Page 98 of Her Dark Seduction
Chapter 28
For the next five days and nights I remained in the chamber and received greater care and attention from Lady Adelia and her maidservants than I had experienced since Maman’s death. I found myself almost completely unable to move or speak. Initially I was afraid I had been poisoned, but Adelia explained my body had merely yielded to the exertions and horrors of the past months. Unable to sit unaided or move without pain, I had no choice but to trust her.
The first time I woke after a drug-induced, but peaceful sleep, my senses came to life at the aroma of herbs and spices and the sound of splashing water. Adelia bathed me personally. She rinsed and combed my matted, lice-ridden hair which someone had hacked short while I had lain unconscious. Though the lady of the estate would often bathe her male guests, women were not usually afforded such honor. She silenced my thanks with a smile and a gentle hand on my forehead, issuing instructions to her maidservants in a low voice while she dressed my wounds.
My worst injuries were the burns on my legs and feet, which she treated with an ointment not unlike the calendula salve I had made at Mortlock. My arm, though sore, was healing well. The swelling around my broken nose subsided, and I could breathe freely again. The marks from de Tourrard’s beating were fading, but the maidservants could not contain their cries at the bruises and welts on my body when they first undressed me to lower me into the bathtub.
Adelia fed me personally, offering up a light broth, spoon by spoon, while I lay, exhausted, on the bed. She had a natural maternal instinct and knew even before I did when I’d eaten enough for my weakened stomach to handle. She gave me a little more each day as my appetite increased.
On the morning of the sixth day I woke feeling much stronger. With Adelia’s help I climbed out of the bed and sat at a table in the chamber to break my fast. She had brought a more substantial meal and smiled with encouragement at my efforts to eat unaided.
“You are recovering well, child. My husband is most anxious to see you better.”
I thanked her and took another bite of the stew. She watched me closely until I finished eating.
She placed a hand on my bandaged arm. “How did you come by such extensive injuries? I have never seen my maidservants so distressed. I understand the burns, but not the other injuries, the broken bones and the bruises. What happened to you?”
Unwilling to trust anyone, I remained silent, but she persisted.
“Rest assured you are safe here, my dear. It must be difficult for you to place your trust in others, but we mean you no harm. You committed no sin that I know of.”
I shook my head. “You’re mistaken. I have committed adultery and murder.”
“Tell me about the man you killed.”
I told her about de Tourrard, and the poison I had made for myself. I expected her to recoil in horror but she did not.
“What of the adultery?” she asked. “How did you fall into de Tourrard’s hands?”
“I had no choice,” I sighed. “I could not help what happened to me, nor the direction in which my heart travelled.”
“Tell me, my dear. Tell me all that you have done and all that has happened to you.”
I shook my head. “I cannot.”
She sighed and her voice grew stern. “You must understand, Lisetta. The daughter, widow, and—betrothed—of three renowned traitors, will not be judged with friendly eyes or ears by those loyal to the king. My husband risks much in giving you his protection. He asks for nothing in return but your honesty.”
I bit my lip, knowing I could not escape the truth. Eventually I would have to relate my history, either to Adelia or to her husband. Rather than subject me to his form of interrogation, De Beauvane must have decided that a siege at softer hands would breach my defenses more readily. I flinched, recalling his iron grip on me. My resolve crumbled at the memory of his strong voice, his hard eyes and stern demeanor. He may not be an evil man like de Tourrard, yet I still feared him. My fate lay in his hands.
With nothing left to lose, I told Adelia my story, beginning with the day I arrived at Mortlock, a hopeful young bride, to the day I was brought to execution, an adulteress and murderess, twice widowed, who had given away one child and miscarried another.
I kept my eyes cast down as I spoke, afraid her silence indicated revulsion and hatred. When finished, I clasped my hands, trembling with the effort to maintain an even voice. My body shook to suppress the sobs when I spoke of Vane and Geoffrey. She pulled my hands apart, tutting at the imprints of my fingernails on my palms. I bit my lip, focusing on the sharp pain, seeking comfort in it while I waited for her judgement and condemnation.
I flinched at a movement near my face but felt nothing except a light caress as if a feather brushed my cheek. Adelia ran a light finger down my face, following the line of the tears I had not realized I was shedding.
My calm demeanor shattered as soft, loving arms enveloped me. Once again, the wall I had built up against my emotions was destroyed by kindness. I reached out to the woman holding me in her arms and let out an inhuman wail. My heart burst with desolation at what I’d endured and all I had lost. I cried for Maman while she rocked me back and forth, singing softly to me as if I were a fevered child.
“Shhh, ma petite,Maman est avec vous.”
She held me as I grew quiet, comforting me like her own daughter, until three loud knocks on the door made us both jump.
Adelia smoothed my hair with her hands and whispered, “Courage, child,” before calling out. The door opened and de Beauvane entered.
An imposing figure in a chain mailhauberk, he was even more intimidating dressed in finery—soft calfskin boots, a tunic of dark blue velvet, embroidered in gold. His broad shoulders all but filled the doorway. When I lifted my eyes to his face, he was looking directly at me. His arm muscles rippled as he beckoned to his wife, never once taking his unsmiling eyes off me.
“Leave us, wife.” His voice, though quiet, carried across the room and Adelia immediately stood. Afraid, I reached out to her, and she took my hand.
“Now, Adelia. I will not ask again.”
