by Mary Nichols
‘There was a bay-brown and a blue dun, both dishy, and a cob. It was a sturdy little animal and needed to be because its rider was a heavy man.’
‘What happened about the dead man?’
‘We left him there and went into Royston to report to the watch. I expect they dealt with him.’
‘Thank you, Miss Paget,’ he said quietly.
‘If they did mean to... to kill your father, do you know why?’
‘I have not the least idea, Miss Paget. Now, I beg of you, let us speak of more pleasant things.’
He seemed suddenly remote, once again the stiff, proud man, and their subsequent conversation mirrored that. It was not until after they had left Cambridge behind and were nearing Rowan Park that he mentioned the matter again. ‘I have asked those three men to look after my father,’ he said. ‘If anything happens and they cannot find me, they will come to you. Do not be tempted into any heroics. If I cannot be contacted, simply report what they say to the appropriate authorities. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, of course, but why will they come to me?’
He smiled. ‘They think you are my young lady - their words. I did not disabuse them of the idea.’
‘Why not?’ she demanded.
‘It is none of their business and besides, it would have been difficult to explain.’
‘I don’t see why,’ she said. ‘You are my prospective brother-in-law; it is simple enough.’ She did not know why she had spoken so bluntly unless it was to make herself see the truth.
‘Your sister has not yet accepted me,’ he said laconically. ‘It would have been presumptuous of me to have pre-empted that.’
‘Why do you delay asking her?’
‘I intend to win the race to York first.’
‘Why?’
He looked sideways at her and then decided she deserved the truth. ‘Because it has been suggested that if you marry Barbour first he will be in control of Miss Felicity’s dowry and that if I play my cards right I can regain possession of my horse in that way. That is not to my taste, Miss Paget.’
She began to laugh, almost hysterically, and he pulled the curricle up and turned towards her in alarm. ‘What have I said that is so amusing? I am perfectly serious.’
‘Control of my sister’s dowry will not pass out of my hands, Major, I assure you.’
Did she mean she had decided to reject Lord Barbour? He dared not ask for fear that she would fly into anger and he did not want to risk it. ‘I do not see how you can be so sure, but if you are right, then it is even more imperative that I win this race.’
‘And Felicity must wait, I suppose? What do you think the gossips will make of that?’
He did not know whether to tell her what had been happening in London since she left or not. Under Lady Hereward’s easygoing hospitality the younger Miss Paget was enjoying herself no end, going to parties and routs, outings and picnics, surrounded by bevies of young gentlemen, all anxious for her favours. He had been present on two of those occasions and the last time, when he had said he was leaving town, she had accepted with equanimity. He doubted if she was even missing him. ‘I am surprised at you being concerned about gabblegrinders,’ he said, moving to the attack. ‘You do not subscribe to convention yourself.’
‘What I do in the country in the privacy of my own domain is my affair, Major. I did nothing in town to give Society reason to criticise and I would most certainly do nothing to harm my sister. Now, I suggest we continue before the poor horse cools down and catches a chill.’
He flicked the reins and they continued in silence until they were within sight of the buildings of Rowan Park. ‘If you must win this wretched race,’ she said slowly, ‘tell me how I can help.’
‘I need good horses,’ he said, much relieved. ‘I’ll buy if I have to, but hiring will be better. I am riding north tomorrow to go over the route and arrange for mounts on the most distant part of the ride. I shall use those two I bought today on the early part of the race, so I am relying on you to bring them to a peak and get me in the lead early. I believe an early lead is imperative.’
‘I can do that.’
‘I should also like all the men you can spare.’
‘Why?’
‘To see fair play. Independent stewards have been appointed, but I don’t trust Barbour. He cheated before and will do so again, given the chance. I intend to post my own men all along the route. Many of my friends have volunteered and I’ll use as many men as can be spared from Dullingham House and those three soldiers. And any you can let me have.’
‘It seems rather dire. Are you sure it’s necessary?’
‘The wager has attracted a certain notoriety,’ he said, smiling ruefully. ‘The side-bets on it are prodigious and there are some who might want one or other rider to come to grief, might even be prepared to help him to do that. I do not want to be held responsible.’
‘Surely not.’
‘I intend to be prepared. I know it is a lot to ask, but the men will not be gone above two or three days.’
‘Very well, I will ask Dawson to let you know who can be spared.’
‘Thank you.’ He paused, wondering whether he dared make the next request. ‘And there is one more thing you can do for me.’
The tone of his voice made her turn to look at him. If such a thing were possible she would have said he was looking almost sheepish. ‘Go on, Major,’ she said.
‘Will you let me have Grecian Warrior for one stage?’
‘What?’ She was furious. ‘You know what I think of the whole idea and I would not help you at all if it were not for Felicity’s sake and because I can understand your reasons. But to ask for Warrior!’ She laughed suddenly. ‘He is very particular about whom he allows on his back.’
‘Are you suggesting I cannot ride him, Miss Paget? I pride myself on the fact that there isn’t a mount alive I cannot ride.’
‘Now you are trying to goad me into making you prove it. Well, I will not give you the satisfaction, Major.’
Their beautiful day had been spoiled. She had been so happy, enjoying his company and pretending to herself that it was not the last time they would enjoy such a good rapport. But it was a hollow sham; he had been softening her up for the final coup de grace and she had not seen it coming. Oh, what a fool she had been!
They had arrived at her front door; the day was at an end and she would never have another like it. She did not ask him to come in; it would not have been proper when there was only Fanny and the housekeeper on the premises, though if she had not been so angry she might have been tempted.
She stepped down from the curricle without waiting for him to help her down and, picking up her skirts, swept up the steps. At the top, she turned. ‘Thank you for a pleasant day out, Major,’ she said stiffly. ‘You may rest assured your horses will be in good hands. And I will keep my promise to let you have the men. I suggest you go and see Dawson and make the arrangements.’
He stood on the gravel looking up at her, wishing with all his heart that he had not made that last request, but she had seemed so reasonable up until then and having Warrior for one section of the ride would have more than made up for Lord Barbour’s use of Victor. It seemed he had misjudged her yet again. ‘Bright Star’s outing to Newmarket next week, I’ll call for you, shall I?’
‘No, Major, I shall travel with the horse. I am sure you cannot spare the time; after all, you have a much longer race to run, have you not?’ Her smile was sugar and vinegar as she turned and went inside, too annoyed with herself and with him to notice that Mrs Thorogood was not there to open the door as she usually was when she heard carriage wheels on the gravel.
She did not hear him leave as she shut the door and leaned against it, letting her whole body go limp. After a few moments she pulled herself together and took off her hat and went towards the stairs, but changed her mind. She needed something to restore her nerves and a glass of wine would do no harm at all. She put her hat on a chair and went into the dr
awing-room to get it for herself.
She crossed the room, poured the wine, turned with the glass in her hand, and then she nearly died of shock. Ensconced in the wing-chair beside the hearth was Lord Barbour and he was smiling up at her in a way which turned her blood to ice.
‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded.
He rose and stepped towards her. ‘As you seemed set on refusing to see me in London, I decided there was nothing for it but to beard the lioness in her den.’ He sighed heavily. ‘There was I dying for love and anxious because the object of my devotion had taken a tumble and no one would let me near her. Not well enough for visitors, I was told; must not be excited and a visit from me would surely excite her. I sent flowers every day, expensive blooms to match my passion and no one to thank me but the dragon who guarded you. Patiently I waited, only to be told you had fled to the country. What did you expect me to do? I followed.’
‘How did you get in?’
‘Your housekeeper was so good as to tell me I could wait for you.’
‘But she had no idea how long I would be.’
‘On the contrary, my dear Georgiana - I may call you that may I not? - the dear lady thinks you are lying injured in a hovel beside the road two miles from here, having fallen from the curricle in which you had been travelling. ‘
‘And what is supposed to have happened to my companions?’ she snapped.
‘Do you know,’ he said infuriatingly, ‘she was in such a rush to render assistance she did not even stop to ask? But I had a tale of such treachery to tell, she would have been doubly incensed. You had been left stranded and forced to make your own way home.’
‘And how are you supposed to have come by this information?’
‘I found you, of course, and you were able to tell me before I carried you to a nearby cottage where a yokel in a smock is even now caring for you.’
‘I never heard such a Banbury tale,’ she said. ‘And even if such a thing were true, why did you allow Mrs Thorogood to go to my aid and remain here yourself?’
He smiled and his little dark eyes became almost lost in the flesh of his cheeks, though twin points of light remained, glittering malevolently. ‘I should have thought the reason was obvious, my dear. I did not wish us to be disturbed.’
‘Why?’ He had moved very close and she backed away against a solid oak table which had stood in its place for half a century at least. ‘What do you want?’
‘Why, my dear Miss Paget, I want to marry you. I thought you knew that. Your uncle, the Colonel, has obligingly given his permission for me to ask you. I did not think you were averse to the idea.’
‘No? Then you must have a singularly thick skin. I should have thought the fact that I came away without seeing you would have been enough to tell you I did not want you to speak of it.’
‘Nerves, my dear, simply shyness and a little apprehension over the honour I confer upon you.’
‘Honour! You bumptious, stiff-necked, rag-mannered clunch!’
‘Dear, dear, such language!’ He hooted with laughter, taking her glass from her fingers and putting it down on the table behind her. ‘You are no great shakes either, but you’ve got plenty of ginger, I’ll give you that.’
‘I will give you a taste of it, too, if you do not leave my house,’ she said, though the threat was an empty one. ‘Mrs Thorogood will be back directly.’
‘It will take her some time to find the cottage I described to her. In my haste I did not take proper note of its direction.’
‘You fiend! Get out! Get out at once.’
‘Not until I have my answer.’
She gave a cracked laugh. ‘That’s easy. It is no, no, a thousand times no.’
‘Pity,’ he said equably. ‘I had hoped we could deal together in accord and I would not find it necessary to point out the bumblebath you are in.’
‘I don’t know what you mean. I am in no trouble.’
`Do you think we could sit down and discuss this?’ he said. ‘It would be so much more comfortable. I am sure that sitting on the edge of a table cannot be conducive to pleasant discourse.’
‘I do not want to discourse with you at all,’ she retorted, though when he moved back she took the opportunity to slip on to a chair, and glad she was of its support, for her knees were buckling. ‘You should not be here. I am alone.’
‘Precisely, my dear Miss Paget. May I be seated?’ Without waiting for her reply, he flung up the tails of his coat and sat himself in a chair opposite her, leaning forward to look closely into her face. He meant to intimidate her and he succeeded. There was something about his manner which was frightening. He was more than the fat reprobate she had called him; he was evil. It exuded from his pores along with the perspiration which glistened on his forehead. ‘You and I are alone in the house. That in itself is enough to condemn you...’
‘Though not you, I suppose.’
‘Well, it will not be considered good conduct on my part but I am consumed by passion, as everyone knows, and will be forgiven for it. And I am persuaded you too are a passionate being and not so particular about gossip.’
‘My passion is one of anger. And so I shall tell the world.’
‘Do you think they will believe you? I think not, especially after we have spent the whole night together.’
‘The night?’ If she had not been frightened before, she was terrified now. And yet in the core of it was the thought of Richard. Would he believe she was innocent? And leading from that was the certain knowledge that if there was a scandal Felicity would suffer.
‘Why, yes, my dear. I have it in mind to cuckold the parson, just to be on the safe side and ensure your compliance.’ His oily smile never wavered as he watched the changing expressions chase each other across her face.
‘But why? If I say I do not wish to marry you, why do you persist?’
‘Because I think we shall deal very well together. I do not ask for much. I already have my heir, so I am not particular as to that, though with such a body as you have I cannot promise to refrain altogether.’
‘You are disgusting.’
‘Oh, do you say so? Then you have not seen a really depraved person, I assure you. An’ I thought you a woman of the world.’
She must keep calm, she told herself. ‘I would have thought you had better things to do than torment me, my lord. Have you not a race to win? Are all your arrangements complete?’
‘They will be after tonight. It is of those I wish to speak.’
She gave a hollow laugh. ‘And I thought you came a-courting.’
‘So I did, but you force me to be less than the sensitive supplicant I would otherwise wish to be. You imagine yourself a businesswoman, though even you must realise that is nothing more than a silly chit’s daydream. But if it is business you want, then we will deal in business terms.’
She attempted to laugh again but it stuck in her throat. When she tried to rise, he pushed her down again and held fast to her hand. ‘You will hear me out, because my proposition is not so distasteful, as you shall see.’
He paused, but she could not bring herself to make any reply and he went on.
‘Breeding is what I’m on about.’ And as he heard her little gasp of shock his smile broadened. ‘Not our breeding, though I ain’t saying I’d be averse to that. No, I meant the horses. I’m being dunned left and right and what with this ride to York and all the expense of that I’m in a fair way to being dished up if I lose it, which I don’t aim to do, by the way. So with your horses and mine we could win that little wager and let me tell you there is a great deal of money riding on it besides the wager itself. And afterwards the combined stables of Barbour and Paget could become a byword to rival Tattersall’s.’
‘They don’t breed horses,’ she felt constrained to point out, though why she should she did not know. She would never entertain him as a husband.
‘All the better. Everyone will come to me for their cattle: young bloods, country squires, the army. Sir Hen
ry had a contract for the army, did he not?’
‘Yes, and I shall carry on where he left off. I do not need you and I certainly have no intention of allowing you to ruin my horses on that madcap wager.’
‘You will have no choice after tonight, my dear. I have come here to ensure it.’
‘If you think I will allow myself to be intimidated...’ she began, but she did not finish because he rose to his feet and pulled her roughly into his arms. His mouth came down to hers and his brandy-laden breath filled her nostrils so that she felt sick.
‘Come, my dear,’ he said, grimacing because she was struggling and it was all he could do to hold her. ‘Don’t fight it, accept it. A great many marriages are based on less and are none the worse for it.’
‘I am not interested in marriage to you or anyone. And if you touch me I shall scream.’
‘We are quite alone; there is no one to hear you.’
‘The men...’
‘Too far away. Now, wench, we have talked long enough.’ He started to drag her across the room. ‘Come over to the sofa; it is a deal more comfortable.’
‘No! No!’ she shrieked, hoping Fanny would hear her, though if she was in her own room at the top of the house she probably would not. And, in any case, if her maid tried to intervene, she would probably be knocked down; the man was in no mood to allow an elderly retainer to stand in his way.
‘Now,’ he said, pulling her down on the sofa beside him and pulling open her jacket to kiss her throat. ‘A few minutes of pleasure, just to make sure you do not change your mind, followed by the announcement all the world is expecting to hear, and then I will trouble you no more. At least, not until after the wedding.’ He laughed suddenly. ‘Just to show you how generous I can be, we will give Victor as part of your sister’s dowry when she marries that scapegrace Baverstock. It will diminish him to have to accept it from me. What do you say to that?’
She had gone very quiet and he relaxed his hold slightly, believing she was becoming compliant, but her brain was working and the mention of the horse was the last straw. Never, never would she give in. He would have to kill her first. She forced herself out of his grasp and made for the door.
