The Seventh Suitor (5 page)

“Mr. Drew’s farm, for example. I have heard he has put it up for sale. Since it touches on Lord Winterton’s lands, I imagine it must be quite as suitable for pasturing horses. I wonder if Papa would be interested? But then, Lord Winterton will probably snap it up. The Carruthers farm is available, too, for with the end of the war and the drop in corn prices they are feeling the pinch and plan to go to Ireland, I’m told.”

“What say we ride over and look out the Drew farm?” Benjamin asked. “It’s not far.”

“I’ve no objection,” Susan agreed with a sparkling glance cast at Kate.

Ralph merely grunted, “Would be just like Winterton to snatch up some good land before anyone else has a chance to see it.”

The farm was a pleasant, well-maintained one of good size. Mr. Drew had no objection to their riding about it. It was necessary for Kate to comment on the farming methods used, the crops likely to be raised there, the lack of adequate drainage, and the improvements which could be made to produce a better yield. Ralph and Benjamin showed a moderate interest in her disclosures, but were more concerned with the pasturage and inadequate stables. Kate did not wish to press the point and dropped back to ride with Susan.

“At least you have them interested, though I think they would make a horrid failure of it, Kate,” Susan remarked. “They know nothing.”

“No. It’s excellent land, though, and Papa would be a guiding hand. We shall just have to see if anything comes of it. I must have a word with Papa.”

It was several hours before Kate was able to speak with her father. She found him in his study, where he welcomed her and thanked her for showing Winterton about the estate.

“Is he still convinced that my three offspring are chuckleheads?” he asked her, his face serious but his eyes laughing.

“I assure you, sir, he was impressed with my knowledge, but not with my unruly tongue,” Kate offered.

“You have set his back up again, child? Why must you always do that?”

“He has been hard on me for no good reason, Papa, and I cannot like his high and mighty air. He is forever dictating to someone.”

“Would you like him better if people took advantage of him?”

“Of course not. But there must be some middle ground, some softness of heart.”

“He was very devoted to his brother and to his mother, Kate. You cannot have forgotten that,” he said sadly.

“No, you’re right, Papa. I shall try to mind my manners in future,” Kate said penitently. “It was not about him I came to speak, but of Ralph.”

“Meddling again, my dear?”

“You might call it that. He may, if all goes well, approach you with a scheme for purchasing the Drew farm.”

“Whatever would interest him in such a thing?”

“He and Benjamin Karst have recently developed a desire to breed horses, you know.”

“I didn’t know. You put a flea in their ears?”

“Yes, for it seems to me the best way to get Ralph interested in the land is for him to have something to do with it. He
is
a good judge of horses when he keeps his mind on business. If he and Benjamin were to start an endeavor, you would be in a position to lead them through it successfully,” Kate pointed out.

“It could be a condition of a loan that he farm the property profitably while he is getting into the breeding of horses,” Mr. Montgomery said thoughtfully. “Is the Drew acreage worth the endeavor?”

“I doubt it shows much of a profit now, for though it is well-maintained, I cannot see that the latest developments are being employed. There is definitely potential there. If Ralph does not wish it . . . well, never mind. I hope he will come to you. He does not realize Susan and I plotted his downfall from the gentleman of leisure, you understand.”

“Susan has taken to meddling, too, now?” her father sighed.

“Susan must needs learn that the inequities of the law with regard to women can only be equalized by the use of a little strategy where men are concerned,” Kate protested. “It will do her no harm, for there is no malice in her.”

“You spent too long in Daventry, Kate.”

Chapter 5

A week later there was a heavy snow and a great freeze. The Hall park was mounded with drifts, the trees covered with the white lace and hanging icicles of the season. Kate had been excluded from any discussions on the Drew farm, if there had been any. She knew her father had ridden over to see it some days before, but he was close-mouthed with Kate.

“I have no doubt he is annoyed with me for interfering,” Kate told Susan, as they were enjoying tea that afternoon. “He likes my knowing about the estate, but he takes exception to my meddling, as he calls it.”

“If he’s miffed, he’ll soon get over it. You know he cannot be displeased with you for long.”

“So I hope.”

They were interrupted by Sampson bearing a letter on a silver platter which he offered to Kate. When he had left, Kate broke the seal and exclaimed, “It’s from Charity! You won’t mind if I read it now, will you, Susan?” After a moment she continued, “She’s in Bath with her mother and sister. Famous! I shall ask Mama right away if I may have her to visit for a spell. She is the most delightful person, Susan, and quite beautiful.”

“We should have a party while she’s here,” Susan contributed helpfully.

“With this weather, it should be a skating party,” Kate replied.

“We haven’t done that for years! Let’s. I love gliding around with a huge muff and sitting by the fire drinking steaming chocolate. Do you suppose we could?”

“I see no reason not to, if Mama is agreeable. I shall speak with her.”

Within the hour Kate had dispatched a letter to her friend offering to meet the coach from Bath five days hence in Bristol at noon. The skating party became an established plan, and invitations were sent out to most of the young people in the neighborhood, including four of Kate’s erstwhile suitors, as Wayne had returned to Cambridge.

“That’s one nice thing about a skating party,” Susan giggled, as she dipped her pen in the standish. “There are so few of our elders around to spoil the fun.”

“And there are no limits to the time you spend with one person as there are at a ball, Susan. Whom do you plan to spend so much time with, puss?” Kate quizzed her.

“It is just that I have seen so little of Charles these days. He seems to be taking an unusual interest in his estate of a sudden. Kate, did you meddle there, too?” Susan asked indignantly.

“Well, I do not wish to see you become attached to some flibbertigibbet. I merely told him that you needed someone mature and stable.”

“You mean he’s doing this for me?” Susan asked, flattered. “You really are a corker, Kate.”

“I plan to take a break from my endeavors for a while now,” Kate laughed, “and enjoy Charity’s visit.”

Kate chose to meet her friend herself a few days later, so she took the cabriolet with the groom up behind. Driving was one of her favorite activities, but she had no wish to have a pair in hand on a day which threatened more snow. She piled a fur-lined, rug about her and left in good time, keeping a close watch on the sky. The stagecoach was on time, and Charity Martin-Smith stepped down eagerly to greet her friend.

“I am so pleased you could come,” Kate cried.

“And I. You would not believe the average age of the community in Bath, my dear.” Charity laughed. “My mother is a comparative youngster!”

“I have not had the pleasure of being there for years, but I shall take your word for it. Come, Harris will see to your luggage. It’s bitterly cold, but we have the coziest rug, and the Hall is not so very far.”

Kate kept the horse at a sedate pace as they negotiated the muddy roads of Bristol and turned onto the frozen lanes beyond. Charity had much to tell her friend about acquaintances from Daventry, and Kate attended her as best she could, but the snow had begun to fall suddenly and heavily, making visibility poor. Kate could hear horses approaching from the opposite direction and clung to the side of the road. But the oncoming vehicle was not sharing her caution, and coming around a bend she found it directly before her in the middle of the lane. Upon sighting her, the driver instantly and skillfully reined his horses away, but he was not in time. Kate had brought the cabriolet to a halt, but it was struck by the curricle’s wheel and tipped over against the bank.

Charity and Kate were jostled but found themselves unharmed. Harris ran to the horse to calm him, and the other driver righted the carriage swiftly. Kate took one look at the driver of the curricle and muttered, “If he’s not saving us from accidents, he’s causing them!”

Winterton had been approaching her at the time and overheard this plaintive cry. “Are you and your companion all right, Miss Montgomery?”

“Yes, thank you, Lord Winterton.” She was strongly tempted to add “No thanks to you” but remembered her father’s words and refrained.

“There appears to be no damage to the horse or carriage other than a scratch. Of course I shall . . .”

“Good God, Andrew, what’s keeping you? I am like to freeze to death before we reach Bristol,” a pettish voice interjected, growing louder as its owner neared them.

“You would be warmer in the curricle, Celeste,” Winterton commented dryly, noting her snow-covered slippers and the damp hem of her bizarre purple pelisse.

Nothing drew Kate’s attention, however, so much as the amazing confection on the woman’s head, which appeared to consist entirely of bright pink ostrich plumes which waved in the cold breeze and tickled against the small, delicately featured face. Since the face was also rouged and painted, Kate had no trouble in recognizing her as a Cyprian, and Kate’s eyes began to dance.

She said kindly, “Do not let us keep you, Lord Winterton. There is no damage to speak of, and you must be as chilled as your companion. We’re off, Harris,” she called to the groom, who resumed his position. She drew away from the glowering Winterton and flicked the whip in a gesture of farewell.

“Who was that?” Charity queried. “He seemed very annoyed with you, and he was totally at fault.”

“He knows it, and that is why he was annoyed. To say nothing of his companion. Was she not priceless, Charity?”

“Very fancy,” Charity agreed solemnly.

“I think I have told you of Lord Winterton. Carl was his brother,” Kate explained.

“You have. He is still bullying you?”

“Yes. He considers me beneath contempt for accepting the inheritance from Carl when I had refused to marry him.”

“You should explain the circumstances to him, my love.”

“There is no need. What can it matter how he thinks of me?” her friend replied stubbornly.

“That’s your pride talking, Kate.”

“I know it,” she sighed. “But I see no reason to seek to explain my actions to a man who has already judged me unworthy.”

“You must decide for yourself; I am sure you will do what is right.”

“Your faith in me is flattering, Charity. I hope I may deserve it.”

“Papa says having faith in people gives them the strength to be their best.”

“I miss your father,” Kate admitted. “Here’s the Hall. I shall let Harris take the carriage to the stables. And, Harris, not a word of the accident, please.”

All of the Montgomerys were there to meet them. Kate made no mention of their mishap, and Charity followed her lead. They accepted the tea gratefully and sat close to the blazing hearth. Charity made an instant captive of Ralph, who could scarcely believe that the vision who had just walked into the Hall was real. She was a tall girl with reddish-gold hair, an oval face, and a stately carriage. Her frock was of emerald green muslin, not in the height of fashion, but extremely becoming to her, with a high lace collar framing her face and flowing lace at her wrists.

Susan had a fleeting moment of jealousy as she surveyed her sister’s friend, but she soon lost it as her admiration of Charity grew. There was a calmness and dignity about Miss Martin-Smith which could not be ignored.

Susan explained that they were having a skating party in a few days’ time, and Charity joined in her enthusiasm. She was also ready to hear all about Susan’s plans for her London season. But she admitted to Kate later when they were alone in Charity’s room that the thought of such an exhausting whirl at her age quite overcame her.

“You are no older than I,” Kate pointed out, “but I should not like it, either. Mama did not insist that I have a season when I was Susan’s age, and after that . . . well, there was no question of it. A Marriage Mart is very little more than an auction to the highest bidder. Thank Heaven my parents would not push Susan into a marriage she did not wish. It should do her good to see some new faces, though she may end up with Lord Norris in the end. I must tell you of the prank these young rascals played a few weeks ago.”

Charity was upset for her friend over these revelations and relieved that Ralph had succeeded in silencing the affair. She was amused at Kate’s attempts to find the young men more ambitious projects. In fact, she felt quite in the picture of the neighborhood by the next afternoon when she and Kate and Mrs. Montgomery were sitting chatting in the parlor. Sampson arrived to announce Lord Winterton, and the young women exchanged a mischievous glance.

Mrs. Montgomery was startled at this social call and a bit put out by the grim look on Winterton’s face. He bowed to her politely and exchanged a few pleasantries before turning to the young women.

He addressed Kate when he said, “I have come to assure myself that—”

Kate gave a warning shake of her head and interrupted, “Lord Winterton, I do not believe you have met my friend from Daventry, Miss Martin-Smith. Charity, this is Lord Winterton, a neighbor of ours.”

Conversation was kept to local matters and the state of the weather for some time, and Kate was amused by Winterton’s growing restlessness. Mrs. Montgomery was finally given a sign by her daughter and gladly excused herself.

“As I started to say before, Miss Montgomery,” Winterton declared, “I came to assure myself of your wellbeing after the accident, and to apologize for it. You did not give me a chance to do so yesterday. Did you not tell your parents?”