A Bound Of Honour Part 2

Baby Leora squirmed in the abigail's arms and began to cry.

Juliane took Leora. She ached from cold and fatigue and was rapidly tiring of Cora's constant tears and

fretting. "Then return with the postilion!"

She handed Leora to a startled Mallatt and strode to the coach. Calling Andre, she asked him to hand out her reticule and then atop the window. When he had done so Juliane reached up and lifted him down.

She pulled out some coins as she tramped up to the postilion. When she reached him Juliane slapped some in his hand; the remainder she handed to Cora.

insisted.

"Do as I say, or I will." She started to hand Leora back to him once again.

Muttering under his breath, Mallatt stepped back and b.u.mped into Andre.

"Why don't you do as ma mere tells you?" asked Andre.

Mallatt looked from the small lad to the defiant Juliane. His face twisted with resignation and displeasure.

The valet surrendered and went to remove the luggage.

Blubbering, Cora caught at Juliane's cloak. "My lady, don't do this. You must come with us!"

Lady Juliane looked down at her coldly but said nothing.

"What happens you bring on yourself," Cora flung over her shoulder as she rushed back to the coach lest she be left behind.

The postilion urged his team off as Mallatt clambered down with the last bag. He stood watching it out of sight, then shook himself and set Lady Juliane's and the children's baggage beside the overturned phaeton.

Before he finished, Lady Juliane joined him. She sorted out two valises. Opening one of her larger bags, she withdrew necessities for herself and added those to the contents of the children's valises. The remainder she bid Mallatt to place under the phaeton. She prayed that she would be able to reclaim then later.

Then she ordered the valet to ready a bag for the earl and himself and than to get their baggage secured to one of the horses.

Mallatt seethed under this flurry of orders. The woman was above him in station, but a female nonetheless. Rather than be impudent and a.s.sume authority she should have collapsed into hysterics long ago. Her control was not proper in the least, he decided; but stealing looks at her while doing as she bid, he softened toward her.

She was younger than he had first thought, and her bearing and manner bespoke the best of the gentility.

She had, after all, been addressed as "my lady" by the blubbering female of a maid. There was also an obvious fatigue about her, an air of strain. He could not but admire that, despite this she seemed to have not a thought for herself, but patiently attended to the children and the earl while she waited for him to finish.

Baggage secured, he paused, uncertain as how to best get everyone mounted. Gazing at the p.r.o.ne figure of the earl with the children huddled against him and Lady Juliane beside him, Mallatt was struck by the image of his lord as a family man. The idea startled him. He shook himself. The earl would not be pleased by such a thought, bit Mallatt privately thought a family was just what the man needed.

Juliane glanced up and perceived the uncertainty in Mallatt's face. There was something else, but she was too tired to pursue it. Rising, she approached him. "Before we continue, I feel we should introduce

her for a sn.o.b.

"Indeed, my lady. As I mentioned earlier, yon gentleman is the Earl of Tretain, Adrian Tarrant. I am Mallatt, his valet."

"I am Lady Juliane-that is Master Andre and Miss Leora." She opened her mouth as if to add something, then hesitated, biting her lower lip. With a slight shrug she continued, "I had better help you get Lord Tretain astride first." She hoped Mallatt had noticed she had not given her family name.

Shocked by her final statement Mallatt disagreed. "No, my lady. I will mount you and the children first."

"No."

He saw that Lady Juliane clearly wore the look of one accustomed to being obeyed. Mallatt shrugged inwardly. Let her have her way now. He would have his in the end regardless. "Yes, my lady," he said with a bow.

Together they lifted, shoved, then pushed and pulled Lord Tretain astride. No easy task with his size and weight. Adding to the difficulty the steed, unaccustomed to the commotion and the condition of the rider, constantly s.h.i.+fted away from them. Both Juliane and Mallatt were panting by the time they had the earl settled on the horse. Much to his benefit, he had remained unconscious.

"Master Andre," Mallatt asked, "are you frightened of horses?"

"Non. I have ridden often with ma mere and mon pere at home."

"Come, hold the horse then, stroke him," the valet instructed as he led the mount beside one of the upturned wheels.

"You, my lady, must hold the earl in place while I get in position behind him."

Juliane was glad of her height and strength as she held the earl's arm while Mallatt scrambled up the carriage front and atop the wheel. It threatened to turn as he stepped across it, but he was able to plop aboard the startled horse before the wheel did so. "Excellent, Master Andre. You must be an excellent horseman," praised Mallatt as Lady Juliane took the reins from Andre and handed them to him.

As he prepared to give his best "now what will you do?" grimace to Lady Juliane, she turned and untied the horse with the baggage and the lame one.

Leading them up to him, she handed over the reins without even pausing to look at Mallatt. Picking up Andre, she put him atop the lame horse.

Mallatt was sure she would now be at an impa.s.se. How could she mount without a saddle of any sort, let alone with the babe to handle.

Juliane, however, was oblivious to the fact that she should be at loggerheads as to what to do. She merely looked about and decided on a course of action. Picking up Leora, she placed her atop the upturned wheel that Mallatt had used to mount. She handed the fur piece to Mallatt for the earl. One of the other coverings she put around Andre, tucking it under the harness as best she could. The last she laid

beside Leora.

Satisfied that everything was ready, she went to the phaeton and pulled out a small trunk. Untying the reins of the last horse, she stepped upon the trunk. She turned to look at Mallatt, who watched with intense interest. "Would you be so good as to close your eyes?" she asked. Mallatt struggled valiantly, if somewhat ineffectively, to suppress a broad grin and did as she asked. Juliane turned back to the horse, lifted her skirt and petticoats waist high, and then flung a leg over the horse. With a struggle she squirmed about until she managed to get astride. After endeavouring unavailingly to lower her petticoats and skirt to a more modest level, she laughed. Mallatt opened his eyes at the sound. He looked admiringly at the exposed trim, hosed ankle and calf. "In truth, Mallatt," Lady Juliane tossed at him, "I do not know whether to blush for want of modesty or to curse for want of warmth." He laughed in reply. "Since you will evidently have to suffer from both, I suggest we find shelter." Juliane urged her mount alongside the wheel and s.n.a.t.c.hed up Leora and the cover. Bundling the babe as best she could, she settled the babe in the crook of one arm and placed her mount's reins in that hand. Reining the horse alongside Mallatt, she took the reins of Andre's horse from him. "I best lead, my lady. Stay close behind," Mallatt told her. An hour later he halted. Lady Juliane came alongside. "Do you see anything?" she asked through teeth clacking with cold. "Only the snow, I fear, my lady. Are you all right?" "Trying to manage her frozen face into a rea.s.suring smile, she nodded. "Master Andre, how are you?" worried Mallatt as he tried to check the figure of the small boy. "Froid," came the clear reply. "Keep your hands covered and hold on tightly. When you think you cannot-call out," he instructed the boy. "Do you understand?" shouted Juliane. "Oui ... 'mama.'" Wordlessly Mallatt urged his horse forward. Juliane lost track of time after that. The arm which cradled Leora grow more numb by the minute. "Will I ever be able to move it again?" she wondered aloud. Close to exhaustion, she grew very sleepy. Even the cold no longer seemed so terrible. Juliane became unaware of Mallatt ahead or that her horse followed the first two from instinct, not from her guidance. It grew increasingly harder to keep her eyes open.

On they plodded through constant, endless white.

CHAPTER 4.

Lady Juliane snuggled deeper. It was so warm. Her hands and feet tingled painfully but, oh, the warmth!

She had thought never to thaw again.

Warm again?

If she was warm something was seriously wrong. Alarmed, Lady Juliane opened her eyes. Slowly taking in the surroundings, questions mushroomed. The last thing she could recall was following Mallatt and the dulling awareness of the cold. Had he found them shelter?

Struggling to sit upright, Lady Juliane saw she wore her own nightdress, newly bought at Portsmouth. Why did she not remember getting into it? She surveyed the room once more and froze in locked fascination on the opposite side of the large featherbed.

It could not be? she thought in protest. Gingerly, Juliane reached out to touch the pale, beard-stubbled cheek. It was rough to her touch. She s.n.a.t.c.hed her hand back. What else had she expected?

The face turned toward her. The eyelids raised, revealed cool grey eyes. She stared down as the lips curled into a smile, making the man more handsome; then the eyes closed.

Well, truly, she thought, how dare he smile at me in so intimate a fas.h.i.+on? Not even Lord Dennerly had ever done so and he had "kept company" with her for almost six months. But then, she mentally added, I never did wake up to find myself a bed with Lord Dennerly.

That thought sinking in, she gasped and struggled to throw back the heavy coverlets.

At this moment a large, brisk woman came into the room. Seeing Juliane struggling with the bedding, she came to the bedside, pushed her back down with one hand, and neatly arranged the coverlets with the other. "Now, m'lady, ye'll only do yourself harm in trying to be about. Nasty time ye've had of it. Back to sleep with ye."

"But you do not understand," Juliane said agitatedly as she strove to rise.

"Oh, ye be worried about the mites," soothed the woman. "They be fine."

"But, I must..."

"Ye must rest and regain yer strength. Ye'll need it what with a fine man ye 'ave for a husband and the two lovely children. Yer lord'll want tending soon enough. He's a lump bigger'n a duck egg on his noggin besides a nasty cut. I doubt it'll put him in good fettle for awhile. Ye know what I mean," she added with a knowing wink.

Juliane stared at her open-mouthed.

The woman ducked her head. "Now, I be sorry, m'lady. I be forgettin' ye gentry ain't so open with yer speakin', ye ladies, I mean."

This made little sense to Juliane. What was clear was that the woman had some misbegotten notion. Perhaps if I explained. "We had this accident..."

"That's what I was tellin' Jove-m'man. But what could bring ye out on a day like it was, is beside me. We couldn't get much from yer man. He was near froze through, as were ye all. But we found yer lord's card, m'lady.

"T'was only G.o.d's blessin' ye didn't lose the children."

Lady Juliane sat up again and started to get out of bed.

"None of that. The wee babe is sleepin'-had to pry her from yer arm. So 'tis the lad. Ye stay abed till breakfast is ready.

"Ye'll need your strength to cope with 'im," she nodded toward the earl, "or m' name ain't Meg. Nothin'

fussier than a pained man. Now stay to bed till I bring ye some porridge-not what yer used to by m'

guess, but plenty fillin' and fortifyin.'"

Juliane lay back down under the command of a pair of piercing eyes. As Meg disappeared behind the closing door, her thoughts milled turbulently. She closed her eyes.