Startled by the vehemence of her outburst, Thomas did not attempt to catch up with her. Instead he looked at Giles.
‘Never try that again.’ Giles shook his head. ‘Gina prides herself on her horsemanship. You are lucky she didn’t strike you with her crop.’
‘Clearly she is overwrought by your news,’ Thomas assured him stoutly. ‘I’m surprised that she didn’t faint upon the spot.’
‘Gina?’ Giles looked at him in wonder. ‘You have much to learn about her, Thomas.’
‘I know it,’ his friend said sadly. ‘I have just this morning offered for her, but she turned me down.’
Giles was seized with an overwhelming feeling of relief. He was ashamed of the sense of exultation which possessed him, and he did his best to conceal it.
‘Did she give a reason?’ he asked in a casual tone.
‘She says that she don’t wish to marry again…at least until…until she can give her love.’
He looked so downcast that Giles was moved to pity.
‘Don’t take it to heart,’ he urged. ‘Gina has much upon her mind at present, and this latest news must worry all of us.’
‘She didn’t know of it when she refused me,’ Thomas mourned.
‘Nevertheless, it is a shocking thing. Perceval was shot in the lobby of the House, with all his friends about him.’
Thomas paled beneath his freckles. ‘Will it mean revolution, Giles? I’ve heard of the French ideas spreading over here. It’s barely twenty years since they took to wholesale massacre…’
‘Isham doubts it, but he can’t be sure. He left for London within the hour to find out what he can. Meantime, I’m enjoined to take good care of the ladies. Shall you wish to return to your home? Your father may be worried.’
‘Wouldn’t think of it. I have two brothers. They’ll take care of my father, if care is needed, but he’s a tough old bird, and more than a match for any mob. He won’t take kindly to the thought of a guillotine being set up in the market place of a Yorkshire village.’
‘It happened in France,’ Giles warned. ‘I’m determined to take no chances with our womenfolk.’
‘Of course not. I’d be honoured if you will allow me to share the responsibility. Above all, we must not frighten them.’
Giles grimaced. ‘My mother is already in strong hysterics. Both India and Letty are likely to have a trying time with her.’
‘At least they will comfort each other. Dear little Gina is alone.’
‘I think you have forgot her family,’ Giles replied with some asperity. ‘They live here in the village.’
‘Yes, yes! I expect that she will turn to them for protection.’
Much to his surprise, Gina showed no sign of needing protection of any kind. Once inside the Mansion House she drew off her riding gloves and rang for wine before she questioned Giles.
‘Can you tell us more?’ she asked. ‘Was the assassin taken?’
‘He was. His name is Bellingham. He is to be tried without delay.’
‘Has he confessed his reason for the crime?’
‘He has said nothing.’
‘That’s strange!’ Gina mused. ‘A fanatic…someone with a cause will usually shout his beliefs to the world at large.’
Thomas stared at her. Instead of indulging in a fit of the vapours Gina was discussing the murder as a problem to be solved by cool analysis of the facts. Gradually it was being borne in upon him that he didn’t know her at all.
She continued in the same vein. ‘Do you suppose that he is quite sane?’ she asked. ‘This may simply be the act of a single madman.’
Giles smiled at her. ‘You might be quoting Isham,’ he informed her. ‘He said as much before he left. Even so, he feels that we should take no chances.’
‘Madmen and fanatics?’ Thomas was nonplussed. ‘Lady Whitelaw, you cannot mean that you have experience with such creatures?’
‘Alas, more frequently than I care to recall, Mr Newby. The Indian continent is a hotbed of fanaticism.’
‘Oh, my dear ma’am, how very dreadful for you!’
‘It was instructive,’ she said drily. Then she turned to Giles. ‘What would you have me do?’
‘For the present you should not ride out too far into the country, and certainly not without an escort. It would be all too easy for some hothead to conceal himself and take a shot at you or the girls.’
He saw the mutinous look about her mouth. He smiled at her again and Gina’s heart turned over. That smile, so rarely seen these days, transformed his face, lighting up the room.
‘This is not an order, you prickly creature. It’s merely a suggestion. Come now, Gina, give me your word! If you won’t consider your own safety, I know that you will think about the girls.’
At his coaxing words, Gina’s objections vanished.
‘You are right,’ she admitted in a contrite tone. ‘It would be foolish not to take precautions. May I come to visit your sisters this afternoon? India must be worried about her husband’s safety in the capital.’
‘You’ll bring at least one groom?’
‘I’ll bring two if it will please you.’ Unthinking, she held out both her hands to him. ‘Am I forgiven for my stubborn ways?’
‘Always, my love!’ The endearment slipped out before he was aware of it, but Giles did not pay it attention. He continued to hold her hands as he looked deep into her eyes. Neither of them noticed that Thomas had left the room.
‘Take care!’ Giles whispered. ‘Remember, you have given me your word!’ He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it briefly. Then he hurried away.
It was not until they had almost reached the Grange that Thomas challenged him.
‘You should have told me,’ he reproached.
‘I’ve told you all I know.’ Giles misunderstood him. ‘I didn’t hear about the assassination until two hours ago.’
‘I’m not referring to that,’ Thomas said stiffly. ‘I mean…well…had you mentioned that you and Gina…Lady Whitelaw…had a tendre for each other I should not have offered for her.’
Giles slowed the mare down to a walking pace. He had never discussed his love for Gina with another soul, but he was not proof against the air of dejection so evident in his friend.
‘We knew each other long ago,’ he admitted. ‘It is ten years since we met in Italy. Gina was little more than a child, and I was a lovesick boy.’
Thomas shook his head. ‘She loves you still. I cannot be mistaken. She does not look at me as she looks at you.’
‘She is still clinging to a girlish dream.’ His friend’s tone grew harsh. ‘Those can be the most difficult to give up.’
‘She is a woman grown.’ Thomas was angry. ‘Since you met she has been married and widowed, and still she loves only you. Can you dismiss her constancy so lightly?’
‘I must. I have naught to offer her.’
‘But you will not tell me that you don’t return her affection, Giles? I should not believe you. No one can fail to love her.’
Giles gave a muffled groan. ‘I need no convincing of that…’ He urged his horse into a gallop until they reached the Grange.
Gina herself was feeling much more cheerful. At the first sign of danger, real or imagined, Giles had hastened to her side, clearly concerned about her safety. And he had forgotten his firm resolve to keep her at a distance.
Now she treasured the memory of his smile, his touch and those unnoticed words of endearment which had slipped out unawares.
She ordered a light nuncheon of cold meats and fruit and ate it with much enjoyment.
Dreamily, she held her hand against her cheek, reliving the memory of his kiss. Her lover’s defences had crumbled at the first hint of danger to her. She’d been wrong to give way to despair. All was not yet lost.
Then she took herself to task. The danger which she half welcomed had been born of tragedy. She had been thinking only of herself whilst India must be mad with worry about her husband. Isham would take his seat in the House of Lords, ju
st a stone’s throw from where the murder had been committed.
Mindful of Giles’s warning, Gina ordered her carriage. By now the news of the assassination had spread throughout the village and she could hear isolated bursts of cheering.
Quickly she called her household together to explain that they were in no immediate danger.
Cook was unconvinced. She jerked her head towards the windows. ‘Just listen to ’em, ma’am! They are celebrating the poor man’s murder, if you please…’
‘Idlers and malcontents!’ Gina said firmly. ‘They are the ones who run away whenever they are faced down.’
‘That’s as maybe, my lady. I ain’t stirring beyond these walls until the troops arrive.’
‘Have I asked you to do so?’ Gina’s cool gaze reduced the woman to silence. Then she turned to her outdoor staff. ‘You will carry weapons at all times,’ she ordered. ‘Neame and Fletcher will accompany me to the Grange this afternoon, and Thomson will drive.’
‘Oh, ma’am, you’re never going out?’ Cook was abashed by her own temerity, but she was fond of her young mistress.
‘Indeed I am, but you need have no fears for me. I am well armed myself…’
Cook screamed and threw her apron over her head. ‘You’ll be murdered, ma’am, I know it!’
‘Not if I can help it!’ Gina swept out of the room, leaving the weeping woman to be sharply reprimanded by Hanson for letting down the household staff.
‘’Tis all very well for you,’ Cook moaned. ‘I ain’t been to these outlandish places with the mistress…’
‘If you had you would have no fears for her.’ Hanson was unsympathetic. ‘Now pull yourself together, woman. Will you add to Madam’s worries?’
His rebuke was unnecessary. Having made her wishes known to her staff, Gina didn’t give Mrs Long another thought. She regarded hysterics as an unwarranted indulgence on the part of any woman.
She changed out of her riding habit and into a high-necked gown of French muslin in her favourite blue. Over it, for warmth, she wore a waist-length jacket with a high collar and long sleeves in a deeper shade of blue. Not for the first time she blessed the introduction of this useful garment, known as a spencer. Then she selected a high-crowned hat in satin straw, trimmed with matching ribbons. It would crush her hair-style out of recognition, but that was not of the slightest moment. She hurried down the staircase, followed by her maid, who was still cramming various small items into a reticule.
‘Don’t fuss, Betsy!’ Gina almost snatched the small bag from her. ‘A handkerchief is all I need.’
Without more ado she jumped into her carriage and pulled the check-string.
The journey to the Grange passed without incident, but on arrival Gina was at once aware of the tension in the household.
Letty drew her to one side. ‘Mama has upset India,’ she whispered. ‘She has her in widow’s weeds already.’
‘Send for the doctor,’ Gina advised. ‘Perhaps he’d give your mother a sedative.’
‘He’s on his way,’ Letty told her. ‘I was worried about India…’
‘There is not the slightest need.’ India had entered the room. ‘I am not so easily overset…except…except that, of course I am worried about Anthony…’ Her voice was quite under control.
Gina sat beside her and took her hand. ‘Your husband is one of the most sensible men I know. He always looks ahead, my dear India, and on this occasion he is forewarned of possible trouble.’
India’s eyes were bright with tears. ‘He is my life,’ she whispered. ‘I could not live without him.’
‘And you will not do so. Giles tells me that Anthony believes this crime to be a single act of murder, for what reason we may never know. I suspect the same myself.’
‘Then you do not think it the start of an insurrection? Luddites, for example?’
‘I doubt it. The frame-breakers have a genuine grievance, as Anthony will have told you, but they are merely trying to protect their livelihood, although it may not be in ways that we commend.’
‘But he said…he said that others have infiltrated their movement for purposes of sedition.’
‘That may be so, but I have the utmost faith in my fellow-countrymen. They have a strong objection to being used.’
‘Oh, how sensible you are!’ India smiled through her tears. ‘You must think me a veritable watering-pot.’
‘I don’t think that at all!’ Gina pressed her friend’s hand. ‘All I ask is that you don’t meet trouble ahead of time. I’ve done it so often in the past. Then I’ve discovered that my worries have been unfounded. In the meantime, I’ve wasted many unhappy hours in allowing my imagination to dwell upon disaster. Time enough for that if it should happen, and for most of the time it doesn’t. Anthony will be back with you before you know it.’
‘He said at least a week…’ India ventured.
‘Quite possibly. I won’t make light of this tragedy. The Government must be in disarray, but they will value Anthony’s advice.’
India recovered some of her self-possession. ‘I expect so. He has been concerned. Oh, I know that he discounts the idea of revolution in this country, but he’s aware of the disaffection in the north.’
Gina nodded. She too had heard of the increase in the rioting.
‘And then, you know, there is all the unemployment due to Napoleon’s blockade. Cotton cannot get through to the towns in Lancashire, and the price of bread is rising constantly.’
‘The war will not last for ever,’ Gina comforted. ‘Wellington is pushing back the French in Spain. When peace comes we shall enjoy prosperity.’
‘That may be years away,’ India told her sadly. ‘Meantime this country is a tinder-box. It needs only a spark to set it aflame.’
‘With respect, I think you are mistaken,’ Gina replied. ‘Take the Prince Regent, for example. He is despised for his extravagance, his bigamy, his mistresses and his treatment of his father and his wife. When he appears in public, he is jeered at and pelted with mud, yet no one attempts to do him serious harm.’
‘He is regarded as a buffoon.’ Giles had entered the room.
‘Oh, no, he isn’t that!’ India shook her head. ‘What the British can’t forgive is that he is a patron of the arts. Had he confined his interests to horse-racing and boxing he would have been much more popular.’
‘You are very hard on us, Lady Isham.’ Thomas smiled down at her. ‘Are we then a race of Philistines?’
‘I fear you are, Mr Newby. The Prince is suspect because of his passion for orientalism, for design, for luxury, and for exotic foods…These things are not dear to the hearts of people in this country.’
‘Especially the latter,’ Giles broke in. ‘I’m told that the Regent is now so fat that a hoist of some kind is needed to seat him upon his horse.’
Everyone smiled, but Gina felt moved to defend the Prince. ‘I cannot but admire his taste in literature,’ she protested. ‘Is he not an admirer of Miss Austen’s novels?’
‘Oh, Gina, have you read it?’ India’s face lit up. ‘Anthony has brought me a copy. It’s called Sense and Sensibility. I’ll be glad to lend it to you when I’ve finished it.’
‘I’d like that. Miss Austen is a favourite with many people. They love the humour in her book. It is so subtle.’
‘The Prince likes the Waverley novels too,’ Thomas objected in gloomy tones. ‘I tried one once. Couldn’t get past the first page. All ancient history and prosing on as if we were still in the schoolroom…’
This brought cries of protest from the ladies and resulted in a heated discussion.
Gina glanced at her friend and was satisfied to see that her attempt at diversion had been successful. Some of the colour had returned to India’s cheeks and she had lost the haunted look which was so troubling.
As she took her leave, Giles accompanied her to her carriage.
‘Have you engagements for tomorrow?’ he asked quietly.
Gina gave him a searching look before
she answered. ‘None that can’t be broken,’ she replied. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I hoped…that is, I wondered if you would be good enough to visit India again. She is a different person in your company. I had not thought she would be so distressed by Isham’s absence…’
‘It is natural,’ Gina comforted. ‘And it is partly her condition. Fears can grow out of all proportion unless one gives another direction to one’s thoughts.’
‘That’s true! Unfortunately, my mother adds to India’s worries…I could wish that she would pay another visit to her friends…’
‘Preferably far from here?’ Gina twinkled at him.
‘The farther the better!’ He gave her an answering smile. ‘Anthony can handle her, but my sisters are very much at her mercy.’
‘And you?’
‘I can’t be here all day, Gina. Do say you’ll come tomorrow…’ He laid his hand upon her arm and Gina jumped as if she had been stung. Even through the fine cloth of her garments his touch had the power to set her senses aflame. Her eyes searched his face for some indication that his resolve was weakening, but Giles appeared to be thinking only of India.
‘I’ll come,’ she promised as she stepped into her carriage.
On the journey back to Abbot Quincey she had much to occupy her mind. She could only rejoice that Giles had dropped his distant manner towards her. Now they were slipping back into the old comradeship which had first attracted them to each other. What had started as friendship had deepened into an overwhelming love. Could it do so again? In time of danger Giles must surely set aside his pride in the basic need to protect her and have her by his side. She prayed that it would be so.
Was she growing selfish? For these past few weeks she had been preoccupied with her own concerns, but now there were others to consider, apart from her own girls. It was a salutary thought.
With a lighter heart she hurried indoors, handing her spencer, her bonnet and her gloves to the waiting maid. If India needed diversion she should have it. Gina looked at her latest acquisition, the poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
She and the girls had read ‘The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan’ until they knew each word by heart. She chuckled to herself. How Mair and Elspeth had shuddered in mock horror as she had declaimed aloud!
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