A small boat nosed through the reeds at the edge of the open water, almost entirely concealed from sight by the vegetation. Had it not been for the excited gun dog in the prow, they would not have known there was anyone there. Two men were in the boat, one poling it carefully and silently along, the other watching with sharp eyes.
“Poachers,” whispered Daniel.
The craft slid on its way, the reeds and grasses folding over so completely that there was immediately no sign of its passing.
Daniel relaxed then, releasing the horses. He smiled at Laura. “It is better to be safe than sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“Poaching, as you well know, is against the law, my lady, and some of the men of Langford make a tidy living by stealing Grenville waterfowl. I recognized that pair, the Tibdale brothers, and a more rascally family I have yet to meet. Advertising our presence here would have been an unnecessary risk.”
“But you and I have every right to be here!” she protested.
“We are unarmed.”
She stared then. “You do not mean that they would
—?” She could not finish the sentence.
“They have a great deal to lose if they are arrested, too much for them to stop to consider the niceties of allowing us to toddle along as if nothing had happened. Shooting wildfowl and taking fish is against the law, and that is what the Tibdales and many others like them excel at. Already they will know what is planned for this marsh, my lady, and that will make them your implacable enemies, for you take away their livelihood, even if that livelihood is illegal.”
She gazed at the grass and reeds where the boat had been that short time earlier, and she felt a little cold in spite of the warm spring sunshine.
Daniel saw her fear. “Come now, they have gone and there is no danger. Think instead of seeing those same brothers done up in their best togs at church tomorrow for the May Day service.”
She had almost forgotten church, having several days earlier received a reminder from Tobias Claverton.
“The world and his wife will be there waiting to catch their first glimpse of the intriguing new Lady Grenville
,
” he continued.
“Are you trying to make me feel nervous, for I swear that if you are you are succeeding, Doctor.”
He smiled. “Why should you be nervous? You are beautiful, poised, and charming.”
“Your compliments do not work this time, I fear. To begin with I must drive to the church with the Townsend cats
—”
“Why?”
“What else am I to do?”
“Drive with me.”
She stared at him. “With you?”
“I am expected to attend the Reverend Tobias Claverton’s atrocious sermons as much as you are, my lady. There is absolutely no need for you to endure the Townsend cats if you do not wish to.”
“Maybe not, but it would surely not look well in the eyes of the county.”
“Because you choose to ride with me rather than with those of your own sex?”
She flushed. “Something like that.”
“You are alone with me now and it has not concerned you.”
“This does not seem the same, somehow.”
“It is exactly the same
—do you imagine that the neighborhood is unaware of our rides together? If you believe that, then you seriously underestimate Somerset gossip mongers. Lady Grenville, if you would prefer to drive to church in my carriage,
you have only to say so, for it would give me great pleasure to have your company.”
She searched his face. “I
would
prefer to be with you,” she admitted.
“Then it is settled, we go together.”
“Perhaps we should return to the house…
.
”
“Of course.” He lifted her lightly on to her horse.
They rode back along the causeway, and although she searched the marsh, she saw nothing more of the Tibdale brothers and their gun dog. As they rode up the escarpment toward Langford Woods, however, they saw a group of young people from the nearby town, laughing and chattering together as they picked branches from the spring trees.
“What are they doing?” asked Laura.
“Birching.”
“What is that?”
He pretended to be shocked. “You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of
birching?
Sussex must be a very dreary county, my lady. It is May Eve today, or had you forgotten?” He smiled. “In these parts it is the custom on the last evening of April to gather branches from various trees and bushes, and tonight those branches will be put on neighbors’ doors, the particular branch chosen denoting the opinion held of the occupant.”
“What do the various different trees mean?”
He laughed. “Oh, the list is too long for me to state it with any accuracy. I only know a few.”
“Tell me.”
“Well, flowering hawthorn, if it can be obtained so early, is always a compliment, but any other thorn means that someone in the house is the object of scorn and derision. Lime and pear are also a compliment, and rowan is a sign of affection. Gorse in bloom means that a woman in the house is of doubtful character.” He thought for a moment. “The worst thing to find on one’s door is elder
,
for that is a strong sign of censure and unpopularity.”
“And what do you usually find on your door, Doctor?”
He smiled, a little embarrassed then. “Unfortunately, I find a rather alarming number of willow fronds.”
“Why unfortunately?”
“Because each one means that some lady in the neighborhood would like to receive more than medical attention from me.” He spurred his horse on a little more.
Laura laughed then, urging her own horse after him, and they rode swiftly through the woods and across the park toward the house. But once there, their lightheartedness soon evaporated, for Mr. Charles Dodswell was waiting for them.
The moment she saw the agent’s serious and anxious expression, she knew that what they had most feared had come about at last
—there had been a communication from Mr. Peterson in London.
“I fear it is so,” admitted the agent on her immediate question. “There was a letter, but it did not come by the usual channels. It was delivered in person by two rather large and surly fellows whose manner can only be described as threatening. The moneylender calls in the debt
immediately.
I was left in no doubt that serious consequences would result from any delay.”
Laura’s heart sank and her face paled. What could they do? They were in a cleft stick. On one side there was the earl, who would refuse point-blank to allow the sale of anything to meet the debt, and on the other was Nicholas, who would be seriously worried if he was told the truth…
.
She looked helplessly from the agent to Daniel. “What can we do?”
“Sir Nicholas must be told immediately,” said the agent firmly.
Daniel shook his head. “No, I cannot permit it.”
“Daniel, we
dare
not put this off…
.
”
“He has progressed, but something as alarming as this will surely set him back, perhaps irreparably. It will of a certainty bring on the ague again, and that is something I wish to avoid. I am his doctor, and it is my duty to protect him as I see fit. Damn it all, Charles, you are a lawyer, is there
nothing
to be done to circumnavigate James Grenville?”
“The only thing which will dispose of the earl would be a document, signed by Sir Nicholas himself, designating someone else to act for him. Power of attorney will have to be obtained, Daniel, and to do that Sir Nicholas
must
be told.”
Daniel considered a moment. “Would his wife be suitable for such a responsibility?”
Laura stared. “
Me ?”
“Who better? You are surely the one person James Grenville will not be able to honestly object to, for legally you stand closer to Nicholas than anyone else.”
Mr. Dodswell nodded. “That is true, Lady Grenville.”
“But in order for power of attorney to be granted to me, Mr. Dodswell,” she said, “Nicholas will have to be informed of the situation
—which is something which must be avoided.”
Daniel smiled then. “He need be told
something,
but not the truth necessarily.”
The agent looked sharply at him. “You have something in mind?”
“Possibly. Charles, it is true that the good earl departs for Taunton tomorrow, isn’t it?”
Taunton.
Momentarily Laura remembered the overheard conversation between the earl and Augustine Townsend. Augustine was to go to Taunton…
.
But the agent was answering Daniel’s question. “Yes, he leaves after morning service.”
“Then he will be suitably out of the way for our purposes. With him absent, we could inform Nicholas that some trifling matter has come up which Laura could attend to
—if Nicholas puts his name to the necessary document granting her permission. Could you produce such a document, Charles?”
“Of course.”
Laura’s anxious eyes flew from one earnest face to the other. “But how can you expect Nicholas to sign his name? The laudanum makes it difficult for him to remain awake let alone hold a quill in his hand…
.
”
Daniel took her hand quickly, raising it to his lips. “Hush now, my lady, and continue to have faith in me. I propose, God willing, to operate on Nicholas soon, and maybe this present situation forces me to bring the date forward to tomorrow or the day after. In order to operate I believe that I must discontinue administering laudanum, which, as I have told you, I have found does not always act well with other substances. I do not propose to endanger his life by giving him both laudanum and sweet vitriol together. While I wait for the laudanum to disperse from his body, he will be far more conscious than he has been until now
—and, unfortunately, in a great deal more pain, but I do not feel that that can be avoided. During this time, Lady Grenville, he will be capable of signing his name.”
“If he wishes to.”
Daniel studied her pale face. “My lady, why should he not? He entrusted you with his life when he asked you to bring him back from Venice, now he will think he is merely entrusting you with some relatively unimportant matter concerning the estate. Of course he will give you the necessary authority.”
“What if he would prefer Miss Townsend to act for him?”
Daniel smiled then. “Nicholas may wear blinkers to some extent where she is concerned, but not to
that
extent! He has told me in the past that her extravagant ways appall him, and what reason have we to believe he feels any differently now? Be assured that he will agree to sign the document Charles here presents to him.”
She nodded. “Very well.”
He put his hand momentarily to her chin, raising her face a little. “Charles and I will be with you; we will help you all we can. Between the three of us we will stave off the moneylender, I promise you.”
She gave a weak smile. “I pray you are right.”
“And we will stick an almighty pin in the overweaning arrogance of the Earl of Langford
—that surely will bring a warmer smile to your lips.”
It did indeed, for she almost laughed. Oh yes, how very good it would be to thwart the odious James Grenville again.
Later that day the Earl of Langford paid one of his more fleeting visits, and Augustine was thus forced to relinquish her well-guarded place at Nicholas’s side in order to placate her fiercely jealous suitor. Laura waited until she saw them strolling in the gardens before hurrying along to Nicholas’s room.
He gave her a weary smile, and the influence of the laudanum was evident in his lethargic, drowsy voice. “Your visits are too few, Laura,” he murmured.
“I do not like to tire you, and one visitor at a time is surely better for you,” she replied. Oh, how glibly the words slipped from her lips, but she could hardly admit to him that she found it almost impossible to see him without Augustine being there.
His gray eyes were penetrating. “Is all well with you? You seem pale.”
“I positively glow compared with you,” she said lightly, sitting on the edge of the bed and hesitantly taking his hand. The past week had left her feeling she had no right to approach him, and apart from that, Augustine’s scornful, hurtful words echoed in her head as she looked at him.
But he did not take his hand away. “Do you think of Venice at all?”
She was surprised at the question. “Yes,” she replied honestly, “I think of it a great deal.”
“Do you regret…?” But his question was never completed, for at that moment, her timing immaculate, Augustine swept into the room. The earl’s visit must have been very brief indeed…
.
“Ah, there you are, Laura dear,” she said brightly, “I was wondering where you had got to.” The green eyes glittered unpleasantly, and then Augustine turned, placing herself on the other side of the bed. “Nicholas, dearest Nicholas, I have something to tell you and I do so hope you will understand my dilemma.”
“What dilemma?”
“You surely remember my old nurse, Edwards. Well, I have received a communication from her.” Augustine held up her hand, in which there was a crumpled sheet of parchment. “I fear she is gravely ill and wishes me to go to her. You will understand if I desert you for a few days, won’t you? Please, my dearest, say that you will understand.” The beautiful green eyes pleaded with him, and the long white fingers touched his forehead gently, as if wanting to openly caress him but unable to do so in front of Laura.
Laura felt sickened, releasing his hand and turning away, but she looked swiftly back at Augustine’s next words.
“Edwards has a cottage in Taunton, so I will not be far away if you need me.”
Taunton. This could only be the arrangement Laura had overheard the earl press for, and the nurse’s no doubt mythical illness was Augustine’s excuse.
“I wish to go tomorrow, Nicholas, for poor Edwards seems in such a frail way….”
“Of course you must go.” said Nicholas, “Stay as long as you wish.”
“Thank you, my dearest love.” Augustine’s cool lips brushed his cheek.