Free Carisbrooke Abbey by Amanda Grange Page B

a bun. She was dressed in a black dress with a high neck and long sleeves. On her feet were a pair of stout shoes. Behind her, the cottage looked inviting. Sprigged curtains decorated the windows and cheerful paper covered the walls. The chairs and sofas were soft and appealing. A table pushed to the wall at the left hand side of the door was covered with a snowy white cloth. And sitting peacefully by the fire with a doll on her lap, was the beautiful Esmerelda.
    ‘Thank God! She’s here,’ said Marcus as he strode in to the cottage. His words were heartfelt.
    The elderly woman shut the door and locked it behind him.
    ‘Yes. She came back of her own accord in the end.’
    Having satisfied himself that Esmerelda was safe, Marcus turned to the elderly woman. ‘How did she manage to get away, Mrs Lund?’
    ‘I had to go out for some more logs for the fire —’
    ‘I’ve told you to lock the door behind you whenever you have to leave her,’ he growled.
    ‘I did,’ returned the elderly woman. ‘But she climbed out of the window.’
    Marcus looked towards it. It was a very small aperture.
    ‘I didn’t know she could get through.’
    ‘Neither did I,’ said the elderly woman. ‘Until today.’
    He breathed a great sigh of relief. ‘Well, at least she’s back. But we’ll have to have the windows barred. We can’t risk her getting out again.’
    ‘Lund is already seeing to it.’
    He nodded.
    Esmerelda, crooning to her doll, had not looked up, but now she turned towards him.
    ‘Hello, Marcus,’ she said.
    ‘Hello, my dear.’ His voice was gentle. But his eyes were tinged with pain. ‘That’s a pretty dress,’ he remarked, making no mention of her recent adventure.
    ‘Do you think so? Lundy likes it, but I think it’s too plain.’
    He smiled; but only with his mouth. ‘Come, now, Esmerelda, it’s made of the finest lace.’
    ‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘But I do wish I could have silk.’
    ‘I thought you didn’t like silk?’ he asked, without surprise, for her capriciousness was well known to him.
    ‘No more I don’t. But I like it better than this.’
    ‘Then I will buy you a new gown,’ he said gently.
    ‘Will you? Oh, Marcus, you are good to me.’ She got up and kissed him.
    ‘But come now, Esmerelda, I want you to do something for me,’ he said, taking her over to the comfortable sofa that was set in the middle of the room and sitting down with her. ‘I want you to promise me you’ll stay in the cottage with Lundy and not venture out of doors, at least until our visitors have gone.’
    ‘You told me it was Ulverstone who was coming,’ she said accusingly. Her mouth made a moue of discontent. As she spoke, she looked him in the face. Her eyes were very beautiful, but there was something restless about them. They were like quicksilver, constantly shifting.
    ‘That’s right. And you know what Laurence thinks about keeping you here, so it’s best if he doesn’t see you.’
    ‘I’m not afraid of him,’ she said fiercely.
    He shuddered. ‘No, I know you’re not.’ Adding silently, It is he who is afraid of you.
    ‘And besides, you lied. It isn’t Ulverstone.’ Her face became cunning. ‘It’s a woman.’
    He felt his heart contract at the thought that Esmerelda had seen Hilary. When he had found Hilary walking in the grounds he had been horrified, forcing her to return to the abbey in an effort to help her avoid just such an encounter. Fortunately, she had come to no harm.
    ‘I didn’t lie,’ he said. ‘Ulverstone is here, but the young woman is here as well.’
    ‘She isn’t very pretty,’ said Esmerelda. ‘In fact, she’s plain.’ She smiled, pleased. ‘And her clothes are horrible. Did you see her pelisse? It had a patch on the bottom. And her dress was made of linsey-woolsey!’
    She laughed delightedly.
    So that’s what saved Hilary, thought Marcus. If she had been well dressed and beautiful ... His blood churned at the thought of what might have happened.