Regency High Society Vol 3: Beloved Virago / Lord Trenchard's Choice / The Unruly Chaperon / Colonel Ancroft's Love

‘Ah!’ Katherine exclaimed, enlightenment dawning. ‘So Sir Giles and Mr Cranford are engaged in the same work, are they?’

‘Er—in a manner of speaking, yes, miss,’ he admitted, casting yet a further tentative glance in the general direction of the hearth. ‘Sir Giles has every intention of making your presence known in the—er—right quarter, as you might say, at the appropriate time, and has taken the precaution of sending two of his best men down here to look after you.’

Betraying great fortitude, he then turned his attention to Daniel. ‘Sir Giles wishes me to assure you, sir, that the young lady will be in no danger. You are to make use of the two men who travelled with me from the capital in any capacity you think fit. There will be others arriving soon in the locale, and my sister and I shall ourselves be putting up at the local inn. Needless to say, there must be no contact between us once I leave here.’

‘Evidently Sir Giles expects the traitor to act as soon as he knows of Katherine’s safe arrival,’ Daniel remarked, after tossing the remaining contents of his glass down his throat.

‘Sir Giles knows how to play the game, sir. He’s refining every detail at this very moment. The men he’s sent down are merely a precaution, sir, nothing more,’ Mr Ashcroft didn’t hesitate to assure him. ‘Sir Giles knew you’d expect nothing less. The traitor will be given insufficient time to act before next Friday. He’ll need to make contact with his associates. But Sir Giles is convinced that if an attempt to … to abduct Miss O’Malley will be made, it will occur on the day of the party, perhaps even at the event itself. Time is not on the traitor’s side, sir. He must prevent Sir Giles from escorting Miss O’Malley to London.’

Daniel appeared decidedly grim, and Katherine was experiencing certain misgivings now that all the scheming and planning were showing signs of achieving a result, but steadfastly refused to betray her feelings of unease. ‘Then we must all be patient and wait for events to unfold.’

‘Believe me when I tell you, Miss O’Malley, that your safety is Sir Giles’s main concern,’ he reiterated. ‘Try as best you can to continue as normal.’ Mr Ashcroft made to leave, but then bethought himself of something else. ‘By the by, I’ve brought your trunk of clothes from London, miss. I’ll instruct the two men I’m leaving here to carry it into the house for you.’

‘Oh, you darling man!’ Katherine darted forward to place a kiss on Mr Ashcroft’s thin cheek, which had the effect of sending him quite pink with pleasure before he took his leave.

Daniel, unable to suppress a smile, went over to the decanters to replenish his glass. ‘How typical of a woman! At a time like this the only thing that concerns you is clothes.’

‘But of course! It will be sheer bliss to don my own garments again. Besides which, Daniel, you know yourself we’ve nothing to worry about for the next few days.’

‘Possibly not,’ he conceded. ‘At least now I’ve no qualms about sending a note to my uncle accepting his invitation to accompany him to the local market town to view some livestock next Friday morning. And those two men will certainly come in handy about the place. For a start, I shall set one to work in the garden to keep a permanent eye on you and make sure you don’t take it into your head to go wandering off again.’

‘Do so, by all means. I shall enjoy the company,’ she assured him, refusing to become nettled. ‘It’s just a pity Sir Giles didn’t think to send us a female.’

Daniel raised his brows in surprise. ‘Not necessary. Janet can keep an eye on you whilst you’re indoors.’

‘And how typical of a man!’ Katherine parried, casting him a look of exasperation before reaching for the door-handle. ‘Janet has far too much to do to watch me all day. It’s high time, Daniel Ross, that you sorted out your domestic situation. Janet is in desperate need of help about the place. The sooner this house has a mistress to take charge the better!’

Smiling tenderly, Daniel gazed down into his glass. ‘It has already acquired the only one it will ever have whilst I remain master here,’ he murmured, the instant Katherine had departed, closing the door quietly behind her.

Chapter Fifteen

‘Can I not persuade you to step into the house for a glass of burgundy before you set off home, my boy?’ Sir Joshua’s invitation was heard even by the footman who emerged from the house in order to assist his master to alight from the carriage.

Daniel hesitated. The visit to the market town had proved surprisingly enjoyable. Not only had he been impressed by the high standard of farm stock offered for sale, but he had come upon a number of neighbours whom he had not seen in a very long time, and had received several invitations to dine. He was eager to return to Rosslair and tell Katherine about the trip, but decided that that could wait a while longer. Sir Joshua didn’t socialise to any great extent these days, his hearing having become an increasing handicap, and Daniel had gained the distinct impression that his uncle pined for a little masculine company from time to time.

‘That sounds a fine idea,’ he responded, accompanying him into the house. ‘But I can’t stay for too long. There are matters I must attend to back home. And there’s the party at the Cranfords’ place this evening, remember?’

‘Going to be a large affair, by all accounts,’ Sir Joshua remarked, before his attention was claimed by his butler who informed him that he had a visitor awaiting him in the parlour.

Although his hearing might be sadly impaired, there was absolutely nothing amiss with his mental faculties, as he proved when he entered the comfortable room, and recognised at once the fashionably attired young gentleman whom his daughter-in-law had been entertaining during his absence.

‘Why, it’s young George Gifford, ain’t it?’ he announced loudly, as his unexpected visitor rose from the chair to shake his outstretched hand. ‘Some relation of Lord Waverley’s, if my memory serves me correctly.’

‘Y-yes, that’s r-right, sir,’ he responded, casting a penetrating glance beyond his host’s left shoulder at the spot where Daniel stood.

‘Are you acquainted with my nephew, Major Ross?’

‘N-no, I’ve not had the p-pleasure, Sir Joshua.’

Daniel’s eyes narrowed as the dandified sprig took his outstretched hand in a surprisingly firm clasp. ‘We have never been introduced, Mr Gifford, but I feel certain that I’ve seen you somewhere before.’

‘Quite p-possibly, sir. I’ve been s-staying in London with Lord Waverley for the p-past few weeks. Perhaps it was there.’

‘No, I do not think so,’ Daniel countered, accepting the glass of wine Julia held out to him. ‘I haven’t been in the capital for several weeks.’

‘No, been gadding about across the Channel, would you believe?’ Sir Joshua put in, seating himself in his favourite chair and staring owlishly up at his nephew, who had positioned himself by the hearth. ‘And what’s this Julia has been telling me about you bringing back a young female relation of yours?’

Daniel saw Julia’s eyes turn swiftly in his direction, but it was the sudden arresting look he perceived in Mr Gifford’s dark orbs as the young man resumed his seat which momentarily captured his attention. ‘Yes, dear Louise is still with me, I’m delighted to say. I’m escorting her to the party tonight, as it happens.’

‘Look forward to meeting the gel,’ Sir Joshua declared, before sampling his wine. ‘Can’t recall your ever mentioning her before, though.’

‘No?’ Daniel shrugged. ‘Well, as I believe I explained to Julia, Louise and I are only distantly related. My grandmother did have a few relations who, like herself, managed to escape the Terror.’

‘Damned fine woman, your grandmother,’ Sir Joshua announced. ‘I was fond of her.’

Daniel’s expression softened noticeably. ‘I’m certain you will like Louise Durand when you meet her, sir. She is very like my grandmother in many ways.’

‘But not in looks. That you must own,’ Julia, much to Daniel’s annoyance, was not reticent to point out. ‘Why, she has flaming red hair!’

Plainly she remained sceptical about the kinship, and Daniel, although continuing to gaze across at his uncle, was conscious of her staring fixedly in his direction, as though expecting him to explain the precise relationship. He found himself experiencing a resurgence of the irritation he had felt when he had accompanied her back to the Hall earlier in the week. Even had he wished to do so he could not at this juncture reveal Katherine’s true identity, but he experienced no reluctance whatsoever in revealing the depths of his feelings towards her.

‘Her similarity to my grandmother is in character, not looks. She is quite simply a breath of fresh air. Her mere presence under the roof has turned my house into a home. I could never be content if she remained away from Rosslair for any length of time.’

Unlike his daughter-in-law, who looked as though she had just received a sharp slap across the face, Sir Joshua positively beamed with delight. ‘Well, if that’s the way of it, my boy, I sincerely do look forward to meeting the girl!’ He then returned his attention to his unexpected guest, who was staring thoughtfully down into the contents of his glass, and asked him where he was putting up.

‘W-with the C-cranfords, sir,’ he answered with a start, as though he had been locked in a world of his own. ‘Set out y-yesterday evening. I-I’ve never been in this part of the world b-before, and wished to see s-something of the countryside. My c-cousin should be arriving any time now.’

‘Is Waverley coming down?’ Sir Joshua appeared mildly surprised. ‘I would have thought, with all this business flaring up again across the Channel, he would have remained in the capital.’ He frowned as he continued to stare across at his young visitor. ‘Isn’t your cousin connected in some way with the War Office? Or am I thinking of someone else?’

‘He w-was once, sir, I believe. So too was Viscount Davenham. And he intends to be at the party tonight. Sir Giles Osborne also means to attend, so I’ve heard.’

‘Good gad!’ Sir Joshua’s bushy, greying brows rose this time. ‘If that’s the case they can’t be taking recent events very seriously.’

‘That I c-couldn’t say.’ Quickly finishing off his wine, Mr Gifford rose to his feet. ‘I’d b-better be getting back now, sir. Thought I’d just call to see you as I was in the area, and I l-look forward to seeing you again at the p-party tonight.’

‘Are you well acquainted with him, Uncle?’ Daniel asked, after Julia, still appearing rather shaken, accompanied Mr Gifford from the room.

Sir Joshua shook his head. ‘Met him only once before, when I travelled up to town with Cranford last month and we dined together at our club. Waverley was there. He introduced us.’

Daniel could not rid himself of the suspicion that he had seen the young man somewhere before, and began to experience a decidedly uneasy feeling. There was just something artificial about him. His stuttering speech made him appear nervy, and his fashionable attire slightly dandified, but there was no timidity about the directness of his gaze. ‘Was Sir Giles Osborne at the club that night, by any chance?’

‘Why, I do believe he was, yes! And Lord Davenham too. We all sat at the same table, playing cards. Are you acquainted with him?’

Daniel’s eyes narrowed speculatively. His uncle had travelled to London with Cranford round about the time he himself had set forth on his journey to France. Could it possibly have been that night at the club that Sir Giles had told his totally fabricated tale about Justine leaving certain documents in the hands of a lawyer? It was certainly a possibility, and if he had, then it was reasonable to assume that he suspected someone seated at that table of being the traitor.

Cranford and Sir Joshua were certainly out of the reckoning. Sir Joshua had never had any connection with the War Office. Furthermore, Sir Giles would never have selected Daniel himself to aid him if he had suspected for a moment that Sir Joshua was a traitor. Their relationship was just too close. Gifford at twenty-three, or four at most, was too young to be the traitor, although he could well be in league now with the man Sir Giles was determined to unearth. So that just left Davenham and Waverley, both of whom had had some connection with the War Office, and both of whom had been at White’s on that particular night. More disturbing still was that both men were to be among the guests at the Cranfords’ party that evening.

‘I’m not acquainted with either Davenham or Waverley,’ Daniel admitted. ‘But I do know Sir Giles.’