Wild Bells to the Wild Sky (33 page)

Raymond Valchamps heard footsteps drawing close and recognizing his friend, he carefully folded his hands. He would keep his own counsel concerning that girl. His noble friend would most likely disapprove of his actions, as he had of his attempt on Elizabeth's life. His friend was not one for shedding blood, he remembered, smili
ng in greeting
as the man approached. His plans for Lily Christian would remain his secret.

The remainder of the day that had started out so promisingly with the return of Valentine Whitelaw to Taesis House seemed to worsen as the hours passed. Lily never felt free of Raymond Valchamps's eyes. They continually followed her. She could feel them burning into her back when she turned away, trying not to meet that penetrating stare, but it was impossible. Again and again, she was drawn to them.

And to add to her suffering, Lily could not seek Valentine's comforting words or touch. Even had she wished, she would never have been able to get close to him. Cordelia Howard, or Honoria Penmorley,
whenever
she
could
manage it, was always there before her. Once or twice, she had caught Valentine's eyes, and he had smiled, but she had turned away, her heart breaking as she remembered his cruel words. She was just the daughter of his friend. He could
never
love her. He could
never
love Lily Christian. Then, after looking away, her eyes would encounter Raymond Valchamp's smiling face.

He had always been there, watching and listening. It had become unbearable toward the end, and Lily had nearly fainted when she had turned to find him standing beside her. The smile that flickered across his handsome face would have seemed friendly to anyone watching, but to Lily it was threatening and evil and she nearly fell into Simon's arms when he came to stand beside her, his cheerful face reminding her more than ever of her beloved Basil. And as she turned to face him, her eyes glowing with gratitude, Simon Whitelaw felt the first stirrings of love in his heart, and he contrived to stay by her side for the rest of the evening that had developed into something extraordinary for him.

Lily, however, was anxious for the evening to come to an end. And she had not lingered when the guests had at last begun to take their leave of their gracious host. With unseemly haste, or so it had seemed to a dejected Simon, she had hurried from the hall. Lily had hesitated at the top of the wide flight of stairs and glanced down, but what she had seen was enough to send her scurrying along the corridor to her chamber without another backward glance. Standing at the foot of the stairs
and
watching her had been Raymond Valchamps.

Safe at last in the seclusion of her bedchamber, Lily had wasted no time in changing into her nightgown and climbing into the big bed where Dulcie already lay sound asleep. Huddling beneath the coverlet, Lily began to shake, her teeth chattering. She closed her eyes to banish the darkness of the chamber that no longer seemed to offer her refuge. But that was even worse, for Raymond Valchamps's smiling face floated before her, then the mocking eyes of Corde
lia Howard, and lastly, ringing
in her ears, the laughter of Valentine Whitelaw.

Pulling the covers over her head, Lily sank down as low as she could against the feather
mattress
and rayed for morning to come, when her fears would fade with the darkness.

But the room was still dark when Lily awoke, her heart pounding. Next to her Dulcie had awakened and was sitting up, her cries filling the silent room.

Lily reached over and touched Dulcie, trying to comfort her.

"He's in here, Lily! The witch. He's coming after us. I saw him. He wants to kill us!" she cried, burying her tearstained face against Lily's shoulder.

"Prrraaack! Prrraaack!
Witch! Witch!" Cisco cried out, his sobs echoing Dulcie's eerily.

"Hush!" Lily said into the darkness, rocking Dulcie back and forth.

"Hush! Hush! Past twelve of the clock and blacher'n hell," Cosco mimicked in a whispering voice before starting to giggle.

Lily heard footsteps beyond the closed door and hugged Dulcie closer, her soft, whispering voice soothing Dulcie's fears as she sniffed a couple of times, her tears beginning to dry.

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Promise me you won't ever, ever leave me. Promise?" Dulcie begged.

"Of course I promise. I'd never leave you, Dulcie."

"We're always going to be together, aren't we, Lily?" Dulcie asked, her small arms tightening around Lily's waist.

"Of course we are. No one will ever separate us. I promise," Lily told her, silently vowing that she would keep that promise.

"You won't let Artemis keep me away from you and
Tristram and
Cisco and Cappie?" she demanded.

"No, I won't."

"I like Artemis, Lily. But I like you better," Dulcie confided. "I wish we could go back to the island. I don't like England, Lily. Don't you wish we could go home?"

Home? Lily thought. "Yes, I wish we could go home. I wish we were on our island again. Just you, Tristram, and me, and Mother and Basil."

"And Cappie and Cisco?"

"Yes," Lily agreed dreamily.

"I guess Choco would be there too?"

"Most likely."

"Well, that is all right. As long as Choco doesn't come too close, I don't really hate him. The wit
c
h wouldn't
be
able to find us there, Lily. We would be safe," Dulcie murmured sleepily.

"Don't worry about the witch, Dulcie. I won't let him hurt you."

"Promise?" Dulcie said, yawning. "And you won't let him take me away from you and Tristram. We will always, always be together?"

"I promise you, Dulcie. We are a family. I promised Basil I would always look after you and Tristram. I promised, Dulcie. I told him I'd never let anyone hurt you, and I won't. Highcross is our home, Dulcie. It is where we belong, not Ravindzara," Lily said, her eyes closing as she leaned back against the pillows, Dulcie sleeping peacefully in her arms.

Artemis Whitelaw backed slowly out of the doorway, closing the door softly.

Turning away, she glanced up, gasping in surprise as she saw a shadow move beside her. "Oh, 'tis you."

Valentine Whitelaw took his sister's elbow and guided her along the corridor toward her chamber adjacent to the children's, for in the darkness it was difficult to find their way.

"You heard?" she asked softly.

"Yes, I did," he replied, and Artemis strained to see his expression.

"Oh, Valentine, I am so ashamed," she cried. "It has taken a frightened child's honesty to show me how selfish I have been."

"Artemis, don't. You are being too hard on yourself. What you have done has been out of the goodness of your heart. I have never known you to be anything but generous and kind-hearted."

Artemis shook her head, denying all that he said. "No, I am dishonest. Deceitful. I have brought shame upon this family. I have only thought of myself sine you returned with the family and told us of Basil's death. I saw little Dulcie as all that we had left of Basil. Oh, I know we've Simon, but he is nearly a man full grown. He has Elspeth. She is his mother. But Dulcie, she could have been ours, Valentine. She could have been mine," Artemis finally admitted. "I wanted her for my own.
And
yet even in that small wish am I mocked. Look at me. Useless. I could not even help her, so lame am I," Artemis said with self-loathing.

"Artemis, please, do not do this to yourself," Valentine pleaded, hating to hear his sister speak in such a heartless manner. "You have only wanted what would be best for the child. I, too, would wish to have Basil's daughter living with us. That is not wrong."

"It is wrong when it would destroy others, as I have finally realized that it would. But I did not think of them, only of my desires to have a child."

"My dear, please do not despair," Valentine said, placing his arm around her slender shoulders. "You only hurt yourself further by persisting in demeaning yourself
-
-"

"You are not blind, Valentine. You do not wish to hurt me, but look at me. I am lame! What man would want to wed me? What man would wish to lie with me and have a cripple bear his children? Can I accompany my beloved to court and proudly dance with him? I cannot even walk by his side without calling attention to myself. Do you not think I have seen the pitying glances? I will not be pitied. I am a Whitelaw, and I will at least bear that name with some dignity and honor."

"Artemis, I
-
-"

"No! There is nothing you can say, Valentine, that will change my lameness. I have accepted my fate. You are being far more cruel by continuing to pretend that I am not thus," she said, lifting the hem of her nightgown to reveal the foot that was twisted, the heel unable to touch the floor. "I will never be any different, Valentine. That is why I allowed myself, for just a little while, to believe that Dulcie could be mine. But now, I realize that It would
not be
right to separate her from Lily and Tristram. They are indeed her family. Not us. Lily is the one she turned to when she was frightened just now. Not me. I cannot replace Lily in her affections, much as I might have wished.

"I have been unfair to that child. I bitterly resented her closeness to Dulcie. I was jealous of a young girl who never wished me ill, who wanted only to be
friends
. Forgive me, Valentine. You trusted them to my care and I have betrayed you, and Basil."

Valentine kissed Artemis on the forehead, holding her close for a moment. "There is nothing to be forgiven. I still believe in your unselfishness, and in your goodness. None of us are saints, my dear."

Artemis signed. "I wish there were some way we could keep them with us. All of them," she said firmly, looking up at Valentine hopefully.

"I would have it that way as well, but we have no legal right to Lily or Tristram. Dulcie, yes, but it would mean separating her from her brother and sister. As we have both just heard, that would result in tragic consequences for the children. That is not what Basil and Magdalena would have wanted for their children. You heard what Lily said. She promised Basil she would always take care of the others. I wonder if Basil quite realized how serious a vow that was to Lily.

"And have you thought, Artemis, what Dulcie's life, or even Lily's and Tristram's, would be like at Ravindzara should we get
guardianship
of them? The house is barely habitable. There will be many more years of construction needed before it is a proper home. I even hesitate to allow you and Quinta to live there while the work is proceeding. And, remember, I shall have to be away for long periods of time during the next few years in order to earn the necessary monies to continue building on Ravindzara. I will not be here for the children. There is also another matter that concerns me," Valentine added in an unpleasant tone of voice.

"What?"

"By our sincere concern for the children, we might be depriving Tristram of his heritage."

"However could that be?" Artemis demanded, outraged by the suggestion.

"My dear, despite our belief in Basil, there are those, less knowledgeable and kind, who will continue to believe that Tristram is his son and not Geoffrey Christian's."

"That is wrong. He is not Basil's son. Basil would never have allowed the boy to believe otherwise."

"Nevertheless,
it is true. The boy will have a difficult time in proving he is Geoffrey Christian's son, and in claiming Highcross Court."

"Hartwell Barclay inherited Highcross when Geoffrey Christian died."

"Yes, but only because Magdalena and Lily were thought to have died as well. And at that time Geoffrey did not know that he had sired a son. His will, however, left Highcross to his
surviving
heirs. He bequeathed his estate to his wife, Magdalena, and upon her death, to his daughter, if he had no son to inherit."

"So that leaves Lily Christian and Tristram now as the rightful heirs to Highcross."

"Certainly, Lily. But as to young Tristram. Where, except for the boy's
claim
, is the proof of his heritage?"

"It should not have to be proven," Artemis said angrily, for such accusations vast doubt upon Basil's good name. "At least Lily's claim cannot be disproven. Now that she has Highcross, she will of course need a guardian."

"Hartwell Barclay will, I am certain, be quick to assume that responsibility. As the children's only relative, he will, of course, have the right. And until Lily Christian is old enough to manage her own affairs, or marries, he will have control of Highcross."

"From what you have told me of Geoffrey Christian's dislike of Hartwell Barclay, I cannot understand how he would have
allowed such a situation to
develop. Surely he would have named another to be guardian of his daughter, should his wife have died before Lily could manage on her own?"