Fenella J Miller (23 page)

‘My love, I’m glad to see you
looking better.’

‘Seeing you
is
like having the sun come out from behind a bank of black clouds.’ He smoothed
back her hair and cupping her face, stared down at her; the strength of his
love washed over her. How could she ever have doubted the veracity of her own
feelings? She loved him. She spoke what was in her heart.

‘I love you, Ned. Our wedding day
cannot come soon enough for me.’

‘And the night cannot come soon
enough for me.’

She stretched up and kissed him
lightly before stepping back. Simpson appeared in the door.

‘Good morning, miss, it’s grand to
see his lordship looking so well. But he’s still very weak and I doubt he’ll be
strong enough to attend the party tomorrow.’

Ned’s eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t fuss,
man. I’m not going to cancel the event but it cannot go on without me to escort
Miss Coombs.’

‘I’ve been thinking about that
very thing. Could we not ask Mr Weston to impersonate you tomorrow? You have
said yourself he’s your facsimile. If I refer to him as Lord Weston then
everyone will assume it’s you.’

‘Excellent
notion, sweetheart.
I’ll send Simpson out to find him. If he wears my
diamond fob then the deception will be perfect.’

‘And if he looks haughtily down
his nose at all and sundry, then even I shall imagine I’m walking on your arm.’

James was delighted to offer his
assistance and agreed it would be best not to tell anyone of their plans. He
also offered to act as host for dinner that night.

‘It was a sad affair last night,
Ned, with neither you nor Miss Coombs present.’ He smiled at Penny. ‘I’m not
suggesting I pretend to be Ned tonight, merely act as host. Our party numbers
more than thirty now and they would think it odd if they were not entertained
in true
Headingly
manner.’

She agreed with him. Brown had
already told her at length about the magnificent meal that was to be served and
Mrs Weston had already suggested they round the evening off with dancing. She
had volunteered to play the piano.

‘Thank you, Mr
Weston,
I should be honoured to accept your offer. We have sufficient couples, Ned, to
make up a set tonight. I wish you could be there, but you must rest and regain
your strength for more important things.’

His wicked smile made her blush
and she decided she had better things to do than be made to look a ninny.
Tomorrow night there would be fireworks and she dreaded to think of the improper
comment he would make if the conversation turned to that topic.

Chapter
Twenty-four

The
morning of the garden party dawned fair and bright. Penny spent much of the day
closeted with Ned and
Mr
Weston discussing how best
to achieve their objective, that of convincing the hoi polloi that it was Ned
attending the event and not his cousin.

‘I think
we both know exactly what to do, Ned, thank you. You’ve given us so many
instructions I honestly believe it would be easier for you to attend in person;
for I’m bound to forget half of them and get it wrong somehow.’

‘I
apologize, sweetheart. I’ve no wish to mar your enjoyment of the evening.
You’ll be in excellent hands, but I would much prefer you were walking with
me.’ Ned stood up and paced restlessly about his sitting room. He had not taken
more than two turns around the room when he appeared to lose his balance and
staggered against a small occasional table, sending it crashing to the floor.

James was
at his side in an instant. ‘Come along, my friend, you’re not quite the thing
yet, are you? Don’t you see, you have to be well on your wedding day? If it
means remaining in your room for a day or two longer, then you must accept
that.’

Simpson appeared
and taking Ned’s arm guided him back to the upright armchair he had been
resting in. ‘There, my lord, have a seat. I told you not to perambulate about
the room.’

‘Don’t
fuss, man. I walked into a table, anyone could have done so. There’s nothing wrong
with my legs or my health.’ Ned scowled and Penny laughed at his expression.

‘My dear,
you’re being ridiculous! You must do as Simpson directs.’ She walked across,
resting her hand gently on his shoulder. ‘I must go now; I have duties to
attend to. My aunt is too frail to check everything is as it should be and
Mrs
Weston has asked
me
to accompany her.’

His hand
came up to cover hers. ‘Forgive me, darling, I hate to be constrained like
this. I know I must rest another day or two. This bout of fever is far more
serious than any I’ve had before.’ The gentle pressure on her hand reminded her
that James wasn’t privy to their secret.

‘Simpson,
I leave Lord Weston in your capable hands. Ned, I doubt I’ll have time to call
in again before this evening.’

James accompanied
her from the room and, as they walked companionably along the terrace, he
pointed to the tower that loomed behind the house

‘Do you
see that ancient pile, Miss Coombs? It’s the last vestige of a building that
was on the site previously;
it’s
several hundred years
old and still in very good condition.’

‘Is it
possible to climb up inside? There must be wonderful views across the
countryside from somewhere so high.’

‘Indeed
it is. Perhaps this evening we could watch the firework display from the vantage
point of the roof; it’s quite safe to walk around inside the crenellated
walls.’

‘How exciting!
Being able to see the party from so high up will be well worth the
effort of climbing all those stairs.’

They
parted company, she to join
Mrs
Weston, who was
waiting for her in the drawing-room and he to continue round to the stables
where Phoenix was being saddled.
Mr
Weston had kindly
offered to exercise her mount for her today as she was far too busy to do so
herself.

Penny went upstairs to change into her smartest
walking dress at five o’clock that evening. Already the park was filling with
excited villages and tenants all eager to participate in every moment of this
unaccustomed treat. The air balloon was tethered, fully
inflated,
in the same place it had been three weeks previously, on the ill-fated ascent
she and Ned had made.

‘Mary, I think I’d better take down my cloak as I’m
going to scale the tower to watch the fireworks later on. I expect it will be
far colder up there than at ground level.’

‘My word!
Not many folks go
up there now according to Mrs Brown; she says as the stairs are none too safe.
You’ll be careful, won’t you, miss?’

She
smiled at her maid. It would appear that both she and Ned had loyal and devoted
servants to attend them. ‘
Mr
Weston is coming up with
me. I’m sure he wouldn’t take me anywhere unsafe. As soon as I’m ready you must
go and prepare yourself; this evening is for you and the rest of the staff, not
the guests at
Headingly
. The ball tomorrow is to be
our
entertainment.’

‘It’s
a good thing some of the staff
were
happy to earn
extra wages by working tonight, miss, or there’d be no one to turn the
hog-roast, or dish out the fruit punch and the ale.’

The
sound of music playing outside reminded her time was passing and she ought to
be downstairs to greet her guests.

Mary
stood back to admire handiwork. ‘I’ve always thought that a pretty bonnet, with
the bunches
of cherries and forget-me-nots around the
brim, it suits you to perfection, if you don’t mind me saying so. And blue is always
good with your eyes, it brings out the colour in them.’

‘Well,
I shall have to go; enjoy yourself tonight, Mary, and remember
,
if you see me walking you must address
Mr
Weston as Lord Weston.’

Ned
and she had decided that Mary, like Simpson, could be trusted to know about the
change of identity, as her discretion could be relied upon absolutely.

In
the hall several of her guests were waiting for her arrival. Sadly Ned’s
sisters had sent their regrets. It appeared there had been an outbreak of
measles in the nursery and both families were infected.
Mrs
Remington called out as soon as Penny appeared on the stairs.

 
‘My dear, Miss Coombs, how smart you are
tonight. My girls are green with envy at the gowns you own.’

‘Thank
you,
Mrs
Remington. Are Charlotte and Elizabeth
already outside joining in the fun? Pray excuse me, I must go and collect Lord
Weston from his apartments; we decided it would be wise for him to rest until
the very last minute. It would never do to over tire him. ‘

‘Of
course, I do hope Lord Weston is well enough to come outside. We have missed
his company these past two evenings, although I own his cousin is entertaining
too.’

She
hurried to Ned’s apartments, as eager as the younger members of the party to
get out and watch the stilt-walkers, fire-eaters and all the other
entertainment Aunt Lucy and
Mrs
Weston had arranged.

James
was waiting for her and for a moment she thought Ned was smiling down at her.
He was dressed in a fashionable square-cut jacket of blue superfine, cream
breeches and highly polished Hessians. His snowy white cravat tumbled down
between the high
collar
of his navy blue waistcoat.

‘You
look charming; I shall enjoy standing in Ned’s place and being allowed to
escort the most beautiful woman in England around the park.’

‘Until
you spoke,
Mr
Weston, I wasn’t sure if you were he. I
do hope he’s not unwell again.’ She glanced anxiously at the closed bedchamber
door.

‘No,
Ned’s very well. He decided it would be wiser to remain in his chamber just in case
anyone wanders past his window and sees him sitting in here. It would spoil our
masquerade if he was to be discovered in his armchair reading a newspaper.’

She
was disappointed she couldn’t speak to Ned, but understood his desire to remain
out of sight. ‘I shall leave my cloak in here, and then when I send you for it,
you shall know where to find it.’

James
chuckled. ‘Am I expected to run errands for you, Miss Coombs? I thought my
duties were to squire you around, not act as your
abigail
.’

‘In
case you haven’t noticed,
Mr
Weston, there are no
servants on duty this evening. Remember, they all have free time tonight and we
must fend for ourselves. You can hardly expect
me
to run back and fetch my cloak.’ She smiled archly and they both
laughed. ‘Shall we go? I’ve been hearing the music and the shouts and cries in
the park and am as eager as a child to join in myself.’

The
park was heaving with people of all descriptions, the only thing they had in
common was their desire to have a good time. Children raced about screaming and
laughing with pleasure as the fire eater swallowed his flames and the stilt
walker strode past.

‘I
must go and speak to Lady Dalrymple, if you don’t mind,
Mr
Weston?’

The years
fell from her; the worries of the last three weeks, the added responsibility of
being hostess at Headingly Court, all evaporated in the heady atmosphere of the
garden party.

‘Have you
any idea where Lady Dalrymple might be at this moment, Miss Coombs?’ He looked
around the assembled throng. ‘Ah! I can see your aunt and my mother watching
the air balloon.’

They
strolled along the terrace and down the wide stone steps on to the smooth
grass; the crowd parted as they walked through and men doffed their caps, women
curtsied and small children hid behind their mothers’ skirts. It wasn’t often
the tenants and villagers saw Lord Weston so closely.

‘Isn’t it
exciting, Penny? I am almost tempted to join the queue and take a ride in the
balloon myself.’ Aunt Lucy smiled happily. ‘Would you consider joining me, my
dear? Or was your first experience to be your last?’

‘I have
no intention of ever setting foot in the basket of such a contraption again;
I’m sure tonight it’s perfectly safe. You have my blessing if you really want
to take a ride.’

Penny
realized James was uncomfortable being in such close proximity to his mother
and obviously feared she would recognize him as an impostor and the whole
scheme would be ruined. There was a gentle pressure on her arm and she
responded immediately.

 
‘Ned and I are going to circulate, Aunt Lucy.’

‘I am
sure you and
Lord Weston
will enjoy
yourselves. No doubt I shall see you later.’ Both Penny and James heard the old
ladies slight emphasis on the title and knew their deception had been
discovered.

‘Will
your aunt tell my mother, do you think, Miss Coombs?’

‘I’m sure
she will not, she will understand exactly why we have perpetrated this
deception. However, I’m surprised your mother didn’t greet you by name.’

‘My
mother is slightly deaf; I doubt if she even heard our conversation and you see
how entranced she is with the balloon? Her attention was firmly on that and not
on us or Lady Dalrymple.’

‘I’m sure
it doesn’t matter anyway - it’s the locals that we need to fool not Ned’s
guests.’

 
Penny and her escort participated in all the
stalls and sideshows, enjoying the excitement of the evening as much as
everyone else. It began to get dark and the whole area took on a magical
quality as the light of the hundreds of flambeaux flickered and danced in the
darkness.

There had
been an impromptu, and riotous game, of cricket played earlier when
Headingly
staff took on the villagers and tenants. Penny
wasn’t sure who had won the game but agreed with
Mr
Weston that everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, spectators and participants alike.

The hog
roast smelt delicious, but she decided the greasy meat, served on trenchers of
baked bread, was not for her. By the time the balloon was untethered and
disappeared over the house like a giant spherical moth, there was a decided
chill to the air.

‘Could I
ask you to fetch my cloak,
Mr
Weston? I believe the
fireworks are starting soon and I wish to be warm when we go up on to the tower
roof.’

‘I shall
do so at once; why don’t you wait here and watch the dancing?’

She
rather wished she could join in, but that would be considered beneath her
station, so contented herself with smiling and tapping her foot in time to the
lively music.

This
garden party had been enjoyable, but future events would be even more exciting.
Despite the cool breeze that had begun to flow in from the sea, waves of heat
travelled from her toes to the crown of her head as she anticipated her
initiation into married life.

Mary was
capering around in the arms off Perkins and she was struck by how happy she
looked in his company. Mary wasn’t quite
so
old as she
had thought; maybe moving to Headingly had been of benefit to them all.

She had
been waiting scarcely ten minutes when James returned, her cloak folded neatly
over his arm. With a flourish he shook it open and it drifted around her
shoulders. He stepped in close in order to fasten the ties at the neck. To
anyone watching it would seem a loving gesture, but to her his action was an
intrusion. She recoiled slightly as his fingers brushed her cheek and James
dropped his hands.

‘I beg
your pardon, Miss Coombs; I did not mean to offend.’