by Mary Nichols
‘Then I must have words with that young man. Jack, whatever anyone says about her, Caroline is our Queen and as such deserves our respect.’
‘Hear, hear, your Grace!’ Lord Wincote said.
‘That is not to say we should not also respect our King,’ the Duke added. ‘Whatever his faults.’
‘Oh, I concur entirely,’ agreed Edmund diplomatically.
‘I thought we had agreed to set that matter aside for the evening,’ the Duchess put in. ‘How can one enjoy oneself if one is beset on every hand by arguments and people taking one side or the other?’
‘I take no sides,’ murmured her husband. ‘And if Jack had not—’
‘Oh, Marcus, he is only a child. He doesn’t understand,’ Frances said.
‘It is still very warm, even though the sun has almost disappeared,’ Lady Willoughby commented, changing the subject abruptly. Lavinia was not surprised her ladyship was warm; she was dressed in a dark cerise round gown with a very full skirt and long sleeves, a cape and a satin turban with two sweeping feathers each fastened with a huge silver clip set with diamonds.
Almost as if she had been heard, the gardens were suddenly alight with lamps, hundreds of them, blinking on one after the other, lit by dozens of workmen, running from one to the other with tapers. The paths and trees beside them were soon illuminated, casting the rest deeper into shadow. Jack stopped skipping and stood gazing about him in wonder. ‘Magic,’ he said, spellbound.
‘How easily we are pleased as children,’ Lord Wincote said. ‘A few lanterns hanging in trees and we are in fairyland.’
The sky was blue-black, brilliantly pinpointed with stars. ‘Such a beautiful night,’ Lavinia said to no one in particular.
‘A night for lovers,’ Lady Rattenshaw said. ‘We could almost be in the woods of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with magic in the air. I feel the romance all about us. Don’t you feel it too, Lord Wincote?’
‘Indeed,’ his lordship said, looking at Lavinia.
Unabashed she went on. ‘What about you, Lord Corringham? Are you feeling romantical?’
‘Goodness, James’s idea of romance is the feel of a good horse between his knees and a high fence to jump,’ Lavinia said and they all laughed. She was glad it was dark and they could not see the colour flare into her face. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean—’
‘It is all right, Vinny, we understand,’ James murmured. He lengthened his stride to walk at her side so that, apart from her father, she was flanked by the two most important men in her life.
The path they were following ended in a wide open space in the middle of which was a roped-off area where the fireworks were being prepared. The crush as everyone tried to reach the front in order to have the best view was enough to take their breath away and James found himself putting his arm about Lavinia’s shoulders to protect her as everyone began pushing from behind. He half-expected some protest from Lord Wincote over this, but his lordship had become separated from them and he could see no sign of him.
Jack had been hoisted on the Duke’s shoulders where he had the best view of all. ‘I never saw so many people,’ he said, wriggling excitedly. ‘Oh! Oh!’ This last because the first of the fireworks had hissed up into the night sky and exploded in a myriad of brightly coloured stars.
Everyone watched spellbound as new explosions followed one upon the other until it seemed the whole sky was lit up, bang after bang, cascade after cascade, each followed by cheers. The display ended with the set piece, a giant throne upon which a model of the King could clearly be seen dressed in his coronation robes and with his crown upon his head, the whole vision illuminated by fireworks sparkling like precious jewels. ‘Where’s the Queen?’ someone shouted. ‘What have you done with Caroline?’ And though those who heard it laughed and cheered, no answer was forthcoming.
When the last firework fizzled out, they were left in total darkness. Everyone applauded, Jack most all, and then began to disperse. The crush, as everyone started to move at once, was frightening.
‘I think we should wait until the crowd thins out,’ James said. He still had his hand on Lavinia’s shoulder. It appeared casual, but both were intensely aware of it. He savoured their nearness, wishing he dare say what was in his heart, but knowing that while she was still enamoured of Edmund Wincote, he could not. And Lavinia liked the feel of him so close to her, protecting her, but she had to remind herself it was only brotherly protection.
Still in the dark, they turned towards the illuminated walkways, James holding out his arm for her to take and together they followed Frances and the Duke, who had retained Jack on his shoulder.
Suddenly the shriek of a woman filled the air. It went on and on and everyone started running towards it, thinking murder was being done. James left Lavinia with Frances and dashed off to lend what assistance he could. He found Lady Willoughby, without her turban, hair all awry, clutching her bosom, surrounded by people all talking at once.
James pushed his way through, telling the curious bystanders the lady was known to him. ‘My lady, what has happened?’
‘My diamond clips,’ she sobbed. ‘They have been snatched away. Taken from my cloak.’ She grabbed a handful of that garment and thrust it at him. ‘See. The pin has been ripped through the material.’
‘Did you see who it was?’
‘No. It was a man in black and he wore a hood.’ She shuddered. ‘He grabbed me from behind, pulled the clasp from my cape and snatched my hat from my head. Oh, what am I to do?’
James looked about him. There were people everywhere and it was dark. There was no hope that a thief would be apprehended. ‘Did you see which way he went?’
‘That way, I think.’ She pointed to a group of trees, dense enough to give cover.
Before he could go and investigate, Lord Wincote emerged from the wood, carrying her ladyship’s turban. ‘He got away,’ he said, fingering a cut on his cheek. ‘I nearly had him, but he pushed me over and kicked me viciously while I lay on the ground and by the time I was on my feet again he had gone, melted into the crowd. I am sorry, my lady.’ He handed back the turban, now without its diamond clip.
James looked curiously at him. He did look rather bedraggled and the cut was genuine enough, and so was her ladyship’s gratitude though the chase had been fruitless. ‘Did you see the man, Wincote?’ he asked.
‘Not clearly. It was dark and he was dressed entirely in black, but he was tall and thin. I could tell that when I tried to hold on to him before he threw me down, but as to his face, I do not know. He was masked.’ He paused and looked at James. ‘We could make a search but…’ He shrugged his shoulders to indicate how useless he thought that idea was.
The onlookers drifted away now the excitement was over, leaving James and Lord Wincote to look after Lady Willoughby. They were guiding her to a seat, set in an arbour, when they were joined by the rest of their party from whom they had become separated in the crush. Benedict went to his mother and she sobbed her story into his sympathetic ear. Everyone began talking at once, praising Lord Wincote for attempting to tackle the man and calling him a hero. James was not so sure but, despite his suspicions, he held his tongue.
The evening had been spoilt by this episode so no one felt like staying and, as the Duchess vouchsafed that it was time Jack was in his bed, they made their way to the gate. The Duke sent the gatekeeper to call up their carriages, which had been left at a nearby inn, and while they waited for them to arrive they stood in small groups, talking about the robbery and speculating on the thief.
‘At least you were not injured,’ Frances told her ladyship. ‘He could have knocked you down.’
‘Perhaps he saw Lord Wincote coming to my rescue, though I did not see him myself, but when I heard him asking me if I were all right, I was never more thankful.’
‘It was foolish of her ladyship to wear her diamonds tonight,’ Lord Wincote said. ‘There are always footpads and pickpockets about on such occasions as this and having valuables on display
for all the world to see is asking for trouble. I am only sorry I was not able to apprehend the villain.’
‘No, but you did your best.’ Lavinia bestowed a warm smile on him. ‘And you have suffered as a consequence. I think as soon as you arrive home, you should ask someone to tend that cut. It looks quite painful.’
‘Oh, it is nothing of consequence my lady,’ he said, fingering it.
‘Look at him,’ James murmured to Percy. ‘Preening himself in Vinny’s adulation like the coxcomb he is. I begin to think this night’s work has elevated him in her eyes and countered any plans we might have to discredit him.’
‘Oh, I do not know,’ Percy said, tapping his chin thoughtfully with the knob of his cane. ‘He did not, after all, recover the stolen goods…’
‘No, but he tried and that is enough for Vinny and Lady Willoughby too, by the sound of it.’
Lady Willoughby had ceased to wail about her loss, and was fulsomely praising Lord Wincote for coming to her rescue. ‘Such a gallant gentleman,’ she was saying. ‘He could have been set upon, killed even…’
‘Do not upset yourself, Mama,’ Benedict said. ‘Lord Wincote is unharmed and so are you, except for the shock of it. I will report the theft to a magistrate first thing tomorrow.’
‘What good would that do?’ the lady said sharply. ‘The man is long gone.’
‘I wonder,’ James murmured to Sir Percy. He had seen nothing of Wincote throughout the display; he could have been anywhere. He could have been hiding in the trees, waiting for an opportunity to spring out on his unsuspecting victim and then pretend to chase the non-existent robber.
‘What do you wonder?’
‘Whether he is long gone. Perhaps we should be looking closer to home for the culprit. Is it simply coincidence that Lady Graham and Lady Willoughby should both lose valuables when in the same company?’
‘Whatever do you mean?’ Lavinia had returned to James’s side in time to hear the last part of their conversation.
‘Nothing, my dear,’ Percy said, when it became evident James was not going to answer her. ‘We were simply comparing the theft at Lady Graham’s ball with tonight’s crime.’
‘Why do that? There is no similarity at all. The first one took place in Lady Graham’s own home, the second in a dark garden packed with all manner of people. That is hardly the same company, unless you were referring to our own group.’ She stopped speaking to look enquiringly into James’s face. ‘You weren’t, were you?’
‘Vinny—’
‘Who?’ she demanded. ‘Who, among our friends, do you think capable of such a dastardly act? Tell me that.’
‘Oh, none,’ he said quickly. ‘None among our friends, I am sure.’
‘In any case,’ she went on, ‘Lord Wincote caught a glimpse of the man and said he was tall and thin and dressed in black. There is no one of our company fitting that description.’
‘At night all cats are black,’ he said. ‘I am wearing black and Wincote’s coat is dark and we are both tall.’
‘Don’t be so absurd, James. You were with me when we heard Lady Willoughby scream and Lord Wincote was with her ladyship. How else could he have set off in pursuit so quickly? And neither of you is thin.’
‘You are quite right, my lady,’ he said, bowing to her and casting a rueful glance in Percy’s direction. ‘We are not thin. I am afraid I have not been so often to Gentleman Jackson’s as I ought these last few weeks. We must blame the rehearsals for that.’
She did not answer as Jack rushed over to them, his eyes bright with excitement. ‘I saw it all from Uncle’s shoulders,’ he said, hopping from one foot to the other. ‘Everything, even the men hiding in the darkness, running from one display to the other, setting them all up and lighting them. They all wore black hoods so their faces wouldn’t show up white and spoil everything. I bet you didn’t see them, Vinny.’
‘No, I was too busy watching the fireworks going off.’ Men in black clothes and wearing hoods, running about all over the place! How easy it would have been for one of them to slip away and rob Lady Willoughby. So much for James and his theory that it was one of their company.
‘What else did you see?’ James demanded sharply.
‘Why, the fireworks. They were grand! All those colours and the noise. Bang, bang, like guns going off.’
‘Did you see any of the men leave?’ James asked.
‘What men?’
‘The ones who were lighting the fireworks. Did they leave their posts?’
‘No, the fireworks wouldn’t have gone off if they had, would they?’
James ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled. ‘No, of course not.’
‘It might be an idea to have the display people questioned,’ Sir Percy put in.
‘Yes. I’ll put Major Greenaway on to it.’
‘I do not see what good he can do,’ Lavinia said. ‘He has done little to resolve the riddle of Lady Graham’s necklace.’
‘Do not be so sure,’ James said. ‘I believe he is making great strides in that direction.’
‘Is he?’ she asked in surprise. ‘I never knew. What has he discovered?’
‘Oh, that would be telling, my dear.’
‘Then do tell.’
‘Certainly not, it might jeopardise the outcome.’
‘You mean you do not trust me.’ She felt aggrieved. James and Sir Percy too, by the looks they were exchanging, knew something she did not and it was excessively mean of them not to say.
‘Oh, I trust you, my dear,’ James said with a wry smile. ‘I trust you implicitly. Now here come the carriages.’
The carriages were drawing up beside them and there was a flurry of activity as the doors were opened, steps let down and people clambered in, calling goodnight to each other. In a few minutes the street was empty, except for James and Sir Percy who were sharing James’s phaeton, and Lord Wincote who had arrived on horseback and was waiting for an ostler to bring his mount forward.
‘What about following him?’ James suggested.
‘He would smell a rat right away. You can’t hide in a phaeton. Besides, it was probably one of the men setting up the display, don’t you think? We should not be in too much of a hurry to condemn a man, just because that is what we would like to do.’
‘No, you are right.’
They climbed into the phaeton and James gave the horses the office and they bowled away, leaving Lord Wincote to make his own way home.
Lavinia was furious with James. He was taking his dislike of Lord Wincote too far. Whatever else he was, Lord Wincote was a gentleman and to suggest that he might know something about the loss of Lady Willoughby’s diamond clips and Lady Graham’s necklace was the outside of enough. That was what he had been implying, wasn’t it? It was dreadful. If Lord Wincote ever heard of it, he would be justified in demanding satisfaction and there would be the most prodigious scandal. And Sir Percy was as bad; he should have stopped James, not encouraged him.
She dreaded the next rehearsal and began to wonder if she should not abandon the whole project. But what excuse could she give for doing so? Everyone had worked so hard and the orphanage needed the money and, besides, there was Lord Wincote’s proposal. She had promised to give him an answer at the end of the first performance and if she cancelled, he might think… She did not know what he might think. Had he any idea of what people were saying about him being a fortune-hunter, if nothing worse? If he had, he would surely have no more to do with her or the play.
But in the event it was not Lord Wincote who did not turn up, but James, which only added to her annoyance with him. Was he too ashamed? Or was there another attraction? Her stepmother had extracted a promise from him to find a wife during the Season, though she had seen no evidence that he was seriously looking. But he was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve and, instead, viewed life with a studied nonchalance which she had often thought was a cover for deeper feelings.
Was he in love? If he married it would be the end of their close
ness; a married man could not put his arm about a lady who wasn’t his wife, could not laugh with her and tease her and take her out riding, could not listen to her woes and give her good advice. The idea was not one she could contemplate with detachment and so she pushed the thought from her and concentrated on the rehearsal, asking Benedict to take the part of Demetrius.
The afternoon sped by and if it had not been for James’s absence they would have made great strides. When two servants brought in refreshments a couple of hours later, they were able to relax and enjoy the break, feeling that, at last, they were making progress.
Lavinia took the opportunity to study Lord Wincote surreptitiously. There was nothing about his behaviour to arouse suspicion. When he was not concentrating on his role, he was considerate and charming; there was no hint that he might have a guilty secret. How could James have imagined he knew anything at all about the loss of Lady Willoughby’s clips? It was unthinkable.
As if to make up for the calumny, she went out of her way to be attentive to him and he responded with every appearance of pleasure, though he was careful not to force himself on her as he had before, nor did he mention his proposal of marriage, but as they were in mixed company there was little opportunity to do so. She concluded he was waiting, as he said he would, until she was ready to give him her answer. Or was he so sure of himself and her that he thought he no longer needed to press his suit as ardently as before?
When everyone had gone, she tidied up the props they had been using and then decided to work on the scenery. The Duke was at the House of Lords and the Duchess attending a committee of one of her charities and would not be back until supper time. She put on an apron, dragged out the piece of scenery she was working on and propped it against a table. Then she fetched paint and brushes from their storage place and set to work.
She was completely absorbed and murmuring Hermia’s lines beneath her breath when James wandered into the room without waiting to be announced, and threw his tall hat on to a chair.
She turned to look at him. He was dressed for riding, in a buff coat with a huge collar, which she would have considered too heavy for town wear, and nankeen breeches tucked into polished riding boots. ‘Oh, it’s you, James. Where have you been? We finished rehearsing over an hour ago.’
