Читать книгу Regency High Society Vol 1: A Hasty Betrothal / A Scandalous Marriage / The Count's Charade / The Rake and the Rebel - Mary Brendan - Страница 13

The two horses cantered side by side to the top of the hill and their riders reined in together, laughing. Judith dismounted gracefully on to a stone block set there for just that purpose and moved away to allow Harriet to do likewise. Tethering their mounts to a nearby sapling, they seated themselves on a fallen tree trunk and surveyed the magnificent view below them.

Harriet breathed in deeply, savouring the fresh morning air. ‘This is such a glorious country, Judith,’ she said. ‘At first I wasn’t sure if I could get used to it—after the heat and the mountains, you know, but now I think I shall never want to leave. I do hope I shall like Scotland as much.’

Judith looked at her curiously. ‘Are you to visit Scotland? You have not mentioned it.’

Harriet recollected herself with a start. She had grown to be so at ease in Judith’s company that she had quite forgotten that there were still things not to be shared with her new friend.

‘I believe I am to visit my grandfather,’ she said carefully. ‘He has an estate near Edinburgh and he has expressed a desire to—to meet—my betrothed,’ she finished, on a sudden inspiration. She pleated the folds of her habit between her fingers, unhappy at having to lie in this way to someone of whom she had grown so fond, but Judith appeared not to notice her discomfort.

‘That sounds delightful,’ she said, nodding absently and, rising to her feet, she strolled across the grass and sat down under a spreading beech tree and began to pluck the daisies, which grew in profusion around her. Harriet watched her in amusement. Already she was beginning to judge her friend’s moods to a nicety and had been waiting for Judith to speak first but now, she realised, it was up to her to venture the subject.

‘Did Charles enjoy the evening?’ she asked suddenly. Startled, Judith dropped her miniature bouquet and, flushing, bowed her head as she bent to retrieve the scattered flowers.

‘Y-yes—I believe so—at least—I don’t really—I haven’t …’

She gave up, looking ruefully at Harriet, who grinned encouragingly at her.

‘I suppose Lady Butler gave you the expected scold,’ said Harriet. ‘You haven’t committed any great sin, you know, and it was an amazing party!’

Judith nodded, her eyes brightening. ‘Yes, everyone has said so. I’m so pleased that it was a success and you were so popular—that is very important, you know, for you will be Countess of Beldale one day and to be well liked by the locals is a feather in your cap.’

Harriet blanched at the thought and quickly changed the subject. ‘Will you ever marry again, do you think, Judith?’

‘I have no need to,’ replied Judith, in a low voice. ‘Philip left me very well provided for—we have no financial worries and, of course, it is my—my duty to see that Christopher inherits his father’s estates in good order and …’ And Charles no doubt regards it as his duty to do the same, interrupted Harriet. ‘What a pair you are—you do like him, don’t you, Judith?’

‘I have known him all my life,’ laughed Judith, selfconsciously straightening her stock. ‘The twins always chaffed me about him—he used to bring me wild strawberries on a dock leaf when I was a little girl—I never thought of him in—you know—that way—I never loved anyone but Philip—but I get so lonely sometimes that everything suddenly becomes very hard to bear.’

She stared bleakly at the horizon, watching the early morning sun slowly ascending the cloudless blue sky.

‘Well, you must have seen that he’s absolutely dotty about you,’ said Harriet bluntly. ‘He’ll never say so, of course, because of convention and protocol and—oh, Judith, don’t waste the rest of your life! Surely Philip wouldn’t want you to be sad forever?’

Judith smiled briefly. ‘No, but then we didn’t exactly discuss the possibility of one of us remarrying—we were too busy being happy, I suppose.’

She looked down at her entwined fingers and then faced her friend. ‘Mother always expected me to marry Robert, you know,’ she said, in a rush. ‘They were both forever in and out of Staines—my home—and Mother always thought it would be Robert who would offer for me, but I chose Philip. Father liked both Hurst boys and was perfectly happy with my choice, which was why he made over half of our farmland to Philip on our marriage. The earl settled Beldale’s western boundaries on Philip and we built Westpark House. My parents remained at Staines until Papa died and then Mother let the house out to tenants and moved in with us, lock, stock and barrel, as they say—she even brought most of the old staff with her and expected Philip to find them positions. He did his best, of course, and organised pensions for those whom we couldn’t accommodate. Mother has always held a grudge about that, even though she doesn’t concern herself in the least about servants—she just took it as a personal slight.’

She glanced at Harriet. ‘I’m being fearfully disloyal telling you all this, aren’t I?’

Harriet shook her head. No, it explains a lot,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t understand why she took me in such dislike—obviously she hoped that his lordship would come back from the wars and snap you up—I’m only amazed that he didn’t!’ She burst out laughing at her friend’s look of astonishment and Judith found herself laughing in return.

‘Well,’ she said, in relief, ‘it doesn’t really matter. I couldn’t possibly have married Robert. That would have seemed quite immoral somehow—I love him as a brother. Charles is different altogether but..it will be terribly difficult …’ she paused wistfully ‘—he is such a proud man.’

‘That’s true.’ Harriet nodded. ‘So it is up to you to show him how much you depend upon him—how you can’t manage without him, in fact. Gracious me, but aren’t you lucky to have all these fellows crazy in love with you—it makes me positively green with envy!’

She got to her feet and began brushing the bits of grass from her habit, thereby failing to see Judith’s look of puzzlement at her final remark.

‘Now we really must get back,’ she said, leading Clipper to the mounting block. I told them ‘I would return for breakfast.’

‘Oh, dear,’ said Judith, scrambling to her feet. ‘I promised Mother I would bring you back to have breakfast with the children.’

Harriet paused for a moment to consider this invitation.

‘Well, I dare say I could stay just for the veriest minute—it is still very early and I could do with a drink, couldn’t you? All this heart-searching is very thirst-making!’

Laughing together, they made their way back down the hill and on to the lane that led back to Westpark.

The two children were waiting with their grandmother on the rear terrace of the house and jumped up excitedly when they saw their mother bringing Harriet through the archway which led from the stables. Lady Butler frowned her disapproval as Christopher bounded down the steps to take his new aunt’s hand and sharply instructed her granddaughter to remain in her seat.

‘Aunt Harriet, Aunt Harriet,’ the boy squealed breathlessly. ‘Uncle Robert has bought me a new pony—a real goer, he says, and he’s having jumps set up in Top Meadow—and he’s going to teach me himself!’

His eyes shone with the wonder of it all and Harriet was enchanted with him once more. She allowed him to lead her up the terrace steps into the conservatory where she could see a small table laid for a nursery breakfast.

‘You won’t mind the informality, Harriet, I know,’ said Judith, removing her gloves. ‘The children and I often have our breakfast out here in the summertime and Mother was keen to join us today—as you were to be our guest.’

She handed a little silver bell to Elspeth and bade the little girl ring for Jemima. Harriet watched in delight as the child crossed to the house door and, with great dignity, solemnly and carefully shook the tinkling instrument. Almost immediately the smiling housemaid appeared, carrying her tray of glasses and milk jugs. It was clear that the sound of the bell could not have brought her so swiftly, but that Elspeth believed it had was evident by the stately pride with which she marched back to her seat and took her place at the head of the table.

Judith smiled at Harriet, without apology.

‘It is we who are taking breakfast with the children, you see,’ she explained. ‘Philip and I liked to think that this was the best way to teach them.’

‘Piffling nonsense, in my opinion,’ sniffed Lady Butler. ‘The place for children’s meals is in the nursery with Nanny.’

‘Oh, no! It’s charming,’ breathed Harriet, ready to enter into the spirit of the idea. Passing her cup to Elspeth, she requested her small hostess to pour her a cup of milk and graciously accepted a slice of buttered sponge from young Master Christopher. Judith thanked her wordlessly with her eyes and, once more, Harriet felt deep pangs of regret at the deception in which she had become entangled.

After the meal, during which Harriet had managed to smile her way through several biscuit and cake offerings, she was persuaded to pay a visit to Polly, the new pony, to discuss the best tactics of taking fences. The pleasant minutes slipped swiftly by until she suddenly recalled her promise to return to Beldale for breakfast! Hurriedly making her farewells to her hostesses on the terrace and fairly scooting back to the stables to collect her mount, it was not until she turned for a final gay wave to the two children that she found, to her annoyance, that she had mislaid her gloves. No time to go back for them now, she decided, spurring Clipper into a gallop across the meadow to the Beldale bridleway. Luckily, no one would see her on this private path, but she laughed out loud as she visualised Martha’s shocked expression had that stickler for propriety been privileged to see her in such a state of undress!

As the dew-fresh scents of the morning rose about her Harriet breathed deeply in appreciation. She would be almost sorry to leave this glorious place, she mused, as she leaned down to secure the gate behind her and started along the ride back. She wondered if Sandford would be joining

Lady Caroline and herself for breakfast. Until yesterday morning, he had usually sought to quit the room before her arrival, thereby avoiding the strained atmosphere that had prevailed at the dinner table during the previous week. Since yesterday afternoon’s eventful ride, however, he had been all attention and she had to admit that she was looking forward with an inexplicable eagerness to their next encounter. Why, the very thought of it was making her feel quite giddy, she laughed to herself, and endeavoured to turn her mind to more sober topics.

The thickets of trees on either side of the path shaded both horse and rider from the heat of the rising sun and, almost drowsily, Harriet slowed to a gentle trot, allowing her mount to make its own pace along what had by now become a well-recognised route. They had not proceeded far in this leisurely manner when, to her irritation, she noticed that the dappling of the sun through the trees on one side of the path seemed to be causing her some sort of problem with her vision and she attempted to pull her hat down to lessen the effect. As she did so she became aware of an insistent thrumming in her ears that grew louder and louder as she desperately tried to maintain her balance. Clipper, ever sensitive to her mistress’s touch, tossed her head as the reins loosened and at that sudden movement Harriet lost her grip and felt herself sliding from her mount. She seemed to have no control over her limbs and her head was filled with a swirling mist as she felt her body collapsing into someone’s hands! Somewhere in the mist she could hear the mare whinnying and a man’s voice, which seemed to came from far-away, was saying: ‘Whoa, girl! Well, get her foot out of the stirrup, ninny! Come on! We haven’t got all day!’

In a trance-like state Harriet felt herself being half-dragged, half-carried deep into the copse between clumps of briar and gorse. She could offer no resistance owing to the waves of nausea and blackness that were drowning her senses. She was aware of being pushed into a shallow depression in the ground and felt her skirts being bundled about her as branches were heaped upon her body, but her voice could make no protest. As she felt herself falling deeper into the roaring abyss of unconsciousness she heard the man’s voice once more.

‘The ring! Cripes, man! We forgot the ring—where’s her hand?’

With a supreme effort Harriet eased the emerald ring from her finger and feeling for her boot, she pushed the jewel under the front fastenings. Then she passed out.

The cold, dank smell of the earth pervaded her senses. For some moments she remained still, trying to break through the cloying mists of her brain. Her temples were pounding and her mouth was dry and foul-tasting. Cautiously she sat up, pushing aside the mound of twigs and branches that covered her and, after peering carefully about, she saw that she was quite alone. Steadying herself against the tree trunk, she managed to stand. Her assailants had gone and Clipper was nowhere to be seen! Surely she had not been the victim of horse-theft? Apart from some rough handling she had not been hurt and she had nothing of value … !

Gasping, she thrust her hand down into her boot and felt the hard ridge of the precious stone against her fingers and almost wept with relief. That was what they were after! They were just common foot-pads after all—but what were they doing on Beldale property? Gradually, it began to come back to her—they must have been waiting for her—but had they actually pulled her from her horse—what had caused her sudden dizziness? Her head ached so, she was covered in bracken and mud and her hat and cravat were both missing!

As she shaded her eyes against the piercing glare of the summer sun she was suddenly transfixed as she registered its position in the sky. It must be past noon! She had been in the copse for hours! Casting about her for a sign that might help to guide her back to the path, she was eventually able to locate the trail of flattened grass along which she had been dragged and, still very unsteady, she slowly and painfully managed to make her way back to the bridleway. Scrambling in sobbing relief through the final clump of gorse, she fell straight into Sandford’s arms.

He thrust her roughly aside and she was shocked at the look of naked fury on his face.

‘Where the Devil have you been?’ he demanded. ‘We have been searching for hours. How dared you go off in such a way. Are you totally without shame? Look at yourself—just look at yourself!’ His voice was filled with disgust.

Harriet staggered back. ‘What are you saying? I was attacked …’

Sandford’s lip curled. ‘Again?’ he said coldly. ‘You do seem to make a habit of that, don’t you?’

Ignoring her protests, he turned on his heel and strode up the path to where his horse was tethered. Harriet, grabbing up her skirts, stumbled after him, convinced that she must still be in the grip of some dreadful nightmare and her eyes widened in amazement at the unexpected sight of Clipper grazing peacefully on the verge ahead.

‘You found her!’ she panted, as Sandford came to a standstill beside the horses. ‘I was afraid …’

‘Much you cared!’ Sandford spun round to face her. ‘You left her tied up at the gate while you cavorted with your—your what?’ He raised his crop as though to strike her.

Harriet flinched, dumbfounded. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said, her head still pounding. ‘What are you accusing me of? I was riding with Judith—I told you yesterday …’

‘Spare me the details. I’ve seen the note—you carelessly left it on your dressing table. Rose brought it to my mother when you failed to return from Westpark.’

‘Note? What note? Oh—yes, I see—but that was not intended …’

He turned away from her, his shoulders suddenly slumped and he leaned his head wearily against Pagan’s neck.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he said bleakly. ‘I am tired of your tricks. Hopefully, you will soon be gone. I wish to God that I had left you in the ditch—my life has been in turmoil since that day!’

‘Oh, please,’ exhorted Harriet, laying her hand on his arm. ‘Please tell me what you think I have done? I beg of you …’ She winced as he gripped her wrist, his eyes suffused with anger as he regarded her unadorned fingers.

‘You witch!’ he choked. ‘Where is it? If you have given it …’

‘Stop it! Stop it!’ Harriet tried to pull away from him and, finding that she could not escape, she raised her free hand and slapped him hard across his cheek. For an interminable moment he stared down at her, almost unseeingly, then with a groan he crushed her to his chest and buried his face in her hair.

‘Oh, dear God! What have I done!’ he breathed, but Harriet hardly heard him. She dragged herself away from his grasp and glared at him in rage.

‘How dare you! Have you gone mad! I hate you! I cannot wait to get away from this place!’ She thrust her hand into her boot. ‘See! Here is your precious ring! And to think that I went to the trouble of saving it! I pity whoever has the misfortune to become your wife!’

Casting the jewel at his feet, she burst into tears and swept regally past him. It was more than a mile back to the house, she knew, but she had no intention of asking for Sandford’s assistance to mount her horse. She trudged resentfully along the path, clutching up the muddied skirts of her riding habit as best she could, fulminating at the unfairness of life. She had been at this beastly place barely two weeks and already she had been dragged into a lake and set upon by brigands, which was more than had ever befallen her in all her years with the military! What else could happen? She couldn’t expect her grandfather to arrive for at least another week, at the earliest. If only she had insisted on leaving with Ozzy and Martha! What right did Sandford have to dismiss their suggestion? Hadn’t she just heard him admit that he would be glad when she had gone? He had left her in no doubt as to his opinion of her—calling her a witch—and a trickster!

She came to a sudden standstill on the path, trying to remember the exact words he had used. He had behaved as though he had been the victim, when it was she who had been attacked and tricked not once but three times, she realised, if one counted the puzzle of the note! Walking on, she deliberated upon that particular enigma. Sandford had referred to it with an anger she considered totally uncalled for. It must have been perfectly obvious that the note was not intended for her. Who on earth did he suppose she would arrange to meet in secret? And why? Then an incredible notion entered her head as she recalled his words—he had supposed that! He had been accusing her of having a clandestine tryst!

For a moment or two Harriet felt quite sick as a cold clamminess swept over her body and she had to press her shaking hands over her lips to control their trembling as she struggled to digest the implication of his words.

While Sandford and his men had been supposedly scouring the park she had been concealed inside a bush practically under their noses and then, far from giving her a chance to explain her absence, he had been so convinced of her guilt that he had refused even to listen to her. Worse, he had accused her of having spent hours in some furtive and underhand assignation!

Something else occurred to her. Sandford had said that Clipper had been found tied to the gate, but the only gate was at the end of the Beldale bridleway that, as far as she could judge, was more than a mile from the spot where she had fallen from her horse! Someone must have taken Clipper back to the gate and tied her there! But, in God’s name, why?

As she neared the house Harriet’s indignation was replaced with apprehension. Who else had been furnished with this untruth? Had Lord William and Lady Caroline also come to the same conclusion as the viscount? What other interpretation would they put on her long absence?

The sound of horse’s hooves alerted her to the sight of Tiptree riding up behind her, leading her mare. He dismounted and cupped his hands.

‘Up you get, miss,’ he said dispassionately. ‘His lordship wants you to ride in.’

Harriet allowed the groom to raise her into the saddle. She knew that this would be far better than being seen arriving at the stables without her horse but was still at a loss as to how she would begin to explain her disappearance.

The two horses walked into the yard and were immediately surrounded by the grooms and stable-lads, all expressing delight at ‘Missy’s’ return and clamouring for information. Tiptree waved them aside as he swung down from his mount.

‘Miss Cordell got lost in the woods,’ he said, in brief explanation. ‘She’s very tired. Make way, lads. Let’s have a bit of space. His lordship is calling in the others.’

Smithers helped Harriet down and took Clipper’s reins.

‘Glad to see you safe back, miss,’ he ventured. ‘We was all worried you’d hurt yourself. Don’t need no more accidents, you know.’

Harriet took heart from his remark and gave him a shaky smile. Turning to go into the house, she found Tiptree at her side.

‘Beg pardon, miss,’ he said quietly, ‘but his lordship says you dropped this.’ He held out the emerald ring. ‘He says to tell you ‘'not to worry”.’

Harriet looked inquiringly at him but his face was expressionless. She slipped the ring on to her finger once more and took a deep breath as she entered the hallway.

‘Harriet, my dearest child!’ Lady Caroline swept forward to throw her arms around her protégée. ‘Oh, thank goodness you are safe! His lordship has been in such a torment!’

Harriet didn’t inquire as to which ‘lordship’ the countess was referring. Kissing her ladyship on the cheek, she assured her that she was, indeed, unhurt and merely in need of a wash and a very long drink.

Lady Caroline indicated her requirements to March and tenderly led Harriet into the salon.

‘Sit down, dearest, do,’ she said, pressing the shivering Harriet down on to a sofa and offering her a rug to put over her knees.

Harriet, eyes brimming, shook her head and smilingly refused the cover.

‘Please, ma’am, you must not wait upon me,’ she protested. ‘I promise you I have suffered no great harm—but I would like to see Lord William, if I may—if he has been concerned about me I must put his mind at rest—and there is something I need to ask him, if he is not too tired?

‘About that mysterious note?’ the countess nodded. ‘Yes, he told me. Sandford had rushed off in search of you before we could tell him that it was some sort of joke—although I cannot believe he took it seriously …’

I’m afraid he did, ma’am,’ said Harriet miserably. ‘He seems to believe I was involved in some secret—tryst—with someone I met at Judith’s party!’

Lady Caroline was indignant. ‘But that is preposterous! Why should he think such a thing? His father will give him such a trimming when he returns! Come, my dear, finish your drink and, if you feel up to it, we will go straight to his lordship this instant.’

The earl had been furnished with the news of Harriet’s return on the moment of her arrival at the stables and was waiting impatiently for her entrance. Running to his chair she cast herself into his arms and burst into tears. He stroked her hair gently, murmuring comforting endearments, at the same time raising his eyebrows questioningly at his wife, who shook her head in response.

After allowing Harriet to cry herself out, Lord William took the handkerchief the countess was offering and set about repairing the damage to her face, tut-tutting as he did so.

‘Now, now, my child,’ he said softly. ‘This will not do. I will not have these pretty eyelids swollen. This redness simply does not go well with that glorious shade of green—and I fear I shall come down with the croup if my dressinggown gets any damper!’

Harriet, smiling weakly, sat back on his footstool and twisted the sodden kerchief between her fingers.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she said tremulously. ‘It isn’t usual in me to give in so easily. But I find myself at such a loss!’

The earl and countess exchanged glances and Beldale motioned to Chegwin to fetch a chair for his mistress. This done, at his lordship’s gesture the valet quietly left the room and Lord William took Harriet’s hands in his.

‘I think you had better tell us what is troubling you and together perhaps we shall make some sense out of your problems.’

‘But you have been so ill,’ said Harriet, in an anguished tone, ‘and I wanted to avoid bringing you more worry!’

Beldale sighed. ‘I have a broken foot, my girl,’ he said briskly. ‘There is nothing wrong with my brain—whatever that fool Lambert thinks!’

And so, tentatively at first, Harriet told her hosts the full story of her lake misadventure and, with increasing confidence, she breathlessly related this morning’s extraordinary events.

Lady Caroline’s eyes grew round with horror at Harriet’s description of her woodland tomb.

‘But this is quite dreadful,’ she exclaimed in dismay. ‘On Beldale lands—how can this be happening?’ and she turned at once to her husband to await his conclusions.

The earl was silent for some little while, conscious of both ladies’ eyes upon him at they awaited some erudite explanation that he feared he did not have. Eventually, he spoke.

‘It is clear that someone has wished you harm from the moment of your arrival,’ he said to Harriet. ‘That person—or persons—seem to be privy to a good deal of information about your movements. On the other hand, a fair amount of coincidence seems to be involved. For instance, at the lake, where you might not have chosen to walk on that particular morning and today—you say you had left Westpark much later than you intended—and who could possibly have foreseen your fainting attack? The emerald ring that they failed to find—thanks to your swift action—has only been in your possession since Saturday evening and advertised only at

Judith’s party and yet, it seems to have been the particular object of the attack—I would not have thought it to be of such singular value.’ He shook his head. ‘I confess, my dears, I am at as much of a loss as you are, but one thing is very clear—one of this household is involved in passing information outside. How else could Harriet’s movements be so well observed?’

He looked at his wife, concerned at her obvious distress.

‘This has been a great shock for you, my love,’ he said, tenderly squeezing her fingers. ‘Most of our staff has been with us for so long, it does not bear thinking about.’

‘I cannot bring myself to suspect any of them,’ said Lady Caroline unhappily. ‘We have hardly any recent additions—Robert’s valet and his man Tiptree, of course, and Rose Watts—but she was parlourmaid here long before Harriet’s arrival …’

Nothing of this sort happened before my arrival!’ Harriet pointed out despondently. ‘It is clear that it is my presence which is causing someone great annoyance!’

‘But everyone adores you!’ her ladyship protested.

‘Apparently not everyone, ma’am,’ said Harriet, rising from the footstool and straightening her skirts. And I can think of at least one person who positively dislikes me, she thought, at the same time sadly recalling the previous day’s easy companionship between herself and that very individual.

‘There is just one thing I must ask of you, Harriet,’ said his lordship with a very serious expression on his face.

‘Anything you wish, sir,’ she replied, uncomfortably aware of what his request was likely to be.

‘Please do not leave the house without a manservant—one that Lady Caroline has chosen personally. I do not wish to curtail your movements, but you must know that your safety is our prime concern. Quite apart from the fact that we have all grown to love you dearly, you must not forget that we have undertaken to deliver you to your grandfather undamaged!

Harriet nodded glumly, unable to dismiss from her mind the irritating thought that had she obeyed Sandford’s identical request she would not have found herself in this unenviable position.