Free Lindsay Townsend by Mistress Angel Page B

inhaling the smells of his childhood—the sea,
the blossom, the green earth. How have I forgotten this? He had a
small-holding in Kent, close to the coast. It was time, and perhaps safer, to
take his family down there, take Joanna and his sister and Isabella and
Matthew, if Isabella will come .
    A whiff of spices told him that Amice had
entered the yard. She wasted no words in greeting. “What next?”
    Stephen half-turned, glad to speak to
Isabella’s closest friend. The matter had kept him awake all last night. “If I
ask her, will she take me?”
    “Ginger and pepper! Have you not noticed
how she looks at you, man?”
    “But after her first marriage, is it too
soon?”
    Amice clicked her tongue, as if impatient. “Do
you love her?”
    Stephen smiled.
    “Then ask!”
    “It will be safer for her and Matthew,” he
added, trying to be practical and sensible. Sensing a change in the air behind
him, Stephen looked round. Isabella was standing on the threshold, Matthew
riding on her hip.
    Amice moved first. “I will take Matt,” she
said, holding out her arms to the chuckling little boy. “Go, walk in the cloister
or something. You two have things you need to say to each other. Go on.”
    Seeing nothing but Isabella, Stephen held out
his hand to her. Please accept me, his heart thundered. Please .   
    Her warm little fingers wrapped round his. “I
know the way,” she said. “Follow me.”
    ****
    The cloister was quiet, the rising sun
beating down on a single gardener and some drowsy bumblebees. Isabella sat
beside a narrow pillar and looked out over the herbs and flowers. She felt
Stephen crouch beside her, still clutching her hand.
    She glanced at him and the world stopped.
The ardor in his lean, tanned face, the feeling in his green-gray eyes made her
forget everything.
    He squeezed her fingers and spoke. “You
know I love you. I did not say it earlier to Amice because I wanted to say it
to you first. I loved Cecilia and I will never forget her.”
    She felt him tremble after that confession
and said quickly, “That is a good thing, Stephen.” Please say more. Say
about us .
    Perhaps he understood her thought for he
swallowed. “Is it not too soon? You have your son now. I do not want you to
feel in any way compelled.” His voice deepened. “Especially by gratitude.”
    She shook her head. “I will be forever
grateful to you, Stephen, for helping me win back Matthew, but—” She stopped.
How could she say this? It had been the growing wish of her heart but until
Matthew was with her again all the rest of her life had stuttered and failed. “I
would like more.”
    The instant she spoke she felt a flood of
despair. Now I have lost him. Men do not like to be ordered. Feeling the
tell-tale flush in her face she dropped her head.
     “Isabella.”
    She dared not look at him, even when she
felt his fingers, feather-light, on her cheek and chin.
    “Sweet Mistress Angel, how unsure you still
are! But that will pass, believe me. You have a man’s love now, not a monster’s
lust.”
    She peeped at him and saw him smiling.
    “I never thought I would love again, until
I saw you.” His knees cracked as he shifted slightly. “Till I saw you in your
golden cage, Mistress Angel, glittering above me. I think I loved you then.”
    He kissed her hand and a shimmer of
lightning passed over her skin.
    “You caught me,” she said softly.
    “I did indeed.” Stephen knelt and leaned in
to her. “To catch and to hold?” he asked, half-teasing, half-solemn. “You and
Matthew? He is a sweet boy and a brave little lad, unfussy.”
    She basked in his praise, then yelped as
her amazing suitor gently tugged her hair.
    “Your answer, lady?”
     “To marry?”
    “Of course.”
    She felt she must burst with happiness. “For
my safety?”
    His eyes narrowed briefly, then he grinned,
looking like a boy again. “I wondered if you had overheard! And yes, you and
your boy will be safer with me. I want you to be safe,