The Regency (30 page)

Fanny thought of the thrill of driving alongside this hand
some, fashionable man, and weighed it against the disadvantage
of being returned to the fold of respectability. She was still
only twelve, and fashion lost.

‘
No thank you,' she said, and added on an inspiration, 'you
might be a kidnapper yourself,' and was away down the path
before Hawker could protest.

 
Thomas, now invested with the full dignity of the name of
Thomas Rivers Weston and an official, if dead, father, was
installed in the Aylesbury nursery along with his unacknowl
edged full-brother Roland, and his half-sisters and his cousin.
He had acquired at a blow a large family, but for the moment
was unable to appreciate it, longing only for the family he had
lost, his ‘Maman' and his Sophie and the familiar servants
with whom he had spent all his short life so far.

Lucy was concerned with more practical matters. 'It's time
we thought about a tutor for the boys,' she said to Miss
Trotton. 'You have enough to do with teaching the girls, and
Roland ought to have a proper governor, don't you think?'

‘Yes, my lady, indeed. If his lordship were of a more robust
character, I would recommend sending him to school; but as
it is, I don't think he would benefit much from exposure to Eton. A governor is certainly the best idea, at least for the
time being — and that will answer for Thomas, too.'

‘
Good, I'm glad you agree. That only leaves the problem of
finding the right person. I shall make enquiries.'

‘Yes, my lady.’

Lucy turned to go, and then asked as an afterthought.
‘How is Thomas settling in?’

Trotton thought of the endless sobbing at night, the languor
during the day, the depressed appetite at meals; but what
use to tell her ladyship of these things! She would not reverse
her decision and send Thomas home. Indeed, since this must
now be his home, the sooner he got used to it, the better.
His homesickness was simply something he had to come to
terms with.

‘
I think he'll be happier now his pony has arrived, my lady.
He's very fond of it.'

‘
Yes, it's a nice little beast. My brother chose well,' Lucy
said, pleased with the answer. She had so little experience in
giving and receiving love that she hardly knew how to begin with Thomas; Miss Trotton's words had given her an idea. 'I
think I'll take him out on his pony this afternoon and see how
well he rides. I suppose I'd better take Roland too. Parslow
can come along and look after him. If Thomas has a reasonably
good seat, I might start teaching him to jump, and then
he can come out hunting with me this winter. Oh, only for an
hour or so at first,' she added, seeing Trotton's face. 'Don't
worry. After all, I went out for the first time when I was about
his age, and I've lived to tell the tale.’

At least she would be paying attention to him, Trotton
thought, as aware as anyone in the household could be of how
little attention she had ever paid to her other children. 'Yes,
my lady,' she said.

In October the whole household moved back to Town, and
Thomas, who was just beginning to get used to Wolvercote,
was uprooted again. Since not only Miss Trotton, but Parslow
too, advised Lucy that the child would be very unhappy if
separated from his pony, Cobnut was brought up to Town,
along with Roland's pony Misty, and Lucy's mounts. The
riding expeditions, which had so far proved successful, could
therefore continue, though the park through which they now
rode was a public one, and they were now under continuous
public scrutiny.

Lucy chose to take them out in the morning, before the
Park got crowded, and thus discovered a whole separate world
of children and their attendants, which had always existed
alongside the real, grown-up world, but which had never
impinged on her notice before. She had always before used
the Park very early when it was empty, for serious exercise,
or at the fashionable hour, to be seen. In between, she
now discovered, was a time when the nursery-maids and
governesses and grooms brought the little misses and masters
and lordships for their sedate exercise, some in perambulators,
some walking, and a few on horseback.

As in the world of grown-ups, there was a hierarchy of
children, and tremendous rivalry between their attendants,
who were fiercely proud of their charges. Lucy was amused to
note that Roland was highly placed in public regard, not only
because he was already an Earl, and heir to a large and
ancient estate, but because he exercised on horseback, and
because Misty was such a fine animal. Thomas, however, was
also much admired. He was a handsome little boy, and his
father's having been a Hero of Trafalgar went down very well
in certain circles, just as his association with the Earl of
Aylesbury did in others.

Lucy was well accustomed to being talked about, less so to
being copied. After a few days, the
ton
decided to approve of
her eccentricity in accompanying the children to the Park:
Society was always wild for new sensations, and it was early
in the Season. By the end of a week, other parents began
to appear, parading their children in a variety of attitudes and costumes. Some brought them on horseback, others in
carriages; some really fashionable people saw an hour of the
day they had previously only heard about, and spent more time
with their offspring than in the whole of their lives before.
Lord Hardcastle met two younger sons he had no means of
recognising, since he had not clapped eyes on them since their christening; and Mrs Edgecumbe caused a small but
gratifying sensation by appearing with her five-year-old daughter dressed in an exact replica of her riding-habit,
and mounted on a pony which was an almost exact miniature
of her horse. The charming tableau was rather marred when
Philomena fell off, and firmly refused to get back on the 'nasty
thing' until bribed with quantities of sweetmeats.

Lucy viewed it all with distant amusement. It was a
nuisance to be accosted by people with whom she had only the
slightest acquaintance, and who, under the guise of admiring
her children, were actually begging, like dogs for sugar, for
compliments on their own. But even the determinedly fashion
able soon found getting up so early an intolerable drudge,
and turned to other, newer and less strenuous fads. Only
those who genuinely enjoyed an early ride and the company
of their children continued to appear, and peace and order
were soon restored to the Park.

One morning Lucy was riding along the tan with Thomas
at her side, and Roland and Parslow behind, when she saw
Captain Haworth and Africa walking towards her.

‘
Haworth! You're back! How lovely to see you!' she cried.
She swung her leg free and jumped down before Haworth could
help her, and shook his hand heartily. 'What are you doing
here? Did you come looking for me, or is this a chance meeting?'

‘
A lucky chance. I was coming to see you, but I didn't know
you would be here. I've just walked from the Admiralty.'

‘
I read about your daring deeds in the
Chronicle,'
Lucy
went on. 'You must be very proud of your papa, Africa.'

‘
Yes, ma'am, I am,' Africa said. With her brown face and
black curly crop, she looked like a gypsy's child, except that
the bold, frank eyes were heavenly blue.

‘And this is Thomas, I take it?' Haworth said.

‘
Yes, I brought him back with me in September. He's quite
settled in now, haven't you, Thomas?’

Thomas could only whisper, 'Yes, ma'am,' for his eyes
were rivetted on Africa, who reminded him painfully of his
Sophie, whom he missed so dreadfully. She was the same age
and much the same colouring, though bigger and stronger
than Sophie; but the resemblance was enough to make him
long to talk to her.

‘
He's the image of his father already,' Haworth was saying.
‘Africa, my love, you remember Captain Weston, don't you?
Well, this is his son, Thomas. And here's your cousin Roland,
of course. Parslow, how do you do?'

‘
But Haworth,' Lucy interrupted the social amenities, 'you
haven't told me yet what you're doing here.'

‘
I have a few days' leave before I go to join my new
command: a squadron under Sir Sidney Smith, in the
western approaches,' Haworth said.

‘
So you're not coming ashore after all. I knew you'd
succumb!'

‘
There's a new crisis brewing,' Haworth said with a shrug.
‘Their Lordships were flatteringly insistent that I was needed.'

‘
Tell me everything,' Lucy said, slipping Mimosa's rein
over one elbow and taking Haworth's arm to walk along with
him. Africa, seeing that her papa wished for private conver
sation, fell back between Thomas and Roland.

‘
You must have heard, of course, about the French army
that's been gathering at Bayonne,' Haworth said.

‘
Yes, under the command of Junot,' Lucy said. 'But what
does it mean, Haworth? Bonaparte can't really mean to try to take Spain and Portugal, can he? Roberta's Mr Firth has been
saying all along that he will, but after all, it's nothing but a
trackless waste! Even if he could conquer it, why should he
want to?'

‘
Because it's the last corner of Europe he doesn't control,
and where our merchants have a foothold. He was furious
over the business at Copenhagen —'

‘
You must tell me all about that, by the way,' Lucy inter
rupted. 'Can you dine with me tomorrow? I must have all the
details. People keep asking me, thinking that I of all people
must know, and it's intolerable not to.’

Haworth laughed. 'With pleasure, my dear Lucy. Though
there's not much to tell. But it put a flea under Boney's shirt and set him scratching! He was furious! The word is that he had one of his famous outbursts of temper and swore that he
would not tolerate an English ambassador anywhere in
Europe, and that he would declare war on any power who
received one.'

‘Insolent man!'

‘
And he claimed that with three hundred thousand
Russians at his disposal, he was in a position to make his threat
good.'