Trondelaine Castle (14 page)

He nodded knowingly and sat on the grass. Wendy
was uncomfortably aware of his closeness. He went on,
conversationally, “Richard in a nasty mood?” She
nodded and he said, “You’ll pardon me if I don’t seem
very sympathetic. After all, you could go back to
London. No, don’t say you have to be here. I stopped
by your office and I know they didn’t send you here.
You came on a tour, hurt your foot, and stayed. Clever
little witch, aren’t you? I’m surprised Richard fell for
it.

Wendy felt her face flaming. Somehow, it seemed
worse when the words were spoken so emotionlessly. “And you’ve come to warn the Earl, right?” she
demanded. “What do you think I’m after? Richard?
Money?”

He returned her gaze coolly. “Perhaps money.
Richard certainly.”

Wendy barely retained her temper. “It may interest
you to know I happen to be engaged!”

“Oh, yes, a Kevin somebody-or-other.” The voice
was mocking. “I saw him yesterday. He didn’t know the
two of you were engaged.”

Wendy began to feel ill. As though not wanting to
press her too hard, Tony changed the subject. “Is this
where it happened?” he asked. “Your accident, I
mean.”

“Yes. Yes, it was inside, on the stairs.”

“What were you doing there? Surely you were
warned not to explore the old thing?” She hesitated,
and he added, “Unless you were staging an accident, of
course.”

“It wasn’t staged! Look, if I tell you, will you
promise not to tell Lord Richard?” she asked.

“Maybe.”

“Well, there were some children playing in the tower
and one of them screamed. I ran up the stairs to see
what was wrong and fell.”

Tony looked at her oddly. “And what was wrong?”

“Nothing. They were playing a game.” Her voice was
slightly bitter.

“Assuming I believe that, why don’t you want
Richard to know?” Tony seemed skeptical.

“Because I don’t want to get the children in trouble,”
Wendy replied

Tony stared at her. “You think they should be
allowed to play there?”

“I don’t think they will anymore.” Wendy tilted up her chin. “I think they had a bad scare and that’s
enough to keep them away.”

His mouth was drawn in a hard line. “You can be
very convincing, can’t you? I almost find myself
believing you. But I’ve seen the other side of you first.”

Wendy turned her head away. There was really no
way to refute Tony. His voice, when it came, was
surprisingly soft. “Why don’t you go home to London.
You may not be engaged to this Kevin, but he does
seem rather serious about you. You don’t really want to
be the wife of an earl, do you?”

Wendy hesitated, trying to understand her reluctance to go. It wasn’t Lord Richard’s threat; that didn’t
seem real enough. It was something else, something she
didn’t even understand herself. As she wavered, Tony
said sadly, “Is money that important to you?”

Wendy felt her eyes filling with tears. Clumsily, she
groped for her crutches and tried to rise. Immediately,
Tony’s strong arms were helping her. “Go away!” she
spat at him.

He took her chin in one hand. “Not yet. It seems
Richard needs looking after.” He paused, then released
her. “You know, if he did marry you, you would hate it
as much as he would.”

Tony turned and strode away. Wendy watched him
disappear into the castle. Then she slowly made her
way to the back of the castle and past it to the orchards.
She found a bench beneath one of the apple trees and
closed her eyes. Eventually, she was calm again.

It was almost teatime when Richard found her.
“Wendy?” he said quietly.

She looked up quickly. “Lord Richard!”

He grinned wryly. “I thought I’d best warn you tea
will be served soon. You caused a bit of a stir missing
lunch, you know.”

She looked away. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the
time and I wasn’t hungry.”

“And you were angry at me?” he suggested.

Wendy regarded him warily. Why was he being so
considerate? “And at Tony,” she added.

He frowned. “I’m a bit angry at him, myself. I say,
shall we have some fun with him? Tease him a bit?” He
paused. “Wendy, I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t
mean to chase you out of the library. Or, rather, I did,
but I don’t anymore. You are free to work in the library
any time you wish. Now, shall we go back for tea?”

She nodded and he helped her to her feet. Wendy
couldn’t help comparing the feel of his arms to the feel
of Tony’s arms. Even when you dislike a man, or are
angry with him, a strong arm feels very comfortable.
Lord Richard walked back to the castle with her,
adjusting his pace to hers. As they walked, he told her
about the orchard. Which Earl had started it (the sixth)
and various romances which were said to have taken
place there. It had become, he explained, the
traditional place for marriage proposals.

Tony was already in the Regency Room when they
reached it. He took in their greetings and noted their
smiles. When he spoke, his voice was grim. “Charles
has informed me that tea will be served immediately.”

Richard smiled mischievously. “Thank you, Tony.
Wendy, please sit down.” As he said this, the Earl
reached out and helped ease her into a chair. “There.
Are you comfortable?”

“Quite, thank you,” she replied, rather taken aback
at this solicitude.

“A cushion? No? Ali, Gwen, thank you,” Richard
said as the maid entered with the tea tray.

As she prepared to pour, Wendy glanced at Tony.
He seemed more amused than distressed. “Don’t overact, old fellow,” he said to Richard.

Richard simply smiled pleasantly and passed Tony a
cup of tea. Then, leaning back, he said, “I think it time,
Tony, that you were told a few facts of life-concerning
Sylvia and myself. I told her long ago that I had no
intention of ever marrying her. I said that I would enjoy
escorting her to various functions, however, simply as a
friend. And that I would understand if she chose not to
squander her time on me. She agreed, with the proviso
that she was free to try to make me change my mind. I
agreed. And I admit that she has, upon occasion, made
me consider marrying her. But I never told her that.
And she was warned! So you see, my dear Tony, you
have nothing to reproach me with.”

The accountant flushed. “I see. I suppose I am
expected to compliment you on your sense of fair
play?”

“If you wish.”

“Well, I shan’t.” Tony paused. “May I ask how long
ago you told Sylvia all this?”

“About seven years, I should say.”

“I suppose you realize a number of chaps stopped
dating Sylvia because they thought she was your
property?”

Richard managed to answer coolly, “I never told
them so.”

“Neither did Sylvia,” Tony said quietly. “It wasn’t
necessary. Everyone just assumed it from your
behavior.”

Now the irritation was clear in the Earl’s voice as he
demanded, “Well? What am I to do about it? Marry her
for the sake of honor? I’m afraid I consider marriage
too serious for that.”

Tony sighed, “No, I don’t really expect you to marry
her. And, for her sake, I’m glad of that. But I do think you should make a clean break with her if you have no
intention of marrying her. Give her a chance to find
someone else.”

“What? And hurt her feelings?”

“It would be kinder,” Tony answered quietly.

“Very well, Tony, I will. Well, why are you staring at
me? Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Wendy shivered, afraid of the undertones she didn’t
quite understand. Above all, she could feel Tony’s
distress and, inexplicably, she wished she could
somehow reassure him. Then Lord Richard was
speaking again. “I’m not angry at you, Tony. But you
really must learn to curb your obscene concern over
other people’s feelings. Look, I gather you are still on
leave. Why don’t you stay here and relax for a few
days? I’ve a new stallion in the stables that you’re
welcome to try.”

Tony looked at his cup, then met Richard’s eyes.
“All right,” he said evenly, “I will stay a bit. Thank
you.,,

Richard smiled. “Good! More tea, Wendy?”

Perhaps Tony decided it was none of his affair;
perhaps he no longer cared. But whatever the reason,
he ceased to criticize Wendy, either to her face or to
Lord Richard. He showed no emotion as she appeared
that evening in the James Room wearing the green
velvet dress. Nor did he react as Richard smiled at her
charmingly, or complimented her on her appearance.
He was attentive at dinner and, as everyone began to
relax, it became obvious that Tony was a charming
speaker. He was well read and thoroughly traveled. No
one could have seemed less like the stereotype image of
an accountant.

As they listened to a recording of Bach in the music room, and Wendy bent over her needlework, she tried
again to sort out why she had not accepted Tony’s offer
to drive her back to London. The novelty of living in a
castle had worn off, so it wasn’t that. Nor the threat.
Perhaps it was simply the quiet of the place; the fact
that for once she had time to think.

It didn’t matter what Tony or Lord Richard thought
of her presence, because once she left, she would never
see them again. More important was what she was
going to do with the rest of her life.

The next morning, Wendy quietly entered the
library, afraid of disturbing the Earl. She needn’t have
worried. Neither he nor Tony was there. In this
unusually calm atmosphere, Wendy was able to work
easily and by lunchtime had accomplished more than
she had during the two previous days. Nor, to her
surprise, was Wendy disturbed in the afternoon. It was
as though both men were avoiding the library. Until
teatime, at any rate. She first realized the hour when
she heard a deep-throated laugh and, a moment later,
Tony’s voice. Wendy turned as they entered the library.

Lord Richard waved a hand, negligently, in her
direction. “Cheers! We agreed, Tony and I, that the
library is a much more comfortable room than that
blasted Regency Room. If a king-well, a prince,
really-hadn’t used it, I’d have had it redecorated long
ago!”

Wendy smiled in spite of herself at the Earl’s
infectious good spirits. He seemed almost boyish as he
picked up a chair and moved it close to two others.
Even Tony had caught the mood. “Worked hard,
today, luv?” he asked Wendy.

She nodded. “And even managed to get something
done!”

“That’s right,” Richard said approvingly, “a sensible
girl. But now you’ve surely time for a break.”

“And I should say I’ve timed my visit perfectly!”
came a voice from the doorway.

“Roger, hello!” Tony said. “I haven’t seen you in
some time.”

“Been busy,” was the easy reply. “How is my
patient?”

The doctor waited while Wendy moved to an
armchair. Then he unwrapped the bandage, smiling.
“Well, I think you can go off crutches today. You’ll
have to use a cane for a while, and be careful, but it’s
better than crutches. Wait just a moment.” Roger went
out to the hallway and returned, a moment later, with a
cane. “Didn’t want to raise your hopes before I
examined the foot.”

“Stay for tea?” Lord Richard asked unnecessarily.

As Roger nodded, Tony added another armchair to
the circle. The servants had apparently guessed the
doctor’s intentions, for when Gwen brought the tea
tray, it contained four cups. As soon as Gwen had left
the room, Wendy asked, as she poured the tea, “And
how soon would you say I could walk without a cane?”
“A few weeks.”

“Well, how soon could I travel?”

Roger glanced at Richard. “Oh, I should say
anytime, so long as you were careful.”

Lord Richard cleared his throat and spoke without
apparent haste. “Nevertheless, I think, Wendy, you will
be here for some while longer.”

Tony stiffened and Wendy hesitated. She wasn’t sure
of Lord Richard’s motives, but so long as he was
willing for her to stay, she felt as though she needed the
refuge. Let Tony think what he would.

A silence fell over the group and, to cover it, Roger began to ask Tony about London and various mutual
friends. Wendy was grateful for the opportunity to just
lean back and observe. Roger was clearly no simple
country doctor. And it seemed hard to remember why
this boyish, laughing fellow, Tony, had ever seemed
inimical to her. As for the Earl of Loftsbury, he, too,
seemed very human at the moment. The talk of
London reminded Wendy that she had better send
Mrs. Aylses a check for the next month’s rent.

When she turned her attention back to the men, they
were discussing British politics. Sometime later, Roger
announced that it was time for him to leave. As Lord
Richard walked the doctor to his car, Tony remained
behind with Wendy. His dark eyes regarded her
steadily and, although uneasy, she met his gaze
squarely. He decided, however, not to ask her
embarrassing questions. Instead, he asked, “How does
your family feel about you coming to England?”

“My father would never oppose me on any matter I
felt strongly about,” she replied casually. “You see, he
trusts my judgment. Since my mother is dead, and I
have no siblings, there’s no one else to care.”

“Why did you come?”

She hesitated, aware that Tony was genuinely
interested. “I suppose it was my mother. I never knew
her very well. When I was little, she was too wrapped
up in my father to give enough time to me. And she died
when I was ten. But I remember hearing about her
English home and family. The ones who disowned her.
But there are so many gaps; so many things no one
could tell me. So I came to England, hoping to learn,
hoping I would find a way to know my mother.”

“It was the Hewitts who disowned her, wasn’t it?”
Tony asked. When she nodded, he said gently, “They
rather regret it, you know.”

“Oh, really? I suppose they talk about it all the time,”
she said sarcastically.