The Lioness and the Lily Page 5

  Then she answered him,

  “I think because he is not very adventurous and a little staid in his ways, I can guess before he speaks what he is going to say and I am sure of what his opinions will be before he even voices them.”

  “That is certainly somewhat disconcerting,” the Earl agreed. “Yet most women want safety and security in their lives.”

  “Is that what you have found?” Purilla asked.

  If he was to be truthful, as far as he was concerned, they seemed prepared to take extremely dangerous risks with their reputations.

  Often when they loved him they became so reckless that they were in danger of breaking up their marriage and being completely ostracised from Society for the rest of their lives.

  He realised that Purilla was waiting for an answer to her question.

  “I expect that is what they want,” he said.

  “I don’t think you are telling me the truth,” she said perceptively. “I am sure you lead a very adventurous and dashing life and that is what the women who admire you would want.”

  “You are flattering me,” he answered. “How do you know there are any women who admire me?”

  Purilla gave a little laugh.

  “Now you are being modest and even Nanny admits that you are a ‘fine figure of a man’. That is why she is determined to send you back home as soon as possible.”

  “Is Nanny afraid that you might fall in love with me?” the Earl asked.

  “Of course she is!” Purilla replied. “I can see her growing more and more anxious every day like a clucking hen with one chick!”

  She gave her fascinating gurgling little laugh before she went on,

  “Last night when she was helping me undress she said, ‘now don’t you go gettin’ ideas about his Lordship. As soon as he’s well enough, he’ll be goin’ back to Rock Castle, then on to London to the gaieties he’ll find there and which from all I hears are very much to his likin’. Then you’ll never see him again.”

  Purilla imitated Nanny’s voice so well that the Earl could almost hear her saying it.

  “What was your reply?”

  For a moment Purilla hesitated and he thought that she might refuse to answer him.

  Then she said,

  “I told Nanny, ‘his Lordship may forget us, but we shall never forget him. How could we, when he has given us so many delicious things and looks so magnificent’?”

  “I am delighted you think me magnificent,” the Earl said, “but it must be hard for you to judge when you have only seen me laid out unconscious or in bed wearing your father’s nightshirt.”

  The Earl had a childish idea that he would like her to see him in his full Regimental dress.

  Then he thought this conversation might have been written by a playwright even to the point where he would, as the servants would say,

  ‘Pop the question’.

  But he told himself that it was much too soon and he knew by the way Purilla spoke and the expression in her eyes that, while she liked talking to him and admired him, he actually meant nothing personal to her.

  Nor did she think of him in what Nanny would undoubtedly describe as ‘that way’.

  “What are you going to do today?” he then asked her.

  “I am going riding,” she replied. “And I forgot to tell you how much better your horse is. Tom walked him around the yard this morning and, although he is still lame, he can move quite easily.”

  “I am glad about that.”

  “What is his name?” Purilla asked.

  “‘Rufus’,” the Earl replied.

  Purilla wrinkled her nose.

  “1 think that is an ugly name. One of our horses is called ‘Mercury’ and the other ‘Pegasus’.”

  “I presume you christened them.”

  “Of course,” Purilla answered. “The moment I saw them I thought they were the most beautiful horses in the world – until I saw Rufus!”

  “That is exactly the sort of comparison that Nanny would not approve of,” the Earl teased her. “Now you are discontented with Mercury and Pegasus and, whenever you ride them, you will then be wishing that you were riding Rufus.”

  “I shall do nothing of the sort,” Purilla replied indignantly. “I admire Rufus, but I love Mercury and Pegasus, especially Mercury because he is my own special horse and no one could ever take his place.”

  “I can see that you are very loyal,” the Earl said, but he did not make it sound particularly a compliment.

  “If loving animals and people makes me appreciate them and not feel envious of something that belongs to somebody else, then I am loyal.”

  “Which is, of course, a most commendable quality. At the same time I would like to see you riding a really outstanding horse.”

  The Earl felt as he spoke that, if she rode with the same grace as she moved, she would certainly look outstanding on any horse in his stable and he was sure that he would want to hunt with her in the winter.

  He had never thought of it before, but he decided now that his wife should be a good rider.

  He had found in the past how bitterly women who did not ride resented being left behind when their husbands went hunting without them.

  He himself was a hard rider and he thought it unlikely that a woman would be able to keep up with him. At any rate there would be plenty of things at Rock Castle to occupy a wife and, although he was prepared to give some of his time to teaching and being with her, he would still be able to keep a great deal of his independence.

  It next flashed through his mind how much he would enjoy speaking in the House of Lords, attending the all-male parties to which he would be invited and the very different way he would be treated in his Club from how he had been in the past.

  There were so many interests now open to him ,which either he could not have afforded before or he had not been distinguished enough to take part in.

  Most important of all, he was now the owner of a stable with a number of racehorses that were being trained at Newmarket and be would therefore automatically be elected to the Jockey Club.

  He had known when he first inherited the title that the future looked very fair indeed and it was only Lady Louise who had thrown a dark shadow across the sunshine.

  Now he could see a way out, he felt an upsurge of gratification and triumph in .knowing that he could circumvent her plans and even make her look foolish.

  The danger before he met Purilla had indeed been very real and, if he was honest, extremely frightening.

  Now that was past and his plans were falling into place with the precision of well-drilled troops.

  When the doctor came, he informed the Earl that he should be able to get up in a few days and sit in a chair in the bedroom.

  “A broken collarbone takes time, my Lord, and it would not be sensible to take chances with it seeing how much there is for you to do.”

  “So much to do?’ the Earl repeated.

  “Yes, indeed – ” the Doctor began, then stopped and looked a little embarrassed. “It is none of my business, my Lord.”

  “But it is mine!” the Earl retorted, “and I should be very grateful if you would finish what you started to say.”

  “It is not important,” the doctor answered evasively.

  “I have a feeling that it is to me,” the Earl said, “and I would like to hear what is in your mind.”

  “Very well, my Lord, and I hope you will not think it impertinent. But it is well known in these parts that farming on the Rock Estate is behind the times and old-fashioned. We have therefore all been hoping that, as you are a young man with a reputation for getting things done, you will give the whole place a good shake up.”

  The Earl was astonished.

  He had always thought of the Rock Estate as a model of its kind, but then in the last few years when he had been in India he had known very little about it.

  His silence made the doctor look at him apprehensively.

  “Forgive me, my Lord, but you did ask
me to speak my mind.”

  “I am glad you did,” the Earl replied. “I shall certainly look into everything as soon as I have time and I promise you that I will want modern methods and modern ideas at Rock, as I have wanted them wherever I have been in the past.”

  “That is what I thought you would say,” the doctor approved. “You will find in this part of the world that there is every possible resistance to change and you will have to fight every inch of the way. But I think it is worth it.”

  “I am sure it is,” the Earl agreed.

  After the doctor had gone, Nanny insisted that he should sleep and so he did not see Purilla until he had finished his tea.

  She told him that she had been riding, then because of what had happened to him she added, that she had been particularly careful of rabbit holes.

  “Because Papa could never afford either new farming methods or the men to work them there are a lot of hazards in our fields.”

  “I will always be very cautious when I am up there,” the Earl stressed.

  He saw Purilla smile and he knew what she was thinking.

  “You have been listening to Nanny again,” he said accusingly.

  She laughed.

  “At luncheon Nanny said, ‘enjoy it while you can. Next week you’ll be back to shepherd’s pie and bread-and-butter puddin’!”

  “What did you have?” the Earl enquired.

  “Roast lamb from Rock Castle and gooseberry fool with cream.”

  “I had the same,” the Earl said. “I thought them both delicious.”

  “So did I,” Purilla said. “It must be delightful to be able to eat like that every day and accept it as a matter of course.”

  The Earl wanted to say that was what would happen to her in the future, but he thought that if he spoke too soon he might frighten her away and he also had no wish to make her self-conscious or shy when she was with him.

  He had never before been alone with a woman who had not tried to entice him with every allure in her repertoire.

  He knew that by this time anyone but Purilla would have been flattering him and making every excuse to touch his hand as it lay on the linen sheets or even shake up his pillows so that she could be close to him.

  Purilla talked happily in her clear, young lilting voice and, although he felt sure that there was a look of admiration in her eyes, it was the same look that she might have given to a fine horse or a beautiful painting, but nothing more.

  *

  The following day she came almost dancing into his bedroom with a letter in her hand.

  “Elizabeth is engaged,” she announced, “and they are to be married in three weeks’ time.”

  “You seem pleased,” the Earl commented.

  “Elizabeth is very happy. She says Edward Charlton is so kind and has given her a sapphire engagement ring and a brooch of the same stones to match.”

  “Are you going to be a bridesmaid?” the Earl enquired.

  Purilla’s face fell.

  “No. It is so disappointing. Elizabeth says that they are going to be married very quietly in the Church in Edward’s village.”

  She gave a little sigh before she went on,

  “I thought she would be married here, but I suppose as she has not the same ties in Little Stanton as I have, it is more convenient to be married in Edward’s Church.”

  “Where does her own family come from?” the Earl enquired,

  “Richard met Elizabeth in India, Her father is a Judge in Calcutta.”

  The Earl was thinking that this suited him.

  It was quite obvious that there would be no one to interfere or protest when he told Purilla that he intended to marry her and would take her back to Rock Castle when he was well enough to leave Little Stanton.

  When the doctor came the following day, he pressed him to know how soon he could get up.

  “I expect you are growing bored, my Lord,” Dr. Jenkins said. “Well, I don’t blame you. I am sure you want to get back to your own house, especially when it is a ‘new toy’ so to speak.”

  He laughed at his own joke and the Earl quizzed him again,

  “How soon may I leave?”

  “You could go tomorrow, but you would find it a very uncomfortable journey even in a well-sprung carriage. I should give it another two or three days and even then you will have to be very careful until your collarbone has knit. If you jar it, it will delay you getting back on your feet or rather back in the saddle.”

  The Earl knew that Dr. Jenkins was talking sense and so decided to wait another three days.

  If he was to be married as he intended before he left, he knew that he would have to tell Purilla immediately of his intentions.

  However, before he did so, he sent a note by one of his own grooms to his Solicitors asking them to procure a Special Licence for him.

  He felt it was important that his marriage should be kept a complete secret and, knowing that they were old-fashioned and reliable Solicitors, he had no fear that they would talk.

  He then decided to speak to Purilla when she visited him after tea.

  He thought it would be pleasant if Nanny would allow them to have tea together in his room, but when he suggested it Nanny said at once that it offended her ideas of propriety. She said firmly that he should have his tea brought up and Miss Purilla would eat downstairs as she always did.

  “I like talking when I am eating,” the Earl grumbled.

  “That’s as maybe, my Lord,” Nanny replied, “but Miss Purilla has got used to eatin’ alone and it’s somethin’ that will occur very frequently now that Mrs. Cranford is to marry again.”

  “You sound glad about that, Nanny?” the Earl asked. “Does it meet with your approval?”

  “I think Mrs. Cranford and Mr. Charlton are well suited to each other,” Nanny sniffed.

  “And what do you intend to do about Miss Purilla?” the Earl asked. “She is old enough to be married.”

  Nanny pursed her lips together for a moment and then she said sharply,

  “Now don’t your Lordship go puttin’ ideas into Miss Purilla’s head. She’s happy enough at the moment although in a way it’s an unnatural life for a young girl.”

  “Why then do you not do something about it?” the Earl enquired.

  “There’s nothin’ I can do,” Nanny retorted, “what with Master Richard being killed just over a year ago and there bein’ so few young people in the neighbourhood.”

  “There must be plenty of them further out in the County,” the Earl suggested.

  Nanny made a derisive sound and he knew she meant that, because they were poor and of little importance no one worried about them pretty though Purilla might be.

  “Well, now you have one of your charges off your hands you will certainly have to do what you can about the other one,” he said provocatively.

  “I’ve always believed that God will provide in his own good time,” Nanny said complacently, “and I must ask you, my Lord, not to go upsettin’ Miss Purilla. She’s got her horse and, until you came along upsettin’ things, she seems not to have become aware that she is very lonely.”

  “Is she noticing it now?” the Earl enquired.

  “I hopes not, my Lord, I very much hopes not,” Nanny said in a low voice.

  The Earl watched her go with a smile.

  What she had said made him aware that Purilla was already interested in him and that would make it easier for her to accept his proposition when he made it to her.

  The more he had seen of her these last few days, the more he thought that the solution to his problem was a very easy one.

  There was no doubt that Purilla was very lovely and when she was dressed in the latest fashions in silks and satins from the very best dressmakers he was sure that she would be able to take her place beside any of the ladies at Buckingham Palace.

  It would, of course, be wise not to go there too soon after their marriage or to Windsor Castle where they might meet Lady Louise.

  Eventua
lly he would have to present his wife to the Queen and he had the feeling that, because they were very similar in outlook, they would get on well together.

  The Earl had been touched, as had the whole of England, by her grace, modesty and propriety when Victoria had been proclaimed Queen of England.

  Indeed Greville the Historian had said to the Earl,

  “There never was anything like the first impression she produced or the chorus of praise that was raised about her manner and behaviour.”

  Since the Earl had known Greville for quite some years and never found him anything but disparaging about anyone in Society, he had been surprised at his fulsome praise of the young Queen.

  As the Earl had been abroad when Victoria came to the Throne, Greville had delighted in finding someone to whom he could recount what had happened.

  Seeing that the Earl was attentive he had gone on,

  “Her extreme youth and inexperience and the ignorance of the world concerning her naturally incited intense curiosity.”

  The Earl felt now as his conversation with Greville came back to him, that this was exactly what could be said of Purilla.

  She was certainly extremely youthful and inexperienced and from the conversations he had had with her, he realised that she was completely ignorant of the world.

  She too would incite curiosity as his wife, especially in Louise, who was waiting for him like a fat spider waiting to devour the fly that had walked into the web she had spun.

  ‘She will be disappointed,’ the Earl thought grimly.

  He felt triumphant in thinking how clever he had been to circumvent what he now knew was basically a wicked woman.

  It was not an adjective that he usually used about women, but when Louise had come to his bedroom at Windsor Castle, he had known that she was well-versed in the wiles of Satan. Now she had deliberately planned to trap him into marriage, which was undoubtedly an act of wickedness.

  Yet once he produced Purilla there was nothing that Louise or her family could do about it.

  The thought of how unpleasant the Duke could make life for him at Court if he suspected that he was deliberately abandoning Louise gave the Earl a new sense of urgency and he thought that the sooner he married Purilla the better.

  He was thinking about her when she came into his bedroom carrying once again a little flower vase carefully in her hands.