by Mira Stables
Bosworth dealt diplomatically with callers, explaining that the Earl had been called away suddenly; that they were not sure of his exact whereabouts but were expecting to hear from him shortly; and that in any matter concerning the welfare of the tenants’ families, Miss Ashley was empowered to act for her employer.
That caused one or two startled glances. Governesses were not usually so privileged. But the account of the adventure of the Cavern Fall was already part of the folk lore of the neighbourhood. Sensible people reckoned that Miss Ashley was a cut above the general run of governesses. Her dealings with such minor matters as were brought to her for adjustment did nothing to contradict this impression. She was obviously interested. She was practical, but she was kind and human. She could sometimes make the chronic grumblers laugh at themselves – no small achievement – and generally arrange a satisfactory compromise between contending parties. In the farms and the cottages they talked about the new order – how they talked! But on the whole the comments were approving.
The children were rather disgruntled over his lordship’s abrupt departure, the boys especially so, but the shadow of school lay over both Dominic and Benedict and their complaints were more subdued than they might otherwise have been. Moreover Graine made representations to Mr Oliver – his lordship’s steward – which produced a very satisfactory tip to help soften the rigours of the academic groves to Benedict’s untried feet. She herself attended to Dominic’s needs in this direction. His lordship would undoubtedly have dealt with the matter had he been present, but although she was perfectly well aware of this she preferred to be independent. She smiled a little, thinking how his lordship would scold when he discovered what she had done, and when Dominic tentatively mentioned Christmas and hinted at the possibility of a short visit to Valminster, she did nothing to depress his hopes. The Earl might well invite him to bear Benedict company even if she herself was no longer a member of his household. After all, by Christmas she might well be established in Lady Elizabeth’s town house or perhaps at Monsell Park or even in Copenhagen.
For some odd reason these several alternatives, which at the beginning of her employment with the Brownings had seemed excitingly attractive, no longer held much appeal. All she really wanted was to go on living at Valminster, preferably with Dominic coming to share the holidays. For the summer had been quite delightful. Rather guiltily she recognised that she had been treated more as a guest than a servant, her share in every expedition carefully planned for her, her seat in the carriage always the most comfortable one. And now, of course, she was being thoroughly spoiled by her new authority. Small wonder that she did not want to leave Valminster, where at the moment she enjoyed all the consequences of the châtelaine. Firmly she applied herself to the task of correcting Bridget’s French exercises.
Bereft of Dominic and Benedict the shoolroom party was rather subdued. Graine tried to devise one or two small treats for them but her own spirits were unaccountably low. She was missing the lively company of the boys, she told herself, and tried to suppress a tendency to wonder where his lordship was and how much longer it would be before he came home, though it was perfectly natural that she should be concerned, of course, since her responsibility would end with his return. She would miss that, too, she thought ruefully. It was exhilarating to have a finger in so many Valminster pies. Not since her father had died and Ashley House and the farms and stables and horses had all had to be sold to pay his debts, had she enjoyed such a varied and stimulating existence. For a moment she even toyed with the thought of seeking a post as a housekeeper rather than as a governess, but it was quite ineligible, she knew. She was too young, too pretty. And she had finished with play-acting. Once was enough!
Her thoughts strayed again to a certain absent gentleman. Even though it meant her own relegation to the schoolroom world once more, she would be glad to see him come home. She had missed him more than she would have believed possible.
So. Now the truth was out. Not until he went away had she realised how much she had come to depend on him; had come – be honest, Graine – to care for him. He had worn so much the air of a slightly quizzical but indulgent elder brother to them all. She had been only vaguely aware how much all their comfort and enjoyment depended on him. She or Benedict or Bea had only to suggest some excursion, and everything was arranged for them. Milord chose horses for them to ride or carriages to drive in; he knew the best road to take, even the best days for visiting various places. To be sure he had servants a-plenty to carry out his orders; to go ahead and see that refreshment was awaiting them in a private parlour at some country inn. But his was the hand on the reins. Graine had known herself fortunate. It was rare, in her experience, for the gentleman of the house to concern himself with such trivial matters as schoolroom picnics.
It was only now that she realised how much her own enjoyment had depended on his society. While the children explored and sketched or climbed or fished in some brook as the fancy took them, their elders idled and talked. Graine would report some small success that one of the youngsters had achieved, or tell of some comical thing that had happened; his lordship might comment favourably on the improvement in Adam’s horsemanship. But somehow, gradually, the talk would drift into a reminiscent vein. His lordship would remember travels abroad, and vow sincerely enough that he had never seen a countryside the equal of England in early summer. Graine must perforce insist that Ireland was superior. The grass was greener, the air softer and sweeter. Then they would both chuckle contentedly and fall silent for a while, only to begin again. There was nothing private or intimate about their talk. The other members of the party would wander up from time to time with some tale to tell or some trophy to be exhibited. Small wonder, thought Graine disgustedly, that she had not realised that she was falling in love. One did not expect something so important as love to arrive so unobtrusively. It had taken her by surprise, outflanked her defences. The one man who had assured her of her complete immunity from his attentions had stolen her heart; filched it away without sound or fuss, she thought, almost indignantly.
The turmoil of her feelings served to distract her for a little while from the bleakness of the future, but inevitably the time came when realisation was forced upon her. Two facts emerged. However much she might have come to value his lordship, he had nothing to offer her but kindness and consideration. She knew – only too well – how gentlemen behaved when their affections were engaged. Lord Valminster showed none of the symptoms. She quite forgot the promise he had given her and underestimated his iron self-control. But even if he had shown signs of succumbing to her attractions, such a match was so unequal as to seem ludicrous. To be sure, her birth was as good as his. Perhaps better, suggested a flare of pride, since the blood of ancient Irish kings ran in her veins. But the Earl was a great gentleman with vast holdings, not only in this country but in Jamaica. He moved in the highest social circles, and although he did not devote all his attention to politics his voice carried considerable weight when serious topics were discussed. Such a man was unlikely to consider an alliance with the daughter of the ramshackle, penniless Ashleys.
The other undeniable truth that struck her forcibly was the realisation that the less she saw of his lordship, the better it would be for her peace of mind. A continuation of the easy intercourse which they had enjoyed throughout the summer would do nothing to cure her infatuation. It was a depressing thought. She took what comfort she could from the knowledge that at the moment there was nothing she could do about it. In fact simple loyalty insisted that until he returned she must devote her best endeavours to guarding his lordship’s interests. Like any other girl in love she found this a satisfactory prospect.
Three weeks elapsed before they had any word of his lordship. By that time, Graine, at any rate, was more than a little anxious. The letter was brief and business-like. By the time that she received it the writer expected to be on his way home. It had proved impossible to keep Sir John in check any longer, though he was re
ally making very good progress despite his distrust of foreign doctors. If she had not yet told the children of his accident it was now perfectly safe to do so, since there seemed to be every prospect of his making an excellent recovery. Together with Sir John and Lady Elizabeth and their personal servants he hoped to leave Copenhagen in ‘Swallow’ in two days’ time, bound for Harwich. From Harwich they would travel in Sir John’s town coach – more capacious than his – but would she ask Oliver to arrange that his own coach, with the team of greys, should also be awaiting them upon arrival, to accommodate the rest of the party. It was impossible to give an exact time for their arrival at Harwich. So much depended on the wind. Perhaps ten days. It was unlikely to be less, but better to keep horses and servants idling about in Harwich for a day or so than keep Sir John waiting once he had reached his native shores. It would be difficult enough to persuade him to make the journey to Town in easy stages. They need not look for his own arrival at Valminster for at least another ten days after that, since he must see his sister and her husband safely installed in their own home and going along prosperously before he would be free to attend to his own affairs. He hoped that the children were well and behaving themselves, and trusted that Miss Ashley was not worn out with the care of a large household which he had so unceremoniously thrust upon her. He had not thought it would be for so long a time, but he would make his apologies in due form when he saw her again. Meanwhile he begged her to, “Go on holding the castle for me.”
The turn of phrase, with its hint of old customs, its reminder of women who had in every truth held castles for their absent lords from Crusading times to the Cromwellian wars, touched Graine’s imagination. She would indeed do that, she vowed, and no suggestion that the price in personal suffering might be a high one should prevent her.
She found Mr Oliver in the estate office and disclosed to him the news conveyed in the letter, together with the instructions about the coach and greys, and then went in search of Mrs Palmer and Bosworth. They had served her in the kindliest fashion in obedience to an order that must have seemed very strange to them. It was their right to hear news of the Earl at the first possible moment.
They listened with grave interest while she read aloud the main part of the letter, Mrs Palmer commenting thoughtfully that bones didn’t mend so quickly when a gentleman was in his middle years and that Sir John would have to go carefully for several weeks yet. Bosworth was more concerned with the wider aspects of the situation. “Then that was what Mr Hughes was going to Southampton for,” he announced triumphantly. “To carry a message to Captain Brenchley about taking Swallow over to Copenhagen,” and much pleased with the acuteness of his own reasoning, ventured to suggest that they should send the chariot to Harwich as well as the coach. Likely Sir John and Lady Elizabeth would have a lot of heavy baggage, he pointed out, and then there would be Sir John’s man and her ladyship’s maid.
Graine said that she would put the suggestion to Mr Oliver, and went off to do so, leaving the pair happily talking over the news to which they had just been made privy and agreeing that it would be good to have his lordship home again. “Though I’m not saying that we haven’t gone on very comfortably with Miss Ashley,” concluded Mrs Palmer, with a benevolence induced by the fact that proper deference had been paid to her standing in the household.
Bosworth nodded sagely, and kept his own counsel about the amazing suspicion that had crossed his mind when first he heard of the Earl’s dispositions.
Chapter Nine
His lordship, upon his return, found his young relatives deeply preoccupied with the manufacture of gifts for ‘poor, dear Papa’, designed to cheer his convalescence and assure him of their affection. Beatrice was hemming handkerchiefs, Bridget embroidering a nightcap. Adam, fired by Benedict’s success with Bea’s workbox, was labouring over a collection of slats of wood which the Earl though was a rat trap but which his nephew told him pityingly was a book rest, designed to hold Papa’s book for him if he wished to read in bed. The Earl strongly suspected that its collapsible legs would collapse when least required to do so, while the tongue of wood designed to hold the book in place would certainly obscure half the printed page if it did not make it impossible to turn it. Nevertheless he felt pretty sure that Sir John would be pleased to receive this token of his son’s regard, and did nothing to discourage the artisan.
Miss Ashley struck him as seeming rather subdued. Missing her brother, perhaps. Which reminded him that he had a crow to pluck with her on Dominic’s account.
“I see from Oliver’s accounts of expenditure that you sent Benedict off handsomely inlaid – and your brother penniless,” he charged her, and she bit back a smile for the accuracy of her own prediction. “You must have known that I meant to tip him handsomely. You seem to have read my wishes to a nicety in all other respects. Why select your brother to be the one exception?”
“Because I did not choose to be generous at your expense,” she told him coolly. “And he was not penniless. I provided for him quite adequately out of the handsome salary that your sister pays me. If you wish to tip him, it is no affair of mine.”
He shook his head at her. “Your reasoning is at fault, Miss Ashley. On this one occasion it was your affair to be the interpreter of my wishes. You must learn to curb that flaring pride of yours. It distorts your judgement.”
She was silent, acknowledging some justice in the rebuke.
He said swiftly, “And it ill beseems me to be ripping up at you for that one very understandable slip when I stand so deeply in your debt. You will think me the most ungrateful wretch alive, and I am most truly grateful though I do not quite see how I am to prove it to you. Especially as I am about to impose further on your good nature.”
She looked at him enquiringly.
“My sister has asked me if I will keep the children with me, possibly until Christmas,” he told her curtly. “I am aware that a prolonged residence under my roof will be distasteful to you. You have no doubt been counting the weeks until you can join the Brownings in Town, where there are shops and theatres and concerts to brighten your leisure – of which, in any case, you have had singularly little. But I am asking you to consent to this change of plan. Sir John – Sir John is the best of good fellows, but not the most even tempered. Especially in his present state. My sister feels that three lively youngsters cooped up in a house that is none too large might be rather too much for him. What do you say?”
Graine looked at him steadily. “You appear to be under some sort of misapprehension, milord. There is no question of refusal. I must naturally go with the children wherever their parents choose. But I shall be well content to remain at Valminster. Far from being distasteful to me, I have been very happy here; happier than I have been since my father died. To be sure there are no theatres or picture galleries – except your own – but you cannot say that we have lacked entertainment. It has certainly been quieter since the boys left but if the other three are to stay until Christmas I can foresee great preparations to be made. We shall not be dull, I promise you.”
That promise was fulfilled. Gradually they slipped into a comfortable routine adapted to winter weather. Mornings were usually devoted to lessons, but if there was a meet within comfortable riding distance and the day was fine, they would sometimes ride out to see the start. On non-hunting days they rode or walked in the afternoons, returning ravenously hungry to an ample schoolroom tea, toasting bread or muffins over the fire, demolishing piles of bread and butter and jam and topping up with sticky gingerbread, jam tarts and plum cake. Very often the Earl would drop in on this cosy feast, arrogating to himself the post of toaster-in-chief, asking how their day had gone, relating something of his own activities. Occasionally he consulted Graine about such estate matters as might be thought to lie within her understanding. Just so might a husband have talked with a wife who was also a comrade. She listened and answered equably, swallowing the pain of his easy intimacy, never faltering or wincing. Her self-control was admi
rable, matching his lordship’s own. Perhaps they stood upon terms unusually informal between the master of the household and a mere governess, but a listener would have found nothing beyond shared interests and a certain community of tastes between them. His lordship never guessed that Graine was longing quite as desperately as he was for the day when she could decently quit his roof, if for very different reasons, and Graine saw only the behaviour of a very great gentleman in the distinguishing attentions that he paid her. She was a useful asset to the family, and she knew that she had served his lordship well during his absence abroad. It was like him, she thought lovingly, that he should still go out of his way to include her in the activities of the estate and not just push her aside now that she was no longer really needed. Her days were bitter-sweet. She rejoiced in his nearness, in the brief snatches of his society that might come at any moment, treasured his every word and gesture – and set a rigid guard on her own demeanour so that he should never suspect her secret. If that should come to pass, she would die of shame, she thought. It would embarrass him so.
So matters stood between them when Lady Elizabeth wrote to her brother to suggest that the children might be permitted to pay a brief visit to their parents. She was longing to see them, she said, and Sir John, though still walking with a pronounced limp, was now able to pursue many of his normal activities. A visit of two or three days would allow her to assess how soon her family could be reestablished in their own home. Miss Ashley would no doubt be able to check any tendency to hang around their Papa too much, and a few days in Town would also afford her an opportunity of visiting her sister and that sister’s new small son, her ladyship concluded kindly.
His lordship liked the scheme. It was the first step towards ending this interminable waiting. The children were enthusiastic about the prospect of an unexpected holiday but anxious that their plans for spending a riotous Christmas at Valminster should not be thwarted at this late date. Graine could not quite subdue a rise of the heart when the Earl announced that he himself would take the party in charge and see them safely to their destination.
