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  ‘There was no such clause. Neither is he my nearest kin that it would pass to him on my death.’

  Jack’s frown deepened. ‘It does not make sense.’

  Anna nodded. ‘But envy is a terrible emotion, Jack.’

  He agreed, fingering the cut girth strap, knowing she would not remain in the saddle with the strap in that state. Yet for her to share his horse would be untenable. As for her riding his stallion…

  ‘Enough of such talk,’ murmured Anna, noticing the sun dipping beyond the horizon. ‘It is time we made a move. I’ll lead my horse as the house is only a short distance away. I suggest, Jack, that you ride on and inform Owain and Kate to expect me.’

  ‘I would offer you my hired horse but I doubt you’d be able to handle him.’

  She looked up at the stallion’s powerful shoulders and knew he spoke the truth. Taking hold of her horse’s bridle, she nodded in the direction of the manor. ‘You go ahead. I will follow.’

  Jack hesitated. He knew he could not leave her to walk alone. That cur of a nephew might return. But he hated being ordered about; he’d had enough of that in captivity. He experienced one of those flashbacks that left him cold. He was being forced to his knees and could almost feel the lash of the whip flaying his back. He had not even known why he was being punished, understanding little of the language of his master. It was then he had determined to learn Arabic and to escape.

  ‘Why do you linger, Jack? Mount your horse and ride on. I will be perfectly safe,’ reassured Anna.

  Jack scowled down at her, resenting the instruction. ‘I say it is a fine evening and there will be light in the sky long enough for us both to walk and reach the house before it gets dark.’

  Anna flashed him a smile. ‘If that is your wish. No doubt both horses will be glad to be relieved of their burdens for a while. I have ridden mine hard and presumably you have, too.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘What a day it has been and it is not over yet.’

  She was aware of a terrible sense of displacement, realising afresh that she was homeless. Although the loss she felt at the destruction of her home could not compare to the grief she still felt for her son, this was just another pain to bear. Tears pricked the back of her eyes and she blinked them away, knowing she must not give way to weakness.

  She looked up and caught Jack Milburn watching her. There was a bleakness in his expression that caused her to wonder what had happened to him during the years he had been missing. For the rest of the journey, she kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, thinking how he had changed almost out of all recognition from the youth she remembered.

  Chapter Two

  It was a relief to see the sandstone walls of Rowan Manor. Anna’s heart lifted and she thanked the Trinity that soon she would be inside its walls to be welcomed by Kate and Owain and the rest of the family.

  She handed her horse over to one of the grooms and removed her saddlebags and lute. Jack, who was unsaddling his own mount, said, ‘Leave them. I’ll carry them in for you when I’m ready.’

  She thanked him. So many thoughts were running through her head that she felt quite dizzy. She did not wish to upset Kate and Owain too much and knew she was going to have to think hard about what she should tell them. Turning back to Jack, she said, ‘Please, I beg you, do not mention your confrontation with Will to Kate. They will be deeply concerned about the evil that has befallen me without having to worry about my involving you in my affairs.’

  He was about to say he thought she was making a mistake, then he remembered the secret he had kept hidden for years, even from his twin. Besides, hadn’t he decided to not involve himself further with her?

  Filled with trepidation, Anna hurried towards the walled garden at the back of the house, guessing that at that time of evening Kate and Owain would be in their parlour. She was not mistaken. Both were sitting in the candlelit room.

  As soon as Anna entered the parlour, Kate, a curvaceous woman in her early forties, set aside her sewing and rose to her feet. ‘Anna, what are you doing here? We did not expect to see you until the Michaelmas Fair. My goodness! You’re filthy! What has happened? Is there something amiss at Fenwick?’

  ‘Indeed there is,’ replied Anna. ‘The house was struck by lightning and all my servants had vanished, so there was no one to help me to douse the flames.’

  Kate gasped and, going over to her, enveloped Anna in an embrace. ‘My poor Anna, what a dreadful thing to happen! What of Will and his wife?’

  ‘Marjorie was sleeping at the time. I managed to get her out of the house, but she died!’ Anna’s voice shook and she tore herself from Kate’s embrace and began to pace the room. ‘It was terrifying. Will had accused me of—’ She stopped abruptly, realising what she had said.

  ‘Accused you of what?’ asked Kate, starting forward.

  Anna shrugged and tried to smile. ‘It does not matter.’

  ‘Of course it matters,’ said Owain, a handsome man in his mid-forties with dark hair silvering at the temples. ‘You’ve been through so much these past two years and now this! If we are to help you, then you must be honest with us.’

  Anna’s face quivered. She had talked herself into a trap and knew she would have to tell them some of what Will had said. ‘He—he accused me of—of being an adulteress—just like my mother!’ She put a hand over her mouth. She had not meant to say the latter either. It showed the state of her mind. Kate and Owain exchanged startled glances. ‘Aye, you might well look like that,’ Anna muttered.

  ‘What nonsense!’ cried Kate, putting an arm about Anna’s shoulder and noticing the cut on her face. ‘Your cheek is all bloodied! Did that happen while you were trying to escape the fire?’

  ‘No. Will threw a stone at me,’ said Anna, taking a kerchief from a pocket and dabbing at the cut and then cleaning her face, realising she would have to tell them a little more. ‘I deem he wanted me to believe it was someone from the village, but I recognised his voice. I fear that he wishes to discredit me with the servants and villagers and seize Fenwick.’

  ‘He must be crazed,’ said Kate, aghast. ‘Owain, you must sort this matter out as soon as possible.’

  ‘I certainly will,’ said Owain firmly. ‘Although, with the house burnt down and his wife dead, I suspect it is the village where I’ll need to search for him. I’d best take some men with me.’

  ‘If he is not there, you could try my man-of-business’s house in Chester,’ said Anna. ‘No doubt Will shall try and persuade him that I’m not a fit person to own Fenwick.’

  ‘You really believe so?’ said Owain, looking deeply concerned. He rose from a table littered with papers. ‘Sit down. You’re obviously distraught and exhausted and need to rest. Kate, fetch some wine.’

  Anna sighed. ‘How can I relax? I have lost all that I held dear and now I am at a loss how to go on with my life.’

  Kate looked disturbed. ‘Hush, love. All will be well.’

  ‘That is so easy to say,’ cried Anna, tears filling her eyes. ‘I know a house can be rebuilt—but what would be the point? It would not be a home. I might as well go live in a nunnery.’

  ‘Now that is nonsense,’ said Kate. ‘You’re too young and comely. All you need is to stay with us for a while. I thought when Joshua died that it was a mistake for you to shut yourself away at Fenwick.’

  Anna turned on her. ‘You have not lost a son! How can you speak so when you have no experience of what I was suffering?’

  ‘Talking about it might have helped,’ said Kate quietly. ‘But you wouldn’t let us share your pain.’

  ‘Enough, love,’ said Owain, giving her a warning look.

  She sighed and nodded. ‘I’ll fetch the wine.’

  ‘Wait!’ said Anna, ashamed of herself for losing control. Staying Kate with an outstretched hand, she swallowed hard before continuing. ‘I beg your pardon for what I said, but now you’ve reminded me that I have forgotten to tell you that Jack Milburn is here. He says that he has come to see Davy. I mistook him for his twi
n. Why did you not let me know that Jack had been found?’

  ‘Jack is here!’ Kate’s blue eyes lit up. ‘It is true we knew he was alive and have been expecting him. But believe me, Anna, I did send word to you at Fenwick with the good news.’

  Anna frowned. ‘Who did you send?’

  ‘Hal.’

  ‘Hal!’ Anna darted a look at Owain. Hal was the youngest of the Rowan brothers and still unwed despite being almost forty years old. ‘Perhaps he did not deliver the message…or, if he did, Will kept it from me. But why should he do so?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ said Owain. ‘We could ask Hal when he comes in.’

  Anna shrugged. ‘What does it matter now Jack is here?’

  Owain and Kate looked relieved.

  ‘I’ll leave you two then,’ said Kate, smiling. ‘I’ll have one of the maids make ready your old bedchamber, Anna, while I find my dear stepbrother. We will drink wine together and drink each other’s health. Are you hungry?’

  Anna nodded. ‘I have not eaten since breakfast and no doubt Jack will be hungry, too.’

  ‘Then I will see that food is brought here.’ Kate left them alone at last.

  ‘Do you know what happened to Jack during his absence, Owain?’ asked Anna.

  ‘He was sold into slavery,’ he said, his expression grim.

  Anna’s mouth fell open. For a moment she could only stare at him and then she collected her wits. ‘He sent word telling you of this?’

  ‘Nay. His twin did,’ replied Owain. ‘Matt never gave up hope, even when we did. He kept in touch with Jack’s agents in Europe and had them hire men to search for him. Eventually, when Matt began to doubt his instinct that Jack was in trouble but alive, a courier arrived with the news that he was in Venice.’

  ‘No wonder Jack has changed! How was he captured and how did he escape?’

  ‘I know only what Davy told me and that was little enough,’ said Owain, pulling up a chair and sitting opposite her.

  ‘Jack told me Davy was in Europe when he returned. I presume he was delivering horses.’

  ‘Aye. But he also had other business there and was in Bruges when Jack’s courier turned up at the agent’s house. Apparently Jack was suffering from a fever and that’s why he was unable to leave Venice. He feared he might die and wanted Matt to know of his abduction and his years of slavery.’

  ‘So Davy brought the message to Matt and then came here?’

  Owain shook his head. ‘Davy arranged for a courier to deliver the news to Matt whilst he travelled to Venice. He found Jack recovered and journeyed with him to Bruges before going on further business for him to France. Davy returned home a week ago, just in time to see his daughter born.’

  ‘Joan has had a daughter!’ Despite her grief at the loss of her only son, Anna was delighted for the couple, who had five sons. ‘I must buy the child a birth gift when next I visit Chester,’ she added.

  ‘I’m sure Davy will tell you that you’re welcome to visit them,’ said Owain, smiling. ‘And I’ll have no talk of nunneries.’ He shook his head. ‘You know you’re welcome to stay here at Rowan as long as you wish. It’ll be good for you to be amongst your family again.’

  Anna was silent. She had been away from Rowan too long to fit easily into her former position in the family. Yet where else could she go where she would be safe but here or behind the walls of a convent?

  Restlessly, she rose and went over to the window aperture and gazed out over the darkened garden. The happenings of the day played over in her head and she felt sick with the remembrance of the disgust and terror she had felt when confronted by Will and that figure in the devilish mask. She felt her head was going to burst as images overrode each other. She turned round to face Owain and blurted out, ‘Tell me…did my mother have a lover? Did she cuckold our father?’

  Owain’s expression was enough to make her wish that she had not spoken. Then a sound at the door shattered the strained atmosphere. ‘Did who cuckold our father?’ asked Davy, entering the parlour.

  Anna felt the blood rush to her head and could only gaze at this giant of a man. He was the middle of the Rowan brothers and she knew him the least best of the three. He had married before she was born and lived on the Wirral with his wife and children, having his own stud farm. Suddenly she realised that Kate and Jack Milburn had followed him into the room. Anna wished she could disappear in a puff of smoke. Instead, she turned her back on them.

  The moon had risen and she could make out the shapes of bushes and plants. Then, unexpectedly, she saw a devilish face loom out of the darkness. Her masked attacker! She could see the horns on its head and the same gaping, evil grin. She froze with fear. Was it a projection of her overwrought mind?

  She managed to tear her gaze away and face the room. ‘There’s someone out there!’ she cried.

  ‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost,’ said Davy.

  ‘A devil’s face! It was grinning at me,’ she gasped.

  ‘It can’t be,’ said Kate, hurrying over to her.

  ‘There was someone out there,’ whispered Anna. ‘It had a red face and horns!’ She just stopped herself from saying that she had seen it before.

  Davy and Owain exchanged glances. ‘One of my sons playing a trick with that old mask?’ suggested the latter.

  ‘What mask?’ asked Anna, shooting him a glance. ‘Are you telling me that you have such a mask in this house?’

  Owain nodded. ‘I’m sorry it gave you such a fright. I’ll tan the hide off whichever of my sons did this to you,’ he said angrily.

  ‘But why should your boys play such a jape on me?’ asked Anna, unconvinced that either Gareth or his younger brother were responsible.

  Kate said apologetically, ‘Boys will be boys. I’m so sorry, Anna.’

  Jack frowned. He knew only to well the kind of ploys that boys could get up to, but this was not amusing. The sight of Anna’s strained pale face made him feel he had to find the boys and prove to her that it was simply a foolish prank. He left the parlour and followed the passage to the door that led outside.

  He was instantly aware of the scent of honeysuckle, roses and gillyflowers combined with a strong smell of smoke, but there was no one in the garden. He thought he heard a faint sound coming from the stable yard and made his way there. But it, too, was deserted. He went into the stables and asked one of the men there had he seen either of the Rowan lads. He shook his head.

  Frowning, Jack returned to the garden, wondering if Anna’s imagination had run away with her. It was not so surprising, considering all she had endured that day. Even so, he thought to check the soil beneath the window and saw large footprints. There was the proof that someone had stood here. He went inside the house and walked into the parlour.

  ‘Well?’ asked Owain, glancing in Jack’s direction. ‘Did you see anyone?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘But there are footprints in the soil outside.’ He kept silent about the prints being the size of a man’s.

  Anna thanked him. ‘At least you’ve proven to me that I’m not losing my wits.’ She told herself that there was probably more than one such devil’s mask in the Palatine of Chester. They were made for mummers’ plays or the mystery ones acted out at certain holy festivals.

  ‘It is to be expected that you might be a little light-headed and confused after all you’ve been through,’ said Kate sympathetically. ‘I’ll give you a sleeping draught, so you can have a good night’s sleep. From now on we’ll take care of you.’

  Instead of easing Anna’s mind, Kate’s words made her feel uncomfortable. She did not relish being treated like a child again. Fortunately, at that moment several servants entered the parlour, carrying trays of food and wine.

  ‘Refreshments at last,’ said Kate, sounding relieved.

  With an effort Anna set aside her anxieties. Now she knew a little more about what Jack had suffered, she wondered whether she might be able to draw him out on the subject. But she lost the opportunity because Owain had take
n him aside and she heard him say, ‘It’s wonderful to see you again, Jack. From the little I’ve heard of your adventures, you’re fortunate to be alive.’

  Jack shrugged broad shoulders. ‘I’m glad to have been given a second chance.’

  Owain looked vaguely puzzled. ‘You mean that this time you’re in England you plan to find yourself a wife and raise a family. I have a daughter who might suit you.’

  His words surprised Anna into joining in their conversation. ‘I thought you’d found a husband for Beth, Owain.’

  ‘No. She refused him,’ he said with a grimace. ‘Her head is filled with romantic tales of handsome knights in armour, prepared to commit acts of derring-do for a lady. Alas, a wealthy goldsmith with a fine house in Chester is not good enough for my daughter.’

  Anna said wryly, ‘I remember dreaming of handsome knights once upon a time.’

  ‘You did marry a knight,’ reminded Owain.

  ‘That is true. Giles fought in King Henry’s French wars when he was young.’ She turned to Jack. ‘You never met my husband, did you?’

  ‘Alas, no. I was in France on business when you were betrothed,’ he said smoothly.

  ‘Of course. How could I forget.’ Anna removed her soiled gloves and folded them inside her girdle. She accepted a goblet of wine from a serving-man. ‘Sir Giles was a kind and generous husband and I grew to love him. You chose well, Owain, when you accepted his offer for my hand.’

  ‘Thank you, Anna,’ said Owain, looking gratified. ‘Will you repeat those words to my daughter when you see her? At the moment she is staying at Joan and Davy’s house, helping with the children.’ He turned to Jack. ‘So what do you say to my suggestion? Beth will come to you with a generous dowry if you were to take her for wife.’

  ‘I doubt I’d fit Beth’s notion of a handsome husband with this scarred ugly face of mine,’ replied Jack in a stilted voice.

  Anna made a murmur of protest. ‘Not ugly, Jack.’

  He raised disbelieving eyebrows. ‘There’s no need to pretend, Anna. Besides, I’m not looking for a bride. As it is, I can only stay for one night as I still have business in France that occupies my mind.’