Sir Ashley's Mettlesome Match. Mary Nichols
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be vulgar, Philippa. I meant if you were in Nathaniel’s clothes, did he recognise you?’
‘Of course he knew it was me. He wasn’t fooled by my disguise for a moment.’
‘Heaven help us! You will give him a disgust of you and he will cease to assist us over Ben. I wish you would think of the consequences when you do these hoydenish things.’
‘On the contrary, I think it amused him. And he said he would be here at eight o’clock, ready to go to Norwich, so if you will get off the bed, dear Aunt, I will dress.’
Augusta stood up. ‘I am not sure you should come. You would do better to stay in bed today to get over your ordeal. I will make your excuses.’
‘If you think you are going to leave me behind, you are mistaken, Aunt. I do not need to get over my ordeal because it was not an ordeal, but a slight mishap from which I have fully recovered. Now off with you. I shall be down directly.’
Her aunt sighed and left. Pippa scrambled into a padded petticoat and warm wool overskirt in a soft turquoise colour, and a red military style jacket. She tied her hair at the back of her neck with a narrow black ribbon and set a tiny turquoise hat on top of it. Slipping into her shoes, she made her way downstairs just as the knocker sounded and Teresa, the elder of their two maidservants, opened the door.
Pippa took a deep breath. That there were going to be repercussions from the night before, she did not doubt, but she had as much right to be out on the marshes at night as Sir Ashley had and if she was going to be quizzed, so was he. The trouble was she did not feel quite so courageous when face to face with him.
He stepped into the hall and swept her a bow, just as if they had not been soaking wet and in each other’s arms barely hours earlier. He was looking incredibly handsome in a suit of heavy grey silk and a pale lemon waistcoat embroidered with tendrils of leaves in grey. His white cravat and stockings were pristine. What was more, unlike Pippa, he was bright-eyed and alert. She felt herself wilt under his steady gaze and it was an effort of will to pull herself together and answer him with a deep curtsy.
‘Sir Ashley, good morning,’ she said as her aunt joined her in the vestibule. ‘As you see, we are ready.’
They each had a small portmanteau and Augusta had a change of clothes for Ben in another bag, which was stowed in the basket at the back of the vehicle. Then Sir Ashley helped them into their seats. The morning was cool and he had provided hot bricks and rugs, which he carefully arranged over their knees before ordering Tom Davies to proceed.
Pippa hoped nothing would be said about the night before, but in this she was thwarted because they had no sooner started to move than her aunt addressed their escort. ‘Sir Ashley, I believe I owe you a debt of gratitude for looking after my niece last night when she was so unfortunate as to fall into a stream.’
Pippa’s face turned scarlet.
‘Mrs Whiteside, your gratitude is unnecessary,’ he said, looking at Pippa with a faintly amused smile. ‘I am sure Miss Kingslake would have extricated herself eventually. Besides, she has already thanked me.’
‘She should never have gone out at night alone,’ Augusta continued, adding to Pippa’s mortification. ‘There are dangers all around.’
‘True,’ he murmured. ‘But I am persuaded Miss Kingslake takes no account of danger. She told me she often goes out alone.’
Augusta gave Pippa a reproachful look, while continuing to address Sir Ashley. ‘I am afraid her parents brought her up far too liberally. They made no distinction between her and her brother and, as they had no other playmates, they did everything together.’
‘Ah,’ he said and to Pippa there seemed to be a deal of meaning in that little word. She wished her aunt had not mentioned Nat. ‘I conclude Mr Kingslake takes no note of danger either.’
‘They are as bad as each other. To give Philippa her due, after my dear brother and his wife died, she felt she must look out for Nathaniel and curb his mischief and to do that she must follow in his footsteps. It has given her a love of adventure that is not confined to books.’
‘Aunt, I never told you that.’ Pippa found her voice at last.
‘But it is true, is it not? You have often taken the blame for a misdemeanour of Nathaniel’s. Do not think I have not noticed.’
Ash turned to Philippa. She was looking decidedly uncomfortable and he began to feel a tiny bit sorry for her, but he was not going to let her off the hook just yet. ‘And was that what you were doing last night, protecting your brother by impersonating him?’
‘No,’ she said. ‘You said yourself I am nothing like a man.’
‘So I did.’ He smiled at the memory and she knew why he was smiling. She felt the colour flare in her cheeks.
‘Then you have your answer.’
‘I do not think so,’ he said. ‘Why were you there?’
‘My aunt has told you. A love of adventure. Call it curiosity.’
‘Curiosity, my dear Miss Kingslake, was the death of the cat.’
‘That is a silly saying. And I am not a cat.’
‘Ah, then I need not fear your claws.’
A ‘hmph’ from the other corner of the carriage reminded him that they were not alone and Mrs Whiteside did not appreciate his teasing. He stopped smiling and became serious. ‘What did you hope to learn?’
‘How it was done, how the cargo was dispersed. I had no idea it was such a huge enterprise. I thought it was simply a barrel here, a keg there, a few packets of tea to be distributed among the local population. Instead it is a whole caravan of carts, mules and men moving in the dark.’
He did not believe she had been so ignorant. An enterprise such as had taken place the previous night could not help but be known to everyone, including Sir Felix and the Revenue men. Pretending ignorance was much more comfortable, your conscience need not trouble you and, unless you were as foolish as Philippa Kingslake, you stayed indoors when the ‘gentlemen’ were about.
‘And what did the men say to you when they saw you among them?’ he asked.
She wondered if he had heard what John Bristow had told her. ‘They did not speak,’ she said. ‘They needed their breath for the task in hand.’
‘Pity. So you did not discover what happened to your brother?’
‘My brother, sir, is from home. I believe I have already told you that.’
‘So you did, but you did not say where he was.’
‘He is at sea.’
‘At sea?’ he queried, one eyebrow raised.
‘Why not?’ she said, ignoring her aunt’s startled gasp. ‘We are a sea-faring family. My father was a naval captain before he retired on half-pay and my mother frequently went on voyages with him. And sometimes my brother and I went with them. Is it any wonder that Nat should want to follow in our father’s footsteps?’
‘You mean he is a naval man?’
‘No, but he goes out with the fishermen and sometimes signs on to a merchantman.’
Augusta opened her mouth to speak but, catching Pippa’s warning look, subsided into silence, much to Pippa’s relief. She dare not look at Sir Ashley, who must surely detect her prevarication in her eyes. She was not used to being deceitful, hated it, especially now when Sir Ashley who was doing his best to help them. But it was necessary. He did not hold with smuggling and if he knew Nat was well and truly involved, he would have no hesitation in tracking him down and giving him over to the law along with the village men who acted as tub carriers and batmen. Each had a financial stake in the safe delivery of the cargo and it was more than they could earn legitimately in six months. Even though Nat was not among them this time, she did not want them caught because