Regency Romances for the Ages

by Grace Fletcher

  Catherine closed her eyes, and Drake took a moment to appreciate the long lashes that rested against her pale cheeks. “Oh my Lord!” She said, sounding absolutely devastated. There was no happiness in her now, it was as if Drake had witnessed a spring being coiled up inside her. The relief had been replaced with horror. It surprised and angered him that the officer did not seem to notice, but prattled on, in a gossipy way.

  “I’ve heard that Sir George offered Sir Peter the money back, but of course, Sir Peter was far too chivalrous to accept. The two of them are arguing about it even now.”

  “Of course, George would offer,” Catherine said, in a voice that sounded on the point of breaking. “But of course, Sir Peter would refuse. Anyone could see that he is far too noble to go back on his word.”

  “Yes!” the Officer continued. “I believe it is grievous."

  “Enough now.” Drake interrupted, his voice unusually strict. “I believe the lady needs some air. Her delicate sensibilities have been affected.”

  The officer looked immediately apologetic, and Catherine assured him with a smile that she was alright. But when Sir Drake took her hand and led her to a seat in the room next door, he could feel her knees tremble with each step.

  Who was this woman? He wondered. Her shock should have come first, and her relief should have come after but Catherine had reacted completely differently. Even now, when she had pulled herself together and tried to look suitably unmoved, even now, he saw a faint tremor in the bottom of her tightly clasped lips.

  He had to know.

  “Did you love the statue so much?” Drake asked. “You never did directly answer what you felt about it.”

  She shook her head. “I hate it. I hate that statue with all my life.”

  “Then surely, you should be glad that it has shattered; or perhaps relieved?” He said.

  She looked up, shocked, and at that moment, he saw that she perceived he had been observing her from the first. A look of surprise, then fear, then anger spread through her delightful face.

  “You remind me of the statue.” He said, suddenly, and saw her eyes grow even wider.

  “I beg your pardon?” she asked, her face once again a porcelain mask.

  “I spent a long time staring at it, you see,” He said. “For one, you share some of the statue’s features; the same nose, the same long neck, the same almond eyes. But more than that it was the statue’s face when you stare at it long enough, the entire spectrum of human emotion seems to dance in the shadows across its face. I was captivated. I could not tear my eyes away. My lady, when I look at you, I feel that I see the same emotions dance across your face.”

  Her eyes fluttered, her pale cheeks developed two angry red spots. “I believe, Sir Drake, that if you consciously chose a time when flattery was least appealing to me, you succeeded marvellously.”

  Chapter 4

  Misplaced Compassion

  S ir Drake drew back, appalled. He was not the kind of man who prided himself on his ability to flirt. If anything, he prided himself on his lack of flirtation. He had always been blunt enough to speak only what he thought, and he had not even realized that his words would be taken by her to mean that he was passionate about her. Women, who, for the most part, seemed predictably romantic or cold-hearted, had seldom appealed to him beyond his lusts. Laura had often scolded him for his detachment, and the ease with which he seemed to move from one to another once his needs had been fulfilled.

  Yet for the first time, he had poured out his heart to a woman only to have her think that he was mocking her!

  “I apologize,” He said. “I did not mean to-”

  “I apologize,” She said simultaneously, “It’s just-”

  They both paused, and then, miraculously, both laughed together at the same time.

  “I’m sorry,” She said again. “That statue has driven me mad, and I was far too harsh. I do believe I have been worried sick about it since the very beginning and now, to find out that Sir Peter has to suffer so because of it, how I wish I had destroyed it myself!”

  “You see?” He said. “When you talk this way, when you are compassionate to a man you barely know and lament the loss of his money more than the loss to your own cousin. I feel as if you are more enigmatic than the statue itself. Why were you worried about the statue from the very beginning?”

  He saw her close her eyes as if she had committed a grave error and withdraw into herself. “I beg your pardon, my lord. I believe the shock of the day’s events has unhinged me temporarily. I only meant that while I feel for my cousin, he lost nothing but a few months of effort, whereas Sir Peter lost a significant sum of money.”

  She looked at him as if daring him to ask her more, her eyes promising that her mysteries would never be fathomed by him. Drake prepared to press her when Laura swept into the room.

  “Brother dearest! You must come and console Peter, I beg of you, he acts unconcerned but-” Laura stopped as she saw Catherine and Drake together. “I beg your pardon, I thought you were alone. You quite dwarf the lady, and she was well hidden behind you.”

  “Laura. May I present to you, Lady Catherine Haddington, cousin to George Haskett. My lady Catherine, this is my sister Laura Limonet, Viscountess of Limonet.”

  The two curtsied, and Catherine said, “My lady, I was devastated to hear the loss that your husband has incurred. May I offer my full and absolute apology.”

  Laura looked glum. “I thank you my lady, but your apologies are unnecessary. I believe it was only a matter of luck.”

  Sir Drake did point out that it was curious how luck seemed to follow in the statue’s footsteps; bad luck for his family, and good luck for George. On a thought, he asked Laura, “Did you see the remains of the statue Laura? How badly was it shattered? Perhaps Peter could find a sculptor to put it back together.”

  “Oh, no, the statue was shattered in the yard, apparently when some of George’s men were trying to put it into a stagecoach to deliver to us. They swept away the remains and disposed of them.”

  Drake felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. “So no one has seen the remains of this priceless sculpture? We are putting our trust in some delivery boys?”

  “If my cousin says it has smashed, I will believe him and while you stand in our ancestral halls, kind sir, I would humbly request you to believe him too.” Catherine had risen, and her head was thrown back in pride, her eyes narrowed in angry slits.

  “I beg pardon, Lady Catherine. I do not wish to cast any aspersions on your cousin but all the same, I will not allow my brother-in-law to lose even the shards of a treasure that he has made payment for.” Drake turned to her, an equal heat rising in him. “As to your cousin, I have experience of George’s ways. Because of him I-” but here, honor would not allow him to speak further. He pressed his lips together and turned away. “I must meet Peter at once, Laura. Where is he?”

  He had scarcely asked the question when Peter rushed into the room, closing the door behind him. Rushing to Drake, he grabbed him by the shoulders and said urgently, “Time is short Drake! Come with me at once! We must ride until dawn.”

  Chapter 5

  Stolen

  “W hat is it, Peter?” Laura asked anxiously.

  But Peter, with eyes that saw nothing but Drake, said in a rush: “I believe the whole thing is an outrage, Drake! My manservant Harland overheard something scandalous. The statue is not broken it has been stolen; most despicably so! George Haskett has committed fraud!”

  “A fraud!”

  “Indeed! He shattered a simple piece of porcelain, claimed it to be the statue, and showed me a few broken shards. The real statue has been sent off in a coach to another buyer! I will deal with Haskett in the manner of the law when we come back- but for now we must retrieve that statue! I have arranged the horses and we are to chase the men immediately.” Sir Peter said.

  There was a loud crash. An enameled vase that had been on the side-table now lay on the floor, the lilies in it l
ooking crushed and weary. Just as crushed as Catherine, who had clutched the table, now looked. “No!” she said, in a voice partway between a sob and a laugh. “It cannot be so!”

  Sir Peter, seeing her for the first time, exclaimed, “Good lord Drake! Was she here the whole time? Your herculean frame blocked her completely!”

  Catherine, by now, had seated herself once more on the sofa and looked very pale. Drake, who was ready by now to snap George’s neck in half, felt some of his anger melt away as he looked at her. A scandal of this nature would likely ruin the Haskett family and might even cause their lands to be taken away from them. What would become of her then? He knew that after her father’s death, she had no surviving family apart from George. Would she then face destitution?

  Then it suddenly made sense to him. Catherine’s inexplicable emotions were all too easily explained if she had known of the fraud all along. She and George had both conspired together to gain the money from an innocent man. He looked at her now and thought that the paleness of her countenance was a clear sign of a guilty conscience.

  “She is George’s cousin, Catherine Haskett.” Laura was saying to Peter.

  “Then we are lost,” Peter said. “She will surely reveal all to George and he in turn will tell his men. Right now, I have heard from Harland that, two days hence, these blackguards will pause at a certain inn near Newhaven, after which they will journey to Paris on a boat. It is essential we stop them before they leave the country. If George finds out, he will no doubt send word to his men to change their route, and then we shall never see that statue again.”

  “We can’t allow that to happen. Oh surely, surely Catherine will keep her silence?” Laura protested.

  “Would you really trust the cousin-sister of a man such as Haskett?” Peter asked.

  “We have no need of her trust.” Said Drake, decisively. “Peter, my friend, my brother, instruct Harland to get a coach ready. We will, all of us, journey to Newhaven together.”

  Catherine gasped. “Sir!” she cried.

  “Drake, you cannot mean to take Lady Catherine too?” Laura cried.

  “There is no need for her to fear for her honor.” Drake sneered, “Since you, my sister, will be present to chaperone. But Lady Catherine will come with us, this day. Whether it be willingly or by force!”

  “Drake!” Laura looked appalled. “You do realize we are in Haskett Hall. We have not a hope of leaving here unnoticed with her in tow.”

  “No? I have lived in this very manor several times as a boy.” Drake said. “I know every corner and every tunnel. I know a dozen ways in and twice that many out!”

  “But how?”

  “There’s no time to waste.” Drake continued. “Peter, you and Laura must bid goodbye to our kind host, Sir Haskett. Make sure he suspects nothing! Act as if you are heartbroken and weary and need your rest. Then, you must take the coach and leave the manor. Cross the field and wait for us a mile down the road. We will be there before the hour has struck.”

  “How!” gasped Laura. But Peter, a man with little time to spare, had caught her by the arm and ushered her out of the door, eager to set the plan in action. The door closed behind them, and Drake turned with sparkling eyes to Catherine.

  “You cannot make me come.” Said she. “I implore you, Lord Drake- I will not say a word to my cousin.”

  “No?” asked he. “Can you tell me with a clear conscience that you were not immensely relieved when you heard news of the statue having broken?”

  She gripped the side of her armchair but turned her head away.

  “It confused me at first. Why would you be relieved at your cousin’s bad luck? But now I see, you were relieved that the plan was in motion! You knew it meant that the statue had been smuggled away.”

  “No!” cried she. “It is not that. You will not understand.”

  “Understand?” Drake asked. “Once, before, your cousin George and his deceitful ways have caused me great pain. At the time, out of sentiment, out of a misguided loyalty, I did not expose him to the world. This time, he has dared hurt my family- conspired to cheat a man I love like a brother. I will do everything in my power to bring George to ruin. Do you understand?”

  “I do,” She said.

  “Then tell me, knowing my intentions, if I let you free, what will be the first thing you do?” he asked.

  “I would tell George of your plans,” She admitted, painfully. He could admire her for this. It would have been easy to lie and yet she had the courage to speak the truth.

  Drake grabbed her hand and forced her to stand. “Good. Then let there be no pretense of honesty or honor in you. At least in that, you differ from the magnificently deceitful George. Any man who saw him would assume he is the very picture of moral goodness.”

  “I have never claimed any virtue,” She said. “But nor will I accept your accusations of vice and if you have any manners about you, sir, you will not speak of my cousin George in that way again.”

  Drake laughed. “How can you do it? How can you keep up this appearance of a lady even as the truth is out in the open?”

  Catherine opened her mouth to say more, but Drake cut her off.

  “It does not matter,” Drake said. “You are to come with us now, my girl.”

  “You cannot force me,” She said.

  “No?” he asked. From his pocket, he produced a flask of brandy. With one hand, he grasped her throat, and with the other, put a hand over her mouth. “No screams from you, lady. I will empty this down your throat if you do not obey me. You will come with me today, conscious or unconscious.”

  Frozen in shock for a moment, she said. “I will thank you for putting away that flask sir. I will come with you, but I will prefer to be awake.”

  Chapter 6

  The Scandal

  U ncouth, hateful man! Catherine would not show it to him, but the spark in Drake’s eyes had made her legs turn to jelly. He had pressed his features into a smile and escorted her out from the side rooms and into the halls, with one hand gripping her tightly always. It shocked her to remember that the hall was still full of guests. The idea made her shudder. So many of Britain’s best in such close quarters while a scandal brewed in the side rooms. Her family’s reputation was, for now, only preserved by the thickness of the walls and doors that prevented what had been said in that room to escape out.

  She could have made a scene, and Drake would surely have had to let her go but even a moment’s thought had made her realize that it was not to her advantage to do so. In fact, the best thing she could do was go with Drake and his sister. After all, perhaps once the statue was recovered she could persuade George to return their money and somehow avert the scandal. If she drew attention to herself right now, and the men and women gathered here were to be told the truth by Drake, all hell would break lose.

  For the thousandth time, she cursed herself, and her utter foolishness in listening to George. She had thought the whole thing would be a merry prank; a glorious commentary on art, really and now!

  She looked at Drake, who had discreetly brought her to the main library, and wondered where he was planning to take her. Within the course of a few hours, Drake had gone from barely remembering her existence, to being curious, to complimenting her, to hating her. She wished she could do something to take him back to those few moments when he had been describing her and the statue together. She had always known that he had one of the keenest eyes for observing beauty in art even when she had trained in Italy under old masters; she had not met one with his combination of technical knowledge and sheer manly appreciation. But to hear him compare her to a living statue had made her feel a frisson of something inside.

  Angrily, she chided herself to regain control of her silly mind. Drake hated her, and he hated George and he had every reason to do so.

  Inside the library, Drake had finally let go of her arm. He walked to the fireplace, and his deft fingers searched for a loose brick. When he pressed it, a long, low creak sounded, and
the wall at the back of the fireplace seemed to shift.

  Catherine gasped. “You know more about Haskett Hall than I do, it seems!”

  “George showed me all his hiding places when we were children,” Drake said as an explanation. He pushed aside the wall of the fireplace and ushered her into the tunnel inside. “This way,” He said curtly.

  The tunnel was low so that the two of them had to bend nearly on all fours, and crawl along it. It was too cramped to hold up a torch, and so they moved in a dark rectangle, their eyes never quite able to adjust to the inky darkness. Occasionally, Catherine would feel a small insect flutter against her, and in these moments, her instinctive response was to move back in horror. In

  doing so, she would meet the muscled wall that was Drake’s chest and find herself forced to press forward.

  On one occasion, when she felt the bite of an ant against her forearm, and flinched back against him, he put his hand around her and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze.

  “Perhaps I should have been the one to go first,” He said. “Despite it all, I am sorry. You were born a lady and are unused to a rough circumstance such as this.”

  “I will be fine.” She bluffed. “I’ve done worse than this tunnel.”

  “Really?” he sounded amused. “In all your fancy finishing schools did you also have a course that taught you how to crawl well?”

  “Finishing schools only teach you to crawl,” She said, with an arrogant toss of her head. “I was taught art by the old masters in France and Italy. I was taught to soar.”

  He laughed again. “I’m glad to see your arrogance hasn’t departed from you. I would have thought, in the circumstances, you’d be a bit more dejected.”

  The truth was Catherine was horribly dejected. Unfortunately, some quirk in her personality just made her all the more defiant and sharp when she was. She had been told once, by a teacher, that she was like the scorpion that stings wildly when it is in a panic. Her proud tongue tended to harm most when she was feeling ashamed or unhappy.