought of the young man’s suggestion. He was frowning. Obviously, he believed she was not good enough to dance with an English lord before royalty.

  ‘I deem it a wonderful notion,’ said Lady Elizabeth, much to Rosamund’s surprise. ‘May I introduce my goddaughter, Mistress Rosamund Appleby, lords and ladies. Her parents are dead and she has recently come to live with me.’

  The party eyed Rosamund with as much interest as they had the Baron. The lady who had broken the news about Lady Joan, said, ‘It is fate! You are of the same height and have the same colouring as Lady Joan, Mistress Appleby, and, as Lord Bude has said, the steps are not difficult.’

  Alex wanted to disagree. Bude was the name Lady Eli
zabeth had mentioned earlier as a man who might possibly turn traitor. He was obviously of a flirtatious manner; if he was as poor as her ladyship had said, then he would be on the lookout for a wealthy heiress. Perhaps he thought Rosamund might inherit her godmother’s fortune. How was Alex to know that her head would not be turned by this handsome young lord? He could not allow that to happen.

  But before Alex could make a move on the young lord, one of the ladies approached him.

  ‘I know something of your homeland, Baron,’ she said. ‘I admired Lady Elizabeth’s amber jewellery and she told me it was made in Sweden. I asked my father if he would buy me such a set, but he refused. He said I needed a rich husband if I wanted such trinkets.’

  ‘Hardly a trinket, Margaret, if your father cannot afford such jewellery,’ said one of the other ladies. ‘It must be worth a fortune.’

  ‘Enough!’ said Lady Elizabeth, clapping her hands. ‘We are here to dance. My goddaughter will attempt to fill Lady Joan’s position.’

  Rosamund opened her mouth to say that she had not agreed, but it was too late. Already Lord Bude was reaching for her hand and her godmother was nodding in her direction. ‘You had best try on Lady Joan’s costume this evening in case it needs altering, Rosamund, my dear. We will walk through the dance several times to give you and the Baron a chance to familiarise yourselves with the steps without the music.’

  Rosamund took a deep breath as Lord Bude’s soft, white hand clasped hers. ‘Now pay attention, Mistress Rosamund,’ he said in her ear. ‘No one expects you to be as good as the rest of us, but no doubt your pretty face will make up for any faults.’

  Immediately Rosamund wanted to tug her hand out of his grasp and resume her seat by the fire, but the other dancers were already calling out instructions. She did her best to comply with what they said, but there were too many voices telling her what to do and she stepped on Bude’s toes more than once.

  She glanced up at him, apologizing, and instantly was aware that his eyes were gazing down her cleavage. She lost all desire to do well and made a complete mess of the steps when the music began and she was supposed to dance in earnest. It was a relief when the wheezing Lady Elizabeth eventually signalled a halt.

  Concerned about her, Alex led her over to the settle and made her sit down. She whispered to him to tell the others that there would be another rehearsal tomorrow evening at Richmond. He did so.

  The musicians and dancers departed, chorusing their farewells. Only Lord Bude lingered. ‘Perhaps I could give you a private lesson this evening,’ he suggested, taking one of Rosamund’s hands and kissing it.

  ‘I think not, Lord Bude,’ said Alex, removing Rosamund’s hand from the other man’s grasp. ‘Mistress Appleby has had a long journey and needs her rest.’

  Bude scowled. ‘Surely Mistress Appleby can make her own decisions? I really don’t see what it has to do with you, Baron?’

  ‘But that is because you are unaware that the lady and I are betrothed,’ said Alex politely.

  Only by a blinking of the eyes did Rosamund betray that she was more surprised than Bude to hear those words. His lordship muttered an apology and with a terse good night left the hall.

  ‘Why did you tell him that we were betrothed?’ demanded Rosamund, as soon as Bude was out of earshot.

  Alex was asking himself the same question. It would have been wiser if he had allowed Rosamund to encourage Bude to discover if he had any dealings with those with treacherous intent. ‘He is a fortune-hunter,’ snapped Alex. ‘Do not take what I said to heart. I still have no intention of getting married until I am thirty.’

  A sharp laugh escaped Rosamund. ‘Then you should have remained silent. You are forgetting that not only do you wish to be avenged on my brother, but also that I have no fortune.’

  ‘He knows that Lady Elizabeth is extremely wealthy and that you, her goddaughter, have recently come to live with her. It is obvious Bude smells money when he looks at you.’

  Two spots of colour appeared high on Rosamund’s cheeks and she tugged her hand free. ‘You are insulting. Did you not consider he might find me comely?’

  ‘Bude cannot afford to be swayed solely by a lovely face,’ he said harshly.

  ‘Why should I believe you? He is a lord of the realm, whilst you are a foreigner, unable to trust me with your real identity.’

  Alex realised that he had hurt her and his voice was gentler when he said, ‘I did not trust those lords and ladies with it either.’

  She frowned. ‘You mean you are not a Baron?’

  ‘Ach! I have that title in my own country. I inherited it from my grandfather, as well as his estate and his business.’ He hesitated. ‘But I have another name that my father gave me and it is not Nilsson.’

  ‘Are you going to tell me it?’

  Alex hesitated. ‘Why do you think I am here, Rosamund?’

  Her eyes darkened. ‘I am in no mood for guessing games,’ she said shortly. ‘If you are already rich, then I presume it simply amuses you to entertain and to spy on people.’ She turned away from him and went over to the chair where Lady Joan’s costume had been placed and picked it up.

  ‘Come here, if you please,’ said Alex quietly.

  She glanced at him and he smiled at her in such a way that her heart seemed to move inside her. ‘Give me a reason why I should, Baron?’

  He walked slowly towards her and stopped a few inches away. ‘If you want to perform before the King and Queen, then perhaps you should practise the steps one more time.’

  His closeness was having a strange effect on her. ‘You mean with you?’ Her voice sounded husky.

  ‘Why not?’ He took the costume from her and placed it on the chair. Then he reached for her hand and clasped it firmly. ‘One always starts with the left foot,’ he said. ‘There are four double forwards and then we face each other and drop hands. Double steps back, and then forwards. Let us do that and then we’ll try the next part.’

  At first she could not concentrate and she muffed her steps and her fingers trembled in his grasp. ‘Relax, Rosamund,’ he murmured against her hair. ‘This is not a matter of life and death. You are meant to find pleasure in the dance.’ She nodded and tried to concentrate on her steps and not on the effect he was having on her. ‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘Now we do a quarter-turn left and then double forwards, turn right around and double forward back to where we began.’

  Rosamund followed his lead and eventually managed the steps without watching her feet. They came to a halt and she laughed. ‘I can do this.’

  ‘Of course you can,’ said Alex, grinning.

  ‘What next?’

  ‘We now face our partner as we are doing and I turn on the spot. Then you do the same.’ She did so and then he took both her hands and they slip-stepped up the hall.

  ‘I think I remember what comes next,’ said Rosamund, and proved she did.

  Laughing, they came to a halt. ‘Ach! That was good,’ said Alex. ‘You make an excellent dancer when you stop worrying.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Rosamund’s eyes were luminous as she looked up into his face.

  Suddenly, as if drawn together by an invisible cord, they moved closer until their bodies touched. Gently at first they kissed. Rosamund had never enjoyed anything so much and did not want him to let her go. Then a snore that turned into a wheezing cough caused them to spring apart.

  ‘I must go,’ murmured Alex, so aroused that he knew that if he did not cool down then he would not be able to answer for the consequences. He made for the door, only to be stopped by Lady Elizabeth’s breathless voice.

  ‘I have been thinking, Rosamund, that I would like to see you married before I die.’

  Alex turned and looked at Rosamund and then at the white-painted face staring at them both over the back of the settle. Lady Elizabeth smiled grotesquely. ‘What say you to an official betrothal before we leave for Richmond, Baron?’ she gasped. ‘My lawyer will be here soon. He is to make provision for a dowry for
my goddaughter and could draw up a betrothal agreement at the same time.’

  Alex walked slowly over to the settle. ‘You overheard what I said to Bude? You were only pretending to have dozed off?’

  ‘I cannot sleep without my potion, for I can scarcely breathe,’ panted Lady Elizabeth. ‘I would like to see Rosamund’s child born before I—’

  ‘What child?’ asked Alex, frowning.

  ‘There is no child,’ cried Rosamund, going over to her godmother.

  ‘There could be,’ said Lady Elizabeth in a faint voice.

  Alex’s eyes narrowed. ‘Enough of such talk. You should be in bed.’ He went over to the settle and scooped the old woman up into his arms. ‘Rosamund, open the door,’ he commanded.

  She hastened to do his bidding, wondering what the Baron was making of all this talk of a child. Before she could ask if he knew where her godmother’s bedchamber was, her maid suddenly appeared.

  ‘What has happened?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘Lady Elizabeth has over-exerted herself,’ said Alex. ‘Lead the way to her bedchamber and we will follow.’

  The maid nodded and almost ran in her haste to reach her ladyship’s bedchamber that was fortunately on the ground floor. Once there, she drew back the bedcovers and Alex laid her ladyship down.

  ‘Bring me my potion, Hannah,’ gasped Lady Elizabeth, her eyes rolling in her head. ‘And, Rosamund, you stay with me.’

  The maid hurried out.

  Rosamund glanced at Alex, who was standing the other side of the bed. She knew this was not the right time to try to explain to him her godmother’s conviction that he had seduced her on the journey to London.

  ‘Sitting up will improve Godmother’s breathing. You hold her whilst I pile up the pillows behind her.’

  There was much Alex wanted to ask Rosamund, but knew it would have to wait. He moved swiftly to comply with her request and watched Rosamund deftly heap several pillows behind her godmother. Then he eased her gently against them and Rosamund tucked in the bedclothes so that she was snug and warm. Then she drew up a chair and sat beside the bed and took one of her godmother’s hands in hers.