The Perfect Wife (22 page)

Wynne and Sabrina worked side by side. Belinda stood a short distance away, assigned to keep an eye on the rim of the pit in the event their captors returned unexpectedly. She watched warily for any desert creature that might decide to pay them a visit, her anxious gaze darting from rim to walls and back again.

“Wynne,” Sabrina said casually, “why are you dressed? I thought you were asleep.”

“I might ask you the same thing.”

“I went to walk with Nicholas.” Sabrina raised a brow in emphasis. “My husband.”

“I too went for a walk,” Wynne said defensively, attacking the foothold on which she worked with renewed enthusiasm.

“Really?” Sabrina considered her answer. “Alone?”

“I...” Wynne averted her eyes and sighed. “No, I was not alone.”

Sabrina’s tone was gentle. “Were you with Matt?” The younger woman nodded. “I thought as much. Wynne, have you given any consideration to the future? To what happens when this journey is ended?”

Wynne’s gaze met hers. “I have given it a great deal of thought. When this adventure is over I shall embark on another. I plan to fill my life with exploits and quests and—”

“And ... what about Matt?”

Wynne turned and concentrated her efforts on a particularly stubborn section of soil. “The captain will continue much as he always has, I suspect. With his ships and his voyages and his ... life.”

“Does that not bother you?” Sabrina said in amazement.

“No ... yes ... I do not know.” Wynne’s eyes blazed with defiance. “What, perchance, am I supposed to do, Sabrina? I finally have the opportunity to experience all I have ever dreamed of. At last I am able to travel and explore and see the world for myself. I feel as if I have spent my entire life in some type of eminently respectable but deadly tedious prison.

“I suspect the captain is the kind of man who should find being tied to just one woman the worst kind of incarceration. Now that I have found my own freedom, I cannot—I shall not—impose such a prison on him.” She turned back to the wall and scraped at the earth in a fierce gesture of frustration.

“He might well wish for such a prison.” Sabrina’s words were soft. “He loves you.”

Wynne stilled, frozen in midmotion. “What makes you think so?”

“He told me.”

Wynne released a pent-up breath. “I daresay I did not expect that.”

Surprised, Sabrina stared. “Whyever not?”

“All that I have read of men such as the captain indicates that love is not an emotion they succumb to easily. Courage, fire, a variety of other passions, yes, but love ...” her gaze dropped, her voice barely more than a whisper, as if she talked as much to herself as Sabrina, “... no, I never expected that.”

Sabrina studied her sister-in-law for a moment. “Do you love him?”

Wynne’s startled gaze flew to hers. “Do I—yes, of course, without a doubt.”

Sabrina smiled. “Very well then; the two of you shall marry and—”

“Oh, no!” Wynne shook her head firmly. “Marriage is out of the question.”

“Why?” Sabrina asked, shocked by the refusal of this spinster to even consider wedding the man she admitted she loved.

Wynne’s tone rang with impatience. “Surely you realize marriage would never satisfy the captain. He is a man used to adventure and intrigue, even in his personal dealings. Although bound by the vows of matrimony, he would no doubt eventually turn to other women.” Wynne’s voice softened, clasping her fingers together and staring at her hands. “And that I could not bear.” She hesitated for a long moment. Finally her gaze met Sabrina’s. “How does one bear it?”

The question pierced Sabrina’s heart with an almost physical pain, and her breath caught in her throat. How indeed did one bear such a thing? Wasn’t that exactly what she had to look forward to from Nicholas? Oh, certainly he was enamored with her now; only a fool would fail to see that. But what of the future? What happened when they returned to England? When excitement and adventure was far behind them?

Would he expect her to be once more the serene Lady Sabrina he originally had selected for a wife? Could she behave that way again? Her life before now was as much a prison as Wynne’s had been, and just like the younger woman, Sabrina suspected she could not return to it. These weeks of reckless freedom were too potent not to have erased years of proper behavior.

And what of Nicholas’s behavior? The man was a rake; it was his very nature. She did not expect him to change when they wed, but the marriage of convenience she had agreed to had not worked out quite as she’d foreseen. Love had played no part in her initial plans, especially not this burning passion that ignited whenever the man so much as threw a smoldering glance her way. How long would it be before he turned to others? Before he began anew the liaisons and affairs for which he was notorious?

She thrust the picture of an altogether painful future aside and returned to her work, viciously assaulting the earthen wall as if it were to blame for her fears. Her words were blunt. “Not everyone behaves as characters in a book, Wynne. Perhaps you should give Matt a chance.”

Wynne’s response was slow and thoughtful. “Perhaps.” The sound of the knife scraping at the soil and fingers scratching at the earth filled the silence between
them. “And what of you, Sabrina? Will you give Nicholas the same chance?”

“I am married to your brother.” The bitter note in her voice surprised her. “I have little choice. I knew the type of man he was when we wed. I shall have to learn to deal with the consequences.”

“I fear I do not know my brother well. But I am aware of his reputation. He is well known for his amorous exploits. Still, he is a man of honor. Are you so certain he will betray you?”

Sabrina’s answer came short and quick and hard. “Yes.”

Her gaze met Wynne’s and she shrugged. “It’s what I expect. As I said, I shall deal with it. However, I am not completely certain I shall live with it.”

“Surely you would not consider divorce?” Wynne asked, her words tinged with horror.

“Of course not. I shall have my gold and therefore no need to depend on your brother financially. I cannot imagine he will not be amenable to living apart, should it come to that. But no, Wynne, I would never divorce him.” Sabrina’s pride prevented her from saying anything else. She could not tell Wynne that she fervently prayed Nicholas would discover love with her. She could not explain that as long as they were legally bound together, there was hope. And she could not put into words how her very soul would shatter if indeed her fears about her husband proved true.

“Time enough to face that later. We have more pressing problems now.” Sabrina tossed the dagger to the floor and eyed the side of the pit speculatively. The footholds were now an arm’s reach above her head. “Let’s see if this shall work. Boost me up, Wynne.”

Wynne locked her fingers together and Sabrina wedged a booted foot in her clasped hands. Bracing herself between the wall and the woman, Sabrina slowly inched upward. Gingerly, she settled one foot into the holds they’d dug and gradually allowed her weight to settle on it. It held. She pulled her other foot from Wynne’s grasp and placed it in a second hold. It too supported her. They had not cut footholds more than a few feet above her head, and she could only climb a short distance. But it was enough to show that the plan would indeed lead eventually to escape. Elation and confidence swelled within her.

Sabrina lay plastered against the side of the wall like an insect in a windstorm and grinned down at Wynne, a scant few inches below her. “I believe this will yet work.”

Wynne beamed back. “I had no doubts.”

Sabrina’s optimism restored, she scanned the walls above her. “However, I shall need to cut more holds while clinging like this. It’s not that far to the top, so I suspect we shall be—”

“Mother!” Belinda’s shriek echoed around the pit. “There’s a snake! A snake, Mother, a snake!” She stared wild-eyed at the side of the pit.

Sabrina leapt off the wall, and she and Wynne tumbled to the floor. Her heart pounded in her throat and her gaze frantically searched the earthen walls for the serpent. She snatched the knife off the ground and spied the golden-skinned, undulating creature a bare moment later. Instinctively, she hurled the dagger, praying that her skill with a knife had not dimmed with the years.

A sickening thud reverberated around her. The knife stuck in the earth, neatly skewering the snake to the wall. Sabrina pushed her hair away from her face with a shaky hand and forced a weak smile to her lips. She’d done it. She hadn’t lost anything. Not skill, not speed, not courage. A sense of satisfaction surged through her. With or without Nicholas, she would survive.

She turned to the others. Belinda stared speechless. Her gaze traveled from the serpent pinned to the wall to her mother. “Mother,” she said in a voice hoarse with shock. “How did you learn to do that?”

She wasn’t sure whether it was relief or the stunned expression on her child’s face, but Sabrina wanted nothing more than to laugh hysterically. She bit her lip and choked back the mirth. “Darling, it’s just one of those handy things one picks up here and there.” Belinda blinked in silent astonishment.

“That’s an odd-looking snake, Sabrina,” Wynne said thoughtfully.

Sabrina studied the creature and cautiously edged closer. A moment later the laughter she’d suppressed burst forth. Belinda and Wynne stared as if she had surely lost her mind.

“It’s not a snake,” Sabrina gasped through uncontrolled gales. “It’s a rope. I’ve killed a bloody rope.”

“Belinda?” The low whisper dropped from above, stilling Sabrina’s laughter with the swift surety of a sharpened blade.

“Erick?” Belinda said hopefully.

The silhouette of a familiar head appeared at the rim of the pit. “Belinda, are you all right?”

Belinda stared upward and excitement rang in her voice. “Oh, yes, yes, Erick, I’m fine. We’re all fine. Now, please, please get us out of this nasty place.”

“Erick,” Wynne called to her nephew. “We greatly appreciate your assistance. However, Sabrina and I were just about to—”

“Wynne,” Sabrina said sharply and pulled Wynne away from the wall. “Hold your tongue.”

Wynne turned toward her, eyes wide with surprise. “I was merely going to tell him that his rescue, while extremely thoughtful, is also unnecessary.” Wynne drew herself up in a gesture of supreme confidence. “We are more than capable of rescuing ourselves and, given a bit more time, would have accomplished that feat quite nicely.”

Sabrina sighed. “I know that and you know that, and very likely Belinda realizes it as well. However, your sea voyage and Erick’s unfortunate reaction to ocean travel has somewhat paled the glow of young love, at least in Belinda’s eyes.” Confusion still registered on Wynne’s face. “Do you not understand? This rescue of his, this gallant gesture as it were, is just what she needs to forget her distaste for his illness. This allows Erick to be her knight, her savior, her hero.”

“Of course.” Wynne nodded in agreement. “I had not thought of that.” She turned and stepped back to Belinda’s side. “Erick, dear, we were so dreadfully afraid. And now that you’ve come to save us, all will most certainly be well.”

Sabrina groaned to herself. Subtlety was not one of Wynne’s strong suits. She shook her head and turned to the task at hand. Even while they were well on their way to effecting their own escape, it would be foolish indeed not to take advantage of Erick’s presence. Escape was well within reach on their own, but it would surely take more time than she cared to squander. With Erick’s help, they should be out of their prison in a matter of minutes.

“Erick.” Sabrina tugged at the dagger, pulling it from the wall and allowing the rope to swing free, “I shall wrap this end of the line around Wynne and you may pull her up.” Sabrina turned to her sister-in-law. “Wynne, use the footholds to help push yourself up along the wall.”

“Very well, Lady Sabrina.” Erick’s hushed tones sounded above them. “Let me know when you are ready.”

“Mother.” Belinda’s words rang with indignation. “I feel I should go first.”

“What?” Exasperation churned in Sabrina. How much farther could she allow this charming child to push her before she lost control completely?

“Well,” Belinda said with authority, “after all, Erick did come primarily to rescue me, and since I am the one among us who is obviously the most delicate, it seems only proper that I should be the first one out of the pit.”

Sabrina clenched her teeth and willed herself to remain patient. “My darling child, I believe Wynne should go first because she could then assist the rest of us in our ascent.”

“I’m sure I could help just as well,” Belinda said stoutly.

“What happened to being delicate?” Wynne asked under her breath.

Belinda ignored her. “Mother, will you give me the rope or do we continue to debate?” Challenge sparked in her eyes and she glared at her mother.

Sabrina stared back. How could she have raised a child so remarkably stubborn, spoiled and self-centered? Annoyed, she searched her daughter’s eyes. Realization hit her abruptly, and she bit back a caustic retort. Of course. It was so obvious, Sabrina should have noted it sooner. The girl was scared, terrified. With a mother’s unerring instinct, Sabrina sensed the fear carefully concealed behind Belinda’s obstinate insistence on being the first to escape. Sabrina’s ire vanished.

“Very well.” Sabrina wrapped the line about Belinda’s waist. “Hang on and use the footholds for leverage.” She trapped her daughter’s gaze with her own and her voice softened. “Are you quite sure you can do this?”

Belinda jutted out her chin and drew a deep breath. “Yes, Mother, I am sure.”

Sabrina nodded and tugged on the line. “Erick, you may pull her up.”

Slowly, Erick pulled Belinda from the pit. She did indeed follow her Mother’s directions and used the holds Sabrina and Wynne had dug. In a matter of minutes she was at the top and disappeared from sight. Sabrina heard the murmur of Belinda and Erick’s greeting, followed by the silence of what was obviously an embrace. She counted to ten mentally, the limit of her patience. Young lovers or no young lovers, she wanted out of this blasted hole from hell. Sabrina jerked on the rope indignantly, and a scant second later the cord descended once more. Sabrina tied it around Wynne, and then she too was lifted out, leaving Sabrina alone in the pit.