They Sought love Read online

  “That will do for the moment, but something better must be found. In the meantime, Frank, saddle this animal and accompany her Ladyship on her ride.”

  He gave a brief bow to his wife and departed, trying not to see the astonishment on the faces of the stable staff that the newly-weds were not going to ride out together.

  Celina saw them too, but was determined to ignore them and enjoy her ride. Frank was a pleasant companion who willingly took her to far-flung parts of the estate that she had not seen before.

  But she wanted a really good energetic ride and at last she urged her steed forward into a gallop, forcing Frank to race after her.

  Scenery raced by her, and she became exhilarated by the joy of speed. Frank only just managed to keep up.

  “Oh, that was so good,” she enthused at last.

  Her voice faded as she caught sight of something that made her frown.

  “Who are those people?” she asked.

  Frank followed her glance to where two men stood watching them. They were shabby and unshaven and there was something unnerving about their unflinching gaze.

  “Come away, my Lady,” Frank urged her hurriedly.

  “But who are they?”

  “Nobody.”

  “But they must be somebody.”

  “Estate workers. Nobody who matters.”

  “But of course they matter. They don’t look happy.”

  “They’re scowling because they’re malcontents, always complaining about something. Lord Torrington would be most displeased if he knew you had encountered such persons. They are far beneath you.”

  Plainly the man was afraid of getting into trouble so Celina said no more and allowed him to escort her home. But she silently resolved to return to this spot one day soon and explore further.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  When they reached the castle, Frank escorted Celina right to the front door, helped her dismount and then took both horses off to the stables.

  As soon as she had climbed the steps, she saw her mother-in-law coming to meet her, arms outstretched.

  “So there you are. I have been so looking forward to greeting you this morning. I am so happy. But why did you go riding without Robin? It is his job to show you around your new home.”

  Suddenly Celina realised that she was caught in a trap. She had no idea whether Robin and his mother had talked or whether she knew that he had guessed the truth.

  Before she could think of a cautious reply, Robin appeared in the hall behind his mother.

  In answer to her querying look, he shook his head.

  ‘So the Dowager still believed that he was deluded,’ Celina thought with dismay.

  “I have been occupied finding a suitable mare for my bride,” he said. “I ordered her to be brought round as soon as you arrived. I think she must be here by now.”

  He spoke in response to the sight of Frank appearing in the front doorway. He wore a look of delight.

  Together they walked out and inspected the grey mare held by an under-groom. She had large, gentle eyes and Celina fell in love with her at once.

  “How beautiful!” she exclaimed.

  Frank assisted her into the saddle and she trotted around the garden. By the time she returned she knew that this was the perfect horse for her.

  As he watched her ride back to the house, Robin nodded with satisfaction.

  “Buy the animal,” he told Frank. “Whatever the owner asks, pay it.”

  As the three of them strolled back into the house he said,

  “Frank just admitted that he has had his eye on the mare for a while, waiting for me to marry.”

  “The whole estate has been waiting for you to marry,” his mother added excitedly. “And now everyone is happy and looking to the future.

  “Oh, Robin, it is so wonderful that this has finally happened! I am afraid I have been too ill to attend to so many things I should have done on the estate, but now you are here with the bride I have always wanted for you.”

  There was a pause before she continued, “Perhaps even sooner than we expect, you will have the son I have longed and prayed for.”

  Celina caught Robin’s eye, silently reproaching him for not having been honest with his mother.

  He cleared his throat awkwardly,

  “Mama,” he said, leading the way into the library, “I have something to tell you.”

  “Oh, let me sit down, in case it is too much for me,” the Dowager said, fanning her face with her hand and beginning to breathe hard.

  “Mama, you can stop that now.”

  “He knows,” Celina whispered.

  The Dowager’s response was a trill of laughter.

  “Oh, dear, I should have thought of that. I gave myself away yesterday, didn’t I? And I suppose you told him, Celina dear.”

  “No ma’am, he noticed for himself.”

  “And are you very angry with me?” she asked her son. “You won’t blame me, will you? It was just an innocent little deception and it means so much to me.”

  For a moment Celina thought he would tell her just how angry he was, but after a moment Robin sighed and said,

  “You should not have deceived me, Mama, but I dare say things will work out well in the end.”

  His mother regarded him with eyes that were disconcertingly shrewd.

  “You are angry,” she said. “I suppose I cannot blame you. But just wait and see what an excellent wife Celina will make you. And Celina, you must not be angry either, because you are going to have the most delightful time.”

  “Really, ma’am?” And for the life of her Celina could not keep a wry note out of her voice.

  Robin heard it and grinned, but did not speak.

  “You married in such a hurry that there was no time for you to acquire a trousseau, so I am going to see to it that you have a complete new wardrobe,” the Dowager resumed.

  “There is no need, ma’am,” Celina said, thinking that she might not stay very long.

  The Dowager looked grave.

  “Oh, my dear, there is a need. There really is, believe me.”

  Which was as close as this courteous lady would come to saying that Celina’s clothes were totally inadequate for her new position in the world.

  “I will arrange a meeting this afternoon with everyone you will need to take care of you,” she said.

  “I am amazed that the meeting has not already been arranged,” Robin observed cynically.

  “Well, I may just have dropped a hint or two. Things have to be planned, you know.”

  “I suppose they do,” he murmured.

  “Just wait until you see your bride in her new clothes, with her hair dressed in a new way and glittering with the Torrington jewels. I don’t suppose you have thought to give them to her yet, have you?”

  “No,” he said uneasily. “Everything has been so sudden.”

  “And a great deal remains to be done. Now, you two go away and change your clothes, and I will see you at lunch.”

  With his mother’s keen eyes upon him Robin ceremoniously offered his arm to his bride and together they climbed the stairs.

  “I am glad you like your mare,” he said politely.

  “She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” she enthused warmly. “I shall call her White Fire. I think she is perfect.”

  He shrugged.

  “As my mother says, everything must be right for the new Lady Torrington. That is only appropriate.”

  He opened the door for her, revealing Nora laying out her clothes for lunch.

  “I will leave you ma’am,” he said formally, “and we will see each other in an hour.”

  The Dowager was in a merry mood at lunch. It did not seem to have occurred to her that anybody could object to her ruse.

  Her only reaction to having her secret out in the open was relief that she need no longer bother playing her part.

  Neither Robin nor Celina felt able to be so relaxed, but she was oblivious to their discomfort, ra
ttling away in fine style about all the delightful events that would now occur.

  “Everybody in the district wants to entertain you,” she said. “They would have invited you during your engagement, only there wasn’t one, so they are going to make up for lost time now.”

  “I gather that you have arranged our diary for some time ahead,” Robin commented dryly.

  “Not at all, merely just a couple of weeks,” the Dowager replied airily. “After that, of course, you will wish to make your own decisions.”

  “How astute of you, Mama. Actually I would always rather make my own decisions, but you seem to possess a gift for settling matters on my behalf.”

  There was a faint edge to his voice and Celina intervened quickly.

  “It is so kind of you, ma’am, to help me. I am so inexperienced.”

  “Indeed you are, my dear. Oh, what fun we are going to have buying you new clothes.”

  “I must remind you that I recently bought new clothes in London for the Season,” she pointed out.

  Her mother-in-law gave a pained smile.

  “Last year’s fashions!”

  “It was just a few weeks ago,” Celina remarked indignantly.

  “The Countess of Torrington must always be in advance of fashion,” the Dowager observed grandly.

  “Well, nobody in London thought my clothes were exactly dowdy.”

  “Yes, she received an offer from a Marquis,” Robin put in slyly. “We must not forget that.”

  Celina threw him a sulphurous look.

  “Hah! Delaine!” the Dowager snorted. “You did well not to accept him. He would not have added to your consequence.”

  “To marry a Marquis must always add to a woman’s consequence,” Celina responded, slightly nettled.

  “Not if he’s a nincompoop,” the Dowager declared in a voice that settled the matter once and for all.

  “I am afraid, Mama, that Celina feels she took a step down in the world when she married me,” Robin added caustically.

  His mother simply did not know what to make of this remark. After peering at them both suspiciously through her lorgnettes, she repeated “nonsense!” several times.

  Celina refused to meet Robin’s eye. She was afraid of finding a glint of wicked humour that she might not be able to resist.

  Next Robin said, “I have business to attend to. I will leave you ladies to attend to your own business.”

  He kissed his mother’s cheek, bowed to his wife and departed.

  “There, you see?” the Dowager said. “He is perfectly happy about the situation.”

  Celina thought she was being wildly optimistic, but realised that her mother-in-law knew nothing of the seething tension between herself and Robin.

  She did not feel equal to long explanations, so she settled down to enjoy the prospect of acquiring new clothes.

  Although that might be premature, she reminded herself as she had not yet decided to stay at the castle.

  But in the meantime, there was no harm in pleasing her mother-in-law.

  After a delightful hour planning her wardrobe they rose and went upstairs, where her dresser and a seamstress were waiting.

  Half way up the stairs Celina heard the door of the library open and saw a man emerge. She stopped, staring at him, thinking that she had never seen anyone that she disliked so much at first sight.

  He was in his late forties with heavy features and a burly build that conveyed something brutal about it. When he glanced up at Celina, she observed a hardness in his eyes that dismayed her.

  There was no respect in his manner and he returned her stare with a kind of arrogance, although his severe clothes suggested that he must be an employee of some kind.

  “What it is, my dear?” the Dowager paused and laid a gentle hand on her arm.

  “That man – ”

  “That is Stanley Halyard, the Steward.”

  “I don’t like him.”

  “That is a little unfair since you do not know him. Still,” she added with a sigh, “I admit he is a bit of a rough diamond and I do not enjoy too much of his company myself.”

  “But doesn’t he report to you, ma’am, when Lord Torrington is away.”

  “Of course I have to meet him sometimes to discuss what is to be done, but I know I can leave matters to him and he keeps the estate running smoothly. Now, come along, we have work to do.”

  They worked late as Robin had sent a message that he was spending the evening with friends.

  The Dowager sighed and said, “I supposed it’s too much to expect him to behave like a devoted husband just at first.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Celina agreed in a voice that gave nothing away.

  He had not returned when she retired to bed and she wondered whether he had done so on purpose so as to avoid another rebuff from her.

  Or had he simply forgotten all about her?

  She locked the connecting door between their rooms, thinking sadly how different this was from what she had longed for.

  She lay awake as the hours passed and at last she heard him enter next door. He had been gone so long that she was sure he must have had too much to drink and strained her ears, expecting to hear heavy movements.

  But, to her surprise, he moved with a lightness and precision that suggested sobriety.

  If he had not been drinking, what then had he been doing? Playing cards?

  Or had he been with another woman?

  Was he so angry with her for refusing him that he had sought revenge in this way?

  She waited to see if he would try the door, but the handle remained undisturbed.

  Celina buried her face in her pillow and wept.

  *

  The next morning Robin greeted her with a cool civility in which she was sure she detected a hint of irony. It fired her spirit and she nodded and smiled with equal coolness.

  “I hope you slept well, madam.”

  “Thank you, I had a very quiet night’s sleep. I hope the same is true of you.”

  “I was out late, as I dare say you know.”

  “No, how could I? I was asleep before you returned – whenever that was.”

  Certainly she would not let him think that she had lain awake listening for him.

  At breakfast he declared that he needed to spend some time away on matters of business. His mother said happily that he would not be missed as she and Celina had so much to accomplish.

  “But be sure to be home by Friday,” she said. “We are all invited for dinner at Beresford Manor. Simply everyone will be there to honour your bride and it would never do for you to be absent.”

  “You may be sure I will do my duty, Mama,” he replied with a slight bow.

  The week that followed was a whirl of activity. The Dowager had placed large orders with the local warehouses, and now those emporiums sent carriages which arrived to the castle laden down with luxurious materials of every kind.

  Now Celina’s maids and her dresser could get to work on an orgy of sewing – ball gowns, tea gowns, morning gowns, afternoon gowns, riding habits, the list of things to be done was endless.

  From another warehouse came a vast selection of hats to be sorted through with some kept and some returned. There must be at least two hats for each dress and more shoes than Celina could count.

  Yet another establishment, very discreet and only for ladies of the highest taste and deepest pockets, produced nightgowns of lace and silk filmy underwear and silk stockings.

  Celina would have been in a heaven of delight if her mind had not been on Robin, wondering what he was doing now and who he might be with.

  He might even have returned to France.

  No, she thought with a spurt of anger. She would not let him tease and torment her like this. As soon as she saw him again she would tell him that their so-called marriage was over, whether he liked it or not.

  When Thursday night arrived, Robin still had not returned home and Celina could tell that her mother-in-law was growing worried, a
lthough she tried to hide it.

  Celina herself went off to bed with a cheerful smile and fell asleep wondering what the morrow would bring.

  She awoke with the dawn, hearing the sounds of movement from the other side of the door.

  So, she thought, he was home at last from carousing with his friends and perhaps his mistresses. Today she would inform him of her decision to leave, once and for all.

  She found that it was impossible to go to sleep again, so she rose, dressing herself in one of her riding habits and crept quietly downstairs.

  She slipped out of the castle by a back door which she knew led to the stables. At this early hour the place was only just coming to life, but she found one of the hands dozing in the stable of her mare, White Fire, who was never left unguarded, night or day, on Robin’s orders.

  “I’ll fetch Frank,” the hand offered, yawning and climbing sleepily to his feet.

  “No, I just want to take the air alone. Saddle her for me please quietly.”

  “Alone?” the young man asked in dismay. “But I cannot allow your Ladyship to ride without an escort – ”

  “Allow? Do I need your permission?” she asked with a touch of imperiousness. “Kindly saddle her at once and say nothing to anyone else. That is an order.”

  He gulped but obeyed.

  The mare rubbed her nose against Celina’s hand as she patted her and talked to her in a whisper.

  With the sun shining on her and her mare eager to carry her as fast as possible, she rode out, moving faster and faster over the land.

  Exhilarated by her speed, she had come further than ever before and was now in an area that looked unfamiliar.

  However she did remember that she had been here on the first day out with Frank. And he had urgently turned her back.

  Now, thinking she had perhaps gone far enough, she turned her horse.

  Suddenly, to her surprise, out of the woods at the side of the field where she was riding, there appeared four men.

  She thought they were perhaps workmen except they were so shabbily dressed that she was quite certain they were not employed on the estate.

  As she drew nearer to them, she observed that they were all dirty and untidy and clearly very poor.