Lord Ilchester's Inheritance (9 page)

It was cool and dark inside the boathouse, but light enough to see that the punt looked in better shape than the rowing boat. ‘Right, the punt it is. Jump in, boys – no – let me rephrase that. Climb in very carefully, I have no wish for you to fall out so early in this escapade.’

He steadied the punt with one hand and with the other carefully guided each child into the centre of the boat where they sat, quivering with excitement, on the slightly damp, and mouldy, plush cushions.

Tom screwed up his face in puzzlement. ‘How does this boat go, sir? Where are the sticky out things you have to pull and push to make it move?’

Gideon held up the punt pole. ‘There are no oars, young man, I stand on this flat piece here and push us along with the pole.’ They both looked unconvinced at his explanation. ‘You will understand once we are under way. Hold tight, I cannot use it in here, I must move the punt out of the boathouse and then climb in myself.’

After a great deal of shoving and pushing he eventually succeeded in his task and carefully placed the long pole along the edge of the punt and scrambled onto the small, wooden deck at the stern of the boat.

The boys were sitting facing him and so far were quite dry. He doubted that would last for much longer as he had not propelled a punt since his time at Oxford – and even then he had been the least proficient of his cronies.

‘Right, I think we are finally ready to attempt to cross the lake. We must brave the shark infested waters and pray we reach the island before we are capsized and eaten.’

He expected them to join in the play acting but for some extraordinary reason the boys believed what he said, even though they had been swimming quite safely in the water just the day before.

Before he could prevent it both of them jumped to their feet and attempted to climb onto the bank. The punt rocked alarmingly and the gap between the side and the bank got wider. ‘Sit down. Tom, David, sit down or you will have us in the lake.’

The children were screaming, the thought of being plunged into waters that might be full of man-eating fish made them even more desperate to escape. His bare feet were already wet and he could not get a purchase on the slippery surface.

He rammed the pole into the lake bottom and pushed with all his strength, praying he could prevent the boat from capsizing and himself from toppling into the water.

Chapter Nine

Sapphire was becoming increasingly frustrated at being trapped on a
chaise longue
whilst the sun was shining and her brothers and his lordship were outside enjoying themselves. The sound of their laughter carried quite clearly through the open window.

The window seat was no more than a few yards from where she was – she could hop such a short distance and would be able to elevate her foot just as well from there. She rang the bell and Jenny popped her head around the door.

‘I want to be able to look at what’s going on outside, if you give me your support I can achieve that objective without placing my foot on the ground.’

She had barely got settled when she saw her brothers and their escort crossing the greensward towards the boathouse. She caught her breath.
He
had bare legs and feet and his shirtsleeves were rolled up exposing his muscular forearms. Tom and David were also without stockings and shoes. Meg was walking a respectful distance behind the three of them, her arms were full of dry clothes and towels. This was going to be an interesting afternoon.

Perhaps if she was very careful she could kneel on the window seat and rest her elbows on the windowsill. She would have a much better view like this. After a great deal of shuffling and wincing she was settled comfortably.

The trio had vanished into the boathouse and it was now impossible to see or hear what they were doing. Meg had found herself a place in the shade of the willow tree and sat down with her bundle. Ten minutes passed by before she spied the prow of the ancient punt emerging.

David and Tom were sitting facing the stern and to her astonishment Lord Ilchester was in the water and pushing the boat. Although the water was only two feet deep at the edge, his breeches would be submerged. Who would have thought it? The more she knew about this gentleman, the more he surprised her. With an athletic spring he landed on the punting platform and picked up the pole.

Her thoughts wandered as she watched this unusual spectacle. He would make an excellent father, she could not imagine another aristocratic gentleman prepared to get himself wet like this. Then everything changed.

Her brothers began to scream and stood up as if wishing to get out. The punt rocked alarmingly and the prow swung outwards making it impossible for the boys to get off. Ilchester shouted at her brothers to sit down, but they ignored him. In desperation he rammed in the pole, swinging the boat towards the bank.

Too late! His feet slid from under him and he disappeared head first into the lake. The impact sent the punt crashing into the bank and the children were hurled face first onto the grass. Her breath hissed through her teeth. What could have been a catastrophe was merely an amusing accident.

Meg was already at the children’s side and they flung themselves into her arms obviously beside themselves with terror. As the nursemaid was comforting them she turned her attention to his lordship and was relieved to see him emerge from the deep.

She was now half hanging out of the window gazing wide-eyed with admiration. The wet, white shirt clung to his shoulders, it was almost transparent, allowing her to see the breadth of his chest beneath the cloth.

‘What is going on? What frightened the boys?’ Her voice carried across the grass and even from so far away he heard her. Only then did she remember his comment about her not yelling at him.

*

Dammit to hell! Gideon shook his head and spat out a mouthful of muddy water. This was supposed to have been a pleasurable experience and he had made a complete nincompoop of himself as well as scaring the boys half to death. Thank God his last minute effort to push the boat to the bank had been successful and both the children were safely in the arms of their nursemaid.

He was about to walk to the bank and climb out himself when someone shouted at him – the voice echoed across the park. Good grief! Sapphire had seen the debacle and was yelling at him from her sitting room on the first floor.

He could hardly get on his high horse when he was standing up to his knees in water and with his shirt clinging to him like a second skin. Instead of being irritated by her lack of decorum he gave her a cheery wave. She was beckoning frantically and he mimed that he would come and see her after he had changed into something dry.

Firstly he must reassure the boys that the lake was not full of sharks. He squelched to the bank, vaulted out and then walked towards the boys who had now stopped crying. The nursemaid tossed him a large towel and he nodded his thanks. He dropped to the grass beside them whilst he was drying his hair and face.

‘What a pair of sillies you two are. Do you think that either your sister or I will take you anywhere near the lake if it did have sharks swimming around in it?’ Now was not the time to explain where one would actually find these animals.

The boys exchanged glances and then stood up and pointed to the island. ‘But you said…’ David began to say, but his brother interrupted him.

‘Why did you say it if it was not true? Saffy says it’s wrong to tell lies.’

‘Do you never play at games of make-believe? Make a castle out of an upturned table and pretend you are knights of old fighting a dragon?’

They shook their heads. ‘We play games with our toys,’ Tom said, ‘but we don’t know how to do make-believe castles and pretend sharks. Will you show us, sir?’

Gideon was puzzled by this omission. Sapphire was a lively, intelligent young lady – why had she not shown the boys how to use their imaginations? This was something he would ask her when he went to see her later on.

‘Shall we have another go at getting to the island, boys? We are going to pretend there are dangerous fish trying to catch us and you must look out and warn me if you see any.’

David still looked unsure about this notion of imaginary danger, but Tom immediately added his own twist to the tale. ‘There are pirates out there too, and we are going to try and steal their treasure.’ When his brother looked unsure he leaned over and shoved him so hard he fell on his back. ‘Don’t be a silly, David, we are playing a game of let’s pretend.’

David not to be outdone, lashed out with his feet and Tom joined him on the grass.

‘What do you think you are doing, boys? Get up immediately. There will be no further games today after such a display of bad manners.’ He gestured to the nursemaid hovering nearby. ‘Take your charges to their bedchamber. They will remain there for the rest of the day. I shall decide if they are to have any tea after I have spoken to Miss Stanton.’

The children looked so crestfallen at this sharp remark that he almost relented, then decided it would do them no harm to be disciplined. Boys had a tendency to fight, but the sooner they both learned to solve their differences with discussion, the better it would be for everybody.

The girl nodded to him before taking a snivelling child in each hand and marching them away. She obviously approved of his punishment – he glanced at the window hoping their sister would not take exception to his interference.

However, she was no longer on the window seat, so either she had been so incensed by his actions she had not remained where she was, or she had missed the whole incident altogether. He met a gardener’s boy on his way back, he had decided it would be better to go in through the side door rather than drip his way through the entrance hall, and instructed him to arrange for the punt and pole to be safely returned to the boathouse. If the children were still interested he would take them out tomorrow after they had had their riding lesson.

Ellis was waiting, as always, to help him disrobe. His man commented dryly. ‘How fortuitous, my lord, that you thought to put on your oldest garments.’

‘It was indeed. I must now dress for a third time today and have still to change into my evening rig at six o’clock.’

He had already spoken to the butler and asked if dinner could be served inside tonight, in the grand dining room. He had also requested a more formal meal, if possible, several courses and removes. There was no point in dressing for dinner if the meal did not live up to the occasion.

As he was making his way to Sapphire’s sitting room it belatedly occurred to him that perhaps it had not been the wisest move to issue orders as if he were the master here. He hesitated outside the room, for the first time since he was a young boy, summoned to his father’s study for a beating, he was nervous about knocking on a door.

*

‘Jenny, Lord Ilchester will be along to see me as soon as he’s changed into dry clothes. I don’t want to be lounging on the daybed, could you please assist me to the armchair?’ When she explained to her maid what had just transpired she was not surprised at the reaction she received.

‘Well I never did! What a to-do, I must say. If you will pardon me for saying so, miss, Lord Ilchester is not like any other lord I’ve ever met.’

Sapphire hid her smile – for, as far as she knew, Jenny had never met another aristocrat and neither had she, so they did not have the knowledge to make a comparison.

‘I believe that, like my uncle, he prefers not to stand on ceremony. I’m sure he is an exception to the rule.’ She hopped to the armchair but before she sat she looked down at her simple, muslin gown. ‘I think I should change into something more elegant. Perhaps one of the new gowns that arrived the other day – the green muslin with capsleeves and the pretty embroidery around the hem would be ideal.’

It took longer than she’d expected and she was forced to sit down twice during the procedure. She had barely taken her place in the high backed, padded armchair when there was a hesitant knock on the door. The last thing she wanted was another visitor just as Lord Ilchester was expected to arrive.

‘Jenny, whoever it is, tell them I am not receiving at the moment.’

Her maid repeated her message and whoever it was did not argue and left quietly. ‘Who was it?’

‘Lord Ilchester, he looked most upset to be sent away.’

‘I thought it was someone else come to bother me. Please, could you run after him and ask him to come back?’

Sapphire wished she could be the one to fetch him and try and explain away her unintended rebuff. A few moments later the door was pushed open and he stepped in.

For first time since she’d known him he looked uncertain; if she had not known better, she would have thought him actually nervous. He remained where he was and bowed. She could hardly get to her feet and respond with a curtsy.

‘Please, come in and sit down. I will apologise, before you ask me to, for shouting like a fishwife across the park. I don’t suppose you would believe me if I told you I have not shouted for any reason whatsoever since I was a little girl – that is until yesterday.’

His smile sent warm flutters through her chest and he strolled across to sit on the daybed – she noticed he had left the door wide open so propriety could not be said to have been breached.

‘I gather from your maid’s rather garbled message that you did not intend to send me away, you believed that I was someone else entirely? Were you expecting another visitor?’

Colour flooded her cheeks. ‘No, I wasn’t, but I knew you were coming and didn’t want to be bothered with anyone else.’

His eyes sparkled with something she didn’t recognise. ‘In which case, my dear, I accept your apology.’ He raised a hand as she drew breath to protest. ‘Do not poker up, I know you have not apologised for sending me packing, but I’m sure you are about to.’

‘You are quite impossible, sir. Now, tell me what caused the accident on the lake.’ When he had explained the whole she detected some reservation in his demeanour. For a moment she was puzzled and then realised he thought her a girl lacking in imagination, one who had denied her little brothers an interesting playtime.

‘I think I must inform you, Lord Ilchester, that until my parents passed away a few months ago I had little to do with my brothers’ upbringing. My time was spent tutoring local children in their letters and teaching them how to play the pianoforte. They were cared for by our mother when she was available and by the housekeeper when she was out.’

Her tone had been terse and he all but recoiled. ‘I did wonder why they reacted so violently. We must ensure that in future they have plenty of opportunity to explore their imagination.’ He frowned and leaned towards her. ‘Why on earth should a young lady, of your impeccable pedigree, have been obliged to spend their time in such a way?’

‘My stepfather had a limited income, and my father’s pension ceased to be paid when Mama remarried, therefore, without the added funds I brought in through my endeavours, we would have been unable to meet our expenses each month.’ She was warming to her theme, which was something that had always irked her. ‘You think that I enjoyed being separated from my little brothers? I love them and would do anything for them. However, earning a few shillings a week was of more use to them than teaching them to play imaginary games.’

He sat back shaking his head as if displeased with her explanation. He was angry on her behalf. She wasn’t sure she quite liked that idea. Neither, on reflection, was she happy at him including himself when talking about the education and upbringing of her brothers.