One Snowy Night (6 page)

To Rebecca’s
surprise, Hetty did not smile at her sally.

‘That isn’t
what I mean,’ said Hetty, shaking her head. ‘He has a malicious nature, and he
delights in inflicting harm. He loves nothing better than to gossip - I declare
he is worse than a woman in that way - and if he ever discovers something any
decent person would keep quiet about, he noises it abroad. Oh! Not openly. That
would be too dangerous for him. There are still gentlemen who are prepared to
fight a duel if they feel their own of their wife’s honour has been called into
question. But nevertheless he finds a way of making it known.’

‘Never fear,’
said Rebecca. ‘He cannot hurt me. I have nothing to hide.’

‘Even so, I
would rather you kept away from him,’ said Hetty, worried.

‘I shall do as
you suggest,’ said Rebecca. She had detected something underhand about Mr Lacy
herself, and was happy to assure Hetty she had no intention of cultivating his
acquaintance.

‘Good.’ Hetty
was satisfied. ‘Oh, look,’ she said. ‘Here is Joshua. I believe he means to ask
you for another dance.’

Rebecca felt
her heart skip a beat. Dancing with Joshua had been enlivening the first time,
but she did not trust herself to accept his hand for a second time. She must
think of some excuse.

‘May I have
the honour of your hand for the next dance?’ asked Joshua as he joined them at
the side of the ballroom.

‘I must beg to
be excused,’ Rebecca said. ‘I am feeling rather hot.’

‘Indeed.’ His
eyes fixed on hers and held them for a long moment.

If she had not
been hot before, she certainly was now!

As if
convinced that she was indeed feeling heated by the delicate flush that sprang
to her cheek, Joshua released her from his gaze, saying, ‘Then you must let me
fetch you an ice.’

Rebecca
accepted his offer and he strode off, to return a few minutes later with a
refreshing confection.

By this time
Hetty was deep in conversation with one of the other matrons, leaving Rebecca
feeling vulnerable. As she took the ice she decided it was best to retreat once
more into general conversation. She was just about to launch into a discussion
of the war against
France
,
asking Joshua whether he felt that Napoleon was indeed close to ultimate
defeat, as the newspapers suggested, when she became aware of George Lacy’s
eyes on them.

‘What is it?’
asked Joshua, seeing her frown.

‘That
gentleman,’ said Rebecca, her hand poised halfway to her mouth. ‘George Lacy.
He is watching me.’

‘That’s hardly
surprising,’ said Joshua. His eyes warmed as they roved over her face, taking
in her bright eyes and her naturally red lips, before dropping to her delicious
curves, which were encased in her satin gown.

Rebecca
blushed. ‘You must not say such things to me!’ she reprimanded him.

He looked down
at her more intently, and the mocking smile left his lips. ‘Why not, when they
are true?’ he asked.

Rebecca could
think of no answer to this. Even so, she wished he would not say such things,
or look at her in such a disturbing way. She was becoming prey to certain
unsettling images, images of him sweeping her into his arms and kissing her on
the lips.

‘Tell me,’ she
said, striving to turn the conversation into less disturbing channels, and
falling back on her earlier idea of discussing Napoleon. ‘What do you think of
Napoleon’s chances, now that so many countries have entered a coalition against
him?’

‘Determined to
talk of commonplaces?’ he asked with a quizzical look.

She could
think of no suitable reply, and covered her silence by taking a spoonful of
ice.

Then his
quizzical look vanished, and Rebecca realized he had seen the wisdom of this
himself.

‘Very well,’
he said. ‘I think that Napoleon was a fool to invade
Russia
last year. I think his defeat at the
Battle
of the Nations in October
spelt his doom, and I think the Coalition will eventually beat him. He’s a
great general, but not even he can stand out against Russia, Prussia, Sweden,
Austria and Bavaria when they are all united against him.’ He gave a wry smile,
then said unexpectedly, ‘I also think his defeat will be very bad for business.’

Rebecca was
startled. ‘Bad for business?’

Joshua nodded.
‘Supplying the army with the material for their uniforms has been very
lucrative for the mills.’

Rebecca
laughed. ‘Do you ever stop thinking of business?’ she asked.

‘Not often.’

She smiled. ‘I
suppose I should be pleased. It is a good trait to have in a partner.’

She finished
her ice.

‘You are still
determined not to sell me your share of the mill?’ he asked.

‘I am.’

‘Think it over
carefully, Rebecca. Remember, the problems with the Luddites could flare up
again at any time. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.’

There was a
spark of something unfathomable in his eyes as he said it, and for a moment she
had the wild idea that he was concerned about her.

But of course
he was concerned, she reminded herself a moment later. He was concerned because
she was Jebadiah’s granddaughter. And Joshua had been very fond of Jebadiah.

‘I don’t
intend to put myself in danger,’ she reassured him, putting her empty dish on a
silver tray as a footman walked by. ‘But I intend to take an interest in my
inheritance. You must reconcile yourself to my visiting the mill in order to
acquaint myself with it.’

Joshua gave a
wry smile. ‘Your grandfather often spoke about you, but he neglected to tell me
about your stubborn streak. It is almost as strong as my own.’

At that moment
Lady Cranston approached them and introduced a nervous young lady fresh from
the schoolroom. Joshua, doing his duty, fell in with Lady Cranston’s unspoken
wishes and politely asked the young lady to dance.

Hetty was
still busy chattering to one of her friends, and seeing that she was occupied
Rebecca felt free to slip out of the room. Despite her ice she was still
feeling overheated and wanted to retreat to somewhere cooler and quieter for a
few minutes.

It was
certainly cooler in the corridor than the ballroom, but with all the candles in
the magnificent chandeliers, it was still hot.

She opened one
of the doors that led off from the corridor, and found herself in a small
ante-room, which on closer inspection turned out to be a pretty little
morning-room. A fire was lit but it was banked down. The coals showed blackly
against the white marble fireplace, and the atmosphere was pleasantly cool.

Rebecca closed
the door behind her. She was pleased to have found somewhere to rest, and she
was relieved to be alone.

She had found
being with Joshua unsettling and she was not sure that she liked the sensation.
She was used to being in control of her life and her feelings, before Joshua
had entered her life and disturbed everything. He was like no other man she had
ever met. He was ruthless and hard in many ways, and yet there was an
unmistakeable warmth underneath.

Was it the
contrast between his hard surface and his inner warmth that attracted her? she
wondered.

Whenever he
was near her she found her thoughts wandering down new and unsettling paths,
and try as she might she could not stop them.

She sighed,
and wandered over to the window. She would give herself a few minutes in the
morning-room to cool down and then return to the ballroom.

Looking round,
she tried to find something to distract her thoughts.

Ah! A
collection of miniatures. They hung next to the window, on the gold-painted
wall. She moved closer to study them. They were exquisitely executed, and she
was just marvelling over the detail in them when the door opened. She turned
round . . . and saw George Lacy enter the room.

‘Mr Lacy!’ she
exclaimed. She was not pleased to see him. Of all the guests at the ball, he
was the one she least wanted to see. Especially now, when she had been hoping
for a few minutes peace.

‘Miss Foster,’
he replied.

He did not
seem surprised to see her. His attitude made her feel on edge. She examined him
warily. Of middle height, he appeared to be about forty years of age. He was
well dressed, his striped yellow waistcoat contrasting with his blue tailcoat
and his white linen, but even so, there was a sharp look in his eye.

‘I was just
about to return to the ballroom,’ she said. Her aunt’s warnings were clear in
her mind, and she was determined to leave the room at once. But as she passed
him on the way to the door he suddenly lunged at her. His arms wrapped
themselves round her like steel wires and she smelt the rancidness of his
breath as he tried to fasten his mouth on hers. His action was as shocking as
it was unexpected, and in horror Rebecca pushed him away.

‘Come now, no
need to play the innocent,’ he said insinuatingly. He approached her again. ‘Just
a little kiss, that’s all I ask.’

To her
annoyance, Rebecca found that she was shaking. ‘Have you taken leave of your
senses?’ she demanded, rapidly regaining control of herself. She drew herself
up and said, with as much authority as she could muster, ‘Let me pass.’

‘Quite the
little actress, aren’t we?’ he sneered. ‘But I know what you really are. That
virtuous pose won’t wash with me.’

He lunged at
her again, and this time he managed to clamp his lips to her own. She shut her
mouth firmly and stamped down hard on his foot.

He let out a
cry of rage. It had the fortunate effect of making his mouth leave hers, but
then he lunged for her again. She backed away. She fumbled behind her in an
effort to grasp one of the candlesticks that stood on the mantelpiece. It would
make an effective weapon. But just as her fingers closed around it the door
opened and Joshua was revealed in the doorway.

It took Joshua
only a second to take in what was happening and then he was across the room and
lifting Lacy bodily away from Rebecca, before turning and depositing him none
too gently on the ground again. Joshua’s bulk was now between Lacy and Rebecca,
protecting her from any further attack.

‘You’re a cur,
Lacy,’ he said with contempt. ‘I suggest you apologize to the lady at once.’

He stepped aside
so that Lacy could do so, watching him all the time to make sure that he did
not try to attack Rebecca again. But instead of complying, Lacy only flicked
the lace at his wrists and straightened his cravat.

Then he
jeered, ‘Lady? Oh, no, Kelling, I don’t think so.’

He looked from
Joshua to Rebecca and back again. He was beginning to regain his confidence now
that Joshua had let him go, and he continued more boldly. ‘I knew I’d seen her
somewhere before but I couldn’t think where. And then it came back to me. When
I saw her dancing with you, I realized I’d seen the two of you together, and
then I remembered where it was. It was at
The Queen’s Head
.’

Rebecca felt
her spirits sink.

‘Looking a bit
smarter than the last time I saw you, aren’t you?’ sneered Lacy, warming to his
theme. ‘You were wearing nothing but breeches then, if I remember correctly.
Not the sort of sight for a ‘lady’, is it, Kelling? And Rebecca . . . She was
more chastely dressed, I’ll admit, but I don’t suppose that state of affairs
existed for very long, did it? Not after I heard you asking her to share your
bed. A pity I didn’t get to see the finale; that would have been something! I
only got to see the opening act. Still, it was enough.’ He rubbed his bruised
arm. ‘You wanted to conduct your little affair in secret, didn’t you? You
thought you could go out to
The Queen’s Head
and have the ‘lady’ in your
room with no one being the wiser. But you were wrong. Because I was there,
Kelling, and I saw the two of you together. And what’s more, before this
evening’s over, everyone else will know it too.’

Rebecca felt
her stomach churn. Lacy had seen them together at
The Queen’s Head
, when
she was arguing with Joshua over the room. The door, she remembered, had been
open, because she had not wanted to close it, for to do so would have been to
shut herself in with a stranger. It was the worst thing that could possibly
have happened. Although the encounter had been innocent, no one would believe
it. Indeed, Lacy himself did not believe it. Having seen her talking to Joshua
whilst Joshua had been in a state of partial undress, and having heard Joshua
invite her to share his bed, he had drawn his own conclusions. And now he meant
to noise them abroad.

Her spirits
sank still further as she realized that her reputation was ruined.

But she had
reckoned without Joshua’s strength of character.

‘I don’t think
so.’ His voice was like steel.

‘Oh, don’t
you?’ jeered Lacy. ‘Well, perhaps if your mistress had been more accommodating,
and perhaps if you hadn’t manhandled me, then I might have been persuaded to
keep what I know to myself. But as it is . . .
’