The Wicked and Wonderful Miss Merlin

by Anne Herries

  ‘A harvest supper,’ Eleanor said and clapped her hands. ‘Can we have music, Robert? I recall that once we had a gypsy fiddler play and we all danced the night away.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said and looked sad. ‘There were times we were happy before…it all went wrong.’

  ‘I never did know why you quarrelled with Papa,’ Eleanor said. ‘After you went away it was awful. He hardly spoke to anyone ever again.’

  ‘I think he may have been distressed for quite another reason.’ Robert frowned. ‘I believe he intended to marry – a young woman who died.’

  ‘Oh no,’ Eleanor said. ‘There was someone…I was outside his study and I heard them argue. She accused him of sending you away and said it was you she wanted and then she ran from the house. I think it was then that Papa became so angry.’

  ‘I see…well, I am sorry for it. I had hoped to spare him the truth, even though he did not truly deserve my consideration. You may as well know, Eleanor. She was his mistress for some years before Mama died...he had one mistress after another all the time they were married, but she was the one he cared for it and Mama knew.’

  ‘Poor Mama, how unkind of him,’ she said. ‘I never knew…Mama never spoke of it to me.’

  ‘Nor to me,’ he replied, but the doctor told me there were complications after her last child was born…Philip lived only a few days. She could never have another child and so Papa…’ He shook his head. ‘I should not say, but it is one of the reasons why I do not wish you to marry unless I am certain that he loves you, as he ought, Eleanor. I would not wish you to suffer as our mother did.’

  ‘Oh, Robert…’ Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears. ‘It was so sad for her.’

  ‘Perhaps for him too,’ Samantha spoke, bringing both the brother’s and sister’s eyes on her. ‘If he was deprived of his wife’s presence in his bed he may have been driven to seek female company.’

  ‘Yes, this is true. She told me that she accepted his physical need – but it was his love for Marianne that hurt her so badly. He wanted to divorce her but could not bring himself to face the scandal. For years he provided a house, carriage, horses and jewels for his mistress – and he did not bother to remember Mama’s birthday. I saw her crying once because he had not even wished her happiness on her special day.’

  ‘That was cruel,’ Samantha agreed. ‘As you said, Eleanor, it is sad – but I do not think that Toby would behave in a similar way faced with the same circumstances.’

  ‘No caring man would inflict such pain on another in any circumstances,’ Robert said. ‘There is such a thing as self discipline.’

  Samantha saw the pain and anger in his face and was silent. It was an old wound and one that had clearly not yet healed.

  ‘Perhaps we should think of getting back,’ she said and stood up. She was about to gather the rug under her arm when she heard Eleanor’s cry and saw the girl spring to her feet. She went running back towards the house and, seeing the man walking towards them, Samantha smiled. ‘Toby must feel better. He is here a day or so earlier than we expected.’

  ‘Well, we can make plans for our supper for the tenants, and then, in a few days we shall all go down to Bath.’ He forestalled her as she would have picked up Eleanor’s rug. ‘No, leave everything. A footman can fetch the basket and rugs. Leave everything here and come with me. I should like to take a little walk with you.’

  ‘Very well,’ Samantha said, smiled and slipped her arm through his. ‘It must have hurt your father’s pride when his mistress told him she preferred you?’

  ‘She approached me, hoping that I would become her protector, perhaps more, for she was beautiful and I was young, she hoped impressionable. When I refused her, she implied to my father that the advance had come from me and we quarrelled. I fear that I was bitter because of Mama and said things I ought not. I do not know why she refused her chance to be his wife. Perhaps she had a better offer…but unfortunately, she took ill of a fever and died.’

  ‘How old was she?’

  ‘Perhaps five and twenty. Too young to die and I am sorry for it, even though I did not care for her.’

  ‘She was my own age.’ Samantha looked into his face. ‘Why would a young woman of that age give herself to a man so much older – and without marriage? Was she of good birth?’

  ‘She was the daughter of a parson, but always wild I understand. My father was not her first lover. I believe there was a child some years before, when she was no more than sixteen – and the reason her father turned her out, of course. I suppose she had no choice but to sell herself to the highest bidder.’

  ‘Sad indeed,’ Samantha said and shivered. ‘I understand why you were so concerned for Eleanor when she ran away. You feared she might suffer a similar fate.’

  ‘It was in my mind at the start, but after I spoke to you I came to see that it was unlikely. However, I shall be very glad to see her wed to a good man who will care for her – whatever happens in the future.’

  ‘I am sure Toby adores her,’ Samantha said, smiling at him. ‘You need not fear to give her to him, for he would never behave as your father did. We all have our faults I dare say. My father adored my mother, but he could never keep money in his pocket. His friends asked and he gave with no thought of repayment. Mama sold some of her jewels when they were short of money. Papa always meant to purchase more for her, but then someone would be in need and he could not resist – I would not have had him different. He was a dear man and we both loved him very much.’

  ‘Is that why you cling to your independence – because you cannot trust a man to care for you and keep you safe?’

  ‘No, I do not think so,’ Samantha said. ‘I have become independent through necessity but…I have never found a man I liked enough…or loved. I suppose I should marry if I did…’

  Robert smiled. ‘I am glad. A woman as beautiful as you should not live her whole life alone. I think we all need companionship and love, if we are lucky enough to find it.’

  ‘Yes, perhaps,’ she said. ‘You have a beautiful home, Brough. I think you must be very proud of it?’

  ‘You seek to turn the subject? Very well, I shall not embarrass you. As yet I have given you no chance to know me, Samantha. We have some weeks ahead of us for that. I hope by the end of our visit to Bath you will not dislike what you discover…’

  Chapter Eight

  Changing for dinner that evening, Samantha was thoughtful as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Beautiful. Robert had called her beautiful. She had never seen herself as a beauty, attractive, yes – but too beautiful to live alone? What could he mean?

  He had spoken of getting to know one another. Did that mean he liked her…enough to offer her a home here…to make her his wife?

  How foolish of her! To hope for such happiness was to risk rejection and pain. She had long given up all expectation of marriage, and yet – and yet there had been something in his eyes. When he looked at her sometimes she felt that he wanted her – but did he care for her?

  Samantha’s heart raced and she felt a wrench of pain. She was coming to care for him too much for her own comfort. Beside the lake, listening to him talking about his father, she had suddenly seen into his past, seen a man of ideals who had been hurt for his mother’s sake and still carried that pain inside.

  She thought perhaps that man was a man she could love very much.

  Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, she patted a stray hair into place. Her gown of cream silk with an overlay of lace suited her well, and her pearls gave lustre to her skin. She did look attractive and perhaps…perhaps there was a chance that Robert might come to love her.

  Dinner that evening was a pleasant affair. Now that Toby was here, Eleanor had come completely out of her sulks and talked in an animated fashion. Robert behaved in a friendly manner to the young man, speaking of his time in the army. Toby confessed that he had once plagued his father for a pair of colours but, because he was the only child of the family, his mothe
r could not bear to part with him.

  ‘And then I met Eleanor,’ he said and smiled at her. ‘After that I no longer wished to go into the army. My father was relieved and my mother cried for happiness so I dare say it all turned out for the best, sir.’

  ‘I dare say it did,’ Robert agreed and laughed. His eyes met Samantha’s across the table and they shared a silent jest. ‘Eleanor, why do you and Samantha not leave us to our port? I would like to talk to Toby about the future.’

  Eleanor looked anxious but at a nod from Toby she got up and led the way into the parlour they used for family evenings. It was smaller than the drawing room, which was used when they had visitors, and comfortable with slightly shabby chairs and their books and possessions lying about.

  ‘I hope Robert’s wife will not change this room too much when he marries,’ she said and then laughed. ‘I shall not be here often, shall I? It should not matter to me what she does.’

  ‘Is your brother to marry?’

  Eleanor wrinkled her brow. ‘I do not know but he said something about it when we talked – something about leaving the refurbishing of the house to his future wife. Whether he has an understanding or means to invite his friends and their sisters here in order to court one of them I do not know.’ She looked thoughtful. ‘It would be wonderful if…but I cannot expect Robert to marry to suit me…’

  Samantha did not answer. If Robert was thinking of marriage there was probably a young woman somewhere that he thought suitable. She was foolish to have allowed herself to think….but it was ridiculous. Just because he had made an effort to be pleasant by the lake it did not mean that he cared for her.

  She asked if Eleanor would like to play a game of cards or read. Eleanor elected to play the pianoforte. She was too restless to read or concentrate on cards, and the action of running her fingers over the keys soothed her. She played well and Samantha was absorbed in the music and did not immediately notice that the gentlemen had joined them. It was only when Robert sat down beside her that she became aware of him and turned her head. Something in his gaze made her heart leap but she merely placed a finger against her lips.

  ‘Eleanor plays well,’ he leaned in to whisper. ‘She was always talented but I think she has improved since she came to your school?’

  She could feel his warmth breath close to her ear and trembled inwardly as she nodded and whispered back. ‘Her natural talent shines through, but she has learned to apply herself to her practice.’

  ‘Something more I should apologise for. My sister has certainly become more accomplished since you took her under your wing.’

  She shook her head, smiling and placed a finger to her lips as Toby began to sing. Robert drew back and she closed her eyes to listen. Toby had a clear tenor voice, though it was untrained. He could have been wonderful, a true professional, had he had the lessons that would teach him how to breathe and phrase the music. However, it was still an accomplished performance for them both – and now that Robert was no longer so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek, her own breathing had recovered.

  They both clapped as the performance ended. After that the tea tray was brought in and they talked in a companionable way until they all said their goodnight and the ladies went up, leaving the gentlemen to a last nightcap or a game of billiards.

  It had been agreed that the supper for Robert’s tenants would be that Friday and they would go down to Bath the following Monday. All in all it had been a good day, Samantha reflected as she went to bed.

  For a few moments she sat staring at herself in the dressing mirror as she brushed her hair, then got up to wander over to the window and stand staring out at the night sky.

  Someone was standing in the garden. It was a man and he was smoking, staring up at the house. Was it Robert or Toby – or one of the footmen? Samantha could not be sure and yet she somehow felt it was not anyone she knew. A little shiver went through her as she drew back from her window, crossed the room to her bed and climbed in.

  Why had she felt that the presence in the garden was a little sinister?

  No, she was being ridiculous. It had probably been one of Robert’s servants or Robert himself taking a last look around the grounds before retiring.

  Robert was not at breakfast the next morning when Samantha went down, though both Toby and Eleanor were. Toby said that Robert had gone out to visit a tenant and spread the word that there was to be a celebration supper for the tenants in the courtyard.

  ‘We are to be engaged on my birthday and married at Christmas,’ Eleanor said excitedly. ‘Robert and Toby had talked everything out and reached an understanding, and my brother has given us his blessing.’

  ‘I am pleased for you,’ Samantha said, ‘that is indeed good news indeed. You will have plenty of time to gather your trousseau and Toby and your brother can get to know one another.’

  ‘We have made great strides towards that already,’ Toby said, looking thoughtfully at Eleanor. ‘It seems that we of one mind where Eleanor is concerned and we think alike on certain matters.’

  ‘That sounds so serious,’ Eleanor said and pouted. ‘He will not tell me what was said, Samantha, only that we are to be engaged on my birthday.’

  ‘Then that must be enough for you,’ Samantha said and laughed. ‘No, I shall not sympathise with you. Men must be allowed their secrets, as we are.’

  ‘Well, I suppose.’ Eleanor dimpled at her. ‘Yes, we must all have some secrets.’

  The look in her eyes was a little naughty and Samantha nodded. She was happy in their company and felt herself wishing that she might be a part of this family for the rest of her life, but though she might visit them as their guest she would not be an intimate part of their lives once the visit to Bath was over.

  After breakfast she had Eleanor sat in their favourite parlour and wrote out the menus for the celebration supper in a neat hand, enough so that everyone could keep their copy if they wished. Toby had gone out riding, promising that he would return for nuncheon and keep them company that afternoon.

  The morning passed pleasantly and the bell sounded for nuncheon, but when the ladies entered the small dining parlour they discovered they were alone. Neither Robert nor Toby had returned. They enquired of the butler if anyone had seen either gentleman and were informed that neither had returned to the stables.

  ‘I do not understand,’ Eleanor said with a worried frown. ‘Toby said he would be here for lunch and he always keeps his promise to me. Do you think we should wait?’

  ‘It is a little odd. Perhaps we could eat a little something for everything has been prepared but…’ She was prevented from going on by a commotion in the house. Eleanor was on her feet instantly. She ran from the dining parlour and through to the front hall, Samantha a shirt distance behind her. ‘Oh no…’

  The scene that met her eyes was both shocking and disturbing. Toby and a footman were supporting a man; he was bleeding profusely from a wound to his cheek and another to his hand. Some of his blood had transferred itself to Toby’s hands and clothes. Samantha could not stop herself crying out in distress as she saw the blood.

  ‘What has happened? Robert…were you attacked?’

  ‘Someone had tied a thin cord between two trees,’ Toby answered for him. I saw Robert riding ahead of me and put on a spurt to catch up to him and saw what happened. His horse was not aware of the cord and it brought him down, Robert was thrown against a tree and cut his cheek and I think his hand. He was unconscious and had I not been in time to save him, he would have been murdered as he lay there. A rogue was standing over him, club in hand. I shouted and he ran off into the wood.’

  ‘Perhaps you should bring him into the parlour and lie him down,’ Samantha said as she saw that Robert was still barely conscious. ‘We must thank God that you went riding, Toby. Had you not come upon him…’ She felt her throat tighten. ‘Who could have wanted to murder Robert?’

  ‘My poor brother,’ Eleanor cried as the men carried him into the parlou
r and placed him on a sofa with cushions beneath his head. ‘We should send for the doctor.’

  ‘Bring water and a cloth,’ Samantha asked one of the servants who had been drawn into the hall by the noise. ‘I shall bathe his wounds.’

  ‘One of the grooms has already gone for a doctor,’ Toby said. ‘I think he will be better shortly. He has been going in and out of consciousness as I brought him home. I was forced to put him across my saddle and lead him back, which may have contributed to the feeling of grogginess.’

  Toby was perfectly right to think that the undignified manner of his return home had contributed to the faintness which had overtaken him, for a few minutes after Samantha had begun to bathe his face and wash away the blood from his hand, which had a deep gash and had been the source of most of the blood, his eyelids flickered and he opened his eyes, looking up at her.

  ‘What happened to me?’ he asked. ‘I was riding at the edge of the woods, on my way home…did my horse throw me?’

  ‘It was not his fault, sir,’ Toby said. ‘Someone had tied a cord between the trees and it brought your horse down. Whoever it was meant to rob and murder you, for he was about to club you when I arrived and fired my pistol at him.’

  ‘Good grief…’ Robert attempted to sit up and then fell back as his head whirled. ‘Is Storm all right? Are his knees badly cut?’

  ‘I fear that he has sustained some damage,’ Toby said gravely. ‘I tied him to the tree before I brought you back and one of your grooms has gone to fetch him home. We shall know more once he has looked at him and applied a poultice.’