Regency Rumours/A Scandalous Mistress/Dishonour And Desire Read online

  ‘No, it isn’t. Perhaps we could persuade Hannah to chaperon Miss Chester when she goes out with her brother, but if I were Hannah I’d not see the need. She believes the sun shines out of Tam.’

  ‘That’s the problem. They all do. They ought to have sent him to Winchester instead of Eton. His father ought to find him something to do.’

  ‘Better still, he should have bought him into a regiment by now, or sent him to sea. Should I suggest it to Chad?’

  ‘His brother? No! By the time Chad gets round to thinking about it, the wars will be over. You might suggest a grand tour, though. That would give the lout a chance to sow his wild oats and get him out of the way for a year or two. Argh! Just listen to me, Nick. What the hell do I care what they get up to?’

  The grim but expressive mouth stretched a little at that. ‘I cannot possibly imagine, brother. Unless you’d like me to breathe a word into his father’s ear. He’s the only one of the tribe who’d be glad to see the back of him, I think.’

  ‘Would you?’

  ‘Yes, and I’ll have a word with Aunt Amelie about him too, though I’m not so sure I shall be received with quite the same accord.’

  ‘Oh? Why not?’

  ‘Because, my innocent, we’ve reached an interesting stage when anything I suggest appears to take on the aspect of a challenge that usually ends up as a set-to before we get an agreement. Entertaining, but quite time consuming.’

  ‘Which is why you stay the night, I take it?’

  ‘Of course. How else would I keep hold of the ribbons?’

  Seton, who thought he might be in danger of losing his, had no answer to that, but watched in admiration as Nick swung the phaeton round in a tight horseshoe to bring them, within an inch, to the steps of Sheen Court.

  Mrs Braithwaite and Mr Killigrew were in deep discussion about what best to do with the almost cold rack of lamb and an unhappy lemon soufflé when Lady Chester arrived alone, on foot, very weary, smeared with mud, hatless, and coming apart along one shoulder-seam. She had no time to hide any of this from the one whose beaver hat, gloves and riding whip lay on the hall table before he came down the staircase faster than she had ever seen him move before.

  Too tired to smile and in no mood for detailed explanations, Amelie wished Lord Elyot had not been there to see the effects of her misadventure, for these things always looked worse than they were, and now he would demand to know why she had not taken Riley, or her maid, or the curricle, or indeed the whole retinue of servants with her to Kew.

  ‘What happened?’ he said. ‘Are you much hurt?’

  The housekeeper and butler hovered, obviously concerned.

  ‘Not much,’ said Amelie. ‘My horse is outside. Lame. Will somebody take him round to … to the … stables … oh! I need to sit.’ Before the last words were out, her legs were scooped from under her and she was swung up against her guest’s charcoal-grey lapels so firmly that her protest was squashed at source.

  ‘See to the horse,’ said Lord Elyot from halfway up the stairs. ‘Send Lady Chester’s maid up, and you’d better come too, Mrs B.’

  ‘Put me down,’ said Amelie in a muffled voice. ‘It was only a fall. No harm done.’

  ‘Did no one escort you home?’

  ‘No, they offered, but I didn’t…. Anyway, the light was still good.’

  ‘And I suppose you took a short cut?’

  It took the best part of an hour to put Amelie to rights, to assess the bruises and to clothe her in a warmed pelisse swathed in a large Norwich shawl that made her look like an invalid, she grumbled.

  Lord Elyot led her to the sofa in the parlour next to her bedroom and, lowering her on to it by both elbows, lifted her feet up and arranged a rug over them. ‘You will be an invalid for sure if you go careering off on your own across unknown countryside without an escort. You jumped a fence, did you?’

  ‘A ditch. Well,’ she retorted, stung by his rolling glance at the beautiful Joseph Rose ceiling, ‘it looked perfectly harmless, and indeed it would have been so, had it been just a little narrower than it looked. How was I to know?’

  ‘Exactly,’ he said, without emotion. ‘How were you to know without looking? Did the horse close its eyes too, or just you?’

  ‘He changed his mind at the last moment, the coward.’

  ‘I would say he had enough sense for both of you, then.’

  ‘And I fell off down the muddy bank, so I had to walk him all the way round because he’d hurt a leg. I couldn’t ride him.’

  ‘Who allowed you to come home alone? Wasn’t there anyone who could accompany you? If you’d asked me, I would have gone with you. Who were you with, anyway?’

  ‘I didn’t need anyone with me. I was with Sir Joseph Banks and his wife. I was perfectly safe. What good would it have done to request your company when you have little interest in horticulture? I could not even subject Caterina to an account of Sir Joseph’s voyage with Captain Cook in the Endeavour. She’d have been bored to tears. And as for looking at hothouses and orangeries and pagodas … well!’

  ‘And what makes you believe that my mental capacities have anything in common with Miss Chester’s, I wonder? She may believe that the banksia is so-called because it grows on banks, but I know different.’

  Amelie treated him to a stare of utter amazement. ‘What do you know about the banksia?’ she said.

  ‘I know, my dear Lady Chester, that it grows in Australia, that it was named after Sir Joseph who discovered it, that it is related to the protea of South Africa, and that it also grows in my father’s heated glasshouse. Admittedly not a prime specimen, but it’s there.’

  At this revelation, Amelie’s voice lost its sharp edge. ‘But you have never shown me your father’s glasshouse. And I didn’t know you knew that.’

  ‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me. You had only to ask.’

  ‘But I thought … well … that …’

  ‘That because our arrangement is unorthodox, there is little point in making any more discoveries than necessary? Well, I cannot compete with the more exciting revelations that you disclose from time to time, but I may have a few modest contributions to make. Of course, in order to be shown them, you would have to strive to be more available, my lady. Have you been trying to avoid me, by any chance?’

  ‘Not intentionally.’

  ‘Unintentionally trying, then.’

  ‘No, indeed. You are wilfully misunderstanding me, my lord.’

  ‘Correct, my adorable invalid. I cannot resist teasing you. Now, before we find ourselves agreeing on anything else, which would shock my system beyond repair, I have to mention another matter.’ He glanced at the door. ‘Is Miss Chester likely to interrupt us?’

  A knock on the door was followed by a supper tray bearing a silver-covered plate, cutlery, a glass of wine and a dish of lemon soufflé disguised as a syllabub. Placing the tray across her ladyship’s knees, Mr Killigrew revealed a succulent de-boned woodcock surrounded by a sprinkling of tiny vegetables and a triangle of fried bread. ‘Cook’s compliments, m’lady,’ he said. ‘She thought the game would be more appropriate.’

  ‘Tell her thank you.’

  ‘A horse with some sense and a cook with a sense of humour,’ said Lord Elyot. ‘Whatever next? Eat your dinner.’

  ‘Pass this to Lord Elyot,’ said Amelie to Mr Killigrew, indicating the glass of wine, ‘and bring me some water, please. And pray enquire of his lordship if he would like to have a tray of food sent up.’

  As if her instruction was the most natural thing in the world, he passed on the message. ‘My lord says that, since he forfeited his dinner to be here, m’lady, and since you were not …’

  ‘Oh … yes, or no?’ Amelie groaned.

  ‘Er … yes, please, m’lady. I believe so.’ The butler glanced briefly at his lordship’s long crossed legs and then at the handsome face now studying a fine horse painting by George Stubbs with an air of detachment. Already he was beginning to get the gist of this amb
ivalent relationship.

  ‘Then go and request one, if you please.’

  Within moments, a duplicate tray was being placed on a small table and a chair drawn up for Lord Elyot. ‘Cook says she thought you might,’ said the butler.

  ‘A mind-reading cook,’ the guest was heard to murmur. ‘Does she juggle too, or would that be expecting too much?’

  ‘Eat your dinner,’ said Amelie, picking up her napkin. ‘Thank you, Mr Killigrew. I’ll send for you when we’ve finished.’

  ‘Very good, m’lady.’

  There was a preoccupied domestic silence for some time until Lord Elyot leaned back and repeated his former query regarding Caterina.

  ‘Miss Chester is staying overnight with the Elwicks,’ Amelie said, licking her fingers. ‘Tam is hosting a small dinner party and a rout for some young friends. It’s his birthday on Sunday.’

  Knife and fork were laid down and the napkin dabbed at each corner of the mouth. ‘And you approve of that, do you?’ said Lord Elyot.

  ‘I should hardly have allowed her to go, if I did not.’

  ‘Without you?’

  ‘Yes, without me.’ She looked across at him. ‘She’s being chaperoned by Mr and Mrs Elwick and Hannah, and there are other females known to the family. I was invited, but I declined, so Mrs Elwick asked if Caterina could stay, rather than have me send the carriage for her. What could be more proper than that?’

  ‘Tam Elwick could, for a start.’

  Amelie laid down her fork, regarding his serious face with concern. ‘Are you saying that Tam Elwick is improper? In what way?’

  ‘I am not about to slander him to you, Amelie. Tam is my brother-in-law and therefore family. He is also Miss Chester’s friend. Could you simply accept that it might be best if she was not encouraged to develop her friendship with him? Suffice it to say that he’s not the kind of acquaintance who will add any prestige to her good name if you really want her to move in the best circles. There, I’ve said too much already.’

  ‘You haven’t said enough, my lord. In what way is the young man deficient?’

  ‘In propriety, Amelie. Take my word for it.’

  ‘Well, I will take your word for it, but without any details it seems I am to tell Caterina that, after being allowed to spend the night with the Elwicks, she may not spend any more time with young Tam. That might pose rather a problem.’

  ‘She can spend some time with him as long as you are there with them. You don’t have to give reasons. Just devise it.’

  ‘In a two-seater curricle, that would certainly pose a problem,’ she said, removing a stray pea from her shawl. ‘I don’t suppose your warning has anything to do with Lord Rayne, has it?’

  ‘None at all.’

  ‘Oh. I just wondered.’

  ‘Amelie, Seton doesn’t need any help from me along those lines, I can assure you. But both of us are concerned about Miss Chester’s moral safety, as I’m sure you are also. She is a delightful, spirited young woman, and my lively young brother-in-law has not yet realised that overstepping the mark by a whisker can have the same serious consequences as ignoring it altogether. It’s a very fine line, as you yourself know. To Miss Chester, Tam may look every inch the sophisticated beau, but unfortunately he appears to have left his moral conscience behind at Eton. If, indeed, he ever took it there. And now I’ve said far too much.’

  ‘No, you haven’t. Thank you for telling me.’ She put her head back against the cushions. ‘But I wonder how Tam Elwick’s moral fibre differs from that of his two older brothers-in-law, both of them reputed rakes. You don’t suppose he’s following anyone’s example, do you?’ She smiled up at the pretty ceiling. ‘Or could your warning have something to do with titles? Aristocrats get away with it, but not commoners.’

  ‘That remark is quite unworthy of you, Amelie,’ he said, taking the dish of syllabub and looking hard at its creamy froth. He took up his spoon. ‘It’s Miss Chester’s future we’re talking about, not Tam’s. He can go any way he chooses, but she may not. If you prefer to ignore my warning, then go ahead and do so. I am neither Miss Chester’s father nor her guardian.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry. It was a cheap remark. You’ve done so much for her, and I’m grateful. We both are.’

  He dug the spoon into the soft dessert. ‘No, I’ve done it for you,’ he said, ‘but the choice is entirely yours.’ Between dish and mouth, his hand hesitated. He looked across at her. ‘Does your head hurt?’

  ‘Not my head. No.’

  ‘What, then?’

  With an uninhibited motion of her hand, she slid it beneath the tray. ‘Here,’ she said, ‘the pommel … bruised me … here … when I fell.’

  His spoon clattered on the tray and, in one stride, he was across the room, removing her tray so that he could sit against her legs, facing her, taking her hands in his. ‘Tch! You should be in bed instead of talking about this nonsense. Come on, sweetheart, I’ll see you tucked up, then I shall leave you in peace.’

  ‘I don’t want you to leave me in peace,’ she whispered, eyes closed. ‘I want you to stay with me. Is that why you came?’

  ‘That is why I came. Because I have not seen you for days.’

  ‘Then stay. Will you?’ She did not see the way his eyes softened, nor the flicker of sheer delight that darkened the grey to almost black. It was the first time she had asked him to linger.

  ‘I’ll send for Lise,’ he said as he carried her through to her room. ‘Then I’ll join you, just to keep on eye on the invalid. Eh?’

  ‘Mm … m,’ she said, smiling into his shoulder.

  He thought of asking her whether it took a fall from her horse to obtain an invitation, but the time for scoring points was passing with each new day, so he read to her from the newspaper instead, then spent the night holding her carefully in his arms. Making no demands upon her, he scolded her gently for being such a rash little fool, to which she smiled and snuggled closer.

  After an early breakfast, Amelie and her guest took the coffee-coloured barouche first to Sheen Court to collect Lord Rayne, then up to Mortlake to the Elwicks’ house to collect Caterina. But Mr Tam Elwick was not pleased with their plan to visit Hampton Court on some business of the Marquess of Sheen’s, nor was he about to relinquish Miss Chester to her elders without a fuss, as a result of which the invitation was extended to him and to Hannah. So there they were, three ladies in the barouche with straw hats sparkling and scarves flying in the September sunshine, and three men riding beside them against a background of blue sky and leaves tinted with the first colours of autumn. Everything indicated a perfect day.

  The drive across Richmond Park and Ham Common passed off pleasantly, with enough repartee between them to keep smiles on faces for the most part. Crossing the river at Kingston-upon-Thames, they took the road towards a dense plantation of trees in the centre of Home Park in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, past fenced paddocks where grazing mares came trotting to see them.

  ‘Is this it?’ called Amelie. ‘The King’s Stud Farm?’

  ‘Yonder, in the trees,’ Lord Elyot replied. ‘The Marquess asked me to take a look, just to check on a few things.’

  ‘The Marquess values Lord Elyot’s opinion,’ said Hannah, sweetly. ‘And I can quite see why, can’t you? He knows as much as anyone about horse breeding.’

  ‘Don’t be such a goose, Hannah,’ said Tam, scornfully, hauling his horse round. ‘Anyone with half a brain could pick it up in no time. Isn’t that so, Seton?’

  Lord Rayne refused to be needled. ‘Oh, certainly, if you say so,’ he drawled. ‘It so happens that my brother picked it up, as you put it, with both halves of his brain. It’s a habit of his.’

  Amelie said nothing, but thought that Tam’s attempt to belittle her lover exposed a basic insecurity in his own character, but she wished he would not try so hard to impress them all as he had done most of the way there with exaggerated and unnecessary feats of horsemanship.

  Used to being called a goose by h
er younger brother, whether it was deserved or not, Hannah was not in the least put out, for such was her good nature that she was ill-equipped to recognise antagonism. She wore a close-fitting yellow straw hat tied under the chin with a yellow ribbon, and a pale yellow day dress with ruffles round the neck that shortened the distance between chin and shoulders. But the tones were a sickly mismatch, and her yellowish hair that strayed from beneath the straw hat made Caterina long to tidy her up, and again she wondered why dear kind Hannah had made so little effort to find a mate.

  Their hour spent at the Royal Stud Farm gave the three women a glimpse of the responsibility that Lord Elyot himself would one day take over from his father, the palatial stables with name plates and gleaming brass, polished wood and leather, the liveried grooms, the glossy manes and tails and polished rumps. Stallions and yearlings were paraded by their proud keepers, papers checked, plans discussed, and all the time they were obliged to endure the advice of Tam Elwick, who had no hesitation in contradicting his brother-in-law on any point, however small. When Lord Elyot found Tam lecturing one of the senior grooms about the treatment of an injured hock, he thought it was time to intervene.

  ‘Tam,’ he said, interrupting the homily, ‘we shall be taking a light lunch at the Chequers on the green next to the Royal Mews. I would be obliged if you would escort the ladies there. Seton and I will catch you up in a few moments.’

  ‘Oh … er, well … yes. But can’t Seton go with them?’ He caught Lord Elyot’s frosty eye. ‘Well, if you insist.’

  ‘I need Seton here, and I do insist. Now, if you please.’

  There was no possibility of Tam mistaking the command, for the captaincy still lingered in the deep strong voice, and Tam’s perception was not deficient in every respect. Nodding his carefully tousled head the colour of hazelnuts, he strode away towards Amelie, Caterina and Hannah who were admiring a herd of frisky colts in a paddock. ‘We’ve been dismissed,’ he called to them, laughing. ‘Apparently we’re getting under the exalted feet of the son of the assistant Master of the King’s Horse. Come, ladies, we must retire gracefully to the Chequers to sit and drink cordial until his supreme lordship is ready to receive us once more.’