Mr Rushford's Honour

by Meg Alexander

  'Then we must celebrate your partnership.' Isham rang for wine, and Mrs Clewes was happy to accept yet another glass of her favourite 'flesh and blood', which appeared to have not the slightest effect upon her.

  'Where are you staying, ma'am?' India asked politely.

  'I've put up at the Angel, my lady. It seemed the best that the village has to offer.'

  'But shall you be comfortable there? You are welcome to stay with us, if you should care to do so.'

  'Bless your kind heart, my dear! I shouldn't like to trouble you...'

  'Madam, it would be a pleasure.' Isham was at his most gallant. 'We are sadly short of company at present, and Lady Whitelaw has refused us. My wife would welcome a change of conversation. She does not go out at present.'

  'Are you increasing, my lady? No signs yet, I see, and the first months are always the worst.'

  'You have children of your own, Mrs Clewes?' India had warmed to the old lady.

  'I lost my boys in the wars, my dear. One was with Nelson's navy and the other was with Wellington. Your brother ain't unlike my eldest lad.'

  This admission told the company much about the unexpected offer to Giles. He came to her then and sat beside her.

  'Will you stay with us?' he begged. 'I'll be happy to fetch your things from the Angel.'

  'You are too good!' She patted his hand. 'I won't get in the way if you have visitors.'

  'You will be our honoured guest,' Isham said at once. He looked up as Tibbs announced nuncheon, and offered Mrs Clewes his arm to lead her into the dining-room.

  India smiled at Gina. 'Anthony is much taken with our guest...'

  'I'm not surprised,' came the quick reply. 'She's such a good-hearted, straight-talking woman. I should not care to try to hide a secret from her though.' Gina had noticed how the lady's birdlike glance had rested on each of her companions in turn without appearing to do so. She had studied Gina for somewhat longer than the others, but it was some days before she attempted to engage her in private conversation.

  The weather had improved, and now all the talk was of Lady Eleanor's annual fete at Perceval Hall. It was the highlight of the year for the local villagers and all were welcomed with unlimited food and drink.

  Gina paid her promised daily visits to the Grange, but she saw little of Giles. She was aware that he and Mrs Clewes had journeyed into Northampton to sign the partnership agreement. Since then the lady had wasted no time. She produced a short list of possible customers and sent Giles off without delay to. demonstrate his inventions.

  'Missing him?' she enquired one day. She and Gina were alone in the salon.

  'I beg your pardon, ma'am?' Gina was startled out of her usual composure.

  'I ain't referring to Mr Newby and well you know it, young woman.' Mrs Clewes gave a comfortable chuckle. 'Did you think I hadn't guessed that you're the one for Giles?'

  To her own annoyance Gina felt her colour rising. 'You are quite mistaken, Mrs Clewes. Giles Rushford has no thought of me.'

  'Bless my soul, Lady Whitelaw, are you blind? He thinks of nothing else, apart from his inventions. When he enters a room he looks for you, and you won't tell me that you don't feel the same. When you are together there is something in the air which cannot be mistaken.'

  Gina shook her head. 'I beg your pardon, ma'am but that must be only in your imagination...'

  'I ain't got one, Lady Whitelaw. I look only for hard facts...'

  'Well, then, the fact is that I haven't exchanged a word with Giles for days.'

  'How can you when he ain't here?'

  This reasonable statement brought a smile from Gina.

  'That's better!' her inquisitor announced. 'You may think I'm a bossy old woman, too fond of interfering, but I have grown to love that young man. I want only what will make him happy, and I think you feel the same. Isn't that so?'

  Gina nodded. She could not trust herself to speak. Her lips were quivering and she was very close to tears.

  'There now, don't upset yourself.' The older woman patted her hand. 'Give the man time. You've waited for ten years...another week or two won't make much difference.'

  'Oh, he should not have told you...' Gina cried in anguish.

  'He didn't. There was no need. I saw that there was something wrong when I first met him. It wasn't on the surface, of course. Giles was always the perfect gentleman, but it ain't natural for a man of thirty to be so grave beyond the likes of other men.'

  'His life has not been easy,' Gina ventured.

  'No more than many another. There was something else. To me it seemed to be a loss of a more serious kind. Giles had had a crushing blow in his youth. I made it my business to discover what had happened.'

  'You couldn't have found it easy.'

  'I didn't, but I'm a sharp one, Lady Whitelaw. I pieced it all together. Then, when I met you, I had the final piece of the puzzle.'

  'Ma'am, you are very shrewd,' Gina blinked away her tears. 'But now you, you know, with this splendid offer...this partnership of yours...he could have said something. Until now, he felt that the difference in our fortunes was too great.'

  'Stiff-necked crittur! Don't despair, my dear. All will be well. He'll come back with more orders than he can fulfil...'

  'You seem very sure of that.'

  'Aren't you? When Giles believes in something he can be persuasive... Besides, he's working now to prevent me from sinking into a poverty-stricken old age.'

  She gave a hearty laugh, and after a moment Gina joined her.

  'Mrs Clewes, I believe you are what is known as a card,' she accused.

  'Well, my dear, I've had three husbands. Rushing on like a bull at a gate ain't always the wisest course. Sometimes it takes a bit more cunning to set a man to rights.'

  'I'll bear that in mind,' Gina promised. On impulse she kissed her companion gently on the cheek. 'I admire you so much,' she said.

  The small gesture of affection succeeded in putting her companion quite out of countenance.

  'Bless me, ma'am, there's no call for you to make a fuss of me.' For once Mrs Clewes was flustered, and Gina saw that her eyes were wet. 'You'll turn me into a watering-pot. 1 ain't used to it.'

  'Then you shall grow used to it,' Gina promised. 'Tell me, ma'am, shall you attend the fete at Perceval Hall?'

  Mrs Clewes shook her head. 'T'wouldn't be right, my dear. I'd gather a bigger crowd than the coconut shies...' Something in her voice made Gina look a question. To her horror she saw a look of pain in the older woman's eyes.

  'You think I don't know what I look like?' her companion challenged. 'Why, 'tis only you and this family who don't regard me as some kind of freak.'

  'No one who knows you could possibly think that, my dear ma'am. You could dine with me before the fete, and we could go together...'

  It took some persuasion, but when Gina included the rest of the Isham family and Thomas Newby in her invitation Mrs Clewes agreed at last. She beamed as India joined them.

  'Well, my lady, what does the doctor have to say to you?' she asked.

  'He's pleased, and so am I now the sickness does not trouble me in a morning. It will be a relief to be able to go about again without the need to rush away at times.'

  "Tis a trial, my dear, but worth it in the end. When you have your babe you'll forget the discomfort of these months.'

  'I'm sure of it. I feel so well at present.'

  'I'm glad to hear it, my dear one.' Isham had entered the room, accompanied by Thomas Newby. 'You will be the belle of the fete and carry off all the prizes.'

  'I doubt that, Anthony,' India smiled up at her husband. 'But I shall be glad to see so many of my friends again, and most especially Hester... My cousin was always so full of news. I've missed her since she went to London for her Season.'

  'Today I hope to prove a worthy substitute, my darling. I too have news. As we expected, the murder of the Marquis is to be investigated by the Prince Regent's men. They are already in the village.'

  'Murder!'
Mrs Clewes echoed blankly. 'You've had a murder here in Abbot Quincey?'

  'My dear ma'am, don't distress yourself. It happened before you arrived here.' Isham was quick to reassure his guest. 'We had no wish to worry you with the story, though I doubt that you will have heard of the victim...the Marquis of Sywell?'

  'Oh, I've heard of him, my lord. Show me someone who don't know of his goings-on. We shouldn't speak ill of the dead, I know, but ain't you well rid of him?'

  'That is the general opinion, ma'am, but murder cannot be condoned.'

  Unrepentant, Mrs Clewes began to chuckle. 'You may be right. We'd be knee deep in corpses otherwise. I can think of a few prime candidates for murder.'

  'That's a blood-thirsty statement if ever I heard one.' Giles stood in the doorway grinning cheerfully at the assembled company. 'I must hope that you don't intend to put it into practice, Mrs Clewes?'

  'Don't think I ain't considered it at times,' Mrs Clewes beamed at her new-found partner. "The trouble is I ain't no shot and I can't run fast enough to catch a villain to strangle him...'

  'You can't think how relieved I am to hear it.' Giles was laughing openly as he came to her and took her hands, kissing them both in turn.

  'Get on with you! You don't believe a word of it! Now how did you fare, my lad? Do we have an order?'

  'We have as many as we can handle, ma'am, with others promised for the future...'

  There was a general murmur of congratulation as Giles listed his successes. Gina could only marvel at the change in him. His journey had been long that day but he seemed so fresh, so alert, and so alive.

  Suddenly she felt unaccountably nervous. With the coming change in his fortunes Giles would be free to offer for her, but would he do so? The uncertainty was unbearable. At the first opportunity she excused herself and left for Abbot Quincey.

  On the journey home she took herself to task. Her departure from the Grange had been sudden to the point of rudeness. What must the Ishams think of her? Good manners indicated that she should have stayed to join in the celebrations. Instead, she recalled muttering something about a forgotten appointment. It was a lame excuse, which would not have deceived a child.

  She clenched her hands until the nails dug into her palms. She would make amends when she felt calmer. What she needed was time to think.

  Her wish seemed unlikely to be granted.

  'You have a visitor, Ma'am,' her butler announced as she walked into the hall.

  George again? Gina sighed to herself. She had no wish to listen to her cousin's lamentations at that particular moment.

  'You should have denied me,' she snapped more sharply than was her wont. 'You knew that I was not at home.'

  'I tried, ma'am, but the gentleman would not be denied. He said that you were to be expected within minutes...'

  Was George spying on her? Indignantly, Gina stalked into the salon. Then she stopped. It was Giles who came towards her.

  'How did you get here?' she whispered. 'I left you at the Grange...'

  'You did indeed! Why did you run away, my darling? You must have known that I would wish to speak to you.'

  'How could I know that? You've spent these last few weeks in trying to avoid me...' Gina could not hide her hurt and disappointment.

  Giles had come towards her with outstretched arms, but now they fell to his sides. 'I can only ask for your forgiveness, Gina. I've been a selfish fool, thinking only of my pride...my honour. Send me away if you must, but believe me when I tell you that I've come to my senses at last.'

  'And what has caused this sea-change, sir?' Gina was determined that she would not make the same mistake again. Giles would not find her ready to fall into his arms.

  'Long ago I wanted to offer you the world,' he answered sadly. 'I found I couldn't even give you part of it.'

  'And what made you think that I wanted the whole world?' she asked coldly. 'Did I ever ask for it?'

  'No, you didn't. I know your loving heart. You would have suffered anything with me.'

  'There we differ, Giles. You could not put aside your pride for me.'

  'Would you have had me do so? I think I could bear anything but your pity and contempt...'

  'Contempt?'

  'Oh yes, it might have come to that, my dear. How could I live upon your fortune, knowing that I had done nothing to earn a comfortable life?'

  Gina kept her eyes fixed firmly on the carpet. 'You must have ridden hard to outpace my cattle, Giles. Will you allow me to offer you refreshment?'

  'Damn the refreshment!' he shouted explosively. 'Why do you think I'm here?'

  'I haven't the least idea, but I'd be obliged if you would refrain from swearing...'

  'You'd make a saint swear, Gina, and I'm no saint.'

  'That I can believe. For once we are in complete agreement...' Gina's shoulders were shaking.

  'Why you little minx, you are gammoning me!' Without more ado Giles took her in his arms. 'If you weren't so adorable I swear I'd put you across my knee...'

  'You could try,' she agreed. 'Have you forgotten my fearsome reputation?'

  'I have forgotten nothing...' As his lips found hers the long years of heartbreak faded as if they had never been. The lovers were transported in an instant back to that terrace in Italy where they had vowed eternal love.

  When Giles released her at last, Gina clung to him, half laughing and half crying.

  'Can this be true?' she whispered. 'I'd almost given up hope that we'd find happiness together...'

  'And I! Why do you think I never married, Gina? I hadn't forgotten my vows to you, although it seemed impossible that we should ever meet again.' His mouth came down on hers once more, urgent, demanding and yet filled with tenderness.

  'I'd almost decided to go away again...' she told him breathlessly. 'Oh, my darling, would you have let me leave you if you had not had this offer from Mrs Clewes?'

  He shook his head. 'Not this time. I would have found some way, even if it had meant asking you to wait... But it was Mrs Clewes who brought me to my senses.'

  'She's been a good friend to you...'

  'And to you, my love. That morning in the library she gave me a tongue-lashing which I won't forget. She has a flaying turn of phrase, you know. I felt lucky to escape with a whole skin. I was given a full account of the failings of my character.'

  'Perhaps you'd better tell me,' she teased. 'Before I commit myself to a life of misery with a monster.'

  His arms tightened about her, and the smile vanished from his lips. 'I wonder that you can be so generous, Gina. I have behaved in a monstrous way, I know. Mrs Clewes left me in no doubt that in refusing offers of help I was thinking only of myself. She left nothing unspecified, and I had no difficulty in recognising the miserable creature she described.'

  Gina kissed his cheek. 'It was all said in love, my dear. She is so fond of you. She thinks only of your happiness.'

  'I don't deserve either of you,' he said simply. 'Women are amazing creatures. Who would care for an arrogant, stiff-necked fellow, eaten up with pride, and full of self-pity...?'

  She raised her fingers to his lips to hush the bitter words. 'No!' she said. 'I won't have that. We both knew you to be an honourable man, and we understood your need for self-respect. Would Mrs Clewes have offered you this partnership if she had not been sure of your honesty? And would I have loved you for so long?'

  With a muffled groan he caught her to him again. 'Darling Gina, what can I say to you? If I have failings, you have none.'

  Gina chuckled. 'Don't believe it, my dear one. Impulsive, hot-tempered and impatient of convention—

  I am all of these things. Shall I go on, or shall we agree that we are fallible human beings?'

  He silenced her by raining kisses on her hair, her cheeks, her eyelids and her throat.

  'When can we be wed?' he asked. 'Will you keep me waiting, Gina?'

  She looked at him with misty eyes. Then she shook her head. 'It shall be whenever you wish, my love.'

&nb
sp; With a shout of joy he seized her hand. 'Come back to the Grange with me. Let us share our happiness with the others. Isham will tell me how to get a special licence, though I expect it will be a shock to him...'

  To his surprise, this didn't prove to be the case.

  'We wondered only what was taking you so long,' Isham observed with twinkling eyes. 'You've been a shocking slow-coach, my dear chap. Gina might have been carried off by half-a-dozen men.'

  'And I was one of them.' Thomas came forward to kiss her hand and congratulate his friend, wishing them both all happiness.

  He left them then to return within the hour with Mair and Elspeth.

  'Mr Newby is so mysterious,' Elspeth cried as she rushed into the room. 'He's promised us a surprise, but he won't tell us what it is.'

  'I can guess,' Mair said quietly as she looked at Gina's face. 'You are going to marry Giles?'

  'Bless me if the child ain't a witch!' Mrs Clewes beamed happily at the assembled company. 'How did you guess, my dear?'

  Mair blushed. 'I saw the way he looked at Gina when he thought she wasn't watching.'

  Giles gave her a bear hug. 'You are a dangerous woman, Mair. Remind me to be more circumspect when I want to keep a secret.'

  This brought a ripple of amusement from his companions.

  'A secret?' India teased. 'You have been mooning about like a lovesick calf these many months...'

  Giles looked disconcerted for a moment. Then he began to smile.

  'Families!' he said in mock disgust. 'Gina, what are we to do with them?'

  'For a start you might invite us to your wedding,' India suggested. 'When is it to be?'

  'As soon as possible,' he told her promptly. 'Gina has promised not to keep me waiting. All we need now is a special licence...'

  'But, my dear brother, what of Mama and Letty? You'll wait until they return from London?'

  'And when is that to be?' he asked impatiently.

  'They plan to be back in time for the fete at Perceval Hall...'

  'But that is weeks away...' he protested.

  Gina laid a hand upon his arm. 'India is right, my darling. We can't think only of ourselves. Your mother would be heartbroken not to see you wed... Besides, there are matters to attend... I must buy my gown...'