you suffer from bad dreams frequently of
late. Is there a particular reason, do you
think?"
No."
I only ask because I, too, have had
the occasional unpleasant dream," he said
softly.
I imagine everyone does from time to
time."
Yes, but my dream is a very specific
one and it is always the same. Is yours?"
She hesitated.
Yes." Then, probably in
an effort to change the focus of the
conversation, she asked quickly,
What do
you dream of, my lord?"
Of being trapped beneath a dead horse
in the middle of a field of dead and
dying men." Lucas drew a deep breath
and looked at the flickering candle.
Some
of those men took a very long time to die.
Every time I have the dream I have to
listen to them in their agony. And I have
to live through the torment of wondering
whether or not I shall also die, wondering
whether one of the human vermin who
come out to loot the dead after a battle
will simply slit my throat for me and end
the matter once and for all."
Her small, anguished gasp and the
fleeting touch of her fingers on the sleeve
of his dressing gown brought his eyes back
to her face.
How terrible," Victoria whispered.
Dear
God, Lucas, how ghastly. Your dream is
even worse than mine."
Of what do you dream, Vicky?"
Her fingers clenched around the sheet
and she looked down.
In my dream I am
always standing at the top of a staircase.
A
a man is coming toward me. He holds
a candle in one hand and a dagger in the
other."
Lucas waited, sensing there was more.
Something about the way she had hesitated
over the phrase
a man" gave him the
impression her nightmare figure had a face
she recognized. But it was obvious she did
not intend to add to the description of the
dream and he was unwilling to jeopardize
their new intimacy by prodding her for
details.
In fact, Lucas decided, he had already
gotten closer to her tonight than he had
at any time since the fateful night he had
made love to her. If he was wise, he would
not push too far, too fast.
Strategy, he reminded himself. In the
long run, a man always got farther with
strategy than he did with force.
He suppressed a groan and got to his
feet.
Are you all right now?"
She nodded quickly, not quite meeting
his eyes.
Yes, thank you. I shall be fine."
Then I will say good night. Call me if
you need me, Vicky."
Forcing himself to walk back to his own
chamber was one of the hardest things
Lucas had done of late.
The following afternoon Victoria sought
relief from the tension of the ever-so
civilized, now-silent battle raging between
herself and Lucas by fleeing into the
nearby woods with her sketchbook.
She walked for some time before
coming to a halt. Eventually she chose
a comfortable spot on a hill beneath some
trees where she could sit gazing out over
the uninspiring view of the depressed
farming community. From here she could
see the cottages that needed patching, the
rutted lanes that needed repair, and the
nearly empty fields. Lucas was out there
somewhere in one of those fields, she
knew. He'd made plans to ride out on
an inspection tour with his steward this
afternoon.
There was certainly much to be done
here, Victoria was forced to acknowledge.
Whatever else one could say about her
husband, at least he apparently intended
to put her money to good use. There was
no evidence yet that he was going to pour
it into wine, women, and song.
But, then, Lucas was not a frivolous
man, in spite of his reputation as an
accomplished game ster.
Frowning at her uneasy, chaotic thoughts,
she bent her attention to the small plants
and grasses around her. With a practiced
eye she picked out several familiar species.
But then she spotted a rather unusual
cluster of mushrooms and her interest was
immediately piqued in spite of her mood.
She opened her sketchbook.
This was what she needed, she thought.
She wanted the temporary peace of mind
her sketching and painting could bring
her.
Victoria spent a long time detailing
the delicate mushrooms, losing herself in
her work, Time passed quickly and the
pressures of her new marriage faded, at
least for the moment.
When she was finished with the mush
rooms, she went on to draw several
interesting dead leaves that had fallen
nearby in a graceful heap. After the
leaves she discovered a quite fascinating
puffball. Puffballs always presented a
serious challenge. It was difficult to get just
the right airy appearance without sacrificing
the tiny details. Botanical drawing was an
exhilarating combination of art and science.
Victoria loved it.
Two hours later she finally closed the
sketchbook and leaned back against the
tree trunk. She discovered she was feeling
much better. Calmer and more steadied.
The warm afternoon sun felt good and
somehow the fields and farms below did
not look quite so bleak. There was hope
for stone vale, she thought suddenly. Lucas
would be able to salvage these lands. If any
man could do it, Lucas could.
With her money, of course.
But even that thought was not as
irritating as it had been earlier. An insidious
notion occurred to her. Perhaps Lucas had
had a point last night at dinner. What had
she ever done that was so terribly useful
with her money in the past?
Nevertheless, it was her money. Victoria
scowled at that notion and got to her
feet, brushing leaves from her walking
dress. She must remember that she was
the innocent victim in this situation.
Three days later Victoria made her first
trip into the village. She had wanted to
ride on horseback, the better to explore
her new home, but Lucas had put his
foot down immediately.
I will not have the new Countess of
stone vale make her first public appearance
on horseback. A certain amount of pro
priety is demanded in this instance,
madam. You will go in a carriage
together with a maid and a groom or
you will not go at all," he stated.
As her relationship with Lucas could
only be described as precariously balanced
at best, Victoria had decided not to argue
the point.
In choosing that course of action, she
realized she was fast becoming as prudent
as the rest of the household. She was
learning that it was decidedly easier on
both herself and the staff of stone vale if
she refrained from challenging her husband
at each and every turn.
It irked her to think she might be
surrendering some small stretch of ground
to him. But the truth was, it was difficult
to maintain her bristling defenses twenty
four hours a day. She was accustomed
to being happy with Lucas, not at war
with him.
And there were definitely a few distinct
benefits to maintaining some semblance of
peace in the household, she grudgingly
admitted to herself There was no denying
that in response to her newfound discretion,
Lucas, in turn, refrained from letting
everyone feel the chill of his shockingly
cold temper. The man had an air of
absolute authority about him, which, when
he chose to exercise it, got attention in a
hurry.
His capacity for leadership and command
was, Victoria had decided, in part a product
of his military background. But she also
suspected that a good portion of it came
very naturally to Lucas. He was a born
leader.
And the arrogance of a natural leader was
no doubt bred in the bone. Without such
arrogance and the accompanying leadership
characteristics, Lucas would not have had a
chance of salvaging stone vale and the land
around it.
Victoria reflected on that unpalatable
notion as the carriage jolted uncomfortably
over the bad road into the village.
She had to admit that she had caught
an occasional glimpse of the hard steel core
of Lucas's character before her marriage.
Indeed, it was probably part of what had
drawn her to him. But the truth was, she
had rarely been forced to confront that
steel directly. Lucas had, after all, been
deliberately wooing her. Naturally he had
hidden the more unpleasant elements of
his nature from her.
You cannot really be meanin" to shop
in this drab place, ma'am," Nan said as
the carriage entered the main street of the
village.
Hardly the likes o" Bond Street or
Oxford Street, is it?"
No, it certainly isn't. But we aren't
here to find a ball gown. My goal is just
to have a look around and perhaps meet
some of the people with whom stone vale
does business on a daily basis. This is
our new home, Nan. We must meet our
neighbors."
If you say so, ma'am." Nan did not look
convinced of the wisdom of the idea.
Victoria smiled faintly and decided to
make the appeal on a more practical basis.
You have seen the conditions at stone vale.
The house is in a terrible state. Utterly
deplorable. His lordship is too busy with
his farmers to worry about the running of
the household, and being a military man,
I doubt he would know how to run it, even
if he tried."
That be true enough, I reckon. Runnin'
a household the size o" stone vale is a lady's
job, beggin" your pardon, ma'am."
Unfortunately, I fear you are correct Nan.