Authors: A Dissembler
‘Please excuse me, Mrs Smith; I have duties to perform downstairs.’
* * * *
John was waiting in the hall. ‘How are we going to deal with this, my lord?’
‘I have no idea. I would not have done it differently, but it is a devil of a mess. Killing a man in cold blood before ten witnesses was not a wise thing to do. I have a nasty suspicion I might need to make a run for it abroad.’
‘You have nothing to fear from us, my lord, we will say whatever is necessary, lie through our teeth if we have to. The cook saw nothing, the other two men have been involved with abduction and false imprisonment, and they are in no position to cavil. But the vicar is a different kettle of fish.’
‘Indeed he is. Whatever I decide, we cannot leave a corpse on the floor in the drawing-room. We had better put it outside for the time being.’
Theo retraced his steps to the drawing-room. He stopped—his eyes widened and his mouth fell open. ‘Good God! Where the hell is he?’
All that remained of Sir James Russell was a patch of blood on the rug. The body had risen and walked. John shook his head.
‘Well, he isn’t dead, that much is certain. You must have winged him and he has recovered his senses and sloped off.’
Theo’s laughter reverberated around the empty room. John joined in; relief making the incident seem funnier than it was. Finally Theo regained control and mopped his streaming eyes.
‘I can hardly believe my luck. Bring the vicar in, let him see that piece of filth is gone, and I shall be in the clear.’
The vicar was shown the empty room but remained unconvinced. ‘How do I know you have not had the body removed whilst I was conducting the ceremony? Until I see him alive, I shall still consider you a murderer, Lord Wister.’
‘God dammit! John, take Billy and Tom and try and find the bastard, drag him back by his heels if you have to.’
‘He could be miles away by now,’ John said.
Theo strode across to the French window which he noticed was unfastened. ‘Look here, John, there is blood on this frame. He went out this way. The boys are outside, so with any luck he will not have been able to reach the stables.’
John needed no further instructions, he turned and prepared to chase out of the door. Theo called him back. ‘Boots, man, you have no boots on.’ Chuckling at his stupidity John ran back into the hall to put on his discarded footwear.
The vicar had watched this pantomime with some astonishment. ‘My lord?’
‘What is it now?’
‘I am now convinced Sir James is not dead. I have your word that he will remain alive?’
Theo grinned. ‘He will not perish at my hand but I cannot vouch for other aggrieved fathers and brothers in the future.’
‘Then let him go, my lord. I have no need to see him.’
Theo shouted through the open window. ‘John, leave it, let him go. Tell the boys to let the others go as well.’
John appeared at the side of the house, pushing his pistol back into the waistband of his breeches. ‘I’ll go around to the stables and tell them. Then, I think, we all need to eat and sleep.’
‘Could you try and persuade the cook to stay? Bribe him handsomely if you have to.’
The vicar bowed. ‘I shall leave you now, my lord. I doubt I shall never have the pleasure of your company again. But I will never forget this morning, you can be very sure of that.’
Theo frowned. ‘How did you get here?’
‘I walked. It is only five miles from the village.’
‘Go out to the stables, Tom will find you a mount. Keep it, as a bonus, with my compliments.’
The prisoners were quickly released and delighted to be allowed to vanish into the trees with no further punishment. Sir James had not come for his horse, so Tom gave the handsome beast to the vicar.
An hour later Drayton House was quiet its occupants snug in their respective beds. Theo wondered how much longer it would be before he could make his beloved his true wife.
Chapter Twenty-one
Marianne scarcely remembered the journey from Drayton House to Frating Hall—it was all a pleasant blur. She recalled being held safely in Theo’s arms, being carried in and out of a coaching inn, but little else. She found the world too overwhelming and preferred to sleep; there she was safe from those who had tried to hurt her.
People with soft hands and kind voices tended to her, fed her and did what was necessary, but never the one she wanted. Where was he? Why didn’t he come to her, call her back from the blackness that threatened to take over her mind?
One afternoon she was woken by strange dragging noises approaching her room. Frightened, she sat up, pulling the bedclothes higher. Where was Jane? And Annie? Why had they left her alone when she needed them?
There was a loud knocking on the door. Surely monsters did not request permission to enter before devouring their victims? Her head began to clear, her eyes refocus, and the first time in three weeks she was fully aware of her surroundings.
‘Come in, whoever it is,’ she called.
The door opened and Charles, on rudimentary crutches, swung into the room. ‘You’re awake. Well done! I was told you have been like the sleeping beauty up here, waiting for your prince.’
Marianne smiled. ‘Well, you are certainly not he. I thought you were a monster.’
He travelled, haltingly, across the floor to collapse on the end of her bed, a horrible breach of etiquette, but neither of them noticed. ‘I have come to apologize, and thank you for your help.’
For a moment Marianne looked mystified, but then it all fell into place. She remembered the incident in Bath, the smugglers, her flight to London and her terrible stay at Drayton House.
‘I forgive you, Charles, and you may tell Edward that I forgive him also.’
He grinned. ‘Excellent. I forgot you’re a countess, too grand for us, should I call you “my lady” now?’
‘You had better not,’ she paused and returned his grin, ‘for we do not stand on ceremony here.’
Jane, who had been spending a snatched hour with John, returned to hear the sound of laughter.
‘Oh, miss, I mean, my lady…’ she stopped, as the two young people laughed. ‘I’m sorry…’
‘No, Jane, please. I am Marianne to you and John, not miss, not my lady. You are as much my family as Charles after all.’
Jane smiled. ‘You have closer family than us, my dear, you have a husband.’
Marianne’s smile slipped and the joy left her eyes. ‘I have, but he has abandoned me. He did his duty, and indeed, I am grateful for that, but he has no use for a wife or he would be here with me now, would he not?’
‘Good heavens, Marianne. I am sure he would have been back if we had told him you wished to see him. But remember, he had a mission to finish, a traitor to apprehend. I am certain wild horses will not keep him from your side once he knows you are well.’
Marianne blushed. ‘Then I had better get up, start taking back my life. I do not wish Theo to find me still an invalid.’
Charles pushed himself up from the bed. ‘Then I shall leave you. I hope to see you downstairs very soon. I will tell the parents you are on the mend and I am sure they will be along to see you too. I believe Emily has been in every day reading to you. She is going to be pleased you’re finally ready for a conversation.’
* * * *
The door was no sooner closed than Marianne scrambled out of bed. ‘I need a bath; is Annie here? She can take care of that.’
Jane rang the hand bell and the maid came in, all smiles at seeing her mistress up. ‘You’ll be wanting a bath, I suppose, my lady? And I will send down for a tray, you have been eating no more than a sparrow these past weeks.’
Marianne held out her hand—it did look thinner, she could see the blue veins through the skin.
‘I shall soon pick up. I would like some meat broth, and cold cuts, and sweet rolls and apple pie and…’
Jane laughed. ‘Enough, my dear, you will never eat all that.’
* * * *
Three days passed and Marianne was now able to stay up without fatigue. Her intention was to join the family for dinner that night. She was delighted both John and Jane, their status raised by recent events, had been invited to join them.
She stared intently at her appearance in the full-length mirror. ‘I still look hagged, Jane. My face is too thin and my bosom is half the size it used to be.’ She held out the bodice of her evening dress to make her point. ‘This is far too loose for me now.’
‘Well, so it might be, but you still look lovely. There is no point having it altered, you will soon fill it out again now you’re better.’ Jane was dressed in her first evening gown of heavy, dark-blue silk brocade and a jaunty matching egret feather in her hair. ‘I’m not sure I should be joining you for dinner—we will be out of place.’
‘Nonsense, Jane. Anyway, if you don’t come then neither shall I. How are you liking your new accommodation?’
‘Not much, my dear. We preferred the cosy cottage we occupied on our previous visit.’
John was waiting outside for them. He was dressed in a black evening coat with square front and tails, his grey waistcoat and snowy shirt straining over his chest. ‘You look smart, my love,’ he said proudly to his wife.
There was the patter of girlish feet and Emily appeared around the corner. ‘Oh, Marianne, you look beautiful. I am so very happy you are well enough to come down at last. Mama has opened the grand dining-room for the occasion and we are to have two courses and dozens of removes.’
The two girls drifted down the stairs as though nothing had changed between them. Over a happy, lively dinner the coming ball at Bromley Hall was much discussed.
‘Will you be well enough, my dear Marianne, it is only three days away?’
‘I am sure I shall, Mama. I would not miss Charles and Arabella’s betrothal for the world.’ Her smile faded as she considered her own invidious position. She had never been betrothed, had a ball of any sort. She was a wife without a husband. The longer Theo stayed away the more she worried.
The table was suddenly too much for her. She wanted to be alone in her room. She put down her cutlery and stood up. Instantly the men jumped to their feet.
‘I am so sorry but I feel a little unwell. I must return to my rooms.’ Without waiting for an answer she hurried out leaving a worried silence behind.
* * * *
The day of the ball arrived and there had still been no word from Theo. Marianne knew he wasn’t going to come for her. He would leave her here, where she was cosseted and loved, until the dust had settled, the scandal was forgotten and then he would ask for an annulment. She didn’t blame him. Why should he wish to remain tied to a girl with her reputation? He was an aristocrat, a member of the
ton
with his own massive estates somewhere in Berkshire. Even her fortune was not enough to remove the taint.
Sadly she fingered her ball gown, a sumptuous arrangement of white silk and silver gauze with sparkles sprinkled across the skirt like fairy dust. She wished she did not have to go, but she had promised, and everyone would be so disappointed if she stayed away.
‘You look like a princess in that gown, Marianne. And now your hair has grown your curls frame your face to perfection.’
‘Thank you, Emily. I wish I felt like a princess, I feel more like Cinderella tonight.’
Emily in white also, her dark hair piled high and
diamante
sparkling around the neckline, glided along beside her, her normal ebullience subdued by the elegance of her first ball gown.
The two carriages from Frating Hall travelled smoothly down the drive.
‘Good heavens! The potholes have gone.’
‘Yes, my dear Marianne, all thanks to your generosity,’ Lady Grierson said. ‘We will never forget how you continued to support us even though we had turned our backs on you.’
‘I do not wish to speak of it. You are my family—of course I supported you.’
The Grierson party had been invited to come early to attend a celebration dinner, so it was still full sunlight as they drove along the lanes. It felt strange to be so elaborately dressed when outside the village people they passed were still in working garb, their day not yet ended.
They were greeted by a small army of liveried footman and maidservants in black, with crisp white aprons. Lord and Lady Hawksmith and Lady Arabella were waiting in the hall.
‘Welcome to you all on this auspicious occasion. And welcome especially to you, dear Lady Wister. We were so happy to hear that you are fully recovered.’ Lady Hawksmith looked pointedly behind Marianne. ‘The Earl is not accompanying you tonight?’
Marianne curtsied, smiled and was relieved she and Emily were obliged to move along in order for the next group of guests to be greeted, and she did not have to reply.
Dinner was elaborate and interminable and they did not rise from the table until guests were starting to arrive for the ball itself. Lady Grierson had secured a group of spindly gilt chairs close to the dais on which the band played. Emily was bristling with anticipation.
‘They are having waltzes, is that not daring? You could waltz if you wished to, Marianne, you are a married woman and so it is permitted for you to do so.’
‘I shall not be dancing tonight; I shall sit and watch with Mama.’
The ball was about to start. The musicians were tuning up. Arabella was standing beside Charles, resplendent in a white ball gown that reminded Marianne strongly of the tissue paper that had spilled from the boxes of her new gowns. As Charles could not dance the first dance with his betrothed Lord Hawksmith would lead her out instead. A ripple of excitement ran round the room. The orchestra were playing a waltz.
Her eyes filled as she listened to the music and saw Charles kiss Arabella’s hand before passing it to her father. She sensed a movement beside her and looked up. Her heart flipped over. Theo, magnificent in his evening rig, bowed low, and extended his arm.
‘Will you dance with me, my darling?’
She put her fingers in his and he raised her from her seat. She floated into his arms and he gathered her close; so close she could feel his heat—feel his heart pounding in his chest. The music started and he guided her round the floor, his eyes never leaving hers.