Satan's Mark

Annelise felt as if she had been struck a blow in the face. How could her aunt speak so to her?

‘I did not mean to hurt you…’

Lady Prudence got up and walked from the room without another word. Annelise stood staring after her, her back towards Lady Emily. She turned as she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder.

‘She will think better of her words another day,’ Lady Emily said. ‘Are you ready to leave, Annelise? I hope I may call you that—since we are to be companions for the time being?’

‘My clothes…’

‘You will not need them.’ Lady Emily laughed at her expression of surprise. ‘You cannot want to wear such drab gowns, Annelise? Your mother was a beautiful woman and she liked pretty things. She would not be happy to see you wearing such a plain gown. I shall provide you with something more suitable to your station. You need bring only any personal items you wish to keep…such as a gift from your dear mother or father.’

Annelise nodded. Her memories of her mother had faded, but she did seem to recall her wearing silk gowns in attractive colours, at least until she had been widowed. Annelise too had worn colours when she was a small child; it had only been after her mother died that she had begun wearing black or grey all the time.

‘I do not have anything but this cross and chain I wear beneath my gown,’ Annelise said, showing it to her: it was silver and very plain. ‘If my mother had jewels, I have not seen them. My uncle believes jewellery to be sinful.’

Lady Emily raised her brows but said nothing. Why had the girl not been given her own property? It was possible that the jewellery had been sold during the war, but she doubted it. Lord Woodward had been a wealthy man, and would not have sold his wife’s jewels unless desperate; to her knowledge, he had never been so. It seemed likely they had been sold later or were hidden away somewhere.

‘Well, we shall leave such matters to the Marquis’s discretion,’ she said. ‘Go and put on your cloak, Annelise, and we shall be on our way—unless there is anyone you wish to bid farewell?’

‘No…’ Annelise felt a choking sensation inside. ‘My uncle would not know if I went to him, and…’

Lady Emily took her hand. ‘Try to forget your aunt’s unkindness. She has obviously been under a great strain of late. She will change her mind in time—and, if she does not, you have a new family to take care of you now.’

‘Thank you, ma’am. I am grateful…’

‘Come, let us go,’ Lady Emily said. ‘I see no reason to stay another moment. I shall come to your bedchamber with you. If anyone has something to say to you, they may say it to me. I will not have you made unhappy by these people.’

Annelise did not reply. She was relieved to have been saved from her aunt’s attempt to force her into a marriage she did not want, but she was not ungrateful or unmindful of the care her uncle and aunt had given her. She would have preferred to take a fond leave of them, and was distressed by the tone of Lady Emily’s voice.

Clearly she despised the Featherstones. She was a woman of some influence, and was determined to have her way: Lady Prudence had never stood a chance against her.

Lady Emily had a letter from His Majesty that gave her authority to take Annelise with her, but it might have been more kindly done, in a way that would not have distressed Lady Prudence.

There was nothing to do but to go with Lady Emily. Annelise was distressed that the parting with her aunt had been so harsh, but perhaps Lady Prudence would relent towards her when she had had leisure to consider.

Besides, this lady must know Master Rochefort…but, no, that was not his name. The servant at Longton Hall had called him His Lordship. And he himself had mentioned the Marquis Saintjohn. Yes, they must know each other—and that meant she might see him when she was in London. Lord Rochefort. That must be his title. If he was a friend of her guardian, he would perhaps call on the Marquis’s mother.

Annelise’s heart beat a little faster as she remembered the smile he had given her when he’d told her not to worry. He must have gone to see the Marquis, spoken to him on her behalf. It made Annelise feel warm inside. He wouldn’t have done that unless he liked her, would he?

It was suddenly very important to her that he should like her, though she did not quite know why.

Her thoughts were in chaos, her pulses racing as she collected the few possessions she wanted, then followed Lady Emily downstairs and out to the waiting carriage.

There was no sign of either her aunt or Mr Broughton, but she had not really expected to see them. Her aunt’s kinsman must be mightily offended. Once again, Annelise felt regret for the harsh words that had passed between her and Lady Prudence, but she put them from her mind.

As she was helped into the carriage, with its coat of arms emblazoned on the panels, she could not help feeling a spurt of excitement. She was going to London, to a new life…

‘So, this is my home,’ Lady Emily said as the carriage stopped outside a very large and imposing house on the Strand. ‘The property belongs to my son, of course, but there is sufficient space for us to avoid each other if we choose. He has only recently returned to England and is too busy to bother with my affairs for the moment.’ She led Annelise inside, taking off her hat and handing it to a hovering footman without even glancing his way. ‘I hope you will be happy here, my dear.’

Annelise looked about her. They were in a huge, airy hall, which was bigger than the main parlour at her home, and the floors were made of grey marble tiles with a gold and black border. In the middle of the room was a round table with strange twisted legs, and there were several paintings hanging on the oak-panelled walls, side tables and chairs with padded seats covered in embroidered brocade. She had an impression of luxury, even opulence, and thought that the Marquis Saintjohn must be very rich.

‘I am sure I shall…’ Annelise began. Whatever else she had meant to say died unspoken on her lips as she saw the man walking down the grand stairway towards her. It was Lord Rochefort!

She had never seen him dressed so splendidly; his coat and breeches were fashioned of a pale grey velvet, and in the latest petticoat style favoured by the King, his cuffs were of the finest Brussels lace, as was his falling band. He looked as if he were on his way to Court, but he had not adopted the fashion for wigs and wore his natural hair curled into a lovelock on his shoulder and tied with a scarlet ribbon. She gasped, her heart beginning to race wildly as she stared in wonder.

‘Oh…’

‘Ah, Justin,’ Lady Emily said. ‘I was not sure you would be here when we arrived. You know my son, of course, Annelise.’

‘You are the Marquis Saintjohn?’ Annelise stared up into his brilliant blue eyes, which seemed to mock her slightly. She trembled, her knees seeming to go weak. ‘But I thought…you said your name was Rochefort?’

‘I am Justin Rochefort, the fourth Marquis Saintjohn,’ Justin said with a slight bow. ‘I am delighted to welcome you to my house, Mistress Woodward. Both my mother and I will do our best to see that you are happy here.’

How could she have been so blind? Of course, it had to be him! Why had she not guessed at once? She had thought him a friend of the Marquis, but she had allowed herself to be deceived. Perhaps because she had wanted it so.

‘You are my guardian, sir?’ Annelise felt a coldness at the base of her neck. Her guardian! This changed everything. A crushing disappointment swept over her. ‘You wrote to my uncle—it was your letters which so distressed him.’

She remembered Sir Hugh’s ramblings, when he had spoken of a man who would come to claim her—a man he feared so much it had sent him out of his senses.

‘The mark of Satan is upon us all. But I shall not let it fall on you. No, not if it costs me my life.’

Annelise felt a deep unease as she stared at the Marquis. What did she know of him, or this house to which she had been brought? Why had he not told her he was her guardian before this? He could have done so when she had given him her name that day in the woods—or when she had gone to Longton Hall with the letter. Instead, he had let her believe him plain Master Rochefort—why?

He had been flirting with her in the woods, and then his manner had changed suddenly once her true identity was revealed. Of course he could not seduce his own ward! It would be most improper. As improper as her own thoughts of him had been.

‘I am very sorry if your uncle was distressed by the letters,’ Justin said, his gaze narrowing. Now what was going on in that head of hers? ‘I wished only to discuss your affairs with him, to make certain you were in good health and properly settled. Had he been well enough to continue looking after your estate, I should not have interfered—unless you asked it of me.’

As she had, of course. Annelise was silent. In her heart she knew that it was she who had precipitated the visit from Lady Emily. The Marquis had done what was necessary to prevent her from being persuaded or pushed into a marriage against her will, because she had made him aware of her situation—and yet she was angry with him. She felt guilt because of her uncle’s illness, and some apprehension.

Why had the Marquis’s letters made her uncle so afraid? Why had Sir Hugh talked so wildly of Satan’s mark having fallen upon them?

‘What are you thinking?’ Justin asked. ‘Why do you look at me that way? As if I were some kind of a monster! I thought you wanted this visit with my mother?’

‘Oh, yes,’ Annelise cried, stung by remorse. The journey to London had taken some days, and in that time she had come to like Lady Emily. ‘I am most grateful to you for inviting me, sir—and to Lady Emily, of course.’

‘For goodness’ sake, Justin,’ his mother said. ‘Will you keep Annelise talking for ever in the hall? I dare swear she is exhausted by the journey, as I am, and can do well without one of your scolds. I find them exceedingly wearisome myself, and poor Annelise has been scolded enough already. I mean to see it does not happen now that she is my ward.’

‘Your ward, Mama?’ Justin raised his brows, a faint air of mockery in his manner. ‘Can I have heard you correctly?’

‘Indeed, I think it would be best if you were to give Annelise’s well-being into my hands,’ Lady Emily replied. She smiled affectionately at the girl. ‘We are already friends, and, since you are unmarried, it is more fitting that I should have charge of her. Besides, you are too busy to bother with all our little fancies, are you not? You may safely leave the matter of her wardrobe and education with me.’

‘It is fitting that you should chaperon Miss Woodward,’ Justin replied. ‘But you will defer to me in all matters of business, if you please, Mama.’

‘But of course.’ Lady Emily breezed past him, propelling Annelise before her. ‘As head of the family, you must always be consulted in any matter of importance, but I shall not trouble you with inconsequential trifles.’

Annelise saw Justin’s frown of disapproval as she was driven upstairs by his mother. It was clear that Lady Emily was accustomed to having her own way—and that she meant to take Annelise under her wing.

‘You must not let my son intimidate you,’ Lady Emily said, giving her a look of pure mischief as they walked along the upper gallery. ‘You have been taught to obey without question, Annelise, but now you must learn to assert yourself. You must learn the power of your sex, the art of getting your own way with the least fuss. Men are after all but simple creatures—but they like to imagine themselves our masters. The secret of a good marriage is to let your husband believe you agree with his every word, while going your own merry way.’

Annelise stared at her. For a moment she was so shocked that she did not know whether or not her hostess spoke in jest, then she realised that beneath the teasing manner lay a will of iron.

‘My aunt would think it sinful to deceive her husband, ma’am.’

‘Your aunt is no doubt a worthy woman, but she is also a fool,’ replied Lady Emily. ‘She would be lost at Court. You are a beauty, Annelise. You have intelligence and an inheritance, which, though perhaps not huge, is still of some significance. If you would make the most of yourself, of your life, you must learn how to use your womanly arts to your own advantage. After all, why should you not? It is merely a game. You have a right to happiness. I can teach you how to play the game—unless the idea offends you?’

‘No, it does not offend me.’ Annelise laughed suddenly, a warm, husky laugh that surprised the older woman. She gave Lady Emily a naughty, enchanting look that only her mother might have recognised—a look first seen in her crib that had been missing for many a year. ‘No, ma’am, I think I should like to learn all you have to teach me.’

Lady Emily nodded, a speculative expression in her eyes. It was as she had thought when she first saw Annelise. Beneath the veneer of modesty lay a very different personality—a warmth and charm that might win the coldest heart.

She believed this young woman might just be the answer to her prayers.

Chapter Three

‘La, what a pretty thing she is!’ Lady Emily clapped her in delight as Annelise pirouetted for her benefit. ‘You will be the most beautiful lady at Court this evening, my dear.’

Annelise’s gown was fashioned in the elaborate French style which had become popular since His Majesty’s return, with a close-fitting laced bodice and a décolletage that skimmed her breasts and shoulders; the sleeves reached to her elbows, were full and banded with lace and ribbons; the trained overskirt was hitched back to reveal a heavily embroidered panel at the front. Her hair had been parted in the centre, caught in a chignon at the back and allowed to fall in bunches of ringlets to either side. Small knots of ribbon threaded with pearls had been pinned above the curls.

Annelise glanced at herself in the mirror, which was Venetian and fabulously expensive, just like her clothes. A part of her—the modest, unassuming lady that she still was by nature—was shocked by what she saw. That woman in the elegant silk gown could not possibly be her! And yet it was pleasing to be dressed so fine. She was aware of excitement, of a sense of expectation.

A knock at the door caused both Annelise and Lady Emily to turn their heads. They were standing in the small chamber which led through to Annelise’s bedroom; it was furnished with a writing table, a handsome cabinet, stools and a settle so that guests might be received privately, something Annelise had found strange at first, but had now discovered was favoured by many of the fine ladies she had met since coming to town. After the French fashion, friends, privileged tradesmen, wig-makers and suitors were all invited to a lady’s boudoir to watch and admire as the finishing touches were put to her toilette. The practice had astounded Annelise, who had found it shocking at first, but after four weeks, during which she had been taken to meet many of Lady Emily’s friends, she had lost many of her former inhibitions.

‘Enter,’ she called, unsurprised when the Marquis walked in. It was not the first time he had come to her boudoir, though she had not seen a great deal of him these past few weeks, because his time was much occupied by constant visits to the courtroom in which he was suing for the return of his father’s estate. ‘You are home, then, sir. I vow we had begun to think you had forgotten this evening is to be my debut at Court. Is that not so, ma’am?’

She tipped back her head, her eyes bright with mischief as she gave him what could only be called a provocative smile, then sank into a very deep and reverent curtsey, her head bent as if she curtsied to the King himself.

‘Did you think I would break my promise?’ Justin’s brows rose as he saw her and was struck by the change, not only in her appearance but her manner. She was enchanting! His mother had worked a miracle. He could hardly believe that this confident lady of fashion was the little Puritan maid he had seen singing in the woods only a few weeks earlier. ‘You look very well, Mistress Woodward.’

‘She looks well! Fie on you, Justin,’ his mother cried, tapping his arm with her fan. ‘Have you no better compliments for Annelise? She is ravishingly lovely in that gown—and, I dare swear, will cause quite a stir this evening.’

‘Annelise has always been beautiful,’ Justin replied, frowning slightly. His frown was for himself. For some unaccountable reason he was uneasy. Who was this beautiful young woman? Where had she come from? ‘I am sure Mistress Woodward will acquit herself with the proper modesty due to her unmarried status.’ He handed Annelise a velvet-covered box. ‘You need some kind of ornament. I hope this will be to your taste.’

Annelise gave a little cry of pleasure as she opened the box and discovered a necklace of pearls with a large emerald pendant set in gold. She had never seen anything quite as lovely.

‘Oh, this is wonderful,’ she cried, her face lighting up as she looked at him. ‘May I really wear this?’

‘It is for you,’ he said, and his mouth softened into a smile as he saw her delight in the necklace. For a moment he had thought her the sophisticated lady of fashion she looked, but underneath she was still the innocent girl who had been dancing in the woods when he had come upon her all unawares. ‘My gift to mark this special evening.’

‘Thank you…’ Annelise hesitated as she saw the way he was looking at her. What did it mean, and why had her heart started to race? ‘You and Lady Emily have been so kind to me.’

‘Nonsense, my dear,’ her hostess said. ‘You have been a delight to teach.’ Lady Emily gave her son a sly glance, noticing his intense gaze, which was all for Annelise. ‘Are you not pleased with my efforts, Justin? Do you not think she has learned her lessons well?’

‘I did not doubt she would,’ he replied. ‘Come, Miss Woodward, let me fasten the necklace for you.’

Annelise stood where she was as he came towards her, then gave him the necklace and turned her back so that he could fasten the clasp at the nape of her neck. His hand brushed her bare shoulder, sending a shiver down her spine. She glanced round at him, fluttering her lashes in the way Lady Emily had taught her, and smiled.

She was a minx! His mother had taught her too well, Justin thought as he saw that look. What a charmer she was. No French courtesan could have done better!

‘We should go,’ he said, refusing to respond to the invitation in her eyes. Damn it! He hadn’t expected such a change so quickly; he wasn’t sure how it had come about. One moment she had been the nervous, slightly reserved girl he had first met; the next she appeared to have turned into an accomplished flirt. What had been going on while he was tied up at the Court of Appeals?

He saw his frown had brought a look of dismay to her face, and remembered that this transformation was only on the surface. His mother had taught her to flirt prettily, but the girl herself was not changed. Yet something stopped him reassuring her at once. He must remember always that she was under his protection and keep a distance between them.

‘I do not want to be late. The hearing seems to drag on for ever. I must speak to His Majesty this evening, see what can be done to hurry things along.’ He spoke more harshly than he knew, his mind too wrapped up in his own concerns to realise that his words might be taken amiss.

Annelise heard the coldness in his voice and felt hurt. She had tried so hard to be what he wanted. Lady Emily had told her about the beautiful ladies he had known in France, his mistresses who were amongst the cream of the courtiers and much envied him by other men—and she so wanted to be like them, because then he might find her attractive. His manner told her that he was indifferent to her. Despite all her efforts to ape the manners of Lady Emily’s friends, she was still only a country girl at heart.

If she wanted to make the Marquis look at her with interest, she would just have to become like the sophisticated ladies his mother said he admired.

‘Take no notice of him,’ Lady Emily whispered at her shoulder as they followed Justin outside to where two sedan chairs were waiting to carry them to the palace. ‘He has been in a mood of late. I do not know what ails him. It hardly matters whether he regains his father’s estates, he has money enough—but it is always so with him. He will have his way, no matter the cost.’

Annelise made no reply. She waited until Lady Emily was settled in her chair, then gave her hand to Justin. He nodded to her, then carried her hand to his lips, kissing it briefly.

‘My mother is right,’ he said softly, relenting because of the hurt in her eyes. ‘I have no doubt that you will cause a stir this evening—but choose your victims wisely, Annelise. His Majesty frowns on duels amongst his courtiers. If you must break hearts, make sure the gentlemen are first your friends.’

‘Are you my friend, sir?’ Annelise glanced up at him wickedly.

‘I am your guardian. You will gain nothing by flirting with me. You should look for a suitable husband.’ Once again he was conscious of the need to keep his distance—for her sake.

‘Yes, my lord, I shall do as you bid me,’ she said, a glint in her eyes. ‘But you would not wish me to marry in haste? You would not seek to force me into taking a husband I could not like?’

‘Of course not.’ What was wrong with him that evening? Justin wondered at his own harshness. The girl was entitled to her pleasures. ‘I meant only that this is your first time at Court. No doubt my mother has warned you of the dangers. I need not say more.’

‘No, sir, you need not.’

Annelise drew the curtain on her chair, shutting herself in as the chairmen began to carry her through the streets. The Marquis was walking beside her and there was a footman following behind, armed with a stout cudgel. It was necessary to be on one’s guard, for there were beggars and vagrants waiting in dark corners to spring on the unwary and rob them of their valuables.

London could be a dangerous place, both on the streets and at Court. Some of the men who had judged King Charles I had already been seized and tried for their crimes, and others less guilty of treason had also been punished for the part they had played after the war. In the country there were murmurs of dissent, and at the Court itself the various factions were at each other’s throats.

Annelise’s uncle had spoken of the Court as a wicked, licentious place, where the King set a bad example to his followers by his immoral behaviour. He had his mistresses, amongst them the beautiful Barbara Villiers, whose husband, Lord Castlemaine, was forced to accept the horns of a cuckold in return for favours given by his Sovereign.

Annelise was well aware that she must be careful of her reputation if she wished for a good marriage.

‘Once you are married, you may do as you wish,’ Lady Emily had told her with a wicked look. ‘Providing you know how to manage your husband, of course. Naturally, you will not take lovers until you have given him an heir…though at Court, I dare swear, there are a good many husbands who hardly know whether their sons are their own or another’s.’ She had laughed, as if much amused at the idea. ‘And it serves some of them right!’

If the ladies of the Court could flirt as they pleased, then so could she, Annelise decided. The Marquis was her guardian, but there was surely no need for him to be so strict with her—he was almost as bad as her uncle had been. She would ignore him, as Lady Emily had told her. This was to be a special evening, and she meant to enjoy herself, despite the little ache in her heart his harsh manner had caused.

Annelise was nervous as she went forward with Lady Emily to be presented to His Majesty. At first sight he looked ugly, with his long face, dark complexion and sad spaniel eyes, but as she rose from her curtsey and looked up into his eyes she saw they were not really melancholy at all. He smiled at her, a hint of mischief in his manner as he welcomed her to Court.