Читать книгу The Bird has got wings - Анна Морион - Страница 5

– What's that? – Anthony asked. Though he spoke softly, the tone of his voice was insistent.

Vivian chuckled bitterly, pulled herself free from her cousin's grasp, and hastened to cover her neck with the palm of her hand, but it did little good.

– It is my payment for my wealth," she said in a perfectly calm tone, but she was anxious to hide the bruises under the light scarf which she now wore every day and only took off when she was in her chambers.

Her cousin's sudden visit had taken her by surprise, and she was terribly sorry that he had seen the marks of her humiliation left on her soft skin by Jeremy. She wasn't looking for self-pity, nor did she want to justify herself to Anthony. Accepting Jeremy Wington's proposal had been her conscious choice, even though she'd heard what gossip there was about him in society. Knew and became his wife. Voluntarily. For money and status.

Jeremy had brought Vivian both money and status, but had taken Life itself from her. But that was her secret, which she guarded like a bird protects its nest.

– I thought I could change him, but I was wrong," Vivian said to her cousin, wrapping a soft silk scarf around her neck. – That's all. I'm sorry you saw me like this.

– What is he doing to you? – Anthony asked in a fierce tone, rage boiling up in his soul. – Does he beat you?

– Beats me? God forbid, Anthony, what do you take me for? Would I let him hit me? – Vivian rolled her eyes playfully. She picked up a woollen shawl from the bed and wrapped herself in it: her wrists were now safely hidden from view.

Vivian played the part of an indifferent stone. She was not, alas, a rock, but a beautiful rose in a greenhouse that was too hot for her. And though this rose had thorns, the owner of the greenhouse had managed to blunt them and scorch the bright delicate petals of his precious flower. But Vivian was too proud to complain about the mental and physical suffering, and to question her own choices.

"I will open his eyes to the fact that his love brings me only suffering," thought the girl every time, when, having quenched his passion, Jeremy turned away from her and fell asleep, and she lay on her back and cried silently. – Perhaps he doesn't realise that there is nothing in common between me and the whores he partied with before we were married. Tomorrow, when he wakes up, I'll tell him that. I'll be sure to tell him that."

The days flew by, and Vivian never found the strength to carry out her plan, but instead kept getting up early in the morning to close herself in the library and go into deep, unfulfilling thoughts.

Fortunately, since the unfortunate hunt on which Jeremy had ordered his wife to bring him a dead fox, he no longer insisted that Vivian accompany him when he wished to spend the day hunting. And these hours were manna from heaven to the girl, which, alas, passed and plunged her again into the horror of the marital bed and the strong, painful fingers clutching her neck and wrists and the demanding hard lips.

– Not beatings, but bruises on your body, my dear cousin," Anthony said coldly. His good humour was gone.

– Come on," Vivian said. – He's just a naughty boy who sometimes plays too much with his favourite toy.

– Does he think you're his toy? Or is it you who assures yourself of that? – Anthony smiled wryly.

– Please, don't start a scandal. I just expressed myself wrongly," the girl replied in a bored tone. She came up to her cousin and, taking him under her elbow, looked into his eyes and smiled softly: "But let's go for a walk in the garden. I'm sure you have many interesting questions for me, don't you?

– Exactly. And one of them is: "Why are your arms and neck full of bruises? Is Jeremy hurting you? Let me talk to him man to man," Anthony said in a softer tone.

My dear brave knight, I assure you that those unpleasant-looking blue marks on my skin are the marks of marital passion," Vivian whispered in her cousin's ear, and laughed when she saw how crimson his face had become.

– Well, in that case, I will not insist on my interference," he said quietly after a pause.

The cousins left the chambers and walked slowly down the long corridor.

– But tell me, why have you forgotten your best friend? – young Cranford asked, remembering Charlotte's letter.

– Did she write to you? – Mrs. Wington replied in a faint voice. – What exactly did she tell you?

– That you have not seen her for two months, that she misses you, but that without realising it, or perhaps even on purpose, you are pushing her away from you.

– No, no, she's wrong… I miss her too… Anthony, you have no idea how much I miss my funny, kind Charlotte," Vivian sighed, but, anticipating more questions from him, continued: – But the last few months have been unbearable, with migraines following me almost every day! And this unnecessary cold I don't need? And the heat? I could not leave the house except to go into the garden, let alone visit Charlotte.

– She was ready to come to you herself," Anthony said, completely unsatisfied with his cousin's story.

– But how would I have accepted her when the only thing that saved me was my bed and wet towels? – shrugged her shoulders. – What would poor Charlotte think if she saw what you saw? I'll tell you, she would have been mistaken in believing that I had married a tyrant.

– Are you so afraid that you cannot convince her otherwise that you hide from her like a hen in her henhouse? – grinned young Cranford.

– What a flattering comparison! – Vivian giggled playfully. – By the way, have you heard that Lady Marlborough's daughter Alexandra is now engaged to a German nobleman? All London is talking about it!

– Don't try to confuse me," Anthony said grimly, and cringed at the thought that the other Alexandra, his sister-in-law Agnes's sister, must have been in Devry by now, wondering why the man she had been promised to meet, or even betrothed to, had disappeared.

– I'm not trying to confuse you, Anthony, I'm just giving you the latest news," her cousin said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Vivian didn't like the fact that he'd guessed her intention to divert the conversation.

– Well, I apologise. But how are you feeling now, with the wind playing outside and the November chill? – Anthony smiled conciliatingly.

– Today? Fairly good.

– Fine. Then we're going to Lillehus.

This announcement so astonished the landlady that she immediately stopped and looked at her cousin with a stunned, disbelieving gaze.

– To Lillehus! – she exclaimed. – For Charlotte to see me like this?

– You forget that it is autumn, my dear, and no one would be surprised to see you in a long-sleeved dress. You can hide your neck under a scarf, as you are now," Anthony said in a firm tone, and led her back to her chambers.

– But what will Jeremy say when he comes home from hunting and doesn't find me at home? – The girl asked worriedly. She was desperate to see her friend, but she was afraid that her husband would be angry at her uncoordinated action.

– We'll leave a note for him. I'll tell him I've taken you to your best friend's house. Call the maid and change your dress," Anthony replied.

– 'But, what if he gets the wrong idea? What if he doesn't believe it?

– He knows my handwriting very well. Besides, your butler has seen me here more than once and will be able to confirm that it was your cousin who took you from the house.

– But…

– No buts. Your friend needs you and would be over the moon to see you tonight.

Anthony's voice was so firm that Vivian believed him, and her soul was filled with joy: she was going to Charlotte! At last! Anthony, her knight, would take her away from the dragon's lair, if only for a little while!

While Jane, radiant at seeing her beloved mistress smiling after long days of sadness and sorrow, was dressing Vivian in one of the beautiful, new dresses which had recently been made for her by the visiting modifiers and seamstresses at the house, Anthony wrote a short note to his friend.

"Dear friend, I am glad to report that I have at last returned to London. The first thing I wished to do on my arrival was to welcome you and my cousin. Alas, however, you are enjoying the hunt at the moment, so I am taking your wife to her friend Miss Salton. There is no need to worry: I will have Vivian home safely by eight o'clock this evening," said the note which Anthony handed to the butler.

Soon, full of happiness, Vivian was sitting in the Wingtons' handsome closed carriage, beside her cousin, who was taking her outside Wington Hall for the first time in three months. She wore a sumptuous muslin dress, long-sleeved but rather low-cut, but the blue stains on her neck were safely hidden by a green scarf, and the half-covered sleeves concealed the bruises on her wrists. A long warm cloak was worn over the dress, and the girl's head was adorned with a pretty hat.

"And why didn't I realise to dress like this earlier? Fool! I could have visited poor Charlotte at least twice… At least once a week! Even bloody Jeremy wouldn't have found anything to object to that!" – Vivian thought, grudgingly to herself.

– I think my husband doesn't like Charlotte," she said, wrinkling her nose to break the silence in the carriage.

– What makes you think so? – Anthony raised his eyebrows.

– I think so," Vivian shrugged her shoulders. – And he told me once that Charlotte was a bad influence on my behaviour. He said she was too free-spirited and frivolous.

– Jeremy said that about Charlotte? – Young Cranford squinted his eyes: this was not pleasant news for him.

– Well, who else would? Who am I married to? – Vivian replied sarcastically. – But I don't care what he thinks. I won't betray my friendship with Charlotte. Jeremy will have to accept the fact that from now on I'll be coming to her and she to me," she added in a firm tone.

– Charlotte? Flippant? – Anthony grinned derisively. – She may be a little naive, but she is not frivolous.

– Tell him that! – Vivian threw her face towards the window. – And please, dear cousin, don't mention Richard in your letters to me. Don't even hint at him: Jeremy once said he wanted to read my correspondence, and I'm afraid that if he found out about Richard he would make an unimaginable scandal, and it would cause me a great deal of inconvenience or even a divorce. And another thing: don't tell him that you saw my bruises, because it will embarrass him.

– Sometimes I feel like we're talking about two different gentlemen. Because the Jeremy Wington I know would never read another man's letters," said Cranford coolly. – But how did you manage to make him fall so in love with you that he married you against all common sense?

– It's simple: when your mother threw me out on the street, it was he who picked me up and fell in love. And when Jeremy's father found out that his son wanted to marry a penniless girl, he sent him away," Vivian said, staring out of the window in an indifferent tone. – But when his father died, Jeremy came to me, confessed his undying love for me, and made me an offer I could not refuse.

– Of course you couldn't, because the marriage had made you so rich," Anthony said ironically. – But do you have any warm feelings for him, or does your heart remain loyal to Richard?

– Do I love Jeremy? – she asked quietly. – Not a bit. But I am grateful to him.

– Grateful? Is that all?

– That's all. Do you think I'm insensitive? – Vivian shrugged her shoulders. – 'This is marriage, my dear cousin. Marriage needs anything but love. And you yourself wish to marry my good Charlotte only for her dowry.

– I was going to," Anthony corrected her gently. – It was at Devry, my brother's estate, that I realised my affection for Miss Salton.

Vivian looked at her cousin's face with interest, trying to determine whether he was lying about his love for her friend, but Anthony had such a calm and happy smile on his lips that she believed his words and sincerely congratulated him on his truly honourable choice. They were unable to discuss this savoury subject, however, for in a few minutes the carriage stopped and the coachman shouted loudly, "Here we are, ma'am!"

It is unnecessary to describe in detail how delighted Charlotte was when the butler brought her Mr. Cranford's card, and reported that Mrs. Wington had arrived with him. Leaping up from the table and dropping a letter to write to her parents in Denmark, Miss Salton sprang from her chambers and hastened to receive her guests.

– Vivian! – exclaimed the girl loudly, coming down the hall and enclosing her friend in a tight embrace. – You're here! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me!

– Silly girl! How could I? – Vivian smiled broadly, hugging her back just as tightly. – Now get those thoughts out of your head!

As they hugged each other, they suddenly remembered Anthony, who was also in the hall, and must have been bored, watching their friends' joy and listening to their happy exclamations.

– Mr. Cranford! You have come back from the north to London! – Charlotte said in a friendly manner to her guest, not forgetting to give him a polite curtsy.

– Yes, Miss Salton, and I must say, "How wonderful it is to be home again!" – the latter replied with a smile.

"He really is in love with her! I've never seen his eyes shine like that!" – thought Vivian contentedly, watching her friend and her cousin with a happy smile.

Mrs. Wington was not mistaken: the young man's blue eyes suddenly turned into two shining lights, and in his gaze could be read an undisguised admiration. Anthony was desperate to touch his beloved, so he immediately suggested that they stroll through the dead Salton garden to feel Charlotte's warm hand on his elbow. In spite of the cold wind, both Charlotte and Vivian were glad of the walk, but first Miss Salton wished to go into her chambers to match her blue dress with a hat and gloves.

– Vivian, you must help me to choose! – said Charlotte, and seizing her friend by the palm of her hand, led her away. Then, still on the move, she turned to Anthony: "I beg your pardon, Mr. Cranford! We'll try to manage at least a quarter of an hour!

– As you say, Miss Salton! – He grinned good-naturedly, watching her with a tenderness that spilled into his breast and a heart full of love. He had already seen this girl as his wife, had seen her in his arms. But while his former feelings for Vivian had made him imagine passionate pictures, his love for Miss Salton painted in his mind homely scenes full of warmth and comfort. Anthony also noted the great change in Charlotte's appearance, and thought that this blue silk dress was very much to her advantage.

When they reached Miss Salton's chambers, she let Vivian in, then entered and closed the door behind her. Charlotte seated her friend on the sofa, took her palm in her own, and gazed anxiously at her face, so pale and haggard though Vivian smiled.

"She doesn't look like herself. How thin her face has become! And those circles under her pretty eyes? 'Vivian, my dear, good one! Now I know for certain that you are hiding something important from me!" – Miss Salton involuntarily thought.

– And now tell me: is it your husband who does not wish us to see each other? – She asked directly, not wishing to waste time.

Vivian was taken by surprise by her friend's guess, and she searched feverishly for words to assure her that she was mistaken.

– Charlotte, what is this nonsense again? – Vivian exclaimed in a falsely playful tone.

– I confess I did not so much believe all your indispositions that made it impossible for us to meet. But now, my dear, I see clearly that this marriage has changed you! You look tired, very tired. And unhappy! – Charlotte insisted, and her glance became stern, as if she had become a nurse reprimanding her ward.

Not knowing what to say to this fair remark, Mrs. Wington touched the silk scarf round her neck, and shook her head negatively.

– 'I really don't know what to say! Weren't we going to the park? – she asked in a deliberately amazed tone.

– Viviane, I am your friend, and I will always support you," said Charlotte affectionately. – Let me listen to you and take off your burden.

Vivian put her palm to her lips: she was desperate to tell her friend everything that had happened between her and her husband, but she knew that Charlotte would suffer when she heard the dark truth. But she couldn't bear it any longer.

– You… You're right. It's my husband! – Vivian said quietly, as if afraid of being overheard, and squeezed her friend's palm. – He loves me… But he loves me madly! He's so jealous of me that he won't let me come to see you. He's afraid that I'll smile at other men…

– But, my dear, it's so… Unimaginable! So cruel! – Charlotte whispered loudly. – He has no right to do this to you! You are his lawful husband, not some kept woman.

– Alas! I am a kept woman! – I did not bring him a dowry, and I am sure that is why he feels that I am his master. Or maybe he thinks I'm a beautiful filly he bought to please his eyes… And he told me I must bear him three children! Three, Charlotte! – She laughed helplessly. – Luckily, that's not going to happen: I need only to drink a special herb… .

– But does your cousin know about all this? – Charlotte asked pointedly.

– No… I play the role of the happy fool and make him think there's nothing but harmony and happiness between me and Jeremy. – Vivian swallowed. – But Jeremy… He… I'm afraid of him… I'm afraid his love for me will break me, kill me… .

– Miss Salton! – suddenly came the voice of the butler from behind the closed door. – May I come in?

– Yes, yes, of course! – replied the girl.

Vivian's last sentence made her turn pale with horror, and she decided to give her friend a short pause, realising how difficult it was for her to share such intimate secrets.

The door to the chambers opened and Mr. Anderson entered the room, holding a silver tray in his hand.

– Another gentleman to see you, Miss," he announced courteously, and approached the lady of the house.

– What an interesting day! One day you have no guests, the next you have three! – Vivian smiled falsely.

– You're right, my dear! – Charlotte giggled. She took a beautiful business card from the tray, ran her eyes over it, and on her face Vivian read a look of real alarm.

– It's my husband, isn't it? – Mrs. Wington asked almost inaudibly.

Charlotte glanced at her friend and silently handed her the card.

But Vivian did not need to read the name written on that neat gold-patterned rectangle. She knew him.

– He's here… He's come for me," the girl smiled bitterly, and her fingers clutched convulsively at Charlotte's delicate palm.