by Mira Stables
Beatrice promptly seized the opportunity to remind him of an old promise to escort her to Vauxhall Gardens as soon as she should be old enough for such delights. With Miss Ashley to play propriety there could be no least objection. His lordship, however, pointed out that at this season of the year the gardens were closed – and then took pity on her disappointed face and said that if her Mama permitted perhaps he could take her to the play.
The visit was a great success. The children, a little overawed by a father who still leaned heavily on a cane, behaved with unusual decorum in his presence. The gifts so painstakingly prepared for him were well received, the neatness of the workmanship winning his commendation, and the schoolroom wing was sufficiently far removed from his apartments to prevent any possibility that good relations would be jeopardised by the incredible amount of noise created by two children and a lively puppy – for Dandy had accompanied the party to Town at the children’s earnest request, and unlike his owners he was not in the least subdued by his new surroundings, taking exception to passing traffic, of which there was a good deal, and showing his disapproval by bursts of furious barking. It was fortunate that Lady Elizabeth, unwontedly indulgent in her pleasure at the reunion with her children, was sure that he would soon adapt to Town ways and learn to moderate his objections. She settled down to enjoy a comfortable cose with her elder daughter, assuring Graine that the abigail who waited on the schoolroom was perfectly to be relied upon to take charge of the children while she, Graine, visited her own sister, which she must be simply longing to do.
Graine took advantage of the permission. She was indeed eager to see Bridget and her first nephew, who turned out to be a plump and placid infant looking remarkably like his father. Her attempts to engage his attention were unavailing. He put his thumb in his mouth and presently went to sleep, leaving the sisters to an exchange of family news. It ended, as such family conferences so often do, in Bridget’s voicing her disapproval of Graine’s sober grey gown and severe hair style.
“Makes you look every day of thirty,” she complained. “Next you’ll be taking to caps.”
Graine chuckled, taking this sisterly plain speaking in good part. “You’re in the wrong of it there, Bridie my girl. I’ve just discarded them.”
The whole story had to come out then, of course, and Bridget listened and laughed and was vastly intrigued. She understood in part the reasons that had driven her sister to such absurd lengths, but could only be thankful that the masquerade was no longer necessary. Her own marriage was not in the vein of high romance though she and her Vernon were very fond of each other, but like most married ladies she saw marriage as the best vehicle to bring fulfilment and contentment to any woman, and the thought that her lovely, spirited loveable little sister should live out all her years in spinsterhood, dependent on the whims of others for her livelihood, was not be to endured. Marriage, obviously, was the thing for Graine. But without a respectable portion it was not so simple to arrange, and no man would look twice at her in her present guise, thought Bridget crossly.
She had gathered that Graine’s plans for the near future included a Christmas spent at Valminster. Also, and perhaps more important, that she was treated as one of the family, not just when they were alone but even when there were guests. One ought to make a push to take advantage of such opportunities. If only she were decently dressed she might well catch the eye of some discerning gentleman. He would probably think that she was an impoverished connection of the Valminster family, but that would do her no dis-service and could be amended later if anything came of such a chance acquaintance. She harked back to the question of suitable dress.
“I know you do not wish to hang on my sleeve, but surely you could permit me to buy you one decent gown. You know that I have ample pin money. Indeed, at the moment I am positively plump in the pocket, having spent very little these past few months. Could you not look upon it as a Christmas gift?”
But Graine shook her head. “You will need lots of new dresses yourself. I daresay you are heartily sick of the ones you had in the early stages of your pregnancy. And since I like to be beforehand with the world, I do not propose to spend my carefully hoarded guineas on dresses which I do not need. However, there are several gowns in the trunk that you are keeping for me. I judged them unsuitable for my situation, but we can look them over and see if there is anything that pleases your fastidious taste.”
But only one of the dresses earned Bridget’s approval. Most of them were shabby and outdated. The fortunes of the Ashleys had been at low ebb for a good many years. But Papa had somehow found the money for Bridget’s wedding, and for a new dress for her sister. The dress, though three years old and not precisely fashionable, was as good as new and extremely becoming. Looking at herself in Bridget’s tall mirror, Graine knew she could not resist the temptation to wear it if opportunity offered. Perhaps if they went to the theatre – or even for Christmas. It was rather too grand for everyday use. But there could be no denying that the richness of the dark crimson damask suited her to admiration, accentuating the delicacy of her skin, while the square-cut neckline and close-fitting bodice gave her something of the air of a mediaeval princess. Yes. She would wear it. Once, just once, she would like someone – unspecified – to see her looking her very best.
“I’ll take this one with me,” she told the gratified Bridget. “Do you think it is too grand to wear at a theatre party?”
Bridget admitted judicially that the dress might be considered suitable for Covent Garden or Drury Lane, but was probably too grand for the lesser theatres. Graine hoped that Beatrice’s tastes would incline towards serious drama, but privately rather doubted it.
In this supposition she proved to be entirely correct. Fortunately the Earl was at hand to rescue his niece from her dilemma. He suggested that the party should be enlarged to include Adam and Bridget and that they should all go to Sadler’s Wells to see Dog Bruin in the Great Aquatic Drama, Philip and his Dog. Lady Elizabeth was dubious. Sadler’s Wells was a home of melodrama, patronised by all the scaff and raff. Her brother assured her that the piece was unexceptionable. The main actor was the dog, who began by rescuing the infant child from a rushing torrent (with real water) into which the villain had thrown it, and ended by pursuing that evil character so closely that he obliged him to throw himself off a cliff into the waters of a great tank and then followed him into it, seized him by the throat and drowned him. Adam shivered ecstatically at the prospect of seeing such stirring events, and his mother had not the heart to deny him the treat, particularly when the Earl assured her that all the ‘ton’ were flocking to see the spectacle and that he would endeavour to secure a box, so that her precious little family should not be exposed to any danger of infection through coming into too close contact with London’s unwashed. Since Beatrice unhesitatingly preferred the Dog Bruin to more improving works, the matter was settled to the satisfaction of everyone but Graine, who could not feel that her beautiful dress was appropriate to the occasion.
Sir John and Lady Elizabeth accepting the Earl’s invitation to spend Christmas at Valminster, another problem was satisfactorily settled. The actual date on which the children would return to the parental roof was not finally agreed, but it was understood that it would be some time in January after Dominic and Benedict had returned to school. During his brief stay in London the Earl had found time to call on Sir Everard Hastings, and to win his consent for Dominic’s Christmas holiday to be spent at Valminster. Dominic’s self-appointed guardian was not loath. He had thoroughly enjoyed his Roman tour in the summer, and had quite seen the force of his friend’s argument about his god-son’s youth and energy. He could manage pretty well when the boy was at school all day, but there could be no denying that the holidays were something of a problem. With every inclination to do his duty by Dominic, he was happy to see the problem of the Christmas holiday so comfortably solved. Dominic’s own delight was never in doubt. He came home before his lordship took his leave, and his
pleasure was patent. A certain regrettable omission was repaired, and Dominic, quite unselfconscious, announced that now he could manage Christmas gifts for every one and did his lordship think that Adam would like a guinea-pig? His lordship, wondering bemusedly what gift was destined to come his way, thought that Adam would be delighted, wondered briefly what his sister would have to say, and took his leave.
Chapter Ten
Christmas came and went. So far as Graine could judge, all her charges’ hopes and expectations were fulfilled to the hilt. There was even an unexpected bonus in the form of a spell of cold weather immediately preceding the festival. It stopped hunting, of course, but it made possible the alternative joys of sledging, skating and snowballing. The novelty appealed to everyone. Where skating was concerned, the Earl and Beatrice were the experts. Graine’s Irish childhood had offered few opportunities of acquiring the graceful art. She stumbled about happily enough with the children until his lordship took her in hand and skated with her. She was light and supple with an easy, natural balance and rhythm. With the strong, competent hands to guide and support her she soon began to catch the knack of the thing and to learn the exhilaration of swooping over the ice. It was a delightful sensation and left her flushed and breathless with sparkling eyes. It did nothing at all to allay the fierce longing that consumed her. A determined effort was needed to release her fingers from his lordship’s clasp. They clung instinctively. Deprived of his support she faltered and almost fell, so that he caught her elbow and guided her to a rustic seat that had been set on the verge of the lake, kneeling to remove her skates and telling her firmly that she had done enough for one day.
“As with riding,” he explained, “you use muscles that you did not know you possessed. If you over-do it, you will be painfully stiff tomorrow. The trouble is that these perfect conditions occur so rarely that everyone tends to do too much, because a thaw might set in at any time.”
Dominic and Benedict, arriving the following week, took to the new pastime with zest, though Dominic was no more proficient than his sister, and even Lady Elizabeth was tempted on to the ice on several occasions, declaring happily that the exercise made her feel quite young and frivolous and not in the least like the mother of a promising family. When the early darkening drove them indoors they would play commerce or some such round game until bed time came for Adam and Bridget, the latter protesting because Benedict, only a few weeks older, was allowed to stay up later, benefiting from the latitude permitted to a schoolboy on holiday.
The house was full of secrets. There were suppressed giggles and the sounds of scurrying feet and rustling paper as gifts were privily displayed or hurriedly concealed. There was an expedition to the woods to bring home the yule log and the masses of holly and ivy that were needed to decorate the great hall. Cheerful young voices sang Christmas carols and his lordship permitted himself a small private dream. Some day it would not be just a brood of nephews and nieces – fond as he was of them. Some day the vast rooms would echo to the voices of his children. His – and Graine’s. She was not indifferent to him, he felt sure. And given time and patient wooing, perhaps he could turn liking into the love that he so ardently desired.
The difficulty was that he had small inclination towards patience. Thanks to his sister’s difficulties he had waited too long already. At thirty seven a man knew his own mind and wanted to make the most of the good years that were still left to him. The instincts of hospitality warred with the urgency of the lover and the lover won. He was thankful that the Christmas holiday was a short one, and hoped that John and Elizabeth would not linger on once the older boys had gone back to school. The sooner they removed their brood – and Graine – from Valminster, the sooner he would be freed from that infuriating promise that he would not press his attentions on the girl. A promise so lightly given, so maddeningly frustrating now.
He would give her a week, he decided. A week in which to accustom herself to the ways of his sister’s house and to learn, he hoped, to miss him a little. Then he would post up to Town and try to reach an understanding with her. She was of age, so there were no guardians to placate, but it might be politic to call on the elder sister, Bridget. There were two older brothers, too, but both were overseas. Dominic’s support he felt he could perfectly rely upon. It did not occur to him that both guardians and relatives with Graine’s interests at heart would be likely to extend a cordial, even ecstatic, welcome to the Earl of Valminster, once they had assimilated the incredible fact that he had come a-wooing. Concerned only with the disparity in age between himself and his little love, he gave no thought to the social and financial advantages that he could offer her.
Graine wore her crimson dress for dinner on Christmas Day, a feast which was to take place at the old-fashioned dinner hour of three o’clock. The morning had been devoted to church-going and present giving, after which his lordship decreed a walk in the sharp frosty air to give them all appetites for the traditional fare that was to come. Adam was permitted to take his new sledge, on the strict understanding that the guinea-pig – a highly successful present – was left at home. Changing her dress after the expedition, her body glowing with the exhilaration of exercise and much shared laughter, Graine’s mirror told her that she was looking her best, cheeks vivid, eyes alight with that speculative mischief that was so much a part of her personality that it had to be severely repressed during her masquerade. There was no doubt about it, she conceded ruefully. Clothes could do a good deal for a girl, even if she was passably good looking without adventitious aids.
Beatrice’s eager praise of her appearance and Lady Elizabeth’s kindly if more temperate approval served to endorse her own verdict, but unfortunately she was not privileged to see the Earl’s first reaction. It so chanced that her attention was engaged by his sister when he came into the room. Lady Elizabeth was examining the pretty crystal beads that had been Dominic’s gift to his sister, but she glanced up at Ross’s entrance. Since she was facing him, she missed nothing; the sudden check, the eager look in his eyes, the one impetuous stride, the swift restraint. She looked sharply at the girl, so innocently displaying her new gaud, and recognised her complete unconsciousness of the effect that she had produced. For herself she found the situation vastly intriguing. Long ago she had stopped bringing lovely or charming females to his lordship’s notice in the hope that he would drop the handkerchief to one of them, having come to the conclusion that he was not the marrying kind. It was a great pity, but she supposed that he preferred his freedom, and with Benedict to inherit there was no need to sacrifice it in order to ensure the succession. And now, at the age of thirty seven, he must needs fall in love with little Graine Ashley.
In the normal course of events, Lady Elizabeth would have considered such a choice most unsuitable. She had a good deal more regard for her brother’s consequence than he had himself, and would have thought that he was throwing himself away in most lamentable fashion. A mere governess! But Graine was her dear friend Bridget’s sister, which was rather different. She had no fortune, of course, but that was not an insuperable bar since the Earl had more than enough for two. Nor had her ladyship forgotten the signal service that the girl had rendered her in the adventure at the Cavern Fall. She was inclined to think that the match would do very well, and even began to plume herself on the notion that it had all come about through her. If she had not sent the children and their governess to Valminster, the two might never have met. Or if they had met they would not have been thrown so much into each other’s society as was bound to happen in the country. She wondered why her brother had not declared himself. Some foolish notion of propriety, she supposed indulgently. It was true that Graine’s position in a bachelor household had been rather a delicate one. But all that was at an end now that she was there to play duenna. And not even her modest-minded brother could suppose for a moment that the girl would hesitate over her answer. She would naturally jump at such a splendid opportunity of establishing herself. Settling comfortably t
o watch the charades that the children were to perform for them, her ladyship devoted her thoughts to consideration of how she could best forward her brother’s courtship.
It would be a pity to take Graine back to Town before the business was satisfactorily concluded. There was no particular hurry for her own return, and John seemed quite content at present with the dawdling country way of life, while the children were probably happier at Valminster than they would be in Town. Her ladyship cast about in her mind for some excuse for prolonging her stay. She found one very conveniently in the weather. The cold spell came to an end. Heavy rainfall added to melting snow made travelling both hazardous and uncomfortable. No one who was not absolutely obliged to travel would do so, said Lady Elizabeth placidly, and she was sure that she could impose on her dear brother’s hospitality for a little while longer. Her dear brother, seething with impatience at this further delay in his plans, assured her of his complaisance, and gilded the lily by reminding her that Valminster was her childhood home and that she must always regard it as still her home. Privately he trusted that, with the end of the holiday festivities and the children back in a regular routine of lessons, the depressing weather would soon drive Sir John and his wife to seek the solace of Town life to relieve their boredom.
It might well have done so. But he himself, albeit quite unwillingly, provided another reason for delay.
The uncertainty of his future had made him restless, and to add to his discomfort he was sleeping badly. This was a most unusual phenomenon and he scarcely knew how to deal with it. To be quacking himself with draughts and nostrums warranted to ensure sound sleep (and an amazing number of other benefits to the human system) was unthinkable. He fell into the habit of strolling in the park when sleep eluded him, often coming home soaked and weary in the small hours. On one such foray he ran foul of a party of poachers, who, their night’s work successfully completed, were on their way home with a well filled sack. His lordship, whose mind was on matters far from rabbits and pheasants, halted for a moment, full in their path. Three of them tried to rush him, the fourth making off as rapidly as the heavy sack would permit.