Lord Worcester had ordered outworks to be built all along the south-east and west of the castle which was the most vulnerable. On the other side lay the fishponds and a hill, plus more earthworks.
Rhys sighed. ‘It won’t hold them off forever though. We’ll have to hope for reinforcements or assistance from elsewhere if we are to be victorious.’
Arabella turned and found herself so close her nose almost touched the top part of his leather jerkin. She took a step back and looked up at him. ‘And is there any likelihood of that?’
He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. ‘I doubt it, unless there’s a miracle of some sort. I’m afraid I don’t believe in those.’
‘Lord Glamorgan …?’
‘Is still incarcerated in Ireland, or so I’ve heard. Even if he were to be freed, I don’t think the Irish would follow him to England. Most people can feel when something is a lost cause and there’s no money left. With the king a prisoner of the Scots and no pay, where’s the incentive to fight? I’m sorry. I wish I could give you better news.’
‘Don’t be. Truly, I appreciate your honesty. And now, I had better carry on. I’m sure Mrs Watson will have more work for me. Thank you for your help.’
He stepped aside and gave her a slight bow. ‘It was my pleasure. Perhaps we can continue our conversation some other time.’
Arabella couldn’t help but smile at his persistence. ‘We’ll see,’ she said, but she wasn’t fooling herself. She was counting on it.
Just as she reached the door she heard him swear softly and then the clanging of a bell started echoing round the courtyards. There was a lot of shouting and the sounds of running feet. She turned to stare at Rhys, her heartbeat speeding up. ‘What is it?’ He was staring out the window, scowling, so she crossed the room to join him again. ‘Tell me, please.’ But she could see for herself what was happening.
To the left, just coming into view, were a huge number of men marching into some of the fields surrounding the castle and village. Wisely, they were staying out of range of any cannon or musket fire, but they were still close enough to be clearly visible.
‘The New Model Army, curse them,’ Rhys muttered. ‘This lot is under the command of Colonel Thomas Morgan, if the scouts are right.’
There were hundreds of enemy soldiers, if not thousands, or so it seemed. As Arabella and Rhys watched in silence, they just kept coming in a never-ending stream. Most of them were wearing identical red coats which made Arabella think of blood. She put a hand to her mouth to stop a gasp from escaping. No, she must stay calm and block such irrational thoughts. The colour of their coats didn’t matter – perhaps the vivid scarlet would even be of help to the garrison inside the castle as they’d make it easier to spot the Parliamentarians.
‘We are vastly outnumbered,’ Arabella whispered. How could Lord Worcester ever have thought that they would withstand a siege by so many? But perhaps he’d known all along that it was hopeless and it was just that his honour forbade him from surrendering without a token fight.
‘Perhaps,’ Rhys said quietly, ‘but not by much as yet. We’ll have to try to fight them off before any more arrive.’
‘You think that’s possible?’ She looked up at him, wanting reassurance but at the same time the truth.
He nodded. ‘Right now, yes. We have eight hundred odd men and can make sallies and surprise attacks. With a bit of luck, who knows what we can achieve? But it will have to be soon.’ He took her hand and pulled her away from the window and the frightening sight of the besiegers. ‘I must go back and get ready. Please, stay away from any windows and be careful whenever you cross the courtyard. And keep a weapon of some sort with you at all times.’
‘A … a weapon?’ Arabella swallowed hard. He thought she might have to fight?
‘Just as a precaution.’ His voice was calm, reasonable. ‘Nothing should happen to you, but in case you ever need to fend someone off, it would be good if you carried a small knife or something. Do you have one?’
‘No.’
‘Then I’ll find one for you.’ He squeezed her hand, then guided her towards the door with a light touch on her elbow. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t need it but I’m a great believer in being prepared for the worst.’
Arabella pulled herself together and nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right. Thank you.’ There was no point panicking. The siege hadn’t even properly begun yet and she should have thought of this herself. It was only common sense. But it was all so overwhelming, now that she’d seen the army massing outside. It had been easier to think straight when it was all merely a probability, not reality.
Just before they reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped her by putting his hand on her arm. ‘Mistress Dauncey?’
‘Yes?’
‘God keep you safe.’ He bent down and gave her a soft kiss. ‘I will see you soon.’
He disappeared before she had time to reply and she just stood there, one hand raised to touch her lips, the other clutching her ribcage. She found that she didn’t mind him taking such a liberty – she was more afraid that he’d never have a chance to do it again.
‘Dear God, please watch over him,’ she whispered.
She wanted him to stay safe too.
Rhys cursed himself for a fool all the way across the Fountain Court. Why on earth had he kissed the woman? He’d meant to keep up a light flirtation in order to lull her into a false sense of security when she was around him. It was the only way he’d ever find out whether she was playing a dangerous double game or not. But those forget-me-not eyes, so wide with fright as the reality of their situation finally hit home, had made him oblivious to anything but the need to touch her, kiss her.
He was an idiot and he’d have to stay away from her until he could trust himself not to be beguiled by her.
Not that this would present much of a problem. Under the circumstances, he’d probably be lucky if he ever saw her again. Damn the New Model Army! But it was time to take a final stand against them and whether they succeeded or not was immaterial because the die was cast.
He went in search of Lord Charles to receive his orders.
Merrick Court, 3rd June 2016
Tess’s words had had more effect on Josh than he’d let on. If she’d been hoping to guilt trip him, she’d certainly achieved her aim. In fact, she’d done a much better job than his old man ever had, making him feel a part of something much bigger than himself. A family chain, unbroken for a thousand years. Did he really want to be the one who messed it up? And as if what she’d said hadn’t been enough, the house itself was starting to get to him. Whenever he came into the yard, he looked up at the imposing façade and felt a twinge of something that seemed very much like belonging. But he didn’t want to belong here. Or did he?
It wasn’t like he had anything specific to go back to. Apart from Shayla and some of his friends, of course. But he hardly ever saw his daughter and the friends had become more distant during his long months of travel. He hadn’t missed them all that much.
He sighed as he headed up the kitchen steps and put his key in the lock. There were four sets of estate agents coming from London today to look round and give him their estimates, and although he was curious as to what they’d say, he no longer felt the same urgency to sell and get the hell out of here.
Why shouldn’t he stay? At least for a few years. Maybe see how it went? He could always sell at a later date. And he could get a better price if he fixed things up a little – painting, plastering, making good and replacing rotten woodwork. It wouldn’t be difficult as he’d worked in the building trade during the times he wasn’t needed on the sheep stations and knew his way round most tools, a jack-of-all-trades.
In the hall, he ran into Tess.
‘Oh, hi,’ she said. ‘Was it today the London agents were coming? I did try to do some hoovering, but I’m afraid I didn’t get very far.’
Josh smiled. ‘I can imagine. It probably takes a week to get round the whole house an
d then the dust is back where you started, right?’
‘Something like that.’ There was an answering smile in her lovely eyes and Josh had to tear his gaze away. He was extremely attracted to her, no doubt about it, but he couldn’t let that influence his judgement right now. That would just muddle his thinking. And it had been obvious from their conversation at dinner that she was still grieving for her late husband.
‘Well, don’t worry about it. I’m sure most estate agents have seen worse. Anyway, the only thing they’ll be interested in are dollar signs. Or pound ones, in this case. Will you be around if they have any questions I can’t answer?’
‘Yes, I’ve got a valuer coming too, in about half an hour. He’s going to look at the furniture and stuff.’ She headed for the kitchen. ‘I’d better put some coffee on – make the place smell good. Bring them all to the kitchen if you want to offer them some.’
‘Okay, will do.’
The truth was he’d rather they weren’t coming at all now, which was an unsettling thought. What was it about this place that was getting under his skin? He glanced into the Victorian sitting room and glimpsed the lady in the crinoline standing by the window. Maybe that was it – the spirits were helping Tess bind him to his ancestors. If so, he had no idea how to stop them.
At the end of the day, he headed to the kitchen, his head whirling with figures. Large sums, but for some reason they’d made him want to hang onto Merrick Court even more. Weird.
Tess was sitting by the table staring into space while Vince lounged by her feet.
‘Hey, what’s up?’ He took a seat next to her and scratched the dog’s ears.
‘Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about what the valuer said. And Mr Harrison rang.’
‘And?’
‘It’s not good news. Harrison says that as Giles’s widow I owe Marcus Steele the money Giles promised him.’ She glanced at him, her gaze flickering a little. ‘I’d been wondering if maybe you, as Giles’s heir, would be liable too, but apparently not as it was a personal debt that has nothing to do with the estate.’ She sighed. ‘Anyway, the valuer told me there’s nothing here that’s worth a great deal. Nowhere near half a million. More like thirty thousand or thereabouts for the lot. So that means I’ll have to sell what I can, give Marcus the proceeds, then declare myself bankrupt. Not great when I’m hoping to continue my business.’
‘Business?’
‘Yeah, I do up old furniture and sell it on.’
‘Right. Bummer. How about I buy the contents of the house off you? I’ll give you half a mill.’ Josh had no idea where that had come from. His mouth spoke before his brain had time to catch up. But he could afford it and somehow it felt like the right thing to do.
She swivelled round to stare at him. ‘Are you mad? It’s not worth anywhere near that much. I told you. It’s mostly junk.’
‘Doesn’t matter. It belongs with the house. And despite all the numbers the agents threw at me today, I’m kind of thinking of staying for a while. I’ll need furniture.’
‘Yes, but … No, I can’t let you do that.’ She shook her head. ‘That’s just crazy. And besides, even if Giles did owe Marcus that much, I wouldn’t want to give it to him. This way he’ll only get a fraction of the amount, which is what a shark like him deserves.’
‘He’ll try to get it one way or another. Think about it for a bit? No need to decide today. Bryn’s said I can have his guest room for as long as I want and you guilt tripped me into giving some thought to my ancestors. Let’s talk about it more another day, eh?’
She frowned but nodded slowly. ‘If you say so. I still think you’re nuts.’
He was beginning to think so too.
Chapter Fifteen
Merrick Court, 4th June 2016
Rosie finally went back to London, having outstayed her welcome by at least a week. Following their latest disagreement, she’d kept a low profile, not going so far as to apologise to Tess for her insinuations, but nor had she made any further snarky comments. It had obviously been the drink talking, as Tess suspected. The two women had tiptoed around each other, an uneasy truce between them, which neither had been inclined to break.
‘At last!’ Tess shouted out loud after she’d watched Rosie’s car speed out of the gates. Vincent joined in with a bark, no doubt wondering what was going on. It made Tess laugh and she ruffled the top of his head. ‘At least I’m not alone now, thanks to you. What do you say, shall we go out in the garden for a bit?’ She knew she ought to be looking into finding somewhere else to live, but it was such a glorious day and Josh hadn’t seemed in any hurry for her to move out. She could help make the gardens more presentable instead.
Vince tilted his head to one side, as if he was trying to understand her, but he seemed to recognise the word ‘garden’ as that made him bark again and swish his tail back and forth.
Tess collected the wheelbarrow and her gardening tools, plus an old tennis ball, which had been lying around in one of the stables. She spent some time throwing it for Vincent on the lawn in a never-ending game of fetch, which he seemed to love.
‘Boy, you have a lot of energy, don’t you! Enough, I need to do some work now.’
She had finished with the roses and decided to try and do something about the Elizabethan knot garden. It was a project she’d been meaning to start for ages but somehow never got around to. Now was as good a time as any while she waited for Josh to make up his mind about whether to sell or not. Perhaps he’d appreciate her efforts? He and Bryn had made good progress everywhere else.
The box hedges that formed the patterns in the knot garden could still be seen, although most of them were way too tall and sprouting in all directions. Tess would have to prune them severely and hope they didn’t die in the process. She was drawn to the far corner first though, where there were the remains of an old fountain. Right now it was covered in brambles and ivy and it was difficult to see if there was anything left underneath except a pile of stones.
‘Only one way to find out,’ Tess muttered. She pulled out her trusted fork and some shears and set to work.
A bark from Vincent alerted her to the arrival of company. The dog had been lying next to her, happy to doze in the shade of a large bush while she worked. Now he stood up, his tail wagging furiously as Josh approached. Tess was pleased to see him too, but tried not to show it.
‘Hey, Lady M, need a hand with anything? Hello, Vince, helping your new mistress, huh?’ He bent down to make a fuss of the dog, who licked him wherever he could reach.
‘Hi, Josh. Well, there’s some seriously stubborn ivy here, but it’s Saturday. Wouldn’t you rather do something else? You should see a bit of Wales now you’re here.’
Tess wasn’t sure she wanted him to help her. Despite what she’d said to Rosie, she was attracted to Josh and her sister-in-law was probably right. She shouldn’t be, not so soon after being widowed. At least he was wearing a T-shirt again today, although the board shorts were back and that intriguing tattoo peeped out from under his sleeve. His dark hair was tousled, making Tess’s fingers itch to run through it, and he had some serious stubble going on. Giles, having been very fair, had never looked quite so … piratical. Dangerous. It was amazingly distracting and, yes, sexy.
‘Nah, not today. Bryn was a bit crook earlier so I think I’d better stay close, just in case.’
‘Crook?’
‘Yeah, slightly dizzy, although he didn’t want to let on.’
‘Oh, no, I hope he’s okay?’ Tess knew Bryn worked harder than he should but he refused to be told.
‘Probably just overdone it. Stubborn old bugger.’
‘Okay, well, as I said, ivy … be my guest.’
With Josh’s help things moved a lot faster and after half an hour or so they had the entire fountain uncovered. It consisted of a round base, about eight feet in diameter with a foot-high edge, and with three tiers of smaller basins above it like a wedding cake. At the top was a rounded shape with a hole in the middle.
‘Wow, cool! That’s going to look heaps better with some water in it.’ Josh pulled off his T-shirt and wiped his face. ‘Could sure do with some right now. She’s a scorcher today, huh?’
‘Er, yes.’ Tess had a feeling the heat surging through her had more to do with the sight of his naked torso than the weather. She forced herself to study the fountain instead of the gorgeous man next to her. ‘It looks basically sound, don’t you think? I can’t see any cracks anywhere.’
‘Yeah, it’s amazing it’s survived so well. If there had been cracks the ivy would’ve burrowed inside and made them worse. But maybe it hasn’t been covered up for very long?’
‘I don’t know. It’s been like this since I came here anyway.’
‘I’ll go get some water then we can see if it holds tight.’ Josh left his shirt on a nearby bush and set off while Tess watched his retreating back. It was a very impressive back and she couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles gleamed in the sunlight. And that tattoo on his arm – she’d never realised a tattoo could be so enticing, but it definitely added a certain something. Like a ‘bad boy’ stamp. The thought sent a shiver shooting through her. She’d always secretly wanted a ‘bad boy’ boyfriend but had settled for the safer options instead. Was that why she’d fallen for Giles? Although he’d turned out to be more boring and staid, than safe.
‘Get a grip, woman,’ she muttered. Vincent raised his eyes to her and she shook her head at him. ‘No, me, not you. You’re allowed to like Josh as much as you want, but I shouldn’t.’
Josh returned with two watering cans full to the brim, then went back for more, repeating his journey quite a few times. Tess watched closely for leaks as he poured water first into the base of the fountain, then into each tier in turn. She walked slowly round the rim, then shook her head. ‘Nothing. It all seems okay.’
‘Excellent.’ Josh smiled. ‘We have ourselves a fountain, although how we’re going to get that to spout anything, I’m not sure.’ He pointed to the ball at the top. ‘Wonder how it worked back in the Dark Ages?’
The Velvet Cloak of Moonlight Page 14
