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I reached the little bay where Tristan lived and paused to enjoy the magnifying effect of the clear water on the pebbles and shells. The brown shelves of rock that fascinated Tristan housed miniature worlds in each of their tiny pools. Tearful gulls wheeled gracefully across the tearful sky. I paused in surprise to see Eleanor sitting with Tristan on the wall. Something about the scene made me reluctant to interrupt them, and I stepped back slightly out of their view. Eleanor was chuckling over something Tristan had said and, as the laughter died from her eyes, another look—half pride, half agony—replaced it.
Understanding dawned on me at last. I turned to walk away again, my mind spinning with what I had just learned, but Tristan must have caught a glimpse of me.
“Miss Dita!” He called out and came running toward me. I turned back. Schooling my features into a neutral expression, I went to join them. Eleanor flushed slightly and regarded me warily, but began to relax as I chatted lightly to Tristan.
Later, Eleanor and I made our way back to the house together. Our mood had a sad, sorry flavour like strawberries eaten out of season.
“Dita, I—” she began at last, but I interrupted her.
“I know.”
“You won’t speak of it?”
“Of course not.” She squeezed my arm gratefully and we completed the rest of the walk in silence.
Chapter Ten
Eddie was on his way home for Christmas. He had sent Lucy a letter informing her that he was bringing a friend who wished to spend a few days discovering the delights of Cornwall. It seemed Eddie’s social life in London was proving more stimulating than his business affairs. Except for Eleanor, we were all gathered in the parlour, awaiting his arrival. In his usual whirlwind manner, he burst into the room. Although Eddie came straight over to me and kissed my cheek, my eyes were drawn away from him to the man who entered the room just behind him.
“This is Baron Karol.” Eddie’s voice seemed to come to me from the end of a long tunnel. “Baron, this is my fiancée, Dita Varga. As I explained when we met, she is a countrywoman of yours, so I expect you will have a great deal to talk about.” He seemed to feel the circumstance was a matter for some congratulation. In something approaching a trance, I gave my hand to the man who stepped forward. He was big and bearlike, handsome in a blond, boyish manner that did not survive comparison with the sleek beauty of the Jago men. As he pressed warm lips to my fingertips, he gave me a wolfish smile of triumph.
“I told you I would find you, my jewel,” Sandor said in a pleasantly conversational tone. He spoke in our own language. “You were foolish to try and hide from me.”
“Baron?” I asked him, also in Hungarian. “You have new aspirations to grandeur, I see.”
He laughed delightedly. “When I learned you were to be a countess one day, I decided to elevate myself to your chosen level. It was easy to dupe this aristocratic fool you have chosen.” The smile faded, and the man I knew and feared showed himself briefly in the darkening of his expression. “The time has come for us to finish with this nonsense.”
“I have invited the baron to stay with us for a few days before he leaves again for Hungary. I knew you would not object, Mama,” Eddie informed Lucy. She inclined her head gracefully in welcome, and Sandor turned his attention to her. He could be very charming—when he chose. I was aware of Cad watching my face closely, and I did my best to retrain my features into an expression of serenity.
“Are you in England on business, Baron?” Lucy asked, and Sandor went to sit next to her.
“I am indeed, my lady,” he said. “I came in search of a certain property of mine, a treasure that was bequeathed to me by a dear friend and that I had sadly mislaid. I have been seeking it for some time.” He had always called me his “jewel” or his “treasure,” ever since I was a child. His calm assumption that I was one of his possessions infuriated me. He knew it and was at pains to use the term all the more in order to annoy me.
“You don’t seem particularly pleased at this encounter with one of your countrymen.” Cad’s voice close to my ear made me start slightly. “Had you met the baron before today?”
