Mistress of Darkness (49 page)

And not one of them registered even for a moment on his mind. That remained upstairs, where his bride was being dressed by her maids, under the supervision of her matron of honour. As he had seen neither of them today, perhaps his memory actually lingered over dinner, last night. She had arrived just before dusk, sent for by Robert, and riding alone in the Hilton carriage. And she had sat beside him at supper, and talked, and laughed with her family as if she had never been separated from them for a day. Even Robert, this night under the strictest of instructions from Georgiana, had been almost charming.

He calculated that she must be twenty-six years old. And he knew she was twice a mother. Indeed, according to Georgiana, her latest child could only just have finished tugging at those tits he longed to touch. He had, in fact, seen her naked, once. It had the quality of a dream. On that dreadful day when Matt had plucked him from the shark-filled ocean, on his return to the flagship he had been carried below, into the cockpit, to be examined by Dr. Blane. Apart from the wounded, the deck had been full of women, and one of them had been washing herself in a bucket of water. He had stared at her, at the powder-streaked yellow hair, the muscular shoulders, the heavy breasts, and then she had faded into the darkness and he had been surrounded by ministering hands.

When next he had seen her, she had been Suzanne Hilton - he could never consider her as Suzanne Huys - tall and cool and self-possessed and utterly confident. And utterly unaware that he remembered anything of what had happened below decks the previous day. So then, must she always remain a memory? She had none of the classic but static beauty of Gislane. She had none of the bubbling earth-iness of Georgiana. But of the three of them she was clearly the only one truly worth possessing. The thought of lying beside her, of watching those remote eyes fill with passion, of watching those firm lips widen with desire, of feeling those slender strong fingers on his flesh, made his mind quite incoherent. And she had neither aged nor changed in any way. He had taken the opportunity, as they had left the table last night, to slip his arm round her waist, and had established beyond doubt what he had already suspected, that she wore no stays; yet her belly was as flat as it had ever been, and he did not doubt that those long, powerful legs he had glimpsed on that one unforgettable day had remained as splendid as ever.

But she belonged to that madman - he could no longer be called even a stupid boy - who seemed intent on tearing down the structure of a society it had taken his ancestors better than a century to build. And seemed happy to support him. They had not discussed Matt last night. Again on Georgiana's instructions. There was no way of telling whether or not he would come to the wedding. But there was no way of doubting either, that when the wedding was over, Sue would be returning to his arms.

And yet, in an hour or two she would be his sister-in-law. Surely, in the course of time, she would come visiting her sister at Rio Blanco. It should not be too much time. To possess all that magnificent womanhood, before it was too late, was his last remaining ambition.

Strange thoughts, for a bridegroom. And now he was brought back to reality with a start, as Mistress Ridding whispered, 'Meinheer Dirk Huys.'

Gorbeau raised his head, for the first time truly looked into the face of the person to whom he was being introduced. 'How good of you to attend, Mr. Huys.'

'Robert is my oldest friend,' Dirk said. 'I regard the two girls as almost my daughters.'

He bowed again, and moved on. By Christ, Corbeau thought. What a strange world it is, to be sure. And how must he feel, to have possessed all that, and then to have lost it to a boy. But if indeed Matt dared come today, might that not be a settling of the matter? Because things were working themselves out. He could afford to be amused. After all his trouble and effort to secure Gislane, Matt had by his own folly got himself forever excluded from his inheritance. Gislane now became redundant, except that the pleasure of possessing her remained; she was the most magnificent woman, and the most magnificent lover, he had ever known, had ever seen indeed, saving only the one he had never known. And Gislane could be used to destroy Georgiana, if he ever wished. And strangely, he did not doubt for a moment that he would so wish. Not to destroy the eager child, perhaps, but to reduce her to a proper level. Of all the Hiltons, and none of them lacked self-confidence, she was by far the most arrogant.

'It is time, sir,' said Ledon, the captain of his sloop, who on this occasion would act as his best man. And the throng in front of him was parting, for as there were far too many-guests to be contained by the Hilton family chapel, Robert had decided that the ceremony should take place in the withdrawing-room, and here Father Stanislaus was already waiting, as the guests assembled in their places before the carefully installed altar. As this was a marriage between different denominations, there could be no music, and the enormous room was filled with a stealthy whisper, less of voices than of material brushing against material. But now the noise was behind him, and he was facing the priest, with Ledon at his side, yet half-turning, together with everyone else, to watch his bride walk slowly up the room, Robert on her left and Sue on her right.

And she was a lovely young woman. That could not be denied. Her gown was white satin, lined with silk, with white lace ruffles on her sleeves, and for this most special occasion in her life she wore panniers, usually considered far too hot and cumbersome for use in the tropics; the applique work was in flesh-coloured silk. Her hair was her own, loose and curled and powdered and decorated with orchids. She wore no veil, and her white silk train stretched from the collar of her gown and was held from the floor by two satin-clad pages, the Ridding sons.

Sue was in pale blue, and utterly lovely. Robert merely looked hot and bothered, and kept jerking his head; they had tied back his hair with ribbon as he steadfastly refused to wear a wig, and he seemed to find even this restriction uncomfortable. But for this one day Georgiana dominated them, and indeed dominated the room, with the serene confidence of a bride.

Corbeau smiled at her, and gave her his hand, and looked past her and down the long line of guests, smiling at them in turn, for equally this was his moment. His gaze brushed across their faces until it reached the very end of the room, and there it picked out the tall young man who had just entered and stood by the arch to the hall, immediately in front of the massed Hilton servants. Matt had dared after all.

'I have never been to St. Domingue,' remarked Marjorie Ellison. 'A terrible place, so I have been told. Nothing but forests and mosquitoes.'

'And Frenchmen,' said Lady Campbell, and gave a little titter of laughter. 'No doubt our Georgiana will do very well.'

They sipped wine and stood together in a corner of the withdrawing-room, endeavouring to evade the heat and the babble of conversation which rose around them. The wind had dropped and the air was still, and clouded with a variety of odours, attractive and repellent, while the servants circulated with the laden trays and guests chattered and gossiped.

'At least she is now respectable,' Mistress Ellison remarked.

'How that... well, I don't know what to say.'

Lady Campbell looked across the room to where Sue was deep in conversation with the bridegroom. 'Indeed. I suppose she had to attend her sister's wedding, but to make her the matron of
honour ..
. why, 'tis an insult to us all.'

'Oh, indeed it is,' Marjorie agreed. 'And it was Georgy's doing. Clare Ridding was quite appalled. Poor, poor Robert. He is the most unfortunate of men. It comes from being a bachelor, you know.'

Harriet Campbell tapped her nose with her fan. 'Perhaps. No doubt if he had had children, if he
could
have had children, poor misshapen man, they'd have turned out badly as well. Do you know, Archibald whispered to me that Matthew Hilton was here? No doubt still is.'

Marjorie surveyed the room. 'I do not see him. Nor do I see how he could dare attend. Is that not Meinheer Huys?'

'Indeed it is. As you say, Robert must be praying for this day to end without a catastrophe.'

'Poor Robert,' Marjorie said again. 'Then he will be all alone in this great house, in the middle of this great estate...' she rested a most speculative gaze upon her husband, as if mentally totting up how many years were left before she could undertake the business of being an eligible widow.

'A year's profit,' Robert declared to Sir Archibald Campbell. 'Would you believe it were possible to spend so much on a single morning? But it will be worth it, by God. Every penny of it. Why I see Corbeau as the only prop of my old age. Now you must excuse me, Archibald. I have a painful duty.'

Campbell nodded, and fell to muttering to the man beside him. Robert shouldered his way through the throng, well aware that every head in the room was turning to watch his progress, and becoming increasingly uncomfortable as the sweat gathered beneath his cravat and seemed to be bubbling up his high collar.

'Dirk. I had not the chance to greet you before. But I will confess I had expected you to call before now.'

'I thought it best to remain out of the way, at least until after the ceremony.' Dirk stared across the room to where Sue continued to talk with Corbeau.

'Yes. Yes. By God, you and I must have a meeting, Dirk. You'll stay behind after the others have gone.'

At last the Dutchman's head turned. 'Will you be alone?'

'Why, I ...' Robert felt the heat in his cheeks and cursed himself for a fool. ‘I can arrange to be. Have you spoken with her?'

'I would not trust myself so far,' Dirk said.

'Ah.' Robert stopped a Negress walking past with a tray and rescued two glasses. 'You'll know...'

'That she is twice a mother? I know.'

'Ah. And you'd not ...' he glanced from left to right. It seemed almost all conversation in the room had ceased, as everyone tried to overhear what the two men were saying. 'By God, our talk will not wait. You'll join me in the study?'

'Robert.' Georgiana swept towards them. 'It is twelve of the clock. You'll summon everyone to lunch, please. I'd not undertake the ride to Port Antonio in the dark, if I can avoid it.'

'Eh? Oh, yes. Maurice. Maurice, you black devil. Announce luncheon, by God. Dirk, we'll talk. Yes, we'll talk.'

'If you wish it,' Dirk agreed. 'You'll not change my mind.'

'Oh, you ... you wretched man,' Georgiana declared, loudly enough to be heard at some distance. 'You remind me of a dog in the manger, indeed you do.'

Dirk flushed, his entire bull neck seeming to suffuse with blood. 'I did not come here to quarrel, Georgiana. Indeed I wonder that I came at all. Perhaps ... but no matter. I will take my leave. I wish you and Monsieur Corbeau every happiness in the world. Robert, I shall remain in Kingston for three more days. You will know where to find me if you wish to discuss anything.'

He turned and made his way through the crowd, which parted readily enough before him.

'Oh, my God,' Sue whispered.

'You should at least have smiled on him,' Corbeau suggested.

'I couldn't, I...' she bit her lip.
Well'
said Marjorie Ellison.

'It had to happen, my dear,' remarked Harriet Campbell. 'We are perhaps fortunate there has been no actual fracas.'

'Ladies and gentlemen,' Maurice announced from the archway to the hall. 'Luncheon is served. Ow man, but what is this?'

Dirk Huys had halted at the top of the stairs, his big hands opening and shutting.

'I had intended to remain out of sight until after luncheon,' Matt said, quietly enough. 'But if you are leaving, Dirk, I'd ride with you a little way. Unless you object.'

'Object?' Dirk demanded. 'By Christ boy, I have nothing to say to you, unless it be at the end of a sword. But you, I understand, know nothing of swords. Well, sir, if it pleases you to pit your fists against mine, be sure that I am ready for that also.'

Matt flushed. He had deliberately abstained from drinking, had kept to himself in a corner of the verandah, unwilling to embarrass either Robert or Sue. Had Sue not insisted, indeed, he would not have come. And now he cursed himself for stepping forward at this moment, when Maurice had just called the attention of everyone in the room. But then, why else had he come, but to speak with this man he had so wronged? His life was compounded of so many crimes he could only survive by atoning for them, one after the other.

Yet the contempt in the big man's tones sent his temper soaring. 'Be sure, if you demand satisfaction,' he said, still speaking quietly, 'I will give it to you, Dirk. And with whatever weapon you choose.'

Dirk stared at him, heavy brows slowly drawing together.

'Well?
remarked Marjorie Ellison.

'It had to happen,' Harriet Campbell pointed out. 'It just had to happen.'

'Oh, my God,' Sue said again. She stepped away from the wall, and Corbeau caught her arm.

'You cannot interfere, now.'

She glanced at him so imperiously he released her. 'Even if they must fight over me? And on such a day?' She hurried through the crowd, accumulated Robert on the way. 'Dirk. Matt. I beg of you.'

Dirk's stare moved from the young man to his wife. 'You'd beg for his life?'

She flushed, and bit her lip.

'She will not,' Matt declared. 'You may be sure I'll hide behind no woman.'

'Ah, cut the puppy's ears,' said a voice from the crowd. ' 'Tis no more than he deserves.'

'Hold your tongue, by God,' Robert bellowed, causing everyone to start. ' 'Tis a wedding, not a brawl.'

‘Yet since he is here,' Dirk said, 'I will have satisfaction.'

'Dirk,' Sue screamed. 'Robert, you must stop them.'

Robert sighed, and ran his finger round the inside of his collar. ‘I doubt I can do that. Unless you will return to him.'