by Anne Herries
The discovery left him feeling slightly bewildered, for she could never be the tall, willowy nymph, which had in the past been the type of woman he most admired. However, at the back of his mind, he suspected that sometimes those very beautiful, helpless ladies might prove tiresome after the first heat of passion had worn off—whereas Amanda would be a true companion, a woman with whom one could share one’s passions and who would be a helpmeet and a staunch supporter.
He shook off his musings as he went up to change for dinner. The Hamilton family was giving a dinner party this evening and he must make sure that no one was allowed to discover his secret.
* * *
Amanda’s charming manner at dinner that evening could have given no one a hint of the churning feelings in her breast. She greeted all their guests with the same warm smile as always, enquiring after their families and remembering the names of all the younger offspring, who remained at home in the nursery.
Papa’s look of affection told her that he was proud of his daughter, but she was pleased to see that he introduced Phipps to their neighbours and friends with a warmth that had not been there at the start. It seemed that Phipps had found favour with both her parents and she was aware of a glow inside her.
She knew at once that their friends liked Phipps, because of the way he was asked for his opinions on various aspects of country life and answered, knowledgeably if he was able and with an apology if it was beyond him, confessing that he was but a novice in the art of estate management.
In this way he made friends, was given advice and asked if he would care to ride out to look at a neighbour’s fields—and to give advice on a mare. Phipps had far more knowledge in this field and his horses had been much admired, for they had been seen about and were considered to be sweet goers. His confession that he hoped to set up a breeding sables, perhaps at Amanda’s estate, brought a flood of enquiries and the offer of a mare that had good blood, but did not suit its owner as a riding horse.
By the end of the evening, the happy couple had been invited to suppers, dinners and card parties, besides a picnic to look at the charming ruins of a medieval abbey, and Phipps to take part in the local cricket derby with a neighbouring village. On being told that Phipps excelled with the ball rather than the bat, his popularity was assured.
* * *
Later that evening, after all their guests had gone, Amanda lingered in the conservatory to say goodnight to Phipps. She had taken him there to show him a beautiful and very delicate orchid that had just come into flower, but in truth, she had hopes that he might feel tempted to repeat the kiss he had given her earlier that day. However, she had no intention of giving him a hint and made polite conversation, just as if her whole body did not cry out to be held and kissed.
‘You will be Mr Tompson’s friend for life if you can bowl out Sir Marshall Rawlings. Every year he manages to cling to his wicket long enough to claim the winning runs. We have several good batsmen, but nary a bowler in sight.’
‘I discovered my ability at Eton,’ Phipps told her. ‘I was never much good on the rugby field, but in the science of boxing I excelled and was reasonably proficient on the cricket field.’
‘What other talents do you have?’ she asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes. ‘I have heard it said you are a notable whip and good with pistols.’
‘In that my skill may have been overrated, but I am considered deadly with a knife—’ He checked and looked at her in consternation. ‘Not a fit subject for a lady’s ears, forgive me.’
Amanda’s curiosity was aroused, for it seemed an odd skill for a gentleman. ‘When did you develop that skill, Phipps? Was it in the army?’
‘I could always throw anything with accuracy,’ he said, an odd smile on his mouth. ‘Balls, sticks, knives. There are times when speed and silence is of the essence in war, Amanda. A knife is sometimes faster and more deadly than a ball.’
‘Oh...’ She looked at him, considering. ‘What secrets you soldiers must have between you. It shows a new side of you, sir—one that would never be suspected in the drawing rooms of society.’
‘I trust it does not give you a distaste for my company?’
‘Nothing could do that,’ she said frankly. ‘It merely makes me more aware of what your life must have been when you were serving with the army. In London we see only the dress uniforms and think of how smart and elegant the officers look—but life cannot have been that way when you were in Spain and France.’
‘No, indeed. You would not think us smart then, my love, if you saw the state of our uniforms, which became torn and stained with mud and worse—and the way we often lived. When we were settled for a time we might find a good billet, but on the move we more often slept on the ground fully dressed and sometimes did not wash for days.’
‘I had always thought that it must be uncomfortable to be at war,’ she admitted. ‘One hears of glory or the horrors of a resounding defeat, but nothing of the rigours endured by an army on the march.’ Her eyes met his in a thoughtful gaze. ‘Is that why you have sent for some of your former comrades?’
‘When the war finished several of my men were dismissed, for in peacetime the army is always reduced. I found work for six of those I trusted most on my estate. We worked well together and they needed employment with someone who would understand their ways; it is not always easy for an old soldier to return to civilian life and they are glad to serve me. They will discover if Shearne is in the district and, if he shows any sign of trying to murder either of us again, he will be stopped.’
‘You told Papa,’ Amanda said and nodded. ‘That is why he respects you. He was unable to enter the army because his father told him his duty was to the estate, but I know he admires bravery.’
‘We have reached a comfortable understanding,’ Phipps said and took her hand in his, lifting it to kiss the fingers. ‘As I believe we have also, Amanda. I am very tempted to make love to you, but in the circumstances I feel we must not sneak away to be alone for it might prove dangerous...and here we might be discovered at any time.’
With a sigh she tried to keep inside, Amanda acknowledged the truth of his statement, which made him laugh and bend his head to kiss her lightly on the lips.
‘The time will pass, my dearest girl,’ he said. ‘Just think how much we are learning of each other’s ways. I have come to know you much better in these past few days than in all the time we spent in each other’s company in town.’
‘I hope you have not been disappointed?’ she said and tried for lightness, but feared she failed.
‘Disappointed? Never,’ he said and touched her cheek with one finger. ‘I like what I see very much, my love—and it distressed me that you were in danger this afternoon.’
‘You were in as much danger,’ she said seriously. ‘I should not have liked it had you been harmed, Phipps. I do trust that you will be careful. I know you were a soldier and snipers can hold no fears for you—but I am not as fearless as you.’
‘Believe me when I say that I do not intend he shall succeed in killing either of us. I have far too much to live for to give up my life easily—and I would rather die than see you hurt.’
Amanda’s cheeks heated and she was glad there was little light in the conservatory, for she would not have liked him to see how near to being overset his words had brought her.
‘I believe I must go up and say goodnight to Mama,’ she whispered, her heart racing wildly.
‘Sleep well and do not let what happened prey on your mind,’ he said. ‘Once my men get here we shall very soon have the culprit behind bars.’
Amanda nodded, but made no reply. If she wondered whether the marquis taken in the act would ever make it to a prison cell, she did not question. She felt a sense of relief that Phipps had the matter in hand, for she knew that her father’s keepers would do their best, but had no experience of protecting anyone against the spiteful acts of a man she thought must be a little deranged.
What other reason could there be
for his attack on them? Phipps had been forced to knock Shearne down and she had cut him in the street—but surely that was not enough to cause a man to attempt murder?
Leaving Phipps in the conservatory, she went upstairs and along the landing to her mother’s room to say goodnight. After a few minutes, she popped in to wish Jane a good night and then went away to her own room.
Standing in the window for a few minutes, she looked down into the gardens. There was not much light, for the moon had gone behind the clouds and she could not see far. Pulling her curtains, she refused to let her imagination run away with her. Even if the marquis had watched the house the first night Phipps had come to stay, he was unlikely to be here now. Her father had increased the patrol guarding the grounds and if anyone tried to approach the house they would be challenged and shot at.
She had dismissed her maid, because the gown she was wearing was easy enough to slip out of without help and she wanted to be alone to think. Phipps had seemed so very approving this evening and the look in his eyes almost made her believe that he had started to be just a little bit in love with her...even if he did not yet know it himself.
Chapter Ten
Amanda could not quite rid herself of the shadow that lay over her, but despite the knowledge that she was being heavily guarded and her freedom curtailed in that she could no longer go for a long tramp across the fields with only her dogs for company, she contrived to be happy.
Jane was still staying with them and Amanda spent a part of every day with her having fittings for her new gowns. Several of the dresses she had ordered in London had been delivered. Most had needed Jane’s clever fingers to adjust them and the girls spent happy moments sewing and reading to each other.
Having made friends in the district, Phipps was content to ride out to visit them and to inspect horses and verdant fields. He normally spent the afternoons with Amanda, and sometimes Jane, for they were comfortable together. He had an expressive reading voice and all the ladies enjoyed it when he could be persuaded to give them a reading from one of the books they favoured.
In this way more than a week passed pleasantly, visiting friends in the evenings and receiving callers during the day. Jane was to stay for the picnic and the visit to the picturesque ruins that had been promised, after that she would go home and return a few days before the visit to Brock’s family home.
It had surprised Amanda that nothing had been heard from the major, for Phipps had written to him at once, but she knew that no letter had been received in return and he had not called at the house. She supposed that he was too busy entertaining his fiancée and ceased to expect him to come. Phipps’s own men had arrived within three days of being summoned and she knew that they were now searching for the marquis, though her father’s men continued to patrol the grounds both day and night.
Therefore, on the day of the picnic she was able to set out with every expectation of pleasure in the treat. With so many people to watch over her as well Phipps, the marquis must have grown tired of being frustrated in his aims and had surely given up.
The abbey ruins were set in vast grounds still owned by the church, but much of the land was let out to tenant farmers. Around the picturesque walls, of which quite a few still stood, there was an area of open grassland, and set at a fair distance some shady trees and a wooden bench that had been thoughtfully set to give a pleasant view of the ruins.
Amanda’s host had organised the servants to bring chairs, a trestle and board, which was soon covered with a pristine white cloth, and some blankets, which were spread on the ground for those who preferred to picnic informally.
The company, which included Amanda’s mama, Jane, Phipps, two neighbours, their wives and daughters, their hostess, Lady Malden, her son, Malcolm, her daughter, Alison and two other single gentlemen.
The gentlemen amused themselves with an impromptu game of cricket, in which some of the ladies joined. Then a cold collation was served of chicken, ham, preserves, salad tomatoes and leaves, pastries, savoury pies and various sweetmeats for those who liked to nibble, all washed down with quantities of white wine, which the servants had somehow managed to keep cool.
It was a warm afternoon and after everyone had eaten their fill some of the ladies declared they wanted only to rest in the shade of the trees. A few of the gentlemen resumed their interrupted game, but Jane and Amanda decided to stroll and explore the ruins, which was after all the excuse for their outing.
‘Would you like to come, Alison?’ Amanda invited her hostess’s daughter but she was absorbed in watching the cricket match, in which Phipps had just been invited to bowl.
‘Perhaps later,’ Alison said off-handedly, then clapped enthusiastically as Phipps clean bowled her father. ‘Oh, well done, sir. Well done indeed!’
Amanda saw the smile on her pretty face and realised that her neighbour’s daughter was more than a little taken with Phipps. She felt a little pang of jealousy, but squashed it immediately. There was no need to feel jealous because the tall and slender, rather lovely blonde was clearly giving him every encouragement to notice her. He had responded politely each time that she addressed him, but given her no cause to harbour hope of arousing more than friendship in him.
Walking towards the ruins, which looked so picturesque from a distance, but rather dark and brooding as they approached, Amanda scolded herself for allowing even a prick of jealousy against a girl she’d known all her life. Alison’s family were expecting her to marry well and Phipps would not have been their choice, even though he might have been hers had he been free. If she were to imagine an intrigue with every pretty girl he met, she would make her life miserable indeed and must stop this now on the instant.
Being a sensible girl, she did not imagine that Phipps had any intention of playing her false and put the foolish thoughts from her mind. Her arm slotted through Jane’s, she talked to her of the ruins and the history of a once-great abbey. It had been destroyed at the time of King Henry VIII and left to moulder away over the centuries. The only wonder of it was that its ruined walls had not been carried away to build homes and cowsheds for the local people, but because it was rumoured to be haunted, it had been left to the elements to work their own destruction.
‘Imagine what life must have been like here when the monks were alive,’ Jane said. ‘They would have tended their herb gardens, grown their own food...’
‘I believe they made a kind of honey mead here, too, for they had a great many hives and their bees were famed,’ Amanda supplied. ‘It was a large industry and they used the wealth it generated for giving succour to the poor—though I often think the abbots of the time used a sizeable portion of it for their own good.’
Entering the ruins, Amanda shivered in the sudden coolness. Outside, the sun was very warm, but in here it struck through to the bones and she had an uncomfortable feeling that eyes were watching them—though she could see no one. However, the partition walls were still high enough in places to obscure the view and, though she was sure theirs was the only party visiting the ruins that day, provided a hiding place for any of evil intent. Yet the feeling she had was less of human menace than of something not...not of this earth. It was not surprising that a superstitious population would consider the place to be haunted, for if the wind whistled through the gaps in these walls at night, one could almost fancy they heard the screams of the monks as they fought to save their home.
‘Where do you think that leads to?’ Jane asked, nodding towards a curving stair leading upwards. ‘Do you think it goes all the way up the tower?’
‘I imagine it might have once,’ Amanda replied. ‘I think it might be dangerous for the tower looks unsafe in parts.’
‘I should like to discover where it leads, should not you?’
‘Oh, I think it would be unwise to venture up there,’ Amanda warned, but Jane had walked away and was clearly intent on exploring.
Amanda was not a pudding heart, but she felt it would be unwise of her to follow up the sto
ne steps lest they both find themselves in trouble. If Jane ran into difficulty, at least she could warn the gentlemen that they were needed to rescue her. However, she stood at the bottom of the stairs and craned her neck, calling up to her.
‘Are you all right, Jane? Do be careful, those steps look as if they may be unsafe.’
Jane did not answer and Amanda thought she ought to investigate for she could not leave her friend to struggle if she had encountered a difficulty. However, even as she put her foot on the first step she heard a sound behind her and froze, a chill of cold fear starting at the base of her neck.
‘You will oblige me by remaining where you are, Miss Hamilton,’ the man’s voice said. ‘I have no reason to harm your friend, but if you call to her for help I shall be obliged to do so.’
Amanda raised her head, removed her foot from the bottom step and turned to face him. ‘I have no intention of asking her to help me, sir. I know very well she cannot and I do not wish her to be harmed.’
‘If she stays out of my way, she will come to no harm.’ Shearne’s eyes glittered as he levelled his pistol at her. ‘You cannot imagine how much pleasure it is going to give me to kill you,’ he murmured. ‘I know what you did—how you spoiled my chances with the Langton girl. You and that devil Brockley think to ruin me, but I’m too clever for the pair of you. No one makes a fool of me and gets away with it. Please step away from that stairway into the centre of the nave if you will. I have no wish to chase you up the tower, for then I should be obliged to kill Miss Field as well—I want no witnesses.’