‘You can come out now,’ he grinned, as he calmly handed her her shoes. ‘It’s all over—Cat’s arrived and he and his men are dealing with what’s left of the scoundrels!’
Hot, sticky and decidedly dishevelled, Georgianne, who had never been more frightened in her life, was unable to make up her mind whether to burst into hysterics or simply to throw herself on the ground and howl her eyes out! Her wrists were hurting, her gown and stockings were smeared with mud and grass stains, her best Sunday bonnet was crushed beyond repair and most of her hair had come adrift from its pins! What she really wanted to do was to hurl herself at him and feel the comfort of his strong arms around her but, in view of his earlier rebuff, she realised that this was not an option. Struggling to hold back the tears that threatened, she endeavoured to pull herself together and forced herself to enquire as to the outcome of the confrontation.
She thrust her feet into her shoes saying, in as casual a tone as she could conjure up in the given circumstances, ‘I heard shots being fired. Are Hopkirk and his men all dead?’
‘Most certainly not!’ came his cheery response. ‘I just put them out of action for the foreseeable future—it would appear that abduction and blackmail don’t go down very well in these parts! Are you ready to go home now?’
‘Oh, yes, please!’ she replied fervently. ‘I feel an absolute wreck and I’ve had more than enough excitement for one day, thank you very much!’
Fighting back the desire to reach out and pull her into his arms for, now that he knew that she was safe at last, to him she had never looked more adorable, Maitland took a deep breath and merely nodded. Then, taking her by the hand, he led her over to the re-assembled carriage, beside which Fenton was standing and looking, as Georgianne could not help but remark, more than somewhat pleased with himself.
‘What about that, then!’ he chortled, as he stood back to allow his cousin to hand her up into the seat. ‘Went down like ninepins—each and every one of them, and all due to my impeccable reloading ability!’
Her eyes flew across to gauge Maitland’s response to these high-flown and somewhat improbable claims. She was expecting him to give his cousin the set-down he so rightly deserved, but he merely shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, before striding off to confer with the viscount.
‘I dare say you’ll both be leaving soon,’ she said, in a small voice, her eyes fixed firmly on Maitland’s back. ‘Now that you’ve solved your mystery you’ll have no reason to stay.’
‘Couldn’t have worked out better, as far as I’m concerned,’ responded Fenton, looking extraordinarily cheerful, as he climbed up beside her on the driver’s seat. ‘Amazing piece of luck, Stephanie turning out to be the missing heiress, wouldn’t you say?’
Georgianne looked across at him in astonishment. ‘You can’t imagine that she’ll welcome you back with open arms after this morning’s little fiasco, surely!’
‘Oh, she’ll no doubt get on her high horse for a little while,’ he returned, quite unabashed. ‘But, given that she’s very keen to get to London before her grandmother gets back, I dare say I’ll soon manage to sweeten her up. After all, it was an easy mistake to make and you’ve not been harmed in any way, have you?’
‘I doubt if my uncle will see the situation in quite that way!’ retorted Georgianne, her eyes still on Maitland who, having waved Catford and his escort party on their way, was now heading off through the copse to retrieve his own mount.
Fenton’s eyes clouded over. ‘Yes, well, I’ll face that bridge when I get to it,’ he replied. ‘His lordship has always struck me as a pretty reasonable fellow—I dare say he’ll soon come round to my way of thinking!’
Knowing Lord Gresham as well as she did, Georgianne could not help thinking that Fenton was in for a rather nasty shock if he imagined that the earl was the sort of man who could be won over by a few flowery phrases. But since her mind was now fully occupied with her concern at Maitland’s apparently having gone off without them, she refrained from answering. Less than a minute later, however, a huge surge of relief flowed through her as he re-appeared, leading his chestnut stallion behind him.
‘Down you get,’ he instructed his cousin tersely. ‘I’m driving Miss Venables back—you can take Pegasus!’
‘Steady on, Will!’ cried Fenton, cringing back in dismay. ‘You can’t really expect me to ride that great brute of yours, surely?’
‘I assure you that I can and I do,’ replied Maitland. ‘Now be a good fellow and hop down—this young lady has had more than enough of your company for one day!’
Chapter Twenty-Three
As he guided the carriage out of the clearing, Maitland was still undecided as to how he might best bring up the subject that was closest to his heart. Whilst he had no doubt about the intensity of his own love for Georgianne, it had been impossible for him to convince himself that these feelings might be reciprocated. For, despite the fact that she had returned that stolen kiss with what, at the time, had seemed to him a good deal of enthusiasm, he had not yet been able to convince himself that the deep affinity that seemed to have developed between the two of them over these past couple of weeks was anything more than a figment of his own hopeful imaginings.
Added to which, it was difficult for him to put aside Catford’s warning that she, in the mistaken belief that the unenviable stain of illegitimacy was sufficient reason for her to cling to her single status would, as likely as not, reject any offer that he might make her. And, whilst it was true that his friend’s assurance that Georgianne was not entirely indifferent to him had gone a long way towards strengthening his resolve, he was still very conscious of the fact that he needed to tread very carefully, lest he made a complete hash of the whole proceedings.
Although Maitland’s continuing silence had the effect of making Georgianne feel even more downhearted than ever, she ungrudgingly attributed his lack of conversation to the fact that having to steer a carriage along such a bumpy and rutted track must require a good deal of concentrated effort. But, when, at last, the carriage rolled off the heathland onto the turnpike’s firmer surface and he still kept up his somewhat taciturn vigil, she could not help but feel that it must be she herself who was the cause of his pensive demeanour.
She could only assume that, after having had to disentangle himself from her somewhat impulsive embrace, he must feel that he had to keep his distance, lest she felt the need to throw herself at him again! Suddenly she was incensed by the thought that, whilst the male of the species seemed to consider it perfectly acceptable to grab hold of an unsuspecting young woman and kiss her whenever the fancy took him, the rules were, once again, quite different for his female counterpart. Not that she had objected to the kiss, as she was forced to remind herself. In fact, she had found the whole experience quite earth-shattering and, given half a chance, would more than welcome a repeat performance! But, if Maitland’s recent conduct were anything to go by, the likelihood of that ever happening again was exceedingly remote. Nevertheless, and despite her present heartache, she drew some slight comfort from the knowledge that these past few days in his company had brought her so much pleasure and delight that, even if she lived until she were ninety, she knew that she would never be able to forget him.
As the carriage rolled up Gresham Hall’s front drive, she shot him a quick sideways glance. Whilst she was sure that he would need to come into the house in order to acquaint her uncle with the details of all that had happened in the last few hours, she could only pray that he did not intend to leave without giving her the chance to thank him for his kindness. For, although he had made it painfully obvious that he did not regard her as anything more than the cousin of a friend, there was no reason not to want to wish him Godspeed in his future life.
As he watched Georgianne being ushered into the house by the highly relieved half-dozen or so of her relatives who had dashed down the front doorsteps the moment that the carriage wheels had been heard on the driveway, Maitland could not help a somewhat wr
y smile from appearing on his face. It was clear that any attempt on his part to try to snatch a few minutes alone with her, in order to confess his love, was going to prove not at all easy in these present circumstances.
Heaving a deep sigh, he realised that he was going to have to shelve that highly challenging issue until a more conducive moment presented itself, since there were, clearly, other more pressing matters that required his immediate attention. Driving round to the stableyard, he tossed the reins to a waiting groom, leapt out of the carriage to join his now rather more subdued cousin and together, the two men followed the waiting Catford into the house and thence across the marble-chequered hallway into the earl’s study, to where they had been urgently summoned.
A little hurt and somewhat surprised not to see Stephanie amongst the excited group that had rushed out to meet her, Georgianne immediately enquired of her aunt where her friend might be.
‘I had to send her to her room,’ came Lady Letitia’s regretful reply. ‘Ever since Mr Maitland informed her of this ridiculous inheritance, she has been behaving in the most disgraceful manner. I was obliged to send one of the men off to Harrogate requesting Lady Highsmith’s immediate return.’ Holding Georgianne away from her, she scrutinised her carefully. ‘You look as if you could do with a good wash, you poor child. I will have some hot water sent up to your room directly, but I would ask you to keep well away from Stephanie, if you would—we had best leave it to her grandmother to deal with the silly girl’s nonsense!’
‘But we all know that Lady Highsmith isn’t Stephanie’s grandmother!’ cried Georgianne, in protest, as she made for the stairs. ‘I don’t wonder at the poor girl behaving oddly—she’s sure to be in the most terrible state of confusion! I know exactly how she feels! I must go to her at once!’
Hurriedly mounting the stairs to the second floor, and without waiting to knock, she threw open the door of Stephanie’s bedroom and charged inside. There, to her utmost consternation, she found her friend complacently tossing her belongings into the large wicker trunk that had accompanied her on her arrival at Gresham Hall.
‘Oh, no, Steffi!’ cried Georgianne, rushing forwards and trying to stay the other girl’s hands. ‘You must not think of leaving! I could not bear it if you were to go too!’
‘Well, I must say you do look a mess, Georgianne!’ exclaimed Stephanie, who was totally unmoved by the expression of anguish on her friend’s face. ‘And, please don’t be such a goose! You must know that it will be quite impossible for me to remain here now. Apart from the fact that everyone is set on giving me the cold shoulder, I need to get back to Highsmith House before my—that scheming old harridan, I should say— receives your aunt’s summons!’
‘But, how will your being there help matters?’ asked the bewildered Georgianne, as she slumped down on her friend’s bed.
‘I should have thought it was perfectly obvious,’ retorted Stephanie, still continuing to stuff her possessions into the already overflowing basket. ‘I have to find the papers—the old dear is sure to have kept them—she’s always been very meticulous about such things. According to your aunt, she adopted me soon after my mother died—some garbled tale or other about her own daughter dying in childbirth after the fellow she ran off with abandoned her—I really didn’t pay that much attention!’
‘Although, it does, perhaps, explain why Lady Highsmith was inclined to be so strict with you,’ put in Georgianne gently.
‘Possibly.’ Stephanie shrugged. ‘But it doesn’t mean that I am obliged to stay with her now. From what I have been able to gather, once I get my hands on this Bellingham chap’s inheritance, I’ll be as rich as old Croesus and will be able to do whatever I please!’
‘But, what do you intend to do?’ enquired her friend, even more perplexed than she was before. ‘You can’t still be thinking of running off with Mr Fenton, surely?’
‘Well, it’s true that I may still have to make use of the silly noodle,’ Stephanie was forced to concede. ‘But I certainly don’t intend to marry him, if that’s what you’re thinking! I shall have to get him to take me to see this solicitor chappie, of course, but, as soon as all the financial business is sorted out, I mean to set up my own establishment in one of those fancy London squares that we’re always reading about, and have myself the best time ever!’
‘But, you can’t mean to live on your own, Steffi,’ Georgianne pointed out in dismay. ‘You would never be accepted into society if you even hinted at such a scandalous course of action!’
‘Oh, I shall hire myself a highly respectable companion, of course,’ returned her friend airily. ‘It seems that my father was a count of some sort, so I suppose that makes me a countess and, with the amount of money that I shall have, I doubt that I will be short of company. Anyway, I don’t have time to discuss the pros and cons of the thing right now. I have to go and find where my ex-grandmama has hidden my birth papers—I shan’t be able to lay claim to the money without them!’
Thrusting on the lid of her now overflowing basket, she then endeavoured to close it but, after failing, at the third attempt, to fasten any of the leather straps, she sat back on her heels in disgust.
‘I can’t think how Madge ever got the stupid thing done up in the first place,’ she wailed. ‘There are exactly the same things in it as there were when I came!’
‘It would seem that servants do have their uses, then,’ observed Georgianne, hiding a smile. ‘Perhaps, it would be better if you let Emily deal with your packing. I’ll get Moffat to send the trunk over to Highsmith House as soon as it’s done.’ Pausing, she gave the other girl a searching glance, before adding, ‘You’ve quite made up your mind to go, then?’
With a determined nod, Stephanie got to her feet and, coming over to join Georgianne on the bed, she put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. ‘Please don’t begrudge me this marvellous opportunity, Georgianne,’ she said, with a slight catch in her voice. ‘This money will finally give me the chance to do what I have been wanting to do for years, and I promise you that I shan’t let it spoil our friendship—once I am settled, I shall send for you and we can have the most amazing times together, you’ll see!’
Biting back the tears that threatened, Georgianne gave her friend a weak smile. ‘I shall miss you most dreadfully, Steffi, and Willowby won’t be nearly as much fun without you. I do so hope that this new life you have chosen brings you the sort of happiness you crave.’
‘You may be sure of that,’ laughed her friend, as she headed for the door. ‘I’m just off to the stables to see if I can persuade one of the grooms to rustle up a carriage for me—I don’t fancy walking four miles in this heat. Wish me luck!’
Having watched Stephanie skip down the stairs until she was out of sight, Georgianne started to make her way towards her own bedchamber. She knew that she ought to wash and change before putting in another appearance downstairs but was concerned that, if she stopped to do so, Maitland would be long gone before she had readied herself.
She came to a sudden standstill and, after rubbing her fingers across her mud-streaked cheeks and raking her fingers through her unkempt curls, she ran quickly down the stairs but, on reaching the empty hallway, she was forced to conclude that her uncle’s interview with Maitland and his cousin must still be ongoing.
But, even as this thought crossed her mind, the door to Lord Gresham’s study opened and a visibly crestfallen Fenton emerged, followed by Catford himself who, after closing the door behind him, limped hurriedly to her side.
‘Oh, Georgie, my dearest girl!’ he cried, as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. ‘Thank God you weren’t hurt! I’m so sorry I didn’t get the chance to speak to you before we left but once I knew that you were in Will’s safe hands, I just got on with what had to be done! Forgive me?’
‘Of course I forgive you!’ She smiled up at him. ‘It wasn’t really so dreadful and I’m just thankful that it’s all over! May I ask what you did with those dreadful men?’
‘We dropped them off at Sir Joseph’s house,’ replied the viscount. ‘Dare say he’ll send them off to the county jail, where they’ll be held until the next assizes and then, if they manage to escape the hangman, they’ll most likely be transported.’
As a little shudder ran through her, Georgianne, casting a quick glance at Fenton, who had thrown himself down on one of the Hall’s plush-covered sofas, then whispered, ‘What about Mr Fenton? He looks as though Uncle Charles has already given him a good dressing down!’
‘No more than he deserves,’ replied her cousin, shrugging indifferently. ‘Maybe it will make him think twice before he goes round abducting any more helpless females!’
‘Oh, come now, Cat!’ she chuckled. ‘I wasn’t aware that you ever thought of me as helpless!’
‘No, well, perhaps not,’ he conceded, with a grin. ‘But you know what I mean.’
Nodding absently, her eyes travelled to the still closed door of the study. ‘Uncle Charles can’t be finding fault with Mr Maitland’s handling of the situation, surely?’ she asked, doing her utmost to adopt the most casual of tones.
‘Certainly not!’ returned Catford, his eyes suddenly gleaming with suppressed amusement. ‘Daresay he’s just offering his thanks and congratulating him and all that.’ Then, after eyeing her searchingly for a moment or two, he went on, ‘If you don’t mind me saying so, my pet, you’re not looking at all the thing! Hadn’t you better hop back to your room and tidy yourself up a bit? Er—how about if we meet in the lake pavilion in about twenty minutes?—there’s something I need to speak to you about.’
‘In the lake pavilion?’ returned his cousin, somewhat bemused. ‘But why all the secrecy? Surely you can tell me whatever it is right here and now?’
‘Er, no, not really,’ replied the viscount, casting a nervous glance towards his father’s study. ‘Wouldn’t do for Pa to come out and see you looking such a mess, you know. Off you go now, there’s a good girl!’
The Major and the Country Miss Page 24
