by the score for all that he knew.
Looking back now, he wondered that he had not perceived at once that she was no common maid. She was certainly unlike any other woman he had ever met, but he had seen only her beauty and her gentleness, and been swept away on a tide of passion greater than anything he had ever known.
He could still recall the pain he had felt when awoke to find her gone the next morning, leaving not even a note behind. He thought she must have been ashamed of what she had done and had run off rather than face him. How frantic he had been - eager to assure her that he loved her and would marry her at once, whatever the consequences! He would have followed her, had the innkeeper been able to supply any information regarding the direction or title of the countess. But the man either could not or would not answer his questions, and in fact had berated him for his impertinence and almost driven him from the inn.
Now he understood her hasty flight. He had meant no more to her than a brief diversion. But all this time, she had been his ideal; and, as far as appearances went, she could not be faulted. With her golden hair, fair skin and large violet eyes, she seemed to be a vision of pure beauty. It was certainly a cruel trick of nature that such outward loveliness should conceal the heart of a huntress. He recalled vividly how she had looked tonight in the glow of the candles as she sang:
Love, to thee my thoughts are turning ...
All through the night.
All for thee my heart is yearning ...
All through the night.
Though sad fate our lives may sever,
Parting will not last forever!
There’s a hope that leaves me never ...
All through the night.
Watching her in silence, Dominick had been aware of a powerful urge to put his hands around that delicate white throat and choke the life out of her. How dare she be so lovely!
No one had ever wounded him as this woman had with her calculated treachery. His pride had suffered a blow from which it would not easily recover. From his pain and regret had grown bitter anger, and - inevitably - from anger, hatred.
Yes, he hated her now, and the intensity of that hatred was in direct proportion to the devotion he had once felt for her. He hated her, and he hated himself because he could not deny the feelings which she could even now arouse in him. For years he had dreamed of holding her again in his arms, and his heart could not abandon its old habits so easily. To his disgust, he found that he could despise her and desire her at the same time. But he was determined to throttle that betraying passion, even if he could not throttle the object of it.
‘Damn her!’ he muttered defiantly into the shadowy night air. ‘Damn her lying, deceitful soul to Hell!’
Chapter 4
The following day it rained - the steady, stubborn drizzle that only an English summer can provide. Dorinda was fully occupied in poor Selina’s sickroom, while Elizabeth divided her time between Nicky and Lord Maples. By the end of the day, she was not sure which of them was more trying, or more childish.
Nicky was bored and restless. Without Selina’s company, he was deprived of a playmate for his adventures. Naturally he sought a substitute, and his indulgent mama was conveniently at hand. She played at spillikins with him for a time, allowed herself to be bested at cards, and finally was inveigled into a game of hide-and-seek.
It was at this point that Lord Maples made his bid for his share of Elizabeth’s attentions. Encountering Nicky in the hall, and being asked by the boy whether he had seen the countess, Oswald soon discovered what was afoot. It was, of course, far beneath his dignity to enter into the spirit of such juvenile amusements. Instead, he chose to read the young earl a lecture on the subject of selfishness, and to take him to task for imposing upon the good nature of his apparently idiotic doting mother.
Elizabeth happened to be just within earshot, having wedged
Looking back now, he wondered that he had not perceived at once that she was no common maid. She was certainly unlike any other woman he had ever met, but he had seen only her beauty and her gentleness, and been swept away on a tide of passion greater than anything he had ever known.
He could still recall the pain he had felt when awoke to find her gone the next morning, leaving not even a note behind. He thought she must have been ashamed of what she had done and had run off rather than face him. How frantic he had been - eager to assure her that he loved her and would marry her at once, whatever the consequences! He would have followed her, had the innkeeper been able to supply any information regarding the direction or title of the countess. But the man either could not or would not answer his questions, and in fact had berated him for his impertinence and almost driven him from the inn.
Now he understood her hasty flight. He had meant no more to her than a brief diversion. But all this time, she had been his ideal; and, as far as appearances went, she could not be faulted. With her golden hair, fair skin and large violet eyes, she seemed to be a vision of pure beauty. It was certainly a cruel trick of nature that such outward loveliness should conceal the heart of a huntress. He recalled vividly how she had looked tonight in the glow of the candles as she sang:
Love, to thee my thoughts are turning ...
All through the night.
All for thee my heart is yearning ...
All through the night.
Though sad fate our lives may sever,
Parting will not last forever!
There’s a hope that leaves me never ...
All through the night.
Watching her in silence, Dominick had been aware of a powerful urge to put his hands around that delicate white throat and choke the life out of her. How dare she be so lovely!
No one had ever wounded him as this woman had with her calculated treachery. His pride had suffered a blow from which it would not easily recover. From his pain and regret had grown bitter anger, and - inevitably - from anger, hatred.
Yes, he hated her now, and the intensity of that hatred was in direct proportion to the devotion he had once felt for her. He hated her, and he hated himself because he could not deny the feelings which she could even now arouse in him. For years he had dreamed of holding her again in his arms, and his heart could not abandon its old habits so easily. To his disgust, he found that he could despise her and desire her at the same time. But he was determined to throttle that betraying passion, even if he could not throttle the object of it.
‘Damn her!’ he muttered defiantly into the shadowy night air. ‘Damn her lying, deceitful soul to Hell!’
Chapter 4
The following day it rained - the steady, stubborn drizzle that only an English summer can provide. Dorinda was fully occupied in poor Selina’s sickroom, while Elizabeth divided her time between Nicky and Lord Maples. By the end of the day, she was not sure which of them was more trying, or more childish.
Nicky was bored and restless. Without Selina’s company, he was deprived of a playmate for his adventures. Naturally he sought a substitute, and his indulgent mama was conveniently at hand. She played at spillikins with him for a time, allowed herself to be bested at cards, and finally was inveigled into a game of hide-and-seek.
It was at this point that Lord Maples made his bid for his share of Elizabeth’s attentions. Encountering Nicky in the hall, and being asked by the boy whether he had seen the countess, Oswald soon discovered what was afoot. It was, of course, far beneath his dignity to enter into the spirit of such juvenile amusements. Instead, he chose to read the young earl a lecture on the subject of selfishness, and to take him to task for imposing upon the good nature of his apparently idiotic doting mother.
Elizabeth happened to be just within earshot, having wedged
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