Mary Brendan - Regency High Society Vol 1 - A Hasty Betrothal / A Scandalous Marriage / The Count's Charade / The Rake and the Rebel

‘Well, then?’ came Judith’s voice. ‘Surely this is where you kiss and make up?’

Harriet and Sandford sprang apart instantly. Harriet felt herself blushing to the tips of her toes, but did not fail to register that the viscount had refused to relinquish his hold on her hand and she herself, it seemed, had neither the strength nor desire to pull away.

‘Pretty dismal exhibition, I’d say,’ said Judith, with a wide smile. ‘I’ve still a good mind to …’ and her eyes swept around the office as though in search of something.

Sandford, still holding Harriet’s hand tightly, leaned over the desk and kissed his sister-in-law on the cheek.

‘Pax, Judith,’ he said quietly. ‘No need now, I promise. You win.’

‘No, Robert, this time you win,’ said Judith firmly, beaming at Harriet, and Sandford smilingly nodded his agreement.

‘I wish someone would tell me what the joke is,’ came Harriet’s plaintive voice. ‘It’s like being in some foreign country where one doesn’t understand the language.’

‘Well, it used to be a private joke, sweetheart,’ said Sandford, reaching out for her other hand and smiling into her eyes. ‘But we shall tell you!’

Sweetheart! Harriet couldn’t believe her ears. Sandford had called her sweetheart! Now what game was he playing at? She had to force herself to concentrate very carefully on his next words.

‘Well now,’ he began grandly, ducking away from Judith’s hand, ‘there was once a very spoilt little girl who had no playmates— ouch! That hurt! —for she always wanted—and usually got—her own way so no one would play with her. Her father—who was a very wise man …’ At this point Judith nodded her head vigorously and Sandford, his grin widening, continued ‘—arranged for his unpopular little daughter to take her lessons with two charmingly behaved— pax! I said Pax! —fairly well-behaved young gentlemen. Well, the sweet child tried her tricks out with these lads and discovered that they were totally immune to her foot-stamping and tears until, one memorable day, she threatened the older boy with a bottle of ink …’

‘Why?’ asked Harriet, at last beginning to comprehend. What had you—he refused to do?’

‘He had refused to get off his brother’s head!’ broke in Judith, laughing. ‘The two of them were scrapping—as usual—if I may say so—and Mr Penrose—our tutor—had left the room. Our instructions were to fill in some cities in our map-books and I had persuaded …’

‘Huh! Persuaded!’ Sandford chimed in. ‘Philip, who for some queer reason, was becoming increasingly besotted with this creature, had been doing her geography for weeks—she apparently being unable to distinguish north from south—and probably still can’t for all I know— missed! Anyway, he was patiently filling in her book as well as his own and I accidentally flicked ink over hers. Philip jumped me, I sat on his head and, well—the rest is history!’

‘Judith poured ink over your head?’ breathed Harriet in awe, unable to believe that her elegant, well-behaved friend could ever have acted in such a totally undisciplined manner.

‘Absolutely! Down my collar—over my hair, face, eyes—whole bottle—the lot!’ ‘What did your tutor do?’

‘Thrashed us both—Phil and me,’ Sandford answered dismissively, appearing to be deeply interested in counting her fingers.

‘But what about Judith?’ frowned Harriet, vainly attempting to extract her hands from his grasp.

‘That’s the point, you see,’ said Judith gently. ‘Both boys took the blame and said that I had been working the whole time—I was actually given a box of sugar plums—but I couldn’t eat them. I was so ashamed! I never had another such tantrum as long as I lived.’

‘Well, hardly ever,’ put in Sandford. ‘Jolly good sugar plums, too, as I recall.’

‘You gave them to the boys?’ Harriet smiled at Judith, who looked back at her fondly and nodded.

‘And you wouldn’t actually have poured ink on Sandford today, would you?’

Judith and the viscount looked at each other and both burst out laughing.

‘Well, the thing is, darling girl,’ said Sandford, raising Harriet’s unresisting fingers to his lips, ‘neither of us really knows that, for sure!

He was watching her closely, desperately trying to gauge her reaction. She, for her part, found that she was unable to meet his eyes, afraid of what she might see. Surely he was still play-acting? At that thought a tiny ache crept into her heart and she knew that she was close to tears.

At that moment Judith bent to retrieve the papers that had fallen from her brother-in-law’s hands during the scuffle, frowning as she happened to catch sight of her butler’s name on one of the sheets.

‘What are these lists, Robert?’ she inquired, beginning to peruse them more carefully.

Sandford dropped Harriet’s hands and leapt to his feet in consternation, plucking the papers from Judith’s hands and thrusting them into a drawer.

‘Really, Judith,’ he chided, raising an eyebrow. ‘Reading other people’s private correspondence. What would your mother say!’

Judith flushed.

‘Don’t be a beast, Robert,’ she said. ‘That was a list of Westpark staff, as well you know. That is my business, surely?’

The viscount shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

‘It’s just something that Charles and I are working on,’ he said, searching desperately for a brainwave. ‘Er—fact is, we’re trying to cut back a bit!’

‘Cut back!’ Judith was astounded, then her eyes grew anxious. ‘We’re not in any trouble, are we, Robert? I thought Charles had been managing rather well …’

‘Nothing for you to worry about,’ said Sandford, mentally crossing himself. ‘We thought we might try to cut out some duplication, that’s all—too many people doing the same job, it seems to me.’

‘But you can’t be thinking of putting people off?’

‘No, no—just moving some of ‘em around, perhaps. It’s not a problem, honestly, Judith. Please forget about it.’

Only partly convinced, Judith dropped the subject and set about extracting a promise from Sandford to bring Harriet to Westpark for dinner the following evening. Having got the nod from that bemused young lady, the viscount agreed and Judith, kissing each of them in turn, forbade them to quarrel and left the room to seek out her mother-in-law.

Harriet turned at once to follow, but Sandford put out his hand to detain her.

‘And where are you off to in such a hurry?’ he demanded softly, the dangerous gleam once more in his eyes.

Harriet looked at him gravely.

‘You don’t have to keep up the pretence any longer, my lord,’ she said calmly. ‘Judith cannot hear you. But I must commend you on your excellent performance.’

‘What the—what absurd fancy has got into your head now?’ he groaned, clutching his brow.

‘Thanks to your clever subterfuge, my lord,’ said Harriet, ignoring Sandford’s incredulous expression, ‘Judith has returned home in a happier frame of mind than that with which she arrived. Your part was so well enacted that it prevented her from asking any awkward questions about my—mishap—and for that I am deeply grateful, for I find that I cannot lie to her any longer—whatever your opinion of my talents in that direction!’ Her voice trembled at this point and she looked away.

Sandford sat on the edge of the desk, carefully contemplating Harriet’s averted gaze. Tentatively, he reached out and, taking both her hands in his own, he drew her gently towards him, holding his breath as he felt her initial resistance slip away.

‘Look at me, Harriet,’ he pleaded.