Jane Feather - Charade by Unknown (howl and other poems .TXT) 📕

he interrupted in glacial tones. "Ihave said once today that your wishes are no longer of the slightestinterest to me. All that concerns me is your obedience and I give

youfair warning that I shall compel it in whatever manner is necessary.You are reckless, foolhardy, stubborn, and abominably spoiled. I bearconsiderable blame for the latter, but it is not, I hope, too late

torectify my mistake."

"You cannot talk to me in that manner!" Danielle broke out, angerreplacing her earlier despairing hopelessness. "I had no choice but todo what I did. Would you have had me leave the child in that hellhole?You saw what they had done to her in the space of a few hours. Godalone knows what would have happened next. And as to my breaking myword, I did so only in the most precise sense. I did all I could tofind you in the time available; I left you a message telling youexactly what I was doing; I was attended by your coachman. There was nosecrecy and no deception and I will not stand to hear you accuse me ofbehavingdishonorably."

Justin looked down at her, the pale cheeks flushed with outrage, thebrown eyes huge with indignation. "There is logic in what you say, butthe fact remains that I trusted you not to break a promise and you did.Whatever reasons you may have had for doing so, I do not consider themto be sufficient."

"Have you

no

compassion?" shethrew at him. "How can you stand theretalking self-righteously about promises when a child's life was atstake?"

"And did you once consider the life of

our

child when you rushed to therescue?" he gritted, white now with the resurgence of his anger.

"It would have made no difference had I done so." Her voice was low."It was a question of priorities

and necessary risks. I am sorry if wedo not agree on priorities and necessary risks but I shall continue

todo what I consider right."

Justin wanted to shake her, shake her until those pearly teeth rattledand the defiance left her eyes, never to return. He took a step towardher, seizing her arms. Danielle winced as his fingers bit deep into adeep bruise, but she met his gaze without flinching and with ashuddering breath he released her. "You may thank your stars for yourpregnancy, madam. It is the only thing restraining me at the moment."He gave her a mocking bow and left the room, desperate to get away fromthe maddening creature before he finally lost control.

Danielle did not sleep at all that night. Her bruises throbbed and herlimbs ached, but the drugged sleep of the afternoon had done its worktoo well and she felt no fatigue. The scene with her husband went roundand round in her fevered brain and she could pluck no straws of hopefrom anything that had been said. They were at total impasse and if sherefused to yield Justin would force her to do so. If he did that, thenthere was no possibility of regaining their old footing. Danielle knewwith absolute certainty that she could endure no relationship where shemust be subservient, must obey the dictates of a master whether sheconsidered them reasonable or not. But she loved her husband with everyfiber of her being and knew that he loved her in the same way. So whatwas to be done?

At dawn she fell into a fitful sleep haunted by faces laughing inderision through blackened stumps; long talops that became the claws ofa menacing flock of giant crows reached to tear her as she struggled torun on feet of cement. An enormous figure that she knew was Justinswept her up as she fell beneath her pursuers, but when she clung,sobbing with relief, she saw that he had no face.

The wracking sobs reached Justin next door as he lay staring into theearly morning light, his thoughts, had he known it, identical toDanielle's. With a muttered exclamation he hurtled from the room andgazed in horror at the sweat-soaked figure writhing in the twistedsheets, tears coursing down her cheeks from beneath the closed eyes.

"Danny, wake up." He touched her shoulder urgently and her limbsflailed in unconscious panic catching him a glancing blow on the chin."Danny!"

Her eyes shot open and she stared at him in total lack of recognitionthat he found more frightening than anything else. Swiftly, hedisentangled her from the sheets and scooped her into his arms, sittingon the bed to rock her with soft nonsense words until the shuddersceased.

"You didn't have a face," she moaned. "It wasn't there. It was you butit wasn't—just a horrible white shapeless blank."

"Hush, now," he crooned, placing her hand on his cheek. "I have a face,my love. You can feel it and

see it. It was just a nightmare."

She lay quietly in his arms then, as reality reasserted itself and thedream made sense and so lost its terror. "What are we to do, Justin? Iunderstand that you were angry and ... and frightened at what couldhave happened, and I did react without proper thought, although even ifI had thought I would still have taken the same action. But I shall notbe able to bear it if you make a prisoner of me and nothing will everbe right between us again."

"But how am I ever to have a moment's peace?" he asked, stroking thedamp curls from her brow. "You will follow no course but your own andthat is a course I can never predict. For the child's sake, Danny,

I

must

remove you fromtemptation. There is no need for us to bemiserable at Danesbury and surely

the prospect of my exclusive companyis not toodistasteful." He offered a teasing smile but Danielle

did not respond.

"You do not understand what I am saying. You are right in saying that Iwill follow my own course, but that is because I

must

. I am not yourpossession, Justin; I belong only to myself. I love you with all myheart