Читать книгу Regency High Society Vol 3: Beloved Virago / Lord Trenchard's Choice / The Unruly Chaperon / Colonel Ancroft's Love - Elizabeth Rolls, Anne Ashley - Страница 18

Daniel arrived back at his home shortly before noon. He had remained at the Hall far longer than he had intended, mainly because Julia had seemed reluctant to allow him to take his leave, and had insisted on taking him up to the nursery to see her son. That part of the visit had unquestionably proved to be the most enjoyable. Young Geoffrey was the image of his father in both looks and nature. He was a charming boy, and it had been a pleasure to pass half an hour or so sitting on the nursery floor, keeping him entertained by playing with his toy soldiers.

If only the rest of his visit had passed so agreeably! he mused, dismounting and leaving his horse in the care of the stable-lad. He was forced to admit that by the time he had ridden over to the Hall he had surprisingly wearied of Julia’s company. He had found her stilted conversation tiresome in the extreme and her evident curiosity about Katherine, quite frankly, distasteful.

Trying to converse with his uncle, whose hearing had become increasingly impaired since attaining middle age, had not proved particularly satisfying either. Yet he would far rather have preferred to remain in the library, forced to shout his every utterance, than be dragged into the parlour to spend a further half-hour with Julia and her mother who, since becoming a widow four years before, had taken up residence with her daughter at the Hall.

He had not set eyes on Eleanor Melrose since before he had embarked for India, and he had been shocked at the changes he had perceived in her. Although she had never been what one might describe as a vivacious, outgoing female, she had seemed a mere shadow of her former self, painfully lachrymose and decidedly jaded.

He well remembered that she was a woman who had always set great store by good manners and correct behaviour at all times; strict codes of conduct that she had instilled in her sole offspring from an early age. Daniel could well imagine that when Julia’s looks began to fade, which undoubtedly they would in time, she would turn into a mirror image of her woebegone mother.

Dear Lord! What a lucky escape he had had when Julia decided to marry his cousin, Daniel reflected, shaking his head in wonder as he strode across the yard towards the house. Looking back, it was hard to imagine that he had been so set on marrying her himself once, and had been utterly heartbroken when he had discovered that she had chosen Simon instead.

One must put it down to the folly of youth, he supposed. Thank heavens he had acquired some sound common sense during the intervening years! He and Julia simply wouldn’t have suited. He was far too outspoken and brusque for her delicate sensibilities. He needed a female who would not dissolve into floods of tears each time he raised his voice above a whisper and one who, moreover, was not afraid to stand up to him. And thank the Lord he’d found the very little virago for him!

Entering his home by way of the rear entrance, Daniel went striding into the kitchen to discover, much to his surprise, only his housekeeper present, for Katherine had made a point, since her arrival at Rosslair, of always helping Janet prepare both luncheon and dinner.

‘Where’s Kate?’

‘She went out into the garden shortly after you left with Mrs Ross,’ she answered, giving the broth a stir. ‘I must say, sir, she has worked hard on those rose-beds since she’s been here. She’s green fingers like your dear grandmother, and no mistake! You can see the difference she’s made already.’

‘Mmm,’ Daniel murmured, running impatient fingers through his thick, slightly waving brown hair, as he experienced a pang of conscience. ‘I suppose I ought to be thinking of employing a full-time gardener and general handyman. I can’t expect McGann to cope with everything.’

‘Now there’s a considerate soul for you, Janet!’ McGann announced, entering the kitchen, with a pile of logs for the stove, in time to catch his master’s final remark.

‘If the truth be known, I was thinking more of Katherine than you,’ Daniel enlightened him. ‘I don’t want her working her fingers to the bone attempting to get the garden in order.’

‘She enjoys herself out there, sir,’ Janet assured him. ‘Besides, she ain’t one to be idle. If she didn’t work in the garden, she’d be doing something else.’

Janet smiled to herself as she detected her master’s low growl of disapproval before he went stalking out. She turned in time to see him pass the window, heading in the direction of the garden, and was a little startled when he returned a minute or so later, carrying Katherine’s cloak, and looking decidedly grim.

‘She isn’t there. Are you certain she didn’t come back into the house?’

‘She might have done,’ Janet conceded. ‘I’ll go and check.’

‘No, I’ll do it!’ Daniel responded curtly, leaving Janet now in little doubt as to his frame of mind.

She exchanged a concerned glance with McGann as she heard her master’s raised voice calling Katherine’s name filtering through from the hall. ‘Dear Lord, I hope nothing has happened. The master did say to keep an eye on her.’

‘Yes, damn it!’ Daniel snarled, returning to the kitchen. ‘So why the hell didn’t you?’

‘Easy, sir. Easy,’ McGann soothed. He had seen the Major rant and rage at raw recruits who had done something foolhardy, but he had never heard him speak so sharply to Janet before. ‘There’s no saying that Miss Katherine didn’t just take it into her head to go off for a wee walk, the day being so nice an’ all. You can’t expect Janet to watch her every moment.’

‘It’s all right, McGann.’ Although touched by this staunch show of support, Janet was not in the least offended by her master’s harsh reprimand. In fact, if it had not been for the qualms she was now experiencing herself over Katherine’s well-being, she would have given vent to a whoop of pure joy, for she was more than willing to make allowances for the understandable concern of a man very much in love. ‘The master is right. I ought to have kept a better watch over her. I’m sorry, sir.’

Daniel’s anger instantly ebbed. ‘No, Janet, it is I who ought to apologise.’ He placed his arm briefly about her thin shoulders, almost bringing tears to her eyes with the smile he cast down at her. ‘I’ll leave you to make a thorough search of the house and gardens. McGann, you come with me. We’ll search the surrounding countryside. There’s no saying that what you suspect is true—the damnable little idiot might well have taken it into her head to go off by herself. I’ll skin her alive when I find her!’

Janet was more successful in suppressing a chuckle than McGann who, shoulders shaking, followed the Major out to the yard. But an hour later, when all three reassembled in the kitchen, there wasn’t so much as a semblance of a smile on anyone’s face, least of all on Daniel’s.

He paused in his worried pacing. ‘Where the deuce could she have gone? She doesn’t know anyone hereabouts now, so she wouldn’t have taken it into her head to go visiting the neighbours.’

‘Well, I’ve been thinking about that, sir.’ Janet raised troubled eyes to his. ‘You don’t suppose she had a fancy to visit her grandfather’s old place, do you?’

‘But that’s four miles away, Janet.’

‘Not if you cut across the fields, it isn’t,’ she countered. ‘It’d be no more than an hour’s stroll.’

After silently conceding that it might be worthwhile checking this out, Daniel asked, ‘Do you happen to know if the Cranfords are in residence, Janet?’

‘I’m certain Mrs Cranford is there. Her husband has been away in London for the past few weeks, so I understand. He might be back now, though. It’s the party next week … Or had you forgotten?’

‘I’ve better things to think about than parties, Janet,’ he responded testily, just as a carriage, which seemed vaguely familiar, entered the yard, and a moment later none other than the person whose absence was causing him no little concern alighted from it.

The immense relief Daniel experienced at seeing her completely unharmed was swiftly tempered by a surge of irritation as he watched her trip lightly towards the house, swinging her bonnet to and fro by its ribbons and smiling brightly, just as though she hadn’t a care in the world. Her cheerful greeting as she entered the kitchen, swiftly followed by the laughingly uttered hope that she hadn’t kept them all waiting for luncheon, only resulted in fuelling his rapidly mounting wrath.

‘Where the hell have you been?’

The bellowed demand, humiliatingly clear and belittling, echoed round the large room, leaving no one in any doubt, least of all Katherine, as to his mood. Hands on hips, and now glowering like some ferocious creature about to pounce on its hapless prey, Daniel betrayed no signs of the anguish he had been experiencing only minutes before.

‘Kindly do not adopt that dictatorial tone with me, sir,’ Katherine told him, chin lifting as she turned to face him squarely. ‘When you have managed to regain control of your temper, I shall be only too happy to enlighten you. In the meantime, I shall be in the parlour.’ And so saying, she turned on her heels and headed for the door, leaving Daniel almost gaping at her retreating form in astonishment.

He recovered soon enough. ‘Did you hear that?’ he demanded of neither of his remaining listeners in particular, both of whom were having the utmost difficulty in suppressing smiles at his expression of outrage. ‘You come back here at once, you damnable little shrew!’ he yelled, striding purposefully across to the door himself. ‘I haven’t finished with you yet … no, not by a long chalk!’

His threat fell on deaf ears, even though his firm, stalking footsteps did not. Katherine, well aware that he was right behind her, continued to walk calmly into the parlour, and across to the chest in the corner of the large room in order to collect the curtain that she had been sewing the evening before.

She experienced a strange mixture of annoyance and relief. Although she refused to be addressed in such a fashion, and had no intention of tamely kowtowing to such dictatorial behaviour, his intolerable outburst had, she was forced silently to own, made it so very much easier to face him again; had made it a simple matter not to reveal those feelings which she must now strive to keep well hidden from those all too perceptive brown eyes.

‘If you have followed me in here to continue bellowing like a bull, I think it best you leave,’ she told him, determined to maintain her self-control.

‘Damn it, woman!’ His knuckles clearly showed white as he grasped the door. ‘Who’s master here?’

‘No one is disputing your authority, Daniel,’ Katherine responded, before calmly settling herself in one of the chairs by the hearth. ‘My position under this roof, however, evidently is in need of some clarification. I am not your chattel, sir, and I shall not tolerate being spoken to in such a fashion, most especially in front of servants. If you envisage that this will put an undue strain upon you, then I think it best I remove forthwith to the local inn.’

For answer he slammed the door closed, and went stalking over to the decanters. Katherine heard the chink of glass, and could almost feel those brown orbs firing angry darts into the back of her head.

Swiftly suppressing a smile, she concentrated for a moment on threading her needle. ‘I can appreciate that we all give vent to our emotions from time to time. And I am no exception.’

‘Ha! An understatement if ever there was one!’

She ignored the muttered interruption. ‘Even so, unlike you, I do attempt to maintain some control, whereas the rein you hold over your temper possesses no more strength than this sewing yarn.’

A sigh of pure exasperation floated across to the hearth. ‘If my outburst … my very understandable outburst, I might add, offended your delicate sensibilities, then you must appreciate that I have not spent the past few years making polite conversation in fashionable drawing-rooms.’

‘That is patently obvious,’ she swiftly returned, attaining a deal of wicked satisfaction in pointing this out. ‘If, however, you have any desire to be included in polite society, you must swiftly acquire at least a few basic manners. Which reminds me, Mrs Cranford hasn’t received a reply yet to the invitation she sent you, and particularly requested me to remind you of the party being held at her house next week.’

The hand raising the glass to Daniel’s lips checked for a moment. ‘So you did go over to your grandfather’s old house.’

‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘I didn’t intend to walk so far. I had hoped to be back before you returned.’ Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lower his tall frame into a nearby chair. His expression betrayed clearly enough that he remained in no good humour, but at least he was no longer looking as black as thunder. ‘Did you enjoy your visit to your uncle?’

The heavy frown descended once more. ‘No, damn it, I did not! My uncle’s as deaf as a post. And I cannot abide insipid female conversation.’ He paused to sample the contents of his glass. Which evidently had a soothing effect on his temper, for he sounded far more composed as he added, ‘I quite enjoyed the time I spent with the boy, though.’

Katherine raised her head at this. ‘Your late cousin’s son?’ Receiving only a nod in response she added, ‘Janet seems to think he’s something of a sickly child.’

‘Rubbish! Julia fusses too much.’ Disapproval was clearly back in his voice. ‘There’s nothing wrong with little Geoffrey. He’s a stout little fellow who’ll no doubt live to a ripe old age … At least, I sincerely hope he does. I have no desire to step into his shoes.’

Katherine did not doubt the truth of this. She knew Daniel well enough to be sure that possessing a title would mean little to him. She also realised now that whatever feelings he still retained for Julia Ross love did not number among them, and could not help feeling that it might have been better, at least for her sake, if it had, for he couldn’t have made it clearer by his attitude over her recent absence that he was not indifferent to her.

‘Well, if it’s any consolation,’ she remarked, swiftly channelling her thoughts in a new direction, ‘I came away from my visit with mixed feelings too. I thought Mrs Cranford most charming. She insisted I return here in their carriage, and she also invited me to the party next week.’ She frowned slightly. ‘I’m not too sure about her husband, though. I found his regard faintly unnerving.’

Daniel studied her for a moment over the rim of his glass. ‘In what way?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. He just kept staring at me. It made me feel a little uncomfortable,’ she admitted, just as the door opened, and Janet entered to inform them that a Mr Ashcroft had arrived and was wishful to see them.

‘Ashcroft …?’ Daniel’s brows snapped together again. ‘Never heard of the fellow! Probably here trying to sell me something. Tell him to take himself off!’

‘No, wait!’ Katherine, placing her sewing to one side, didn’t hesitate to countermand the order. ‘If it’s the person I think it is, I most certainly wish to see him. Ask him to come in, Janet.’

When Daniel watched the slight, middle-aged man, who bore all the appearance of a downtrodden and overworked lawyer’s clerk, enter a few moments later, he thought his suspicions were correct, until Katherine darted forward to clasp the man’s bony fingers.

‘Oh, it is you, Mr Ashcroft! How happy I am to see that you arrived back safely.’

‘And I you, Miss O’Malley,’ he assured her, before darting a wary glance at the tall figure who now stood staring frowningly down at him from a position in front of the hearth.

‘Are you acquainted with Major Ross, sir?’ Katherine enquired, drawing the diffident, middle-aged man forward.

‘No, I’ve not had the pleasure,’ he admitted, extending a nervous hand in the direction of the tall man who continued to regard him with faintly hostile eyes. ‘But I’ve heard a great deal about you, sir, from Sir Giles.’

‘Ha! Have you, by gad!’

Mr Ashcroft not surprisingly appeared faintly unnerved by the gruff response, and so Katherine hurriedly intervened. ‘Do not pay Major Ross any mind, dear sir. He’s in a bad humour, but will recover presently, I assure you.’

Ignoring Daniel’s muttered oath, Katherine invited their visitor to take a seat. ‘Can I offer you some refreshment? A glass of wine, perhaps?’

‘No, thank you, dear young lady. And I must not stay. I came here only to pass on a message from Sir Giles.’ Mr Ashcroft risked a fleeting look up at Daniel once again, before fixing his gaze on Katherine’s far more amiable countenance. ‘You are to stay here with Major Ross, and attend the party Mr and Mrs Cranford are holding on Friday next. I am to pay a brief visit to Mr Cranford as soon as I leave here to apprise him of the situation. Unfortunately he had left London before news of your safe arrival reached us.’

‘Ah!’ Katherine exclaimed, enlightenment dawning. ‘So Sir Giles and Mr Cranford are engaged in the same work, are they?’

‘Er—in a manner of speaking, yes, miss,’ he admitted, casting yet a further tentative glance in the general direction of the hearth. ‘Sir Giles has every intention of making your presence known in the—er—right quarter, as you might say, at the appropriate time, and has taken the precaution of sending two of his best men down here to look after you.’

Betraying great fortitude, he then turned his attention to Daniel. ‘Sir Giles wishes me to assure you, sir, that the young lady will be in no danger. You are to make use of the two men who travelled with me from the capital in any capacity you think fit. There will be others arriving soon in the locale, and my sister and I shall ourselves be putting up at the local inn. Needless to say, there must be no contact between us once I leave here.’

‘Evidently Sir Giles expects the traitor to act as soon as he knows of Katherine’s safe arrival,’ Daniel remarked, after tossing the remaining contents of his glass down his throat.

‘Sir Giles knows how to play the game, sir. He’s refining every detail at this very moment. The men he’s sent down are merely a precaution, sir, nothing more,’ Mr Ashcroft didn’t hesitate to assure him. ‘Sir Giles knew you’d expect nothing less. The traitor will be given insufficient time to act before next Friday. He’ll need to make contact with his associates. But Sir Giles is convinced that if an attempt to … to abduct Miss O’Malley will be made, it will occur on the day of the party, perhaps even at the event itself. Time is not on the traitor’s side, sir. He must prevent Sir Giles from escorting Miss O’Malley to London.’

Daniel appeared decidedly grim, and Katherine was experiencing certain misgivings now that all the scheming and planning were showing signs of achieving a result, but steadfastly refused to betray her feelings of unease. ‘Then we must all be patient and wait for events to unfold.’

‘Believe me when I tell you, Miss O’Malley, that your safety is Sir Giles’s main concern,’ he reiterated. ‘Try as best you can to continue as normal.’ Mr Ashcroft made to leave, but then bethought himself of something else. ‘By the by, I’ve brought your trunk of clothes from London, miss. I’ll instruct the two men I’m leaving here to carry it into the house for you.’

‘Oh, you darling man!’ Katherine darted forward to place a kiss on Mr Ashcroft’s thin cheek, which had the effect of sending him quite pink with pleasure before he took his leave.

Daniel, unable to suppress a smile, went over to the decanters to replenish his glass. ‘How typical of a woman! At a time like this the only thing that concerns you is clothes.’

‘But of course! It will be sheer bliss to don my own garments again. Besides which, Daniel, you know yourself we’ve nothing to worry about for the next few days.’

‘Possibly not,’ he conceded. ‘At least now I’ve no qualms about sending a note to my uncle accepting his invitation to accompany him to the local market town to view some livestock next Friday morning. And those two men will certainly come in handy about the place. For a start, I shall set one to work in the garden to keep a permanent eye on you and make sure you don’t take it into your head to go wandering off again.’

‘Do so, by all means. I shall enjoy the company,’ she assured him, refusing to become nettled. ‘It’s just a pity Sir Giles didn’t think to send us a female.’

Daniel raised his brows in surprise. ‘Not necessary. Janet can keep an eye on you whilst you’re indoors.’

‘And how typical of a man!’ Katherine parried, casting him a look of exasperation before reaching for the door-handle. ‘Janet has far too much to do to watch me all day. It’s high time, Daniel Ross, that you sorted out your domestic situation. Janet is in desperate need of help about the place. The sooner this house has a mistress to take charge the better!’

Smiling tenderly, Daniel gazed down into his glass. ‘It has already acquired the only one it will ever have whilst I remain master here,’ he murmured, the instant Katherine had departed, closing the door quietly behind her.