The Reluctant Bride

by Meg Alexander

  Absorbed in her task, she was unaware that the kitchen door had opened.

  'Something smells good,' a deep voice announced. 'I believe I shall invite myself to dine...'

  Horrified, India spun round to find Lord Isham lounging in the doorway.

  'You?' she cried. 'I had given you up.'

  'Always a mistake, my dear. Did we not have an appointment for today?'

  'At this hour? Shall you wish to set out now, my lord? It will be dark by four o'clock.'

  'So it will.' Unconcerned he wandered over to the table to examine the dumplings, already encased in their pastry covers, and wrapped carefully in muslin bags. The discarded cores were lying to one side.

  'Apple dumplings?' He began to smile. 'They were always a puzzle to our late sovereign.'

  'How so?' India was intrigued.

  'King George could never understand how a whole apple got inside its covering.' Isham reached into his pocket for a snowy handkerchief and cupped a hand beneath India's chin. 'Spit!' he ordered.

  Too astonished to refuse, India did so, and Isham scrubbed cheerfully at her face.

  'You had flour upon that charming nose,' he explained. 'Now, ma'am, may I beg you to fetch a cloak. I do not care to keep my horses waiting.'

  'You mean we are to go now...at this moment?'

  'I do.'

  'But, sir, I cannot leave...' She gestured towards the dumplings. 'Besides, I am not dressed for such an expedition.'

  For answer he strolled over to the cauldron.

  'Boiling,' he said with satisfaction. Without more ado he picked up the muslin-wrapped parcels and dropped them into the water. 'Twenty minutes at the most, I believe. Martha shall retrieve them.' Then he inspected the sizzling joint upon the skillet and nodded. 'Your family will not starve today...'

  'But Anthony, my gown...?'

  He turned to her then, a large hand resting upon each shoulder. 'India, you have a choice. Which is the more important to you, a toilette of the first stare, or the welfare of urchins such as those you rescued yesterday? It is up to you. We go now, or we do not go at all.'

  India looked up into the dark face and felt ashamed. 'You are right, of course,' she said quickly. 'Will you give me ten minutes?'

  'Ten minutes only,' he replied, smiling. 'Can you be ready in that time?'

  'Letty will help me. It will not take long.' She could not resist a little joke, partly to cover her disgust at her own behaviour. She had made difficulties about mere trivialities. 'You need have no fear. I do not own a toilette of the first stare.'

  'You will, my dear, you will.' Isham took out his watch. 'One minute has already passed.'

  India hurried past him. Then a thought struck her.

  'Mama? Anthony, will you speak to her? I think she does not know that you are here.'

  'Else I should not have been allowed to find you at your task? You are right. Letty opened the door to me and smuggled me to your side. Your mother has a morning caller and must have been engaged in conversation. Off you go! I will make it right with her.'

  He strolled towards the parlour as India fled upstairs.

  She found Letty in her room, laying out her most becoming walking-dress.

  'You might have warned me of Isham's visit,' she smiled. 'He found me with flour upon my nose.'

  'He would not mind that in the least.' Quickly she drew India's old gown over her head. 'Besides, he would not have it. He wished to present Mama with a fait accompli. I think he felt that she would delay you with more objections.'

  India stepped into her walking-dress, her fingers stumbling over the buttons at the neck and wrist. Then she glanced in a mirror. 'Oh, Lord! My hair is coming down and there is no time to dress it.'

  'Your bonnet will hide it, love. Shall you take your cloak?'

  'I think so. The weather is still bitter. Letty, his lordship put the dumplings on to boil. Will you see to them, or make sure that Martha does so?'

  'He did what?' Letty gazed at her sister in blank astonishment.

  'It surprised me too, especially as he knew how long they take to cook. Anthony seems to be a man of many parts.' With that dry remark she picked up her cloak, straightened her bonnet and ran down the stairs.

  'Ah, there you are, my love!' Isham strolled towards her, seized her hands and kissed them. 'A woman of your word! Your mama has quite forgiven me for stealing you away at such short notice, and I have promised to take the greatest care of you.'

  India avoided her mother's eye as she curtseyed to their other visitor. Their nearest neighbour, the normally voluble Mrs Horton, was, for once, reduced to silence in the presence of the formidable Lord Isham.

  He was all civility, but there was a touch of the autocrat in his manner. She guessed that it was deliberate, as much for the benefit of her mother as for Mrs Horton.

  'Shall we go?' he asked pleasantly. 'We have much to do today...' He bowed to both ladies and ushered India from the room.

  She was still smiling as he handed her into the carriage, wrapped a fur rug about her, and pushed a hot brick beneath her feet.

  'Something amuses you?' He had seen the expression on her face.

  'Sir, you are behaving very badly. I fear that you have frightened Mrs Horton into fits.'

  'Really?' Isham was all innocence. 'India, you must make allowance for a rough ex-soldier. I had imagined that I was behaving with great courtesy. It seems that I have much to learn.'

  'Don't gammon me, my lord! You knew what you were doing. Poor Mrs Horton! You must understand that your character will be under the most minute discussion at this moment.'

  Isham tucked her hand beneath his arm. 'Are you warm enough?' he asked. 'Our journey will not take long. I have bespoke our luncheon at the local hostelry.'

  'Sir?'

  'Feeding the inner man, and woman! We cannot undertake our task upon an empty stomach.'

  'Food is important to you, sir?'

  'Naturally. Is it not to everyone?' His eyes were twinkling as he looked at her. 'Ah, I see! You wonder at my skills. Let me assure you, my dear, that my experience is vast. In Spain we lived off the country when our supply lines were stretched beyond their limits. A single pot would hold a rabbit, pease pudding in a cloth and whatever else we could find.'

  'You had no servant then, that you should undertake the task yourself?' India looked at him in disbelief. 'Am I to believe that you slaved over the fires whilst your batman took his ease?'

  'He was forced to, India. We were separated from the rest of our command, and my man was badly wounded.'

  'Oh, I'm sorry.' It was an inadequate apology. Once again a hasty judgement had put her in the wrong. 'I did not know...'

  'How could you?' Isham was untroubled by her comment. 'But even now I would not have you think of me as a man who is unaware of the whereabouts of his own kitchen.'

  'You would not be the first,' she murmured, thinking of her own father and her uncles.

  'I expect not, but at least we have one thing in common, so it would appear.'

  India let the comment pass. 'Was your brother with you in the Spanish campaign?' she asked.

  'Did I not mention? Henry is my half-brother. My father married twice.'

  'So you have a stepmother?'

  'Yes!' Isham's voice was noncommittal. 'She lives in London, but you will meet her at the wedding.'

  'I see. You did not answer my question, sir.'

  'Henry has no taste for army life. He has but recently returned from India...' Isham's tone did not invite further questioning, but India persisted. She was anxious to hear more of the enigmatic young man who had so strangely puzzled her.

  'You and your brother are very different, are you not?' she murmured. 'Is he to stay in England now?'

  'Possibly!' Isham's lazy gaze rested upon India's face, but he did not pursue the subject. 'I have been wondering, my dear, if your mother is not right in advising against a trip to Cheshire in the winter. Shall you be afraid to travel then?'

  'You wo
uld go yourself, would you not?'

  'Of course, but...'

  'Then pray do not change your plans on my account. I am no fragile creature to be handled with kid gloves.'

  Isham grinned at her. 'In that case I shall promise to remove my gloves...'

  India coloured, much to her own annoyance. He had left her in no doubt of his meaning, and the thought disturbed her.

  'How do the boys go on?' she asked quickly.

  'The doctor has examined them. They are in worse case than we had at first imagined, and covered in wounds and bruises as well as burns, some of them infected.'

  'Oh, Anthony, they must survive.'

  His lordship's stern expression lightened and he smiled at her. 'You need have no fear. Your protégés have courage. Joe's spirit will carry him through, and he supports his brother. I winced myself when they were delivered over to the grooms for washing, but my men are gentle and neither boy made a sound.'

  'Your men?'

  'Joe made it clear that he was not a baby, to be handled by a nursemaid. Had you noticed their feet?'

  'Why no! Is something wrong?'

  "Both boys were limping badly. Briggs had a few expedients for forcing them up the flues. He thrust pins into their soles. If that was unsuccessful he lit the fire beneath them.'

  India's anger threatened to consume her. 'Oh, I cannot wait to get my hands on him!' she cried. 'We must stop him before some child is killed. I pray that we shall find him.'

  'Don't worry!' Isham told her smoothly. 'We have an appointment with the fellow. I doubt if he will disregard it.'

  'But...but he may make excuses. He may claim that these wounds are none of his doing. He sold them to the factory, you know.'

  'That was but four days ago. Their work there could not account for their condition.'

  'It was still dangerous...'

  'Agreed, but these are not fresh injuries. We shall bring him to account.'

  India was silent. For her own part she would have liked to roast the sweep over one of his own fires. She could think of no punishment severe enough for him. Then she stole a look at Isham's face and felt comforted. From his expression she guessed that Briggs would rue the day that he had taken up his trade.

  'I wish you will tell me about the Spanish campaign,' she murmured. 'Here in England I fear that we have no idea of conditions in that country.'

  She had succeeded in surprising her companion.

  'Pray do not feel the need to make polite conversation, India. You cannot really wish to know...'

  'Of course I do, else I should not have asked...' India was annoyed by his dismissive tone.

  Isham stared at her. 'Extraordinary! We ex-soldiers are accustomed to a glazing of the eyes whenever we are foolish enough to mention our experiences.'

  'You must be mistaken, sir. We are all of us aware how much we owe both to our army and our navy.'

  'The navy, possibly, since Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, but our armies are not held in high esteem. On land, Napoleon is held to be invincible, and we have had reverses.'

  'But also victories, I believe. Were you at Talavera?'

  Isham smiled. 'That battle was the end of my army career, though I had been with Wellesley since the campaign in Holland.'

  'And do you miss the life, my lord?'

  'In part. I enjoyed the comradeship and the chance to outwit our enemies by strategy, but you cannot imagine the din of battle, the cries of the wounded, the primitive surgery with no relief for pain, and the bitter cold which struck through the bone.'

  'I had thought that Spain was a hot country.'

  'In summer the heat is suffocating, but in winter the cold is such as you have never known.' Isham stopped. 'I must not go on. I shall destroy your rosy picture of army life...'

  'Do you think me a fool, sir?' India said quietly. 'We lead comfortable lives far away from danger, but I have not lost my imagination.'

  Isham gave her a long look. Then he took her hand. 'How you continue to surprise me!' he said lightly. 'My apologies, my dear. I underestimate you.'

  As he spoke the coach turned off the highway and into the courtyard of the Angel. Their arrival was expected, for as they stopped the door to the hostelry flew open and the landlord bustled towards them.

  India was ushered inside with bows and exclamations on the honour done to mine host by the patronage of Lord Isham. Their private parlour was the best he had to offer and the meal would, he assured: them, be ready before they had time to throw off their cloaks.

  India was amused. Isham's presence was, it seemed, enough to ensure the best of service. She was right, but the dish of breadcrumbed smelts, followed by a fine roast duck, did little to tempt her appetite.

  'The food is not to your taste?' Isham enquired. 'Would you care for something else?'

  'It is delicious,' she said truthfully. 'But, my lord, I cannot help but wonder how we shall go on with Briggs.'

  'Don't you trust me, India?' Isham's eyes were twinkling. 'And will you let him ruin a quite excellent meal for you? Forget him for the moment and tell me about Letty and her hopes of Oliver Wells.'

  Chapter Six

  'She told you?' India was amazed.

  'She did. We are good friends you know, your sister and I.'

  'I see.' India was unaccountably annoyed. Letty had always been her ally. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that she had moved into the enemy camp. She was tempted to ask what Isham could possibly have told her sister to give Letty such a good opinion of him, but she held her tongue.

  'Letty is sure in her affections?' Isham persisted.

  India hesitated. 'Letty has set her heart on Oliver Wells. I think she will not change.'

  'And the young man himself?'

  'He adores her, as who could not? Letty is so kind and gentle. She sees the best in everyone.'

  'Unlike her elder sister?' He was baiting her deliberately and India did not disappoint him.

  'If you wish to understand my character, sir, you should speak to my mama.'

  'My dear, she has already assured me that you are the most biddable of women—meek almost to a fault! I put down most of her remarks to a certain partiality...' Isham's face was solemn, but India could hear the laughter in his voice.

  Try as she might, she could not keep her countenance and she began to smile. 'You need not fear partiality, my lord. My mamma is well aware of my shortcomings.'

  'You have some? You astonish me!'

  'Now you are making game of me again. You know quite well that I am neither meek nor biddable. Did you not call me a termagant?'

  'So I did! Had you not best advise me of your other faults, so that I may be prepared? It would be hard indeed to discover them after we are wed.'

  Isham was enjoying himself, but India would not be drawn. She laughed and shook her head. Somehow even this reference to her nuptials seemed to have lost the power to disturb her.

  'I think we were speaking of my sister, sir.'

  'So we were. Where is the sticking point which prevents her marriage? Letty did not tell me.'

  'She would not. It is a great sadness to her, but Oliver's family have other plans for him.'

  'You have met them?'

  'I met Lady Wells,' India told him stiffly. 'She was not kind to Letty.'

  'A disagreeable woman, and something of a laughing stock, I fear.'

  'How so?' India was astonished. Her ladyship's queenly manner had given the impression that she enjoyed a position of unchallenged leadership among the Ton.

  'She is an ill-bred creature, India. Her efforts to appear more royal than the royal family give rise to much amusement.'

  'Letty did not find her amusing.'

  'She is a trying creature,' his lordship observed. 'But tell me about your brother. Giles, is it not? He does not go much into Town, I believe. Certainly, I have not met him yet.'

  'Giles prefers the country.' It was a bald statement, but India would not explain that her brother had neither the means nor
the inclination to visit the London clubs such as White's, or Brooks, or Watier's, so favoured by men such as Isham and his friends.

  'And where is he now?'

  'He is gone into Derbyshire.' India looked up sharply. She wondered if Sir James had spoken harshly of her brother's absence. 'Giles hopes to gain employment as an estate manager. His friends may know of something suitable.'

  'He is interested in farming?'

  'He thinks of nothing else.' India relaxed. There was no trace of censure in his lordship's tone. 'He had always hoped to restore...I mean;..' She stopped, aware that she was on dangerous ground.

  Isham appeared to be untroubled by this reference to the loss of the Rushford lands. He glanced at his watch. 'Time to go!' he announced. 'Dusk falls early on these winter evenings. I would not have your mother imagine that we have met with some mishap should we return in darkness.'

  'Is it far to the workhouse?'

  'We are quite close.'

  'And Briggs? Have you learned of his directions?'

  'You will find him waiting at our destination. I sent a message yesterday.' Isham opened the door for her into the passageway. She walked ahead as he paused to settle with the landlord.

  Then, behind her, a door flew open and a laughing couple emerged. India heard a squeal of pleasure.

  'Anthony, darling! I have not seen you in this age! Where have you been hiding?'

  She turned to find her betrothed in the embrace of a young lady of dashing appearance, whilst beside her a young man was pumping Isham's hand.

  'By all that's holy!' he cried. 'We didn't expect to find you here. Surely you ain't been forced to rusticate...?'

  'Not yet!' With imperturbable calm his lordship extricated himself from the grasp of his companions. Then he looked beyond them to where India stood in wonder.