Sir Ashley's Mettlesome Match

by Mary Nichols

Her heart sank. She did not doubt he would renew his proposal and his blackmail, and how could she answer that? Fortunately he could not go on because Ash strolled into the room at that point. She wondered if he had been listening at the door. ‘You’re here already, Sir Felix,’ he said, laconically. ‘We have been back less that twenty-four hours.’

  ‘I came as soon as it was proper,’ Sir Felix said. ‘And am astonished to find you here. Was my hospitality not up to the mark?’

  Ash walked over to the window and stood with his back to it, making it difficult for Sir Felix to see his expression. ‘I cannot fault your hospitality, sir. But while these dastardly smugglers are in the area, Miss Kingslake needs protection.’

  ‘And I am perfectly well able to provide it. Better than you, I think, when you are not in the best of health.’

  ‘All the more reason to stay here, where the care I receive is excellent. Besides, the view from my bedchamber window looks out over the beach. I can see everything from there.’

  ‘You sound as if you expect another landing.’

  ‘Yes. Don’t you?’

  Sir Felix did not answer because Sarah arrived with the tea tray. ‘I cannot find Mrs Whitehouse,’ she told Pippa, setting it on a table at Pippa’s elbow. ‘I think she may have gone to visit the vicar’s wife.’

  ‘No matter. Sir Ashley is here,’ Pippa said, busying herself pouring tea. It was clear the men disliked each other and if, as she had been led to believe, Sir Felix was tied up with the smugglers, there could be trouble. And she feared Ash almost welcomed it. But what of Nat? The last thing she wanted to do was give in to Sir Felix’s blackmail, but perhaps if she pretended to consider his proposal it might give her precious time to meet Nat and see him safe. How to manage that without alerting Sir Ashley she had no idea

  ‘Now you are back, we must celebrate,’ Sir Felix said, as she handed him a cup of tea. ‘I am going to give a dance. You shall be the guest of honour.’

  ‘That will be delightful,’ she said, looking straight at Ash, daring him to make a disparaging remark. ‘When will it be?’

  ‘In two days’ time. I had planned it before you went away so suddenly and all the preparations are already made. Is that convenient for you and your aunt?’

  ‘For me, yes,’ she said. ‘I will ask my aunt, but I do not think she has made any other arrangements.’

  ‘I hope I am invited too,’ Ash said genially.

  ‘Yes, come if you want.’ With that half-hearted response, he rose to take his leave. Pippa rang for Teresa to show him out. He took Pippa’s hand to bow over it and raise it to his lips, gave Ash a perfunctory bow and was gone.

  ‘I will wager the Sally Ann is due in on that night,’ Ash said. ‘We are to be kept occupied.’

  ‘I thought the same thing, but we cannot absent ourselves. I wonder at you asking for an invitation, when you are not yet strong.’

  ‘I could not let you go into the lion’s den alone. He is plotting something.’

  ‘I expect he will ask me to marry him again.’ It was said with a heartfelt sigh.

  ‘I sincerely hope you are not contemplating accepting.’

  ‘I am not contemplating marriage at all. My life is here with Aunt Augusta and Ben and Nat, if he should free himself of suspicion. I pray for that.’

  It was spoken so sadly he stepped forwards and reached for her hands. ‘It will all come right in the end, my dear,’ he said gently. ‘Do not despair.’

  ‘I cannot help it.’ With her hands in his and his dear face so close to hers, she was near to tears.

  He drew her closer and put his arm about her, so that her head rested on his shoulder. He did not speak. He was afraid that if he did it would all come tumbling out, what he knew about Nat, what he knew about Sir Felix and most of all what he felt for her. One of her tears trickled down his neck and he gulped hard. Never before had he had to hold himself in check in such a way and it was the hardest thing he had ever done.

  She sniffed. ‘Sometimes I cannot see a way out at all and I am overwhelmed.’

  He kissed the top of her head. ‘Let us pretend it is one of your books and you have to work out a happy ending. You have done that many times before, you can do it again.’

  ‘But real life is not fiction.’

  ‘No’, he said, affecting cheerfulness. ‘Sometimes it is stranger than that.’

  She stepped back from him. ‘I have made your coat wet.’

  ‘No matter. If it helps you to weep, then weep all you like, I shall not mind it, but I would rather you were laughing.’ He took her face in his hands and gently stroked away the tears with his thumbs before turning up the corners of her mouth. ‘That’s better.’

  She managed to smile at his nonsense, though his touch was making her want to throw herself back into his arms. ‘If Nat can be persuaded to turn King’s evidence, would that save him, do you think?’

  ‘Oh, undoubtedly,’ he said, smiling reassuringly. ‘There, you have found a happy ending, after all.’

  She did not tell him that was not the only happy ending she needed. The other was her secret and not to be divulged to a soul.

  The dance was the talk of the village. It was to be a lavish affair according to Sir Felix’s servants, who delighted in telling everyone about the preparations. Everything was being done to please Miss Kingslake: her favourite food, her favourite flowers and a visit from a Norwich jeweller who went away looking very pleased with himself. And rooms were being made ready for guests who were coming from far and wide. Narbeach had never seen anything like it and it was supposed that Sir Felix intended to announce his engagement to Miss Kingslake.

  Pippa, walking in the village the next day, catching up on what had been happening in her absence and hoping to hear news of Nat, learned nothing except the preparations for the ball, accompanied by hints as to the reason for them. It filled her with dismay, but she smiled and did not comment.

  ‘Have you heard from Master Nat?’ John Bristow called out to her as she passed his smithy. He was busy shoeing one of Ash’s horses.

  ‘No, have you?’

  ‘No. He’s well and truly gone to ground. And I don’ reckon you’ll see anything of him while you ha’ that there gent staying with you.’ He paused. ‘We thought he had gone, but here he is ag’in. What’s he up to?’

  ‘I don’t know that he is up to anything, Mr Bristow. He is recuperating after an injury.’

  ‘You wouldn’t betray Nat, would you?’

  ‘Certainly not, but if you know something of him, I wish you would tell me. I know he went on board the Sally Ann.’

  ‘Tha’s all anyone knows, Miss Kingslake.’

  She left him, but had not gone many yards when she met Ash walking towards her with the aid of a cane. ‘What are you doing out?’ she demanded. ‘You should be resting.’

  He smiled crookedly and turned to accompany her home. ‘I am testing out my limbs. I want to be able to dance with you tomorrow.’

  All her hopes and fears were centred around what was to happen on the morrow. She was looking forward to it with a mixture of fear and trepidation and hope, hope that Nat would come home and Sir Ashley would see no reason to hand him over to the law. And hope that she would not have to endure Sir Felix’s advances.

  They went to the dance in Ashley’s carriage since it was more comfortable than the Kingslake one. Pippa, whose wardrobe of fine clothes for formal occasions was limited, was wearing the cream silk gown Eleanor had given her, knowing she looked well in it. Teresa had done her best to tame her hair, by pulling it up tightly into a knot on the top of her head with jewelled combs and allowing the ends to curl loosely. But it was still a fiery red, nothing could alter that, except to dye it black. When she mentioned doing this to Ash, he had been aghast. ‘I hope you will do no such thing,’ he had said. ‘You would not be you without your lovely hair…’

  ‘Lovely?’ she repeated. ‘How can you say so?’

  ‘But it is and I will take issue with anyo
ne who says differently.’

  She laughed. ‘Even Lord Cadogan.’

  ‘Especially Lord Cadogan.’

  What neither realised until they arrived was that Mrs Thornley was among the guests. Pippa would have turned tail and gone home again if Ash had not held her elbow firmly and led her forwards. ‘He has done it on purpose to stir up trouble,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Do not let him succeed.’

  Offering an arm to Pippa on one side and Mrs Whitehouse on the other, he steered them to the other side of the room, where the Reverend Mr Fearson and his wife were standing talking to Dr Witherspoon and his wife, and they were soon chatting amiably to them. Ash pretended to be listening, but he was looking about him, wondering what, if anything, was going to happen. He had found a telescope on the windowsill of his bedchamber and had used it to scan the sea just before they left. He had seen a ship on the horizon, but it was too far away to identify. He needed a closer look. And what on earth was Arabella doing here? He had not been aware she was known to Sir Felix.

  The orchestra started to play for a gavotte and their host came and claimed Pippa, leaving Augusta to sit with the parson’s wife. They often worked together to alleviate the lot of the poor children in the village and were soon engrossed in ways and means, leaving Ash standing alone.

  Arabella sidled up to him. ‘Good evening, Ash,’ she said. ‘You seem to have recovered from your injuries remarkably quickly. I expect it is down to the excellent nursing you have received.’

  ‘Mrs Thornley.’ Not wishing to be seen as ill mannered in public, he gave her a slight bow. ‘What are you doing here?’ It was said through gritted teeth.

  ‘Why, I am staying with my good friend Sir Felix.’

  ‘I was unaware that you were acquainted.’

  She laughed. ‘It is not my habit to discuss one old lover with the next, Ash, but I have known Sir Felix many years.’

  ‘In the biblical sense, I assume.’

  ‘Of course.’

  The idea that she had been Sir Felix’s lover before she had been his did not sit well with him, but it was not jealousy—he was long past that where she was concerned. It was a feeling that they were plotting against him. ‘That does not explain your presence here tonight.’

  ‘He invited me. I think he wanted me to witness his betrothal to Miss Kingslake. She will be his third bride.’

  ‘If she accepts him, which gives me leave to doubt.’

  ‘Oh, she will. He has made sure of it.’

  He was startled enough to ask her how.

  ‘He has her brother in the palm of his hand. Unless she agrees, the young man is for Tyburn’s tree.’

  He looked about him for Pippa, but she was nowhere to be seen and neither was Sir Felix. He dashed off in search of them, cursing himself for allowing Arabella to distract him when he should have been watching out for her.

  Felix had dragged Pippa off to a small parlour at the back of the house and was detaining her there by the simple expedient of grasping her by her shoulders so tightly that he was making her wince.

  ‘Come now, Pippa, there is no need to be coy with me. You promised me a decision by the end of last week, instead of which you chose to run away. Did you think that would change anything? I need an answer and I need it now. Why do you think I have taken so much trouble with the entertainment tonight? Everyone is expecting an announcement.’

  ‘Then I am afraid they will be disappointed. I have not yet made up my mind.’

  ‘What is keeping you from a decision? The issue is plain enough.’

  ‘I will make up my mind when I see my brother safe and sound and free of all restraint.’

  ‘It is not I who will restrain him, my dear, but your so-called guest. He is a member of the Piccadilly Gentlemen’s Club, did you know that? They are thieftakers, sworn to track down criminals and hand them over to the law, so, you see, if you were relying on him to save your brother, I am afraid you will be disappointed. His oath to the Society is greater than any softer feeling he might have for you. You are wide of the mark if you think otherwise.’

  She was afraid that was true, but did not betray the fact she knew it already. ‘How do you know this?’

  ‘Why, from Mrs Thornley—who else knows all his innermost secrets?’

  If he had hoped she would react to that, he was disappointed. She kept her feelings in check. ‘Do you know where Nat is?’

  He laughed. ‘Not precisely. He may be aboard a ship waiting offshore for the signal to come in.’

  ‘And will there be a troop of dragoons lying in wait to catch the men on the beach?’

  ‘I do not know. It is nothing to do with me. You should ask Sir Ashley, he is the thieftaker, not me. No doubt the miscreants, if caught, will be brought before me to be dealt with. I can have them sent to the Assizes or dismiss the charges as I see fit. It is up to you. You do understand me, I am sure.’

  Her heart sank, but before she could answer, the door was flung open and Ash stood in its frame. ‘Ah, there you are, Miss Kingslake,’ he said, amiably. ‘I have been looking for you to claim our dance.’

  ‘Go away, Saunders,’ Felix said angrily, dropping his hands from Pippa’s shoulders and allowing her to step back. ‘Can you not see Miss Kingslake and I wish to be alone?’

  ‘If the lady tells me to go, I shall do so,’ Ash said, looking at Pippa. ‘Do you wish me to leave you, Miss Kingslake?’

  ‘No. I will come and dance.’ She turned to Sir Felix. ‘I will give you my answer when you have fulfilled the conditions I have made.’ Then she followed Ash from the room.

  ‘What conditions?’ he demanded as they returned to the ball room.

  She told him, adding, ‘I thought it would give me time to intercept Nat,’ she said.

  ‘And then what?’

  ‘I shall beg him to turn King’s evidence.’ She gave a mirthless laugh. ‘If he does, he will not only save himself, but rid me of an unwanted suitor. I cannot think why the man wants to marry me when I am so obviously reluctant.’

  ‘Why, my dear,’ he said laconically, ‘I should think any red-blooded man would be pleased to have you for a wife.’

  She was thoughtful as they entered the ballroom and joined the dance, not about his last remark, which she realised she must accept as light-heartedly as it was made, but how to leave the dance. ‘I do not feel well,’ she murmured after they had taken a few steps of a minuet. ‘I fear I am about to swoon.’ And with that, her legs buckled under her and she collapsed against him. He caught her in his arms and picked her up as those around stopped dancing to see what was happening and began talking among themselves.

  ‘It is the heat.’

  ‘It is all the excitement. After all, at her age she must have despaired of ever finding a husband.’

  ‘And one of Sir Felix’s standing, too.’

  ‘But I would never have said she was the swooning kind.’

  ‘Anyone would faint in the heat of this room,’ Ash said. ‘Make way, I must take her outside.’

  He carried her to the low windows that led onto the terrace and stepped outside, followed by Dr Witherspoon. ‘Put her down on that bench where I can take a look at her,’ he said.

  Ash laid his burden gently on the bench and sat on it himself so he could nurse her head in his lap. ‘I am afraid it has all become too much for her,’ he said. ‘She was injured in an accident in London and though she said she was fully recovered, I always doubted it. The excitement of the ball, together with the heat, caused her to relapse.’

  The doctor was feeling her head and arms. ‘She does not seem unduly hot.’

  ‘It is much cooler out here.’

  ‘What happened? Someone said Miss Kingslake swooned.’ Sir Felix was hurrying towards them.

  ‘So she has,’ Dr Witherspoon told him. ‘It was lucky that Sir Ashley was able to prevent her from falling to the ground.’

  ‘Bring her indoors and I will have a bed made up for her. She shall have the best of nursing.’<
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  Pippa stirred and began to moan a little. ‘Take me home,’ she murmured. ‘I want to go home.’

  ‘Of course,’ Ash said. ‘When you are a little recovered. Sir Felix, would you be so good as to order my carriage brought round.’

  ‘She would be better staying here.’

  ‘I want to go home to my own bed,’ Pippa said faintly, sitting up, but still leaning against Ash. The pleasure of lying in his lap and feeling his hand holding hers had to be forgone because of the urgency of the moment. The last thing she wanted was to be kept at the Manor.

  ‘It ain’t proper for you to be at Windward House with that…that…’ Sir Felix looked pointedly at Ash. ‘I have the greater claim to look after you.’

  ‘Please,’ she begged weakly. ‘Send for my aunt. I wish to go home.’

  ‘I fear Miss Kingslake will faint again if we do not do as she wishes,’ Dr Witherspoon said. ‘The consequences could be serious. Sir Felix, pray send for Sir Ashley’s carriage.’

  Pippa would have walked to the coach, but Ash would not relinquish his burden. He carried her round the house, followed by an anxious Mrs Whitehouse and Sir Felix, who hovered about, annoyed that all his plans had come to naught and the evening was going to end in anticlimax. Ash put her gently on the seat, Augusta was helped in beside her; before Sir Felix could renew his protests, Ash climbed in and shut the door.

  ‘I will call tomorrow to see how you do,’ Sir Felix called out as they rolled away.

  As soon as they were out of sight of the house, Pippa sat up, laughing. ‘There, that did the trick. I am free of him.’

  ‘Philippa, did you pretend to faint just to get away from Sir Felix?’ her aunt asked, as Ash chuckled beside her.

  ‘Yes. I knew he would not take no for an answer, when he has taken so much trouble arranging the evening and hinting about an announcement. It was all I could think of.’

  ‘And you, Sir Ashley, I can tell by your laughter you were part of the masquerade.’

  ‘No, indeed not,’ he said. ‘I had no idea what Miss Kingslake was about until she fell against me. It was done so neatly and so cleverly, I had to catch her.’