For the first time, she showed some hesitation. ‘I want to talk to you.’
He spread his hands in an expressive gesture. ‘Well, here I am! Talk on, Mrs. Eversley, and welcome.’
She shook her head. ‘It may not be so welcome.’ There was another pause. ‘I want to talk to you about — about my sister-in-law, Georgy.’
His face changed. ‘I don’t quite see -‘
She clenched her hands across the bundle that was so soon to take its place in the world as a personality. He saw her tenseness, and reminded himself to go gently with her.
‘No, not that,’ he said quietly, unclenching her hands. ‘Just relax — so — there, that is better. Now ‘ he sat down in a chair close to hers. ‘What do you wish to say to me concerning Miss Eversley?’
‘Only this — do you love her?’
He stared at her in amazement. She reddened under his gaze, and the pace of her breathing quickened.
‘That is a very personal question,’ he answered gravely.
‘Oh, I know it! And no doubt you think it impertinent in me to ask it — and so it is, I suppose, though I do not intend it so,’ said Susan, in a rush. ‘But I must know the answer — I must know’ she repeated, with an energy that made her breathing more difficult. ‘Please tell me — truly, honestly — and don’t refuse me, for I mean only the best for both of you. And there isn’t much time for me,’ she added suddenly, a look of awareness on her face. ‘There isn’t much time.’
He jumped to his feet. ‘Mrs. Eversley.’
‘No, I am all right.’ She waved him away. ‘But soon, I think … And you must answer me, please. I must do what I came here to do, first — help me — please.’
She was in no state to be trifled with: he could not deny her.
‘I will try.’ His eyes met hers candidly. ‘But I’m not sure why you ask me this. That might make a difference to my answer.’
‘And I can’t tell you the reason until I have your answer,’ she replied, with some difficulty. ‘You must trust me, I think, will you not do so?’
‘Don’t distress yourself, ma’am.’ He leaned over and patted her hands reassuringly. ‘Yes, I will trust you, for I believe I may. Here is your answer, then. I do have the misfortune to be in love with Miss Eversley, but I mean to get the better of it in time. Does that satisfy you?’
She let loose a great sigh. ‘Ah! Now I may tell you why I wished to know. It is because she loves you. And she is trying to get the better of her feelings, too. Don’t you think it would be more sensible if you both gave in, and decided to confess your affection and make the best of it by marrying?’
A surge of hope swept over him at her words, but he quenched it. ‘You’re mistaken,’ he said bitterly. ‘I thought she was, too, once; but then I discovered that she was only taking me in — and for a wager!’
‘She was taking herself in, more than you,’ stated Susan, firmly. ‘It may have started as a hoax, but I can assure you — and no one knows Georgy as I do — that it finished in good earnest! Poor dear, she is so unhappy — and all for nothing, if you say you truly care for her as she does for you. You are both very stupid — but then, people in love so often are. I was myself.’
He stared at her without speaking for a moment, lost in the tumult of his thoughts. ‘Are you sure of this?’ he asked, at last. ‘Has she confided in you?’
‘No. But you needn’t fear for that’ — as she saw him shake his head — ‘I know Georgy, right enough, and I also know what it’s like’ — she smiled reminiscently — ‘to be in love. Hers is a clear case. The symptons are very bad, doctor. You must do something about it.’
‘But she hasn’t actually said anything,’ he mused. ‘And you could be mistaken — there are so many obstacles in the way, even if it were true that she cares for me. I must be certain.’
‘Oh, then I have done with you!’ exclaimed Susan in disgust. ‘If you won’t believe me — and who should know her better than I? — then you’d best leave matters be, and let her marry Lord Pamyngton, after all!’ ‘Marry Pamyngton?’
‘Yes, for that is what she’s trying to force herself into doing at this very moment. She’s to give him her answer when she returns to Town.’
‘By God, she shan’t!’ The light of battle was in his eyes. ‘Not unless and until she can tell me herself that she prefers him to me!’
‘That’s better!’ remarked Susan, in a satisfied tone. She began to struggle out of the chair. ‘Then come back with me in the carriage, and have things out with her now. I told my coachman to be at your door in half an hour — oh!’
She ended on a long drawn out gasp. Graham moved quickly to her side. She attempted a smile, then groaned again.
‘There wasn’t much time — but I managed ‘ she panted. ‘I think, sir, you’ll have to deliver my baby — we can’t wait for Dr. Hume.’
CHAPTER 20
An Heir For Beau Eversley
After Susan had gone to lie down in her room, Georgy took a horse from the stable and went riding. Her chaotic thoughts would not allow her either to be in company with others, or to stay still. She told herself that she could no longer continue in this state of indecision; something must be settled this very afternoon, or she would go out of her mind.
As she rode over deserted woodland paths thick in fallen leaves, she made a desperate attempt to set her thoughts in order. The news that John Graham was to leave his uncle’s house tomorrow had come as a severe shock. She asked herself impatiently what possible difference his going could make to her. They had parted for ever in such disgust on his side that no reconciliation was possible. He must have learnt that she was now back at Fulmer Towers, and he could have found some opportunity to see her again had he wished to do so. At the very least, he could have written her a note. No, it was quite plain that he had not relented; she did not think he ever would. All his love for her had vanished, swept away by the bitterness that had engulfed him when he had learnt of her duplicity. Now he held her in contempt: she had to admit that she deserved it.
Oh, what did it matter? Why must she vex herself with thoughts of this man? It had only been a jest, trying to make him fall in love with her, and she had succeeded, had she not? He had fallen in love with her, she had won her wager — though she had never claimed payment of it from Freddy — and now the whole stupid episode could be forgotten.
But it would not be forgotten. During these past days, when she had been trying to make up her mind what her answer to Pam would be, thoughts of her last meeting with John Graham had kept obtruding themselves, clouding the issue.
A squirrel ran suddenly across her path and streaked effortlessly up the trunk of an elm, shaking down some leaves. Her horse shied slightly, recalling her to her present surroundings. She slowed the animal to a walk, and looked about her. The wood was alive with colour. Red, gold and amber leaves were thickly strewn upon the ground; the sunlight glinted along the silvery trunks of a clump of birches which stretched graceful fingers towards a sky of palest blue. She caught her breath. The beauty of nature always had the power to bring almost a physical ache to her heart; today she felt this all the more strongly because it was in similar surroundings that she and John Graham had quarrelled and parted. As though some unseen hand touched the strings of a delicate musical instrument, a vibrant melancholy filled her senses. In that moment she realized that she loved him, that he was the only man in the world for her, come what may.
She had never admitted it to herself before now. When he had taken her in his arms at their last meeting, she had responded to him with all the ardour of her impulsive nature; but after their quarrel, she had persuaded herself that it had only been a passing infatuation. She knew that hers was a volatile temperament, and had never doubted that she would forget Dr. Graham as quickly as she had yielded to his attraction.
But it had not proved so easy. Even in the hurly-burly of London, thoughts of him had kept creeping in; but here in the country, where so many scenes brough
t him to mind, she had not been able to think of anyone or anything else. She had come here with the intention of thinking about Pamyngton and his love for her; and all her time had been given over instead to vain regrets about the man who held her in contempt.
Only now did the true significance of this contrariness dawn on her. The magic that was missing from her affection for Pam was present in every slightest thought she had of the other man. Now that at last she had come to her senses, what was to be done?
She reined-in the horse and dismounted, to sit upon a fallen tree that lay beside the path. She must be still for a few moments and think this out. Her fingers idly dabbled in the leaves at her feet as she sat motionless, concentrating on her problem.
One thing was certain; she could never marry Pam now. If she could not have Jock Graham, she wanted no one. In that case, she thought with a little smile, it looked as though she would have to become an old maid like Aunt Lavinia, dividing her time and energies between visits to relatives and playing Lady Bountiful to the parish. She wrinkled her nose. Pooh! The part would not fit her at all. But what else was there for her to do? Dr. Graham evidently meant to take no action to heal the breach between them. No doubt his confounded Scottish pride forbade such weakness. A wave of tenderness swept over her as she recalled all the many things that endeared him to her — his strength and his weakness.
A sudden fierce possessiveness took hold of her. He was her man, now, and she decided she would not let him go without a fight. No maidenly scruples would stand in her way. She would go to him, tell him that she loved him; if he could still reject her after that — well, then indeed there was an end of it all.
She jumped up, impatiently shaking the leaves from her skirt and remounting the horse. Turning its head in the direction of the village, she urged it into a gallop. Before long, she was standing in front of Dr. Hume’s door. Her legs felt curiously weak, and her hand shook slightly as she raised the knocker. She set her lips firmly, and waited in some inward trepidation.
She waited a long time — so long, that she began to think there could be no one at home. She felt a flood of relief for a moment, but it was quickly followed by disappointment. After screwing up her courage to come here, she would have preferred to get the matter over.
She was about to turn away when the door opened a few inches, and a small head in a mop cap that was slightly askew peered round it.
‘Yes’m?’
‘Is Dr. Graham at home?’ Georgy’s voice sounded strange even to her own ears.
The head nodded vigorously. ‘Yes’m — but he’s busy.’
‘Perhaps I could wait somewhere indoors until the doctor is disengaged?’
The owner of the head looked doubtful, but she opened the door and allowed Georgy to enter.
‘I’ll tell Dr. Graham,’m,’ she mumbled, opening the door into the parlour.
Georgy stepped inside the room, leaving the door ajar. She could not sit down, but remained standing with her eyes fixed on the door. Minutes that seemed like years dragged by as she waited. She felt her courage ebbing away with every second that passed. In another moment, she would have fled, but at last a quick footstep sounded outside the room. The door was pushed wide, and Graham entered.
For a moment, they both stared at each other, Georgy all at once became conscious of her appearance, and put up her hands to try and straighten her windblown hair. She realized that leaves and bits of twig were clinging here and there to her riding dress, and found herself wishing fervently that he could have seen her looking her best, instead of for all the world like a raggle-taggle gypsy. And then she saw that he, too, was looking a trifle dishevelled, without a coat and with his shirt sleeves rolled up above the elbow. She had never seen him so before.
‘You!’
He broke the silence with the one word, spoken in a tone which she found difficult to interpret. She feared it might be disgust, and the thought revived her flagging courage.
‘Yes. Me … ‘ She spoke quietly, but earnestly.
‘Listen — I’ve got to talk to you, Jock You would not hear me before — now you must’
‘I will hear you,’ he replied gently. ‘But not now — there’s no time.’ The pace of his words quickened. ‘Your sister-in-law is here, and about to give birth to her child.’ Georgy gave a startled exclamation. ‘She came here alone, and there’s no one in the house at present except the little maid you saw, who’s too young to be of use. I need someone to assist me — will you do it?’
Fresh air and exercise had whipped the colour into Georgy’s face, but now it paled noticeably. She stepped back a pace.
‘I? Help? But — but ‘ she stammered, ‘I don’t know if I could. I’ve no notion — I’ve never — I don’t think.’
He took a quick step forward and grasped her wrist. ‘You could — and you will!’ His tone was firm. ‘There’s no one else. I’ve sent the coach back for Mrs. Levibond, but the odds are she won’t arrive in time. You are woman enough to help another woman in her time of need, I know you are. And you owe something to Mrs. Eversley — she came here to do you a service, at some risk to herself. Come, now ‘
She still hesitated. He gave an appealing tug at her arm; then he released it and turned towards the door.
‘I must go to my patient,’ he said, in a tone deep of disappointment. ‘I’m sorry — perhaps I ask too much, even for one of your courage…’
‘No, wait!’ She moved forward to his side. Her face was pale and serious, but he saw by the determination there that he could rely on her to do whatever was necessary without betraying any further weakness. ‘I’m ready — only tell me what I must do.’
It was about an hour later that the Eversley coach drew up again outside Dr. Hume’s house, with a stamping of hoofs and jingling of harness. From its interior leapt Hugh Eversley, looking something less than his usual imperturbable self, and a flustered Mrs. Levibond, with the strings of her bonnet untied and a cloak flung heedlessly about her shoulders.
They were admitted almost at once, and invited to take a seat in the parlour. Beau Eversley swept the offer impatiently aside.
‘Take me to Mrs. Eversley,’ he commanded the little maid.
She had just begun a reply when he heard a door opening on the other side of the hall. He twisted round on his heel quickly.
Georgiana was standing there, a bundle in her arms.
He was at her side in a stride. She held the bundle up, gently pulling aside the shawl which covered it, Hugh gazed into an unbelievably tiny face, wrinkled like a very old man’s and crowned with a thick crop of the Eversley hair.
‘A son for you, Hugh,’ she said quietly. ‘Congratulations!’
He touched the little cheek with a tentative finger. The small mouth opened, and a thin wail emerged. At that sound, Mrs. Levibond rushed forward with arms outstretched.
‘Give him to me, Miss Georgy!’ she commanded, taking the baby to her ample bosom. ‘The sweet lamb!’ she crooned, bending over the child, who was now giving tongue with surprising gusto for one so young. ‘The little sweeting, then!’
‘Susan?’ asked Hugh, in an almost pleading tone. ‘Take me to her, Georgy!’
Georgy nodded, and pushed open the surgery door. Dr. Graham was standing just inside it, evidently about to emerge. He answered Hugh’s unspoken question at once.
‘Your wife is very well, sir. Tired, of course, but that will pass. Everything was most satisfactory — a healthy infant, male. But no doubt you’ll have heard already. You may see her for a little while now, but afterwards she’ll need some sleep.’
Hugh seized his hand in a firm clasp. ‘Bless you, my dear fellow,’ he said, with more emotion in his voice than Georgy could ever remember hearing. Then he went quickly but quietly into the room, closing the door softly.
Graham took Georgy’s hands in his, and looked into her eyes, which were swimming in tears.
‘You were splendid,’ he said quietly, ‘but then I knew you would be. And now,
’ he went on, in a brisker tone, ‘I think what we all need is a good strong dish of tea.’
He released her and went in search of the housemaid.
They were all three sitting in the parlour drinking tea when Dr. Hume returned, followed in a short time by his wife and the housekeeper. If Dr. Hume felt any disappointment at having lost the privilege of bringing a future Viscount Eversley into the world, he managed to conceal it admirably. He took a look at both mother and child, congratulated Beau Eversley on the state of their health, and Dr. Graham on having conducted a successful delivery.
‘You should congratulate Miss Eversley, too, uncle,’ said Graham. ‘Her help was invaluable.’
There was a little pause before Dr. Hume found the right answer to make to this remark. Mrs. Hume considered Georgiana thoughtfully out of the corner of her eye. She was not quite sure that she altogether approved of the part Miss Eversley had played. To be sure, it had been awkward for John with no other female in the house at the time — but still, a gently reared girl such as Georgiana Eversley to be acting as a midwife! Such things were not thought of — she would not have cared for Anne to do the office, even though she had been reared in a medical family. Still, in her position Miss Eversley could perhaps afford to be a law unto herself; and there was no denying that she was a good-hearted, generous young lady, and a brave one, too.
‘Indeed I do,’ Dr. Hume was saying, with a smile. ‘It was fortunate that Miss Eversley chanced to be here.’
‘Yes, why were you here, Georgy?’ asked Hugh, who was now more or less restored to his normally observant frame of mind. ‘Did you accompany Susan? I still don’t know why she came here.’
‘She’ll tell you herself later on,’ replied Georgy, a slight flush coming to cheeks which Graham noticed were still a little paler than usual. ‘I think she’d prefer to explain.’
Hugh nodded, tacitly agreeing to let the subject lie for the present, and turned the conversation instead to arrangements for the nursing of Susan and the baby until such time as they could safely be moved to Fulmer Towers. In the midst of all the talk, Georgy felt Graham’s eye upon her. She looked across at him, and saw that he was pleading with her to step outside the room.
The Toast of the Town Page 17
