‘I don’t mind in the least.’ She did not add that she shared the girls’ opinion of Miss Gregory. She liked the squire but could not say the same for his niece, despite the fact that they had barely exchanged two words. The girl had scarcely bothered to acknowledge Flora when she arrived at the party, and had been making a concerted attempt ever since to make an impression upon Luke. ‘And if your brother enjoys her company, who are we to object? She is remarkably pretty.’
‘Well, I don’t think he likes her much,’ Emma said. ‘He keeps trying to get away from her but she refuses to take the hint.’
‘I think it a very great pity that Luke cannot please himself in his own house,’ Mary added. ‘Short of being deliberately impolite—which he would never be—then he is stuck with the wretched woman. Hardly the best way to go about endearing herself to him.’
‘Luke can take care of himself,’ Flora said. ‘She is not the first young woman I have seen setting her cap at your brother since I took up my position here, and so far he has remained impervious to their efforts. Even so,’ she added speculatively, ‘I suppose he has a duty to marry sooner or later. It can’t be easy for him. Or for Lord Hardwick either. His infirmities will not prevent those who aspire to become a marchioness from throwing themselves at his feet.’
‘You are far too generously inclined, dearest Flora,’ Emma said, squeezing her hand. ‘I declare you never harbour a single nasty thought about anyone’s intentions. You make me feel thoroughly ashamed of myself for my uncharitable speculations.’
Flora laughed. ‘You give me too much credit. I think unworthy thoughts the entire time, but since I am a servant I have learned the importance of discretion.’
Mary shook her head. ‘You are no more a servant in this household than I am. We none of us know how we would manage without you.’
‘Thank you, Mary, but I am well aware that no one is indispensable and if I do ever forget to keep my strong views to myself then I shall no doubt live to rue the day.’ She grinned. ‘There is no call for opinionated servants who forget their place in a grand household such as this.’
‘I think Grandmamma would have something to say on the matter if anyone attempted to evict you,’ Emma said. ‘And since we are all terrified of denying Grandmamma when she sets her mind to a particular course, your position here is secure.’
Flora wiped imaginary perspiration from her brow. ‘How very comforting.’
They all smiled.
Dinner was announced. Luke glanced at Flora but Miss Gregory was still clinging to his side. Flora was almost sure that he heard Luke sigh as he offered her his arm. The young woman looked triumphant as she sailed into the dining room at Luke’s side. Flora shook her head and went in search of the countess. Lord Hardwick was still entertaining the two old ladies, making them roar with laughter.
‘I hope you are not encouraging the countess to misbehave, Lord Hardwick,’ Flora said with mock severity as she helped her charge to her feet.
‘She needs little encouragement from me,’ Archie said, winking at her.
Flora shook her head at him as the countess leaned on her arm, walking slowly into the dining room. Lord Hardwick remained with them and, as he had done one before, took the chair beside Flora’s. She glanced down the length of the table and caught Luke ignoring the animated Miss Gregory’s conversation as he met her gaze.
‘The perils of being an eligible bachelor,’ Lord Hardwick said softly, following the direction of Flora’s gaze.
‘Not exactly a hardship. She’s very pretty, and she is certainly vivacious.’
‘Luke prefers to make the running.’
‘Which is all well and good, but well-bred young ladies are expected to marry, and to marry well,’ Flora pointed out as the countess conducted a loud conversation with Mrs Pearson, seated on her opposite side. ‘From my observations, if they wait for the gentlemen who attract their interest to act, they might well die of old age.’
‘I find it hard to imagine that you speak from experience. Any man who ignored your interest in him,’ he added sotto voce, ‘would be too dull to deserve your attentions.’
Lord Hardwick smiled at her, enhancing the deep lines that were etched into his face—an indication of the pain he had endured since his accident and continued to withstand on a daily basis. But the ravages of time and suffering had served only to enhance his rugged good looks. He was still a very attractive man, with a lively wit and a captivating personality. Flora welcomed his company and suspected she would enjoy this particular meal much more than their brooding host. Seated at the head of the table, he sent frequent glances down the length of it, his attention caught by his friend’s frequent roars of laughter.
‘I was speaking of ladies with impeccable pedigrees, Lord Hardwick,’ she replied with an arch smile, flustered by his compliment, ‘not paid companions.’
‘Ha! We both know you are a great deal more than that. And even if you were not, it is not unreasonable to suppose that you have aspirations to marry, and to marry well.’
They both involuntarily glanced at Luke again and Flora was obliged to withhold the smallest sigh of regret. ‘I know my place.’
He raised a brow. ‘Are you sure about that, Miss Latimer?’
‘What of you, Lord Hardwick?’ The conversation was becoming far too personal, too intimate, and she sought to turn it back on him. ‘You must receive your share of attention from the ladies.’
‘Me?’ He gave a careless shrug. ‘Who would want an old cripple?’
‘Self-pity does not become you, and you can be sure that I will not tolerate it.’ Flora took a sip of her wine. ‘Even if you were bad-tempered, ugly and dull-witted, which you are not, your circumstances would make those traits forgivable.’ Flora flashed a playful smile. ‘Or at the very least, excusable. Besides, you don’t share Lord Beranger’s good fortune in that you have no brothers to ease the strain of expectation. If he does not marry, I dare say there will be plenty of male nephews to ensure the succession, whereas you…’
‘Then there’s nothing else for it, my dear Flora. You will just have to marry me and save me from all that tiresome attention.’
Flora’s peal of laughter drew the attention of everyone at the table. ‘Lord Hardwick has just offered to marry me,’ she said. ‘Only imagine the shame it would bring to his family’s name were I to accept him. Fortunately for him, I know very well that he was not serious.’
‘You do me a disservice, cruel woman!’ Lord Hardwick said, clutching at his heart.
Everyone at the table smiled indulgently, with the notable exception of Luke.
‘Marry him after I’ve turned up my toes,’ the countess said. ‘It’ll give you someone else to look after, and I’d like to think of Lord Hardwick being bullied into drinking those dreadful concoctions you will insist upon forcing on me.’
‘Talking of which,’ Flora said to Lord Hardwick when the various conversations around the table resumed, ‘what help do your doctors give you for your pain?’
He lifted a broad shoulder. ‘Not a great deal. I’ve learned to endure what cannot be cured.’
Flora tutted. ‘Let me help you.’
‘Thank you.’ He put his fork aside and briefly covered her gloved hand with his own. ‘But there are some miracles that not even you cannot work. I am a lost cause. I dare say you’ve heard about the circumstances leading up to my apparent death and must be aware that I only have myself to blame. My one regret, apart from the loss of the full use of my legs, is that I couldn’t tell my closest friends that accounts of my death had been exaggerated.’ He stared off into the distance, the bitterness that briefly clouded his features quickly replaced by his normal rakish grin. ‘You would be better advised to concentrate your efforts on the countess. She at least is worthy of them.’
Flora enjoyed Archie Hardwick’s undemanding company and pretended not to notice that he sometimes looked at her for a little longer than might be considered either necessary or polite. She wond
ered if he might be contemplating the idea of offering her a position as his nurse once the countess was no more. She couldn’t think of any other reason for his prolonged scrutiny. It was just the sort of irregular arrangement would appeal to his quixotic personality and his lack of regard for the established order, but Flora would never agree to it. She might be estranged from her family and its rigid religious standards but she had not forgotten how to behave with propriety. Taking a position in a single gentleman’s household would embarrass them and she was not prepared to go quite that far.
The countess and Mrs Pearson offered up increasingly ribald comments that precluded further intimate conversation between Flora and Lord Hardwick. Upon reflection, Flora decided it was probably just as well. Their dialogue had become a little too personal.
‘You are worse than the pair of them,’ Flora chided when Lord Hardwick deliberately goaded the old ladies into indiscretion. ‘They don’t need any encouragement.’
He flashed the type of puerile smile that had doubtless got him out of all sorts of scrapes in his younger years and offered a shrug. ‘It seems that I can’t help myself.’
Flora smiled and shook her head. ‘You are incorrigible.’
Luke stood and tapped a spoon against the side of his glass, drawing everyone’s attention to him as conversations abruptly broke off. Miss Gregory looked up at him through eyes widened with a combination of adoration and predatory intent. Everyone else simply smiled, waiting to see what he had to say.
‘We are here this evening to celebrate the coming of age of Miss Flora Latimer.’ Several male fists thumped the table in agreement, causing the glassware to jump and the candle flames to flicker. ‘Flora came to us just six months ago to act as my grandmother’s companion.’
‘Not that I need one,’ the countess complained. ‘But as always, no one paid the slightest attention to what I wanted.’
Luke ignored his grandmother’s interruption and continued smoothly on. ‘I think I speak for my brothers and sisters as well as myself when I say that we already can’t remember how we ever managed without her. Flora’s sound common sense and disinclination to be bullied by Grandmamma‒’
‘I never bully anyone!’ the countess protested, causing laughter.
‘Well anyway, Grandmamma will never admit it, but she enjoys Flora’s company enormously, as do we all, and she feels a great deal better than she has for years. And so for that, and so many other things besides, we count ourselves fortunate to have her amongst us. Raise your glasses, ladies and gentlemen, if you please, and join me in a toast to Flora. Happy birthday, my dear, and many happy returns.’
To Flora’s embarrassment everyone stood, drank to her health and then applauded. Even Lord Hardwick and the countess pushed themselves to their feet. Flora felt tears of gratitude pricking the backs of her eyes. This was what it must feel like to be loved and cherished by one’s family, she thought, revelling in the alien concept as she smiled and thanked everyone for their kindness. Flora knew that she would never forget the occasion.
‘Now that we’ve got that sentimental nonsense out of the way,’ the countess, still on her feet, said loudly, ‘shall we leave these scoundrels to their port, ladies?’
Lord Hardwick, still also standing, steadied himself with one hand on the table and used the other to pull Flora’s chair back for her. She thanked him, aware that simple gentlemanly gestures that had once been second nature to him now required an effort of will. Flora went to the countess’s side and offered her an arm to lean on as they left the dining room. Miss Gregory, Flora noticed, trailed behind the rest of the ladies and continued to cast looks over her shoulder in Luke’s direction until he was lost from her view. Luke ignored her.
‘Well,’ the countess said, lowering herself into the chair beside the fire that Flora conducted her to, ‘that’s that nonsense over and done with.’
‘It was very kind of you to insist upon it, ma’am,’ Flora said, impulsively kissing her charge’s cheek. ‘I enjoyed myself immensely.’
‘I keep telling you, irritating child, that I am never deliberately kind.’
Flora bit back a smile. ‘Of course you are not.’
‘Go away and talk to someone else. Mrs Pearson and I have matters to discuss that will make you blush to your fingertips.’
‘Then perhaps I should stay,’ Flora replied playfully.
She made sure that the countess and Mrs Pearson both had coffee. As soon as she thought Flora had turned her back, the countess beckoned to a footman who dutifully laced that coffee with liberal amounts of brandy. Flora shook her head and drifted away, only to be accosted by Miss Gregory—the last person she had any desire to converse with.
‘You are very fortunate, Miss Latimer,’ she said in a haughty tone, ‘to have found such an advantageous position.’
‘I count my blessings on a daily basis,’ Flora replied evenly.
‘Whatever shall you do with yourself when the countess dies?’
Flora blinked. ‘I beg your pardon.’
‘I did not mean to sound quite so blunt.’ Flora knew that had been her precise intention and didn’t trust herself to respond. ‘But facts must be faced. You are treated as a member of this family.’ She cast an envious glance at Flora’s gown, which was of better quality and in far better taste than Miss Gregory’s own. ‘However, they will have no need of your services once the countess is gone.’
‘How very kind of you to consider my wellbeing, but rest assured that I shall not starve. Pray excuse me.’
Flora walked away, wishing that Sam had not met the squire and extended the invitation to include his niece. Her presence had spoiled an otherwise perfect day for Flora. Not that she had any right to complain about the guests who were invited to dine at Beranger Court, even when the party was being held in her honour. It was obvious that Miss Gregory felt confused by Flora’s position within the family—she was not the first to have remarked upon such an unorthodox arrangement—and for some obscure reason felt threatened by her. Luke’s warm words of praise had probably made her presume that Flora and Luke were more intimately acquainted than was actually the case.
How delicious!
To be envied by a female who had ideas above her station. If Luke genuinely liked Miss Gregory, then Flora would have gone out of her way to befriend the woman. But Flora had watched them together and could tell from Luke’s reactions that he felt absolutely nothing for her, and likely found her determination to cling irritating.
Flora took a seat a little away from the rest of the company, requiring a moment to herself. Miss Gregory had spoiled her mood. But solitude was denied to her when Miss Pearson joined her almost at once.
‘May I?’ she asked, indicating the vacant chair beside Flora.
‘Of course.’
‘I had forgotten how pleasant local society here in Wiltshire actually is,’ she said in a reflective tone as she stirred sugar into her coffee. ‘Not that I ever really experienced it. I was quite young the last time I was here, and not really out.’
Recalling her reluctance to talk about her background, Flora refrained from asking any questions. ‘I myself have been well received by almost everyone, despite my status as a servant,’ she said with a significant glance at Miss Gregory. ‘Oh dear!’ she added, when she saw that person approaching the countess. ‘If you dislike blood sports, look away now.’
‘What is your name? Speak up.’ The countess cupped her ear, feigning deafness, but Flora knew that she had the hearing of a bat. Miss Gregory gave her name in a syrupy sweet voice that Flora could have told her would grate on the countess’s nerves and bring out her devilish side. ‘Ah. The chit who clung to my grandson all through dinner. You’re wasting your time there, child. Aim lower. You have nothing to offer him.’
The countess’s voice was loud enough to carry to all corners of the room, cutting through the other conversations. Miss Gregory’s cheeks flamed, she stuttered something facile and left the countess’s side so fast tha
t she almost tripped over her own skirts.
‘Ah.’ Miss Pearson smiled at Flora. ‘You knew that was likely to happen and didn’t attempt to warn the girl.’
‘If she hadn’t been quite so insufferably rude to me earlier I might have put her on her guard, but she deserved everything she got.’ Flora put her cup and saucer aside and covered her mouth with her hand. ‘That didn’t sound terribly charitable of me. Hardly the appropriate response from a cleric’s daughter. But then again, having seen as much as I have of the in-fighting among the clergy, perhaps I let her off lightly.’
‘Grandmamma told me something of your history. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I can assure you that I am delighted by what I have found.’
Flora smiled. ‘Thank you, Miss Pearson. And in return I can assure you that you won’t be in any danger from the sharp side of the countess’s tongue. She is a very good judge of character and extremely fond of your grandmother. She’s unlikely to want to offend her, and not nearly as senile as she likes to make out.’
‘What a relief. And please call me Louise. Actually, we are of similar age and I am in urgent need of a confidante and friend.’
‘Then you have found one. And call me Flora.’
‘I would like to unburden myself,’ she said reflectively, ‘although I don’t know what I hope to gain by visiting my problems upon someone else.’
‘I thought you seemed distracted. A trouble shared often makes it seem less…well, troublesome. You can depend upon my discretion and rest assured that I am almost impossible to shock, despite my background—or indeed perhaps because of it.’ Flora sent the young woman a reassuring smile, full of curiosity about her circumstances. ‘I sense a great sadness about you.’
Louise looked taken aback. ‘You do?’
‘I am very perceptive, which is sometimes a blessing but often a curse.’
‘I think I can hear the gentlemen coming. May I call upon you, Flora?’ Louise lowered her voice but there was a note of urgency in it. ‘I am in trouble and need to talk to someone I can depend upon. I am aware we have only just met, but I simply must…’
A Sense of Injustice (Perceptions Book 4) Page 3