A Sense of Purpose

by Soliman, Wendy

  She swallowed as she looked up into his eyes and saw the deep concern etched into his features. ‘Very well, I will take precautions. In fact, the note to Daley has already been sent. I have asked her to come as soon as the day after tomorrow if she’s able.’ She paused. ‘But I cannot come here again tomorrow. Don’t forget that Evita is being delivered to Ashton Lodge and I want to be there to welcome her and help her to settle in.’

  ‘That could be delayed.’

  ‘No. If I change my plans, it will feel as though they have won.’

  ‘It is reassuring for me to know that you are so level-headed.’ He chuckled. ‘The Coopers underestimate you to their peril.’

  ‘Precisely.’ She sent him a satisfied smile. ‘Thank you so very much for caring.’

  ‘Oh, I care. More than you could possibly know.’ Then tell me. He sighed, lifted her gloved hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. ‘I have been looking out for you since you and Emma learned to climb trees. You might have grown out of that particular pursuit but it’s obvious to me that you still require my protection.’

  ‘My hero.’ She smiled over her shoulder as she preceded him into the drawing room.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘It’s a damned rum business.’ Matthew paced the length of the drawing room at Ashton Lodge, a red mist of anger clouding his vision. ‘I don’t like her being so independent, Christina. I don’t like it one little bit.’

  ‘Do stop being so melodramatic,’ his sister-in-law replied with a dismissive wave. ‘Miranda will come round. You just need to put a little more effort into it. You simply assumed that she would fall at your feet because most women tend to. Our little Miranda has developed an independent streak since our return to England, you’re right about that, and you need to nip it in the bud. Courting impressionable young women is a task that you are well-qualified to undertake. God alone knows, I saw you succeed often enough during our travels.’

  Matthew grunted. ‘This is different. The little hussy had the audacity to walk out on me when I tried to talk to her last night. And then this afternoon there she was, being driven through the village in the earl’s landau like she was royalty. That companion of the countess’s was with her. It was she who deliberately told the driver to speed up when Miranda saw me. Of all the nerve…’

  ‘Ah, so that’s what made you so angry. You have an eye for the little tramp and she doesn’t return your interest.’ She grinned at the scowling Matthew. ‘Your pride is hurt. Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s not personal. I dare say the earl has a prior claim upon her affections and he has more to offer her.’

  ‘I doubt whether he would lower himself.’

  ‘I disagree. The signs are there but you choose to ignore them.’

  ‘What signs?’ Matthew asked, affecting a casualness that he didn’t feel. The Miss Flora Latimers of this world ignored him at their peril. He would never admit in a million years that her disinterest in him had only increased his determination to have her. By fair means or foul.

  ‘If the earl gives her access to one of his better carriages then there must be merit in my suggestion,’ Christina said. ‘She is, after all, only a glorified servant, certainly not entitled to travel in style.’

  ‘Why was she with Miranda? It’s the earl’s sisters with whom she is intimate, not a paid companion.’

  ‘Stop worrying about Miss Latimer and give more consideration to Miranda’s growing friendship with and dependence upon the Earl of Swindon and his family.’

  Matthew raised a brow in arrogant dismissal of Christina’s concerns. ‘You don’t think the earl has Miranda in his sights, do you?’

  ‘No, I do not. I didn’t detect any particular interest on his part when we dined with the family. But don’t lose sight of the fact that the earl has three younger brothers, any one of whom could elevate Miranda into the echelons of high society if he chose to offer for her.’

  ‘Are they short of blunt? I didn’t get that impression and that’s the only reason why any of them would offer for a middle-classed heiress that I can think of. You and I both know that the aristocracy jealously guards its borders against invasion from lesser individuals.’

  ‘The earl is very well fixed and, from what I’m told, all his brothers have independent means, too.’

  ‘Well, there you are then. I don’t have anything to fear from that quarter. Which makes Miranda’s pretence at disinterest in me that much harder to fathom.’ Matthew continued to pace. ‘Damn the disobliging child!’

  ‘Oh, for the love of God!’ Christina stood and twirled to face him. ‘Philip does all the thinking, all the planning, and you get to live a life of ease without making any contribution. For once in your life you are required to exert yourself and you make an almighty fuss over the matter.’ Christina threw back her head and sighed. ‘A little deviousness is required to get you and Miranda alone. Then you will just have to do whatever’s necessary to gain her capitulation.’

  Matthew quirked a brow. ‘How delicately put, dear sister.’

  ‘She is spending all her time with Swindon’s family because she senses what you have in mind and isn’t amenable to the idea. That’s why it’s a shame we couldn’t have forced her to stay away from other influences for a little longer. Still, no matter. I will tell her when she returns this evening that you have been summoned to join Philip in London and will leave in the morning. That way, she will feel safe staying here with me instead of running off to Beranger Court.’

  A slow smile spread across Matthew’s lips. ‘But instead, it will be you who goes to London, leaving the two of us alone here.’

  ‘Precisely.’

  ‘Well then—’ Matthew stopped talking when he heard voices in the hall. ‘She’s back.’ He threw himself into the nearest chair and picked up his discarded newspaper.

  ‘Ah, there you are.’ Christina looked up and smiled when Miranda walked into the room. ‘We were beginning to worry.’

  ‘Why? You knew where I was.’

  ‘Yes, but it’s late. Anyway, you are here now. I hope you spent an enjoyable day. Shall I ring for hot chocolate?’

  ‘No thank you. I’m tired and I am for my bed.’

  ‘Did you not see me in the village this afternoon?’ Matthew asked, lowering his newspaper.

  ‘Yes. We waved to you.’

  ‘Where had you been?’ Christina asked. ‘I hear you were in the earl’s landau with Miss Latimer.’

  ‘Yes, and I’m glad you asked me about that.’ She turned her attention to the footman who had followed her into the room and now stood statue-like, awaiting further instructions. ‘Please put arrangements in hand for the chamber next to mine, the one with the connecting door, to be made up and for the fire to be lit.’

  The footman acknowledged his instructions and withdrew.

  ‘You are expecting a visitor, my dear?’ Christina shared a glance with Matthew. ‘You didn’t mention anything before now.’

  ‘That’s because I didn’t know. Flora and I went to visit Miss Daley.’

  ‘Daley?’ Matthew sent her a confused look.

  ‘My former governess and close friend. You will recall, Christina, that she was required to leave quite suddenly due to a family emergency. However, she is now free of those responsibilities and I would like her to live here permanently as my companion. She will arrive in a day or two.’

  ‘You should have discussed this with me first,’ Christina said, a slight edge to her voice.

  ‘Why? It makes no difference to you, and it is I who shall pay her salary.’

  ‘It may not be convenient.’

  Miranda fixed Christina with a look of steely determination. ‘The subject isn’t up for debate.’

  ‘I am your guardian. We should make important decisions together.’

  Miranda bent to kiss Christina’s brow. ‘I don’t want to fight with you, but I will not change my mind on the matter. Besides, I thought you would be pleased. If I am suitably chaperoned it will leave you
free to go to London with Philip, or do other things that your responsibilities here prevent you from pursuing. I dislike being a burden to you.’

  ‘You are not, and I hope I have never given that impression.’

  ‘Well, that’s settled then. Good night to you both.’

  ‘Good night, my dear,’ Christina said sweetly. ‘Oh, by the way. It will be just you and I for the next few days. Matthew is required to join Philip in London tomorrow.’

  ‘Enjoy the capital, Matthew,’ she said, leaving the room.

  ‘Did she just say, “don’t hurry back” under her breath?’ Matthew asked, glaring at the closed door.

  *

  The countess was in a contrary frame of mind the entire evening, disagreeing with almost everything Flora said to her, probably in an effort to reassure herself as well as those who loved her that she was recovering from her incapacity. One topic upon which they were in complete agreement however was Miranda’s need for a companion in the form of her erstwhile governess.

  ‘Those Cooper men are up to no good, you just mark my words,’ she said, waving a gnarled finger at Flora. ‘A child on her own and in possession of a vast fortune needs people around her whom she can trust. Not handsome predators who think only of themselves and intend to exploit her.’

  ‘I agree, which is why I had a quiet word with Miss Daley, then suggested that Miranda re-engage her. She was delighted—Miranda that is—and unless I mistake the matter, Miss Daley understands the need for Miranda to be properly protected. So it will happen very quickly.’

  ‘For once your meddling will be beneficial.’

  ‘I just wish there was more I could do to see justice served. To know that Christina committed murder and being unable to prove it displeases me intensely.’

  A servant arrived with their supper and laid it out on a small table beneath the window.

  ‘I thought you would go down,’ the countess grumbled as Flora helped her to get up and walk across the room.

  ‘My place is with you. I am not a member of the family.’

  ‘No, but you behave like one,’ the countess complained as she settled into her chair. ‘Involving yourself in our private affairs.’

  ‘Do I?’ Flora sat across from her and lifted her shoulders into a negligent shrug. ‘Well, I suppose I do to a degree. You must blame my upbringing for that.’ She placed a small portion of lamb onto the countess’s plate, adding potatoes and vegetables. ‘My father believes his calling gives him a right to be as intrusive as he pleases, and that aspect of his conduct seems to have rubbed off on me.’ She sent the countess a mischievous grin. ‘But to please you I shall attempt to mind my own business in future.’

  ‘Ha!’

  ‘Do you remember the earl’s friend, Lord Hardwick?’ she asked after they had eaten in companionable silence for a few minutes. Flora was pleased to see that the countess’s appetite was almost back to normal.

  ‘What is that to you? Why do you ask?’

  ‘Oh, no reason. It’s just that I’ve heard his name mentioned once and twice and I was curious. I know he died under mysterious circumstances.’

  ‘That he did. A bigger rascal I’ve never encountered. If I’d been a few years younger… Quite the dashing young man, he was, and ladies from all walks of life threw themselves at his feet. He, Luke, Paul Dalton and Emma’s intended were all up at Oxford together.’ The countess rolled her eyes. ‘A right old time they had of it, if even the sanitised accounts of their exploits that reached my ears are to be believed. Archie—that’s Lord Hardwick to you—was the worst of the lot. He was their undisputed leader. As I say, a handsome devil, rich, charming and a marquess’s heir to boot. Then he went and spoiled everything by falling from some woman’s bedroom window to his death. The scandal almost killed his father. Archie was his favourite and the marquess was tolerant of his wild behaviour, bailing him out of trouble times without number. Then his younger son died a few years later in an accident.’

  ‘That’s terribly sad.’ Flora put her cutlery aside. ‘Some families are fated.’

  ‘Aye, and Luke was never the same after that. Paul neither. A spark went out in them both for a long time. I suppose you could say that Archie’s death forced them to grow up. But still,’ the old lady said speculatively, ‘all this talking about the past has made me realise that Luke has seemed more like himself again recently. I’m glad about that. The boy has a lot of responsibilities, that’s undeniable, but they shouldn’t prevent him from having a bit of fun.’ She cackled. ‘Those same responsibilities certainly didn’t prevent his grandfather from pursuing his own interests when he was the earl.’

  ‘Or his grandmother,’ Flora chided, smiling at the incorrigible old lady.

  ‘Life’s fleeting, Flora love.’ Love? ‘Make the most of the opportunities that come your way and don’t give two figs what the world says about you. That’s my advice, for what it’s worth. Not that you’ll take heed. Young people never do. But bear in mind you’ll be a long time old and then everyone will lose interest in you.’

  ‘No one has lost interest in you, ma’am, much as you try to make us all think otherwise, and well you know it.’

  Before the countess could deliver one of her pithy retorts, Sandwell joined them. She glanced at Flora, who nodded to confirm that the countess had eaten well but was now struggling to stay awake. She was pleased with the progress she had made with Sandwell. She and Flora now combined their efforts to keep the countess well and contented, and a lot of Sandwell’s mistrust of Flora had dissipated.

  ‘Get away with you,’ the countess said, flapping a hand at Flora. ‘I have better things to do than to gossip with you. Sandwell will see me to bed.’

  ‘I will go when you have drunk your tincture and not before,’ Flora said, pointing to the potion she had prepared earlier. She folded her arms to remind the countess that she was not the only one who could be inordinately mulish when the occasion arose.

  ‘Bah! If that’s what it takes to get rid of you.’ The countess picked up the glass, drained its contents in one swallow and grimaced. ‘Happy now you’ve poisoned me?’

  ‘Blissful.’ She kissed the dowager’s brow. ‘Good night, ma’am. Sleep well. Good night, Miss Sandwell.’

  Flora left the room, smiling at her latest minor victory over her stubborn charge. Her smiled quickly faded as she wondered what to do with herself now. The family would be in the drawing room. She urgently needed to speak with Luke about Miranda’s situation and discover what discoveries Charlie had made. She was not, as she had just reminded the countess, a member of the family. No one would object to her presence, she was sure, but she wouldn’t be able to speak with Luke alone without raising speculation.

  She let herself into her own room, recalling the look of stark disbelief on Luke’s face, and on Paul’s too, when their friend appeared from beyond the grave. She could only guess at his tumultuous emotions, although she was sure he would never confess to them. It simply wasn’t manly. Be that as it may, she felt an urgent desire to let him express his feelings about this most unexpected, wonderful and undoubtedly complicated surprise. She also admitted to a degree of curiosity. How would Archie Hardwick explain his sudden return to life?

  ‘Any thoughts, Remus?’ she asked aloud.

  There was no response. No whispered suggestion of his presence, which Flora took to be a good sign. He was probably still enjoying the gladiator contests, she thought, wondering if she was becoming delusional. No. She totally believed that if Lord Hardwick’s return posed danger for Luke then Remus would have warned her, even if the delivery of such a warning interfered with his love of blood sports.

  Flora accepted that a degree of patience on her part would be necessary. She could hardly go to Luke’s bedchamber to discuss matters with him, so she would have to wait until the morning and catch him in his library. Miss Daley’s return to Ashton Lodge would keep Miranda safe until a more permanent solution could be found. Flora knew that her conscience would raise
objections unless…until the Coopers were made to answer for their crime.

  She would find a way. Somehow.

  Flora changed into her night attire, belted her robe and slipped across the hallway to the bathroom. Ablutions completed, she returned to her room, took her hair down and brushed it out with vigorous strokes in front of the glass. She heard voices in the corridor, implying that the family had come up for the night. She finished brushing her hair and was about to braid it when there was a gentle tap at the door. Startled, she stared at it, worried that the countess had taken a turn for the worse.

  ‘What’s happened?’ she asked as she wrenched the door open and came face to face, not with Sandwell but with Luke. In shirtsleeves. ‘Oh, it’s you.’

  ‘Let me in before I’m seen.’ He fixed his gaze on her hair, billowing over her shoulders and tumbling down her back, and was slow to look away. ‘We need to talk.’

  ‘A little unorthodox,’ she replied, opening the door wider to admit him and closing it again after him. She perched on the window seat and motioned him to the only other chair in the room, conscious of his distracting presence making if feel as though the walls had closed in on them and that the room was half its actual size. Even more conscious of the close proximity of her bed. She had conducted a conversation with Luke once before in his private quarters at the dead of night. But at least on that occasion the conversation in question had taken place in the sitting room adjoining his bedchamber and she had been fully clothed. ‘It must have been a terrible shock for you to see your friend again,’ she said, sympathy in her tone. ‘But not an unpleasant one, I hope.’