Monsoon Mists (31 page)

Then he went on to recount how he’d encountered Elisabet in the forest, thought her violated, and acted as a knight in shining armour. And how she and her maidservant tricked him into falling asleep in her bed.

‘They must have undressed me and heaved me under the covers, knowing full well Elisabet’s father would find me there the following morning.’ Jamie’s voice was hoarse with bitterness and Zar felt for him. ‘And she’d not been raped at all. It was all an act, a sham. She had lain with her lover out of her own free will, many times as she told me later, but she knew her father wouldn’t consider him good enough to marry her. So when she became with child, she needed another solution. She set her sights on me.’

‘So what happened then? Surely you explained to the man about being drugged?’

Jamie snorted. ‘I tried at first, believe me, but he wasn’t listening. Elisabet was his only child, his pampered daughter. There was no way he’d believe me over her and you have no idea how convincing an actress she could be. I’d already learned that the night before. And I’m afraid I had a bit of a reputation, which didn’t exactly help matters.’

‘That’s terrible! Tell me exactly what happened, please.’

Zar found it hard to understand why Elisabet had acted that way and felt she needed all the facts. Only then could she try to make sense of it.

‘Very well,’ Jamie said, ‘but as I said, it’s not a pretty tale …’

When Jamie had woken up that morning, his head was pounding like the very devil and this wasn’t helped by a voice that shouted out imprecations. Someone shook his shoulder and he opened one eye, blinking against the sharp morning light.

‘Wake up, you lout! You have much to answer for.’

Jamie opened the other eye and squinted at the angry face before him. Farmer Grahn, Elisabet’s father, was glaring at him, his cheeks a mottled red. ‘What’s the matter?’ Jamie mumbled. Then it all came back to him. Finding Elisabet, the rape, the Walloons. Had her father found out? But why was he shouting at Jamie?

‘I’m sure you know exactly what the matter is. We’ll be discussing this with your father present,’ Grahn told him grimly.

Jamie winced at the loudness of the man’s voice, but as he became aware of his surroundings, he realised a hangover was the least of his problems. He turned his head, which had been resting on a snowy pillow bordered with lace, and his eyes met the guarded gaze of Elisabet. Jamie shot upright, then noticed he was stark naked. He clutched the sheet to his chest, while bringing the other hand up to cradle his aching head. ‘What the hell …?’

He stared at Elisabet, who shrugged, giving him an apologetic little smile, which managed to be coquettish at the same time. ‘I’m sorry, Jamie,’ she murmured. ‘Father came home earlier than I thought.’

‘And a good thing I did,’ Grahn shouted. ‘How long has this been going on? That’s what I’d like to know. I’ve sent for your father, boy, he should be here any moment.’

Jamie ignored the man, who continued his tirade, and focused on the girl next to him. There was no sign of the tears from the night before. Instead she was calm and collected, as if she was caught in bed with men every day of the week and it was nothing out of the ordinary. The scratches on her face were very faint, and it was almost as if everything that had happened in the forest had been a dream. No, not a dream – a charade for his benefit. Jamie felt anger explode inside him, his stomach muscles clenching. ‘Why you little …’ he started saying, but she put up a hand to cover his mouth.

‘Think, Jamie,’ she said quietly. ‘I told you, this is all for the best. There was no other way.’

For whom? Elisabet, obviously. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but realised he didn’t have a leg to stand on. It was her word against his and he’d been caught naked in her bed. No one would believe him, even if he swore blind he’d found her the night before, the victim of rape. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man, something he’d been rather proud of until now. God, what a fool, he berated himself. He narrowed his eyes at Elisabet and stifled the impulse to throttle her. Had she even been raped at all, he wondered? No, it was all a ruse. No woman could look that pleased with herself the night after a brutal attack.

‘You planned this,’ he hissed, while Grahn ranted on in the background, oblivious to their whispered exchange. ‘Why? I thought you loved Brice.’

‘Of course I still love Brice, but he’s not here to save me, so it has to be you,’ Elisabet replied.

Jamie shook his head. ‘I’m not buying it. He’ll be back soon and you know he’d do anything for you. He wouldn’t have blamed you if you’d truly been hurt, which I no longer believe to be the case. No, this was all part of a scheme, wasn’t it? You couldn’t bear the fact that I’ve never paid you any attention, so you’ve trapped me. Well, you may have won, but believe me, you’ll regret this.’

Elisabet’s façade crumbled slightly. ‘You were just being stubborn and unnecessarily noble,’ she whispered. ‘Every man for miles around wants me, you included. You just wouldn’t admit it because you’re scared of your big brother. Well, now I’ve solved the problem for you. You should be glad.’

Jamie had never wanted to kill another person before in his life, but he did now. The only thing that stopped him was the thought that somehow he’d get his revenge.

‘You’re wrong,’ he said, staring her straight in the eyes. ‘I’ve never wanted you and I’ll never willingly touch you again. Ever. You can rot in hell.’

‘And … and did you?’ Zar could barely make herself ask the question, but she wanted to know. She could see the pulse at the base of his throat fluttering wildly in agitation and felt bad about making him relive these memories, but hoped it might help him to talk about them, the way he’d helped her by encouraging her to open up.

‘No. I married her, because my father said I had no other option, but I insisted on separate bedchambers. It drove her mad.’

‘But didn’t you tell me that you have a daughter?’ Zar frowned.

‘Yes, but she’s my daughter in name only. I never slept with Elisabet. As I said, she was already pregnant and the Walloon boy was the father of her child. The baby arrived six months after our wedding day, but fully formed and healthy. I’m sure everyone took that as proof I had seduced her. If only they knew!’

‘What happened?’

Zar saw him tense and take a deep breath. ‘Elisabet died.’

The screaming had gone on all night and Jamie was close to breaking point. He hadn’t wanted to be in the house for the birth, but his father had told him it would have looked bad if he stayed away. After all, everyone thought the brat was his.

‘Much they know,’ he muttered, clenching his fists.

Still, no matter whose child it was and how much he hated Elisabet, Jamie would never have wished this much pain on anyone. It sounded as if the baby was being extracted from her body with red-hot pliers or some other barbaric device, judging by her screams and moans. If he hadn’t been reassured by the midwife that this was normal, he’d have kicked the door down and demanded to know why his wife was being tortured unnecessarily.

His wife. As always, his mood turned black whenever he so much as thought the words. She’d had her way – as always – and they had been married within weeks of being discovered in bed together. And unfortunately, Brice returned just in time to witness the wedding. He hadn’t stayed long. He told Jamie to go to hell, then left as soon as possible. In all conscience, Jamie couldn’t blame his brother. He would have thought the worst too if the roles were reversed. But although Jamie hadn’t seen him since, they’d made their peace by letter. Brice had found a better woman, far away in Scotland, while Jamie was left with Elisabet, his life in ruins.

Another shriek penetrated the thick oak ceiling and Jamie covered his ears. How much longer? ‘For the love of God,’ he whispered. ‘Enough is enough, surely …’

Soon after, Karin knocked on the door and entered at his curt command. ‘The baby has been born at last, but I think you’d better come,’ she said, without looking at him.

Jamie had refused to address the woman after her collusion with Elisabet. It was clear to him she’d helped her young mistress to ensnare him and it wasn’t something he was willing to forgive in a hurry, if ever. But he’d let her stay because he knew she’d only acted the way she had out of love for her young mistress.

‘So it’s over?’ he asked, pushing past her out of the room.

‘Yes, but …’ He heard Karin sob behind him and turned to stare at her. ‘She … she’ll not pull through, my dear mistress.’ Tears were flowing freely down the woman’s face and a momentary dart of pity shot through Jamie, but he hardened his heart. Besides, he wasn’t sure he believed her. She’d lied to him before.

He took the stairs two at a time and flung open the door to Elisabet’s room. She was lying there now, propped up by a mountain of pillows, looking whiter than the sheets around her. The midwife was over by the fire, bathing a small mewling creature, but Jamie wasn’t interested in that. It wasn’t his child, so he didn’t care what happened to it right now.

‘Elisabet?’ He sat down on the coverlet next to her, remembering that other night when he’d done the same, thinking she’d been hurt. He knew now it was all lies. The child had gone full term, the midwife had assured him, which meant Elisabet was already three months pregnant when she enacted her tragic rape scene. Jamie tamped down the fury coursing through him yet again.

‘Jamie.’ Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared at him, a strange expression in the blue depths. ‘Damn you,’ she whispered.

‘I think that’s my line, isn’t it?’ he answered, but softly since he could see she wasn’t in any state to argue properly. They’d done their fair share of that already over the past months. ‘Anyway, I wasn’t the cause of your discomfort. You brought that on yourself.’

‘Had to. Only way to catch you. Always so stubborn, so sure of yourself.’

‘So you’re saying that you seducing a Walloon boy or two was all because of me? I don’t think so. But we can argue the point when you’re recovered. You should get some rest now, for the sake of your …’ He realised he hadn’t even asked if the child was a boy or a girl, so finished with ‘… child.’

‘It’s too late. I heard them. I’ll not live long enough to even feed her.’ Elisabet stretched out a hand and grabbed Jamie’s, squeezing hard despite her weakened state. ‘Swear to me you’ll take care of her. She’s innocent, it’s not her fault.’

So it was a girl. Well, the baby’s sex was irrelevant. Jamie took a deep breath and looked at Elisabet. She was right. A child was never to blame for a parent’s wrongdoing. But damn it all, how was he to raise another man’s child as his own? And without the child’s mother? He looked away and murmured, ‘Very well, I’ll provide for her,’ but he didn’t actually say the word ‘swear’. He’d find a way to have the child cared for, without him being involved.

Elisabet must have noticed because her grip tightened even further. ‘I hate you,’ she hissed.

‘Yes, that must be why you wanted to marry me so badly. Shame you picked the only man around these parts who wasn’t interested.’

‘You were! You just wanted to punish me for trapping you. I should have found another way.’

‘No, you should have left me alone. If I’d really wanted you, I would have squared it with Brice somehow.’

‘Very well, you’re right. I don’t hate you. I was so sure I could make you love me. Everyone else did … But you’ve got what you wanted now – your freedom back and the farm to run as you please.’

Her father had died unexpectedly just a few months after the wedding and Jamie found himself the owner of one of the biggest farms in the area. Elisabet refused to believe he’d never wanted that either.

He shook his head. ‘You’re deluded. I never wanted you or your inheritance and nothing you could have done would change that. Can’t you see? All you did was make me despise you. You should have stuck with Brice, he’s the noble one.’

‘He gave in too easily. I wanted someone who stood up to me.’

Jamie sighed. ‘Well, you got that. Perhaps more than you bargained for? Now shouldn’t you rest? Save the arguing for later.’

‘I told you, there won’t be a later.’ She gave him a wan smile. ‘Perhaps we’ll meet up in hell?’

‘I sincerely hope not!’ Jamie stood up, freeing himself from her grip. ‘Strangely enough, I find I wish you a better fate than that.’

Elisabet started to cry but Jamie didn’t know what to do about it. What did you say to someone who was dying and who knew it? Words seemed pointless. Jamie could tell her strength was fading and he really didn’t want her life to end this way. Perhaps if he left her to rest, she’d recover. And knowing Elisabet, she might just be trying to fool him into feeling sorry for her.

He patted her shoulder awkwardly, then went over to look at the infant, who was now clean and trussed up in blankets and clothing that was too big for her. He stared at the small face and felt nothing. How different it would have been if it had been his daughter lying there. Moving the blanket aside slightly, he saw the pitch black hair which matched tiny eyebrows and long dark lashes. The baby’s skin wasn’t milky white like her mother’s and Jamie knew without a doubt this child would tan in the sun the way her father had done.
A pox on that Walloon!
But knowing Elisabet, that boy had probably been as much a victim of her machinations as Jamie himself.

‘What are you calling her?’ he called out over his shoulder, but Elisabet’s eyes were closed and she didn’t reply.

‘She said it was up to you, master Kinross,’ the midwife said.

‘Really? I’d have thought she’d want to choose. She decided everything else.’

‘No, she refused. Didn’t even want to see her.’ The midwife shook her head and picked the baby up. ‘Poor little mite,’ she murmured. ‘But it takes some of them a while. All that pain can do funny things to you.’

Jamie felt a twinge of pity for this child, whose mother couldn’t even be bothered to name her. ‘She’s to be called Margot,’ he said. He just picked a name at random. What did he care? But it was a good name, he felt, and suited the dark little girl. ‘Yes, Margot,’ he repeated with a nod.