The Saint and the Sinner (4 page)

“And you have no wish to do so?”

“He is horrible!” Pandora replied. “I dislike him and I would do anything in the world rather than – become his wife.”

“Even come to me for help!” the Earl said mockingly.

“I should have liked to meet you anyway,” Pandora answered. “After all, you are living here in Chart, which I have known ever since I was a child.

I love the Castle and I love the village, where I was brought up.”

There was just a little throb in her voice which the Earl heard.

“Go on with your story,” he said. “I still cannot see where I come into all this.”

Pandora again looked embarrassed. Then with the colour rising in her face she said,

“My aunt said she had been – told that the – women you have – staying here are nothing but doxies – I am not sure what that means – and play-actresses and no – decent man would – associate with them.”

She dared not look at the Earl as she went on hesitatingly,

“I – I thought that if I – stayed here – Mr. Witheridge would not wish to – associate with me.”

For a moment there was silence, then the Earl laughed uproariously.

He laughed until he coughed. Then for the first time he straightened himself in the chair and, taking his leg from the arm of it he said,

“I follow your reasoning and, my God! Is it a jest? A funnier one I have never heard – that you should come to me – me, of all people – to save you from the attentions of a Parson!”

He rose from the chair as he spoke and walked across the room to where there was a grog-tray. He filled his glass from a decanter and said,

“I fear I have been lamentably inhospitable in not offering you any refreshment. Is there anything you would like?”

“N – no – thank you.”

Now Pandora looked at him and her eyes were very anxious in her pale face.

“You really want to do this outrageous thing?” the Earl asked, coming back to stand on the hearthrug, his glass in his hand.

“There is – no other way,” Pandora said earnestly. “You must see I am trapped. Uncle Augustus is my Guardian, and when Papa and Mama were killed – no-one else offered to have me to – live with them.”

“What will happen if you simply say you will not marry this man you dislike so intensely?” the Earl asked, and now he was not jeering.

“They will – force me to do so,” Pandora said in a low voice. “I do not think in law that I have any – choice, and my aunt – dislikes me and is anxious to be – rid of me.”

She paused before she added,

“She is quite old, but I think, although it sounds conceited, that she is a little – jealous of me.”

“That is not surprising.”

The Earl drank from his glass before he added,

“There must be some alternative to what you are suggesting. You realise what will be said about you if you stay here.”

“Yes – I understand,” Pandora said. “But – please, do let me stay – just for two nights. I am sure that after that Mr. Witheridge will change his mind. He is very conscious of his own – consequence, and he says that you have made this place a – house of sin!”

“Damn his impertinence!” the Earl said. “What can someone like him know about sin, and who is he to sit in judgement upon me?”

“You have certainly – scandalised the – neighbourhood.”

“That is exactly what I meant to do.”

His eyes narrowed and there was a sudden, hard line to his mouth.

“I wanted them to be shocked and horrified and that includes my relatives – all of them, including you!”

There was a harsh note in his voice and what seemed to Pandora almost a cruel look in his eyes. Then he said,

“But of course! Why am I hesitating? Come and stay, little Pandora. Walk into my hornets’ nest. Make yourself comfortable in the house of sin. I welcome you – I welcome you with open arms!”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Have I not told you I am prepared to be your host and invite you to be my guest for as long as you wish to stay? My house is yours!”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” Pandora cried. “Then do you think a servant could give this note to the coachmen and tell them to return to Lindchester without me?”

“What is it?” the Earl asked.

“It is a letter to Mr. Witheridge to tell him where I am.”

“You have certainly thought of everything!”

“I tried to,” Pandora answered. “He comes back tonight from having visited his father, and when he learns I am here I think he will be both – horrified and – disgusted!”

“I am sure he will be!” the Earl said, and there was a note of satisfaction in his voice.

“I have brought a trunk with me,” Pandora said, “hoping that you would be kind enough to let me stay.”

The Earl put out his hand to the bell-pull and almost immediately the door opened.

“Take this note to Miss Stratton’s carriage and tell the coachmen to return home,” he said. “Miss Stratton is staying, so bring in her trunk.”

“Yes, M’Lord.”

There was a look of surprise on the Butler’s face which Pandora did not miss.

“I thought I should find Burrows here,” she said. “Have you made many changes in the household?”

“I have no idea,” the Earl replied. “I have an agent who attends to all that sort of thing.”

Pandora knew that this was one of the reasons why the people in the village had been upset and frightened.

She was just about to say more when the door opened and into the room came one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

She had hair that was a brilliant red and her skin in contrast was so white that it took Pandora a second or two to realise that it was not natural.

Her lips were scarlet and she was wearing an inordinate amount of jewellery on a low-cut gown which concealed very little of her full, curved figure.

She seemed almost to float into the room and looked from Pandora to the Earl in a questioning manner that was somehow offensive.

“I heard a
lady
had arrived!” she said, accentuating the word, “and wondered who it might be. I thought our guests were not expected until later.”

“You need not get excited,” the Earl replied. “This is my cousin, Pandora Stratton, whom I have never met before.”

“You expect me to believe that?” the newcomer enquired.

She looked at Pandora in an even more suspicious manner than she had before.

Because she felt she must say something, Pandora explained quickly,

“I live in Lindchester and I came to ask my cousin for help.”

“He’s got no money for charity,” the woman said rudely. “I see to that!”

“Shut up, Kitty, and behave yourself!” the Earl said. “My cousin has every right to ask my help if she wants it, and in fact she is not after money.”

“Then what is she after?”

“Just an invitation to stay for a night or two because she thinks it will cool the ardour of a Parson who wishes to marry her.”

The woman stared at him incredulously, then she laughed.

“God Almighty! What are we coming to?” she asked. “There isn’t really a part in this play for you, Norvin, as you must be well aware.”

“On the contrary, I am quite prepared to play the part of Stage Manager, or that of the villain,” the Earl replied. “Now, suppose we start at the beginning and you are introduced?”

He made a gesture with his hand.

“Pandora, this is Kitty King, and as I fancy you have no knowledge of the London Theatre, let me tell you she plays an important part at Drury Lane and also understudies the famous Madame Vestris with great gusto!”

This all meant nothing to Pandora but it obviously pleased Kitty King.

“‘Gusto’ is the right word!” she said. “You should see me striding the stage in me breeches and boots. It brings the audience to their feet, doesn’t it, Norvin?”

“They certainly enjoy the sight of you,” the Earl replied.

“And there’s quite a lot to see!”

“You should be slimming for your next part.”

“Not with all the drink you’ve got in this place,” Kitty King answered, “and I could do with one right now.”

“Forgive me for appearing inhospitable,” the Earl said, “but my cousin has given me a great deal to think about.”

“Well, keep that in your mind and not your hands!” Kitty admonished.

The Earl again reached for the bell-pull.

“Champagne” he said as the door opened.

“I was just bringing it in, M’Lord;” the Butler replied.

From behind her two footmen appeared, carrying a large silver ice-bucket in which there were two bottles.

“Well, I don’t understand what’s going on,” Kitty said, throwing herself down on the sofa and crossing her legs so that she displayed a great deal of ankle, “but I’ve never been one to refuse a friend in need.”

“Then you are exactly what my cousin is asking for at this moment,” the Earl said.

Kitty King looked at Pandora in a more kindly manner.

“What’s wrong with this Parson chap?” she asked. “It seems to me you’re well fitted to be his wife.”

“That is not true,” Pandora said, “and quite frankly I would rather die than marry him!”

“I don’t believe it!” Kitty King laughed. “There was never a man yet who was worth
dying
for! You have to try living with them – that’s much harder!”

She laughed again, then reached out her hand for the glass of champagne which one of the footmen brought her on a silver salver.

She took it and, lifting it towards the Earl, said,

“Here’s to a short life, but a gay one! That’s my motto!”

The footman offered Pandora a glass. She hesitated for a moment.

“Have a little champagne,” the Earl said. “I am sure you need it. It must have taken a great deal of courage to come here.”

“I am very grateful to you,” Pandora said in a low voice.

“There is no need to be,” he answered, “and I have a feeling that you will very likely regret this impulsive act. But why the hell should I care? It is nothing to me what you do – nothing!”

He spoke almost violently and Pandora looked at him in surprise.

Then she told herself that, however he behaved, or anyone else in the house for that matter, she would not criticise.

She had turned to the Earl in desperation to throw her a lifeline, and she would always be eternally grateful to him for doing so.

Chapter Two

The house-party arrived a little later, when the Earl and Kitty were still drinking champagne.

There were three young aristocrats, all with titles, but as they were always addressed by their Christian names –Freddie, Clive, and Richard – Pandora found it difficult to sort them out.

They had driven down from London each in his own Phaeton, accompanied by three women as ravishing and attractive in their own way as Kitty was.

Pandora never heard their surnames but it seemed not to matter, as they were usually addressed as “duckie” or “poppet” by their obviously adoring swains.

The three gentlemen declared that their throats were dry from the dust and they were quite exhausted by the drive.

More champagne was hurriedly brought in and they toasted the Earl and Kitty with pointed innuendos and in a manner which Pandora felt was a little embarrassing.

They were, however, all so jolly and so obviously delighted at being at Chart Hall that she found them and their elegant appearance most entertaining.

Then the door opened and another gentleman appeared. Unlike the others, he was announced by the Butler.

“Sir Gilbert Longridge, M’Lord!”

Good-looking and even more smartly arrayed, Sir Gilbert was older than the others.

Yet, watching him cross the room towards the Earl, Pandora thought there was something about him she disliked.

She could not quite understand her feelings, but her father had always said she was very perceptive where people and horses were concerned and that he had seldom known her to make a mistake.

“Alone, Gilbert?” the Earl exclaimed in surprise.

“Fanny cried off,” Sir Gilbert replied in a disagreeable voice. “Never again shall I waste my time and my money on a woman who cannot keep her appointments. The Duke can have her, for all I care!”

“He will be delighted,” Freddie said. “Though personally, Gilbert, I would think twice about taking on your cast-offs. You indulge them so outrageously that you price them out of the market.”

“What is money for, dear boy, except to be spent in enjoyment?” Sir Gilbert asked lazily.

He looked round the room and his eyes fell on Pandora.

For a moment he regarded her without speaking. Then he said,

“Do I perceive that we are now even numbers? How could you be so clairvoyant, my dear Norvin, as to realise I would arrive empty-handed?”

“This is my cousin, Pandora Stratton,” the Earl said. “I was not expecting her to be one of the party, but she appeared unexpectedly.”

“What could be more delightful than the unexpected?” Sir Gilbert asked suavely.

He walked up to Pandora and taking her hand in his he said,

“You and I were obviously fated for each other, pretty lady, and I have never yet dared to quarrel with fate.”

As he touched her Pandora realised that she actively disliked him, and she was wondering how she could extricate her hand from his when the Earl said,

“I do not wish to hurry you, but dinner is at half after seven, and as I have brought Alphonse down with me I would not wish to put him in a rage if the meal is spoilt. You know how temperamental these Frenchmen are.”

“I am certainly glad to know that Alphonse is here,” Clive remarked. “He is more essential to my comfort even than you, my poppet.”

He dropped a kiss as he spoke on the cheek of the woman standing next to him, who with dark curls and flashing eyes was, Pandora thought, almost the most alluring of the new arrivals.

At the same time, she realised that the artifice employed by the three young women, whom she guessed from their conversation were also actresses, could be very deceptive.

After watching them for a little while she began to think that they doubtless needed the glamour of the footlights to hide the lines under their eyes and the toughness of their skins, which had not been apparent at first glance.