The Chaperone Bride

by Marina Oliver

  Asking her how the journey had been, he escorted her to the coffee room where a table had been laid and dishes of ham, cheese and fruit had been set out upon it.

  'First though, I think a bowl of hot soup might be welcome?'

  'Thank you, yes indeed. But Joanna? I beg your pardon, Lady Childe? Could she not come to meet me?'

  'Joanna has a cold, so I made her stay at home. She is looking forward to seeing you. I believe you were friends at school?'

  'To be sure we were, and I am delighted to be with her again. But tell me about your children. All Joanna – may I call her Joanna, when we are private? – said was they are twins, ten years of age, a boy and a girl.'

  She listened intently as Sir Kenelm explained that the children had been in the charge of, first, a somewhat meek and ineffective governess, and then one who had been jealous of Joanna and tried to turn the children against her.

  'Oh, how could anyone? It was wicked! When Joanna is one of the kindest, sweetest girls I know!'

  Sir Kenelm found he had a somewhat silly smile on his lips, and caught Matthew grinning at him. He became businesslike.

  'I will leave Joanna to give you the details. I'm afraid the twins do not like the notion of a step-mother, and I was too precipitate, marrying Joanna without adequately preparing them for it. But she will tell you all about it. Have you finished? Then we had best start.'

  Matthew, Sir Kenelm was amused to see, was most solicitous in ensuring that Miss O'Neill was comfortable, had enough rugs to keep her warm, and was not in any draughts. It was perhaps a good thing his young brother would soon be going back to his regiment. He didn't want the wretch breaking hearts in his household.

  *

  Joanna soon recovered from her cold, and was eager to hear all the gossip from school. She and Brigid spent as much time together as was possible, and Joanna was also busy selecting patterns from the fabric samples that had been sent her, and deciding what else needed doing to restore Rock Castle to its former splendour. Mrs Aston was full of praise, saying her old mistress, Sir Kenelm's mother, would have rejoiced to see the house being cared for once again, as she had always cared for it.

  Several weeks went by. Matthew returned to his army duties, and was now stationed in the Low Countries. Sir Kenelm remained concerned about the situation at Vienna, though an agreement had been reached over Poland, and the threat of war between the allies retreated. He went to Leeds frequently to try and hear the news before it was reported in the newspapers.

  'I can meet with friends who have been in London,' he excused himself to Joanna.

  At home matters were less satisfactory, he explained.

  'There are too many in Parliament who do not understand what Castlereagh is doing, and want him recalled. I fear their hostility. But Wellington is now going to Vienna, so we should see more progress there.'

  And then, early in March, came the news that Napoleon had escaped from Elba and landed in France, where he had been welcomed by many of his former soldiers.

  'So all the fighting starts again,' Joanna sighed. 'Can he be defeated once more?'

  'He plans to march on the Low Countries first, they say. And much of our army from the Peninsula has been sent overseas,' Sir Kenelm told her. 'I don't know if even Lord Wellington can mould a new one from the rag tag of troops he has left to him. Not only are they inexperienced, many just raw recruits, they are from different countries, speak different languages, and some have even served in Napoleon's armies, and may feel more loyalty to him.'

  They waited, eager for news, and watching from afar as Napoleon, gathering troops about him, marched towards Paris. As he neared the French capital King Louis XVIII and his supporters fled.

  'Napoleon is in Paris, but Wellington is leaving Vienna to go to Brussels,' Sir Kenelm said as he read the newspapers. 'The allies have renewed their treaty, but their armies are scattered. Only Marshall Blücher is anywhere near ready and close enough to Belgium to help.'

  'Wellington and Napoleon have never met in battle,' Joanna said. 'They have always defeated lesser generals.'

  'Do you fear for the Duke?'

  'No, all his own men said he was a brilliant general, but most of the veterans of Spain are not with him. His army now has only a small leavening of seasoned British troops.'

  'You appear to know a great deal about the situation.'

  Joanna shrugged. 'I saw the army in the Peninsula, and I have taken more interest in the war there than perhaps most females do who do not have menfolk fighting. And I read your newspapers. I am concerned for Matthew.'

  'As am I. But there is nought we can do except pray.'

  *

  Joanna, who had become fond of Matthew while he was with them, tried to forget the prospect of more warfare and his possible involvement in more battles. As well as supervising the making of new curtains, and other projects within the house, she began to ride out regularly with Brigid and the twins as the weather grew warmer.

  Brigid was proving a success as a governess, and Nanny confided to Joanna that she was becoming a great favourite with the twins.

  'They enjoy learning with her, she makes the lessons fun for them,' Nanny reported.

  Joanna could see how they had accepted Brigid when they rode together. George was friendly towards her now, but Amelia still held aloof and only spoke to Joanna when it was essential. She was not openly rude, but she ensured she had as little to do with Joanna as possible, always managing to put George or Brigid between them as they rode so that she did not have to talk with Joanna.

  It was some progress, Joanna thought. It might take a long time, but in the end maybe Amelia would accept her.

  Sir Kenelm, however, seemed to have withdrawn. He was unfailingly polite, interested in the changes she was making in the house, and complimenting her on them, but now, instead of their evenings spent together in the library, he encouraged her to sit with Brigid, either in the governess's own sitting room, or in the drawing room.

  He went to Leeds more frequently, and also rode to consult with Henry almost every week, so Joanna saw very little of him. He was worried for his youngest brother, she decided. Henry visited Rock Castle occasionally, but Albinia never came, nor did Henry bring his son. Joanna hoped there was not to be a permanent rift after the events at Christmas.

  She occupied herself getting to know the villagers and Sir Kenelm's tenants. They were, for the most part, welcoming, though a couple of the wives indicated they did not mean to take advice from a woman young enough to be their daughter. Joanna supposed they had been for so many years without a mistress at the Castle they did not now relish any interest in their affairs, suspecting interference. Not that she had any intention of giving advice, and none of them appeared in need of help. Sir Kenelm was an excellent landlord. His cottages were all in good condition. Repairs were carried out as soon as they were needed. If anyone fell on hard times, through old age or illness, they were helped. There seemed little Joanna could do.

  Occasionally they were visited by neighbours, but as their houses were all at some distance, these visits were rare, and because of Joanna's father's death Sir Kenelm said they would not yet entertain in any formal manner.

  'When the days grow longer we can ask a few neighbours to dine,' he promised, but the worry about the situation in France seemed to have banished that idea.

  Not that Joanna minded. She was still shy of meeting Sir Kenelm's old friends. He took her into Leeds occasionally, and encouraged her to shop, but most of the time he went there by himself. She wondered what he found to do, as he was gone for much too long to just fetch the newspapers. Could there be so many old friends who might have news for him? Occasionally, too, he remained there overnight, telling Joanna not to fret if he did not always return the same day, as he might wish to stay and talk with visitors passing through. It was a laughing remark from Brigid that gave her the first suspicion.

  'You'd think the man had a mistress there,' Brigid said, 'though from what you tell me abo
ut the speed of your marriage, and how I sometimes catch him looking at you, it seems unlikely. It was clearly love at first sight with him.'

  Joanna turned away to hide her blushes. Brigid did not know what the true state of her marriage was. Had she hit upon the truth? She thought he had dismissed the woman who had forced her way into the Castle, Selina Kirk, but might he have found someone else? He was a man, but she was not a proper wife, so it would not be surprising. It hurt amazingly, though.

  Fortunately Brigid regarded her blushes as the embarrassment of a new bride, and began to talk of other things, while Joanna, in bed that night, tossed and turned as she struggled to accept that it was a situation she had expected and could scarcely object to.

  *

  It was the beginning of April when George developed a bad cold, and Nanny also succumbed. Brigid and Sally were fully occupied nursing them, and Amelia, for once approaching Joanna voluntarily, complained she had not been out riding for almost a week.

  'Papa has gone to Leeds again,' she said, 'and he's taken Potts too, in the curricle. None of the grooms will take me unless Papa tells them to, they say. I think they are just being nasty to me. Will you come with me? Please?'

  It was, in a way, a big step forward, even though Amelia had forced herself to ask only because there was no one else able to ride out with her. Joanna felt she could not turn the child away, and if they spent some time together Amelia might forget her antagonism.

  'Of course I will. Go and change, I will too, and I will meet you at the stables.'

  Joanna went to don her riding habit. Betsy was, as so often these days, in the sewing room assisting Mistress Fletcher. The curtains were so big it needed two women to handle them. Joanna took her whip and the beaver hat she had bought in Leeds only two weeks before, and went down to the stables where a groom had already saddled and bridled Amelia's fat little pony and the mare she herself normally rode.

  They went up onto the moors. It was a fine spring day, the sun was shining, and there were some lambs gambolling around their mothers in the fields they passed. A farm labourer doffed his hat as they went by, and a woman driving a gig smiled at them, but soon they were up on the open moorland, where the only signs of life were the rabbits that scattered as they passed, and birds busy about their own affairs.

  Amelia wanted to gallop, but her pony had other ideas. However hard she kicked him his fastest gait was a bumbling trot, with an occasional few steps that resembled a canter.

  Joanna would have enjoyed a gallop, but she could not leave Amelia. The child rode well now, and Joanna decided it was time Sir Kenelm provided her with a livelier mount. She knew there was nothing suitable in the stables, but he would be perfectly willing to buy a new pony for her. Perhaps, when George went off to school later in the year, that would be the right time, and reconcile her to the loss of her twin's companionship.

  Joanna was thinking how best to suggest this to Sir Kenelm when they passed a small copse. Trees were rare up here on the moors, where there were only bushes to break up the monotony of turf. She was looking up into the branches, where she could hear birds, she thought blackbirds, chattering angrily, and wondering what had disturbed them, when two men rode out from amongst the trees and came straight towards them.

  The hoof beats were muffled on the turf, but Joanna heard a snort, and then Amelia screamed. Joanna saw the men and realised they were masked. Before she had time for thought they were upon her. One had pulled Amelia from the saddle and flung her across in front of him, while the other grasped Joanna's bridle and forced her mare to halt.

  Amelia's pony, kicked viciously in the ribs, moved faster than he had all morning, and trotted briskly away. Joanna tried to use her whip on her assailant, but he was too close to her and she could not free her arm. Then her mare reared and she had all she could do to maintain her seat. The reins were dragged from her grasp, and she clung to the mare's mane and the pommel.

  Moments later their captors had regained control. The one carrying Amelia set off along a track leading through the copse, and despite the girl's struggles held her firmly. The other dragged Joanna's mare round, and set off after them.

  Joanna found her voice. 'What is this? How dare you! Who are you?'

  'You'll soon find out,' was the response. 'But if yer can't keep yer gob shut we'll get rid of you and just take the kid.'

  It wasn't, she could see, an idle threat, so she bit back her angry words and tried to remember which way they were being taken.

  They eventually led the way down into a hollow, and Joanna saw a ramshackle hut partly hidden by another clump of trees. It was built of rough stones that seemed to have been just thrown together, and thatched with old heather that hadn't been renewed for decades. She had once been this way before, and knew the hut was deserted. There was no window, or chimney. She had assumed it was an old shepherd's hut, for it was not big enough for even a one-roomed cottage. The men rode towards it, and she saw the door was barred with what seemed like a new and strong piece of wood that rested in two bright new metal brackets. So this, she thought, had been planned, prepared for. Were these men kidnappers, hoping to obtain a ransom from Sir Kenelm?

  Amelia was sobbing hysterically as the man holding her slid from the saddle and carried her over to the hut. He lifted the bar and dragged the door open, and thrust Amelia inside. Then he came and reached up for Joanna.

  'If you make a fuss we'll leave the kid alone,' he said. 'We can dispose of you, it's not you we want.'

  Joanna knew there was no alternative. They looked villainous. The one holding her mare's bridle was a huge, burly individual. They could easily kill her, and she had no doubts they would if she resisted. She allowed the one who had been carrying Amelia to lift her down, but she shrugged off his hand as he began to lead her towards the hut.

  'You don't need to manhandle me,' she said. 'I have no intention of leaving the child alone.'

  He ignored her, and thrust her into the hut. The door slammed to behind her, and she heard the bar being lifted into place. It was pitch dark in the hut, and smelt of sheep. Amelia was, from the sounds of her sobbing, lying on the floor in front of her. Joanna moved slowly forwards, then dropped to her knees as her foot touched the child. She gathered her up into her arms and tried to stifle her own panic as she attempted to calm Amelia.

  *

  Chapter 10

  Sir Kenelm, having visited Mr Littlewood, met Henry at the inn where he had left his curricle. His brother was planning to ride back with him and stay the night at Rock Castle, to consult with him over a disputed plot of land which Henry had always understood was part of his estate.

  'The plans are vague,' Henry explained, as they drank wine before starting out. 'There's no wall or other fencing, only a ditch which I always thought was the boundary. I started to fence it, and old Godfrey, who owns the land adjacent, claims the boundary is the other side of that field. I'm hoping there may be something in the Castle papers.'

  'You are welcome to look. There are some old maps in a chest in the muniment room that might help, but I can't recall ever looking very closely at them.'

  As they made their way home they talked of the situation in Europe. Henry was pessimistic.

  'We thought Napoleon was finished, but now it's all starting again. Did you hear how the soldiers sent to stop him changed sides? Why should the French want more fighting? They have lost men in their thousands.'

  'It's resentment at being beaten,' Sir Kenelm said. 'I can understand it, in a way, I dislike the notion of anyone getting the better of me, but I'm concerned about Matthew.'

  'He's seen battles before.'

  Henry didn't sound too confident.

  'Yes, but somehow I suspect this coming one will be bad. Napoleon has all to gain, nothing to lose. Wellington doesn't have his crack troops, just a mismatched collection of boys and raw recruits. How can he build them into a successful army in just a few weeks?'

  'Well, he's left Vienna now, so we'll see. Napoleon is
n't marching straight for Belgium, as I'd have expected him to do. He's still in Paris, not moving fast, so the Duke has some time in hand.'

  They rode into the stable yard to find most of the servants, footmen and maids as well as grooms, there. Sir Kenelm, startled, handed the reins to Potts and jumped down.

  'What's amiss? Why are all my servants out here?' he demanded, as Firbank came towards him.

  'My lady's mare came back an hour since,' he said. 'I've sent men in all directions. They found Miss Amelia's pony, and a man who saw them riding up to the moors, but there's no sign of them.'

  *

  Joanna discovered the darkness was not as impenetrable as she had first thought. A faint gleam of light came through a gap in the roof thatch, and she could see their prison was bare of anything that might help them. There were no old pieces of furniture, no broken shepherd's crook, no rusty tools, not even some bits of sacking.

  All the time Amelia sobbed, but at least she was less hysterical now she was clasped in Joanna's arms and Joanna had wrapped the wide skirt of her habit round them both to keep them warm. It was dank and chilly in this hut.

  'I'm frightened! They'll kill us!' Amelia sobbed. 'Why did those horrid men do this to us?'

  'I don't know why,' Joanna said, forcing herself to speak calmly and confidently, 'but they won't kill us. If that was what they wanted they would have done it while we were outside. Besides, they have no reason to kill us, they don't know us and we have not done aught to offend them. Someone will come soon to let us out.'

  She tried to inject a note of certainty into her voice, but privately she thought it unlikely anyone would come soon. No one but their captors could know where they were, and it might be hours before Sir Kenelm would be told, or they released. Crazy though it might seem, the only explanation she could think of was that someone had captured them and was demanding a ransom from Sir Kenelm. That would take time to arrange, and as it grew darker and she could not distinguish anything in the hut, she began to wonder if there was any way they might escape.