The Flood-Tide (17 page)

The horse was saddled and ready, and Henri took it, and hurried homewards. All he could think was that he had left her in anger, went to bed without kissing her, left that day without saying goodbye to her. For the first time in many, many months he prayed - -give me another chance. Let her recover this time. Duncan let him in when he reached the house, Meurice's servant took the reins of the horse, and Henri ran up the stairs to the bare little room, like a nun's cell, where Aliena slept. A surgeon was there, and the priest from the convent.

‘Thank God you have come,' the priest said, but Henri did not even hear him, thrust past him to the bed. ‘Grandmama !'

‘She sleeps. She does not hear you,' the surgeon said. Henri knelt beside the narrow bed. Aliena lay composed, her hands folded upon her breast. Her face was like white marble, her hair in two long white plaits upon the white pillow, so that she might have been a statue upon a tomb, and though he wanted to take her hand, or kiss her, he found suddenly that he could not touch her, or disturb that quiet integrity. The fine structure of her features showed how beautiful she once had been; in the relaxation of human care, she was beautiful again.

‘Grandmama,' he said again, but quietly. Will she recover?' he asked, and it was the priest who answered.

‘She has had the last rites. She had a second seizure a little while afterwards. She is very old, my son, and very tired. One should not wish her to remain for one's own selfish reasons.'

‘I need her,' he cried out in agony. 'I love her.'

‘Many people loved her,' said the surgeon. 'She was a very great lady.’

Henri looked up, and then started with surprise.

‘I know you,' he said. 'I have seen you at Versailles.'

‘I am one of the royal surgeons. I attended the late Queen and the princesses. I was at the Palais Royale when your servant came looking for you, and came at once to see if there was anything I could do.’

Henri could only nod a thanks. He had grown so used to thinking of Aliena as his property; he had forgotten she had lived at Court, had been the mistress of a King, and had danced many a time with King Louis XV.

‘I knew her many years ago,' the surgeon went on, ‘when she was at St Germain.' He looked around the room. ‘It seems strange to find her here, in these surroundings.’

Then there was silence, until a while later the surgeon went to the bedside and quietly placed his fingers against her throat, and said, 'She is at peace now.’

The priest knelt and began to pray. Henri thought, I should not wish her back, when she must have been so glad to go. But he could not help it. He understood now, for the first time, what it was to be alone.

*

Jemima was as much surprised as pleased when they were asked to join a large party to spend Christmas at Castle Howard, at the invitation of Frederick Howard, fifth Earl of Carlisle.

‘I did not even know you knew him,' she said to Allen, who was trying not to show how pleased he was with the honour, but betrayed it by a quirk of the lips. 'It proves how highly thought of you are.'

‘Oh, one cannot help knowing people when one is involved with Court matters,' he said. 'His father the fourth Earl lived a great deal in Rome, and I met him there when I was at the Court of King James. The present Earl has held a number of minor posts in the Government, and he's something of a protege of Chelmsford's, so of course I've met him in London.'

‘I thought he lived in great retirement,' Jemima said. 'I had heard that the Earl of Carlisle lived at Castle Howard because he could not afford to live anywhere else.'

‘Yes, that
was
the case,' Allen said. 'He was a great friend of Fox's, and lost a deal of money gambling, and by backing Fox's bills, but I believe he has straightened out his finances now. At any rate, he has become very interested in politics in the past few years, and is aching for some real Government post. I would not be surprised if that was behind this invitation. Having seen me arrive for' private consultations with the King, he may have overestimated my influence.'

‘Well, never mind if he has. I am so excited at the thought of seeing the house. I have heard it talked of for ever. Have you ever seen it?' Jemima asked.

‘Never. But you know that Vanbrugh built Castle Howard at the same time as Shawes, and I remember the Countess saying that there were many features similar, though of course Shawes is tiny in comparison. So you think we should accept the invitation?' he asked innocently. Jemima squeezed his arm.

‘Fool!' she laughed. 'And how very kind to invite Flora too.'

‘Why not?' Allen said easily. 'In a place of that size, one more or less cannot signify. Besides, she is sure to be wanted. The Earl writes plays, you know, so we shall certainly have some theatricals, and Flora, being such a handsome young woman, will be wanted for the heroine, who is duped, abducted, and all but murdered, before being rescued at the last moment by the hero.'

‘Oh, I see.
That
sort of play,' Jemima said, smiling. 'But what am I about, standing talking to you? I shall need a new gown, two new gowns, and Flora will too. And we will have to powder, and what shall I do about a lady's maid? Allen, talk to me, reassure me! I am so nervous, I cannot think. We shan't know anyone - I shall feel so out of place.'

‘My darling, how can you be made nervous by an invitation from an Earl?' Allen said, amused. 'You were a Countess yourself, don't you remember?’

She stepped up close to him, and put her arms round his neck. 'I remember that I am Lady Morland. That is pride enough for me.' And he put his arms round her, and they wasted some pleasant minutes in blissful silence, before she sped away to tell Flora the news.

*

Jemima, while underestimating her husband's fame in the world of London society, had been in complete ignorance of her own. Ever since Queen Anne had made horse racing popular, it had been the passion and province of the nobility, and from the moment she arrived at Castle Howard, she found people flatteringly eager to be introduced to her, and almost as well-informed as to the names and condition of her horses as she was. She found also that she was not entirely without acquaintance in the company, for besides a number of people to whom she had sold horses, there was her brother-in-law Chelmsford and his wife, and their son Lord Meldon.

‘Now I need only to know that my dress is right,' she said to Allen as they dressed for the first night's dinner, ‘to feel quite at home.'

‘You look beautiful whatever you wear,' Allen said soothingly.

‘That,' remarked Jemima, 'is the most annoying thing a man ever says to his wife, and entirely beside the point.' The servant problem had been overcome by promoting one of the maids, Esther, to lady's maid for Jemima, and bringing Rachel to attend Flora and help Esther with the hair. Allen had the butler, Oxhey, to attend him, and guided him so carefully and subtly through the problems of his new position as valet that Oxhey eventually returned to Morland Place believing he had managed everything through his own natural talent.

When eventually they went down together, Jemima had her nervousness well under control. Flora, behind them, was still young enough, despite her matronly status, to be dressed all in white, which was always finery enough in itself. Jemima had lent her the pearl half-hoop, and Rachel had used it to great effect in the piled-up and powdered hair, along with some white feathers and silk roses. Jemima's gown was of a very dark green, almost sea-green, silk, with silver rosettes and lace, and she wore around her throat the diamond collar, which was enough to give any woman courage. Allen saw as much in her eyes when she turned her head to smile at him, and he pressed her hand against his ribs and murmured, 'What a pity it is that this is the last time we shall be together this evening. I am sure there cannot be another woman present to rival you.’

Wow
you may call me beautiful,' she answered the thought rather than the words. 'And you look wonderful too. Most distinguished.'

‘My head feels like an uncooked pudding, and these breeches are so tight I shall lose all feeling below the knee in half an hour,' he said with a comical grimace, 'but if you approve me, it is enough.'

‘I hope they give you someone amusing at dinner,' she said as they passed into the state room, to be absorbed into the glittering crowd and separated.

Jemima was given into the charge of a very handsome young man, who was introduced to her as Lord Calder but who at once claimed a right of acquaintance with an eager and endearing smile.

‘I am James Chetwyn, madam. I knew your son Edward at Eton.'

‘But of course,' Jemima said, returning his handshake heartily. 'Edward has spoken so often of you, and in such glowing terms, that I feel I know you already.'

‘And how is my young friend?' he asked.

‘Very well, progressing with his studies.'

‘Ah yes, he always was a scholar - unlike me, I'm afraid. If I ever had the misfortune to learn anything, I was careful to forget it again by the next day.' Jemima shook her head in mock reproval, but she could see why Edward had been so devoted to this young man. He was charming.

‘You are at Oxford now, I believe, at Baliol?' she asked him as they walked in to dinner. 'The young men of my family go to Christ Church. Are you doing well?'

‘I am doing what one does at Oxford, madam,' he said. ‘I am making friends with the right people. Amongst them a young kinsman of yours - Lord Meldon?' He nodded his head to where, on the other side of the immensely long table, Meldon was helping Flora into her seat. Jemima frowned slightly at his attentiveness; she rather wished Flora had not been partnered with young Meldon, though she was not sure why it made her uneasy. She shivered slightly, and Chetwyn was instantly aware of it.

‘You feel the cold, madam? May I send for a shawl for you?'

‘Certainly not,' she said, rousing herself to smile at him. ‘I am not yet so old that I need a shawl.'

‘Certainly not, I protest! And I must say that Castle Howard is the warmest large house I ever was in.' He helped her into her seat, and when the company was all assembled sat down himself and surveyed the innumerable dishes with interest. 'Now you must tell me at once what you like, and I will see you have it. These ducks are nearest - may I carve you a little? The really intolerable thing about parties in large houses is that the food is always cold. My father - the Earl of Aylesbury, madam, as I believe you know - was a great man for society in his youth, and he swears that it is by eating cold food he has kept his health. He never had a hot dish during the Season for fifteen years, he said, and never had a moment's indigestion either. But my father is a great talker. My own belief is that he talked so much he never had time to eat anything, and
that
is what saved his constitution. What do you think of that, madam?'

‘I think that you talk a great deal yourself,' Jemima said, amused by his chatter. 'And my understanding has always been that those who talk a lot do it to prevent people from finding out something about them. Now what could it be about you?'

‘Your penetration, madam,
is
devastating. I can see where young Edward got his wit. I owe him a great deal -and you too, Lady Morland. What do you think of my suit?’

It was a very odd question, and abrupt, but Jemima was enjoying him, and pretended to examine it. It was very gay and very elaborate, with as much silver lace as her own gown had, and a great many more ribbons. 'I like it very much,' she said gravely.

‘I am glad,' Chetwyn said swiftly, 'for, you see, it is really your suit. I won a hundred guineas on your wonderful colt Persis, on the advice of your son. So all my good fortune and good looks are entirely due to you.’

Jemima could only laugh. 'I have not heard nonsense spoken so engagingly for a long time,' she said.

‘If it amuses you, I shall continue to do it,' he said. By the end of the meal they were like old friends, and Jemima had invited him to come to Morland Place and ride her horses whenever he found himself in Yorkshire.

After dinner there was musical entertainment, which was really an opportunity for a talk and flirting - Jemima felt quite sorry at one point for a performer to whom no one, not even her host and hostess, were listening. But she was having such a pleasant time, sometimes talking nonsense with young Chetwyn, at others talking horses with a number of other guests, that she barely heard the music herself. Allen, meanwhile, had been annexed by Lord Carlisle and Lord Chelmsford, and the three of them were discussing 'this American business', in which Lord Carlisle had a growing interest.

‘We cannot doubt any longer that the colony has rebelled,' he was saying. 'The King himself, in his proclamation, has referred to "rebellious war". We must move to settle it as soon as possible.'

‘Measures are being taken,' Chelmsford said vaguely, and Lord Carlisle snapped his fingers.

‘The whole thing has been shamefully mismanaged. What is needed is a series of definite - and liberal - offers of reconciliation to the Americans, but backed with decisive military action. Gage is hopelessly inadequate. Spirited attack, swift action, that is what is needed.'

‘Yes, my lord,' Allen said, trying to be tactful, 'but I believe it is very difficult for us to understand the conditions over there. The size of the country alone, for instance—'