A Christmas Courtship (20 page)

He went to the door, standing aside for her to pass into the warmth and firelight of the room beyond.

They decided not to use the Jennings carriage, since its
appearance
at the barracks could possibly alert Roderick that all was not well, and instead they set off at noon in Sir Edmund’s carriage. The team of four dappled grays stepped easily along the snowy lane, not seeming to tire at all as they outpaced all but the lightest vehicles on the highway into Gloucester.

Richards was forced to go more slowly through the busy city streets, and as Blanche looked out, she gave a start as she saw Antony driving his yellow cabriolet at a spanking pace down Westgate, past the Saracen’s Head. He hadn’t noticed Sir Edmund’s carriage, or seen its occupants. Sir Edmund saw him, however, and glanced thoughtfully at Blanche for a moment, but he said nothing.

Richards urged the grays on over the crossroads and down Northgate Street, past the ancient half-timbered facade of the inappropriately named New Inn, a hostelry that had been in existence since the fourteenth century, when pilgrims had begun to visit the cathedral tomb of the murdered King Edward II. It was second only to the Saracen’s Head in importance, and almost as busy.

As the carriage drove past the entrance to the galleried
courtyard
, chance caused Blanche to look in. She saw Athena’s
gleaming
carriage drawn up by the wall, its coachman obviously preparing to drive off.

‘Sir Edmund, isn’t that…?’

‘Athena’s vehicle? Yes, Blanche, it is,’ he replied. ‘I’m not in the least surprised to see it there; indeed, I expected it to be.’

She looked curiously at him, but said nothing more.

Jonathan and Deborah had exchanged glances, for it was the first time they’d heard Sir Edmund address Blanche by her first name, and it was an informality that surprised them both.

The carriage drove on out of Gloucester, taking the road that led northeast toward the fashionable spa of Cheltenham,
reaching
the outskirts just as a church clock struck half past one.

As they neared Cheltenham, they lowered the carriage blinds, just in case ill chance should permit Roderick Neville a glimpse of its occupants. Blanche’s heart, already beating swiftly in her breast, began to positively pound with nervousness. She wore her cloak over her gray woolen gown, and beneath its folds she clasped and unclasped her cold hands.

The King’s West Gloucestershire Regiment’s new barracks lay on the far side of the town, and were very impressive indeed. The entrance was marked by a gatehouse with a white clock tower, and the barracks themselves were set out in a number of rather severe four-story buildings around a vast parade ground.

A sentry hurried out of the guardroom as the carriage drew up, and his faced changed as the door opened and an officer as high ranking as a major-general stepped down.

The man, a corporal, came smartly to attention. ‘Sir!’

‘At ease, Corporal. Is Colonel Cummings on the camp?’

‘Yes, sir, in his quarters.’ The sentry pointed across the parade ground at the furthest of the four-story buildings.

‘Thank you, Corporal. By the way, do you happen to know if Lieutenant Neville is on duty today?’

‘Lieutenant Neville? No, sir, as I told the lady earlier, he….’

‘The lady?’ interrupted Sir Edmund quickly. ‘What lady?’

‘I don’t know her name, sir, but she had a very fine black
traveling
carriage drawn by four bays. I think she was the
lieutenant
’s sister.’

Athena. Blanche leaned her head back. Why had Athena come all the way over here, only to go back to the New Inn in Gloucester?

Sir Edmund looked at the sentry again. ‘Go on, Corporal. As you were telling the lady earlier…?’

‘Lieutenant Neville is off duty today, just as he was yesterday morning, and he isn’t due back until tomorrow morning. He
drove off in his curricle before breakfast, and he didn’t say where he was going.’

‘Thank you, Corporal.’

‘Sir.’ The sentry saluted.

Instructing Richards to drive to Colonel Cummings’s
quarters
, Sir Edmund climbed back into the carriage and closed the door. He sat back as the carriage lurched forward. ‘Our quarry appears to have eluded us for the present, I fear,’ he said,
looking
at Blanche. ‘You were right.’

‘Maybe the colonel knows where he is.’

‘Possibly.’ He glanced across at Deborah. ‘You and Neville were to have dined at Amberley Court tonight, Miss Jennings. What arrangements had been made?’

‘Arrangements, Sir Edmund?’

‘Concerning travel. Was Neville to have escorted you?’

‘No, I persuaded him not to, and said I would travel there independently.’ Deborah lowered her eyes, blushing a little. ‘I-I couldn’t bear the thought of being alone with him in his carriage.’

Jonathan’s hand moved to enclose hers.

Sir Edmund’s lips pressed thoughtfully together. ‘So Neville would have no reason to call at Eastington House today?’

‘None at all. Why?’

‘Because if he does, he may suspect that he’s been exposed.’

She shook her head. ‘If he calls today, my parents don’t intend to admit him. The servants have instructions to inform him that the entire family is out.’

Sir Edmund sat back, his fingers drumming on the window ledge. ‘If the colonel doesn’t know where Neville is today, I begin to fear that the denouement will take place at Amberley Court tonight, when Neville arrives for a dinner party he must still believe to be taking place.’

Blanche pulled the carriage blind slightly aside, peeping out at the parade ground as Richards maneuvered the grays around the edge of it. Acolumn of soldiers in full dress was marching to the sound of a fife and drum, and some more were practicing gun drill bythe perimeter wall. A union jack and the regiment’s banner fluttered from the white flagpole in front of the officers’
quarters, and there was a burst of male laughter from an open window as Richards drew the carriage up in front of the main door.

Jonathan steeled himself for the stir his sudden reappearance was bound to cause, and Deborah smiled encouragingly to him. ‘It won’t be long now, Jonathan,’ she said, ‘and then at least your name will be exonerated, even if Mr Neville isn’t here to be arrested.’

Sir Edmund alighted and turned to assist Blanche down. He held her hand for a moment longer than required. ‘Don’t worry, Blanche,’ he said softly, ‘we’ll still apprehend him, have no fear of that.’

She managed a smile, but wished she could have taken heart from his reassurance. She wouldn’t believe Roderick Neville had been stopped until she saw him arrested.

As Sir Edmund helped Deborah down, and then Jonathan himself alighted, a group of his fellow officers emerged from the building. It was the same group who’d been laughing a moment before, for they were still laughing now, although their
amusement
died away in astonishment as they saw Jonathan standing with Deborah. In spite of their surprise, they were still only too aware of Sir Edmund’s uniform, and they immediately saluted him.

He nodded. ‘Gentlemen,’ he murmured, inclining his head.

They hurried on their way, whispering together the moment they thought the group by the carriage could no longer hear.

Sir Edmund offered Blanche his arm. ‘Let’s get on with it, then,’ he said, escorting her into the building. Jonathan and Deborah followed.

Colonel George Cummings was a tall, rangily built man in his early fifties. His light blue eyes were set close together above a large hooked nose, and his bushy eyebrows ran together in a single line. He had a precise, military manner that verged on the abrupt, and was a soldier of the old school, known for his
severity
and adherence to the rules. But as Sir Edmund had pointed out, he was also a very fair man, and as such respected by all the men in the regiment, officers and lower ranks alike.

His private rooms were comfortable, if not luxurious, and
occupied the middle of the second floor of the building,
overlooking
the parade ground. The parlor was sparsely furnished with a maroon-and-cream-striped sofa and a particularly comfortable armchair before the fireplace, and a dining table with a number of high-backed chairs. The walls were hung with military and sporting prints, and there was a large map of Europe on the chimney breast. Candlesticks and several
miniatures
of his wife and children were jumbled on the mantelpiece, and there was a jar of tobacco and a rack of clay pipes in the hearth next to the gleaming brass fender. There were no
concessions
to the festive season, not even a sprig of holly, for Christmas jollifications had no place in the life of a stern military man.

The colonel was enjoying a hearty meal of roast beef and
potatoes
when their names were announced, and he left the table in some surprise, coming toward them as they entered. His glance rested on Jonathan for a moment, and then he looked at Sir Edmund. ‘To what do I owe this undoubted honor, Sir Edmund?’ he asked.

‘A matter of the utmost importance, Colonel. I trust we aren’t inconveniencing you?’ Sir Edmund glanced at the half-finished meal on the table.

‘I’m never inconvenienced by army matters, sir, and I take it that this is an army matter?’

‘It is, Colonel.’

The colonel turned to Blanche and Deborah, indicating the sofa. ‘Please be seated, ladies,’ he said, looking curiously at Deborah for a moment before turning to Jonathan. ‘As for you, sir, I’m very disappointed, very disappointed indeed, for I had high hopes of you.’

Jonathan said nothing, but kept his eyes upon the floor.

Sir Edmund cleared his throat. ‘Colonel Cummings, there are certain facts in Lieutenant Amberley’s situation that it is vital you should know.’

‘Facts?’

‘That exonerate him completely.’

‘Indeed?’ The sharp, pale blue eyes studied Sir Edmund for a long moment, and then the colonel nodded. ‘Very well, sir.

Please be seated. And you, I suppose, lieutenant,’ he finished, waving Jonathan toward one of the dining room chairs.

As Jonathan obeyed, and Sir Edmund joined Blanche and Deborah on the sofa, Colonel Cummings bent to select a clay pipe from the rack, fill it with tobacco from the jar, and then light it with a spill held to the fire. When the pipe was satisfactorily lit, he took his place in the capacious armchair by the hearth. ‘I’m at your disposal, ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, glancing around for someone to begin.

Sir Edmund spoke. ‘Lieutenant Amberley is, as I have said, innocent of everything he is accused of, but I fear that Lieutenant Neville is far from innocent, as we can prove.’

The colonel looked shrewdly at Deborah. ‘From your
presence
, Miss Jennings, I can only presume that you’ve changed your version of events?’

She lowered her eyes guiltily. ‘Yes, Colonel Cummings.’

He turned his attention to Jonathan. ‘Let’s hear it then,
lieutenant
. Exactly what did happen?’

Jonathan told his story yet again, and then Deborah related her unwilling part in the conspiracy. The note was produced, and every relevant detail aired, so that the colonel was left in full possession of all the facts.

When they’d finished, he was silent for a long moment, then he put down his pipe and looked at Jonathan. ‘It seems that you have been unjustly accused, lieutenant.’

Blanche and Deborah looked at each other in relief, but their smiles were immediately extinguished as he went on.

‘However, sir, you are still a deserter, are you not?’ Jonathan swallowed. ‘Yes, sir.’

The colonel turned to Sir Edmund. ‘What would you do if you were me, sir?’

‘I’d be loath to lose a good officer.’

‘My thoughts precisely.’ Colonel Cummings got up. ‘Lieutenant, I accept that you left your post on the spur of the moment, and that it was an act so out of character that it is most unlikely to ever occur again. Under the circumstances,
therefore
, I intend to overlook your absence, which, after all, did
coincide
with your Christmas furlough.’

Jonathan rose slowly to his feet, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. ‘I-I’m not to be charged with desertion, sir?’

‘It’s in my discretion to waive charges, and that’s what I’m doing. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve been on leave, and that’s the end of it.’

Jonathan closed his eyes in relief. ‘Thank you, sir.’

‘Don’t thank me, man, for I’m merely seeing to it that the army doesn’t lose one of its best young officers on the eve of his regiment’s departure for Spain. Sir Arthur Wellesley has need of men like you, and now, thank heaven, he is still to have you.’

Deborah’s lips quivered, and she hid her face in her hands. Jonathan went to her immediately, putting a loving hand on her trembling shoulder. ‘Please don’t cry, Deborah, for it’s all all right now,’ he said gently.

‘I f-feel so utterly wretched. If-if I hadn’t b-been so weak, if I hadn’t g-given in to….’

Sir Edmund looked at her kindly. ‘You gave in because you love your parents, Miss Jennings, and there isn’t anyone here who doesn’t understand the dreadful position you were in.’

‘Quite right,’ nodded the colonel. ‘Please dry your tears, my dear, for we do indeed understand.’ Then he drew a long breath. ‘That damned popinjay Neville! I never did like him. Do you know, he even had the gall to ask me if he could take search parties over the entire area of Amberley St Mary. The entire area, when the regiment is preparing to leave for Spain in a month’s time! I told him in no uncertain terms that his zeal was misplaced, and that I wasn’t about to waste that many men, who could be more usefully employed on other duties. To be honest, I thought Amberley had long gone, and that even searching his family’s home was a waste of time and effort, but Neville was certain that he was there or in the immediate neighborhood. Of course he was certain, for he knew Amberley was innocent and would attempt to clear his name!’

Sir Edmund turned to him. ‘Colonel, about Neville….’

‘He’s not here today, more’s the pity, for right now I’d like to nail his scheming hide to the wall.’