The Castle of Love by Barbara Cartland Page A

Edinburgh was still raging and now his friend the professor was ill. Jacina could not possibly write and worry him with her own selfish concerns.
    Suddenly she felt that she was no longer alone. She took her hands away from her face and looked up.
    Monsieur Fronard was leaning against the wall opposite, arms folded. His eyes regarded her narrowly.
    "Something is ze matter?" he asked.
    She shook her head. "No. That is – yes. I – I am worried about my father, and I am – homesick. That is all."
    "That is all?" Monsieur Fronard's tone was mocking. "Well, I think not. I think I know what is ze matter. How do you say it – your 'nose is out of place'."
    Jacina rose trembling to her feet. "The phrase is 'out of joint'," she said as coldly as she could muster. "And now, if you will excuse me, I must go to my room."
    As she tried to pass, Fronard caught at her arm and held her.
    "Nothing will threaten zis marriage, you understand," he scowled. "Nothing."
    Jacina twisted in his grip. "Take your hand off me! What makes you speak to me like this?"
    Fronard leaned close to Jacina and hissed in her ear,
    "I know what is in your heart. I am only warning you. Stay away from ze Earl. He is now only for Felice."
    Jacina wrenched herself free.
    "I care nothing for the Earl," she cried, and turned on her heels.
     Fronard's jeering laugh followed her. "You are lying, mademoiselle. You are lying!"
    His words rang in her ears. How could he know 'what was in her heart' when she hardly knew herself? What did his warning mean? In what way could her friendship with the Earl threaten the marriage? Everyone knew that the Earl was enchanted with his fiancée.
    If Jacina thought she was unhappy that day, it was as nothing to the way she began to feel over the next few days.
    The Earl never alluded to her outburst in the library. He simply no longer requested that she come and read to him alone. When their paths crossed in the castle and she curtsied with a soft 'my Lord,' he merely bowed his head coldly and moved on.
    She was stricken, but after a while she tried to convince herself that it was for the best. Once the Earl was married, the friendship would end anyway. She would return to her life in the village and all would be as it was before.
    She tried to keep herself busy. She helped Nancy sort out the linen cupboards. She translated French recipes into English for cook. She visited poor and sick families on the estate and brought them provisions.
    *
    One afternoon, on her way to the cottage of a poor widow, she encountered Felice coming back along the path that led deep into the woods.
    She was surprised. She knew that Felice disliked walking in the countryside. How then did she happen to be so far from the castle and on foot? She said nothing, however. She merely nodded 'hallo' and waited for Felice to let her pass.
    Felice was wearing a blue cape. Her hair was dishevelled and her complexion heightened. She looked flustered to see Jacina. A nervous glance over her shoulder alerted Jacina to the possibility of a second party, but when Jacina looked there was no one.
     "I have been walking in ze woods," said Felice in an unnaturally loud voice. "Ze air is very fresh."
    "Yes, it is," said Jacina quietly. She tried to move on but Felice let out a loud cry.
    "Oh, la, la, my shoes!" she lamented noisily. "Look, look, they are ruined."
    Jacina looked down at the shoes. They did not seem at all ruined. She had the strangest feeling that Felice was deliberately trying to hold her there, but for what purpose she could not guess.
    "What have you in ze basket?" asked Felice next.
    "Some game pie," said Jacina. "For a family on the estate. The mother is ill."
    Felice stared, then gave a short laugh. "My, you are so good, just like – " Her voice trailed off.
    "Just like who?" asked Jacina.
    Felice shrugged nonchalantly. "Pffoufft! It does not matter. Personne."
    Jacina wondered who she meant by 'nobody.' Perhaps it was Crispian, her first fiancé, who