Kiss from a Stranger Read online

  Just as she arrived a footman in front of her was saying,

  “His Lordship wishes to see you, Mrs. Davison, in the study.”

  “I’ll come at once,” Mrs. Davison said, putting down the pillowcases she was sorting.

  She would have followed the footman, but Shenda caught hold of her arm.

  “Listen,” she said in a whisper, “I have just – seen his Lordship, and whatever he – asks you to do – regarding me – agree, but do not – tell him who – I am.”

  Mrs. Davison looked at her in surprise and then realising that his Lordship was waiting, hurried after the footman.

  Shenda went to her room and sat down, holding her hands over her eyes.

  How could she have imagined that this would happen? That her whole position in The Castle would be in jeopardy because of Lady Gratton?

  Then she knew that whatever the cost to herself, there was nothing more important than that Napoleon’s spies should not be successful in obtaining the information they sought.

  *

  In the study the Earl said,

  “Come in, Mrs. Davison, I want to speak to you.”

  Mrs. Davison went towards the desk where he was sitting and curtseyed.

  “I hopes everything’s to your satisfaction, my Lord.”

  “You have done marvels in such a short time,” the Earl replied, “and I am very grateful.”

  There was a little pause and then he continued,

  “I want to speak to you about Lady Gratton.”

  “Lady Gratton, my Lord?” Mrs. Davison exclaimed.

  “She is very fastidious,” the Earl said, “and she requires special maiding, as her own lady’s maid has had an accident.”

  Mrs. Davison stiffened, as if she thought that he was complaining, and he went on,

  “I thought as you have Shenda in The Castle, who is, I am sure, an excellent seamstress, she might look after Lady Gratton for the last two days she is here.”

  He was watching the effect of his words and did not miss the expression of consternation on his housekeeper’s face.

  She parted both lips as if she were about to protest at what he was asking.

  However, with an effort she said meekly,

  “Very well, my Lord, if that is your wish, I’ll speak to Shenda.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Davison,” the Earl said.

  Feeling it would be a mistake to say any more, he picked up his pen and, realising that she was dismissed, Mrs. Davison curtseyed and left the room.

  Upstairs she went at once to Shenda and asked,

  “Now, Miss Shenda, what’s all this about and how’s his Lordship aware that you’re in The Castle?”

  Shenda rose to her feet and drew Mrs. Davison to the sofa that had been arranged in the room when the bed was removed.

  “I have known you ever since I was a little girl,” she said in her soft voice, “and as you know, Mama was so fond of you and Papa always said that everything at The Castle would be all right so long as you were here.”

  There was a smile on Mrs. Davison’s lips as Shenda went on,

  “I am going to ask you now to believe that there is a very good reason for me to look after Lady Gratton, so please don’t ask any questions that I cannot answer.”

  “I don’t understand,” Mrs. Davison protested, “and that’s a fact!”

  “I know and I am sure later I shall be able to explain everything to you, although, of course, to no one else, why his Lordship has asked me to look after Lady Gratton.”

  “If you asks me,” Mrs. Davison said, “it’s something you shouldn’t be doing, and I can’t understand his Lordship suggesting such a thing even though she does want some of her gowns altered, free of charge, so to speak.”

  Shenda realised this had been the Earl’s explanation and she added quickly,

  “You know, Mrs. Davison, it’s a very good thing for me to make myself useful and then his Lordship will not think that I am too young for the position and that Rufus and I should not be at The Castle.”

  “Well, there’s certainly that to think of!” Mrs. Davison admitted grudgingly.

  Shenda kissed her cheek.

  “Just make sure if possible that nobody talks about it below stairs,” she said, “and when his Lordship goes away I am sure he will forget all about me.

  She saw that Mrs. Davison was pacified.

  At the same time she could not help thinking that unless she could provide the Earl with further evidence of Lady Gratton’s espionage, he would undoubtedly forget her when he returned to London.

  She was very conscious of how, when he had kissed her, it had been a strange sensation that it was impossible for her to forget.

  *

  As it happened, the Earl had not forgotten Shenda and he found himself thinking of her and what she had discovered all the time he was dressing for dinner.

  He went downstairs to the drawing room, where his guests who were staying in the house and a number of neighbours were to congregate before dinner.

  He thought that whereas before he had admired and desired Lucille, now she only revolted him.

  He wondered how he could ever have found her attractive when her hands were stained with the blood of men she was prepared to sell to the enemy for a little more than ‘thirty pieces of silver’.

  He thought it would give him the greatest pleasure to expose her and for her to be taken to the Tower of London for interrogation.

  Then he knew that, if he was to collect the information Lord Barham required, he had to play the most difficult part he had ever played in his whole life.

  It was one thing to defeat the enemy in the heat of battle.

  It was quite another to pretend a desire he did not feel for a woman whom he regarded as being as dangerous as a rattlesnake.

  Yet he knew that Lucille must not have the slightest suspicion that his ardency had cooled because he was suspicious of her.

  If she did, then the man they wanted, the spy who could hand out Napoleon’s gold so liberally, would disappear.

  The years of being in the Navy, especially when he was the Captain of a ship, had taught the Earl to have complete control over himself and his emotions.

  Just as he would never show fear in the face of overwhelming odds, so he was now determined that for the sake of England Lucille must not learn of his true feelings towards her.

  At the same time, when she looked at him with a flame in her eyes, and he listened to words that in the past would have fired his passion, he hated her.

  Then, as she attempted to monopolise him at dinner and later when the party gambled at the card tables and he was expected to pay her debts, he kept thinking of two grey eyes.

  They were as clear and innocent as a child’s and he thought of the softness of Shenda’s lips when he had kissed her.

  He knew that he should not have allowed anything so lovely and so perfect to come in contact with Lucille and he was aware that the voluptuousness of their lovemaking would shock Shenda.

  He could not allow her to suspect the depths of depravity that existed in a sophisticated woman who purported to be a lady.

  Yet if Shenda was to maid Lucille, she would in the morning see the untidy bed and the crumpled pillows.

  However pure and innocent she might be, she would have some idea of what had taken place during the night.

  It was then the Earl made up his mind that he must protect Shenda as much as possible.

  When he was with Lucille in a corner of the drawing room and for the moment out of earshot of the other guests, he said in a low voice,

  “Tonight – come to me.”

  “To your room?” Lucille asked in surprise.

  “I will explain later,” he replied, “but do as I ask.”

  At that moment they were interrupted by one of the guests who wished to leave and he said no more.

  When Lucille, in a diaphanous nightgown and enveloped in a seductive French perfume, came into his bedroom, he thought that at l
east Shenda would not see any evidence of the crime.

  *

  A long time later, when they were lying side by side and the Earl knew that Lucille was for the moment satisfied, she said in a very soft tone,

  “Do you darling, wonderful Durwin, miss being at sea?”

  “Yes, of course,” the Earl answered, “it is hard to start an entirely new life when you are as old as I am.”

  Lucille laughed.

  “I don’t know a younger man who could be more ardent or more irresistible,” she said. “But even when you are loving me, I am wondering if you would rather be sailing over the waves on a secret expedition.”

  There was a little silence and then the Earl yawned.

  “You have made me so sleepy,” he said, “that all I can think of at the moment is that I will not have to get up at some unearthly hour for the dawn watch!”

  Lucille was silent, but he sensed that she was trying to think of how she could broach the subject again.

  After a moment she said,

  “Tell me what you think of Admiral Nelson. Is he really as sexually attractive as he is reputed to be?”

  She waited for an answer, thinking that perhaps she could ask the Earl casually if Lord Nelson was at the moment with Lady Hamilton.

  Then, to her surprise, as she turned towards him, she found that he was asleep.

  *

  Shenda found it easier to maid Lady Gratton than she had expected.

  When she had started to help her Ladyship dress for dinner she asked,

  “Where is the maid who was looking after me? I think her name was Rosie.”

  “That is right, my Lady, but she is slightly indisposed this evening and the housekeeper asked me to take her place.”

  Shenda was wearing the mob cap that all the maids at The Castle wore.

  She had pulled it low on her forehead and its frill almost obscured her eyes, but Lady Gratton hardly gave her a glance before she said,

  “Well, I hope you know what to do. I have no wish to explain things twice.”

  “No, of course not, my Lady, and I am the seamstress in The Castle, so if there is anything your Ladyship wants altering, I can do it for you.”

  Lady Gratton was instantly interested.

  “I was going to pin the slip under the gown I am wearing tonight, which is slightly too large,” she said. “If you bring a needle and thread, you can sew me into it, but don’t forget you will have to cut me loose when I come to bed.”

  “No, of course not, my Lady, and tomorrow I will alter the buttons so that it fits you perfectly.”

  “That is a good idea,” Lady Gratton said, “and I have another gown that needs a slight alteration.”

  She put out quite a number of dresses before she went down to dinner and Shenda took them up to the sewing room.

  Because she knew that she would have to sit up until Lady Gratton came to bed so that she could undress her, she took to her bedroom one of the books she had borrowed from the library.

  She was so immersed in it that it was quite a surprise to find when Lady Gratton came to bed that it was after one o’clock.

  Her Ladyship was obviously in a hurry to be undressed and, when she was arrayed in what Shenda thought was the most revealing nightgown she had ever imagined, she said sharply,

  “That will be all! You may go now and call me at ten o’clock tomorrow morning, not before!”

  “Very good, my Lady,” Shenda murmured.

  “And don’t forget the clothes you have to alter for me,” Lady Gratton added.

  “Of course not, my Lady.”

  As Shenda hurried along the passage and up the stairs to her own room, it just passed through her mind that Lady Gratton had not got into bed.

  She supposed she had a reason for not doing so.

  Then, because she was tired, she undressed and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

  *

  The next day Shenda helped Lady Gratton to dress and arranged her hair so skilfully that she was delighted.

  She had also altered two of the gowns to her satisfaction.

  Later, when she was dressing for dinner, Lady Gratton said,

  “As I am returning to London tomorrow, I intend to ask his Lordship if he will let you maid me until my own lady’s maid has recovered. There are quite a number of garments at my house in London I would like you to alter and refurbish for me.”

  Shenda drew in her breath.

  She wanted to say that such an idea was impossible and then she knew she must ask the Earl’s permission before she could refuse.

  Hesitatingly she said,

  “If I am – allowed to come – my Lady – I am afraid I must bring my small dog with me – he is very good – but he is always with me – and it would break his heart if I – left him behind.”

  “A dog?” Lady Gratton exclaimed as if it was some strange animal she had never heard of. “Well, if you promise me it will be no trouble and does not come into the front of the house, I suppose I must put up with it!”

  “Thank you – very much – my Lady.”

  As soon as Lady Gratton had gone down to luncheon, Shenda wrote a little note to the Earl that was very short – just one line saying,

  “Please, I must see Your Lordship – Shenda.”

  She went down the back stairs and gave it to Bates, who was in the pantry, thinking it would be a mistake if anybody saw her in what the servants called ‘the front of the house’.

  She would have been very foolish if she had not realised that the gingham gown that Mrs. Davison had provided for her looked very different on her than it did on the other maids.

  The mob cap, however she wore it, seemed to accentuate the shape of her chin, the size of her eyes and the classical symmetry of her little nose.

  Shenda knew that Bates, however surprised he might be at her request, would ask no questions.

  “I’ll hand it to his Lordship when no one’s about, Miss Shenda,” he said.

  Shenda smiled at him, then ran upstairs to the safety of her own room.

  She had the feeling that she was walking on a tightrope and at any moment might fall into some horrible dark pit that there was no escape from.

  She might have guessed, she thought later, that the Earl would respond to her note in an original fashion.

  Bates came up to her sitting room carrying in his hand a book describing the history of The Castle.

  “His Lordship says, miss, that he thinks this is the volume you require, and hopes you’ll find in it the reference to the village you’re looking for.

  “Thank you!” Shenda said. “It is very kind of his Lordship to lend me anything so interesting.”

  When Bates had gone, she opened the book to find as she expected a note so small that she had to turn a number of pages before she discovered it. It contained just five words,

  “The Greek Temple – six o’clock.”

  She calculated that she would just have time to meet the Earl and be back to help prepare Lady Gratton’s bath and undress her for dinner.

  At a quarter to six she left The Castle by the garden door and with Rufus at her heels hurried behind the shrubs and past the bowling green.

  Beyond the cascade there was a Greek Temple which had been brought back to England by the eighth Earl at the beginning of the last century.

  It was a very pretty Temple with Ionic pillars at the front and a room behind where there was a statue of Aphrodite with a dove on her shoulder and another in her hand.

  The Earl was waiting there when Shenda arrived.

  He thought, as she came towards him, silhouetted against the rhododendron bushes, that she might have been Aphrodite herself risen again from the sea to bemuse mankind.

  Because it pleased Mrs. Davison, Shenda, when she was not working, discarded the gingham dress.

  She now had on a new gown she had made from the embroidered muslin that Mrs. Davison had given her.

  She had made it in the fashionable sty
le that all the ladies in the house party were wearing, with a high waist and ribbons crossing over the breast with the ends cascading down the back.

  The sun, sinking low in the sky, picked out the gold in her hair and it seemed to the Earl that she came towards him in a blaze of light.

  As Shenda reached him he looked so handsome and so elegant standing against the white pillars that for a moment she forgot to curtsy and they just stood gazing at each other.

  Then with an effort the Earl asked,

  “You wanted to see me?”

  “I had to ask – your Lordship what I – should do,” Shenda replied, “as her Ladyship has asked me to go to – London with her tomorrow – and maid her until her own lady’s maid has – recovered from her accident.”

  The Earl frowned.

  “She has not mentioned it to me!”

  “I-I think she will do so tonight, my Lord.”

  The Earl looked away from Shenda back towards The Castle.

  He knew with every nerve in his body, although he did not like to acknowledge it, that he hated the idea of anyone so young and unsophisticated coming in contact with Lucille.

  And yet, he asked himself, what else could he do but allow Shenda to go?

  “You have found nothing else?” he asked after a moment.

  “Nothing, my Lord.”

  The Earl sighed.

  “Then I suppose I must ask you, Shenda, once again to help me.”

  “Y-you want me to – go to London?”

  “It is something I do not want,” he said harshly, “but it is, I feel, the one chance we have of finding out who is behind this despicable and criminal behaviour on the part of a lady who is English born.”

  “Do you think the man or whoever it is, will be indiscreet enough to – come to her Ladyship’s house?”

  “I don’t know the answer. We can only pray, you and I, Shenda, that you may by some lucky chance pick up a clue that will lead us to the man who is spying for Napoleon and undoubtedly, at the instigation of Fouché, the most astute and dangerous man in France.”

  He looked questioningly at Shenda as he spoke, as if she might not know of whom he was speaking, and she said,

  “I think you are referring to the Minister of Police.”

  “How do you know that?” the Earl asked.