The Major And The Country Miss-Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

As he guided the carriage out of the clearing, Maitland was still undecided as to how he might best bring up the subject that was closest to his heart. Whilst he had no doubt about the intensity of his own love for Georgianne, it had been impossible for him to convince himself that these feelings might be reciprocated. For, despite the fact that she had returned that stolen kiss with what, at the time, had seemed to him a good deal of enthusiasm, he had not yet been able to convince himself that the deep affinity that seemed to have developed between the two of them over these past couple of weeks was anything more than a figment of his own hopeful imaginings.

Added to which, it was difficult for him to put aside Catford’s warning that she, in the mistaken belief that the unenviable stain of illegitimacy was sufficient reason for her to cling to her single status would, as likely as not, reject any offer that he might make her. And, whilst it was true that his friend’s assurance that Georgianne was not entirely indifferent to him had gone a long way towards strengthening his resolve, he was still very conscious of the fact that he needed to tread very carefully, lest he made a complete hash of the whole proceedings.

Although Maitland’s continuing silence had the effect of making Georgianne feel even more downhearted than ever, she ungrudgingly attributed his lack of conversation to the fact that having to steer a carriage along such a bumpy and rutted track must require a good deal of concentrated effort. But, when, at last, the carriage rolled off the heathland onto the turnpike’s firmer surface and he still kept up his somewhat taciturn vigil, she could not help but feel that it must be she herself who was the cause of his pensive demeanour.

She could only assume that, after having had to disentangle himself from her somewhat impulsive embrace, he must feel that he had to keep his distance, lest she felt the need to throw herself at him again! Suddenly she was incensed by the thought that, whilst the male of the species seemed to consider it perfectly acceptable to grab hold of an unsuspecting young woman and kiss her whenever the fancy took him, the rules were, once again, quite different for his female counterpart. Not that she had objected to the kiss, as she was forced to remind herself. In fact, she had found the whole experience quite earth-shattering and, given half a chance, would more than welcome a repeat performance! But, if Maitland’s recent conduct were anything to go by, the likelihood of that ever happening again was exceedingly remote. Nevertheless, and despite her present heartache, she drew some slight comfort from the knowledge that these past few days in his company had brought her so much pleasure and delight that, even if she lived until she were ninety, she knew that she would never be able to forget him.

As the carriage rolled up Gresham Hall’s front drive, she shot him a quick sideways glance. Whilst she was sure that he would need to come into the house in order to acquaint her uncle with the details of all that had happened in the last few hours, she could only pray that he did not intend to leave without giving her the chance to thank him for his kindness. For, although he had made it painfully obvious that he did not regard her as anything more than the cousin of a friend, there was no reason not to want to wish him Godspeed in his future life.

As he watched Georgianne being ushered into the house by the highly relieved half-dozen or so of her relatives who had dashed down the front doorsteps the moment that the carriage wheels had been heard on the driveway, Maitland could not help a somewhat wry smile from appearing on his face. It was clear that any attempt on his part to try to snatch a few minutes alone with her, in order to confess his love, was going to prove not at all easy in these present circumstances.

Heaving a deep sigh, he realised that he was going to have to shelve that highly challenging issue until a more conducive moment presented itself, since there were, clearly, other more pressing matters that required his immediate attention. Driving round to the stableyard, he tossed the reins to a waiting groom, leapt out of the carriage to join his now rather more subdued cousin and together, the two men followed the waiting Catford into the house and thence across the marble-chequered hallway into the earl’s study, to where they had been urgently summoned.

A little hurt and somewhat surprised not to see Stephanie amongst the excited group that had rushed out to meet her, Georgianne immediately enquired of her aunt where her friend might be.

‘I had to send her to her room,’ came Lady Letitia’s regretful reply. ‘Ever since Mr Maitland informed her of this ridiculous inheritance, she has been behaving in the most disgraceful manner. I was obliged to send one of the men off to Harrogate requesting Lady Highsmith’s immediate return.’ Holding Georgianne away from her, she scrutinised her carefully. ‘You look as if you could do with a good wash, you poor child. I will have some hot water sent up to your room directly, but I would ask you to keep well away from Stephanie, if you would—we had best leave it to her grandmother to deal with the silly girl’s nonsense!’

‘But we all know that Lady Highsmith isn’t Stephanie’s grandmother!’ cried Georgianne, in protest, as she made for the stairs. ‘I don’t wonder at the poor girl behaving oddly—she’s sure to be in the most terrible state of confusion! I know exactly how she feels! I must go to her at once!’

Hurriedly mounting the stairs to the second floor, and without waiting to knock, she threw open the door of Stephanie’s bedroom and charged inside. There, to her utmost consternation, she found her friend complacently tossing her belongings into the large wicker trunk that had accompanied her on her arrival at Gresham Hall.

‘Oh, no, Steffi!’ cried Georgianne, rushing forwards and trying to stay the other girl’s hands. ‘You must not think of leaving! I could not bear it if you were to go too!’

‘Well, I must say you do look a mess, Georgianne!’ exclaimed Stephanie, who was totally unmoved by the expression of anguish on her friend’s face. ‘And, please don’t be such a goose! You must know that it will be quite impossible for me to remain here now. Apart from the fact that everyone is set on giving me the cold shoulder, I need to get back to Highsmith House before my—that scheming old harridan, I should say— receives your aunt’s summons!’

‘But, how will your being there help matters?’ asked the bewildered Georgianne, as she slumped down on her friend’s bed.

‘I should have thought it was perfectly obvious,’ retorted Stephanie, still continuing to stuff her possessions into the already overflowing basket. ‘I have to find the papers—the old dear is sure to have kept them—she’s always been very meticulous about such things. According to your aunt, she adopted me soon after my mother died—some garbled tale or other about her own daughter dying in childbirth after the fellow she ran off with abandoned her—I really didn’t pay that much attention!’

‘Although, it does, perhaps, explain why Lady Highsmith was inclined to be so strict with you,’ put in Georgianne gently.

‘Possibly.’ Stephanie shrugged. ‘But it doesn’t mean that I am obliged to stay with her now. From what I have been able to gather, once I get my hands on this Bellingham chap’s inheritance, I’ll be as rich as old Croesus and will be able to do whatever I please!’

‘But, what do you intend to do?’ enquired her friend, even more perplexed than she was before. ‘You can’t still be thinking of running off with Mr Fenton, surely?’

‘Well, it’s true that I may still have to make use of the silly noodle,’ Stephanie was forced to concede. ‘But I certainly don’t intend to marry him, if that’s what you’re thinking! I shall have to get him to take me to see this solicitor chappie, of course, but, as soon as all the financial business is sorted out, I mean to set up my own establishment in one of those fancy London squares that we’re always reading about, and have myself the best time ever!’

‘But, you can’t mean to live on your own, Steffi,’ Georgianne pointed out in dismay. ‘You would never be accepted into society if you even hinted at such a scandalous course of action!’

‘Oh, I shall hire myself a highly respectable companion, of course,’ returned her friend airily. ‘It seems that my father was a count of some sort, so I suppose that makes me a countess and, with the amount of money that I shall have, I doubt that I will be short of company. Anyway, I don’t have time to discuss the pros and cons of the thing right now. I have to go and find where my ex-grandmama has hidden my birth papers—I shan’t be able to lay claim to the money without them!’

Thrusting on the lid of her now overflowing basket, she then endeavoured to close it but, after failing, at the third attempt, to fasten any of the leather straps, she sat back on her heels in disgust.

‘I can’t think how Madge ever got the stupid thing done up in the first place,’ she wailed. ‘There are exactly the same things in it as there were when I came!’

‘It would seem that servants do have their uses, then,’ observed Georgianne, hiding a smile. ‘Perhaps, it would be better if you let Emily deal with your packing. I’ll get Moffat to send the trunk over to Highsmith House as soon as it’s done.’ Pausing, she gave the other girl a searching glance, before adding, ‘You’ve quite made up your mind to go, then?’

With a determined nod, Stephanie got to her feet and, coming over to join Georgianne on the bed, she put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. ‘Please don’t begrudge me this marvellous opportunity, Georgianne,’ she said, with a slight catch in her voice. ‘This money will finally give me the chance to do what I have been wanting to do for years, and I promise you that I shan’t let it spoil our friendship—once I am settled, I shall send for you and we can have the most amazing times together, you’ll see!’

Biting back the tears that threatened, Georgianne gave her friend a weak smile. ‘I shall miss you most dreadfully, Steffi, and Willowby won’t be nearly as much fun without you. I do so hope that this new life you have chosen brings you the sort of happiness you crave.’

‘You may be sure of that,’ laughed her friend, as she headed for the door. ‘I’m just off to the stables to see if I can persuade one of the grooms to rustle up a carriage for me—I don’t fancy walking four miles in this heat. Wish me luck!’

Having watched Stephanie skip down the stairs until she was out of sight, Georgianne started to make her way towards her own bedchamber. She knew that she ought to wash and change before putting in another appearance downstairs but was concerned that, if she stopped to do so, Maitland would be long gone before she had readied herself.

She came to a sudden standstill and, after rubbing her fingers across her mud-streaked cheeks and raking her fingers through her unkempt curls, she ran quickly down the stairs but, on reaching the empty hallway, she was forced to conclude that her uncle’s interview with Maitland and his cousin must still be ongoing.

But, even as this thought crossed her mind, the door to Lord Gresham’s study opened and a visibly crestfallen Fenton emerged, followed by Catford himself who, after closing the door behind him, limped hurriedly to her side.

‘Oh, Georgie, my dearest girl!’ he cried, as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. ‘Thank God you weren’t hurt! I’m so sorry I didn’t get the chance to speak to you before we left but once I knew that you were in Will’s safe hands, I just got on with what had to be done! Forgive me?’

‘Of course I forgive you!’ She smiled up at him. ‘It wasn’t really so dreadful and I’m just thankful that it’s all over! May I ask what you did with those dreadful men?’

‘We dropped them off at Sir Joseph’s house,’ replied the viscount. ‘Dare say he’ll send them off to the county jail, where they’ll be held until the next assizes and then, if they manage to escape the hangman, they’ll most likely be transported.’

As a little shudder ran through her, Georgianne, casting a quick glance at Fenton, who had thrown himself down on one of the Hall’s plush-covered sofas, then whispered, ‘What about Mr Fenton? He looks as though Uncle Charles has already given him a good dressing down!’

‘No more than he deserves,’ replied her cousin, shrugging indifferently. ‘Maybe it will make him think twice before he goes round abducting any more helpless females!’

‘Oh, come now, Cat!’ she chuckled. ‘I wasn’t aware that you ever thought of me as helpless!’

‘No, well, perhaps not,’ he conceded, with a grin. ‘But you know what I mean.’

Nodding absently, her eyes travelled to the still closed door of the study. ‘Uncle Charles can’t be finding fault with Mr Maitland’s handling of the situation, surely?’ she asked, doing her utmost to adopt the most casual of tones.

‘Certainly not!’ returned Catford, his eyes suddenly gleaming with suppressed amusement. ‘Daresay he’s just offering his thanks and congratulating him and all that.’ Then, after eyeing her searchingly for a moment or two, he went on, ‘If you don’t mind me saying so, my pet, you’re not looking at all the thing! Hadn’t you better hop back to your room and tidy yourself up a bit? Er—how about if we meet in the lake pavilion in about twenty minutes?—there’s something I need to speak to you about.’

‘In the lake pavilion?’ returned his cousin, somewhat bemused. ‘But why all the secrecy? Surely you can tell me whatever it is right here and now?’

‘Er, no, not really,’ replied the viscount, casting a nervous glance towards his father’s study. ‘Wouldn’t do for Pa to come out and see you looking such a mess, you know. Off you go now, there’s a good girl!’

‘Twenty minutes, then.’ She laughed as she made for the stairs. ‘And don’t keep me waiting!’

‘One moment, if you please, Miss Venables!’

Having seen that Georgianne was about to leave, Fenton had risen to his feet and was hurrying towards her. ‘I wonder if you would mind asking Miss Highsmith if she could spare me a few minutes of her time?’ he asked anxiously. ‘I do need to speak to her rather urgently.’

Her foot already on the bottom step, Georgianne paused and turned. ‘I’m afraid Stephanie has already left Gresham Hall, Mr Fenton,’ she informed him. ‘She took off for Highsmith House a good ten minutes ago— you’ll need to hurry if you want to catch up with her.’

His face cleared. ‘Oh, thank you—I’d best be on my way then!’ He turned to go but then, as if something had just occurred to him, he turned and said, somewhat shamefacedly, ‘Sorry about this morning’s little fiasco, Miss Venables. I had no intention of harming you, I swear!’

Georgianne, who could not help but feel rather sorry for the man, especially in view of the rather dim prospects that she knew were in store for him, was quick to assure him that she bore him no ill will. Thanking her profusely, he made at once for the front entrance while she, with a quick wave at her cousin, turned and sped off up the stairs.

Scarcely fifteen minutes later, clad in one of her prettiest gowns, with her hair restored to its normal elegant coiffure, the much-refreshed Georgianne stepped down from the rear terrace and started to make her way down to the lake path. She could not imagine why Catford had chosen to arrange this somewhat clandestine meeting and could only suppose that he wanted to share something of his and Alice’s future plans with her.

There was, however, no sign of her cousin when she stepped up into the summerhouse so, walking over to the opening that faced towards the lakeside, and gazing out at the peaceful vista beyond, she found herself forlornly recalling her previous visit to the spot. Hardly more than a week ago and so much had happened in that short space of time. How she would be able to persuade herself to return to the same dreary day-to-day existence that had been her lot until Maitland had arrived and turned her life upside down, she could not even begin to contemplate.

‘Still studying the wildlife, I see,’ came a voice behind her.

Her eyes widening and in total confusion, she spun round to find herself face to face with the subject of her mournful reverie.

‘I thought you had gone!’ she gasped. ‘Cat asked me to meet him here!’

‘So he told me,’ observed Maitland, regarding her with a certain amount of anxiety on his face. ‘Would you prefer that I left?’

‘Oh, no! Please don’t!’ she hastened to reply. ‘That is—I—er—you are very welcome to stay and enjoy the view, of course!’

‘And a most enchanting view it is,’ he returned softly, his eyes never leaving her face.

At his words, a rosy blush covered Georgianne’s cheeks and, all at once, she felt quite breathless and was unable to do anything other than gaze back into his eyes, her heart almost grinding to a stop as she tried to make sense of the unfathomable expression therein.

‘I couldn’t believe that you would leave without even saying goodbye to me,’ she managed eventually. ‘I dare say you must regard me as the most dreadful nuisance, but—’

Her words stuttered to a halt as Maitland, with a helpless sigh, reached out and pulled her into his arms.

‘M-Mr Maitland!’ she squeaked in astonishment, as she felt him bury his face into her hair. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m trying to tell you that I love you, you darling little idiot!’ he groaned impatiently. ‘And, for pity’s sake, do stop calling me Mr Maitland!’

Unable to believe her ears, Georgianne, who could only assume that Maitland must be set on playing some sort of hideous game with her, tried, without success, to extract herself from his hold.