Miss Verey’s Proposal

by Nicola Cornick

  ‘Perhaps…’ Jane shivered. ‘We must go back for Thérèse. Whatever she says, she cannot stay there now!’

  ‘No.’ Alex consulted his watch ‘-and we have little time. I am to meet Samways here within the hour-which I shall do, but with the odds weighted more in my favour than he imagines! Simon, will you escort Jane, Thérèse and her mother back to Portman Square? Harry and I will deal with Samways!’

  It was Thérèse who opened the door to Jane’s knock. The candlelight was behind her, turning her silver hair to a halo, and her face was in shadow.

  ‘Jane? What has happened? Tiens-’ she suddenly saw Alex and Henry Marchnight ‘-messieurs…’

  Alex tucked the pistol into his belt. ‘Your servant, Mam’zelle de Beaurain. I am Alexander Delahaye, Miss Verey’s fiancé.’

  ‘Jane is most fortunate,’ Thérèse said, with an expressive lift of her brows. ‘And this gentleman…?’

  Henry Marchnight, languidly elegant as ever, came forward to bow over Thérèse’s hand. ‘Henry Marchnight, entirely at your service, mademoiselle. And here is one who most particularly wishes to see you…’ He stepped to one side and Simon came out of the shadows, closing the door softly behind him before turning to Thérèse.

  It was an extraordinary moment. Jane, standing within the circle of Alex’s arm, saw the arrested expression on Thérèse’s face and the still watchfulness of Simon’s. She had not had the chance to tell Simon anything of the outcome of her conversations with Thérèse, and now she saw that there had been no need anyway. They had eyes only for each other, utterly absorbed in the reaction of one to the other. Jane, Alex, Henry, the sleeping occupants of the room…all might have been invisible.

  ‘Good evening, milord,’ Thérèse said, a little tremulously. Her eyes were suddenly full of tears. Jane realised, with a rush of compassion, that she was very nervous.

  ‘Thérèse.’ Simon said.

  Very slowly they came together. Simon’s arms went around her gently, then he was holding her exultantly to him and there was no need for any further words.

  ‘Time for all that later,’ Alex said, with a grin. His arm tightened about Jane for a brief instant, then he became businesslike.

  ‘Mademoiselle de Beaurain, you and your mother must leave here at once. Please could you gather your belongings as swiftly as possible. Simon will escort you back to Portman Square with Jane whilst Henry and I stay to keep our appointment with Samways. Please!’ Alex added imperatively, as Thérèse had not moved. ‘There is not a moment to lose!’

  ‘You will come with us, won’t you, Thérèse?’ Jane said, moving forward. Thérèse had not let go of Simon’s hand and Jane half-expected him to add his pleas to hers, but he remained silent, his eyes never leaving her face.

  There was a moment of stillness, then a voice spoke from the bed.

  ‘My child,’ the Vicomtesse said, ‘if you refuse now I swear I shall disinherit you!’

  She struggled to sit up, coughing a little. ‘Pass me my wrap, I pray you, monsieur,’ she instructed Alex. ‘I shall then feel respectable enough to undertake the journey!’

  Thérèse nodded, a little smile on her lips. ‘There is nothing here that I wish to bring,’ she said, and Jane thought that she was speaking of more than just her belongings. ‘I have a small bag-so…’ she pulled it out from under the bed ‘…and that is all.’ She turned to Simon. ‘I fear I come to you in nothing but the clothes I stand up in, my lord!’

  Simon’s smile was full of tenderness. ‘That is enough for me, my love! Now, will you go first and I shall carry your mother down. The carriage is behind Crispin Buildings. Harry, if you could help us before you come back to stay with Alex…?’

  ‘What will you do with him?’ Thérèse asked, eyeing the slumped figure of Samways’s henchman. It looked to Jane as though he had not moved since she had gone.

  Alex laughed. ‘We will leave him there! Samways will return to find an empty room, an unconscious guard-and Harry and myself waiting for him!’

  At the last moment, before she started down the dark stair for the last time, Jane turned to look back at Alex. She wanted to run to him and tell him to be careful, that she loved him, that if he was killed she could never feel happy again. But there was something stern in his expression, as though he was already thinking of the encounter to come, that made her bite the words back and she could only hope that she had the chance to tell him when next she saw him.

  Their arrival in Portman Square was as dramatic as anyone might have wished. The whole house was in uproar, with all lights blazing and all the servants still awake and milling around whilst they waited for news. Jane, whose preoccupation with Alex’s safety had almost led her to forget that she had been held to ransom, hung back, suddenly embarrassed.

  Simon helped the Vicomtesse from the carriage and sent a startled footman running to waken the doctor. Thérèse followed him into the hall, while Jane brought up the rear.

  Lady Verey and Sophia had been in the drawing-room, but both came hurrying as Simon strode into the hall, their strained faces breaking into smiles.

  ‘Jane!’ Sophia hugged her friend with heartfelt relief. ‘Oh, Jane, we were so worried! How could you do such a thing?’

  ‘Thank God you are safe, Jane! And-’ Lady Verey broke off as she caught sight of Thérèse and her mother. ‘Who-?’ she began, only to have the question comprehensively answered as Simon, oblivious to all around him, swept Thérèse into a ruthless embrace.

  ‘My apologies, madam, for this unexpected intrusion into your home,’ Vicomtesse de Beaurain said calmly. ‘It must seem most singular and indeed it is, but-’ A spasm of coughing shook her and Jane and Lady Verey both stepped forward to help her.

  ‘Do not try to talk any more, ma’am,’ Jane said soothingly. ‘Mama, Sophia, this is the Vicomtesse de Beaurain and that-’ she nodded towards the slender figure of Thérèse, still locked in Simon’s arms ‘-that is her daughter, whom Simon intends to marry!’

  ‘A fortunate thing too, after such a display!’ Lady Verey said, trying not to smile. The two mothers exchanged looks of qualified approval. ‘Well, well, no doubt we shall hear all about it in the morning! Please come this way, ma’am, and I will show you to your bedchamber. Is that Dr Tovey arriving? Excellent!’ And with the air of one who can take any number of surprises in her stride, Lady Verey led her unexpected guests away.

  ‘Oh, Jane! It is so romantic!’ Sophia curled up at the end of her friend’s bed, her face lit with happiness. ‘Why, it is plain to see that they love each other to distraction! And Simon has only met her three times! Barely spoken to her! And yet he knew at once that she was meant for him…’ Sophia gave a pleasurable little shiver.

  Jane felt tired and wan that afternoon. She had hardly slept for fear that Alex’s plans had gone awry and even now he and Harry Marchnight were lying dead in a pool of blood somewhere. She knew that sooner or later she would have to face the repercussions of her actions in going to Spitalfields and bringing all this trouble on them. And the final straw was the air of extravagant romance that seemed to be invading the house, with both Sophia and Simon floating happily on their respective clouds of rapture. Examining her feelings, Jane felt left out and a little envious.

  ‘I came to tell you that your mama utterly forbids you to get out of bed until Dr Tovey has confirmed that you are quite well,’ Sophia continued blithely, unaware of her friend’s ill humour, ‘and that the Duke of Delahaye has sent a message that both he and Lord Henry are quite safe, the man is taken and he will call to see you this evening! I will leave you to rest now!’

  Jane lay back against her pillows with a heavy sigh. She had no need of a doctor to tell her that she was tired but otherwise unharmed. It was her heart that was sore. Sophia and Philip had triumphed over adversity to become betrothed and now Simon had found his Thérèse. In comparison her own engagement, based on Alex’s desire to make the alliance his grandfather wanted, was distinctly unromantic.

  Jane got
up and dressed slowly, choosing a dress of pale mauve then discarding it because it made her look sallow. After she had tried a second one of jonquil muslin and a third of pink, she resigned herself to the fact that she was too pale for anything to look flattering and settled for her oldest dress. Cassie arranged her hair in a simple knot and then she was as ready as she would ever be to face the world.

  The rest of the family were taking supper when Jane went downstairs, but she did not feel like eating and slipped out into the courtyard garden. It was cool and the sky was just starting to turn the pale blue of evening. She sat by the fountain and listened to the water splashing into the pool below. She could hear Sophia and Thérèse laughing together in the dining-room. They were already fast friends and with the common ground of weddings and trousseaux, they had plenty to talk about. Jane smiled. Sophia had no malice in her and had already accepted Thérèse without reservation. I am lucky in my friends, Jane thought, and for some reason the thought made her sad and a tear trickled from the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek.

  ‘Jane?’

  She had neither sensed nor heard Alex’s approach and now she jumped, rubbing her cheeks dry with a hasty hand. In the gathering dusk he looked tall and a little unapproachable and as always, Jane’s heart gave a little skip upon seeing him. He looked tired, she thought, which was no great surprise. He took a seat beside her on the stone bench, half-turned towards her with his arm along the back of the seat. For some reason his presence suddenly made feel Jane shy.

  ‘I am glad that you are well,’ she said softly. ‘I have been worrying…’

  ‘Have you, Jane?’ Alex gave her a searching look from those very dark eyes. ‘I confess I am a little fatigued, but nothing that will not mend. And Samways is taken. You need have no more concern over him.’

  ‘I was more concerned over the danger to yourself than any threat to me,’ Jane said, honesty overcoming her reticence. ‘You are the one he sought to kill, after all! I confess it reassures me to think him locked away and unable to do you any more harm!’

  ‘You should not seek to minimise the danger to yourself,’ Alex said heavily. ‘Did he speak to you of his clubs, Jane? Did he tell you about the brothels he owns and the girls he ruins for his own profit? Did he say that if Simon had refused his ransom you would find yourself at the bottom of the Thames? And did you think of any of those things when you went rushing off to Spitalfields on your mission to unite Thérèse with Simon?’ There was a note of warm anger in his voice now. ‘I can scarce believe, after all I told you of the dangers of that particular neighbourhood, that you chose to go there alone!’

  No one had yet reproached Jane on her conduct, for they had all been too relieved that she was safe to blame her for her foolishness. Alex, however, did not seem inclined to let the matter go easily and Jane felt the tears prickling her eyes again.

  ‘I was only thinking of how I might help Simon-’ she began defensively, only to be interrupted.

  ‘I can well believe that you thought of nothing else! Nothing of the danger and the difficulties you caused everyone else and the fear of your mother-’

  ‘Oh, do not!’ Jane’s composure was fading fast. ‘I know I have been foolish! Pray do not remind me! And I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused, but I do believe that Samways would have found another way to reach you if it had not been through me! He had his own quarrel with you and I was only the means he tried to use to gain revenge!’

  There was a little silence. The water splashed softly. ‘Did he tell you the nature of his grudge against me?’ Alex asked, at length.

  ‘A little.’ Jane looked away, to where a thin sickle moon was rising above the rooftops. ‘That is, he told me some tale of Lady Eleanor Fane, which I took to be all a hum! It did not seen in character at all for Lady Eleanor to be taken in by such a man!’

  Alex shifted on the seat. ‘Part of what he told you is true enough,’ he said soberly. ‘I would like to tell you the tale if I may, Jane. Peter Samways was the son of a clergyman who held a living from my father. My father even paid for his education on the understanding that Samways would also go into holy orders. When he declared himself temperamentally unsuited to the priesthood my father found him a position in the household of a friend and later, when Lady Eleanor was widowed, he became her secretary. I do believe that there developed between them an affection that flourished despite the disparities of age and position.’

  Alex sighed, trailing his fingers in the shallow pool. ‘Who can say what might have happened? Certainly Samways believed that the match was his for the making! And Lady Eleanor’s wealth with it! I had no doubts that he was a fortune-hunter,’ Alex said ruefully, ‘but I would never have intervened had I thought she was happy. You must believe that, Jane!’

  ‘I do believe it!’ Jane was taken aback by his vehemence. ‘Besides, it would have been no wonder had you objected to so unequal a match-’

  Alex made a slight gesture. ‘Oh, there are many who would not have thought twice about putting an end to his pretensions! And I confess I was uneasy. Yet I would not have interfered. But then Lady Eleanor came to me in some distress, reporting that some small items had gone missing from her household-small sums of money, items of jewellery, including a locket with a picture of her late husband. We suspected one of the servants and we set a trap.’ He sighed. ‘Samways was caught red-handed. I had to turn him off.’

  ‘He bears a heavy grudge against you for it,’ Jane said thoughtfully. ‘What happened to him after he left Lady Eleanor’s service?’

  ‘I believe that he made a bid to fix her interest despite what had happened,’ Alex said. ‘No doubt he thought to gamble on Lady Eleanor’s affection for him. His failure to win her no doubt added to his bitterness. He took a post as clerk in chambers in Holborn and I heard that he had been dismissed for fraud. I imagine his downward spiral continued from then onwards. Samways dropped out of my sight for many years and I thought of him no more. Then one day a little above a year ago, he sought me out to ask a favour. On the strength of the fondness my father had had for him, he asked for my help in finding gainful employment. Against my better judgement I agreed to help-only to find that he had never intended to pursue an honest career. His intention was to defraud his employer in short order and I was left with the embarrassment of explaining away my lack of discretion to those I had counted my friends. It was profoundly difficult.’

  A bird sang close at hand, its golden liquid notes falling on the still air. The lights of the house were growing brighter now. Alex shifted a little, his face in shadow.

  ‘I had thought that I had seen the back of him, but it seemed that was not so. A few months later he contacted me again with an unsavoury proposition. He implied that there had been some improper relationship between himself and Lady Eleanor all those years ago but promised to hold his peace on receipt of ten thousand pounds. I told him to spread his gossip and be damned. I did not believe it could hurt her-she is too respected and it was a long time ago. Anyway, Samways took his dismissal badly. I do believe that he holds me to blame in some manner for all his bad luck and that was when his resentment was fuelled into a rage strong enough to seek my life.’

  Jane shivered. ‘When I saw him at Vauxhall-’

  ‘Yes, I think that he would have tried to kill me that night had you not intervened. It was a perfect opportunity-he would never have been caught. And I had already had one “accident” whilst out shooting, when a stray bullet had grazed my arm and the man who had fired it was never found. I began to ask some questions about Samways-with my connections it was not difficult-and I found out about the brothels and the blackmail and all the other unpleasant activities that he has dabbled in.’

  Jane shivered again. ‘And Lady Eleanor? Does she know anything of this?’

  ‘I am glad to say that she does not. Nor does anyone else except Simon and Harry Marchnight. To them and to yourself I have told the whole truth, but everyone else believes that your kidnap was just
the work of an opportunistic criminal.’

  ‘Then I will never tell,’ Jane said stoutly. ‘As you said before, the escapade reflects no credit on me. The least said, the better!’

  ‘You have kept many secrets for me,’ Alex said and there was a smile in his voice now. ‘I must thank you for that, Jane! You have been the soul of discretion and I am sorry that I was so angry before. It is simply that when I heard that Samways had you in his power I was so very afraid for you.’ He took her hand and the warmth sent little shock waves through her. Absorbed in the tale he had to tell, she had almost forgotten the physical impact he had on her.

  ‘I wanted to speak to you of our marriage,’ Alex said, a little huskily. ‘I had thought that it might be a little difficult with three weddings in the family, but your mama has hit on a scheme! She thinks that a triple wedding at Ambergate in a month or so would be just the thing!’

  ‘A month!’ Jane, suddenly confronted by the imminence of the marriage, felt as though her breath had been taken away. She had imagined that first Sophia and Philip would wed, then Simon and Thérèse and finally, perhaps, she might have to start thinking of her own wedding. Something close to panic rose in her. She would have to explain her doubts to Alex, tell him that she did not feel comfortable marrying him when his affections were still engaged elsewhere. No doubt hundreds of other girls would not care a jot and would be carried away with excitement to be in her position, Jane thought miserably. It was only she, loving Alex as she did, who could not accept second best. She remembered that she had told Alex that night at Almack’s that she would be happy to marry where there was respect and liking; no blame could attach to him for thinking that he was offering her precisely that and she should therefore be happy.

  ‘Jane?’ Alex was watching her face and there was an expression on his own that she did not understand. His voice was very quiet. ‘Is something the matter?’