Sylvia Andrew

by Lord Calthorpes Promise

  Katharine laughed at her. ‘Your son will never be impressed with me, ma’am, whatever arts we employ! He remembers our first meeting too well. But perhaps I could have captured Lord Trenchard? What a pity it is not to be! Without my London maid I am still plain, unadorned Kate.’

  ‘If the stories I’ve heard are true that is perhaps as well, my dear! Ivo Trenchard is the world’s worst flirt.’

  ‘Tom liked him.’

  ‘Tom wasn’t a bored society beauty looking for amusement.’

  ‘Neither am I.’

  Mrs Calthorpe laughed. ‘That’s true! Life is far too interesting for both of us.’

  The weather had improved, so the next afternoon they took a walk down to the stables. The horses were in the paddock nearby, Sholto dominating the rest.

  ‘I’m so glad you agreed not to ride that brute, Kate. He is far too big and powerful for you.’

  ‘But you will admit he is a beautiful creature, ma’am. He has such spirit as well as strength. There isn’t another to match him, not even in Adam’s stable.’ She sighed. ‘But you are right, of course, and so is Adam. Sholto is a man’s horse. He was bought for my brother, not me. I suppose I really wanted to ride him to keep a link with Tom, but I must admit he was often almost too much for me.’ She turned to Mrs Calthorpe. ‘How would it be if I gave Sholto to your son? He and Tom were very good friends, and Adam has done a great deal for me. Would he like it, do you think?’

  ‘This is a new Katharine Payne!’ exclaimed Mrs Calthorpe. ‘I thought you disliked Adam!’

  ‘Oh, I do!’ Katharine said with emphasis. ‘Quite a lot of the time…and especially when he starts telling me what to do. But I will admit it to you and to no one else—Adam is sometimes right!’

  ‘Good heavens, Kate! Are you quite well?’

  ‘I haven’t felt so alive for months, ma’am! And I have you and your son to thank for that!’

  ‘Nonsense! We have done very little. It was merely a matter of time.’

  ‘I cannot imagine that I would feel like this if I were still at Herriards.’

  ‘Perhaps not.’ They walked in silence towards the house. ‘I think Adam would be delighted with Sholto—if you are sure you wish to part with the horse.’

  Katharine sighed. ‘Yes, I am sure. I’ll find another horse to suit me some time. But for the moment…’ She pulled a face at Mrs Calthorpe. ‘For the moment I must concentrate on other accomplishments. Like dancing.’

  Mrs Calthorpe started to laugh. ‘How was this morning’s lesson? Is Monsieur Edouard still trying to teach you to “leap like ze feazher”?’

  ‘No, this morning he gave up the steps of the dance, and demonstrated “ze grand curtsy”. I was not exactly impressed. He looked like Madame du Barry wearing breeches. Then I had to try, and by the time we had finished he was in despair again.’

  As they walked up the steps to the terrace outside the long windows of the saloon, Mrs Calthorpe was still laughing. Katharine stopped and said severely, ‘It is no laughing matter! The poor man was practically in tears!’ She put her hands to her head in a dramatic gesture, then threw them up in the air. ‘Mademoiselle, mademoiselle, why ees eet zat ze English womens is so stiff? You must move not like ze drilling soldier, but like ze waves of ze sea. Comme ça!’ Katharine took a wide step, flung her arms out to the side, then swayed down to the ground in an impressive sweep. She looked up at Mrs Calthorpe and raised an eyebrow. ‘Comme ça?’

  Mrs Calthorpe could hardly talk for laughter. ‘Kate, that is absurd!’ she gasped. ‘Even the King couldn’t expect such an obeisance! Get up, do!’

  Katharine jumped up, her face sparkling with mischief. ‘You don’t like it? Did it not flow enough like “ze waves of ze sea”?’

  ‘You ridiculous child! I ought to be annoyed with you for being so disrespectful to poor Monsieur Edouard—’ A movement by one of the windows caught her eye. She stopped, then cried, ‘Oh! Oh, Adam! What are you doing here? Kate, Kate, look! Adam has arrived!’ She flew over to her son, who had stepped through the window door and was observing them both in amusement. Behind him was another, extremely handsome gentleman. He, too, was smiling as he regarded Katharine.

  Adam kissed his mother, then greeted Katharine. ‘Where are you thinking of making your début, Kate? At the theatre in Drury Lane?’

  Katharine blushed. ‘You weren’t supposed to see that,’ she said.

  ‘No, indeed!’ said Mrs Calthorpe. ‘You weren’t supposed to be here till this evening. This is a delightful surprise. Lord Trenchard, welcome. I am very pleased to see you again.’

  Ivo Trenchard greeted Mrs Calthorpe with genuine warmth, then looked at Katharine.

  ‘I don’t believe you know Miss Payne, do you?’ said Adam’s mother. ‘Kate, may I introduce Captain Lord Trenchard?’

  ‘Miss Payne, I am delighted to know you at last,’ said Ivo Trenchard, taking her hand and kissing it. ‘Tom spoke so often about you. You are just as he described you.’

  Adam raised an eyebrow. Ivo was at his tricks again. Kate might be looking a lot happier than she had in October, but she was still far from being the charmer her brother had described!

  ‘Really, sir? Dare I ask how that was?’ Kate asked with a look of mock apprehension.

  ‘You would accuse me of flattering you, Miss Payne…’

  Adam felt a spurt of irritation. He hoped Ivo was not about to start one of his flirtations with Kate! He would have to put a stop to it if it were so. Kate wasn’t like the ladies of Spain and Brussels, she didn’t know the rules.

  ‘Do let’s go in,’ said Mrs Calthorpe. ‘Now that the sun is lower it is getting cold again. We’ve been down to the stables, Adam.’

  ‘Ah! Good! But you won’t have seen the latest addition—she has just arrived. Could you bear to walk back again, Mama? I’d like you to see her. You too, Kate!’

  Lord Trenchard clearly knew what was afoot, for he nodded to Adam and tactfully excused himself, explaining that he needed to see to some of his things. The two ladies followed Adam to the stable yard. In the centre of the yard, held firmly between two grooms, was a handsome bay mare.

  ‘What a beauty!’ cried Katharine, enraptured. ‘Oh, Adam, where did you find such a lovely creature?’

  ‘She may look well enough,’ said Mrs Calthorpe doubtfully. ‘But she seems a touch fiery to me.’ She kept her distance as she examined the mare. The animal was restive and the grooms were having quite a job to hold her. ‘I must say, Adam, that it’s not a horse I should like to ride! In fact…in fact, she reminds me of Sholto. She’s smaller, of course, but she looks just as wilful, just as full of energy and spirits.’ She turned to her son. ‘What are you going to do with her? I wouldn’t have said that you needed another mount. And in any case, Katharine— No, let her tell you herself.’

  ‘What is this, Kate?’ Adam frowned. ‘Have you been riding Sholto again?’

  ‘I have not!’ said Katharine.

  ‘What? Even though the weather is milder?’

  ‘Don’t provoke the girl, Adam. Far from riding that great brute, she has been concentrating hard on her dancing.’

  ‘Dancing? Is that what I saw?’ He laughed when he saw Katharine bristling. ‘Peace, Kate! We shall talk of the dancing later. Meanwhile, what were you going to tell me?’

  ‘I…I have come to see that you were right. Sholto isn’t really a suitable horse for me…’ adding, with a touch of her old belligerence ‘…though that isn’t to say that I can’t manage him!’

  Adam waited without comment. Katharine went on, ‘So, if you wish it, I would like to give Sholto to you, Adam. I…I think Tom would approve.’

  There was a short silence. Then Adam cleared his throat and said, ‘That is breathtakingly generous of you, Kate. There is nothing I would like more as a remembrance of Tom. Thank you. I accept.’ He took her hand and kissed it. ‘But—’ He smiled.

  ‘Do hurry, Adam. I’m getting very cold!’ said Mrs Calthorpe. ‘I want to know what you
are going to do with that mare now that Kate has given you Sholto.’

  ‘I am going to do what I intended from the start—’ Adam started to laugh again. ‘I bought the mare for Kate! I thought she might enjoy riding her.’

  ‘You bought the mare for me!’ Katharine’s eyes were shining. ‘For me? Do you really mean it?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘But that horse is almost as dangerous as the stallion!’ exclaimed Mrs Calthorpe. ‘Just look at it! Kate will be killed! What were you thinking of, Adam?’

  ‘There’s no need to be anxious, Mama! That mare may be spirited, but she’s not at all vicious. I’ve had her through her paces, and I assure you that, once she knows who is master, she is wonderfully responsive. Kate is too good a rider to be in danger.’

  Adam was talking to his mother but his eyes were on Katharine, who had left them. She had taken something from one of the grooms and was now totally absorbed in the mare, feeding her a titbit, talking to her, stroking her, speaking to her all the while in a low voice.

  He went on, ‘Do you really think Kate Payne would be content with a steady, safe ride? You should know her better! She’s like her brother in that respect—not content without a challenge. Sholto was too much of one, and I cannot tell you how relieved I am that she has seen it for herself. But she must have some adventure left in her life, something for her to enjoy.’

  ‘I should have thought that learning the necessary social graces for entering London Society was enough of an adventure for anyone!’

  ‘That’s just it! The life ahead is bound to be difficult for her, but hardly enjoyable. We both know that Kate isn’t likely to be one of the season’s successes, in spite of her wealth—’

  His mother raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re rather blunt. And a bit too pessimistic. She may surprise you.’

  ‘Oh, come! I know you like Kate—’

  ‘And you don’t?’

  Adam paused. ‘I like her a lot better than I did. But she can still be irritatingly obstinate. And while I’ve no doubt you will do your best with her, she isn’t likely to take the town by storm, is she? If only she had been more like Tom in looks…’

  ‘Adam, I won’t let you say another word! I am surprised at you. You may have had a huge success in your Army career, but it hasn’t done much for your judgement of women!’

  ‘Mama—!’

  Katharine had finished her chat with her new acquisition and was coming back to them. Mrs Calthorpe said quietly and urgently, ‘But whatever your opinion, help us, Adam. Help to make Kate as much of a success as we can. Do it for Tom’s sake, if not for hers.’

  ‘Of course, I will, though I still think…’ He stopped. Katharine was too close. ‘What is your opinion of the horse, Kate?’

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ Katharine said. ‘I shall call her Cintra. Tom once said what a beautiful place it was.’

  ‘He was right. It’s a good name for the mare.’

  ‘Thank you, Adam. But it’s cold and she ought to be indoors. Has she been fed and watered?’

  Her tone was businesslike, almost cool, but Adam was not put off as he might have been earlier in their acquaintance. He had noticed before that, when Katharine Payne was most moved, her manner was most detached.

  Ivo Trenchard had been almost as close to Tom as Adam himself had been. So that night, over an after-dinner glass of port, the talk naturally turned to Tom and from there to Tom’s sister and Mrs Calthorpe’s plans for her début. To Adam’s amazement Ivo Trenchard, a true connoisseur of women, was inclined to agree with Mrs Calthorpe. He thought it quite possible that Katharine would be a success.

  ‘But, Ivo!’ Adam protested. ‘You saw her this afternoon! She looks more like a…a governess than a débutante! In fact, that’s what I thought she was when I first met her.’

  ‘Well, I thought she looked remarkably like Tom—and he was a handsome enough fellow.’

  ‘What the devil are you talking about? Tom was blond!’

  ‘She hasn’t the colouring, perhaps. But that smile…absolutely his. Very charming.’ Ivo smiled as he remembered it. ‘Completely captivating.’

  ‘Captivating? How much port have you had?’

  ‘Not enough,’ said Ivo promptly, and helped himself to some more. ‘Why are you so critical of the girl? I’ve seen you charmed by ladies a lot less pretty. There was one in Ciudad, I remember…’

  ‘Yes, but she had other talents…’

  ‘Well, what about Comtesse Whatshername’s daughter? The one in Toulouse.’

  ‘I hardly spoke to the girl! Her cousin was a charmer, though. A pity about the fiancé. Do you remember the night we…?’

  From that point Katharine Payne was forgotten. The talk turned to past experiences, not all of them respectable.

  Unfortunately Ivo had to continue his journey the very next day. He expressed his regret and took his leave of Mrs Calthorpe, with whom he was clearly a favourite. She pressed him to visit them when they would all be in London.

  ‘I shan’t be able to keep away, ma’am!’ he said. ‘I can’t wait to witness Miss Payne’s triumph!’

  He told Katharine that he didn’t need to wish her a successful début—that was assured. ‘But I hope you will reserve at least one dance for me at the first ball we both attend.’

  ‘I shall no doubt be grateful for at least one partner, Lord Trenchard. But I have to confess that my dancing is not yet up to standard.’

  ‘It will be, it will be! Get Adam to teach you—he was the best dancer on the Duke’s staff. Twinkle-toes Calthorpe, we called him.’ He laughed and dodged Adam’s arm. ‘Enjoy your new mare, Miss Payne. The next time I am in Surrey I shall hope to see her in action.’

  Adam accompanied him to the carriage. ‘Good luck on your mission, Ivo.’

  ‘Thanks. I have no great hopes that my father will agree to see me, but I have to try. Meanwhile, don’t you underestimate Tom’s sister. She’s worth some effort, Adam. Tom was right to be so proud of her. Adios!’

  Adam walked thoughtfully back to the house. Was Katharine Payne as attractive as Ivo and his mother seemed to think? Had he been too strongly influenced by that first meeting in October? He had discovered later that she had been going through a very bad time for months—no woman would be at her best after such a prolonged strain. Perhaps he was prejudiced. He made up his mind to try to take a fresh look at her, to attempt to see her with his mother’s eyes.

  But when he found Katharine, her face and manner were most unlikely to improve anyone’s opinion of her—rather the reverse. She was standing in the centre of the room face to face with a little man, who was gesticulating wildly, trying to make himself heard. Katharine herself was scowling fearsomely as she overrode him.

  ‘You are unreasonable, sir! I can’t remember everything at once! Waves and feathers don’t know the difference between left and right, and no more do I when I am trying to imitate them. Which is, as we both know, a hopeless task! I wonder you continue to try!’

  ‘What is this?’ asked Adam.

  ‘Milor’ Calthorpe, ze case, it ees ’opeless! I ’ave taught many young ladies ze art of dancing, most of zem much younger, of course, but Mees Payne is impossible to teach. Impossible!’

  ‘Indeed?’

  But Monsieur Edouard was too angry to take heed of the warning tone in Adam’s voice. He went on, ‘She turns left when she should turn to ze right, and right when she should turn to ze left! And she argues! All ze time!’

  Katharine’s protests had ended when Adam had come in. She stood silent, head in the air, too proud to defend herself.

  Adam said coldly, ‘Monsieur Edouard, we seem to have made a mistake in engaging you. You have failed lamentably to appreciate Miss Payne’s particular needs. You will be paid for the full course of lessons, but pray do not come again.’ The dancing master started to expostulate but Adam said curtly, ‘Thank you. That will do.’

  When Monsieur Edouard had left the room Adam said softly, ‘Come here, Kate.�
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  She looked at him mutely, but made no move. He smiled and said again, ‘Come here!’

  Still scowling, Katharine walked stiffly towards him.

  ‘What has that fool done to you?’

  ‘Don’t blame him,’ she said bitterly. ‘I’m just not made for dancing.’

  ‘I don’t believe that for one moment. But I can believe that you’re not quite made for teaching—not his sort of teaching, anyway.’

  ‘Your mother was told he was the best dancing master in Dorking. Where shall we find anyone better?’

  ‘I have no doubt we shall find someone when you are more…amenable to instruction. Meanwhile—’

  “‘Amenable to instruction”? What an unreasonable thing to say! I have tried as hard as I can to learn from that…that little popinjay!’

  ‘Exactly. That is why you can’t learn from him—you despise him. I suspect you despise the whole art of dancing as well. Am I right?’

  ‘It all seems such a pointless exercise! I don’t like jumping about all over the room, being pushed here and pulled there, with no rhyme or reason behind it! And all I’ve learned from Monsieur Edouard is how to fall over my own feet while this is going on!’

  ‘Oh, my intractable Kate!’ said Adam, laughing at this sad picture. ‘Poor Monsieur Edouard. Teaching you must have given him nightmares!’

  Katharine walked away from him and stood looking out of the window. ‘Laugh away!’ she said bitterly. ‘But don’t ask me to join in. I know that dancing is an important accomplishment, whatever my opinion of it. And I so hoped…I had such ambitions… Well, never mind.’ She leaned her forehead wearily against the window.

  Adam came over and stood close behind her. He said gently, ‘Forget about the important accomplishment, Kate. Learn to enjoy it. Dancing isn’t just noise and confusion, you know. It can give pleasure in so many ways.’

  ‘How?’