His Spoilt Lady (3 page)

“I just
couldn’t manage to climb a tree with my long skirts, so the boys
threw the apples down to me and I caught them in my apron. Suddenly
one of the boys shouted out a warning, ‘Run, it be Jacob’s dog!’ So
up I flew and ran as fast as I possibly could, and this awful dog
streaked after me barking like mad! It was at my heels already by
the time I had reached here, so I scrambled up the wall and flung
myself over the other side -- straight into Esmerelda’s grandmother
Primrose’s stall! I landed in all the pig filth and slid over to
the far side of the pen, squashed up against the wall covered with
pig muck. Goodness, I was terrified! This simply enormous pink pig
started to come towards me, and I had heard that pigs can give a
very nasty bite. Their teeth lock like so.” Linnett linked her
fingers to demonstrate.

“Then I
remembered the apples in my apron pocket. Luckily, I still had
three, so I rolled one across to Primrose, and she gobbled it up
and came a bit closer. So I rolled another, and Primrose ate that
one, too, then walked right up to me! I dropped the third apple in
fright onto my knee and Primrose ate it and then snuffled my apron
looking for more. When she couldn’t find any more apples she just
lay down like a dog and rested her head on my lap!” Linnett stopped
and laughed.

“Aye!” said
Jacob shaking his head, “when I comes out t’see what d’rackets all
about I looks over d’wall ‘ere and see’s ‘er Ladyship sat covered
in pig filth petting old Primrose like she was her little pet dog!
She’s a’scratching ‘er ears and patting old Primrose an’ that pig
is a’lyin’ there adoring yon lassie! Never seen nothin’ like in me
loife and that’s a fact!”

Linnett giggled
with infectious laughter and flapped her hand at John. “Wait
though!” She chirruped, ‘the b..best.. b..bit.. oh! Oh!”

Linnett tried
to talk but was doubled up with gurgles of infectious laughter, and
John began to chuckle with her. “The dogs!” spluttered Linnett,
“Shamus’s dogs! One was fierce and one was that soppy old lump over
there!” She pointed at the larger of the two hairy mongrels, who
sat with a lolling tongue, basking in a patch of sunlight. “It was
that dog, you see, that had chased me, not the fierce dog at all!”
Linnett clutched Shamus as they howled with laughter together.

It was at this
point John realised with a jolt that he very much wanted to marry
this bewitching, mercurial girl.

The rain lashed against the windows of Lavenstock. The
howling wind rattled the old panes, and the trees beyond the
driveway bent double with the ferocity of the elements. John turned
away from this depressing scene and glanced over to his host.
“Filthy weather for spring, even in England,” he muttered. Walking
away from the sight to stand next to the blazing fire, he rested a
foot on the fender, and his elbow on the mantle and released a
long, deep sigh. John had been at the hall for a number of days
now, and Sir Thomas was pressing him to propose to Linnett. Since
his ride on the estate with her, John found himself keen to marry
the girl and this surprised him.

Linnett was
indeed extraordinarily beautiful yet the most bad-mannered,
discourteous young woman John had ever met. Had he not seen that
other surprising side to her character, at Shamus’s cottage, he
would have given up on the whole idea of a match. John was
surprised by just how much he desired this spoilt, wilful, proud
girl, and yet she had inflamed his blood and possessed his thoughts
until he knew he had to have her and tame her.

Coming to a
decision, John swung away from the fire and seated himself opposite
his friend. Leaning forward, he looked earnestly into the worried
face of his host. “Sir, if Linnett will have me, I should like to
take her as my wife. Yet so far, most of our encounters have been
at best...chilly. It pains me to have to tell you it is not simply
that your daughter is spoilt, but she is also contrary, perverse,
arrogant and extremely rude. Her only saving grace is her sense of
humour.”

Sir Thomas
chuckled and said, “Oh come now, her beauty sweetens the list of
her faults surely!” John grinned and nodded affirmation; her beauty
and shapely form were on his mind rather a lot of late. Sir Thomas
sat back, quietly contemplating for a moment or so before
straightening up and leaning forward in his chair.

“Very well,
John, if you should marry my Linnett, you should know that on my
death everything goes to my daughter and so to you as her husband.
Now for her wedding portion, I will sign over the Tempest and one
quarter of my interest in our company. Well now, John, what do you
say to that?”

John held up
his hands. “You misunderstand me, Sir. I am much taken with your
daughter. Her beauty is unrivalled and her spirit admirable. It is
just that what I need is a wife who needs must leave all that she
knows and travel across the sea to a new world. I intend to propose
to her, but there is little I can do if she will not have me.”

Sir Thomas
slapped his knee, “Nonsense! A red-blooded young buck such as
yourself knows how to tame a horse; use that knowledge. Skittish
things horses, much like women I always think! Linnett must be
settled with a man, not some milksop boy who won’t be able to deal
with her hissy fits! I know my gal, John, and she just won’t be
happy unless she can respect her man.”

“That remains
to be seen, sir; your daughter is not impressed with my presence so
far. As to my wealth, well, our partnership will, I hope, prevail,
whatever the outcome.” John smiled, and Sir Thomas relaxed,
nodding. “Of course, dear boy, of course, however, you are I am
sure, wrong about Linnett’s opinion of you. Why, only this morning
I overheard her speaking to her maid, Lottie. She said you were a
most handsome man and that if she could take a hand in your choice
of dress, she would soon have all the ladies swooning at your
feet.” Both men laughed.

Sir Thomas had
not been quite truthful with his account of eavesdropping, for what
he failed to add was that the young lady in question had ended by
saying, “The ladies would swoon at his feet, and he no doubt would
simply glare at them for getting in his way, that I assure you
would be the only notice he would take of them!”

Linnett was the
only daughter of Sir Thomas and his late beloved wife, Arabella.
She was so named for her maternal grandmother and had been
extremely over-indulged by her father. Even the servants were
inclined to spoil the bewitching Linnett. Her mother had been the
toast of London during her coming-out season. A stunning young
woman with a classic pale, blonde, beauty, Linnett had inherited
her mother’s loveliness, along with her amazing green eyes. Her
hair was much darker than her mother’s, a deep honeyed gold. From
her father she had inherited something of a temper, along with his
stubborn determination. She could outride all her friends and many
young men of her acquaintance. She loved her horses, indeed all
horses.

When she was
only ten, she and two stable lads had stolen four old nags from the
local village horse fair. Actually, the stable lads were unwilling
accomplices, coerced by an avenging Linnett. The horses were in a
terrible condition and would probably have been sold to a knacker’s
yard. Linnett, however, seeing the poor beasts tethered the day
before the horse fair, determined to liberate them from their
plight. In the dead of night, she and her accomplices crept from
the estate and rode into the village. There was nobody about.
Certainly the owner of the ancient nags did not expect anyone to
steal what he had been unable to sell, dragging the sorry creatures
from fair to fair, eventually resenting them any kind of care. The
“horse thieves” simply untethered the ponies and led them home to
Lavenstock Hall.

Even after the
experienced care of Sir Thomas’s stable hands and a goodly diet of
oats, the poor animals failed to thrive, eventually succumbing to
old age. They died one after the other. Linnett consoled herself
with the fact the poor beasts had known some comforts at the end of
their lives. Sir Thomas had bawled at Linnet after the escapade,
but even she could tell that he was rather proud of her. Sir Thomas
admired her courage; he told everyone of their acquaintance the
tale of the rescue and always ended by praising his daughter’s
“pluck.”

At the time of
her father’s conversation with John, Linnett was preparing for that
night’s ball and her maid Lottie was helping her to dress. “Lottie,
do you prefer the green silk or the cream?” Linnett held the cream
dress adorned with tiny pearls up against herself and looked at her
reflection in the mirror, her head tilted to one side and the tip
of her pink tongue caught between her front teeth in concentration.
Lottie, standing behind her, frowned. “I really cannot say, miss,
and both are lovely. Hold up the green again, only this time I’ll
hold the cream next to it, and that way we can sees them both
together and maybe that’ll help us decide.”

She held a
beautiful green satin up against her mistress and they both gazed
intently into the mirror.

“I just don’t
know,” Linnett said, and looked sideways at her plump little maid.
“What do you think?” Linnett asked.

“The green do
bring out your eyes, miss. I know you always like to wear green
because of your eyes, but this dress do make them all glittery and
bright. Wear the green....go on, please, miss!”

Linnett was
pleased with the compliment from her maid. “Oh, all right,” she
said and twirled around. “I do hope he is there tonight. I know he
had an invitation, because Lady Margaret told me so this
morning.”

"Mr. Foster,
miss?" Lottie laid the green dress on the bed, went to the
jewellery casket on the dressing table and drew out an emerald and
pearl choker.

“No, of course
I don’t mean Mr. Foster! I was talking about Lord Charles! Oh,
where is my fan?”

“Here it is,
miss, I have it!”

“Lottie, why
did you think of Mr. Foster?” Linnett turned to Lottie, her
eyebrows raised.

Lottie giggled,
“He’s that ‘andsom miss! I naturally thought it was him you
meant.”

Linnett, gazing
thoughtfully at her maid, said, “You think him handsome then? He is
so dark and forbidding, not to my taste at all. Why, when you
compare him to Lord Charles and his friends, he seems like a, well,
like an old man! Always looking so critical. Have you noticed he
always frowns!" Linnett pulled a horrible grimace and plumped down
onto the bed.

"Mind your
dress, miss!" Lottie gave her mistress a hard shove and retrieved
the lovely gown that Linnett had just crushed.

Maid and
mistress had known each other a long time, and their relationship
had developed into a friendship that went beyond that of mistress
and maid. Lottie, a pretty, but rather plump girl, had grown up on
Sir Thomas Wainwright’s estate; her father was one of Sir Thomas’s
tenant farmers. She was one of six children, and being the eldest,
she was sent into service up at the ‘Big House’ when only twelve
years old. She was a bright and capable girl and soon caught Sir
Thomas’s eye. He was very aware of Linnett’s wild streak and
thought a young intelligent girl would have more influence over her
more extreme behaviour than an older, duller maid. So far, his
judgement had been sound and the two girls, similar in age, had
quickly become friends.

Lottie shook
out the crumpled green dress and, pushing her arms into it, held it
up high.

“Come on, miss.
Let’s get your dress on now.”

Linnett stood
up and bent her head into the dress opening." Lottie ", she said
from the depths of green satin, "have you heard any talk about my
marriage between this John Foster and my father?”

“Talk, miss?
Why no, miss.” Lottie pulled the dress down and held out the
sleeves for Linnett to push her arms into.

“It’s just that
Father keeps on and on about him and asks me what I think of him. I
feel sure he is planning something. Oh, I do wish Charles would
propose to me! It would take care of this John Foster problem.”

Linnett sighed
heavily, but then twirled delightedly about the room. “Do you know,
Lottie, you are quite right about this dress...I think it does make
my eyes more noticeable, even though I say so myself...I look quite
stunning! Lord Charles won’t be able to resist me tonight!”

It was half an hour later when Linnett descended the
wide staircase. Her hair was piled high on her head in an artful
array of loose curls and her long neck adorned with the emerald and
pearl choker. Her green dress swirled and shimmered around her
shapely form. John could see Linnett’s green cat-eyes glinting from
where he stood in the hall, waiting for her to descend. When
Linnett had reached the bottom stair, John stepped forward and
offered her his arm, saying gallantly, “You look absolutely
beautiful, my dear, and your dress is utter perfection.”

Linnett took
his arm and glanced up at him coyly through her lashes. “Why, Mr.
Foster, you do surprise me. Such pretty words! La, who would have
thought you capable of flirting? Certainly not I. Are we ready to
depart? My wrap thank you, Lottie. Do not wait up for me, I shall
manage on my own tonight.”

Lottie slipped
a long fur cape around her mistress and curtsied to the group
before turning back up the curved staircase. The merry little
entourage consisting of Linnett, John Foster and Sir Thomas made
their way out to the waiting carriage. On the short journey, the
two men tried to make conversation that included Linnett. However,
she wished to be left alone with her thoughts of the night to come
and gazed out of the window. John and Sir Thomas eventually
reverted to discussing business, talking until the coach swept up
to the entrance of Sir Henry James and Lady Margaret Peabody’s
imposing residence.