Imitation of Love (4 page)

Aunt Harriet twittered slightly. It had
occurred to Catherine some months before that in bringing his aunt to Oakley
Castle, Mr. Oakley had not only done Catherine and Alyssa a good turn, he’d
also helped his aunt. She had been widowed at around the same time Jimmy died,
and was left with very little income. It was also noticeable how everyone
called her Aunt Harriet, even Catherine, Alyssa and Mr. Harrington. The lady
seemed to enjoy the title, perhaps because she had very few relatives apart
from Mr. Oakley, and she liked to think of herself as being part of a family.

“You’re hardly a mere mortal, Mr. Oakley,”
said Catherine, as he held out her seat for her. She felt sure he was only
teasing her about being beautiful, when Alyssa, dressed all in white was a
sheer vision of loveliness.  

Mr. Harrington helped Alyssa into her
chair. He was clearly already besotted with her. But Catherine had been told
that his family was almost as impoverished as the Willoughbys.  If Alyssa was
to be cared for, then she needed a much richer beau. Catherine felt a little
bit ashamed about being so mercenary, then reminded herself that Alyssa also
understood that and was quite content with it. “I’ve heard it said you can walk
on water,” she said to Mr. Oakley.

“Now you’re teasing me, Miss Willoughby.”

“I’ve never seen him walk on water. Seen
him fall into the Channel a few times,” said Mr. Harrington as he took his own
seat.

“I don’t need to come to my own home to
be insulted,” said Mr. Oakley. “I have many more places I can visit for that.”
Despite his jocular tone, Catherine sensed an undercurrent, as if he were
warning Mr. Harrington about something.

“I can’t imagine you have many chances
to fall into the Channel nowadays,” said Catherine. “Is it even safe to cross
it?”

“I know I should be terrified,” said
Alyssa. “I’m sure the French must be waiting to attack any English boat.”

“I assure you we are just as ready to
fight back, Miss Alyssa,” said Mr. Oakley.

“I’m told that you both served in the
army with Jimmy,” said Alyssa. “You must tell us all about the battles in which
you took part.” She was looking at Mr. Harrington as she spoke, her eyes full
of admiration.

“I’m sure you’d soon be bored,” said Mr.
Oakley, with a somewhat cynical tone to his voice. “And I’m sure that young
ladies such as yourselves should not be discussing such things.”

“Not at all,” said Catherine. “Women can
be just as interested in great battles as men.” Given that Oakley had been
forced to resign his commission, she doubted he’d have much of a story to tell.

“Is it true you were accused of
insubordination, Mr. Oakley?” asked Alyssa.

Only Alyssa could get away with asking
such a direct question, but even so it took everyone by surprise. Catherine was
grateful, as she was interested in knowing what happened.

“It is not something of which we speak,”
said Aunt Harriet, primly. “Alexander’s father was most annoyed.” Then as if
remembering who was feeding her and keeping a roof over her head, she added, “I
am sure Alexander had his reasons.”

“Is it true, Mr. Oakley?” asked
Catherine, determined to find out the truth of the matter.

 “It is true,” said Mr. Oakley. “And if
I had my time again, I’d do exactly the same.”

“What happened?”

“Our Commanding Officer became very
drunk one night and decided that a nearby village was harbouring insurgents,
despite the fact that we’d had no intelligence of the sort. He ordered us to go
and ‘wake up the natives’. What he intended was a cold-blooded massacre and had
we gone, we’d have been guilty of an atrocity beyond measure, and for no
military benefit. So I ignored the order hoping that he would forget it once
he’d sobered up in the morning. Unfortunately he didn’t.”

Catherine could see the haunted look in
his face, as if he was thinking of what might have happened to the innocent
villagers. She shivered slightly.

“So Oakley, who had quickly worked his
way up the ranks, was just as quickly busted down to Captain and politely asked
to resign his commission,” said Mr. Harrington. “Several of us, myself and
Jimmy included, followed him as a measure of our support.”

“What happened to the Commanding
Officer?” asked Catherine.  She wondered why Jimmy had never told her the story,
instead letting her and their father continue to believe that Mr. Oakley had
behaved badly, when in fact he had behaved with great courage and nobility. “Surely
he wasn’t allowed to continue in his command?”

“He’s dead,” said Mr. Oakley. Now there
was a definite warning note in his voice as he looked at Andrew Harrington.
“But this is not a discussion to be having with two young ladies. I suggest we move
on to more cheerful topics. Andrew, I’m sure you have some gossip from the
Court with which to delight and enthrall our young guests.”

As Mr. Harrington kept Alyssa amused
with talk of The Prince of Wales and the court, Catherine kept going back over
their earlier conversation, feeling there was something she’d missed that might
be important.

“Please,” she heard Mr. Oakley say to
her quietly in his warm, deep tones, “put it out of your mind. I should never
have told you. It isn’t a proper discussion to be having with two young ladies.”

“I’m glad you did,” she replied. “I must
admit that in the past I’ve had an opinion of you that I now know is unfair. I
thought you cared about nothing but clothes and …” she was going to say women,
but changed it for ‘horses.”

“Horses?” His raised eyebrow suggested
that he knew exactly what she’d intended to say.

“Yes. But the kindness you’ve shown me
and my sister, and your courage in defying your Commanding Officer tells me
that you’re a very different man. So I owe you an apology.”

“You owe me nothing of the sort.
Sometimes the image we put out to the world is the one we wish them to see.”

She wondered what exactly he meant by
that. As she looked across the table at him, Catherine began to think that
perhaps she could trust him.  As Mr. Harrington amused Alyssa with yet another
piece of Court gossip, Mr. Oakley leaned across to her and said in a low voice,
“If you’re wondering if you can trust me, then the answer is yes. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

She glanced down at her meal, feeling
unnerved. How could he know her every thought and every feeling?

Chapter Three

Catherine didn’t get a chance to talk to
Mr. Oakley the next day. His guests from London arrived in a convoy of
magnificent carriages, and Oakley Castle was a bustle of activity as they were
presented then shown to their rooms.

“Miss Willoughby, Miss Alyssa, I would
like you to meet Mrs. Somerson,” said Mr. Oakley, as a red haired beauty
climbed the steps where Catherine and Alyssa waited.

Phoebe Somerson made a beeline for
Alyssa. “Oh, Xander, you were right about her. She is such a doll. I will make
you my pet when we go to Court, dear, and ensure only the very best looking and
richest young men talk to you.” She took Alyssa by the arm, and walked into the
house with her, virtually ignoring Catherine. Alyssa glanced back, alarmed,
clearly not liking the idea of being Phoebe Somerson’s pet very much at all.

“My sister, Miss Catherine Willoughby, is
also pleased to meet you,” Alyssa said pointedly.

“Oh yes, Miss Willoughby,” said Phoebe,
remembering her manners. She held out her hand, which was cold to the touch. “I
think Xander might have mentioned you.”

Rather than being offended, Catherine
was amused. She gave a small curtsey. “Mrs. Somerson. I think Mr. Oakley might
have mentioned you too,” she said, mischievously.

She noticed Mr. Oakley’s lips twitch
slightly and wondered if he was about to remonstrate with her. Instead he
gestured for Catherine to go into the house with Phoebe and Alyssa, and he
followed them.

There was no doubt that Phoebe Somerson
already considered Oakley Castle to be hers, and that she was the hostess for
the weekend. She had no compunction about standing at Mr. Oakley’s side as he
talked to his guests, taking the honour they showed him as her due.  She was
charming to everyone, and everyone was charmed by her. Except Catherine, to
whom she seemed rather brittle.  But she was wise enough to admit to herself
that seeing Phoebe Somerson at Oakley’s side irked her a little. In a short
time she had come to admire him greatly and to appreciate why Jimmy did. She
could not understand why a man of his intelligence and courage would want a
woman who seemed to have very little of any importance to say. But, she
supposed, he had other reasons for admiring Mrs. Somerson. That she was
beautiful was without doubt. She would make a fine Mrs. Oakley.

In Phoebe Somerson Catherine also saw
what Alyssa might become. Could she bear to see her sister turn into such a
mercenary? For the first time she began to wonder if she’d done the right thing
in bringing Alyssa to Oakley Castle. It was too late now. The die was cast. But
she hoped that Alyssa might keep some of the humanity that Catherine knew was
hidden amongst the love of fine clothes and flattering words from men. If only
Alyssa could marry someone like Mr. Oakley. He might inspire her to be a better
person. At that thought, Catherine wondered why she had not considered that
before. Apart from the fact that Mr. Oakley was twelve years older than Alyssa,
he would be the perfect choice. So why, when she thought of him with her
sister, did Catherine feel even more irritation than she did seeing him with Phoebe
Somerson?

The answer came to her in an instant. He
had no intentions of ever marrying Phoebe Somerson. She might make a fine Mrs. Oakley
in regards to her looks, but there was something rather cheap about her manner.
Alyssa, on the other hand, was well brought up, and though young, behaved in a
way a noble lady should.  Mr. Oakley would never marry Phoebe Somerson, but he
might marry someone like Alyssa.

“Are you well, Miss Willoughby?”

She jumped when she realized that once
again he had crept up on her, but that once again she became acutely aware of
his presence as soon as he did make it known. “I am very well, thank you, Mr.
Oakley.”

“Only you looked a little upset. Has
anything happened to disturb you?”

“No, not at all. It has been a long day
and I’m just a little tired. We’ve lived rather a quiet life at Willoughby
Manor. I’ve never been in the presence of so many people before. I feel as if…”

“As if what, Catherine?” The tender use
of her first name surprised her so much, she had no chance to question if it
was proper. All she knew is that she liked the way he said it in his deep
tones.

“I’m being silly. And ungrateful. I’m
sorry.”

“You feel as if you’d like to run away
from them all, and go somewhere quiet.”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“It’s how I sometimes feel. Seeing the
same people time after time. Hearing the same gossip. It all gets rather
boring. But you are far too new to this to be tired of it yet. You’re young and
beautiful, and should be surrounded by eager admirers. In fact I intend to take
my friends to task about their lack of manners. I fully expected to be having
to warn them all to stop crowding you.”

“I think Alyssa outshines every other
woman in the room far too much for that.” She looked across to her sister, who
was indeed surrounded by several handsome young men.

“And yet you don’t seem to mind? Most
women would be vying for attention. Like Mrs. Somerson.”

As he said it, Phoebe Somerson laughed loudly,
but without any real humour, drawing all eyes away from Alyssa and to herself.

“I’ve already told you, I’ve no wish to
enter into the marriage market. I just want Alyssa to be happy.”

“And I’ve told you that you’re far too
young and beautiful to make that decision. Unless like many women in this room
you’re waiting for the Captain to jump through your window and propose.”