by Anne Herries
‘Yes, perhaps you are right, but they are in love and I see no point in prolonging their agony. If Eleanor’s brother can be brought to agree I should think the sooner the better – and we must somehow avoid a scandal. As long as no one knows she has been here with Toby all this time we may scrape through with little harm.’
‘Well, miss, I hope you are right,’ Joan replied. ‘I must admit I shall feel more comfortable when we reach Lady Merrill’s home.’
‘It would be advisable to set out as soon as possible, but we must see how Toby feels in the morning.’
‘This is the room, miss. You go in while I go back and order some hot milk to be brought up for Miss Brough. Would you care for some yourself?’
‘Well, that would be very nice – and perhaps a little ham and bread and butter. I have not eaten since before lunch.’
‘I will see what the landlord has, Miss Merlin.’
As Miss Tompkins walked away, Samantha knocked at the door and then entered. Eleanor was standing near the window looking out, and in repose her face looked a little sad. Her heart went out to the young girl; she must be distressed to have found herself in such a pickle.
Eleanor turned and saw her, the colour washing from her face. ‘Oh…Miss Merlin,’ she gasped. ‘I did not think…I mean I did not wish to put you out…are you very angry with me?’
‘A little disappointed,’ Samantha said, ‘but not precisely cross. I understand why you ran away, but do you not think your brother might have listened had you told him why you did not wish to live with your aunt?’
‘I do not see how he could,’ Eleanor replied. ‘Aunt Grace is our only female relative – and she is such a dragon. I’m frightened of her…and Robert when he is in a rage. I’ve been so happy with you. You made me realise that I have a right to be happy, to live my life as I wish and without fear.’
‘Yes, you do, my dear,’ Samantha said. ‘However, we all have a duty to others. Lord Brough has been tearing around the countryside looking for you. He believes you’ve gone to Scotland and was very angry when he called on me, for he travelled there at once and could find no trace of you.’
‘No, he would not for we were heading south west not north,’ Eleanor said. ‘Toby said it would not do for him to marry in such a hole and corner way. He intended to take me to his aunt and then approach my brother.’ A nervous look came into her face. ‘Do you think he will come here?’
‘Have you told him where you are?’
Eleanor frowned. ‘I told him we were on our way to Lady Merrill’s house and I crossed out the heading on the inn’s notepaper.’
‘Then he may very well go there,’ Samantha said. ‘If he arrives before you do, he will indeed be very angry.’
‘I dare say he will forbid us to marry,’ Eleanor said looking pale. ‘Whatever shall we do, Miss Merlin?’
‘I am not certain what would be for the best,’ Samantha said. ‘Do you think that Toby would be ready to leave in the morning – if my groom were to drive you?’
‘I think he might,’ Eleanor said uncertainly. ‘His shoulder has healed but the bang to his head is still causing him to turn a little dizzy now and then. He is fine if he sits in a chair but if he tries to go downstairs…he was determined to leave yesterday but nearly took a tumble down the stairs.’
‘That sounds a little worrying to me,’ Samantha said. ‘I think he should see a more experienced doctor. I know a very good one in London…I wonder…’
She was thoughtful for a moment or two. ‘Supposing I were to send Toby to my doctor in his carriage with my groom to drive him and take you – either to Lady Merrill’s or back to my house?’
‘I won’t leave him!’ Eleanor cried instantly. ‘If anything were to happen…’ Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. ‘This is all my fault. I was the one who wanted to run away. Toby was all for speaking to Robert.’
‘I rather think the accident was due to the careless driver of that cart,’ Samantha said in a soothing voice. ‘Toby is a man and capable of making his own decisions. I think he should go to the doctor, Eleanor – but if you will not part with him, then perhaps we should all go to London. We can stay with Annabel. She is forever asking me to stay. I have an open invitation to stay with her and Viscount Wrexham – and I know she would be delighted to have us all to stay. She does have a very large and grand house.’
‘What if…what if Robert goes to Lady Merrill’s house?’
‘He will have a wasted journey and it will serve him right for not listening,’ Samantha said nonchalantly. Inwardly, she felt some doubts for Lord Brough would no doubt blame her. However, she owed a duty to both Eleanor and Toby, and the best way she could think of to keep them from harm was to transport them to a house where the hostess was of impeccable reputation, while Toby sought the advice of an excellent doctor. It would give them time to sort out their affairs. Then they could decide what to do next.
‘I’ll ask Toby what he thinks,’ Eleanor said and made for the door.
‘Where are you going, Eleanor?’
‘To his room…’ Eleanor blushed as Samantha very elegantly arched one eyebrow. ‘Oh, I suppose…but he was ill and could not get up. It was perfectly proper…’
‘I fear it was most improper for you to be in and out of his bedroom, Eleanor. At the start some allowance might be allowed, but not now that he is almost recovered… You will please not do it again. I shall knock at his door and if he is decent, I shall tell him what I propose.’
‘Yes, Miss Merlin,’ Eleanor spoke in fading accents.
‘You need not look so chastened – and unless we are in school you may call me Samantha. I am aware that you have done nothing wrong, my dear. However, I must protect you from the censure of less forgiving natures. It was reckless of you for you might have lost your reputation, but now that I am here there is no need to worry.’
‘But if you accompany us to London…what of your school?’
‘I appointed Miss Dickens acting headmistress while I am away. Besides, I am due a little holiday and may visit my dressmaker while I am there.’
‘You are very kind to me, M…Samantha.’
Samantha smiled and shook her head. ‘Think nothing of it, dearest. My girls are precious to me, each and every one of you – and it will be delightful to visit with Annabel.’
So saying, she went out and down the corridor to Toby’s room. He invited her to enter when she knocked and she found him sitting in a chair staring at the door. His expression changed when she entered to one of shock and then apology.
‘I know, Miss Merlin. If you have come to scold me you cannot make me more ashamed. I have made a terrible mess of things – and I did hope we should brush through it all without a scandal.’
‘Well, we may do so even now,’ Samantha said and smiled. ‘I must admit I was surprised that you had given in to Eleanor’s foolish urgings, but I understand that she means a great deal to you.’
‘I shall marry her, of course – at least, if her brother will allow it…’ He looked crestfallen. ‘It is a devil of a coil, isn’t it?’
‘I dare say you may find he insists on marriage. Unless we can arrange a credible story for the past few days there will be scandal. Eleanor has told me of your unfortunate situation, and this is what I suggest…’
Toby listened in silence to all she had to say and agreed meekly. Leaving him to mull over the foolishness of their escapade, Samantha returned to the room she was to share with Eleanor, and discovered that Joan had brought up their hot milk, ham and bread and butter.
‘Miss Brough has told me of your plans, Miss Merlin,’ Joan said. ‘It sounds very sensible to me, and if people was to think that it had been their destination all the time…’
‘Yes, I am hoping that it will squash any scandal – and that Lord Brough will approve when we tell him.’
‘You will not tell him at once?’ Eleanor begged, looking apprehensive.
‘No, not until we are settled in London and hav
e the eminent Mr Hasleton’s opinion of Toby’ condition. It would be as well for Toby to be feeling more the thing when he explains to your brother, Eleanor.'
‘Robert will likely have given up looking for us by then,’ Eleanor blithely said. ‘I am so glad you came, Samantha. Everything will be wonderful now.’
Robert arrived at Lady Merrill’s house at a little after twelve the next morning. His horse had cast a shoe when he was still twenty miles from her home in Northampton and he had been obliged to sit and wait while it was shod. He had at least had time to eat a good breakfast and was therefore in a slightly better frame of mind. Having left without touching one mouthful of the lovingly-prepared meal his chef had laboured over the previous evening, he rather doubted that Andre de Bourbon would still be with him when he returned to his home.
Chefs as good as Andre were damned hard to find, and he would regret it if the temperamental but brilliant cook were to leave his employ. Another grievance to heap at his sister’s feet - or rather at that young idiot’s who had run away with her.
Robert hoped that at last his quest was ended. A stately and refined butler answered his knock and invited him to wait while he inquired whether Lady Merrill was receiving visitors.
Left to kick his heels in a very elegant and modern parlour, styled by Mr Adam himself, if he were not mistaken, Robert’s mood began to deteriorate. Lady Merrill had better receive him or he would want to know the reason why!
Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned impatiently. ‘Well?’
‘Lady Merrill asks if you will step into her boudoir, sir. She has not yet dressed for the day and will receive you in private.’
Did the woman think he wanted an assignation? Robert gritted his teeth and kept his silence as he followed the butler upstairs and along the landing to a pair of double doors, which were painted in cream with inlaid medallions of a pair of cupids in French porcelain.
‘Lord Brough, milady.’
The butler flung open the doors and Robert entered the very pretty parlour, which was done out in shades of cream and rose. A lady of mature years, but looking not a day over forty was sitting in a delicate elbow chair wearing a lace peignoir of bright crimson, a pair of satin slippers on her small feet.
‘Forgive me if I could not come down to you, sir,’ she said in a voice husky with sensual charm. ‘I suffer from what my doctor is pleased to call arthritis and seldom venture downstairs before tea these days. Besides, I have always found it pleasant to receive gentlemen in my boudoir.’
‘I am sorry for your pain, ma’am, for I know the condition to be crippling. My grandmother suffered from it for years,’ Robert said, some of his ire abating. ‘However, I have no time to waste. I am searching for your nephew Toby Brockleton and my sister, Eleanor. Apparently, they are staying with you?’
‘I did have a letter from Toby asking if he might bring a friend to stay, but I have heard nothing more of him, sir. Are they engaged? It seems highly improper otherwise – and not at all like my nephew.’
‘I think they had some notion that I would not allow the match and decided to run away…probably at my sister’s urging,’ Robert said grimly. ‘Do I have your word that they are not here?’
Lady Merrill fixed him with a haughty stare. ‘In my youth I may have been a little out of the ordinary, sir – but I do not lie, and I should certainly not approve if Toby brought a young gel here without the approval of her family.’
Robert’s lips moved but no sound came out. A little out of the ordinary? She had been notorious! Yet somehow he believed her.
‘Forgive me, ma’am. I did not mean to question your honesty, but I am near driven mad by this affair. I have searched for them everywhere – and then Eleanor wrote to me from an inn and said she was on her way here…’
‘When was this pray?’
‘The letter was sent some ten days or more ago.’
‘Then something must have happened to them,’ Lady Merrill said in a practical tone. ‘You may find them still at the inn – or perhaps between that inn and my house if they had an. I am sorry I can offer no other advice, except to say that if Toby was fit and able he would have brought the young lady straight here.’
He offered his card. ‘You will write to me at my house in the country should you hear anything, ma’am?’
‘Certainly. I shall also instruct my nephew to call on you at your earliest convenience, sir.’
‘Then I thank you, ma’am, and wish you good day.’
Lady Merrill held out her hand. He took it, bowed and air kissed the back, bringing a smile to her lips.
‘Once upon a time you would not have been in such a hurry to leave me,’ she said. ‘Nor should I have let you go…’
Robert could not help but laugh. ‘You must admit that you were often involved in scandal, ma’am.’
‘Ah, those were the days,’ she said and her eyes twinkled. ‘I fear arthritis has put a stop to my…little adventures. Nowadays I am the soul of respectability.’
‘Had we met some years ago I do not think I should have wished to leave so soon,’ Robert said, chuckled and went out.
He was smiling as he went downstairs and the butler opened the door for him. However, outside in the warmth of a pleasant day, his smile disappeared.
Where on earth were they? He was feeling frustrated and angry as he mounted his horse and rode on. All he could do was to ride back to the inn from which Eleanor had sent her letter and inquire if they were sill there -–or if the host had any idea of where they had gone.
Robert had spent his anger, and his encounter with the elderly but still wholly charming courtesan had left him feeling amused. Lady Merrill was still attractive despite the years and a crippling disease. She must have been a beauty in her day!
Sighing, he set out once more. Perhaps it would be as well to inquire at the inns along the way, for it was too late to worry about Eleanor’s reputation. If she’d been seen staying with Toby alone at various inns, especially those frequented by the Ton, the only thing he could do was to insist that they marry as soon as they banns could be called.
‘You do not mind that I brought Eleanor, Mr Brockleton and Miss Tompkins with me?’ Samantha asked Lady Wrexham when she was shown into parlour of the large, sumptuously furnished townhouse.
‘I am delighted you could spare the time to visit me,’ Annabel said and embraced her. ‘It will be lovely to see Eleanor again. I do not know Mr Brockleton, but I am sure he is very pleasant if you approve of him.’
‘Well, they have been a little foolish, but if you would mention that you invited them here it may help us to brush through this little masquerade without scandal. I am sure that when Lord Brough eventually comes to see us, he will be prepared to allow them to marry – and then it should all be fine.’
Samantha sounded more optimistic than she felt, for she knew that Lord Brough was bound to be very angry. He might feel that she should have written to him before bringing his sister to London, but she’d had little choice. Toby had really been quite unwell on the journey; they had stopped a few times to allow him to be sick and there was no doubt that his balance had been affected by the bang to his head.
Samantha was a little worried and had asked him if he wished his parents to be told, but he’d asked her not to write to them.
‘I dare say I’ll be perfectly well again in a few days,’ he said. ‘Please do not worry them for nothing.’
Samantha could only do as he wished. At least she had established them in a respectable house. If a whisper began to the effect that they had an understanding, though nothing could be announced until Eleanor’s birthday next month, it would go a long way to squashing any rumours. They were guests of Viscount and Lady Wrexham and therefore society could find nothing to object to – and the fact that they had arrived with Miss Merlin and Miss Tompkins made it all perfectly proper.
However, it was not to be expected that Lord Brough would see things quite as she did, and Samantha thought that she w
ould rather like a few days grace before the axe descended.
If he was truly angry with her, he might decide to blacken her name. The end of term was close and her pupils would be going home to their parents in a few days.
She was not certain how many would wish to return…
‘I’m sorry, milord,’ the innkeeper said in a respectful tone. ‘The young people were here but they left yesterday. After the other one arrived it all changed and they said as the young sir ought to see a proper doctor in London – one what knows about bangs to the ‘ead, like.’
‘A bang to the head?’ Robert frowned. He did not like the sound of that much. Eleanor’s letter had said nothing about an accident…only that she was going to stay with Mr Brockleton’s aunt. Or had it? He had not bothered with the last lines. The foolish chit had sent him on yet another wild goose chase. His mouth thinned as he asked, ‘May I inquire the name of the person who suggested the visit to London?’
‘I believe it was Miss Merlin…a rather unusual name, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Damn her interfering…’ Robert recollected himself. It would not do to let anyone know what he was thinking.
He might have known who it would be. No doubt Eleanor had written to her and told her all. Why the devil hadn’t she sent him word? Or was there a letter waiting at his home?
He gave the innkeeper a gold coin and, after stopping to rest his horse and take a bite to eat, decided to return home. It was on his way to London after all and his clothes were not exactly what was needed in town.
What had Miss Merlin done about the situation? If she was with Eleanor for most of the time perhaps something could be saved from this mess after all. His mouth settled into a grim line. In one way he was relieved to know that his sister was in the charge of a respectable lady, but in another he was furious.