The Silver Touch (26 page)

‘Now we are neighbours, Mrs Bateman,’ she enthused. ‘There will be little chance to talk together this evening, so do call on me soon and take tea. Then you’ll be able to see my three beautiful babies. Bring your boys at the same time. There’s a pony in the stables they can ride and a basket of puppies to play with.’

‘That is most kind of you.’ Hester was taken aback by this show of hospitality and wondered if her hostess was lonely away from the city.

‘My word!’ John muttered under his breath as she moved on with him into the ballroom. ‘I’ve a feeling we’re going to see more of the Esdailes than we had anticipated.’ Hester heard the undertone of unease in his voice and knew he was still put out by the way James had greeted her.

In their wake Letticia and Ann, followed by Joss and Alice, were being received in their turn. James summed up each Bateman individually. Letticia, pretty as porcelain with the kind of calculating wiles that would always draw men to her like bees to honey, the virginal white of her gown in itself a veiled invitation. Then Ann — bright, intelligent eyes in a dull little face. There were depths to this one yet to be plumbed. Now Joss and Alice, a stalwart pair, who reminded him of his own son and daughter-in-law. He hoped his second brood would grow up to match his first, but they would have to withstand Mary’s spoiling and her inability to instill any kind of discipline into their lives or her own. Yet he could scarcely blame her for that when he indulged her every whim, the matter of this Bunhill Row residence being one of the few times when he had withstood all her pleas, tempers and feminine tricks. He knew himself to be besotted by her. Why then had that first sight of Hester again after such a long period momentarily turned everything to dust and ashes? It had been a fleeting illusion, for he was a sensible man but, dangerously, it had shown him what he would still pursue if Hester should ever give him the slightest sign. He wanted her as much now as he had done that day in the herb garden. The time between had melted away as if it had never been.

As soon as all the guests were assembled, he and Mary started the dancing and the evening proceeded merrily, for both of them liked the formal dances to be plentifully interspersed with jollier measures and country jigs. As host he would partner most of the women — at least as many as was possible — throughout the evening and after taking half a dozen senior ladies in turn around the floor, he approached the spot where the Batemans had gathered. Hester had just seated herself after dancing with her husband and James drew her into the music that had struck up once more.

‘Where are the tapestries?’ she asked him as they danced.

He grinned triumphantly at her. ‘Safely installed in my London home. You see how I followed your advice. What do you think of the changes here?’

She twirled under the arch of his arm in the measure and faced him again. ‘Everything I have seen so far is quite beautiful and your wife is the pearl in the oyster.’

‘You like her?’

‘Yes, I do. She was charming to me. I can see you’re a fortunate man.’

‘I am particularly fortunate at this moment.’ He pressed her fingers a little tighter within his own. ‘I’ve never forgotten the last time you were here.’

She raised her eyebrows, smiling in gentle reproof. ‘Do you have such a long memory, James? Some things are best forgotten.’

‘But not that day.’

She tried to redirect the line of the conversation. ‘I still have the key to the herb garden. Now that you are in residence I’ll return it.’

‘No, keep it. I insist.’

‘But there’s no need. I have a well-established herb garden of my own now.’

‘Have you been visiting mine then?’

‘Oh, yes. It is such a peaceful place. Sometimes I sit and sketch there. But now it will be your wife’s domain.’

He shook his head, thoroughly entertained by such an idea. ‘Housewifely pursuits are not my wife’s métier. She’ll never go near it.’

‘Nevertheless the cook will, or there’ll be kitchen-maids sent to gather what is needed for the pot. I would not be alone there any more.’

He wondered if she was afraid that he would seek her out in that peaceful corner. ‘Then continue to go there when Mary and I are not in residence. We shall return to London in the autumn and the place will be yours again.’

‘Then I’ll keep the key,’ she said gratefully, knowing his offer was well meant. The dance was ending and he swept her down into her curtsy with his own bow. Her face was upturned to his. ‘I must tell you one thing. I’m so glad that no changes were made to that part of the grounds. The herb garden was a link with your first wife. It is right that it should have remained as it was.’

She thought he looked surprised at what she had said. Perhaps it had not been right to mention his first wife on such an occasion, but he would understand it had been said from the heart and would not be put out.

Later James danced with Ann, whose only partners had been her father and her brother, and her pale-faced nervousness dispersed as he talked to her throughout the measure. When he returned her to her seat she sparkled with a rare excitement as she faced her father.

‘Mr Esdaile drew it out of me that I’m a bookworm. He says I may use his library whenever I wish. When he is not in residence, Mother is to have a key and full charge to allow me access.’

James gave a nod of endorsement. ‘My books are being catalogued at the present time and soon Ann will be able to pluck what she wants from the shelves without any of the confusion that previously prevailed there.’

John was beginning to feel overwhelmed by his host’s neighbourliness which, whatever its guise, seemed to him to be directed towards his wife who had already told him she was to keep the key to the herb garden. ‘I accept the privilege on Ann’s behalf for her to have the loan of books from your library when you are here, Mr Esdaile, but otherwise the offer is too generous. I couldn’t put such a responsibility on my wife’s shoulders.’

Hester, who would have voiced the same answer in her own way, saw the disappointment well up in Ann’s eyes and, with that special love she had for her younger daughter, she put a hand on John’s arm. ‘I’ve had such pleasure from the books you have read with me that I know what this chance means to Ann. Let it be uninterrupted. She and I need not come more than once a month into this house. I’m willing to hold the key with the one I already have if you’re prepared to reconsider your decision.’

He put his hand over hers where it still rested on his sleeve as he conceded, swayed by her argument. ‘In that case, the matter is settled.’

It was not only Ann for whom the evening had taken a new turn. Letticia, who was used to plenty of partners wherever she went, had danced untiringly before she suddenly glimpsed Richard’s late arrival. James had gone across to welcome him and they stood together just inside the ballroom door. Excitement, fury and outrage blended to create a turmoil within her. She would ignore him and concentrate on other partners. If he asked her to dance she would refuse. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him making his way slowly around the outskirts of the room, greeting acquaintances and pausing to chat longer with some than with others.

She was dazzling her present partner with her smile, tilting her head prettily and generally playing to Richard who was never quite where she expected him to be whenever she looked, as if by chance, in his direction, his gaze always maddeningly elsewhere. She knew a gripping moment of panic when the dance ended and she could not see him anywhere. Had he left again already? Then, as her partner began to lead her back to where her family had seats, she saw Richard was talking to her parents. He turned as she approached and came to meet her, his eyes full of smiles.

‘Thank heavens I arrived in time to have the supper dance with you. There was trouble with one of the horses. How are you? Business took me out of London but I made a point of getting back for this evening because I was sure you would be here.’

All was well, but she had had a terrible scare. It felt as if her whole body was trembling inside. ‘Why did you suppose that?’

‘Because you mentioned once that your mother and Mr Esdaile were acquainted.’ There was a fractional pause. ‘I have missed seeing you, Letticia.’

She looked into his face and saw all that she had ever wanted to discover there.

For Hester, the special enjoyment of supper was not so much the food as the sight of such a grand amount of the Esdaile’s silver in use. The centre-piece of the long, damask-covered table was of enormous size, standing on scroll feet, its centre oval dish piled high with grapes, its eight circular smaller dishes holding peaches and plums and cherries, the rich colours of the fruit reflected a thousand times over. Then there were salvers, each with the Esdaile crest, on which the glasses were borne; the tureens with domed covers and pineapple finials; the curved sauceboats; the great dishes with engraved patterns that held salmon and pies and game magnificently garnished, beef and suckling pigs and giant hams; embossed stands that supported crystal bowls of syllabub with sugared violets and the delicate sweetmeat baskets. Over it all the candle-glow from some of the finest candelabra she had ever seen touched delicacies and gleaming silver alike with liquid gold.

John, seeing how she took a last backward look at the table as they returned to the dancing, spoke to her teasingly: ‘Come now, Hester. Tell me your thoughts.’

She shot him a laughing glance, looping her hands about his elbow in its grey velvet sleeve. ‘I was thinking that there’ll never be any Esdaile orders trickling through to our work-bench at any time. Our host has more than enough silver for his requirements and doubtless cupboards stacked full elsewhere.’

‘I’m sure you’re right.’

During supper, Joss and Alice had been seated with some young people of their own age and as they remained with them afterwards Hester supposed Ann to be in their company. She gave herself up to enjoying the rest of the evening, not knowing her daughter had gone in search of the library.

Ann had been given directions by James. She had no intention of returning to the ballroom and no one would miss her. As soon as she heard people departing she would fetch her shawl and rejoin her parents. The second half of the evening ahead of her promised to be far more enjoyable than the first. Her satin shoes made no sound along the downstairs corridor that led to the double doors of the library. She paused in front of a pier-glass and, making a grimace at her own reflection, removed the pins that Letticia had used in her hair and combed her fingers briskly through the collapsed curls until her hair hung softly again. With a final smoothing with her palms her appearance was back to normal. Opening one of the library doors she entered and closed it behind her.

The size of the room astounded her. It was in semi-darkness, the only light coming from two candles on a central library table on which a number of ledgers stood in a stack, one spread open where it had been left. She remembered that her benefactor had said that his library was being catalogued and she would be careful not to disturb anything. But, oh! So many books! She had not supposed for one moment that there would be such a number. Not only did they reach on shelves from floor to ceiling, but they spread in and out of deeply shadowed alcoves which by day would offer private corners for reading.

She began to wander along, tracing her fingers along the backs of the volumes and peering at the titles until, becoming impatient when the small letters proved difficult to read in the gloom, she fetched one of the candles from the table to aid her. In an aura of candlelight she proceeded slowly, smiling and catching her lower lip between her teeth in anticipation when she came across a title proclaiming a book she had long wanted to read.

Intent on her exploration, her candle held close to the shelves for the best illumination possible, she moved on into another shadowed alcove and failed to notice a sprawled-out foot in her path. Suddenly she was tripping; a man gave a shout and she sent several volumes tumbling from the shelves to the floor as she scrabbled to save her balance. A hand gripped her elbow, steadying her, and she looked into the face of a young man who had sprung out of the alcove chair. He had been sound asleep to judge by his flushed cheeks and the heavy look of his eyelids.

‘Have you hurt yourself?’ he asked solicitously, able to judge from her gown that she had come from the ball. Any acquaintance of his employer must be treated with respect.

‘No,’ she replied, still startled. ‘I didn’t know anyone was here.’

He released her wrist and stooped to gather up the fallen books and return them to their places. Of average height, slim-built, he had a thick fall of sandy-hued hair that fell across his forehead and shone silkily in the candlelight. His nose was broad in an almost square face that had a brooding quality to it and his mouth wide with a pugnacious jut to the lower lip as if he was less than pleased by her intrusion.

‘Normally there wouldn’t be,’ he said, ‘but I was working late and tiredness overcame me. I just took a nap in the chair.’

‘You must be the librarian who is cataloguing the books.’

‘That’s right.’ He paused in his task to look at her. ‘How did you know that?’

‘Mr Esdaile told me. He has given me permission to come to his library and borrow books whenever I wish. I couldn’t resist the chance to see what was on the shelves.’

He regarded her with a sudden rise of interest. She must be well-favoured by the Esdailes. ‘My name is Matthew Grant. I hope you will allow me to be of service to you.’