This wasn't strictly true. Gina had no vanity. She would have been happy to be married in her oldest gown, but she guessed that Giles would accept her explanation.
He did so with a rueful sigh. 'Am I to be outvoted then?'
'Always where the ladies are concerned, my dear fellow...' Isham was smiling broadly. 'Take heart! At least you will not need a special licence. There is time for the banns to be called in the usual way.'
Giles did not argue further, but later, when they were alone, he held Gina to his heart, stroking her hair and kissing her hands by turns.
'You are very silent,' she whispered.
'That's because I can't believe that you are to be mine at last. Do dreams come true, my love?'
'Mine have done so, Giles. I never gave up hope completely, even when it seemed that all hope was gone. You are all I want in life...'
He kissed her then with a passion that spoke of years of longing, and Gina clung to him, offering him her heart and soul.
'I wonder if you have any idea how much I love you?' he said at last. 'I swear I'll make you happy, Gina. Nothing and no one shall ever harm you from now on.'
'Is that a challenge to fate?' Laughing, she threw her arms about his neck. 'Perhaps I should have my fortune told. Do you fear dark forces in my future?'
'Nothing shall ever injure you, my darling...'
'Of course it won't,' she said with happy certainty. 'I have no enemies, my dear.'
Chapter Twelve
Gina spent the following weeks in a daze of happiness. She seemed to be living in another world, where every sense was heightened. Suddenly, she felt like a girl again, for the sensation was familiar from those long-ago days when she and Giles had first fallen in love.
Now she could look forward to daily visits from her lover, smiling at his protestations that every hour spent away from her was like a lifetime. They dined together, walked in the gardens talking eagerly, and learned to know each other again as they renewed their vows of love.
Then he came to her one day, his face alight with joy.
'Mother and Letty have returned,' he said. 'Now, my dearest, we can decide upon our wedding day.' His mouth came down on hers in a passionate kiss.
'Would all your family care to dine here at the Mansion House?' she asked a little breathlessly.
'India and Isham hope that you will dine with them. She plans to give a small party for you, your mother and father and your brother and sister, as well as Mair and Elspeth. Do say you agree! It would give her so much pleasure.'
'How can I refuse? She is so kind, and my parents will be delighted.'
It was no more than the truth. After their initial disappointment when they heard that her cousin was not to be her choice, George and Eliza Westcott had rejoiced in Gina's happiness.
'This is a surprise to us, my dear child, but I can't fault young Rushford,' her father had admitted. 'He's twice the man his father was, and his life has not been easy. It was pitiful to see all his efforts go for naught when Gareth Rushford was alive.'
'Now, Father, don't rake up old scandals,' Eliza Westcott begged. 'We've always liked Giles. He was such a merry lad and full of mischief, though there was no harm in him. I never found him other than polite. He'll make you happy, Gina, I am sure of it.'
They said as much to Giles, welcoming him as one of the family without the least trace of self-consciousness. George Westcott was his own man. He had done well in business and though he was aware of the social gulf between the aristocracy and those in trade, he sensed that times were changing. His wife was not so sure.
When Gina arrived with the invitation to dine with Lord and Lady Isham she met with some resistance from her mother.
'I don't know,' Eliza looked uncomfortable. 'We've been taught to keep our place, and to look up to our betters, not to dine with them.'
'Mother, please! How can you speak of "your betters"? Lord and Lady Isham are human beings like ourselves...no better and no worse... You knew India as a girl. How can you think that she has changed?'
'She's married to Lord Isham now...'
Gina laughed. 'So that is what is worrying you? Believe me, he is nothing like you might imagine. His boon companion at the moment is Mrs Clewes, the widow of a ship's chandler.'
This won a reluctant smile from Mrs Westcott. 'That may be so, but I can't abide that Rushford woman. She never exchanges a civil word with me.'
'I think you'll find she has changed.' Gina gave her mother a wicked look. 'Now I am her dearest Gina, a paragon of all the virtues...'
'Then she doesn't know you, love,' George Westcott chuckled. 'Come wife, your own daughter has a title now. You cannot let her down.'
It was enough to stifle all objections, and later that week, although claiming that she felt like Daniel about to enter the lion's den, Eliza Westcott accompanied her family to the Grange.
Her fears were soon allayed. Isham's easy greeting soon set his visitors at their ease, and Letty and India were their usual charming selves, insisting that Mrs Westcott sat between them.
'You shall not stand on ceremony, ma'am;' India said prettily. 'You've known us all our lives. May I make you known to our dear Lucia, the Dowager Lady Isham?'
Mrs Westcott nodded shyly.
'And here is Mrs Clewes, a friend of ours, as is Mr Newby. My mother you know already as a neighbour.'
'How pleased you must be to have dear Gina home again,' Mrs Rushford gushed. 'And now to hear this happy news! I declare that I am over the moon about it...'
Eliza viewed the speaker with a sardonic eye. She was under no illusions. Gina's fortune had brought about this startling change in Mrs Rushford. Without it the woman would not have given her the time of day.
Mrs Rushford noticed nothing amiss. 'Two of my children to be wed this year!' she continued in sentimental tones. 'I hope that you won't consider a double wedding, Gina? A bride's day should be hers alone.'
'We haven't decided yet,' Gina said truthfully.
'Well, time enough, my dear. You will wish to go to London for your bride-clothes. If you wish it I will give you an introduction to Madame Felice... She has provided Letty's trousseau.'
Gina laughed. 'I thank you, ma'am, but I think not. I am not quite her style...'
'Perhaps not!' Mrs Rushford subjected her future daughter-in-law to a searching inspection. 'Letty is, after all, a beauty...not that you do not always look charmingly, Gina, though you might consider something a little more modish.'
Gina hid a smile. Mrs Rushford's penchant for extravagant trimmings was well known. She could see no virtue in understated elegance. It had escaped her notice that Gina's shawl of the finest Norwich silk had cost the best part of fifty guineas.
'Well, Mama, at least you and Letty are prepared for all occasions.' India hastened to divert her mother's attention from Gina. She had caught her friend's eye and she realised that Gina was struggling to keep her countenance. 'I never saw so many packages in my life...'
'The shopping was tiring,' Mrs Rushford admitted grandly. 'You must blame Isham, my dear India. He insisted that Letty must have the best of everything.'
Letty shot an anxious glance at her brother-in-law. 'But not quite so much of everything,' she said in a low voice. 'Oh, Anthony, I am so sorry. I couldn't stop her. We shall be forever in your debt.'
Isham drew her into the window embrasure. 'Not nearly so much as I am in yours, Letty. Your mother was filling India's head with foolish fancies. Had you not taken her away I should have been forced to speak severely. That would have upset my darling wife.'
'India looks so much better now. Gina's company has been good for her, I think.'
'That's true! And now, with the two weddings to occupy your mother's mind, India will get some peace. When does Oliver arrive?'
'In time for the fete at Perceval Hall, I hope.' Letty was radiant at the prospect of seeing her betrothed again. 'When I wrote 1 warned him of the date, so I expect him by Thursday at the latest. The fete is on the e
ighteenth, is it not?'
'It is. That is Friday of next week. I had best rally the troops. Lady Eleanor will be hoping for a good attendance...'
Mrs Rushford caught his last words. She leaned back in her chair with a gracious smile. 'My sister's gatherings are always well attended,' she announced. 'One is often surprised by some of the guests, but times are changing, as we all know, and the villagers enjoy the opportunity to mingle with their betters.' She leaned towards the Westcotts and for an awful moment India feared another gaffe. She was saved when dinner was announced.
Local gossip would prove to be the safest subject at the dinner table, she decided,' but none of her guests could throw any further light upon the mysterious murder of the Marquis.
'But what of the Prince's men?' Gina was puzzled. 'Have they discovered nothing?'
'Not yet, so I understand.' Isham turned to Mr Westcott. 'What is your opinion, sir?'
'I won't speculate, my lord. The facts are few, it seems, in spite of the enquiries made throughout the village. Burneck, the single remaining servant at Steepwood Abbey, is thought to know far more than he'll admit. Pressure may be brought to bear on him... Otherwise he'll keep his secret.'
'Truth will out!' Mrs Clewes said cheerfully. 'I confess I'd like to know before I leave for Bristol...'
There was a general outcry.
'Ma'am, you don't think of leaving us yet?' India was dismayed. 'Won't you attend the fete?'
'I'd love to,' Mrs Clewes said promptly. 'But it's my feet, my dear. I ain't in the way of being able to walk about so much.'
'Then you shan't do so, my dear ma'am.' Isham grinned at her. 'If you'll accept the offer of a bath-chair I shall challenge you to a duel at the coconut shies...'
'Done! What is your wager, sir?'
'If you lose we hold you prisoner here for the rest of the summer...' He gave her a conspiratorial wink.
'Bless me, my lord, you'll have me ruined with this life of luxury.' Mrs Clewes beamed her pleasure at the invitation. 'I'll be naught but a parasite...'
'No, ma'am, I have ulterior motives. Giles tells me that you like a game of cards. With Mrs Rushford we shall make up a useful foursome...' Isham gave her a long look, and Mrs Clewes was quick to understand. With her support India would have some protection from her mother's gloomy prognostications.
'I play for pennies, sir, but there, you won't mind that. Besides, I don't intend to lose the wager...if this fine weather holds, which I make no doubt it will.'
She was right, and on the following Friday the entire party joined the queue of carriages at the entrance to Perceval Hall.
Mrs Rushford was in the best of humours. The long wait did not trouble her in the least as she nodded and smiled at her acquaintances.
'July is just the best of months for a function of this kind,' she said approvingly. 'With the Season over, so many of our friends are returned to the country. I declare, we shall never be at home. Since the announcement of your betrothal appeared in the London papers, Giles, we've had kind messages and invitations by every post.'
The villagers too were pressing close to the open carriage, offering their good wishes to the future bridegroom. India glanced at him and then at her sister.
'Dear Giles!' she said softly. 'He looks as radiant as any bride. Is it not wonderful?'
Letty pressed her hand, but her gaze was fixed on Oliver. 'We are all so lucky, India. A year ago we could not have imagined that we should be here, within weeks of our marriages to those we love so much.'
India looked at the sea of faces that surrounded her. 'Your weddings will be well attended, love. The news has spread like wildfire since the first of the banns was called.'
'I can't believe it yet,' Letty's eyes were dreamy. 'Oh, look! There is Gina with the girls...'
Giles was out of the carriage in an instant, though the procession was already beginning to move. Minutes later he handed Gina down, tucking her hand beneath his arm.
'Let me make you known to my aunt and uncle, my darling...' He glanced back to see his mother deep in conversation with one of her bosom bows.
Mrs Rushford had prepared her story carefully, stressing Gina's title, hinting at her fortune, and glossing over the previous background and unfortunate antecedents of her future daughter-in-law.
'Mother will be fully occupied for the day,' he predicted as they approached Sir James and Lady Perceval. 'Later we'll slip away somewhere on our own.'
Gina looked up at him with laughing eyes. 'And what of Mair and Elspeth?' she asked. 'I have certain responsibilities, my dear.'
'Nonsense!' he said fondly. 'Look at them! They have already found their friends...'
It was true. Mair and Elspeth were surrounded by a group of girls, many of whom attended Mrs Guarding's Academy, and included the Vicar's younger daughters, Frederica and Henrietta.
Gina was welcomed kindly by Sir James and Lady Perceval.
'Shall you care to attend the running races?' Lady Eleanor enquired. 'They are always well supported, and the Vicar will present the prizes...'
Gina and Giles strolled off in company with their host and hostess and for the next hour they were fully occupied in clapping home the various contestants. There was keen competition among the villagers for the chance to win a new smock for the men, and lengths of material and ribbons for the girls.
Giles looked round as the smell of roasting meat drifted across the lawns.
'I'm starving,' he announced 'Will the ox be ready, Aunt?'
'I hope so, Giles. The fire was lit at first light yesterday. Gina must be hungry too. Will you take her over to the tables?' She turned to Gina. 'In the ordinary way we should dine en famille, my dear, but today is open house, and all are welcome to as much as they can eat and drink. We don't stand on ceremony.'
Gina looked at the milling crowds. 'You are generous, ma'am.' She twinkled at her hostess. 'Your guests appear to be taking full advantage.'
'I'm glad of it,' her ladyship said simply. 'Times have been hard for everyone in these past years and we have felt so helpless. This is the least that we can do... Now off you go, and enjoy yourselves...'
'Your aunt feels strongly for the local people,' Gina observed as they strolled away. 'My mother and father have the highest praise for her.'
'She deserves it, Gina. Had Steepwood Abbey not have been lost to the Marquis, it would have been the Earl of Yardley who looked to the welfare of the villagers. Now those duties have fallen upon my aunts and both my uncles.'
'I'm glad that your uncle William is to marry us,' she told him shyly. 'Are you happy with this notion of a double wedding?'
For answer he slipped an arm about her waist and held her close. 'Can you doubt it? I'd have agreed to anything, my love, just so long as you become my bride.'
Gina blushed. 'People are looking at us, Giles.'
'Let them look!' He helped her to a generous portion of roast meat. 'I think we need not stay for long. No one will miss us in this crush if we slip away.'
'First I must find the girls and let them know. They will wonder if we are nowhere to be found.'
'Will they?' he teased. 'You forget, my darling, Mair and Elspeth are almost women grown, and Mair, in particular, soon found out our secret.'
'Even so, I don't wish to desert them.' Gina looked about her. 'I don't see them anywhere, do you?'
'Were they not with Frederica? She is with her sister, over there. Shall I ask for them?'
As he moved over to speak to the girls, Gina followed him.
'Why, Mr Rushford, we all went to see the hermit's grotto in the grounds,' Frederica told him. 'Mr Westcott sent us back to find some of our friends. He felt that they would like to see it...'
Gina's blood turned to ice in her veins. 'Mr Westcott? Are you speaking of my father?'
She knew the answer before the girls replied. 'No, ma'am,' Henrietta said politely. 'It was Mr Samuel Westcott who mentioned the grotto to us...'
'There now, you have no further need to wo
rry...' Giles turned to Gina, only to find that her face was deathly pale.
'Where...where is this grotto?' she choked out.
'Why, ma'am, it is along that path...' The girls were startled by the urgency in Gina's voice.
'Giles, will you get my father?' Gina threw the words at him as she sped away. She was ploughing through mire on leaden feet, unable to gain speed. Pray heaven that she was not too late. Ignoring the stitch in her side, she hurried on, until the shell-lined grotto came into view.
Now common-sense returned. She slowed, approaching the grotto from the side. Hopefully, nothing untoward had happened. Peering into the gloom, all she could see was the vast bulk of her uncle. He seemed to be pleading with Elspeth.
'Were you hoping to see the hermit?' he asked. 'He won't appear if there are two of you.'
'I don't believe that there is a hermit,' Elspeth told him scornfully. 'How would he live here in the winter? This place is cold and damp.'
'Then fetch Gina,' he suggested. 'She will tell you the truth of it. Mair and I will wait for you...'
'I think not!' Gina stepped into the cavern. 'Mair, you and Elspeth must return to others...'
'But, Gina, this place is fascinating,' Elspeth stared at her. 'Just look at all the shells! It must have taken years to build them into the walls...'
'Do as I say!' Gina's voice was verging on hysteria. The girls did not argue further. They hurried away.
Samuel Westcott turned towards her, his small eyes alive with malice. 'Gina to the rescue?' he jeered. 'You'll do instead, my dear.'
Gina faced him squarely. 'I warned you, uncle,' she said quietly. 'This time you have gone too far...'
He laughed in her face. 'For showing the girls a grotto? It seems innocent enough to me...'
Gina stood her ground. 'I know you all too well,' she replied. 'You were trying to get rid of Elspeth. What would have happened had I not arrived?'
'Shall I show you, Gina?' He waddled towards her then, his fat hands reaching out for her. 'Are you to be wed? I'll have you first, you vixen.' Then he was upon her, tearing at her gown. 'I've waited long enough for this...'
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