A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance (3 page)

For she would not accede, no matter what
anybody might
say
.
Of all the men in England,
Ainslie Hester was the last one
she would ever marry. He could charm the very undergarments of both of her parents but nothing would alter the fact tha
t she was not going to take him as a husband
.

And that was the end of the matter.

The slap rang loud in the silence of the hallway
, almost as shockin
g as the force with which Ainslie
had tried to kiss her.
Caprice
’s mouth felt bruised; sullied. Her entire body felt sullied for Ainslie’s hands had been as busy as his ghastly mouth and he had managed to
squeeze a breast while sliding
his hand behind her to cup her rump.

‘You are disgusting!’ she hissed, wiping a hand across her lips while she slipped past him, putting distance between them. Although, after a day and a half in this man’s company
Caprice
was fast coming to the conclusion that there wasn’t enough land in England that would
suffice
. She hated the man. But, more than that, she was also beginning to fear him. There was something in his manner towards her when he managed to catch her alone that was disturbing, a light in his eyes that caused a sense of growing unease to settle like a stone inside her.
In a very short space of time she had learned to take great care
not
to be alone with him.
‘I will tell my father what you have done, don’t think I won’t.’

He raised
his hand to his cheek where
a red mark was
forming, stark against the surrounding skin. ‘Go ahead,’ he invited softly. ‘I have been working hard on your parents and they are more than half way convinced that there dear little
Caprice
is an hysteric.
And why not?
You threw over a perfectly good match for no other reason than you did not think you were suited. You have scorned any other offers that have come your way. I do believe you enjoy behaving in a
perverse and difficult fashion and I rather think your dear parents are coming around to my way of thinking.
’

‘On the contrary,’ she said, more breathlessly than she intended, ‘I just happen to be selective in the company I chose to keep.’

‘Oh you don’t have to convince me,’ he assured her coolly. ‘Whatever your reasons, your single state benefits me enormously.’ He glanced around the hallway, as graceful as the rest of Tannith Meadow and
Caprice
’s blood seemed to chill within her veins.

He thinks this will all be his
, she thought with a mixture of indignation and fear. That was why he was chasing her. With no inheritance of his own, he intended to take hers for her family home would come to her and her husband, eventually
as there were no entailments on the estate
.

‘I shall not marry you.’

‘Oh, I think you will. Not willingly, of course but that makes it all the sweeter. I like a woman that needs taming. A little…’ his eyes ran down the length of her assessingly, ‘
education. For the more you don’t want me, dearest
Caprice
, the more I lust after you. As your husband, I expect to have a very enjoyable time of it.’

‘No,’ she whispered, sickened by this glimpse of the real Ainslie.

‘Yes,’ he averred, giving her a smile. ‘I can be so charming, you see. Your mother seems
quite taken with me, don’t you think? She believes
her little girl might benefit from the wisdom and patience of an older man. And it’s true, of course. I shall be able to teach you so
many
things.’

Things that she wagered she would never wish to learn. Surely her parents couldn’t be so blind? But the truth was that they could. And while they would never force her into a marriage, the slow coercion of two weak willed parents could be very persuasive.
Caprice
began to feel even more trapped and a great deal more desperate.

‘You are a disgusting man, Ainslie Hester,’ she muttered, backing away towards the door and freedom. It was getting so she could not be in the same room w
ith him without feeling a smothering
sense of repugnance.

‘I know,’ he agreed, with indecent cheerfulness. ‘But I am sure I will grow on you, with time.’

Escaping up the stairs to her bedchamber (where she locked herself in) she knew that desperate measures were required. She would not marry Mr. Hester; that was a given. Unfortunately it meant standing up to Aunt Leticia and, more and more,
to
her own parents. And while she could hold out against her aunt forever, her parents were far more problematic for when they truly wanted something from her they were gently relentless. It was like being nibbled to death by goldfish.

Flinging herself onto
the bed,
Caprice
chewed her lip and considered her options. After a moment, she rose and went to her dresser draw, pulling out the last letter she had received from her dear friend Angelique. She had married and was
living,
very happily it seemed, in Dorset.
Caprice
pulled the pages from the envelope and read the last paragraph again.

Dearest, I really do look forward to you coming to stay with us. I know you love tearing around Tannith Meadow like a complete minx but I miss you and cannot help but think you should be getting out more. You should be going up to London for the Season. You should be going into to all the assemblies and doing things that most young ladies do. Don’t continue to be cast down by the past
, I beg you
. Nobody remembers
old dramas if one goes
on as if nothing has happened. Put it to your
darling
Mama, dearest
Caprice
for we could have such fun together…

She had received this only two weeks before and had written back, assuring her friend that she would arrange a visit very soon. Angelique laboured under the mistaken belief that
Caprice
kept herself hidden away because of Eric Frampton but that was not really the case. At least,
Caprice
didn’t think so. The truth was
,
she enj
oyed her life at Tannith Meadow
where she could please herself and not Society. But suddenly, her family home wasn’t the haven it had always been and she thought the time had come to do as Angelique suggested. It was time to pay her a visit.

She would not be telling her parents about it, however. She would not be telling anyone
at all
.

And she would be leaving that very night…

Chapter Two

Whites, London.

‘I hear that
your uncle
has finally shuffled off this mortal
coil
.’

Lord Cassius Merridew glanced up from the paper to find
Mr.
Anthony Fenshaw standing behind the unoccupied chair opposite. ‘Yes,’ he agreed mildly, ‘I heard much the same thing.’

‘Suppose you would have, consi
dering Abbey Cross is vacant and your responsibility
.’

‘
But I have had a charming offer from my dear cousin who suggested he might be able to deal with the place for me
.
’

Fenshaw raised an eyebrow.
‘Your cousin
?’
He was a few years older than Cass and a great many pounds heavier
, being a veritable mountain of a man. Word was that he possessed a considerable amount of
clout in the
business of running the country
tha
nks to the fact that he was involved with the
newly created
ministry
that was
dealing with the war against Bonaparte
and other troublesome European issues
. ‘Ravener, do you mean? Why should he take the place? He isn’t even a Merridew
.
’

‘
I know. I thought it peculiar myself.’

‘Still, I daresay there is a reason
he’s so interested
.’

‘A fondness for our uncle?’

Fenshaw gave a derisive snort. ‘
Hardly. Hadley Ravener has never struck me as
the sentimental type.’

Cass sat back in his chair a little and considered the man. ‘
How very well informed you seemed to be about my f
amily’s business, Fenshaw,’ he
marvelled.
‘I didn’t think dear Uncle Abel’s demise would prove to be so interesting. Lord knows, my family hasn’t found it particularly riveting.’

‘I like to keep up.
And I’ve taken a keen interest in your Uncle Abel.
Is Ravener
seriously
suggesting he take it off your hands
?’

‘
Does he
ever
seriously
say anything? He’s a curious
fellow
, inclined to bouts of spurious folly
. If it were in my power I’d probably give it to him for
I
have no real desire to take
the place
on
.
It’s a pity my uncle didn’t produce an heir.
’

‘It’s Merridew property, surely
.
It belongs with the family.
’

‘Yes, but
if there was an heir
I could have reasonab
ly foisted it onto them
without raising eyebrows. Hadley wrote and told me that he was keen to go down for the reading of the will. Apparently he is expecting some small bequest. He tells me he was
very fond of Uncle Abel and feels he is the son he
never had.’

Fenshaw raised an eyebrow. ‘And was he?’

‘
Who can say what
Abel Merridew
’s views were
?
He was, even by my family’s standards, quite mad. As for
Hadley
… he
isn’t fond of anybody but his tailor. But he is
Uncle Abel
’s nephew
as much as I am
and it is entirely possible that my uncle bequeathed him some personal items,
’
Cass shrugged, wonder
ing what Fenshaw wanted
.
And
why he should care
about the Merridew estates
.

‘
Personal bequests.
I daresay Ravener is hoping they are worth something
. Desperate for m
oney or
that’s what I hear.’

Cass had heard it too, that and a great deal more.
Eloise Ravener had married Abel Merridew when both were considered to
o
old for the institution. They hadn’t produced
any offspring
and Eloise had died within six years of the marriage. Hadley Ravener was the only son of her brother Bentmore, as feckless and profligate a man as one was likely to find who had done his best to bankrupt the family fortunes, leaving his son
hard up and
living constantly in the red. The one thing the Bentmore had left his heir was a sad predisposition to reckless gambling, which had hardly helped the precarious nature of Hadley’s existence.

Cass
sighed inwardly, wishing that his uncle had not gone and died on him. They had cordially disliked each other
and he had no
t seen Uncle Abel
in nearly seven
years
b
ut his death meant that Cass must become embroiled with winding up the estate and dealing with the pernicious pest that was his cousin
by marriage,
Hadley Ravener.

‘It’s a damned nuisance.’

Mr. Fenshaw grinned and sat down in the chair opposite. ‘When are you going down to
Dorset?’

Cass folded his paper and set it down. This promised to be a longer interchange than he had anticipated and he was beginning to suspect it was going to be an uncomfortable one into the bargain. Fenshaw was
after something. He wasn’t in the habit of making idle chitchat with acquaintances.

‘In the next few days.
May I ask why you’re interested?’

‘You may. What’s more, I might even tell you. Have you had luncheon?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Join me, won’t you? I have something of considerable import to discuss and it’s best done over a brace of braised pa
rtridges and a side of mutton. Although n
ow I come to think of it,’ he added, a twinkle in his eyes, ‘most things are best discussed over such a meal
, wouldn’t you say?
’