“I fail to understand you, sir,” said John stiffly.
“No, you don’t. You understand me perfectly. We’re both men of the world and it’s a fair bargain. I’ll probably be out of pocket, but I don’t mind paying for what I want, as long as I get what I pay for. And I always get what I pay for, because there’s trouble if I don’t.”
John stared at him, feeling sick with loathing at this man who spoke of Rena in such a way. He would have liked to slam his fist into Wyngate’s face. The only thing that had prevented him was the reflection that he himself had exposed Rena to this by claiming her as his cousin.
To have inflicted violence on him would had cast further suspicion on Rena, so John clenched his fists and controlled himself with a violent effort.
Wyngate’s cold eyes met his.
“I’m quite sure you follow me,” he said.
John had the nightmarish sensation that cobwebs were being spun around him, and when he tried to break them he would find that they were made of steel.
Where was Rena?
Why didn’t she come and help him?
*
Rena and Matilda had reached the lake, and were wandering around it.
“What a wonderful place for swimming!” Matilda exclaimed.
“If it was thoroughly cleaned up, yes,” Rena agreed.
“I enjoy swimming. In America the girls swim almost as much as the men, but that doesn’t seem to happen in England. And when you do swim, you have to wear a swimming costume that smothers you, and is thick and uncomfortable. I swim my best when I have nothing on.”
“Does your father allow you to do that?” Rena asked, startled.
“He doesn’t know,” Matilda admitted. “I wait until he’s out shooting or ordering some poor creatures about, then I go out to swim, and I make sure I’m back in my room, dressed like a lady before he returns.”
Rena laughed. “I think that’s very sensible of you,” she said, “as long as he doesn’t catch you.”
“Yes, he’d be very angry if he thought I wasn’t behaving like a perfect lady. And when he says ‘lady’ he means ‘lady with a title’.”
“Is that what you want?”
Solemnly Matilda shook her head.
“I’m twenty-four,” she said wearily, “and what I want is to stop being dragged about the world, while Papa searches for a title he thinks is grand enough for me, or rather, for him.
“I want to love and marry a man who loves me madly. Then our love would make us happy, whether or not we had Papa’s money, or a large house. Without the one you love the grandest house would be cold and empty.”
“Then it’s love that matters the most to you,” Rena said in a soft voice.
There was silence for a moment, then Matilda said,,
“If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to tell Papa?”
“Of course I promise,” Rena replied. “If it’s a secret I won’t tell anyone at all.”
“Very well.” Matilda took a deep breath. “I am in love, with a man who loves me as much as I love him.”
As she spoke she looked over her shoulder as if she was afraid someone would hear her.
Dropping her voice almost to a whisper, Rena asked: “Does your father know?”
“No, of course not!” Matilda said. “And you’ve promised not to tell him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my word. But what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. We’re only here because he wants me to have a title. Last month he tried to trick a Duke into marrying me. But the Duke escaped and Papa was lividly angry. I thought he was going to kill somebody. He’s capable of it, you know.”
“You mean he already has killed someone?”
“No – at least – I don’t know. It’s only a suspicion and I may be wrong. A man was causing Papa trouble, and he vanished a little too conveniently.”
“Good heavens! What happened?”
“I don’t know. He just vanished and was never seen again. Papa was trying to get control of a railroad in America, and this man was trying to stop him. Maybe it wasn’t Papa. The man had other enemies. It’s more that I’m certain he could do something like that. It’s there, inside him.
“I’ve seen him flex his fingers against the air, like this – ” Matilda made the gesture. “As though he had somebody’s neck in his hands, and would enjoy squeezing it.”
Rena nodded. Mr Wyngate had struck her in exactly the same way.
“But it doesn’t last, you see,” Matilda went on. “He has a brief spell of being murderously angry, and then he puts it behind him and goes on to the next thing.”
“And the ‘next thing’ is Lord Lansdale?”
“Yes. Papa read about his inheriting the title in the newspapers, and said ‘All right, he’ll have to do’. He said he was sure Lord Lansdale was in love with me. Well, I could hardly keep from laughing.
“John and I met at a ball my father gave. He danced with me twice and we chatted over a glass of wine. The only thing he could talk about was his ship, but according to Papa he’d been giving me languishing looks, and would have confessed his ‘love’ but that he had nothing to offer me.”
“Did you believe that?” Rena asked, frowning.
“Not for one moment,” Matilda said emphatically. “I know when a man’s in love with me.”
“Do you?” Rena asked, startled. “I mean, even if he doesn’t say anything?”
“Good heavens, he doesn’t have to say anything?” Matilda said with a chuckle. “It’s there in how he looks at you, an inflexion in his voice and – oh, you know.”
Rena didn’t, but it was impossible to admit.
“Anyway, Papa started ‘reminding’ me how much I’d liked John. Honestly I barely remembered him, but when I tried to say so, Papa got angry. He wants that title and he won’t listen to anyone who says he can’t have it.”
“If he’s got so much money why doesn’t he just buy his own?” Rena asked.
“He tried, but the most he could get was a knighthood. Not good enough, you see. An Earl is the least he’ll settle for.”
“Does the man you love have a title?”
“No, he’s just plain Mr Cecil Jenkins. But as long as I can be with him, I’m happy to be Mrs. Cecil Jenkins.”
She spoke bravely, but she also looked over her shoulder.
“It’s all so exciting,” Rena said, “but I am afraid your dreams may never come true.”
“I’m determined to make them come true,” Matilda retorted. “But we have to wait a little while. If I elope now Papa would cut me off without a penny.”
“Is that ever going to change?”
“No, but we are saving money. I’m getting as much as I can from Papa without him being suspicious. Then when we can afford it, we’ll get married and hide until he’s forgiven us, which he’ll have to do in the end.”
“Unless he writes you off, takes another wife and has more children,” Rena pointed out.
“Good heavens, you’re right. I must make him double my allowance without delay.”
Rena was torn between admiration of the girl’s courage and a slight feeling of unease at the ruthlessness with which she extracted her father’s cash in order to defy him.
“You’re shocked, aren’t you?” Matilda said, reading her face. “But I’m his daughter and I can be as determined as he is. And how else can I defend myself from him?”
“You can’t,” Rena agreed. “When the danger is great, you must use whatever defence will succeed. And if I can help you in any way, perhaps hide you, or prevent your father from guessing what you are doing, then you can trust me.”
“I knew that when I first saw you,” Matilda said eagerly. “I haven’t had anyone to talk to for such a long time, and I was sure as soon as I came into the house that the Earl wasn’t the least in love with me, no matter what Papa said.”
She gave Rena an impish smile. “In fact, I think he’d rather marry you.”
; Rena stared, her heart pounding. Suddenly she was short of breath. Then she pulled herself together. “You are forgetting that I’m a married woman.”
“Oh, nonsense, of course you’re not. That story will do very well for Papa, but not for me. Don’t worry. You keep my secret, and I will keep yours.”
“In any case, I’m sure you’re mistaken,” Rena said hurriedly. “His Lordship is not interested in me – in that way?”
“Do you call him ‘Your Lordship’ when you’re alone together?” Matilda asked mischievously.
“I really don’t see – in any case you’ve only seen us together for about five minutes – ”
“And for all that five minutes his eyes followed you about. I know how he feels about you, but how do you feel about him? Hasn’t he ever clasped you in his arms and held you against him? Wasn’t it thrilling?”
Rena recalled the hug John had given her earlier that day. It had been kind and brotherly, no more. But then she remembered that other time, when they had fallen on the carpet together, because he had thought she was the ghost. She couldn’t banish from her consciousness the feeling of John’s hard body against hers, the power she had sensed in him. Matilda was right. It had been thrilling.
But that had been an accident, nothing to do with love. And yet…..
“I hope you find a way to be with the man you love,” she said, meaning it.
For a moment Matilda’s brave mood seemed to fall away and she sighed. “If he ever knew I was in love with Cecil or that Cecil loved me, he would find some way of either getting him out of the country or perhaps even killing him. Papa has always got what he wanted, and sometimes I think he always will.”
“I can imagine. You will have to be very, very clever.”
The impish smile returned to Matilda’s face. “But of course I’m clever. I’m not Jeremiah Wyngate’s daughter for nothing.”
*
“Now listen here, Lansdale, if you refuse my suggestion you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. You’ve got to learn to seize your chances, and take what you want in life.
It’s insane to turn down a good offer when it is made to you.”
“You are very kind, but – ”
“Never mind all that. I’m offering you an excellent bargain. You’ll get your house restored to perfect order, everything that money can buy. What more could you want?”
“A wife I loved, and who loved me?” the Earl suggested lightly.
“Sentimental nonsense! Besides, my daughter has always found you very attractive. She confided as much to me after your last meeting.”
“As I recall I talked mostly about my ship. I think she was thoroughly bored.”
“Well, of course she didn’t show her feelings. Girls don’t. But I knew. Now it’s time for action.”
“You’re going much too fast,” John said. “Even if I can believe that your daughter had any feelings for me at that ball, it was some time back. She may have other ideas now. Women like to choose their own husbands, not to have them chosen for them!”
“My daughter is different,” Mr Wyngate replied. “She does what I want and she knows which side her bread is buttered!”
The Earl winced at the brutality of this utterance.
“You won’t know this place when my men have finished with it,” Wyngate said.
“Your men?”
“The men I shall employ to bring it back to its best. Architects, craftsmen, the best that money can buy. The expense will be no object to me.”
“But that might not be the ideal way to restore this place.”
“What the devil do you mean by that? Of course it’s the ideal way. Spending money is always the way. There isn’t another.”
“That depends on what you’re trying to achieve,” the Earl said quietly.
“But we’ve already agreed what we’re trying to achieve,” Wyngate said impatiently. “To put the Earl of Lansdale in the setting he ought to have, the setting his ancestors had. Fine lands, a fine house. You’ll need a town house as well but that can come later.”
“Excuse me,” the Earl interrupted him, “that may be your object, but it isn’t mine. I can’t just think about myself. If this estate can be made to flourish it can bring prosperity to the neighbourhood, give employment to the local craftsmen and traders.”
“Good grief, man! What do you want to worry about them for? A man must think about himself.”
“But not only himself,” the Earl said quietly.
There was a sudden firmness in his voice that alerted Wyngate to the fact that his tactics were at fault. He wasn’t a sensitive or subtle man but he was a shrewd one where his own wishes were concerned, and the Earl’s words had shed a new light across his path.
“Of course not,” he barked now. “A man should share his good fortune with others less fortunate. Noblesse oblige! Very proper. Of course you know your duty to the neighbourhood. But your people will benefit from what I propose. My men will come in and decide what needs to be done, and then employ the locals to do it.
“They’ll need to buy provisions from local shops. Some of them will stay at the nearest hotel. They’ll spend money, and that’s what it’s all about after all. Well, that’s settled. I’m glad we understand each other.”
“You’re rushing ahead of me – ”
“When you’ve had a good idea, get to work without delay. That’s my motto.”
Two shadows darkened the French windows, and Rena came in, followed by Matilda.
“So there you both are,” Wyngate cried with a ghastly attempt at geniality that set everyone’s teeth on edge. “We were just making our plans. My people will start work on this house next week.”
There was a stunned silence from the others. It was broken by the last sound anybody was expecting.
A titter.
A stupid, bird-brained, idiotic titter.
It had come from Rena.
The Earl stared at her. The sheer inanity of the sound, coming from her, took him aback.
“Oh, dear me,” she said, covering her mouth with her fingers, and tittering again. “Oh My Lord, how honoured I am to be the first to hear your delightful news. My goodness me, such a proud day for the family.”
“Honoured?” he stared at her.
“To be the first to hear of your nuptials. Oh, I declare! Oh my, oh my!”
He wondered if she had taken leave of her senses.
“You are mistaken, Mrs. Colwell,” the Earl said formally. “It is far too early to speak of nuptials. Miss Wyngate and I – ” he bowed in Matilda’s direction, “are merely going to get to know each other.”
“Naturally that will happen before any announcement,” Rena giggled, contriving to sound totally witless. “But there can be no doubt that there will be an announcement.”
“Indeed?” John said frostily.
“Why yes, indeed. If a gentleman like Mr Wyngate intends to start work which– forgive me – he knows you cannot pay for – then he is certainly doing so for his daughter’s husband. Who else would he be doing it for? ”
“What I mean is that should the wedding – by some accident – not take place, he could send you a bill for the whole cost of the repairs, could he not? Or perhaps a suit for breach of promise of marriage?”
Her eyes were wide and suspiciously innocent, fixed on his face.
“And so you see, once the workmen have arrived, it’s all settled, isn’t it?” she asked, tittering again. “I mean, there would be no going back. Even if you wanted to. Which of course, you wouldn’t. But if you did – you couldn’t – because of the witnesses, d’you see? Oh dear, I’m expressing myself very badly – ”
“On the contrary,” said the Earl. “You have expressed yourself perfectly.”
Mr Wyngate looked murderous.
“Get rid of this silly woman,” he snapped.
“You’re perfectly right,” the Earl said. “Mrs. Colwell, you have leapt to a false conclusion. No nuptials are planned, and no w
orkmen will be coming to this house, next week or at any other time.”
“In my opinion it would be better if they start immediately,” Wyngate grated.
“And in my opinion it would be better if they did not,” the Earl said flatly.
Wyngate changed tack.
“Now, Lansdale, you don’t want to listen to these female fantasies. You can’t imagine that I would – ”
“I don’t know what you would do,” the Earl said. “But the arrival of your men would place me in an equivocal position. My cousin is certainly right about that, and I would hate to attach any scandal to the family name, just as I am sure you would dislike any misunderstandings.”
“Misunderstandings can be sorted out,” Wyngate snapped.
“But how much better if they don’t occur in the first place!” the Earl said smoothly. “Now, shall we have some tea?”
“Don’t bother,” Wyngate said. “It’s time we were going. I told that coachman to wait in the grounds, so I suppose he’s still there.”
“I’ll summon him,” Rena said.
“I would have liked some tea,” Matilda said mildly.
“Shut up!” her father told her.
In no time the carriage was at the front door waiting for them. The coachman pulled down the step and opened the door. Matilda stepped in, followed by her father.
But before he entered the coach Wyngate turned back to face Rena and the Earl, standing on the step.
“I’ve never set my heart on anything I didn’t get,” he grated. “I’ll be seeing you again very shortly.”
Then he looked directly at Rena. It was a malevolent look, like a blast of icy wind. It told her that he wasn’t fooled. He knew exactly what she had done, and how she had done it. And she would be made to pay for it.
All this was in the silent, deadly gaze that he turned on her.
Then he got into the carriage and slammed the door.
CHAPTER SIX
“Thank goodness for you,” John said sombrely as they turned back into the house. “If you hadn’t come in when you did –” He shuddered. “Rena I hardly recognised you, talking in that half witted fashion.”
An Introduction to the Pink Collection Page 7