She was looking rather overdressed and wearing too much jewellery for the country.
“Had you forgotten about me?” she simpered.
“I thought you would be having luncheon upstairs,”replied Lord Seabrook a little lamely.
From the way he spoke Lolita guessed he had actually forgotten that Lady Cressington was in the castle and had been thinking instead of Simon and his delight at sailing in the little boat.
Lady Cressington sat down and Barty quickly poured some wine into her glass.
“I heard you were sailing on the lake,” she said, “so I did not hurry, but I am sure you and I could find something more exciting to do this afternoon.”
She flickered her eyelashes at Lord Seabrook as she spoke and then became aware that he was looking at Simon.
“How is your dear little nephew getting on with his lessons?” she asked. “It seems to me he does not spend much time in the schoolroom. You must not allow him to grow up to be an ignoramus.”
“I am extremely impressed with what he has learned already,” responded Lord Seabrook, “which is a great deal of history and some arithmetic which I am sure I could not have achieved at his age.”
“Oh, I am sure you could have done,” purred Lady Cressington. “You are so intelligent now that you must have been very clever when you were a little boy.”
She put her hand on Lord Seabrook’s and although it was obvious he was expected to raise it to his lips, he did not do so.
Almost as if Simon thought Lady Cressington was attacking Lolita, he piped up,
“Lolo teaches me very well. She says I am going to be very clever like Papa and Uncle James.”
“But of course you will,” said Lady Cressington smoothly. “But what you need is a tutor, which I am quite certain your kind uncle can find for you and he will teach you the subjects you must know about when you go to school and later to Oxford.”
Simon frowned.
“I don’t want a tutor. I want Lolo. She teaches me very exciting things. I know lots and lots of history.”
There was a defiant note in his voice.
Lady Cressington gave a silvery little laugh.
“That is very loyal of you, but in a little while you will learn that Lolo, as you call her, is too young to know all the lessons a big boy like you has to learn.”
Simon was obviously about to make an angry retort, but Lolita put out her hand and laid it on his arm.
“I want you,” stressed Simon firmly.
Then before anyone else could speak, Barty appeared at the door to announce,
“Captain Michael Duncan to see you, my Lord.”
Lord Seabrook looked up in astonishment.
Lolita felt her heart leap as a tall, good-looking young man came into the dining room.
He walked towards Lord Seabrook, who rose and held out his hand.
“This is indeed a surprise, Michael. I had no idea you were in this neighbourhood.”
“Although I am delighted to see you, James,” replied Captain Duncan, “I have come on a very different errand.”
“What is that?” asked Lord Seabrook.
The Captain looked at Lady Cressington. “
I have come to ask you for the return of the necklace which belongs to my father and which you did not return to me when you left London.”
“You gave it to me,” said Lady Cressington imperiously.
“That is untrue!” retorted Captain Duncan. “We were, as everybody now knows, secretly engaged, and I lent it to you because you wanted to wear it at the Duchess’s ball. When I asked for it back, you told me you had no further use for me, but you did not return the necklace.”
Lord Seabrook looked in bewilderment from one to the other.
“What is all this about?” he demanded.
“I apologise, James, for making a scene in your castle, but I expect you will have heard, as most people have, of the magnificent necklace which was given to my father after he saved the life of the Maharajah of Jovnelos. He wanted it to be handed down as a family heirloom, but to put it bluntly her Ladyship here has absconded with it!”
“That is untrue, quite untrue!” snapped Lady Cressington, her voice rising sharply. “You gave it to me as a present and as a present I accepted it.”
“That is a lie,” countered Captain Duncan, “and my father has already informed the Police that his property has been stolen.”
Lady Cressington went very pale and for a moment there was silence.
Then Lord Seabrook turned to his butler.
“Barty, will you send a footman up to her Ladyship’s bedroom to bring down her jewel case and pour Captain Duncan a glass of wine.”
“It is something I need,” said the Captain gratefully. “My father has given me hell for parting with the necklace in the first place, and I am deeply hurt and distressed that any woman to whom I offered my name and my heart should behave in such a monstrous way!”
He spoke harshly – almost as if he was on the parade ground.
Lady Cressington stared at him in a fury and would have risen to her feet, but Lord Seabrook, however, put out his hand to prevent her from rising.
“No, wait!” he said sharply. “Until the necklace has been handed over.”
Then turning to his new visitor he asked in a conversational tone,
“How did you get here, Michael?”
“I was informed where the necklace was to be found by a kind friend whom I imagine is here in your castle. took the first train available to Penrith and came on at speed in a post-chaise.”
“Someone in the castle told you where the necklace was,” Lord Seabrook said slowly, almost to himself.
“I am exceedingly grateful that I have such a friend. It has saved me from a great deal of trouble with my father and has prevented, I hope, a scandal which would undoubtedly be published in the newspapers if it was known that such a famous necklace had been taken from us in such an extraordinary manner.”
Lady Cressington turned towards Lord Seabrook pleadingly.
“You must believe me, James. He gave it to me and it is mine.”
“I believe it is usual when an engagement is terminated,” replied Lord Seabrook quietly, “that all presents the bride-to-be has received and generally all letters are returned to the giver.”
Lady Cressington could find nothing more to say.
At that moment a footman appeared carrying a large leather case engraved with Lady Cressington’s initials surmounted by a coronet.
He would have taken it to Lady Cressington, but Captain Duncan took it from him before he could reach her.
Putting the case down on the floor beside Lord Seabrook’s chair he opened it to reveal a number of jewels all in their compartments. He pushed the smaller ones aside to bring up a large box from the very bottom. It was of crimson velvet and embroidered in an Eastern fashion which was immediately recognisable.
The Captain took it out and putting it on the table beside Lord Seabrook, he opened it.
As he did so Simon gave a loud gasp of astonishment and Lolita felt like doing the same.
The necklace lying on white velvet was even more remarkable than anyone could have expected.
To begin with it was very large and made in the shape of a heart with a huge diamond in the centre, surmounted by rubies and emeralds, all very large in size, while the heart itself was edged with pearls.
Smaller diamonds glittered between the larger stones and the neck-chain was of emeralds, graduated from small to those which were as large as a shilling when they reached the heart-shaped pendant.
It was not surprising, Lolita thought, that the General did not want to lose anything so unique. She seemed to remember reading that the Maharajah in question owned his own mines and she was sure that the necklace would have been made by his own people. It might have taken years to create such perfection both in workmanship and in the stones themselves.
“You can understand,” said the Captain quietly, “why m
y father has no wish to lose this valuable heirloom and I can only thank you, James, for returning it to me.”
“I am sure,” commented Lord Seabrook,” it was what Lady Cressington intended to do. She is in fact leaving us this afternoon. I am sending her to Carlisle, where she will catch the evening express to London. It may have been a bother for you, Michael, to make the journey, but I am delighted to see you and I hope you will stay with us tonight at any rate.”
“I shall be delighted to do so,” accepted the Captain.
Lady Cressington rose to her feet.
She was pale but her eyes were dark with anger.
She realised that she had lost the man she intended to marry, had been dismissed ignominiously and there was nothing she could say about it.
She therefore swept from the room without a backward glance at anyone.
Barty, without being told, closed her jewel case, picked it up and he too left the dining room.
When he had gone a footman hurried to fill the Captain’s glass.
For a moment there was an almost uncomfortable silence until Simon broke it. He jumped up from his chair and ran to his uncle’s side.
“I want to see the big necklace again,” he said. “It shines as if it has little lights inside it.”
This was because the sun had just reached the dining room table.
Lord Seabrook laughed.
“At least you have found what you were seeking,Michael, and I do not blame your father for wishing to keep such a fabulous piece in the family.”
“He is determined that it will be passed down from generation to generation,” he replied. “And as we own nothing else anything as valuable, he hopes that when he has gone there will be something he will be remembered for.”
He paused and then added,
“You can say the same of your castle, James.”
“Now you are being morbid. I have no intention of dying yet. I have a great many things to do before I leave this world.”
“I feel the same,” said the Captain. “But I can promise you one thing, James. I have no intention of marrying for a very long time. As my nanny used to say to me, ‘once bitten, twice shy’.”
Lord Seabrook laughed and Simon was interested.
“What did bite you?” he asked the Captain.
“Something very sneaky and unpleasant,” he answered, “and I hope it will never happen to you.”
“Did it hurt you?”
“Yes, it hurt me, but I am not going to be hurt another time.”
“Step-mama beat me and it hurt very, very much,” Simon told him. “I screamed and cried, but she would not stop.”
The Captain looked at Lord Seabrook in astonishment.
“What is all this?”
“It is something I want Simon to forget.”
Lord Seabrook put his arm round Simon and held him close.
“Now you are happy here,” he said, “and Lolo is looking after you, I want you to promise me that you will never mention your stepmother again. Forget her just as the Captain is going to forget that someone took away his beautiful necklace. Now it is his again and he is going to keep it safe for ever.”
With an intelligence Lolita thought commendable,
Simon put his head on one side and asked,
“Am I safe for ever?”
“Absolutely and completely safe and I promise you that is the truth.”
Simon gave a little sound and put his cheek against his uncle’s arm.
“I like being here with you, Uncle James. It’s very, very exciting and no one can ever take me away.”
“No one shall ever take you away,” repeated Lord Seabrook firmly.
Simon moved away to go back to Lolita.
“Let us go and find Bracken,” he said.
He had finally decided that Bracken was to be the name of his dog, as Lolita had told him that there would be bracken on the hills in the autumn and his dog would then want to go shooting with his uncle and pick up the game.
Bracken was not allowed into the dining room until he had received a little more training, but he was waiting outside in the hall with a footman.
He ran eagerly towards Simon as soon as he appeared and Simon put his arms round him going down onto one knee.
“He’s been very good, Master Simon,” the footman said. “If you go on teaching him to obey you, you’ll find he’ll be as good as any of his Lordship’s dogs.”
“That is just what I want him to be.”
Simon went to the front door taking Bracken with him and they ran on the grass to the other side of the courtyard.
Lolita stood on the steps in the sunshine and sent up a prayer of thankfulness to God.
She had got rid of Lady Cressington and now she could remain at the castle without being afraid of Simon being sent away to school.
She could hardly believe that her letter had achieved exactly as she had planned nor that Captain Duncan would arrive so quickly.
Now that she had seen the necklace she could understand how much it meant to him and his father.
She thought to herself that this was another jump she had taken and high and difficult though it had been, she had landed safely.
She could only thank God, who she was sure had helped her and because her mother, wherever she might be,would have understood her predicament, had helped her too.
‘Thank you, thank you,’ she muttered.
She felt the sunshine enveloping her as if with a kiss of love.
CHAPTER SIX
Lolita was too tactful to go down to dinner that night as she felt it would be uncomfortable after the day’s drama.
Her great relief was that Lady Cressington had departed and therefore Simon was no longer in danger.
She kept him happy in the afternoon with stories about the history of the castle and when they went into the garden there was no sign of Lord Seabrook or Captain Duncan.
Lolita wondered as she retired to bed whether on the next morning she would be able to ride with Lord Seabrook again as she had become accustomed to.
However when she was called, the maid, after drawing back the curtains said,
“His Lordship’s left, ma’am, so there be no need for you to hurry. He’s taken his friend the Captain to Penrith and I hears from Mr. Barty that he’ll be staying a night or two with some friends.”
Lolita was surprised.
She could well understand why Lord Seabrook would want to stay away from the castle for a while.
Yet she could not help a feeling of depression – or was it loss – that she would not see him either today or tomorrow.
Then she told herself that she was being very stupid.
Of course Lord Seabrook would feel embarrassed after he had learned of Lady Cressington’s extraordinary behaviour and he would want to be with friends and forget the whole unfortunate saga.
This explanation, she concluded, was more than likely.
But Lolita had no idea that his Lordship had another and very different reason for leaving the castle.
He had lain awake last night thinking how glad he was not to have Lady Cressington clinging to him any more.
At the same time he was acutely aware of his feelings for Lolita and he could not explain them to himself.
But he found it almost impossible not to think of her every moment of the day.
It was not only because she was so incredibly lovely that he wanted to gaze at her beautiful features.
She affected him in a way that was deeper and different from anything he had ever felt for any other woman.
‘It is madness to think of her in this way,’ he thought angrily as he dressed for dinner.
How was it possible he kept asking himself that he could feel like this for an employee?
She was his nephew’s governess and he knew nothing about her, except that she was too young and too pretty to be teaching anyone.
Lady Cressington had indeed made that point very clear to him and he had refused to
listen when she had urged him to send Lolita away.
Now he found it impossible to stop dreaming about Mrs. Bell when she was not in the same room and he was forced to concede that he found himself absurdly content whenever she was present.
He decided that everything had grown out of focus and therefore he had left the castle for a day or so to try and put his life back into its right perspective.
He had some good friends who lived close to Penrith, Norman and Bridget Harrison, who had begged him over and over again to stay with them at their lovely house at Inglewood, when he needed to visit the town.
He felt that this was a good moment to accept their invitation and so he instructed his valet to pack his bag and to come with him.
He told Barty to look after the castle and Master Simon.
He drove away, handling with his usual expertise a fine team of horses he was very proud of.
Yet he could not help regretting that he was not waiting at the stables for Mrs. Bell and Simon to join him.
*
Because they were on their own, Simon was thrilled to be free to explore more of the castle and he wanted to spend as much time as possible down by the lake.
Lolita considered it was a good opportunity to teach him to swim. She had been surprised that he had not learnt sooner until she heard that there was no river or pool near the house where he had lived in the country.
“All boys should be able to swim,” she told Simon, “and now I will give you your first lesson if Mrs. Shepherd can provide us with suitable clothes for bathing.”
Of course Mrs. Shepherd had found exactly what they required in her Aladdin’s cave in the attic.
The bathing-dress for Lolita was slightly old-fashioned, but it fitted her and was, she thought, particularly becoming.
She found herself wishing that Lord Seabrook could see her in it and then she blushed and rebuked herself for wishing anything so improper.
Simon learned to swim extremely quickly, she thought, even for a bright boy.
They swam again the next day and once more after riding on the day that Lord Seabrook was expected to return.
“I want to show Uncle James how well I can now swim,” Simon said over and over again. “I’m sure he’ll think it very, very clever of me to have learned so quickly.”
Love by the Lake Page 10