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Authors: Amanda Grange
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‘Underhand.’
‘ Windham is a vicious man.’
Yes, there was something about him that had seemed vicious, in a cold and calculating way. And the questions he had asked her had been about Kit. Marianne sat down suddenly, as vague yet alarming possibilities forced their way into her mind. ‘He is after my brother.’
He looked at her penetratingly. ‘What makes you say that?’ Then, as if the sound of a distant door opening and closing reminded him they were alone in an out-of-the-way corner of the house, he said, ‘No, don’t tell me here. We must not stay or our absence may be remarked.’ He gave an ironic smile. ‘I am enough of a gentleman, you see, to protect your reputation. Fducation has done something to civilise my instincts.’
She smiled, if a trifle anxiously, and stood up. ‘You’re right. We can’t stay here.’
‘I think it would be best if we returned to the supper room. There is a chance we will be able to talk there undisturbed.’
The supper room was fortunately almost empty. The only person there was Mrs Dalrymple, an elderly lady whose head was nodding on her breast.
Lord Ravensford helped himself to a dish of boiled fowl and, taking Marianne a dish of fruit, joined her at one side of the room. ‘You said that Windham is after Kit?’
‘Yes. I’m sure of it. The questions he asked, they were so very particular.’
‘What did he want to know?’
‘To begin with, whether I had any brothers and sisters, but then he started asking about Kit in a pointed way; whether he was here tonight, or if he was in London . It could have been polite conversation, but somehow it felt all wrong. And so I told him a lie. I told him that Kit was in London . But now I’m worried I’ve done the wrong thing.’
‘How so?’
She shook her head with a worried frown. She did not want to speak ill of her brother, but she was concerned that she might have unwittingly caused him problems and she needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand the world of gambling and debtors’ prisons, and someone who would not be shocked when she - a young lady - asked about them. But where to begin? She opened her fan and shut it again, then said, ‘You know something of my brother . . . ’
‘I do?’ he asked.
‘When I said that Windham was after my brother, you responded by saying that he was after Kit.’
He looked surprised, then angry with himself. ‘I have met him once or twice in town, I believe,’ he said cautiously.
‘Then you must have heard of his disgrace.’
She spoke flatly, hiding her emotion.
‘I . . . have heard something of it.’
‘It’s funny. I never thought I would be worried about Kit. It was always Kit who looked after me. There were only two years between us, and he taught me how to do so many things. He taught me how to climb trees, and he taught me how to swim.’
She smiled as she told him about her happy childhood.
Lord Ravensford smiled, too, at the charming picture she painted. As he listened to her talking about the fun she and Kit had had on their father’s yacht, and how they had enjoyed swimming in the nearby sea, his smile widened. ‘It sounds as though you were very happy.’
‘We were,’ she said, warmed by his tone. ‘At least for a time.’ She sighed. ‘But now I am worried. If Kit has been gambling again then he may well have fallen into debt, and I am afraid that Mr Windham has come here to find him and possibly throw him into prison.’
‘Ah. So that is what you think.’
Marianne, preoccupied with her worries, did not hear his sigh of relief. ‘If he has come to find Kit,’ she said, following her own train of thought, ‘then he will be disappointed. Kit hasn’t been back to the Hall since he told my father of his disgrace. But Mr Windham does not seem to be the sort of man to give up. If he doesn’t find Kit here, I’m afraid he will find him elsewhere, and if he finds him, what then?’ She turned to face him, her eyes looking into his. ‘ Will he
‘ Windham is a vicious man.’
Yes, there was something about him that had seemed vicious, in a cold and calculating way. And the questions he had asked her had been about Kit. Marianne sat down suddenly, as vague yet alarming possibilities forced their way into her mind. ‘He is after my brother.’
He looked at her penetratingly. ‘What makes you say that?’ Then, as if the sound of a distant door opening and closing reminded him they were alone in an out-of-the-way corner of the house, he said, ‘No, don’t tell me here. We must not stay or our absence may be remarked.’ He gave an ironic smile. ‘I am enough of a gentleman, you see, to protect your reputation. Fducation has done something to civilise my instincts.’
She smiled, if a trifle anxiously, and stood up. ‘You’re right. We can’t stay here.’
‘I think it would be best if we returned to the supper room. There is a chance we will be able to talk there undisturbed.’
The supper room was fortunately almost empty. The only person there was Mrs Dalrymple, an elderly lady whose head was nodding on her breast.
Lord Ravensford helped himself to a dish of boiled fowl and, taking Marianne a dish of fruit, joined her at one side of the room. ‘You said that Windham is after Kit?’
‘Yes. I’m sure of it. The questions he asked, they were so very particular.’
‘What did he want to know?’
‘To begin with, whether I had any brothers and sisters, but then he started asking about Kit in a pointed way; whether he was here tonight, or if he was in London . It could have been polite conversation, but somehow it felt all wrong. And so I told him a lie. I told him that Kit was in London . But now I’m worried I’ve done the wrong thing.’
‘How so?’
She shook her head with a worried frown. She did not want to speak ill of her brother, but she was concerned that she might have unwittingly caused him problems and she needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand the world of gambling and debtors’ prisons, and someone who would not be shocked when she - a young lady - asked about them. But where to begin? She opened her fan and shut it again, then said, ‘You know something of my brother . . . ’
‘I do?’ he asked.
‘When I said that Windham was after my brother, you responded by saying that he was after Kit.’
He looked surprised, then angry with himself. ‘I have met him once or twice in town, I believe,’ he said cautiously.
‘Then you must have heard of his disgrace.’
She spoke flatly, hiding her emotion.
‘I . . . have heard something of it.’
‘It’s funny. I never thought I would be worried about Kit. It was always Kit who looked after me. There were only two years between us, and he taught me how to do so many things. He taught me how to climb trees, and he taught me how to swim.’
She smiled as she told him about her happy childhood.
Lord Ravensford smiled, too, at the charming picture she painted. As he listened to her talking about the fun she and Kit had had on their father’s yacht, and how they had enjoyed swimming in the nearby sea, his smile widened. ‘It sounds as though you were very happy.’
‘We were,’ she said, warmed by his tone. ‘At least for a time.’ She sighed. ‘But now I am worried. If Kit has been gambling again then he may well have fallen into debt, and I am afraid that Mr Windham has come here to find him and possibly throw him into prison.’
‘Ah. So that is what you think.’
Marianne, preoccupied with her worries, did not hear his sigh of relief. ‘If he has come to find Kit,’ she said, following her own train of thought, ‘then he will be disappointed. Kit hasn’t been back to the Hall since he told my father of his disgrace. But Mr Windham does not seem to be the sort of man to give up. If he doesn’t find Kit here, I’m afraid he will find him elsewhere, and if he finds him, what then?’ She turned to face him, her eyes looking into his. ‘ Will he
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