скачать книгу бесплатно
‘A woman with all those virtues would be beautiful, whatever the colour of her hair. As for a dowry, that is unimportant. I have no need of it.’
‘And have you found such a one?’
‘No, which is why, once a month, I am disappointed.’
‘You are teasing me again.’
‘It amuses me.’
‘Perhaps you do not come up to the ladies’ expectations. Have you thought of that?’
‘It is a possibility, I suppose,’ he said, pretending to give it some thought. ‘But as I have no wish to be married, I have never asked any of them what those expectations might be.’
‘I surmise you have had many mistresses.’
‘Well, you see,’ he said with a deep sigh, ‘they flock round me. I cannot seem to help it.’
She laughed. ‘How vain you are.’
‘No, simply truthful. Now are you going to tell me why you have no wish to marry? Have you had a surfeit of lovers, none of whom has lived up to your expectations?’
‘Oh, of course,’ she lied.
He knew she lied. She had been badly hurt in the past, he decided, and it had something to do with the colour of her hair. He could not believe anyone would be so unkind as to turn her down on those grounds. Why, he thought its richness was an asset and it certainly would not deter him, if he were ever to think of marriage, which of course he would not.
‘What are those expectations, apart from liking the colour of your hair, I mean?’
It was impossible to be offended by him. They were, after all, simply enjoying a light-hearted exchange of views, a small flirtation, which, she guessed, was intended to take her mind off the problem of her cousin. ‘He should be good-natured, generous, sympathetic to others, well read, able to converse without simpering,’ she said, repeating his own words with a mischievous smile. ‘And he must love me.’
‘To distraction?’
‘Oh, definitely to distraction.’
‘'Tis a pity that we have both eschewed marriage,’ he said with another sigh. ‘We might have made a match of it.’ He paused to look at her. She was pensive, as if her mind had flown to some other place, some other time. ‘But perhaps we can be friends.’
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Friendship is safer.’ It was a strange thing to say, but he did not comment.
Instead he changed the subject abruptly. ‘Your aunt will no doubt be upset to think of Ben in Norwich Castle, but we shall have him out of there tomorrow, I promise you. And as you are concerned that I shall roast him, I think you and your aunt should accompany me to Norwich to make sure I do not.’
‘Both of us?’
‘I think Mrs Whiteside might be glad of your presence. She seems a rather excitable lady and I am not skilled in dealing with distraught mothers.’
‘Very well. We will put it to her.’
Augusta had been pacing the floor of the Windward House drawing room for hours, refusing to eat, drink or even sit down. As soon as she saw Pippa, she flung herself at her. ‘There you are at last. Where is he? Where is my boy?’
‘Calm yourself, Aunt,’ Pippa said, leading her to a sofa and drawing her down beside her. ‘Ben is to be let out tomorrow.’
‘Tomorrow! Why not today? What have they done with him?’
Pippa looked up at Ash, who was standing looking down at them. ‘Madam,’ he said, coming to her rescue. ‘Lord Borrowdale was concerned that the more reckless of the smugglers might attempt to free the prisoners by force and lives might be lost. He deemed it expedient to send them to Norwich gaol to await trial. I have been given a paper, signed by his lordship, consigning your son into my care, which I shall present at the castle tomorrow.’
Augusta raised a tear-streaked face. ‘And they will let you have him?’
‘Oh, undoubtedly. If you wish, you and Miss Kingslake may accompany me. We could do the return journey in a day if we set out early. But if we should be delayed, there are several good hotels that would serve for a night’s lodging. I suggest we go prepared. And take something for your son to change into. He will undoubtedly be rather unkempt.’ That was an understatement. From what he knew of Norwich gaol, the boy would have been confined in a filthy cell with dozens of others. Washing facilities and a change of clothes would certainly not be provided.
‘Oh, thank you, thank you, sir. We will be ready whenever you say.’
‘I will call for you at eight of the clock.’ He bowed and left them without waiting for a servant to conduct him to the door.
‘Oh, Philippa, you have no idea how my poor heart has been rent,’ Augusta said. ‘Every minute you have been gone has been torture and still Ben is not home. How the poor boy will survive another night in prison, I do not know. He is not strong … Wait until I see that brother of yours, I shall ring the loudest peal over him he has ever heard.’
‘You mean Nat has not come home?’
‘No. No one has seen hide nor hair of him, but when I asked Joe Sadler, he as good as admitted he had been with the smugglers.’
‘He must be hiding up somewhere until the fuss has died down.’
‘He could hide here as well as anywhere. If the Riding Officers didn’t know he was involved, he would be safer acting normally and doing whatever he had planned to do today. Instead he chooses to disappear. I have no doubt he knows I am displeased with him and is too shamefaced to come home.’
‘I wish you to be right, but I am truly worried he has come to some harm.’
‘What does Sir Ashley say about it?’
‘I have not told him. He is on the side of law and order and has no sympathy for the smugglers. I think he would like to see them all hanged or sent to the hulks.’
‘But he went with you to obtain Ben’s release …’
‘Only because he believes Ben will tell him what he wants to know.’
‘Ben knows nothing,’ Augusta insisted.
‘He must know what Nat was doing.’
‘Oh, dear.’ And she began to wail again. ‘What are we to do? If I had known when I came to live in this godforsaken spot what it would lead to, I would never have come. We were snug and safe miles inland and that is where I wish we had stayed.’
This was something the good lady repeated almost daily and Pippa took no note of it, but she was very worried about Nat. Sir Ashley must not find out about him. But how could she warn her brother when she had no idea where he was?
Sir Felix was out when Ash returned to Narbeach Manor. ‘He’s rid off to the Customs House,’ a stable boy told him when he followed his carriage and horses into the yard. Ash trusted his coachman, Tom Davies, to look after the horses, but it did no harm to let the other stable hands know how particular he was. ‘There was a pitched battle goin’ on there, an hour since. Had to call the militia in, they did.’
Ash decided to go and see what was happening for himself and asked for a horse to be saddled for him. He hurried indoors to change into a riding habit and buckle on his sword, then went back through the kitchen, grabbing a tart from the table and stuffing it into his mouth as he went. Once outside he sprang on the horse’s back and cantered out of the yard and on to the lane in the direction of the quay.
It was obvious there had been a confrontation at the Customs House. Two men were sitting on the wayside nursing broken heads; a bale of tea had burst open and the leaves were scattered all over the road and a band of women were trying to scoop them up. The captain of the dragoons was talking to Sir Felix, both of them still mounted. There was blood on the captain’s sword.Other soldiers had dismounted and were looking after their mounts. There was not a village man to be seen. Ash rode up to the two riders. ‘What happened?’ Sir Felix turned at the sound of his voice. ‘Oh, you’re back. Get the boy, did you?’
‘No, he’s to be released tomorrow. What happened here?’
‘They stormed the Customs House and rescued the contraband.’ He nodded towards the injured men. ‘They battered those poor devils out of their senses.’ ‘You mean the smugglers?’ ‘Yes, who else?’ ‘Were any of them recognised?’ ‘No, so they say. The Captain here winged one of them, so we’re making a search for an injured man, though no doubt his fellows will keep him well hid. As for the contraband, we’ll search for that too, along with the rest that disappeared off the beach last night, though it’s doubtful if we’ll find anything.’
Ash was inclined to agree. Sir Felix did not seem in any great hurry to carry out the search. ‘What can I do to help?’
‘Nothing. You are too late.’ He turned his horse towards home. Ash dismounted and led his horse over to the two Customs men, who were back on their feet. ‘Is anyone looking after your injuries?’
‘We’ll go home,’ one said. ‘Our wives will see to them.’
‘Did you know those who attacked you?’ ‘No, they wore scarves about their faces and hooded cloaks and it happened too quickly. We were eating our dinner when the door burst open and six men came in waving batons. They battered us about the head before we could even get to our feet. And though we shouted, no one came to our aid.’
‘Well, they wouldn’t, would they?’ the other said. ‘No doubt they took their share of the bounty for turning their backs.’
‘What was it?’ Ash asked. ‘Tea? Brandy?’
‘Some of it was. There was tobacco and silk, too. Now we’ve lost our prize. I said two was not enough to guard it and I were right, but Sir Felix would have it that it was enough. Why, I’ve known it take half an army to hold back the smugglers when their minds are made up to regain their goods.’
‘I am sorry for you,’ Ash said. ‘Go home and have your injuries treated. If you remember anything else when you have had time to consider, I am staying with Sir Felix. Ask for me by name. Sir Ashley Saunders.’ He gave them each a half guinea and returned to his horse.
Instead of riding straight back he chose to ride along the shoreline, looking for evidence. The tide had been in and out again since the landing and the sand was smooth. Where the tide did not reach the dunes were dry, held together with tough marram grass and weeds, but the wind had whipped away evidence of men’s feet, horses’ hooves and cart wheels. The smugglers had chosen a good night for their activities. He looked across at the marshes that ringed the western end of the village, but dared not venture on to them. A man who did not know his way could disappear without trace. So could the booty. If that was where it was hidden, it would have to be moved very soon. Goods needed to be taken inland to the markets to make a profit and the smuggling barons would not let it lie idle a moment longer than they had to. He resolved to come out that night and keep watch.
Pippa was sitting in the window of her bedroom, looking out at the sea. She could see Sir Ashley leading his horse along the beach. He was alone and looking at the ground.
She had been sitting there thinking ever since he left. The carriage ride and their conversation, which had appeared so light-hearted, had stirred up memories she thought she had managed to bury so deep they could never surface again. But she had been wrong. It wasn’t that she still yearned for Edward as she had at the beginning; she had long ago convinced herself that if he could not love her as she was, red hair and all, he was not worth her anguish. But once that had been accomplished she was left with the humiliation, the whispers, the half-veiled hints that there must be something wrong with her. And everyone avoiding her.
She had learned to live with that, to accept her eccentricity and even exaggerate it, so that no one took any notice of the lone figure striding along the foreshore in fisherman’s boots and a voluminous cloak that billowed out behind her, while the wind whipped her hair up into a fiery tangle. She could, of course, cut it off and wear a wig. Wigs were going out of fashion, but some still wore them. It was what Edward had wanted her to do.
Not only had he expected her to give up her writing, at which she had been successful enough to support her brother, aunt and cousin in comparative comfort since her parents had died and which she enjoyed, he had complained about the colour of her hair. He said his mother was superstitious and maintained red hair was the mark of the devil; if he married a red-haired woman, he would never prosper and a lot more nonsense that made her angrier and angrier, not only with his mother but with him for believing it. ‘If the colour of someone’s hair is so important,’ she had stormed at him, ‘then you had better find someone whose tresses you find more to your taste.’
She had expected him to pacify her and tell her it did not matter, that he loved her for what she was, but he had turned on his heel and left her. She had never seen him again and a little while later she heard he had left the country and his parents were blaming her.
Now Sir Ashley had brought it all back. He had said all the things she had hoped Edward would say, and he had said them in such a caring way, as if he knew she needed that reassurance. Were confirmed bachelors all so pleasant? Had they learned how to please without the need to propose marriage? Could they be friends as he had suggested?
It would be difficult if Ben really did know something about the smugglers or if Nat turned up and he was also involved. Her need to protect her brother and cousin would certainly come between any possible friendship. She would have to be especially careful when dealing with Sir Ashley. And that was a great pity because she liked him. He made her laugh and let her be herself. One day she might even tell him about Philip King. So deep in thought was she, she did not hear her aunt enter the room until she spoke.
‘Philippa, Sir Felix has just sent round to ask us to supper.’
‘I do not feel like going. I am tired and worried about Nat.’
‘I know, dearest, but we must not let anyone see that and as Sir Felix and Sir Ashley have been so accommodating about Ben, I think it behoves us to make the effort. I could not bear it if they changed their minds because we snubbed them.’
Pippa sighed and got up. ‘You are right. I will change my clothes.’
‘Put on something attractive—that green silk with the quilted stomacher enhances your figure, you know. It is your best feature.’ She pulled the gown out of the clothes press as she spoke and shook it out. ‘And try to do something about your hair. I will send Babette in to help you when she has finished with me.’
‘Yes, Aunt,’ she said meekly, beginning to take off the blue wool. ‘But if you think I will put up with Sir Felix mauling me, you are mistaken. He gives me the shivers. I cannot think what he sees in me.’
‘Why, a very attractive young lady when she can put herself out to be so,’ her aunt said. ‘But I was not thinking of Sir Felix particularly.’
‘Sir Ashley!’ Pippa laughed. ‘He is a lifelong bachelor, he told me so. We have decided to be friends.’
‘That is something anyway. Usually you frighten men away with your top-lofty manner.’
‘I am not top lofty. How can I be with a head like mine?’
‘Very easily,’ her aunt said. ‘And I wish you would not adopt it. You do yourself no favours.’
‘It would not work with Sir Ashley in any case. He would laugh at me.’
‘That would be very uncivil of him and I am persuaded he is the epitome of good manners.’
‘And all the more dangerous for that.’
‘What do you mean, dangerous?’
‘He is on the side of law and order. We must be circumspect in what we tell him. If he thinks Ben or Nat are smugglers, he will feel he has to do his duty and hand them over to the law.’
‘They are not. At least I am sure Ben is not. As for Nat, we might find out if he deigned to put in an appearance.’
‘I am worried he might be hurt and unable to come home. I asked Joe to try to find out what has happened to him.’
‘Nathaniel is a grown man. It is up to him what he does, but I wish he had not involved Ben.’
‘You do not know that he did. Oh, Aunt, I wish there was an end to all this smuggling. It is ruining men’s lives. Sir Ashley thinks so, which is why he is so against it. He would like to know who is at the back of it, the men who provide the money for the ships and the cargo. They are the real villains, not the poor inhabitants.’
‘We all know that, but I am sure Ben does not know who they are and can tell Sir Ashley nothing. Now finish dressing. We must not be late. Sir Felix is a stickler for punctuality.’ And with that she left to go to her own toilette.
Pippa dressed slowly. Her stomach was churning, partly on account of Sir Felix who repulsed her and had to be dealt with politely but firmly, and partly on account of Sir Ashley, who was far too perspicacious and far, far too attractive for her comfort.
Babette, her aunt’s maid, arrived in time to help lace up her bodice over the stomacher and to brush her unruly hair into obedience. It took a great many pins, combs, ribbons and powder to achieve it, but she emerged a tall, elegant beauty with a long neck, a full bosom, decorously hidden beneath her corsage, and a small waist from which her full overskirt billowed out, embroidered with pale pink flowers. She rarely wore jewellery, but tonight she fetched out her mother’s emeralds and fastened them about her neck where they lay on her throat, competing with her eyes in their greenness. Her aunt commented, ‘You’ll do', and led the way to their carriage.
Ash, who had returned late to the house, had only just managed to complete his toilette and go down to the drawing room to join his host before the ladies were announced. What he expected to see he was not at all sure, certainly not the vision of loveliness that quite took his breath away. Who would have believed the wild woman could be so tamed? She would turn heads in any drawing room. Politeness dictated he must acknowledge Mrs Whiteside first, which he did with admirable aplomb. Then he turned to Pippa and swept her the bow of a London courtier, putting his foot forwards and circling his arm before lowering it over his extended leg. ‘Miss Kingslake, your obedient slave.’
‘Hmph.’ This from Sir Felix who certainly did not approve of this extravagance.
Pippa, her green eyes sparkling, returned this courtesy with a deep curtsy. ‘Sir Ashley.’ Then she turned and afforded the same to her host. ‘Sir Felix, good evening.’
He bowed and seized her hand to kiss the back of it. ‘Dear lady, you are in looks tonight. One would never guess that you had endured a carriage ride all the way to Wells and back today.’
‘It took no endurance on my part,’ she said, retrieving her hand. ‘Sir Ashley’s carriage is the last word in comfort.’
‘And he has secured Ben’s release,’ Augusta added. ‘We are to fetch him tomorrow, but no doubt Sir Ashley has told you that.’
‘Yes, he has. I am indebted to him.’ He indicated a sofa with a wave of his hand. ‘Please be seated. Supper will not be long. I ordered it for half past eight.’
Pippa, taking a seat alongside her aunt, glanced at the ormolu clock on the mantel. It wanted a minute to the half-hour. She sat silently counting the seconds.
‘Supper is served, Sir Felix.’ Even though she had been expecting it, the voice made Pippa jump, the footman had entered so silently.
Their host held out his hand to her and Pippa took it to rise and thus she went into the dining room on the arm of Sir Felix, leaving Ash to escort Mrs Whiteside.
The meal was superbly cooked and presented and the wines very fine, but Pippa hardly noticed what she was eating and drinking. She was acutely conscious of Sir Felix at the head of the table on her left and Sir Ashley on her right and the need to be circumspect. The atmosphere was fraught with tension. There was too much unspoken, too much that must not be spoken for normal conversation, though Sir Ashley did his best. He entertained them with stories of London gossip and what was going on at court and in Parliament, anything except what was most on their minds.
