The Lady's Maid (42 page)

Charlie poured a measure of brandy and gave it to Kate. ‘Here, my dear girl. You look as though you could do with a drink. You’re pale as a ghost.’

Harry pulled up a chair for her. ‘Sit down and tell us what happened. Who was this man who meant so much to Josie?’ He gave Kate a searching look. ‘To both of you, it seems.’

She sipped the brandy and felt its fire flowing through her veins and straight to her head. ‘It was Sam. He was on the
Kimmeridge
when it went down with all hands.’ She bowed her head, staring into the amber liquid in her glass. The fumes were making her dizzy, or perhaps it was the proximity of Harry that made her head spin.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Loveday? What was he to Josie?’

She raised her eyes to his face. This was not the time for lies. ‘She loved him.’

‘I still love him,’ Josie cried passionately. ‘I’ve always loved him and now he’s dead and gone and I can’t tell him.’ She wrenched off the engagement ring that had replaced the cigar band and she hurled it at Harry. ‘There you are. Now you know the truth and I release you from your promise, although I don’t think you had any intention of marrying me.’

‘You engineered the situation to suit yourself, Josie.
As
a gentleman I could hardly tell the world that you were lying, but I knew you were capricious and I hoped that you’d see the error of your ways and change your mind.’ He turned to Kate with a rueful smile. ‘I’m truly sorry, Kate.’ He touched her briefly on the shoulder, and then jerked his hand away as if the mere feel of her had burned his flesh. ‘You must be suffering too, but then you hide your emotions so that a man has no idea what you are thinking or feeling.’

For a wild moment her spirits had been raised by the sympathetic look in his eyes, but the bitter note in his voice brought her back to reality. ‘It’s true,’ she murmured. ‘Sam and I were close, although not in the way you were led to believe. Nevertheless, his loss is a bitter blow.’

‘But not fatal, I think.’ His smile faded. ‘I called in at your father’s farm on my way to Weymouth. Your stepmother told me that you are now living with Edmund Westwood, and that you’re going to marry him.’

‘No doubt Honoria told you everything about me.’

‘She took pleasure in it.’

‘As I knew she would. Yes, I am living at the Grange, but I am employed as a companion to the squire’s daughters. And, yes, he has proposed marriage.’

‘And what will you say to the good squire?’

‘What I will say is for his ears only.’ She struggled to hold onto her last ragged scrap of pride. If Harry was prepared to believe the worst of her, then there was no hope of their ever having a life together. Honoria would have revelled in telling him that her stepdaughter was the illegitimate child of a disgraced
gentlewoman
, as well as being an ingrate and a troublemaker.

Josie groaned, and with a sudden movement she tossed the empty brandy glass into the fireplace where it shattered into tiny fragments. She buried her face in her hands and gave way to a fresh bout of weeping. Kate moved swiftly to her side and put her arm around her shoulders. ‘There, there, Josie. Don’t take on so, my dear.’

‘My life is over,’ Josie wailed. ‘If Sam is dead it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t lied to him – if I hadn’t sent him away …’

‘He went freely, Josie. It was his choice.’ Kate smoothed Josie’s tumbled curls back from her face. Her hat had been lost somewhere along the way and she must, Kate thought inconsequentially, have left a trail of hairpins in her wake.

‘I was hateful to him,’ Josie sobbed. ‘I said terrible things. I wish I were dead too. You should have let me drown.’

‘We must get her home to Damerell Manor,’ Harry said, frowning.

‘I’ll never go back there,’ Josie wailed.

Kate put her arm around Josie’s shoulders. ‘It’s all right. No one will make you do anything against your will.’

‘What did I say?’ Harry demanded. ‘Why doesn’t she want to go home?’

‘You don’t know then?’

He shook his head. ‘Know what? What don’t I know? Tell me, Kate.’

Chapter Twenty-four

‘THERE WAS A
family row,’ Kate said, choosing her words carefully. ‘It’s not up to me to tell you Josie’s business, but she doesn’t live there any more.’

‘I say,’ Charlie whispered. ‘This sounds like a three-act melodrama. What on earth could have happened?’

‘All I can tell you is that Josie can’t return to her old home.’

‘It’s all right, Kate,’ Harry said, shooting a warning look at Charlie who had opened his mouth as if about to question her further. ‘I wouldn’t expect you to break a confidence.’

Kate could have hugged him for being so understanding, but she masked her feelings with a curt little nod of her head. ‘I’m truly grateful for your help, Mr Challenor. But it might be best if you and Charlie were to leave us now. I can take care of Josie.’

He held her gaze for a moment and then he turned to his friend. ‘Be a good chap and send for my carriage.’

Charlie’s shoulders sagged and disappointment was written all over his face. ‘Must I, really? This was just getting interesting.’

Harry raised an eyebrow and Charlie backed away towards the door. ‘All right. I’m going.’

Despite the tension of the situation, Kate couldn’t
help
thinking that he looked like a sulky schoolboy. If matters had not been so serious, she might have laughed at his downcast expression. He left the room, muttering to himself. She turned her attention to Josie, who had curled up in a ball and refused to look up when Kate asked her if there was anything she could do to help.

‘Leave her, Kate,’ Harry said gently. ‘Let her come round in her own good time.’

She felt her resolve weakening. She longed to tell him that she loved him and that everything he had been told about her was a pack of lies, but even if he believed her, it would not alter anything. She must hold onto her dignity and pray for her sanity. She gave a start as he laid his hand on her arm.

‘Kate, I’m assuming that you came here on horseback, but it’s quite obvious that Josie is in no state to ride.’

She nodded dully. He was right, of course, but she wished with all her heart that he would leave now. His continued presence was a bitter-sweet mixture of delight and torture. ‘Yes, we left our horses at a livery stable on the edge of town.’

‘Just tell me where Josie is staying and I’ll take her home. You too, if you will let me. I can arrange to have your mounts brought along later.’

‘I don’t know …’ Kate murmured, glancing anxiously at Josie.

‘Leave me alone, Harry,’ Josie muttered, raising a tear-stained face to glare at him. ‘I ran away from the Manor and I live with the gypsies. Does that satisfy you? I am one of them. Kate is too loyal to tell you, but
I
am not ashamed of it. I am Joseph Damerell’s bastard daughter, and my mother is the queen of the Roma.’

Harry shot an enquiring glance at Kate ‘Is this true?’

She nodded her head. ‘It is.’

‘Then we must take her back to her people,’ Harry replied calmly. ‘Where are they camped, Kate?’

Josie sat up straight. ‘You can stop talking about me as if I weren’t here,’ she said with a hint of her old spirit. ‘I’m going nowhere. I won’t leave Weymouth until I know for certain what happened to Sam.’ Taking a hanky from her skirt pocket she blew her nose. ‘Anyway, they’re moving on tomorrow and will be heading for Devonshire. I cannot go with them. I won’t go.’

‘Don’t get upset again, Josie,’ Kate said hastily. ‘We must think of Molly now. She’ll need all our love and care. Try to put yourself in her place.’

‘I can’t think of anything but my Sam.’ Fresh tears spurted from Josie’s eyes. ‘I killed him. It is all my fault.’

‘Perhaps Harry – I mean Mr Challenor – will take us as far as the Grange,’ Kate said, turning to him. ‘I’m sure Edmund won’t mind if Josie stays with us for a while.’

He stared at her, frowning thoughtfully. ‘And you will be even more in his debt. Tell me honestly, Kate. Do you love this man?’

‘That’s none of your business.’

‘I’m making it my business. Am I not your friend?’

Josie uttered a loud groan. ‘I could shake the pair of you. If my life wasn’t completely over, I would bang your silly heads together.’

‘She’s feverish,’ Kate said hastily. ‘Don’t listen to her.’

‘I think I have the solution.’ Harry laid his finger on her lips, smiling.

‘And that is?’ If only she were stronger she might be able to crush her feelings for him, but when he was so close to her all her resolve seemed to evaporate like morning mist. She cleared her throat, praying that he had not noticed that she was trembling uncontrollably. ‘What do you suggest, Mr Challenor?’

‘You used to call me Harry.’

She made a vague movement with her hand. ‘Please, not now.’

‘Very well, but you and I have unfinished business, Kate. I’m not a man to give in easily.’

‘For pity’s sake, you two, go away and sort yourselves out.’ Josie half rose and then sank back on the settle. ‘I can look after myself. I’ll find lodgings in the town.’

‘You’ll do no such thing,’ Harry said firmly. ‘It isn’t practical for you to stay in Weymouth on your own, but I think I may have the answer.’

Josie wiped her eyes on her hanky. ‘Go on,’ she said suspiciously.

‘How would it be if I took you to my old friend, John Hardy, in Puddlecombe? You stayed with him once before, as I recall, and I’m sure he would be delighted to have your company.’ He turned to Kate. ‘Of course you would have to go with her, Kate. John’s parishioners would be up in arms if he were to entertain an unaccompanied young lady, but if the two of you were there …’

‘I couldn’t leave Molly,’ Kate interrupted. ‘And Edmund …’

‘Damn Edmund,’ Harry said with feeling. ‘That man has taken advantage of your situation and forced you into a position where you had little choice but to consider his proposal. I think it would be to your advantage to put some distance between you.’

Kate hesitated. Part of her longed for the peace and serenity of the old vicarage, and long talks with kindly John Hardy, but she could not abandon Molly or leave the squire without a word of explanation. ‘It’s up to Josie to decide whether she wants to go with you, but I must return to the Grange. I can’t just walk out on Molly or my employer.’

Harry gripped her by the elbow, his fingers pressing into the soft flesh of her upper arm. ‘If you had any tender feelings for him, would you speak about Edmund Westwood simply as your employer? No, don’t look at me like that, Kate. I admire your loyalty, but I suggest that a few weeks away from the good squire will give you time to think about your future.’

‘He will never agree to it. I cannot ask him …’

‘Then I will. If you do this, I promise to do everything I can to find out what happened to Loveday. I have ships that do a regular trade with the Channel Islands and I have many friends there. Take Josie to Puddlecombe, and young Molly too, and leave the rest to me.’

Josie rose unsteadily to her feet. ‘I’ll agree to go, but only if you come with me, Kate. I have to know whether Sam is alive or dead and Harry is in a better position to find out than anyone else.’

‘All right,’ Kate said slowly. ‘I can’t fight you both.’

Harry gave her an approving nod. ‘Then it’s settled. We’ll go to the gypsy encampment first. I’m sure Josie will want to see her mother and explain why she isn’t travelling on with them. And then we’ll go to the Grange. You can leave the good squire to me.’

‘You must do as you see fit, Kate,’ Edmund said stiffly. ‘I can’t force you to stay here against your will.’

‘She’s been using you, Papa,’ Letitia said with a spiteful sneer curling her lips. ‘I always thought she was a fast cat, and now I am certain of it.’

‘Yes,’ Amy added, simpering. ‘You’d think that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but underneath that goody-goody exterior she’s a scheming little minx.’

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but Edmund turned on his daughters. ‘Hold your silly tongues. This is between Kate and me.’

‘I am truly grateful for everything you have done for me, Edmund.’ Kate had seen the pain behind his brusque manner and she was well aware that she had hurt him, but she was desperate to escape. ‘But I must keep Josie company at least until we know for certain what has happened to Sam, and I promised him that I would look after his sister. I must stand by my word.’

Letitia and Amy had subsided into sulks, but Edmund managed a smile. ‘I understand, and I beg you to take no notice of my naughty girls, Kate. They don’t really mean what they say, and, if you decide to return, you will be welcomed with open arms. I can’t say more.’

Harry had been standing quietly behind Kate, but now he stepped forward to shake Edmund’s hand. ‘I will see that no harm comes to her.’

‘You had better, or you’ll have me to answer to,’ Edmund replied gruffly. He shook Harry’s hand, but his eyes were on Kate. ‘Goodbye, my dear. Remember, if you ever change your mind …’

‘I think you know the answer to that. I am so sorry, Edmund. It just wasn’t meant to be.’

‘But, my dear …’ He lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘You cannot stay in the vicarage forever. What will you do when Josie returns to her people?’

‘I don’t know, but I’ll find work as a governess or a paid companion. You must understand that it would be impossible for me to return here. It wouldn’t be fair to you, or your daughters. I’ll always have warm memories of your kindness to me.’

‘Ahem.’ Harry cleared his throat, breaking the ensuing awkward silence. ‘We’d better make a move, Kate. Josie and Molly are waiting for us in the carriage.’

Kate took one last look around the wainscoted morning parlour of Westwood Grange with its solid oak furniture, glowing gold in the sunlight streaming through the open window. The scent of roses and lavender wafted in from the garden and the air smelt of newly cut grass. All this was a far cry from her early days spent in the squalid mews behind Bedford Square. She could have been mistress of the gracious old house and wife of the man who stood before her with sorrow in his eyes. She was leaping into the
unknown
, but she knew that this was the path she must take.