Jack Chiltern's Wife (1999)

by Nichols, Mary

  ‘Yes. Miss Harston has travelled all the way from London to find him and now it seems he has gone off on some errand of his own. She is concerned for his safety.’

  ‘Oh, he is safe enough under my patronage. He has only gone to his club.’

  ‘And what club would that be? It wouldn’t be counter-revolutionary, would it?’

  The Marquis laughed. ‘Now, you know me for a patriot, Jack. Would I countenance a counter-revolutionary under my roof?’ He turned to take Kitty’s hand and pat it. ‘Now don’t worry, my dear, he will be back tomorrow and you will be reunited with him. But I am curious to know why you found it necessary to venture so far in search of him.’

  ‘Here is maman,’ Nanette said, as her mother came into the room, saving Kitty from having to reply immediately. ‘Mama, this is Miss Kitty Harston.’ She giggled and pointed at Jack. ‘And this is citizen Jacques Faucon, a perfect stranger to me.’

  The Marchioness, unlike her husband, was very tall and thin, and made taller by the two feathers which she wore on a band in her hair. The hair itself was thick and dressed in fat round curls. Her brown taffeta was striped horizontally with red satin ribbon. A white silk shawl covered her shoulders and upper arms. She wore a quizzing glass on a ribbon about her neck and now picked it up to examine Kitty.

  ‘How do you do, my dear. You are very welcome. As for you …’ She turned to Jack. ‘Still playing at charades, nephew? What was it last year? A colonel in the … What regiment was it? I forget.’

  He grinned and went to kiss her on both cheeks. ‘It was the National Guard, Aunt Anne-Marie.’

  ‘And now you are dressed like a turkey cock. Such finery in this day and age. Dear me, you are taking a risk, are you not?’

  ‘I have changed since I arrived, Aunt. You would not have had me at your table dressed as a sans-culottes, unshaven and dirty.’

  ‘No. I do not believe in this universal lowering of standards. France was always a civilised country and I deplore what is happening to her. But I believe supper is ready, so we will adjourn to the dining room and you can tell us all about it.’ She offered her arm to her nephew and he escorted her in to supper, while the Marquis followed between the two young ladies.

  The food was better than anything Kitty had tasted since leaving England, but it was certainly not a banquet. ‘I am sorry for such poor fare,’ the Marchioness said. ‘But even here, we have been beset by shortages and it does not do for our servants to report to those who govern us that we live a life of luxury. We have had to tighten our belts.’

  ‘It is quite delicious,’ Kitty murmured, tucking into roast chicken in a light creamy sauce and several kinds of vegetable. If this was belt-tightening, what was it like in the old days?

  ‘Now, Jack,’ the Marquis said. ‘Tell us everything. How did Miss Harston meet you and persuade you to bring her here?’

  While they ate, Jack told the tale very simply, saying nothing about their habit of sharing a room, making their journey sound almost commonplace. Kitty was quizzed about her reasons for leaving home and, though she tried to explain, she sensed their condemnation of her conduct for which she could hardly blame them.

  They did not understand about her stepmother and she didn’t think they believed that nothing had happened between her and Jack, especially as she blushed crimson whenever she mentioned that journey. He had done nothing but hold her, but if he had kissed her again, caressed her as a lover, she might very well have allowed her own burgeoning passion to get the better of her. Young ladies of quality were not supposed to feel passion, were they?

  But he hadn’t made any advance at all. Oh, she knew he loved his wife and guessed that he was not the sort of man to take his marriage vows lightly but, apart from that kiss on board the cross-Channel packet, he had given no indication that he found her desirable, that he had even been tempted. His compliments were always teasing and not meant to be taken seriously. He looked on her as an overgrown child and had kissed her to teach her a lesson. The knowledge did nothing for her self-confidence.

  ‘And you lost your maid,’ Nanette said. ‘It must have been dreadful. However did you manage to dress?’

  ‘Dressing was not the problem—after all, I could only wear peasant clothes. The worst of it was the manner of her death. I am afraid it still gives me nightmares.’

  ‘Ma pauvre,’ Nanette murmured. ‘No wonder you wanted to find James. He will be here tomorrow or the day after and will be very surprised to see you, I think.’

  Jack smiled. James would be astonished and, if he guessed aright, not particularly pleased. Having to take his sister home would curtail whatever he was up to, political or personal.

  ‘And you, Jack,’ his aunt put in, ‘what are your plans? Will you spend some time with us?’

  ‘I think I will go into Lyons tomorrow and bring James back,’ Jack said, smiling at her. ‘The sooner he takes his sister home the better.’

  Kitty’s heart sank. He wanted to be rid of her after all; though she loved her brother dearly, he would be no substitute for the man she really loved. A married man. She must never allow herself to forget that.

  He had gone by the time she rose next morning and he did not come back that night. Although her host and hostess were polite and pretended to make her welcome, she felt undercurrents of disapproval, of tension. She was sure they would be glad when she left. If only Jack had taken her with him, they could have shared whatever danger was out there … if danger there was. In the isolated château above the peaceful village, it was difficult to imagine there was conflict all around them.

  The following day Nanette suggested a walk and Kitty was happy to agree. She felt stifled in the house and decided a little fresh air might make her feel better. They put on hats, coats and half-boots and set off up the slope behind the château into the forest.

  The days were becoming longer and warmer. The scent of hyacinths filled the borders near the house; early clematis was already covering the walls of the château and the bougainvillea and jasmine were in bud. On the slopes, the vines were green and down in the valley the fields were beginning to reveal shoots of corn, peas and beans.

  ‘You know,’ Kitty said when they had been walking in silence for several minutes. ‘I never did know how Jack and James came to know each other. I thought James was in Italy. Is that where they met?’

  ‘No, it was in Paris last year. Jamie told me about it.’ She took Kitty’s arm as she spoke. ‘He is very resourceful and brave, you know.’

  ‘Jack?’

  She laughed. ‘Jack, too, but I meant Jamie. He saved Jack’s life. Didn’t Jack tell you?’

  ‘No. I didn’t even know he was in France last year. I met him in London and assumed he had been there some time. He did speak of his home in Wiltshire and I thought …’ She stopped. She had already made too many false assumptions about Jack Chiltern and here was another proved wrong.

  ‘Oh, he comes and goes all the time. I am not quite sure what he does, it is better not to ask, but I think he has been helping emigrés to escape. He was caught last year, did you know?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘He was denounced and the Guard went to arrest him at our town villa in the rue Saint-Honoré, where he had been staying with Papa. Papa had gone to Paris to see the King and speak to citizen Danton. He thought he might act as an intermediary but the King was arrested …’

  ‘What has that to do with my brother?’

  ‘Jamie was in the street when Jack was brought out of the house. He told me he was on his way to visit him. He had an introduction from a mutual friend and he thought Jack might show him the sights. He also intended to write a first-hand account of what was happening under the Revolutionary Government for the English newspapers.’

  It was typical of her brother to discount the fact that the city was full of unrest and violence and seize on what he saw as an opportunity to make a name for himself. ‘Then what? Did James rescue him?’

  ‘Not right away, there were ha
lf a dozen guards and they were all armed. He followed them to the Conciergerie prison and later bribed a guard to lend him his uniform. When Jack was brought out to be taken to his trial, Jamie said he had been ordered to take charge of the escort.

  ‘He pretended to treat him roughly and knocked him to the ground. Then, when he hauled him up again, he whispered who he was and cut his bonds with a knife he had in his belt. Before they reached the Palais de Justice, they overpowered the other two guards and dived into the river. I believe shots were fired, but neither was hit and they crawled out half a mile downstream.’

  ‘Goodness, what a tale! I wonder why Jack did not speak of it?’

  ‘I expect he found it difficult. You see, the woman who denounced him was his wife, Gabrielle.’

  Kitty stopped walking and turned to face Nanette, her face betraying her shock. ‘Oh, no! How dreadful! Surely she would not do such a thing?’

  ‘I think Jack is convinced she was forced into it. You see, Gabrielle’s father, the comte de Malincourt, was one of the ci-devant King’s most useful courtiers and was privy to a great many of his secrets. After the Revolution began in eighty-nine, he was in danger of arrest and Jack persuaded him to take his family to England. They lived in one of the Earl of Beauworth’s properties in London.’

  ‘Earl of Beauworth?’

  ‘Jack’s father.’

  ‘His father is an Earl?’ Kitty gasped.

  ‘Yes, did you not know?’

  ‘No, he told me his name was Jack Chiltern.’

  ‘So it is. Chiltern is the family name. He is Viscount Chiltern. His name is John, but as that is also his father’s name, he is called Jack by the family.’

  ‘I had no idea,’ Kitty said. So the mysterious Jack Chiltern was of noble birth. Why was she surprised? Shouldn’t she have guessed? She had called him arrogant, but that was how he had been brought up, to command, to lead, to stand no nonsense from those below him and that included her. ‘And is he really your cousin?’

  ‘Yes, that is true. Mama and his mother are sisters. Aunt Justine went to live in England when the Earl married her. He wasn’t the Earl then, of course, his father was still alive. He inherited the title when Jack was a boy and then Jack, who is an only child, became the Viscount. Is that not the way of English nobility; the son takes his father’s lesser title?’

  ‘In some cases, yes. But I never heard anyone call Jack …’ she paused to correct herself ‘… his lordship by his title.’

  Nanette smiled. ‘It is not a good idea to admit to being an aristocrat in France at this moment, especially an English one. I think you had better forget I told you. It is dangerous knowledge.’

  ‘I shall certainly say nothing. I would not for the world put him in danger. But if his wife was in England, how did she betray him?’

  ‘Gabrielle was abducted by someone from our Embassy in London on one occasion when she was visiting her parents. She sometimes used to leave Jack at home on their country estate in Beauworth and stay with them in London. I think she found country life a little dull.’

  ‘Abducted? But why?’

  ‘Well, nothing was said officially and I do not think the Revolutionary Government would ever have admitted they had a hand in her disappearance, but I suppose they thought they could hold her hostage to force the comte to return to France and stand trial. Naturally, Jack went after her. Papa said they must have freed her on condition she led them to him.’

  ‘And James saved him. I am very proud of my brother for that. But what happened then?’

  Nanette shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Papa deemed it prudent to leave Paris and return home and James came with him. He feared he might be arrested for his part in Jack’s escape and he also wanted to write about the counter-revolutionaries in this part of France. We heard nothing of Jack and assumed he had taken Gabrielle back to England.’

  ‘No, he told me he thought she was in France. I assumed he was still looking for her.’

  ‘Oh, then that accounts for him not coming back last night. He would have gone to Malincourt to see if she had gone to her old home. It is only ten kilometres from here. But I should be surprised if he found her there. No one lives there now and the land has been sold off in small lots.’

  ‘He loved her very much, then?’ The words were wrung out of her, though she could not keep the huskiness from her voice. She tried pretending it was the result of the attempted hanging, but she could not deceive herself.

  ‘Oh, yes. You should have seen them when they were first married—so close, they had eyes only for each other. He showered her with gifts and even lived in France rather than England because she didn’t like the English climate, but the Revolution changed all that and they had to return to England. How Gabrielle came to fall into the clutches of the man at the Embassy, I do not know.’

  Kitty felt wretched. Nanette’s revelations had helped her to understand the man beneath the rough exterior, but left her feeling desolate. His love was for his wife. His careful protection of her on their long journey was no more than a heightened sense of chivalry. When he rescued her from those bloodthirsty women and looked after her, when he warmed her with his own body, when he paid the exorbitant prices demanded for food and lodging for her, he had been doing no more than repay the debt he owed her brother for his life. A life saved for a life saved.

  ‘He is a wanted man, then?’ she said. ‘No wonder he took such great care to play the sans-culottes.’

  Nanette laughed. ‘And made you play it too. Oh, Kitty, what adventures you have had. I think you are very brave. I know I should not have been able to do it.’

  ‘Now we are here, what do you suppose he means to do?’

  ‘Has he not told you?’

  ‘No. He has undertaken to reunite me with James, no more. My brother and I have still to leave the country.’

  ‘True, and it will be even more difficult now. In the last few weeks, there have been even more repressive measures passed by the ruling committees in Lyons. They are so afraid of counter-revolution they have ordered the National Guard to arrest anyone they consider suspect and that includes anyone without a passport.’

  ‘Oh, but I have one of those.’ Kitty laughed in spite of her low spirits. ‘In the name of citizeness Kitty Faucon. Jack keeps it with his.’

  Nanette stared at her with her mouth open in surprise, then she laughed delightedly. ‘Oh, how clever of him! But it is doubtless forged?’

  ‘Yes, but it served me well whenever we were asked for it.’

  ‘You had Jack with you then.’

  ‘Yes, but James will be with me on the return journey.’ Although she spoke with confidence, she knew James was not Jack and his French was only a little better than hers. Without Jack the journey would be doubly difficult. Without Jack she would be miserable, even if there were no danger at all.

  ‘Yes, Jamie must go with you.’ Nanette’s voice was wistful.

  ‘Oh, you must think me very selfish,’ Kitty said, taking Nanette’s arm, as they picked their way over fallen pine needles. ‘Of course, you do not want him to leave.’

  ‘Oh, I do. And he must,’ Nanette cried. ‘I think he has become very involved with politics here and that could be very dangerous. There are counter-revolutionaries plotting to overthrow the regime and restore the monarchy and he goes to their meetings.’

  ‘Is that where he was going when he left here?’

  ‘Yes, I think so. He says it is only so that he can write it all down to make a book, but no one is going to believe that. If they catch him, they will say he is spying. I am very afraid for him. You must make sure he leaves with you.’

  ‘You could come with us.’

  ‘I would not leave my parents. We are in no danger as long as we do as we are told. Papa has been forced to give nearly all his money to the poor and waived his seigneural dues. He is accepted as a good patriot.’

  ‘Poor Nanette,’ Kitty said softly. ‘You are torn between them, aren’t you?’

&n
bsp; ‘Yes, but I know where my duty lies. And I have always been a dutiful daughter.’

  Kitty laughed suddenly. ‘And I have not. And look what has happened to me.’

  ‘I did not mean that as a criticism of you, Kitty. You have no parents living and we are very different in character, are we not? I have not half your courage and independence.’

  ‘Nonsense. You have not yet been tested, that is all.’

  ‘Then I hope I never am.’ She paused. ‘Now, I think we have gone far enough, don’t you? Let us turn for home. Perhaps they will both be back.’

  Jack returned in the middle of the afternoon without James. He looked tired and was not in the best of tempers. ‘The silly young fool has gone off to rally the other sections and communes to join the federalists,’ he told Kitty and Nanette. They had seen him coming from an upper window and had gone down to the hall to meet him. ‘He is asking for trouble. They will never unite, they differ too much about what they want to achieve.’

  ‘Someone ought to let the world know what is going on,’ Kitty said. ‘If he wants to write about it, then he needs to be in among them. It doesn’t make him a conspirator.’

  ‘Write about it!’ he scoffed. He had been riding hard and his scuffed boots and long coat were covered in caked mud. He had been looking forward to a bath and was not in the mood to be cross-examined. ‘Stirring up the populace with rumour and plots and inciting them to rise against their elected rulers will achieve nothing and will only bring the wrath of the National Assembly down on them.’

  ‘Is that what he is doing?’ she asked, becoming alarmed for her brother’s safety.

  ‘So I am led to believe. They are too disorganised to succeed and it will only result in the chaos we have seen in Paris.’

  ‘I am surprised at you,’ Kitty said, a little waspishly. ‘If they need organising, why are you not doing it? People listen to you. You are—’

  ‘I am an Englishman and it is not my business,’ he interrupted her. Better she should think him indifferent than know the truth. The less she knew, the safer she was. ‘Nor should it be your brother’s. He is interfering in what does not concern him.’