‘Fee, if you think I am wearing that thing, you have another thing coming. I refuse, point blank!’
Sophie cajoled him. ‘Come on Danny, it is the perfect disguise.’
Daniel sulked and stood quietly as she arranged the wig expertly on his head. ‘There you are. He will never recognise you now. Just do not get too close to the Colonel and you will be fine.’
Daniel protested in annoyance. ‘I suppose I have no choice, but you owe me big time, Fee.’
Sophie cupped her brother’s face in her hand and kissed him on the nose. ‘I know Danny, I will make it up to you, honestly I will. Come along, everything will be fine.’
Sophie was quite pleased with Daniel’s transformation. She watched him lope off and was quite pleased with her achievement. At a distance, Daniel looked completely different and even Aunt Caroline would have difficulty picking him out. The gardens were huge and if he kept out of Colonel Northcote’s way there should be no problem.
She returned to the archery range where she found her friend Emmaline waiting for her and resumed her game. Sophie had just finished her turn and was handing the bow to Emmaline when Colonel Northcote walked up to greet them. Sophie pretended to be surprised.
‘Why Colonel Northcote. How nice to see you. I did not think you would be here.’
She introduced her friend. ‘This is my friend and host, Lady Emmaline Dereham.’
He bowed and kissed Emmaline’s hand. ‘I am honoured, Lady Dereham.’
Emmaline acknowledged him with a smile. ‘Would you care to join us, Colonel? We are having a competition but Sophie is winning hands down I am afraid.’
‘If that last shot is anything to go by, I think she must be,’ he replied humorously.
Sophie remembering how she had shot the light off the Earl’s barouche responded flippantly. ‘Oh, it was just a lucky shot.’
Colonel Northcote having observed her half an hour ago knew that she was lying and wondered why she should. Maybe she thought that men did not like women who were accomplished in field sports, but he suspected she had other motives. He decided to test her out. They continued their game and Colonel Northcote shot a reasonable but not perfect score. When it came to Sophie’s turn, and much to Emmaline’s consternation, Sophie’s aim was out as she hit the target at outer blue. Emmaline could not know that both the Colonel and Sophie had dissembled. She could only assume that the Colonel had made her friend nervous and smiled to herself.
Colonel Northcote suggested that they try out the shooting range to which Emmaline readily agreed. Colonel Northcote took his shot and being an experienced officer did not attempt to dissemble. He had no trouble shooting out the centre of the wafer. Emmaline missed completely and so did Sophie.
‘Bad luck,’ the Colonel said as he primed the pistol again and handed it to Sophie. ‘Try again.’
Sophie did as she was bid, aiming carefully and taking care to miss. She hit exactly what she was aiming for, but it was not the wafer. The Colonel who had watched the direction of her aim was not fooled. So the chit was hiding her talents, was she? Could she be his lady rogue? He still was not quite sure but his suspicions were growing stronger by the day. After all, if his lady rogue’s brother was a guest, it stood to reason that she was here also. The only flaw to his suspicions was the fact that, as far as he was aware, Sophie did not have a brother.
She turned to the Colonel. ‘I am not accomplished with a pistol, Colonel. I concede defeat.’
‘Tut Tut,’ the Colonel admonished, ‘and here was I thinking that you always carried your father’s pistol in your saddlebag and he had taught you well.’
Sophie bit her lip in vexation. Remembering that she had said some such thing, she realised her mistake and searched quickly for an excuse. ‘I may be able to hit an adversary at five yards if it became absolutely necessary, but a wafer at twenty yards is another matter entirely.’
The Colonel laughed. ‘Well saved, lady Trevarren, but there is no pulling the wool over my eyes.’
Sophie cursed. Harry had not believed her. ‘It is hardly gentlemanly of you to contradict a lady, Colonel Northcote. I can assure you, you are quite mistaken.’
Harry decided to let the matter drop. After all, if she was his lady rogue, he did not want her to get wind of the fact that he suspected. ‘Never mind,’ he said. ‘All this shooting is making me thirsty. I will retire and bring you refreshments before the dancing begins.’
They watched as the Colonel walked off and Emmaline turned to Sophie. ‘What was all that about Soph. You are an excellent shot.’
Sophie just shrugged her shoulders. ‘I know, but it does not pay to hurt a man’s pride. It is best to let them win.’
Emmaline was not convinced. She did not know Colonel Northcote at all, but he was a military man and knew how to handle a gun with perfect accuracy. She doubted that Sophie would be able to outdo him anyway. Well, maybe she could with a bow but certainly not with a pistol.
*****
Half an hour had passed since Daniel had donned his disguise and he was feeling a little more confident, and with his confidence he became careless. All this running around had made him hungry and he decided to go in search of more food.
He approached the refreshment tent at exactly the same time as the Colonel and gave a look of dismay. The Colonel had not recognised him and was picking out a plate of delicacies to take back for Sophie and Emmaline along with some lemonade. Daniel decided that he could not take any risks and quickly dropped to the ground and scooted under the table. Crawling along the great length of the table and shielded by the long white table cloth, he clumsily kicked the shins of a lady standing and filling her plate.
‘Ouch.’ She bent down in surprise to see what had caused the pain. Daniel glanced up at her with appealing eyes. She was a young lady with a kind face. ‘Please do not give me away, Miss,’ he whispered entreatingly.
She smiled at him thinking he was engaged in a game of Hide and Seek with his friends. She winked and replied softly, ‘Your secret is safe with me. I will not tell a soul.’
Daniel sighed with relief and crawled further along the underside of the table hoping to get to the end without further mishap. He was to be disappointed. He was nearly at the end when the large booted foot of a middle-aged, turbaned lady stood on his right hand. He brought his hand to his mouth to ease the pain but as he did so, he accidently caught it in the cumbersome folds of her skirts.
The lady bent down to see what was amiss and being short sighted, grabbed Daniel by the hair. His wig came off in her hand and she threw it up in the air in panic. ‘Rats! Rats! There are rats,’ she shrieked at the top of her voice, dancing up and down like a demented pelican.
Everyone looked over in surprise and watched as the black curly wig landed on top of the epergne. A man standing nearest to it picked it off and looked with annoyance at the lady making all of the fuss.
‘Nonsense,’ he said. ‘This is just a wig. Since when have rats learned to fly?’
The lady looked disgruntled. ‘You cannot pull the wool over my eyes. They do fly. I have seen em!’
‘My dear lady,’ the gentleman replied patiently. ‘What you have seen are bats and they only come out at night. There are no rats around here.’
‘Bats, rats, they are all the same to me,’ the lady shrieked. ‘Loathsome, the whole lot of them.’
The Colonel who had observed the whole affair put down his plate and walked to the far end of the table. Reaching under it, he grabbed Daniel by the scruff of the collar and pulled him out.
‘Got you, you jackanapes,’ he exclaimed triumphantly.
The turbaned lady pointed to Daniel in disgust. ‘What is the world coming to when young boys creep under tables looking under ladies skirts? That boy is a perverted menace.’ She grabbed her parasol and advanced on Daniel with the intention of giving him a good beating but the Colonel held her at bay.’
‘Excuse me madam, but I will deal with this young man if you do not mind.’
At that moment Lady Wyndholme who had just witnessed the tail end of the affair approached the Colonel who still held Daniel by the scruff of his collar.
She looked on in horror. ‘Goodness Colonel. What has Daniel done? He is usually such a good boy.’
The Colonel nodded to the guests. ‘Things are not quite as they seem, I can assure you that this young man is not depraved as the lady has insinuated. He was just hiding from me. Lady Wyndholme and I shall deal with the matter so pray, continue to enjoy your entertainment.’
The Colonel and Lady Wyndholme marched Daniel over to an empty arbour where they could be private and sat down.
‘Exactly what is going on here, Daniel?’ demanded his Aunt.
Daniel hung his head and said nothing and the Colonel addressed her. ‘Do you know this young man then, Lady Wyndholme?’
‘Of course, I know him. It is young Lord Trevarren. I mean Daniel. He is my nephew.’
The Colonel looked on with final comprehension. This simple bit of knowledge confirmed all of his suspicions. ‘Ah, so Sophie has a brother?’
Lady Wyndholme looked at him in puzzlement. ‘Off course Sophie has a brother. I assumed you knew.’
Everything fell into place. Daniel had called his sister Fee. Colonel Northcote was looking for a Faye or a Fiona, but Fee could be the last syllable of Sophie. How could he have missed that?
He looked at Lady Wyndholme patiently and sighed. ‘I could only know if someone chose to tell me or I had met him, neither of which has happened so you must excuse my ignorance.’
Lady Wyndholme realising that Daniel had not been at home the day he came to visit, apologised. ‘You are right of course but I just assumed you knew. Please forgive the omission. But what I want to know,’ she exclaimed, ‘is what has Daniel done?’
She looked at Daniel but to his surprise, Lord Northcote came to his defence. ‘Don’t be too hard on the young fellow. He was only hiding from me. It was that sour old tabby who caused all the commotion. It was not his fault.’
‘But why would Daniel want to hide from you?’ asked his aunt in disbelief.
Daniel stood rigid wondering what the Colonel was going to say. He was well and truly in the basket now. He was therefore surprised at the Colonel’s response. ‘We met on the road the other day and his colt frightened my own mount. He must have thought I would be angry, that is all.’
He winked at Daniel. His stallion Julius hardened to the sights and sounds of gunfire, would hardly baulk at a young colt. Even Daniel found it hard to believe but his aunt would be none the wiser. He stared at the Colonel who was smiling at him. ‘Am I not right, young man?’
Daniel nodded in agreement but could not understand why, all of a sudden, Colonel Northcote would be his champion after holding a gun to his head that night. Whatever the reason, he was grateful, and if the Colonel was to continue to be so empathetic, Sophie might not come off too badly after all.
Lady Wyndholme sighed with relief. ‘Is that all. Why, that old vixen, making such a scene about nothing. Daniel has always been good. Now if it was Sophie, she is much more likely to get into trouble. Well, I shall leave you two to introduce yourselves properly since you have not met, and I will go and give that woman a piece of my mind.’
Lady Wyndholme walked off and Daniel was just about to follow her when Colonel Northcote called him back. ‘Not so fast, young cub. My forgiveness has a price.’
Daniel turned around resignedly. He might have guessed as much. ‘And what is your price, Colonel?’ he asked wearily.
‘Do not look so anxious, Daniel. I only ask that you do not tell your sister that I know you are her brother. I do not wish her to know that I am aware she was the footpad who tried to rob me. Her secret is safe with me but I wish to get my own back and tease her a little.’
Daniel relaxed and grinned. It was a condition that he could readily agree to. Sophie was definitely not in his good books and it would do her good to squirm a little. He only hoped he would be there to see it. He thanked the Colonel and skipped off just too pleased that the masquerade was over and he had come off so lightly.
*****
Harry, having returned to collect the plate of refreshments he had left on the table, returned to Sophie and Emmaline who were wondering what had become of him. The sun was slowly descending, but the day had remained dry and it was a pleasant evening for dancing. The dancing was due to start in five minutes and they were eager to join in the fun. Having each washed down an almond macaroon with lemonade, the three made their way to the dais where the musicians had gathered again. Colonel Northcote needed to find a way to get Sophie alone, and requesting the waltz seemed to be the only way to do it. He need not have worried for once the dancing had started Emmaline had admirers of her own and was not short of dance partners.
Colonel Northcote escorted Sophie to a garden seat as he wished to tell her about his visit to Mr Redesdale. Mr Redesdale had confirmed very much what Sophie had said, but he had added a very interesting observation. He had told Colonel Northcote that he had the impression, that apart from himself and possibly Lord Dereham, the whole card game had been contrived and the others were in on it. Lord Trevarren claimed that he had seen Lord Northcote flick the King of Hearts on the floor when no-one was looking but no-one believed him. Mr Redesdale could not understand why his suggestion to play the hand again was vetoed but in retrospect, he suspected that the whole thing had been planned. At first, Mr Redesdale was loath to reveal this information to the Colonel because the main culprit was his brother, but the Colonel’s easy manner soon made him relax and he began to talk. Mr Redesdale, however, explained that it was only a suspicion and he really had no evidence one way or the other.
He related all this to Sophie as she listened intently with wide eyes. He looked into those blue eyes. He could see it now. Yes, she had the same eyes as her cousin Sebastian, but they were also the eyes of his lady rogue. He knew that knowledge was always easy after the event, but he was annoyed with himself for not knowing it sooner. Harry consoled himself with the fact that he would have a delightful time teasing her about it but now was not the best moment. He would wait until an appropriate time when he could savour the enjoyment of it.
‘That is all very well,’ he heard her saying, ‘but we still cannot prove anything.’
‘No,’ the Colonel admitted. ‘But if I can speak to each of them, I might trap one of them into giving something away.’
Sophie looked hopeful for the first time. ‘Oh, could you? With the exception of Mr Redesdale, they are all here at the garden party. I have spotted each one of them at some point during the day. Lord Ashenden is here and Mr Featherstone and of course, you know the others.’
Harry had already spoken to Viscount Ashenden and Mr Dereham when he first arrived but he had not set his eyes on Mr Featherstone. ‘I am aware,’ he replied. ‘I shall start asking questions tonight then. Will you be here for the fireworks when it gets dark? Maybe I will have more news for you.’
Sophie nodded her head regretfully. It would be far too late for Daniel and so they would be leaving before the adult entertainment was fully underway, but as she thought the Colonel to be totally unaware of Daniel’s existence, she could hardly tell him that.
‘I think my Aunt will be wanting to go home long before the fireworks,’ she replied. ‘It will have been a long day for her.’
‘Then I will call upon you tomorrow whether I have news or not,’ he assured her.
The music for the waltz was beginning and the Colonel stood up and took Sophie’s hand. ‘Our dance, I believe.’
He led her onto the makeshift dance floor where the play had been performed just three hours earlier, and expertly guided her across the floor. She felt the warmth of his hands on the small of her back and the hard muscles of his firm thighs as they brushed against her own and a feeling of hot desire permeated her body. She looked into his dark, moss green eyes trying to read what she saw there. He was a Northcote, but it was t
rue, he was different to his brother. He had asked her to marry him and she had refused. She wondered if she had made a mistake. Had she lost the chance of happiness? Would he ask her again and if he did would she say, yes? She was not sure but oh, dancing with him, his body brushing tantalisingly close to hers, was pure heaven.
He held her close savouring every movement as they made their way across the dance floor, her body responding to his every movement. She was young and vibrant and he wanted her like he had wanted no other woman. He would move heaven and earth to win her affections. The music was coming to an end and he sighed regretfully. Taking her hand in his, he led her off the Dias. ‘Come, Sophie, We shall take a stroll around the ornamental lake.’
Sophie was not quite sure. She wanted to, but the evening was cutting in and she was not sure if her Aunt would approve. Many of the families with children had left for home and nearly everyone else had gathered for the dance. The gardens were quieter now and chaperones were becoming more vigilant. The Colonel seemed to read her thoughts. ‘There are still plenty of people milling about and I do not think your Aunt will have any objections.’ He smiled to himself. In fact, he was sure that her Aunt Caroline would be only too pleased to encourage it.
He offered her his arm. She took it and they wandered down towards the ornamental lake stopping to admire the flowers along the way. They passed one or two couples who were doing very much the same thing, but on the whole, it was quiet and there were plenty of places to be private. He found a seat which had been deliberately set into a recess in a formal hedgerow and was partially hidden from view. The sun was waning and there was a nip in the air and Sophie drew her Norwich shawl around her shoulders. Coots and Moorhens were scuttling in and out of the small reed bed, feeding on insects and algae and keeping themselves busy. One of the moorhens had a family. The young were semi-independent, but they were still prepared to take food from the mother and would pester her for a morsel every now and then.
‘Oh, what a wonderful sight. It is well past the breeding season, that must be a second brood,’ declared Sophie as she watched them going busily about their business.
Lady Trevarren and the Emerald Brooch: A Regency Romance and Murder Mystery Page 9