by Mary Nichols
Lady Eleanor was on her feet ready to go, when Susan announced the arrival of Robert. As soon as he entered the room, Kate felt the atmosphere change. It became charged with tension and Kate supposed it was because he knew she had been to the inquiry and knew she would have to appease him. And yet, she did not see why she should.
‘I must be leaving,’ Lady Eleanor said and took her leave.
Full of self-confidence, Robert smiled, greeting Lady Morland with a bow and Kate with a hand raised to his lips. He did not turn her insides to jelly when he took her hand, as Simon did; he did not make her want to fling herself into his arms. She smiled inwardly at the thought. If she did that, he would be shocked and would push her away and tell her not to be so foolish.
‘I have brought Roberta and Charlotte to see you,’ he said, either not seeing or ignoring Janet and her son, sitting quietly in a corner. ‘They are waiting in the carriage. I thought we might go for a drive.’
Kate was nonplussed. ‘Oh, my lord, I wish I had known you were coming. I promised Joe a picnic.’
His brow darkened. ‘Joe? Oh, you mean that bantling you are fostering. You can take him on a picnic another day, surely?’
‘No, my lord. Mrs Barber has come today especially to see him and I cannot turn her away.’
He was not pleased, Kate could see that. Always used to having his every whim satisfied at a moment’s notice, it had not occurred to him that she would not find it convenient. ‘Why not join us? I am sure the girls would enjoy it. I really would like to spend some time with them and being out in the open air and having a picnic will be a good way of getting to know them.’
‘Fetch them in, my lord,’ Lady Morland said. ‘I should like to meet them.’
Her ladyship could not be gainsaid and he left to do her bidding.
‘Oh, dear,’ Kate said. ‘He would have to come this afternoon. Why could he not have given us a little notice like any other visitor?’
‘But he is not any other visitor, is he, Kate?’ Lady Morland reminded her.
‘Shall I go away?’ a timid voice queried from the corner.
‘No, certainly not. I promised Joe a picnic and a picnic he shall have.’ Kate didn’t seem to care any more about upsetting Robert’s plans. She could not spend a lifetime bending her will to his, subjugating herself, becoming no more than his shadow.
He returned with his daughters and presented them to Lady Morland. They curtsied to her. ‘You remember Mrs Meredith, do you not?’ he prompted them and they turned to Kate.
‘Yes,’ they said together and curtsied. Kate grabbed their hands to pull them to their feet, and drew them towards her to hug them. They looked startled for a moment, then Charlotte giggled.
‘Roberta, Charlotte, this is Mrs Barber and her little boy,’ Kate said, indicating Janet. ‘He is called Joe.’
They turned and would have curtsied to Janet, but their father touched their shoulders and shook his head. It incensed Kate. ‘We are going on a picnic,’ she told them. ‘Shall you like to come?’ She smiled at them as she spoke and received a tentative smile from Charlotte. Roberta, older and, to some extent, able to understand about having a stepmother, looked impassive.
‘No, Katherine,’ Robert said, glancing at Janet with distaste, though the girl was wearing her new clothes and looked respectable enough. ‘I do not think such an outing is appropriate under the circumstances. I wish you to postpone your picnic and come with us.’
‘I cannot do that, my lord. Mrs Barber is only on a short visit and I have promised Joe a picnic. Promises to children should not be broken. Surely you understand that.’
‘You should never have made such a promise.’
‘My lord, if I had been expecting you, I would not have done. If you had sent word…’
‘Must I make an appointment to see my own wife?’ he demanded.
‘My lord, I am not yet your wife. When that happens, then, of course, I shall be yours to command.’ It was said sweetly, but she could see the cold anger in his eyes. Viscount Robert Cranford did not like being crossed, but she was nothing if not stubborn and it was becoming a test of wills.
‘This is neither the time nor the place for this conversation,’ he said. ‘I will take my leave. I assume you are able to leave your duties to accompany me to the concert tonight.’
With everything else that had been happening she had forgotten all about that. She never felt less like going, but to refuse to do so would compound her failings in his eyes. ‘Of course. I am looking forward to it.’
‘Then I shall call for you at half past seven.’ He bowed to Lady Morland who had been sitting silently listening. ‘My lady, your obedient. Come, girls.’
They looked bewildered, but obediently followed him. Kate, as usual, accompanied him to the door. ‘I really am sorry, my lord,’ she said, picking up his hat from the hall table to hand to him. ‘I would not for the world disappoint you or the girls. Perhaps we can all go for a ride tomorrow.’
‘Perhaps,’ he said, taking his hat and clamping it on his head. ‘We will arrange it this evening.’
She watched him stride off to his carriage, followed by his daughters, then she went back to the drawing room. ‘Now,’ she said briskly to Janet, who was sitting, dumbstruck and nervous, with Joe on her lap. ‘Let us go and have our picnic.’
Once in the park, Kate walked away from the usual paths and carriage ways to find a spot where they could spread out their picnic and where Joe could run about and play with a ball while she talked to Janet. She was determined to find out who and what was behind Alf Barber’s accusations.
Joe was more interested in the contents of the basket than in playing and stood beside Kate while she unpacked chicken legs, cold meat pie, bread and butter, fruit tartlets and lemonade. She sat him down and gave him some food on a plate, then turned to offer some to Janet, who ate hungrily. The girl seemed little more than a child herself, though Kate knew the reality was very different. Janet Barber had endured poverty and hardship and she knew how to lie and manipulate.
‘You are looking very attractive today,’ Kate said by way of a beginning, after Joe had eaten all he wanted and been given his ball and told to run about and play. ‘That is a pretty gown.’
‘Yes, prettier than I ever had before.’ She was trying her best to articulate in the way she had been taught.
‘Did someone buy it for you?’
Janet looked at her questioner sharply, knowing what was coming. ‘I bought it with me…my wages.’
‘I see. So you have work that pays you well, then?’
‘It’s not bad.’ She shut her mouth firmly on disclosing anything else.
‘Janet, why did you lie about Dr Redfern? He has always tried to help you and did not deserve what you have done to him.’
‘Ain’t done nothin’.’ Her careful speech slipped.
‘Oh, but you have. Even if the inquiry exonerates him, the gossip and scandal will mean he cannot work for the Society again.’
‘I didn’t lie. It’s what happened. Not my fault Alf came home when he did.’
‘Are you afraid of your husband?’
Janet gave a grunt of a laugh. ‘Have you seen my old man?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then you know the answer. I want to get away from him. Doctor Redfern said he’d take me and Joe away.’
‘Are you sure you did not misunderstand the doctor?’
‘Course not.’
Joe had been throwing his ball further and further from them and now it had rolled under a seat where a man was sitting with his coat collar turned up and his hat pulled down over his eyes. He seemed to be watching them and Kate hurried to rescue the boy and his ball. She approached the bench and only when she bent to retrieve the ball did she recognise Simon. Her outstretched hand dropped to her side and she sank on to her knees, looking up at him in shock. He was unshaven and gaunt-looking, his eyes dark-rimmed, as if he had not slept or eaten for a week.
He managed a we
ary smile. ‘Kate.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Taking the air.’
‘Have you been following us?’
‘Not exactly. I am forbidden to come to Holles Street while Joe is with you, and I needed to see you.’
She felt the breath being squeezed out of her body. She was still on the ground and could not have stood up if she tried. ‘Oh, Simon, don’t do this to me. Every time I see you, a little bit of me gets broken off and carried away. There will soon be nothing left of Kate Meredith but an empty shell.’
‘I am sorry, Kate, truly sorry. I should never have involved you in the work of the Society, nor brought Joe back to you when he was hurt. I am more sorry than I can tell you that I made you the subject of gossip and sorry that I let you see how I feel about you. That was wicked and selfish of me. And sorry that I turned my back on you at the inquiry. After you had come to support me, it must have seemed ungrateful.’
‘I knew why you did it and you don’t have to apologise for that. Nor for anything else.’ She turned to look behind her. Janet had not recognised him, but it would not be long before her curiosity overcame her and she would stop eating and come across to see what was going on. ‘We cannot talk here. Mrs Barber—’
‘Damn Mrs Barber!’
‘And Mr Barber and Captain Feltwell and Mrs Withersfield and—’
‘Robert Cranford,’ he added. ‘Him most of all.’
Joe had picked up his ball and offered it to Simon. He laughed and threw it for him. It was that laugh that alerted Janet to who he was. She scrambled to her feet and ran over to them. ‘Doctor Redfern. It is you.’
‘Yes, Mrs Barber, it is.’ He stood up. ‘I must go.’
‘Oh, no!’ Janet grabbed his arm. ‘Don’t go. Come and have some of our picnic. There’s lots left over and we can talk.’
‘We have nothing to talk about,’ he said coldly, disengaging her hand from his sleeve.
‘You are cross with me.’
‘Do you blame me?’
‘I am sorry for that, indeed, I am, but it was Alf. He was so angry…’
‘Don’t I know it. I still have the bruises.’
‘He made me say what I did. He said Captain Feltwell told him he could get hundreds of pounds in damages if he sued.’
Simon gave a rough laugh. ‘And no doubt the good captain told him and you exactly what to say.’
Janet hung her head, but did not reply.
‘I cannot stay here,’ he said. ‘I am forbidden to speak to you or Joe. Good day to you.’
Kate watched his stiff back receding and wanted to cry, to run after him, to tell him to stay with her, that she would happily forgo her society wedding and her good name to be with him. It took several deep breaths before she could turn towards Janet.
The girl was looking sullen. ‘You’ve driv him away,’ she accused Kate. ‘He was goin’ to take me away and be a father to Joe.’
‘Janet, you already have a husband and Joe already has a father.’ Kate went back to the picnic site and began packing the basket ready to return home.
‘Oh, he’s disappeared again. I’ve had enough of ’im, not knowing when he’s coming home or if he’ll be drunk or sober. We will be safe with Dr Redfern, me and Joe.’
Kate did not answer. Janet Barber was deluded and nothing she could say would alter that. She took Joe’s hand and led the way across the grass to the Cumberland gate and out on to Oxford Street.
They stood a moment, waiting for the traffic to clear before they could cross. As they stood there, a closed carriage drew to a stop for a man to alight. Alf Barber got out, grabbed Joe, clambered back in and was driven off before anyone could do a thing to stop him.
Janet screamed and ran out into the road, waving her arms while Kate gazed at the back of the disappearing vehicle, shocked into immobility. It was only the shout of a phaeton driver that alerted her to Janet’s danger and she hauled her back to safety.
‘What’s he goin’ to do with him? Where’s he took him?’ Janet’s hysterical screams were drawing a large crowd. ‘Go after him, someone.’
‘How can we?’ Kate asked. ‘He is out of sight already. Do you think he has taken him home?’
‘Dunno.’ She stopped crying and sniffed. ‘Why would he?’
‘I expect he wants Joe home as much as you do. Shall we go and see? I must go and tell my father and grandmother what has happened, then we will take our carriage. I was going to take you home in it in any case.’ It took a great deal of effort to remain calm, but being as hysterical as Janet was not going to find Joe. The poor child would be frightened and upset, especially as he had firsthand experience of his father’s violence. The sooner they found them the better.
The Reverend and Lady Morland were told what had happened while Daniels harnessed up the horses and brought the coach to the door. Kate and Janet climbed in and were taken at a cracking pace to the tenement in Maiden Lane. There was no one there, no Alf, no Joe. Kate looked up and down the street. It was busy, but no one she asked had seen the man or the boy. She went to find a watchman, but he was decidedly unhelpful. ‘If the boy ha’ bin took by his own pa, there’s nothing I can do. There ain’t no law ag’in it.’
‘Have you any idea where Alf might have taken Joe?’ she asked Janet. ‘Somewhere he likes to go.’
‘No. There’s the tavern. He spends a lot o’ his time there.’
Kate was reluctant to enter a tavern but, deciding there was nothing for it, she gritted her teeth and went in. It was dingy, smoky and reeked of stale ale. And it was a waste of time. No one had seen Alf since the day before when he’d been boasting how he was going to be rich on account of suing a so-called toff for enticing his wife away from him. He had been very drunk and then maudlin, talking about his boy and how he was not allowed to see him. No, they had no idea where he would go to ground if he wanted to hide.
Kate realised they had no hope of finding Joe without help and the most influential person she knew was Lady Eleanor. They returned to the carriage and set off for Hanover Square.
Her ladyship was not pleased to see the two rather bedraggled and distraught women on her doorstep, nor was she sympathetic. If the boy’s father had him, then there was nothing she or the law could do. ‘Go back home, Mrs Barber,’ she said. ‘Your husband will bring the boy back sooner or later.’
‘I am afraid he might harm him,’ Kate told her.
‘Why should he do that? His quarrels were always with his wife, not the boy. Go home, Katherine. I warned you not to involve yourself too deeply and now you know why. Go home, for goodness’ sake, and practise a little decorum. You are becoming quite, quite eccentric.’ She looked Kate up and down as she spoke, taking in her dishevelled appearance, not hiding her distaste.
Kate grabbed Janet’s hand and dragged her away.
‘Where do we go now?’ Janet asked.
‘I am taking you home. You need to be there in case your husband comes back with Joe. I shall go on searching.’
‘I don’t want to be there on my own. Let’s go and tell Dr Redfern.’
‘No, you have caused him enough trouble already. And he won’t know where your husband has gone, will he?’
They returned to Maiden Lane. As soon as Kate had seen Janet safely indoors, she told Daniels to take her to the Bear in Piccadilly. It was a very busy coaching inn and she hoped that with so many people coming and going no one would notice her. ‘Wait here for me,’ she instructed him, when he drew up in the inn yard. And then she walked to Simon’s lodgings.
‘Kate! What, in heaven’s name, are you doing here?’ Simon had just arrived himself, having walked and walked until he could walk no more and had decided there was nothing for it but to come home. He would not be welcome at his club, nor in any of the drawing rooms of the ton. A lonely evening lay ahead. He had not bargained for finding Kate on his doorstep. He took her arm, pulled her inside and shut the door on them. ‘Are you mad?’ he demanded and then he gathered he
r into his arms and kissed her.
She did not object. His arms were warm and protective; his mouth, moving over hers, sent ripples of sensuous desire all over her body, from the tips of her ears, down her arms and torso to her groin, and then her thighs and feet. Every inch of her trembled with it. There was no denying it. She clung to him, kissing him back, running her hands through his thick hair and down his back, pulling him closer, so close she felt she was melting into him, boneless, only kept upright by his arms about her.
At last, breathless, she leaned away from him. ‘In answer to your question,’ she said, ‘yes, I do believe I am a little mad.’
‘That makes two of us.’ He took her hand and ushered her upstairs and into his drawing room where he led her to the sofa and pulled her down beside him. She turned towards him, her mouth swollen and her eyes clouded with love.
‘Is there a cure?’ she asked.
‘I do not know of one.’ He was searching her face, knowing she loved him as he loved her and wondering how he could get them both out of the coil they were in.
‘What are we to do?’ she asked in a strangled whisper.
‘You say. I will do whatever you suggest.’
‘I don’t know. I cannot think…’
‘Then why did you come, if it wasn’t to—?’ He stopped suddenly. She would not throw up her reputation to run away with him. He was even madder than he thought.
‘It’s Joe,’ she said miserably.
‘Oh.’ He deflated like one of those great gas balloons that sometimes took off from the park. They rose on the air, drifted about aimlessly for a while and then the gas was let out and they came back to earth with a jolt. ‘What has happened?’
She told him, not making a great deal of sense because her wits were still reeling from his kisses. ‘Janet wanted to come and tell you, but I wouldn’t let her. I told her to wait at home, that Alf might bring the boy back.’
‘He might.’