An Ideal Companion

by Anne Ashley

  This instantly captured his sister’s attention. ‘When did you purchase a sporting carriage, Hugo?’ Sarah asked, after listening to her house guest’s enthusiastic response.

  ‘I haven’t, although I expect I shall in the near future. No, Kingsley’s in town for a few days on business. Ran in to him last night at my club and he kindly said I might avail myself of his as often as I wish, as he himself doesn’t expect to be staying too long, or doing much socialising, either.’

  ‘What a pity! I don’t suppose Briony has accompanied him... Oh, how foolish of me!’ Sarah exclaimed in the next breath. ‘I was forgetting she’s increasing again. Hoping for a girl this time, I shouldn’t wonder.’

  ‘I don’t think Luke minds either way,’ Hugo enlightened her from behind the folds of the Morning Post. ‘But I expect Briony would like a daughter, after having given birth to two healthy sons.’

  ‘Ah, what a devoted couple they are, to be sure!’ Sarah remarked to no one in particular. ‘Much like dear Lansdown and me. Did you know Hugo purchased the Kingsleys’ property in Dorset, Ruth, shortly after he retired from the army?’

  ‘Yes, he did mention it. But I’m not acquainted with either the Viscount or his wife.’

  ‘In which case we shall remedy that before too long,’ Hugo announced, folding up the journal and rising to his feet. ‘But not today. I shall go and collect the curricle and be back in an hour.’

  * * *

  Unlike so many of her sex, Ruth was unfailingly punctual, a trait in her character that Hugo very much admired. He strongly suspected she must have been on the lookout for him in the front parlour and had spotted him tooling the sporting carriage along the street, for no sooner had he brought his friend’s prime horses to a halt before the house than the front door opened and she came running lightly down the steps to meet him.

  Another quality he much admired in her was a superb taste in dress. Which was most surprising when he came to consider the matter, he decided. By her own admission until recently she had not been in a position to spend vast sums on her attire. Yet, she knew precisely what suited her and nothing he had witnessed her wearing thus far had given him any reason to suppose that she had been in any way influenced by Sarah’s occasional peculiar taste in fashion.

  ‘What an utterly charming bonnet!’ he announced, leaning down to assist her up on to the seat beside him. He was surprised to discover the compliment hadn’t appeared to please her very much. If anything, she looked distinctly mortified.

  ‘Oh, Hugo, don’t!’ she implored, thereby confirming his suspicion. ‘It was wickedly expensive. I’m afraid I’ve been shockingly weak-willed since I arrived in London. I’ve permitted your sister to persuade me to purchase such an array of new things, most of which I’ll not have occasion to wear once I’ve left town. And what makes it so unforgivable is that I haven’t heard a word from Mr Pearce. Heaven alone knows when I’ll be in a position to refund you.’

  She peered up at him through her long, dark lashes—yet another of those endearing characteristics that never failed to evoke tender feelings. She put him in mind of nothing so much as a child seeking approval. Which, too, was most strange, for she could be quite determined when she chose, knowing her own mind. Perhaps it was just that she would much rather win his approbation than do without it. Which boded well for a future life spent together, he mused.

  ‘Do not fear, m’dear, I shall certainly call a halt to your spending spree long before you have a chance to ruin me.’

  She gurgled in response, then was content to sit quietly, studying the expert way he tooled the curricle through the busy London streets. It wasn’t until they had left the familiar, fashionable thoroughfares behind and were travelling along roads in a much less affluent part of town that it occurred to her to ask where they were bound.

  ‘In an attempt to keep myself out of dun territory, I thought it was time to turn your thoughts from acquiring fashionable falderals and focusing your mind on the main reason for visiting the metropolis.’

  Although he had spoken lightly enough, Ruth wasn’t one hundred per cent certain the remark hadn’t contained the merest trace of criticism over her behaviour.

  ‘I can assure you, Hugo, it has never been far from my thoughts, no matter what impression I might have given. I wasn’t quite sure just how to set about things, that’s all, and was waiting for an opportunity to consult with you. Sadly, I’ve seen so little of you of late and I just never seemed to get a chance to discuss matters with you alone.’

  She trusted the response would vindicate her and looked at him, hoping to receive some confirmation of this, only to catch what looked suspiciously like a smugly satisfied grin fading from about his mouth. She couldn’t imagine what had pleased him so much, but felt sure something must have done.

  ‘In that case you’ll no doubt be relieved to discover I know precisely how to proceed and that is why you find yourself in this part of town,’ he revealed, sounding smugly satisfied, too.

  ‘You mean you’ve located the whereabouts of one of those travellers, Hugo?’

  ‘I was armed with their precise directions before leaving Dunsterford Hall,’ he enlightened her. ‘I don’t know...’ He shrugged. ‘For some reason I just hung on to them. Perhaps it was fate.’

  ‘Perhaps it was,’ she reluctantly conceded, frowning suspiciously. ‘But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t enlighten the Justice of the Peace at the time.’

  ‘No, you’re quite right, it doesn’t,’ he agreed. ‘I dare say I must have had a reason. It just escapes me for the present, my angel.’

  She was even more suspicious now. ‘Don’t you try to flummery me, Hugo Prentiss! I’ve never known anyone with a more acute mem— Oh! What did you call me?’

  ‘Sorry, just slipped out.’ In Ruth’s opinion no one could have looked less apologetic. Not only were his eyes alight with devilment, he was grinning from ear to ear, too! ‘Cannot get your given name out of my head, for some reason. And, as you’ve strictly forbidden me to use it, that’s the closest abbreviation I can come up with,’ he added, drawing the curricle to a halt outside the premises of Messrs Blunt, Blunt & Caldecott, Notaries & Commissioners for Oaths.

  It was a timely arrival, as far as Hugo was concerned, for it immediately turned her thoughts away from what she had evidently considered an outrageously improper endearment. ‘Do you intend to go inside?’ she asked.

  This only served to add to his amusement. ‘What...and leave you with the horses? My friend Kingsley would have my liver and lights if I were even to contemplate anything so reckless. No, we’ll save that meeting with Mr Henry Blunt for another time. Besides which, I think it might arouse suspicion if we were to be seen together, so we’d best not tarry,’ he continued, once again giving the horses their office to start. ‘We’ll save locating the homes of the good doctor and his sister and Mrs Adams for another time, too, and return to the house to put our heads together to decide how best to proceed.’

  * * *

  Any thought of planning future action was temporarily set aside when they returned to find Sarah in a positive fervour of excitement. Not only had all three of Ruth’s new evening gowns arrived at the house and were now taking pride of place in the wardrobe, Sarah had also been active on their behalf and had paid an impromptu call on Lady Constance Styne, the once-close friend and confidante of the late Lady Beatrice Lindley.

  ‘And when she discovered you were staying at my house, Ruth, she insisted I bring you to see her and invited us all to attend the informal dinner party she’s holding tomorrow evening in an attempt to ease her granddaughter gently into polite society.’ All at once Sarah’s brow was marred by lines of perplexity. ‘It was most odd, my dear, really, it was. But she seems to know so much about you already. In fact, I would go so far as to say she knows a deal more about you than I do myself.’

  Smili
ng faintly, Hugo moved towards the door. ‘Might I suggest that, even though Lady Beatrice chose to spend her last years living the life of a recluse, she did maintain contact with her closest friends by letter.’

  ‘That must surely be the explanation,’ Ruth agreed. ‘Writing letters remained her chief occupation during the years I resided with her.’

  Sarah gave vent to an unexpected gurgle of mirth. ‘Although she’s a grandmother, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Lady Constance’s understanding. She’s delighted her friend Beatrice didn’t leave any of her money to her sisters. Vicious tabbies is how she refers to them!’

  ‘At the risk of appearing rude, ladies, I believe I shall leave you alone to discuss the visit and whether you wish to accept Lady Constance’s invitation. I must return the curricle to Kingsley’s residence in Berkeley Square.’

  ‘The verbal invitation included you, Hugo,’ Sarah assured him, thereby arresting his immediate departure.

  His expression betrayed neither delight nor dismay as he announced he would be happy to escort them if they chose to accept. Then he left the room without further ado and Ruth with the return of that uncomfortable feeling that he might have felt duty-bound to accompany her.

  She didn’t attempt to conceal her unease. ‘It would be perfectly in order for us to go alone, would it not? Hugo need not accompany us, if he truly doesn’t wish to?’

  ‘Oh, yes, perfectly in order,’ Sarah assured her. ‘But it will do my brother good to bestir himself and go about into society more,’ she continued, clearly not experiencing the pangs of conscience that were afflicting Ruth. ‘He’s becoming far too set in his ways. All he’s done since his arrival is visit his club and pay calls on his male friends. That’s all he’s ever done for years when visiting London. Which, I might add, has been rare!’

  ‘But might there not be a very good reason for his seemingly unsociable behaviour?’ Ruth suggested hollowly, a clear and highly disturbing memory returning now with painful clarity. ‘I—I’ve been led to understand that he suffered a tragic loss in his youth. Maybe he still hasn’t fully recovered from it and has no desire to form a further attachment.’

  Sarah appeared taken aback. ‘Oh, so you know all about Alicia, do you? Was it Hugo himself, perchance, who told you about her?’

  Ruth shook her head, deciding to be perfectly frank in the hope of discovering a deal more about Hugo’s lost love. ‘No, he’s never so much as mentioned her name within my hearing. It was Lady Beatrice, as it happens. She touched upon their relationship briefly when Hugo sought shelter at Dunsterford Hall last year.’

  Although Sarah was now looking decidedly ill at ease, Ruth didn’t allow this to deter her from discovering everything she could, even if it meant the knowledge would bring little comfort and, worse, destroy all those hopeful dreams that had been steadily growing since embarking upon this visit to London. ‘How did she die, Sarah?’

  For several moments she thought she was destined to remain in ignorance, then Sarah said softly, leaning her head back against the comfort of the upholstery, ‘No one seemed to know, not really. It was all so unexpected. That was perhaps why Hugo found it so hard to accept—a simple fall from a horse, little more than a sprained ankle.’

  ‘But no one dies from a sprain!’ Ruth, incredulous, pointed out.

  ‘Quite!’ Sarah agreed. ‘The doctor was called. Alicia was ordered to bed for several days, during which time she succumbed to a slight chill, which settled on her chest. She rapidly worsened, developed a high fever and was dead within days.’

  ‘And the doctor could do nothing?’ Ruth contemplated the arrangement of flowers on the low table close to her elbow for a moment, as memory stirred. ‘That might well account for your brother’s poor opinion of those engaged in the medical profession.’

  She hadn’t realised she’d spoken her thoughts aloud until Sarah revealed that he swore the surgeons in the Peninsula killed more soldiers than they saved and that he wouldn’t have one near him whenever he had been injured in battle. ‘Always relied on Finn to care for him whenever he was wounded.’

  This came as no surprise to Ruth. She had witnessed often enough during the journey to the capital that special rapport that existed between Hugo and his groom. It went far beyond that of master and servant. It was much the same as her own relationship with Agatha, a bond based on trust and mutual respect.

  In the circumstances, though, Hugo’s attitude towards the medical profession, and his scathing remarks about Dr Dent in particular, were faintly troubling. An alarming possibility had already begun to occur to her, but she decided not to dwell on it for the present, as his relationship with Alicia was very much at the forefront of her mind.

  ‘They were engaged, were they not?’

  ‘Unofficially, yes,’ Sarah surprisingly revealed. ‘Papa thought Hugo too young to be contemplating wedlock, even though he, like the rest of the family, simply adored Alicia and thought they were admirably well suited. But Hugo had just turned three-and-twenty and he was willing to fall in with Papa’s wishes and wait a couple of years.’

  ‘And Alicia...? Was she happy to delay their union?’

  Sarah frowned. ‘Where Alicia was concerned it was sometimes difficult to know what she was thinking and feeling. She certainly never voiced any objection to the delay, at least not within my hearing.’

  ‘You appear to have known her well, too?’ Ruth ventured and received immediate confirmation of this.

  ‘The Thorndykes were our nearest neighbours. We grew up together. Initially, she was more my friend than Hugo’s. But all that quickly changed when she developed a taste for outdoor pursuits. She was, I suppose, a bit of a tomboy. She loved nothing more than a day’s hunting, or fishing, or careering about on horseback with Hugo, not caring what state she was in when she arrived home. Which, I suspect, was part of the reason why Hugo adored her so much. She wasn’t forever concerning herself over the state of her appearance. At the same time, though, she could be so gracefully feminine when she chose.’ Sarah chuckled suddenly. ‘She was exactly my height, yet she always made me feel so awkward and clumsy. Had she not been my very best friend, I think I could quite easily have hated her for being so graceful!’

  Ruth could well understand that sentiment and was finding it difficult to quell a growing resentment towards the dead girl. She knew it was wrong, almost childishly spiteful, but she simply couldn’t help it. How could any normal female compete with the memory of a girl who had not only shone in a ballroom, but had also been superb on the hunting field? Hugo’s continued bachelor state suggested strongly that he had yet to meet Alicia’s equal.

  ‘And in all these years he never found anyone to replace her,’ Ruth remarked hollowly, echoing her depressing thoughts. ‘It’s hardly surprising, really, is it?’

  ‘It wasn’t through lack of effort on my part,’ Sarah assured her. ‘Down the years I’ve introduced him to a score of suitable young ladies, all of whom shared Alicia’s passion for outdoor pursuits. And some remarkably pretty ones, too! He was always unfailingly kind to them all, but never betrayed the least sign of wishing to further the acquaintance.’ Sarah frowned as she cast a considering look in Ruth’s direction. ‘I believe, now, I shouldn’t have attempted to interfere, that it was a complete waste of my time and effort, and that I should have permitted him to—’

  A servant entered, immediately capturing Sarah’s attention by reminding her that she had promised to go over the menu for her forthcoming party with Cook.

  Knowing how much the event meant to Sarah, Ruth didn’t attempt to detain her further by seeking more information about Hugo’s lost love. In truth, what she had learned already had depressed her more than she cared to admit. So she sought immediate refuge in her allotted bedchamber, where even the sight of those three beautiful new evening gowns hanging in the wardrobe quite failed to lift her spirits.


  Seating herself on the window sill to stare blindly down at the assortment of vehicles making their way along the busy street, where the hustle and bustle never entirely ceased, not even in the dead of night, Ruth could only wonder at herself. Ashamed though she was to admit to it, she was experiencing definite pangs of jealousy, now, towards a female whom she had never met...could never meet. How could she compete with an ideal...at least Hugo’s ideal of the perfect mate?

  Honesty obliged her to own that she possessed no obvious weapons in her armoury to assist her even to attempt to win his deepest affections. Had she been blessed to have a brother, she just might have learned how to fish. Had her mother not been so stubbornly determined to make her own way in the world and had accepted financial assistance from her father-in-law, there might have been money enough to have kept a horse for riding. And as for hunting...? The poor Reverend Mr Stephens would have suffered an apoplexy had he ever caught her with a firearm in her hands! No, there was no avoiding the fact that her life at the rectory had been vastly different from Miss Alicia Thorndyke’s privileged upbringing.

  Of course she might well be able to compete on the dance floor, she continued to reflect, achieving a modicum of satisfaction. More than one person had remarked on her gracefulness. She was accounted better than average on the pianoforte, too, and could certainly carry a tune, even though she did say so herself. Those accomplishments, commendable though they might be, hardly set her apart from other young women, something which Alicia evidently had been. And, from what she had learned today, Hugo had yet to meet anyone to compare with the girl who had played such a vital part in his youth.

  Well, she couldn’t say she hadn’t been warned, she reminded herself, recalling once again words uttered months before with agonising clarity. Lady Beatrice had suggested strongly that Hugo Prentiss’s heart had been buried along with his childhood sweetheart all those years ago; the fact that, having attained the age of five-and-thirty, he remained a bachelor, rather seemed to substantiate this, surely?