The Lady's Maid

by Dilly Court

  ‘No,’ Kate cried passionately. ‘That’s not fair. She’s loved Sam since we were children. Her heart is breaking and I owe it to him to look after her.’ She held onto her bonnet as they rounded the corner at an unnecessarily fast speed, narrowly missing a rider approaching from the opposite direction. Both horses came to a stop outside the vicarage and the rider, a messenger in uniform, leapt to the ground, shaking his fist at John.

  ‘What sort of speed is that, guvner? You could have killed me.’

  Visibly shaken, John climbed slowly from the driver’s seat. ‘I apologise for a momentary lapse of concentration on my part.’

  The realisation that he was addressing a man of the cloth dawned on the man, and his expression changed subtly. He doffed his cap. ‘Begging your pardon, your reverence, but you was driving like a madman.’ He pulled a packet from his inside pocket. ‘I’ve got a message for a Miss Kate Coggins. I was to see that she gets this urgent like.’

  Chapter Twenty-six

  WHILE THE MESSENGER was revived with hot tea and slices of Mrs Trevett’s apple cake in the kitchen, Kate took the sealed packet into the garden where she sat on the wooden bench in the shade of the oak tree and opened it with trembling fingers. She had known at once that it must have come from Harry, but as she studied the closely written copperplate her feeling of relief was swiftly followed by disappointment. She was delighted to have news of him but disappointed by the tone of the letter, which was formal and to the point. He might as well have been addressing a board meeting rather than writing to the woman who loved him with all her being.

  After the briefest of introductions, he went into a detailed account of the information he had discovered about the wreck of the Kimmeridge, which had been blown off course during a terrible storm and dashed on the rocks in Cobo Bay. It was thought, he wrote, that all hands had been lost, but it was just possible that some might have been swept ashore and cared for by local families. At least Sam’s name was not on the list of bodies that had so far been identified. There were some whose identity still remained a mystery, but Harry was certain that none of them fitted Sam’s description. He concluded with a promise to keep up the search until there was proof either way, signing himself, Your devoted friend, Harry Challenor.

  She sighed, folding the letter and tucking it into her pocket. The only comfort she could draw from it was that he had written to her and not to Josie, but even that could be easily explained. He had known of Josie’s delicate mental state and he would not have wanted to distress her further. She looked up as she heard soft footfalls on the grass and saw John walking slowly towards her.

  ‘Is it bad news?’

  She shook her head. ‘Not exactly, but Harry still hasn’t found any trace of Sam.’

  ‘Then there is still hope. I think you ought to go and tell Josie. She must face up to reality sooner or later.’

  Kate stared at him in surprise. She was well aware that he had harboured tender feelings for Josie in the past, but this was the second time that he had criticised her behaviour. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, the doctor said …’

  ‘David is an old fusspot.’ He smiled gently. ‘I believe that we must all take responsibility for our own actions, and much as I care for Josie, I think she has been pampered and pandered to for most of her young life. She’s no longer a child and I think she ought to start behaving like a responsible adult, instead of running you and Molly ragged.’ He patted her hand. ‘Go to her, Kate, and don’t stand any nonsense. Remember that you are a Hardy by birth. You are subordinate to no one, except perhaps her majesty the Queen.’

  Kate rose to her feet and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Thank you, Uncle. I’ll try to remember that.’

  Surprisingly, Kate’s sudden change in attitude seemed to spark some kind of reaction from Josie. Whether it was surprise or curiosity, she sat up in bed and demanded to read the letter for herself. Then, putting her head on one side like an inquisitive robin, she wanted to know what had occurred to make Kate think she could boss her about. She would not let it rest until she was told everything down to the last detail.

  ‘Well, you are a dark horse,’ she said, chuckling. ‘So I really am the gypsy’s child and you really were born a lady. Who would have thought it?’

  Kate stared at her in amazement. ‘I’m glad you think it’s amusing, but as far as I can see we’re equals. We were both born on the wrong side of the blanket, although your misfortune need never become general knowledge if you choose to return home.’

  ‘Everyone in the village knows about me, and probably far beyond.’ Josie threw back the bedcovers. ‘Anyway, I won’t live under the same roof as that dreadful creature, even if he is my father.’

  ‘But Lady Damerell must be broken-hearted. She adored you, Josie. Haven’t you any feeling for the woman you thought was your mother?’

  ‘Of course I have, but I always knew I was different, and now I understand why that was. I can’t go back, Kate.’

  ‘Not even if it means you could have Harry? If you marry him you would be mistress of Copperstone Castle. Isn’t that what you always wanted?’

  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Josie planted her feet squarely on the floor. ‘I thought it was, but now I realise that I was deluding myself. All I really want is to spend my life with Sam. If he’s dead then I don’t care what happens to me. I’ll go to Devon and join my people. I was never meant to be a lady, Kate, but you were. I know how you feel about Harry, and, as far as I’m concerned, he’s all yours.’ She stared at Kate’s gown. ‘Isn’t that one of mine?’

  ‘It is and I asked your permission to borrow it, but you said you didn’t care.’

  ‘It looks better on you anyway. You can have it. Where are my clothes? Ring for Molly, there’s a lamb. I feel like getting dressed and I’m starving.’

  This was so like the old Josie that it made Kate laugh. ‘You’re incorrigible, Josie Damerell. And please remember that Molly isn’t your servant.’

  ‘No. She’s my devoted slave.’ Josie stood up and reached for the bell pull. ‘I don’t want that Hester person anywhere near me. She has hands like a bare-knuckle fighter and breath that would stun a donkey. I think I’ll come down to dinner tonight. Will you tell John? I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see me up and about.’

  Kate made a move towards the door. ‘Don’t you dare flirt with my poor uncle. You almost broke his heart last time we were here, although I believe he’s recovered now. I think he’s seen through you at last.’

  Josie tossed her head. ‘Well, I don’t intend to stay here much longer, so you needn’t worry about him.’

  ‘What are you planning in that devious mind of yours, Josie?’

  ‘Harry says in his letter that he’s returning soon. I’ll insist that he takes me to Guernsey so that I can search for Sam. I haven’t any money for the trip, but he has plenty. I think he owes me that much.’

  ‘He owes you nothing. It was you who broke off the engagement.’

  ‘And he should thank me for that. He never loved me. I was a ninny to think that wealth and position meant everything, but I’ve learned my lesson. Now where is that girl? And you’d better choose another of my gowns, Kate. You can’t come down to dinner looking like a milkmaid. Did Hickson pack my peach tussore? I think that would suit you nicely and it makes me look quite sallow.’

  With Josie fully recovered it was just a question of awaiting Harry’s return. The hours could not go fast enough for Kate, but after a day or two the strain was beginning to tell. Everyone else had gone to Matins on Sunday morning, but Kate had slept badly and had awakened with a headache. She would have accompanied them to church, but John insisted that she stay at home and rest. Unable to sit and do nothing, she was darning a hole in one of her stockings when a loud knocking on the front door startled her so much that she pricked her finger on the needle. She set aside the mending and went to answer the urgent summons.

  ‘Kate, I heard you was here.’ Robert sto
od on the doorstep, clutching the bowler hat that Honoria had insisted was more fitting for a man in his position than a cap. He shifted from one foot to the other. His face was flushed and beads of sweat stood out on his brow. His Sunday best suit fitted so tightly round his corpulent belly that the buttons strained and seemed in imminent danger of flying off in all directions.

  ‘You’d best come in,’ she said, holding the door open. ‘What do you want?’

  He stepped inside. ‘Can we talk in private, maidy?’

  ‘Come into the parlour.’ She led the way in silence, waiting to speak until he was seated somewhat uncomfortably on the edge of a chair. ‘Can I get you some refreshment?’

  He stared up at her with a sorrowful expression. ‘Time was when you called me Pa.’

  ‘You turned me out of the house to please Honoria. Why have you come here now?’

  ‘I’ve come to beg your pardon, Kate. I wronged you, and all because of that woman.’

  She took a seat opposite him. ‘Do you mean Honoria?’

  ‘I was an old fool, maidy. Taken in by her flirty ways and flattered that a younger woman wanted me. But she tricked me – led me up the garden path, she did.’

  ‘So what happened?’

  He reached out and clasped her hands in his. ‘The child was not mine. She had been with a man afore she went with me. The long and the short of it is that he come for her the day afore yesterday. His regiment had just returned to Dorchester barracks and he come riding into the farmyard on a big black horse in his scarlet uniform with brass buttons a-blazing like the sun. For two pins, I think he would have run me through with his sword, but then Honoria goes all limp and floppy-like, swooning in his arms and telling him as how she thought he had deserted her. That woman could have earned her living on the stage, she could. Then she turns on me: “You poor old fool,” says she. “Do you really think I’d choose you over my brave army sergeant? I had to have a father for my baby and so I married you.” Then he steps forward, grabs me by the throat, and tells me that we wasn’t married at all. He had married her a full year before I even asked her to step out with me.’ Robert hung his head and his tears splashed onto Kate’s fingers.

  She saw him then as he had always been: her kindly Pa who had raised her as his own. Even in the bad old days when his drinking had sometimes led him to extremes of temper, she had known that he loved her. She threw herself down on her knees and hugged him. ‘Oh, Pa, I am so sorry. Truly, I am. You didn’t deserve such treatment.’

  He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. ‘I was a besotted old fool, Kate. I treated you bad. Can you ever forgive me?’

  ‘Of course I can, Pa.’ She released him, allowing herself to smile for the first time since he had arrived. ‘You were a good father to me, until Honoria came into our lives.’

  ‘I’m sure I don’t deserve your forgiveness, maidy, after what I did to you.’

  ‘I know that you always loved me, Pa. You raised me, and if you hadn’t come looking for me I might have been murdered on the road to Dorchester. You just married the wrong woman and I’m glad she’s gone, but I’m sorry she took your son.’

  ‘I never had a son. Like I said afore, it was his, the big burly army sergeant’s, and she wasn’t in the family way for a second time neither. That was all part of her scheming to get you out of the house. I only ever had one child, and that is you, Kate.’

  She rose to her feet. ‘I’m going to make you a nice cup of tea. And then you can stay for Sunday luncheon and meet the Reverend John Hardy, who has been kindness itself.’

  ‘Thank you, but no.’ Robert stood up, reaching for his hat. ‘I’ve made my peace with you, maidy, so I’ll be on my way. I can’t face other folk, not just yet.’

  She laid her hand on his arm, gazing anxiously into his face. ‘But you will be all right, won’t you?’

  ‘I will, in time.’ He managed a crooked smile. ‘And if you ever wants to come home, you’ll be as welcome as the first swallow in summer.’ He hesitated on the doorstep. ‘And maybe you could sort out that mad Nanny Barnes. Sir Joseph has put her in the pigman’s cottage because she was driving them all daft up at the big house. Now she haunts me day and night, sometimes turning up in her nightgown or taking a bath in the cattle trough with all her clothes on. I’d give anything to have you and young Molly back on the farm, if only to take her in hand.’

  ‘I’m sure that Molly would be glad to have the cottage back, Pa. Nanny Barnes just needs company, that’s all.’

  ‘And I’ll always need you, daughter,’ he said gruffly. ‘Remember that.’

  She reached up to kiss him on the cheek, but she could not bring herself to tell him that she knew the truth about her parentage; that would keep until another time. When all was said and done, Robert Coggins was her father and always would be. She owed him a debt of gratitude and love. Her real parents were simply shadows from the past. Their sad story would always be a part of her, but they were as much strangers to her as were Sir Philip and Lady Hardy. She would always be glad that she had met and come to know John, but she was still Kate Coggins at heart. She waved goodbye, feeling suddenly at peace.

  She did not mention Robert’s visit when everyone returned from church. Josie appeared to be in a buoyant mood, and Kate did not want to spoil things by reminding her of times past. John went straight to his study and Josie sent Molly to the kitchen to fetch a jug of lemonade. She drew Kate aside. ‘Guess what?’

  Kate shook her head.

  ‘Harry’s back at Copperstone. Charlie Beauchamp was in church and he told me afterwards that Harry had returned last evening. I’ll lay odds that he’ll visit us before the day’s out. If he doesn’t come today I’ll borrow John’s horse and ride over to Copperstone and demand that he take me to Guernsey. You’ll have to come too, or it will look very odd.’ She took off her bonnet and tossed it so that it landed on the hall stand. ‘Pack a few things in readiness, Kate. I have a good feeling about this. Perhaps I’ve inherited some of Dena’s second sight.’ She danced away, leaving Kate standing in the hall. The thought of seeing Harry again filled her with misgivings. Suddenly she wanted to go home. She longed for nothing more than to disappear into the anonymity of living and working on the farm.

  She barely managed to eat a thing at luncheon, but Josie ate ravenously and Molly ran her a close second. John hurried through his meal and retired to his study to prepare for Evensong. Having scraped her plate clean, Molly decided that she would go for a walk, but Josie said that she did not feel very energetic and had decided to while away the afternoon playing the pianoforte. ‘One of the few things I miss from home,’ she said as she parted from them in the hallway.

  ‘Well I want some fresh air.’ Molly rammed her bonnet on her head and rushed out into the sunshine.

  Kate followed at a slower pace, heading for her favourite spot beneath the oak tree. She sat on the bench, closing her eyes and listening to the strains of a Chopin waltz floating through the open drawing room windows. The music, together with the hypnotic sound of bees buzzing in the rose bushes, gradually lulled her to sleep.

  ‘I hope they’re sweet dreams, Kate.’

  The sound of Harry’s voice awakened her with a start. She leapt to her feet. ‘How long have you been standing there?’

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, but you make such a pretty picture with the sunlight shining on your hair. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.’

  She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. ‘You are such a tease, Harry. My shoes are dusty and my hair is all over the place, and …’

  ‘Kate, you are quite adorable as you are.’ He did not let her finish her sentence. He swept her into his arms, holding her so tightly that she could scarcely breathe. He brushed her lips with kisses until they parted with a sigh. She slid her arms around his neck and gave herself up to the sweet sensation of their first kiss, returning his embrace with an ardour that both surprised and shocked her. He drew away just enough to allow her to catch her breath an
d his eyes were dark with desire. ‘I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, Kate. You wouldn’t believe how much willpower I have had to employ to stop myself from doing just this.’

  She was drunk with delight. She felt as if her head was in the clouds. She ought to resist, but being held in Harry’s arms was like coming home. She laid her head against his shoulder with a deep sigh of contentment. Her heart was so full that she couldn’t speak.

  ‘I love you, Kate. I’ve loved you for a very long time but I couldn’t say anything before. Now I know that Josie is genuinely devoted to Loveday and expects nothing from me, I’m free at last to tell you how I feel.’

  Reality smote her like a thunderbolt and she raised her head to look him in the eyes. ‘This is all wrong, Harry.’

  ‘Why do you say that? There is nothing to keep us apart now I know that you love me. You do, don’t you?’ A frown creased his brow, but he held her so close to him that she was not sure whether it was his heart she could feel thudding against her breast, or whether it was her own.

  She tried to pull away from him but his arms held her like bands of steel. ‘I do love you, Harry. But there are things that you don’t know about me.’

  ‘I know that I worship you, Kate. Isn’t that enough?’

  ‘No, it isn’t. I mean – please, Harry, just take my word for it. There can never be anything more than loving friendship between us.’

  ‘That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. I love you to distraction, I can’t get you out of my mind, and I think you feel the same about me. Why, for God’s sake, are you putting obstacles in our way? I want to marry you, Kate. I want you with me for now and always. Do you understand?’ He held her by the shoulders, giving her a gentle shake.

  ‘You don’t understand …’

  ‘I bloody well don’t understand, and I’m not apologising for swearing. What in hell’s name could keep us apart?’ His fingers dug into her shoulders and his eyes hardened. ‘Unless you are already married? You didn’t have a change of heart and accept Westwood, did you? You haven’t secretly married the damn fellow in my absence?’