‘And you are not?’
‘You know I am not!’
‘Why should that be, Miss Fairchild?’
‘You have spoken to my uncle,’ she countered. ‘What did he tell you about me?’
‘Nothing. He saw no reason to say anything about you, since he would not even consider Freddie’s suit.’
‘Then you know as much as I.’ Suddenly she was tired of the pretence. ‘I have no idea who my mother was, or my father. I am accepted in Bath because the Pridhams are rich and claim me as their kin and also because of Mrs Ancrum’s patronage, but although the local families allow me to associate with their daughters, I am not considered a suitable match for their sons. Or for anyone.’ She thought of the threats Freddie had received and shivered. ‘You would be advised to stay away from me.’
‘No, why? I am responsible to no one for my actions. If I ride beside you, it is because I want to do so. I enjoy the company and conversation of an intelligent woman. Many men do, you know, Miss Fairchild.’
She stared straight ahead, blinking away a sudden rush of tears.
‘Now what have I said to make you cry?’
‘Why, nothing, I am merely being foolish.’
She forced a smile. His words confirmed her fears. She had read of girls being educated to a high standard and given all the accomplishments to amuse a rich and powerful man. Not with the aim of becoming his wife, but his courtesan.
* * *
Tristan watched the play of emotion in Natalya’s face and could not understand it.
‘Have I upset you?’ he asked abruptly. ‘Perhaps you think I am trying to flirt. I assure you that is not the case.’
‘No.’ An unsteady laugh accompanied the words. ‘I acquit you of that, my lord. I believe you were being kind and I am very grateful.’
The humble note in her voice irked him. He said roughly, ‘I do not want your gratitude.’
‘Then what do you want of me?’
Her eyes were gleaming with angry defiance, but there was something more in their depths. Fear. She was wary as a wild creature.
‘Why, nothing,’ he replied. ‘Merely to talk with you. And to see how well you ride. Perhaps you have not noticed, but we have reached a stretch of flat ground and some of the others are preparing to gallop. Shall we join them?’
The anxious look fled.
‘I should like nothing better!’
They turned their mounts and trotted up beside the rest of the riders. There were calls from parents and those in the carriages for the riders to be careful, but they went unheeded. Soon they were all spread out and speeding over the turf. For the first part of the gallop Tristan kept his horse in check, following Natalya as she galloped towards the front of the pack. Not for her a gentle canter while she remained upright in the saddle, looking calm and elegant. Natalya was bent low over the grey’s neck, urging her on while the skirts of her riding habit billowed out in an azure cloud behind her. His hired mare covered the ground at an easy pace while he watched in admiration the way Natalya controlled her spirited mount. They had drawn level with the leaders when he gave the mare her head, surging forward to overtake everyone and thundering onwards to the end of the gallop, a hedge that enclosed a field of sheep.
He pulled up and swung the mare around to discover he was well ahead of the others and he had time to watch Natalya galloping the final few yards towards the hedge, where she brought her horse to a stand with the ease of an accomplished rider. She was transformed, her cheeks and eyes glowing from the exertion and a smile of unalloyed pleasure lighting her face. He glanced about to see if Freddie would take the opportunity to approach her, but his nephew had pulled up beside Miss Grisham and they were already turning to walk their horses back towards the road.
Tristan trotted over to Natalya and she greeted him with no sign of their earlier restraint.
‘That hunter of yours goes like the wind,’ she told him, sending an appreciative glance towards his mare.
‘Yes, I was fortunate to find such a fine animal at the stables.’
‘That is a hired mount?’ Natalya’s brows went up. ‘She is much better than the usual run of job horses.’
‘She is indeed. Possibly a recent addition, from the stable of some gentleman who has been obliged to sell up. I have reserved exclusive use of her until further notice.’ He added, ‘If I had known I should be riding out so much, I would have brought my own horses.’
His quizzing glance reminded Natalya of their meeting on Lansdown Hill and she felt a flush stealing into her cheeks. She leaned forward to run a hand along her own mare’s glossy neck.
‘After you passed us, Bianca was desperate to catch up, but it was a forlorn hope.’
‘Do not despise her efforts, she is a game little mare. Fleet, too. You ride well, Miss Fairchild.’
‘Thank you. It is something I enjoy, very much.’
‘Who taught you, your uncle?’
‘No. I learned at school.’
‘Indeed? I know little of these matters, but I think that is unusual.’
‘Is it? We were encouraged to do so, but then the school was situated in a very remote area of Yorkshire and there were few carriage roads.’
‘And what was the name of this school, Miss Fairchild?’
‘Miss Norwood’s Academy. A very select establishment for…’
He waited for her to finish. She looked very solemn for a moment until she noticed he was watching her. She gave a little smile.
‘I have always enjoyed riding, especially over the wild moorland. Unfortunately, my uncle allows me no more than an occasional outing from Bath, and even then, except for Lansdown, there are so many farms and small fields, there is little opportunity for hard riding.’
‘True, unlike Devon, where I have a hunting lodge.’
Tristan stopped, aware that he had been about to say how much he would like to take her there and to ride out together, over the hills and moors. She was watching him, waiting for him to finish the thought and he cleared his throat.
‘The country is very different from this,’ he ended awkwardly.
‘I suppose it must be.’ She looked back the way they had come. ‘The carriages are making heavy work of the hill. I expect my uncle would like me to wait for them to catch up.’
‘Or we could ride on to the picnic site with the others.’
She looked at him, her eyes twinkling with shy but unmistakable mischief. ‘Yes, we could.’
They turned their horses and followed the other riders the few hundred yards to where the picnic had been set out for them. Natalya chattered away quite freely and Tristan found himself wishing that the picnic was another mile away. All too soon they reached the servants’ carriage, where grooms were waiting to take care of the horses while the guests made their way to the picnic rugs and baskets of food laid out a short distance away.
Tristan jumped down and went across to help Natalya dismount. The Pridhams’ groom came running up to overtake him.
‘No need to fret, my lord, I’ll help Miss Fairchild.’
‘Nonsense, I’ll do it. Stand back.’ His tone brooked no argument and the servant reluctantly stepped aside.
As Tristan lifted her down, Natalya gave him another of her mischievous glances.
‘Poor Forbes, he has orders to look after me, you see.’
‘And what harm do the Pridhams think will come to you here, in company?’
His hands were still on her waist and as he looked down into her smiling face, he knew the answer to that question, for he had a sudden desire to pull her close and capture that inviting mouth with his own. As if aware of his thoughts, she blushed and looked away from him. With an effort Tristan released her, but could not resist taking her hand and pulling it on to his arm. It was the courteous thing to do, he told himself, but as they walked on the s
ilence between them was charged with an awareness that neither of them would risk naming.
Although chairs were available, most of the riders preferred to make themselves comfortable on the rugs and Natalya accepted an invitation to sit down with Laura Spinhurst and Jane Grisham. Freddie was close by, but she felt safer there than with Tristan. She had thought she might faint when he lifted her down from the saddle. That moment of helplessness when he held her in his arms had set her heart fluttering, but she had managed to maintain her composure until he had set her on her feet. If that was not bad enough, he had then looked down at her and the glow in his eyes had made her stomach swoop in the most frighteningly delightful way. Even now, thinking about it set her heart thudding and her skin still tingled where his hands had rested around her waist.
She tried to listen to the conversation going on between Jane, Laura and Freddie, but her eyes kept wandering to Tristan. He did not sit down, but strolled around, exchanging a word with various acquaintances, and when the carriages arrived he walked over to help the ladies to alight. She wondered if they, too, would feel the same electric tingle of excitement at his touch.
‘Heavens, Lya, was that a sigh?’ Jane Grisham demanded in playful tones. ‘Are you tired of our company already?’
‘I know the cause,’ declared Laura. ‘It is because Mr Erwin has left us.’
Natalya had not even noticed that Freddie had gone. She hastened to assure her friends that was not the case, but they did not wish to believe her.
‘What a wasted opportunity, Lya,’ Jane commiserated with her. ‘If you had planned it better, you might have had a good twenty minutes alone with him! It is too late now, Mr and Mrs Pridham are already making their way over and they will make sure you have no occasion to speak to him privately.’
‘You appear to be on very good terms with Lord Dalmorren,’ Laura observed.
‘She needs to be, if she is to marry his nephew,’ opined Jane. ‘After all, we know the Pridhams will do all they can to oppose the match. Not that that will matter after Saturday, will it, Lya? Because that is your birthday and you will be one-and-twenty. Then you will not need their permission!’
‘Well, I do not know how you can bear it,’ declared Laura. ‘To be constantly escorted wherever you go and not to be allowed to stand up for more than two dances with a gentleman.’
‘She did manage to dance several times with Freddie when Mrs Ancrum escorted her to the Assembly Rooms,’ Jane pointed out.
‘Yes, but then poor Lya was locked in her room for a whole week,’ exclaimed Laura. ‘You were probably fed on bread and water!’
Natalya laughed. ‘No, no, it was nothing like that, I assure you!’
Jane touched her arm, saying eagerly, ‘But we have hit upon a plan to rid you of your chaperons, Lya, at least for an afternoon. We are holding another sketching party at Royal Crescent on Thursday next. Mama will speak to Mrs Pridham and tell her you will be collected and returned in our own carriage, so there will be no need for you to be accompanied by your dragon of a maid.’
‘Aggie is not a dragon, Jane!’
‘But you will not deny the Pridhams have instructed her to keep a close watch on you,’ said Laura. She leaned closer, her eyes shining. ‘What will you do, when you attain your majority—will you run off and marry Freddie?’
‘No, of course not!’
‘Well, that is what everyone is saying will happen,’ retorted Miss Grisham, pouting.
‘Oh, Jane, surely you do not expect Natalya to tell us her plans!’ exclaimed Laura, laughing. ‘Or Freddie, either.’
‘We have no plans,’ Natalya insisted, flustered. ‘Now can we please talk of something else?’
* * *
Tristan gave Mrs Ancrum his arm to walk the short distance from the carriage to the chairs set out for the comfort of the more elderly members of the party.
‘I am glad to see young Erwin doesn’t sit in Natalya’s pocket,’ she remarked, nodding to the three young ladies sitting together. ‘I hear Pridham refused to allow the boy to make an offer.’
‘Really, ma’am? How did you come to hear that?’
‘Now don’t you fly up into the boughs, my lord! You know how word spreads in Bath, there’s no stopping it. Everyone knows your nephew is dangling after Natalya.’
Tristan said cautiously, ‘Perhaps Miss Fairchild does not wish to marry him.’
‘If that was the case, then I think she would have given him an indication of it! Natalya is not one to give a young man false hope.’
He did not reply. Having observed Freddie and Natalya all day, he was not at all convinced there was a strong attachment between them, but he knew he could no longer trust his own judgement. He did not want Freddie and Natalya to be in love and for the most selfish of reasons.
* * *
‘Ah, do sit down and join us, Mrs Ancrum,’ Mr Grisham waved and called out as Tristan approached with his companion. ‘We are talking of the imminent arrival of the Allied Sovereigns. It is little more than a week away now.’ He turned to his neighbour. ‘No doubt you will be going, Mr Pridham?’
‘No, sir. We remain in Bath. I have no interest in these visiting foreign dignitaries.’
‘Have you not?’ Mrs Grisham fluttered her fan. ‘Oh, that surprises me, sir, because I recall Mrs Pridham telling me she has a relative working at one of the embassies. What a spectacle it will be, I am sure. I vow I am so excited that we are able to go and to have obtained rooms overlooking the procession route, too!’
‘Aye, we was quite fortunate there.’ Her husband chuckled. ‘It was not cheap, but Jane and my dear lady were adamant that we should go!’
‘I was,’ affirmed Mrs Grisham, ‘but I was also determined that we should not miss dear Natalya’s birthday party. We intend to set off the following morning.’
‘Oh, never say you will travel on a Sunday,’ exclaimed Mrs Pridham, looking shocked.
‘I am afraid it cannot be helped,’ Mr Grisham told her. ‘It is nigh on a hundred miles and cannot be done comfortably in a day. We need to be in town by Monday evening to see the procession on Tuesday.’ He laughed. ‘I only hope the royal party is not delayed in France.’
‘Well, I confess I shall be very happy to remain in Bath,’ declared Mrs Pridham. ‘The crowds in London will be quite unbearable, everyone bustling for a view of the Allied Sovereigns. I believe there are any number of entertainments arranged for them.’
‘To say nothing of various visits out of London, including Oxford, I believe,’ added Mr Grisham.
‘Good heavens,’ declared Mrs Ancrum, laughing. ‘I hope they all have strong constitutions so they are not laid up from the crossing!’
Having escorted Mrs Ancrum to her chair and brought her a glass of wine, Tristan moved away to sit down beside Natalya.
He said, ‘With the Grishams going to London, perhaps you regret now that you do not go.’
‘Not at all. Jane has promised to write to me and I shall enjoy hearing all about it.’
‘And there will be reports in the newspapers.’
She laughed. ‘I do not think we shall lack descriptions of all the celebrations! But I dislike crowds and pomp and London is sure to be very hot and very busy. No, I shall prefer to be here.’ She looked at him, saying shyly, ‘Shall you go, my lord?’
He shook his head. ‘Thankfully, my presence will not be required in town. And like you, I would rather avoid the crush.’
‘Then, perhaps you will come to my birthday party on the Saturday.’ She flushed a little. ‘Mrs Pridham said I might invite whomsoever I chose and Freddie is coming, so perhaps you would like to come and keep an eye on him.’
The last words were uttered with a hint of defiance and he laughed. ‘My nephew is at liberty to go wherever he chooses, Miss Fairchild. I am not his keeper. But for all that, I should be delighted to come along, if I
may.’
* * *
A day in the fresh air was the perfect excuse for Natalya to retire early, but she lay in bed for a long time with her hands behind her head, gazing out of the window at the moon. Everyone had declared the picnic a great success and Natalya had enjoyed it, especially riding with Lord Dalmorren. She blushed as she remembered how he had helped her to dismount. The feel of his hands on her waist, the sudden suspicion that he was going to kiss her and her shocking realisation that she would very much like him to do so.
The idea of Tristan wanting her made Natalya shift restlessly in the bed. There was no doubt that she found the man dangerously attractive. She liked him, but not in the safe, friendly way she liked Freddie. She blushed again when she recalled how she had invited him to her party. She had told herself it was in order that he might see that she and Freddie were no more than friends, despite the rumours, but in her heart she knew it was because she wanted to see him, to talk to him. Her heart gave a little skip. Perhaps she might even flirt with him.
The pleasurable anticipation that accompanied the idea was soon pushed aside by other, more worrying thoughts that had nagged her all day. The threats Freddie had received. He had dismissed the idea that his uncle was behind them, but it was possible, if Tristan considered him a rival. If Tristan was base enough to threaten his own nephew, then she wanted nothing to do with him. And if he was innocent, as Freddie believed, then he might be threatened, too. But who would do such a thing?
She had spent much of the ride back from the picnic pondering that question. As soon as she arrived back at Sydney Place, she requested a private word with her uncle and told him about the threats made to Freddie. He had looked genuinely shocked by the news and his subsequent denial that he knew anything about them rang true. He was pompous enough to believe that, having rejected Freddie’s suit, no one would gainsay it and he would think no more of the matter.
She pulled the covers a little higher around her. Freddie was anxious no one should think he had given in to intimidation and withdrawn his suit and she had been happy to go along with it, but now she wished they had made it plain to everyone that he was no longer a suitor. She should have told Jane and Laura as much today.
Harlequin Historical May 2020--Box Set 2 of 2 Page 32
