Spoiled (5 page)

‘You must not allow this evening's events to make you think the worst of her, however. She can be good-natured and very kind, but she has been visiting cousins, and my sister-in-law is rather apt to make unfavourable comparisons between her daughters' behaviour and that of Evangeline. It puts her out of temper I'm afraid. Now, to other matters. Let me tell you about Illingham.'

Michael was delighted to find an unexpected source of information with regard to the place where he would soon earn his living. When he looked at the clock some time later, he was amazed to see how late it was. He expressed his sincere thanks to Mr Granby who shook his head dismissively. ‘Not at all, not at all. I am delighted to have been of service. May I ask how you are travelling, Mr Buckleigh?'

‘On my own two feet,' answered the clergyman, trying not to sound sorry for himself.

‘Then you must travel with us on the morrow,' Granby declared. ‘I fear you would have a muddy walk otherwise.'

‘Thank you, sir,' replied Buckleigh. ‘I admit that I was not looking forward to it.'

Soon after this last exchange, the two men retired to their rooms. Michael did not prepare for bed immediately, but stood looking out into the darkness of the inn yard. On the one hand, he could not help being delighted that he had met and been befriended by a prominent member of his congregation. On the other, he had no way of knowing how discreet Evangeline might be. If she chose to reveal what had happened between them in Sheffield, then the consequences could be disastrous,
especially if she chose to give the impression that he had somehow forced her to go into a private room. His heart sank at the very thought. He told himself that he would have to behave towards her with the greatest circumspection. Even so, part of him was conscious of a surge of excitement; in anticipation of what, he hardly knew.

T
he following morning, mindful of his duty, Michael read the Morning Office before coming downstairs. As it was quite early, he also had time to read a chapter or two of
Tom Jones
. Even so, he found that he was still downstairs before the Granbys.

If asked to hazard a guess as to which of the family would appear first, he would probably have put his money on Mr Granby. It was Evangeline who entered the parlour before either of her parents, however.

She had been awake half the night wondering whether Mr Buckleigh would keep quiet about their encounter in Sheffield. Ironically enough, had he been the buccaneer that he had first appeared, she would have felt more secure. Such a man, after a flirtatious glance or two, or a pleading look, would probably keep such an encounter to himself. The trouble with clergymen, or so it seemed to her, was that they could display a tiresome tendency to tell the truth, however inconvenient or inappropriate. Mr Buckleigh might therefore feel bound to tell Mr and Mrs Granby about the bad behaviour of their daughter, even though it would reflect upon him personally. It might even become known locally that she, Evangeline Granby, the toast of London during two seasons, had actually permitted the curate to kiss her! How foolish would she look then? That was the kind of escapade that parlour boarders of sixteen got up to! No, something had to be done and, for this reason, she had resolved upon approaching Mr Buckleigh to make sure that he kept quiet.

Glancing round rapidly, she said, ‘I am glad that I have found you alone, Mr Buckleigh, for I feel that there is something that I must make clear to you.'

‘I am at your service,' the clergyman replied. He had risen at her entrance, and now he pulled a chair out for her.

‘We must not waste time, sir, for I fear that Mama and Papa will be coming down soon. In short, I would like to know whether you have any plans to disclose what passed between the two of us.'

‘What passed between the two of us when, Miss Granby?' he responded.

His words had been intended to act as a reassurance that he was prepared to forget about the whole matter, but Evangeline, not catching his tone, did not grasp his meaning. ‘You know perfectly well to what I am referring,' she snapped. ‘I mean the encounter between us in Sheffield.'

‘Ah yes,' he replied. ‘Very improper.' Again, she missed the teasing note in his voice.

‘Improper! I should think it was,' she answered, springing to her feet. ‘And you a clergyman! You have already heard that we know the vicar well. What would Mr Lusty say if he were told that you had lured a young woman into an inn in order to make love to her?'

‘You know perfectly well that the luring came just as much from you,' Michael responded, her aggressive approach removing at one and the same time any desire either to tease or to reassure. ‘When I think how you looked at me from across the street, your every glance conveying “come hither”.'

‘I had something in my eye,' Evangeline responded defensively. He gave a snort of derisive laughter. ‘As if I would respond to the lures cast out by some down-at-heel ne'er-do-well.'

‘Liar,' he said softly. She had been pacing up and down the room. Now, when she turned, she found that she was standing very near to him, almost as close as when they had been together in that little inn in Sheffield, just before he had taken her in his arms. Really, he was far too preposterously handsome for a clergyman! It should not be allowed! Briefly, tension crackled between them.

She gave a little gasp. ‘If you dare to kiss me again, I shall slap you hard, and tell Papa that you forced your attentions upon me,' she said.

He stepped back as if stung. ‘I would not dream of touching you, ma'am,' he told her coldly. ‘Don't disturb yourself; I will keep the Sheffield episode to myself; but I shall be watching you for any signs of impropriety, you may be sure.'

‘And I you,' she retorted, as the sound of footsteps on the stairs warned them that Mr and Mrs Granby were descending. ‘One wrong step and I shall report you to the bishop, mark my words.'

Mr and Mrs Granby greeted their daughter with affection and Mr Buckleigh with courtesy. The clergyman noticed that with a night's rest, Mrs Granby had acquired more colour and looked much better as a result. He was now able to detect that it was from her that Evangeline had inherited her remarkable beauty.

After a few desultory remarks about the improved weather, they sat down to breakfast together. Like dinner the evening before, the meal was brought out and placed on a table in the taproom. There was home-cured bacon, eggs and fresh bread, as well as preserves and fruit. Ale and coffee were provided to wash breakfast down. Michael and Mr Granby both enjoyed a hearty plateful, and Michael noticed that Evangeline also had a good appetite. Mrs Granby, however, merely played with a piece of bread and jam, and drank a very weak-looking cup of coffee.

They chatted easily over the meal, Miss Granby's sunny good-humour in marked contrast to her demeanour when speaking to Michael before her parents had arrived. Clearly the young lady had a talent for dissembling. When they had finished, she held out her hand to Michael as they stood up. ‘I will wish you goodbye then, Mr Buckleigh, and look forward to seeing you soon.'

‘Evangeline, my angel, Mr Buckleigh will be travelling with us today,' said her father.

For an instant, an impatient look flashed across Evangeline's features before she said, ‘Delightful! We shall be able to continue our conversation on the journey.'

Michael bowed and left the taproom, in order to go upstairs and gather his belongings together, and shortly afterwards, the Granbys also left the table.

 

Michael was determined not to force his companions to converse with him, so he took his copy of
Tom Jones
into the chaise, prepared to bury himself in his book. In the event, however, Mr Granby was very keen to talk and, as he himself had been to Oxford some years before, they had much to discuss.

‘There is a scholarly man, Dr Littlejohn by name, who lives quite close to our house,' Mr Granby remarked. ‘He also went to Oxford and I'm sure you'll find much in common with him. You may want to call on Lady Agatha Rayner as well. Her husband was our vicar until his death.'

‘That's an extraordinary way of putting things,' Evangeline
remarked. ‘
Having
to call on Lady Agatha, perhaps;
needing
to do so, possibly;
putting off
doing so, frequently; but
wanting
to do so? I think not.'

Mrs Granby turned to Michael. ‘You must excuse Evangeline, Mr Buckleigh. She has too many memories of having been made to feel uncomfortable by Lady Agatha.'

‘Oh have done, Mama,' said Evangeline impatiently. She had intended to sound witty. Her mother's intervention has made her seem childish, uncivil and faintly pathetic.

‘I shall certainly wish to call upon her and upon all my parishioners,' said Michael to Mr Granby, after casting a brief, disapproving look at Evangeline. He wished that his words did not make him sound irritatingly pious. In truth, it was not what she had said about Lady Agatha that had shocked him, but her manner towards her mother.

Evangeline gave a snort of disdain, at which her mother murmured, ‘Evangeline dearest,' in protest. How often must she have felt obliged to do that, Michael wondered?

He leaned back, and took up his book, but before he could read more than a line or two, the chaise came to an abrupt halt, and muffled shouts were heard from outside.

‘What have we stopped for now?' Miss Granby asked curiously.

‘I don't wish to alarm any of you, but I very much fear that we may have fallen prey to highwaymen,' said Michael in calm tones.

‘Highwaymen!' exclaimed Mr Granby, looking anxiously at his wife.

‘Oh merciful heavens,' murmured Mrs Granby, turning as pale as she had been the previous night.

Her husband grasped her hand. ‘There there, my dear,' he said reassuringly. ‘We never carry valuables. We have nothing worth stealing.'

Michael glanced involuntarily at Evangeline. He had heard of highwaymen whose vileness did not stop at relieving people of their belongings. Her beauty was enough to attract the attentions of any man as he himself knew only too well. Her eyes met his. In that moment, he knew that she understood what he was thinking. He gave her a brief nod. In it, he sought to convey that he would do all that he could to protect her.

Before Mr Granby had finished speaking, they heard the cry of ‘Stand and deliver!' which confirmed Buckleigh's suppositions.

‘You had best pray for us,' said Miss Granby, looking perfectly calm. Inside, she was feeling very afraid, but something about the resolute demeanour of the clergyman gave her courage.

The young man smiled faintly. ‘I will do my possible, never doubt it.'

Moments later, the door was flung open and a rough-looking individual in a long frieze coat, a hat pulled low, a mask over the lower part of his face and a pistol in his hand, demanded that they get down. They all did as they were asked.

Mr Granby was obliged to support his wife who was chalk white and noticeably trembling. Evangeline emerged from the coach like a queen and, after a brief glance at the pistol in the highwayman's hand, stepped without hesitation in front of her mother.

Once out of the coach, the clergyman looked around. Apart from the man who had opened the door, there appeared to be two other highwaymen. One was covering the coachman and groom with a pistol, whilst a third was beginning an examination of their belongings which were on the roof of the coach.

‘I beseech you,' Michael said clearly, holding up the handsomely bound book which had lain beside him on the seat, ‘take heed of what is written in this volume.'

‘Garn!' the man beside them growled contemptuously.

‘Then I shall have to impress its message upon you,' was the reply. Moments later, the book was flying through the air, knocking the pistol from the hand of the man on horseback. The pistol discharged, startling the horse which then threw its rider, whilst those harnessed to the stage tossed their heads in fright and moved restlessly, thus dislodging the highwayman on the roof from his perch. At the same time as this was happening, the clergyman kicked the third highwayman's legs from under him and, when he attempted to rise, rendered him unconscious with a blow to the side of his head.

Meanwhile, Granby possessed himself of the unconscious man's pistol, and commanded the man who had fallen from his horse to stay still whilst the groom tied him up. Buckleigh looked round to see what had happened to the man who had fallen off the roof and discovered that Miss Granby was carefully tying his bootlaces together whilst he was still stunned. He could not help grinning, even whilst he sought out some rope. Very soon, all three rogues were securely tied up. In the midst of everything, Mrs Granby had quietly fainted.

‘I suggest that you send your groom to fetch the nearest magistrate,' said Michael to Mr Granby. ‘In the meantime, why not escort the ladies home? I can easily watch over these fellows.'

‘But what of you, sir?' asked Mr Granby, kneeling beside his wife and
chafing her hands whilst Evangeline searched in her reticule for some smelling salts. ‘It seems very unfair to offer you a ride and then go on without you.'

Buckleigh shook his head dismissively. ‘We must have accomplished over half the journey,' he replied. ‘The roads are drying nicely, and the walk will be quite pleasant. If you would be so good as to take my cloak bag with you, however, I will collect it when I arrive.'

‘With the greatest of pleasure,' answered Mr Granby. ‘The magistrate, Sir Lyle Belton, is known to me. He lives nearby and I am sure that he will not be long. I must admit that I will be glad to assure myself that the earlier coach carrying my servants and the rest of our luggage has arrived safely.'

‘Hush, Papa,' said Evangeline urgently, glancing at her mother. ‘Not in front of Mama.' By this time, Mrs Granby had regained consciousness and her husband assisted her into the chaise with Evangeline's help.

Michael turned to Evangeline. ‘I do trust this adventure has not discomposed you too greatly, ma'am,' he said.

She tossed her head. ‘It would take a good deal more than a few incompetent highwaymen to discompose me,' she declared.

‘Uppity bitch!' spat the thief who had opened the door of the chaise.

Before either Buckleigh or Granby could respond to this insolence, Miss Granby had walked over to him. ‘You may say what you please, but do not forget that you are the one who is on the floor trussed like a chicken,' she said. Then she turned to her father who had got back down in order to assist her. ‘Shall we go, Papa?'

‘By all means, my angel,' replied Granby. He looked at Buckleigh, who was walking over to where his book had fallen. ‘I do trust that it is not damaged, sir,' he said. ‘Such a handsome volume.'