Miss Verey’s Proposal

Chapter Fourteen

The afternoon dragged by. Shortly after lunch, a man brought some medicines for the Vicomtesse de Beaurain, and she roused herself sufficiently to take a spoonful at Thérèse’s coaxing.

‘What is the matter with her?’ Jane whispered softly, as Thérèse returned to the sewing-table. She did not wish to pry, but there was something unbearably touching about the patient devotion with which the daughter nursed her sick mother.

‘She has a weak chest and is forever suffering inflammation of the lungs,’ Thérèse said. ‘She needs to go to a hot climate, or to a spa, perhaps, to cure her.’ For a moment the tears shone in her eyes, then she blinked them back. ‘Now come! I need to finish this dress so that I may pay Samways!’

They talked some more. Thérèse spoke about her experiences as a governess and Jane told Thérèse about her childhood at Ambergate, managing to talk quite a lot about Simon in the process.

‘It sounds a delightful place to live,’ Thérèse said dreamily, when Jane had finished describing the rolling Wiltshire hills and lush fields. ‘But I suppose that all young ladies must come to London to make a suitable match. Are you betrothed yet, Jane? It would seem very likely!’

Jane blushed. She had managed to avoid speaking of Alex and even succeeded in not thinking about him for at least five minutes at a time.

‘No! Yes, that is, I suppose I am, in a manner of speaking…’

‘Tiens!’ Thérèse said, amused. ‘Are you or are you not, Jane? You do not seem certain!’

‘Well…’ suddenly Jane felt like confiding. ‘There is a gentleman who made an arrangement with my father that I should become betrothed to his brother.’

Thérèse nodded. ‘That I can understand. That also is the way of the world! And then?’

‘I did not wish to marry the brother,’ Jane said, ‘and then he fell in love with my dearest friend.’

‘And what happened about the arranged match?’

Jane blushed again. ‘Well, the gentleman-he is a Duke-wishes me to marry him now instead of his brother, in order to preserve the family alliance. It was not a good enough reason to persuade me. Unfortunately yesterday we became…in short, I appear to be compromised and will have to agree.’

It sounded quite extraordinary when described in those bald terms and indeed Thérèse was staring at her in the greatest astonishment.

‘Mon Dieu, Jane, do not tell me half the story! Who is this Duke, and what is he like, and how on earth did so innocent a girl as you become compromised?’

Jane could feel herself blushing all the more. ‘The gentleman is the Duke of Delahaye. He is-oh, how can I describe him? He is accustomed to people falling in with his plans and was not at all pleased when I opposed them! He is handsome but seems a little grave until one gets to know him, and he has a reputation as a recluse, which some consider to be most odd! But I think-’

Jane broke off, aware that she was smiling and that she had given herself away entirely.

‘So you are in love with him,’ Thérèse said shrewdly, ‘in which case why did you refuse his proposal?’

Jane hesitated. ‘Why do you refuse to see Simon?’ she countered. ‘The reasons are not always simple, are they, Thérèse?’

Their eyes held for a moment, then the older girl smiled and shrugged a little. ‘I like you, Jane Verey! I should not, but I do! Mon Dieu, why must the Vereys make things so much more difficult for me?’

Jane was glad to turn the subject away from herself. She knew that she had given herself away too easily. It did not matter that Thérèse suspected that she was in love with Alex, but at all costs she had to guard against him finding out the truth. It would be too demeaning, when his affections still lay with his dead wife. With a little pang of apprehension, Jane realised that she would have to face Alex at some point and explain why she had disregarded his warnings to avoid Spitalfields. It was a nerve-racking thought.

‘We saw you with Samways at Vauxhall Gardens,’ Jane said suddenly, her thoughts of Alex bringing her back to the man who had threatened him there. ‘Surely you did not go there with him, Thérèse?’

Thérèse laughed. ‘No Jane, you may acquit me of complaisance in Samways’s dirty schemes! I had gone to Vauxhall on my own-I was playing truant again, I confess! Samways caught up with me there and tried to persuade me to join him in a spot of enterprise. He was engaged in lifting plump purses from unsuspecting victims and wished to pass them on to me for safe-keeping! I gave him the rightabout and saw no more of him!’

Jane hesitated on the edge of telling Thérèse about Samways’s attack on Alex, but held her peace. For all the older girl’s worldliness and air of cynicism, Jane suspected that she would be shocked. It was not comforting, however, to think that she was in the power of a man who was so ruthless. Jane hoped profoundly that Simon would pay what was demanded and that she would be home within a few hours.

They chatted a little more, then Thérèse made some broth for their supper and managed to persuade her mother to take a little. A soft conversation in French followed, then Thérèse called Jane over.

‘Miss Verey, may I make you known to my mother, the Vicomtesse de Beaurain? Mama, this is Miss Jane Verey.’

The Vicomtesse had the waxy pallor of the very ill. Her slight body made barely a dent under the thin covers. Her eyes, a faded blue that had no doubt once been as vivid as Thérèse’s own, were sunk deep and shadowed with pain. Nevertheless, they rested on Jane with interest and warmth. She took Jane’s hand in her own.

‘Enchantée, mam’zelle…’

‘I am sorry that you are so unwell, ma’am,’ Jane said sincerely. ‘It must be horrid for you. If I can do anything to help-’

The Vicomtesse opened her blue eyes very wide. ‘You can help, Miss Verey. You can persuade my foolish daughter to give your brother a hearing. She is pining for him, yet absurd notions of rank and pride keep her silent-’

‘Maman!’ Jane was amused to see that Thérèse had blushed bright red. ‘You should not give me away!’

‘Pshaw!’ The Vicomtesse made a vague gesture, lying back and closing her eyes. ‘I want what is best for my daughter, Miss Verey, and I recognise love when I see it. Seven times your brother has come here to speak to Thérèse and each time she has sent him away. Yet afterwards, she cries…’

‘Maman,’ Thérèse said again, beseechingly, ‘it is not so simple-’

‘Nonsense! It is as simple or as complicated as you wish to make it! That’s French practicality!’ The Vicomtesse smiled faintly. ‘Now let me rest, child, and think on what I have said!’

The candle had burned down. Thérèse started to tidy the room and folded up the sewing with neat, practical movements. ‘It is very late,’ she said. ‘Perhaps Samways will not be back tonight. You should try and rest…’

She dragged out a pallet from under the Viscomtesse’s bed and gestured towards it, but Jane was shaking her head.

‘I should not sleep,’ she said with truth. ‘I will doze in the chair-’

The door opened and Jane’s heart leaped in her throat. Samways came in, grinning at Thérèse as she looked down her nose at him.

‘Good evening, Princess! Well, now, it seems I have a tastier bait than I had thought at first!’ He swung round on Jane, who instinctively drew back. ‘It seems,’ Samways said gloatingly, ‘that this little lady is the betrothed of the Duke of Delahaye!’

Jane caught her breath as he came towards her and raised one calloused hand to run it down her cheek. She flinched away. ‘I have a grudge against that man,’ Samways continued. ‘At first I wondered whether it would suffice to send you back to him after an instructive night in one of my clubs…It’s a sweet notion!’ His shoulders shook at Jane’s look of disgusted horror. ‘But then I thought not-I’m not a vindictive man-I’ll just use you to bait the trap! He will come to save you, will he not?’

‘Let us hope he thinks it worth it!’ Jane said, with more cold composure than she was feeling. ‘I was telling Mademoiselle de Beaurain earlier that it is an arranged match. I pray that his Grace will put himself to the trouble!’

For a moment Samways hesitated, then showed his teeth in a yellow grin. ‘You had better pray so, miss! Now, you will stay here whilst I send to his Grace of Delahaye, telling him to meet me here to negotiate the terms of your freedom…’

With a sick flash of memory, Jane saw again that night at Vauxhall, the moonlight glinting on the knife blade. She knew what would await Alex when he came to keep the meeting. Thérèse stepped closer, as though she were afraid that Jane would faint, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

‘It will be all right, chérie…’

Jane swallowed hard. ‘What is your quarrel with Alex Delahaye, sir? If you intend to use me in your revenge I believe I have a right to know!’

For a moment she thought that Samways would refuse, but then he smiled again. ‘The man robbed me of fortune, that it what I hold against him!’

‘Robbed you?’ Jane sounded as amazed as she felt. She had not expected this.

‘Aye.’ Samways passed his handkerchief across his florid face. ‘There was a time when I was a gentleman, set fair to marry one of his Grace’s relatives! Rich she was-a rich widow ripe for the picking, and sweet enough on me to make the business easy! That was before the Duke saw fit to put an end to it and lose me a fortune into the bargain!’

‘A rich widow-’ Jane was almost whispering.

‘Aye, Lady Eleanor Fane!’ The hatred in his voice was almost tangible now. ‘That oh-so-respectable society lady was willing to throw her bonnet over the windmill for me-until Delahaye turned me off! All that fortune that would have been mine-none of this scraping and scratching a living…’

Jane sat down rather quickly, her thoughts whirling. It was an extraordinary story. The thought of the severe Lady Eleanor being thwarted from making a runaway match with an unsuitable man at least ten years her junior made the imagination boggle. Yet Samways had said that he had been a gentleman once and his hatred of Alex was all too real…

Dimly she registered that Samways was leaving and instructing one of his men to stay with the girls. Thérèse was objecting at this invasion of her home but was being overruled. The door slammed behind and the man settled himself in the armchair, fingering his knife and grinning wolfishly at Jane. Thérèse, who appeared to have accepted the situation with sudden and suspicious equanimity, was offering him a drink of wine. Jane watched as she moved across to pour it and, behind the man’s back, added some of her mother’s medicine. Jane stared, then, obedient to a fierce glare from Thérèse, looked away.

They settled down, Jane taking the pallet that Thérèse had indicated and Thérèse herself lighting another candle and sitting at the workbench as though prepared to sit out the night. The presence of Samway’s henchman prevented any kind of discussion. On the bed, the Vicomtesse sighed a little in her sleep.

For what seemed like hours, Jane lay rigid on the hard pallet, her thoughts going round and around in her head. It was bad enough to have put herself in a position where Simon could be asked for money for her safe return, but to have brought Alex into danger was an entirely different matter. She wondered whether Samways had contacted him yet, what he would do, whether he could escape the threat and if so, what would happen to her…She knew her thoughts were quite profitless but she could not escape them. A couple of tears squeezed from beneath her eyelids.

‘Jane!’ Thérèse was shaking her by the shoulder and Jane opened her eyes, dazzled for a moment by the candle flame. ‘Come quickly! He is asleep!’

‘What-?’

‘The poppy juice!’ Thérèse said impatiently. ‘I thought it would never work!’ She stood aside so that Jane could see the slumped figure of the guard, sound asleep and snoring loudly. ‘Now, listen. You must get out of that window and climb along the ledge to the end of the building. There is a staircase there that leads down to the street. Samways’s men will be about, but in the dark you may be able to slip past. If not, there is a family in the end tenement who will hide you! I would come too, only I cannot leave Maman here! I pray you will not be too late!’

‘But when he comes back…’ Jane was struggling with the stiff catch on the window. ‘What will you say, Thérèse?’

‘Oh, that I fell asleep and when I awoke you were gone! If it comes to it, Jane, I will do everything I can to help your Duke of Delahaye, but I hope-I imagine-that he is a man who can look after himself! Now, good luck and godspeed!’ She gave Jane a brief, hard hug.

Just climbing out of the window was frightful enough for Jane. She had never been afraid of heights, but in the dark she felt frighteningly exposed and alone. The ledge was wide enough to edge along very carefully but when her dress caught on a nail and pulled her back she almost lost her balance, and had to bite her lip hard to prevent herself from crying out. She found that she no longer cared if all of Samways’s men were thronging the street below as long as she could get back on to solid ground.

She reached the end of the building at last and stepped carefully down into the dark stairwell, pausing for her frightened breathing to still. There was no sound or movement close by and she began to hope that she had been undetected. The stairs were unlit and she started to creep down, feeling her way down one wall, each step a venture into the unknown.

When she got to the bottom she paused again, before peering gingerly around the corner and out into the street. It appeared to be deserted, which was odd since Samways’s men had been swarming everywhere earlier. Jane started to slip along the edge of the building, keeping in the shadows, intent only on reaching the main street and trying to find someone who could help her. She tried to blot out of her mind the dangers of wandering around London at night, the perils that might befall her, the fact that Alex might even now be walking into a trap…

She reached the end of the buildings and there was a pool of darkness before her, blacker than the surrounding night. Jane darted across, almost tripping over a kerb stone and putting out a hand blindly to break her fall. And then she was caught and held in a merciless grip, strong arms sweeping her up and away from the darkness, but she did not cry out or struggle, for as soon as he had touched her she had recognised who he was.

There was light and warmth, and someone was forcing strong spirit down her throat.

‘What the hell do we do now, Alex?’ Jane heard a voice say.

Jane coughed and opened her eyes. She was still in Alex’s arms, sitting on his knee and held close, which struck her as somewhat improper given that the other occupants of the room were Harry Marchnight and her own brother. She struggled to be free, but Alex held her tightly.

‘Jane? Has he hurt you? Are you all right?’

‘No, I am not hurt,’ Jane said crossly, ‘but for you squeezing me half to death!’

She saw Simon’s tense face ease into a smile as he exchanged a rueful look with Alex. ‘She’s quite herself,’ he observed.

Alex stood up, placing her gently in the chair opposite his.

‘We haven’t much time,’ he said. ‘You really are unhurt, Jane? Tell me the truth!’

‘Yes, truly!’ Jane was shaken and a little awed by what she saw in Alex’s face. ‘And Thérèse is quite safe, though we must not be gone long! She drugged the man who was sent to guard us, but how long he will remain unconscious is another matter-’

‘That was when you escaped?’ Henry questioned swiftly. ‘And there was only one man left in the room with you?’

Jane nodded. ‘Thérèse would not come with me because she would not leave her mother, but she should not be left to face Samways alone! He said his men were everywhere, but-’

‘We’ve taken out all of those who were guarding the street,’ Alex said. ‘We were intending to ambush the ones in the house with you, though of course we had no way of knowing how many there were. But you say there is only one, and he has been dealt with by Mademoiselle de Beaurain.’ He flashed Simon a grin. ‘The next time we consider mounting a rescue we will remember that the two of you are well able to take care of yourselves! What did you have in mind for Samways? Hitting him over the head with a saucepan, perhaps?’

‘Perhaps…’ Jane shivered. ‘We must go back for Thérèse. Whatever she says, she cannot stay there now!’

‘No.’ Alex consulted his watch ‘-and we have little time. I am to meet Samways here within the hour-which I shall do, but with the odds weighted more in my favour than he imagines! Simon, will you escort Jane, Thérèse and her mother back to Portman Square? Harry and I will deal with Samways!’

It was Thérèse who opened the door to Jane’s knock. The candlelight was behind her, turning her silver hair to a halo, and her face was in shadow.

‘Jane? What has happened? Tiens-’ she suddenly saw Alex and Henry Marchnight ‘-messieurs…’

Alex tucked the pistol into his belt. ‘Your servant, Mam’zelle de Beaurain. I am Alexander Delahaye, Miss Verey’s fiancé.’

‘Jane is most fortunate,’ Thérèse said, with an expressive lift of her brows. ‘And this gentleman…?’

Henry Marchnight, languidly elegant as ever, came forward to bow over Thérèse’s hand. ‘Henry Marchnight, entirely at your service, mademoiselle. And here is one who most particularly wishes to see you…’ He stepped to one side and Simon came out of the shadows, closing the door softly behind him before turning to Thérèse.

It was an extraordinary moment. Jane, standing within the circle of Alex’s arm, saw the arrested expression on Thérèse’s face and the still watchfulness of Simon’s. She had not had the chance to tell Simon anything of the outcome of her conversations with Thérèse, and now she saw that there had been no need anyway. They had eyes only for each other, utterly absorbed in the reaction of one to the other. Jane, Alex, Henry, the sleeping occupants of the room…all might have been invisible.

‘Good evening, milord,’ Thérèse said, a little tremulously. Her eyes were suddenly full of tears. Jane realised, with a rush of compassion, that she was very nervous.

‘Thérèse.’ Simon said.

Very slowly they came together. Simon’s arms went around her gently, then he was holding her exultantly to him and there was no need for any further words.

‘Time for all that later,’ Alex said, with a grin. His arm tightened about Jane for a brief instant, then he became businesslike.

‘Mademoiselle de Beaurain, you and your mother must leave here at once. Please could you gather your belongings as swiftly as possible. Simon will escort you back to Portman Square with Jane whilst Henry and I stay to keep our appointment with Samways. Please!’ Alex added imperatively, as Thérèse had not moved. ‘There is not a moment to lose!’

‘You will come with us, won’t you, Thérèse?’ Jane said, moving forward. Thérèse had not let go of Simon’s hand and Jane half-expected him to add his pleas to hers, but he remained silent, his eyes never leaving her face.

There was a moment of stillness, then a voice spoke from the bed.

‘My child,’ the Vicomtesse said, ‘if you refuse now I swear I shall disinherit you!’

She struggled to sit up, coughing a little. ‘Pass me my wrap, I pray you, monsieur,’ she instructed Alex. ‘I shall then feel respectable enough to undertake the journey!’

Thérèse nodded, a little smile on her lips. ‘There is nothing here that I wish to bring,’ she said, and Jane thought that she was speaking of more than just her belongings. ‘I have a small bag-so…’ she pulled it out from under the bed ‘…and that is all.’ She turned to Simon. ‘I fear I come to you in nothing but the clothes I stand up in, my lord!’

Simon’s smile was full of tenderness. ‘That is enough for me, my love! Now, will you go first and I shall carry your mother down. The carriage is behind Crispin Buildings. Harry, if you could help us before you come back to stay with Alex…?’

‘What will you do with him?’ Thérèse asked, eyeing the slumped figure of Samways’s henchman. It looked to Jane as though he had not moved since she had gone.

Alex laughed. ‘We will leave him there! Samways will return to find an empty room, an unconscious guard-and Harry and myself waiting for him!’

At the last moment, before she started down the dark stair for the last time, Jane turned to look back at Alex. She wanted to run to him and tell him to be careful, that she loved him, that if he was killed she could never feel happy again. But there was something stern in his expression, as though he was already thinking of the encounter to come, that made her bite the words back and she could only hope that she had the chance to tell him when next she saw him.

Their arrival in Portman Square was as dramatic as anyone might have wished. The whole house was in uproar, with all lights blazing and all the servants still awake and milling around whilst they waited for news. Jane, whose preoccupation with Alex’s safety had almost led her to forget that she had been held to ransom, hung back, suddenly embarrassed.

Simon helped the Vicomtesse from the carriage and sent a startled footman running to waken the doctor. Thérèse followed him into the hall, while Jane brought up the rear.

Lady Verey and Sophia had been in the drawing-room, but both came hurrying as Simon strode into the hall, their strained faces breaking into smiles.

‘Jane!’ Sophia hugged her friend with heartfelt relief. ‘Oh, Jane, we were so worried! How could you do such a thing?’

‘Thank God you are safe, Jane! And-’ Lady Verey broke off as she caught sight of Thérèse and her mother. ‘Who-?’ she began, only to have the question comprehensively answered as Simon, oblivious to all around him, swept Thérèse into a ruthless embrace.

‘My apologies, madam, for this unexpected intrusion into your home,’ Vicomtesse de Beaurain said calmly. ‘It must seem most singular and indeed it is, but-’ A spasm of coughing shook her and Jane and Lady Verey both stepped forward to help her.

‘Do not try to talk any more, ma’am,’ Jane said soothingly. ‘Mama, Sophia, this is the Vicomtesse de Beaurain and that-’ she nodded towards the slender figure of Thérèse, still locked in Simon’s arms ‘-that is her daughter, whom Simon intends to marry!’

‘A fortunate thing too, after such a display!’ Lady Verey said, trying not to smile. The two mothers exchanged looks of qualified approval. ‘Well, well, no doubt we shall hear all about it in the morning! Please come this way, ma’am, and I will show you to your bedchamber. Is that Dr Tovey arriving? Excellent!’ And with the air of one who can take any number of surprises in her stride, Lady Verey led her unexpected guests away.

‘Oh, Jane! It is so romantic!’ Sophia curled up at the end of her friend’s bed, her face lit with happiness. ‘Why, it is plain to see that they love each other to distraction! And Simon has only met her three times! Barely spoken to her! And yet he knew at once that she was meant for him…’ Sophia gave a pleasurable little shiver.

Jane felt tired and wan that afternoon. She had hardly slept for fear that Alex’s plans had gone awry and even now he and Harry Marchnight were lying dead in a pool of blood somewhere. She knew that sooner or later she would have to face the repercussions of her actions in going to Spitalfields and bringing all this trouble on them. And the final straw was the air of extravagant romance that seemed to be invading the house, with both Sophia and Simon floating happily on their respective clouds of rapture. Examining her feelings, Jane felt left out and a little envious.

‘I came to tell you that your mama utterly forbids you to get out of bed until Dr Tovey has confirmed that you are quite well,’ Sophia continued blithely, unaware of her friend’s ill humour, ‘and that the Duke of Delahaye has sent a message that both he and Lord Henry are quite safe, the man is taken and he will call to see you this evening! I will leave you to rest now!’

Jane lay back against her pillows with a heavy sigh. She had no need of a doctor to tell her that she was tired but otherwise unharmed. It was her heart that was sore. Sophia and Philip had triumphed over adversity to become betrothed and now Simon had found his Thérèse. In comparison her own engagement, based on Alex’s desire to make the alliance his grandfather wanted, was distinctly unromantic.

Jane got up and dressed slowly, choosing a dress of pale mauve then discarding it because it made her look sallow. After she had tried a second one of jonquil muslin and a third of pink, she resigned herself to the fact that she was too pale for anything to look flattering and settled for her oldest dress. Cassie arranged her hair in a simple knot and then she was as ready as she would ever be to face the world.

The rest of the family were taking supper when Jane went downstairs, but she did not feel like eating and slipped out into the courtyard garden. It was cool and the sky was just starting to turn the pale blue of evening. She sat by the fountain and listened to the water splashing into the pool below. She could hear Sophia and Thérèse laughing together in the dining-room. They were already fast friends and with the common ground of weddings and trousseaux, they had plenty to talk about. Jane smiled. Sophia had no malice in her and had already accepted Thérèse without reservation. I am lucky in my friends, Jane thought, and for some reason the thought made her sad and a tear trickled from the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek.

‘Jane?’

She had neither sensed nor heard Alex’s approach and now she jumped, rubbing her cheeks dry with a hasty hand. In the gathering dusk he looked tall and a little unapproachable and as always, Jane’s heart gave a little skip upon seeing him. He looked tired, she thought, which was no great surprise. He took a seat beside her on the stone bench, half-turned towards her with his arm along the back of the seat. For some reason his presence suddenly made feel Jane shy.

‘I am glad that you are well,’ she said softly. ‘I have been worrying…’

‘Have you, Jane?’ Alex gave her a searching look from those very dark eyes. ‘I confess I am a little fatigued, but nothing that will not mend. And Samways is taken. You need have no more concern over him.’

‘I was more concerned over the danger to yourself than any threat to me,’ Jane said, honesty overcoming her reticence. ‘You are the one he sought to kill, after all! I confess it reassures me to think him locked away and unable to do you any more harm!’

‘You should not seek to minimise the danger to yourself,’ Alex said heavily. ‘Did he speak to you of his clubs, Jane? Did he tell you about the brothels he owns and the girls he ruins for his own profit? Did he say that if Simon had refused his ransom you would find yourself at the bottom of the Thames? And did you think of any of those things when you went rushing off to Spitalfields on your mission to unite Thérèse with Simon?’ There was a note of warm anger in his voice now. ‘I can scarce believe, after all I told you of the dangers of that particular neighbourhood, that you chose to go there alone!’

No one had yet reproached Jane on her conduct, for they had all been too relieved that she was safe to blame her for her foolishness. Alex, however, did not seem inclined to let the matter go easily and Jane felt the tears prickling her eyes again.

‘I was only thinking of how I might help Simon-’ she began defensively, only to be interrupted.

‘I can well believe that you thought of nothing else! Nothing of the danger and the difficulties you caused everyone else and the fear of your mother-’

‘Oh, do not!’ Jane’s composure was fading fast. ‘I know I have been foolish! Pray do not remind me! And I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused, but I do believe that Samways would have found another way to reach you if it had not been through me! He had his own quarrel with you and I was only the means he tried to use to gain revenge!’

There was a little silence. The water splashed softly. ‘Did he tell you the nature of his grudge against me?’ Alex asked, at length.

‘A little.’ Jane looked away, to where a thin sickle moon was rising above the rooftops. ‘That is, he told me some tale of Lady Eleanor Fane, which I took to be all a hum! It did not seen in character at all for Lady Eleanor to be taken in by such a man!’

Alex shifted on the seat. ‘Part of what he told you is true enough,’ he said soberly. ‘I would like to tell you the tale if I may, Jane. Peter Samways was the son of a clergyman who held a living from my father. My father even paid for his education on the understanding that Samways would also go into holy orders. When he declared himself temperamentally unsuited to the priesthood my father found him a position in the household of a friend and later, when Lady Eleanor was widowed, he became her secretary. I do believe that there developed between them an affection that flourished despite the disparities of age and position.’

Alex sighed, trailing his fingers in the shallow pool. ‘Who can say what might have happened? Certainly Samways believed that the match was his for the making! And Lady Eleanor’s wealth with it! I had no doubts that he was a fortune-hunter,’ Alex said ruefully, ‘but I would never have intervened had I thought she was happy. You must believe that, Jane!’

‘I do believe it!’ Jane was taken aback by his vehemence. ‘Besides, it would have been no wonder had you objected to so unequal a match-’

Alex made a slight gesture. ‘Oh, there are many who would not have thought twice about putting an end to his pretensions! And I confess I was uneasy. Yet I would not have interfered. But then Lady Eleanor came to me in some distress, reporting that some small items had gone missing from her household-small sums of money, items of jewellery, including a locket with a picture of her late husband. We suspected one of the servants and we set a trap.’ He sighed. ‘Samways was caught red-handed. I had to turn him off.’

‘He bears a heavy grudge against you for it,’ Jane said thoughtfully. ‘What happened to him after he left Lady Eleanor’s service?’

‘I believe that he made a bid to fix her interest despite what had happened,’ Alex said. ‘No doubt he thought to gamble on Lady Eleanor’s affection for him. His failure to win her no doubt added to his bitterness. He took a post as clerk in chambers in Holborn and I heard that he had been dismissed for fraud. I imagine his downward spiral continued from then onwards. Samways dropped out of my sight for many years and I thought of him no more. Then one day a little above a year ago, he sought me out to ask a favour. On the strength of the fondness my father had had for him, he asked for my help in finding gainful employment. Against my better judgement I agreed to help-only to find that he had never intended to pursue an honest career. His intention was to defraud his employer in short order and I was left with the embarrassment of explaining away my lack of discretion to those I had counted my friends. It was profoundly difficult.’

A bird sang close at hand, its golden liquid notes falling on the still air. The lights of the house were growing brighter now. Alex shifted a little, his face in shadow.

‘I had thought that I had seen the back of him, but it seemed that was not so. A few months later he contacted me again with an unsavoury proposition. He implied that there had been some improper relationship between himself and Lady Eleanor all those years ago but promised to hold his peace on receipt of ten thousand pounds. I told him to spread his gossip and be damned. I did not believe it could hurt her-she is too respected and it was a long time ago. Anyway, Samways took his dismissal badly. I do believe that he holds me to blame in some manner for all his bad luck and that was when his resentment was fuelled into a rage strong enough to seek my life.’

Jane shivered. ‘When I saw him at Vauxhall-’

‘Yes, I think that he would have tried to kill me that night had you not intervened. It was a perfect opportunity-he would never have been caught. And I had already had one “accident” whilst out shooting, when a stray bullet had grazed my arm and the man who had fired it was never found. I began to ask some questions about Samways-with my connections it was not difficult-and I found out about the brothels and the blackmail and all the other unpleasant activities that he has dabbled in.’

Jane shivered again. ‘And Lady Eleanor? Does she know anything of this?’

‘I am glad to say that she does not. Nor does anyone else except Simon and Harry Marchnight. To them and to yourself I have told the whole truth, but everyone else believes that your kidnap was just the work of an opportunistic criminal.’

‘Then I will never tell,’ Jane said stoutly. ‘As you said before, the escapade reflects no credit on me. The least said, the better!’

‘You have kept many secrets for me,’ Alex said and there was a smile in his voice now. ‘I must thank you for that, Jane! You have been the soul of discretion and I am sorry that I was so angry before. It is simply that when I heard that Samways had you in his power I was so very afraid for you.’ He took her hand and the warmth sent little shock waves through her. Absorbed in the tale he had to tell, she had almost forgotten the physical impact he had on her.

‘I wanted to speak to you of our marriage,’ Alex said, a little huskily. ‘I had thought that it might be a little difficult with three weddings in the family, but your mama has hit on a scheme! She thinks that a triple wedding at Ambergate in a month or so would be just the thing!’

‘A month!’ Jane, suddenly confronted by the imminence of the marriage, felt as though her breath had been taken away. She had imagined that first Sophia and Philip would wed, then Simon and Thérèse and finally, perhaps, she might have to start thinking of her own wedding. Something close to panic rose in her. She would have to explain her doubts to Alex, tell him that she did not feel comfortable marrying him when his affections were still engaged elsewhere. No doubt hundreds of other girls would not care a jot and would be carried away with excitement to be in her position, Jane thought miserably. It was only she, loving Alex as she did, who could not accept second best. She remembered that she had told Alex that night at Almack’s that she would be happy to marry where there was respect and liking; no blame could attach to him for thinking that he was offering her precisely that and she should therefore be happy.

‘Jane?’ Alex was watching her face and there was an expression on his own that she did not understand. His voice was very quiet. ‘Is something the matter?’

His very gentleness made Jane wish to cry.

‘I am just tired,’ she said hastily. ‘The shock of the last few days…’

‘Of course.’ For some reason she thought that he sounded as though he did not believe her. ‘Jane, if there is anything wrong you must tell me-’

There was a step on the path and then Sophia’s voice said gaily, ‘I beg your pardon, but Lady Verey fears Jane will take a chill sitting out here in the dusk! She asks that you both come in and join us in the drawing-room.’

‘Of course,’ Alex said again. He stood back to allow Jane to precede him and she was very conscious of his regard as she stepped past him. She did not know whether to be glad or sorry for Sophia’s intervention, but she did know that, sooner or later, she would have to tell Alex the truth.