Punished with Love Read online

  His lips tightened before he added,

  “I hope that by doing so, I can teach you to behave in a more conventional and fitting manner in the future.”

  He was speaking, Latonia thought, as if he was a very old schoolmaster berating an unruly pupil.

  It was hard to remember that, being fifteen years younger than his elder brother, he could not in fact be more than thirty-four years of age.

  ‘I will not be – frightened of – him,’ she thought to herself.

  Equally she knew that she was.

  “You may think,” Lord Branscombe continued, “that, as I am taking you to India, you will enjoy the social life that is to be found in Government houses and wherever there is a group of English people. But that is very far from my intention.”

  He paused for a moment and then went on,

  “If you expect to go to balls, you will be disappointed. If you are anticipating that you will meet young men who are receptive to your already over-exploited charms, you will find you are mistaken.”

  His voice sharpened as he continued,

  “I have a job to do and, if in accompanying me, you see a very different part of the world from what you expect, then perhaps it will be a salutary lesson that in the future you should behave more decorously.”

  Listening, Latonia thought how angry Toni would have been if she had heard the way he was speaking.

  She would undoubtedly have answered him back with a spirited defiance.

  Toni would want balls and certainly the company of young men she could flirt with and who would fall in love with her.

  If she had not been so frightened, Latonia thought, it was faintly amusing to know that, as she wanted none of these things, the punishment that Lord Branscombe was envisaging would not be so severe as he intended.

  Because she thought that it would surprise him, she said very quietly,

  “I shall, as it happens, Uncle Kenrick, be thrilled to see India and I am not at all worried if I do not have any social life.”

  She saw Lord Branscombe raise his eyebrows and realised that she had been right. This was certainly not the attitude he had expected her to take.

  There was a moment’s silence and then he said,

  “Now that I have made myself clear, I suggest that you go upstairs and rest before dinner. We shall dine promptly, as we are leaving early in the morning. You will kindly be on time!”

  He spoke sharply as if he was speaking to some recalcitrant trooper and Latonia rose, saying as she did so,

  “I will try not to keep you waiting and thank you for explaining to me your intentions.”

  She made a little curtsey as she spoke, then walked away, conscious, although she did not look round, that the grey eyes were following her, boring into her back.

  Only as she reached the hall, where the butler was waiting to escort her upstairs, was she aware that her hands were trembling.

  Chapter Three

  Travelling towards Tilbury, Latonia felt a little surge of excitement at the idea of going abroad.

  It had been impossible not to feel extremely apprehensive when at dinner yesterday evening she and Lord Branscombe had sat almost in silence.

  She had known, because of the scowl on his face and the way he was looking at her, that he felt both dislike and contempt for her.

  It was something she had never encountered before in her happy life and, although she tried to tell herself that it was nothing personal, it did not prevent her from feeling afraid and, though she tried to deny it, upset.

  There was something about him that was very overpowering and she thought that Toni must have been right when she said that his Subalterns were afraid of him.

  She had tried to make a few commonplace remarks as they were served delicious dishes and waited on by a butler and two footmen, but Lord Branscombe made very little response and she knew that it was because of his disapproval of her, or rather of Toni’s behaviour.

  It was as if, as her father would have said, he felt his hackles rise when he looked at her.

  ‘How could anyone feel like this about Toni?’ Latonia asked herself.

  She thought that if nothing else, she might be able in some way to soften his feelings towards his niece.

  When they had finished dinner, which they seemed to hurry through extremely quickly, Lord Branscombe said abruptly,

  “I suggest you go to bed and rest. I don’t know whether, up to now, you have travelled much, but you will find it tiring, especially if the sea is rough.”

  “I have no idea whether I am a good sailor or not,” Latonia replied. “But I am hoping I will not disgrace myself.”

  Even as she spoke, she thought that she had given him an opening and therefore she was not surprised when he made the obvious remark,

  “It will certainly not be the first time!”

  She wondered what Toni would have said in the circumstances, but, when they reached the hall, Latonia merely curtseyed as she said quietly,

  “Goodnight, Uncle Kenrick. I will not be late tomorrow morning.”

  Then she walked up the stairs without looking back.

  Breakfast had been brought to her bedroom and, when she came down, wearing an extremely attractive travelling gown of Toni’s covered by a fur-lined cape and a little bonnet trimmed with feathers, she found that Lord Branscombe was already waiting for her.

  She was sure that he had his eye on the clock, but, as she was three minutes early, he could not find fault and they set off in a comfortable carriage which Latonia knew must have belonged to his brother, as had the horses which drew it.

  The Stationmaster was waiting to escort them to their reserved compartment and Latonia noticed that there was a Courier who dealt with their luggage, so that there was nothing to do except to get into the train, where a number of newspapers and magazines were already laid on their seats.

  She wondered if it was only since he had come into the title that Lord Branscombe travelled in such luxury or whether he had been rich enough as an ordinary soldier to command the same attention.

  It was the sort of question she would have liked to ask him, but she was quite certain that he would consider it an impertinence. So instead she picked up one of the magazines.

  Lord Branscombe buried himself immediately in the newspapers, obviously not wishing to talk and Latonia was quite happy to watch the countryside speeding past and to speculate on how exciting it would be for her to see India.

  She thought too that every mile the train carried them towards Tilbury made it less likely that Lord Branscombe would guess she was not who she appeared to be and therefore Toni would be safe with the Marquis.

  She longed to write a letter telling Toni what her reception had been and what she thought of her uncle, but it was too dangerous.

  Only when she was aboard the ship, Latonia thought, and there was no chance of her letters being intercepted, could she write frankly, addressing Toni, of course, as ‘Miss Latonia Hythe’.

  The black-hulled ship seemed bigger than she had expected and she learnt that it was one of the very latest built for the P. & O. line.

  The cabins were well furnished and Latonia found that Lord Branscombe had been allotted a suite.

  Her father had told her that the common abbreviation of the best combinations of the cabins, to avoid the sun on the India run of the P. & O. was ‘Port Outward, Starboard Home,’ which had gone into the English language as the expression ‘posh’.

  That was what the two cabins, one on either side of a sitting room, undoubtedly were, and there was pride in the Purser’s voice when he informed his Lordship that it was the very best accommodation in the whole ship, usually booked months ahead for their most distinguished and important travellers.

  “I am grateful that you could allot it to me at such short notice,” Lord Branscombe replied, as was expected of him.

  “It’s a pleasure, my Lord,” the Purser answered, “and if there is anything you and Miss Branscombe require, I’m a
t your Lordship’s service.”

  There was a Stewardess to unpack for Latonia and, as the woman did so, she chatted away, telling her that the ship was full.

  “You’ll have an amusing time, miss,” she added. “There’re plenty of young men on board, returning to their Regiments, who will want to dance in the evening and, once we reach the sunshine, there’ll be deck games which I’m sure you’ll wish to take part in.”

  “It sounds delightful,” Latonia said, “and, as I have never travelled on a ship before, I am looking forward to the voyage.”

  “With these pretty gowns you’ll certainly be the ‘belle’ every evening,” the Stewardess said with a smile.

  Latonia thought that it sounded amusing and different from what she had expected. She was, however, to be speedily disillusioned.

  As there seemed no reason to sit in her cabin while the Stewardess was doing her unpacking, she went into the sitting room and saw that since she had been there before, there had been placed on the table a large number of books and on the writing desk a huge pile of papers.

  She was thinking that Lord Branscombe obviously intended to spend the voyage working, when he came into the cabin.

  He had changed from the formal suit he had been wearing for the first part of the journey into what Latonia thought must be a yachting jacket, which made him look very smart but was not so conventional.

  Having looked at her with still the same expression in his eyes as he had before, he said to her sharply,

  “Sit down, Latonia. I wish to speak to you.”

  She obeyed him, wondering what he had to say and he sat down opposite her, crossing his legs and staring at her reflectively before he began,

  “Before we came on this journey I decided to take steps to make sure that you behaved with propriety. Having seen the passengers who are travelling with us and also the programme that has been arranged, I have come to a decision where you are concerned.”

  Latonia said nothing, she merely looked at him, her eyes very large in her small face.

  “I have given orders,” Lord Branscombe went on, “that we will eat here in the cabin and any exercise you take will be in my company, preferably early in the morning or in the evening when the decks are not crowded.”

  He paused, as if he expected her to say something.

  Latonia merely looked at him, thinking as she did so how angry Toni would have been if she had been restricted in such a fashion and made, to all intents and purposes, a prisoner.

  As she did not speak, Lord Branscombe continued, almost aggressively, as if he thought that she would wish to argue with him,

  “You can hardly expect me to behave in any other manner, considering what I learnt last night.”

  “What did you learn last night?” Latonia asked.

  “I thought that your behaviour with young Luddington was bad enough,” Lord Branscombe replied, “but when I was told at my Club of what happened a month ago, I did not believe it possible that any young girl could be not only so outrageous but such a fool.”

  Latonia felt almost as if he spat the words at her and after a moment she asked,

  “What did you – hear? I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You cannot expect me to believe that,” Lord Branscombe said sharply. “You must be aware that it was a ‘prank’ if that was what you called it, that might have ended in disaster.”

  Latonia did not reply and he continued,

  “Even someone who is half-witted must have known that the currents in the Thames are dangerous and to invite young men, doubtless bemused by drink, to risk their lives in racing each other across it at night might easily have resulted in one or more of them being drowned.”

  Latonia drew in her breath, but, as Toni had not mentioned this episode to her, there was nothing she could say.

  “I don’t know who your female accomplices were in this crazy escapade,” Lord Branscombe went on, “but I can only imagine that they were as foolish, frivolous and brainless as you are!”

  He paused for a moment before he said,

  “All I can say is that you should go down on your knees and thank God that by some miracle newspapers did not get hold of this story or your reputation would have been more damaged than it is already.”

  Latonia thought that it was not only Toni’s reputation that would have been affected if what Lord Branscombe was relating was true, but it was undoubtedly the sort of thing that would have horrified the Duke. It would have made him more sure than he was already that Toni was not the wife he wanted for his son.

  She found herself wondering how Toni could have allowed herself to take part in anything so reprehensible and then she knew that it was the kind of fun that her cousin would never have visualised as being wrong.

  She imagined it must have been something that had taken place after a dance or a dinner party and, if the girls had been naughty enough to slip away from their chaperones, the men had aided and abetted them by suggesting that they should take a launch on the river.

  It would have seemed romantic on a starlit night and as there was a whole crowd of them why should Toni have thought it was particularly indiscreet?

  Someone might have suggested that it was hot enough to bathe and perhaps another had thought that a swimming race would be a good idea.

  Lord Branscombe might berate Toni for not knowing of the currents in the Thames, but Toni was a country girl.

  It would not have occurred to her that the river was any more dangerous than the lake at Branscombe Castle where they had bathed ever since they were children.

  As her mother had so often said, they could both swim as if they were fish and it would never have struck Toni for one moment that grown men might lose their lives swimming in the Thames.

  Latonia wondered how she could explain this to Lord Branscombe and then remembered that, as Toni was not there, there was really no need to defend her.

  He would only think that she was making excuses for herself, but at the same time, because he was so angry, she felt her heart beating rather quicker and she said humbly,

  “I can only – say I am – sorry. I did not – think it was – wrong, but as you said – it seemed fun.”

  “Fun!” Lord Branscombe exclaimed. “When I hear that one man nearly drowned! I was told that it was with the greatest difficulty his friends managed to pull him ashore.”

  “I think perhaps you have been given an – exaggerated account of what – really happened,” Latonia said hesitatingly.

  “I can only hope so,” Lord Branscombe answered, “but because I feel I cannot trust you out of my sight, I intend to make quite sure that this sort of ‘fun’ as you call it, does not happen again.”

  “I can only – promise that I will do my – best not to make you – angry.”

  “Angry is not the right word!” Lord Branscombe exclaimed. “I am appalled! Utterly appalled at the damage you have done, not only to young Luddington, whom I have met and liked, but also to a number of other men who have been stupid enough to offer you their hearts and, apparently, their lives to play with as well.”

  There was silence and after a moment Latonia said in a hesitating little voice,

  “I – suppose it has never – struck you that it is not – entirely my – fault.”

  As she spoke, she was thinking how the boys whom they had known when they were young had been bemused and infatuated with Toni from the moment they saw her, long before she made any effort to attract them.

  “What do you mean, it is not your fault?” Lord Branscombe asked sharply.

  “Just what I say,” Latonia answered. “I think that many of the – young men were not really – serious in their protestations of – affection.”

  “You do not call it serious when a man tries to kill himself?” Lord Branscombe demanded.

  Latonia hesitated a moment. She thought that if she was sensible she would say nothing, for, as Toni had told her to remember, while he ranted at her she had no
need to feel that it had anything to do with her personally.

  Then, as if she felt his attitude was unfair, she could not resist saying,

  “Surely a man who behaved in such an – exaggerated – over-emotional manner must be somewhat – unbalanced.”

  She spoke very quietly, choosing her words with care, which seemed to infuriate Lord Branscombe.

  “How dare you try to shake off your responsibility!” he thundered. “Of course it is your fault if he is driven to such extremes. You must have encouraged him! You must have led him to believe you were interested in him as a man and then when you had amused yourself at his expense, you threw him off heartlessly and with such cruelty that he lost control of himself!”

  “I think,” Latonia said, as he obviously was waiting for her to reply, “that you are guessing at what occurred. All I can tell you is that Andrew Luddington made a nuisance of himself to the point when it was impossible for me to – tolerate him any longer.”

  As she spoke, she felt that she must defend Toni and that it was not fair that her uncle should judge her after learning what had happened from Lady Luddington, who was clearly prejudiced.

  “All I can reply,” Lord Branscombe said, “is that you are even more heartless than I anticipated and I am ashamed, bitterly and completely ashamed, that you are my niece.”

  He walked out of the cabin as he spoke, slamming the door behind him.

  Latonia stood for some time, waiting for the turmoil within her to subside and for the fear that had risen in her throat to fade.

  ‘It was stupid of me to argue,’ she thought. ‘I have only made him – dislike Toni more than he does – already! But he is unfair! I know he is unfair and that is something Papa always hated.’

  She wished desperately that her father was with her and could tell her what he thought of Lord Branscombe.

  He had often accused her of making up her mind too quickly about people and not considering their point of view as well as her own.

  “There are always extenuating circumstances for everything people do,” he had said.

  However, she found it difficult to believe that there could be any extenuating circumstances to account for the manner in which Lord Branscombe was prepared to believe everything that was horrid and unpleasant about his niece and would not give her any chance to excuse herself.