“Oh, I could not ask such a thing!” replied Temia, shocked. “It would not be at all right. No, we shall ask at Northampton Station for somewhere suitable.”
Temia had never felt so nervous in her life, as she sat on the train. Not even when she had fled to London some weeks earlier. She so wished that she was meeting the Earl under different circumstances and was apprehensive at seeing Sir Thomas.
At Northampton the girls were fortunate enough to encounter a friendly woman and she gave them a lift to a nearby hotel that she said was suitable for young ladies.
The hotel arranged for a carriage to take Temia to Yardley Manor and, by nightfall, she was on her way.
Sophia remained at the hotel to wait for her, as she had not thought it right to intrude. Temia felt guilty for leaving her behind, but she knew she had no choice. She tried not to dwell upon how Sir Thomas would be, instead she thought of home.
‘So near and yet so far!’ she said to herself, trying to see the Northamptonshire countryside in the pitch-black outside the carriage window.
Yardley Manor was only a few miles away from Bovendon Hall and it was surely a miracle that she had never met the Earl before.
‘Of course, had he attended the ball that my parents had thrown for me on my return from Paris, things might have turned out differently,’ she reflected, as the carriage made its way up the long drive of Yardley Manor.
As they pulled up at the front door, she saw the Earl rush towards the carriage. She scarcely recognised the raggle-taggle figure who greeted her. His hair was unkempt, he had the beginnings of a beard and his clothes were torn and filthy. He looked more like a field hand than an Earl.
“Temia!”
Opening the carriage door, he did not give her any time to set foot on the drive as he swept her up in his arms and held her close.
“Temia, darling! I am so glad to see you!” he cried, covering her face in kisses. His beard prickled, but she did not care.
When he then pressed his mouth to hers, she did not resist. She melted into his embrace and gave herself up into a long passionate kiss. She felt that they were both touching Heaven for a moment of blinding ecstasy.
“How can you ever forgive me for what I did?” he murmured, stroking her face tenderly. “I behaved really reprehensibly.”
“I could forgive you anything because I love you,” she replied, looking at him with blue eyes full of emotion.
“You love me? After all that I did?” he gasped, incredulously. “Temia, I love you deeply, but I did not dare to hope – ”
“Then, hush. This is no time for recriminations.”
“I love you so much!” he cried, kissing her again.
Temia trembled as his strong arms crushed her. She could feel his heart beating against her and longed to stay like this forever.
“Thomas – I should go to him,” she said, pulling herself away from his embrace.
“Yes, of course.” The Earl’s face was flushed and his eyes were great pools of darkness. He escorted her to the room where Sir Thomas lay.
The nurse sat beside him, reading by the light of an oil lamp and Temia thought she looked very kind.
“How is he?” asked the Earl, as they entered.
“Temia? Is that you?”
Sir Thomas pulled himself up from his pillows, his face white and shining with sweat.
“I am here, Thomas,” she answered softly, before turning to the nurse and saying, “may I speak with you?” She rose and walked out into the corridor.
“What is his condition?” asked Temia. “Very sick. He seems to have no will to live. He will not eat. If only he would take some nourishment, then he would have a chance.”
“Then I will stay with him until he eats something,” said Temia, decisively. “You must be tired. I am certain you would like some rest. Please leave me with him and I will send for you if he deteriorates.”
The nurse smiled and left her. Temia opened the door and returned to the bedside.
“Temia, you have come! I knew you would.”
Sir Thomas stretched out a hand and took hers. He looked so ill that she wanted to cry.
“Richard, have your cook send some hot beef tea at once and then leave us, please.”
“But, Temia, you have only just arrived and I have hardly had the opportunity to speak to you.”
“Leave us!” she commanded, in a firm voice. “And I suggest you might like to make yourself presentable.”
With reluctance and not a little embarrassment, the Earl withdrew. As he turned at the door, he saw Temia take off her coat and bonnet and sink down in the chair by the bed.
“Thomas – ” he heard her say, as he closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER TEN
The Earl paced impatiently up and down outside the room. He could hear the low murmur of voices inside, but could not decipher what was being said.
Mrs. Hopkins came along presently with some beef tea and she was admitted to the room. As she left, she gave the Earl a long hard stare.
“Miss Temia asks if you have washed and changed yet. Am I to tell her, next time I return, that you have not yet done so?”
The Earl’s fine features reddened. And now he felt ashamed of himself.
“Mrs. Hopkins, will you have Elliot draw me a bath at once, please?” he murmured, not meeting her eye.
“At once, my Lord,” she answered with a satisfied look on her face.
He did not worry about Mrs. Hopkins’s opinion of him, but what Temia thought was of great concern to him.
He took one last look at the closed door and then moved away. As he walked along the corridor to his room, he caught sight of himself in the large ornate mirror that hung near the staircase.
With mounting horror, he saw his bearded face and scruffy torn clothing.
‘Is this how I greeted Temia?’ he said to himself. ‘Looking as if I have been sleeping in a haystack and then struck by a threshing machine!’
He shook his head and wondered what had become of him. What Babbington had said to him, about how he had lost his way since his father had died, was true!
‘My father would not wish me to behave as I have,’ he said to himself. ‘He set great store by good manners and fine breeding. I have shown neither of late and to think I ignored Babbington’s well-meaning lectures! It should be me, laying there dying of a pistol wound and not him!’
He shook his head again and went up to his room.
As he entered, Elliot was supervising three maids, who were bringing cans of hot water to his dressing room. A large bathtub was in the corner and they were filling it.
“My Lord, shall I dispose of those clothes you are wearing? There’s your dressing gown warming by the fire and you can change into it until your bath be ready.”
He went to the fire, picked up the dressing gown and then went behind the screen.
He did not feel any self-consciousness as he peeled off his filthy clothes. He felt as if he was shedding an old dead skin like a snake and that he was about to be reborn. Elliot announced that the bath was ready and the Earl stepped out from behind the screen. Slipping into the deliciously hot water, he felt the tension flood out of him.
Elliot was standing by, ready to employ a cut-throat razor at the Earl’s command.
He soaped his aching body and thought of Temia.
What was she saying to Thomas? Would she re-emerge from the room with the news that she was going to marry him – out of pity? Was she bargaining with him –
‘Drink the beef tea and I will marry you?’
By the time he summoned Elliot to come and attend to his shaving, he was feeling desperate.
‘I love her so much!’ he told himself, as the razor was deftly whisked over his face. ‘I don’t think I could bear to lose her now.’
Later, as Elliot helped dress him, he began to feel more like his old self again. He was not a man to give up easily and neither would he in the battle for Temia’s hand.
Had she
not told him that she loved him?
He walked slowly downstairs to dine alone. Mrs. Hopkins gave an approving look as she passed him and he smiled to himself as he sat down and waited for dinner to be served.
“Is there any sign of Miss Morris?” he asked, as the butler served him.
“Miss Morris, my Lord?” “Yes, the lady who is sitting with Sir Thomas.”
“Her name is Miss Brandon, my Lord, and not Miss Morris. She is the only daughter of Sir Arthur Brandon of Bovendon Hall. His horses are justly famous throughout the County for being the best in Northamptonshire, if not in England.”
“Really?” answered the Earl, taken aback. Even though Sir Thomas had mentioned in passing that Temia had told him she was fleeing from an arranged marriage, he had no idea her family were so well bred.
“Sir Arthur – is he in residence at the moment? “I believe so, my Lord. He is a country gentleman and does not own a London residence.”
He mulled over this information as he chewed on his lamb chops. Had not Thomas also told him her father was being blackmailed?
He resolved to make discreet enquiries as soon as the present emergency was over. The fact that Temia had not chosen to confide in him was of no consequence to him and it certainly did not make him love her any less. In fact, he thought it showed a remarkable strength of character and he did not care for silly females who cried for attention at the slightest excuse. He far preferred women with spirit and determination.
‘Yes, I shall explore this further,’ he decided.
His thoughts were interrupted by Elliot.
“My Lord, Miss Temia has sent me to you. It’s Sir Thomas.”
“He is not – ”
“No, my Lord. Quite the opposite. She has sent word that he has taken some nourishment and requests that the doctor be summoned first thing in the morning.”
“Thank Heaven! Will Miss Temia be joining me for dinner?”
“No, my Lord. She has requested that no one enter the room apart from servants bringing whatever she might require. Sir Thomas is still not out of the woods.”
*
In spite of being exhausted, the Earl could not sleep and he tossed and turned, half-dreaming, half-awake.
He longed to see Temia and to cover her face with kisses and tell her how much she meant to him.
At five o’clock in the morning, he arose from his large four-poster bed and paced the room. At six he rang for Elliot to bring hot coffee and boiled eggs.
By seven o’clock he was washed and dressed.
He decided to go for a ride to help ease the tension, and before he made for the stables, he went to the West wing to see if there were any signs of life.
As he passed the room where Sir Thomas lay, an exhausted Temia half-fell out of the door.
He caught her in his arms as she swooned.
“Richard!”
“Temia – are you all right?” he asked anxiously.
“I am – very tired. Is the doctor on his way?”
“Yes, is Babbington deteriorating?”
“No, Richard. He has awakened and asked for eggs and coffee!”
“Darling! My poor dear, brave darling!” he sighed, holding her closer to him.
“Excuse me, my Lord, Doctor Soul is here. Shall I show him in?”
The butler was standing there waiting expectantly.
“Show him in at once!” “I hope that he confirms my prognosis that Thomas has turned a corner,” whispered Temia in a voice that was hoarse with exhaustion.
Doctor Soul was quick to examine the patient and then to convey the good news.
“He will live and it is all thanks to this remarkable young lady. I see that he has eaten something at last.”
“Yes, he had two small cups of beef tea last night and then two eggs this morning,” Temia replied proudly.
“And now, young lady, I suggest that you rest.” Temia was taken to a guest room and brought some breakfast. The Earl gave his staff orders that she was not to be disturbed. Several hours later, just as it was getting dark again, Temia awoke to find herself in a strange bed. For a moment she could not remember where she was and then she realised.
‘I am at Yardley Manor and Thomas is better!’ She rang for a maid and asked her to bring some hot water and then noticed a clean dress hung on a hook.
“Whose is that?” she asked the maid.
“His Lordship said to leave it out for you, miss. It used to belong to his sister.” Temia bathed and then put on the dress. It fitted her to perfection.
She did her hair and thought how once she could not have done so, but working at the theatre had made her very self-sufficient and independent.
Once presentable, she hurried to Sir Thomas eager to discover his progress.
But the faithful Elliot barred the way.
“I am sorry, miss, but his Lordship has given strict instructions that they are not to be disturbed. He said to give you this when you awoke.”
Temia opened it and read,
“My darling, There are things that Babbington and I must thrash out, man to man. I will send for you when all is well. A carriage has been made ready to take you wherever you desire. Just know I love you very much whatever happens.
Your own Richard.”
‘He is sending me away!’ she thought. ‘Did he not mean what he said yesterday, after all?’
With a heavy heart, she gathered up the few things she had with her and went out to the waiting carriage. She knew that she could not go home to Bovendon Hall and so she asked the driver to take her to the hotel where Sophia would be waiting for news.
“I was so worried!” she cried, as Temia reappeared. “I didn’t know what to think when you didn’t return. I told the manager that we wanted the room for another day at least – are we staying?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, looking dazed.
“Temia. What’s happened. How is Sir Thomas?”
“I sat up with him all night and he is recovering.”
“And now?”
“The Earl has sent me away and said he will come and fetch me later.”
“You must not concern yourself. Men must be left to themselves and we should not interfere with them. Have you thought more of returning home to your parents?”
“How can I? Timing is now crucial. If I was to appear before my mother has had word from Mr. Burleigh that the affidavit has been drawn up to have Lord Alphonse arrested, it would spell disaster. No, we must wait here. I will write to Mama and tell her where I am.”
Temia began to write and after finishing the letter, Sophia took it to the concierge to be delivered at once.
“You should go back to bed, Temia. Look – you can scarcely keep your eyes open. Tomorrow, we’ll talk. I have some news for you!”
“What is it, dearest?”
“No,” smiled Sophia, mysteriously. “It can wait, but it is nothing to concern yourself with.”
Temia watched as Sophia almost skipped out of the room. ‘I wonder what ails her?’ she said to herself, taking off her slippers.
Sophia did not return to her room until quite late, but Temia was fast asleep by then.
*
They both slept soundly and were awakened by the waiter with their breakfast.
Sophia eagerly tucked into toast and kedgeree.
“I love it,” she exclaimed.
Temia laughed. “I am pleased you are so happy, now what is the news you wish to tell me, Sophia?”
“I’ve met a gentleman!” she cried with a brilliant smile. “At a piano recital in the hotel. Oh, Temia! He is so handsome and dashing! He’s a Captain and is stationed at Weedon Barracks. He saw that I was alone and asked if I needed a chaperone!”
“Sophia! That is quite shocking!”
“Oh, don’t concern yourself, Temia. He is quite the gentleman. I dined with him last night and I am seeing him again this evening! So, if we stay here for a month, I could not be happier!”
“Then, I am s
o pleased for you, dearest,” replied Temia, laying a hand fondly on her shoulder. They were disturbed by a knocking on the door.
“That waiter is efficient – we have scarcely finished our breakfast,” said Temia, as Sophia rushed to open it.
Lady Brandon swept into the room.
“You must be Sophia,” she smiled. “I should have known you at once as your eyes are just like Arthur’s.”
Sophia blushed and dropped a curtsy.
“My Lady!” she said with her head bowed.
“Now, now – what is this nonsense? You must not kowtow to me!”
“Mama! You have received my letter?”
“Yes, darling. And I have come to tell you that you must come to The Hall at once. Yesterday afternoon we received word from Mr. Burleigh that he is to arrive at The Hall the very same evening and then, as if by a miracle, a letter arrived from Lord Alphonse announcing that he was coming to call in his debt the next day.”
“He is coming to The Hall this afternoon?” “Yes. In his letter, he said that he would be coming to take away more horses, as the bargain we made was left unfulfilled. Mr. Burleigh is delighted at the timing and is meeting with the Chief Constable. He is arranging a little reception committee!”
“Mama, this is wonderful news.”
“And we shall naturally need you at The Hall. You are the lure to set the trap, Temia!”
“But Papa – he has agreed to this?”
“Darling, he is full of remorse with how he behaved towards you. He cannot wait to see you.”
“And Sophia?”
“I have told him of her existence, but we must take this one step at a time. It was quite a shock for him, as you can imagine. Now, make haste. I have the carriage outside and we must return to The Hall at once. Sophia, you don’t mind waiting here, do you?”
Sophia smiled shyly and bowed her head. She was so delighted that she did not wish to show her eagerness.
“Perhaps that handsome Captain of yours will take you for a drive,” suggested Temia. “I think I should stay behind in case the Earl comes for you. After all, we don’t want him thinking you have run off again, do we?”
Temia thought how wise she was and she had not considered that eventuality.
“Very well. But don’t stay a prisoner in your room. I am certain that your Captain would enjoy some tea in the restaurant should he come to see you!”
They Touched Heaven Page 13
