'Eve! Have you seen that abominable announcement?'
Glancing at the interested butler, Eve drew him into the dining room and shut the door.
'About your betrothal to Talia?'
'Yes. But it isn't true! Of course it isn't! There is no betrothal! The wretched girl sent the notice to the paper herself. I've just seen it, and forced her to admit it. Where is Amelia?'
'She's gone to her room. She was devastated. Does this mean – '
'It means that Talia has gone too far. I have sent a denial to the paper, but I didn't want Amelia to see it.'
'Why? Are you proposing to make her an offer?'
'Yes, of course! I've been meaning to for weeks now, but decided to give her more time to get to know me.'
'I was just going up to her. Shall I send her down to you?'
'If she will come. If she believes me that this is all Talia's doing. Well, whatever Amelia decides, it's the end for that girl! She's leaving London today, and I don't care where she goes, to Devon or Bath, or, hopefully, back to Russia. Even my mother must see how impossible she is!'
'I'll go and send Amelia down to you,' Eve said as she was running up the stairs.
*
An hour later Sir Bernard opened a bottle of champagne and they were all sitting in his study, celebrating.
'You must publish that denial before we can announce your real betrothal,' Sir Bernard said. 'Then we will hold a party.'
Amelia, her tears dried, sat close to Sir Peter and held his hand tightly. After her first reaction, which had been to disbelieve what Eve had told her, she had dried her tears and not stopped smiling.
'We'll arrange the wedding as soon as matters are clear,' Caroline said. 'Would you wish it to be here in London, or in Herefordshire? Bernard is well enough to travel back home if you wish, he's had no more seizures.'
'I don't want to be married by the Reverend Ripon,' Amelia said. 'Oh, Eve, I'm sorry, but you do understand, don't you?'
'Of course I do,' Eve said, thinking that in the unlikely event of her being married, she would probably have to endure her father.
'Then St George's it is,' Sir Bernard said.
'And Eve will be my bridesmaid. But Peter, what will your mother say? Didn't she always mean you to marry Talia?'
'I'm sorry to sound undutiful, but what my mother wishes is unimportant. Once she has accepted my decision she will see how much better fitted Amelia is, than Talia, to become my wife. But now I must go and make certain the Post publishes my denial, and my real betrothal notice. Then I will go and speed Talia on her way.'
'Come back for dinner,' Caroline said. 'I suppose I ought to ask your mother too, but – '
'Not yet, until her rage will have subsided. Whether she will be angrier at Talia or me remains to be seen.'
He departed, and the ladies retreated to the drawing room to discuss wedding clothes. A short while later the Earl was admitted.
'I've just met Peter,' he announced, 'so I have the news. I am so very pleased for you both. May I kiss the bride?'
Amelia laughed. 'I'm not yet a bride! But you may certainly kiss me.'
'Peter's mother looked furious when I came past their house a short while since. She was just climbing into his travelling carriage, and Talia was with her, looking white and shocked.'
'Was Peter going with them?' Amelia asked, looking anxious.
'No. After he waved them off, I asked him why he was not escorting them, and he told me all. They are going to Bath, he says, and he expects Talia will opt to return to Russia when she has had time to realise how people will treat her once the story is known. And there is no hope of keeping it secret, even in Bath.'
'Come and join us in a celebration dinner tonight.'
'Thank you, Caroline, I'd be glad to.'
'And you can tell us how the peace negotiations are progressing.'
*
'Not all of France is yet secured,' Justin told them at dinner, 'and Napoleon is still resisting negotiations for peace. But we have the Quadruple Alliance against him, and short of a miracle for him, the war is all but over.'
'And we'll be able to travel to the continent again,' Amelia said, clapping her hands in excitement.
'We could go there on our wedding journey,' Sir Peter offered. 'My mother is always talking about her own time in Paris when she was a girl and was sent there to perfect her French. It was where she met my father.'
'You won't go until that monster is caught and imprisoned, will you?' Caroline asked. 'What do the Allies plan to do with him?' she asked, turning to the Earl.
'That I cannot say, it will depend on the negotiations when he finally accepts defeat.'
'It's a pity he cannot be shot out of hand,' Amelia said.
'He still has a great deal of support in France,' the Earl warned. 'Such a solution would be viewed most unfavourably by his friends, and there could be new uprisings.'
'Will you have to go to France?' Sir Bernard asked.
'It's unlikely. But I need to consider my future, whether I will rejoin the army actively, or, now Napoleon is finished, resign my commission and concentrate on running my estates.'
'I wonder where your father is, Eve?' Caroline asked. 'Perhaps, with the virtual end of the war, he will give up his search and come home. He will not now be concerned for James's safety.'
'I don't believe he ever was,' Eve replied. 'All he cared about was his own authority, and he couldn't abide the thought that James had defied him. But how will he be able to carry on searching for James now? Will the army disband?'
'Some soldiers will be dismissed, we no longer need so large an army,' the Earl said, 'and some of the more experienced regiments probably sent to Canada to help the fight there.'
'So Papa might think James has been sent there?' Eve chuckled. 'I suppose we ought to tell him the truth before he tries to follow him there!'
'If we can find him. I have been making enquiries, but I can find no trace of him in France.'
'He went to Lisbon on the mail package, didn't he?' Sir Bernard asked. 'Has anyone there any information?'
'Not a great deal. We know he arrived, made enquiries, and then set off towards Spain. One army chaplain I contacted said he had crossed into Spain, but he did not know where he was heading. We assume he made his way through Spain towards the French border, but there was no further information, no one seems to have seen him. That is hardly surprising, considering how many troops we had in Spain. Most of the army was by then in the country. Now we have actually invaded France the regiments will be more scattered. His task is impossible. I can only hope he gives up and comes home.'
Eve, knowing her father's fanatical determination not to be thwarted, was not so sanguine. She was, however, rather worried, as much for his mental and spiritual health as for his physical condition. That, too, might be cause for concern. He was not young, and the travel would have been arduous. She sighed. There was nothing she could do, and she was grateful to the Earl for his efforts to trace her father. But when he did eventually come home and discover it had all been for nothing, that James was all the time safe in England, his rage would be monumental. James would be blamed. Never would he consider his own impetuosity at fault.
The talk then turned to plans for Amelia's wedding, and her need for bride clothes. They would go to Bedford House and other warehouses on the following day, Amelia declared, to begin the search for suitable dress fabrics.
'And I will need hats, and pelisses, and a new riding habit, and boots, and so much more!' she said.
'I can see my dressmaker will be needed for weeks,' Caroline said, smiling. 'And Eve will need her for the new gowns she is planning ready for the Season.'
'But if Amelia is married soon, as they wish, will you and Sir Bernard still be in London? Will you want me when Amelia is not here?'
Rachel would not be coming this year, and perhaps Sir Bernard and Caroline would feel they had been in London for long enough, and wish to go home. Her dream of a Lon
don Season appeared to be vanishing.
Caroline shook her head. 'It's far too early to decide. But when Amelia is gone, we will need you to keep up our spirits.'
Eve blinked back tears. 'You are all so good to me.'
*
James looked mutinous. 'I really do not see how going to Oxford will help me in the army.'
Justin sighed. They had been discussing this for an hour. 'The army is being reduced now that Napoleon is defeated. They will not be recruiting.'
'He is not quite defeated. There is still Toulouse where the French are holding out.'
'Agreed, but that won't hold out much longer, and as I said, there is no call for new recruits. My friend is willing to tutor you along with Stephen. I think you will find him a very different teacher than your father.'
James shook his head. 'So who will pay him? Papa won't, and surely he will not take me out of charity?'
'I will pay him for now, and if you want to repay me at some future date, you may. When you are earning.'
'You are very good, but I can't permit that. It is charity.'
Justin ignored the look on his face. 'And your time there and at Oxford will not be wasted. You could, with a degree, do well with a commission as an officer.'
James was still resisting. 'I would not have any money to purchase it. Even the few hundred pounds from Mama would not be enough, and my father would not give it to me for that purpose.'
'We can face that difficulty when the time comes. But many of the men who purchase commissions are simply wealthy. They do not have your intelligence, your education. You could soon advance by merit, not purchase.'
'But not if the war is over.'
'It isn't over yet in America, and there are other places where you might be sent. If you want to be in the army you have to accept orders. You cannot dictate where you will or won't serve.'
James frowned. 'I see that. And I am prepared.'
'The fact remains, at the moment the army is unlikely to take you. Why not spend the time with Stephen? Or do you wish to go back to Herefordshire once your father returns to England?'
James blinked, and Justin saw a shudder go through him.
'No, but I can find some kind of job meanwhile. I could be a groom, or something.'
'There will be hundreds of former infantrymen looking for such jobs, older and more experienced than you are.'
James began to look defeated, and Justin pressed on.
'Don't you realise how utterly furious he will be when he discovers his searches were in vain? He will haul you back home, and might even refuse to permit you to go to Oxford. So what would he do with you?'
James gulped, then flung up his head. 'I don't know, but if it's too bad I'd run away again!'
'That's foolish talk. How would you survive? Do you wish for a repeat of what you suffered before, on your way here? Wouldn't this be better? He won't know where you are, I promise you. I'll be the only one who does.'
'That seems like running away.'
'But you should know that Wellington is an expert at the tactical retreat. He did this in the Peninsula, and wore down his enemies.'
James nodded, and looked thoughtful. 'I see. But Eve, he'll browbeat her and I don't want to be responsible for that.'
'Your sister won't be told, so she cannot betray you to your father. You can send letters to her through me, and similarly she can use me as a posting station.'
For the first time James smiled. 'So we can keep in touch? But he'll still be furious with her. I can't let her suffer that.'
'Whether you are there or not will make little difference. In fact, if you were there he would probably begin to blame her for your disobedience. As it is, if she swears on the Bible she doesn't know where you are, won't he have to believe it?'
At last the boy seemed to accept Justin's arguments. His shoulders slumped and he sighed gustily. 'Very well, your lordship. I'll do as you wish. And thank you for all your help.'
'Then we will go tomorrow, before there is any chance of your father arriving in London.'
James appeared to shake off his disappointment, and grinned. 'I only wish I could be here to see his bafflement.'
*
They set off next day, and with Amelia so absorbed in wedding plans, Eve began to feel deserted. Then, as she and the dressmaker were discussing how she wished a new morning gown, in a delicate cream muslin, to be made, a maid came to say she was wanted in Sir Bernard's study. Puzzled, she went downstairs.
She heard Sir Bernard's voice as she opened the door.
'My dear fellow, you cannot desert your post like this.'
A voice she recognised replied, and Eve went swiftly into the room. Her father's curate was standing by Sir Bernard's desk, wringing his hands. He glanced at Eve as she entered, gave a deep sigh, and turned back to Sir Bernard.
'I am fully aware that I am deserting my post, sir, but I think you must agree that I have done my best, and I am finally unable to continue. Good morning, Miss Ripon. I have come to tell Sir Bernard that I am about to sail to Africa to take up a position of missionary.'
'Nicholas? You, a missionary? But, how does it come you are here? Has my father returned home?'
'Eve, dear, come and sit down.'
Eve noticed for the first time that Caroline was seated by the window, some embroidery in her lap. She went across and sat beside her.
'I don't understand.'
'The Reverend North has concluded he cannot continue doing all your father's duties as well as his own,' Sir Bernard said, no trace of emotion in his voice.
'It has been a nightmare!' Nicholas said. 'It was not just all the extra Christmas services, it was everyone wanting to know all the time where the Rector was, and I was unable to give them any information! Plus I had to add the teaching of John to everything else! It became too much, and I feared for my sanity if it continued for much longer!'
'Where is John? You haven't left the poor boy on his own at the Rectory, have you?'
'There are servants still there,' Nicholas said. 'He would have been well cared for. But I sent him to stay with his sister. I am sure she can provide some education for him!'
'Oh, poor Rachel! And when she is not feeling well. Does the Bishop know what you are planning?'
'Of course! You cannot think I would desert my post without informing someone in authority?'
'But you have deserted your post,' Eve said. 'What does the Bishop intend to do about it? Will he appoint someone else?'
'After the way he treated me, saying I was a fool as well as un-Christian, I really did not wait to ask him!'
Eve suppressed the desire to laugh. While she was sorry for the parishioners, left without a priest, she thought she would have enjoyed being at that confrontation. She had always liked the Bishop, and was confident he would sort out some solution. He might even be glad to be rid of Nicholas.
'Did he have any information on where my father is?' she asked. 'Has Papa been in touch since he went to France?'
'I really have no idea, and he hasn't been in touch with me, which I would have thought his major responsibility. And now, Sir Bernard, as my only reason for imposing on your time was to inform you and Miss Ripon of the situation, I will take my leave.'
No one tried to prevent him. Eve began to laugh before he was fully out of the room.
'Oh dear, now Papa won't be able to try and force me to marry him! That will infuriate him even more!'
*
On the following day Sir Peter arrived early in the morning to announce he was going to Bath, starting on the following day.
'Mama and Talia have finally fallen out,' he said. 'Mama wishes to go to Devon, and she asks me to escort her. I am also to find a suitable female to accompany Talia back to Russia. She, Talia, that is, has concluded that she does not wish to be married to an Englishman, after all. She says, Mama reports, that she has looked at all the available dukes and marquesses and earls, and finds none of them acceptable.'
'And none
of them willing to make her an offer,' Amelia said. 'But Peter, how long will you be gone?'
'The weather has improved somewhat, and if the roads are not too difficult, no more than two weeks.' He sighed. 'I will have to ask Mama if she wishes to attend our wedding, and if so make arrangements to have her escorted back to London. But it will have to be by someone else. Perhaps she could travel with some of my neighbours who will be coming to London, either to my wedding, or for the Season.'
'Will she want to come to the wedding?' Amelia asked.
'Don't sound so apprehensive,' Caroline said, trying not to laugh. 'She will doubtless be so relieved not to have to welcome Talia as a daughter she will accept you with open arms.'
Amelia looked doubtful. 'She's never liked me.'
'She will accept you when she has become used to the notion. While I am gone you can enjoy an orgy of shopping,' Sir Peter said. 'But I hear the fashions in Paris are delightful, so you must plan to buy some things there.'
He soon departed, leaving Amelia still doubtful, but Eve persuaded her to visit Bedford House to look for some of the new muslins.
'It's still early, it won't be crowded. I fancy buying another figured muslin for an evening gown. And by the time you are in Paris the weather will be summery, so you will need some light gowns.'
They spent a busy morning, but Eve's attention was not fully on the business of choosing fabrics. She had begun to worry where her father was. Surely, now they were busy negotiating peace terms, he would come home? And when he did, and found that James had been spirited away out of his reach, his rage would be awesome. If he discovered that the Earl was responsible, what would he do?
*
CHAPTER 10
The journey was slow, for they faced snow still on many of the roads, and flooding on others where it had melted, but it gave Justin plenty of time to talk to James and assess his officer potential. He must, at some time, be persuaded to accept an offer to purchase a commission. Justin once again hinted that he would be prepared to buy one, but James was indignant at what he perceived as charity.
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