He paused before he went on,
“Sir Mortimer said the foreign ones were not only prettier but also such brilliant actresses that it was easy to pass them off as being of a much better class than they really were.”
The Marquis thought privately that Sr. Mortimer had a point there, and Roderic continued,
“Then Edward, who dislikes Sir Mortimer, started to tell him he was wrong and that not only were foreigners obviously out of the gutter when you looked beneath the paint and powder, but that English girls were instinctively better-mannered and better-behaved.”
The Marquis remembered that the ‘Edward’ of whom he was speaking was young Lord Somerford, who had recently come into the title and a fortune.
“Of course most of us supported Edward,” Roderic was saying. “Then Sir Mortimer bet us one thousand pounds to one in sovereigns that none of us could produce an English girl who could stand up to his choice, who was French and, he said, not only beautiful but could easily pass anywhere as a Lady.”
“Edward replied, ‘I have never heard such damned nonsense! My father’s milk-maids are more ladylike than anybody you could import into this country!’ and we all got very heated.”
Roderic smiled before he added,
“The result was that we agreed to meet Sir Mortimer in a week’s time, each producing an English girl, milkmaid or Cyprian who will better his exhibit!”
Roderic finished speaking and looked at his uncle a little apprehensively.
“And what do you all have to pay to enter this contest?” the Marquis asked.
“We all stake a hundred guineas on our choice,” Roderic replied, “which of course we lose if the judges – Sir Mortimer says they will be independent – choose his ‘bit o’ muslin’ as the winner.”
It was what the Marquis expected, knowing that Watson would have made sure of putting five hundred pounds in his pocket before he made the challenge in the first place.
It was the sort of unscrupulous thing he would have expected a man of that calibre to do.
At the same time, he could understand it would be an irresistible challenge to a lot of foolish young men who he had made sure had all had a great deal to drink.
“Well,” the Marquis asked aloud, “what are you going to do about it?”
“That is why I have come to you, Uncle Lenox.”
“Me?”
“To produce a milk-maid!”
The Marquis laughed.
“My dear boy, you must realise you have been taken for a mug! Watson is certain that none of you will produce anything like this paragon he has up his sleeve, and milk-maids, although traditionally we are told they are very pretty, do not transplant out of their own environment.”
Roderic looked sulky.
“That is not being much help,” he said after a moment, “and none of us have any wish for Watson to get away with it.”
“Nor have I,” the Marquis agreed. “He is a man for whom I have a strong dislike, and whom I have no wish to meet.”
“There must be something we can do,” Roderic said. “Edward has gone off to his own Estate in Hertfordshire and the others are looking round the dance halls. But if there had been anybody new and outstanding in the White House I feel we would have heard about it already.”
“I am sure you would have,” the Marquis agreed.
“Then what can I do?” Roderic asked desperately.
“Pay up your hundred guineas and admit you are a loser!”
Roderic, who had been sitting near to his uncle, rose to his feet.
“I am damned if I will do that so tamely,” he said. “This is not the first time Sir Mortimer has taken me for a ride!”
“No?” the Marquis asked.
“I did not tell you, but I had a very foolish bet with him one night when I was pretty badly ‘foxed.’ It cost me two hundred guineas, and I was ashamed of it the next morning. Even a ‘greenhorn’ could not have been so foolish!”
“Then you should have learnt your lesson,” the Marquis said. “A man like Watson is always out to make money from those who fall for his tricks, which is exactly what this is.”
“I realise that, but I wanted to beat him at his own game,” Roderic replied. “Can I have a look round your farms tomorrow, Uncle Lenox? Suppose, just suppose there is a milk-maid or a farmer’s daughter who is so pretty that it will take them all by surprise?”
“It will certainly take me by surprise!” the Marquis said. “In fact, I would call it a miracle!”
“That is exactly what I need – a miracle – and I am optimistic enough to believe that they happen.”
The Marquis laughed.
“I hope your faith in the Heavenly powers is justified. At the same time, as I have already said, milk-maids, however attractive they may look in the country, are not at their best when they reach Piccadilly.”
“You are deliberately trying to depress me,” Roderic complained. “Do you know what Billy said to me before I came here?”
“No, tell me,” the Marquis said good-humouredly.
“He said, ‘The one person who can help you, Roderic, is your uncle.’”
“Why should he have said that?”
“He went on, ‘If there is anybody who knows a pretty woman when he sees one and makes certain she does not get away, it is Irchester!’”
“Thank you,” the Marquis said. “I appreciate the compliment. But I assure you the women I associate with, Roderic, are not milk-maids, nor, as it happens, are they what you aptly describe as ‘bits o’ muslin.’”
“Then what can I do?” Roderic asked despairingly.
The Marquis was trying to think of an answer when the door opened.
“Excuse me, my Lord,” Dawson said, “but there’s a young lady here insists on seeing you.”
“What is her name?” the Marquis asked.
“She wouldn’t give it, my Lord, but she said it was very important she should see you personally.”
“You said, ‘young lady,’ Dawson?”
“I suppose I should say ‘young woman,’ my Lord, as she’s alone and she’s got a big dog with her.”
“A young woman with a dog who will not give her name?” the Marquis said. “This sounds like one of your puzzles, Roderic.”
His nephew was looking out a window with a sulky expression on his face and did not answer.
“It seems a strange request, Dawson” the Marquis said. “What is the dog doing?”
“I suggested, my Lord, that the dog remain outside, but she said, ‘the dog comes with me, and I wish His Lordship to see him.’”
“ I suppose she wishes to sell it to me,” the Marquis said drily. “Well, you can tell her I have enough dogs of my own at the moment and do not intend buying any more.”
He expected the Butler to leave the room, but Dawson hesitated.
“It’s a very fine dog, my Lord, and an unusual one. It may sound impertinent, but the young woman is very pretty, and it was unusual the way she insisted on seeing Your Lordship.”
Roderic turned from the window.
“Pretty? Did you say she was pretty, Dawson?”
“Very pretty, Mr. Roderic, exceptionally so!”
Roderic looked towards the Marquis.
“You heard that, Uncle Lenox? I have a feeling you are wrong and a miracle has called just when we wanted one!”
The Marquis gave a short, dry laugh.
“It is so unlikely, but if it is the miracle you have been praying for, I will pay your hundred guineas for you!”
“Done!” Roderic cried with glee. “Bring her in, Dawson! Bring the young woman and her dog in immediately!”
Dawson looked at the Marquis for confirmation.
He nodded.
“Very good, my Lord,” Dawson said, and went out, shutting the Library door.
Chapter Three
Ted turned his head to stare at Diona in surprise.
Then he said after a moment’s hesitation,
“O
i thinks it’s a mistake, Miss Diona. Oi sees ‘is Lordship’s at ‘ome, an’ Oi suggests ye come wi’ me to th’ farm.”
Diona shook her head.
“No, Ted, I want to go to the big house first. I somehow know it is the right thing to do.”
She could not explain why her instinct told her she would receive help from there and nowhere else, she knew only that that was what she must do if she was to save Sirius.
Then as Ted’s horse plodded slowly on she said,
“Promise me, Ted, you will tell nobody where I am. You know if Uncle Hereward gets to hear of it he will fetch me back and destroy Sirius.”
“Ye knows ye can trust Oi, Miss Diona,” Ted replied.
“Yes, of course, Ted, and I am very grateful to you.”
There was a long pause before Ted managed to say what was in his mind.
“If ye’re in trouble an’ ye wants Oi, tell Farmer Burrows at th’ ‘ome Farm to send fer me. ‘E know ‘ow to do it, an’ Oi’ll come quick as Oi can.”
“Thank you, Ted, you have been very, very kind.”
Ted brought his horse to a standstill. He had stopped facing a grass track that Diona guessed would lead to the Home Farm.
She got down from the cart, followed by Sirius, and Ted handed over her bundle.
“Take care o’ yerself, Miss Diona,” he said, “an’ remember, Oi’ll come fer ye, if ye sends a message.”
“I will not forget,” Diona said, “and thank you again, Ted.”
She walked away towards the house, knowing that he was watching her go with a worried expression on his old face.
As she reached a grey stone bridge over the lake she stopped.
She realised it would look very strange if she asked to see the Marquis carrying a silk shawl which contained all her belongings.
At the side of the bridge there was clump of bushes. She put the bundle into the middle of them, thinking it was unlikely that anybody would notice it and steal it before she was able to retrieve it.
She then walked on, with Sirius at her heels, feeling as if a thousand butterflies were fluttering in her breast.
She was frightened, in fact very frightened, but the only alternative was to return to her uncle and plead with him once again.
But she knew that would be hopeless, and even if she had to scrub floors it would be better than losing Sirius.
‘I will make it quite clear,’ she said to herself, ‘that I am prepared to do anything, but I could be more useful in the kennels than anywhere else.’
It did, however, require a lot of courage to walk up the grey stone steps to the front door.
There was no need to knock, for a footman on duty had obviously heard her footsteps, or had been looking through the window, and as she reached the top step the door was opened.
“I wish to see the Marquis of Irchester!” Diona said in what she hoped was the same tone her mother might have used.
The footman did not reply but looked to where a butler was standing in the background.
He had grey hair, and as he advanced towards her Diona thought that he looked more like a Bishop than a servant.
“You’re asking for His Lordship, miss?” he enquired in a somewhat pontifical voice.
“Yes, I wish to see him urgently.”
It was then that an argument started, first because Diona would not give her name, and secondly because the butler was insistent that His Lordship could not be disturbed unless she would give a reason for seeing him.
However, she was determined that she must, however difficult it might be, meet the one person who she felt could help her.
When finally the butler, somewhat discomfited by her determination, left her standing in the hall, she was aware that three footmen were looking both at her and at Sirius with an expression of admiration in their eyes.
“That be a fine dog ye have there, miss,” one of them said tentatively.
Diona was aware that if they had thought her a Lady, as they would have known her to be had she been accompanied by her mother or an elderly chaperone, they would not have spoken to her.
“His name is Sirius,” she replied, “and I have had him ever since he was a small puppy.”
“They be very fast, them dogs,” the footman remarked, “an’ good after game!”
“Yes, I know,” Diona said with a smile.
There was the sound of the butler approaching them from the passage, and the footman lapsed quickly into silence and straightened his back.
Diona waited apprehensively.
“If you’ll come this way, miss,” the Butler said, and she knew she had won.
Then she told herself as she walked down the wide passage that this was only the first hurdle.
The big jump lay ahead, and she found herself praying fervently to her father as she walked for what seemed a long way.
“Help me, Papa, please help me!” she said. “You could never allow anybody to do anything so – cruel as to – destroy Sirius. I must keep him – alive – I must!”
The butler opened a door with what she thought was a very condescending air, as if he thought he was making a mistake in allowing her to meet his Master.
Then she heard him announce, “The young woman, my Lord!”
With difficulty she forced her feet to carry her into the room.
For a moment she had an impression of books, hundreds and thousands of them, rising from the floor to the ceiling.
Then she was aware there were two men in the room.
One was young and was looking at her in what she thought was a somewhat strange manner.
The other was without question the most handsome man she had ever seen in the whole of her life.
At the same time, she was aware that he was overpoweringly authoritative and exactly what she had suspected the Marquis of Irchester would look like.
He was sitting at his ease in a high-backed armchair with his legs crossed, and she thought that he looked as if he were a King upon a throne and felt as if she ought to go down on her knees in front of him.
Instead she curtseyed very gracefully, and then as neither of the gentlemen spoke she walked slowly towards them.
She was quite unaware that she made a picture such as they had not expected, in her best summer gown which was a pretty one of sprigged muslin trimmed with blue ribbons.
Her chip-straw bonnet had a wreath of wild flowers round the crown, and because gloves were too expensive she wore mittens that did not conceal her long, thin fingers.
She walked forward with the big Dalmatian at her side until she was a few feet away from the Marquis, and because it seemed the right thing to do she curtseyed again.
“You wished to see me?” the Marquis asked.
“Yes – my Lord.”
“You told my butler it was very urgent?”
“Very – urgent indeed, my Lord.”
“I am interested. What is your name?”
There was a little pause before Diona said,
“I am called – Diona.”
The Marquis raised his eyebrows before he asked,
“Is that all?”
“Y-yes – my Lord – I have my reasons for not – wishing to be – known by any – other name.”
“Tell me why you are here.”
For a moment it was very difficult to speak. Then after Diona drew in her breath she managed to say,
“I – I wondered if Your Lordship would – employ me as a – kennel maid.”
As she spoke she saw a look of surprise in the Marquis’s eyes, and was aware that the other gentleman, who had not moved since she came into the room, now walked to stand facing her and to stare in a way that she found extremely embarrassing.
“Did you say – a kennel maid?” the Marquis questioned.
“Yes, my Lord – it may seem – strange – but I am very experienced with dogs – and horses for that matter – and I need – employment.”
“I have never heard – ” the Marquis began.
“Why should you not be a milk maid?”
Diona looked at him and replied,
“I am prepared to be a milk maid – if there is – nothing else – but I cannot see why, if there are – kennel men, there should not be – kennel maids, and I could – do many things which – they would find difficult – because they – are men.”
She spoke a little hesitatingly, and the Marquis asked,
“What things in particular had you in mind?”
“A – a woman could look after the puppies better than a man – especially as often happens – when the bitch has too many and some have to be – reared by hand. I have always been able to poultice a horse better and less – painfully than my father or his – grooms could.”
She realised as she spoke that in making out a good case for herself she had, without thinking made a mistake.
“So your father has horses?” the Marquis remarked.
“Yes – my Lord.”
“But he no longer wishes you to help him in his own stables?”
“My father is – dead – my Lord.”
The Marquis noticed the little throb in her voice as she spoke. Diona still missed her father so desperately that it was hard not to be emotional about him.
“And I presume he has left you no money?” the Marquis said.
He spoke in a dry, business-like tone, which made it somehow easier for Diona to reply in the same manner.
“That is the truth, my Lord. In fact, I now have to earn my own living, and it is extremely important that I should start doing so – immediately.”
If she had not been so frightened she would have appreciated the speed with which the Marquis said,
“That means, I presume, that you have nowhere to go unless I take you in.”
“That – is true.”
It was then as she spoke that Roderic made a sound that was like a cry of triumph.
“The miracle, Uncle Lenox!” he exclaimed. “I have won my bet! Look at her! You only have to look at her to know that she is exactly what I have been seeking!”
The Marquis made a gesture with his hand as if he thought his nephew was being too impetuous, but Roderic, taking a step towards Diona, asked eagerly,
“Will you take off your bonnet?”
Diona and a Dalmatian Page 5