Bride of the Solway (8 page)

'We did have tea in the Peninsula, ma'am, and sugar. But they were not always easy to come by. One learns to adapt.'

'I am surprised to learn that officers in the army were drinking tea,' she said, on the thread of a laugh. Her eyes were dancing. They were really very beautiful eyes.

'We were not all lost to the ways of polite society, ma'am. One or two of the officers were accompanied by their wives, so we single men did not become complete barbarians.' He willingly returned her smile. Her brother might be scheming, but Miss Elliott seemed to be everything a lady should be. How was it possible that she had been fleeing for the Solway, dressed only in a sodden shift? Ross determined to solve the mystery surrounding her. It was clear that she needed protection from her brother. But why?

'I find I have a picture of you in my mind, sitting on the ground around a camp fire, weapons in one hand and a bowl of tea in the other. Absurd, is it not?'

He laughed and was delighted that she did, too. She had very even white teeth and a wide, kissable mouth. Lord, where had that thought come from? For a moment he was stunned by his own reaction.

'I can see that I must not pursue that avenue of conversation any further, Captain Graham, lest you find yourself confiding what else the single officers were doing. Tell me, what brings you north? Your accent suggests that you are originally from Scotland, but I was wondering why you chose to visit Dumfries rather than, say, Edinburgh. Does your family come from here?'

'I am not exactly sure.' He cursed silently. What on earth had possessed him to let that slip? Miss Elliott's surprise was clear and absolutely predictable. Everyone disdained a man without a family. Now he would have to explain something of his Scottish origins—not that he knew much—and to try to parry the inevitable questions.

She did not display the vulgar curiosity he had expected, however, saying merely, 'How.. .er.. .unusual. Do you plan to make a long stay in this part of the country?'

Ross was becoming more and more impressed. This was a true lady. She had seen his dawning embarrassment and had
skilfully
helped him through it. What had happened to the hoyden? Was this really the same woman? It seemed impossible. Yet it was true.

He must do his best to respond in kind.

'I find it strangely beautiful, I must admit. As I have no pressing reasons to return to London, I fancy I may spend some time in these parts, exploring the area. There are some fine houses to visit, I believe?'

'Yes, indeed. Many. And even finer gardens. The climate here is most clement, particularly towards the west. Some of the local gentry have created beautiful gardens and are bringing in all sorts of new plants from distant parts. I find myself envying them greatly.' She smiled up at him. 'Yes, I know it is a sin, but I cannot help myself. Whenever I visit such a garden, I cannot help but covet the glories I see there.'

'Then you have much in common with
Mrs
Anstruther. Oh, not the sins, I am sure,' he added hastily, 'but the love of plants and gardens. The colonel and his wife are creating a new garden at their manor near Castle Douglas, I believe.'

'The colonel's property is rather more than a manor, sir,' she replied with a twinkle. 'It is an ancient castle, built as a bulwark against the invading English. As you travel around you will see that there are many such, mostly in ruins. The colonel's family spent many years restoring it, I believe. Most other families preferred to build anew. A modern house can be more comfortable, I suppose, though it lacks the magic of the old places.'

'Ah, do I detect a lover of gothic romances?' She blushed. Delightfully. .
  
-

'Forgive me, ma'am,' he said quickly. 'That was impertinent of me. Tell me, if you will, what places of interest I should Visit while I am staying in Dumfries.'

She named several, ending with Sweetheart Abbey. 'It was built by the Lady
Devorguilla
in memory of her beloved husband. His heart is buried there. It is a strange, haunting place, but very beautiful. You will find it an easy journey, in the day, though better on horseback than by carriage. Are you travelling alone?'

'For the present, yes. Though my man, Fraser, will be joining me in the next few days.' He dropped his voice to be sure that
Mrs
Anstruther would not hear. 'He will be quite horrified, of course, about what happened. He'll maintain, loud and long, that if I had allowed him to accompany me in the first place, as he'd tried to insist, I wouldn't have been thrown into gaol at all.'

She drew herself up slightly. Ross could not decide whether it was because she wished to distance herself from her own outrageous behaviour, or whether she disapproved of his obviously close relationship with his valet. 'You will tell him what happened?' Her voice definitely held a hint of hauteur. So, she didn't think a gentleman should confide in his valet. How little she knew. Having shared the privations of the Peninsular War with Fraser, Ross trusted his man implicitly. With his life, if necessary.

'It matters not a whit whether I tell him or not.' Ross grinned suddenly, remembering many instances when he had tried to keep information from Fraser. 'Fraser is the best gatherer of information I have ever known. He'd find out somehow. He'd have made a very successful spy.' Now that was not quite true. For, on occasion, Fraser had already made a very successful spy. And the British army, though unaware of the details of the man's dangerous service, had reason to be eternally grateful for Fraser's abilities. 'How very.. .interesting.'

He had lost her. The sparkling look was now veiled as she took his empty cup and returned to speak to
Mrs
Anstruther. Her brother had risen from his place and was bowing to his hostess. The pair clearly meant to leave.

'It was a great pleasure to meet you again, Miss Elliott,'
Mrs
Anstruther said. 'And you, too,
Mr
Elliott. I do hope you will come again soon, so that Miss Elliott and I can continue our discussions. I have rarely met anyone so young yet with such enthusiasm for plants and gardens. We share a common passion, I think.'

Miss Elliott smiled warmly. 'I cannot hope to match your knowledge, ma'am, but I should very much like to learn more from you. What you tell me of your new garden is fascinating.'

'I long to visit it again. But situated as I am—' she gestured impatiently at her useless legs '—it may be some time before I can do so. However, if you wish to visit the house and garden, please feel free to do so. My gardeners would be delighted to learn that there are other ladies in the world just as passionate as I am.' She looked sideways at Ross. 'Perhaps Captain Graham would like to accompany you? And your brother, of course.'

James Elliott cleared his throat and directed a swift warning look towards his sister. 'Cassandra is most grateful for the invitation, ma'am. Very generous of you, I am sure. However, we must not think of making any excursions until Cassandra is quite well again. It does not do to risk a lady's frail health.'

Ross hoped his reactions did not show on his face. The man was a lying cur. Had he not poured scorn on the assumed frailty of young ladies not half an hour ago? Why was he now declining
Mrs
Anstruther's
invitation when he had gone to such lengths to ingratiate himself before? There was something very strange going on in the Elliott family. Very strange indeed.

Mrs
Anstruther stretched up her hand to Miss Elliott. 'Forgive me, my dear,' she said. 'I hope you will be fully recovered very soon. It will not be possible for me to return your call, alas, but perhaps you will overlook my discourtesy and come to me again? I did so enjoy our talk. The colonel does his best, and he has become very knowledgeable about plants of late, but he does not share my passion. Not as you do.'

Miss Elliott blushed. 'You do me too much honour, ma'am. And I should be delighted to call on you again.' She glanced towards her brother, who was frowning. 'As soon as I am able.'

'You will understand if we take our leave now, ma'am,' her brother said. 'We must get home while it is still light. It would not do for Cassandra to become chilled.'

The normal courtesies were soon exchanged. Elliott could almost have been a real gentleman. Certainly, his assumed manners could not be faulted. Ross felt his gorge rising as he watched. The man was the very devil.

Ross insisted on escorting Miss Elliott to her carriage, offering his hand to help her to mount. With one foot on the step, she turned to look into his face. Their eyes met, and held. He felt a slight pressure of her fingers in his. 'Thank you, Captain Graham,' she said softly. 'I am truly most grateful to you.'

'Your servant, ma'am,' he said, returning the pressure for just a fraction of a second. A silent message was sent and received. Ross had no doubt that Miss Elliott—Cassandra—understood what he intended. He had risked his life to save her once. And he stood ready to do so again.

Cassie shrank back into the corner of the carriage, where James could not see her if he chose to ride alongside rather than out in front. She had only the length of the journey home to order her thoughts and to decide how she would respond to his demands. For they would certainly come.

Jamie would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. And what he wanted now was to marry Cassie off to a rich man as soon as he possibly could. His debts must be even more pressing than before, she decided, for until now, he had been planning to wait until Colonel Anstruther was free to remarry. No doubt James expected to borrow money from his future brother-in-law at every opportunity. But surely that meant finding a man who was both rich and weak? Colonel Anstruther was certainly not weak. He would never be an easy mark.

And nor would Captain Graham. He, too, was every inch the soldier— strong, determined, resourceful, and a knight in shining
armour
to a damsel in distress. She was sorry now that she had snubbed him when he mentioned having been thrown into gaol. But she had been mortally embarrassed at the thought that he was about to tell his valet about her outrageous behaviour. Once one servant knew of her attempted flight, it was bound to become the talk of Dumfries. What little standing she had in the community would be gone. She would not even be able to call on
Mrs
Anstruther again.

That meant she would not be able to meet Captain Graham again.

She felt a sinking in her stomach at the thought. She was grateful to him. Of course, she was. But it was more than that. She had not met many single gentlemen since she had left her Edinburgh seminary, and almost all of them had been old, or lecherous, or both. Captain Graham was neither. He was young and vigorous, and handsome enough if one overlooked his red hair. He had very pleasing blue eyes, too, that twinkled with good humour. And he was kind to hoydens on the banks of the Solway. Altogether the kind of gentleman that any young lady would wish to know.

But was he rich? Oh, dear, she did not know. She had discovered— quite cleverly, she thought—that he was a single man, but she knew little of his circumstances. Perhaps if she had not snubbed him, he would have been more forthcoming? But no. He had not wished to speak of his family. He had inadvertently let slip that he knew little about them. And he had been embarrassed at having said even that. There was no way she could have successfully quizzed him.

James would not accept such an excuse. What was she to tell him? Perhaps she could draw inferences from what the captain had said without actually telling a lie. Think, Cassie, think! She knew he had served in the Fifty-second Foot and she imagined he would have had to purchase his commission in such a good regiment. That meant he had some money, at least. Good, that was a start. His family came from Scotland, and fairly recently, too, judging by his accent, yet he knew nothing of them. So he must have been brought up in a home in England. Somewhere in England. And a gentleman's home in England, however small, would require money to maintain it. She would tell James that the captain was Scottish-born but English-bred, and that he appeared to be comfortably off.

And she would say that, if James wanted her to find out more details about the captain's finances, he would have to allow her to meet him again, in easier circumstances. She had done the best she could in the space of a few minutes' polite conversation.

Yes. She would suggest that they take up
Mrs
Anstruther's
invitation to visit her new garden and that Captain Graham be invited to accompany them. On such a visit, there would be many opportunities to draw him out. Surely even James would see the sense in such a plan?