Blackwood's Lady

‘Aye, but the windows in the one next to this one aren’t. I saw ’er fly in there and I climbed in after ’er. Then, when she came in ’ere, I shut the door and nipped out to let Mr Trethewy know.’

‘Well, I am very glad you thought to get word to me, Jamie,’ Nicola said kindly. ‘Now, listen carefully. I want you to run down to the kitchen and tell Cook to give you a length of old linen. Ask her for as much as she can spare. Then bring it back up here as quickly and as quietly as you can.’

‘Aye, m’lady, I’ll do that!’

The young lad dashed away, stopping only long enough to close the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Nicola resumed her search for the injured falcon, all the while chewing nervously on her bottom lip. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. What ever must David be thinking? Surely he had noticed that she was gone. And poor Guinevere; she must be scared half to death. The sooner Nicola got her safely back into her cage, the better for all concerned.

She was just on her way towards the door, when a shuffling sound drew her attention towards the far corner of the room.

‘Guinevere?’ Slowly moving forward, Nicola raised the lamp, directing the light towards the corner—and saw the falcon wedged in between the two armchairs. ‘Oh, Guinevere, you naughty girl. You have given me such a dreadful fright!’

Just then, the door opened and Jamie reappeared with a length of kitchen linen piled over his arm. ‘Is this ’nuff, m’lady?’ he asked anxiously.

At a glance, Nicola could tell that it was not, but there wasn’t time to send him back downstairs now. ‘That will do fine, Jamie. Now, off you go and bring Guinevere’s cage back here as quickly as you can.’

‘Yes, m’lady.’

After he’d dashed out again, Nicola put the lamp down on top of the table where Jamie had left the linen, and then removed one of her long silk gloves. Starting at her wrist, she began wrapping the linen around her arm, making sure that the skin was covered all the way up to her elbow. She worked quickly, aware that with every passing minute her absence from the ballroom would grow more noticeable, until, finally, David would be forced to come in search of her. And heaven only knew what he would do if he found her playing nursemaid to an injured falcon.

Wrapping the last few inches of fabric around her arm, Nicola secured the makeshift bandage with a knot, and then pulled it tight. It wasn’t nearly as thick as she would have liked it to be, but at least it would offer her some protection from the falcon’s razor-sharp talons. If for any reason the bird panicked, those claws would slice through Nicola’s soft skin like hot knives through butter. Finally, picking up the lamp, Nicola drew a deep breath and then turned to confront the injured bird.

‘All right, Guinevere, you’re going to be fine. But I need to have a better look at that wing.’

So saying, Nicola slowly raised the lamp—and then groaned. The broken wing was visibly hanging away from the bird’s body. All that hard work for nothing.

‘Well, it looks as though we are going to have to start all over again,’ she said on a sigh. ‘Now, if I can just get you safely back into your cage.’

As if listening, the falcon’s dark eyes blinked at her and the hooked beak opened and closed. But Nicola didn’t draw back. She had to get Guinevere back into her cage and out of the room before she did the wing, or herself, any more harm. For that reason, she continued to inch her way forward, closing the distance between them, and all the while uttering soft, soothing sounds so as not to frighten the falcon.

It took a while, but, eventually, the bird responded to the familiar sound of Nicola’s voice. With an awkward hop, she jumped onto Nicola’s arm, her talons sinking deep into the linen as they found a secure foothold. Nicola was glad that she had thought to make the bandage thickest in the area close to her wrist. Even so, she winced as the sharp talons sank through the layers of fabric and pierced the soft skin below. Now, if Jamie would just return with the cage—

Suddenly, Nicola froze. Someone was coming—but it wasn’t Jamie. From beyond the door she could hear the unmistakable sounds of people. Of voices, male and female alike, raised in laughter. And they were coming in this direction!

‘Oh, no!’ Nicola murmured, her eyes glued to the door. This was the worst possible thing that could happen. If they came in now, Guinevere would take fright and try to fly away. As it was, she was already starting to flap her wings. Her talons were getting tangled in the linen and Nicola winced as they cut through the flimsy bandage and found the unprotected skin below again. At this rate, Guinevere was going to do them both an injury!

‘Guinevere, please don’t try to fly!’ Nicola whispered as she backed away from the door, willing the crowd to pass.

But they didn’t. The door-handle started to turn. The voices and the laughter grew louder.

Guinevere uttered a piercing cry and Nicola closed her eyes—

‘Wait, m’lord, don’t open the door!’ a frantic voice called out amidst the peals of laughter. ‘You can’t go in there! Please, don’t let them go in!’

Nicola’s eyes flew open. Thank goodness Jamie had arrived!

Unfortunately, so had her father!

‘What do you mean, we can’t go in?’ Lord Wyndham demanded. ‘What’s the meaning of this, lad? And what on earth is that cage for?’

‘It’s for the bird, m’lord.’

‘What bird?’

‘Gwenevere. She sent me to fetch the cage!’ Jamie said frantically.

‘What the devil—who sent you to fetch a cage?’

‘Lady Nicola.’

‘Lady Nicola!’

Nicola’s eyes focused on the door and her heart plummeted.

The search was over. David had found her!

‘Aye, she escaped when I were trying to feed ’er, m’lord,’ Jamie said breathlessly, ‘and I followed ’er in ’ere. Then I sent word to ’er ladyship.’

‘And her ladyship came?’ David enquired in a tone of stunned disbelief.

‘Aye. I told Mr Trethewy to tell ’er what ’appened. And just now, she sent me to fetch the cage. But you daren’t go in, sir, or she’ll take fright fer sure! Gwenevere, that is.’

‘All right, lad, we won’t all go in,’ Lord Wyndham said brusquely.

Nicola heard her father hushing the crowd and asking everyone to step back. Then, slowly, the door began to open. A hand holding aloft a candelabra appeared through the crack, and a voice called softly, ‘Nicola?’

Nicola swallowed. ‘Yes, Papa?’

‘Is everything all right, my dear?’

‘Yes, Papa.’

The door opened a little wider, and two men stepped forward. The light from the candles in their hands fell upon Nicola, silhouetting her against the window. Her back was turned towards them, her arm held slightly in towards her body, offering what protection she could to the frightened bird.

‘Nicola, are you all right?’ This time, it was David who spoke, though in a voice much sterner than her father’s had been.

Nicola turned her head in his direction, and saw that the doorway was crowded with people all anxiously peering in. ‘Yes, my lord, I’m fine. But I am afraid Guinevere is a little the worse for wear. Jamie, are you there?’

‘Aye, m’lady,’ came a shaky voice from somewhere in the depths of the crowd.

‘Bring the cage in and set it on the table,’ Nicola advised. ‘Move slowly, now. We don’t want to frighten Guinevere any more than she already is.’

The crowd reluctantly parted and Jamie’s anxious face appeared in the doorway. He started to move forward, encumbered by a large wooden cage that was fully half as big as he was, and awkwardly set it on the top of the billiards table. Only then did Nicola turn round, exposing, to the eyes of her guests, the sight of the majestic falcon sitting proudly on her arm.

A gasp of astonishment rippled through the assembly.

Nicola raised uncertain eyes to her fiancé’s face and saw the unmistakable look of shock and disbelief written all over it, and wondered how in the world she was going to explain this. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to worry about it now. She had to get the falcon back into the cage.

And so, with what looked to be half the people at her betrothal ball in attendance, Nicola slowly began to walk towards the cage.