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‘Possibly,’ the Major answered, clearly unwilling to commit himself.
‘By the by, I had heard that you’d sold your commission,’ Sir Giles remarked with an abrupt change of subject. ‘What will you find to do with yourself now your career in the army is at an end?’
‘Look after the property I’ve neglected for far too long.’
‘Ah! So those old, festering wounds have finally healed, have they? I’m glad to hear that you are ready to settle down.’
Daniel stared intently into the baronet’s shrewd eyes. ‘My God!’ he muttered, experiencing a mixture of anger and grudging respect. ‘Not much ever escapes you, does it, Osborne?’
Just a hint of smug satisfaction crept into Sir Giles’s expression. ‘I have endeavoured over the years to ensure that not much ever does. And since you are to attend a reunion dinner you must have brought suitable evening attire.’
‘Only my dress uniform,’ Daniel disclosed.
‘Excellent! Then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t attend the party tonight.’
Chapter Two
‘I think I shall wear the pearls, Bridie,’ Katherine decided, after studying her overall appearance in the full-length mirror.
Although Bridie’s apron had covered many duties over the years, including those of nursemaid, housekeeper and cook, she was also a very proficient lady’s maid, and Katherine was delighted with the more elaborate arrangement of her auburn curls. She was satisfied too with her choice of gown for the special evening ahead. She had wished to look her best for the occasion, and considered the dark green velvet dress suited her very well, its soft folds emphasising the shapely slen-derness of her figure, while its colour subtly enhanced the green in her eyes.
‘I think we chose wisely when we selected this new gown,’ she remarked, seating herself once again at the dressing table in order that Bridie, several inches shorter, might fasten the pearl necklace more easily, while she herself concentrated on securing the matching earrings to her small lobes. ‘It makes me appear neither a chit just emerged from the schoolroom, nor yet a female at her last prayers.’
Bridie could not help smiling to herself at this candid admission. Her young mistress was so lacking in conceit that she could never be made to appreciate just how very lovely she was. Blessed with delicate, regular features, and a trim shapely figure, she had little difficulty in igniting a glint of admiration in the vast majority of masculine eyes, even in those not disposed to admire her particular colouring. ‘You look lovely, Miss Katherine.’
This sentiment was echoed a few moments later when Mrs Wentworth entered the bedchamber to bear her niece company down to the large salon where the party was to be held. ‘Every time I look at you, Katherine, I am struck by the resemblance you bear your dear mother,’ she admitted, not reluctant to disclose the thoughts that had passed through her mind shortly after her niece’s arrival earlier in the day.
Katherine, her eyes shadowed by a moment’s bitter regret, cast a surreptitious glance up at her aunt through the dressing-table mirror. Undeniably her mother had been the far prettier sister. None the less, she might have wished that her mother had possessed some of her younger sibling’s strength of character. Her dear aunt, Katherine felt sure, would not wither like an exotic bloom touched by the first frost if—God forbid!—anything should ever happen to her husband. Lavinia Wentworth would fight and survive for the sake of her children.
‘And you resemble your maternal grandmother too, now I come to consider the matter,’ Mrs Wentworth added. ‘Little wonder dear Papa was so very fond of you!’
‘And I was very fond of him,’ Katherine was not slow to confess. ‘My one bitter regret is that we were not given the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company for a great deal longer.’
‘Yes, I too feel that was a pity,’ her aunt agreed softly. ‘My father, I clearly remember, very much appreciated modesty in our sex. Surprisingly enough, though, he also admired intelligent women who were not afraid to voice their opinions. He would have found much pleasure in your company, my dear.’
Katherine couldn’t prevent a wry smile at this, as she cast a brief glance in her maid’s direction. ‘You are the second person today who has remarked on the fact that I am not afraid to speak my mind,’ she admitted, rising to her feet, and entwining her arm through her aunt’s. ‘However, I promise to be on my best behaviour this evening, and will endeavour to keep a firm hold on my occasionally ungovernable tongue.’
Katherine then accompanied her highly amused aunt downstairs to the large salon, there to discover both her cousin, looking bright-eyed and excited, and her uncle, noticeably less so, hovering near the door in readiness to receive their guests.
Captain Richard Charlesworth, accompanied by his family, and a large party of friends, was the first to arrive, and very soon afterwards Katherine, without quite knowing how it had come about, found herself seated beside Caroline’s future mother-in-law.
Possibly because she had had experience of dealing with haughty, opinionated matrons, her great-aunt Augusta having possessed a somewhat vitriolic tongue, Katherine was disposed to be more amused than annoyed by the Dowager Lady Charlesworth’s blunt manner and caustic remarks. Added to which, Katherine was determined not to do or say anything that might lessen her sweet-natured cousin’s enjoyment of what, quite naturally for Caroline, was a very special occasion. Consequently she bore with great fortitude the dictatorial matron’s company for a full twenty minutes, and was even gracious enough to agree to partner the Dowager in a rubber or two of whist later, before cunningly engineering her escape.
‘Do not allow my mama to monopolise you, Miss O’Malley,’ an amused voice whispered in her ear, and Katherine turned to discover the newly engaged couple standing directly behind her.
Caroline bestowed a look of mild disapproval upon her future husband. ‘Now that we are officially betrothed, I think you might be a little less formal with my cousin, Richard.’
‘I should be delighted to comply, providing Miss O’Malley has no objection, that is?’
Katherine was not slow to assure him that she had none, for she very much approved of her cousin’s future husband, appreciating his gentlemanly and unaffected manners. ‘I assume that you two have abandoned your positions by the door in order to lead the first set of country dances.’
‘We have indeed,’ Caroline confirmed. ‘And I had better warn you now that you are unlikely to be sitting by the wall yourself for any length of time. All of Richard’s army friends are intent on securing you for a partner.’
‘And I dare swear I shall be too weak-willed to refuse,’ Katherine responded with more tact than truth, for unlike the majority of her sex she had never been drawn to a gentleman merely because he happened to be sporting a scarlet coat. Nevertheless, she felt obliged to add, as she glanced about the room at the numerous dress uniforms on display that evening, ‘I believe it is grossly unfair to permit officers to attend parties wearing regimentals. They look so very smart and dashing that they cast those in plain evening garb quite into the shade.’
‘They do indeed,’ Caroline agreed, before catching sight of a new arrival wearing a very striking dark green uniform of almost exactly the same shade as her cousin’s lovely dress. ‘Who is that, Richard? Surely not a cavalry officer?’
‘No, indeed, m’dear. That is the uniform worn by riflemen. Can’t say I recognise the fellow, though.’ He appeared genuinely intrigued. ‘There’s a few minutes wanting before we need take the floor. If you will both excuse me, I’ll go over and discover who he is.’
‘Mama appears very well pleased to see him, at any rate,’ Caroline was not slow to observe, after Richard had departed. ‘He’s with Sir Giles Osborne’s party. I wonder who he is? I’ve certainly never seen him before.’
Katherine cast the merest glance over the distinguished, grey-haired baronet and the middle-aged lady clad in a rather startling orange gown, before focusing her attention on the well-muscled gentleman sporting the smart green regimentals. ‘Great heavens!’ she muttered as he turned at Richard’s approach, and she saw his features clearly for the first time. ‘It cannot be …’
Caroline regarded her cousin with slightly raised brows. ‘Are you acquainted with him, Katherine?’
‘Yes … no … well, I’m not sure. But I do believe he’s none other than the gentleman I bumped into earlier today when I put up at that posting-house. What a coincidence!’
Once again Katherine found herself teased by that elusive memory annoyingly playing hide-and-seek in the recesses of her brain, while at the same time experiencing a rather startling surge of pleasure at seeing him again so unexpectedly. She watched his approach with keen interest, admiring the fluid way he moved, the way he seemed to stand out from the other gentlemen present. Then, for the second time that day, she found herself gazing up into those attractive dark eyes, which clearly betrayed recognition.
‘It would seem, ma’am, Fate has decreed our paths should cross again.’ The deep voice was no less pleasing than the warmth of the smile which instantly softened the harsh contours of a wholly masculine countenance.
Katherine discovered herself automatically placing her fingers in the hand reaching out to her, just as Richard said, ‘Miss Katherine O’Malley, may I present Major Daniel Ross, an officer whose courage is admired throughout the British Army.’
With the name pounding against her temples like so many torturous hammer blows, Katherine withdrew her hand so abruptly from the Major’s gentle clasp that anyone observing the action might have been forgiven for supposing that her fingers had just been burned. That she had been so stupid as not to recognise at once a man whom she had secretly despised for years added to her swiftly mounting rage, and it was only the vow she had made to behave with the utmost propriety throughout the evening that prevented her from releasing the tumult of emotions warring inside in a blistering tirade.
With praiseworthy self-control, Katherine quietly excused herself, and sought immediate refuge in the room allocated for the female guests’ private use. Having discovered it blessedly empty, she slumped down on one of the chairs, her thoughts racing back over the years to those few short months when she had lived in her grandfather’s charming house in Dorsetshire, and had struck up a close friendship with the daughter of one of his nearest neighbours, Helen Rushton.
Looking back, she now realised that their similar sufferings had been the bond which had drawn them together, swiftly turning friendship into a deep sisterly affection, for Helen’s father, serving in his Majesty’s Navy, had also perished at sea.
Helen had confided in Katherine from the first. Always eager to share her most private thoughts, she had revealed her rapidly deepening attachment to a young gentleman who, after living abroad for several years, had returned to the area, and who had recently acquired a commission in the army. Every time Captain Daniel Ross had paid a visit to Helen’s house, Katherine had been regaled with a detailed account of what he had said and how long he had remained.
Undoubtedly Helen had been totally besotted, and then utterly devastated when she had discovered that Captain Ross, rakishly free with his favours, had been paying numerous visits to a dashing young widow living in the locale. Having to face the fact that she had not been the sole object of the Captain’s desire had been a grievous blow from which poor Helen had never been granted the opportunity to recover.
The door quietly opening put an end to these sombre reflections, and Katherine was not unduly surprised to see her cousin slip quietly into the room.
‘Are you not feeling quite the thing? Do you wish me to summon Mama, or Bridie?’
The prospect of having her lifelong bodyguard fussing about her like some demented hen was all it took to restore Katherine’s equilibrium. ‘Whatever for? I’m in no danger of fainting, I assure you. I have merely received a most unpleasant shock, that is all.’
‘But what on earth overset you?’ Caroline was utterly bewildered and it clearly showed. ‘One moment you were looking so radiantly happy to be making the acquaintance of Major Ross, and yet in the next—’
‘Kindly do not remind me of my shortcomings!’ Katherine interrupted, acutely annoyed with herself, if the truth were known, for betraying such unbecoming delight.
Rising to her feet, she began to pace the floor, a sure sign to those who knew her well that she was doing her utmost to maintain a firm control over herself. She had no desire to cause any unpleasantness during the evening by making her intense dislike of the Major generally known. Nor did she wish to run the risk of joining the ranks of those contemptible gossipmongers who did not scruple to ruin reputations. Yet, at the same time, she felt that Caroline deserved some explanation for her odd behaviour towards the Major.
Raising her eyes, she discovered her cousin regarding her intently, and decided to settle on a compromise. ‘You are possibly not aware of it, Caroline, but Major Ross was well acquainted with our grandfather. Whilst I resided in Dorsetshire, he paid several visits to Grandpapa’s house—’ her smile was twisted ‘—as well as visiting several others in the area. I discovered that his reputation where our sex is concerned is not precisely stainless. Not to put too fine a point on it, he is nothing more than a callous philanderer who isn’t above breaking the odd heart or two,’ she finished, anger momentarily overriding her resolve not to slander the Major.
‘Good heavens!’ Caroline muttered faintly, while taking advantage of the chair conveniently positioned directly behind her. ‘Are you certain about that? I do not mean to doubt you,’ she hurriedly added, swiftly recognising the telltale glint of annoyance in her cousin’s blue-green eyes. ‘But you were quite young when you lived with Grandfather. Might you have misunderstood the rumours about him?’
‘Yes, I might,’ Katherine was forced to concede, though it almost choked her to do so. ‘Now is not the time to be discussing this, however. Come, let us return to the party, otherwise that handsome fiance of yours will justifiably blame me for depriving him of the pleasure of leading you out on to the floor.’
As they re-entered the salon, Katherine was not unduly surprised to discover Captain Charlesworth still bearing the Major company. For her cousin’s sake she was prepared to be polite and rejoin the gentlemen for a short while, and then slip quietly away in order to mingle with the other guests, thereby neatly avoiding comment.
Unfortunately, this ideal scheme was foiled at the outset, for no sooner had they arrived back at the gentlemen’s sides than the musicians struck up a chord, announcing the commencement of dancing, and Katherine found herself, much to her chagrin, quite alone with the person whom she had stigmatised as the biggest beast in nature for almost six years.
‘I trust you are feeling a little better now, ma’am?’ he remarked, breaking the short silence that had ensued after the engaged couple’s departure. ‘If I were a fanciful man I might imagine that it was my sudden appearance which had the power to overset you.’
Suppressing the strong desire to walk away without uttering a word, Katherine forced herself to meet a gaze that she might have supposed contained a deal of genuine concern had she not known better. Heartless philanderers did not worry themselves unduly over the feelings of others, she reminded herself, resolved to be polite but no more.
‘Disabuse yourself of that notion, sir. I am not so easily overset.’
Much to her surprise, Katherine saw the Major’s eyes narrow fractionally at her cool tone. She might dislike the man intensely, but she was obliged to acknowledge that he was no fool. Unless she much mistook the matter, he sensed the antagonism raging within her and was more than slightly puzzled by it.
It was quite evident that he hadn’t recognised her, not even her name. This in itself did not strike her as in any way odd. After all, she mused, transferring her gaze to those taking part in the dance, she had only ever spoken to him once in her life before today.
Her grandfather, Katherine recalled, had retained some rather antiquated views, and even though she had attained the age of sixteen he had considered her a mere child. Consequently she had never been invited to join her grandfather when he had been entertaining guests. None the less, Katherine clearly remembered coming face to face with Captain Ross, as he had been then, just once, when she had happened to be in the stable-yard when he had arrived at the house. It was unlikely, however, that he would remember such an insignificant occasion, when he had taken the trouble to pass the time of day with someone whom he also had undoubtedly considered a mere child.
‘Miss Wentworth and Captain Charlesworth make a charming couple, do they not?’ he remarked, once again breaking the lengthening silence.
‘They do indeed, sir,’ she agreed, momentarily forgetting her animosity, as she continued to follow the engaged couple’s progress down the floor, noticing in particular the way Caroline smiled lovingly up at her handsome fiance whenever they came together in the set. ‘They are well matched, and very much in love.’
She expected him to say something further, if only to maintain the conversation. When he made no attempt to do so, curiosity got the better of her. She turned back to look at him, and was slightly disconcerted to discover him staring at her intently, before his expression was softened by the winning smile of a practised seducer.
No, she must never lose sight of what he was, she reminded herself. Even so, she was forced silently to concede that, had he truly been a complete stranger, he would have been the very last person she would have stigmatised as a hardened rake. He seemed so earnest, so reliable, the kind of person to whom one instinctively turned in time of trouble. Which just went to show that one should never judge by appearances!
‘Do you hail from this part of the country, Miss O’Malley?’ he asked, while his eyes flickered momentarily over the arrangement of her curls.
‘No, Major. I lived for many years in Ireland. However, I now reside in Bath.’
Having decided that she had now conformed to the rules governing polite behaviour, and could leave Major Ross to his own devices with a clear conscience, Katherine was on the point of excusing herself when the dance came to an end and he forestalled her by requesting her to partner him in the next set.
Those good intentions deserting her completely, Katherine weakened to an imp of pure mischief. With a smile of artificial sweetness curling her lips, she looked him over from head to toe. ‘Believe me, Major Daniel Ross, nothing in this world would ever induce me to stand up with you. I have made it a rule only ever to take the floor with those gentlemen sporting scarlet coats.’
Beneath their half-hooded lids, brown eyes began to sparkle with a distinctly menacing gleam. ‘That decision, if you’ll forgive my saying so, ma’am, betrays a shocking lack of judgement for one with your particular shade of hair.’
Only partially successful in suppressing a squeal of indignation, Katherine could quite cheerfully have boxed his ears, and swung away before the temptation to do so became too great.
Daniel, following her almost flouncing progress across the room with narrowed, assessing eyes, found himself experiencing both annoyance and puzzlement in equal measures. How anyone could be radiant and smiling one moment, then offhand and disdainful the next, treating a fellow as though he were a pariah, he would never know. But there again women, he reminded himself, were a law unto themselves, unpredictable and totally illogical!
He continued to watch her as she headed towards the room set out for cards, certain in his own mind that she would have left him far sooner had the opportunity arisen, and might not have conversed with him at all if she could possibly have avoided doing so. But why? Why had she taken him in such swift dislike?
He shook his head, at a loss to understand the workings of the female mind. When Captain Charlesworth had first brought him over, Miss O’Malley had betrayed clear signs of delight at coming face to face with him again so unexpectedly. He had found that initial reaction so very refreshing. She had made not the least attempt to dissemble, to pretend their paths had never crossed before. Then, quite suddenly, she had grown pale, and a look akin to loathing had flickered momentarily in those striking turquoise eyes before she had slipped quietly away.
Undeniably, Charlesworth and his delightful fiancee had been as mystified as he had himself at such odd behaviour. Yet when Miss Wentworth had returned, her face had worn a decidedly thoughtful expression, as though she were not quite certain about something. But what could she possibly have learned to his discredit during that brief absence? He had never met either young lady until today … or had he?
‘Something appears to be troubling you, Major,’ a smooth voice remarked, and Daniel discovered Sir Giles hovering at his elbow, looking remarkably well pleased about something.
He was instantly suspicious, for he knew well enough that the man beside him was not quite what he seemed. He had the utmost respect for Sir Giles’s acute intellect. None the less, if their association during the past years had taught Daniel anything, then it was not to trust the well-mannered, silver-tongued baronet an inch.
‘I swear, Osborne, that you were a cat in some former life. Like the pampered feline who lazes in the most comfortable spot in a room, you appear sublimely content. Yet, it would come as no great surprise to me to discover that you sleep with one eye permanently open.’
Sir Giles’s shoulders shook in silent, appreciative laughter. ‘Ah yes! Cats—remarkable creatures, are they not? I hold them in the highest regard. Lying quietly in wait to strike when least expected, they do their utmost to rid this world of ours of loathsome vermin.’
Extracting his silver snuffbox, Sir Giles made use of its contents before returning the elegant trinket to his pocket, while all the time his eyes stared through the open doorway leading to the card-room. ‘Lavinia Wentworth’s niece is a strikingly lovely young woman, do you not agree, Major Ross?’
Daniel followed the direction of the older man’s gaze in time to see his former companion taking a seat at the table occupied by a forbidding matron sporting an ugly turban of puce satin. ‘I did not realise that Miss O’Malley was related to our hostess,’ he admitted, eyes narrowing. ‘Then her maternal grandfather was none other than …’
‘Colonel Fairchild,’ Sir Giles finished for him, when the Major’s voice faded. ‘I understand that she lived with him for a short time. I thought perhaps you knew her.’
How very interesting! Daniel mused, his mind racing back over the years. Then it was just possible that he had met Miss O’Malley in the dim and distant past, though she must have been little more than a child at the time, for Colonel Fairchild had been dead for a number of years.
‘Such glorious hair, do you not agree?’ Sir Giles remarked, successfully recapturing his companion’s attention. ‘I myself have always had a particular weakness for auburn-haired fillies.’
‘Oh, you have, have you?’ Daniel did not believe a word of it, and wasn’t reticent about making his own views clear. ‘Well, I certainly have not! The few I’ve come across during my lifetime have all been devious little firebrands—totally unpredictable and not to be trusted. And Miss O’Malley has certainly not induced me to alter my opinion!’
It had taken Katherine a minute or two only to become aware that those of her fellow guests who were drifting into the card-room were keeping well clear of the table where she and the Dowager Lady Charlesworth now sat. Several wicked possibilities occurred to her for this deliberate avoidance, all of which were most definitely to the formidable Dowager’s discredit. She was just beginning to come to the conclusion that it was unlikely that there was anyone among the guests brave enough to challenge Lady Charlesworth, when a shadow fell across the table, and she found herself meeting the steely gaze of the distinguished-looking gentleman who had arrived with the disreputable Major.
‘Ah, Osborne!’ There was a distinct note of approval in the Dowager’s booming voice, which gave Katherine every reason to suppose that the baronet would prove to be a worthy opponent. ‘Come to challenge me and my young partner, have you? Well, sit down! Sit down, man! Have you met Miss O’Malley?’
‘I understand that you are Mrs Wentworth’s niece,’ he remarked, after Lady Charlesworth had made the introductions so loudly that Katherine was fairly certain that, had anyone else in the room been ignorant of her identity before, such was no longer the case.
Katherine nodded. ‘My mother was her elder sister, sir.’
‘I also understand that you reside in Bath.’
‘Yes, sir. I have lived there for a number of years.’
‘But not alone, I trust,’ the Dowager put in, looking faintly disapproving.
It would have afforded Katherine the utmost pleasure to inform the dictatorial lady seated opposite that her domestic arrangements were entirely her own concern, but having given way once to her occasionally volatile temperament, she had no intention of doing so again. It would have afforded her even greater pleasure to be able to say that she did live quite alone. Unfortunately she could not do so.
‘No, ma’am,’ she admitted. ‘My late aunt’s former companion still resides with me.’
‘Very proper,’ the Dowager approved, before turning her attention to Sir Giles and demanding to know if he had secured himself a partner.
‘My sister will be joining us, ma’am… Ah! And here she is, ready to do battle.’
It would have been hard to find a less formidable-looking opponent, Katherine decided, as she watched the middle-aged lady, dressed in the startling orange-coloured gown, nervously twisting the strings of her reticule round her fingers as she seated herself at the table.
The baronet’s spinster sister put Katherine in mind of the companion whom she had unfortunately inherited from her late aunt. Poor Miss Mountjoy, always eager to please, whilst bracing herself for the inevitable cutting remarks, had always displayed the same degree of nervous tension, whenever in her late employer’s presence, as Miss Mary Osborne was betraying now.
Katherine well expected the Dowager, undoubtedly fashioned in the same mould as the late Miss Augusta Fairchild, to utter some blistering remark. Yet, surprisingly enough, apart from sniffing rather pointedly as she cast disapproving eyes over the dazzling orange creation, which clashed alarmingly with her own puce gown, she refrained from comment. Which gave Katherine every reason to suppose that the mouse-like Miss Osborne, though lamentably lacking an eye for fashion, had somehow managed to earn the formidable Dowager’s approval.
This certainly proved to be the case, for Miss Osborne was undoubtedly a very skilful card player, and her partner no less so. They easily won the first game, and Katherine found herself having to concentrate very hard, which was no easy matter when she was having to contend with her partner’s hard-eyed scrutiny, and the frequent, penetrating steely-grey-eyed glances she found herself receiving from the baronet. None the less, her nerve, though sorely tested, held firm, and she and her partner won the second game, and took the first rubber convincingly with the final game.
‘I knew I chose wisely when I selected you for my partner, Miss O’Malley,’ Lady Charlesworth boomed approvingly. ‘A female who can hold her nerve, eh, Os-borne?’
‘It would certainly appear so, ma’am,’ he answered softly, his eyes once again firmly turned in Katherine’s direction. ‘Miss O’Malley appears to possess all the necessary requirements … Yes, she might prove to be an excellent choice.’
