Tallie's Knight (33 page)

“You were jealous?”
she whispered at last.

He nodded.

“Oh, Magnus,” she
cried, and flung herself into his arms.

After a time Magnus
woke. The late afternoon sun streamed through the open shutters, spreading
golden oblongs of warmth over the walls and the bed. He lay there, savouring
the moment. His wife lay warm and relaxed against his chest, her body curled
against him like a small, sensuous cat. He reached down and gently lifted one
of her hands and examined it. Four smooth ovals, just one slightly ragged end —her
little finger. He laid the ragged nail gently against his mouth.

She stirred.

“Magnus?” she said
sleepily, and smiled. “Love you.”

Still with her eyes
closed she turned her cheek and began planting small sleepy kisses over his
chest. Magnus closed his eyes, as if in pain. It all came so easily to her. It
was these times when he felt the most vulnerable and uncertain. Bed sports he
understood —he was experienced, in control; he knew what to do, how to give
pleasure and how to gain it.

But this… this
intimacy… when affection simply poured from her, and small clumsy kisses filled
him with a piercing sweetness. He felt on the edge of —what? The abyss?

It terrified him, yet
filled him with a ravenous hunger.

She’d said it again.
I love you, Magnus.

They were only words,
he told himself. Women used them all the time. It seemed to come easily to
them, too easily. He recalled the times she’d said it; the first time, when she’d
still hardly known him, after their marriage had been consummated.

And though he’d
waited for her to say it again every night since, dreading it, but waiting for
the words with a hunger that had frightened him, she hadn’t.

Not until she’d been
about to be taken from him, by that bandit. When he’d been furious, and
terrified for her safety. She had whispered it then, as she’d kissed him
goodbye. I love you, Magnus.

And now, a third
time.

Again, after a
quarrel. He still didn’t know where she’d been for those eight days. The
question burned into him, but he didn’t want to ask. He’d become a coward, too,
just like his father. But as long as she was here, with him, he could tell
himself it didn’t matter.

Her hands caressed
him and he felt his body stir in response. Yes, he could find oblivion there,
sweet oblivion. He rolled over, taking her with him, and raised himself over
her pliant body. She smiled and stroked his cheek, then lifted her head and
kissed him. He tasted the tender passion in her and groaned. She wriggled under
him, smiling into his eyes, and thrust her body eagerly against him. Magnus
needed no further prompting. He surged into her, and found his sweet oblivion.

“Signor d’Arenville,
Signora Thalia, wake up!” Carlotta banged furiously on the door.

Magnus swore.

“Wait, I will be with
you in a few moments.”

“No, it is urgent,
signor, very urgent! Please, Signor, open the door!”

Cursing, Magnus threw
on a robe, stalked to the door and flung it open.

“What the devil is
all this noise about, Carlotta?”

Carlotta glanced past
him to where Tallie sat in bed, the downy quilt tucked around her naked body.

“Signor, signora, I
am so sorry to disturb you but there is news, terrible news.”

Tallie sat up
straighter.

“You mean about—?”

“No, no, signora.
Sorry, but no news about him yet.”

Magnus frowned. Him?

Carlotta continued.

“No, this is
important news just arrived from
Torino
. I
heard it from my—” Magnus held up a hand.

“Let me guess. Your
cousin’s uncle’s brother-in-law’s niece’s great-aunt’s nephew.”

Carlotta shot him a
look of blank surprise.

“No, signor, I heard
it from my neighbour who just got back from
Torino
.”

Magnus rolled his
eyes. Tallie giggled.

“It is war, signor,”
Carlotta said.

“What?” Magnus was
dumbfounded.

“War? Are you certain?”

“Very certain,
signor. My neighbour said in
Torino
the
streets are full of soldiers.
England
and
France
are once again at war. And we are at war, too. Napoleon’s troops are all over
the Piedmonte.” She glanced from him to Tallie and back again.

“You must flee at
once, signor. The soldiers are taking foreigners for questioning.”

Magnus swore again.

“He said he passed a
troop of soldiers on the road. They will be here in two hours. They are
searching houses on the way. They will most certainly come here.” Carlotta
added, a little shamefacedly, “All of Susa knows of my English visitors.”

“We will leave at
once,” Magnus assured her. “You have been exceedingly good to us, Carlotta. We
would not wish to cause you trouble.”

Carlotta laid an
anxious hand on his arm.

“Oh, no, Signor
Magnus, it is not myself I am concerned for. I would not like to see you and
Signora Thalia taken by soldiers.” She glanced at Tallie, who had already
slipped out of bed and was dressing quietly.

“Especially with the
baby coming. You must hide in the hills until dusk. It is too dangerous to try
for the coast from here —Napoleon has soldiers all over Piedmonte. And you
cannot go back through
France
.
My nephews will take you into
Switzerland
.
It is arranged.”

She turned to leave.
Magnus stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Signora… Carlotta,”
he said. “You are a… a queen among women.” He took her hand and, bowing, kissed
it lightly.

“Oh, signor.” She
blushed, flustered. “One does what one can. Now, I make food for you to take.
Pack only what you can carry. My nephews will you meet after dark, so that no one
will see you leave.” She shrugged apologetically. “Some of my neighbours have
no honour. If they do not see, they cannot tell which way you went. Most will
expect you to go south, to the coast —there are too many soldiers that way, but
they do not know it.”

“We will be ready
within the hour,” Magnus said. Carlotta turned to leave, then hesitated and
turned back, a tiny smile on her face. “My neighbour said in
Torino
all is confusion. English ladies are fainting; the men are in panic.” She
regarded Magnus and Tallie proudly. “Not my English visitors.”

Less than two hours
later, Magnus and Tallie were sitting on a bundle of straw in a small shed a
mile or so out of town. It belonged to Carlotta’s uncle. They were waiting for
John Black, Monique and the nephews to meet them in the shed after dark. Then
they would make their way to
Switzerland
.
Tallie had bidden Carlotta a tearful farewell. The two women had embraced, Carlotta
whispering assurances in Tallie’s ear that she would keep an ear out for news
of her little brother.

Tallie sat chewing a
piece of straw. Magnus glanced down at her worriedly. She had said very little
since they left.

“Don’t worry. I won’t
let any harm come to you,” he said softly.

She smiled up at him.

“I know,” she said
simply. “I was not worrying about that.”

The heavy feeling
came into his chest again. She was so trusting and certain. He wished he could
be as certain.

“You never did find
out what… I was doing when I didn’t come back for those eight days, did you?”
she said at last.

Magnus felt as if a
fist had slammed him in the chest. He didn’t want to know —what the hell was
she doing, deciding to confess now? He wanted to get up, to pace around the
tiny shed, to change the subject.

He knew from her face
it was something dreadful —it had clearly been weighing on her conscience since
she’d arrived back from her mysterious journey. But he’d already decided he
could live with whatever she’d done —as long as she stayed with him from now
on.

“No, but it doesn’t
matt—”

“I was looking for my
brother.”

“Your brother?” he
said, stunned. Brother? It was the last thing he’d expected.

“I never knew you had
a brother.”

“Neither did I, until
some years ago —well, actually, I wasn’t absolutely sure of it until a few days
ago.” She leaned against him and sighed, and without conscious volition he put
his arm around her.

Quietly, without
looking at him, she told her story.

“—and I wasn’t sure
whether to believe the letter or not —it was so incredible— but I couldn’t get
it out of my mind, and so when we came here…” She told how she had found her
mother’s grave, and met a young priest who had not known her mother but who had
recalled the story. He believed the orphan child had been given to a woman who
was childless —a good woman, a true daughter of the church.

“But the woman’s
husband died and she went to live with her brother, who hated the little boy.
And then she died and the brother just went away and left him.” Tears sparkled
on the ends of Tallie’s lashes. “Left a little boy of only seven years to fend
for himself.”

Magnus pulled her
into his arms and held her tight against his heart.

“The boy died?” he
asked gently.

She shook her head.

“No, not that anyone
knows of.” She looked at him in distress. “Oh, Magnus, apparently there are
children living wild in the mountains since the war, because no one will take
them in. People are too poor to worry about somebody else’s child.” She hugged
him convulsively. “It is so utterly dreadful. I wish I could do something, but
now here we are, fleeing from the French and in no position to do anything. I did
so much want to stay and search for my brother.” Tears ran down her cheeks and
he kissed them softly away.

“We have to leave, my
dear. You know that.”

She was silent.

“If not for our own
safety, then for this child.” He laid his hand on her stomach and felt the now
familiar surge of joy —and of terror. As far back as he could remember, from
the time he was a little boy, he had always felt alone. Alone in a bleak, cold
world. With only a bleak, cold future ahead of him.

But now there were
two people who belonged to him, two people to care for —and to protect. He had
never dreamed it could happen to him, never dreamed he would be so fortunate.
And so grateful. He would protect her and her unborn child with his life. He
drew her head down, laid his cheek against her hair and simply held her. His
throat was full.

Half an hour later
they were joined by John Black, and a few moments afterwards Monique arrived, a
handsome young nephew with her. Then the rest of the nephews slipped in under
cover of darkness, carrying baggage and bringing mules.

They set off in the
moonlight, towards the far mountains glistening with snow.

“The captain says we
shall reach
England
tomorrow,” announced Magnus joining his wife at the ship’s rail. “He plans to
land at the nearest port —some problem with the mast, I gather.”

Tallie nodded but did
not reply.

“It is a glorious
night, is it not?” he said, looking out at the moon-tossed waves.

“Mmmm.” His wife
nodded. Magnus’s arm closed protectively around her, bracing her against the
slight rolling of the ship. They had made it.

He had brought them
to safety. But it seemed that was not enough.

“Look, there are
traces of fire-glittering in the water.” He pointed as he spoke.

“Yes.”

“It’s caused by the
movement of the ship.”

Tallie nodded again.

“Can you see the
luminescent bubbles trailing in our wake?”

“Yes,” she murmured. “Very
pretty.”

Magnus tried again.

“And all the stars
are out, so clear and bright. Nearly as clear as they were in the mountains,
but not as close. I do not think we have ever been as close to the stars as we
were in the mountains. Do you remember when you said it was as if you could
truly just reach out and touch them?”

Tallie did not reply.
Magnus tightened his grip around her, silently willing the return of his eager,
excited bride. It was the sort of night which would have had her in raptures
just a short time ago.

Tallie sighed.

“It is difficult to
believe so much time has passed… Sometimes it feels like it was just a week or
so, and at others… a lifetime.”

“It’s just over two
months,” murmured Magnus.

“But it feels like
less, doesn’t it?”

Magnus slipped his
free hand under her cloak, laying it on the rounded curve of her belly.

“It feels like more
to me.”

Tallie smiled and
leaned her head against him.

“You’ve coped
magnificently, my dear.” Magnus pulled her closer. There had been times he’d
thought he’d never get her home safely.

The journey had taken
much longer than anticipated, and had been much more arduous. For when they had
reached the Swiss border they had discovered that Napoleon had invaded
Switzerland
as
well. There had been no alternative but to head into
Lombardy
,
and then east, towards the Austrian border. Numerous times they’d had to
scramble off the road and hide from French soldiers.

Once over the border,
they’d made their way towards
Vienna
.
From there they had travelled to
Prague
,
on to
Dresden
,
and thence to
Berlin
.

From
Berlin
they had headed
towards the coast, and finally, at Husum, in Schleswig-Holstein, they’d managed
to secure passage on the packet Lark, which was crowded with other fugitives —not
only Englishmen and women, but others hostile to Napoleon’s conquests.