by Anne O'Brien
Kate, acknowledging the truth of Sir Henry’s reading of the situation, found that there was nothing she could say. Sir Henry, sensing her hopelessness, tried for a more conciliatory tone, hoping to win her acceptance of a marriage that he had always known would be distasteful.
‘Come, my dear. You will do well to put Richard out of your mind. Look at the advantages in marriage to Marlbrooke. Wealth. Status. Recognition from the new King and a position at Court. You will be able to return to the Priory as your rightful home. You are twenty years old. It is high time you were married, you know.’
Kate shook her head, anything but co-operative. ‘I will not marry Viscount Marlbrooke!’
‘Then I have no alternative—’ Sir Henry was interrupted by the quiet opening of the library door. Swynford entered with some reluctance.
‘Well? I thought I gave orders we should not be disturbed.’
Swynford inclined his head respectfully, well used to his lordship’s peremptory tones. ‘Indeed you did, my lord. But a visitor has arrived. And I believed it best to inform you immediately.’
‘Well?’
‘Viscount Marlbrooke, my lord.’ Swynford opened the library door wider to admit the unexpected guest. Three pairs of eyes were riveted on the figure in the doorway. The unexpected visitor paused, supremely aware of his audience.
Kate received an instant impression of wealth and elegance—and of confidence. Marcus Oxenden, Viscount Marlbrooke, only son of the villain of her childhood and her proposed future husband, made a worthy entrance in the deliberate magnificence of full Court dress. Unfashionable as it might be, he wore his own hair, black and dense as midnight, fashioned to fall elaborately in ordered waves and curls to his shoulders. Otherwise he wore the latest Court fashion: a black velvet, knee-length coat and waistcoat, heavily decorated with silver embroidery and ribbon loops at the shoulder. Kate’s lips took on a derisory twist at the obvious French influence. His white shirt, visible below the wide cuffs of his elbow-length sleeves, was of the finest silk, as were his stockings. He had obviously made no concessions to the dusty journey from London. His shoes, flamboyant with black rosettes and crimson heels, merely added to his height and consequence. Light glinted on the jewels in his cravat; priceless lace cascaded over his hands. It was an impressive entrance and, Kate suspected, had been deliberately stage-managed to achieve maximum effect.
Cold grey eyes, at present watchful and perhaps a little judgmental, swept the room, hardly touching on Kate. He was younger than she had expected, perhaps around thirty years, but the fine lines around his unsmiling mouth betrayed a worldly cynicism. Kate swallowed as the pulse in her throat increased its pace, and as she realised that Viscount Marlbrooke was everything a bride could have dreamed of in the secrecy of her heart. He was tall, taller than Richard, broad shouldered with the muscle development fitting for a soldier and swordsman, and, of course, with the superb control and elegance essential for a courtier. His face commanded immediate attention in its austere beauty, not only the clear grey eyes but the planes and angles of cheekbone and jaw. As his hair, his brows were dark, his nose straight and masterful.
Viscount Marlbrooke, apparently unaware of the critical assessment from the lady of his choice, swept off his plumed hat and bowed with exaggerated, polished grace to the assembled company. He was, without doubt, the most handsome man Kate had ever seen. She sighed in disgust that this man who had dared to petition for her hand should be so outrageously attractive.
‘A painted popinjay!’ she repeated it, not quite below her breath, watching him bow towards her uncle. As he rose to his full height with a flourish of an elegant, long-fingered hand, he gave no sign that he had heard her opinion but instinctively, perhaps by the slight stiffening of his shoulders, she knew that he had and wondered momentarily at her temerity in antagonising this palpably dangerous man. All in all, it seemed of little importance that she hated him on sight.
Kate was immediately conscious of her dishevelled appearance. Her assignation in the windswept garden had done her no favours and had whipped her ringlets into a riot of curls. She feared that there were obvious smears of mud and dust along the hem of her skirts. As for any remaining tear stains on her cheeks … Kate fumed inwardly that he should have caught her at such a disadvantage on their first meeting, especially as, she surmised, his only reason for travelling such a distance from London was to look her over and assess whether she was worthy of marriage to a royal favourite! And no one, as she continued to view him with hostility, could believe that he had travelled any distance at all. Certainly not in that impeccable outfit. How dare he put her at such a disadvantage!
‘My lord!’ Kate was silently amused to realise that her uncle was flustered by the sudden appearance of their previous topic of conversation. ‘Please forgive our lack of welcome. We were not expecting you. Well, certainly not today.’ Not only flustered, but over-conciliatory. Kate set her teeth as she listened to her uncle’s determined attempts to secure this marriage at all costs. He returned Marlbrooke’s bow and then approached down the length of the library to extend his hand in a polite gesture of greeting.
‘I understood that you were expecting me.’ Marlbrooke’s response was bored, languid. It seemed that it could not have mattered less. ‘We have a matter of business to arrange. But, indeed, I should not need to encroach too far on your time or privacy.’
So, thought Kate. At least I know where I stand. A matter of business indeed! She caught her mother’s vague gaze across the room and was surprised by the sympathy for her plight that she read there. But sympathy would not bring her the means of escape. Kate smiled reassuringly, even though it was a mere tightening of her lips, and then returned her attention to the central tableau.
‘Permit me,’ her uncle was saying, ‘to present you to my sister, Lady Philippa Harley … Viscount Marlbrooke.’ Lady Philippa smiled nervously at her brother and the Viscount and extended her hand. The Viscount bowed low and touched his lips to her fingers. ‘I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Lady Philippa. I believe that you were acquainted with my mother, Lady Elizabeth.’
‘Why, yes.’ Lady Philippa looked startled. ‘I had forgotten … It was many years ago, of course.’
‘My mother remembers your friendship with pleasure.’
‘Why … of course.’ She became even more flustered, casting a glance towards her brother, seeking approval for this friendly overture. She did not receive it and promptly lapsed into embarrassed silence.
‘And this,’ Sir Henry intervened impatiently and turned to Kate, ‘is my niece, Mistress Katherine Harley. She, of course, is the sole heir of Sir Thomas Harley, late owner of Winteringham Priory.’
Kate found herself, for the first time, being observed in such an impersonal manner that she felt a need to repress a shiver that ran down her spine.
‘Of course.’ Marlbrooke bowed again and Kate responded with the slightest of curtsies within the bounds of good manners. ‘Mistress Harley. I have heard much of your beauty. Allow me to tell you that it was accurate in every detail.’ No trace of emotion crossed the smooth features, no hint of a smile touched the firm mouth and his glance in her direction was cursory in the extreme.
And who could possibly have told you anything about my appearance? questioned Kate silently. He was certainly adept in the art of flattery, even if he hardly looked at her. She determined to give him no pleasure in her reply.
‘Thank you, my lord.’ Her dark brows arched to express utter surprise. She ignored a warning glance from Sir Henry.
Marlbrooke appeared to be unconcerned with her cool response, but accepted Sir Henry’s invitation to sit, taking the chair beside the fireplace recently vacated by Simon Hotham and crossing one well-shaped leg over the other. Swynford was despatched to bring refreshment for the guest.
‘We were, of course, expecting a visit from your lordship,’ Sir Henry explained, ‘but hardly so soon. It has not been clement weather for travel.’
‘I st
ayed last night at the house of a family acquaintance, only a little distance from here.’ He shook out the lace at his wrists with a politely distant smile. ‘It was an engagement of long standing. It seemed to be too good an opportunity to miss.’ Kate’s raised brows once again registered his lack of enthusiasm.
‘Indeed, indeed.’
Swynford returned with pewter tankards of ale.
‘Let us hope that we shall be able to drink to the successful outcome of this matter,’ stated Sir Henry. Marlbrooke inclined his head in agreement as he accepted the tankard.
‘It seems to me a simple matter.’ The Viscount’s gaze swept the three players in the game. ‘Let us be honest about the possible outcome of the settlement of Winteringham Priory. We have both put forward a claim. It is most unlikely that the Commission will look with any sympathy on yours, given the history of recent loyalties and involvement in the War.’
Sir Henry knew that he was fighting a last-ditch stand, but rallied valiantly. ‘The estate belongs by right to the Harley family. It was not sold, but wrested from them forcibly—by your father, my lord. My niece has the legal right to the land. You cannot refute it.’
‘Possibly not.’ Marlbrooke remained calm and relaxed, sure of his ground. He could afford to be generous in victory. ‘The estate was sequestered from my father by the county committee in 1651. If you had made a push for the title then, it might have been a different story. As it is, my father compounded for the estate: indeed, he paid a far greater fine than the land was worth.’
Marlbrooke raised the tankard to his lips, drank, then continued. ‘For the past decade we have been excluded from politics and government until the happy restoration of our King. We devoted out energies to developing our assets. With considerable success, I might add.’ He smiled without humour. ‘I am in a far better position to bribe the Commission judges than you are, you understand.’
Sir Henry raised his hands, palm upwards, in defeat. ‘So. I have no choice but to accept the situation. I presume that you have not come here merely to gloat? What is your offer?’
‘All I ask is that Mistress Harley do me the honour of becoming my wife. I would not be so discourteous as to gloat,’ he reproved gently. ‘That will produce an immediate and satisfactory solution to any inheritance problem. She …’ he bowed his head slightly in Kate’s direction ‘… has the claim de jure, I have the estate de facto. What better solution? It is a valuable estate. We should not allow it to be harmed by interminable legal wrangling.’
Sir Henry looked with distaste at the composed and arrogant courtier before him. It was all too true, but it stuck in his gullet to accept it. ‘Very well,’ he stated, breaking the short silence. ‘Your offer has my consent. Katherine?’ He turned towards his niece who had remained silent and motionless throughout the negotiation, which had apparently settled her future without any reference to her own feelings in the matter. ‘You understand the situation. What is your reply?’ His fierce expression dared her to refuse the offer.
Kate continued to remain silent. What could she say? Her brain seemed to have frozen and she had lost the power of speech.
‘Katherine?’
Before the hiatus could become totally embarrassing, it was broken by Marlbrooke.
‘Perhaps I might be allowed to have a private word with Mistress Harley? I would not wish her to feel pressurised into this marriage against her will.’
A range of emotions flitted crossed Sir Henry’s face, not least the hope, quickly suppressed, that this arrogant young man would be refused out of turn by his volatile niece. Since the upstart Royalist was so confident, let him try!
‘Certainly, my lord. With pleasure. Perhaps, Katherine, you would care to show his lordship into the parlour.’
There was little point in arguing. Kate stalked out of the library, defiance writ clear in the erect spine, the proud carriage of her head, and into the pleasant panelled sitting room, which overlooked the front drive. She walked to the window where she turned to face her suitor, her back to the light so that it would be almost impossible for him to read her expression. Marlbrooke followed her more slowly, closing the door gently behind him.
The room echoed with a silence that neither party seemed to be in any hurry to break.
Kate stood motionless, acutely aware of her nerves stretching to breaking point, when Marlbrooke spoke. ‘So, Mistress Harley. You have had nothing to say so far about this transaction. I would be pleased to know your sentiments.’ His voice was soft but firm and Kate heard in it a command. She found her voice at last and was grateful that her anxiety was not evident.
‘Do you expect me to welcome this marriage?’
‘Hardly!’ He laughed gently. ‘But I do not desire a totally reluctant bride. That would lead to a most … uncomfortable relationship, would it not?’
‘So it would matter to you if I was pushed into this by family dictates?’ The surprise in her voice was clear.
‘Of course it would. I am no monster, in spite of any rumours to the contrary.’ Marlbrooke smiled slightly, a wry curl of his lips. ‘If you refused, if you could not possibly tolerate my person, I would accept your refusal.’
‘That’s all very well, my lord, but my uncle would not be so understanding!’ Kate was horrified to feel tears begin to sting her eyes and admonished herself at this emotional response to a practical matter. She swallowed and looked down, hiding her imminent distress with a sweep of dark lashes. ‘You are very kind,’ she managed in a low voice.
‘Is your heart perhaps given elsewhere?’
Richard! Oh, Richard! She shook her head. ‘No,’ she whispered, acknowledging the guilt of betrayal. She could not tell him. She could not allow him any knowledge that might give him a hold over her. She dare not trust his sympathy.
‘Your mother appears to see no objection.’
‘She wouldn’t, of course.’ Her tone was bleak.
‘I see. So, do you accept my offer, madam?’
It is like negotiating a good price for a beast at market, thought Kate wildly, swept by a sudden desire to laugh hysterically. Finally she raised her eyes to his across the growing shadows in the room.
‘My lord, I cannot refuse your offer.’
‘Then let us be practical.’ Perhaps he had heard the vestiges of panic in her voice, seen the ivory whiteness of her clasped fingers. ‘The marriage will bring you benefits. I am sufficiently wealthy to provide you with all the comforts of life that you could wish for. If it is your ambition to experience Court life, then so be it. Most importantly, you can return to your family home and be mistress of it. You must have affectionate memories of it.’
‘I have no memories of it!’ she was driven to reply bitterly. ‘I was only a few weeks old when we were cast out. How can I see it as my home?’
‘Then perhaps it will become so with custom. Come, Mistress Harley. These are the obvious advantages. What is your answer? You cannot put the blame on my shoulders for events that happened before I attained my majority. I would make recompense if possible.’
‘What do you gain from this?’ Kate’s bald enquiry appeared to take him as much by surprise it did her. It prompted him to hold out his hand. ‘Come here,’ he ordered. Kate found herself compelled by an overwhelming force to cross the polished expanse of floor between them and place her hand in his. He raised it and formally pressed her fingers to his lips. She was instantly reminded of a fair head rather than the dark one before her before she closed her mind to such painful comparisons.
Marlbrooke raised his head, continuing to hold her fingers lightly and at last replied to her question. ‘Since we are beginning this relationship on a point of honesty, madam, I will tell you what I will gain. I will gain security of tenure of the Winteringham estate. No descendants of yours will make a counterclaim against my inheritance at any future date. Your descendants will, of course, be my heirs. Furthermore, the King believes that it would be an excellent ploy to recompense my family whilst at the same time making
clear his concern for those of his subjects who had, unfortunately, committed themselves to treasonable acts against the Crown.’
So there it was. Kate felt the blood run cold in her veins. A business deal expressed in a voice totally devoid of emotion. But what else had she expected? She snatched her hand away from the Viscount’s light control.
‘How fortunate that such intricate matters can be settled so easily.’ She failed to control the scorn in her voice. ‘If it is also the King’s wish, then how can I possibly refuse? I should certainly never receive another such flattering offer. I perceive that I should be honoured that anyone of your standing should wish to enter into an alliance with my family in the present political climate.’
‘Indeed, madam. After all,’ he reminded her in the smoothest of tones, ‘your uncle was one of Cromwell’s closest henchmen. Hardly the best qualification for advancement in the circumstances.’
Kate accepted the implied rebuke—indeed, she had no choice. ‘Very well. You have persuaded me where my family could not. I accused my uncle of misreading the situation. He obviously had not.’
‘I am afraid not. So? Your decision?’
Again she turned her face away. And then, ‘I accept your offer, my lord. I will agree to the marriage. I must thank you for your … condescension.’
Marlbrooke ignored the barb and bowed slightly. ‘I am most gratified. Perhaps I should have added that I shall also acquire a most beautiful wife?’
Kate looked up. In the evening light his face was still clear. She searched his eyes and fine-featured face. And such splendid eyes, she thought inconsequentially, dark grey and thickly fringed with black lashes. But there was no warmth or encouragement here for her in her distress, merely a cold, calculating strength of will.
‘Thank you, my lord.’ She could think of nothing else to say. She kept her voice as colourless as his. ‘I hope that I shall prove to be a conformable wife.’
‘I am relieved to hear it.’ Did she detect a flicker of amusement for the first time, the slightest twitch of his lips? But then it was gone, to be replaced by dry cynicism. ‘I am certain that we shall deal well together, madam. I will inform Sir Henry of your compliance. I believe that he will be greatly relieved. I will also inform you of the necessary arrangements in due course when the legalities are complete.’
