“I understand from my maid that you thought I would feel safer here than at The Priory.”
“That is so.”
Then, as though the question burst from her lips and she could refrain no longer from asking it, she enquired slowly,
“How did you manage to save me? Even now I can hardly believe that my prayers were answered.”
“You prayed that I would come?” he asked in a low voice.
“I prayed as I have never prayed before that God would send you,” she told him, “and that you would find some way of escape for me from those monsters.”
“What happened was in direct answer to your prayers for I assure you that when I heard where you had gone, I could not imagine how I could contrive to enter the caves, not being a member of the Club.”
Clarinda clasped her hands together.
“I thought of that too,” she said, “but somehow, I don’t know why, I felt you would find a way. If you had not – ”
She paused.
“What if I had not managed it?” Lord Melburne questioned.
“I intended to kill myself,” she answered simply. “I knew how to do it and it would not have been hard to get hold of a knife.”
He sat down beside her.
“I want you to forget what happened that evening,” he said and his voice was grave. “It is something no woman should have had to endure, yet I want to tell you that, when I saw you with your face turned up towards the ceiling, I could hardly believe that anyone, anyone in the world, could have been as brave as you were.”
There was something in his voice that made her feel even shyer than she had felt before. The colour flooded into her face and she looked away from him.
“I tried not to look at what was happening around me,” she answered, “but just to pray.”
“That is what I felt you must be doing,” he said.
“But how – how did you get in?” Clarinda asked. “I must ‒ know,”
“It is a question I had asked myself a hundred times before I found the answer,” Lord Melburne admitted, “as I stood outside the caves watching the guests arriving. Then when I saw them adjusting masks before they entered, I knew that was the answer to my question.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I waited,” he continued, “until I recognised the Coat of Arms on one of the coaches. It belonged, I knew, to a young Nobleman who is heavily in debt, a stupid young man who has wasted his heritage gambling and taking part in mad adventures, every one of which has cost him money. I drew him on one side and I offered him quite a large sum of money if he would give me his mask and his token of membership,”
“And he agreed?” Clarinda asked breathlessly.
“He needed a little persuasion,” Lord Melburne replied with a twist of his lips.
“You mean you forced him to give you what you wanted?”
“I think by the time he reached London and, when he received the money the following morning, he was grateful to me,” Lord Melburne answered. “The evening was spoilt anyway for them after I had spirited you away.”
“You were clever – very clever,” Clarinda said.
“Perhaps it was all your prayers that helped me once again,” Lord Melburne suggested. “For I promise you that as I walked down into the cave and saw you sitting there, I had not the slightest idea of how, with at least a hundred men to contend with, I could possibly save you.”
“And then you thought of the wine in the bottles.”
“Brandy, the best brandy!” Lord Melburne corrected her with a smile. “It burns well and the bursting bottles would, I just knew, divert the attention of those who were already half-stupefied by the excessive amount they had drunk.”
“Supposing someone had penetrated your disguise?” Clarinda asked him breathlessly.
“Then I should have been in trouble. But it did not happen.”
“And then after you had left me at The Priory, when you went back – what happened?”
“I had intended to challenge Nicholas Vernon to a duel,” Lord Melburne replied and his voice was grim. “If he had not been gentleman enough to accept it, then I would have shot him down as I would shoot down a mad dog. But I was too late.”
“Betty told me that Simple Sarah ‒ had killed him,” Clarinda said.
“It must have been his scream we heard as we drove away,” Lord Melburne reflected. “When I got back, the last of the guests were tearing back to London, frightened of a scandal and terrified of being involved in the enquiries that they felt must be inevitable.”
“Only Nicholas was there?” Clarinda asked.
“He was on the point of death,” Lord Melburne said, “and because I was afraid that you might be involved in any enquiries that might be made, I had him put in my carriage and I took him back to The Priory.”
“You took him to The Priory?” Clarinda echoed in horror. “But how could you?”
“It was his home,” Lord Melburne replied. “Your uncle’s physician attended to him, but there was nothing anyone could do. He died an hour after his arrival.”
His Lordship paused and then continued,
“That prevented there being any investigations of the evening’s proceedings. I swore that I had found him stabbed in The Priory drive. And that is why what happened that terrible evening, as far as you are concerned, Clarinda, is best forgotten.”
She did not answer him and after a moment he urged her gently,
“Try and forget. No good can come if you torture yourself now it is all over. Forget it as if it was a nightmare of no evil consequence save that you were frightened.”
“I will try,” she whispered. Then with an effort she raised her face to his. “But first, my Lord, I must thank you.”
He rose from her side.
“I have no wish for your thanks. It will only embarrass me and indeed I have reproached myself bitterly that I did not anticipate you might be involved in circumstances so bestial.”
“And why should you have anticipated it?” Clarinda asked bewildered.
“Because I had heard about the caves and the meetings of the Hell Fire Club that were being held there, because I realised you were right and the man at Dene’s Farm was a Priest, and because I was such a fool not to realise at once that Nicholas Vernon would never forgive you for taking away his inheritance.”
Lord Melburne spoke with an angry voice.
Then he said sharply,
“But this is all to be forgotten as well. You will not speak of it again, Clarinda, do you understand, either to me or to the servants. They have all been warned that if they repeat to anyone what happened that night, they will be dismissed without a character reference.”
“I understand,” Clarinda said quietly. “So you have saved not only me but the honour of the Vernons.”
“I have done my best,” Lord Melburne reflected.
“And Simple Sarah, what has happened to her?” Clarinda enquired.
“She drowned herself,” Lord Melburne replied. “And that means there will be no trial and again it closes a chapter, a chapter that must never be reopened.”
Clarinda gave a deep sigh as if it came from the very depths of her being.
“Thank you, my Lord,” she said. “I promise you that I am deeply and sincerely grateful.”
“And now I want to talk to you about something very different,” Lord Melburne told her. “Do you feel well enough to listen?”
“Of course,” she answered. “I am completely recovered. I can quite understand why you wished me to be unconscious these last few days, but it was unnecessary. But I should have been brave enough to attend my uncle’s funeral.”
“It was an ordeal that I did not wish you to be subjected to,” Lord Melburne said.
There was something proprietary in his tone, which made Clarinda raise her eyes quickly to his.
“Uncle Roderick’s will has been read?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lord Melburne answered. “He has left, as
indeed you well know, everything that he possessed, The Priory and his very considerable fortune to you, Clarinda. You are now a very wealthy and very enviable young woman.”
Clarinda rose from the sofa and walked across to the window. She stood looking out over the lake before she said,
“I never wanted all that money. I intended to give most of it back to Nicholas, keeping just enough for Betty and myself to have a small house on the estate. I thought we could live there quietly.”
“I am afraid that is now impossible,” Lord Melburne interposed.
“Not really,” she answered. “I can give the money away and you can have the estate. It marches with yours and you will administer it far better than I should do. It was what Uncle Roderick wanted anyway.”
“Do you really think that I could accept such a valuable present?” Lord Melburne asked. “No, Clarinda, I have very different plans for you.”
She turned round to look at him.
“You have plans for me?” she asked. “I think, my Lord, you have forgotten that now my uncle is dead the arrangement was that you would be free – free to return to your amusements in London. When I asked for your help I was not expecting that you would find yourself involved in such a terrifying situation. I am grateful, more grateful than I can ever say for what you have done, but it is finished. Thank you, but now we can say ‘goodbye’.”
“May I ask you what you intend to do?” Lord Melburne enquired.
“I will live at The Priory for the moment,” Clarinda answered.
“Alone?”
The word sounded almost like a pistol shot.
“Betty will be with me and the other servants are here.”
“You know as well as I do,” Lord Melburne said harshly, “that you cannot live at The Priory unchaperoned. You are not only wealthy, Clarinda, you are also a very beautiful young woman. Surely you can understand that both of those attributes carry their own penalties.”
“That is ridiculous,” Clarinda countered hotly.
Then she met Lord Melburne’s eyes and the words died on her lips.
“I will find myself a chaperone,” she said almost submissively.
“Have you anyone in mind?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Very well, until someone suitable can be procured, I have another suggestion to make.”
“What is that?” Clarinda asked.
“That you should come to London,” he answered. “I have already made arrangements for my maternal grandmother, the Dowager Marchioness of Slade, to chaperone you at Melburne House. In your new condition you must take your place in Society. You will, Clarinda, have a chance to see more of the world than you have seen these past years.”
“I think you must be crazed!” Clarinda expostulated. “Do you really credit that you can arrange my life for me, that I would accept the chaperonage of your grandmother or indeed do anything else that you suggest?”
“I was rather expecting that this might be your attitude,” Lord Melburne said in his most uncompromising voice. “But I am afraid, Clarinda, you have no choice in the matter.”
“I have – no – choice?”
The words seemed to be squeezed from her in her astonishment.
“No,” he answered. “Our betrothal, which enabled Sir Roderick to die happy believing that his estate was safe, is I grant you, terminated. But your uncle made another proviso in his will and I admit it was on my suggestion, that until you came of age or married, I should be your Guardian.”
For a moment Clarinda was too stupefied to answer him.
Then stammering in her anger she exclaimed,
“Y-you made Uncle Roderick – appoint you – my G-Guardian? How could you do such – a thing, how could you – interfere, how could you – h-humiliate me by assuming such a – position?”
“It is a position,” Lord Melburne said sternly, “that I am prepared to relinquish at any moment, Clarinda, either to your husband or to someone I consider would be an adequate or perhaps better Guardian than myself. You have but to name such a person and I will resign at once in his favour. Have you anyone to suggest?”
Clarinda turned away petulantly to stare once again out of the window.
“I know of no one,” she said crossly, “but I do not want – you.”
“That is very obvious,” Lord Melburne said, “and I assure you, Clarinda, it is not a duty I would undertake if I did not feel it was imperative that you should be properly looked after.”
“Only because I am rich,” Clarinda snapped. “When I was poor, no one worried about me in any way.”
“On the contrary, I have found you quite a considerable worry ever since I have known you,” Lord Melburne replied.
There was a hint of laughter in his voice and Clarinda felt herself blush.
“That was rude and – ungrateful of – me, my Lord,” she said shyly. “Please – will you consider – those words – unsaid?”
“Certainly,” Lord Melburne replied, “as long as you listen to the plans I have made. I am afraid, Clarinda, that much as you may dislike me, you have no alternative at the moment but to accept them.”
Almost as though he compelled her to, Clarinda came from the window to sit down once again on the sofa.
“I am taking you to London,” Lord Melburne explained, “because I consider it is in your best interest that your horizon should be widened, that you should meet girls of your own age and gentlemen who will undoubtedly find you very attractive.”
There was something dry and a little sarcastic about his voice that made Clarinda glance at him sharply.
“My grandmother will help you buy the right sort of clothes in which you can make your debut into the fashionable world.”
“Surely I am in mourning for Uncle Roderick?” Clarinda interrupted.
“That is also provided for in your uncle’s will. He specially requested that no one should wear black for him nor should there be any period of mourning whatsoever.”
“That is your doing!” Clarinda exclaimed. “You knew if I was in mourning I could not go to London.”
“On the contrary, I believe that your uncle inserted that particular clause because he was thinking of the expense.”
Once again because she had been rude, Clarinda felt the blood rising in her cheeks.
“You will, I think,” Lord Melburne continued, “find the Social world very different from your present conception of it.”
“I doubt it,” Clarinda said hotly. “I have now met you and I have met Nicholas, two gentlemen of fashion who have not endeared the Beau Ton to me, if that is the right term for the Society that you move in.”
She paused as if she expected him to speak.
When he said nothing, she continued,
“I know that as a woman I should be really looking forward to attending balls, masques and assemblies. But I do not want to meet the people who enjoy such entertainments. I want to stay here in the country, where I shall not be out of place, where gentlemen like your Lordship will not make me feel uncomfortable because my gown is unsmart and my hair not dressed in the latest fashion.”
Again, she seemed to wait for his comment before she went on,
“I want to live quietly without always feeling intimidated that I shall do the wrong thing or having to make polite conversation to people with whom I have not the slightest interest in common,”
She spoke hotly, her hands clenched together in her intensity.
Then she realised that Lord Melburne was quite unmoved by her protest.
“If after several months in London, you tell me the same thing,” he said quietly, “then we can readjust your plans for the future.”
“You think you can do what you like with me, do you not?” she said furiously. “Have I no say in anything? After all it is my money that is going to pay for all this nonsense.”
“Then let us hope that your money will teach you to behave more like a sensible woman than a hysterical schoolgirl,” Lord Melbu
rne replied.
She felt as if he had hit her and, because he had aroused an almost blind anger in her, she stormed,
“I hate you, do you understand? I would rather have anyone – anyone as my Guardian than you! I hate you, I despise you! I shall never forget and never forgive what you did to my friend.”
“To your friend?” Lord Melburne asked.
There was a sudden glint in his eyes as if he realised that he was needling her into telling him what he had long wanted to know.
“Yes, to my friend – Jessica Tansley,” Clarinda cried. “And now can you tell me that I should not be afraid of coming to London to meet fashionable gentlemen like yourself!”
“Jessica Tansley,” Lord Melburne repeated. “It is strange, but I cannot for the life of me remember ever hearing that name before.”
“How can you say such a thing?” Clarinda raged. “How can you utter such a falsehood or try to deceive me! You are impossible, utterly and completely impossible and that is why I hate you.”
She turned as she spoke and ran from the room, determined as she went that he should not see the tears in her eyes, tears of weakness and of rage combined.
Lord Melburne stood for a long time when she had left him repeating almost beneath his breath the name ‘Jessica Tansley’.
Then speaking aloud he said,
“I swear I have never heard of the woman.”
Upstairs Clarinda wept in her bedroom for some minutes before resolutely she wiped her eyes and sent for Betty.
“Oh, miss,” Betty cried, as she came into the room. “Has his Lordship told you we’re leavin’ for London this very afternoon? ’Tis the most excitin’ thing I’ve ever known. Are you not thrilled, Miss Clarinda?”
“No, I am not,” Clarinda answered crossly. “I want to stay here, Betty, in the country.”
“Oh, but Miss Clarinda, you’d feel real sad and gloomy at The Priory. There seemed a shadow over the whole place before we came away. What with the Master and Mr. Nicholas a-dyin’ it gives me a sort of creepy feelin’, it does really. I wants to see London. And his Lordship’s valet has promised he’ll take me out one evenin’ and show me the sights.”
“Have you packed?” Clarinda asked.
The Irresistible Buck Page 12
