The Crimson Cavaliers

by Mary Andrea Clarke

  “Really, miss?” Emily asked in mild surprise as she went to Georgiana’s wardrobe. “Whatever for?”

  “They were travelling in Sir Robert’s carriage. Lady Winters certainly seemed very friendly with him, so it’s possible she, or her daughter, may know something, even though they do not realise it.”

  “Do you think she’ll tell you anything?”

  Georgiana shrugged. Despite her high-handed manner, Lady Winters was a gossip. Whether she would share any knowledge with Georgiana was another matter. “I don’t know, but some sympathy can’t hurt. However, I’m not certain I can visit without my cousin insisting on accompanying me.”

  Emily smiled. “She does feel so responsible for you.” The maid brightened as a thought occurred to her. “I could come with you.”

  “That would be infinitely preferable,” said Georgiana, “but, no, Selina’s feelings would certainly be hurt. Think how difficult it would be if she considered you had put her nose out of joint.”

  “Lord, yes,” said Emily.

  The object of this conversation made her presence felt at that moment, as a voice called Georgiana’s name uncertainly from the corridor. Georgiana smiled at Emily, shook her head and opened the door of the bedchamber.

  “Here, Selina.”

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but the carriage is ready. Are you still intending to go out?”

  “Yes. Has my brother gone?”

  Selina nodded. “Right after you left us.” She hesitated. “He did not seem very happy.”

  “Don’t let it trouble you.”

  “But it does, Georgiana. I do hate to see family members disagree. It’s so uncomfortable.”

  “Well, never mind. Think how much worse it would be if we lived under the same roof.”

  Georgiana glanced towards Emily, waiting patiently in the bedchamber with her mistress’s pelisse over her arm. Selina stood twisting her handkerchief between her hands, looking nervously at Georgiana.

  “Would you like me to accompany you wherever it is you mean to go?”she asked in an uncertain tone.

  Edward’s gift for avoiding anything of an uncomfortable nature meant that it was unlikely he had mentioned Sir Robert Foster’s death to Selina. However, it was inconvenient for Georgiana, making it difficult for her to question Lady Winters and her daughter with her cousin present. Selina continued her handkerchief wringing; there was nothing to be done but accept gracefully.

  “Why certainly, Selina, I should be glad of your company. But I have no wish to impose if you have something else to do.”

  “Impose? Georgiana, what a notion. I’m sure you could do no such thing.”

  “I don’t expect you to be at my beck and call,” said Georgiana. “You’re my cousin, Selina, not one of the servants.”

  Miss Knatchbull seemed cowed by this admonition. Georgiana’s conscience was pricked, but by taking advantage of her cousin’s hurt feelings, Georgiana could perhaps pay her morning call alone. Georgiana shrugged and walked towards Emily for her bonnet and pelisse. “Join me or not as you please, Selina. I must go.”

  Clearly intimating she was not wanted, Miss Knatchbull mumbled something about needing to sew the flounce of a skirt. She walked slowly towards her room, a suitably affected manner demonstrating the slight she felt. As Georgiana left her own bedchamber, Emily joined her in the doorway, glancing down the hall after Miss Knatchbull.

  “She’ll be difficult later,” observed the maid in a low voice.

  “Yes, but what else could I do? Can you imagine what a hindrance she would be in Lady Winters’s drawing room when I’m trying to find out about Sir Robert?”

  “I’ll try to calm her down while you’re out.”

  “Thank you, Emily. You’re a treasure.”

  Emily looked again at her mistress, another thought occurring to her. “Won’t Lady Winters think it strange, you calling on your own?”

  “Perhaps. But there’s nothing odd in visiting to see how they do. My cousin is otherwise occupied, and I will have a groom with me.”

  Emily nodded. “Good luck, miss.”

  Georgiana smiled her thanks and went swiftly down the stairs to the waiting carriage.

  Lady Winters proved to be away from home. However, the butler understood Miss Winters was in the small parlour if Miss Grey would care to see her.

  Miss Grey did indeed care to see Miss Winters. As she watched the butler’s retreating form, Georgiana mused on the opportunity provided by the absence of Lady Winters. Louisa was unquestionably more approachable, but Georgiana doubted whether the girl would be as well informed.

  The formal tones in which the butler stated that Miss Winters would be pleased to see Miss Grey contrasted with Louisa’s own greeting. She came forward enthusiastically, barely able to contain herself, a warm smile of pleasure lighting up her face. Her pale blue morning dress complemented the cornflower of her eyes, and the daylight set off her soft gold curls. Her sketch book was laid carelessly aside on the sofa.

  “Miss Grey! How good of you to call. Mama has gone out, I’m afraid. I’m sure Baxter told you that. Would you like some tea?”

  “Thank you, Miss Winters. I should like that very much. I’m so sorry, I’m interrupting you.”

  “Oh, no, it’s of no consequence,” said Louisa, gathering up her sketching. “Baxter, would you arrange some tea for us, please?”

  “Certainly, miss.”

  “I don’t know where Mama keeps the key to the tea caddy,” Louisa confided, “but I’m sure Baxter knows. He seems to know everything.”

  “Butlers are remarkable like that.”

  “Yes, aren’t they? Won’t you sit down?”

  Georgiana accepted the invitation with a smile, watching Louisa’s efforts to play hostess; it seemed she was unaccustomed to receiving guests on her own. Georgiana sensed knowledge gleaned from close instruction by a meticulous governess.

  “My cousin sends her apologies and asked to be remembered to you. I am afraid she is otherwise occupied this morning.”

  “That was kind of her,” said Louisa, blankly.

  “We wondered how you and your mother were faring after your unpleasant experience the other night,” Georgiana inquired.

  “Oh, the highwayman! Yes, we are quite well, thank you.” She paused, glancing at Georgiana from under her lashes. Apparently deciding she could be trusted, the girl continued, “It was a little frightening at first, but he was very polite.” A slight blush began to suffuse her porcelain complexion. “Quite gallant, in fact. I’m sure he wouldn’t have hurt us. I – I believe it was the Crimson Cavalier. Mama and Sir Robert seemed to think so.”

  This was ideal. With no need to cast around in her mind for a means of introducing the subject of Sir Robert, Georgiana opened her mouth to speak. She was too late.

  “Have you ever encountered the Crimson Cavalier, Miss Grey?”

  The question took Georgiana by surprise. “What? Oh, yes, I have come across him.”

  Louisa looked dreamily past Georgiana, forgetting the tea tray which had been placed between them. “Did you not find him quite charming?”

  The maid who had brought the tea goggled as she stood awaiting an instruction to pour. Georgiana smiled at her.

  “Thank you. We can manage.”

  With a look of grudging disappointment, the maid dragged herself away reluctantly. As the door closed, Louisa remembered the existence of the teapot and carefully poured out two cups, handing one to Georgiana with earnest concentration.

  “I’m not sure that’s precisely how I’d phrase it,” remarked Georgiana in answer to Louisa’s question.

  “I thought he was so dashing and fearless. What do you think makes a man take to the road, Miss Grey?”

  The question caught Georgiana off guard. How on earth could she answer it?

  “Oh, a variety of reasons, I imagine. Hardship, anger, desperation, boredom.”

  “Boredom?”

  Georgiana knew she was on dangerous ground. “Why
, yes,” she said, in cautious tones. “I imagine there are times when boredom must play a part.”

  “I’ve never thought about that.” Louisa gazed ahead, her chin propped on her hands. “I can understand it, though. It must be such an exciting life,” she mused. “Can you imagine?”

  “Vividly,” said Georgiana. “Miss Winters –”

  “Oh, please, call me Louisa.”

  “Thank you. Louisa. I suppose you’ve heard the sad news that Sir Robert was killed last night?”

  “Yes.” Louisa’s face was immediately composed into solemn expression. “Yes. It was quite horrid, wasn’t it? But I’m sure the Crimson Cavalier wouldn’t have done it. He was too much the gentleman.”

  There was some comfort in having one champion, although Georgiana was growing tired of doe-eyed young ladies sighing over the Crimson Cavalier. A highwayman could afford to be blunt. Miss Georgiana Grey had to be more circumspect. She looked thoughtfully at the girl. There must be some way of getting her off the subject.

  As Louisa gave her visitor a shy smile, Georgiana realised she was being adopted as confidante. The situation offered mixed blessings, but the peculiarities of her predicament forced her to take advantage.

  “He seemed so much more exciting than the gentlemen one usually meets, you know, the eligible gentlemen,” said Louisa, an alarming glow in her eyes.

  “Indeed … ” responded Georgiana. This was becoming a trial. How long could one girl enthuse over someone who, in one fleeting encounter, had taken her jewellery at pistol point? The visit was accomplishing nothing. Georgiana toyed with the notion of making her excuses and taking leave.

  “Sir Robert wanted to marry me,” said Louisa in matter-of-fact tones.

  The sudden change of subject caught Georgiana completely off her guard. It took a moment to adjust her thoughts. Sir Robert was going to marry a girl barely out of the schoolroom? He had certainly shown an unpleasantly amorous interest in her on the night of the robbery, but marriage? Had Lady Winters encouraged such a match? An avenue which moments earlier had seemed one of stultifying futility became one of promise.

  Taking a deep breath, Georgiana discovered in herself a desire for more tea. She leaned forward, cup poised hopefully in Louisa’s direction. She was not disappointed and waited until the girl had finished her careful filling of the two cups before speaking. The few minutes grace had given her a chance to mask her surprise as she formulated her sentence.

  “Really?” Georgiana asked, keeping her tone to one of mild interest. “Were you in love with him?” She felt the foolishness of the question even as she asked it.

  “Oh, no,” Louisa responded airily. “But, Sir Robert is – I mean, was – very rich and I believe some of his land is very close to ours. When he told Mama he wanted to marry me, she thought it would be a good match. He wasn’t her first choice. She would prefer me to marry my cousin Max. He is my guardian, with Mama, you know.”

  Georgiana nodded.

  “Anyway, that has never come to anything. Perhaps now Sir Robert is dead, Mama will try again to bring it about.”

  Louisa’s casual manner in speaking of her mother’s choice of suitors for her daughter was an odd sensation for Georgiana, used to making her own decisions. Even had her parents lived, Georgiana knew they would never have tried to force an unwilling daughter into an unacceptable alliance, and this knowledge contributed to her resentment of Edward’s consistent attempts to take charge of her life. Louisa seemed content to accept her fate. Yet it did not fit with the girl who had seemed so uncomfortable in her admirer’s presence a few evenings ago. Georgiana looked at Louisa thoughtfully. What could persuade her to acquiesce to the arrangement? Sir Robert’s wealth? Or was it fear of her mother?

  “Would you prefer to marry your cousin?” Georgiana inquired.

  “Oh, no,” Louisa giggled. “Max and I are great friends, but he is just like my brother, besides being quite old.”

  There seemed nothing to say in answer to this. As Georgiana took a sip of tea, she became aware of Louisa looking at her in slightly embarrassed fashion. Perhaps there was something more. Georgiana smiled encouragingly.

  “To tell you the truth, Miss Grey, I – I am rather glad Sir Robert is dead. I did not wish to marry him, but Mama, you know … ”

  “I know,” said Georgiana sympathetically. “I should not have wished to marry him either.”

  “I know I should not say such a thing,” said Louisa, with a sigh. “I daresay you are very shocked.”

  “Not at all,” said Georgiana. “I promise I shall not repeat it. We are all acquainted with people we do not like. It is not a crime, unless, of course, you killed Sir Robert.”

  “Oh, my goodness, no,” Louisa responded with a slight laugh. “I should not be brave enough.”

  Georgiana’s forehead creased into a puzzled frown. Brave was an odd word for the girl to use. Georgiana was about to pursue the point when an interruption came in the shape of Lady Winters’s butler.

  “Excuse me, miss, Mr Lakesby has called. I informed him her ladyship was away from home and you were engaged with a visitor but he was quite insistent on seeing you.”

  Having made no attempt to wait until he was announced, Louisa’s ‘elderly’ cousin followed hard upon the heels of the butler.

  “Thank you, Baxter. You may go.”

  It was clear the visitor would brook no argument. If the squeak of delight emitted by Louisa as she jumped up to greet her cousin offended the butler’s dignity, his impassive countenance gave no hint as he silently left the room.

  For one so advanced in years, Mr Lakesby had not a single grey hair among his brown locks and his face appeared remarkably unlined. Furthermore, his physique suggested regular sparring sessions at Gentleman Jackson’s Saloon. Georgiana judged his age at about thirty, although the stern expression directed towards his young cousin was characteristic of someone older. The realisation that Louisa was entertaining did not appear to soften his mood. Nonetheless, his manners remained unimpaired as he turned towards Georgiana, his elegant bearing accentuated by his perfectly cut coat.

  “Max, this is Miss Grey. We stopped at her house after we were robbed. Miss Grey, this is my cousin, Mr Lakesby.”

  Louisa looked from one to the other and smiled with relief, seeming pleased at the apparent success of an unsupervised introduction.

  Lakesby bowed slightly towards Georgiana, looking at her more attentively. He greeted her politely, if not with enthusiasm.

  “Ah, that Miss Grey. I am very pleased to meet you.”

  “Mr Lakesby.”

  “I am slightly acquainted with your brother, Mr Edward Grey.”

  “Oh?” Edward had never mentioned it. Still, if the acquaintance was slight, that would explain it. Mr Lakesby certainly didn’t seem the type of gentleman her brother would have as a friend.

  “I’d like to thank you for sheltering my aunt and cousin after their ordeal,” he continued. “I am sure my aunt did not trouble to do so.”

  The hint of a smile lightened the stern expression of his eyes. Georgiana suspected he featured in the ambitions of numerous matchmaking mamas. No doubt, as his aunt, Lady Winters would feel herself at an advantage.

  “I was glad to help, Mr Lakesby. I’m sure anyone would have done the same under the circumstances.”

  “I doubt it,” he remarked dryly.

  Georgiana raised an eyebrow. “Are you always so cynical, Mr Lakesby?”

  He shrugged. “Realistic. Come, Miss Grey, surely you were not glad to find my Aunt Beatrice and Sir Robert Foster beating down your door in the middle of the night?”

  Georgiana eyed him with scepticism. He gave a wry smile.

  “Highwayman or not, I should not regard such a visit as a treat.”

  Georgiana was surprised at his forthright words. She knew she should make her excuses and depart, but felt some acknowledgement was necessary. “Now poor Sir Robert is dead,” she sighed. “It is quite shocking. He was most unfortunate.�
��

  “Fortunate it didn’t happen sooner,” observed Lakesby.

  Georgiana blinked, genuinely shocked. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You seem a sensible woman, Miss Grey. So we will not pretend he was a popular man.”

  “Max, you should not say such things,” said Louisa.

  Lakesby turned to his cousin. “It is hardly a secret, Louisa. I should not be surprised to find any number of people more comfortable since his death.”

  “Mr Lakesby, Sir Robert Foster was murdered. Does that not concern you?”

  “Sir Robert Foster’s movements have never been my concern. Why should I concern myself now?”

  “But, Max–” Louisa began. A stern look stemmed her outburst; it was clear her cousin did not want her to speak. Georgiana wondered what the girl had been about to say.

  “I understand Sir Robert was on the same road where he was robbed the previous night.”

  Lakesby shrugged. “Foolish of him to go out on that road a second night. A sensible man would have known better.”

  “Perhaps he was looking for the Crimson Cavalier,” offered Louisa.

  Lakesby gave a crack of laughter. “Whatever for?”

  “To teach him a lesson. He was very angry, wasn’t he, Miss Grey?”

  “True,” said Georgiana. “He had quite a list of retributions ready. Perhaps he did not wish to wait.”

  “For what? To call him to account?” demanded Lakesby. “Sir Robert Foster was hardly the man for heroics, especially when he could use the magistrates’ bench to exact vengeance. In any case, the time for bravery was when the coach was held up. Little point in looking for a highwayman the day after the robbery.”

  “Very true,” said Georgiana, as though she had not previously been struck by this aspect. She decided she was wasting her time and rose to depart. “You must forgive me; my cousin will wonder what has become of me.”

  The movement showed the edge of her bandage, catching Lakesby’s attention. “Miss Grey, I see you have hurt your hand. Not a serious injury, I trust?”

  “Oh, no,” Georgiana responded. “It was very foolish; I am quite ashamed to admit it. I knocked over a tea cup and scalded myself.”