My Lord the Spy (11 page)

A full carriage was thus conveyed from London to Dorset with very little conversation and more than a hint of uncomfortable atmosphere.

Clara always looked forward to going back home. She loved the sea, and having daily access to it always gave her a sense of peace and contentment. Milly would advise Clara to cover-up to prevent her skin from weathering in the salty air, but Clara always felt free near the sea, something that London society never gave her.

Glazebrook House was situated on a headland near Seaton. It was within a few miles of Lyme Regis but far enough away to feel as if it was away from the hustle and bustle of a town. The House was made of red brick but, instead of being turned towards the drive to greet its visitors, the front of the house was facing the sea to maximise the effect of the views from inside the house. This meant that visitors approaching the building for the first time saw the side vista of the house, which often fooled them into thinking that the home was nothing spectacular.

To be fair, there were far grander houses within many miles of the Baker home, but the situation of the building and the ability to watch fully the sea in all its glory, whether aqua and calm or grey and angry, led visitors to look back on a stay with more praise than the house would warrant in another location.

To Clara it was home and, although Charles’ criticism of their parent’s lives was harsh, Clara had to acknowledge that theirs had been a relatively quiet existence. They had not continued to frequent the London season once married, preferring trips to Lyme for entertainments and, if those were perceived to be too far, local families provided enough amusement for the elders in the family. It was not unusual for a young man to feel confined by a restrictive lifestyle, but Clara still stung from the condemning words about her parents’ marriage; she was more inclined to look back on her early life with a lot of affection.

The evening of their arrival they dined alone. Clara made a real effort to be polite to Mr Shambles, but she would never be happy in his company. Milly tried to monopolise Joshua when Charles was not speaking to his friend, so Clara would not feel pressured into talking to him. Milly was of a more easy-going nature than her cousin and could chatter to most people without it grating on her nerves; Clara, on the other hand, would start to wear a pained expression and leave few of her real feelings hidden no matter how hard she tried.

When the ladies withdrew, Clara sat on one of the chairs in the drawing room with a sigh.

“A headache already?” Milly asked with a smile.

“I cannot like him,” Clara responded. “It makes me seem intolerant that I am not welcoming to someone who is not titled or a gentleman, but it’s not that; it really isn’t. I don’t trust him or his motives at befriending Charles; it just doesn’t sit right. Their characters are so different!”

“I can’t say I’m fond of him either, but at least here there isn’t too much they can get involved with; Seaton is hardly a den of inequity!”

“No! Thank goodness!” Clara said with feeling.

An early night was in order and, almost as soon as the gentlemen joined them, Clara and Milly excused themselves and escaped to their bedchambers.

*

Clara and Milly joined Joshua and Charles on a mid-morning walk. Charles was keen to show Joshua his estate, and Joshua was keen to see the beach and sea, admitting he had never actually seen the sea before.

The four left the house behind and headed towards the cliff edge. The land gave the appearance of ending suddenly, but Joshua saw, as previous visitors had found out, there was a pathway down to a sheltered beach. The cliffs curved at that point of the bay to form a natural u-shape, giving the impression of the beach being private, but in reality it was just a section of a far larger sweep of coastline.

At the top of the path was a large summerhouse. The windows all faced towards the sea and there was a balcony for enjoying the calmer summer days.

“Mother loved the sea and, when she was ill, she would spend as much time in here as possible. She longed to go down to the beach but was unable to do so,” Charles explained to Joshua.

“So, this is a new addition. It’s a very fine building. It must feel as if there’s no one else around,” Joshua responded. “It is a grand structure.”

It was a grandly built summerhouse, built that way partly to withstand the harsh winters when the elements battered the land. As in the main house, the summerhouse windows faced forward towards the sea, and a double door allowed the fresh breeze entrance when the weather was calm. It was still furnished with the heavily cushioned chairs that had been installed for their mother, neither child wishing to change the sanctuary. Clara could almost still see the image of her mother curled up, wrapped in a large blanket, her eyes gazing on the ocean but never averse to an interruption by one of her children.

“Let’s go down to the beach; I’ll show you our caves!” Charles said eagerly, before a shout from behind caught his attention.

The group turned in the direction of the shout and saw three figures making their way across the grass towards them. Clara recognised at least one of the figures as Lord Chertsey, and her colour heightened. She refused to meet Milly’s gaze, which she knew was aimed in her direction but absent-mindedly ran her hands down her dress. She was vain enough to be glad to have dressed in her best primrose day dress and cream spencer. She concealed her face by turning her head, the brim of her bonnet hiding her flush until the group caught up with them.

Mr Brandon arrived with his two friends, having forgiven Henry for his past demeanours and greeted the group with a smile. “Good morning! The footman said that you were headed towards the beach, so I thought you wouldn’t mind us joining you, us all being friends.”

“Of course we don’t mind!” Charles smiled in response. He carried out the introductions to Joshua and welcomed Lord Chertsey and Grinstead to his home. “I’d thought you were coming down on Sunday!”

“We were but then decided that an early escape from London would be to our benefit,” Henry responded, failing to mention that Edmund had pushed for them to set-off as soon as possible, citing that they did not wish to lose a single day of observing Joshua.

“Excellent! Mr Beresford and his family will be joining us on Sunday; you shall have to accompany us in any outings we arrange,” Charles said easily.

“That’s a capital plan!” Mr Brandon said jovially. “I was wondering how I was going to entertain these two rakes. I don’t rattle around town as I used to; marriage is far better for a man than the single life.” He responded by rubbing his expanding waistline and looking very pleased with his lot.

Clara had not managed to look at Edmund since his arrival, but a glance at his face at Mr Brandon’s words almost made her laugh out loud. She was not sure whether it was Mr Brandon’s waistline, or his comparison to a rake in front of two single ladies that had Edmund looking at his host incredulously.

The group moved down to the path that led to the beach. It was a wide pathway that had been worn into a gentle slope. It was easily wide enough for two people to walk side by side without fear of falling over the edge.

“I had visions of a scramble downwards,” Henry said to Clara as they walked. Edmund had offered his arm to Milly; something that both disappointed Clara and made her happy.

“It used to be more difficult, but my father had the path improved at the start of my mother’s illness. That way a sedan chair could be brought down to the beach, and she could bathe in the sea when she was able,” Clara explained.

“A thoughtful gesture.”

“It was at the time when we all had hope for a recovery,” Clara said quietly.

“It is difficult when a loved one is ill. I have not had to experience that myself. I’m fortunate my family is estranged,” Henry said with a smile. “It makes life far simpler.”

“I’m sure it does but, as much as I clash with Charles, I would hate to have a permanent rift with him. I would miss him too much!”

“I just fill my times with other entertainments. When one doesn’t have to worry about family, it is quite freeing.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?” Clara was very curious about Henry but more so that he seemed to have a similar lifestyle to that of Edmund.

Henry paused before answering. “In these troubled times, it is wiser not to form attachments.”

“I’m not convinced that Bonaparte could actually invade us at any moment,” Clara laughed. “I seem to have more faith in our navy than you do, My Lord.”

The party rearranged itself once all the walkers reached the beach. The ground was a mixture of sand and pebbles but, closer to the water, the ground turned to pure sand. Charles, Brandon, Henry and Joshua went off to explore the caves with Charles leading the way, his excited chatter proving how immature he still was; he moved around the group almost like an excited puppy, ushering everyone along.

Milly settled down in her favourite spot and took out her ever present drawing booklet from her reticule and settled down to draw. Her reticules were made larger than was the custom to enable her to always carry her booklet and pencils.

Clara finally was able to meet Edmund’s eyes and smiled when he indicated with his arm that they should walk along the shoreline.

“Not exploring the caves, Miss Baker?”

“No. Although I know the very high tides only happen a few times a year, I’ve always had a fear of getting trapped in them. Charles always teases me about my irrational thoughts, but I’d rather be out on the beach,” Clara replied honestly.

“Do they go far under the cliffs?”

“Charles says far enough that the tides don’t reach the end, but he’s never been there to be totally sure, thankfully.”

“The sea must have reached the end once upon a time, to have worn the stone away,” Edmund reasoned.

“That’s exactly what I say!” Clara responded with feeling. “Although Charles counters that with tales of smugglers and pirates making the caves larger to store their produce safely.”

“I didn’t realise your family had such high connections,” Edmund responded drily.

Clara laughed. “Charles would love to have pirates in the family; unfortunately for him, our ancestors have been predictable and boring. Lord Grinstead has a unique outlook on life.” She could not help changing the subject and trying to question Edmund while she had the opportunity.

“Oh?”

“He doesn’t seem to like forming attachments.” Clara tried to give a nonchalant look, but she was very keen to hear Edmund’s view on relationships.

A slightly wary look had crossed Edmund’s face, but he had been quick to hide it. “I suppose that’s why we get on so well; neither of us is keen to perform the way society expects, surrounding ourselves with hangers on and so-called friends. It’s all too much like hard work, pretending to like people’s foibles when, most of the time, they are boring one to death.”

Clara blinked; she had not expected his tone to be so harsh and was confused. The way he was with her seemed to go against what he said. “And yet you visit acquaintances when in another part of the country, which is a little contradictory, isn’t it, My Lord?”

Edmund smiled slightly; she was no fool, but he could not give her false hope. “Your brother is entertaining for one so young.”

Clara remained silent at the comment. She was under no illusion that it had been said on purpose to quash any romantic thoughts she had. The problem was, she did have thoughts she now realised were completely at odds with her companion. She forced a calm expression on her face, realising that the lump of lead now in her chest would be hard to remove.

Edmund noticed the stiffening of her posture; oh, she tried to disguise it, but he was trained to watch even the slightest movement another made. He could kick himself, and he inwardly cursed Henry to hell; he was hurting her, and she was the last person in the world he wanted to inflict anything but happiness on. His internal cursing turned quickly on himself; he was being a fool! She was pretty and entertaining, but he was a complete idiot if he allowed himself to become embroiled with her. He would hurt her in the end; it was better she learned sooner rather than later just what a cold cad he really was.

The pair soon turned back towards where Milly sat. “Does your cousin draw well?”

“Yes, she’s very talented. She would be good enough to have her paintings hung in any drawing room, but her family are the fortunate ones; she gives them as presents. We have an excellent portrait of Charles in the gallery.”

Clara returned to her cousin’s side, leaving Edmund to stand behind them until the group gathered together again. Both inwardly unhappy with the outcome of their walk.

The party soon returned to the house and enjoyed refreshments before the gentlemen left with an invitation to join the Bakers for the evening. Clara was relieved that Joshua had been relatively quiet while in the presence of the guests; she could only hope that he remained a little overawed by the company.

*

The seating of Mr Shambles at a dinner table that contained two Earls, one gentleman and a Baron was always going to be trying. Mr Brandon, his wife and spinster sister had joined the party along with the Earls of Chertsey and Grinstead. Clara had half hoped that the two titled gentlemen would join them only when the Beresfords made their party larger but, once they had made their initial visit, it was inevitable that Charles would immediately invite them to join them for the evening. He loved to entertain, and he would genuinely presume a larger group would provide more entertainment for his friend.