A Most Unusual Governess (15 page)

We are so looking forward to the children's concert, Lord Randall,' said Mrs Leatherhead mendaciously, fortunately knowing nothing of his thoughts. Margaret has been looking forward to it all day.'

'Oh, yes,' said Margaret dutifully.

'Such a... such an interesting idea. So... unusual.'

James smiled. Indeed it is. "Unusual is the very word for it. But then, it was arranged by a very unusual person.'

'Oh indeed, indeed,' agreed Mrs Leatherhead and James was amused to discover that she thought he had been referring to himself. Unusual in every way. Quite unique!'

'Oh , yes,' said Margaret, and then added another word - greatly daring! - 'indeed.'

Then if we are all looking forward to it, I suggest we take our places.'

He guided the ladies to the front of the ballroom, which was elegantly proportioned and had French windows down one side leading onto the terrace. He helped them to take their places before the dais that had been erected at the far end. Rows of chairs had been arranged in front of it, and as James took his place in the middle of the front row his other guests began to follow suit.

The chairs surrounding James filled up quickly as the ladies, particularly the unmarried ones, struggled to sit as close to him as possible. It was an annoyance. But as a wealthy widower he knew there was nothing he could do to avoid such attentions and bore it with good grace.

'Such a lovely party, Lord Randall,' gushed Miss Annabelle Cartwright, who had rushed to get the seat behind him.

'And such a wonderful concert,' added her mother, blithely ignoring the fact that it had not even begun. What a good idea to have the children to entertain us. Little angels! Annabelle is so fond of children. What a mother she will make.'

'Oh, mama! Youll put me to the blush!' giggled Annabelle.

James gave a wry smile. Both mother and daughter took it as a hopeful sign, for they neither of them gave up on any gentleman until he was well and truly married, and were not in the least disturbed by the rumours that he was about to propose to Miss Leatherhead. But they would have been disappointed to know that Lord Randall, instead of picturing Annabelle as the mother of his children, was remembering the way in which she had snapped repeatedly at her brother on a picnic the previous year. He therefore judged her "love of children" accordingly!

By seven o'clock, the time appointed for the small concert to begin, every chair was full, and if some of the gentlemen were more interested in the drinks they held in their hands, and if some of the ladies were more interested in the gentlemen, well, that was only to be expected.

But James found that he was genuinely interested to see what the children had learnt. He had agreed to the concert because he had realised that what Sarah had said was true: the children did need to be able to win his approval. And although this was not the way he would have chosen, he trusted Sarah's judgement enough to go along with the idea.

As the clock in the hall struck the hour the door opened and the children filed in. Lucy was looking exquisite in a silken dress and pantaloons, her hair falling in ringlets over her shoulder and decorated with an adorable pink ribbon. In fact, she looked very much as she had looked at Lady Templeton's home, now almost three months ago, but with this difference: that, whereas before, she had been crammed into pretty but restrictive clothes all the time, whether she wanted to be or not, now she had chosen her outfit, and was enjoying "being dressed up". William and Peter, too, were looking very smart, and there was a general murmur of approval when the three children took their places on the small stage.

Sarah followed them and sat at the pianoforte, ready to accompany Lucy's singing.

There were a few interested glances from the males in the audience, and a few patronising looks from the ladies, who ran their eyes loftily over Sarah's simple muslin dress. But, seeing the shabby state of it, they were prepared to concede that Miss Davenport seemed "a good kind of girl".

There were the usual coughs and fidgeting whilst the audience settled themselves. Then, arranging their features into suitably interested expressions, they waited for the concert to begin.

Lucy was the first to perform. She walked over to the pianoforte, amongst coos of delight from the ladies, and stood beside Sarah. She folded her hands in front of her and turned out her toes. Sarah played the introduction and Lucy began to sing. Her voice was sweet, and Sarah was delighted with her efforts, particularly when the song was greeted with a round of applause, which was heartily led by James.

William and Peter performed equally well, if not better, and Sarah was left with a feeling of intense satisfaction that she had managed to persuade James to allow the concert, and that the children had done so well.

As the applause began to die away, Sarah led the children out of the room. It had been a wonderful experience for them, but now it was time for them to leave the adults and for Lucy to go to bed.

Things began to return to normal. After a few exclamations of, 'Oh! How charming!' and 'Good lord! Sparky little whippersnappers!' the guests began to leave their seats and think about the supper to come.

Lord Randall, however, could only think about the children and how well they had done. And about their governess. Despite the simplicity of her dress, he had found her more beautiful than any other woman there. Hers was a beauty lit from within, by the strength and humour of her character. And what strength she had had: to perform in front of so many people and yet, instead of giving way to nerves herself, she had given courage and confidence to the children. She really was truly remarkable.

As they left the room, he followed, and caught up with them before they reached the stairs.

Well done, children,' he said.

He was relaxed with the children and he was soon deep in conversation with the boys, asking them about their pieces and praising them for their efforts.

Sarah was delighted to see Lord Randall's obvious interest, and glowed when she realised how well they were all getting on together. And then Lord Randall turned his attention to Lucy. The little girl, suddenly shy, stood on one leg, clutching the other behind her. It was something Sarah had not seen her do since their first meeting at Lady Templeton's house, and she understood how Lucy felt. Lord Randall was looking particularly magnificent this evening in a black tailcoat, cream pantaloons, frilled shirt and a silk cravat. A diamond tie-pin added to his air of magnificence and it was not surprising Lucy was overawed.

But Lord Randall soon put her at her ease. Kneeling down beside her he said affectionately, 'I enjoyed your singing, Lucy.'

A slow smile spread over her face and she murmured, Thank you, Uncle James!'

The smile on Lucy's face brought an answering smile to his own and before long the two of them were chatting away merrily.

Well done, children' said Sarah, as Lord Randall stood up. 'Now, time for bed.'

There were a few moans, but not too many. The day had been exciting, and even William and Peter felt that they would not mind having an early night.

'I expect you to return to the ballroom when you have seen the children safely settled,' Lord Randall said.

Being with Sarah had been as refreshing as a cool drink on a hot and muggy day and he realised that he no longer wanted to talk to the insipid people who were floating round his house. He wanted to talk to Sarah. He missed the honesty and openness of her company.

Sarah had no suitable clothes to wear but she had a sudden longing to enjoy the sights and sounds of a ballroom again. Even though she knew she would be nothing but wallflower she could not resist the temptation to agree. Particularly as she knew that James - Lord Randall, she corrected herself - would not let her refuse.

She gave him an impish smile. 'Of course, my lord,' she replied mischievously as she picked up her skirts and led the children upstairs. 'Just whatever you say!'

Supper was over by the time Sarah returned to the ballroom. Lord Randall's guests, all by now very well fed, milled about with less energy than before. But still the scene looked dazzling to Sarah, who had seen nothing like it for many years. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The light from the hundreds of candles, reflected in the mirrors that lined the wall opposite the open French doors, lit up the scene with a brightness that was close to day. Elegant ladies in silks and satins paraded round the room, wafting themselves with their charming lace fans. The gentlemen congregated in corners or drifted into an adjoining room to play cards. A small orchestra played, and one or two couples had enough energy left to dance.

Sarah made her way through the room, drinking in the sights and sounds that had once been so familiar to her. Eyebrows were raised as she walked past. One or two ladies pulled their trains out of the way, as though not wanting to be contaminated by mixing with a governess. But Sarah was so engrossed that she did not notice.

Having walked through the ballroom she realised there was no one she knew there. She had expected to find James there, as well as Dominic and the other people she had met at the boating party, but she realised they must all be outside or in the card room.

She was just deciding what she should do next when strains of conversation drifted in through the open French doors. She was about to move away so that she would not overhear someone else's conversation when the word "Derbyshire" caught her ear.

'Do you know Derbyshire at all?' a man's voice was saying.

A chorus of "No", "Can't say I do, Forbes", and "Is there such a place?" - this last from Mr Horsham, who accounted himself a great wit! - followed the question, and without more ado the first voice proceeded to recount the many delights of that county.

Sarah's face grew puzzled as she could not but help overhearing what was being said.

Is something wrong?' asked James when he joined her a few minutes later, seeing the puzzled expression on her face.

'No, nothing,' she said with a smile, pleased that he had found her.

He looked at her intently. Something must have caused her puzzled face.

It's just that... ' she began. Then she gave a small shrug. 'Oh, it was nothing. Just something I overheard, that's all. It struck me as... odd.'

'A mystery,' he said, smiling. He guided her out onto the terrace, away from the disapproving stares of the unmarried young ladies and their matchmaking mamas, who did not take kindly to Lord Randall paying attention to his governess - absurd idea! - when he should be paying attention to them instead. There's nothing better than a good mystery to liven up a dull party.'

'It seems very bright to me,' remarked Sarah.

It is now,' he remarked meaningfully, with a warm light in his eyes. Then he went on, What is it that startled you? If there's a mystery, two heads are better than one.'

Sarah gave a slight shiver, the night being cool, and James had to resist the temptation to draw her close. 'Do you want to go in?' he asked.

'No.' Her reply was definite.

He nodded. 'Miss Davenport's shawl,' he called to a passing footman.

Yes, my lord. At once, my lord.'

'I'm all right,' said Sarah, pleased nonetheless with his considerateness.

But the footman, to whom Lord Randall's word was law, had already gone to fetch it.

'So what is your mystery, Sarah?' he asked as they strolled along the terrace.

She shook her head. 'Hardly a mystery. It's just that I overheard someone, a man called Forbes, though whether he's Mr or Sir or Lord... '

'Lord,' supplied James.

'... talking about Derbyshire.'

'Ah!' James smiled. Yes. I'd forgotten Forbes had chosen Derbyshire for his retreat. Forbes in a local landowner,' he explained to Sarah. 'He lost a lot of money at the gaming tables recently and had to live quietly for a while, allowing him to rent out his estate and thereby restore his fortunes. You have met his tenants, the Wilberforces. Forbes has returned to Kent to renew the lease but will be going back to Derbyshire next week.'

13ut the things he said, they didn't make sense.'

She stopped walking. James stopped beside her.

'I know the area well, but it seemed - well, ridiculous as it sounds, it seemed as though he had never been there. He described Upper Cross as a village, and Upper Cross is a town. A sizeable town.' Her brow was furrowed.

'People have different ideas of villages and towns,' said James. 'Forbes has spent a lot of his life in London, and provincial towns most probably seem like villages to him.'

'But it wasn't only the places,' Sarah continued, unconvinced by the reason he had suggested. It was the people as well. He said that he often visited with the Drumptons at Buxton; in fact, he said they were the most important family in the neighbourhood.'

Well, what of it?'

There are no Drumptons in Buxton.'

James's voice took on an edge. There was an alertness in his tone that had not been there before. 'Are you sure about this?'

'Of course I am.'

'It couldn't be,' said James, thinking: He couldn't have stayed here to organise the radical group I'm looking for. Could he? Simply saying that he'd gone to Derbyshire as a blind? No. He's rented out the house. He couldn't have stayed here without it being generally known.