The Duke's Challenge (18 page)

Jack was
waiting on the steps, Harry dancing impatiently at his side the new puppy
clutched under his arm. He would have dashed forward before the carriage was
quite stationary if Jack hadn’t prevented him.

‘Wait, Harry,
do you wish to be trampled by the horses?’

Harry shook his
head. ‘No and neither does Buttons.’

The stable boy,
smart in new breeches and clean cotton shirt, ran round to open the door and let
down the steps. Jack handed Charlotte down,
then
leant
in and lifted Beth out.

‘You are far
too weak to walk, little one, so I shall carry upstairs to your room if you
have no objection?’

‘Thank you,
Cousin Jack,’ she replied shyly, happy to be transported by her hero.

Charlotte
hugged Harry and kissed the overexcited puppy. ‘How are you? Have you been a
good boy for Annie?’

‘Course I have,
Lottie. But Buttons has been bad. He chewed a hole in the carpet.’

He grinned up
at Jack. ‘But Cousin Jack wasn’t cross; he laughed.’

She smiled.
‘Well, you must be careful to see it doesn’t happen again and remember your
puppy has to learn his manners before he is allowed to remain inside.’

Upstairs she
could hardly credit the improvement.
‘Jack,
everywhere
looks wonderful - even the gallery balustrade is shining.’

‘Mrs Blake and
her team have been working hard to get things in order for you. She has taken
on a dozen village women to do the heavy work.’

‘So many?’

‘Do not frown,
my love; I have sufficient flimsies to cover expenses, at least for the next
few weeks. By then I should be in a position to start collecting rents and
perhaps decide to sell one or two of the smaller properties.’

‘Are you
intending to visit the lawyers today, or did you find time to see them
yesterday? Do you now know who your heir is?’

‘Good God! No,
I don’t. That’s something I ought to know. The estate is run down, and
providing no revenue, but two thousand acres of Suffolk must be worth killing
me for.’

What Beth had
made of this conversation she had no idea and could only hope her sister had
been feeling too poorly to
understand.
Such matters
were best kept from the ears of children.

She saw that
Beth was settled then began an exploration of the house. She was thrilled to
find she now had a private parlour adjoining her bedchamber. The room had been
scrubbed and the floors and panelled walls polished. A sideboard had been found
and an octagonal marquetry table, two wooden armchairs and a
chaise longue
. None were in the first
stare of fashion but were a great improvement on nothing at all.

‘Look, Harry, I
have fresh curtains at the windows and a lovely blue carpet.’ Harry was about
to put Buttons down. ‘No, not on my new rug, take him outside to play, please.’

Harry was about
to argue but hastily closed his mouth and trotted off as Jack appeared in the
doorway.

‘Well, do you
like your boudoir?’ She turned, ready to throw
herself
into his arms to show him how much she liked it but he restrained her. ‘No, my
love, I’m determined to behave with propriety until we are wed. It will be the
hardest thing I’ve ever done, but do it I shall.’

She dropped her
arms in dismay. ‘I can’t embrace you? I am not allowed to thank you for your
kindness?’

‘Do it from
there, sweetheart; it is safer. I don’t think you realize the powerful effect
you have on me. When you are within my arm’s reach I am consumed with a desire
to make love to you and that I must not let that happen until we’re married.’

Charlotte
walked away as instructed. She stopped on the far side of the room, her back to
the window. ‘Am I far enough away? Can you manage to restrain yourself
from

there
?’

‘Baggage, come
and sit down like a good girl. I need to talk to you before I go out.’

‘What is it? Is
there something wrong?’

‘Nothing for
you to fret about but I will admit it is a setback. You asked about my visit to
Ipswich, I had to postpone it as the man we have in custody took a turn for the
worse. Unfortunately he kicked the bucket before we had a chance to interrogate
him.’

‘Oh dear!
What are you going to do?’

‘I’m going to
Ipswich to see those thieving lawyers.’ He smiled as her brow creased in
anxiety. ‘Remember I told you I am taking an escort so I shall be perfectly
safe.’

‘I’ll worry
until you return. I feel so much safer when you’re here to protect me.’

He chuckled.
‘I’m flattered by your faith in me, my dear, but you are much better off with
Captain Forsythe and his men. They are both younger and fitter than I.’

‘It wasn’t
Captain Forsyth who killed three men or who tracked down the fourth.’

‘The one who
could have solved this conundrum has escaped, but I’m hopeful my visit to
Ipswich will reveal something useful. The militia will remain at Thurston until
this matter is settled one way or the other.’

‘What will you
do if the lawyers are gone, the office closed?’

‘I shall break
in, of course. They will be wanted men, their goods and chattels confiscated.’

‘I hope it
doesn’t come to that, but the more I reflect the more concerned I become about
their probity. There have been several worrying omissions in their handling of
your affairs that point to their dishonesty.’

‘Let’s hope I
can recover what they stole; I’m anticipating the contents of their office will
be a revelation.’ He stood, bowed, and prepared to leave. At the door he turned
back, the power of his smile made her knees tremble and she was glad she had
remained seated.

‘God speed, Jack.’

‘I expect to be
back before dark, if I’m not, please don’t imagine the worst. I might be
obliged to overnight at the Crown to conclude my business.’

She smiled. ‘As
you have four soldiers with you, and will be in the middle of the town, I’m
sure you will be perfectly safe.’ She preferred not to think about him
travelling along the narrow lane where they had been ambushed two days before.

The day dawdled
past, the children content to play with their pets and not requiring her
intervention. Mrs Blake had the Hall running smoothly so she had no role to
play on the domestic front. She had not been consulted about menus, or cleaning
duties, but supposed as a minor, and Jack’s ward, she had no official position.
Her time would come when she became his duchess, then she could truly call this
her home.

Three girls
were already occupied sewing her undergarments and making the necessary
alterations to her new gowns. She had nothing with which to occupy her time.
She ended the afternoon curled up in front of a roaring fire in the
drawing-room a pencil and pad on her lap making her plans for Jack’s name day
celebration. She glanced at the bracket clock and saw the time was four
o’clock. It would be dark soon. She could feel the chill of winter in the air
already. The unseasonable summery weather had gone and the outside men were
fighting to keep up with the cascade of golden leaves pouring down onto the newly
scythed lawns.

She yawned.
Life was flat without him there to spar with. She decided to go to the kitchen
to speak to Betty about the menu for the
party, that
would while away an hour or so.

*

Jack’s scarlet
coated escort turned several heads as they clattered into Ipswich. They halted
in front of the building which housed the offices of Blower and Thomas. He
scowled. His instinct had been correct, the place was still closed. His quarry
had already flown. Thieving bastards! He threw his reins to the young
lieutenant.

‘Hold Lucifer,
I’m going to see if I can rouse anyone, but it looks as though the place is
deserted.’

Several
thunderous bangs received no response. Without hesitation he raised his boot
and crashed it down against the lock. The door swung open. He strode in. These
men had stolen his property and he had every right to search their premises for
evidence.

The door opened
into a vestibule in which was a high clerk’s desk and stool. Behind this was
the main room and if he remembered rightly from his brief visit earlier in the
week, Blower’s office was the room on the right. He pushed open the door and
found a scene of chaos. The desk littered with papers, obviously a sign of a
rapid departure.

Lieutenant
Jarvis spoke from behind him. ‘I’m afraid it looks as though they’ve absconded
with your money, your grace. You were right to be concerned. Shall I send for a
warrant? I shall need their details, descriptions, and place of residence, if I
do.’

‘I have no
inkling where they lived, but I’m hoping to discover something amongst these
parchments that might give us the information you require.’

Although the
office appeared to have been ransacked there were still boxes of papers
untouched in the cupboards that lined the walls. Jack knew when to admit defeat.
‘There is too much here for me to wade through. I need to find another team of
lawyers to make order from this confusion.’

Lieutenant
Jarvis, armed with the sketchy information, departed, taking one trooper with
him to find the courthouse and obtain the necessary warrants for the arrest of
the missing lawyers. Jack left a second soldier guarding the door and with the
remaining two went in search of new legal representation.

There were
several firms in the vicinity and he selected the closest, one ‘Desmond and
Son’. Night had fallen before the four clerks and two soldiers had cleared the
offices of Blower and Thomas. The many boxes, rolls of parchment and piles of
letters were taken to be examined by Mr Desmond.

Mr Desmond being
the son, the father having long since retired, was a youngish man, about Jack’s
own age. ‘It’s going to take me some time to sort through all these documents
and remove any pertaining to yourself, your grace. But I can assure you, that
as soon as I do discover anything relating to you, I shall come to Thurston to
inform you.’

‘Good man; what
I particularly want to know
is,
who stands to inherit
if I should die without issue and also any clues as to where Blower and Thomas
might have hidden my money.’

‘The injunction
I’ve applied for will come into force immediately, which means all their assets
are now frozen. They can no longer withdraw funds from their bank account.
However, until the bank reopens on Monday, I shall not be able to discover what
has already been taken. It is a great shame they have had four days to move
their assets.’

‘Do your best,
Mr Desmond. I’m staying at the Crown this evening but shall be leaving early.
If you need of me tonight you will know where to find me.’

The thought of
Charlotte and the children alone at Thornton unsettled him. Captain Forsythe
was camped half a mile away with his troops and that there would be an armed
guard on duty all night around the Hall. He could have done no more; he had
made every provision for their security. But despite all this he was tempted to
cancel his reservation and ride back through the night.

What was wrong
with him, for God’s sake? He was behaving like a veritable greenhorn not an
experienced veteran of the Peninsula.

Chapter Eighteen

Breakfast was
being served in the morning parlour when Jack thundered back down the drive,
his escort at least two miles behind him. The stable boy scarcely had time to
drop his pitchfork and scamper around to the front the house to take Lucifer’s
reins. The stallion was sweat stained and flecked with foam.

‘Walk him for
thirty minutes. He’s too hot to stable.’

The boy touched
his forelock. ‘Yes, your grace.’

Jack saw him
view the horse with disfavour, no doubt the boys toes had hardly recovered from
the stamping they had received last time. ‘He is too tired to give you any
trouble, lad. I have been galloping hard this past hour.’

Jack was
dishevelled, his boots mud splattered, his stock undone. He ran his fingers
over his unshaven jaw; Robert would soon make him presentable. Grinning at the
idea that he was worrying about his appearance, something he had not done for
the past two years, he strode to the steps. What a difference the arrival of a
delectable young lady made!

Meltham bowed
him in. ‘Is Miss Carstairs down yet?’

‘Yes, your
grace, she is in the breakfast parlour with the children.’

‘Excellent!
Tell her I am back and shall be joining her directly.’

*

Charlotte
looked up as the butler entered. ‘Lord Thurston has returned, Miss Carstairs.
He has asked me to inform you that he will be joining you very soon.’ Her
radiance prompted an unexpected smile from Meltham.

Harry piped up.
‘Look, Beth, Mr Meltham is smiling at Lottie.’ Beth tried unsuccessfully to
hush him. He continued his childish treble clearly audible. ‘He has no teeth in
the front, did you see? I shall ask him if he’s waiting for them to grow.’

‘You shall do
no such thing, Harry. Be silent, this instant.’ Charlotte’s words snapped
across the table instantly repressing him. She saw him scowl into his porridge
and her heart sunk. Trouble was brewing, he was usually a happy biddable child,
but just sometimes he rebelled and got into the most horrendous mischief. She
would have to keep him close this morning, see he was occupied and had no time
to misbehave.

‘I thought we
could walk over to the maze, the
sun’s
out today and
the cold wind has dropped. It will be pleasant in the grounds.’

Beth was
enthusiastic. ‘Yes please, Lottie. I dearly want to try and get right to the
middle.’

Harry remained
silent.

‘Do you not
wish to come with us, Harry?’ Charlotte enquired.

He shook his
head. ‘I’m going to go and see Buttons. I don’t want to go to any silly old
maze.’

‘But I want to,
Lottie, that’s not fair.’

‘We can still
go, Beth. Harry will have to stay with Annie.’ Charlotte pointed to the bell
strap. ‘Can you pull the bell for me please, Harry?’

Normally he was
delighted to the asked, but this time he ignored her request and continued to
shovel his food into his mouth. She was tempted to scold him, but she knew from
experience, it was best to ignore bad behaviour and reward the good. Beth
jumped up and pulled the bell.

‘Could you ask
Annie to come here, please?’ Charlotte asked the parlour-maid when she arrived.
The girl bobbed a curtsy and vanished back through the almost invisible door in
the panelling. The nursemaid appeared moments later.

‘Did you want
me to take Master Harry, miss?’

‘Yes, he
prefers to play with his puppy in the yard and Beth and I are going to stroll
down to the maze.’ Harry dropped his spoon noisily and mumbled a request to
leave the table. ‘Yes, you may go, Harry. But remember, Cousin Jack doesn’t
want any of us to stray too far from the house at the moment.’ The mention of
Jack was a masterstroke.

Harry’s scowl
lifted. ‘Is he back then, Lottie?’

‘He is, Harry.
He is joining us here in a little while. Will you not stay to greet him?’

‘I will. He
will let me talk to his big horses if I ask him nicely.’

‘What is it you
wish to ask, lad?’ Jack had come in and had heard the end of Harry’s sentence.

The boy ran
across and gazed up imploringly; he had to tilt his head right back to make eye
contact. ‘I’m going to the stable to play with Buttons and I wanted to stroke
your big horses. Jethro won’t let me near them.’

Jack dropped
his haunches. ‘Neither Lucifer nor Phoenix are suitable to pet, Harry. I am
sorry but they are more likely to bite you than anything else.’

‘Then can I
stroke the grey horses, are they safe?’

Jack ruffled
his hair. ‘You certainly can. I shall be along as soon as I’ve eaten and
exchanged news with Charlotte. I shall be delighted to introduce you to my
matching greys.’

Annie led Harry
away his bad temper apparently gone. Charlotte finally relaxed.

Beth jumped up.
‘Can I go to, please? I wish to play with Tiny and Silky.’

‘Yes, of
course. Shall I come and collect you later?’ The girl nodded and ran after her
brother and his nursemaid.

‘I must thank
you. You have restored Harry’s good humour. I hate it when he’s out of sorts
like that. It’s so difficult to coax him back to pleasantness.’

‘Then do not,
leave him to sulk. You mustn’t pander to him; he is in danger of becoming
spoiled, my dear. He needs discipline in his life.’

‘Are you suggesting
I am doing an inadequate job of raising my brother and sister?’ her tone was
clipped, her irritation plain.

He recognized
the danger signals. ‘No, you are doing an excellent job. But you are not much
older than Beth; it’s hard for them to give you the respect a guardian
demands.’
    

‘Beth is never
impolite or disobedient. We have an ideal relationship. I’ve always been her
caring older sister. With Harry it’s different; I have taken care of him from
infancy. My mother was unwell after his birth and never really bonded with him.
Then, when my father returned, injured, she devoted all her energies to nursing
him.’

‘That explains
a lot. You were only fourteen, but old enough to take on the role of parent
successfully. Harry has never had an adult in his life. He has no father figure
to look up to.’

‘And you intend
to assume the role.’

‘Of course I
shall. No, don’t poker
up,
we’re to be wed in just
over two weeks. It must fall to me to take responsibility for both Beth and
Harry and any children we might have together.’

She counted
slowly to ten, a ploy her father had told her, before answering. ‘So I am to be
redundant, to have no further part in their upbringing?’

‘You are
talking fustian, my dear, and you know it. I expect you to do as all wives do;
take an interest in the children and organize their wardrobes. You will also
act as hostess and run the house, but the all-important decisions must be left
to me, which obviously includes disciplining any children.’

With
commendable composure she folded her napkin and pushed back her chair. Her
movements gave him no intimation of the bombshell she was about to drop upon
his head.

‘In that case,
my lord, I have no wish to marry you. I have my own competence; I am in a
position to support a household. What possible reason could there be for me to
give up my freedom and my brother and sister in order to become the chattel of
a man who does not love me?’

He thought she
was jesting then saw her face. In that moment he must have known he was no
longer dealing with a half child - half woman. She had grown up. She watched
him quizzically an almost amused expression on her face. ‘Pray excuse me, Lord
Thurston, I have promised to take Beth down to play in the maze.’ She smiled
politely and stepped round him, leaving him nonplussed by woman for the first
time in his life.

She was still
smiling as she left the Hall in search of the children. She felt triumphant;
she had finally emerged from a confrontation without losing her temper,
bursting into tears or being frightened into obedience. She giggled - he had
appeared stunned by her announcement.

What would he
do to make amends? Last time he had provided her with a lovely private parlour,
a drawing-room and half a dining-room. She sobered as she remembered exactly
what she had said. Had she gone too far? Would he metamorphose into the
formidable stranger and try and browbeat her into submission? She shrugged, no,
he was not a bully,
he
was a soldier and sometimes
forgot she was not a recalcitrant recruit but his prospective bride.

Beth was
happily seated on an upturned pail whilst her two kittens gambolled at her
feet, of Harry, his puppy, and his nursemaid, there was no sign.

‘Beth, where
are Annie and Harry?’

‘Harry ran off
and she has gone to look for him.’

‘Did Buttons
escape?’

‘No, Lottie;
Harry was being silly. Annie reprimanded him for misbehaving and he picked up
his puppy and ran away. Annie called but he kept on going.’

‘Which way did
they go? I wish you had sent for me, Beth.’

‘He would not
have stopped for you either, Lottie, you know what he’s like when he gets in a
twitty
mood.’

He had his
father’s strong will and ever since he was out of leading strings he had shown
a determination to go his own way on occasions, regardless of restraint.

‘Come along,
let’s try and find him before he gets into more mischief. Which way did he go,
Beth?’

‘Out through
that archway but I’ve no idea where he went after that.’

‘Quickly, Beth,
put the kittens back in the stable and then we’ll go and look for him
together.’

Hand-in-hand
they ran out of the yard and began their search. They had reached the edge of
the turning circle when Annie puffed into sight, Buttons under her arm.

‘Lawks, miss,
thank goodness you’re here. That young rascal’s gone up an old oak tree and is
refusing to come down no matter what. And he’s that high up, I’m scared he will
tumble down and break his neck.’

‘Beth, darling,
run inside and ask Cousin Jack to come. Tell him Harry is stuck up a tree.’ Now
was not the time to consider their differences, she needed him to rescue her
brother.

Annie led her
back to the oak that stood a short way down the stand of trees that bordered
the park. This giant tree stood over sixty feet high and its branches stretched
as wide. She walked under the canopy and peered up into the leafy darkness.
‘Harry, what do you think you’re doing up there? You have broken your promise
not to climb big trees and I am very disappointed in you.’

There was a
rustle high above but there were too many leaves on the branches and she was
unable to see him. She called at the second time. ‘Harry, answer me, if you
please, I don’t like to be ignored.’

Jack
 
was
pounding in
her direction and moved out from under the tree to greet him. ‘Harry is so far
up this tree I cannot see him and he refuses to speak to me. I don’t know if he
is stuck and too frightened to answer or whether he is just being disobedient.’

‘Has he climbed
a tree like this before?’

‘No, he is
forbidden to climb large trees. I heard him moving about so I know he’s hiding
somewhere in the top branches.’

He took her
hands, his face serious. ‘Sweetheart, can you trust me to sort this out? I
shall fetch him down and I can promise you he will never do anything so stupid
again.’

‘Do not beat
him, I beg you. I know he has been wayward and must be punished but…’

‘Goose -of
course I shall not. He is scarcely more than a babe. No, I shall achieve my aim
a different way.’

‘Thank you. By
the way, I did not mean everything I said earlier.’

He grinned.
‘Which part was that, my love? That I consider you my chattel or that our
wedding is cancelled?’

Her nostrils
flared but then her lips twitched and she returned to smile. ‘I shall marry
you, Jack, but I can assure you that if you think I am going to become a
silent, subservient spouse you have sadly mistaken the matter.’

He raised her
hands to his mouth and kissed first her fingertips and then her palms. ‘I
should hope not, my darling; I should die from
ennui
in a
se’night.
’ He
released her. ‘Go inside, leave this to me. Your brother shall be returned safe
and sound to you shortly.’

‘I shall be
waiting in the drawing-room. He is not usually a bad boy.’

‘I know that;
he’s just in need of some rules.’

Charlotte took
Beth’s arm and gesturing that the nursemaid should follow returned to the Hall.

‘Annie, wait
upstairs in the nursery for Master Henry. Lord Thurston will send him

up
to you.’ She smiled at Beth, who still looked troubled. ‘
Don’t worry
, Cousin Jack will rescue your naughty brother.’

‘But Harry will
be so scared. Cousin Jack is like a giant to him. I know that I would not dare
to disobey him.’

‘He has
promised he will not beat him which I suppose he richly deserves. He will give
him a stern lecture and send him to his room.’

Beth was
reassured and joined her in front of the fire, curling up on a battered but
comfortable armchair. They did not have long to wait before a subdued and
tearstained Harry appeared at the door, Jack standing behind him. Charlotte was
about to open her arms to give him his usual embrace but Jack shook his head.

Harry walked
forward. ‘I’m sorry I disobeyed you, Lottie.’ He stopped, gulping noisily. He
glanced over his shoulder and Jack nodded. ‘I promise I shall not do it again.
I am going to be a good boy now.’

Surely she
could kiss her little brother at this point but Jack’s expression was stern.
She kept her hands firmly in her lap. ‘Thank you for apologizing Harry. I shall
say no more about it.’ The child began to edge closer to his sister, desperate
for comfort, to be petted as he always was.