The Swan Maid

by Dilly Court

  The lessons were followed by frequent visits from Aurelia’s dressmaker and her brother, who was a tailor. They had been commissioned to make a habit for Lottie suitable to the winter climate in the Crimea, and a couple of heavyweight woollen skirts, as well as a worsted jacket cut in military style to echo, but not to compete with, the dashing outfits that Aurelia had chosen for herself.

  Lady Aurelia was not a demanding mistress, but she was impetuous and unpredictable. Sometimes she would choose to lie in bed all day, refusing to eat or to offer any explanation of her lassitude to her anxious husband. The servants would tiptoe around on these occasions, fearful of making a noise and disturbing her ladyship, and Lottie would find herself banished from the room and forbidden to return until summoned, which invariably occurred in the early evening. Sometimes Aurelia merely wanted a tray of food sent to her room; at other times she decided to dress for dinner.

  At the end of the first month, Lottie was accustomed to such behaviour. She suspected that her mistress took to her bed out of boredom, but it was not her place to comment, and she filled her time by helping in the house or assisting the colonel to clean out Lady Petunia’s sty. She had grown quite fond of the big Black Berkshire, and the pig seemed to know her, or perhaps it was the titbits that Lottie brought daily that she remembered more fondly.

  One evening, after a day of relative inactivity, Lottie entered Aurelia’s boudoir to find her mistress dressed in her chemise.

  ‘Lace my stays, Lottie,’ she said airily.

  ‘Are you going down to dinner, my lady?’

  ‘No, I think not. I’m dying of boredom and feel like a game of cards.’ Aurelia held her breath while Lottie tugged at the laces.

  ‘I’m sure the colonel would oblige, my lady.’

  ‘I mean a proper game of cards. I want you to help me dress and put up my hair, then you must take a message to the officers’ mess. Make sure that Lieutenant Gillingham receives it in person.’

  ‘Yes, my lady.’ Lottie had guessed almost from the start that Gillingham was Lady Aurelia’s secret lover, and this seemed to confirm her suspicions. She helped her mistress to dress, and was about to embark on an elaborate coiffure when Aurelia held up her hand.

  ‘I don’t want it to look too formal, Lottie. I’m going for a private card game amongst friends. Just take my hair up at the sides and secure it with combs. I’ll wear it loose tonight.’

  ‘If you say so, my lady.’

  Aurelia met Lottie’s anxious gaze in the mirror, and her lips curved into a smile. ‘You don’t approve?’

  ‘It’s not for me to say, my lady.’

  ‘Quite right.’ Aurelia turned her head this way and that, surveying her hair with a critical eye. ‘That’s it exactly.’ She took a note from her reticule and handed it to Lottie. ‘You know what to do. Don’t keep me waiting.’

  It was a fine evening and still very warm. A faint breeze sighed in the trees and the aroma of onions and roast meat wafted from the cookhouse, mingling with the damp muddy smell of the River Medway. Lottie knew her way around by this time and she hurried to the officers’ mess. To her relief it was Private Benson who answered her knock on the door. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

  ‘Can I help you, miss?’

  ‘I have a message for Lieutenant Gillingham,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I need to give it to him personally.’

  Benson frowned and shook his head. ‘I can’t let you in, miss. Officers only.’

  ‘Then will you ask him to come to the door, please, Joe?’

  ‘I dunno, Lottie. You shouldn’t be running after an officer. It’ll end up badly for you.’

  ‘It’s not from me, Joe. I can’t say any more, but if you tell him I have a note for him I think he’ll come.’

  ‘Wait here. I’ll do me best, love.’ Joe disappeared into the building, leaving Lottie standing on the doorstep.

  She glanced around, hoping that no one had seen her. Gossip flew around the barracks like summer lightning. She did not have long to wait.

  Gillingham took Joe’s place in the doorway. ‘You have something for me, Lottie?’

  She handed him the folded slip of paper and waited while he scanned its contents. ‘Is there an answer, sir?’

  ‘It won’t do,’ he said frowning. ‘You must tell her ladyship that I’m very sorry but it’s not possible.’

  ‘Of course it is, Farrell. Anything is possible if one puts one’s mind to it.’

  Lottie turned with a start to see Lady Aurelia standing behind her.

  ‘Aurelia, you can’t do this,’ Farrell said in a low voice. ‘Allow me to see you home.’

  She tossed her head. ‘Is this the sort of greeting I am to expect? Why may I not visit my friends for a game of cards?’

  ‘Because your husband is my commanding officer. Please keep your voice down.’

  ‘I’ll raise it to a shout if you don’t let me in, and then the whole barracks will be aware of what is going on.’ Aurelia moved closer, looking up into his handsome face with a persuasive smile. ‘Just one or two hands of whist, my dear. I promise not to bankrupt you, for you know I always win.’

  Lottie shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Someone’s coming, my lady.’

  Farrell followed her gaze. ‘It’s all right, it’s Private Ellis.’ He seized Aurelia by the shoulders. ‘Please, my love, allow one of us to take you home. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

  She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down so that their lips met in a brief kiss. ‘No, Farrell. I will have that card game.’

  He allowed her to slip into the building. ‘Private Ellis.’

  Gideon came to a standstill. ‘Yes, sir.’ He saluted but his gaze was fixed on Lottie.

  ‘Come inside, Ellis. You too, Miss Lane.’ Farrell held the door open. ‘Lady Aurelia has decided to grace us with her company this evening. I want you both to sit in on the game.’

  ‘I don’t know how to play cards,’ Lottie protested as she followed her mistress into the building. ‘Perhaps I can persuade her ladyship to come home with me.’

  ‘You don’t know her very well, do you?’ Farrell shook his head. ‘Ellis, I want you to act as steward. Private Benson will make sure that we are not interrupted.’

  ‘Really, Farrell, you’re not getting ready for a rout. It’s a simple game of cards, no more, no less.’ Aurelia patted his cheek, smiling.

  ‘There are only two of us, Aurelia,’ Farrell said grimly. ‘Wait for me. I’ll get Lombard and Cheney, if you insist on carrying on with this idiotic plan.’

  ‘Indeed I do.’ Aurelia opened the door to the dining hall and sniffed the air. ‘I haven’t eaten all day. A tray of food and some wine would be wonderful, my dear.’ She beckoned to Lottie. ‘Come with me and leave the men to do their duty.’ She glided into the room, leaving Lottie no alternative but to follow her.

  Once inside, Aurelia glanced round at the trestle tables, which were bare of their white cloths. ‘Another month or so and this will seem like the height of luxury. We must make the most of it.’ She pulled up a chair and sat down, spreading her silk skirts around her. ‘I suppose you disapprove of my behaviour, Lottie? It isn’t what one would expect of the wife of a high-ranking officer.’

  ‘I don’t think it matters what I think, my lady. It seems to me that you do exactly what you want regardless of anyone or anything.’ Lottie thought for a moment she had gone too far, but she was angry to think that her friends might get into trouble because of a bored military wife. Aurelia frowned and then she started to chuckle.

  ‘You are a bold person, Lottie Lane. In fact you are a woman after my own heart. I despise toadies and lickspittles. You are right, of course, but I will make it up to Farrell and his friends.’

  ‘What happens if the colonel finds out, my lady?’

  ‘Dashwood is a darling man, and he wants me to be happy. The only person he loves more than me is that blessed pig. I thank the Lord for her porky personality, which keeps him amuse
d.’

  Lottie was struggling to think of an appropriate answer when the door burst open and Gideon entered the room. ‘My lady, the colonel is at the door. He’s looking for you.’

  Chapter Seven

  ‘Damn it!’ Aurelia rose to her feet. ‘Someone must have seen me leave the house.’

  ‘What will you do, my lady?’ Lottie asked anxiously.

  ‘I don’t know. I need time to think.’

  Lottie had seen her mistress in many moods, but this was the first time she had seen her looking scared, and even then the impression was fleeting. As the door opened Aurelia’s expression changed subtly.

  Colonel Dashwood erupted into the mess hall. ‘Aurelia, I was told you had come here alone, but I didn’t believe it.’

  She met his accusing look with a defiant lift of her chin. ‘It’s not like you to listen to common tittle-tattle, Dashwood darling.’

  ‘You can’t get away with it this time, Aurelia.’ His colour deepened and his bushy white eyebrows knitted together in a frown. ‘I can see the evidence with my own eyes. It isn’t seemly for a senior officer’s wife to behave like a camp follower.’

  Lottie could bear it no longer. She stepped forward, forgetting her humble position in the need to defend her mistress. ‘It was my fault, sir. I beg your pardon for speaking out, but Lady Aurelia put herself to a great deal of trouble on my behalf.’

  There was a moment of stunned silence and even though she cast her eyes down, she sensed that everyone was staring at her.

  ‘What are you talking about, Lane?’ Colonel Dashwood demanded angrily. ‘Speak up.’

  Lottie shot a sideways glance in Gideon’s direction. She had intended to claim that it was she who had a romantic tryst and that the man in question was Private Ellis. Then, in a moment of near panic, she realised that such a claim might get him into trouble with his superiors. She shook her head. ‘I can’t say, sir.’

  ‘What can’t you say? What nonsense is this?’ Colonel Dashwood’s booming voice echoed round the room like cannon fire.

  ‘I think we’re well enough acquainted with the ways of the world to understand what she’s saying, Dashwood.’ Lady Aurelia moved to his side. ‘It’s true I came hotfoot here without a thought for propriety or what others might make of my actions, but there’s no harm done.’

  Lottie raised her head. ‘It was because of me. I’m truly sorry, sir.’

  Colonel Dashwood cleared his throat noisily. ‘Perhaps I was hasty, Aurelia. But you know how people gossip, and you seemed to have forgotten that the Fothergills are our guests for dinner this evening. Cordelia saw you leave the house …’

  ‘I might have guessed that she would be behind such an outrageous slur on my good name.’ Aurelia smiled and laid her hand on his arm. ‘We’ll return home and show the awful woman that her mischief-making has not worked.’

  Colonel Dashwood patted his wife’s small hand. ‘Quite right, my love. We’ll show the enemy a united front. I never could stand that woman.’ He made for the door, stopping for a moment to address Gillingham, who was standing rigidly to attention. ‘Keep a tighter rein on your men, Lieutenant.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Gillingham snapped to attention.

  ‘Come, Miss Lane. I think our business here is concluded.’ Aurelia beckoned to Lottie. ‘We understand young love,’ she added with a wistful sigh. ‘Don’t be too hard on the person in question, Lieutenant Gillingham.’

  ‘No, my lady.’

  ‘Good evening, gentlemen.’ Aurelia swept out of the room on the arm of her husband.

  Lottie hesitated, turning to Gideon with a wary smile. ‘I know you don’t approve. I could feel you looking daggers at me, Private Ellis, but I did what I had to do.’

  He stared ahead, saying nothing, confirming her worst fears.

  ‘Well, that was a near thing.’ Aurelia tossed her reticule onto the bed. ‘You are to be congratulated for your quick thinking, Lottie. I couldn’t have done better myself.’

  ‘It was nothing, my lady.’

  ‘Nevertheless, you saved me from an embarrassing situation. Of course I would have talked my way out of it eventually, but no harm was done.’

  ‘No, my lady.’

  ‘And now I’ll have to go down to dinner and be nice to that wretched woman. I really could wring her neck. If she were a chicken I would happily roast her on a spit.’

  ‘She might be a bit tough and stringy,’ Lottie said, chuckling.

  Aurelia dissolved into giggles. ‘You are good for me, my dear. I was fond of dear old Merriweather, but she could be the most frightful bore at times and she had a nasty habit of reminding me what a brat I was as a child. You, on the other hand, are much more fun.’ She sank down on the dressing-table stool. ‘You’d better put my hair upor the old tabby will have something more to criticise.’

  ‘Yes, my lady.’ Lottie put her head on one side, frowning thoughtfully. ‘Might I suggest that you wear your green taffeta gown, my lady?’

  Aurelia glanced down at her décolletage and smiled. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but I refuse to alter my style of dress to satisfy Cordelia Fothergill’s idea of what is proper. If her husband chooses to ogle my bosom, it’s not my fault.’

  ‘No, my lady.’ Lottie realised that it was useless to argue. Lady Aurelia was hell bent on annoying Mrs Fothergill, and nothing she could say or do would stop her.

  ‘I can see that you don’t agree, Lottie. You are as transparent as a pane of glass, but I am shockingly prim compared to my grandmother, who wore gowns made of sheer muslin and dampened her petticoats in order to show off her figure. Even earlier family portraits show ladies with their bosoms barely covered, so you see I am quite modestcompared to my ancestors.’

  ‘Perhaps it would be best to keep that information from Mrs Fothergill at dinner,’ Lottie said, smiling.

  ‘Do you dare me to bring up the subject?’

  ‘No, I do not, my lady. Think of the poor colonel’s embarrassment if you did.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right, but it’s going to be a deadly dull evening. I’m quite looking forward to getting away from here for a while when we leave for the Crimea. It’s not long now before we’ll be setting sail.’ Aurelia twisted her head from side to side as she studied her reflection in the mirror. ‘That’s very nice, Lottie. You have a talent for dressing hair. Now I suppose I must go and face the enemy.’

  ‘Yes, my lady.’ Lottie waited until her mistress had finally left the room, and having tidied it to her satisfaction she slipped her shawl around her shoulders. Her conscience had been bothering her since she had taken the blame for Lady Aurelia’s erratic behaviour. Now Gideon was enmeshed in the web of lies and deceit surrounding the relationship between his superior officer and the colonel’s lady. The servants, she decided, would be fully occupied serving dinner that was almost an hour late, and tempers below stairs were likely to be frayed. They would be far too busy to notice her absence.

  She let herself out of the house unseen and went in search of Gideon. She knew his roster off by heart and this was his off-duty time. It was not hard to imagine how he might be feeling at this moment, and she could hazard a guess as to where he might go should he wish to be alone. Their conversations during the morning rides had given her an insight into his likes and dislikes, and she knew that he had a particular fondness for a secluded spot by the river. There was enough daylight left for a quick sortie and she set off at a brisk pace.

  A faint whiff of tobacco smoke gave him away, and she found him exactly where she had thought be might be. She picked her way down the muddy foreshore to the spot on the river bank, half hidden by a weeping willow. ‘Gideon.’

  He had been leaning against the tree trunk but he straightened up, staring at her in astonishment. ‘Lottie. What on earth are you doing here?’ He tossed the butt of the cigarillo into the oily waters of the Medway.

  ‘I had to see you, Gideon. I wanted to apologise for making it seem as if you and I were involved in some way.’r />
  ‘Lady Aurelia has us all entangled in her affairs.’

  The bitterness in his tone made Lottie shiver. ‘I believe she really does love him.’

  ‘Who? Her husband or the man she teases and toys with and will probably toss aside the moment she becomes bored with him?’

  ‘That’s unfair, Gideon.’

  ‘Is it? You don’t know her. I’ve been with Farrell for four years now and I know he’s a splendid fellow. He’s genuinely in love with Lady Aurelia, even though he knows she will never leave her husband. She’s had other lovers and the affairs always ended badly, if not for her, then for her poor victim.’

  ‘You make her sound like a monster, but she’s nice and she’s kind.’

  ‘She’s a woman of the world and she knows what she’s doing. It’s all a game to her.’

  ‘That’s a bit harsh, Gideon. Lady Aurelia must have been very young when she married the colonel, and I dare say she was coerced into agreeing to such a match. I can’t believe that she would have wanted a husband who was so much her senior.’

  ‘Don’t believe everything she tells you. The truth, as I heard it, is that she married against her family’s wishes. She has a fortune of her own, which allows her to do exactly as she pleases, and that’s what she’s doing now, if you ask me.’

  ‘I think that’s very unfair. She can’t have been a day older than seventeen when she married the colonel.’