Silver (37 page)

       
Though unused to being spoken to like that by domestic staff, Elizabeth had grown used to Kate’s frankness. She opened her mouth to speak but Avery got in first, smiling broadly at Kate.

“
I’ve an idea. We should all four go for a meal this very evening?”

“
Four?” said Elizabeth. “You don’t mean…?”

“
Heston and yourself, Kate and I…the four of us,” said Avery. ‘If we are to make this work Elizabeth, you must be willing to play your part. Why not start this evening?”

“
But surely Avery, you are not thinking of starting here in London? What if we are recognized?”

“
Don’t tell me you have cold feet Miss Greenwood. If you would prefer, you can always stay safely at home with Agnes?”

       
Elizabeth scowled at him and slid from the packing case, pulling the clothes from beside her as she did so. She folded them up untidily and stuffed them back in the case in which she had found them.

“
I confess that I am as hungry as a wolf,” Avery declared. “I could clear the table of fowl, venison….”

       
As Avery reeled off a list of the food he could eat, Elizabeth felt herself grow nauseous and she had to dash from the room clutching a hand to her mouth. A few moments later, Kate found her in a spare bedroom, sat upon a bed.

“
Are you okay, Elizabeth?” Kate asked.

“
Never better,” she replied and standing up straight, she felt herself grow bilious once more and she rushed to the washstand and vomited.

       
As the days had turned to weeks, it had become harder to ignore the changes that had been happening to her body. At first she had thought the sickness was a result of the violation and that she simply felt sick thinking about it. But then her breasts had begun to hurt and she had been finding the smell of certain things repulsive. When she missed her course, Elizabeth knew there was something up and now so did Kate. As she wiped her mouth on a towel, Kate’s voice broke the silence.

“
You’re pregnant,” she stated, confirming Elizabeth’s fears. “It’s Bateman’s?” she asked and then apologised immediately. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Please, forgive me.”

“
You think very little of me, Kate,” Elizabeth stated matter of factly.

“I’ve spoken out of turn.
I’m sorry,” she said again. “I don’t think little of you. Honestly.” She repeated and she coloured.

“
Then what is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“
For a moment, I thought it might be Avery’s,” she said with a shy grin.

       
Elizabeth laughed out loud and found herself clasping her sides with delight. Absurd and impossible as it was, it was not such a ridiculous notion. She half hoped it were true.

“
Kate. Please, you must promise me that you won’t say anything to Avery. I cannot let this stop me from escaping London, from escaping Bateman. Do you understand?”

       
She could tell that this was asking for too much and Kate looked very uncomfortable but she nodded her assent.

“
What will you do?” she asked.             

       
But Elizabeth had not thought that far ahead. Acknowledging that she had to do something meant acknowledging that the sickness in her stomach was ‘
something’
in itself. All that she knew was that she had to leave London. She smiled at Kate.

“
I will get dressed and have an entertaining evening out. Come Kate, we must find you something to wear.”

       
And with that, she began to rummage through the clothes that Avery had laid out to be sent to charity.

~o~

              Several hours later, the four of them cut an unremarkable group as they descended from a cab and made their way through a busy Covent Garden to the Irving Music and Supper Rooms. It was a place that Elizabeth knew her father did not frequent but it was somewhere Avery had visited and found to be anonymous and safe. It was the perfect opportunity for Heston and Kate, unaccustomed as they were to being treated as equals, to practice their roles.

“
Not so near the stage. Do you have a table nearer the sides?” Avery asked as the maître d’ tried to place them at the front of the room towards the edge of the stage. Elizabeth noticed that Kate was quite relaxed although she seemed unable to allow the waiter to wait upon her. At the door, a man had held the door for her and she tried to take it from him and even now as a chair was drawn back for her, she seemed quite flustered as she sat upon it. On the other hand, Heston, who was a complete stranger to her, seemed quite uptight. It was almost comical how ill at ease he seemed around this whole scenario. She had thought to herself what a treat this must be for someone of their status, to experience a taste of a life that was not normally within their aspirations. On the contrary, you could have mistaken Heston’s discomfort as superiority. He wore an expression of what seemed to be disdain but it was only because Elizabeth had seen his look of horror when Avery had suggested the trip that afternoon, that she could see his look was one of fear.

“
That’s better. Thank you,” Avery smiled around the table as they all took their seats. Kate seemed to be enjoying herself, looking about her with the eyes of a child at Christmas. Avery, in turn, couldn’t take his eyes from her, she was overwhelmed by the world into which she had found herself and it was obvious to anyone watching that she enchanted him. It was unlike Elizabeth but instead of directing her annoyance at either of them, she dropped a napkin carefully beside her chair and turned to Heston instead.

“
Heston. Be a dear and pick up my napkin won’t you?”

       
Of course, he leapt to it and it was the only time that evening that she saw him at ease. To do someone’s bidding was as much in his blood as it was in a hounds to follow the hare. As Heston scurried to her far side, dropped to his knee and collected her napkin, Avery caught her eye and narrowed his gaze. Elizabeth threw a bored glance back at him and, taking the napkin from Heston, she looked around him at the room. The room was filling nicely and there was a good assortment of old and young, rich and the not so rich. She was vaguely aware of Heston excusing himself from the table but, as he did so, her gaze was distracted and her eyes fell upon a few familiar faces. Despite Avery’s wish that they remain inconspicuous, it was not in Elizabeth’s nature to be such a wallflower and she was hoping to find some entertainment. She preferred Avery’s company when she was the focus of his attention and the evening promised little of that.  At such a distance, she could not at first see exactly who it was that she recognized but by the time that she had it was too late. Bateman had seen her too. She felt herself grow cold before a searing heat crept across her chest and neck. Her reaction made him smile and he kept his gaze upon her as he leaned towards his dining companions and excused himself. She watched with horror as he rose from his seat and made his way to their table. Avery and Kate had not seen the exchange and when Bateman drew up at their table, they both looked surprised.

“
Miss Greenwood. What a pleasure to see you back in the city. I had been afraid that you would be quite lost to us. Some say the country has such a charm but I for one have never seen it.”

       
He had stopped between Elizabeth and Heston’s empty chair and he now stooped to collect Elizabeth’s hand upon which to place a mannered kiss. She remained stiff and it was an awkward gesture. The tension was not wasted upon Kate who was immediately cautious of the stranger, unaware of who he was.

“
And Silver, I see that you too are returned to us. And I see that you are keeping some new company since your return?” His gaze fell upon Kate who was looking to Elizabeth to confirm her suspicions.

“
Miss Ward. This is Giles Bateman.” Elizabeth spoke flatly.

“
A pleasure to meet you, Miss Ward.” He bowed his head politely. Kate glared at him. “And who is missing from your company?” he indicated the empty space which Heston had vacated and it was Avery’s turn to colour.

             
“Just a friend,” he mumbled. “I don’t wish to be rude Bateman but we were in the middle of discussing a private matter and….”

       
But Avery did not have the chance to finish his sentence as the return of Heston stoked Bateman’s interest tenfold. Heston was at the disadvantage as, returning to his seat, he did not recognize Bateman from behind and by the time he had drawn level it was too late to conceal himself.

       
Bateman recognised him instantly but did not acknowledge it. He smiled broadly and then, chuckling to himself, he caught the arm of a passing waiter.

“
Will you bring us some wine, and you might as well make up another place here for the moment.” With that, Bateman took a chair from an empty table and swung it between Heston and Elizabeth. “Well, well, well,” he breathed. “Goodwin told me he had lost a good valet in you, Heston but I didn’t know it was become you had gone up in the world.” Bateman indicated the suit which Heston wore and the dinner table at which he sat with Silver and the two ladies. Heston said nothing but stared straight ahead. Elizabeth kept her eyes on Kate and watched as the young girl struggled with an instinct to say something. This was unfamiliar territory for Kate and no doubt she was chewing on what she would have said to Bateman in a less public setting.

“
So, Silver, do you have to hire friends now or is young Heston here on his own purse?”

       
Silver said nothing and the table fell silent for a moment whilst a waiter set up a place before Bateman and placed a bottle of wine before him.

“Will that be all, sir?”

“No. If you can tell my party that I will be indisposed for a short while and they must start without me. Thank you.”

       
A moment later and they were left alone again. The noise around the room had begun to grow as more people filled in for that evening’s entertainment. The handbill they had found on their table promised a variety of acts including a few comic singers. As the waiter left, a burst of applause began to fire around the room as one such act arrived on the stage. Elizabeth, Avery, Kate and Heston sat quietly, looking around the table but not at each other. Bateman was clapping loudly and he wore a smirk across his face as he noticed the grim mood.

“
Now, now. It’s almost as if you aren’t pleased to see me? Silver, tell me what I have done to deserve this treatment. Am I to be sent to Coventry with no explanation?”

       
Elizabeth turned to see Silver’s face. She knew that he and Bateman shared no love but it was unlike him not to meet him head on. She suspected he was nervous for Heston or Kate or indeed both. If anyone that she knew fed back to her father that Heston was no man of education but a valet, then the closest she would come to Europe was listening to her future husband’s recollections of his own travel. It was not just Heston whose disguise she suspected that he feared would be uncovered. It was Kate’s. As she watched him now, she saw Avery move his hand across the table cloth and place it over Kate’s own. She had been shaking slightly as though she might cry at any moment. Elizabeth recognized at once that this was not from fear but from anger. Avery’s gesture was protective and it did not go unnoticed by Bateman who laughed out loud.

“
Aha! I see! Forgive me Miss Greenwood but I had thought that Silver here was your dinner partner but it looks as though he has a new focus for his affection.” He laughed again and she felt her insides twisting. She was not afraid of him but she was feeling the pressure both to keep Heston and Kate concealed but also to protect Avery. She still had no idea if he knew anything about Silver’s true identify. Surely, he would also have heard of the death of Toby Silver or enquired after Elizabeth when she was at Juniper Hall. The way he was staring at Avery threatened something and she was scared that all of their carefully laid plans would come tumbling down.

“
So you and Heston are Chaperones? Gooseberrys? Or…” he paused and then, looking between the pair of them, he laughed again even more loudly. His eruption caused several people to turn and stare. The act on stage, though moderately amusing, had not elicited more than a quiet chuckle. Bateman held up a hand as he tried to choke back his laughter.

“
Don’t tell me that you and Heston here are partners also?”

       
It was Avery’s turn to speak and he did so calmly but firmly.

“
Bateman. You have not been invited to join our party but I have not objected. Nobody has any interest in how you know Mr. Heston but I do know that you will not insult my friends. Now, if you would be so kind,” he indicated the food which was being laid before them, “we would like to continue with our meal.”

       
Bateman and Avery locked stares with one another and unblinkingly, Bateman downed his glass and, standing to leave, said. “Of course. Miss Greenwood. Heston and, forgive me but we have not been introduced?” He lowered his gaze in what he intended to be a seductive gaze and extended a hand towards Kate.