by Beth Elliott
Greg stripped off his jacket. ‘Here.’ He kept his face averted until she had slipped it on. It was much too big and the front was rather low but it was an improvement on her previous appearance. But now there was something sticky on her hand. She frowned and looked more closely – it was blood. Then she saw Greg’s hands, slashed and covered in blood.
‘He has hurt you as much as me….’ She wrapped the handkerchief round the worst cut.
He smiled. ‘Once again you are mopping up my injuries.’
‘Just let us get out of this room,’ she said with a shudder, ‘and then there are some things I wish to ask you.’
‘You are too done up to walk,’ said Greg, as she tottered to the door, leaning heavily on his arm. ‘Come, I will carry you down the stairs.’
She submitted to being lifted into his arms and slid one arm round his neck to hold on. She rested her spinning head against his sturdy shoulder and felt that she was drawing strength from him.
‘What a pair of rogues we look,’ he commented, as he went slowly down to the ground floor. ‘Bruised and battered, bloodstained and our clothes in total disarray.’
‘But alive and safe – thanks to you,’ she murmured against his neck. She swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Is it true that a government official is here to arrest … him?’
‘It is. And your brother is downstairs, guarding the woman who tricked you into coming here.’
Sarah hesitated before she admitted, ‘I was certain that James knew something bad and that he was being threatened. And recently he discovered that someone was following him.’
Greg gave a grunt of amusement. ‘I organized that for his protection. Once I started asking questions about my brother’s death, I was certain that your brother would be in danger. He knew too much about that event.’ He sighed. ‘It is no pleasure to have my suspicions confirmed. Poor Henry.’
He set her down gently on a chair in the entrance hall. She propped her head on her hand, trying to think. There was something that still troubled her. ‘Your other accidents … and Richard’s poisoning … oh yes! Do not forget the man in the green coat.’
‘Herring! He has probably been arrested by now. Sarah, all this can wait. You are injured and I must get you home, my poor darling.’
They looked at each other. It was difficult to decide which one was more dishevelled. Greg’s usually neat hair was standing out in tufts, his shirt was torn and bloodstained and his hands were a mass of cuts. Sarah was glad there was no mirror for her to see her own appearance. Suddenly exhausted, she buried her face in her hands, just longing to be safe in her own room.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
‘Sarah, it is barely a week since your ordeal. The bruising around your eye is still visible. I do think you should stay here another few days.’
Sarah hugged Lizzie tightly. ‘You are so kind. But I am anxious to see how things are going on at Russeldene.’
‘You will be working all day every day and you are still not well,’ scolded Lizzie, folding a shawl and placing it in Sarah’s trunk.
‘I am used to the work I do there. And now that James wishes to manage his estates properly, I want to encourage him. There is such a lot to do.’ She clasped her hands at her bosom. ‘How thankful I am that his debts to that madman have been cancelled and we can keep our home.’
‘Yes, I am also very glad of that, if only for your sake.’ Lizzie dropped Sarah’s slippers into the trunk. ‘James is quite different now. I think after that conversation he had with Greg and Uncle Charlie, he realized that—’
‘When was this?’ interrupted Sarah, with a frown, ‘I knew nothing of that.’
‘It was while you were still poorly. They were in the sitting-room for hours. Whatever they said to James, he was very shamefaced when he left. All Uncle Charlie would say was that James has been very lucky to escape as lightly as he did.’
Sarah bit her lip. She would have to find out what had been decided. She checked the room. ‘That seems to be everything. Shall we go down?’
They perched on the sitting-room window seat as usual. Sarah gave Lizzie’s arm a squeeze. ‘I would beg you to come with me, but I know you will not leave your uncle here alone. And now that you have accepted Richard’s offer of marriage, Sir Thomas is anxious to improve his acquaintance with you before you leave Bath.’
Lizzie’s cheeks went a becoming shade of pink. Sarah smiled. ‘How happy everyone is for you. And how easily you and Richard fell into love. But you kept it a secret for a while.’
‘Ye-es, until I was sure he felt the same way about me. You remember the day he was poisoned? We were going to discuss everything then. So you can understand how desperate I felt.’
‘Of course. He was very ill. And after he recovered I can understand why he wanted to fix his future happiness so quickly.’ She said nothing about her own future, happy or otherwise. With each passing day it seemed more likely that Greg had gone for good. He had been very tender and loving on the night of her ordeal, but she knew that people acted differently in moments of high tension. Maybe after seeing her virtually naked and being mauled by Lord Percival, he no longer felt attracted to her. Perhaps he was pining for Lizzie, now that he had lost her.
She knew Lizzie was watching her, so she summoned up a bright smile. ‘Well, we have to separate … but not for too long.’ She leaned over the little table with its usual clutter of books and sewing things. Having taken three novels from the pile, she held them out. ‘These are mine, but if you wish I can leave them for you to read. You can return them when you come to stay at Russeldene.’
Lizzie took the books with a nod. ‘It will be something to do.’
Sarah turned to the window. She could see the chaise pulling up outside. ‘Lizzie….’ she began, but was unable to say another word. As she again hugged her friend, a sob from Lizzie made her own tears spill over.
‘What a pair of watering pots we are – and we should both be happy. You will call and stay a while with me as you return to London … and soon you will see Richard again.’
‘Yes, I know,’ sobbed Lizzie forlornly, ‘but he has gone back to his work and n-now you are leaving and I shall be all alone here.’
At this moment, General Gardiner walked into the room. ‘What is this?’ he demanded in his cheerful way, ‘Now stop it, both of you. Can’t abide females weeping! Come, Lizzie, Sarah, have you not noticed?’
They mopped their eyes and stared at him. He moved his hands impatiently.
‘Oh, Uncle Charlie,’ screamed Lizzie in delight, ‘you are walking without your stick.’
He beamed. ‘Aye. Indeed, I think the waters have done their work. We shall be able to go back to London in a very short time. And I am sure that will please you mightily.’
She flew to put her arms round his neck. ‘I am so glad you are well again. I do not like to see you suffering with that horrid gout.’
Sarah leant back in the chaise as it rumbled out of Bath. She kept her eyes closed and tried to banish a number of unhappy memories. It was only by great good luck and the help of such a steady, courageous man as Greg that she was now able to return to her home.
In her despair she had so nearly gone to beg a post as a teacher from her former headmistress. There again, it was Greg who had saved her from that fate. She gave a bitter little smile as she thought of how very few coins still remained in her purse. Perhaps now there was a chance to set the family finances back on a sound footing.
She opened her eyes and turned to look at James, seated in the opposite corner. He was leaning his head on his hand, staring moodily out of the window. Becoming aware that she was watching him, he darted a glance at Sarah.
‘Thank you at least for not reminding me that it is all my own fault.’ He shifted his long legs and sighed irritably. ‘Well, now I can see how bad it all looks. Thatcham was mighty unpleasant—’ He broke off, shrugged and twisted his mouth petulantly. ‘But I had no choice. George was so’ – he hesitated for a while –
‘so dazzling. It seemed a glorious triumph to be admitted to his circle.’ He stopped again. ‘I have lost so much money … have to see what I can do for you, Sis.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Greg really did spell everything out in detail for you.’
James gave that irritable shrug. ‘I hope I can see for myself – never realized until last week just what kind of things George and Monty were getting up to. And don’t ask me to explain because I shall never say. But I knew then I had to break with them.’ He gnawed at his fingernails. ‘I nearly lost you.’ He shook his head and sighed again. ‘And I’ve damned well lost Lizzie.’
Perhaps it was the cold short December days that made her feel so unsettled. Throughout her stay in Bath, Sarah had longed to be at home in Russeldene, carrying out her familiar tasks and living in the dear surroundings of her childhood home. So she decided she must be very perverse to wish now that she were back in Bath. She found that she sorely missed the cheerful company of Lizzie and General Gardiner.
But more than anything, she missed Greg. There had been no news of him since that terrible night when he had saved her from being dragged to her death by the half-crazed Lord Percival. Even now, Sarah woke up several times a night struggling and clutching at the headboard in panic. Then she would remember Greg’s strong arms holding her close and his voice murmuring soothing words to her.
He had called her his darling and cared for her as if she were very precious to him. But that was nearly two weeks ago now. However many times she reminded herself that there were too many barriers for her ever to be anything to him, she could not suppress that wild longing to see him, touch him, hear his voice. Oh, she wanted him! It would take a lifetime to forget him.
Even if she never did see him again, she knew that nobody else would ever take the place he held in her heart. With a fleeting smile, she thought of kind John Keating. But she preferred this loneliness to marriage without love.
So, back to work, she told herself, drifting into the study. It was time to go through the accounts again. For some time she stared at the page, but the numbers would not add up. She put her pen down, propped her head on her hand and listlessly watched the rain through the window.
There was one thing that everyone agreed had improved: James looked much better than for a long time. He was making a genuine effort to learn the business of running his estate properly and had developed an interest in the farming and the plantations on which Russeldene depended for its income. With a few years of strict economy, he would restore their fortunes and improve the lot of the labourers on his land.
She should be glad to feel secure again in her home. Sarah shuddered as she thought of the times she had walked around Bath, trying to find a way to earn her own living. But that brought her thoughts back to Greg and the kiss they had shared in the Gravel Walk. With an irritable exclamation, she jumped up. It was no good to dawdle here. The accounts would have to wait for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, she would go and check that Lizzie’s room had been prepared. In just a couple of days her friend would arrive and stay for a few weeks. Lizzie would be full of schemes ready for her wedding to Richard in the New Year. Sarah now knew that Lizzie and Greg were fond of each other as brother and sister but that still did not remove the barriers she saw to any closer relationship between herself and the man of her dreams.
She satisfied herself that everything was ready for her friend in the room next to her own, where Lizzie had always stayed since her first visit some five or six years earlier. She cast a glance at herself in the oval mirror. The bruises had gone now, but it was true that she looked a little pale and her eyes seemed larger than before. There were hollows in her cheeks. Mrs Wiggins kept trying to bully her into eating but Sarah had no appetite. She tried to conceal the fact by slipping bits of food to Misty under the table.
Sarah pinched her cheeks and rearranged a couple of curls that had tumbled down. She pulled a face at herself and left the room to go back downstairs. As she reached the housekeeper’s room, Mrs Wiggins appeared.
‘Ah, there you are, Miss Sarah. There’s a visitor asking to see you.’
‘If it is old Mrs Witherspoon, I do not feel I could endure—’
‘Oh, no,’ said Mrs Wiggins with a chuckle, ‘not but what it’s highly disrespectful of you towards an old friend of your parents! But this is a gentleman – a young gentleman,’ she added, taking a critical look at Sarah. ‘Good job you’re wearing that nice gown today. I always did like that check, the pink and white is so cheerful.’
‘Mrs Wiggins, what does it matter? Do you mean someone local? Has he come to see James?’
‘Mister James is out and cannot be found at present. But I know a proper gentleman when I see one. As there’s a nice fire in the study I put him in there. Do you go in, Miss Sarah, and I’ll bring refreshments shortly.’
Hoping that it was not some young man who had come down from London to spend time in the country with James, Sarah made her way into the newer part of the house and turned down the passage to the study. She pushed open the door and stood transfixed on the threshold by the back view of a tall, well-proportioned man. She knew those broad shoulders! Her heart turned a somersault.
He was standing by the fireplace, one arm leaning against the mantelpiece and one booted foot on the fender. His head was bent forward so that she could only see the copper gleam of his hair. When she shut the door, he straightened up and turned. Sarah was frozen to the spot. Her heart seemed to swell in her chest so that drawing a breath was impossible.
There was a question in his eyes as he examined her face. Sarah gazed at him hungrily, at his finely chiselled features, at his firm mouth and most of all at those glowing amber eyes, fixed on her. Neither of them moved nor spoke. Sarah was trying to control the beating of her heart. She knew her voice would tremble.
He seemed to be trying to read her face. At last he inclined his head. ‘I trust I find you well?’
She nodded.
After waiting for a moment, he went on, ‘I returned to Bath as soon as I could, but you had already left. Lizzie was certain that you would see me, however, and indeed, I have some documents for your brother—’ He broke off, his lips tightened and there was a bleak look on his face.
‘Oh!’ It was one syllable but it contained a wealth of disappointment. He had not come to see her, or only as a courtesy. Sarah stiffened her shoulders. She had an apology to make.
‘Since returning here, James has told me the whole story.’ She twisted her hands together. ‘It has caused you and your family so much unnecessary pain. I am very s-sorry….’ She tailed off miserably and risked a quick glance at his face. What she saw there made her even more desolate. He was looking very grave.
‘There is no way we can make amends,’ she continued in a low voice. ‘I have learnt how much money that villain claimed your brother owed him, whereas the opposite was true and he was the one owing money … and James kept silent about it. I am so ashamed.’ She bit her lip and put a hand up to her hair, pulling on a strand and twisting it violently.
Greg was looking very stern but at that, a gleam came into his eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched. Self-consciously, she forced her hand down to her side.
‘We have now dealt with that problem, thanks to your brother’s testimony,’ he said briefly, ‘but what about you? Are you remaining here?’
She gave him a speaking look. ‘It is entirely due to you that we still have a home to come back to. It was my worst nightmare to think that not only had James lost Russeldene, but that he had done so to that … that….’ She choked and shook her head, unable to continue.
Greg came a step nearer. ‘There is no need to think about him any more,’ he said softly. ‘We cannot undo all the harm he did, but a number of wrongs can be put right.’
She tilted her head up to look him in the eyes as he came closer. His linen was so white and crisp, his blue jacket moulded his noble contours. She caught the scent of his tangy cologne together with
clean linen and soap. This interview was harder than she had ever imagined. To be so close to him, and know that it was undoubtedly the last time she would see him. She wanted to sob with misery, but she must act the part of a polite hostess.
Do you wish to see my brother?’
His face was like marble. ‘I think we have already said all that is necessary. I have decided to spare my father any more anguish. Davenport is not certain that the shot was fired at Henry’s horse.’ He made an impatient gesture, ‘It could never be proved.’
Sarah twisted her curls frantically as she considered this. ‘But—’
Greg stepped right up to her and pulled her hand away from her hair.
‘Sarah, my darling, much as I love that habit of yours, I cannot let you continue. You are looking so delightful as you are – and I have something much more important to ask of you.’
Her heart began to pound. He was looking so serious. Then his hand clasped hers firmly. He raised it to his lips.
‘Sarah, I have waited a long time to ask you this – I had to find out about my brother first – but now, please tell me that I am not mistaken.’ He examined her face keenly. ‘You have always kept me at a distance, but I am as certain as a man can be that you are not indifferent to me.’
She stared at him, willing him to continue. Without realizing it, her free hand crept up to clutch at his lapel.
His eyes crinkled in a smile. ‘I love you Sarah, I want to spend my life with you. What do you say?’
She slipped her hand round his neck and pulled his face down to hers. They kissed in a frantic hurry, broke free, stared at each other, then Greg’s strong arms clasped her tightly and he kissed her again. This time it was a long, slow kiss, tender then passionate, stealing the very heart out of her body. Some time later, Sarah was clinging on to him because her legs were shaking. Greg held her close.