Elizabeth Rolls – Regency High Society Vol 3: Beloved Virago / Lord Trenchard's Choice / The Unruly Chaperon / Colonel Ancroft's Love (страница 32)
She might have been prompted by the purest of motives to agree to this venture. Yet she couldn’t deny that she had seized upon the opportunity offered to sever those ties placed upon her by Bath society and its petty restrictions. What eluded her completely was why she had lacked the courage, the self-confidence to do so long before now.
Oh yes, when her aunt had been alive there had been some excuse for remaining in that once very fashionable watering place. Sharp-tongued and frequently contrary her great-aunt Augusta had undoubtedly been, but from the very first she had proved to be excellent company, and they had rubbed along together wonderfully well. Since the elderly lady’s demise the previous year, however, the atmosphere in the Camden Street house had been for the most part sombre, alleviated only by those battles of will in which she and Bridie occasionally indulged.
Katherine shook her head, at a complete loss to understand why she had allowed herself to live such a repetitive, boring existence all these months, where all she had seemed to do was make and receive calls from the same circle of people. What on earth had happened to the spirited girl who had ridden at that next-to-nothing pace across the Irish countryside with her father, whose days had been filled from dawn till dusk with excitement and laughter? Oh, she was still there somewhere, hidden beneath that mantle of good manners and respectability which she had been forced to don in order to be accepted into the fringes of the polite world. How she longed to toss the restricting covering aside and just be herself again!
But had she not succeeded in doing precisely that in recent days? a tiny voice queried. Had she not, in fact, begun to reveal glimpses of that occasionally volatile and intrepid Anglo-Irish girl some time before embarking on this trip to France?
The second question, filtering through her mind hard on the heels of the first, induced Katherine to pause in her task of brushing her hair and to stare intently at her reflection, seeing not her own image in the glass but a scene in a crowded salon where she had confronted a tall, broad-shouldered ex-army Major, whose Rifleman-green uniform had set him quite apart from every other gentleman in the room. Dear God in heaven! Was it possible that she had
A knock on the door interrupted these disquieting reflections. Assuming it must be the housekeeper returning her freshly laundered garments ready for the morning, Katherine didn’t hesitate to bid enter, and was mildly disconcerted to discover none other than the subject of her former disturbing thoughts purposefully entering, with a pile of clothes held firmly in his large, shapely hands.
The niggling resentment at his behaviour, his almost total neglect throughout the entire day, swiftly surfaced, instantly restoring her composure. She rose to her feet, so determined to air her grievances that she never gave a thought to her less than respectable state of dress.
Daniel, on the other hand, was instantly aware that the borrowed raiment left little to the imagination, and it took a monumental effort to draw his eyes away from the clear outlines of perfect feminine curves and oh, so enticing shadows to inform her that he had brought her attire for the morning.
Momentarily forgetting her pique, Katherine cast a brief glance at the neat pile of unfamiliar garments which he had placed on the chair by the bed. ‘Those are not mine. Am I not to wear my own clothes?’
‘No.’ An expression of rueful amusement flickered over his features. ‘I acquired these garments especially for you, on account of the fact that tomorrow you are to take on a new role—that of my nephew.’
‘Really?’ Although the smile she cast him could not have been sweeter, it didn’t quite disguise the return of the dangerous glint in her eyes. ‘Well, let us hope you display a deal more consideration towards your nephew than you did the sister you abandoned in this—this disreputable establishment!’
He held her disdainful gaze levelly, not too pleased himself to discover that she was no longer ignorant of the nature of her surroundings. ‘Who told you?’ he demanded abruptly.
‘No one told me,’ she admitted, incurably truthful. ‘I discovered it for myself.’
‘You mean you went wandering about the place, you infuriating girl!’ Hands on hips, he regarded her much as an irate father might an erring child. ‘I cannot take my eyes off you even for five minutes without you getting into—’
‘Had it been only five minutes,’ she interrupted, her voice no less censorious than his own, ‘I might possibly have remained ignorant of the fact that you, you unconscionable wretch, had abandoned me in a house of ill repute!’
‘Damn it, you little shrew, I did not abandon you!’ Sighing, he ran impatient fingers through his hair, clear evidence of a troubled mind. ‘I discovered from Josephine, shortly after we arrived here, it’s strongly rumoured that Louis XVIII has fled and Napoleon is now back in the capital. If it’s true, then I very much fear our country will once again be at war, so it’s imperative we get back to England as swiftly as possible. Josephine very kindly agreed to accompany me to the coast, where she made contact with a friend of hers who subsequently agreed to take us back across the Channel tomorrow.’
If this was meant to appease her it fell far short of the mark, for she had already learned of this earlier from her hostess during dinner. All the same, Katherine was fair-minded enough to appreciate fully his reasons for not wishing her to accompany them. She could not have been of any use whatsoever, whereas Josephine had proved of immeasurable help. Furthermore, if there still happened to be those out scouring the countryside in search of them, and there was every reason to suppose that there might be, Daniel wouldn’t have wished to put his good friend’s life in jeopardy by being seen in their joint company. And neither would Katherine herself, come to that!
Amazingly enough Katherine couldn’t help but feel a deal of respect for a woman who had suffered so much and yet had managed to withstand all the cruel blows life had dealt her. Despite the fact that the means by which Josephine was attempting to build a new life for herself, whereby one day she would be able to enjoy a comfortable and quiet existence in a modest house overlooking the Seine, could not but appal any virtuous young female with the least sensibility, Katherine couldn’t find it within herself to condemn the woman for making use of the experience which she had been forced to acquire during her turbulent marriage.
Nevertheless, she retained a deal of resentment towards the being who had seen fit to place her in the hands of a brothel-keeper, no matter how certain he had been that the greatest care would be taken of her. Surely he must have known her every feeling must be outraged? Or was it, perhaps, that he had considered her so naïve, such a ninnyhammer, that she would never suspect for a moment that she had been lodged in a house of ill repute?
Perversely, this very real possibility annoyed her more than all the rest, and she began to pace the room, striving to control her rising ire, and resist the very great temptation to hurl the hairbrush still clasped in her hand in the general direction of his head.
Daniel, watching her closely, was not slow to note the tense set of the perfectly proportioned, slender frame, nor the dangerous glint in those gorgeous eyes, before she had turned away to begin her angry pacing. Understandably, she was deeply offended, and not just mildly resentful too at being brought to such a place. But what other choice had been open to him?
Had she but known it, he had suffered the gravest misgivings, and even though his friend had assured him that every care would be taken, and Katherine would be safely placed in that totally private part of the building, where only Josephine’s closest friends were ever invited to enter, he hadn’t known one moment’s peace throughout the entire time he had been away.
‘Oh, come now, Kate, be fair,’ he urged, in a voice clearly laced with exasperation. He was tired after the many tasks he had been obliged to perform that day. He had not eaten a morsel since breakfast, and if the truth were known he was not in the best possible humour himself. ‘It isn’t like you to be missish. Do you think I would have brought you to this place if I’d any other choice? I couldn’t take you to one of the inns, and risk your being noticed. That hair of yours is an absolute bane on occasions. But at least I’ve managed to overcome that particular problem for the remainder of our travels. I had the forethought to acquire a hat.’