More Than a Governess Page 16

  The next day brought a welcome break in the weather with a dry, bright morning that gave Juliana her chance to take her pupils to the moors with their paints and sketchbooks. Thomas excused himself, saying that Giles had invited him to ride out with him and visit a new mill that was being built, so it was only Juliana and the three girls who toiled up the hill, accompanied by one of the under-footmen, Juliana having requested Plumstead to provide her with an escort, in accordance with the Major’s wishes. She had also asked Mrs Plumstead to pack up a picnic for them; with such a treat, it was no wonder that they all enjoyed the break from routine, and came back down the hill late in the afternoon in the highest of spirits.

  The sunshine and fresh air had acted as a tonic for Juliana and she returned to the house much refreshed. She brought the children into the great hall just as the Major was coming down the stairs with a gentleman at his side. Juliana smiled in delight as she recognised Sir Richard Mondwyck.

  ‘Miss Wrenn, I was just asking Collingham about you. How are you?’

  ‘Very well, sir, thank you. How good it is to see you again.’

  He took her hand and raised her fingers to his lips. ‘Damon was telling me that you have been sketching from the hills—did you not see my coach arrive?’

  ‘I did indeed see a carriage, but I thought it was Lady—’ She broke off, smiling. ‘Do you mean to make a long stay?’

  ‘Oh, well now, that depends upon how long Damon can put up with me.’

  Major Collingham had been talking to the children, but now he came up to stand beside his friend. ‘As long as you like, Rick, you know that.’ His eyes, dark and hard as the rocky outcrops on the moors, rested on Juliana. ‘Perhaps your presence will persuade Miss Wrenn to come down to the drawing room after dinner.’

  ‘Yes, pray do, Miss Wrenn.’

  Juliana found herself responding to Sir Richard’s friendly smile. ‘I will,’ she said, preparing to follow the children up the stairs. ‘I will come down this evening, with pleasure!’

  Chapter Eighteen

  ‘You appear to be much more at ease with your children here,’ remarked Sir Richard.

  Damon watched the little party disappear from the upper landing.

  ‘During our journey north I was in much closer proximity with them than I had ever before—enjoyed.’

  ‘Good for you!’ Sir Richard laughed as he followed his host to the library. ‘And they like their new governess?’

  ‘I think so. Yes. Very much.’

  ‘And yet it is not usual for Miss Wrenn to accompany them downstairs of an evening?’

  ‘No. She has the care of them all day. Their nurse is quite happy to be with them for that short time.’ Damon saw the knowing look in his friend’s eyes and felt the colour mounting to his cheeks. ‘God damn you, Richard, let it be! I am as good as married.’

  ‘You have offered for Lady Frances, then.’

  ‘No. It is implied, but not yet agreed.’ He gave an exasperated sigh. ‘You did not come all this way to discuss such matters. Out with it, Rick.’

  ‘Very well. It was your letter that brought me here.’ Sir Richard accepted a glass of wine and settled himself into one of the armchairs.

  The Major filled his own glass. ‘Any word of Leeson?’

  ‘Not yet. My men are looking out for him, but we fear he may have escaped abroad.’

  ‘Damnation, I was afraid of that. I wish I could have caught him, I would have found out what his game is.’ He thought back to that day, the hectic chase across the fields, Juliana clutching his arm, fearing for his safety. He remembered it so clearly: her green eyes dark with alarm, her voice begging with him not to leave them. His instinct had been to go after Leeson, to beat him senseless, but Juliana’s pleas had cut through his white-hot anger. Dear heaven, how she had got under his skin! Sir Richard’s voice brought him back to the present.

  ‘Your letter said this was not the first incident.’

  ‘No. Just before we left town, Miss Wrenn’s little sister was attacked.’

  ‘She is of an age with Wilhelmina, I think,’ mused Sir Richard. ‘Child abductors?’

  The Major frowned. ‘I wondered about that, but Amy was attacked on a busy street by two young ruffians. God knows what they thought they were about, for I was only a few paces away. And Leeson, well, he made off with Minna, but…Rick, he did not seem like a man acting for himself. I would swear he never meant to harm her; why, he was shaking so much he could not even hold the pistol. Yet I cannot believe these were random attacks.’

  ‘Do you have any enemies?’

  ‘No more than any other man, I dare say. But until I know the reason for these attacks I am taking no risks. I have warned my people to be on their guard, and Ju—Miss Wrenn has instructions that none of the children are to go out of the house without a manservant to attend them.’

  ‘And I am here now, so I will help you to watch over them,’ said Sir Richard.

  ‘Thank you, Rick, but can you be spared? I thought you were busy searching for the Borghese diamonds.’

  ‘Alas, that trail has grown cold. My men will keep looking, of course. They know what they are about, and if they need me they will send word. I can be in London in a couple of days.’ He grinned. ‘I am travelling light, old friend.’

  Damon gave a crack of laughter. ‘You are fortunate. You do not have to transport a parcel of brats with you.’

  ‘You could have gone on ahead.’

  ‘Aye, but heaven knows what might have happened to Minna if I had not been there.’ He paused. ‘The children are all I have now, Rick. What I do is for them, to provide for their future.’

  ‘And the little governess, Juliana Wrenn?’

  Damon rose abruptly. He went to the sideboard and refilled his glass. ‘We have a contract. She stays until September, or until the wedding.’

  Sir Richard tossed back his wine. ‘If that’s the case, you’ll marry as soon as possible and let the girl leave here. It will not do to let the children grow too fond of her.’ He stood up. ‘Now, we had best change for dinner. Did you tell me that Lady Frances will be joining us tonight?’

  ‘Yes, with her parents. They are visiting the north before going off to the Continent.’

  ‘No doubt they want to see the banns posted before they leave the country.’ The Major’s growled reply was inaudible, but Sir Richard merely laughed and clapped his host on the shoulder. ‘Come on, you old bear, if we delay much longer you will not be ready to greet your future bride.’

  Dinner in the schoolroom was a noisy affair. Thomas had returned from his visit to the new mill with Giles and was full of the wonders of water, steam and power looms.

  ‘They are building such big mills, now,’ he told them, in between mouthfuls of food. ‘Whole families work there, day and night, and they use the power of the local water supply to spin the cotton and work the looms, too.’

  ‘How did you learn so much?’ asked Juliana. ‘I hope you did not get in the way.’

  ‘Not a bit of it,’ returned Thomas, helping himself to more potatoes. ‘Fewell’s brother is the engineer there, and we had a letter of introduction to him. Of course he would have received Giles in any event, as Major Collingham’s son, but when he found we were truly interested in the machinery, he showed us all over, including the new steam engine.’

  ‘Lady Frances is coming to dinner tonight,’ said Wilhelmina, bored with the subject. ‘We have not seen her since the night she gave us our presents. Nurse says you are to take us down, Miss Wrenn.’

  ‘That is so.’ Juliana nodded.

  ‘Is that why you are wearing your new gown?’ asked Gwendoline

  ‘That’s to impress Sir Richard,’ giggled Amy.

  Juliana frowned at her. ‘It is not to impress anyone. I merely want to look my best for the Major’s guests.’

  ‘I wish I could come down,’ sighed Thomas. ‘I would dearly love to meet Sir Richard. Giles says he is a real topper.’

  ‘Does that mean
he is interested in machinery?’ asked Juliana, her eyes twinkling.

  ‘Yes, but not merely for the mills. Giles says he invests in foundries—iron and steel—and he knows a great deal about the new steam engines.’

  ‘I have no doubt you will meet him tomorrow, Master Thomas,’ said Nurse, giving him her kindly smile. ‘But you know it wouldn’t be right for you to go to the drawing room.’

  ‘But Juliana is going,’ argued Amy, waving her knife.

  Juliana gently pushed her arm down. ‘That is because someone must be there to look after Gwen and Minna,’ she said.

  ‘Well, I wish Amy could come down as well,’ said Wilhelmina. ‘It would be much nicer if I had someone to play with.’

  ‘Heavens, you mustn’t play in the drawing room!’ exclaimed Nurse, half-shocked, half-laughing. ‘You are there for your father to show you off to his guests.’

  Juliana shook her head. ‘You make them sound like trophies, Nurse, not children.’ She rose. ‘Now, if you have finished your meal, girls, I think we should make you as neat as pins before we join your father.’

  Gwendoline and her sister ran ahead of Juliana to the drawing room, eager to meet Lady Frances once more. Juliana was forced to hurry to catch up with them, afraid they might burst into the drawing room without her. As the footman opened the door she entered, flushed and a little out of breath, not at all as composed as she would have liked. She was relieved to see the gentlemen had already come in from the dining room. Sir Richard was talking to Giles, who was looking very smart, if a little uncomfortable, in his dark coat and knee breeches; Lord Mattishall was standing beside his wife’s chair, smiling benignly at no one in particular; and Lady Frances had taken up her position on a sofa in the centre of the room and appeared to be holding court. Juliana could not deny that she looked magnificent in a high-waisted gown of bronze lustring with diamonds adorning the slender column of her neck and winking from her ears. The thought that she was a trifle overdressed for a country dinner Juliana quickly dismissed as springing from jealousy. She sighed, and began to wish she had not come. Gwendoline and her sister immediately went forward to make their curtsies.

  ‘Ah, look, Mama, the little Misses Collingham,’ cooed Lady Frances. She patted the sofa beside her. ‘Come and sit by me, my dears.’

  ‘You see, I have my purse with me,’ said Wilhelmina, climbing up on the sofa. ‘And Gwen is wearing her brooch.’

  ‘Lovely, but you must hush now, my dear, because young ladies must learn to sit quietly until they are addressed. Now, Sir Richard, what were we saying? Ah, yes, poor Mr Brummell. It is true, then—he has fled the country?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am. It would appear he quit London a few hours earlier than Damon.’

  ‘Then I hope he enjoyed a better journey,’ returned the Major, smiling at his friend. ‘I heard nothing of it on Thursday.’

  ‘No, it was very quietly done,’ explained Sir Richard. ‘He was seen at the opera on the Thursday night, but it seems he had a chaise waiting for him, for he did not go to his rooms again.’

  ‘No doubt the creditors were waiting there,’ remarked Lord Mattishall, shaking his head. ‘Dashed wolves, waiting to pounce as soon as they hear a man’s pockets are to let.’

  ‘They have their own families to feed,’ remarked Major Collingham. ‘Brummell has existed for years on credit.’

  ‘As do many in town,’ put in Sir Richard.

  ‘Aye, and pass their debts on to their children,’ growled the Major, a frown in his dark eyes.

  ‘Well, I for one will miss Brummell’s wit,’ announced Lady Frances. ‘But such dismal news is all of a piece with this dreadful weather. We have had such a wet spring here. My steward was telling me this cold wet weather has rotted the seed in the ground. And it is the same everywhere, is it not, Papa?’

  Lord Mattishall nodded. ‘Aye, my love. I fear we are in for a poor summer.’

  Juliana had chosen a seat in one corner of the room, well away from the main party, but where she could watch the girls and be ready to step in should they forget their manners or grow too noisy. She was grateful for the opportunity to regain her composure after her hasty entrance, but scarcely had the flush died from her cheeks than Sir Richard approached.

  ‘I will not ask how you go on, Miss Wrenn, for I can see that you are in high bloom.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. To be out of doors today has been of benefit to us all.’

  He sat down beside her. ‘You know Damon wrote to me about your journey and what happened at Rushton Spencer?’

  ‘Minna’s abduction? Yes. It was truly terrifying.’

  ‘He has had nothing but praise for your cool actions.’

  ‘Me?’ Her cheeks grew warm again. ‘I did very little, Sir Richard.’

  ‘But you saw as much as anyone, and you went with Collingham to chase Leeson. If it would not upset you, I would like you to tell me everything—and also I would like to hear about the attack on your sister.’

  She looked up. ‘You think there is a connection?’

  ‘I hardly know. Damon has already told me about it, but I am hoping that there may be some clue to help us unravel this mystery. Until we know why these attacks occurred, we cannot be sure that the danger is over.’

  ‘Of course I will help, if I can.’ She frowned a little and after a slight hesitation began to recount everything she could remember until the moment they had Wilhelmina safe. The night spent in the farmhouse she skipped over, and was thankful that Sir Richard did not question her too closely.

  ‘Thank you, Miss Wrenn,’ said Sir Richard, when she had finished. ‘I know it must be painful for you to relive these events.’

  Juliana nodded, aware that the pain of recollection was not wholly connected with Wilhelmina’s adventure. There was a general bustle as Plumstead entered with the tea tray and Sir Richard rose and held out his hand to her.

  ‘I think it is time we were a little more sociable. We should join the others.’

  ‘Oh—no, sir. Pray, go and take your place, but I am merely the governess, I should remain here.’

  He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. ‘I insist, Miss Wrenn. Damon does not wish you to be so excluded, I am sure.’

  ‘Goodness, Sir Richard, you and the little governess have had your heads together for a full half-hour,’ exclaimed Lady Mattishall as he escorted Juliana to a sofa nearer the centre of the room. Gwendoline and Wilhelmina immediately ran across to join her.

  ‘Hush, Mama.’ Lady Frances gave a soft laugh. ‘Can you not see that you are putting Miss Wrenn to the blush?’

  Juliana felt a spurt of anger at the insinuation. Her indignation grew when she saw the Major frowning at her, for surely he must know why Sir Richard wanted to talk to her. She allowed Sir Richard to bring her a cup of tea, his easy manner doing much to calm her agitation as he gently teased the children and included them in his conversation. At first Juliana struggled to respond, but soon she relaxed and even laughed aloud at some of his more amusing anecdotes. Giles, she noticed, was talking in an animated fashion to his father, and she realised that he was holding forth very much as Thomas had done earlier, although with slightly more clarity, on the wonders of the new mill being constructed at Burnley. Even while she listened to Sir Richard, she was aware of the mention of spinning mules, water frames and jennies. It was impossible to ignore his enthusiasm, and even Sir Richard cast an amused glance at him.

  ‘Young Mr Collingham has a great interest in machinery,’ he murmured to Juliana. ‘I took him to see the new mint building at Tower Hill when he was in London. He was enthralled by the coining presses, worked by steam power, of course. I begin to think he has the makings of an engineer—what do you say, Miss Wrenn?’

  Before she could respond she heard Lady Frances say in a bored, carrying voice, ‘Really, Giles, your papa cannot be interested in all this talk of mills.’

  Giles flushed a little. ‘I think we should consider building some ourselves. We have the land and sufficien
t water, and there is the new canal almost running past our door—’

  She threw up her hands in mock dismay. ‘Really, Giles, that smacks of trade.’

  Giles ignored her and turned back to his father, enthusiasm shining in his face. ‘But we should consider it, sir.’

  ‘I did consider it some years ago,’ replied the Major. ‘There is barely sufficient head of water in Blackthorpe Clough for one small engine.’

  ‘But we have coal in the hills,’ said Giles. ‘Steam is the new way of powering the machines.’

  Greatly daring, Juliana raised her voice to join in. ‘When I was on the moors, the old man—Caleb—said something to me about black gold. Do you think he meant coal?’

  The Major considered her words. ‘Possibly. They used to collect it from the tops, but it was close to the surface and easily dug out. However, that seam was worked out in my father’s day.’

  ‘There are new ways of mining now, sir,’ put in Giles. ‘When we were in Leek, the wheelwright there was talking to a man, an engineer—’