Chapter Twenty-five

Elissa rode next to the children in the back of the wagon Jamison drove out of the city. It was midnight, May 12, when they crossed the river over the pontoon bridge Franzesbrucke. The Danube was in flood stage, a formidable barrier the Austrian rear guard used to its advantage. The soldiers destroyed the bridge as they fled, leaving Bonaparte’s conquering forces unable to ford, trapping them on the south side of the Danube.

By the following day, the cannon fire had ceased and Napoleon marched triumphantly into Vienna, setting up his headquarters in the fleeing emperor’s palatial Schönbrunn Palace. All the while, the wagon continued its journey, following the British regiment, who marched with the Austrians toward a rendezvous with the archduke’s main body of men in the Marchfeld plain southeast of Vienna.

Making camp at the end of a grueling day, Elissa couldn’t help a feeling of despair. She was following the army as she had done before. Nina and the children were there and even Vada’s scruffy little puppy. Only Adrian was missing. Only Adrian—and the pieces torn from her broken heart.

“You are quiet today,” Nina said. They worked well together as they had before, and now stood stirring a steaming cauldron of goulash that they had made for supper.

Elissa flicked Nina a glance. “I guess I haven’t felt much like talking.” She smiled faintly. “Then again, neither, it seems, have you. Perhaps you were thinking of the major.”

Nina sighed. “We have spoken very little since we left my cousin’s apartment. I am a burden to him. It was not fair of me to push my troubles onto him. I am happy to be rid of my cousin, but still I should not have gone with him.”

Elissa wiped her hands on the apron she wore tied over her skirt. “He wouldn’t have insisted if he didn’t want to help you.”

“At the time, yes, perhaps he did. He felt sorry for me. I should not have taken advantage of his generous nature.”

Elissa inwardly smiled. “The major has a lot of good qualities, it seems.”

A slight flush tinted Nina’s cheeks. “He is a very special man.”

“Handsome, too,” Elissa added with a knowing smile.

Nina’s lips curved up at the corners. “Yes, he is very handsome.”

“Things will work out, Nina. You have to believe that.”

Her friend began a vigorous stirring of the stew and Elissa said nothing else. She knew Nina was worried, but Elissa believed Jamison had acted out of more than just pity. She could see it in his eyes whenever he looked in the dark-haired girl’s direction. But Nina wouldn’t believe it. It was up to Jamison to convince her, and he had been so busy they had rarely seen him.

His duties kept him away again that evening. It was long after they had eaten and put the children to bed that he arrived in camp, stepping out of the darkness into the circle of light cast by the low-burning fire. His high black boots were dusty and he smelled of leather and horses, yet his light blue eyes and tall, leanly muscled frame would still turn any woman’s head.

“Sorry I missed supper. General Ravenscroft held a staff meeting and it ran longer than we expected.” He took a deep whiff of the goulash they had kept warm for him. “I hope there is some of that left.”

Nina smiled, the shadowy light making her dark eyes look even bigger than they were, her lips curving softly. “Of course,” she said. “I will get you some.”

She heaped a tin plate with the delicious stew and brought him a steaming cup of coffee, then she and Elissa sat across from him while he ate.

“What news, Jamison?” Elissa asked, once he was settled and well into his meal. He looked tired but alert, worried about what was to come, yet ready in some soldierly fashion for the fighting to begin.

“Charles is re-forming his army. The battle isn’t long away, perhaps as early as the end of the week. On a more cheerful note, I found your brother. His regiment is camped about a mile away. Perhaps tomorrow I can take you to see him.”

Peter! Gratitude trickled through her. She had been so worried about him. “Thank you.” She wanted to ask about Adrian, but she didn’t dare. She had to forget him. As he was determined to forget her.

When the major finished his meal, Nina cleared his plate, and Elissa noticed the way he watched her, his assessing glance following her every move. He crossed to the place where she washed his plate in a pan of soapy water.

“I know it’s late,” he said, “but I was hoping we might speak. I’m sure Elissa won’t mind keeping an eye on the children.”

Elissa smiled. “Not at all.”

Nina flicked her a nervous glance but a hint of color rose beneath her olive-skinned cheeks. Accepting the major’s outstretched hand, she let him lead her away. Elissa prayed St. Giles’s intentions were more honorable than the thoughts she read in the lines of his handsome face.

*   *   *

Nina felt the major’s strong hand at her waist as he guided her unerringly through the sea of soldiers, equipment, and tents out to a copse of trees at the perimeter of the encampment. It was dark, but a thin slice of moon lit the way and stars flickered through a scattering of clouds.

He paused beneath the branches of a pine and Nina turned to face him, uncertain what he might say, worried he would send her away.

Knowing she should insist upon leaving, making her own way without him.

Jamie cleared his throat, as nervous, it seemed, as she. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you sooner. With the army on the move and Napoleon breathing down our necks … well, tonight was the first chance I’ve had.” He studied the toes of his dusty black boots. “And in truth, I wasn’t sure exactly what to say. I mean, I promised I would help you, but … well, at the time, it didn’t seem quite so complicated.”

Her heart sank. He was going to send her away. She rested a hand on his forearm, felt the lean muscles bunch beneath her fingers. “It is all right, Jamie, you need not worry for me. You have helped me escape my cousin. I will always be grateful for that. I am a very hard worker. The children and I will be fine on our own. We will find a way.”

He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, pressed a soft kiss on her palm that sent little shivers running through her. “You don’t understand. I’m not trying to abandon you—I’m trying to ask you to marry me. I’m just not doing a very good job.”

Her heart skipped, began a slow, steady thrumming in her ears. His face looked so intense, his eyes so very blue. “You are asking me to wed you?”

He cleared his throat again. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but sometimes people can sense things about one another. From the start, I’ve admired you. I’ve seen your strength and your courage. I’ve watched the way you care for the children. Aside from that, I’ve developed certain … feelings for you, Nina. If you think that someday … in the future, I mean … you might share some of those same feelings, then I hope that you will say yes.”

Nina said nothing. Her throat had closed up, choking off her words. A mist of tears blurred her vision.

Jamison glanced away, his face closing up, his expression suddenly remote. “I didn’t do this right, did I? I’ve said it all wrong and now you won’t have me.”

Her heart clenched, gently turned over. She reached out and cupped his cheek, her hand trembling as she turned his head, forcing him to look at her. “You do not do this out of pity?”

“Pity?” A look of disbelief flashed in his eyes. “Good God, no. You’re beautiful, Nina. You’re generous and giving, intelligent and brave. You’re everything a man could want in a wife. If you say yes, I’ll feel like the luckiest man on earth.”

Nina blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. “What about the children? I cannot leave them. They have no one but me.”

“They’ll have both of us, if you agree.”

Nina’s heart squeezed. She smiled through her tears. “Then I would be honored to marry you, Jam-i-son.” She was in his arms before she knew exactly what had happened, and it felt so good, so incredibly right.

“I have feelings for you, too,” she whispered. “I hoped—prayed—that you might care for me just a little.”

“Nina … sweetheart.” He bent his head and she saw that he meant to kiss her. She closed her eyes and his lips settled gently over hers, fitting them perfectly together. It was a soft, tender kiss yet beneath it she sensed his desire for her and it made her feel womanly and warm.

When he coaxed her to part her lips for him, she did so eagerly, allowing him to deepen the kiss, then felt the wildest, sweetest sensations. She kissed him back with all the joy she felt in that moment, all the happiness bursting in her heart.

Jamie groaned. It was he who broke away. Still, he held her against him, wrapped tightly in his arms.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I first saw you.” Another sweet, hot kiss had her clinging to his neck, her body arching toward the long, hard length of him.

Jamie smiled down at her, his eyes a darker blue than they were before. “You’ve so much passion—so much life—and soon it will all belong to me.” He pressed his cheek to hers and she felt the roughness along his jaw. “You’re not like any other woman,” he said, “and I am grateful for it. We’ll be married as soon as I can arrange it. My enlistment will be up in less than a month—” He frowned and drew a little away. “You won’t mind living in England?”

She shook her head, making her short black hair swirl around her face. “I would love to see England. I have heard it is very beautiful. And even if it is ugly, as long as you are there, it will not matter.”

Jamie laughed then, a carefree sound she hadn’t heard from him before. “I’m not as rich as the colonel, but neither am I poor. I’ve a small estate not far from Wolvermont Castle—that’s where Adrian lives whenever he is home. I think the children will like it. I hope you will like it as well.”

Fresh tears burned her eyes. “I know I will. And I will make you proud of me. I will grow my hair.” She ran her fingers through the short, inky strands. “It was long before we left Ratisbon. I cut it to travel with the army.”

“You don’t have to change a single thing,” Jamie said. “I’m proud of you just the way you are.”

She smiled up at him. “You have made me very happy, Jamie St. Giles. I promise I will make you happy, too.”

Jamie kissed her, then hugged her tightly against him. For the first time Nina understood what it felt like to be in love.

*   *   *

Adrian stood at the crest of a rise overlooking the camp below. For the last three days he had come here, each time swearing he wouldn’t return. Yet against his will, he found himself riding to the spot again. It was torture, but he could not seem to stop himself.

He looked down at the maze of tents, horses, and dusty, faded uniforms that should have made it impossible for him to find her, but his eyes picked her out in less than a heartbeat, her gleaming cap of hair shimmering like the tip of a flame against the colorful background.

Though he was still assigned to General Klammer’s regiment and camped some distance away, Jamie had sought him out and told him of their arrival. At first he had cursed her, stubborn little fool that she was, for not going to Baden as he had commanded. Then he realized he no longer had the power to demand anything of her. He had given up that right the day he had left her in Vienna.

He watched her working below, bent over a washboard scrubbing clothes, though it was hard to make out her movements so far away. He was worried about her, fearful of what might happen once the army went into battle. It was torture to see her and yet he could not make himself walk away. He wanted to go to her. He wanted to hold her, touch her. He wanted to make love to her for hours on end.

Days ago, his anger at their parting had faded. Perhaps he was never really angry at all. He had wanted to leave her, and she had given him cause. But even as he’d ridden away, he couldn’t block the sight of her tears or shake her taunting words.

You’re a coward, Colonel Kingsland. You think you’re simply leaving but in truth you’re running away.

The words had filtered through his mind a dozen times, stabbing into his heart, gnawing at his insides. In truth he was a coward. He couldn’t lie to himself any longer. He was in love with Elissa Tauber and he had never been more frightened in his life. He knew the sort of pain loving someone could bring. He had worked his whole life to insulate himself from that kind of emotion. And yet here he was, standing on a hill like a lovesick fool, aching for a glimpse of her.

A noise behind him pulled him from his thoughts. Jamie threw a long leg over his tall black gelding and dismounted.

“There you are—I’ve been looking all over. One of the men said he saw you riding in this direction.” Jamie strode toward him, a smile on his face. It faded as he glanced down at the scene below and realized why Adrian had come up to the knoll.

He shook his head. “Sweet Christ, man, if you care for the woman so damned much, why don’t you do something about it?”

Adrian scoffed. “I am doing something. I’m staying away from her. That is the only thing I can do.”

“It isn’t the only thing. Don’t you see? You have a choice here, Adrian. You can leave the army and make a life for yourself. You can have a home, a family—the things you’ve always wanted.”

“That isn’t what I want—not anymore.”

Jamie looked down to the distant spot where Elissa worked over a pile of laundry. “She’s in love with you, you know. You hurt her very badly.”

Adrian’s hand shook where it rested against his thigh. “She’ll get over it. In time she’ll find someone else.”

“What about you, Ace? How fast will you get over it?”

He grunted. “Fast enough. As soon as I get the chance, I’ll find another woman. I’ll plant myself between her legs and ride her till I forget Elissa Tauber ever existed.”

Jamie said nothing, just stared at him with a trace of pity. It angered him to see that look on his best friend’s face.

“I presume there was something you wanted.”

Jamie straightened, drawing himself up so that he was nearly as tall as Adrian. “I came up here to tell you I’m getting married.”

“Married!” The word fell between them like a tree toppling to earth. “Who the hell are you going to marry?”

“I’m marrying Nina Petralo. She and the children need me.” His shoulders went even straighter. “And the truth is, I need her.”

Adrian could scarcely believe his ears. “You’re leaving the army? You’ve devoted your life to the service. I thought you were happy.”

“I was for a while. In the last few years, I’ve felt as if something were missing. Now I know what it was.”

Adrian didn’t reply. The words hit too close to home.

Jamie’s eyes locked with his. “We both have choices, Adrian. I’ve made mine and I’m damned glad I did. I’m marrying Nina Petralo. I just hope I live to see it done.”

Adrian knew what he meant. Ravenscroft’s regiment wouldn’t officially be ordered into battle. They were there in a support position, but there wasn’t a doubt in any man’s mind they’d get more than their share of the fighting. The battle would be long and fierce and anything could happen.

“Nina is a lovely girl,” Adrian finally said, clamping a hand on Jamie’s shoulder. “Congratulations, my friend. I wish you both the greatest happiness.”

Jamie smiled. “Thank you. In the meantime, if anything should happen—”

“It won’t.” Adrian cut off the words he didn’t want to hear. “But if by some remote chance it did, your lady would be safe in my care.”

Jamie nodded. “As yours would be in mine.”

Neither said anything more and the silence grew between them.

“Any progress on the Falcon?” Jamie asked, thankfully changing the subject.

Adrian sighed. “He seems to have gone to ground. The archduke’s put a tight lid on communications. Perhaps the man has nothing new to report. Or simply being on the move has cut into his effectiveness.”

“Any idea who was behind the shooting?”

“Not the foggiest. I’ve been prowling about asking a number of questions. No doubt the man was shooting at me, but I’m still damned glad Elissa is with you and for the most part out of danger.”

Jamie stared off toward the camp, at the hustle and bustle of more than a hundred thousand men, their horses, wagons, and supplies. “You think he’ll try it again?”

Adrian followed his gaze, wishing he could see through the throng to the man who had nearly killed Elissa. A shiver passed through him at the image of her, pale and still in the grass, a scarlet stain spreading from her temple.

“I don’t think he’ll chance it—not until the fighting starts. Then he’ll have the perfect opportunity. A stray bullet would go unremarked, even if it happened to kill a British colonel.”

“The army’s gearing up. Hiller’s arrived. It won’t be long before we’re heading into battle.”

“No, and with Hiller here, that means Steigler has also arrived. The man could still pose a threat to Elissa. Fortunately, he is camped some distance away. Odds are, he’ll be too damned busy to think of anything besides the war.”

Jamie nodded, glanced across the rolling Marchfeld plain stretching toward the Danube. “Perhaps we should move the women and children to a safer position.”

A muscle bunched in Adrian’s jaw. He had been thinking that same thing. “The trouble is, we aren’t exactly sure where safe really is. We can’t send them back to Vienna. We can’t get them to Baden, and there is no one to look after them anywhere else.”

“Best then just to move them when the time comes.”

Adrian nodded. “I suppose that is all we can do.”

Jamie clapped him on the back. “In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye on them. Take care of yourself, Ace.”

Adrian watched his best friend walk back to camp. First Elissa. Now Jamie. Even in boarding school, he had never felt more alone.

*   *   *

Elissa sat at a small writing desk Jamison had provided, penning the letter she was determined to send. A British courier was being dispatched to London and Jamison had secured a place in the pouch for a letter to her mother as well as the correspondence she now scripted—a message to the Duke of Sheffield.

Elissa had pondered long and hard over the decision to write him. Adrian had entrusted her with his secret and she didn’t take that responsibility lightly. On the other hand, she loved Adrian Kingsland, whatever his feelings for her. She wanted to give him the one thing she knew he desired above all else—the love of family he had never had. Elissa believed she might have the power to give it to him.

She glanced down at the words she had written on the paper.

Your Grace,

I realize it has been some time since last we occasioned to meet. I impose upon your friendship with my father in writing this letter and trust that you will read it in the spirit it was written, the hope that good will come for both of the parties involved.

Though I realize this may come as a shock, I have reason to believe that you have fathered a child of which you are unaware. You will, I believe, recall your brief association with the child’s mother, Madeline Kingsland, a little over thirty years ago. The result of that liaison was a son—Adrian Kingsland, the current Baron Wolvermont.

Your son is a colonel in His Majesty’s Army, a war hero of some renown, one of the bravest, finest men I have ever known. If you have met Adrian in the past, perhaps you will recall a certain similarity in your features. In fact, your son is gifted with your same dark hair and magnificent green eyes. He stands even taller than you, and is of your same broad-shouldered build.

Adrian is unaware that I write this letter and should you decide you do not wish to pursue your relationship with him, I pray that you will not embarrass him by mentioning this correspondence. The colonel does not believe you would wish to learn of his existence. His mother and her husband treated him with little care, and Adrian is not convinced that a father would harbor any special feelings for a son of his own blood.

I send you this letter with the highest hopes that you will wish to meet your son. I pray you will forgive my interference in such a private matter and please rest assured that should I receive no reply, no word of this matter will ever surface again.

I close with the hope that this letter finds you in good health and that it will bring you a measure of joy as it was intended.

 

Most sincere regards,

Lady Elissa Tauber

Elissa reread the letter, dusted the sand shaker over it, then folded it, and carefully sealed it with several drops of wax. A few minutes later, Jamison picked it up, along with the missive to her mother, and the letter was on its way to England.

She prayed she had done the right thing. It was hard to know for sure, but the future was so nebulous, life itself so precious and uncertain, she felt she’d had no other choice.

Taking a steadying breath, she set the lap desk aside and stood up. As soon as Jamison returned he would take her to see her brother. Worry for Peter, Adrian, and Jamison in the upcoming battle hovered at the edge of her mind. She thought of Sheffield one last time, praying he would get the letter. She wondered, when he read it, what look she might see on his face.