Page 29 of Wild Hearts

Anne didn't answer her, but she could see she had set the wheels of her brain in motion. Tabrizia glanced around the room, which was filled with expensive objects. Paris might not have a good word to say of his wife, but he certainly kept her in the lap of luxury. Tabrizia observed Mrs. Sinclair. This was the woman who had questioned Mrs. Hall about her. There was something about her Tabby disliked intensely.

Anne showed her the charcoal sketches. They were extremely well done and lifelike, so her praises were quite sincere.

"Wait until I paint them and you see them in color," boasted Anne, taking the accolade as her due. "But I am fatigued; come again in a few days," said Anne, dismissing her quite abruptly.

Alexandria was the first person Tabrizia saw when she went downstairs. "I suggested Anne come down and dine with us some evening," she confessed.

"That would be setting the cat amongst the pigeons. Better leave it alone unless you wish to bring the wrath of Paris down on your head. He's gone out to his ship. Why don't we go down the cliffs to the sea for the afternoon, while the tide is out?"

Tabby readily agreed. She discovered that she loved the sands. It was the first time she had been on a beach in her life. She was fascinated watching a family of sea otters leap and tumble with each other. One large male lay on his back with a rock balanced on his belly, upon which he cracked open crustaceans. The outgoing waves had left tide pools filled with a myriad of colors The coral sands were littered with odd, tangled masses of seaweed, kelp, jellyfish and millions of shells, some of which had living creatures inside and scuttled back under the sand when a wave left them high and dry. Tabrizia loved the iodine stench of tide wrack and couldn't get enough into her lungs as she breathed deeply and sighed. The sun shone down, making the sands deliciously warm, and the two girls lay down to talk.

"I'm sorry you didn't escape the other day at the fair. If it had been just me, I would have looked the other way until you had disappeared."

"Paris promised to let me go, but then he changed his mind and wouldn't listen to reason."

"You can't reason with men, Tab, you have to trick them! If I were a prisoner; I'd make such a damned nuisance of myself, they'd be fain to get rid of me. You'll have to do something really dramatic. You'll have to take drastic measures!"

"Such as?" asked Tabrizia.

"Well, let me think. Supposing he thought you would kill yourself rather than remain a prisoner?"

"He would have to really believe it before he would let me go. If I threatened, I don't think he would take me seriously," doubted Tabrizia.

"He'd believe me! You have to stop being such a nice girl and start being a devil."

"How would I kill myself?"

"You could threaten to jump off one of the towers. That would frighten him silly, after Father's death."

Tabrizia shuddered. "I'm frightened of high places and could never bring myself to go near the edge."

"Well, what sort of death can you think of? It must be dramatic."

"How about a drowning?" asked Tab, standing up and putting her toes into the sea.

"Say, that could be very effective. I could rush up to him and say, 'Tabrizia cannot bear to be a prisoner. She says it covers her with dishonor to demand gold for her exchange. Come quickly, she is going to drown herself in the sea.' Then he and I run to the top of the cliffs, and he sees you below. You throw off your cloak, you are naked underneath and go forlornly and hopelessly toward the water. He will be down that path like a shot to rescue you, and when he sees the wretched state of your depression, he will free you rather than allow you to do yourself harm."

"Naked?" echoed Tabrizia.

"You have to be naked. People don't drown themselves fully clothed. You have to be convincing, or there's no point in the whole exercise! Besides, you'll have your cloak to wrap around you before he reaches you. We'll do it tomorrow, while the tide is out."

"AII right," Tabrizia agreed, "I suppose it's worth a try. I have nothing to lose."

The weather was with them the following afternoon as Alexandria coached Tabrizia in her playacting. "The tide should be well out by now. It's time to get undressed."

Slowly, Tabrizia took off her gown and the black silk stockings and red high-heeled slippers she had bought at the fair. She dawdled by folding them neatly and putting them in a little pile on the end of her bed. "I think I'll keep my petticoat on," said Tabby hesitantly.

"Then think again. Come on, off with it, and your bloomers, too," she insisted.

"I'll keep them on under my cloak, and I'll give them to you as soon as we get down to the sands," promised Tabrizia.

"That means I have to come down with you and climb all the way back. Oh, all right, come on."

When they arrived at the foot of the cliff, Tabrizia bundled up her underclothes and resolutely handed them to Alexandria. She wrapped her cloak around her nakedness very tightly.

"Now remember, the moment our heads appear at the top of the cliff, fling off the cloak and walk dejectedly into the sea."

Alexandria found Paris at last. He was with his cowherd who needed advice on which cattle to ship to market and which to slaughter for the castle’s winter provisions. Alexandria dramatically pulled at her brother's sleeve. Breathless, she cried, "My God, Paris, come quickly before it's too late!"

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