Mr Rushford's Honour

by Meg Alexander

  Chapter One

  Spring 1812

  Gina Whitelaw was no beauty—a fact which was not immediately apparent to the watching bystanders who clustered about her coach.

  Too short by a full head to be described as willowy, and blessed only with hair of an indeterminate shade of brown, it was difficult to understand the gasp of admiration which greeted her as she stepped into the street.

  It was possibly the sheer perfection of her expensive toilette, the dashing bonnet, the beautifully cut redingote which clung so lovingly to her voluptuous curves, or the glimpse of a neatly turned ankle clad in fine leather half-boots.

  A passing gentleman noticed none of these things. As she turned her head to speak to her coachman the well-remembered voice stopped him in mid-stride, leaving him feeling as if someone had just dealt him a sharp blow to the solar plexus.

  Gina had not seen him. He stepped into the doorway across the street, feasting his eyes upon the face which had haunted him for the past ten years.

  She hadn't changed much in all that time. He would have known her anywhere. The brilliant blue gaze was just the same, as was the enchanting smile which curved that generous mouth.

  His feelings threatened to overwhelm him. Surely she must sense his closeness. The bond between them had been so strong. Had they not agreed together that they were two halves of one whole? He waited, willing her to reach out to him across the years, but the separation had been too long. The old magic which had made them aware of the presence of each other at a distance had clearly vanished.

  She turned away and walked into the house, smiling and chatting to the two girls who accompanied her.

  Giles shuddered. Could they be her own? A moment's reflection convinced him that it was impossible. The girls were well-grown teenagers. He looked again at the coach, and recognised the Whitelaw crest emblazoned on the doors. Clearly Gina was still connected with the family, but in what capacity? He was no expert in the finer points of fashion, but the exquisitely dressed creature who stepped down just a moment ago was obviously not a servant. Had Whitelaw made her his mistress? He clenched his fists until the knuckles whitened, miserably aware that he was fully deserving of the agony the notion caused him.

  He had left her without a word of explanation, in a foreign country, and at the beck and call of her employers. He could only blame himself if Gina had taken the route followed by many another.

  He was only half aware of the buzz of speculation which surrounded him. With the excitement of the new arrival over, the crowd was drifting away. Snatches of their conversation reached his ears.

  "Tis high time the old Mansion House was taken,' an elderly woman assured her friend. "Twill be good for trade to have some new blood in the village.'

  'Aye! There will be many as will hope to make their fortune on the back of that young creature's spending.'

  'I make no doubt she can afford it,' the first speaker said. 'The place is bought, not rented, so I hear, and at a price that you would not believe.' She named a figure which made her companion gasp. 'The builders are in already,' she continued.

  'But who is she? And why come to Abbot Quincey? She looks to me more like a townie than a countrywoman. Them with money prefers the life in Lunnon, especially at her age.'

  'Don't you know her? Oh I forgot, you being an in-comer an' all. She'd gone by the time you came to live here. I recognised her at once. 'Tis Gina Westcott, the baker's daughter.'

  'Oh my! I thought she was a lady.' The note of disappointment in the second speaker's voice was clear. 'Ain't she the one who ran away to see the world?'

  'Some such nonsense!' her friend agreed. 'Looks to me as if she's seen more than the world...' A leer accompanied this remark and brought a chuckle from the other woman.

  Giles flushed with anger and moved away before he was tempted into a sharp retort. He turned into the Angel, and early as it was, he ordered a glass of brandy. Then he strolled over to the window and gazed back down the street towards the Mansion House.

  What on earth had persuaded Gina to come back to Abbot Quincey? The snide remarks that he had overheard would be the first of many. She would be exposed to every kind of rumour and speculation. No one would call upon her, and she faced a life of bitter loneliness.

  He could do nothing for her. Had it not been for his sister's splendid marriage he would be living upon his uncle's charity and the kind invitations of his friends. Sipping his drink, he sighed as he reflected upon the past ten years. Summoned from Italy and Gina's arms, he had returned to Abbot Quincey at his uncle's request in an attempt to save the family fortunes.

  It had all been in vain. Hard as he had worked to restore the estate so badly neglected by his charming but feckless father, all had been lost on that dreadful night last year when Gareth Rushford had gambled away the last of his patrimony. Worse had followed when the father whom they loved in spite of his weakness had been crushed to death in a carriage accident.

  'Cheer up, old fellow! It can't be as bad as all that!'

  Giles turned to find his brother-in-law beside him.

  Giles smiled in spite of himself. After an uneasy start he had grown fond of his eldest sister's husband.

  'Will you join me, Isham?' He gestured towards his glass.

  'I think I'd better if you are about to crush me with some dire news.' Isham signalled to the landlord. 'What is it, Giles? You look as though you've seen a ghost.'

  'In a way I have. It is just that...well...I caught a glimpse of someone I used to know.'

  'I hope he isn't about to run you through. What have you been up to?'

  'It's nothing like that. And it isn't a "he". It's a "she".'

  'Oh dear! As bad as that?' Isham began to smile. 'Speak to the lady, Giles. I'm sure she will forgive you...'

  'I fear she won't. It is too late for that.' For a minute Giles was tempted to confide in the tall figure beside him. Then he thought better of it. There was Gina's good name to consider. He made an effort to change the subject. 'What are you doing here?' he asked.

  'I'm planning to call upon an old friend. The promise was made some time ago.'

  'And India isn't with you? She isn't ill, I hope?'

  'On the contrary. She is in the best of health, if a little queasy in the mornings... She has been awaiting your return from Bristol for these past ten days or more.'

  'We were much delayed.' Giles gave his brother-in-law a rueful smile. 'Mama determined upon a triumphal progress to receive the congratulations of her friends upon Letty's betrothal. I thought we'd never see Abbot Quincey again.' He hesitated. 'Anthony, I didn't mean to stay away so long. I feel I've let you down...about managing the estate, I mean.'

  'Nonsense. If you had to be away it was best to go before the spring, and the ladies could not have travelled without an escort. In any case, I was glad you were not here when Henry died.'

  Giles gripped his hand in quick sympathy. 'What a brute I am not to have offered you my condolences! That was a bad business. How is his mother now?'

  'Lucia is recovering slowly...' Lord Isham gazed into space. Best to let Giles believe that the man the world had regarded as his half-brother had died defending his loved ones from the mob. Only India and Henry's mother knew the truth of it beside himself. Henry, not knowing that he was no blood relative to Isham, had come to the Grange that dreadful night to remove both India and his lordship from his path, believing that he would inherit title, wealth and lands. The mob he led would be used to cloak the murders. By a strange twist of fate he had been killed himself by a single shot fired by one of the Luddites.

  'Have the authorities caught the man?' Giles was forced to repeat his question twice.

  'What?' Recalled to the present, Isham shook his hea
d. 'I doubt if they ever will. The crowd was huge and it was dark. Now we are met by a wall of silence.' He glanced at his watch. 'Forgive me, Giles, but I am late. I must present myself at the Mansion House without delay.'

  He had not expected his words to produce the effect they did. Giles stiffened and went pale.

  'The Mansion House? Why, who...I mean...do you know the people there?'

  'Lady Whitelaw has just bought the place. Her husband was one of my closest friends.'

  'Great heavens, is her ladyship still alive? When I knew her she was at death's door.'

  'When was that?' Isham was clearly puzzled.

  'It was ten years ago...in Italy.' Giles forced out the words through stiff lips. 'She was not expected to live beyond the year's end.'

  Isham's brow cleared. 'Oh, you are thinking of Whitelaw's first wife. Gina is blooming, as you may see for yourself if you accompany me. She married Whitelaw two years later. Did you not meet her when you were in Italy?'

  'Yes...! No...!' Giles was reeling under a second shock that morning. Suddenly, he felt that his high cravat was choking him. If he didn't get away he would betray himself. His little Gina married to a man almost old enough to be her grandfather! It didn't bear thinking of. He made his excuses quickly.

  'Another time, perhaps? I must go. Mother and Letty will be waiting. We'll see you at the Grange.'

  'I shan't be long. The call is merely to see if Gina needs help in settling in.' Isham accompanied him into the street and turned in the direction of the Mansion House.

  Giles felt more confused than ever. If Gina had a husband why would she need Isham's help? He was burning to know the answer and cursed himself for a coward, knowing in his heart that he had been unable to face her. What must she think of him, if, indeed, she thought of him at all?

  He wasn't proud of his behaviour. She had been such an open, friendly child, sixteen at the most. And at twenty how was he himself to know that what had started as a teasing, laughing friendship would develop so quickly into a passionate love affair.

  His thoughts grew sombre. They had been so young, the pair of them. Perhaps, for her, the pain of that sudden separation had not struck so deep. There would have been bewilderment, a few tears, and possibly anger. Then she would have forgotten him. As he had forgotten her?

  His lips twisted in a bitter grimace. Not a day had passed when she was absent from his thoughts.

  On his return to England he had written to her, but she had not replied. In a Europe plunged once more into the turmoil of war after the collapse of the Treaty of Amiens he could not be sure that she had ever received his letters, or indeed, if she and the Whitelaw family were still alive. He had no way of finding them. All his enquiries had been fruitless, and Napoleon's armies still ravaged the continent of Europe.

  How many nights had he lain awake picturing unknown horrors? Sometimes he'd imagined her lifeless corpse beneath a pile of shattered masonry. He'd tried to close his eyes to a more terrifying fate. Gina might have been taken alive by an advancing army. He was under no illusion as to what would have happened then.

  Now he made an effort to recover his composure. His worst fears had not been realised. Clearly, Gina was well and happy. For that, at least, he must be thankful, though he must face the fact that she was finally lost to him.

  Something of the strain he was feeling must have shown upon his face. His sister noticed it at once.

  'Giles, is anything amiss?' she asked quietly.

  'You may well ask, Letty!' Mrs Rushford's look of anxiety gave way to an expression of annoyance. 'My dear boy, where have you been? I was persuaded that you had met with an accident. We have been waiting for you this age. I must hope that I haven't caught a chill, standing about in this sharp wind.'

  'Mother, you should have waited in the coach.'

  'We have not been here above a minute,' Letty assured him. 'Hammonds had the goods we needed. It took some time to choose.'

  Mrs Rushford tossed her head, 'That's as maybe! It does not take long for a woman of my delicate state of health to fall victim to an affliction of the lungs.'

  'I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I met Isham in the town.'

  'Was India with him?' Mrs Rushford's petulant expression didn't change. 'Do you tell me that they knew that we were here, and didn't come to greet us?'

  'Isham was alone.' Giles handed the ladies into the coach. 'India is waiting at the Grange. She didn't expect us until later in the day.'

  'Did I not say that there was no necessity to leave at such a ridiculously early hour this morning? But you would have it, Giles. All this rushing about will do my health no good at all. Had it not been for the invitation from Lady Wells I should not have considered travelling in the winter.'

  Letty squeezed her mother's hand. 'But now it is the spring. Besides, you did it for me, and you dealt with Lady Wells so beautifully. In the end she raised no objection to my engagement to Oliver.'

  'I should think not indeed. She may consider herself fortunate to have formed a connection with the Ishams. It was far more than she might have hoped for in the marriage of a younger son. The woman is a positive toad-eater! I gave her a sharp set-down or two. Such pretensions! Isham will put her in her place, I make no doubt.'

  Letty made haste to change the subject of her fearsome mother-in-law to be.

  'How is India? I have missed her so.'

  'Why Letty, she is blooming, so I hear, though Isham mentioned that she had been queasy...'

  To his astonishment this innocuous piece of information resulted in his gaining his mother's full attention.

  'Queasy, you say? Thank heavens for that! Oh, where is Isham? I must talk to him at once.' Mrs Rushford leaned out of the carriage window and began to scan the street.

  'Mother, don't distress yourself. India is not seriously ill.'

  'Of course she isn't, you foolish creature! She is probably with child. Oh, drat the man! He is large enough for anyone to see him. Where can he have got to?'

  'He is paying a call on Lady Whitelaw,' Giles said stiffly.

  'Lady Whitelaw? Who is she? I have not heard the name before...'

  'She has taken the old Mansion House...bought it, I believe...'

  Mrs Rushford settled back against the leather cushions, her good humour quite restored. 'Splendid! Splendid! I shall call upon her without delay. Does Isham know her well?'

  'Her husband is a friend of his.' Giles signalled to the coachman and the carriage rolled away. This was not the time to explain that Lady Whitelaw was the former Gina Westcott, the baker's daughter. Even her title might not be enough to wipe away that taint of trade.

  Then he smiled to himself. Isham was more than a match for his snobbish mother-in-law. If he decreed that Lady Whitelaw was a welcome visitor, both she and her husband would be invited to the Grange.

  For his own part, the thought filled him with trepidation. How was he to face her? Had his circumstances been different he would have gone away at once, but now, as estate manager, he was tied to the place.

  She herself might refuse the invitation when she realised that Isham was married to his sister. On the other hand, she might accept, longing for revenge, and prepared to rejoice in his discomfiture. He lapsed into silence. He would have given much to have heard the result of Isham's interview with Gina.

  It would not have comforted him. Gina had welcomed her visitor with every appearance of pleasure.

  Apparently untroubled by the bustle about her, she hurried towards his lordship holding out both her hands.

  'Anthony, you are a genius! How did you find this place?'

  'It wasn't difficult,' he teased. 'No one had moved it.' Isham glanced about him. 'Will it suit you, Gina?'

  'It is perfect...exactly what I wanted!' The vivid little face was alive with enthusiasm. 'It was good of you to attend to all the details for me. I could never have done it from Scotland. My dear, I hated to ask you when you had so much else to think about.'

  'You didn't a
sk me...I offered,' he said lightly. 'I'm always at your service. You must remember that.'

  'How can I forget it? You have done so much for me and the girls.' She laid a sympathetic hand upon his arm. 'I was so sorry to hear of your brother's death.'

  'As was I to hear of the death of Whitelaw. He was always a good friend to me.'

  'He was one of the kindest people I ever met,' she said simply. 'I was lucky to have known him.'

  'He felt the same, my dear. He never tired of singing your praises. I can't think what the family would have done without you. How are the girls?'

  'They are growing fast. I have two young ladies on my hands. Mair will have her Season next year.'

  'Great heavens! It doesn't seem possible. I thought that they were still children.'

  'They are, in a way, but the young grow up before one knows it.' Gina smiled. 'Enough about our concerns... will you bring your wife to see me soon? We were all so delighted to learn of your marriage.'

  The harsh face of her companion softened into an expression of the utmost tenderness. 'I love her dearly, Gina, and now, though it is early days, we may have a child before the year is out.'

  He made no attempt to disguise his delight and Gina jumped up and kissed him.

  'That is the best news in the world! Now you shall not bring her into Abbot Quincey over these dreadful roads. I shall come to you when it is convenient.' Gina paused. 'Does she know who I am?'

  'I haven't discussed your affairs with anyone, but what difference can it make?'

  She gave him a speculative look. 'Never forget that I was the daughter of the baker in this village, Anthony. That fact will not sit well with everyone.'

  She saw his face darken and made haste to reassure him. 'You must not be angry with me. You, of all people, would not marry a petty-minded woman, but there are others who will not take so generous a view.'

  'Shall you care? I had thought that with this house and your title and... er...'

  The fortune? Well, I won't be mealy-mouthed about it. All that will help, but my antecedents will not be forgotten. I would not put your wife in a difficult position...'

  Isham laughed aloud. 'You do not know her yet. If there is one person likely to champion your cause it will be India. She tells me that I am a law unto myself, but the same applies to her.'