Moonstruck Madness (10 page)

Will nodded agreement worried indecision still evident on his face.

"I must go, but I'd like to see John first," Sabrina told Mrs. Taylor who'd just returned to the kitchen. Sabrina put the fat kitten on the floor where it scampered off quickly to a basket near the fire and curled up again to fall immediately to sleep.

John was propped up in a large feather bed, dwarfing the four posts that surrounded him. A quilted coverlet was pulled up over his nightshirt and he was staring moodily out of the casement window, his mug of coffee in one hand, when Sabrina and Mrs. Taylor, followed by Will, entered.

"Charlie!" John exclaimed happily, then turned a bright red and sunk deeper beneath the quilt in embarrassment. "This is no place for a lady. Mam, you shouldn't have brought her in here," he complained.

"Now when has anyone been able to tell the Lady Sabrina what to do? She does as she pleases, as it should be," she berated the flustered John. "Be glad she even thought of a big turnip-head like you."

"How are you feeling, John?" Sabrina inquired sincerely, perching on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, fine, Charlie, just fine. Be up now if Mam would let me," he reassured her.

"I brought you some playing cards, and Mary made you some gooseberry tarts, knowing you've a sweet tooth." Sabrina dug into the basket she'd brought into the bedroom with her and placed next to her on the bed.

John grinned sheepishly, his hazel eyes full of pleasure. "Well now, that's real kind of you, Charlie. And you thank the Lady Mary for her kindness, too," he added shyly, confirming Sabrina's suspicion that he secretly admired Mary.

"I will, John, and I know she'll be pleased to hear you're doing so much better. Now, I must be off." Sabrina gave Will a beckoning glance and left the room with him behind her.

"Meet me in the orchard about nine. We don't want to arrive too early. We'll let the play get underway so the gentlemen will be well into their spirits and less inclined to heroics," Sabrina directed, then added with a speculative look in her eyes, "although I almost wish our scar-faced friend would try something. With little or no provocation I would run him through."

Will shook his curly head in defeat. "I'll be there, but it seems a warning to me, with John
laid
up with a wound, and there being a full moon tonight and that gent that shot John being the one we're going to rob again. It adds up to trouble, if you
asks
me."

Sabrina's mouth tightened ominously as she stood before the large man, her head only reaching the middle of his chest, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "I didn't know Will Taylor was a coward and frightened of his own shadow."

Will's face burned red and his hands automatically doubled into fists as he controlled his temper.

"Listen, Will," Sabrina cajoled, placing her small hand on Will's big, muscular forearm. "Mary would've said something if there was danger. You know she has the gift. She'd have felt something, and yet she's said nothing so far. Now don't worry." She patted the still rigid muscles of his arm and added truthfully, "You know I'd not have another with me. I've complete trust and faith in you and your courage, Will. Forgive me?"

Sabrina smiled up into his broad face that still mirrored the hurt she'd inflicted to his pride. He suddenly grinned sheepishly.

"Sure, Charlie.
I can't be mad at you, even though I know I shouldn't listen to you."

Sabrina's smile deepened as she turned happily away, waving to Mrs. Taylor, who stood watching from the bedroom window. Climbing back into the gaily painted cart, she urged the horse down the path and onto the road that cut through the small village. The horse trotted along pulling the yellow-wheeled cart across the stone bridge that spanned the river as it meandered through the village. The brick and oak walls of the old mill towered over the bridge while the huge mill wheel turned noisily. Entering the village with its cobbled streets Sabrina drove slowly past the high-roofed, half-timbered houses and flower gardens, cheerful sunflowers standing tall above the rest as they nodded somnolently in the afternoon heat. She left the main road of the village before entering the busy marketplace and the tavern opposite that would be busily serving thirsty customers. She could see
the
tall tower of the church rising into
the
blue sky above the town until it was blocked out by the shade from the overhanging boughs of chestnuts and elms bordering the road. In the distance, red bullocks grazed peacefully in green meadows of yellow cowslips and droopy-headed bluebells.

A lazy afternoon, Sabrina thought idly as the cart jogged along the dusty road, the horse automatically turning up the narrow, twisting road that led to Verrick House. But before leaving the main road, Sabrina's breath caught sharply as she recognized a troop of patrolling dragoons further down the road. Her gloved hands tightened unconsciously on the reins as she controlled the impulse to whip the horse into a gallop and send him out of reach of the King's men. She forced herself to loosen her grip and keep the horse trotting at a steady, even pace. Glancing curiously from beneath the wide brim of her hat, Sabrina watched the troop gallop past on the road, not recognizing the officer who rode ahead, one of the new ones brought in to capture her, she thought in amusement. He wouldn't be riding so proudly in the saddle after the many fruitless chases she would lead him on, she thought and breathed a sigh of relief as they rounded a bend and were hidden from sight.

Nearing Verrick House the road narrowed and was bordered by oleanders and cherry laurel hedges. Guiding the cart along the drive she slowed as she entered the stable yard and an ostler came running forward to assist her. She entered the hall, and removing her bonnet climbed the stairs, her thoughts centered on this evening's activities. She would talk with Mary first, just to reassure herself; not that she herself was really worried about this evening.

She found Mary in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed, a faraway look in her light gray eyes. Sabrina sat down beside her, taking one of her cold hands between her own and squeezing it softly.

"Mary," she whispered. "Mary, it's me, Sabrina." She looked into Mary's eyes, trying to see what she was gazing at, but they stared through her, seeing something beyond the room. "Mary?"

Mary's fingers gripped Sabrina's hands and she shivered, her eyes closing as she breathed a deep sigh. Sabrina

waited
patiently, knowing it would be a moment before Mary regained her composure.

Mary's eyes opened slowly and she turned her head and smiled at Sabrina.

"You knew, didn't you?" Sabrina asked.

"Yes, I felt your questions and your doubts before I think even you did," she replied softly, the trance still holding her in its spell. "I have never felt quite this strange before."

"What did you see?" Sabrina asked anxiously.

"I saw a strange house, and a stranger."

Sabrina gripped her hands together as she asked, "What did this stranger look like?"

Mary frowned. "At first he frightened me, you see; he had a scar across his cheek, and I felt very nervous and uneasy."

Sabrina stared down at her hands in her lap, nervously chewing her lower lip as she listened to Mary's startling information—for she had never spoken of the scar-faced man before.

"I'm worried about this man, and yet I don't feel the same cold, desolate ache that I did when Grandfather died." Mary laughed nervously. "I know it sounds insane and doesn't really make much sense, but what is going to happen, I feel, is inevitable." She looked to Sabrina for understanding.

Sabrina returned her stare gravely, nodding her head in acceptance. "Well, as long as you don't see me hanging from the gibbet, then all is well, because I shall be facing that scar-faced man this evening," she confessed reluctantly, "and unless he puts up one hell of a fight, then you can look for me around dawn."

"So there really is a scar-faced man," Mary breathed in awe.

"It's not really a disfiguring scar," Sabrina explained, "it just makes him look rakish, and he has a disposition to match. He's the one who fired at John."

The worried look returned to Mary's face. "I wish I felt certain about this. How can I allow you to go riding off into danger, danger I know exists, and yet I can't really warn you against anything specific," she cried in disgust "Everything is so vague. I always see just enough to tantalize me, but never enough to do any good."

"Yes, you do, Mary," Sabrina replied. "Remember when you warned us of the dragoons waiting on the hillside to ambush us? And the time Richard was lost and you knew exactly where to find him? Oh, Mary, you've been right so many times, don't despair now, just because you can't tell me everything."

"But why do I see this scar-faced man? Who is he? And why is he important to us? He's always there, Sabrina.
I
hadn't told you earlier, but I've seen him before—in other dreams," Mary confessed. "But it doesn't make sense. Is he an enemy, or not?"

"Of course he is. What else could he be?" Sabrina demanded. "But he won't be troubling us further after tonight"

Mary clasped her hands together tightly. "I hate it!
I
hate having the gift," she said tearfully. "I'm cursed.
I
want to be normal, Rina. I don't want to be different," Mary sobbed. "I think sometimes I'm a witch. Why do you love me? Why do you care about me? I only see evil."

"Don't Mary. You're not evil. What you have is God-given. It has to be," Sabrina said persuasively, putting her arm around Mary's shaking shoulders.

"Don't you remember the English ship you warned us of? The French captain still must say prayers to you for saving his skin. And remember the night you warned Will and John and me not to go on the highroad, and the next day two highwaymen who'd been caught by a patrol of dragoons that night were seen hanging from the gibbets. Your gift is good, Mary," Sabrina coaxed. "Now dry your tears and give me a smile. I'm tired of long faces about me. What with Will's woebegone faces, I'm out of all patience with the lot of you."

Mary gave her a watery smile and got to her feet, smoothing down her skirts. "You're right, Rina. I've been acting like a wretch these last few days, but everything will be all right. It has to be."

Sabrina smiled in satisfaction. "I know it will. Have
I
failed yet? We've many more profitable years yet to come, you wait and see."

Sabrina shook off her uneasiness as she and Will left their familiar countryside of valleys and woodlands, and through the dark of night under a full, yellow moon riding high in the sky they traveled across a desolate expanse of wild heath, then a forest of dense, black fir trees. Gradually the whole atmosphere of the land began to change into a nightmarish quality. The stone villages surrounded by their high, thick, medieval walls had a fortressed look to them. The fields and lanes were a mazework of stone walls and fences that would impede a quick and facile escape. In the distance they could see dim silhouettes of the massive chimneys of isolated houses and groves of twisted elder and crab tree blown grotesquely out of shape by the winds dotted the hillsides.

"I don't like it at all," Will spoke softly, his voice sounding like a clap of thunder in Sabrina's ears.

She looked at his big bulk in the dark, its familiarity comforting her nervousness as her horse shied at a scuffling noise from the hidden underbrush.

"It's too late now," Sabrina answered as she saw the triple chimneys of the house ahead. The gossiping servant had mentioned its odd appearance and the avenue of sycamores lining the drive when he'd been drinking in the tavern.

"It seems too quiet." Will frowned as he tried to see into the darkness enveloping the grounds.

"It appears normal to me. See, there are lights coming from those windows, and anyway it's not a full household. It's just a small party, and they're still in the process of moving in," Sabrina reasoned aloud. "It's in our favor, Will.
He and his friends, and a couple of servants.
Mere child's play, eh, Will?"

They made their way closer to the house, moving silently into the shadows, and, tethering their horses, crept close. Sabrina examined the house thoughtfully before whispering to Will, "You go to the window and stand ready to step in when I call. I'll slip around the side. I saw a window above, partially open, and I'll climb up the trellis and come down from upstairs. This way we'll have them between us. This window is locked, so you'll have to break it."