Lady Knightley's Secret. ANNE ASHLEY
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her eyes as she looked directly across the table at him. ‘And may I offer you my belated condolences. Some time ago I learned of your brother’s death. Such a terrible tragedy!’
Offering him no time in which to respond, Elizabeth rose to her feet and transferred her attention to their host, that spontaneous, sweet smile which had won his regard so quickly touching her lips. ‘I shall pay a visit to Verity’s room first. So, shall we meet in the stable yard—say, in half an hour’s time?’
Watching her leave the room, Brin experienced, yet again, amazement at her continued unmarried state, and shook his head in complete bewilderment. ‘I still find it difficult to understand why that lovely creature isn’t married.’
The hand raising the fork to Richard’s mouth checked for a moment. Yes, he ruminated, she most certainly ought to be. And if it wasn’t for the fact that the contrary little madam had suddenly taken it into her head to go against her deceased father’s expressed wishes, she would now be married to me!
Suddenly finding his appetite had deserted him, he pushed his plate aside and turned to his host as a thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘Am I right in thinking that Miss Beresford’s sister resides not too far from here?’
‘Yes, about three miles away.’
In that case, why hadn’t Elizabeth chosen to stay with her? Richard wondered. She could quite easily have visited her friend the Viscountess whenever she wished. Evadne must surely feel affronted knowing that her sister had preferred to stay here. Why, it was tantamount to a direct snub!
‘I hope Verity has remembered to warn Elizabeth that Lady Chiltham is not an infrequent visitor,’ Brin continued, and failed to notice his friend’s rather puzzled expression. ‘Apparently the sisters don’t get along too well. But, then, you’d know all about that, I dare say, your being a friend of the family.’
‘No, I didn’t know,’ Richard freely admitted, and was rather intrigued by this snippet of information. ‘Up until yesterday evening I hadn’t set eyes on either of them since the day of their father’s funeral.’
‘Well, no doubt you’ll be given ample opportunity to renew your acquaintanceship with Lady Chiltham during your stay with us. As I’ve already mentioned, she’s not an infrequent caller,’ Brin responded, his tone betraying clearly enough that he could wish it were quite otherwise.
Not offering his friend the opportunity to enquire further into the reason behind the sisters’ antipathy, Brin rose to his feet. ‘I’m an appalling host, deserting you like this on your first morning here, but if I don’t hurry and change, Elizabeth will be kept waiting.’ He made to leave, then checked as a most obvious solution occurred to him. ‘Why not join us? I’m taking Elizabeth on a tour round the estate.’
Richard needed no second prompting. Grand though it undoubtedly was, the estate was of precious little interest to him; Elizabeth Beresford, on the other hand, most definitely was. So he wasted no time in returning to his room to change into his riding gear, and accompanied Brin outside to the stables a short while later to discover Elizabeth, becomingly attired in a bottle-green habit, which seemed to emphasise those gorgeous red tones in her hair, already mounted on her ladyship’s chestnut filly.
‘You are a rare female, indeed,’ her host remarked approvingly, ‘One of the few I’ve ever known who can be on time!’ He glanced briefly in Richard’s direction, watched him mount the handsome bay, and then turned back to Elizabeth with a conspiratorial wink. ‘You do realise that we’re going to be made to look a pair of veritable whipsters in the company of the man who was reputed to be the finest horseman in Wellington’s army.’
Elizabeth couldn’t prevent a chuckle at Richard’s pained expression. ‘I am well aware of his prowess, sir. My father was not infrequently heard to remark that his godson could ride before he could walk.’
‘A gross exaggeration!’ Richard put in before either of them could utter any further absurdities at his expense. ‘This is a fine animal you have here, Brin,’ he went on, quickly changing the subject and giving the bay’s neck a fond pat.
‘I acquired him a couple of months ago. Yes, I’m rather pleased with him myself,’ he admitted as they all trotted out of the stable yard. ‘Do you still possess that brute you had with you in Spain?’
‘Sultan…? Sadly, no. The poor old fellow was shot from beneath me at Waterloo.’ Richard saw Elizabeth pale visibly, and cursed himself for an insensitive clod. ‘I’m so sorry, Miss Beresford. We seasoned campaigners tend to reminisce at the drop of a hat and frequently forget we’re in mixed company.’
‘My fault entirely,’ Brin interposed, feeling extremely guilty for raising the subject in the first place. ‘Dashed thoughtless thing for me to have said, considering your own experiences in Brussels last year.’
‘You do me too much honour, sir,’ Elizabeth countered with a dismissive wave of her hand. ‘Like so many other faint-hearted souls, my one and only desire after hearing that first distant rumble of cannon fire was to make a bolt for the nearest port.’
Brin didn’t know which shocked him more: Elizabeth’s frivolous, and far from truthful, response, or Richard’s openly contemptuous smirk in reaction to it. He was about to set his friend straight on the matter when his thoughts suddenly turned in an entirely different direction as he spotted his steward, in the company of one of his tenants, approaching them.
‘It looks as if my presence is required elsewhere.’ He cast them an apologetic smile. ‘Would you be good enough to accompany Elizabeth, Richard? Hopefully, I shouldn’t be too long and shall catch up with you both later.’
Although he was far from content to remain for long in the company of a female whom, with a complete turnabout of his former opinion, he now suspected of being quite light-minded, he politely agreed, but Elizabeth swiftly began to rise in his estimation again when she proved herself to be a very competent horsewoman. She handled the far-from-docile filly with praiseworthy ease, her light hands, deceptively, in full control.
‘I cannot recall ever seeing you ride before, Miss Beresford,’ he remarked as they headed towards the western boundary of the estate.
At this, her lips curled into the strangest little smile. ‘No, I don’t suppose for a moment that you can, sir. But, then, I doubt there’s very much you do remember about me.’
Although she had spoken lightly enough, without so much as a hint of pique in her soft and very pleasant voice, he seriously suspected that he had just received a reprimand and didn’t know whether to feel amused or annoyed by it.
After a moment’s deliberation he chose to be diverted. ‘Ungallant though it is of me to confess to it but, no, I don’t recall very much about you, ma’am. But, then, in my defence, I had little contact with you when you were a child, and it has been several years since we last met.’
‘Seven, to be exact.’
Little baggage! Was she deliberately trying to set him at a disadvantage? Or was it simply that she refused to indulge in the gentle art of dissimulation? Again he found himself more amused than annoyed, and not just a little intrigued as well.
‘Yes, of course, it was.’ He risked a sidelong glance in her direction, registered with a feeling of irritation that she was looking perfectly composed and experienced the most overwhelming desire to penetrate that shroud of cool dignity which seemed to be wrapped around her and glimpse the real essence of the woman beneath. ‘It was on the very sad occasion of your father’s funeral. If my memory serves me correctly, that was the last time I saw your sister too.’ He gazed intently at her delightful profile. ‘I hope she is in good health?’
‘Very, as far as I know.’ She turned her head to look at him then, and couldn’t prevent a smile at the quizzical lift of one dark brow. ‘Ours could never be described as a close family, sir. I became estranged from both my mother and sister when I chose to live with my maternal grandmother. Evadne did take the trouble to inform me of my mother’s demise, and I wrote to her last autumn