‘That’s better,’ he murmured, his breath stirring her hair. ‘Now, tell me what you have discovered.’
Disappointment crushed the little bud of desire that had been unfurling deep inside. How could she be so foolish as to forget the reason she had come back to this house? Scolding herself, she turned her own thoughts to business.
‘Nothing at all. I fear you are looking for a mare’s nest. My father and his fiancée are the very model of domestic bliss.’
‘Perhaps that is for your benefit.’
‘Not on my father’s part, I am sure. He is quite besotted.’
‘And the lady?’
‘I cannot think she loves him, but she seems determined to make Masserton Court her home. She is in the process of decorating the whole house, starting with the guest bedrooms. And at her own expense, I believe, since my father has barely a feather to fly with. Such industry suggests she is planning a long stay here.’ She sighed. ‘I, on the other hand, cannot wait to leave.’
‘Pray bear with it a little longer, if you can.’
‘But there is no evidence that anything untoward is going on. Pray believe me, Gabriel, Hester and I have searched the house, asked discreet questions and been on the alert for anything out of the ordinary. My father’s post consists of little more than demands for payment and Lady Craster has received only one letter since I arrived, a single sheet from Mrs Wells, the modiste, to advise that her new gown had been despatched. As for visitors, there has been no one.’ Her mouth twisted slightly. ‘My father and his lady appear to live only for one another. In fact, they appear to have shunned company since coming here from Brighton. That is the reason my father insisted on holding the ball, to introduce his future wife to his neighbours.’
‘Hmm.’ Nancy had been listening to the soft thud of his heart, but that was lost as his deep voice rumbled against her cheek. ‘My sources have confirmed that the last papers to go missing are still in England. It is vital we find them, they contain details of orders already sent to our naval commanders in the Mediterranean. The operations there cannot now be stopped.’
‘Then lives might be at risk if the orders fall into the wrong hands.’
‘Yes.’
The cold silence of the room settled around them. Nancy sighed.
‘I wish I could help, Gabriel, but there is nothing suspicious going on at Masserton, I am sure of it. I have searched high and low, but everything is as it should be. Even Lady Craster, whom I confess I cannot like, appears above suspicion. From what I have managed to glean from the servants, Lord Craster was a respectable man who left his widow with a handsome settlement. She met my father in Brighton this summer and four months ago he brought her here, as his fiancée. They have been here together ever since. There is no evidence that she has been in touch with anyone from London, other than her dressmaker. I have myself had sight of the invoices for her gowns. They are expensive, but nothing more than one would expect, and I am sure Mrs Wells is above suspicion, because I happen to know that she supplies dresses to Princess Charlotte.’
There was silence for a moment. ‘When did the last gown arrive?’
‘Yesterday.’
‘Do you know who delivered it? Was there any mention of the carrier?’
‘Not on the bill, but I did see something on the box. The maid had left it in the room and I saw it this afternoon.’ She frowned, trying to conjure up a mental picture of the box. ‘Meldrew.’ She sat up, saying more confidently, ‘Meldrew and Sons, Bridge Street, Westminster. Could they be involved, do you think?’
‘It is highly likely. Well done, Nancy. I will send word to London in the morning and they will make enquiries. If there is anything suspicious about them, we will soon know it.’ He drew her down and kissed her. ‘I knew it was a good idea to have you here.’
‘Nonsense, you wished me at Jericho! Which reminds me.’ She pushed herself away so she could frown at him. ‘You knew, did you not? When we made plans for me to come here, you were already aware that my father was to be married again.’
‘I confess I did know. Thoresby had discovered as much, but I thought it best not to tell you.’
‘You are despicably high-handed,’ she told him, although her scolding lacked any real anger.
He reached up and cupped her face. ‘I know,’ he murmured, drawing her down to kiss her lips. ‘Can you forgive me?’
‘I suppose you were afraid I might not look sufficiently shocked.’ She subsided against him once more. ‘I understand that. I admit I was stunned when I learned of it, I do not think they could have been in any doubt of that.’
‘It was only part of the reason I did not tell you. I thought you might be loath to meet the woman who is about to take your mother’s place.’
Her breath hitched in her throat. She had not expected such consideration from him. It aroused emotions she did not understand, something so fierce it was like a hard knot under her ribs.
‘That was kind of you,’ she said at last, ‘but your consideration is misplaced. I have already told you my mother holds no special place in my affections. Indeed, I barely knew her. Even when she and my father were in residence here at Masserton, my sister and I saw our parents for only a few moments each day. We were reared by a succession of nannies until Mary went off to school.’ Now she had started telling him about her past she found she did not wish to stop. ‘She was the pretty one, you see. My parents considered it worthwhile providing her with the accomplishments required of a lady and packed her off to a very select seminary in Bath.’
‘But not you?’
‘No. I was left in the care of a governess.’
‘Who, you told me, was far more interested in the contents of a wine bottle than teaching you. My poor darling.’
Sympathy was more than Nancy could stand. She struggled in his arms and he released her immediately.
‘It is of no consequence.’ She could not bear the thought that he might remember her as someone to be pitied. She slipped off his lap, saying briskly, ‘I can hear the orchestra tuning up again. We should return, before we are missed.’
He followed her to the door, but when she reached for the handle he stopped her.
‘Wait.’ He drew her into his arms and kissed her, swift and fierce. ‘It will not do for me to stand up with you again,’ he said at last, ‘but tomorrow I shall come a-courting Lady Ann Chartell.’
How could he speak so calmly while she was reduced to trembling like a blancmange by his touch? Pride came to her rescue and she managed to reply with at least the outward appearance of calm.
‘An excellent cover, Lord Gabriel.’
He looked down at her, his shadowed face unreadable. ‘It is not just a cover, my lady.’
His words set her heart thudding so hard against her ribs she could scarce breathe. Then Gabriel kissed the end of her nose and let her go. Without another word they slipped out of the room and back into the ballroom.
* * *
When Lord and Lady Blicker carried Gabriel away with them after the ball they were full of speculation about the reappearance of Lady Ann. Gabriel knew his own behaviour towards the lady could not have gone unremarked and he feigned sleep in order that the kindly couple might feel free to say what they wished. Listening to their chatter, he soon realised Nancy had not exaggerated the story of her upbringing.
‘Some people shouldn’t have children if they don’t know how to rear them,’ declared Lady Blicker, with uncharacteristic force. ‘The Earl was always a fool. Two healthy daughters should have been a blessing, yet he treated it as a curse. And the Countess was no better. You’ll remember, my dear, how relieved and delighted I was when Aspern offered for Lady Mary. Thankfully he was rich enough to satisfy the Countess’s greedy eye.’
Lord Blicker gave a loud sigh. ‘Mary was such a pretty-behaved child—there was never any doubt she would do well. ’Twas a
pity Ann was not more like her sister in temperament, for I always thought her the more intelligent of the two.’
‘Alas, poor Ann was never expected to amount to very much,’ said his wife. ‘She had no looks or figure to recommend her, but even so the Earl offered her up to the highest bidder!’
It was as much as Gabriel could do to stop his hands from clenching into fists as he listened. He thought of young Nancy, innocent and vulnerable. Unloved by her parents, who planned to sell her to an elderly rake for his pleasure. He forced himself to keep still as Lady Blicker continued.
‘How shocked we were when it was announced she was to wed Packington. I thought it quite outrageous! I remember saying something to the Countess at the time, but she gave me short shrift. Told me plainly to mind my own business.’
‘At least you tried, my love. I don’t think anyone was particularly surprised when the child ran away.’
‘And it seems she fell on her feet, thank heavens.’ Gabriel heard the rustle of silks as the lady settled back in her corner with a contented sigh. ‘She was looking quite a picture tonight, did you not think so, my dear sir?’
‘Aye, my love, Lady Ann is one of those women who develop their beauty late. Well, good for her, I say.’ Lord Blicker gave a rich chuckle. ‘She caught the eye of more than one gentleman present tonight. Shouldn’t wonder at it if she don’t marry again.’
Yes, Gabriel had noticed how the men had looked at Nancy, with her voluptuous figure, creamy skin and those thick, shining curls glowing in the candlelight. She was no shrinking debutante, but a woman to raise the interest of any red-blooded male. There was no reason why she should not find herself a husband.
Not himself, of course, thought Gabriel. He was too set in his habits to change his way of life now. No woman had ever kept his attention for more than a few weeks and he could think of nothing worse than to be leg-shackled for life to a partner one could not care for. He had seen too much of that in his world. Cuckolded husbands, wives abandoned once they had provided their spouse with an heir, bitter couples trapped in an unhappy alliance and providing choice gossip for society.
No, marriage was not for him, but for Nancy—he did not like to think of her returning to her life as a cook. She had told him she had been in love once and it was not too late for her to find happiness again. Perhaps one of the fellows there this evening would find favour with her. A good, respectable man who would not care about her past. One who would make her happy, make her laugh. A man who could please her in bed as well as out of it—
‘No!’
‘Oh, heavens, whatever is it, Lord Gabriel? A bad dream, my lord?’ Lady Blicker exclaimed in alarm as he gave an involuntary growl and sat up.
‘Yes. Yes, I think it was.’ He passed a hand over his eyes. ‘I beg your pardon. How foolish of me.’
Chapter Twelve
When the last of the guests had departed, Nancy wandered back into the drawing room to say goodnight to her father. She found only Lady Craster there, who told her that the Earl had retired.
‘Then I shall see him in the morning,’ said Nancy.
With the outside doors open, the empty rooms had cooled rapidly and she made her way to the fire to warm her hands. Behind her she heard Lady Craster’s silky voice.
‘Well, my dear, you appear to have found yourself a beau. Baxenden’s son, no less. He made it quite plain to me he wishes to further his acquaintance with you.’
Nancy shrugged. She said carefully, ‘I think he is merely amusing himself.’
‘Well, it might not be easy, but you would do well to secure his interest, if you can,’ said Susan. She walked to the door and stopped. ‘Let me make it plain, my dear, your father neither needs nor wants you at Masserton.’
She went out and Nancy realised she was shaking. It was no more than the truth—she had always known it—but to hear Susan express it, so stark and plain, wounded her deeply and it was some minutes before she could compose herself sufficiently to leave the room.
* * *
The Earl’s charity towards his prodigal daughter did not extend to allowing the fire in her room to be rekindled in the mornings, which encouraged Nancy to get up while there was still some little heat in the embers. The day after the ball was no exception for her, despite not getting to bed until the early hours, and she was up and dressed before daylight. With Susan’s words still ringing in her ears, she decided to avoid the breakfast room and went to the kitchens to beg a piece of bread and butter, before making her way to the stables to see if there was a horse she could ride out later that day.
If there was no suitable mount, she decided she would take a brisk walk. Anything to relieve the distress Lady Craster’s remark had caused her. It would suit Nancy very well if the woman proved to be a traitor, but she knew she must be careful not to let her dislike of her father’s fiancée cloud her judgement.
An iron-haired groom was sweeping the stable yard by the light of the flickering wall lamps as she walked in through the arched entrance. He glanced up when he saw her, then stopped and leaned on his broom, a slow grin spreading across his weather-beaten face.
‘Why, if it ain’t Lady Ann! I wondered how long it would be before you found your way to the stables.’
‘Davy!’ For the first time that morning she felt a genuine smile tugging at her mouth. She went across to him. ‘I should have sought you out long before now, can you forgive me?’
‘Nay, m’lady, there’s nought to forgive. You can’t be expected to remember all the old servants.’
She touched his arm. ‘How could I forget the groom who took me out riding as a child? You helped Peter to put me on my first horse.’ She looked around. ‘I suppose Peter has been retired now, has he?’
Even in the dim lamplight she saw a shadow cross the groom’s face.
‘Dead, m’lady. Went into Darlton one night and didn’t come back. Lucas found him at the roadside next morning.’ He shook his head. ‘A stroke, they said, poor old fellow. He must have collapsed and died on the spot. Mortal cold it was that night.’
‘My goodness, how dreadful! When was this?’
‘A couple of weeks back, my lady.’
‘But when exactly?’ she urged him, suspicion chilling her bones.
Davy rubbed his chin. ‘Well, now, let me see. ’Twas nearly three weeks ago and just before the new moon. The night we had the first snow of the winter.’
The same day Gabriel had been left for dead. She put her hands to her cheeks and Davy hurried on.
‘I suggested he should leave it ’til another night, my lady, but he would go.’
‘And you are sure of the day?’
‘Certain sure. I remember, ’cos I lent him my muffler to wrap over his own, so bitter it was. Poor soul, not even that could save him, in the end.’
Davy sighed and shook his head while Nancy stood, speechless, as the dreadful doubt hardened into near certainty. At last she put a hand on the groom’s shoulder.
‘Oh, Davy, how terrible. Did Peter tell you what made it necessary for him to go into Darlton that night?’
‘Nay, ma’am. He’d taken to walking in of an evening to drink at the tavern. He didn’t seem too happy those last few weeks.’ He glanced about him before continuing quietly, ‘I think he was afeard for his position here. Since the master invited his lady to stay, most of the old stable hands have left or been turned off. Jones, the old coachman, he went off to live with his sister in Wales. But the Earl told us we was safe and I believed him. Why, me and Peter both came here as lads, in your grandfather’s time. We’re part and parcel o’ this place and so I told’n, but Peter got some maggot in his head and wouldn’t settle. Said his conscience was troubling him.’
‘I am sorry about that, Davy. I hope you do not feel you must leave, too.’
‘Me, m’lady? Nay. I just keeps me head down and gets on with anything I
’m asked to do.’ He grinned. ‘Me and Lucas, we rubs along all right, as long as I let him rule the roost. And there ain’t half the cattle in the stables that there used to be, his lordship not being so flush as he once was. But I shouldn’t be saying that to you, ma’am. Disrespectful.’
She smiled a little. ‘You may say what you wish to me, Davy, remember that.’
‘Aye, Lady Ann, I will, and if there’s anything I can do for ’ee...’
‘Well, as a matter of fact there is. I would like to ride out, if we can find me a mount and a saddle.’
The groom’s face cleared. ‘A mount would be no problem, ma’am, I remembers how you used to ride any of his lordship’s horses. And riding astride, too!’
Nancy laughed. ‘I think for propriety’s sake it should be a lady’s saddle, if there is one.’
‘As it turns out we still have your old saddle, ma’am. Old Peter wouldn’t let us get rid of it and he kept it polished, too. “Just in case my lady comes back to us,” he used to say.’ Davy blinked and added, his voice a trifle unsteady, ‘And you has come back to us and looking very well, too, if you’ll forgive me saying so. I just wish he was here to see you, ma’am.’
‘I wish it, too, Davy.’ Nancy felt her own eyes filling up and was obliged to take a deep breath before she could speak again. ‘But enough of that. Let us go into the stables and find a suitable mount for me!’
Nancy wanted to go and find Gabriel immediately and tell him what she had learned, but that was impossible. Even if there was a horse for her, to arrive at the Blickers’ house at dawn and demand to see their guest would give rise to the liveliest conjecture. It would be all around the neighbourhood before the day was out. Even the most infatuated young lady would baulk at being so forward. Besides, Gabriel had said he would come courting her and it was most likely he would make a morning call this very day. It was important they did not miss one another.
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