A Lady Of Rare Quality

Chapter Three

W hether or not it was having enjoyed a good night’s rest in possibly the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in in her life that had resulted in a feeling of utter contentment, Annis wasn’t perfectly sure. She only knew she felt not a whit disturbed at the prospect of being obliged to remain at the Manor at least for a further day, and possibly a good deal longer. In fact, she was very much looking forward to spending more time with those two charming females whose delightful company she would never have been privileged to enjoy in the normal course of events.

All the same, Annis was nothing if not a realist. She was well aware that perhaps not everyone residing at Greythorpe Manor might be pleased to be housing an uninvited guest. Nor was she prepared to forget what had necessitated her visit to the county in the first place. Consequently, after savouring the rare treat of a leisurely breakfast in bed, she didn’t delay in answering the summons to join the master of the house in the library.

Seemingly content to maintain the role of personal escort, Dunster was on hand to show her the way to the handsome book-lined room on the ground floor, where the master of the house stood sentinel-like by the window, surveying his acreage of snow-covered park land.

For several moments, after his butler had announced his visitor and had withdrawn, his lordship didn’t move so much as a muscle. Then, very slowly, he turned, and subjected Annis to a prolonged stare, which was no less disturbingly direct than her own could be on occasions.

Just what flaws in her person his thorough appraisal had managed to locate, Annis had no way of knowing, for his expression remained quite inscrutable as he came slowly round the desk towards her, gesturing towards a chair by the hearth as he did so and inviting her to sit down.

‘Firstly, Miss Milbank, I must thank you for the singular service you rendered me yesterday. But for your timely assistance, my case might have become dire indeed.’

‘You do not appear to be suffering unduly after your unfortunate experience,’ Annis responded, having some difficulty deciding whether he was genuinely grateful, or merely adhering to the social niceties by offering his thanks.

‘But for your intervention, Miss Milbank, I might well be suffering a deal more than a few bruises and a sore arm.’

‘You make too much of it, sir,’ she responded, raising a hand and moving it swiftly through the air, as though attempting to rid herself of a troublesome insect.

‘Not according to what my sister and servants tell me,’ he countered, his voice, like his gaze, revealing nothing of what was really passing through his mind.

‘Then let us both thank Providence, sir,’ Annis suggested, all at once sensing that Viscount Greythorpe was a gentleman who favoured plain speaking. ‘The unexpected encounter has been as much to my benefit as yours. Had I not come upon you lying in the road, I might well have been denied, outright, the interview I’m being granted now.’

For an instant something that might well have been akin to approval flickered in the depths of deep blue eyes. It was gone too quickly for Annis to be certain. None the less, she considered it a modest victory. At least she had succeeded in piercing that inscrutable mask, if only briefly. Just what could lurk, hidden from the world at large, behind that impassive façade she might never be granted the opportunity to discover. There was one thing of which she was absolutely certain now, though—the master of Greythorpe Manor was not so coolly detached as he might wish to appear.

‘It wasn’t until last night,’ she began, ‘while I was lying in bed, that I began to appreciate, perhaps for the very first time, that any gentleman who places a high value on his reputation must of necessity remain on his guard. Females, of course, need to be extra-vigilant. But there are pitfalls for the unwary of both sexes,’ she continued, gazing thoughtfully into the fire, and thereby missing the quite different flicker this time that glinted in his lordship’s eyes. ‘Here am I, a complete stranger… How can you possibly be sure I am who I say I am, seeking you out for a legitimate reason, and not some designing harpy out to entrap you for personal gain?’

If his lordship was taken aback by the indelicate choice of language, he certainly betrayed no sign of it. ‘Be easy on that score,’ he said, his intense gaze not wavering for a second. ‘I have no doubt that you are Miss Annis Milbank of the Shires. And not, I am persuaded, come here for reasons of your own.’ If possible, his gaze grew marginally more searching. ‘Nor, I am persuaded, did you agree to come here altogether willingly, but at Lady Pelham’s personal request.’

She could not help but admire his perspicacity. Seemingly his sister had passed on what little information Annis had been willing to divulge the previous evening, and he had deduced correctly that she was here at someone else’s behest, though whether he was altogether pleased about it was a different matter entirely. She strongly suspected that he was not, and was doing his utmost to conceal the fact.

The suspicion did not, however, deter her from assuring him that he was perfectly correct. ‘Indeed, yes, sir, a circumstance I should now be in a position to prove, if I hadn’t foolishly overlooked the fact yesterday that I had, for safekeeping, placed my godmother’s letter of introduction in one of those bags now awaiting my arrival at the posting-house in your local town. Furthermore,’ she added when he made no response, ‘you are perfectly correct in your assumption. I did indeed undertake this mission most reluctantly.’

Curiosity evidently had managed to get the better of him, because he put in rather sharply, ‘Why so?’

‘Because I consider I’m not the most suitable person to adopt the role of emissary. I am on occasions too plain-spoken for some people’s tastes.’ She shrugged. ‘Lady Pelham, however, thought differently, possibly because her long and close friendship with my late mother resulted in my own extensive knowledge of her private concerns.’

‘Miss Milbank,’ he said after a further prolonged silence, during which she was yet again subjected to close scrutiny, ‘I do not boggle at plain-speaking. You may fulfil your designated role with impunity.’

Thus assured, Annis didn’t hesitate to reveal the dilemma besetting Lady Henrietta Pelham. She deliberately refrained from embellishing the reasons why her godmother considered it detrimental to visit Greythorpe Manor at the present time with explanations of her own. Yet, surprisingly enough, it was precisely her own views on the matter that he sought the instant she had revealed all.

‘Come, Miss Milbank,’ he urged, when she continued to regard him with just a hint of suspicion in what he considered a refreshingly direct gaze for one of her sex. ‘I do appreciate you were in Draycot’s company for a brief period only, and on that single occasion. Nevertheless, I cannot believe he departed from your godmother’s home without leaving an impression upon you.’

He detected just a hint of a smile playing about the sweet curve of her lips, before she turned her head to watch the flames dancing in the hearth. For several moments the only sounds he detected in the room was his own even breathing matching the steady ticking of the mantel-clock; and the strong suspicion that Annis Milbank was for the most part a very restful young woman passed through his mind a moment before she admitted,

‘My every instinct tells me my godmother isn’t very far out in her assessment of that particular person’s character, sir. I cannot imagine Mr Draycot would ever concern himself overmuch about the feelings of others.’

She turned her head to look at him, her gaze so prolonged that his lordship had little difficulty in detecting the flecks of green contained in the depths of her lovely grey eyes. ‘It is also my opinion that Lady Pelham has assessed the situation perfectly. It might indeed prove to be a grave error if Helen is forcibly removed from Draycot’s sphere at the present time.’

‘So, you too believe my sister might be persuaded to elope?’

‘I sincerely believe it’s a distinct possibility, yes,’ she answered, scrupulously truthful. Her sigh was clearly audible. ‘Yesterday evening, I found myself on numerous occasions comparing Helen with your cousin Louise. There is less than two years between them, and yet the difference is quite marked. Unlike Louise, your sister doesn’t lack self-confidence and is mature beyond her years.’

‘And yet, from what you tell me, she’s singularly failed to appreciate she has become the target of some gazetted fortune-hunter,’ he countered, rapier-sharp.

‘True. But I didn’t attempt to suggest she lacks any of those less favourable feminine attributes,’ Annis parried, with equal swiftness. ‘What female on the verge of womanhood would not feel highly gratified to become the sole object of a handsome man’s attentions? Draycot’s a veritable Adonis, sir! Why, even I found myself blinking several times when he walked into Godmama’s parlour! And you may be sure that a handsome face hasn’t caused so much as a fluttering in my breast for years!’

It could well have been a trick of the light, but Annis felt sure she detected what looked suspiciously like a twitch at one side of his lordship’s mouth, before he raised a shapely hand to massage his chin, as though giving due consideration to what he had just learned.

‘Sir, I wouldn’t dream of attempting to suggest your sister is so well adjusted that she doesn’t require guidance,’ she went on, when he continued to gaze meditatively at some imaginary spot on the hearth rug. ‘But what I do believe is that eventually sense will prevail and she will see Draycot for precisely what he is. Lady Pelham is wishful for Helen to attend the party here at the beginning of April, and become acquainted with her Greythorpe relations. What she’s endeavouring to do is not reveal her opinion of Draycot, and give the impression that she has any intention of removing Helen from his sphere by insisting they accept your invitation to spend several weeks here.’

‘Yet she is determined that Helen should spend those few days in Devon next week,’ he parried, but Annis wasn’t in the least discomposed by the sharpness of the response.

‘And very well it was managed too,’ she praised, determined to reveal her admiration for the method her godmother had so cleverly adopted. ‘You must remember, sir, that that particular invitation was issued and accepted long before Draycot’s arrival in Bath. And, incidentally, before your first communication was received by Lady Pelham,’ she reminded him.

‘Initially Helen had been overjoyed to think she would be present at her best friend’s birthday celebration. Quite naturally, after Draycot had crossed her path, and tried his utmost to persuade her not to leave Bath, she did begin to have second thoughts about attending the party. Cleverly, Lady Pelham didn’t attempt to remonstrate. She merely said she had no intention of changing her own plans, and that Helen was at liberty to remain behind, if she so wished, providing she stayed in the home of one of Lady Pelham’s close friends. Which resulted in Helen finally deciding herself to accompany her aunt into Devon, despite Mr Draycot’s opposition.

‘Furthermore, during my short stay in Bath, Helen herself revealed that during the time she was still debating on whether to attend her friend’s party, your invitation to stay here at Greythorpe arrived.’ Annis couldn’t suppress a half-smile. ‘Even Helen herself considered it most odd that a gentleman who, in one breath, had been professing himself heartbroken at the mere thought of being parted from her for so much as a long weekend should, in the next, be actively encouraging her to enjoy a protracted stay with relations in Hampshire. I’m as one with my godmother. There is something decidedly smoky about Draycot. And he definitely has a very good reason for not wishing Helen and Godmama to visit Devon.’

The long silence that followed was broken when the Viscount unexpectedly asked, ‘Okehampton is where this forthcoming party is taking place, I believe you said?’

Annis nodded as she watched him rise to his feet, his brow once more furrowed by deep lines of thought as he turned to take up his former stance before one of the windows. When he attempted to say nothing further, she took it to mean that he considered the interview at an end, and was not unduly sorry herself. She had completed the task for which she had been entrusted, and to press the matter further, she strongly suspected, would avail her nothing.

‘Be assured, Miss Milbank, I shall consider carefully what you have told me, and let you know my decision in due course,’ he announced, when the silence was once again broken by the rustling of Annis’s skirts this time, as she rose to her feet. ‘After all, there is no immediate hurry. You won’t be going anywhere for a day or two, I suspect.’

Still unable to decide whether or not he resented this, Annis went across to the door, as content as he appeared to be himself to bring the interview to an end. Then she be-thought herself of another matter, and delved into her pocket, capturing his full attention once again when she tossed the heavy purse down upon his desk.

‘Yours, I believe, sir. I removed it from your pocket when you lay unconscious in the road, and omitted to put it back.’ Annis found herself unable to resist a further smile as she watched his blue eyes focus on the filled leather pouch. ‘Whatever the reason behind the attack upon you, it certainly wasn’t robbery. A further mystery that requires solving, I’m thinking.’

His lordship watched her quietly leave the room before retrieving his property from the desk. ‘Yes, Miss Annis Milbank,’ he murmured, tossing the purse in one hand as though attempting to assess its contents. ‘And no less intriguing than the young woman who retained my property for safekeeping.’

Annis was not destined to cross the Viscount’s path again until that evening, when she joined the family in the small parlour just prior to dinner. Miss Greythorpe had once again proved to be a gracious hostess, keeping her entertained for the majority of the afternoon by taking her on a leisurely tour of the Manor. Louise in particular had proved to be lively company, chuckling constantly at Annis’s less-than-flattering observations about the portraits of the Greythorpe ancestors lining the walls of the picture gallery.

So it came as something of a surprise to Annis to detect a degree of constraint in the atmosphere the instant she entered the comfortable little room where she had spent part of the day plying a needle, while conversing about nothing in particular, or listening to Louise’s highly commendable efforts on the instrument in the corner of the room.

If anything, the atmosphere became a fraction more strained when they took their places in the small, informal dining room, and it wasn’t too difficult for Annis to appreciate why this should be. Although Sarah Greythorpe had been gracious in welcoming a stranger under her roof, there was a definite reserve in her character. Like his lordship, Sarah was not garrulous by nature, and Annis suspected that brother and sister had been content to pass their evenings together in companionable silence. Perhaps both had put themselves out to make slight adjustments in their lifestyle with the advent of Louise’s arrival, but even so it wasn’t to be expected that two such reserved characters would have much in common with a girl of Louise’s age, most especially his lordship, who was clearly finding his young cousin’s natural shyness in his presence somewhat difficult to overcome.

Seized by a benevolent whim, Annis decided to come to his rescue by addressing a remark directly at Louise, thereby forcing the girl to make conversation. ‘I believe you mentioned your parents are at present enjoying an extensive tour of Italy, Louise. When are you expecting them to return?’

‘Late spring,’ was the only response forthcoming.

‘And I seem to recall you mentioned earlier today that you have a brother up at Oxford?’ Annis persisted, determined to see at least a return of a semblance of the girl whose company she had enjoyed earlier in the day.

‘Yes, Tom. In his last letter he said he would try to get down to see me quite soon.’ If anything, she looked more forlorn than before. ‘But I do not think it will be this weekend.’

‘Unlikely,’ his lordship agreed. ‘Only a fool would attempt travelling any distance before a significant thaw.’

‘And with luck that will not be too long in coming,’ Annis put in quickly before his lordship, unintentionally or otherwise, could dampen poor Louise’s spirits further. ‘Then at least you will not be confined to the house, and will no doubt enjoy a good gallop across the park.’

She could see at once by Louise’s crestfallen expression that she had blundered, even before the girl admitted, ‘I don’t ride. I—I don’t like horses.’

‘I’m afraid our cousin suffered a bad fall a year or so ago, and broke her collar bone,’ Sarah explained. ‘As a result she is somewhat nervous round horses now.’

‘Very understandable,’ Annis hurriedly sympathised, thereby successfully recapturing Louise’s attention before the girl could observe the look of impatience that momentarily flickered over his lordship’s features.

Annis strongly suspected he was one of those people who had little sympathy for anyone who made no attempt to overcome his or her fears, and to a certain extent she agreed with this viewpoint. Yet at the same time she could appreciate Louise’s wariness, and decided to voice her further support.

‘Horses, of course, even the most well behaved among them, can be notoriously unpredictable creatures—forever twitching and snorting when one least expects it. And if that isn’t bad enough, you then get the biters and those that do their level best to tread on the toes of the unwary. Worst of all are the kickers!’

Annis wasn’t at all surprised to have retained Louise’s full attention. Evidently the girl wasn’t accustomed to having someone speaking out on her behalf, and she continued to stare across the table in a mixture of gratitude and reverence. Sarah, perhaps finding it a pleasant change not having to seek out topics to keep the dinnertime conversation going, was lending more than a polite ear. His lordship’s gaze too was firmly fixed in Annis’s direction, though there was unmistakably more than just a hint of a suspicious gleam flickering in that razor-sharp stare of his—a suggestion, possibly, of staunch disapproval.

Undeterred by what she strongly suspected might be one listener’s disapprobation, Annis warmed to the subject. ‘My late grandfather once owned a notorious kicker, a beautiful grey hunter, fearless, but downright ruthless to any hapless soul who happened to approach him from the rear. Of course Grandpapa, being Grandpapa, didn’t waste an opportunity to make use of the creature’s failing. I recall quite clearly that morning, and I couldn’t have been more than ten years old at the time, when a close neighbour by the name of McGregor came to call. Being aware of his neighbour’s avaricious tendencies, Grandpapa easily tempted him by tossing a shiny golden guinea down in the line of fire, as it were. To this day I still don’t know how the poor man avoided ending head first in the water trough.’

‘Your grandsire would appear to have been something of a jester, Miss Milbank,’ his lordship remarked drily, after his sister’s ladylike attempts to stifle her chuckles and his cousin’s more open merriment had faded.

‘He could be an out-and-out rascal when it suited his purposes, sir,’ Annis revealed, with total honesty. ‘At the age of fourteen he took it upon himself to run away from school and spent months going about the country from fair to fair with a band of travelling entertainers, would you believe?’

‘Good heavens!’ Sarah exclaimed, appearing genuinely shocked. ‘What on earth possessed him to do such a thing? Anything might have befallen him.’

Annis shrugged. ‘I suspect much did. He always swore he learned more in those few months than at any other time in his life. And, of course, to a certain extent running away served his purpose.

‘His father was intent on him pursuing a career in the church,’ she went on to explain, when his lordship raised one black brow, a clear indication that he was curious to discover more himself now. ‘It was a nonsensical notion, for a more inappropriate person to take holy orders would have been difficult to find. When eventually he was tracked down, his father and mother were so overjoyed to have him safely back in the bosom of the family that they allowed him his way and agreed to his joining the navy, providing he finished his education first. Sadly for Grandpapa, his dream of a career at sea was destined never to be realised. Fate intervened. His elder brother died in a smallpox outbreak, and Grandfather was then groomed to step into his father’s shoes, and inherit the property. He became a considerable landowner who, to do him justice, took his responsibilities very seriously. All the same, he never forgot what he learned during those few months he spent with horse-traders, gypsies and entertainers.

‘In fact, after dinner,’ she added, addressing herself once again directly to Louise, ‘I shall endeavour to entertain you by revealing a little something he learned during that period of unholy adventure.’

Whether it was simply because Louise found dining in his lordship’s presence something of an ordeal, or she was genuinely eager to discover precisely what it was the late Josiah Milbank in his reprehensible youth had been taught by fairground folk that induced her not to delay in finishing her meal was difficult to judge. Nevertheless, it seemed to Annis that in no time at all she was returning to the small parlour with the ladies of the house. Surprisingly enough, the master himself was not far behind them, though whether this attentiveness on his part was prompted by a determination to prove himself the perfect host even to an uninvited guest, or a desire to keep a watchful eye on proceedings, was equally impossible to judge.

Once the tea things had been removed, Dunster, always on hand to cater for every need, was not slow to provide Annis with the items she requested; and although she might have wished that the three dainty porcelain vessels he placed down on the table in order for her to perform her trick might not have appeared quite so expensive or delicate, it wasn’t long before she was concentrating hard and inducing the ladies of the house to part with their money.

‘A perfect example of the quickness of the hand deceiving the eye,’ his lordship drawled, after watching the pile of coins at Annis’s elbow growing steadily taller. ‘Or is it simply a case of fools and their money, etcetera?’ he added, if not looking precisely amused by proceedings, at least not appearing wholly disapproving.

Annis raised the porcelain cup in her right hand to reveal the tiny pebble, which resulted in both Sarah and Louise having once again to dip into their purses for pennies to add to the pile on the corner of the table. ‘Don’t be too disheartened, ladies,’ she said cheerily. ‘It’s all in a good cause, remember? I am relying on you to place my winnings in the poor box. There may be no sign of a thaw yet, but I very much doubt I shall still be here to perform the deed myself after church on Sunday.’

Receiving no response, Annis raised her eyes in time to see Sarah’s smile fade and to discover Louise looking downright crestfallen. It was rather flattering to think that neither lady was eager for her departure. His lordship’s thoughts on the matter of her leaving, on the other hand, were impossible to gauge. His expression remained as impassive as ever, as he continued to regard her steadily from beneath half-closed lids.

‘Do you not care to try your luck, sir?’ she invited, but he was not to be tempted.

‘I do not object to games of chance, Miss Milbank,’ he freely admitted. ‘But I am not so gullible as to partake in those where there is not the remotest possibility of winning. A game or two of picquet is a different matter entirely, however.’

His lordship watched a dimple appear in response to this challenge, before a perfectly sculptured feminine mouth curled into the most natural, roguish smile he had ever seen in his life.

‘You amaze me, sir! Dare you risk challenging a person who from the cradle has been tutored by a master of deception, and who is possibly conversant with at least a dozen ways to cheat at cards?’

His lordship’s response to this deliberate provocation was merely to rise to his feet and saunter across to the gaming-table, from which he drew out a fresh pack of cards, before gesturing with one shapely hand, inviting her to join him.

After a moment’s indecision Annis obliged, though she had little doubt he had definite reasons for singling her out for particular attention. That he was intent on putting her through some kind of test seemed the most obvious conclusion to draw. This was borne out when he quickly suggested a change of game, one involving a deal more skill.

It swiftly became obvious, too, that he was no mean player himself, skilled and, more importantly, remarkably controlled. Moderate sums of money certainly changed hands at frequent intervals, and by the time the evening was fast drawing to a close honours were more or less evenly divided.

‘My compliments, Miss Milbank. You have proved a worthy opponent,’ he announced, forestalling her as she made to rise in order to return to the ladies before finally retiring for the night.

He regarded her in silence for a moment, with just a suspicion of a twitching smile. ‘Given what you’ve revealed about your grandfather this evening, and your evident close bond with the aforementioned worthy gentleman, I should have been astonished if you hadn’t received a deal of instruction in how to fleece your fellow man,’ he surprised her by saying, thereby finally responding to the provocative remark she had voiced earlier. ‘And I should be equally astonished if you were ever to indulge in the reprehensible practice yourself for personal gain.’

‘How well you know me already, sir!’ Annis responded, raising her eyes to discover his lordship quite openly smiling now.

The sight was so unexpected that it caught her completely off guard, and although she would never have indulged in flights of fancy by admitting to a quickening of breath, or a suddenly increased pulse rate, she certainly felt something within her stir, a sensation that was totally novel and therefore impossible to define.

His lordship might never number among the most handsome men she had ever met, but his smile went some way in placing him among those that were quite out of the common way, she swiftly decided. And, she suspected too, not easily forgotten.