In the Shadow of Arabella Page 17

  Pamela, who worshiped her new tutor and immersed herself in learning all he could teach her, was delighted that she was to have a little half brother or sister. Serena wrote regularly from Bath. She was enjoying her stay there but looked forward to joining Katherine in late August, especially now that a child was expected.

  Katherine heard nothing from her stepfather (indeed she did not expect to) until one day in late July when a letter arrived from him. She took it immediately to her room and opened it with shaking fingers. He had promised not to write. Why was he breaking his word?

  Her mood changed from anxiety to anger as she read his casually worded request for funds. Surely she could spare him a bit from Serena’s allotment. How could she and her sister possibly need the half of it with Rudley paying their way?

  Katherine drew a piece of writing paper from her desk and answered briefly. She insisted she would not bend on this point. He had agreed to her terms and she had his promise in writing; he had no right to make demands on her. She added for good measure that this was the last time she would write, and if he wrote to her again, she would destroy his correspondence unopened. She folded the brief message and, without adding any funds (as she always had in the past), sealed it and had Bess hand-deliver it the following day to the receiving office.

  Rudley had never repeated his request to know who Sir Humphrey Corey was. Katherine did not think he had forgotten. Perhaps he had decided it was not important. Whatever his reason, she hoped he would never ask.

  August was warm and blessed with abundant rainfall, so the crops flourished. Many of the farmers were mowing hay. Since Katherine was not permitted to ride, Rudley had taken to driving her out most mornings in his curricle. One Thursday morning, showers kept the haymakers out of the fields and the earl and his countess from their morning drive. Katherine and Rudley were sitting together in the morning room discussing the merits and demerits of a new breed of sheep he wanted to introduce on the home farm when Reeves entered with a silver salver and offered a visiting card to Rudley. He lifted it from the tray casually, then regarded it with interest. “Show the gentleman in here, Reeves, and send for some refreshments.”

  As the butler left, Katherine asked, “Who is it, Ned?”

  He noted her reaction carefully as he replied, “Sir Humphrey Corey—a gentleman with whom I believe you are acquainted.”

  She rose to her feet, paling noticeably as she took a step toward her husband. “Ned, I—”

  She got no further as the door opened again and Reeves ushered Sir Humphrey into the room. Finding her knees suddenly wobbly and untrustworthy, Katherine took a step back to the chair she had occupied a moment before and sank down onto it.

  Rudley waited in vain for Katherine to offer an introduction. All color had drained from her face and she sat as if turned to stone. Sir Humphrey genially filled the void with good-natured chatter.

  “Well, now, Katy, it’s a fine, beautiful home you have here, that’s for certain.” Turning his gaze to Rudley, he bowed a greeting. “And you must be Lord Rudley. Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Sir Humphrey Corey, you know, Katy’s stepfather.”

  Rudley bowed in turn, managing through his surprise to say, “How do you do, sir. Won’t you sit down?”

  Gordon entered at that moment with refreshments, which gave Rudley a moment to collect his scattered wits. He cast an accusative glance at Katherine, but she refused to look at him.

  Sir Humphrey continued, “I can see I have surprised you, but I had to deliver a horse nearby and since I was so close, I decided to stop and see how my little girl went on in her new life.”

  This comment brought a response from Katherine, who now raised her eyes to stare at him with contempt. His little girl, indeed! How dare he come here? Gordon offered her lemonade, which she took gratefully, for her mouth was suddenly dry.

  “You are awfully quiet, girl,” Sir Humphrey noted as Katherine still had not spoken. “Not feeling quite the thing, I suppose. That is to be expected, considering your condition and all.”

  Katherine spoke at last. “My condition?”

  “You cannot expect to keep such a secret in our village. The vicar’s wife has been most everywhere telling all who would listen. I suppose she had the news from Lady Harrington. You could have written me, Katy, to tell me yourself. This will be my first grandchild—well, step-grandchild at any rate. But there is not much difference in my eyes.”

  Katherine was silenced once again. To hear Sir Humphrey prattling on in this way as if he had ever cared for her! As if he would ever care a whit about any child she bore. It was the outside of enough!

  Fortunately, Sir Humphrey chose to keep his visit short. After only ten minutes he rose to leave, saying he must not be late delivering the horse. He added that he was putting up at the inn in the village and would perhaps see them again before he left for home.

  When Rudley invited him to join them for dinner that evening, Sir Humphrey declined, saying he had a previous engagement.

  When he was gone and the door closed, Rudley turned accusing, questioning eyes upon his wife. His face was nearly as pale as hers. Several moments passed in silence until finally he said, “I do not know what to say to you. I cannot even think where to begin.”

  “I should have told you about him,” Katherine said simply.

  “Oh, really?” he replied scathingly. “And deprive me of perhaps the most uncomfortable ten minutes I have ever spent?” He was angrier than she had ever seen him. He continued, “You told me you had no living relatives. Was that a ghost who visited with us just now?”

  “He is not a blood relative.”

  “Do not mince words with me, Katherine. Blood relative or not, he is your stepfather. He should have been invited to the wedding. He should have been consulted about the engagement. Common courtesy demanded that. Why did you lie to me?”

  “I did not lie to you. I have been my own mistress since I attained my majority. I did not need his consent to wed. I did not want him present at our marriage.”

  “Ah. Now we are getting somewhere. Why did you not want him there?”

  “We do not get on. We never have.”

  “Not good enough.”

  “He is normally crude and despicable, nothing like he was today.”

  He frowned as he asked, “He was acting?”

  “No. Not precisely. Sometimes he behaves reasonably, but not often. He is not naturally polite, nor congenial.”

  “Perhaps you should explain.”

  As she looked up at her husband, trying to collect her thoughts, tears filled her eyes. “I do not want to explain,” she said passionately. “I do not want to talk about him or even think about him. He is a part of my past that I wish to forget.”

  She raised one hand to her forehead and closed her eyes, looking so pale and shaken that Rudley bit back his next comment.

  “I am feeling rather unwell,” Katherine said. “I should like to lie down.”

  Looking as if he was far from finished with the conversation, Rudley said, “I will help you upstairs.”

  He did just that—went with her to her room and pulled the curtain to shut out the light before going downstairs to the estate office. He found Kendall there, busily working.

  “Women are prone to emotional upheaval—fits and starts—when they are increasing, Peter, are they not?”

  “I believe so, sir. I have heard it said.”

  “I have discovered who Sir Humphrey Corey is.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “He is my wife’s stepfather.”

  That same day in the late afternoon Sir Humphrey paid another visit to Rudley Court. This time he found his stepdaughter alone.

  She almost refused to see him but decided such an action would be cowardly.

  The moment the door was closed she said without preamble or greeting, “You promised. You signed a legal document.”

  “Now, Katy, my dear, don’t get on your high horse. I was only ten miles away. You rea
lly could not expect me to ignore such an opportunity to see you.”

  “You have no reason to see me. Our relationship is over.”

  Ignoring this remark, he walked to the mantel and fingered the fine Chinese vase that stood there. “I knew Rudley was well-breeched, but I never imagined he enjoyed such wealth. How can you grudge me a little, Katy, when you have so much?”

  “You sold a horse today. Did he not bring you a fat profit?”

  “Yes, but not nearly enough to buy a stallion up for auction next week. He is exactly what I need to cross on my heavier mares.”

  “What happened to the Trojan?”

  “Unfortunately, I lost him in a little wager with Sedgewick.”

  “You gambled away your best breeding stallion?” she asked incredulously. “You show time and time again that you have not a single ounce of responsibility in your entire being. I will not give you any more money, not one pound, not a single shilling!”

  In the estate office Rudley and Kendall finished their work and Rudley went in search of his wife. Usually at this time of day he would find her in the salon. He left the office by its connecting door to the library. He had barely started through the room when he heard angry voices coming from the salon, whose connecting door with the library had been left slightly ajar. Katherine’s was one voice; the other he soon recognized as that of their morning visitor. Sir Humphrey had left his genial tone behind on this visit. His voice was harsh.

  Rudley’s first impulse was to join them immediately, but when he heard Sir Humphrey’s next comment he hesitated, wishing to hear how his wife would respond.

  Sir Humphrey spoke tauntingly. “Your husband seemed remarkably ill at ease when we met this morning—almost surprised. Could it be that you somehow failed to mention me to him?”

  “You are right” Katherine admitted. “I had not told him about you. But he knows now. Go away, sir, and leave me in peace. I am asking you to keep the promise you made.”

  “Do not speak to me of promises,” Sir Humphrey fired back. “You who have no intention of honoring the promises so recently made to your husband.”

  Katherine’s voice turned distinctly cold. “And what precisely do you mean by that?”

  “Do not play the innocent with me. Your husband may believe that you visited Lincolnshire to collect your sister, but everyone in the village knows it was Parnaby you came to see.”

  “You are quite mad.”

  “Am I? You arrived on Tuesday, he arrived on Wednesday. He left for London the same day you did. You went nearly every day to his home. Do you truly think people believe you went there to see his mother?”

  “Would you like to leave now, sir, or shall I call my butler to show you out?”

  “I will leave on my own. I would not wish to cause a stir. By the way, whose brat is this you are carrying, your husband’s or Parnaby’s? Or do you even know?”

  While Rudley stood rooted on the far side of the door, horrified by what he was hearing, Katherine rose and walked to the bellpull, giving it a vicious tug.

  Sir Humphrey rose reluctantly. “I’m going. Tell me, do you still keep a journal where you write all your little secrets? That is how I knew you were in love with Parnaby in the first place. I used to pop into your room and read it from time to time. I daresay your husband would find it entertaining.”

  As the door opened and the butler appeared, Katherine said, “Sir Humphrey is leaving, Reeves, please show him out.’’ She hovered inside the salon until she heard the outside door close, then she stepped into the hall to address the butler once more. “If he should ever call here again, I am not at home. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, my lady. Perfectly.”

  Katherine proceeded across the hall and down a corridor to a side door. After the morning’s rain the day had turned pleasant. She let herself into the garden and sat there on a bench until her pulse and respiration had returned to normal.

  When Katherine had quit the salon, Rudley retraced his steps to the office, where Kendall was studying an estate map.

  “Peter?”

  “Sir?”

  “When you were in Lincolnshire, did Lady Rudley use the coach?”

  “Yes, sir, nearly every day to go visiting.”

  “Whom did she visit?”

  “A great number of people. All old friends, I assume.”

  “And did she ride out?”

  “Yes, she did. I saw her myself on several occasions.”

  “With whom was she riding?”

  Unaccustomed to such questioning, particularly about her ladyship, Kendall frowned. “Once she was with Miss Stillwell and Miss Harrington, once with Lord Harrington, another time she was accompanied by a young lord who lived in the neighborhood. I cannot recall his name, though she introduced us.”

  “Was it Parnaby?”

  “Yes, sir, I believe it was.”

  “And how did they seem to you?”

  “Seem, sir?”

  “What sort of terms were they on?”

  “They seemed friendly, my lord. She introduced him as an old friend.”

  “Were they accompanied by a groom?”

  “No, sir, but it was midmorning and they traveled the high road. No one could take exception—”

  “Thank you, Peter, you have been most helpful.” Cut short, Kendall watched his employer leave the room. He stared at the closed door for some time after Rudley had gone. Their strange conversation filled him with foreboding.

  *

  Chapter 16

  Rudley ascended the main staircase and made his way to his wife’s apartments. When there was no answer to his knock, he entered, closing the door behind him. The curtains were still drawn from Katherine’s nap earlier. He opened them now. All traces of the rain shower had passed, leaving behind a blue sky and soft white clouds. As the light reached the far corners of the room, he turned to regard the furnishings.

  Did Katherine keep a journal? She did. He recalled seeing it beside her bed, recalled watching her write in it. It was a slim brown volume. Walking to her bed, he opened the drawer of the night table. The book lay there in plain view.

  He knew a moment’s hesitation. Such a violation of privacy was unforgivable, yet the painful questioning of his heart demanded answers. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he picked up the book and opened the cover. There at the top of the first page was the name he had come to loathe: “James Haygarth, Viscount Parnaby.” That was all the sheet contained, only the name, written across the top in Katherine’s neat script. He turned the page and was astonished to see his brother’s name on the top of the second sheet and his own name on the next. As he leafed quickly ahead he saw that each page held a name followed by notes and comments. The back section seemed to be filled with ordinary diary entries.

  Turning back to the front, he discovered the listings there were only men. Then, as he read through them with more attention, he realized they were only eligible, unmarried men.

  With his heart turning cold, he paged back to the sheet that held his name and slowly read the notes written there:

  Edward Seaton, Earl of Rudley

  early 30s

  widowed several years

  one child—daughter 10?

  excellent memory

  delicate manners

  home in Hampshire

  strong family ties

  first wife—Arabella ?

  interest in Lady Milicent Battle

  often in London

  decisive

  excellent dancer

  unostentatious

  He had not finished the page when the door opened and Katherine stood on the threshold. At first surprised to find her husband there, she soon noticed her journal in his hands. She closed the door quietly, wondering vaguely how Sir Humphrey could have worked his evil so quickly.

  She crossed the room to stand at the foot of the bed. Rudley neither spoke nor moved, but the bewildered look in his eyes was one she would not soon forget.

 
“That book is private.”

  He snapped it shut with one hand. “I have seen enough.”

  “Did you come here looking for it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did Sir Humphrey speak with you while he was here?”

  “No. I was standing on the other side of the library door for the latter part of your conversation with him.”

  “Oh, my God,” Katherine whispered as she closed her eyes and tried to imagine Rudley listening to the horrible accusations Sir Humphrey had thrown at her. She realized now that she had not even denied them—she had long ago discovered how fruitless it was to argue or talk back. “I am afraid I have much to explain.”

  “The opportunity for explanation is no longer an option for you, Katherine. I have several questions that you will answer—honestly, if you please.”

  As he came impatiently to his feet, she moved to a chair and sat down as he fired his first question at her. “What is the nonsense in this book? The names and the notes?”

  “It is a list of husband candidates. I started it when I first went to London. I listed all the eligible men I met—their characteristics as well as information about them.”

  “Why?”

  “I had gone to London determined to marry. I think that making the list was one way to convince myself that I would go through with my plan. I also felt it would aid me in making a wise choice.”

  “Why did you strike some names off? Oliver and others?”

  “I took Oliver off when I realized he was attracted to Charity. The others I deleted for various reasons. Lord Atherford because he drinks too much. Mr. Dale because he gambles to excess. These were traits I did not desire in a husband.”

  “And you considered marriage with all these men?”

  “I was determined to marry one of them.”

  “How many offered?”

  “Four, including yourself.”

  “Four!’’ He was pacing the floor now, a disbelieving frown on his face. “Why is there nothing written on Parnaby’s page?”

  Katherine looked at him, then away, not answering.

  “The truth, Katherine, with no delay.”

  “I did not need to write about him; I knew everything without writing it down.”