106. Love's Dream in Peril Read online

  Jane felt as if all the breath had been knocked out of her body by the Headmistress’s words.

  “Your friend will wish to lavish all kinds of gifts on you. Perhaps she might even invite you to stay with her when she begins her new life as one of the foremost young girls in Society. You are a woman of good character, Jane. I am sure that you would not want people to say that you are taking advantage of your friend’s generosity.”

  Jane’s face felt hot with embarrassment.

  “I have no intention – and I am certain that Adella would not – she has not made any such suggestions – ”

  The Headmistress was not listening.

  “It is so hard for a young woman to make her own way in the world honestly and with integrity. It will be impossible for you, Jane, once you have been exposed to the temptations of a life of ease and riches.”

  Mrs. Mottram now looked down her nose with an expression of disdain and continued,

  “Who would care to employ you, once you have tasted the fruits of idleness and luxury?”

  Jane’s legs were trembling.

  The picture that Mrs. Mottram was painting was really horrid. She could not bear to think of prospective employers turning her away because she was a friend of a rich young heiress.

  “I will offer you a post as a teacher, but you must cease your friendship with Adella May.”

  Somehow Jane managed to nod her head.

  “Very good.” Mrs. Mottram rose to her feet. “Let’s shake hands, Jane. Your employment here will commence at once. I will entrust the care of the young ones who will be staying with us over the summer holiday to you.”

  Jane winced noticeably as her fingers were crushed in the Headmistress’s strong grip.

  So she would not be leaving Mottram’s School after all. She would not be going out into the world to find a place for herself.

  Her summer would be spent here, just has it had been for many years and she would be responsible for all the little girls whose parents lived abroad and who had no family in England to go to.

  And there would be no Adella to cheer her up and always be thinking of ways to make her laugh.

  Mrs. Mottram watched Jane leave the study with a cold little smile on her face, as if she was very pleased indeed with the result of the interview.

  *

  Adella waited for Jane to come back to the dining room and, when she did not appear, she left the table and went up to her room to get ready for her departure.

  There was just so much to pack! If only Pargetter was a more cheerful and lively person, Adella would have asked her to come and help.

  How did you fold a dress and lay it in a trunk so that it would come out at the other end without looking like an accordion, all full of pleats and creases?

  She laid it on the bed to wait until she had filled up her trunk with other heavier items and then turned as she heard a discreet tap on her bedroom door.

  “Jane! You know you don’t need to knock!” she called out.

  The door opened and Adella heard a polite cough. It was Mrs. Mottram.

  Adella was surprised to see her. The Headmistress almost never spoke to the girls except in her study.

  “Why Adella. You should not trouble yourself with all this,” the Headmistress said, looking around at the piles of shoes, books and clothes. “Pargetter will do it.”

  “I don’t mind at all, Mrs. Mottram. It’s rather fun. And I expect Jane will help me shortly.”

  Mrs. Mottram shook her head.

  “Perhaps she is busy elsewhere. But I am not here to discuss Jane. Come, let’s sit here by the window and we can have our little talk.”

  She then walked across the room and sat down.

  Adella was feeling rather confused by this sudden visitation. If she had known that the Headmistress was about to descend upon her, she would not have strewn her belongings all over the floor and the bed.

  But at least there was plenty of space in the lovely room where she had lived all the years she had been at the school.

  Uncle Edgar’s money had meant that Adella could have the use of this spacious and comfortable room all to herself with wide windows overlooking the garden.

  Mrs. Mottram was gazing around at all the pretty flowery curtains, the china washstand and silver-backed mirror and brushes that Adella had chosen for herself.

  “How charmingly you have made your room,” she said. “I do wish that all my pupils had even half of your good taste. What a privilege it has been to teach a girl like yourself – so refined and elegant.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Mottram.”

  Adella perched herself opposite the Headmistress on the window seat, as she prattled on,

  “It will give me the greatest pleasure in years to come to offer my humble services to your own offspring, when they are old enough to start at school.”

  Mrs. Mottram’s eyes were shining at the thought.

  “Goodness,” Adella sighed. “That is a long way in the future!”

  “Don’t be so sure,” Mrs. Mottram gave a laugh. “You will be the most sought after girl in Society with your fortune, good looks and your charming character.”

  “You are too kind, Mrs. Mottram. “But I have no intention of getting married for a very long time indeed.”

  “We shall see.” The Headmistress suddenly looked rather dour. “It pains me, Adella, but I must introduce a sombre note into our conversation.”

  ‘Oh dear,’ Adella thought. ‘She has indeed noticed my pink ribbon after all! I am about to be ticked off!’

  But Mrs. Mottram was gazing out of the window, a deep frown on her brow.

  “A girl as lovely as you and with such abundant riches soon to be at her disposal will be like a candle to a moth to some of the less desirable elements of Society,” she said in a grave tone.

  “I am sure that Uncle Edgar will take good care of me,” Adella replied.

  “Your uncle has been most generous in the way that he has provided for you. But he is a bachelor, Adella, and he has spent a very long time in India, devoting himself to his work for the Civil Service. He will know nothing of the pitfalls that lie in store for a young girl, an heiress like yourself, as she makes her debut in London Society.”

  “Pitfalls?”

  Mrs. Mottram leaned forward on the sofa.

  “You have been protected from all the evils of the world here at the school, my dear. You are a high-spirited girl but an innocent one. It will be all to easy for you to fall prey to the unscrupulous fortune-hunters who lurk on the fringes of Society.”

  “How awful!” Adella gave a little shiver. “Perhaps you are right, Jane is always telling me I am too impulsive and that I should look before I leap.”

  Mrs. Mottram nodded.

  “There will be many who will seek you out not for your own sake but for your money. People are not always what they seem, Adella.”

  “I suppose not. Maybe I should take dear Jane with me so that she can look out for these villains!”

  The Headmistress rose to her feet.

  “I am glad that we have had our little talk,” she said. “I hope that you will take my words to heart, Adella. Oh, and I must tell you, I am very pleased to have been able to offer Jane the post as a teacher here at the school.”

  Adella jumped up from the window seat.

  “What – ?”

  Mrs. Mottram was leaving.

  “It is a great opportunity for a young woman like herself with no prospects and nowhere to go, as I am sure you are aware, Adella.”

  “I suppose so.”

  Adella felt a chill run over her body at the thought of Jane having to stay on here at the school.

  Suddenly everything felt very strange and different. It was a whole new life beginning for both of them.

  “Mrs. Mottram!” she called out. “I wonder, might I take Jane out to tea in the town this afternoon?”

  “You know it is against the regulations for pupils to go into town unaccompanied by a teacher
.”

  “But we are not really pupils here anymore,” Adella countered. “Jane is about to be a teacher herself and I am about to be a Society lady. I promise to be exceptionally well-behaved.”

  “The streets of Oxford are thronged with young gentlemen who have just finished their examinations at the University. I cannot allow it.”

  “I should not think that the young gentlemen will be going to a tearoom,” Adella said, “and if they do, they will have their mothers and sisters with them.”

  Mrs. Mottram hesitated.

  “Please!” Adella continued. “One day I should love to be able to tell my own little girls how I took my best friend out to tea on my last day at school!”

  “Very well,” she agreed reluctantly. “But you must be back by five o’clock and you must speak to no one you have not been introduced to! And, Adella, please remove that ribbon from your hair before you leave the premises.” The June sunshine was making dappled patterns on the pavement as it shone through the green leaves on the trees and it was a perfect afternoon to be strolling through the quiet streets of Oxford towards the town centre.

  Adella said that she would very much have liked to skip a few steps for sheer joy, but then restrained herself and gave her grey parasol a little twirl instead.

  “I can’t believe Mrs. Mottram agreed to this,” Jane said.

  “Oh, she would do anything for me, well, almost anything. She wants me to send all my own little girls to school with her.”

  “And would you?”

  “Of course not! I shall keep them at home with me. I would never dream of sending them away to school. Oh, Jane, please hold my parasol for a moment, would you?”

  She pulled the pink ribbon out of her pocket and reached up to untie the grey one that restrained her curls.

  “Adella, someone is coming!” Jane now whispered, holding Adella’s parasol as well as her own. “You should not be arranging your hair in the street!”

  The clop of horses’ hooves approached along the street behind them. Two gentlemen were riding into town.

  Adella struggled to restrain her hair, as it fell over her shoulders in a cascade of gold.

  “Good afternoon, ladies!”

  The horses had by now caught up with them and a fair-haired young gentleman with piercing blue eyes leant down from his saddle and doffed his hat.

  “Are you in need of assistance? You seem to be having trouble.”

  Adella looked up at him.

  His white teeth flashed as he smiled down at her from his high perch on his tall grey thoroughbred.

  As she met his gaze, Adella felt suddenly clumsy and awkward and, as she fumbled with her hair, the pink ribbon dropped to the pavement.

  “Lord Ranulph. Here’s a damsel in distress! Jump down and hold those parasols for the other lady so that she can help her friend,” he suggested.

  His companion, a lean young man with dark hair and dark eyes, looked rather embarrassed.

  “Stand, Major!” he said, soothing his fretting black thoroughbred. He dropped from the saddle and handed the reins to the fair-haired man.

  “Allow me,” he said, taking the parasols from Jane.

  Jane’s face was bright scarlet, as she retrieved the ribbon from the pavement and tied it around Adella’s hair.

  “Thank you, sir,” she murmured, looking down at her boots.

  “It was nothing.” The young man turned to Adella and his eyes glowed as he looked at her. “My pleasure, miss,” he said with a low bow.

  And then he caught the reins of his black horse and jumped up into the saddle.

  “Come, Digby!” he said and the two young men turned their horses and trotted briskly away down the road, laughing as they went.

  “Oh, my goodness!” Adella exclaimed, when she had recovered herself. “How very kind of them. But I don’t think we have been introduced. Mrs. Mottram will be furious. Quick, let’s find a nice safe teashop!”

  And the two girls walked on into the town centre through the peaceful leafy streets, following the echo of the swift horses’ hooves.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “A penny for your thoughts!” Digby Dryden said to Lord Ranulph Fowles, as they strolled languidly towards their College from the Livery Stables where they had just left their horses.

  Lord Ranulph did not respond, but kept on walking.

  Digby sighed.

  Sometimes he wished that his friend could take a more easy-going approach to life.

  Their years of study were over and done with now that they had taken their final examinations. Surely they should be enjoying themselves?

  “Cough up, old chap! What’s on your mind?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Lord Ranulph replied, looking up and down the street as if he was searching for someone.

  Digby laughed.

  “Now I understand! You are wondering what has become of those two pretty schoolgirls we lent our kind assistance to as we rode into town!”

  Lord Ranulph’s handsome face turned a little red. Digby had guessed correctly.

  “So, which of them took your fancy?”

  “Well – I – ”

  “The shy one with the parasols, I should guess she would look most fitting upon your arm. Her dark-haired beauty would be a perfect match for your own good looks.”

  Lord Ranulph looked surprised.

  “Actually, it was the other who caught my eye.”

  “The Goddess with the golden hair? She seemed a proper scatterbrain, dropping her ribbon and letting her hair down. I would not have thought her your sort of girl.”

  Lord Ranulph looked rather wistful.

  “I thought her the most lovely creature. A perfect English rose and her brown eyes, so unusual a colour with her fair hair.”

  Digby stopped in his tracks.

  “I don’t believe it!” he said. “You are smitten, my friend! For the first time in all the years I have known you, a young lady has actually made inroads into the fortress of your heart!”

  “Digby, I am really not as stuffy as all that!” Lord Ranulph retorted indignantly.

  “She is very pretty, I’ll say that for her,” Digby nodded. “You should have swung her up behind you on Major and carried her off!”

  Lord Ranulph punched his friend on the arm.

  “Enough!” he exclaimed.

  The two young men carried on walking. They were just outside the ancient stone walls of their College when it was Lord Ranulph’s turn to stop in his tracks.

  On the other side of the road two grey-skirted girls were lowering their parasols and stepping through the door of one of the most respectable teashops in Oxford and there was no mistaking the bright gold of Adella’s hair, glinting in the sunlight.

  Digby watched in high amusement as Lord Ranulph gazed at her, catching his breath as if someone had hit him a hefty punch. He seemed to be suffering quite badly.

  “Shall we go and join them then?” he proposed on a mischievous impulse.

  “It would hardly be proper.” Lord Ranulph said, turning away, his face flushed with confusion.

  “I can be perfectly proper!” Digby countered. “I have five female cousins all still at school and I have often had to sit through tea with them.”

  “I am sure we will not be welcome.”

  “Of course we will. Did you not see how adoringly the dark one looked up at you?”

  “You are mistaken, Digby, and anyway you are not interested as you prefer the other.”

  Digby grinned.

  “Well, Lord Ranulph, shall we see who will win the heart of the little English rose?”

  “What?”

  “I was looking forward to relaxing in my rooms after our ride and having Batcup bring us a nice glass of wine. But now I think I am reconciled to a cup of tea!”

  “You intend to join them?”

  “On one condition. I will wager my last bottle of vintage champagne against a bottle of your best port that she will fall for me. So much so that she will agree to
accompany me for a walk around the Botanical Gardens. What do you say?”

  Lord Ranulph looked put out.

  “You are very much mistaken, Digby, if you think that is what will happen.”

  “So you think she will fall for you and choose to walk with you?” Digby goaded.

  Lord Ranulph was on his mettle now.

  “Now I understand. You are just trying to get back at me, Digby, for winning our race down by the river.”

  “I cannot let you always beat me, can I? We may be the best of friends, but a man has his pride! What do you say? Is our wager on?”

  “It is indeed,” Lord Ranulph replied and, squaring his broad shoulders, he advanced on the teashop.

  “We will have everything,” Adella now told the waitress, who was hovering beside their chairs. “China tea, if you please, and cake, as many kinds as you have, and cucumber sandwiches, of course.”

  Jane looked around at the tables with their white clothes and the dainty china cups and plates.

  “This is perfect,” she smiled.

  “Isn’t it?” Adella replied. “Just think, all the other girls will now be tucking into cook’s old dry seedcake.”

  Jane sighed at the thought of the long weeks ahead, when she would be doing just that every day at teatime.

  “Jane, I must ask you,” Adella said in a low voice, leaning across the table. “Mrs. Mottram told me that you have agreed to stay on at the school as a teacher.”

  Jane nodded.

  “But I thought you wanted to be a Governess.”

  “I do and I will one day. But Mrs. Mottram made me the offer and somehow I just could not turn it down. She reminded me of all the years I have been at the school with no one to pay my fees.”

  “The mean old thing!” Adella exclaimed. “You are always so good at looking after the little girls. I am sure that you have more than paid for your keep already.”

  “Adella, I have so little money. Perhaps it will be wise to stay at the school and find a post from there.”

  “I bet old Mottram will try and stop you,” Adella replied. “Jane, come with me and stay at Uncle Edgar’s. It would be so much fun to have you there with me.”

  “I can’t.”

  Jane looked down at her plate.

  “Why ever not? Have you any idea of how much I will miss you?”