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‘That’s not for me to say, sir.’
‘I understand your reticence, but he is to be my brother-in-law. Am I to assume you dispensed with his services?’
‘You may assume that,’ the man said, tight-lipped. ‘I shall say nothing.’
‘Very well. I’ll not embarrass you by asking any more questions. Shall we get down to business?’
* * *
They spent the next hour fine-tuning the agreement and then Mark set off for Teddy’s lodgings. The young man had flitted owing rent, he was told by the concierge in aggrieved tones. Mark paid the back rent and returned to his hotel. He had known Teddy all his life, they had played together as children and gone to the same school, although Teddy was four years younger and they’d had very little contact while there. They had not attended the same university and afterwards Mark had joined the army in Portugal and Teddy had subsequently taken up the position of junior clerk to Halliday and Son. It was only recently, because of the wedding, they had seen more of each other.
Mark wanted to like Teddy for Isabel’s sake, but he had always found him brash and insensitive, which had come about, he supposed, because he was the longed-for son and heir. Born between Jane and Isabel, he had been thoroughly spoiled by his doting mama. So what had he done to make Halliday give him the bag? Whatever it was would not please Sir Edward.
* * *
He was able to make an informed guess later that evening when he and Drew met at White’s and were joined by two others in a game of whist. One was Toby Moore, an erstwhile army captain whom Mark had known slightly during the war, and the other was Lord Bolsover. They were not two he would normally have chosen to play with, but all the other men present were already settled at their games and he could hardly refuse a polite request to make up a four.
‘You are affianced to one of the Cavenhurst girls, are you not?’ Bolsover queried, while they waited for a new pack of cards to be brought to the table. He was a year or two older than Mark, extravagantly dressed. His dark hair was worn short and curled forward over his forehead and ears. His skin was tanned, which was surprising since, as far as Mark was aware, he spent long hours at the gaming tables.
‘Yes,’ Mark said. ‘I have the honour to be engaged to Miss Isabel Cavenhurst.’
‘The wedding to be soon, is it?’
‘In a little under a month. Why do you ask?’
‘Curiosity, my dear fellow. I am well acquainted with Cavenhurst.’
‘Sir Edward?’
‘No, never met him. I meant the son. We have had a few hands of cards together. I am afraid he is a poor loser. I believe he has run home on a repairing lease. I do hope he recovers quickly, I am not in the habit of waiting for my money.’
Mark could well believe that and wondered where the conversation was leading. ‘No doubt he has gone home for the wedding.’
‘So soon? I think not. It is to be hoped his father can come up trumps because at the moment I hold all the cards. I have bought up all the man’s debts and they were spread far and wide. I do not think Teddy Cavenhurst ever bought anything with cash.’ Everyone knew that creditors who could not make their debtors pay often sold the debts for a fraction of the original figure, in order to be rid of them.
His heart sank, but he hid it with a laugh. ‘Sir Edward has always stood buff for his son. Have no fear.’
‘I had heard the estate was in a poor way and Sir Edward hard put to come about.’ Bolsover spoke nonchalantly as he picked up the pack that had just been put on the table in front of him and broke the seal.
‘Where did you hear that? I know nothing of it.’
His lordship gave a cracked laugh. ‘Worried that the lady’s dowry is at risk, are you?’
‘No, of course not. I do not know where you obtained your information, but I suggest you tell whoever it is that they are in error. Now, as we have the cards, shall we play?’
‘To be sure.’ His lordship finished shuffling the pack and put it on the table. ‘Will you cut for trumps, Mr Ashton?’
The subject of Teddy and his debts was dropped, but it worried Mark. From the way Bolsover had spoken about the dowry and the Greystone estate, the amount must be substantial. Surely not enough to ruin Sir Edward? How much was it? He could ask Isabel, or better still Jane. She would be bound to know and also the extent of Sir Edward’s problems.
* * *
‘You are not concentrating,’ murmured Drew, during the break between one game and the next as the pile of coins at Bolsover’s elbow had grown. ‘I had already won that second trick, you did not have to waste a trump on it. That is a beginner’s mistake.’
‘I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.’
‘Dreaming about your bride, are you?’
Mark smiled, but did not answer. He picked up the cards Toby Moore had just dealt. This was better; he had a good hand. They played in silence and recouped some of their losses. Drew was a very good player; he seemed to know where all the cards were and by the end of the evening they were in profit.
* * *
‘A satisfactory evening,’ Drew said, as they strolled to Jermyn Street where he was lodging.
‘I think you must be a seasoned gambler,’ Mark said. ‘Hector Bolsover has a reputation as a sharp, but you made him look clumsy. He won’t like that.’
‘What do you know of the man?’
‘Not a great deal. I believe he is unmarried and spends all his time in the clubs and gaming hells. I have heard he does not always play fair, though no one has seen fit to challenge him. If he has Teddy’s vouchers, it could go ill for the Cavenhursts.’
‘So that was what you were in a brown study about?’
‘It is worrying.’
‘Are you concerned about the dowry?’
‘Good heavens, no! It is the least of my worries.’
‘So, we are still going to look for wedding finery tomorrow?’
‘Naturally we are.’ They stopped outside Drew’s lodgings. ‘And you are going to come back to Broadacres with me, aren’t you?’
‘Have I said that?’
‘No, but you will. I want you to meet Isabel again before the wedding. We will invite the Cavenhursts over for supper.’
Drew laughed. ‘In the face of such a prospect, how can I refuse?’
Mark went on his way to the Wyndham town house in South Audley Street well satisfied.
Chapter Two
‘Papa, can you spare me a minute?’ Jane had found her father in the estate office where he worked most mornings. The desk in front of him was scattered with papers. He had evidently been raking his fingers through his greying hair; some of it was standing up on end.
‘Oh, it is you, Jane. Come in and sit down. I thought it was that reprobate son of mine and I can hardly be civil to him at the moment.’
Jane advanced further into the room and sat on the chair placed the other side of the desk, a position usually occupied by the estate manager, but she had just seen him leave and knew her father was alone. ‘I am sorry to hear that, Papa. It is on his behalf I am come.’
‘So, he has descended to sending his sister to plead for him, has he?’
‘He feels that you have not fully comprehended the trouble he is in and that perhaps I can explain it better than he.’
Sir Edward managed a humourless laugh. ‘I comprehend it only too well, Jane. What he does not comprehend is how impossible it is for me to comply with his outrageous demands without impoverishing the rest of the family.’
Jane gasped. ‘Surely it is not as bad as that?’
‘It is every bit as bad as that. My investments have failed. Last year’s ruined harvest and the demands of my tenants for repairs, not to mention Isabel’s wedding, have been the last straw. We are going to have to retrench. I am sorry, but Teddy will have to find his own solution. I warned him the last time he came home that it was the last time. He must learn I meant it.’
‘But what is he to do, Papa? He is young and impressionable, it is only natural he wants to spread his wings and keep up with his friends.’
‘Then he should choose his friends more wisely.’
‘But, Papa...’
‘Jane, you will displease me if you continue. You have a soft and gentle heart and it is to your credit, but in this instance you are backing a lost cause. You would do better to put your mind to ways of retrenchment, ways that your mother will accept as reasonable.’
‘Very well, Papa.’ She rose to go, then turned back. ‘Isabel’s wedding is not in jeopardy, is it?’
‘No, I think we can manage that.’
She left her father, but did not immediately seek out her brother. She needed a little time to herself and she needed to think about the task her father had set her. One thing was very sure: her inheritance was going to have to be sacrificed and the sooner she accepted that the better. She went up to her bedchamber, put on a light shawl and a bonnet and set out for the village.
* * *
But for the problems that weighed her down she would have enjoyed the short walk. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the hedgerows were bright with blossom. Hadlea village, set in the north Norfolk fenland, was not a large one. There was a church, a rectory, a windmill, two inns and several cottages grouped around a triangular village green on which there was a pump and some old stocks, though no one had been put in those in her memory. Side roads from the green led to a farrier and harness-maker who also mended shoes, a butcher and a tiny front-room shop that sold almost anything the village women might need from salt to sugar and soap to candles, working boots to plain cotton tick. For anything like muslin and silk, ribbons and bonnets, they had to make a trip to Norwich or King’s Lynn or wait until the travelling salesman came round, usually at the end of the harvest when his customers had a little money to spend.
Jane made her way to the rectory and was greeted cheerfully by Mrs Caulder. ‘Come in, Jane, I will have some tea and cakes brought into the parlour. It’s time Henry came out of his study. He has been in there all morning, working on tomorrow’s sermon.’
Mrs Caulder was very plump, a testament to a love of her cook’s cakes. She fussed around, giving the orders and calling her husband to join them, while Jane sat on one of the chairs and wondered how she was going to explain that the five thousand pounds she had promised for their project would not be forthcoming. She could not divulge the true state of affairs.
‘How are you my dear?’ Mrs Caulder asked. ‘Did you walk here? I did not hear the pony and trap.’
‘I walked. It is such a lovely day.’ Even as she spoke, she wondered if the pony would have to go, or perhaps the carriage, or the riding horses.
‘To be sure it is. Ah, here is Henry.’
The Rector was of medium height, with a shock of grey hair, which he wore long and tied back with a thin black ribbon. He was a jovial man and beamed at Jane. ‘What a pleasure to see you, my dear Miss Cavenhurst. I hope I find you well.’
‘Very well. But I am afraid I have some disappointing news.’
‘Surely not the wedding?’ exclaimed his wife, handing Jane a cup of tea.
‘Oh, no, nothing like that. It’s simply that I cannot give our orphan project the five thousand I promised.’ She paused, then resorted to an untruth. ‘I find I cannot touch it until either I marry or I reach the age of thirty in three years’ time. I have been racking my brains trying to think of a way of going ahead without it.’
‘My dear girl, do not look so downbeat, it is not the end of the world,’ the Rector said, flinging up the skirt of his coat and seating himself beside his wife to take a cup of tea from her. ‘We will contrive somehow without it. We shall have to find a wealthy patron, more than one if need be. I never did feel quite at ease about you giving it in the first place.’
‘Oh, I am much relieved,’ Jane said. ‘I thought it would be the end of all our hopes. You have given me fresh heart.’
‘There are orphanages all over the country, some a great deal better run than others. We must ask them how they manage and draw up a list of possible patrons. You, I am sure, could persuade people to donate. It is a good cause and you are so passionate about it.’
* * *
Jane laughed at that and the rest of the visit passed cheerfully. She was still smiling as she started out to cross the green on her way home. She had her head down, deep in thought, and did not see the two men until she was almost abreast of them.
‘Jane, we are well met,’ Mark called out to her.
She looked up, startled, and found herself hurtling back ten years. The man beside Mark was unmistakable. The years had dealt kindly with him. He was tall, broad and muscular and dressed to perfection in a brown coat of Bath cloth and fawn buckskins tucked into shining tasselled Hessians. A gold watch chain hung across his creamy brocade waistcoat and a huge diamond sparkled in his cravat. All this she noted before lifting her eyes to look into his face. It was tanned and the only lines were around his hazel eyes, due either to laughter or squinting in the sun. He was regarding her with a look she interpreted as amusement. Was she a comical figure? To be sure, her dress was plain, but her shawl was pretty and the ribbons on her bonnet were new even if the bonnet was not.
‘You remember Miss Cavenhurst, do you not?’ Mark said to him. ‘This is Jane, sister to my fiancée.’
‘Of course I remember,’ Drew said, doffing his hat. ‘How do you do, Miss Cavenhurst?’
‘I am well. And you?’ She had often wondered what it would be like to meet him again and whether the old attraction would still be there. He was an extremely attractive man, to be sure, and a great deal more confident than the man she had sent away, but after ten years, it would have been surprising if she had not found him changed.
‘I am in good health, Miss Cavenhurst, and happy to renew acquaintance with you. It has been some time.’
‘Ten years,’ she murmured and then wished she had not mentioned the time. He would assume she had been counting and dwelling on it, which was the last impression she wished to give him.
‘Yes, and every one of them devoted to the goal of returning one day, having made my fortune.’
‘And have you?’
‘I believe so.’
‘He is a nabob,’ Mark said, laughing. ‘But underneath he is the same Drew Ashton I knew before he went away. He has come to stay with us at Broadacres and be my groomsman.’
‘I thought you already had someone,’ Jane said, turning towards him. He was almost as tall as Drew, but slimmer and his urbane good looks contrasted sharply with the weathered look of his friend.
‘So I did, but he has been called away and when I met Drew in London, the solution to my problem was obvious.’
‘How fortuitous for you.’ She turned back to Drew. ‘So, you came to see how we all go on in Hadlea, Mr Ashton. We are a quiet community, little changes here.’
‘Except we all grow older and wiser,’ he said.
‘That is true, of course.’ Was that some reference to their youth ten years before or was he telling her his old passion had died a natural death, as surely hers must have done?
‘Jane, I need to have a quiet word with you,’ Mark said. ‘Perhaps Drew will excuse us for a moment?’
‘To be sure,’ Drew said. ‘I will amuse myself exploring the village.’ He bowed to Jane. ‘Good day, Miss Cavenhurst. I shall look forward to renewing my acquaintance with the rest of your family while I am here.’
She bowed her head in acknowledgement. ‘Good day, Mr Ashton.’
She watched him stride away, then turned back to Mark. ‘He is much changed and yet he has not changed at all.’
‘Except he is richer,’ Mark said with a laugh.
‘What is it you wanted to speak to me about?’ She did not want to talk about Andrew Ashton. His sudden arrival was something else she had to deal with. Would he mention the past or would it be a closed book? She hoped the latter. She did not want to be reminded of it.
Mark’s smile died and he seemed to be reluctant to go on, which was so unlike him that she wondered what it could be. ‘Jane, I met Lord Bolsover while I was in London. Drew and I had a hand of whist with him and a friend of his at White’s.’
