Free Intrigued by Bertrice Small

Toramalli’s husband, Fergus, and Adali, would drive the baggage cart. Red Hugh, Jasmine’s personal captain, had already departed for France to oversee the preparations for his mistress. He would meet them there.
    “I shall write to you as soon as we reach Belle Fleurs, my dear,” she told Rosamund. “Enjoy your visit to RiversEdge, but after that stay close to home and keep the children near. My felicitations to your parents.”
    Rosamund’s soft blue eyes were teary. “I wish you would stay,” she said. “The dower house is always here for you, Jasmine.”
    “It is comforting to know that, my dear,” came the reply. Then the window of the coach was pulled firmly up, and the vehicle rumbled off down the gravel driveway toward the main road.
    As they approached Warwick Castle, they were joined by Sir Simon Bates and his troopers. The Roundhead captain drew his mount up next to the Marquis of Westleigh.
    “Good morning, my lord. How far will you travel with us?” he asked politely.
    “I will accompany my mother all the way to Harwich, sir,” came the pleasant reply. “I am loath to see her go, you will understand.”
    “Of course, my lord.” Sir Simon turned to Autumn. “Good morning, my lady. You are well, I trust.”
    “Mama says I will marry a Frenchman,” Autumn answered. “I do not think I ever met a Frenchman. Have you met a Frenchman, Sir Simon? Are they like us? I wish I could go home to Scotland, but Papa is dead. It makes Mama unhappy to think about him and Glenkirk.”
    “She was not like this at Queen’s Malvern,” Sir Simon noted to the marquis. “She was quite spirited with me then.”
    “She managed to maintain her composure until she saw Mama. It was then she collapsed into tears, whether over her father or over Bess, or perhaps both, we do not know. She has been childlike ever since, but we believe she will recover in the peaceful surroundings of Mama’s chateau. Poor Autumn,” Henry Lindley sighed, and then he looked straight ahead, preventing further conversation.
    Autumn struggled with herself not to break into laughter. She almost felt sorry for Sir Simon, but that she knew him to be a true villian. She gained a certain satisfaction in the fact that he felt guilty over Bess’s death and her supposed plight. They traveled for five long days, finally reaching Harwich on the coast. Autumn kept herself from Sir Simon as much as possible, lest she give away her ruse. Still, in the hours before they sailed he sought her out.
    “I hope you will be happy in France,” he said.
    “I was happier before I met you and Bess was killed. I was happier before this civil strife and my father’s death. I shall never know that kind of happiness again,” Autumn told him.
    “You are not mad!” he said, the relief palpable in his voice.
    “Nay, I am not mad, sir, just filled with sorrow. I believe the trip has begun to restore me already.”
    “Perhaps you were mocking me, my lady,” he replied.
    “Perhaps I was,” she agreed.
    “You do not like me,” he said.
    “Why should I?” Autumn demanded. “You are responsible for my sister-in-law’s murder. You espouse a cause that has destroyed my world and murdered my king. You and your compatriots have turned England into a dour and dark land. Nay, I do not like you, Sir Simon.”
    “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,” he said, totally heedless of her scorn.
    “You lust after me in your heart, sir. You have from the moment you stepped through the doorway at Queen’s Malvern,” Autumn said, her voice filled with contempt.
    “What would a virtuous maid know of lust?” He was suddenly jealous. How could she be chaste and yet have such knowledge?
    “Am I a fool then, sir, that I cannot see desire in a man’s eyes?” Autumn berated him. “You are the fool, I fear, if you believe that! I despise you, and men like you.”
    “I could keep you in England,” he said suddenly.
    “How?” Her glance mocked him.
    “You