Halfway to the stables she found Adam Calthorpe waiting for her. He was dressed for riding, but there was no sign of groom or horses.
‘Good morning!’ she called. ‘Are you riding with me this morning? Where are the horses?’
‘The horses are back in their stables. I’ve already been out with them. I have something to discuss with you.’
Katharine stiffened. This was not last night’s charmer speaking. This was Lord Calthorpe, the officer in charge. ‘What is it?’ she asked coolly.
‘Why have you been ignoring my wish that you should not ride your brother’s horse? I understand that you have been taking him out quite regularly.’
‘And why should I not?’ asked Katharine, bristling. ‘Sholto is now mine and whether I ride him or not is my concern, not yours!’
‘Wrong, Miss Payne! While you are a guest in my mother’s house, I regard you as very much my concern. We did not rescue you from your uncle’s clutches only to have you break your neck on a horse which is manifestly unsuitable for a woman to ride—and certainly not in conditions like these. I cannot permit it.’
Katharine said angrily, ‘Permit? What do you mean by permit? I shall ride the horse whenever I choose!’
Adam was unaffected by this defiance. He said calmly but firmly, ‘I’m afraid you can’t. There are several other horses in the stables which you may ride with my good will. But I have given instructions that Sholto is to be exercised by me, or one of the grooms—no one else.’
‘How dare you!’
‘Come, let us not be melodramatic!’ said Adam with a touch of impatience. ‘If you were not so headstrong, you would admit that I am right. I had him out myself this morning, and I simply cannot believe that you haven’t had trouble with him. Once or twice it was all I could do myself to control the brute.’
When Katharine remained silent he went on, ‘Can you honestly say that you have never had doubts when riding Sholto? Or are you too pig-headed to admit it?’
‘No, I… I—’ Katharine stopped short as she tried to keep a rein on her temper. She was too honest to deny what Adam Calthorpe had said, but detested having matters taken out of her hands in such an arbitrary fashion, and most unwilling to give in without a fight. ‘I am not pig-headed!’ she said.
‘No? It looks remarkably like it to me. Does my mother know that you’ve been riding Sholto?’
‘No.’
‘Do you think she would approve?’
‘No, I know she wouldn’t. She has said he is too much for me. But she is wrong! And you had no right—’
He interrupted her. ‘Miss Payne, could you not simply agree to my request—’
‘Request? Is that what it is? It sounds rather more like an order to me.’
Adam took a breath and prayed for patience. ‘I will try to put it differently,’ he said. Then, speaking with exaggerated care, he went on, ‘My dear Miss Payne, I know that my mother would be extremely anxious if she knew that you were still riding Sholto. It would relieve my mind enormously if you would promise not to ride him again. You need not worry about the horse. I shall make sure he is properly exercised.’
Katharine, feeling that she had been somehow out-manoeuvred, scowled and said ungraciously, ‘Since you put it like that, and for your mother’s sake—very well!’
‘Good!’ said Adam, starting back to the stables.
‘But only till the weather is milder.’
Adam, who had been congratulating himself on his victory, turned round in surprised anger to give Katharine Payne the benefit of his tongue, but she had curtsied and gone before he could find the right words. He stood there impotently for a moment, then, unwilling to pursue her, he continued on his way to the stables. But he wondered as he went what had possessed him to take in Tom Payne’s sister. She was a menace, a positive menace, with all of Tom’s lack of subordination and none of his charm! And he, who had always prided himself on keeping cool in the most difficult or provocative circumstances imaginable, who had been famous throughout the Army for his patience and tact, had very nearly descended to her level! He could not remember when he had last felt so angry.
When they next met Mrs Calthorpe noticed at once that Adam was most unusually curt with Katharine, and that Katharine had again adopted a belligerent air towards her son. Mrs Calthorpe was very disappointed. She had been much encouraged by the improvement in relations the previous evening, and this change in the atmosphere did not augur well for the visit to the Redshaws, which was to take place the next day. Mrs Calthorpe had her own reasons for hoping for harmony on that occasion, so, when later in the day Adam excused himself and went out, she decided to do something about it. The two ladies were sitting in Mrs Calthorpe’s little parlour—a favourite place on cold winter days, and a perfect setting for confidences.
‘Kate, my dear, what is wrong? You and Adam are clearly at daggers’ drawn again. And I had such hopes for you both last night. What has happened?’
Katharine had had time to think things over. Perhaps she had been a touch stubborn—though ‘pig-headed’ was a term she thought more suited to Adam, rather than herself! His ban on riding Sholto was really quite reasonable, but the arbitrary manner in which he had presented it had roused a devil of opposition in her. She said as much to Mrs Calthorpe.
‘I must confess that I am highly relieved at your decision not to ride Sholto, though I am sorry if Adam’s manner offended you—he doesn’t always remember that he is no longer in the Army. I can understand your resentment, Kate. But why is he in such a mood? I haven’t seen him as put out as this for years. He is normally the most even-tempered of creatures.’
‘That is easily explained, ma’am. I dared to disagree with him!’
‘It must have been more than that. He isn’t usually so touchy. I have to say that I am disappointed in you both. I was so hoping we should all three present a united front to the Redshaws.’
‘The Redshaws? Why?’ asked Katharine, astonished.
Mrs Calthorpe paused. ‘I think I shall tell you. But it is in confidence, mind.’
‘I can be very discreet, ma’am.’
‘Well, years ago, before he joined the Army, Adam once fell headlong in love.’
‘Your son! Headlong in love? I can’t believe it!’
‘I suppose it does seem unlikely now. But at twenty he was the most idealistic, romantic creature you could imagine. He fell in love with Julia Redshaw, and, after leading him on for months, she rejected him.’
‘This was your neighbour’s daughter—the present Lady Balmenny?’ Mrs Calthorpe nodded. ‘I see. How did he take it?’ asked Katharine, still struggling with the thought of Adam Calthorpe as a lovelorn young man.
‘Badly. He went away and joined the Army. We saw nothing of him for years.’
‘But he has surely recovered now.’
‘Oh, yes. At least…he is a very different person now. I doubt that he would ever be as foolish as he was then.’
‘Then, forgive me, but why are you so concerned?’
‘Because though Adam is no longer passionately in love with Julia Redshaw, he still has a fondness for her. And she…’
‘Yes?’
‘I never shared Adam’s admiration of Julia. She was, and still is, I believe, a heartless minx. There, I’ve said it. I dare say you’re shocked. It isn’t at all the sort of thing one ought to say about our neighbour’s daughter.’
‘I still don’t quite understand why you are so worried, ma’am.’
‘Think, Kate! Julia Redshaw was determined to marry into a fortune, and she did—she married an elderly aristocrat, whose assets are his wealth and position, rather than any personal charms. Now the wealth and position are no longer a novelty and Julia is bored with her husband. She has a reputation for flirting with any personable young man who comes near her. How will she behave when Adam comes back into her life? She was quite attracted to him when he was a tongue-tied student, fresh from Oxford, but now? A handsome, distinguished, self-ass
ured man? I can’t see Julia resisting that challenge!’
‘Oh, come!’ said Katharine, smiling. ‘I may have reservations about your son’s attitude to me, ma’am, but I am absolutely certain that, whatever a lady’s charms, he would never allow himself to be tempted in the way you fear.’
‘You haven’t seen Julia Redshaw!’ said Mrs Calthorpe.
There was a short pause. Then Katharine said, ‘But if that is the case, how could I help?’
‘You could help quite a lot. But there is one major difficulty.’
‘What is that?’
‘I think you are, at the moment, more likely to avoid Adam’s company than to seek it, isn’t that so?’
‘Quite!’
‘Could I possibly persuade you to change your attitude—even if it is just for tomorrow evening? Could you stay as close to him as you can?’
‘Why on earth…?’
Mrs Calthorpe took a breath and said rapidly, ‘I want to discourage Julia from trying to attract Adam again. I’d like her to believe that Adam is interested in you—that’s why you are staying with us.’
Katharine was shocked into rudeness. ‘That’s absurd!’ she cried. ‘Oh, forgive me, ma’am, but I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t pretend anything like that!’
‘You wouldn’t have to pretend very much,’ said Mrs Calthorpe with a pleading look. ‘All you need do is to stay by Adam, and manage to give him an occasional smile or friendly look. That is all the pretence I ask. You must admit that all he gets at the moment is a series of basilisk stares, which is not what is wanted! You may leave the rest to me.’
Katharine looked at Mrs Calthorpe with suspicion. ‘And what does the rest consist of, ma’am?’
‘Oh, hints, and glances. They will be enough,’ said Mrs Calthorpe airily. Then she grew serious. ‘Katharine, help me in this! I know Julia Redshaw. She is beautiful, clever and unscrupulous. Adam thinks she is everything he has always admired in a woman, and she will be careful to foster the illusion, to enmesh him again merely for her own amusement. Like you, I am quite certain that my son would never allow himself to be embroiled in anything scandalous, but he could be made deeply unhappy again. I don’t want to run that risk. And, apart from forgetting your present quarrel with Adam—just for one evening—your behaviour really needn’t be very different.’
‘What—to pretend that I am…I am…interested in your son? That sounds like a big difference to me!’
‘Kate, dear, you have a natural reserve about you. It is obvious to everyone that you are not someone who would ever wear her heart on her sleeve. Apart from disguising your present antagonism toward Adam you could behave quite normally. Let the world suspect that there is more feeling than there is. I am sure you could do that!’
‘Well, if that is all, I suppose I could try,’ said Katharine reluctantly. She gave Mrs Calthorpe a sudden grin. ‘But I cannot answer for Lord Calthorpe’s cooperation. He is not very fond of me at the moment, I think!’
‘I will deal with Adam. Thank you, my dear.’
But by the time Katharine began to dress for the party the next evening she was bitterly regretting her promise to Mrs Calthorpe. Though she would never have admitted to anyone just how nervous she was about it, the visit to the Redshaws promised to have all the elements of a nightmare. She had never mixed a great deal in company, and to date her appearances in public could be counted on the fingers of one hand—every one of them with Tom there to support her. He had even taught her a few rudimentary dance steps, but there had been little time to practise them, and she had always felt stiff and awkward when dancing with anyone else. The thought of facing all these strangers without Tom terrified her.
And, worse still, Adam’s mother had given her a task for which she felt hopelessly inadequate. How could she possibly hold Adam’s attention in competition with a woman who, from all accounts, was both beautiful and sophisticated? Katharine stared at herself in the mirror and saw plain Katharine Payne, brown-haired, brown-eyed, compared so often unfavourably with her handsome brother. ‘You’ve twice the character and only half the looks, Kate!’ her grandfather had once said with regret. ‘Why couldn’t it have been the other way round?’
And even her short-lived chaperon had regarded her in despair. ‘Katharine, you should take more pains with your appearance. You cannot afford to neglect it if you wish to be a success.’ Then she had sighed, ‘It’s such a pity! Matters would be so much easier if you only had your brother’s blue eyes and blond curls…’ Such comments and others like them had never worried her—the way she looked had never been very important to her. But tonight… She frowned at the dress she had thought so pretty—a simple slip of white with bronze ribbons as its only decoration. Dull, that’s what she was. Very dull.
Mrs Calthorpe’s heart sank when she saw Katharine coming downstairs to join them. Far from looking affectionate, Kate scowled as she greeted Adam at the bottom of the stairs, and Adam’s response was hardly any more pleasant.
‘That dress suits you perfectly, Kate, my dear!’ said Mrs Calthorpe warmly, suspecting that Katharine’s expression was the result of nerves, not ill-feeling.
‘Thank you. I’m sure you mean well.’ Katharine’s tone was curt, and Mrs Calthorpe saw Adam look sharply at her and start to frown at what he regarded as rudeness to his mother.
‘Help Kate with her cloak, Adam,’ Mrs Calthorpe said hastily.
She could not have suggested anything more suited to her plans. For, as Adam arranged the cloak, his hands rested on Katharine’s shoulders for a moment, and he was astonished to find that she was shivering. He was touched. The girl might look perfectly self-possessed, but she was in a panic! He watched as she tried to tie the ribbons with fingers that trembled.
‘Let me do that,’ he said gently. Their hands met—hers were icy. He forgot his earlier anger and wanted only to reassure her. ‘Do you remember the first time I helped you to tie some ribbons?’ he asked conversationally as he pulled the ribbons into a bow. ‘It was the first time we met. You were quite ready to bite my head off, and I thought you a Gorgon. But then I discovered you were Tom’s sister.’ He put his hands back on her shoulders. ‘You don’t look like your brother, Kate, but last night when you were laughing I could see Tom in you.’ He held her until she looked up at him. Katharine’s eyes were huge. He noticed once again what a curious and beautiful colour they were—the amber-gold of the wines of Spain. Then he smiled ruefully. ‘We really shouldn’t fight. I promised your brother that I would make sure you were safe. Don’t condemn me for taking that promise seriously.’
She dropped her eyes, cleared her throat and said slowly, ‘I’ll try not to. You were right about Sholto. And I know you mean well. I’m just not used to obeying orders.’
‘Is that what they sound like? I’m sorry. Let’s make a bargain. I will try to sound less peremptory, if you will make an effort to meet me halfway when I am doing my best to look after you. Agreed?’ He put his finger under her chin and made her look at him again.
If Adam Calthorpe was always as nice as this when making his requests, thought Katharine, she might well agree without demur to anything he suggested. She smiled back at him and nodded.
‘Good! That’s settled,’ said Mrs Calthorpe, who had been listening to this exchange with delight. As Katharine went out before them to the carriage Mrs Calthorpe said in a low voice, ‘We shouldn’t have insisted on her coming with us, Adam. It’s too soon. The child is terrified of company, and she misses Tom.’
‘I realise that now. But don’t worry, Mama. I’ll look after her.’
Well satisfied, Adam’s mother preceded Adam to the carriage and they set off.
The ballroom of Redshaw Hall was at the back of the house, and Katharine looked curiously about her as they walked through the marble-columned hall and along what seemed like miles of tapestry-lined passage. The Hall was an imposing mansion, she thought, but not a comfortable home like Herriards or Bridge House.
They were
met at the door of the ballroom by a major-domo who announced them in a resounding voice. The party was well under way with crowds of people milling round the room. But they had hardly gone a few steps when they were halted by an exquisitely diminutive figure.
‘Adam!’ called this vision. ‘Adam Calthorpe, as I live and breathe! How nice to see you after all these years!’
‘Lady Balmenny.’ Adam bowed.
‘What nonsense is this? I thought we were friends—you must call me Julia, as you did in the old days.’
Smiling, Adam said, ‘You remember my mother, I think?’
‘Oh, of course,’ cried Lady Balmenny. ‘How are you, Mrs Calthorpe? So nice you could come… Adam, we must have a long chat. I cannot wait to ask you about the Duke. Is he as bad as they say?’
‘Julia, I don’t think you know Miss Payne,’ said Mrs Calthorpe firmly. ‘May I introduce her?’
Julia stared at Katharine. ‘How d’y’ do, Miss Payne. I heard Mrs Calthorpe had a friend staying with her. You must meet my parents. Do come with me.’ She led the way through the crowded room across to an alcove to where a small group of people were sitting. Julia presented them to Sir John and Lady Redshaw, but then wasted no time in dragging Adam off to dance with her.
The Redshaws showed no surprise at their daughter’s extraordinary behaviour, but greeted Mrs Calthorpe very kindly and expressed their pleasure in meeting Katharine.
‘Is this your first visit to Surrey, Miss Payne?’ asked Lady Redshaw.
‘Yes, and I find it very attractive, even in winter.’
‘Are you planning to stay long?’
‘I’m…I’m not sure…’
‘What Kate means is that she will be presented next season, and then…’ Mrs Calthorpe allowed her eyes to rest on her son for a moment. ‘We shall see….’
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