Fenella J. Miller (13 page)

       Speechless Eliza nodded, and watched as the two members of staff hurried down the steps and removed the bags from Ann’s hands.

       ‘If you would care to follow me, madam, his lordship suggests that you have an appartment adjacent to your sister.’

       Eliza fell in behind the tall, thin woman who oozed disapproval from every pore of her sallow skin. Exactly what had Lord Wydale told his staff? This was obviously a respectable establishment, not somewhere a madman would incarcerate his victims. Bemused at this turnaround in circumstances, she hurried along behind the housekeeper, who had neglected to introduce herself, into the interior of the building.

       There was a spacious entrance hall, a large square with a floor of black-and-white marble tiles, far grander than the one at Grove House. Stairs curved up elegantly on one side and it was to these that she was led.

       Every where she looked there were signs of good housekeeping. Carpets were freshly scrubbed, not worn in the slightest and the banisters were polished to such a high degree she saw her hand’s reflection as she clutched the banister on the way up. Her chambers were in the guest wing on the first-floor - presumably the reception rooms were on the ground floor as at home.

       She was whisked along passageways, past several closed doors. The light from the large rectangular window, this one modern and not with the small leaded panes on the front of the house, threw ample light, allowing her to look with interest at three family portraits as she passed.

       There was something about them that she found unsettling. Yes! She stopped, and stared at the third of the men in white ruffs and little black beards; she knew exactly what it was. These men were all blonde and blue-eyed, Wydale was dark. These were not his ancestors, this was not his family home.

       Was this another property he had snatched from some unwitting young man? She shuddered at the thought. For some reason she did not even consider that the property was his, or that he could have a friend prepared to lend him this place. She remembered what Fletcher had told her, that Wydale was impecunious, had been made so by his dreadful father, and needed Grove House and its estates in order to refill his pockets.

       The housekeeper stopped abruptly and opened a door. She stepped to one side so that Eliza could enter. A charming parlour was revealed. There were comfortable seats and a cheery fire crackled in the grate. Her feet sunk into the thick carpet as she walked.

       ‘Your bedchamber and dressing room are through there, Miss Fox. Miss Sarah and her companion are waiting for you in the garden-room downstairs. I shall leave a footman outside the door to conduct you when you are ready to go down.’ The woman dipped her head, and stalked out of the room.

       Eliza wasted no time, but fled into the bedchamber and thence into the dressing room. Ten minutes later she was recovered and her face washed, bonnet and gloves removed, cloak hanging in the commodious closet, and ready to go.

       Leaving Ann to unpack the few belongings she had brought with her she went through her sitting-room and out into the passageway. As promised, a young footman was waiting. She got the distinct impression he was leering, and felt herself colour under his scrutiny. He was a servant, he had no right to look at a guest in that way.

        As she followed him back downstairs she was forced to the conclusion that perhaps her sudden appearance had been explained to the staff as being the arrival of the owner’s mistress. But how had he explained Sarah and Jane’s presence here? Surely staff did not believe he was running two such relatiohships, and both from the same family?

       Whatever it was, it was as bad as she had feared in some ways and far better in others. Her lips twitched involuntarily; she supposed it was better to be ruined in comfortable surroundings than otherwise.

       The footman flung open the door and stepped to one side. He didn’t bother to announce her. Eliza found herself in a room full of sunlight and the sweet smell of orange blossom; it was obviously the garden-room: three sides were glazed and exotic plants and flowers grew in abundance everywhere. Doors opened onto a wide terrace and it was there that she spotted her sister and her maid.

       Sarah had obviously been watching and she heard her cry out in pleasure. This wasn’t a girl terrified out of her wits, but someone enjoying a visit away from home but pleased to see her nevertheless.

‘Liza, you’ve come at last. Lord Wydale promised me that I could have anything I wanted, and I said that I wanted you.’

Eliza glanced past her sister trying to see Jane’s expression. ‘Darling, Sarah, I’m so glad to see you, and looking so well. Where did you get that lovely gown? You came away with nothing, and here you are dressed in the first-stare of fashion.’

       Delighted at the compliment, her sister spun round like the child she was, exposing her silk covered ankles and matching slippers to anyone in the vicinity. ‘Dear Lord Wydale got me a closet full of them. I have lots and lots of gowns to choose from as well as all the other things I need to look pretty.’

       ‘Come and sit down, Sarah, and tell me how you come to be here. We have been so worried about you. Mama and Grandmamma have been beside themselves. Why did you disappear like that?’

       ‘Jane and I met Lord Wydale in the church, didn’t we Jane and he said if I liked to I could come and stay with him.’

       ‘But you hardly know him, Sarah. What ever possessed you to rush off and stay with a strange gentleman? You have never even been away from home on your own before.’

       Sarah frowned and pouted. ‘Dear Lord Wydale said you would be cross with me. But I don’t care. I’m a grown- up lady now, he told me, and it’s not right you keep me shut up in the house like a baby. He says I should wear pretty dresses and dance and enjoy myself at parties.’

       ‘I see. It would appear that Lord Wydale has had a great deal to say on the matter. Never mind, sweetheart, I’m glad that you’ve had a good time, but I’m here to take you home. Mama is most anxious to see you. ‘

 Instantly Sarah was on her feet. ‘I’m not going home, not with you, I’m staying here with dear Lord Wydale. I am to be his princess. He says I can stay here forever and do exactly as I please.’

       Eliza realized that her opponent was far cleverer than she had given him credit for. He had enticed her sister away with promises of things that she had been denied. Sarah was physically an adult, and would respond to his masculinity even though she didn’t understand why. She could hardly drag Sarah home if she was unwilling.

       Making an effort to steady her voice, not show her disquiet, she asked the all-important question. ‘Sarah, where is his lordship now? I had expected him to be here to greet me.’

       ‘He has gone to town to fetch his friends back because there’s going to be a party here, and you and I are to be the most important guests. Do you know he has bought me a beautiful evening gown, just like the one I saw in a fashion plate.’

       Eliza felt sick to her stomach. Finally she understood what game he was playing. Whatever this house was, it was not used to seeing such goings-on, that was obvious from the attitude of the staff. She had to speak to Jane privately, discover exactly what was happening.

       ‘Ann is upstairs, she has bought a bag of your things, Sarah. I don’t suppose such a grown-up girl as you wants to see her dolls, but if you do, they are in the chambers that I have been allocated.

Sarah was sunny again. ‘I do want to see them, I do. Jane, take me upstairs please. I want to play with my dollies right now.’

       Jane spoke for the first time. ‘Of course I will, miss. Then you can show Ann where we are sleeping, and the big closet where you have hung all your new gowns. Then I’ll come down and tell Miss Eliza what has been happening.’

       Sarah seemed quite happy with this idea and Eliza watched the two of them vanish through the door. She was left alone in a place in which one should feel happy, but she felt wretched. She could see no way out of this. Wydale obviously wasn’t interested in the money – if he had such a grand property he had been lying about his finances.

       She had come with a bank draft in her reticule, determined to make the ultimate sacrifice only to find Sarah perfectly happy and everything on the surface appearing as normal. Wydale had out manoeuvred her. He had no need to harm either of them physically; all he had to do was invite his friends, his male friends, down to wherever this was and both Sarah and she would be tarnished forever.

       Edmund would be ruined also; he could never go to town again; would not even be able to buy a commission in the army to get away from the disgrace. Although they wouldn’t lose Grove House word of this would soon be all over Dedham, Wydale would make sure of that. They would no longer be received anywhere. She sunk into the nearest armchair unable to think straight.

       Somehow she had found it easier to prepare herself for violence, for ravishment, but this insidious use of comfort and good manners was far worse than being forcibly ruined. Both of them remaining innocent, but unable to prove it, would be the best revenge he could have.

Before too long Jane returned as eager to talk about what had transpired over the last few days as Eliza was to hear her news.

       ‘I’m that sorry, Miss Fox, this is all my fault. I knew how Miss Sarah imagined herself to be in love with his lordship. I should never have allowed her to go over and speak to him when we met him in the churchyard.’

       ‘So Sarah approached him, not the other way round?’

       ‘Yes, miss, I’m afraid it was like that. Miss Sarah ran over, you know the way she does, and all but threw herself into his arms she was so pleased to see him. He behaved like a perfect gentleman, I’m forced to admit. He bowed and didn’t in any way behave as he shouldn’t.’

       ‘But how did you end up in his carriage being taken away without clothes or permission?’

       Jane wrung her hands. ‘You see, it was like this. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Miss Sarah was nodding and smiling and Lord Wydale turned and she placed her arm on his, just the way you do with a gentleman. I was forced to run after them in order to keep up.’ The girl stopped, unable to carry on. Eliza waited for her to recover.

 ‘His carriage was just out of sight, in the lane beside the churchyard. Before I knew what was happening Miss Sarah had jumped in. She called out to me that we were going for a ride that I could come with her or stay behind, it was up to me. Obviously I’d no choice, Miss Fox. I couldn’t let her go by herself and that evil man knew I couldn’t.’

Eliza decided it would be better to hear the rest of the story unfold while she was sitting down. She had walked the aches out of her cramped legs by pacing up and down the room during the ten minutes or so she waited for Jane to join her.

       ‘Let’s sit down, Jane. Out of the sun, where we can be private.’ For some reason she felt as if the very plants were eavesdropping.

       ‘Well, miss, we travelled alone in the carriage. That man must have ridden behind. At first I wasn’t too bothered, thought he had just offered to give Miss Sarah a drive, you know how she likes to go out in a carriage. But as time passed, and the landscape became unfamiliar, I realized we were in a real pickle.’

       ‘Did you halt anywhere that you were recognized? Were the blinds up or down on the windows?’

       ‘The blinds were up and Miss Sarah waved and laughed at everyone. I’m afraid that she was seen in the carriage by more than one person who recognized her. Eventually we pulled into a coaching inn and were taken into a private room. We were given an excellent luncheon but saw no sign of Lord Wydale. I thought of trying to run away, but I had no money with me and had no idea where we were, I thought it best to continue.

Miss Sarah seemed quite unbothered by the whole thing and thought it a great adventure. She told me that he had promised she could come and stay with him and be his princess and wear lovely dresses and go to parties just like a grown-up.’

       Eliza had heard enough. Everything Jane had told her confirmed what she had deduced for herself. It had been his intention all along for Sarah’s visit to be public knowledge. So why had he brought here in secrecy? It didn’t make sense.

       ‘Has Lord Wydale been here with you all this time?’

       The girl shook her head. ‘ No, Miss Fox, we haven’t seen him since we arrived. The housekeeper, not a friendly soul, has looked after us well. It’s she who told Miss Sarah that he’s returning tomorrow with friends from London.’

       ‘In which case, we have twenty-four hours to think of a way out of this. Once he arrives with his friends it will be too late, the damage will be done.’ Eliza raised her hand to prevent Jane’s interruption. ‘I know, Jane, Miss Sarah’s reputation is ruined, but as everyone in Dedham knows she’s of limited ability, they will not hold it against her. She will never contract a marriage so whether she has lost her reputation or not, is immaterial. It is me that he wishes to disgrace in public. I had a season in London, Edmund is already a member of Brooks and several other gentlemen’s clubs. I shall be recognized at once.’

Eliza jumped to her feet and began her restless pacing again; it had seemed so simple this morning. She had the money to give him and was prepared to do anything to save her sister - now everything had altered.

Wydale obviously wasn’t interested in the money, he just wanted to make sure that her family name was dragged through the mire and that Mr Reed’s happiness was ruined.

       She had been resigned to her fate when she thought she had no option, but now she could see a glimmer of hope. Perhaps she could come up with a way to remove herself and Sarah from wherever they were before they were seen.

       Her first task was to discover the name of the establishment and its exact whereabouts. There would be no point asking the housekeeper; maybe one of the outside staff might be more amenable. Unlike Jane she had come prepared and had a purse full of coins – more than enough to bribe a stable boy and buy them all seats on a mail coach.