On the day before her wedding Judith had a visitor. She hadn’t left her room for days, but when Sebastian arrived she was summoned to the salon.
He took her hand and gazed into her eyes, troubled by the dark, bruise-like smudges beneath them. Yet Judith was perfectly calm, standing before him with a grave, contained stillness.
He longed to shake her, to bring some life into that gentle face. If only he might have saved her from what could only be a miserable future. Now, he feared, it was too late.
“I am come to make arrangements for tomorrow,” he murmured. “At what time is the ceremony?”
She looked at him without expression. “At noon, I believe.”
“Then I shall take you in my carriage. Shall we say at a quarter to the hour?”
Judith nodded, not daring to ask the question which was uppermost in her mind. She was praying with all her heart that Dan would not be in the congregation as she made the vows which should have been made to him.
Sebastian understood. “Prudence sends her love,” he told her. “And Perry and Elizabeth will be there.” There was no point in distressing her with the news that Elizabeth had at first refused to go until Perry had insisted.
A silence fell as the unasked question hung in the air between them.
“Dan sends his regrets,” Sebastian continued. “But I have some news which I know will please you. Nelson has sent for him. Dan left for Merton earlier today.”
He had all her attention then. Judith raised her head, and for the first time her face grew animated.
“The Admiral is pleased with his work?”
“We can’t tell yet, but it seems likely. We must wait until Dan returns before we can be sure.”
“I’m sure! Oh, I am so very glad for him. You will tell him so?”
“He will know it, Judith. Until tomorrow, then?”
“How kind you are!” Judith gave him her hand, and even managed to force a smile.
She must be glad for Dan. She must…but if only this news had reached him earlier. It might have made all the difference. Then she remembered. Dan no longer loved her. Her heart was breaking, but no one must guess. She went back to her room.
As Sebastian returned to Mount Street he found himself regretting the impulse which had led him to offer to give Judith away. It had all the overtones of leading a lamb to the slaughter. Judith appeared to be in a state of shock, but it was nothing to the shocks which were likely to await her.
Damn the Runner! Where on earth was the man! It was now a matter of hours before the wedding. Was there still time to stop it? At this late stage it was folly even to hope.
Later, Judith could remember little about the morning of her wedding day.
She had a vague memory of Bessie pressing her to eat something, however little, but she pushed the tray aside. When she tried to speak she seemed to have lost her voice.
“Drink your chocolate!” Bessie ordered. “If you go on like this, Miss Judith, we’ll have you fainting at the altar.” Even as she spoke she wondered why she was insisting. Privately she considered that to faint was now Judith’s only hope of escaping the clutches of the Reverend Truscott. Yet her mistress, she knew, would not collapse. Judith’s face was set. She would go through with the ceremony.
Bessie choked back a sob. This should be the happiest day of any woman’s life. No bride should look so pale and listless. She drew the curtains about the old-fashioned bed and summoned the waiting footmen to remove the boxes and portmanteaux which contained her mistress’s possessions. They would be sent on ahead to her new home.
Within the curtained bed, Judith lay inert. She had the oddest sense of looking down at her own body from some point far above. The fantasy would pass, together with this feeling of unreality. Soon she would begin to be aware of what was happening to her.
It was strange. She’d expected to feel a pang of regret at leaving this shabby room which had been her sanctuary for so long.
In this room she had wept for her dead father, found consolation in her books and her writing, and on occasion had managed to escape the cruel strictures of her stepmother. The months after Dan had left were far too painful to remember, but it was all so long ago.
When Bessie drew the curtains back she looked about her, willing herself to feel something. Anything, even the pain of loss would be preferable to this dreadful feeling of inertia. Now the room looked impersonal. Her pictures, her books and her few trinkets had gone. It might have belonged to a stranger.
She bathed in silence, hoping that the water would refresh her. Then, statue-like, she stood obediently as Bessie dressed her in the unbecoming gown of dull lavender which had been Mrs Aveton’s choice.
Even the matching bonnet with its tiny clusters of flowers beneath the brim did nothing to improve her appearance. In Bessie’s eyes, her mistress looked like a ghost.
“Miss, don’t wear this!” she begged. Then she remembered. The rest of Judith’s gowns were packed and gone.
“It will do!” Judith closed her eyes. “I think I’ll sit down for a moment.” She walked over to the window-seat and rested her cheek against the cool glass. It was difficult to decide if she felt hot or cold.
She knew that she must pull herself together. She was being unfair to Charles. He deserved better than to wed the marionette which she felt herself to be that morning.
It took a supreme effort of will to force herself to think about him. She tried to bring his face to mind, but she could see only a pair of bright blue eyes beneath a crop of red-gold hair. Memories followed each other in quick succession. Dan teasing her, laughing, entering into all her hopes and plans with the eagerness peculiarly his own.
Then the picture changed to a vision of his stricken face, pleading, angry, and finally despairing. She wouldn’t think of him. It was just that she couldn’t seem to recall the face of her betrothed at all.
It was madness. Charles had been so good to her. Always pleasant and courteous, his kindness was unfailing. She’d always be able to rely on him, and she would not soon forget his staunch support in a situation in which most men would have thought the worst of her.
And yet she could not love him, she thought despairingly. What did she want of a man? The answer to that lay only with Dan. Never again would she feel that leap of the heart whenever he walked into a room, and the joy which filled her soul. She closed her eyes, remembering his smile, the thrill of his touch, and even the very scent of him.
What had he called her? “My best of friends”? There was more to it than that. Beneath the friendship there had once been the bonds of a love so passionate that it promised to last for an eternity. That love had vanished, and with it all her hopes and dreams.
A tapping at the door recalled her from her reverie.
Bessie answered it, returning with the news that Lord Wentworth had arrived.
“Oh, is it time?” Judith asked quietly.
Bessie wiped away a tear. Her young mistress might have used just those words if she’d been summoned to the tumbrils in France, and on her way to a dreadful death by the guillotine.
Judith pressed her hand. “Don’t look like that!” she pleaded. “Charles is a good man, and he will care for me.”
With that she took Bessie in her arms. They clung together for just a moment. Then Judith disengaged herself. With her head held high she left the room.
There were four people in the salon, but it seemed to Judith to be excessively crowded, due to the fact that Mrs Aveton and her daughters were en grande toilette.
Judith looked at them in wonder, amazed by the profusion of lace, satin, feathers, ribands and jewellery which graced the persons of the three ladies. The purple satin turban of her stepmother was crowned by an immense aigrette, and the spray of gems sparkled and shook each time she tossed her head.
Now Mrs Aveton hurried towards her, conscious of Sebastian’s penetrating eyes.
“Dear child!” she gushed. “How beautiful you look today!” She’d intended to embrace the bride-to-be, in an effort to convince Sebastian of her fondness for the girl, but Judith turned away. Such pretence disgusted her.
Sebastian took her hand and kissed it. Then he turned to Mrs Aveton with a significant glance at the clock.
“If you leave now, ma’am, we shall follow you,” he said. “You will wish to arrive before the bride.”
“Why, yes, of course! How like you to consider me! I hope that our dear Judith appreciates your condescension in giving her away, my lord. So good of you, and far more than she might expect!”
“Judith is a dear friend.” There was something in his tone which silenced her. Her colour heightened as she hurried her daughters to the waiting carriage.
Sebastian looked at his companion, noting her grave, contained manner.
“Judith?”
“I’m ready,” she said quickly. “Shall we go?”
In silence he offered her his arm. There was nothing left to say. He longed to beg her to change her mind. It was not too late. His carriage would take her to Mount Street and to Prudence, but the tension in her slight figure warned him against such a suggestion. All he could do now was to lend her his support throughout the coming ceremony.
She would need it. He thought he’d never seen another human being quite so close to breaking down completely.
In an effort to divert her thoughts he began to speak of Prudence.
“Your visit helped her, Judith. The doctor now believes that her time is closer than we thought. The child could arrive within these next few days.”
“Oh, Sebastian, should you have left her?” Judith turned to him at once in her anxiety for her friend.
He patted her hand and smiled. “These things don’t happen in minutes, my dear. I offered to send Perry in my place, but Prudence would have none of it. She insisted that I kept my word to you.”
“But—?”
“No buts, Judith! Elizabeth has stayed behind to be with her. She will send word if anything should start to happen. I have no fears on that score. Our beautiful hot-head can be a tower of strength upon occasion, as I’m sure you know. Elizabeth won’t lose her wits.”
Judith smiled for the first time. “I know it! She has so many of the qualities of her aunt. Miss Grantham has left for Turkey?”
Sebastian nodded. “Two days ago. Perry swears that she’ll return with a Mameluke or two in tow.”
“He’s teasing you. Will you give my love to Prudence? You will all be so relieved when this is over and the babe arrives.”
“I should be used to it by now, but I suffer through these times almost as much as Prudence. At least I’m not as bad as Perry. He was like a man demented on both occasions when Elizabeth gave birth.”
Judith squeezed his hand. “All will be well, I’m sure of it.” She looked up as the carriage stopped, and paled a little.
“Are we there?”
“Yes, my dear.” Sebastian gave her his hand and helped her from the carriage.
She hesitated only once, as she saw the open doorway of the church. Then she straightened her shoulders, lifted her head, and together they walked slowly down the aisle.
Heads turned towards her as she passed, but Judith was oblivious of the sea of faces. Her eyes were fixed upon the altar and the man who stood before it, awaiting her.
As she reached his side he gave her a tender smile, but she did not respond. She was still possessed by a sense of unreality. This could not be happening to her. The girl who stood beside Charles Truscott wasn’t herself. It was some stranger taking part in a ceremony which meant nothing.
Truscott then gave his full attention to the bishop, and Judith became aware of the opening words of the marriage service.
“Brethren, we are gathered together in the sight of God and this congregation to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…”
The bishop paused. Then, as church law required, he asked if any knew of the existence of an impediment to the marriage.
It was a formality, but a silence fell for what seemed to Judith to be an eternity. Then, as the bishop was about to continue, a faint voice reached him.
“This man is the father of my child!”
A gasp like the sound of the rushing wind across a sea of corn seemed to ripple around the church, and beside her Judith felt Charles Truscott stiffen.
When he spun round to face his accuser she heard him curse beneath his breath. Then he regained his self-control and walked towards the figure standing in the aisle.
Judith recognised the girl at once. This was the frail creature who had accosted her in the street, and later had given her the mysterious message from Charles.
Now he disclaimed all knowledge of her. “The woman is demented,” he announced. “Tell me, my dear! What is the name of the father of your child?”
“It’s you…Josh Ferris! Will you deny your own flesh and blood?” She drew aside her shawl to reveal a puny child which lay within the crook of her arm. The little creature seemed too weak to cry.
Truscott looked about him with a sad expression, anxious to dispel the astonishment in the faces of his guests.
“Pitiful!” he murmured. “The girl has lost her senses! I am not Josh Ferris, my dear. My name is Truscott…the Reverend Charles Truscott. Now let me get some help for you…” He looked towards the ushers who had hastened down the aisle.
The girl pulled away from the restraining hands.
“You shan’t deny me!” she cried wildly. “I don’t care what you call yourself. The child is yours!”
Truscott turned to Judith. “I am so sorry, dearest, to have you exposed to this. I do not know this woman.”
Judith answered him then, and in the silence her clear voice carried to all corners of the church.
“That isn’t true!” she said quietly. “This girl brought me a message from you.”
There was another gasp from the assembled guests.
Then Judith moved towards the young mother. “This is no place for you,” she said. “Let us go into the vestry.”
Suddenly, Mrs Aveton was tugging at her sleeve.
“What are you about?” she hissed. “The ceremony must go on. Let them take this creature away. She should be in Bedlam.”
Judith looked down at her. The contempt in her grave grey eyes might have caused a lesser woman to shrivel, but Mrs Aveton was undeterred.
“Suppose this child is Charles’s by-blow?” she murmured in an undertone. “What has that to say to anything? A sensible woman would ignore it.”
“Then perhaps I am not sensible.” Judith removed the clutching fingers from her arm, and turned to the bishop. “My lord, I must have the truth of this.”
“Of course!” he agreed. “We shall break off at once in order to investigate these allegations.”
“No!” Truscott’s face was dark with rage. “Judith, this is no impediment. You must believe me!”
“Even so, the lady is entitled to make enquiries.” Sebastian found it almost impossible to hide his relief. Now he took Judith’s arm. “The vestry?” he said quietly. “You won’t wish for a public scandal.”
“Leave her!” Truscott shouted. “How dare you interfere? You and your family have done your best to give her a dislike of me. Now, I suppose, you will persuade her to believe these lies?”
“Judith wishes only to discover the truth, sir.” Sebastian’s voice was cold. “If you are innocent you need have no fear—”
“Guilty? Innocent? Who are you to judge? You with your money and your arrogance? My wife shall end her connection with you from this moment!”
“My dear sir, you are making a spectacle of yourself. Have you no consideration for Miss Aveton?”
“Miss Aveton is it, now?” Truscott attempted to seize Judith’s arm. “Don’t listen to him. They are all against me…”
At this point the bishop was moved to intervene. “Lord Wentworth is right. This is a most unedifying scene. It should not be taking place in public.” Frowning, he strode away.
“No, my lord, don’t go!” Truscott hurried after him. “Am I not entitled to defend myself…to refute these allegations?”
“You may do so, and I will hear you out, but not before the altar. Later, if you can explain yourself to the lady’s satisfaction, the ceremony may continue.”
Truscott returned to Judith’s side, attempting to thrust himself between her and Lord Wentworth. With the dashing of his hopes all his composure deserted him. Now he was babbling wildly.
Judith ignored him and moved towards the girl.
“What is your name?” she asked.
“It’s Nan, miss. Please, you must believe me. I wasn’t lying. Josh turned me out. I had no money for the child. I think she’s dying…”
Judith looked at the tiny figure lying in her arms.
“Don’t give up hope!” she said. “You shall have all the help you need. This man you know as Josh? He is one and the same as the man I was about to marry?”
“Yes, miss. Does he claim to be a preacher?” Her eyes grew bitter. “He ain’t no Christian gentleman. He would have left us both to starve.”
“I think you are very tired,” Judith said gently. “Let us go to a more private place. There you may sit down.” She looked up at Sebastian and he nodded. Then he raised a finger to summon one of his servants, despatching the man for food.
In a last desperate effort, Truscott tried to intervene.
“No!” he shouted. “I’ll help! I’ll give her money, but, Judith, you must listen to me!”
“I’m quite prepared to do so.” She slipped her arm about the girl, leading her through the door into the vestry. She was followed by Sebastian, and the frantic figure of Truscott.
Standing before his bishop, the preacher changed his tactics, adopting a bullying demeanour towards the girl.
“Wench, you will burn in hell!” he shouted. “That is the fate of those who lie before God!”
“Spare us your threats!” Sebastian turned on him. “You will keep a still tongue in your head. My lord bishop, will you question the girl?”
Nan looked terrified, but encouraged by Judith’s gentle manner she began to tell her story.
“Seven Dials?” Truscott cried at one point in her tale. “I don’t know the place.”
“Strange, considering that you have a house there!” Sebastian studied his fingernails with interest. “You have been seen entering and leaving, and so has Nan. It is Nan, isn’t it?” He smiled encouragement at her.
The preacher’s face took on a ghastly hue, but he tried to recover his position.
“I might have guessed it,” he said savagely. “You have set men on to spy on me. Much good may it do you! As a man of God my work takes me to all parts of London upon errands of mercy. I don’t always know the names of the places which I visit.”
“Nor, apparently, are you able to recall the faces of those you tend.” The bishop’s face was stern. “Why did you claim not to know this girl?”
“Why, my lord, I can’t be expected to remember all those who come to me for help. There are so many…” Truscott cast a pleading look at Judith.
She didn’t glance at him. Memory had come flooding back. Here, in this very church, she had caught him beating a small child. Nausea overwhelmed her as she realised the truth. She had been mistaken in him all along.
Sebastian hesitated, but not for long. Judith must now hear the truth, however unpalatable it might be.
“Do your duties require you to stay overnight upon these errands?” he asked quietly.
A purple flush stained Truscott’s face. “I may have stayed on one occasion…but it was by a sickbed.”
“Ah, yes, these sickbeds! There are so many, are there not, and all at the house in Seven Dials? I’m told that your presence was required there for several days at a time.”
“Judith knows about it,” Truscott said defensively. “My mother has been suffering from the smallpox—”
“You are lying, sir. Your mother lives in the parish of St Giles, in that salubrious part of London known as ‘The Rookery’. To my knowledge she is suffering from nothing more than neglect on the part of her disgraceful son.”
Judith rose to her feet. She did not look at Truscott. “I have heard enough,” she said with dignity. “My lord bishop, this marriage will not now take place. What you choose to do about this man I will leave to your own judgment. Sebastian, will you take me home? Nan and her child shall go with us.”
“Judith, you can’t!” Truscott ran after her into the main body of the church, empty now, except for Mrs Aveton and her daughters. “It’s lies, I tell you, naught but a pack of lies. They’ll stop at nothing to take you from me.”
“Nay, Charlie, it ain’t lies! Who knows that better than you, you murdering devil!”
The voice came from the shadowy porch. It was low, but so chilling that it stopped Truscott in his tracks.
He fell back, all colour draining from his face.
“Who is there?” he cried fearfully.
“A dead man, who else?” Margrave stepped into the light, and as he did so, Mrs Aveton screamed.
The forger was a terrifying sight. His face had the pallor of the grave, except for the patches of scarlet blood which seeped steadily from the cloth about his head and trickled down one cheek.
“Thought you’d killed me, Charlie? I ain’t so easy to get rid of. Now it’s your turn. Did you think I’d let you live to enjoy this lady’s fortune?” He raised his pistol and levelled it at Truscott’s heart.
“Wait, Dick! Hear me! It was a mistake! I fell against you. Then I thought that you had cracked your head. What was I to do? I couldn’t have you found here…”
“So you decided to give me a Christian burial?” The forger’s laugh struck terror into those who heard it. “Lucky for me that there wasn’t a tombstone handy. I’d never have left that grave.”
Judith found that she was trembling, but it was Sebastian who spoke.
“Sir, will you be a witness? If this is true, you may leave this man to the authorities—”
“Nay, I’ll not do that. Lord Wentworth, ain’t it? My lord, the authorities are no friends of mine. I’ll handle this myself. I’m sorry, ma’am, that you are to be soon a widow.”
“I am not married,” Judith whispered.
“Really? Ah, I see!” He looked at the girl beside her. “Our little Nan got there before me!”
Judith moved to stand in front of the shrinking girl.
“You are making a mistake!” she said steadily. “Will you commit murder in this church? Please do as Lord Wentworth has suggested. You cannot take the law into your own hands.”
“Count your blessings, ma’am, and stand aside! I know what I’m about. They won’t catch Dick Margrave!” As he raised his pistol once again, Truscott grabbed Judith to his breast.
Holding her as a shield, he thrust her ahead of him towards the porch. She felt the pricking of his knife against her ribs.
“Don’t struggle!” he advised. “I have nothing to lose.”
“Let her go!” Sebastian’s voice was calm. He was almost within touching distance. “This is naught to do with Judith. Your quarrel is between you and this man…” Imperceptibly, he moved closer.
“Back!” the preacher shouted. “Unless you wish to have her blood upon your hands!”
Judith was terrified, but she kept her head. Truscott should not find it easy to drag her from the church. Apparently on the verge of collapse, she leaned heavily against him. Then she felt what seemed to be a sharp blow as he pulled her upright.
“No tricks!” he ordered roughly. “Move!”
Now he had an enemy on either side. Margrave was ahead of him, blocking his exit from the church, and Sebastian was behind.
“You first!” he told Sebastian. “Walk ahead of me!”
He cast just one brief glance at the horrified faces of Mrs Aveton and her girls, the bishop, and finally at Nan.
“You’ll pay for this!” he promised. “I’ll be back!” His face was a mask of evil as he looked at her, and none of his listeners dared to move.
Then, thrusting Judith ahead of him, and using Sebastian’s tall figure as a further shield, he began to edge his way towards the porch and freedom.
Margrave had moved to one side. As his enemy passed it would give him a better shot, but Truscott sensed his purpose.
“Out!” he ordered.
For a long moment Margrave hesitated and Judith closed her eyes. She meant nothing to the man, and there was murder in his face. In his desire for vengeance he was more than likely to fire through her.
Sebastian’s murmur was audible to no one but the forger.
“No!” he said. “Not yet! You’ll get your chance.
It seemed at first that Margrave would disobey him, and for Judith it was the longest moment of her life. Then the man walked out of the church.
Judith felt the sunlight warm upon her face. Again she felt a sense of unreality. Could this frightful scene be taking place here, in the quiet surroundings of the churchyard?
Sebastian’s carriage was already at the lych gate, ready to bear him home.
“Summon your man, my lord! If you wish this lady to live you will obey me. He is to open the carriage door, let down the steps, and stand away. Then your coachman must drive off at speed when we are safe inside.”
Sebastian stopped suddenly. “You can’t be meaning to take Judith with you?” he exclaimed in horror.
Truscott ignored the question. “Do as I say!” he shouted.
“No, listen to me! She will slow you down.”
Judith felt the prick of the knife, and she gave a tiny gasp of pain. “Do as he says,” she pleaded.
Sebastian’s lifted hand brought a groom running to his side. The man’s eyes widened as he realised what was happening. He was a burly fellow, and with his arms spread wide in a wrestler’s stance, he started to move forward.
“No!” Sebastian was quick to stop him. “Do as I bid you! This lady is being held at knife-point.”
“Very wise, my lord,” the preacher mocked. “Now stand aside.”
Judith’s view was partly blocked by Sebastian’s massive figure. Then she heard the sound of running feet.
“Seb, am I too late?” Dan came tearing around the corner of the church. “The Runner has news. I’ve brought him with me. Pray heaven we are in time!”
“Indeed you are!” The preacher’s voice was a paean of triumph. “In time to bid your lady-love farewell. Now, sir, his lordship has been most amenable. I trust that you will follow his example and do nothing foolish?”
As Sebastian stepped aside, Dan took in the situation at a glance. Beside him, the hand of the Bow Street Runner strayed towards his pistol. Then Dan saw the terror in Judith’s eyes.
“We shall do nothing foolish,” he agreed. “You are free to leave, but you shall not take Judith with you.”
“And how are you to stop me?” Truscott jeered.
“I fear that we cannot.” Dan paused. Then he looked at Judith. “Why, my dear, you have forgotten the pearl necklace…”
“Pearls?” Even Truscott was startled. What was the fellow thinking of to speak of a necklace at this time?
Judith raised her head, and for a long moment grey eyes locked with blue.
“Yes,” she murmured. “I had quite forgot.” She bent her head again. Then, with a sudden movement, she thrust it back with all her strength, catching Truscott full in the face.
He gave a cry of agony and staggered back as Dan ran towards him, twisting Judith from his grip.
Two shots rang out in unison, but Truscott had already dodged behind a tombstone. Then he began to run, zig-zagging between the graves.
The Runner raised his smoking pistol and took careful aim, but Margrave thrust him aside.
“He’s mine!” he said with great deliberation. He fired one more at the running man, and this time he did not miss.
Frozen with horror, Judith watched as the preacher’s head exploded in a red haze. Then Dan hid her face against his coat.
“Get her out of this!” Sebastian muttered. “I’ll see to matters here…”
Dan needed no urging. With the aid of the groom he half led and half carried Judith to the waiting coach.
“Back to Mount Street!” he ordered briefly. Then he gathered his love into his arms.
“Why, Dan, you are trembling!” Judith murmured in wonder. “I am unhurt…”
“Then what is that?” With a shaking hand he pointed to her skirt.
Judith looked down to see a long rust-coloured stain creeping from the bodice of her gown down towards the hem. “It’s only a graze. He…he pricked me with the knife.”
“He might have killed you. Oh, my darling, I thought you lost to me for ever.” He covered his eyes and turned away to hide the agony in his heart.
“Dan, look at me!” Judith pleaded. “I must know! Can you ever forgive me?”
“Forgive you? For what?” he groaned. “I should be asking your forgiveness for exposing you to danger.”
For answer she took his beloved face in both her hands.
“You tried to warn me,” she said tenderly. “Don’t blame yourself! I wouldn’t listen. How could I have been so blind?”
“You weren’t alone, my love. Truscott deceived everyone—”
“Not you! Nor any member of your family.”
“Prudence and Elizabeth had seen another side of him.”
“Oh, my dear, if they had only told me the whole…”
“Would you have believed them? Besides, Sebastian insisted that they must not meddle. He was unconvinced until quite recently.”
“But you?”
“I hated him on sight,” Dan told her simply. “But I was mad with jealousy.”
“You hid it well.”
“I had to, Judith. In the end we came to believe that you were safe only as long as you remained betrothed.”
Her eyes widened. “I was in danger? Why did you not warn me?”
“We had no proof until today. The Runner arrived as I returned from Merton. He’d seen Truscott’s attempt to murder Margrave.”
“Margrave was the man who shot him dead?” Judith closed her eyes as if to shut out the memory of that dreadful scene. “He is dead, isn’t he?”
“He is, my darling, but he was a man who lived by violence and in the end it killed him.”
Judith began to shudder. “I’ll never forget it. It was a frightful ending…”
“Try not to think about it, dearest.” Dan turned her face to his. “It’s over. Now we shall think only of our future.”
He kissed her then, and as his mouth came down on hers the long years of their separation sank into oblivion. They were still locked in a passionate embrace when the carriage came to a halt.
Judith felt light-headed, and when Dan tried to help her down her limbs refused to obey her. She looked down at her skirt and saw that the ominous stain was spreading rapidly.
“Don’t tell Prudence!” she said in a queer, high voice. “I’m sorry, but I think I’m going to faint.”
She fell towards him, and into darkness.