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 15

Charles Ridgeway sat pensively on his horse, surveying the landscape below him. To the far right he could just make out the chimneys and parapets of the Beldale mansion, bathed in the late evening sunshine and protected by the mass of woodland and fields that surrounded it. At the foot of the hill up which he had just ridden, on the very edge of the Beldale estate, nestled his own home, the Dower House, with its neat gardens and home farm. To his left lay the more modern structure of Westpark House, close to its own boundary with the larger estate and, still further left, the slate rooftop of Staines, the old Butler property, with only the terraced gardens remaining within its demesne. Beyond the distant village and as far as the eye could see, all Hurst owned, in one way or another. A man without property is surely an insignificant creature, he concluded, once more ruefully censuring his late and far from lamented sire for his weak and prodigal lifestyle. Then, not being a vindictive man, Ridgeway sighed and bent his mind to the more pressing problem that was troubling him as he turned his mount towards Beldale.

It is like looking for a needle in a haystack, he thought. Over a hundred men on the list and more than half of them

could be described as ‘tall, thin and dark'! Putting faces to the names had taken them all week, Sandford having refused to allow anyone, apart from his man Tiptree, to assist in the covert search. In addition, he had demanded that no one was actually questioned, pointing out that this would immediately put any villains on their guard, reminding his cousin that neither Billy Tatler nor his chum Nick had recognised the man at the boathouse and, therefore, this particular check was being carried out only for the purpose of eliminating the obviously innocent. Their objective, he had said, was to whittle down the total number to just a few men whom he could present to the young lads in the hope that they would be able to identify their tormentor.

‘We’re looking for a recent arrival or someone who doesn’t go about in the village much,’ he now said to Ridgeway, having arranged to meet his cousin in the paddock between the two estates, where he knew that their conversation would not be overheard.

‘Or a casual worker, who has come and gone,’ offered Ridgeway, exasperated that his hands had been so tied. ‘Or a passing tinker, tramp—oh, lord, Sandford—any number of itinerants come through the village!’

‘He won’t be an itinerant,’ returned Sandford firmly. ‘Billy told you he thought he was from the Big House—that indicates his manner of dress and, probably, speech as well. He would have said, if he had thought him to be a vagrant. No, Charles, I’m convinced that this ‘'cove” has to have some sort of status or position within one of the households.’

‘Well, I hope to God you’re wrong in that! And why should anyone have developed such animosity towards Miss Cordell in so short a time?’ asked his cousin. ‘As far as I can judge, from my discreet conversations around the village …’ He caught Sandford’s frowning expression ‘—very discreet, I promise you, old man—she is well liked, one could say almost revered in certain places. I, for one, can’t imagine anyone taking her in dislike. She appears to have no faults, as I’m sure you agree.’

Sandford had turned away, a painful lump in his throat, the memory of the previous day’s events still haunting him.

‘She can be rather impetuous at times,’ he said, struggling to keep his voice level.

Charles regarded him curiously. ‘But that is her chief virtue, wouldn’t you say, neck-or-nothing—that’s your lady, Sandford. No half-measures about her. They’re all saying she’ll make you a grand viscountess, man, she has a rare understanding of people’s feelings—not just their needs, as most of us have. You’re damned lucky that she chose you—I wish that I were as fortunate!’

He turned his horse’s head towards the Dower House and raised his brows questioningly. ‘Coming over for a spot of grub? I’m famished, I can tell you—and Tiptree here is feeling mighty peckish, too, I’ll be bound. We’ve been at it since the early hours without a break—although I dare say you’ll be wanting to get back to your sweetheart?’

Sandford, wincing at Ridgeway’s unintended irony, accepted his cousin’s invitation with alacrity. Having encountered Harriet entering the breakfast room just as he was about to depart, he had stiffly reminded her of their joint promise to attend Westpark that evening and, until the appointed hour, he intended to stay well clear of her frosty gaze. She had informed him that she would, of course, be ready at whatever time suited him and had stonily agreed to his request that they should endeavour to keep up their charade for what would probably be only a few days more, until her grandfather arrived.

While the viscount was doing his utmost to flush out her assailants, Harriet was engaged in a verbal tussle with Lord

William. She had spent part of the morning trying to calculate the extent of her financial indebtedness to the Hursts and had made the mistake of mentioning this matter to his lordship.

‘Little girls shouldn’t worry their pretty little heads about such things,’ he said soothingly. ‘I am happy to stand your banker.’

‘Yes, but …’ Harriet was not at all satisfied at this arrangement.

The earl wagged his finger at her. ‘I refuse to discuss the matter with you, Harriet. It concerns only your grandfather and myself—at least, for the moment,’ he finished, somewhat enigmatically.

Harriet, loath to cause him any distress, changed the subject. Aware that Lady Caroline, Chegwin, and even Sir Basil himself, had attributed much of the earl’s speedy recovery to her earlier cheerful visits and, apart from that single lapse into tears which had occurred after the incident in the woods, she had endeavoured to behave in the usual sparkling and light-hearted manner he had come to expect of her. Lately, however, she was finding it a great effort to keep up the merry repartee that so delighted him and, although she was always quickly diverted by Beldale’s own wicked sense of humour, she had occasionally experienced the odd sensation that his lordship was working equally hard to keep up her spirits.

‘We are to dine at Westpark this evening,’ she now told him. ‘No doubt I shall have a fund of “Butlapses” to bring you tomorrow.’

Butlapses’ was an expression the earl had coined early in his acquaintance with Judith’s mother and he had often used it during his conversations with Harriet after he had discovered that they shared the same sense of the ridiculous.

‘I vow she seems to get worse as she gets older,’ he chortled. ‘Even as a young woman she was prone to making unfortunate remarks but, having apparently devoted her life to perfecting the art, now that she is practically in her dotage she seems to think that age gives her the unassailable right to be downright rude. A good many of us old ones suffer from that same delusion, of course,’ he added, with a twinkle in his eye.

‘Oh, not you, sir,’ protested Harriet. ‘I am certain that I have never heard you utter a truly vindictive remark and dear Lady Caroline sees only the good in everyone, so she is also exempt from your reckoning. I believe …’ She stopped and her cheeks coloured.

Beldale, who had been contemplating his move on the chessboard between them, looked up at her hesitation.

‘What is it that you believe, my dear?’ he asked, his eyes suddenly alert as Harriet dropped her own in confusion at his scrutiny.

‘I fear I seem to be growing too opinionated, my lord,’ she stammered. ‘And, unlike—certain of our acquaintances, I cannot plead the excuse of maturity.’

The earl looked at her in blank astonishment.

‘Harriet, my love,’ he said sorrowfully. ‘You are in deadly danger of becoming ‘'one of them''.’

‘One of whom, my lord?’ asked Harried, puzzled.

‘One of the great English sisterhood of niminy-piminy milksops,’ said the earl, banging down his knight with such force that the rest of the pieces bounced off their squares.

‘Oh, dear,’ said Harriet, putting her hand to her mouth as her lips twitched involuntarily.

‘Oh, dear, indeed,’ said his lordship reproachfully. ‘See how badly your ‘'best behaviour” affects my play!’

Harriet burst out laughing and bent to retrieve the fallen chessmen. ‘I believe you did that on purpose, sir,’ she chuckled. ‘I was near to victory, you must concede.’

Beldale regarded her fondly. ‘Worth a dozen defeats to see you laugh again,’ he said warmly. ‘And now I demand to know who has been filling your head with this nonsense!’

Harriet was silent for a moment then, turning to look him squarely in the eye, she said, ‘I’m afraid that Sandford and I have ‘'come to cuffs” yet again, sir. He disapproves of my behaviour and—and—well, he has given me to understand that others might find it equally unacceptable. I was merely trying to m-modify …’

She caught his expression and broke into a grin. ‘Well, if you will make me laugh, how can I possibly hope to improve?’

‘Improve at your peril, my girl!’ exclaimed his lordship, horrified at the prospect. ‘If that young fool can’t recognise a diamond when he has one in his hand, then he must resign himself to wearing paste! And I shall tell him so myself!’

‘Please don’t,’ interrupted Harriet hurriedly. ‘He would dislike above all things to know that I had been discussing him with you—and you must allow that he has had a great deal to contend with of late. I really do intend to try to conduct myself in the most dignified manner when I am with him but—I promise to save my worst behaviour for your lordship!’

‘Excellent!’ answered Beldale, with a delighted smile, ‘Although I am bound to point out that the contemplation of your most dignified manner is enough to send one into the wildest hysterics!’

Ruefully, Harriet had to agree, although privately vowing that she would still endeavour to be on her very best behaviour that evening.

She dressed with care, choosing a pale turquoise crepe gown in the Grecian mode, with its gently draped bodice gathered under the bosom and its skirt flowing softly to her ankles. She elected to wear no jewellery, other than the obligatory ring, not wishing to be reminded of that other eventful occasion, and Rose, still bemoaning the absence of suitable adornment, brushed her mistress’s bright locks into their new style and wove a silver ribbon through them. The result was one of simple but charming elegance.

Sandford, too, paid special attention to his toilette, discarding several neckcloths in his efforts to achieve the perfect knot. Kimble stood in silent reproach as, one after another, the snowy silk cravats were hurled aside until, breathing heavily, the viscount pronounced himself satisfied.

Kimble then helped his master into his exquisitely cut tailcoat, adjusting the lapel fronts carefully over the white silk waistcoat and smoothing away an imperceptible crease on the broad shoulders. Grudgingly pleased with the result, the valet stood back and gave a brief nod.

The viscount eyed him sourly for a moment, then emitted a deep chuckle. ‘Oh, I’ve been a terrible trial to you this past week, haven’t I, Kimble?’ he said, with a sheepish grin. ‘Accept my apologies, dear man—and have a tankard on me!’

He proffered a coin, which Kimble accepted with alacrity, although his countenance clearly displayed his affront at his master’s suggestion.

‘You know that I never frequent the local hostelry, my lord,’ he said loftily. ‘However, I shall be pleased to share a bottle of wine with Mr Rothman at your lordship’s expense.’

He passed Sandford his fobs and signet ring and watched, eagle-eyed, as the viscount pinned a diamond stud into the folds of his cravat. Then he handed him his top hat and evening cloak and, opening the door for his master to leave, he executed his very correct bow.

Sandford, descending the stairs, perceived that Harriet had forestalled him and, to his intense irritation, he saw March step forward, take the cloak from her arm and carefully arrange it about her shoulders. Neither did he miss her smile of grateful thanks to the young footman, who retreated to his appointed place with what Sandford, gritting his teeth, could only describe as a fawning expression.

Great start, he thought wryly, shepherding the impassive Harriet out to the waiting carriage and handing her into her seat. He had been hoping for a more auspicious beginning to the evening, conscious that this could be his last chance to reinstate himself into her good books.

Seating himself opposite her, he leaned forward and smilingly complimented her on her appearance, which admittedly he had caught sight of only briefly before March’s swift attentions.

She inclined her head in acknowledgement, but did not meet his eye, seeming to find the passing view of greater interest.

‘I trust that you will find some reserves of your usual good humour before we arrive at Westpark,’ he said uncomfortably. ‘Judith will expect us to have—recovered from our—lover’s tiff, or whatever she called it!’

‘I can assure you that I am perfectly aware of my part, my lord,’ she replied woodenly, clasping her gloved hands together in her lap. ‘You will excuse me, however, if I save my performance until we have an audience. You need have no qualms as to the propriety of my behaviour—I shall be everything that is correct, I promise you.’

‘Oh, good God, Harriet!’ cried Sandford, flinging himself back into his own corner in exasperation. ‘How long do you intend to keep this up?’

Unmoved, she regarded him in silence, her green eyes inscrutable. ‘Only for a few more days, I hope, my lord,’ she said, again without expression. ‘My grandfather cannot be far from Beldale now and I hope that I can prevail upon him to remove me to some—other accommodation—until he is ready to return us to his own home.’

Sandford stared in hopeless frustration at her rigid countenance. ‘Oh, that will create a fine impression of our hospitality, won’t it?’ he said sarcastically. ‘I’m sure it will please my parents wonderfully!’

Harriet’s face flamed resentfully and she glared at him from under her dark lashes.

‘Oh, a veritable hit, my lord!’ she said scornfully. ‘Although it will probably come as a great surprise to you to know that neither Lord William nor Lady Caroline seem to share your low opinion of me …’

‘Stow it, Harriet,’ he cried hoarsely, his own cheeks flushing, ‘you know damned well that I don’t have a low opinion of you!’

‘It has improved, then, since yesterday, my lord?’ she asked witheringly. ‘For I seem to remember that you thought me totally beyond the pale only twenty-four hours since!’

‘I’m not proud of what I said yesterday,’ he exclaimed heatedly. ‘I was angry—you know I was angry!’

‘It appears to be a particular failing of your lordship’s,’ she rejoined. ‘However, perhaps you could manage to hold yourself in check for the next few hours, as I see we have arrived at our destination. If I could have your hand, my lord?’

Sandford was obliged to stifle the retort that was forming on his lips and, inwardly seething, he sprang out of the carriage to give her his hand.

Judith swept into the hall to welcome them. Harriet was delighted to observe that her friend seemed to have put off her blacks for good, for she was wearing a most becoming gown of lavender silk. The two girls devoted the next few minutes to comparing styles and laughingly exchanging extravagant compliments with one another.

Sandford, handing their cloaks to the waiting Finchley, quickly registered the return of Harriet’s normal lively disposition and, in spite of the earlier setback, was once more determined to take full advantage of any opportunity that might arise.

‘Come along into the drawing-room,’ smiled Judith. ‘Mother and Charles are waiting for us …’

‘Charles is dining with us?’ asked Sandford, in some surprise.

Judith nodded, a slight blush staining her cheeks. ‘The more the merrier, wouldn’t you say?’ she said, as they entered the room. ‘And, since you have lived in each other’s pockets all week, I was afraid that you might begin to feel deprived if you were separated for too long!’

‘Very amusing!’ Sandford said with a grin, striding forward to present his compliments to Lady Butler. ‘Evening, ma’am, I trust I find you in good health?’

Her ladyship gave him a pale smile.

‘Glad to see that you, in any event, are in such good spirits,’ she said, fanning herself ostentatiously. ‘I myself find this warm weather quite overpowering—I believe your Miss Cordell suffers from a similar weakness—if we are to believe what we hear?’

She looked towards Harriet, who appeared to be involved in some sort of amusing wordplay with Ridgeway. An expression of contempt came into Lady Butler’s eyes as she continued, ‘I cannot think what possessed Judith to invite her bailiff to eat his dinner with us. Although, I am obliged to point out that it is all of a piece with her conduct since you brought your—young lady back with you to Beldale. A certain laxity of standards, you might say—I must suppose that she has been filling my daughter’s head with some sort of foreign egalitarian nonsense!’

‘Surely Judith has been far too well brought up by your own good self to be influenced by the word of a mere soldier’s girl?’ returned Sandford, who was, as usual, intensely irritated at Lady Butler’s appalling rudeness but, at the same time, fiendishly interested to see how far on to her own cleft stick he could pinion her. He was gradually beginning to understand how Philip had handled the old harridan and why his father found her so amusing.

She glowered at him in silence for a moment or two, fidgeting with her fan. ‘How very like your brother you are,’ she said diffidently. ‘That he should perish on his own doorstep in a carriage accident, while you escaped unscathed after ten years of war in some foreign land, strikes me as being grossly unfair—but life is so, as I am constantly reminded!’

Sandford, staggered at her outrageous insensitivity, was momentarily lost for words. ‘I’m afraid that I cannot find it in me to apologise for my survival, ma’am, he managed eventually. ‘As to unscathed, I can assure you that I have a fine scar on my leg …’ He gently patted his right thigh.

‘Really, sir!’ she protested. ‘I have told you before that I will not have such unsavoury topics in my house!’

‘My brother’s house, I believe, madam,’ he corrected her with stiff politeness, ‘Or, in any event, Judith’s, to hold in trust for his son!’

As this rejoinder seemed to have the effect of reducing her ladyship to an affronted silence, he decided that he had done more than his share of duty insofar as she was concerned, especially as the uneasy pause allowed him to become increasingly conscious of the sounds of merriment that were emanating from the group at the pianoforte.

‘May I bring you a drink?’ he forced himself to ask Lady Butler, his natural good manners once more to the fore. ‘I see Pinter hovering with a tray and our Cousin Charles is always so reluctant to push himself forward—unlike myself. Lemonade, perhaps?’

She shook her head ungraciously, unfurling her fan and fluttering it affectedly to and fro across her fleshy cheeks—looking for all the world like some giant puce porpoise floundering on a rock, he thought ungallantly as he made his way across the room.

Harriet and Ridgeway were seated together at the pianoforte, attempting to construct a duet, the former never having had a lesson in her life and the latter unable to recall many of his. That they were managing to produce anything resembling a tune was due partly to Harriet’s excellent ear and, mainly, to Judith’s hastily mouthed instructions to Ridgeway. Much laughter ensued and Sandford pessimistically predicted that his appearance would be certain to create a damper.

To his astonishment, however, Harriet leapt at once to her feet as he approached and, taking him by the hand, pulled him over to the instrument, begging Ridgeway to relinquish his seat.

‘—for I now have a much more proficient partner in Robert!’ she cried gaily, apparently oblivious to the look in his eyes as he sat down beside her. ‘Come now, dearest. Show how it is perfectly possible for two to devise a tune between them. I shall choose the chords and you must add all the terribly clever trills and runs that you are so good at! We have done this on many occasions so I know that it is not beyond your capabilities!’

Not quite out of his depth, for he was a competent pianist,

Sandford waited until she struck her first chord, a C major and, thinking swiftly, he tentatively executed a few notes of a popular tune, hoping that the expected G would follow. It came on the beat without hesitation and so, between the two of them, the little ditty was rendered almost perfectly, to the delight of the two spectators, who clapped most heartily at its conclusion.

‘Now that you see how it is done,’ Harriet said to Judith, ‘you and Charles should do far better than we did, for you both have the benefit of a musical education and you, I know, play beautifully.’

So Judith and Ridgeway took their places and their little piece was performed with more zest than skill, due to the laughter that accompanied its execution, but they jubilantly managed to finish at one and the same time, just as Finchley entered to announce that dinner was served.

Judith insisted that, as their number was odd, formalities would be dispensed with and that they must all go directly to the dining-room without further ado; she herself would accompany Lady Butler. Several of the leaves had been removed from the large mahogany table, which enabled the small group to disport themselves within comfortable speaking distance of one another, and still allowed for the prodigious number of side dishes to be positioned within reach.

Judith took the head of the table with the two men seated, one on each side of their hostess, at the top, Lady Butler to Ridgeway’s left and Harriet to the viscount’s right.

Harriet, true to her word, gave a dedicated impersonation of a loving bride-to-be in addition to keeping up her cheerful bonhomie. She was momentarily disconcerted, at various intervals throughout the splendid meal, to find Lady Butler’s disapproving eyes upon her. However, all through the soup, fish, meat and game courses she continued with her amusing repartee, occasioning Judith to upset her wine glass because

she was laughing so much, and her friend’s mother to tuttut even more vigorously at everyone’s unseemly behaviour! Ridgeway, alternately grinning at Harriet’s witticisms and smiling into Judith’s shining eyes, was happy simply to be at his goddess’s table.

Sandford, on the other hand, was in a perpetual state of nervous tension. One minute he was laughing along with the others and the next finding himself contemplating Lady Butler’s rigid disapproval of the merriment at the dinner table. Most of all, however, he was acutely conscious of Harriet’s vivacious and captivating nearness, her deliberate and pointed use of his given name and the constant flashing of her smile in his direction. For which dedicated attentions, he reflected gloomily, he would surely be paying dearly before the day ended so he decided he might as well make the most of them and set about entering into her pantomime with gusto.

At last the desserts were brought in. The lively exchanges had continued through a widely ranging number of light-hearted topics, everyone carefully avoiding the more contentious issues of corn prices, royal scandals and the like, any of which could be guaranteed to depress the spirits. The latest novels were touched upon briefly and, when local matters arose, Sandford, catching the flicker of concern in Harriet’s eyes, was quick to steer the conversation away from her woodland escapade, in spite of Lady Butler’s prurient curiosity in that event. Instead, he regaled them with the story of his own confrontation with Josh Potter when the old man heard that Bottom Meadow cottages were about to be pulled down.

‘Such ripe language as he used is not for repetition in mixed company, of course,’ he concluded teasingly. ‘But I feel sure that, could he but walk the distance, he would do his utmost to disrupt the entire proceedings.’

Ridgeway and Judith joined in his laughter, but Harriet’s face became suddenly serious and she stared at them reproachfully.

‘Oh, but I can readily sympathise with his feelings!’ she exclaimed.

‘That much is clear, for the whole village is agog with your kindness to him.’ Judith smiled fondly at her friend. ‘It was such a—well—a Harriet sort of thing to do!’

Harriet blushed and lowered her eyes as the two men grinned at Judith’s choice of words. Lady Butler, however, pricked up her ears.

‘What kindness was this?’ she asked, in saccharine tones. ‘Do tell me more.’

‘There is really nothing to tell, ma’am, disclaimed Harriet hurriedly. ‘I merely returned one of his damaged possessions to him. He—he was a little effusive in his gratitude, that is all. Please do not laugh. It is a dreadful thing to lose one’s home. I, myself, know this only too well!’

In the ensuing silence Sandford, his eyes full of compassion, reached out to clasp her hand and she made no attempt pull away from him.

Her ladyship studied her thoughtfully for a moment then, turning to the viscount, she reverted to the topic of the cottages.

‘You intend to replace them or merely to clear the site?’ she asked. ‘I was under the impression that the new ones in the upper meadow were already a replacement.’

Ridgeway answered for his clearly distracted cousin. ‘That was the idea originally, ma’am,’ he said. ‘But as more of our lads return from the continent, we are finding that accommodation is scarce, especially for youngsters wanting to get wed and set up their own homes. And you know that Beldale likes to take care of his people.’

‘I should have thought it would be difficult to justify such an expense at the moment—I hear that Beldale is threatening to cut back as it is!’

She sat back in her chair, satisfied that her words had hit their mark.

Sandford looked ill at ease and, raising accusing eyes to his sister-in-law’s, he encountered her shocked and guilty expression.

‘I didn’t say ‘'cut back'', Mama,’ she said, in some confusion. ‘I merely mentioned that Robert and Charles were devising some sort of consolidation for the estates—at least—’ she turned to Sandford ‘—that is what I inferred from our conversation?’

‘That’s all it is, Judith,’ he returned, with feigned good humour. ‘Just one of several ideas we’re considering. I told you to forget about it. You must know that we would consult you about anything that might affect Westpark.’

‘But, of course!’ Lady Butler was at pains to point out. ‘Although it is hardly for our bailiff to be making major decisions regarding our property!’

There was an uncomfortable pause as Judith coloured violently and Ridgeway, eyes fixed on the table in front of him, clenched his fists between his knees.

The meal was completed in subdued undertones, Sandford ruefully conscious of all the effort that Harriet had spent in contributing to the evening’s earlier success. Looking sideways at her pensive expression, he had a desperate longing to take her in his arms and soothe away her hurts and fears, in spite of her angry declaration that he was ‘not that man'.

Finally, when all the covers had been removed and the decanters placed at the gentlemen’s elbows, Judith rose to escort the ladies from the room. Lady Butler, with her usual officious manner, deemed it necessary to linger behind to point out some deficiency or other to Finchley and instructed the two men not to linger over their drinks, before following her daughter from the room.

Left to themselves, Sandford and Ridgeway relaxed and the viscount, pouring his cousin a large glass of brandy, grinned sympathetically and said, ‘You look as though you need that, old chum! Get it down you and let’s talk!’

‘I’d drink the whole bottle if I thought it would answer,’ said Ridgeway, with a grimace. ‘But it didn’t serve my father, so its efficacy is clearly in doubt!’

Sandford contemplated him gravely for a moment or two before taking a sip of his own drink. ‘What do you hear about this Potter business—with Harriet?’ he asked casually. ‘I know she picked up a memento when I showed her the cottages—but I’m damned if I can see why it should have set the whole village on its ears!’

Ridgeway looked up in surprise and, seeing that his cousin was clearly ignorant of the whole matter, furnished him with the details with which Lady Eugenie herself had supplied him, she having got them first-hand from Meggy Watts.

‘And you say you didn’t know any of this, man?’ exclaimed Ridgeway, in amazement. ‘What do you do? Walk around with your eyes and ears closed?’

‘No need to be offensive, old chap,’ said Sandford calmly. ‘I don’t have a houseful of chattering females to bring me the latest on-dits like you do and I’ve been stuck in the outfields most of the week, don’t forget.’

‘But you were at Mrs Watts’ cottage the other day—you spoke to old Josh himself! Didn’t he mention it?’

‘Well, apart from damning me to perdition, he did suggest that I wasn’t worthy of a certain lady’s regard—something about not being ‘'fit to lick her dear little boots” springs to mind—but since I’m well aware of that fact, I didn’t pay a great deal of—why are you looking at me like that?’

What’s going on, Robert?’ asked the older man sharply. ‘You and Miss Cordell have been at daggers’ drawn all week—any fool could see that. Last week it was much the same, if I’m not mistaken and—I have to say this, old chap—you don’t act like a man newly in love!’

‘Do I not, indeed?’ drawled Sandford coldly and for the merest moment his eyes looked bleak as they studied his cousin’s concerned face. Then, with a sudden urgency he leaned across the table and said decisively, ‘Fill your glass, Charles. I have a tale to tell you—but it must go no further than this room.’