The Melford Dynasty

It was frightening to think that she might never know who she was, never remember her mother or father…or if she had sisters and brothers. The future seemed dark, terrifying, and yet she sensed that she was safe here in this house. Sulina and Ali had told her that Stefan de Montfort had sheltered others who needed a home and a protector. He had said that she must think of it as a new beginning…that her life began here. A part of her mind protested, because she wanted to know who she was and where she came from, and yet another part of her felt reassured by his words.

‘Will I be a servant like Sulina?’

‘Sulina chooses to serve me,’ he replied. ‘Others also choose to serve, but they are free to leave as they please. You will be a guest. You are a lady, Anne, a woman of gentle birth. Everyone in this house will treat you as such.’ His voice had at that moment a deep, rich timbre, its softness like velvet, reassuring and comforting.

‘Thank you. I do not mind working if I can be of help…perhaps sewing. I am not as clever with my needle as Catherine, of course, but—’ Anne broke off and stared at him.

‘You have remembered something?’ Stefan’s eyebrows rose, his eyes narrowed and intent.

Anne hesitated, then shook her head. ‘I remember there was once someone called Catherine and she helped me with my sewing, but it was a long time ago.’

‘Was Catherine your mother?’

‘I do not know,’ Anne replied and looked bewildered. ‘How can I know that Catherine was a better needlewoman than me, but not know who she is?’

‘I do not know,’ Stefan said. He turned as the door opened and someone came in and he saw the physician. ‘She is awake and we have decided that her name is to be Anne—at least for the moment.’

Ali came forwards so that Anne could see his face. ‘I see you are well, lady. I shall not disturb you—unless you have need of me? You are not in pain?’

‘I am quite well, thank you.’

‘I shall leave you to rest, lady.’

‘And I shall go too, Anne,’ Stefan said. ‘It is not fitting that I should be in your room. I came only to see for myself that you were well. I shall not see you again until you are able to join us in the hall downstairs. Goodnight, lady. Do not fret too much. You are safe here and in time you will remember all you should.’ He turned to Ali. ‘Come, my friend, share a cup of wine with me. I have something I wish to discuss with you.’

Anne lay back against the pillows as the two men went out together. She closed her eyes, struggling to remember something…anything that would tell her who and what she was. A tear slid from the corner of her eye, but she dashed it away with her hand. She would not weep tears of self-pity. Lord de Montfort had told her she was safe here and for some reason she believed him. She must be content to stay here until she remembered who she was. The name Catherine was at the back of her mind. She tried to put a face to the name and failed, but something told her that Catherine had once been important in her life.

‘Do you believe that she has truly lost her memory?’ Stefan asked of the physician. ‘She picked the name Anne for herself. It seemed to please her. I think it may well be her own name.’

‘It is possible, my lord. Her memory may come back in little strands like the mists in a forest, weaving between the trees, revealing clear spaces where the canopy is broken, and concealing the rest.’

‘You do not think that she is pretending that she cannot recall her name?’

‘Why would she do that, my lord?’

Stefan shook his head, feeling an ache in his side, a constant reminder of the last woman that had tried to trap him. ‘No, I am too suspicious. I plucked her from the sea. An enemy could not have sent her. She is innocent and I am unkind to doubt her.’

‘I believe her distress is genuine, my lord. She will begin to remember things slowly, a little at a time, and then perhaps it will all come to her—or it may not. The mind is a strange thing.’

‘Yet she remembered that Catherine taught her how to sew—and that she was not as good at her work as the other woman.’

‘She did not know who Catherine was?’

‘Possibly her mother or someone she knew well.’

Ali nodded. ‘I do not think she would think of her mother as Catherine. It seems as if the woman was important to her, but perhaps not of prime importance in her life. If she remembered a lover or her mother the rest might come, but until then it may be that she remembers only fragments of her life.’

‘We must give her time,’ Stefan said. ‘My wound broke open again as we hunted this morning and has bled. I believe I need some of your salves, old friend.’

‘You should still be resting.’

‘We needed meat for the pot,’ Stefan said. ‘We took a wild boar and two hinds today, besides some game that my peregrine brought down. We shall eat well enough for the next few weeks.’

Ali nodded. He knew from experience that it was a thankless task to tell Lord de Montfort to rest. He would push himself to the limit, and his wound would heal in time, as it always had. The forests about the chateau teemed with game, and hunting was a way of life for the lord. Stefan took his position seriously and was well respected and liked by his tenants and retainers alike.

Most of them looked forwards to the day when their lord would settle down and take a wife, but those who knew him best understood that he would not allow himself any peace until his brother and father’s murderers were brought to justice.

‘Is there any way we can help her to regain her memory?’

Ali looked at his lord’s face. There was a hint of impatience in his eyes, an odd expression on his face. ‘I think it must be left to time, my lord. She will find her own way if left to herself.’

Stefan nodded. Anne was beautiful and a part of him wanted to keep her here at the chateau, but another felt it would be best to send her on her way as soon as possible, before she had time to work her way under his guard. Something about her drew him like a moth to a flame. While she lay unconscious he had spent time sitting by her bed, but from now on he would keep out of her way as much as possible. He had no time for a gentle, lovely woman—or love! He must remember that he had made a vow to take revenge for his father’s murder!

‘Excuses!’ Lord Cowper scowled as the man told him what he already knew. Stefan de Montfort and that hell-hound of a Saracen he counted a friend had succeeded in leaving England alive and were no doubt safe at his chateau in France. ‘My instructions were that he was not to be allowed to leave England alive! Am I served by dolts and incompetents? How was he able to get away?’

‘Your plan failed, my lord. The Saracen suspected a trap and came looking for him. We think Sir Hugh killed the Lady Madeline, as you planned to incriminate Lord de Montfort, and then the Saracen arrived and killed him with one slash of his wicked blade.’

‘Where were the rest of you?’

‘We tried to stop them escaping,’ the servant said and flinched as his master struck him in the face. ‘Lord de Montfort was wounded in the side, but he is a strong man and with the Saracen at his side they fought their way out.’

‘Curse him!’ Lord Cowper snarled. ‘We should have killed him years ago instead of his brother, but the younger son was the father’s favourite and he would not have believed ill of him. The years Stefan de Montfort spent as a mercenary have made him as wily as a fox and sharper than a serpent.’

Lord Cowper paced the room. He knew that once his enemy had recovered his strength he would come after him, and this time he would not be denied. His only chance was to strike first.

‘We must go to Normandy,’ he said, making up his mind. ‘He will be more relaxed on his own land. We shall watch and wait, and when the time comes we shall kill him.’

‘As you wish, my lord.’ Fritz did not attempt to point out that the Chateau de Montifiori was well guarded and that it might be safer to stay here and let the enemy come to them. Lord Cowper was a man of uncertain temper and anyone who thwarted his will would meet a sticky end. It was only that he was one of the few able to actually recognise Lord de Montfort that had saved his life this time. Some of the others involved in the fiasco had not been as lucky and were already beneath the earth.

Cowper rounded on him, eyes bulging, flaming with fury. He was an ugly man with a bull neck and a mottled colour that spoke of a life of indulgence. He struck Fritz again, making him stagger back.

‘Of course it is as I wish. You failed me once, oaf. Do it again and I’ll hang you and all the other dolts who betrayed me. Tell the men to prepare. We leave in the morning.’

Fritz backed away, bowing to the master he disliked. If it were not for his sister, Helene, and his mother, nothing would keep him in this creature’s service, even though he knew that he was Cowper’s bastard. The lord had forced himself on Fritz’s mother but never acknowledged that the child she bore was his. However, Fritz’s sister was Cowper’s mistress. He treated her well enough, giving her rich clothes and jewels, but she was his slave. If Fritz disobeyed his master, Helene would suffer and his mother and stepfather would be turned from their home. Fritz knew that his sister was held by a similar threat, and he suspected that she hated her master as much as he did.

‘One day,’ he muttered beneath his breath. ‘One day he will go too far…’ A quick knife thrust in the belly might be enough, but fear held Fritz’s hand. If he made a mistake and Cowper didn’t die, others besides himself would suffer.

‘When may I get up?’ Anne asked as the physician came to see her. She was restless, anxious to be up and about, because lying here alone only made her more aware of the dark places in her mind.

‘You should rest for another few days,’ Ali told her and smiled. ‘It is good that you are feeling better, lady, but you have been very ill and you are not yet strong.’

‘I think I could come down,’ Anne said. ‘It is lonely lying here alone. I think about who I am and what happened to me…and it frightens me.’

‘You need something to occupy your mind,’ Ali told her. ‘Do you think you could read a book—or would you prefer some sewing?’

‘I should love to read,’ Anne said with a sigh. ‘But books are so expensive…’

‘Nevertheless, Lord de Montfort has many,’ Ali said and smiled at her. ‘I shall ask him if you may borrow one to help pass the time—would you like a Bible or a book of fables?’

‘Is there such a thing?’ Anne’s interest was caught. ‘I should love to read a story. A story such as the storyteller told at Christmastide.’ She remembered that Christmas had been a happy time for her as a child, but she could not recall the people who had made it so.

‘Then I shall speak to Lord de Montfort and ask him,’ Ali told her. ‘In the meantime I shall bring you something to help you sleep.’

‘You are all so kind.’ She sighed and lay back against the pillows. Everyone was kind to her, but she wished she knew who she was and whence she came.

Stefan looked down at the woman’s face as she lay sleeping. He did not know what drew him to her chamber at this hour, except that she haunted his thoughts waking or sleeping. He had forced himself to stay away from her for some days, but he was not satisfied to hear the women say she was doing well, and had come to see for himself, and to bring the book of legends and fables she had requested. He placed the leather-covered volume on the chest-on-stand beside her bed. How lovely she looked with her hair spread on the pillow! The sight of her touched something deep inside him.

She was deeply asleep, though now and then she cried out, and he leaned closer to catch the words.

‘Mother…’ she whimpered. ‘Mother…’

Stefan was tempted to stroke her hair as he had while she was ill, but the scent of her wafted into his nostrils, setting up a fierce craving for something he did not recognise and he drew back. If he woke her, he might be tempted to do more than simply touch her.

Cursing himself for a fool, he turned and left her. He should not have come. Yet she drew him to her again and again, making him aware that his life was empty, had long been empty of all the things that he had desired as a young man.

Foolish dreams! He frowned as he strode away from the house to the garden and the pool where he bathed whenever he was restless. He had given up all hope when he left England, banished from home and all that he loved. It would be stupid to let a young woman make him dissatisfied with the life he had chosen for himself, for if he gave in to the disturbing feelings she roused in him, he would become soft and lose his resolve!

‘You look so sad,’ Claire said as they walked together in the grounds of her father’s estate. ‘I am sorry that nothing has been heard of your poor sister, but it was unlikely that she would be found alive.’

Harry looked down at her lovely face. Her eyes were soft with concern for him, and he felt that she was sincere in all she said. He knew that she was right. Anne was gone, lost to the sea. He had grieved for her for the past three weeks, and in another week he must return to England and the court. Before that he would ask Claire if she was willing to return with him as his wife.

‘I know that I should put my sorrow behind me,’ Harry said, regret in his face. ‘I came here to ask you to be my wife, Claire, and I have not had the heart to do it. Tomorrow I must leave, because I want to visit my parents before I return to court. I had hoped you would accompany me as my wife, but I have not courted you or told you of my feelings…’

Claire smiled at him gently. ‘I knew why you came,’ she said, ‘and I have understood why you have not spoken. In the circumstances it could not be otherwise. I respect you, Harry—and your grief for Anne has shown me that you feel deeply. When we met at court I thought you might be too proud and careless to make me a good husband, but sharing your sorrow has brought us closer. If you were to ask me to marry you, Harry, you might be pleased with my answer.’

Harry looked at her uncertainly, then went down on his knee before her. ‘I love you beyond my life, Claire. I would do anything for you and protect you with my life. If you could bring yourself to accept my offer, I should be happy to wed you.’

‘Yes, Harry, I shall marry you,’ Claire told him with a smile. ‘Delay your journey two days so that we may be betrothed and I shall accompany you to your home. Once your parents are over their grief, I shall wed you.’

‘You are as generous and good as you are lovely,’ Harry said and stood up. He drew her to him, bending his head to kiss her lips. ‘But will your father allow you to come with me—and shall you brave it, my love? The sea is always dangerous, Claire. After what happened to my sister, I am reluctant to expose you to such a journey.’

‘Anne was unfortunate,’ Claire said and held his hand. ‘No one could have expected such freak waves… and she should have gone below deck when you begged her to. Never fear that I shall not obey you, my love.’

Harry smiled down at her, touching her cheek with his fingertips. ‘You have courage, Claire, and I would die rather than let anything happen to you. I would have gone into the sea for Anne had they not struck me from behind, but nothing would stop me if it were you.’ He bent his head and kissed her once more. ‘If your father permits, we shall be betrothed and then I shall take you to my parents.’

Claire held her hand out to him. ‘We must find my father and speak to him, for there is no time to be lost.’

‘I know that seeing you will help to ease my mother’s unhappiness,’ Harry said. ‘She will grieve long and hard for her daughter, but she will welcome my wife with open arms.’

‘I look forward to meeting her,’ Claire told him. ‘Look, Father is coming to meet us.’ She looked at her father’s face and then at Harry. ‘I believe he has some news, Harry. Perhaps he has heard something at last.’

‘If Anne’s body has been found at least I can make sure that she has a decent burial.’ Holding Claire’s hand, he went to meet the Comte. ‘Sir, we have been seeking you.’

‘And I have been seeking you,’ the Comte told him. ‘The news I bring is better than we might have hoped, though it is not certain.’

‘Sir…’ Harry stared at him, an icy tingle starting at the nape of his neck. ‘You have heard news of Anne?’

‘I cannot be certain it was your sister, but my agent has been told of a young woman plucked from the wreckage of a ship at about the point the debris from your ship might have drifted to by the next morning.’

‘Plucked from the sea?’ Harry stared at him and let go of Claire’s hand. ‘Are you saying…? No, it cannot be.’

‘The girl taken from the sea was still alive,’ Comte St Orleans said and frowned. ‘The man who gave us this information said she was unconscious and looked near death. When she was taken from the ship she had not recovered her senses, but she was still breathing.’

‘God be praised!’ Harry cried. ‘You say she was taken from the ship—does this informant know where she was taken?’

‘I fear that he knows no more than he has told me,’ the Comte said. ‘You may question him yourself, but I do not think he can help you much more. If you wish to search for her you must travel to Normandy, for it was there the ship was headed, and ask for news. It is possible that someone may have heard of her.’ He looked at his daughter. ‘What was it you wished to tell me, Claire?’

‘I think it will keep for another day,’ she said and gazed up at Harry. ‘You must look for Anne. I know that you love me and your promise was sincerely meant, but you would never rest if you did not try to find Anne.’

The Comte looked at Harry. ‘It is settled that you are to marry?’

‘With your blessing, sir. I would have taken Claire to my parents had this news not come.’

‘You must look for your sister,’ the Comte told him, agreeing with his daughter. ‘I shall take Claire to England and we shall break the news to Lord Melford. It will be much better if your family know that you are searching for Anne, Harry. Claire and I will wait at Melford for your return, whatever the news.’

Harry’s eyes dwelled on Claire’s sweet face. ‘You will not mind if I leave you now?’

‘I love you and I know what Anne means to you,’ Claire told him. ‘It may come to nothing, but you have something now. Someone may know the people who took Anne. Clearly they must have meant to care for her or the ship’s captain would have abandoned her to the nuns as soon as they reached land.’

Harry took her hand and kissed it. ‘I love you,’ he said. ‘It is hardly fair that I should leave you, having just asked you to wed me, but you are right. I must find Anne if I can, but in time I shall come to England to find you, and God willing I shall bring my sister with me…’

Anne looked at herself in the small hand mirror Sulina had brought her. Her hair was flowing loose over her shoulders, kept in place by a small cap of black velvet framed with gold threads. Her gown was also fashioned of some soft black cloth, and the hanging sleeves were embroidered with beads and gold thread. It suited her well enough, though had she chosen for herself she would have picked green or blue. However, the gown had been brought for her and was a gift from the lord of this manor. Anne was grateful for his generosity and had made no complaint when she was given the gown to wear. She knew it had not been made for her, because Sulina had altered it to fit her. Anne was not certain whether it had belonged to Lord de Montfort’s mistress or was simply something he had bought from a dealer in such things.

‘My lord is waiting below,’ Sulina told her with a faint smile. ‘He has asked every day if you were ready to go down. I think he is impatient to see you, lady.’

‘He might have come to visit me and asked for himself,’ Anne said, feeling slightly aggrieved that he had not done so.

‘It would not have been fitting once you had recovered your senses,’ Sulina told her. ‘What would your family think if it became known that Lord Montfort had frequented your bedchamber while you lay recovering from your illness?’

‘I do not know if I have a family,’ Anne reminded her. ‘But I dare say you are right. I cannot think that my mother would approve—if she is still living.’ Her eyes were sad as she thought of the woman she could not remember. Something told her that her mother had loved her and that she had been happy at home.

She followed Sulina down the wide staircase to the hall below. The chateau was old, the walls built of a honey-coloured stone hung with silk tapestries, and the ceilings were high. The floors were made of wood on the upper floor, covered in places with brightly coloured rugs and carpets that had an eastern look, but on the ground floor they were tiled with marble. Most of the furniture was heavily carved, dark wood that also had an eastern look. Anne knew that this house was very different to the one she had been raised in, though she could not remember her home, but everything here was strange, unusual. She did not think it was the style that would be normally found on French soil, though she could not know that for certain. Sometimes now she saw a picture of a house set in a pleasant valley, but it was only in brief flashes and she had not mentioned it to anyone. She thought that perhaps the house had been her home, but as she did not know where it was to be found that did not help her to remember.

As she entered the large hall, which was the heart of the chateau, she saw two men standing together. They turned their heads as she approached. Anne caught her breath, for one of them had skin the colour of polished walnut and the bottom of his face was scarred dreadfully, the skin puckered and discoloured as though he had been burned, his mouth twisted to one side. His dark eyes went over her, his gaze narrowed and thoughtful. Anne felt nothing but pity for him, because she sensed that at one time in his life he had suffered terribly.

‘Ah, the lady Anne,’ Stefan said, inclining his head in welcome. ‘We are glad that you feel well enough to join us at last. This is Hassan, the best friend a man could have. He helped me to pull you from the sea.’

Anne dipped a curtsy to them. ‘Sir, I must thank you as I have thanked others who helped me.’

‘You are welcome, lady,’ Hassan said. There was a slightly puzzled look in his eyes. ‘Forgive me, but as you came towards us I thought that I had seen you before this day.’

Stefan stared at him. ‘You do not speak of when we pulled her from the water. Can you recall where you saw Anne the first time?’ He too had felt that he might have seen her, but could not recall when or where.

Hassan’s eyes were on her. Anne shivered, feeling a mixture of fear and excitement as she anticipated his reply, but he shook his head and she was disappointed.

‘Forgive me, but I do not remember where I saw you. There was something in the way you walked and held yourself, but the memory is not strong. At the moment it eludes me, but it may yet return.’

Stefan looked thoughtful. If he had seen her, it must have been brief and at a time when he was not taking much notice, for she was too beautiful to have slipped his mind had he ever spoken to her.

‘Memory is a strange thing; it eludes us when we try to recall something and returns when we least expect it. If you have truly seen Anne before, it will come to you, Hassan.’

‘Yes, perhaps,’ Hassan replied. ‘I should leave if I am to reach my destination before nightfall. I wish you well, lady.’

‘Thank you…’ Anne watched as he walked from them. She turned to look at Lord de Montfort. ‘It would be a strange coincidence if we had met before you rescued me, though I doubt it can be so, for I do not think I have been to France before this time. Everything here is strange to me.’

‘You are in Normandy, and my home contains many things I have collected in other lands,’ Stefan said. ‘Why are you so sure that you had not been to France before this?’