Sally James (28 page)

She thought of the men who had kissed her. Martin's attempts she had found thoroughly distasteful, as she had Darcy's.

She thought of the kisses Adam had bestowed upon her, and shivered. Sometimes he had made her feel afraid, but never disgusted. He had made her feel helpless, bewitched, but that was probably because he was more skilled than they had been. If what Annabelle said was correct, men could learn tricks of lovemaking. In any event it did not solve her problem, for she would not consider marrying Adam. She resented being forced into such a position. She walked home still undecided about her response to Sir Robert, should he renew his offer, which his coming to Bath almost certainly indicated was his intention.

When she went into the drawing room she found Mrs Rhydd there reading letters. She looked up at Kate with a welcoming smile.

'My dear, come in.'

'I didn't know you were coming to Bath,' Kate said.

'I arrived just an hour ago. We spent the night at the Pelican. I do not care to travel at Adam's headlong pace.'

'Is Aunt Sophie here with you?' she asked eagerly.

Mrs Rhydd shook her head. 'She and Sir Edward lingered to inspect a property he is considering purchasing. He has decided that he wishes to live in this area.'

'She is with Sir Edward?'

'Yes. It seems he has serious intentions. How delightful for her. I do hope she does not refuse him out of a mistaken belief that her duty still remains primarily to you.'

'She would not!' Kate exclaimed, aghast. 'She could not, could she, not now that they have found one another again after so long?'

Mrs Rhydd sighed. 'Your aunt has a very pronounced sense of duty, my dear child, and would think nothing of sacrificing herself again if she felt you still needed her. It would be a great waste, for I am sure you will soon be married. Yet she may think she has to delay settling her own affairs until you are settled, and Sir Edward might be too impatient to wait for her.'

'She mustn't,' Kate protested. 'Please, Mrs Rhydd, will you persuade her she must accept him if he offers!'

'I will do my utmost, of course, but she still considers you her priority, as she always has done. I suspect Sir Edward would be willing to give you a home, but he would naturally much prefer to have his bride to himself. Of course, you may have received an offer from some gentleman here in Bath,' she added enquiringly.

'No,' Kate said shortly. Rather to her relief none of her present admirers had declared their intentions.

'Here is a letter from dear Sir Robert,' Mrs Rhydd broke into her thoughts. 'Adam left it with me while he went to the stables. He writes that he will be with us very shortly. A delightful man, is he not?'

'Yes, very pleasant,' Kate agreed listlessly.

'If you were to marry a man like Sir Robert, of whom Adam heartily approves, my dear, I know he would be only too willing to give you as a dowry the money your grandfather left you. He has more than enough for himself, and he does not need it, and is not compelled to accept it provided you refuse to marry him. Fortunately the old Earl did not consider it necessary to force you to make a ridiculous promise as he did my poor Adam.'

As soon as she could Kate escaped to her room. It was clear she had no alternative. If her aunt were to be happy, she must marry Sir Robert Kenton. She would tell him as soon as he reached Bath.

Upon which resolve she suddenly had to blink furiously to prevent tears of frustration from falling. She hated to be forced into anything, but for Aunt Sophie's sake there was no choice, and surely, she thought rather forlornly, she might come to love him one day.

Chapter Twenty-three

Having made up her mind, Kate had to contain her impatience as she waited for Sir Robert's arrival. It was almost as though she dared not give herself time to think for fear she would again become indecisive.

Miss Byford went about in a glow of happiness, for once not properly aware of Kate's moods or alert to her problems. Sir Edward seemed to be in the Royal Crescent all the time, escorting Miss Byford home from the Pump Room or the circulating library, waiting to take her for drives in his phaeton, or to the theatre.

Kate could bear the suspense no longer. She went to her aunt's bedroom one morning, after another sleepless night, and plumped down on the bed, almost upsetting the tray balanced on Miss Byford’s knees.

'Has he offered for you?' she demanded.

'Kate! Take care. You almost spilled the chocolate. Why do you say it like that? Don't you like him?'

'Of course I do, and I want you to be happy,' Kate declared. 'Well?'

'We have talked about it,' Miss Byford admitted shyly. 'I have told him, of course, that I could not possibly consider it before you are settled.'

'What nonsense!' Kate burst out. 'You lost him once because of me, and I won't permit you to do so again. I would never forgive myself if you did.'

'Child, be calm. He understands, and does not mean to press me too soon - ' Miss Byford began, but Kate would not be reassured.

'He must! Aunt Sophie, you mustn’t consider me. I have decided, in any event, to accept Sir Robert. You need not wait any longer.'

'Sir Robert?' Miss Byford seemed rather surprised. 'Have you told Adam?'

'It has nothing to do with Adam! And no, I haven't told Sir Robert either, but he will be in Bath soon, and I can tell him then. It - it seems rather forward of me to write to him, and if I asked Adam for a frank he would be bound to want to know why I was writing.'

'I see,' Miss Byford said thoughtfully. 'Do you love him, my dear?'

'I don't know what love is,' Kate sighed. 'I haven't met anyone else I like better,' she went on quietly.

Miss Byford looked concerned. 'My dear, I would not wish you to enter into a loveless marriage just to make it easier for me to settle my affairs. Sir Edward would be very happy for you to come and live with us if we did decide to marry soon, and you wished for more time to consider it.'

'No! That is, he is kind, but I couldn't.' Kate shook her head.

'Promise me something, Kate.'

'What?' Kate asked suspiciously.

'Simply that you do not tell Sir Robert your decision for a few days until you have had a chance to know him a little better. People are often different when you meet them in strange places, my dear, and you have seen him only at Malvern Court in rather special circumstances. You may find that here you have little in common.  I would hate you to make a mistake just because you thought you were helping me. That would hardly increase my own happiness.'

'Very well,' Kate promised wearily, but she was certain she would not change her mind. Her decision had been made, and Aunt Sophie should never have cause to feel guilty or sorry for her. She would love Sir Robert, she told herself firmly. After all, there was no one else to love.

For the next week, to convince her aunt she was happy in her decision, Kate threw herself into every activity that presented itself. She had begun to ride now the weather was better, and at least twice she and some of her friends took horses up onto the downs. Kate felt she was growing more proficient on horseback, and chafed at the staid mounts Adam and her aunt insisted she rode.

She and Annabelle walked together, or shopped, and occasionally she met Chloe. Chloe was, however, absorbed with Luke, and Kate was wary of meeting Martin, who had just arrived in Bath. She attended a concert, and on Sunday went to the Abbey service. There were two private parties, and Bath was becoming decidedly crowded as the Season proper drew nearer.

Kate would have thoroughly enjoyed herself apart from the imminent arrival of Sir Robert and her ambivalent feelings towards Adam.

He seemed to be doing all in his power to encourage her various suitors. He also talked endlessly about the progress of his repairs at Rhydd Manor, without apparently expecting her to respond. At least now, she admitted, he was not threatening to charge the bills to her. That must mean he had abandoned the plan to marry her. If, and she swung wildly in her opinion of what the truth of it was, he had murdered Darcy, that was perhaps as well.

It was on the one night when they had no engagement that Annabelle, at dinner, proposed visiting Rhydd Manor.

'Adam,' she said imperiously, 'I have an idea. The days are getting longer now and we would have plenty of time to ride to Rhydd Manor one day and see what you are doing there. Shall we make up a party and go the day after tomorrow?'

'Do you think you are fit for it? It would be a long ride,' he demurred. 'If the weather were dull, or if we encountered the slightest delay, we would not be able to return to Bath before dark.'

How like him to be so concerned for her comfort, Kate thought, glancing at Mr Wilson. He was looking resigned, but said nothing. Annabelle would not be deterred.

'Oh, the weather is good at the moment, and our head groom, who always knows what it is going to do, says it will be fine for several days yet, but then there will be storms for a week or more. It might be the last opportunity we have for ages and ages. Please, Adam, do let's go. You promised to show me,' she pleaded.

'What do you say, Kate?' Adam turned to her.

'I? What has it to do with me?' she asked rather scornfully, and frowned when she saw a sympathetic twinkle in his eyes.

'Would you like to see Rhydd Manor? If you both plead with me I should be totally unable to refuse.'

Kate could do no less than say she wanted to see his house. To have said otherwise after that would have been interpreted as deliberately snubbing Annabelle. So she smiled and said she thought it an excellent idea, and asked how large a party did Adam propose to take?

'It would be much greater fun with a large number,' she said with forced enthusiasm.

'Your friend Chloe Shore and her soldier might come,' Annabelle said eagerly. 'I will send round a note.'

The party which set out early the following morning from the Royal Crescent consisted of Annabelle, Adam and Kate, Chloe, and Luke who arrived just as they were setting off, apologizing profusely for keeping them waiting. Mr Wilson, who had declined to accompany them, and Mrs Rhydd, looking anxious, waved them off from the steps.

Kate had, as usual, been mounted on a mild mannered roan mare, and she glanced in some irritation at Annabelle, seated on a spirited grey which was cavorting playfully about the road while they waited.

'Do let's go faster, Adam,' Annabelle said impatiently as they turned onto the road out of the town 'We won't be back before dark if you dally.'

He was about to reply when another rider hailed them.

'Mrs Wilson, Kate, your servant. Mama said you were here, Chloe. She sent me to act as chaperone,’ Martin added with a laugh. 'You've no objection to my joining the party, have you, Malvern? I believe it's your house we’re going to visit?'

'Let's see who can be first to the top of Landsdown Hill!' Annabelle cried gleefully, and swung away to take the lead, with Adam spurring after her. The rest followed at a more sedate pace up the steep hill, past the monument erected to Sir Bevil Grenville, and northwards across the rolling hills for several miles.

Annabelle was effervescing with a brittle gaiety, and attached herself to Luke, with Martin in close attendance, much to Chloe's chagrin. They passed close by Badminton House, and soon afterwards struck north eastwards towards Tetbury. Rhydd Manor was a few miles short of this town.

They first sighted the house as they topped the rise of a gentle hill a mile away. Adam had ridden to the front and he turned to gesture to them to stop. 'This is the best possible view of it,' he announced, and they spread out along the brow of the hill to gaze across the wide valley.

Kate caught her breath in admiration. The house, just below the summit of the opposite hill, protected by a thick belt of trees behind it, glowed in the spring sunshine. The golden stone walls, where they were not covered with ancient creeping plants, were warm and welcoming.

From this height, slightly more than the house itself, they could see that it was the typical letter E shape, with the long main front facing south westwards. Spread out before it was a park dotted with ancient oaks, sloping towards a lake at the bottom of the valley. A small river, Adam explained, had been dammed a hundred years before to make this.

To one side of the house was an extensive rose garden, surrounded by a wall of the same golden stone as the house, and beyond that a series of walled enclosures which Adam explained were the formal gardens, set out in the ancient Tudor patterns for herbs, flowers and vegetables. Behind, past the stable yard enclosed by the arms of the E, on the slope towards the protecting trees, were orchards, and at the far side a wild area where a great deal of activity seemed to be taking place.

'I am having the approach road moved so that it will be through a newly landscaped area to the west,' Adam said. 'Fortunately, because of my great uncle's lack of interest, the older gardens have not been swept away in this fashion for vast parks and the natural look. I think the old style has considerable charm, as well as being practical, and I prefer Repton's approach. A pupil of his has designed the alterations here.'

Annabelle, with her attentive escort, was already riding along the track which led into the valley. Kate, entranced by this first view of the house, remained where she was, oblivious to their departure until Adam spoke softly to her.

'Is this better than Malvern Court?'

'Oh, much, much better!' she replied, turning shining eyes towards him. 'It's beautiful!'

'Good, I'm pleased you approve,' he said tersely. 'Shall we follow the others? I have arranged for a nuncheon to be served at the house.'

They rode on. Kate was aware of the silence but she was so eager to see all she could of this delightful building that she was simply glad not to be distracted from drinking in her fill of it. As they rode along the gravelled drive near the house the huge front door opened. Kate, if she had thought about it, would have expected a footman or butler to be waiting for them, but the man who stepped out onto the top worn stone step caused her to gasp in surprise.