When the time came to set off for the assembly rooms, the party climbed into two large coaches. Sir John Gransden, his wife and her sister, accompanied by their two older daughters, sat in one, while Melissa chatted happily to her brother and his friends in another.
Michael Gransden’s party arrived first, but rather than stand outside in the chill air, went into the vestibule to wait for his parents. He moved forward to sign the visitors’ book and introduce his guests, while Joshua stood to the rear of the group awaiting his turn.
Feeling a sudden blast of cold air, he looked around and saw a group of six or seven soldiers, dressed in smart regimentals, coming through the open door, one more loquacious than his fellow officers.
He heard one say, “You’re too bosky to be in here, Lieutenant.”
Another, with a hint of the Irish replied, “A trifle disguised I will allow, but ’tis a sad reflection if a man can’t celebrate his sister’s safe delivery from childbirth.”
Joshua would have recognised the voice anywhere, but it was the content of the conversation that froze his blood. Charlie Cobarne’s talk of childbirth could only relate to one sister…
His mind stopped mid-calculation of the months since their last meeting. It must be nearly a year since he left Linmore, but he could not recall how close. He was transfixed. If Sophie Cobarne had delivered a child, to whom did it belong? Suddenly, he felt sick.
A hand caught his arm. “It’s your turn to sign the book, Joshua,” Melissa said, standing at his side.
Her clear sweet voice carried to the new arrivals. Charlie looked him straight in the eye, and for a brief second, the old flame of friendship glowed. Then an icy glaze of enmity extinguished it.
It was hard to keep a steady hand to write his name in the visitors’ book. However much Joshua wished otherwise, the prospect of a confrontation seemed inevitable. He glanced over his shoulder, beyond the soldiers to the outer door, hoping for deliverance, but it remained obstinately closed. Where was Lady Gransden?
“Who the devil let you in here amongst decent people?”
Joshua met the other man’s gaze, willing him to say no more, but this was not Charlie as he had known him. It was a harsh-faced stranger in uniform, unsteady on his feet and hell-bent on humiliating him.
“What’s the matter, Norbery?” Charlie Cobarne taunted, his potations putting words in his mouth. “Does the cat have your tongue, or are you afraid I will tell these people about how the heir to Linmore Hall preys on innocent women? I’ll do that readily enough, and give you a thrashing you’ll never forget.”
The soldier’s words sent a horrified gasp echoing around the vestibule. People shrank back from Joshua, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the room. He faced Charlie with outward calm, but underneath he was in turmoil.
“Say what you like, Charlie; you let yourself down as well. I will not fight you. There is not, and never has been a valid reason.”
Joshua’s apparent calm seemed to inflame the other man.
“Sophie said there was…” Charlie insisted, bunching his fists.
His fellow officers tried to hold him back. “You can’t cause a mill in here, Lieutenant Cobarne. Jolly bad form.”
Michael Gransden stepped haughtily forward. “What’s all this about, Norbery?”
Dear God; what was it all about? “It was a disagreement… from… our schooldays.” Joshua said the first thing that came to mind.
“Schooldays, be damned,” Charlie slurred. “You, sir,” he pointed at Michael, “should have a care about the company in which you entrust your sister.”
“My sister…?” Michael Gransden’s haughty demeanour heightened. “What the deuce do you mean, sir?”
His hand snaked out and caught Melissa’s arm, pulling her away from Joshua’s side.
Charlie Cobarne was more than ready to enlighten him.
“What I mean, my fine buck, is that you should take care not to let a rake like this… creature, anywhere near her.”
There were murmurs of dissention. “Here, I say, steady on, there’s no need for that kind of talk in here with ladies present.”
Others in the group moved to intercede. Door attendants came forward.
“Well, Norbery, are you going to admit it? Did you, or did you not ravish my sister?”
The former friends stood glowering at each other. The taller was pale-faced and rigid as a marble statue. The other, with a flushed, wild-eyed look, was increasingly unsteady on his feet. They had the attention of everyone in the assembly rooms vestibule. Not a soul dared move for fear of missing the next word.
“Irrespective of what she told you, I…did…not,” Joshua said through gritted teeth.
“Lying scum.” Charlie spat on the ground. “I should have killed you for it at the time, and I would have, but for…”
“My father’s appearance on the scene,” Joshua said quietly. “Isn’t that what you were going to say? Are you satisfied now you have tarnished my family name for no good cause?”
“Wasn’t my sister’s honour reason enough?”
“If what she said was true, then maybe; but what harm did my father ever do to you, or her, to deserve having his name bandied about? Where would either of you have been if he hadn’t cared enough to give you a home, when nobody else wanted you?”
They were verbally fencing now with the foil off the blades. Joshua’s words caused Charlie’s guard to waver. He struggled to make a recovery, but was too late for Joshua attacked without mercy and thrust the point home to the heart.
“And don’t forget Ed Salter…” he hissed, “without whose help neither you nor your sister would have learned to ride, Lieutenant Cobarne of the Dragoons.”
For a brief moment, Charlie stared at him uncomprehendingly, then his eyes clouded with tears, and he stood with head bowed and shoulders sagging in defeat.
Joshua’s control similarly reached its limit. He knew he must leave before it snapped. He turned to his companions.
“Please make my apologies to your mother, Michael. I think it would be better for everyone if I return to Holkham tonight. I’d be obliged if you’d ask Kegworth to bring my bag when you come back.”
Michael rounded on him, saying in a furious undertone, “No, I’m dashed if I will. If you leave, then you admit he is right. You have to stay, otherwise it reflects badly on my family, and I will not have that.”
With no other choice, Joshua said, “I will stay, but if your sister wants to change her mind about dancing with me…”
“It’s up to her what she decides,” Michael growled. “That fellow is in his cups. Everyone can see that.”
The bonhomie had gone; but almost immediately, an icy draught swept Lady Gransden forward from the outer doors.
“What is the meaning of this unseemly obstruction, Michael?” she said in an imperious tone. “It is preventing Colonel Eccleshall from entering the assembly rooms.”
At the mention of their commanding officer, all military heads snapped to attention. Shoulders went back, feet clicked in unison, and within seconds, they melted away before anyone challenged their presence. Some dashed towards the card room. Others bolted through side doors, dragging Charlie Cobarne with them.
Hardly had they disappeared, than Lady Gransden said in a voice that would brook no refusal, “Mr Norbery, would you care to take a turn with me around the ballroom?”
Joshua offered his arm. “I’d be honoured, ma’am.”
“Michael,” she turned to her son. “Attend your sister, and James, escort Harriet, if you please.”
No one dared refuse.
Footmen sprang to open the inner double doors, as the matriarch swept through the opening on Joshua’s arm. The sound of orchestral music filled the air, and the assembly rooms glowed with the candlelight reflecting on the crystal chandeliers running the length of the room, with more fittings around the walls.
Joshua breathed in, wondering the purpose of the exercise. It almost seemed as if the lad
y wished to be seen with him, for she bestowed gracious smiles on the worthy and deigned not to see anyone beneath her notice. As they promenaded the length of the room, she said in a quiet tone, “I hope you will not think ill of me if I offer a word of advice, the sort that I might give to my son. It is better in these situations to affect not to notice such people, and then no one gives credence to their ramblings.”
He breathed out again, wondering how much she heard.
“A look of disdain can be most effective,” she said, and suited the word to the deed towards anyone with the temerity to approach.
Having completed the circuit, they stopped whilst the lady selected a seat that gave her the best vantage point of the ballroom, and waited for her family to join them.
“Now, if you care to leave me, you may safely return to your friends. My husband will attend me.”
“I am obliged to you for the advice, ma’am,” Joshua felt compelled to say.
“This show of unity has not been simply for your benefit, young man, as my own. I live amongst these people, and know their propensity to gossip. I have no way of judging the validity of that person’s scurrilous claim. It is between you, and him; but what I will say is if Mr Coke deems you worthy to go to Holkham, who am I to cavil?”
Joshua bowed over her hand as the family approached them. Michael was looking stormy, but he dared not speak out for fear of attracting his mother’s ire. James Inglethorpe arrived with Harriet Gransden on his arm, and Melissa with her father.
What was he supposed to do now? After the altercation in the entrance lobby, he did not know if anyone would dance with him.
He stood on the outer rim of the family circle, wishing he had stayed at Holkham, until Michael and James gravitated to his side.
“We’d better make an effort to find a partner before the master of ceremonies finds one for us,” Michael said, and James nodded agreement. They slid away, leaving Joshua to make his own move.
He sensed a movement at his side, and looked down as a hand touched his arm. Melissa Gransden stood looking at him.
“Would it be very forward of me to ask you to dance now?” she said. “You’re the only person who doesn’t tread on my feet, and I was so looking forward to it.” Her quaint little face had a determined look.
“Thank you, Miss Melissa,” he said. “I’d be honoured to dance with you.”
She pouted. “Only if you call me by my name, Joshua; the other thing makes me sound as old as Harriet, and she’s ancient.”
That was her older sister who was all of twenty years of age.
It was agreed. They went through a set of country-dances, and then she said, “That was lovely. I do hope we can repeat it later.”
James came to interrupt. “I think this is my dance, Melissa.”
“Is it?” she said, peering at her dance card. “No, there’s nothing written here. Oh, I see, Michael sent you…” She wrinkled her nose.
Joshua thanked her for the dance and moved away. Clearly, Michael thought his sister was too much in his company. The last thing he was going to do was harm a friendly little soul like Melissa. Still she could not be too careful.
They met for another dance, followed by refreshments. Melissa was in her element, piling up her plate with lobster patties and sweet cakes. Joshua counted three of each type, and realised that the excitement of the moment had made her feel hungry.
“Do you know,” she said in a low voice. “I’ve never met a rake before. You are not quite what I imagined, but I suppose there are all sorts.”
Joshua almost choked on his drink of fruit punch. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Melissa, but I… am… not… a… rake.” He mouthed the words.
“No, of course you’re not,” she said, soothingly, “but I hope you don’t mind if I pretend when I go back to school. Nothing exciting ever happens to me, whereas everyone knows you have been on the Grand Tour to Italy.”
It was obvious that lack of excitement was the real reason why Melissa disobeyed her father and wore breeches to groom her horse. It was lucky for everyone that she wasn’t caught out. Maybe girls weren’t so different after all.
Outwardly, people gave the impression of having forgotten the incident, but Joshua knew it was already circulating as the latest on-dit. He hoped the news would not reach Holkham. That was the last thing he needed.
Who would have thought he would meet Charlie Cobarne on a visit to Kings Lynn? Where could he go to avoid him?
CHAPTER 40
The visit to a bone mill at Narborough was the perfect antidote for the disastrous weekend at Lynn. It started well, with Michael Gransden driving James in his gig, and Joshua riding his horse. Michael’s parents welcomed them into the family circle, and the bonhomie continued until they visited the local assembly rooms. Then it went horribly wrong, and once again, a woman rescued Joshua. If he were not careful, it would become a habit.
The vile stench of boiling bones that assailed his nostrils was nothing to the accusation of having ravished a young woman. Joshua would have accepted the charge had it been true, or the female in question been anyone but Sophie Cobarne. The only thing for which she qualified was being young, but a lady she certainly was not.
Joshua stood watching the process of skimming fat from the boiling liquid.
“What will that be used for?” he asked.
“Grease for coaches and cartwheels,” came the reply.
“So nothing is wasted,” he said. “What happens to the bones now?”
“They be chopped up and then ground down smaller and milled into dust.” The whole process sounded so simple.
The same man told him that when whaleboats came into Lynn, there was a constant supply of barges loaded with bones, on the River Nar between the blubber factory at Lynn and the Narborough bone mill.
Having watched the process, Joshua moved on to the Narborough bone shed to collect a cartload of bonemeal in bags for the Home Farm at Holkham.
He rode his horse back at the pace of the rambling cart, with his mind turning to the sound of cartwheels. When it was dry, his thoughts reflected the spring weather, with happy memories of his stay at Holkham.
Luckily, the rain held off until they were halfway home. Joshua’s waterproof coat seemed too warm to wear. Then the April storms came from nowhere, sharp, sudden and drenching, and his clothes were wet before he could find sufficient shelter to don his cape.
The driver carried on regardless. He was well prepared with a broad brimmed hat, waterproof cape, and the cartload covered with sheeting.
After that, Joshua pressed his hat firmly on his head and endured the discomfort of the over-garment, for no sooner did he think to remove the coat than he needed it again. Underneath it all, his jacket and shirt were damp, but he was hot, so they would probably steam dry by the time he returned home, and smell abominably.
He rode on, cursing the fact that in Norfolk the rain fell sideways. He felt miserably uncomfortable, and his thoughts turned sour, trying to find an apt description to fit Sophie Cobarne’s behaviour.
She was a harlot, baggage, strumpet and wanton. His mind continued its search – trollop, hussy, slut, whore… There were not enough words in the Lexicon, and it did not make him feel any better.
Whatever precipitated her action, Joshua knew he had not encouraged her to think it was welcome. Now, he was in the devil’s own coil. According to her brother, she had delivered a child. It was obvious Charlie blamed him for her condition, whereas Joshua knew that it was not his, but to whom else might it belong? That was the unknown factor.
Things were not the same after the visit to Lynn. Although Joshua met his fellow students, there was an edge to Michael Gransden’s civility, and he spoke only when it was necessary.
Joshua could not blame him. Charlie had poisoned their minds. He tried not to let it bother him. In a few more weeks, he would be going home to Linmore. First, he must ascertain the date of departure and make travel arrangements.
The visit to E
gmere farm could not have come at a better time. Mr Danby was a tenant farmer, with the reputation of running the best four-course-rotation on the estate. Although Egmere was only a few miles from Holkham, Joshua lived for three weeks in the farmhouse with the farmer and his family. It was a welcome relief.
On the first weekend, he rode his horse to the nearest fishing village. He took care to avoid the cottages by the harbour, and set off to walk across the mile-long sea wall, built by the Holkham estate when they reclaimed the salt marshes from the sea.
Everything must have looked different then. There would have been no pasture meadows within the wall, and the harbour would have been on the sea front, instead of being a mile inland along a well-dredged channel, dependent on the tides. An effect caused by the silted bay.
At the beginning of May, he travelled to Holkham to join what he anticipated would be his last group meeting in the estate office. Michael and James were civil to him in Mr Blakeney’s presence, but the atmosphere was strained when the agent asked him to discuss his findings at Egmere.
Joshua did so with pleasure. He had spent many hours exchanging viewpoints with the workers of an enlightened tenant farmer, and came away enriched by the experience. He did not need the approval of his colleagues. The agent understood his reasons for so doing, and on a previous occasion, Mr Coke told them of the time when he joined the workers in the woodland, and learned a great deal about the woodsman’s lot. That was all the endorsement he needed.
As the meeting ended, Mr Blakeney turned to Joshua.
“I have received a letter from Mr Coke, telling me that he has agreed with your father for you to remain here until July. Mr Norbery will be coming to the sheep shearings, so it seems an appropriate time for you to complete your studies.”
“Thank you, sir.” Joshua could see the looks of astonishment darting between his fellow students. So apparently could the agent.
“Does your father know Mr Coke socially?” Michael could not forbear to ask.
Before Joshua could speak, the agent interceded. “Yes, indeed. Mr Thomas Norbery is a parliamentary representative for the county of Shropshire.”
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