With This Ring (35 page)

She stopped. It was true, of course,
but then she would never have met the Innises, and their kindness
that extended to sacrifices few would make on behalf of strangers.
The villagers would be strangers to her yet, and she might not ever
have learned what she could do for herself, when she had no choice
and everything depended on her.

He knew. At least, from the moment
he regained his senses again, he knew, and he said nothing. He had
let her worry and contrive, and solve her own problem, and wear
herself out, and know the satisfaction of success. She increased
the pressure of her fingers on his leg, even as she bowed her head
and let the tears slide down her face, to Sir Percy’s
horror.

He leaped to his feet again,
wringing his hands, as she cried quietly and Sam did nothing.
“Major, I say! You’re a heartless brute! Mama will be so
disappointed that you have not turned out better!”

“
Percy, do excuse yourself for a
moment,” she heard the major say in a low voice. “Get us some ale
from the public room and take your time returning.”

She heard the door close, but she
could not stop the tears. After a few minutes, Sam handed her a
handkerchief and she blew her nose.

“
Come a little closer, Lydia Reed,”
he said, and she heard uncertainty in his voice. “If you must
clutch me, clutch a part more substantial.”

With another sob, she threw herself
into his arms, and continued her tears until none were left. She
let him wipe her eyes this time. “Blow now,” he told her, and she
did.

She realized where she was then, and
tried to sit up. “I hope I am not hurting you,” she murmured, worry
and embarrassment competing with her feelings.

“
I never felt better,” he assured
her, and did not relinquish his grip on her.

She sighed and nestled closer. “May
I say that I never ….” She could not continue, so deep were
her feelings. She shook her head and returned to
silence.

Sam kissed the top of her head and
then rested his chin there. She listened to the steady beat of his
heart and struggled to subdue the tears that threatened again. Even
though my feet ache, I am hungry, and my head is starting to pound,
I cannot imagine that I will ever feel better than this, she
thought. But I must tell him.

She sat up, but did not remove
herself from his arms. She looked into his face, taking a moment to
admire his brown eyes and the pleasant sprinkling of freckles
across his nose. He was still too thin, but she would see to that.
She took the handkerchief from him and dabbed at his eyes. “Mustn’t
let your ridiculous lieutenant see those,” she scolded.

“
He’s seen them before,” he told
her. “And he’s not so ridiculous when the French are charging. Far
from it. Oh, Lydia.”

She put her hand to his lips. “Sam,
thank you from the bottom of my heart,” she said simply.

She could hear Sir Percy moving
restlessly from one foot to the other outside the door, so she got
up and opened it, taking the pint in his hand and giving it to
Sam.

Percy obviously had time of his own
to think, and the words poured out. “Sam, I imagine you did not
even tell her about the valuables in your trunk, did you?” he
accused him, then drank deep. “Lord, but Innis has good ale. I had
forgotten. So wise of you to hole up here, even though Mama will be
chagrined.”

Lydia laughed, and resumed her spot
on the major’s bed, although not quite so close. “You are wrong
there, Sir Percy! He told me to look in the trunk, and I did find a
treasure, considering the venture I was engaged in. A wonderful
razor,” she explained, when the other man stared at her. “You know,
for shaving. Well,
I
thought it was a valuable
treasure.”

Percy set down his cup, tipped back
in his chair again, and started to laugh. He laughed until he had
to press his hand to his stomach. Lydia stared at him, and then at
Sam, who was smiling. Without a word, she rose and went to her
husband’s campaign trunk. As Percy’s laughter returned to a lower
register, and then to helpless, intermittent yelps, she looked
through the trunk. She sat back on her heels and stared at
Sam.

“
Husband, unless dirty shirts and
pants full of powder burns are valuable, you will have to enlighten
me. Obviously I have missed something.”

“
You have,” he agreed, smiling at
her with such fondness that she blushed. “And once you had found
the razor, and I understood what all this meant, I did not press
it.”

She looked back at the trunk in
bewilderment. “I dare
anyone
to find a treasure in
this … this midden!”

“
Mum, find the chess game,” Percy
said.

Mystified, she dragged out the worn
and dirty tablecloth with the chess pieces knotted in one end.
“This, for heaven’s sake?” she asked, holding it out to her
husband.

“
Come back here,” he
said.

She sat beside him again and handed
him the small bundle. With practiced effort, he untied the twine
that held in the pieces and tumbled them into her lap. She gasped
and stared, open-mouthed, jerking up her apron to keep the pieces
from spilling onto the floor.

With hands that shook, she picked up
the pieces she recognized. They were of some heavy wood, and much
battered from use. She set them aside, then ran her fingers through
the small gold coins.

“
Pawns,” Sam explained, his eyes
merry. “I had to have something uniform, of course, and these
little pieces of eight answered. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Stupefied, she nodded. She picked up
a lump of gold, and looked at him, a question in her
eyes.

“
I found it that way after the siege
of Badajoz. Don’t know what it was. Just some finery that melted in
the fire,” he said. “It sits level, so it became a knight.” He
poked his fingers among the treasures. “These earbobs were bishops,
and that louis d’or was a king.” Gently he touched the wedding ring
she wore. “A queen, of course.” For some reason his voice was rusty
then, and she had the good grace not to look at him.

In silence, his face unreadable, the
major picked up the pieces from her lap and restored them to their
place in the shabby tablecloth. He looked at her then, a long,
measuring look that made her palms start to perspire. “Forgive me,
Lydia?” he asked softly.

“
There isn’t anything to forgive,”
she replied, her voice just as soft, as she dismissed weeks of
swollen ankles, shyness around strangers, and more worry for
another human being than she had ever suffered through
before.

“
I should think there is!” Percy
said, leaping into the conversation with indignation that made his
eyes go a little wild. “Major, you will be lucky if your convenient
matrimonial arrangement doesn’t just … just leave
you!”

Now I am a matrimonial arrangement,
she thought in surprise. Well, of course I am. At what point did I
forget that? Was it when I was holding him while the surgeon cut,
or was it even back at St. Catherine’s when I knew I wanted Maria,
and had only to look at him for his approval? Or even when my hands
were shaking so badly and he held my arm so steady to put this ring
on my finger? I wonder when it was.

“
Would you?” the major asked
her.

“
What?” she asked, startled out of
her own discomfort.

“
Would you leave?” There was the
slightest frown on his face, and it pleased her just a little to
know that even he had some doubts.

“
Never,” she said promptly, forcing
down her misgivings. She took his hand and held it in her lap. She
smiled at the two of them, feeling no pleasure in her thoughts, but
determined that Percy should know no more. “I could murder you,
perhaps, and no jury in this district would ever convict me. No. I
would never leave. I am intensely curious to find out what kind of
demented people have had the raising of someone so devious,
husband!” She hated her glibness. It was not what she wanted to
say, not the way she was feeling now.

Percy laughed and stood up, shaking
his head. “Major, she is so good at that!”

“
Good at what?” he asked.

“
Calling you husband as a real wife
would, and taking your hand as if this were a serious arrangement!”
He looked at her then, his expression kindly, “Mum, I don’t know
who you are, but you certainly will be a success in securing the
inheritance in Northumberland! Sam, without question you found a
lady. What a pleasant diversion this has become! Sorry I missed the
proposal at St. Barnabas—God save us—and the wedding. How on earth
did either of you keep a straight face? And look at you now,
holding hands. Lord, I am diverted. This was well worth the price
of a special license.”

His words hung in the air like a bad
smell. Lydia felt her face grow hot. She released Sam’s hand, but
he did not lift it from her lap. He kept his hand on her thigh,
applying enough pressure to keep her courage fixed. When she felt
braver, she looked at her husband’s lieutenant, searching for
meanness, or animosity. There was none. A kindly face looked back
at her, one used to amusement, his questions remaining.

“
Percy, someday I will explain the
whole series of events to you, and we will all have a good laugh.”
Sam said at last, when the silence had gone on too long for
politeness.

“
Promise? Sam, I want you and your
lady—oh, Lord I am amused—to come to Quavers for the rest of your
recovery. Mama will be pleased to see you both, and you can plan
out the rest of your deception,” Percy said, his eyes bright. “I
only wish I could come to Northumberland and see how this all plays
out ….” He paused, his eyes hopeful.

“
No, Percy. It is out of the
question,” Sam said firmly. “And as for your kind
invitation ….” He glanced at her. “I think not. We’ll just
stay here and rub along as best we can. Thank you, though. Another
time.”

Percy did not attempt to hide his
disappointment. “Oh, I am sorry! This amusing joke would have been
just the antidote to Papa’s gout!” He put his hand to his head in a
gesture that would have seemed theatrical if anyone else had done
it, but to Lydia’s eyes, was appropriate for anyone so intent on
entertainment as Sir Percy. “I am reminded, Mrs. Reed—Oh, gadfrey,
you are Lady Laren, are you not?—Sam, I am beyond diversion
now!”

“
Collect yourself, Percy,” Sam said.
“I am feeling quite tired and need to go to bed.
What
are
you reminded of? Do come to the point.”

“
The reason for my visit in the
first place! I come in Papa’s place as interim justice of the
peace, I suppose. Papa’s gout did not permit, and didn’t that turn
out to be our good luck?” he said. With a flourish, he pulled an
envelope from his coat. “Mrs. Reed, there is a reward for the
capture of that miserable man you shot.” He looked apologetic.
“This is not really a flush district, so it is a small stipend.
Now, if you had shot the other one, that would have earned you
more. He is a
really
ugly customer.” He giggled. “Perhaps we
should issue pistols to all the fair women who ride the coach. Just
a small reward.”

“
How small?” she asked, swallowing
her uneasiness at his relentless good cheer, and wanting to stop
his endless flow of words.

“
Only twenty pounds,
but ….”

“
That is a fortune!” she exclaimed,
amazed all over again at this sudden turn of fortune. She looked at
the bag of coins, paltry now, that she had earned in ten hours of
work today. “I can pay for a post chaise now, and at least another
week’s stay here.”

Sam’s lieutenant nodded as he handed
her the envelope. “My offer of a stay at Quavers still stands, and
I know Papa would be happy to give you the loan of his coach and
horses to Northumberland.” He looked from Sam to her, and back to
Sam again, his eyes cheerful, even in the defeat of his plans. “I
think you are being foolish, Sam. Why, at Quavers, you wouldn’t
even have to share a bed! It must be an awkward situation,
considering this whole arrangement.” He started to laugh again as
he held out his hand to Sam, and then went to the door. “Do at
least give me your permission to tell my father about this whole
escapade.”

“
If you say one word about it, when
I feel better I will carve you into chewable pieces and have you
for breakfast, Percy,” Sam replied, his voice just as
pleasant.

Percy held up his hand. “Major, I am
undone! What good is a practical joke if it cannot be shared?” He
looked hopefully at his superior officer. “No?”

“
No. Go away.”

With another laugh and a bow in
Lydia’s general direction, Sir Percy left the room. Lydia was about
to speak when the door opened again.

“
Do at least write me from
Northumberland and tell me how this whole adventure
ends!”

“
Go away, Percy,” Sam
repeated.

There was noticeable iron in his
voice this time that Lydia could hear, and the door did not reopen.
She sat another moment on the bed, then got up and put the coin
pouch on the dresser with her other earnings.

“
I’m rather sorry that happened,”
Sam said at last.