Lavender Lies (Historical Romance) (35 page)

Brainard looked doubtfully at Lavender. "Will you come away with us?"

Lavender, not knowing how dangerous Brainard was in his present state of mind, shook her head. "I told you no. I have given my word that—"

Nicodemus intervened, realizing that Brainard must be humored. "You know how women are, Brainard. They can never make up their mind about anything. They say one thing while meaning something entirely different. We will just force her to come with us and—"

At that precise moment, Julian moved forward, his rapier poised, ready to strike. "Let her go, Thruston. Your quarrel is with me. I believe you and I have an old score to settle."

Brainard turned to face the man whom he believed had stolen Lavender from him. There was a murderous light in his eyes when he shoved Lavender out of the way and raised his rapier to clash with Julian's.

Lavender spun around, her eyes on the rapiers. She knew Brainard was an expert swordsman, and she feared for Julian. This was a life-and-death struggle, and when it was over, one of the men would be dead! The clash of steel echoed through the conservatory, and in no time at all, Lavender saw that Julian was the master swordsman.

"You have had this coming," Julian hissed, his face grim as he artfully caught Brainard's thrust. "I still have the scars from our last little encounter."

Brainard fought to the best of his ability, but Julian drove him backward. "I should have killed you when I had the chance, Westfield."

"Yes, you should have. The fact that you didn't will cause you to forfeit your own life." With a lightning-quick move, Julian lunged forward and plunged the point of his rapier into Brainard's chest. A surprised look moved over Brainard's face and he slumped to the ground.

"My God, Nicodemus, he's dead," Lavender cried. She would have gone to Brainard, but Nicodemus pulled her back, and she buried her face against Nicodemus's chest, while his comforting arms went around her. "You can't help him now, Lavender. No one can," he soothed. "It's all over."

"Not quite," Julian said. He sliced his blade through the air and stood before Nicodemus. "You are next, bond servant."

Lavender shook her head as she faced her husband. "No, I will not allow you to harm Nicodemus. You killed Brainard. I consider that enough bloodshed for one day."

Julian ignored Lavender, while his eyes locked with Nicodemus's. "Pick up your friend's rapier, Nicodemus," he said in a cold voice.

Lavender threw herself in front of Nicodemus, knowing he had never mastered the rapier, and would have no chance against Julian. "I will not allow you to fight him, Julian—not now or ever."

Julian pushed Lavender aside and placed the point of his blade at Nicodemus's throat. "You either fight, or die where you stand, bond servant. Either way you are a dead man like your friend there."

"I guess it's a fight then," Nicodemus said. He glanced at Lavender just in time to see her pick up Brainard's rapier from the ground. He shook his head, knowing what she had in mind. "No, Lavender! You can't do this," Nicodemus called out. "This isn't your fight."

Lavender held her blade out to Julian. "If you want to draw more blood, try mine."

Lavender and Julian's eyes met in mortal combat. "Go to the house, Lavender. I will deal with you later."

Her blade swished through the air, and she tapped Julian's blade. "You will deal with me now!" Her eyes were like blue steel. "Let us say I am the substitute for Nicodemus." Before Julian could answer, Lavender's rapier slashed through the material of his shirt, nicking the skin underneath.

Julian's rapier came up and clashed with hers. "Damn you, Lavender, I don't want to hurt you, you are a woman."

"Don't let that stop you, Julian. It has never stopped me.

There was a scowl on his face as he watched the pulse beat throbbing in her throat. "Have you thought about the baby?'

"No."

"Well I have. Stand aside. My fight is with Nicodemus. I told you I don't fight women."

"Forget that 1 am a woman. Think of me only as the Swallow, Julian." Her rapier circled his. "I will die rather than allow you to harm Nicodemus."

"Lavender, this is madness," Nicodemus spoke up. "Give me the rapier. I can take care of myself."

"No, you can't, Nicodemus!" Lavender cried out. "You never could handle a rapier, and you are certainly no match for Julian." Her voice broke. "I will not have you cut down as Brainard was."

Julian made a thrust with his rapier, intending to unarm Lavender and put an end to this idiocy. But in the flicker of a moment, her blade flashed up to catch and hold his. The challenge in her eyes was meant to bait him into a contest.

To test her skill Julian lunged a guarded attack. She caught his blade, and made her own thrust. "I am not going to fight you, Lavender," he called out as he took evasive action and sidestepped her lunge. "Think of the baby," he cautioned as he caught her attack in another counteroffensive.

"All you have to do to stop me, Julian, is give me your word that no harm will come to Nicodemus. Otherwise, you will have to defend yourself."

Julian was so angry he did not see the tears that blinded Lavender's vision. He was remembering the sight of her in Brainard's arms. With a wide sweep, he caught her rapier, circled it, and wrenched it from her hand to send it sailing through the air. "Now it's your turn, Nicodemus," Julian said, turning away from Lavender. "Pick up the rapier."

"No!" Lavender cried, running for the rapier that had landed near the door. Both men watched in frozen horror as she lost her footing and toppled forward, slamming into the wall of glass. The sound of shattering glass broke the silence, and Lavender held out her hands, hoping to break her fall. Pain shot through her as she fell through the splinters of glass and onto the hard snow-packed ground outside the conservatory.

In a haze of agonizing pain, Lavender felt Julian

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beside her, lifting her into his arms, "Darling, are you hurt?" he asked, brushing slivers of glass gently away from her face.

"I .. . do not feel well," she whispered.

"Damn you," he said, cuddling her close to him. Lavender only knew that she was in Julian's arms and he was holding her so tightly.

"Nicodemus, I have to get her into the house. You follow us, because I have questions to ask you."

"I can't come with you just now. After I have made arrangements for Brainard's body to be taken away, I'll be coming around for that talk," Nicodemus said. "I don't want you to think I was hiding behind a woman's skirt.

Julian paused. "I will have someone take care of the body."

"No, you won't," Nicodemus insisted. "Brainard was a countryman of mine, and at one time he was a good soldier. It is only right that I make sure he has a proper burial."

Julian glanced down at Lavender, and noticed for the first time that there was blood on her face and hands. "I don't have time to belabor the point with you, Nicodemus. I will trust you to keep your word."

"You can depend on the fact that I will not be far away from Lavender, Your Grace," Nicodemus said, disappearing into the conservatory.

Lavender gritted her teeth against the pain, while the doctor removed the broken glass from her face and hands. Julian stood beside the doctor, holding a pan of water.

"We are most fortunate that the glass which pierced her face was not deep enough to leave scars," the doctor observed professionally. "As you can see, there are some very deep gashes on her hands. I will bandage them, and they should heal nicely within a few days."

"What about the baby?" Julian asked. "She had a bad fall."

"We will have to wait and see about the baby, Your Grace. If by morning she has shown no signs of delivering, we can assume the child was not harmed."

Lavender's eyelids were getting heavy. She suspected that the bitter drink the doctor had given her earlier to soothe the pain was having a drugging effect on her. As she fought against sleep, she placed her hand on her stomach, wishing she had the force of will to protect her unborn child, because she instinctively knew something was dreadfully wrong. There was pain in her lower back, and it kept getting worse.

"I hurt," she said between dry lips.

The doctor bent over her with a concerned look on his face. "Where do you hurt, Your Grace?"

"My—" she fought against a spasm of pain. "My back hurts very badly."

She did not see the guarded look that passed between Julian and the doctor. "This may be bad," the doctor told Julian. "Will you mind having Mrs. Forsythe help me look after Her Grace? I think we should both stay with your wife tonight. You can use your judgment as to whether or not to notify the dowager of your wife's condition."

Julian's  lips  compressed  grimly. “What is my wife's condition?"

"We shall know better in a few hours," the doctor replied.

Lavender was floating in and out of consciousness. She tried to fight her way out of the blackness that enveloped her, but the swirling mist held her in its grip. She was in a shadow world that was more frightening than anything she could have imagined. She was half dreaming, half hallucinating that someone was trying to take her baby away from her. After what seemed like hours the dense fog lifted, and she was dreaming she was in the gardens at Mannington; except it was not winter, but spring. She was walking among the flowers with her husband and her son, and her heart was light with joy.

Suddenly she was yanked back to reality by the agonizing pain that ripped through her body. Lavender could hear someone screaming and she did not know it was herself.

"Do something!" a deep masculine voice urged. "Don't let her suffer so. If it comes down to my wife's live or the baby's, then I want you to sacrifice the baby."

"Let us hope it will not come to that, Your Grace," the doctor replied.

Lavender tried to speak, but she could not open her mouth, as wave after wave of pain passed through her body. She tried to reach out to Julian, but her arms felt so heavy she could not lift them. A tear rolled down her cheek. If this was hell, she could not endure it for much longer. Now there was pressure building up from deep inside, and she felt herself bearing down with each pain.

Suddenly the doctor's voice was sharp and commanding as he spoke to Julian. "You will have to leave the room, Your Grace, the child is coming.

Lavender did not know how much time passed. Each pain that ripped through her body seemed more intense than the last. Someone bathed her face with cool water, and she had the impression it was Julian's grandmother. "The pain will not last forever, child." The dowager's voice was soft with concern. "Just one more hard push, and it will all be over."

Lavender bore down so hard her whole body trembled from the effort. Moments passed when she thought she would not be able to stand the pain, then, blissfully, the pain lessened, and she heard the doctor speak.

"It's a boy, Your Grace, but he's not breathing. He may be too small to survive."

"Do something!" the dowager insisted. "This child must live!"

Lavender tried to open her eyes, but she was too exhausted. Just before she lost herself in the soft arms of oblivion, she heard the infant cry.

"God be praised!" the dowager exclaimed as she took her great-grandson out of the doctor's arms. "He is little, but there is nothing wrong with his lungs." She cuddled the baby against her breast, grateful that she had lived to see her husband's line of succession continue. "I cannot wait to show this child to Julian. This is a happy day for me."

"Your Grace, I'm afraid I must insist that the child be kept quiet, and his visitors kept at a distance," the doctor stated authoritatively. "He should only be allowed to be with his mother, and the nurse, and, of course, his father and yourself."

The dowager nodded in agreement, while she quickly dressed the baby in the clothing that had been hastily prepared for him. She then wrapped the child in several soft, warm blankets. "I will just take my grandson to his father. I am sure he will be elated at the birth." Her eyes went to Lavender. "Will she be all right?"

"1 believe after a few days rest, Her Grace will be well on her way to a complete recovery."

Julian watched the sunrise over the village below. He tried not to think about what was happening to Lavender. He had never known a woman could suffer so grievously from giving birth. It pained him to know he was, for the most part, responsible for her pain, since it was his baby she was delivering.

When he closed his eyes, he could still see the horrible scene where Lavender had fallen through the glass wall of the conservatory, while he had been helpless to prevent it. He also remembered how cold her eyes had been when she faced him with the rapier. Had there been hatred in her eyes as she challenged him to a duel? Did she despise him so much that she had wanted their duel to last until the death?

Hearing someone in the hallway, Julian turned to see his grandmother enter the room, a happy smile etched on her face. "Well, Julian, do you want to meet your son and heir or not?"

Julian hesitated. "How is Lavender?"

"The doctor says she will be splendid after she has recovered from the birth of your son."