Rebel Lady, Convenient Wife

Her rescuer inclined his dark head. ‘From my experience it is a great mistake to leave women to the mercy of cruel bullies.’

Will flushed with anger. ‘You should not have gazed upon her. Already, she has bewitched you. I tell you that she has bad blood in her. Not only is she a witch, but murdered her husband because she had a lover!’

‘You speak false,’ cried Anna indignantly, digging her gloved fingers into Will’s leg in an attempt to drag herself upright. Instantly he slapped her hand away.

Within seconds her rescuer had seized Will’s wrist and had his knife at his throat. ‘I did warn you,’ he said in an icy tone.

Will’s eyes glinted with fury. ‘You’ll rue this day, for daring to set your will against mine, stranger.’

‘You would be wiser thinking before you open your mouth. First, you threaten a so-called witch and then the man holding a knife to your throat. You will beg the lady’s pardon or I will slit you from ear to ear.’

Her rescuer’s voice reminded Anna of iron encased in velvet and she shivered, despite herself.

‘If you—you think you c-can get away with m-my murder then you’re mistaken,’ stuttered Will. ‘There are those who know my errand and she will burn and so will you.’

‘I don’t know how you can live with your conscience, Will,’ cried Anna angrily. ‘And what about Marjorie? Where were you when my house was burning and she was in need of rescue? You lied to her, too, and so you are to blame for her death!’

An unexpected sob broke from Will. ‘I did not intend for her to die. I thought she would have gone with the servants. Only they said…’ His face turned ugly again. ‘It is your fault, you witch!’

Without hesitation the stranger slashed the ties that fastened Will’s cloak, causing him to squeal in terror. Hastily he stammered out an apology to Anna.

‘Louder,’ ordered his captor.

Will swore, but the prick of the blade drawing blood had him yelling out the words.

Anna did not feel sorry for him at all; she wanted to get down from his horse and be rid of him. She had done her best by him, but he had betrayed her. ‘Thank you, sir,’ she said to the stranger. ‘But I deem that will do for now.’

‘If that is your wish.’ Her rescuer replaced the dagger at his belt and loosened his grip on Will’s wrist. Immediately the villain attempted to push Anna to the ground, but the other man acted with speed, seizing her by the waist and dragging her on to his horse. Will cursed the pair of them and then digging his spurs into his stallion’s flanks, he rode off in the opposite direction to Rowan Manor.

Weak with relief, Anna clung to the front of her rescuer’s doublet, conscious of the strength in the arm that held her. ‘I’m afraid that, by rescuing me, you’ve made an enemy, sir.’

‘I would have done the same for any woman in distress,’ he said coolly, disturbed by the response of a certain part of his anatomy to the close proximity of her soft curves and the scent of lavender that mingled with a strong smell of smoke. He told himself this would not do; he could not allow himself to be distracted from the task he had set himself. ‘What is your destination?’ he asked, slackening his grasp on her waist.

‘I am on my way to Rowan Manor, the home of my half-brother Owain ap Rowan. But let me introduce myself—I am Lady Anna Fenwick.’ She proffered him a hand gloved in dirty tan kid.

He stared at her intently before shaking that small, firm hand. ‘I deem we are already acquainted, Lady Fenwick, although it is some time since we met. My name is Milburn. I will escort you to Rowan as that is also my destination.’

Anna’s grimy brow knitted as she gazed into his weatherbeaten face. It had been some time since last she had visited Matt Milburn’s manor in Yorkshire. ‘My thanks to you. Your escort is much appreciated, as was your coming to my aid.’ He gave a brief nod of acceptance for her words of gratitude. She marvelled at his strong features and wondered about the scar on his face. She was almost tempted to touch it, but reminded herself that he was a married man with children. Such an act would be unseemly and, after Will’s accusation of her being an adulteress, her behaviour must be above reproach. Even so she could not resist saying, ‘That scar—’ She stopped abruptly for there was embarrassment and some deep sorrow in his face. ‘I beg your pardon. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. If you could set me down, Master Milburn, I will ride my own mount.’

Relieved to have temptation so swiftly removed, he helped her to the ground, watching Anna as she went over to her horse. She called over her shoulder, ‘When did you leave Yorkshire? It must have taken you several days to get here.’

‘I did not ride. I have a ship, the Hercules, anchored off West Kirby in the Dee estuary.’

His words surprised her into turning and staring at him. ‘Now that I did not expect to hear. Have you had news of Jack after all this time or are you here to buy horses from Owain?’

He smiled faintly. ‘You mistake me for my twin, Lady Fenwick. I am Jack Milburn.’ His eyes fastened on her luscious lips as they parted in astonishment. He took the opportunity to have a proper look at her for a few seconds. Beneath her light summer cloak, she wore a loose black gown made of quality linsey-woolsey cloth that did little to conceal her curves. Wisps of redgold hair escaped her wimple to curl on a bloodied and grimy cheek. Had that swine attacked her? She appeared lost for words—but was that surprising considering the years he had been missing?

He noticed the lute poking from a fold of material in a saddlebag and memories flooded back as he was reminded of the year his father had been murdered in Bruges. He remembered a mischievous-eyed girl, whose elfin features had beamed with delight when he had presented her with the Venetian crafted lute. She had seemed so alive, her red hair like a flame about her pretty little face. He had been fifteen at the time and, in any other circumstances, a future marriage might have been on his mind, only that year had proved to him that the life of a merchant venturer was extremely risky. Taking a wife would have to wait until he had made his fortune and the time was ripe to settle down in one place.

Anna found her voice. ‘But—but you’ve been missing for years! We thought you were dead. We even had a requiem mass said for you.’

‘So I was informed by your half-brother Davy.’

‘Davy? What has your absence to do with him?’

‘It has naught to do with him,’ replied Jack, hastening to add, ‘It is solely that he was on business in Europe when I returned and he performed a commission for me. I’m surprised that you have not heard that I’d…come back from the dead.’

She looked bemused. ‘It is a while since I have visited Rowan, but I agree that it is strange that Kate did not send word of your safe return. Maybe it was due to my closeting myself in the house after my son died, although my late husband’s nephew and his wife lived with me and they would have been there to take a message.’ A shadow crossed her face. ‘I wonder if Will destroyed it. Possibly it might have arrived when I sought spiritual consolation in a nearby convent.’

So the man he had just scared off was her husband’s nephew, mused Jack, wondering why the man was so intent on convincing folk that Anna was a witch. But he must not involve himself in her affairs as he had enough on his mind without concerning himself about her. ‘I’d heard you lost your husband and son. I can understand how that must feel and extend my condolences,’ said Jack with a stiffness in his manner that was almost cold.

‘Thank you,’ she said, debating whether he could really understand how painful was the loss of a dearly loved child and husband, for as far as she knew he had never wed. Unless…perhaps he thought that losing a parent was equal to the terrible wrenching grief that was the loss of one’s child. She took a deep steadying breath. ‘I am pleased to see you alive, Jack. What happened to you? That scar—’ She stopped abruptly. ‘There I go again. Obviously, the memory is painful. You have suffered, too.’ She felt tears well up in her eyes and hastily brushed them away.

‘Damn you,’ muttered Jack, turning his back to her.

Howhe hated seeing a woman in tears. It put him too much in mind of his final parting from Monique and Philippe before he had left for England, knowing he would not see either of them for a month or more. He would have taken them both with him, but Monique had refused to cross the Channel. Some happening in her past had filled her with a fear of the sea and he could not shift her from her decision. If he had suspected that her husband was on their trail, then he would have insisted that she and Philippe accompany him.

‘I should not have asked. I beg your pardon for prying in your affairs,’ apologised Anna in a low voice that roused Jack from his thoughts.

‘There’s no need for you to do so,’ he said tersely, keeping his back to her, determined not to allow the sight of her tear-stained face to weaken him. ‘Naturally you’re curious about what happened to me. Another time, perhaps, I will tell you.’

He considered how strange it was that he had been able to recall Anna’s childish features so quickly. Yet, during his enslavement in Arabia, he’d had difficulty remembering Monique’s face. It was not that he had forgotten the colour of her hair and eyes or the shape of her nose and the feel of her lips. What he’d been unable to do was compose an actual image of her whole face. Yet his son’s face continued to haunt his dreams. Reason enough for him to not allow a sudden protective feeling and tug of attraction to the mature Anna to sway him from his chosen path.

‘I look forward to hearing your story,’ murmured Anna, gazing at his strong back before giving her attention to her horse once more. Suddenly she noticed that a girth strap hung loose. ‘Jack, if you please, I would have you look at this strap.’

He walked over to her and took hold of the girth strap she proffered. He noticed the leather was not only partially torn, but also sawn through. ‘You believe this was done deliberately?’ he asked, raising his dark brows.

‘I am the only one who uses this saddle.’ Anna’s eyes were angry as she tapped a finger against the leather. ‘I am certain Will must have done this, to bring me down if I managed to ride for help. If I broke my neck, it would save his having to rile the villagers further into burning me. I deem that he believes by destroying me he will gain Fenwick Manor.’

‘That would make sense of his insistence on your being a witch and wanting rid of you,’ said Jack, reluctantly drawn into a discussion. ‘Yet why should he gain it on your death…unless there was a clause in your husband’s will?’

‘There was no such clause. Neither is he my nearest kin that it would pass to him on my death.’

Jack’s frown deepened. ‘It does not make sense.’

Anna nodded. ‘But envy is a terrible emotion, Jack.’

He agreed, fingering the cut girth strap, knowing she would not remain in the saddle with the strap in that state. Yet for her to share his horse would be untenable. As for her riding his stallion…

‘Enough of such talk,’ murmured Anna, noticing the sun dipping beyond the horizon. ‘It is time we made a move. I’ll lead my horse as the house is only a short distance away. I suggest, Jack, that you ride on and inform Owain and Kate to expect me.’

‘I would offer you my hired horse but I doubt you’d be able to handle him.’

She looked up at the stallion’s powerful shoulders and knew he spoke the truth. Taking hold of her horse’s bridle, she nodded in the direction of the manor. ‘You go ahead. I will follow.’

Jack hesitated. He knew he could not leave her to walk alone. That cur of a nephew might return. But he hated being ordered about; he’d had enough of that in captivity. He experienced one of those flashbacks that left him cold. He was being forced to his knees and could almost feel the lash of the whip flaying his back. He had not even known why he was being punished, understanding little of the language of his master. It was then he had determined to learn Arabic and to escape.

‘Why do you linger, Jack? Mount your horse and ride on. I will be perfectly safe,’ reassured Anna.

Jack scowled down at her, resenting the instruction. ‘I say it is a fine evening and there will be light in the sky long enough for us both to walk and reach the house before it gets dark.’

Anna flashed him a smile. ‘If that is your wish. No doubt both horses will be glad to be relieved of their burdens for a while. I have ridden mine hard and presumably you have, too.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘What a day it has been and it is not over yet.’

She was aware of a terrible sense of displacement, realising afresh that she was homeless. Although the loss she felt at the destruction of her home could not compare to the grief she still felt for her son, this was just another pain to bear. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she blinked them away, knowing she must not give way to weakness.

She looked up and caught Jack Milburn watching her. There was a bleakness in his expression that caused her to wonder what had happened to him during the years he had been missing. For the rest of the journey, she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, thinking how he had changed almost out of all recognition from the youth she remembered.

Chapter Two

It was a relief to see the sandstone walls of Rowan Manor. Anna’s heart lifted and she thanked the Trinity that soon she would be inside its walls to be welcomed by Kate and Owain and the rest of the family.

She handed her horse over to one of the grooms and removed her saddlebags and lute. Jack, who was unsaddling his own mount, said, ‘Leave them. I’ll carry them in for you when I’m ready.’

She thanked him. So many thoughts were running through her head that she felt quite dizzy. She did not wish to upset Kate and Owain too much and knew she was going to have to think hard about what she should tell them. Turning back to Jack, she said, ‘Please, I beg you, do not mention your confrontation with Will to Kate. They will be deeply concerned about the evil that has befallen me without having to worry about my involving you in my affairs.’

He was about to say he thought she was making a mistake, then he remembered the secret he had kept hidden for years, even from his twin. Besides, hadn’t he decided to not involve himself further with her?

Filled with trepidation, Anna hurried towards the walled garden at the back of the house, guessing that at that time of evening Kate and Owain would be in their parlour. She was not mistaken. Both were sitting in the candlelit room.

As soon as Anna entered the parlour, Kate, a curvaceous woman in her early forties, set aside her sewing and rose to her feet. ‘Anna, what are you doing here? We did not expect to see you until the Michaelmas Fair. My goodness! You’re filthy! What has happened? Is there something amiss at Fenwick?’

‘Indeed there is,’ replied Anna. ‘The house was struck by lightning and all my servants had vanished, so there was no one to help me to douse the flames.’

Kate gasped and, going over to her, enveloped Anna in an embrace. ‘My poor Anna, what a dreadful thing to happen! What of Will and his wife?’

‘Marjorie was sleeping at the time. I managed to get her out of the house, but she died!’ Anna’s voice shook and she tore herself from Kate’s embrace and began to pace the room. ‘It was terrifying. Will had accused me of—’ She stopped abruptly, realising what she had said.

‘Accused you of what?’ asked Kate, starting forward.

Anna shrugged and tried to smile. ‘It does not matter.’

‘Of course it matters,’ said Owain, a handsome man in his mid-forties with dark hair silvering at the temples. ‘You’ve been through so much these past two years and now this! If we are to help you, then you must be honest with us.’

Anna’s face quivered. She had talked herself into a trap and knew she would have to tell them some of what Will had said. ‘He—he accused me of—of being an adulteress—just like my mother!’ She put a hand over her mouth. She had not meant to say the latter either. It showed the state of her mind. Kate and Owain exchanged startled glances. ‘Aye, you might well look like that,’ Anna muttered.

‘What nonsense!’ cried Kate, putting an arm about Anna’s shoulder and noticing the cut on her face. ‘Your cheek is all bloodied! Did that happen while you were trying to escape the fire?’

‘No. Will threw a stone at me,’ said Anna, taking a kerchief from a pocket and dabbing at the cut and then cleaning her face, realising she would have to tell them a little more. ‘I deem he wanted me to believe it was someone from the village, but I recognised his voice. I fear that he wishes to discredit me with the servants and villagers and seize Fenwick.’

‘He must be crazed,’ said Kate, aghast. ‘Owain, you must sort this matter out as soon as possible.’

‘I certainly will,’ said Owain firmly. ‘Although, with the house burnt down and his wife dead, I suspect it is the village where I’ll need to search for him. I’d best take some men with me.’

‘If he is not there, you could try my man-ofbusiness’s house in Chester,’ said Anna. ‘No doubt Will shall try and persuade him that I’m not a fit person to own Fenwick.’

‘You really believe so?’ said Owain, looking deeply concerned. He rose from a table littered with papers. ‘Sit down. You’re obviously distraught and exhausted and need to rest. Kate, fetch some wine.’

Anna sighed. ‘Howcan I relax? I have lost all that I held dear and now I am at a loss how to go on with my life.’

Kate looked disturbed. ‘Hush, love. All will be well.’

‘That is so easy to say,’ cried Anna, tears filling her eyes. ‘I know a house can be rebuilt—but what would be the point? It would not be a home. I might as well go live in a nunnery.’

‘Now that is nonsense,’ said Kate. ‘You’re too young and comely. All you need is to stay with us for a while. I thought when Joshua died that it was a mistake for you to shut yourself away at Fenwick.’

Anna turned on her. ‘You have not lost a son! How can you speak so when you have no experience of what I was suffering?’

‘Talking about it might have helped,’ said Kate quietly. ‘But you wouldn’t let us share your pain.’

‘Enough, love,’ saidOwain, giving her awarning look.

She sighed and nodded. ‘I’ll fetch the wine.’

‘Wait!’ said Anna, ashamed of herself for losing control. Staying Kate with an outstretched hand, she swallowed hard before continuing. ‘I beg your pardon for what I said, but now you’ve reminded me that I have forgotten to tell you that Jack Milburn is here. He says that he has come to see Davy. I mistook him for his twin. Why did you not let me know that Jack had been found?’

‘Jack is here!’ Kate’s blue eyes lit up. ‘It is true we knew he was alive and have been expecting him. But believe me, Anna, I did send word to you at Fenwick with the good news.’

Anna frowned. ‘Who did you send?’

‘Hal.’

‘Hal!’ Anna darted a look at Owain. Hal was the youngest of the Rowan brothers and still unwed despite being almost forty years old. ‘Perhaps he did not deliver the message…or, if he did, Will kept it from me. But why should he do so?’

‘I have no idea,’ said Owain. ‘We could ask Hal when he comes in.’

Anna shrugged. ‘What does it matter now Jack is here?’

Owain and Kate looked relieved.

‘I’ll leave you two then,’ said Kate, smiling. ‘I’ll have one of the maids make ready your old bedchamber, Anna, while I find my dear stepbrother. We will drink wine together and drink each other’s health. Are you hungry?’

Anna nodded. ‘I have not eaten since breakfast and no doubt Jack will be hungry, too.’

‘Then I will see that food is brought here.’ Kate left them alone at last.

‘Do you know what happened to Jack during his absence, Owain?’ asked Anna.

‘He was sold into slavery,’ he said, his expression grim.

Anna’s mouth fell open. For a moment she could only stare at him and then she collected her wits. ‘He sent word telling you of this?’

‘Nay. His twin did,’ replied Owain. ‘Matt never gave up hope, even when we did. He kept in touch with Jack’s agents in Europe and had them hire men to search for him. Eventually, when Matt began to doubt his instinct that Jack was in trouble but alive, a courier arrived with the news that he was in Venice.’

‘No wonder Jack has changed! How was he captured and how did he escape?’

‘I know only what Davy told me and that was little enough,’ said Owain, pulling up a chair and sitting opposite her.

‘Jack told me Davy was in Europe when he returned. I presume he was delivering horses.’

‘Aye. But he also had other business there and was in Bruges when Jack’s courier turned up at the agent’s house. Apparently Jack was suffering from a fever and that’s why he was unable to leave Venice. He feared he might die and wanted Matt to know of his abduction and his years of slavery.’

‘So Davy brought the message to Matt and then came here?’

Owain shook his head. ‘Davy arranged for a courier to deliver the news to Matt whilst he travelled to Venice. He found Jack recovered and journeyed with him to Bruges before going on further business for him to France. Davy returned home a week ago, just in time to see his daughter born.’

‘Joan has had a daughter!’ Despite her grief at the loss of her only son, Anna was delighted for the couple, who had five sons. ‘I must buy the child a birth gift when next I visit Chester,’ she added.

‘I’m sure Davy will tell you that you’re welcome to visit them,’ said Owain, smiling. ‘And I’ll have no talk of nunneries.’ He shook his head. ‘You know you’re welcome to stay here at Rowan as long as you wish. It’ll be good for you to be amongst your family again.’ Anna was silent. She had been away from Rowan too long to fit easily into her former position in the family. Yet where else could she go where she would be safe but here or behind the walls of a convent?

Restlessly, she rose and went over to the window aperture and gazed out over the darkened garden. The happenings of the day played over in her head and she felt sick with the remembrance of the disgust and terror she had felt when confronted by Will and that figure in the devilish mask. She felt her head was going to burst as images overrode each other. She turned round to face Owain and blurted out, ‘Tell me…did my mother have a lover? Did she cuckold our father?’

Owain’s expression was enough to make her wish that she had not spoken. Then a sound at the door shattered the strained atmosphere. ‘Did who cuckold our father?’ asked Davy, entering the parlour.

Anna felt the blood rush to her head and could only gaze at this giant of a man. He was the middle of the Rowan brothers and she knew him the least best of the three. He had married before she was born and lived on the Wirral with his wife and children, having his own stud farm. Suddenly she realised that Kate and Jack Milburn had followed him into the room. Anna wished she could disappear in a puff of smoke. Instead, she turned her back on them.

The moon had risen and she could make out the shapes of bushes and plants. Then, unexpectedly, she saw a devilish face loom out of the darkness. Her masked attacker! She could see the horns on its head and the same gaping, evil grin. She froze with fear. Was it a projection of her overwrought mind?

She managed to tear her gaze away and face the room. ‘There’s someone out there!’ she cried.

‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ said Davy.

‘A devil’s face! It was grinning at me,’ she gasped.

‘It can’t be,’ said Kate, hurrying over to her.

‘There was someone out there,’ whispered Anna. ‘It had a red face and horns!’ She just stopped herself from saying that she had seen it before.

Davy and Owain exchanged glances. ‘One of my sons playing a trick with that old mask?’ suggested the latter.

‘What mask?’ asked Anna, shooting him a glance. ‘Are you telling me that you have such a mask in this house?’