Elizabeth Rolls - Regency High Society Vol 3 - Beloved Virago / Lord Trenchard's Choice / The Unruly Chaperon / Colonel Ancroft's Love

‘But surely you didn’t remain here alone whilst Major Ross was away in Spain?’ Katherine, somewhat surprised, was prompted to ask. The house might not be on the scale of even a small mansion, but it was far too large for just one servant to maintain, and one who, moreover, was definitely not in her first flush of youth. ‘Surely there are other servants here to help you?’

‘Well, there’s McGann here now, and a stable lad who does the heavy lifting. Then there’s Mr Prentiss, who’s been the land manager for many years. He always sends men over to the house to see to repairs and chop logs for the fires.’

‘But isn’t there any other female employed here to help you with the general household chores?’ Katherine persisted, and was appalled when Janet shook her head. ‘That really is too bad of Daniel! This house is too big for only one person to manage.’

‘Now, there’s a considerate soul!’ Janet beamed. ‘It would take a female to appreciate the work a woman has to do. And I cannot deny I could do with some help about the place now that Master Daniel has returned. I do have one of the village girls come up once a week to help clean the place. But when the master was away fighting in Spain, and most of the rooms in holland covers, there weren’t really any need for extra permanent help. I did intend to mention the matter at the beginning of the year, but then the master upped and spent some time in London, and was back only a few days before he went off again.’

‘Well, don’t you worry, Janet. I shall ensure the matter is brought to his attention before I leave here,’ Katherine promised. ‘It’s unthinkable that you should be expected to manage the house by yourself. I wonder that your master didn’t see to matters long before now.’

‘He’s had other things to think about in recent years,’ McGann put in, not hesitating to come to the Major’s defence. ‘I don’t think his thoughts dwelled too often on his home back here when he were out in Spain.’

‘Understandably not,’ Katherine responded, striving to be fair. ‘Have you known the Major long?’

‘Six year, or thereabouts. I were his batman and sergeant, Miss Katherine. He were a Captain when we first met. Won his majority after Badajoz. And no one deserved it more!’

‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Katherine agreed softly, her mind’s eye having no difficulty in conjuring up an image of those telltale scars. ‘You were no doubt involved in many battles together.’

‘That we were, Miss Katherine, and all of them hard-fought,’ McGann confirmed, needing little encouragement to reminisce. ‘The “grasshoppers” were always the ones picked to go out on skirmishes.’

‘Grasshoppers?’ Katherine echoed, bemused.

‘Ahh, bless you, miss! That’s what the Frogs called us on account of our green uniforms, but they had a grudging respect for us too, I reckon. The 95th had some of the best shots in the army. And there were none better with a Baker rifle than the Major. To be sure we’ve been in some tough spots, me and the Major. Talavera was one of the worst. I thought at one point we’d be singing with the angels before that battle was over.’

Katherine’s eyes glinted with unholy amusement. ‘Or in the Major’s case possibly crying, “Hell, it’s hot!”

‘I heard that, young woman!’

Whilst her companions dissolved into laughter, Katherine swung round in the chair to discover Daniel framed in the open doorway. ‘Oh, are you here?’ she remarked, totally unmoved by his unexpected appearance. ‘Well, you know what they say about eavesdroppers, don’t you, Daniel?’

‘I’ll give you eavesdroppers, you impertinent baggage!’ he threatened, though the unmistakable flicker of affection in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by any one of those seated at the table.

Janet exchanged a swift glance with McGann before hurriedly rising to her feet. ‘Well, I haven’t time to sit about gossiping all day. I’ve the dinner to prepare.’

‘And I shall help,’ Katherine informed her, rising also and catching a look of distinct disapproval taking possession of Daniel’s features.

‘I cannot imagine why you’re glowering at me in that objectionable way,’ she told him, instantly proving to one and all that she wasn’t in the least in awe of the master of the house. ‘Janet cannot possibly be expected to manage everything, especially not with a guest staying here. And as I’m not completely useless in a kitchen, I see no earthly reason why I shouldn’t lend a hand. So if you’ll kindly remove yourself from under our feet, and take McGann with you, Janet and I shall make a start on dinner.’

Although muttering under his breath, Daniel departed as requested, and went into the large sitting-room, McGann, chuckling wickedly, at his heels. ‘It’s all very well for you to laugh,’ Daniel remonstrated, once he had the door firmly closed behind them, ‘but I’d sooner be asked to manage a company of raw recruits than be responsible for that unruly little madam!’

‘She’s a spirited little filly, and no mistake. But nothing you can’t handle, I’m thinking.’

Daniel refrained from comment, and merely invited his companion to take a seat before explaining precisely why Katherine was a guest in his house. ‘So you can now appreciate why I need you to make contact with Sir Giles Osborne without delay,’ he went on to say, once he had regaled his ex-sergeant with a reasonably detailed account of his recent exploits on the other side of the Channel. ‘With any luck you’ll find him at his country home in Hampshire. Unfortunately, with the very real possibility of renewed conflict with France, he might well be in the capital. In which case you must go on to London with the letter I’m about to write. You are to hand it to Sir Giles personally, McGann, and await further instructions. In no circumstances are you to leave it with a servant or a secretary.’

‘Understood, sir.’

By the time McGann was on the point of departure, Katherine had taken Janet into her confidence. Her explanation had taken somewhat longer, for she had found herself having to disclose the reason why a gently bred young woman should wish to embark on such a hazardous venture in the first place.

‘But do you not enjoy living in Bath, miss?’ Janet asked in some surprise, when Katherine had quite openly admitted that she had become increasingly dissatisfied with the life she had been leading in recent months. ‘I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve been told it’s an elegant place.’

‘It isn’t as fashionable as it once was,’ Katherine responded, raising her head in time to see Daniel’s trusted henchman riding out of the yard. ‘There’s no denying, though, that it’s a pleasant place to live, and one is never short of company.’ She shrugged. ‘I suppose though, Janet, I’m a country girl at heart. I spent the first sixteen years of my life in Ireland, living in a house not unlike this one. Then, after both my parents died, I came here to Dorsetshire to live with my grandfather, Colonel Fairchild.’

Janet only just succeeded retaining her grasp on the bowl she was holding. ‘You’re Colonel Fairchild’s granddaughter …? Then your mother must have been Miss Charlotte Fairchild.’

Fixing her short-sighted eyes on the figure busily working at the table, Janet scrutinised the delicate features. ‘Yes … yes, I can see the resemblance now. I remember your dear mother well, Miss Katherine. She were a lovely-looking young woman, with a nature to match.’

‘Yes.’ Katherine sighed. ‘I sometimes wish I were more like her in some ways. She was always so placid, so controlled, whereas I—’

‘Tend to be a little volatile on occasions, and act without thinking,’ Daniel finished for her, having entered the kitchen in time to catch the last fragments of conversation. ‘I’m pleased to see that you two are becoming better acquainted,’ he remarked, blithely ignoring the lethal darts emanating from a pair of turquoise-coloured eyes.