The Quiet Gentleman (28 page)

He dropped on his knee beside the sofa, taking the hand that was trying to grasp one of the capes of his coat, and holding it comfortingly. Miss Morville, equally oblivious of her entourage, gazed worshipfully into the blue eyes so tenderly smiling at her, and said foolishly: ‘You are safe! Nothing dreadful happened to you!’

‘Nothing more dreadful than being driven back to Stanyon by Martin!’ he assured her. ‘But you! How came you to tumble down the stairs as soon as my back was turned?’

‘The stupidest thing!’ said Miss Morville, despising herself. ‘I wanted to stop Martin – I thought it was the
one
thing that would put you in danger! Only I tripped over my train, and fell! I cannot think how I came to do such a thing!’

The Earl slipped his arm behind her, and raised the hand he was still holding to his lips. ‘You guessed it all, didn’t you, you most wise and most foolish Miss Morville?’

Miss Morville, finding his shoulder so invitingly close, was glad to rest her head against it. ‘Oh no! How could I think such a terrible thing? Was it true? I would not tell you the thoughts in my head, because they were so very dreadful! Besides,’ she added, ‘it was
not
my business, and I was so very nearly sure that you knew!’

Her overstrained nerves then found relief in a burst of tears. But as the Earl chose to kiss her at this moment, she was obliged to stop crying, the merest civility compelling her to return his embrace. As soon as she was able to speak, she said, however, in a voice meant only for his ears: ‘Oh, no! Pray do not! It was all my folly, behaving in this missish way! You felt yourself obliged to comfort me! I assure you, I don’t regard it – shall never think of it again!’

‘My poor dear, you must be very much shaken to say anything so foolish!’ said the Earl lovingly. ‘Never did I think to hear such nonsense on my sage counsellor’s lips!’

‘You would become disgusted with my odious common-sense. Try as I will, I
cannot
be romantic!’ said Miss Morville despairingly.

His eyes danced. ‘Oh, I forbid you to try! Your practical observations, my absurd robin, are the delight of my life!’

Miss Morville looked at him. Then, with a deep sigh, she laid her hand in his. But what she said was: ‘You must mean a sparrow!’

‘I will not allow you to dictate to me, now or ever, Miss Morville! I mean a robin!’ said the Earl firmly, lifting her hand to his lips.

This interlude, which was watched with interest by the three servants, with complacence by Mrs Morville, critically by the Viscount, who was trying to unravel the puzzle just set before him, and with hostility by the Dowager and Mr Morville, seemed to break the spell which had hitherto held the rest of the company silent.

‘St Erth!’ said the Dowager awfully.

‘Take care you do not hurt her arm!’ advised Mrs Morville practically.

‘Here!’ said the Viscount, addressing himself to the domestic staff. ‘Nothing more for you to do here! You be off, all of you!’

Mrs Marple and her ladyship’s maid, over-awed by his imperative manner, both dropped curtsies, and withdrew. Turvey, rigid with indignation, ignored him, and asked his master if there were any further service he could perform.

‘None, I thank you. Go away!’ said Gervase.

Turvey then bowed, and walked with great stateliness out of the Hall; and Mr Morville, who had been controlling his feelings with a strong effort, said: ‘No doubt I am sadly behind the times, but it may be of interest to you to know, St Erth, that in
my
day, it was customary, before making an offer to a young woman, to obtain the consent of her father!’

‘Yes, sir, I shall endeavour to do so,’ said the Earl, carefully disposing Miss Morville against the cushions. ‘Shall I find you at Gilbourne House, if I ride over to call upon you tomorrow?’

‘Good gracious!’ exclaimed Mrs Morville, much amused. ‘Are we to conclude that you have
not
made Drusilla an offer, St Erth?’

‘Not yet, ma’am,’ he replied, smiling at her. ‘But I assure you I mean to do so at the earliest opportunity!’

‘Well, by the Lord Harry – !’ said Martin, who had walked into the Hall in time to hear this interchange. ‘Do you mean St Erth is to marry Drusilla? I must say, I think that’s a devilish good notion! And the best of it is it will be a famous set-down for Louisa! She told me she had quite made up her mind to it that you and her particular friend, Miss Capel, would make a match of it, Gervase! I’m dashed if I won’t write to Louisa this very evening!’

‘Silence, Martin!’ commanded the Dowager regally. ‘This must not be! I have a great regard for Drusilla: indeed, I should be glad to have her to live with me, for she is a very obliging girl, and I shall miss her sadly when she leaves me, but I do not consent to her alliance with my son-in-law!’

‘And nor do I consent to it!’ said Mr Morville unexpectedly. ‘In fact, I forbid it!’

‘I have other plans for my son-in-law!’ said the Dowager, glaring at him.

‘I have other plans for my daughter, ma’am!’

‘Nonsense, Mr Morville!’ said his wife briskly.

‘No use making plans for Ger, ma’am!’ said the Viscount. ‘Always does as he chooses! Assure you!’

‘Besides, if you mean Selina Daventry, Mama, we can’t have
her
at Stanyon!’ said Martin.

‘Daventry!’ ejaculated Mr Morville, deriving some obscure pleasure from this disclosure. ‘Ha!’

‘What, not one of Arun’s daughters?’ exclaimed the Viscount. ‘Not the red-headed one who makes such a figure of herself in the Park?’

‘Ay! Drives a team of showy bone-setters! Lord, she’d lame every horse in the stables! Gervase, you can’t offer for that girl!’

‘No, no, I won’t!’ said Gervase, interrupting a low-toned conversation with Miss Morville to respond to this appeal.

‘The Duke of Arun’s daughter,’ stated the Dowager, ‘would make St Erth a very eligible wife! I do not say that I have made up my mind to the match, for I do not approve of deciding such matters hastily, and I know of several other young females whom I should not object to see at Stanyon.’

‘Well, well!’ said Mr Morville, refreshing himself with a pinch of snuff. ‘Arun’s girl, eh? I should not like the connection for either of
my
sons, but I daresay it will do very well!’

‘Don’t think m’father would either,’ said the Viscount reflectively. ‘Bad blood there, devilish bad blood!’

‘Your father, Ulverston, is a sensible man!’ said Mr Morville.

As much confounded as it was possible for her to be, the Dowager said, with finality: ‘I do not desire to discuss Lady Selina. I must decline to enter upon any argument. I cannot think that St Erth will refuse to be guided by my advice, for although I do not deny he has behaved very selfishly to me upon more than one occasion I do not consider that his disposition is bad.’

‘How can you? How can you, ma’am, say such a thing of him?’ uttered Miss Morville, moved to sit up. ‘When he has behaved to you with such forbearance – such patience!’

‘Hush, my love! This is not like you!’ expostulated the Earl, startled.

‘Because I have not spoken, do not imagine that I have not
felt
!’ said Miss Morville. ‘I had no right to speak, but I have very often
burned
to do so!’ She added, with resolution: ‘I trust I shall always behave with propriety towards the members of St Erth’s family, but I will
not
allow him to be scolded, and slighted, and beset, which is something I viewed with the strongest disapprobation, even when I felt no decided partiality for him! Or, at any rate,’ she amended conscientiously, ‘not very much!’

‘My dear sir, I wish you will give me leave to address your daughter
at once
!’ said the Earl, quite entranced by this sudden and unexpected declaration of war on the part of his chosen bride.

‘Certainly not!’ replied Mr Morville. ‘I consider the alliance wholly unsuitable. My daughter has been reared in accordance with principles which I do not doubt are repugnant to you. Even were you to assure me that you regard with sympathy the ideals to the promulgation of which I have devoted my life, I should remain adamant!’

‘But I don’t regard them with sympathy!’ said the Earl.

‘You don’t?’ repeated Mr Morville, looking at him very hard.

‘No, how should I? I have not the smallest desire to live in a Republican state, and if an attempt were made to strip me of my possessions I should resist it to the utmost of my power.’

‘You would, eh? Well, at all events, you seem to have
some
ideas in your head!’ said Mr Morville.

‘Upon my word!’ said the Dowager. ‘I do not know what the world is coming to! I can scarcely believe that my ears have not deceived me! That is not very likely, however, for I have very good hearing: it is a thing I pride myself upon. I should have supposed that if there were no objection to this match on
our
side, there could be none on
yours
, my dear sir!’

‘If,’ said Mr Morville precisely, ‘I set any value on such things, ma’am, I should feel myself impelled to inform you that the Morvilles were seigneurs in Normandy when the Frants – if Frants there were at that date – were still in a state of serfdom!’

At this point, Mrs Morville, who had been conferring with the Earl, interposed, saying: ‘Mr Morville, St Erth and I are agreed that it will not do to take Drusilla home today, while she feels so poorly, so we have decided that she shall go immediately to bed, and I will remain to take care of her, if you, ma’am, do not object!’

‘Certainly! I shall be very happy!’ said the Dowager. ‘If my nephew were at Stanyon, Mr Morville, he would show you the Frant records, which we keep in the muniment room!’

‘Yes, yes, ma’am, I have seen them! Nothing earlier than the fifteenth century! My brother has in his possession an interesting charter, granted by Edward III to our ancestor, Sir Ralph de Morville. He was a Garter Knight – one of the Founders, and the son of Reginald de Morville, who – Yes, my dear, what is it?’

‘I have been saying, Mr Morville,’ explained his wife, with great patience, ‘that I am remaining here to nurse Drusilla. So if you will inform Mrs Buxton of it she may pack a night-bag for me, and Peter can bring it to me.’

‘In 1474,’ said the Dowager, ‘we had the honour of entertaining Edward IV at Stanyon!’

‘Ay, had you indeed?’ said Mr Morville. ‘
My
family, of course, always held by the true line!’

It was now apparent to everyone that battle was fairly joined. Mrs Morville gave it as her opinion that it would be useless to attempt to distract the attention of either combatant, but when Drusilla was assisted to rise from the sofa, to go upstairs to bed, and stood for a moment, supported by the Earl’s arm, Mr Morville happened to notice this circumstance, and broke off in the middle of what he was saying to the Dowager to address fatherly words of encouragement to his daughter. ‘Going to bed?’ he said. ‘That’s right! You look a very poor thing, my dear! Better let St Erth carry you, or you will be tumbling down in another faint!’

‘An excellent suggestion, sir!’ said the Earl, and picked his betrothed up, and bore her off, heedless alike of her entreaties to him to remember his own injury, and of the strongly worded disapproval of Martin and the Viscount, who followed him out of the Hall, urging him to relinquish his burden to one or other of them.

‘Well, well!’ said Mr Morville indulgently. ‘They mean to have each other, I suppose! It might have been worse. I don’t dislike your son-in-law, ma’am: at least he isn’t afraid to know his own mind, which is more than I can say of most of the young men I meet! But as for this Crusader of yours – ! No, no, the Férants were a Gascony family, which died out before 1500! No connection with the Frants, none at all! I told your late husband so, years ago!
We
, of course, have Raymond de Morville, and his cousin Bertrand, both of whom were twice on crusades, and are buried at Fonthaven, but I don’t consider it anything to boast of!’

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is one of the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own. Her first novel,
The Black Moth
, published in 1921, was written at the age of seventeen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was
My Lord John
. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote twelve detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

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