by Gail Mallin
Watching him greet Kitty she realised she didn’t need to enquire. Elation surged in her plump breast. She was a simpleton not to have realised before now that Kitty had caught his interest!
It had troubled her a little that Kitty’s arrival had deprived Randal of an inheritance which had looked set to become his. He was a very likeable young man and heaven knows that unpleasant old misanthrope had been demanding. Not that Randal had ever complained. He was not the kind of man to shirk family responsibilities.
What’s more, he possessed a strong sense of honour and she was sure he didn’t begrudge Kitty her windfall. But if they were united in matrimony the money would stay in the Cheshire and so would Kitty. She would not lose her after all.
Glowing with satisfaction, Alicia invited Randal back to Abbey Square. ‘Come and eat a nuncheon with us. It is a long drive back to the Hall and the wind has turned chilly today.’
Randal accepted with alacrity and Kate shot him a quizzical look.
She would lay odds that he had planned this outcome all along! ‘Tell me,’ she said softly. ‘What have you done with your carriage?’
‘Stabled it at the Falcon Inn,’ Randal replied promptly. ‘I could hardly bring a curricle and a pair of greys into the churchyard, now could I?’
His expression was so innocent she couldn’t help chuckling.
‘I shall take a chair home, Kitty,’ Alicia announced, capturing their attention. ‘Shall you do likewise? You may walk back with his lordship if you prefer.’
Kate was happy to walk. It was only a short distance back to Abbey Square and she would have Randal all to herself.
They saw Alicia off and then Randal tucked Kate’s arm into the crook of his elbow. ‘Let’s not stand dawdling about,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Look at those clouds. I think it is going to rain.’
‘I hope not,’ Kate replied. ‘I like sunny weather.’
Randal glanced down at her. She was looking particularly pretty this morning in a pale jonquil coloured muslin worn with a neat little bonnet in white Italian straw. ‘Do you? I thought the climate in Massachusetts was cold?’
‘Only in the winter, sir,’ Kate answered, devoutly relieved that she had taken the trouble to ask Kitty a few simple questions on the subject. ‘We have hot summers.’
‘Then for your sake I hope I’m wrong and this fine spell lasts.’
Kate dimpled up at him and thanked him prettily and Randal’s flicker of suspicion faded.
He hadn’t meant to test her knowledge. He had made the remark on the spur of the moment, although he supposed he ought to be laying traps to catch her out. It would be the sensible thing to do, but such behaviour seemed shabby. He had given her his word to wait for news from Ireland and he meant to keep it.
Blister it, be honest, his conscience protested. It’s got naught to do with your promise. You don’t want her to let slip that she is an impostor because you want to keep the present status quo.
Maybe in a few weeks time he would be glad to see her go, but for now he was deriving a great deal of pleasure from her company and he didn’t want the idyll to end.
‘Am I walking too fast for you?’ He slowed his long stride to match her pace.
‘You have the advantage of wearing breeches, sir. Skirts are so restrictive.’
His eyebrows lifted in astonishment and Kate realised her mistake. She had been thinking of the freedom of movement she had enjoyed strutting about the stage in her favourite breeches part as Sylvia in The Recruiting Officer.
Frantically cudgelling her brains, she remembered Kitty saying what little ruffians her stepbrothers were. ‘No doubt you will think me shameless, but when we first moved to Amherst I often used to borrow my stepbrothers’ clothes,’ she explained brightly. ‘They were much more comfortable for exploring the woods.’
‘Your Mama approved?’ Randal did rapid mental arithmetic. She would have been sixteen or so, a little old to be playing the tomboy.
‘Not at all.’ Kate essayed a bright laugh. ‘She put a stop to it as soon as she found out. I have never forgotten that sensation of freedom though. You men don’t know how lucky you are!’
‘Ah, but I do.’ Randal smiled at her lazily. ‘You might have been born a boy instead of merely liking to wear breeches.’
This unexpected compliment silenced Kate and her rosy blush was still in evidence a few moments later when they reached Abbey Square.
Lady Edgeworth had arrived before them. She offered them an excellent sherry and announced, ‘Our meal will be ready shortly.’
Kate’s eyes widened at the size and magnificence of the nuncheon laid out in the dining room. Up to now she and Alicia had always partaken of a simple, informal meal, just a few cold meats and some fruit and cakes taken to bridge the gap between breakfast and dinner, which Lady Edgeworth liked served at the fashionably late hour of six.
She could understand Alicia ordering additional dishes. What surprised her was the sheer scale of the offerings. Poor Mrs Hibbert must have been run off her feet to provide so much extra food at such short notice.
Kate glanced across the table at her hostess, curiosity nibbling at the fringes of her mind. Even allowing for Alicia’s desire to appear hospitable this show of lavish bounty was excessive. After all, it wasn’t as if Randal was a stranger.
Then another thought struck her and she almost choked on a piece of cold roast chicken.
‘Are you all right?’ Randal threw back his chair and leapt up as she began to cough and splutter.
‘Pat her back, dear boy!’
Randal willingly obeyed this advice until Kate begged him to desist.
‘I’m perfectly well now,’ she gasped.
Randal poured a glass of water and handed it to her.
‘Thank you.’ Kate sipped it and hoped her reddened cheeks would be excused by her fit of coughing.
Nuncheon finished, Randal made a move to leave.
‘Oh do stay a while longer,’ Alicia invited. ‘We shall be sadly bored if you go, shall we not, Kitty?’
Kate managed a weak smile of assent. Torn between her own wish for him to stay and the suspicion which had raised its head during their meal, she didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry when he agreed to remain.
They repaired to the drawing room and after a while when it was evident that his lordship was again poised to say his farewells, Alicia commanded Kate to play the pianoforte. ‘You must hear her, Randal. She puts all our local damsels to blush.’
‘I’m sure his lordship isn’t in the mood for music,’ Kate demurred, her suspicions hardening at Alicia’s fulsome praise.
‘On the contrary, Miss Nixon. It would be delightful.’
Convinced he was merely being polite, Kate continued to shake her head.
‘Please, indulge me, my dear,’ Alicia trilled with an inexorable smile and Kate reluctantly got up and went over to the pianoforte.
‘You will turn the music for her, won’t you, my lord?’ Alicia demanded with an arch smile that made Kate’s blood boil.
‘I should be happy to do so.’
There was a note of amusement in his deep voice and Kate wondered if he thought her reluctance to play was based on nervousness.
Does he think I lack skill, she conjectured indignantly.
In fact, she had been well taught in her youth and had kept her natural talent honed. When not required on stage, she had often helped provide music for performances given by the Gillman Players.
‘I can manage without your help, sir,’ she answered waspishly, a determination to prove herself overcoming her intention to appear a demure miss.
Flexing her fingers and hoping her memory would not let her down, she launched into a vigorous rendition of Heart of Oak, a song that was always popular.
‘Bravo!’ Randal joined in Alicia’s applause, stifling the small voice in his head which whispered that it was odd that an American girl should know Boyce’s patriotic tune off by heart.
Kate tilted her chin
at him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘And you, sir, will you not reveal your own talent?’
‘Alas, I cannot play the pianoforte.’ Randal’s finely-moulded lips twitched. Unless he was very much mistaken, that was a challenge!
‘Then perhaps you will sing for us?’ Kate asked sweetly.
Somewhat to her surprise he agreed and she discovered that he had a very fine voice. Her initial chagrin fading, she offered to accompany him when Alicia begged him to sing Piercing Eyes, one of her favourite Haydn canzonettas.
‘Thank you.’ He smiled down at Kate when the song was finished. ‘You play as beautifully as you dance.’
Kate inclined her head in a demure fashion as she accepted the compliment, but her appearance of calm belied her inner delight at his praise.
Her mood was so elated she forgot her earlier misgivings and when he offered to take her out for a drive she gladly accepted.
‘Then I shall bid you farewell until Tuesday, cousin.’ Randal bowed over her hand with exquisite grace.
His kiss still tingling upon her skin, Kate watched his elegant figure depart.
She began to collect up her music, but her busy hands stilled as Lady Edgeworth, who had escorted him out into the hall, came hurrying back into the room.
‘Oh my dear! I am so pleased for you!’ she exclaimed, her voice rising in excitement. ‘He is quite smitten, I vow!’
Her broad smile revived all of Kate’s earlier suspicions and she stared at the older woman, her heart sinking.
‘Just because he asked me to go driving with him, dear God— Ma’am?’ She shook her head airily. ‘I think you are mistaken. Lord Redesmere is merely being polite.’
‘Fiddlesticks! Randal Crawford wouldn’t waste his time on mere politeness.’ Alicia tapped the side of her nose significantly. ‘Believe me, Kitty, I know him! He is a man who goes after what he wants. Why, I hardly need have bothered trying to encourage him for I swear he has made his mind up already to have you!’
‘Indeed!’ Kate’s eyes flashed dark fire. ‘And am I to have no say in the matter?’
Alicia blinked at her in startled dismay. ‘Whatever is the matter, Kitty? I thought you liked him?’
Kate bit her lip. ‘I do,’ she muttered at last, knowing it was impossible to deny it.
What girl wouldn’t find him attractive? In the prime of life, he was handsome, intelligent and extremely virile. He was also overbearing and far too fond of getting his own way, but his arrogance was tempered by a self-depreciatory sense of humour and an innate kindness.
‘Well then, what is troubling you, my dear?’ Alicia asked. ‘He is a great catch, you know.’
‘I did not come to England looking for a husband,’ Kate interrupted hotly.
‘I realise that, Kitty. However, it is time you were thinking of marriage and your Mama could not possibly object to an alliance with Lord Redesmere. Indeed, she could not find a better match in America.’ Her plump face took on a beatific glow. ‘You would have everything, an ancient lineage, fortune, title. No mother could wish for more.’
Knowing her words to be true, Kate was silent.
Puzzled by this lack of response, Alicia sighed. ‘Oh my dear, surely you can see that marriage to Lord Redesmere would be the perfect solution?’
Kate’s fingers clenched upon the sheet of music she held, crushing it. ‘Solution, ma’am? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.’
But she did. If Kitty married Lord Redesmere then the rift between the two branches of the Nixon family would be finally healed and all the difficulties caused by the old Nabob’s will would be smoothed away.
Unfortunately, much as Kate found the man attractive, she couldn’t allow her impersonation of Kitty to go that far!
* * * *
As predicted by Lord Redesmere, a change in the weather took place. Watching the rain fall all during Monday morning, Kate’s spirits were as gloomy as the downpour.
Her plan had seemed so simple. Poor Kitty had been terrified after the attempt on her life and she had jumped at Kate’s offer to take her place. Ned hadn’t been keen on letting his best actress go, but Kitty’s plight had touched his kind heart and he had allowed himself to be persuaded after Kate had promised to return quickly.
‘After all, Ned, how long can it take to sign a few documents?’ she had declared cheerfully. ‘I’ll be back with the money before you know it.’
Well, she had been wrong. Claiming the Nixon fortune had turned out to be more than just a formality. She had already been away from the company for a week and had made no real progress. All she had done was to embroil herself in a web of lies and deceit that made her nights uneasy.
‘Give over moidering, Kate. It ain’t like you to look on the black side,’ Mary scolded on their way home from posting Kate’s letter to Ned that afternoon.
Lady Edgeworth had offered to send a footman with this missive, but Kate had been wary of curious eyes noting its destination and in any event had felt a need to get out of doors, even though the sky was grey and still spitting drizzle.
‘I’m sorry, Mary, I know I’m as blue as a megrim,’ Kate apologised. ‘But I feel that I’ve let both Kitty and the company down.’
‘Aye, lass.’ Mary gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘Still, maybe Gerald Sullivan will take fright at that lawyer’s letter. I reckon he’s a coward and won’t dare show his nose in Chester.’
Kate nodded thoughtfully. From what Kitty had told them, Gerald had taken care not to get his hands dirty. It was Sean who had carried out the attack and pushed her into the river.
‘If he doesn’t come, Mr Hilton won’t believe he is telling the truth.’ Kate’s face brightened. ‘And then the locket and letter might be proof enough.’
‘What about Crawford? Do you think he will throw another rub in your way?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Kate’s dark eyes took on a dreamy expression. ‘I think his opposition to me is weakening.’
Mary sniffed. ‘You’d best watch out then, Kate, that your own feelings don’t change. He’s an oaf, remember?’
Kate had told her all about the Leghs’ drum and his lordship’s affability. Mary wasn’t sure she’d liked that note of happiness in her young friend’s voice. She had never seen Kate behave this way before. Usually, she ran a mile if a man showed interest in her. Now she seemed eager for Crawford’s company.
It was worrying, particularly as Mary could see no reason for his lordship to have had a change of heart, unless, like many another man before him, he fallen victim to Kate’s beauty. In other circumstances, Mary might have encouraged Kate to toss her cap over the windmill and take him for a lover. She deserved a taste of happiness, God knows, but, given the situation, how could a liaison with Crawford end in other than disaster?
‘I was over hard on him that day.’ Kate shrugged awkwardly. ‘He had reason to mistrust me, but we are getting along famously now.’
‘He has a fancy to you, lass, but it won’t last.’ Mary shook her head dolefully. ‘Lust never does and there can be naught else between the pair of you, not unless you tell him the truth.’
‘How can I?’ Kate’s voice was unsteady. ‘He would despise me.’
Alarmed by the regret in those dark velvet eyes, Mary exclaimed, ‘Don’t let him touch your heart, Kate!’
‘I’m not such a fool, I hope!’ Kate swerved to avoid a puddle of rainwater, her colour high. ‘I know he isn’t serious and I don’t intend to let his compliments go to my head.’
A disbelieving snort answered her, but to Kate’s relief Mary held her tongue.
This conversation was still at the forefront of Kate’s mind when Lord Redesmere arrived to take her driving on Tuesday afternoon. Combined with a desire to make it clear to Alicia that she was only interested in a polite friendship and nothing more, it rendered her greeting to him as cool as the overcast weather.
Randal, who knew perfectly well what Lady Edgeworth was about, suspected that embarrassment lay at the root of this a
loofness and did not allow her lack of enthusiasm to ruffle his temper.
‘Are you warm enough? Would you like a rug for your knees?’ he asked after handing her up into his curricle.
‘No, I am quite all right, thank you.’
Randal gave his greys the office to start. ‘It is fortunate, is it not, that the rain relented?’
‘Indeed.’
Abandoning this unprofitable topic, Randal nonetheless continued to confine his conversation to similar innocuous small talk and was rewarded by a gradual relaxation of her stiff formality.
‘I had thought to drive out to Broughton,’ Randal remarked as they proceeded down Northgate Street. ‘There are pretty views of the river and the countryside is pleasant. However, since the day is somewhat inclement, a shorter excursion seems preferable.’
He glanced at her stylish carriage dress of fine French cambric. ‘It would be a pity to risk spoiling such an elegant outfit.’
That deep amber colour was striking and he thought it suited her extremely well. She had, it seemed, the courage to rebel against the conventional pastels deemed suitable for girls of her age.
Now he came to think on it, she was surprisingly mature in other ways too. Unlike most young fillies let loose on society, she didn’t giggle or hang her head shyly or simper in that arch manner he detested. Her poise and confidence equalled his elder sister Milly’s and her conversation was a great deal more sensible.
Admittedly, she was slightly older than the average debutante, but he had a feeling her self-assurance owed its origins to a different explanation, to something in her past.
‘Tell me,’ he asked, apropos his musing. ‘Do you miss working for your living?’
For one horrible moment his unexpected question turned Kate cold all over. Then, thankfully, she remembered she had told him that Kitty had worked with her mother in their bookshop. ‘Sometimes, yes I do,’ she answered, her heart still thumping.
Deciding it might be dangerous to probe his motive for asking, she continued lightly. ‘Of course, it is pleasant to have the leisure to enjoy myself, but I don’t believe I should like to be a social butterfly forever. A constant round of parties must become boring in the end.’