ANNE ASHLEY – The Transformation Of Miss Ashworth (страница 3)

Finding himself close to the eastern boundary of the deer-park jogged his memory. Consequently, he turned his fine gelding in the direction of the gatehouse to discover one of his oldest employees busily working in a small vegetable patch.

‘Morning to ’ee, sir. Be ’ee wanting me to give the lads a ’and wi’ the logging again this autumn?’

‘Only if you feel up to it, Dodd,’ Philip answered, thereby betraying the affection in which he held this particularly loyal estate worker. ‘The reason I’m here is to ask you about a certain post-chaise-and-four I spied crossing the park late yesterday afternoon. The occupant made no attempt to come up to the house. Was it from this gate entry was gained?’

‘God bless you, sir, ’twere indeed! And ’twere none other than Miss Bethany ’erself come ’ome after all these years, would you believe!’ The old man removed his hat to run a hand over his balding pate. ‘What a sight for sore eyes she be, too, sir. Didn’t suppose you’d mind ’er taking liberties, not Miss Bethany,’ he added, casting a questioning glance up at the tall figure on horseback.

The assurance was not long in coming. ‘Of course I don’t object. But remain vigilant, Dodd. Miss Ashworth is by no means the only one to have returned from across the Channel in recent times,’ he said, recalling his sister’s fears. Which were not without foundation, as it happened. ‘There’s much unrest about the county at present, many who harbour bitter feelings now the war with France is at an end, and they have come home to find no work.’

Sir Philip took a moment or two to appreciate the picturesque landscape, where no firearm had been discharged in anger, as far as he was aware, since the Civil War, when his ancestors had stood firm against the Roundheads for several days before finally being defeated. Then his mind returned to more recent events, and the arrival home of someone he’d known almost since the day of her birth.

All at once he was consumed with curiosity, a rare experience for him these days. ‘What is she like, Dodd… Miss Ashworth? As you had no trouble recognising her, I can only assume she hasn’t changed much.’

‘Changed some, sir. But not so much that I didn’t know ’er after a second glance. I mind she’s a deal leaner than of yore. Not much flesh on the bone from what I could see. But the smile ain’t changed, sir. I’d know that smile of Miss Beth’s anywhere. Light up the dullest day, so ’twould!’

‘Yes, yes, you’re right,’ Philip acknowledged, his mind’s eye conjuring up images from the past. Memories, almost forgotten in recent years, came flooding back of a girl dressed in breeches, galloping, astride her horse, across the estate at his side. She had been more boy than girl in those years before Lady Henrietta Barfield had taken a very necessary hand in her niece’s upbringing. The transformation from sad romp had eventually been achieved. He seemed to remember that before she had left the Grange she bore all the trappings of a young lady; suddenly recalled, too, that he had not altogether approved of the changes that had taken place in her. But that was then, he reminded himself. What was she like now? Might she be a wife and mother?

For some reason that escaped him completely, he found the thought faintly disturbing, and consulted once again with his gatekeeper. ‘Was she travelling alone, Dodd, or with a protector?’

The old man shook his head. ‘That I couldn’t say for sure, sir. Being a mite on the short side, as yer might say, I can’t see into carriages none too well. But, I mind there were someone else in there with ’er, lurking in the shadows.’

Quickly taking his leave, Philip headed back towards the Court. He was halfway along the sweep of the drive when a second surge of curiosity, not untouched by tangled threads of lingering disquiet at the thought of Beth being married, gripped him, and he turned his mount, and headed across the park in a westerly direction.

Nestling just beyond the boundary wall in a picturesque, shallow valley was the thriving community where a good many of his estate workers resided. Neat rows of lime-washed cottages lined the main village street, and led up to the tiny church, where the Staveley family had for generations always worshipped. Beyond the church, several much larger brick dwellings had been erected during the latter half of the previous century. The Grange, the grandest of the newer buildings, was set in a large garden and was shielded from the road by a substantial yew hedge.

It had been a number of years since Sir Philip had had reason to visit the house. He could see at a glance, as he turned his fine bay hack into the driveway, that the property was showing signs of neglect. The garden, although far from overgrown, was nowhere near as neatly contained as he remembered, and the house, too, clearly demanded attention in several areas.

After securely tethering his mount to the hitching post, he wasted no time in making his arrival known. His summons was answered promptly enough by a middle-aged woman whom he had known since boyhood, and who didn’t attempt to hide her delight at seeing him.

‘Why, Sir Philip! It’s been a mort of years since you stepped into the parlour here at the Grange. Come in, do, sir,’ she invited. ‘Miss Beth will be that pleased to see you, I’m sure. She shouldn’t be long. Be out with that man of hers at present. But she promised to be back in good time for luncheon.’

‘Man…?’ Philip echoed, once again experiencing the strangest gnawing sensation in his abdomen.

‘That’s right, sir, Mr Rudge. Takes proper good care of her so he do. Hardly ever lets her out of his sight, so I understand. They be out now looking at horses over Markham way, it being market day. But Mrs Stride be here. Nice lady she be. I’m sure she’ll be happy to bear you company until the mistress returns. If you step inside, sir, I’ll make you known to the lady.’

Still trying to assimilate what he had discovered, and not put his own wild interpretations on the scant information, Philip entered the, now, slightly faded front parlour to discover a woman seated by the hearth, and looking so completely at home in her surroundings that one might have been forgiven for supposing she were mistress of the house.

As she set aside her sewing, and rose to her feet, he judged her to be of a similar age to his sister, though wearing rather better. The instant she spoke, inviting him to sit down and offering refreshment, it was evident, too, that she was an educated woman of no little refinement; and one who, moreover, betrayed no diffidence whatsoever at finding herself in the company of a peer of the realm. All of which only added to the puzzling questions swirling round his head.

‘You must forgive me, ma’am, for calling so soon after your arrival here. Only I allowed avid curiosity for once to override basic good manners. Miss Ashworth and I knew each other so well at one time that I wished to renew the acquaintance without delay.’

‘I know she will be delighted to see you, Sir Philip. She mentioned yesterday, when we took a short-cut across your land, that you would forgive such a liberty in one whom you had known since she was an infant.’

Heartened by the fact that Mrs Stride had not attempted to correct him after he had referred to Beth as Miss Ashworth, Philip took a moment to sample his wine and study the handsome woman seated opposite. ‘Forgive me, ma’am, for asking, but would I be correct in assuming you’re not even distantly related to Beth?’

‘You would indeed, sir,’ she instantly confirmed. ‘I am, to all intents and purposes, a hired companion. But you will never get Beth to admit as much. My late husband was a major in the army, and lost his life at Talavera. It was while I was attempting to attain passage back to England that Colonel Ashworth engaged my services, after his daughter’s unexpected arrival in the Peninsula.’

Sir Philip’s ears instantly pricked up at this. ‘Unexpected…?’ he echoed.

The widow appeared nonplussed for a moment, then she shrugged. ‘I believe I’m right in thinking the Colonel wasn’t expecting her. But it was some years ago, and my memory is a trifle hazy. Many letters from home were never received, so perhaps it was merely that he wasn’t sure when to expect her.

‘He certainly never seemed displeased by her presence,’ she continued after a moment’s consideration. ‘That I can tell you with complete conviction. Quite the opposite, in fact! I believe he derived great comfort from having his daughter with him. And, of course, he always made sure she was well protected.’ She shook her head and smiled. ‘Not that Beth needs much protection. As you are possibly aware, she can ride and shoot as well as most men. Which, she assures me, was the result of a somewhat unorthodox upbringing.’

‘Unorthodox in the extreme, ma’am,’ he concurred, smiling as he was assailed by further memories. ‘Encouraged by a doting father, she scandalised half the county by her tomboyish behaviour.’

‘But not you, sir, I think,’ the widow remarked, after staring across at him intently.