Amanda Scott (26 page)

Dolly made a face. “I shan’t go as far as to the bottom of the garden alone with any man!”

Emily chuckled. After a brief silence she said, “Are you composed enough now to seek your bed, my dear?”

Dolly nodded, got to her feet, then looked at Emily searchingly. “Must you tell Cousin Jack about all this?”

Tempted to promise to keep Dolly’s confidence as a reward for her change of attitude, Emily hesitated briefly, but she had learned her lesson. She reached out to touch her niece’s shoulder as though to soften the blow that was to come.

“Never mind,” Dolly said with less bitterness than might have been expected. “I daresay he will have to know what we were going to do. Mama, too. Oh, Aunt Emily, I would not have had her know! Not for anything.”

“She would have known soon enough if you had done the thing,” Emily pointed out. “Maybe after this you will think your actions through more carefully. In any case, I believe Oliver will tell your Cousin Jack all about this at the first opportunity, since he is blaming himself for having exposed you to the attentions of a man like Mr. Saint Just.”

“But I liked his attentions,” Dolly protested. “Oliver should not blame himself.”

“Yes, he should,” Emily countered. “He is your brother and is therefore responsible for your well-being. He ought to have known that your very innocence in such matters made you unable to deal with Mr. Saint Just on your own. Indeed, we all ought to have realized that and, accordingly, to have kept our eyes open. You were that much more vulnerable to his charms, my dear, because of what you did not know.”

“He knows all those things you told me?” Dolly’s eyes were wider than ever. “Does Harry Enderby know them, do you think? Does Oliver?”

Grinning now, Emily said, “Miss Lavinia would no doubt assure you that all men know such things from the cradle.” Then, more soberly, she added, “I believe Saint Just knows what he’s about, certainly. Jack didn’t like him from the start, and I cannot say that I took to him much either, but neither of us suspected that he would dare attempt such a thing as this.”

“Cousin Jack will be very angry,” Dolly said unhappily.

“Yes, but if Oliver does tell him, it will be Oliver who bears the brunt of it,” Emily assured her. “By the time he speaks to you, he will have burned off the worst of his temper.”

Dolly managed a watery smile, then leaned forward and put her arms around Emily. “I’m sorry I was such a beast,” she said.

Emily returned her hug. “Ring for your maid now, my dear, and get to bed. Things will look more cheerful in the morning.”

In her own bedchamber a few moments later, she wondered if she had spoken truly. Sabrina would be in a dither once she heard what had been planned, and no matter what he said to Oliver, Jack would not be as sanguine afterward as she had led Dolly to believe. Emily was certain he would be pleased by the change in the girl’s attitude, but she knew he would not believe, any more than she did, that Dolly would be all roses and light to live with from now on, any more than she had been before. Dolly had been shocked, Emily knew, by what she had learned about men’s ways with women, but that shock would dissipate rapidly and would do little to alter her fundamental selfishness. Indeed, knowing Dolly as she had come to know her, Emily was more than a little afraid that her niece might develop a desire to experiment with what she had learned. In the long run, she thought fretfully, she might well discover she had done Dolly a disservice.

Once her head hit her pillow, however, all thought ceased and she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. Not until daylight filled the room did her reflections return to disturb her peace of mind. Knowing that only action would calm her, she hurried through her breakfast, grateful that Sabrina still slept and that Miss Lavinia appeared to be engrossed in some sketches she had made of her latest scheme for the garden.

“Nearly time to set bulbs for spring,” she said cheerfully, looking up when Emily took her seat. Emily nodded, and silence fell, broken only by the sounds of silver against crockery and the whisper of Anna’s footsteps when she brought Emily’s tea.

As soon as she could decently leave, Emily hurried downstairs to the library. William, on duty in the hall, nodded when she asked if Meriden had arrived. “Is he free?” she demanded, not wishing to interrupt any more distressing scenes.

“Aye, miss, free as air.” He moved quickly to open the double doors for her.

Jack stood up when she entered, and only when the smile of greeting on his face faded as rapidly as it had appeared did she remember that he was somehow out of charity with her. She had no time to consider that now, however.

“Has Oliver been to see you?” she asked abruptly.

He nodded.

“Then you know what took place here last evening?”

“I do. He said you dealt with Dolly. I hope you smacked the stupid chit.”

Emily shook her head. “I was not so violent, but I did shock her, I fear, and I do not know that you will approve of what I have done, any more than Sabrina will.”

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing, merely motioning her to a chair. When she had seated herself, he sat back down in his chair behind the table, moved to put his feet up, and then, appearing to think better of it, tilted back in his chair and folded his hands across his flat stomach. When she still had not spoken, he said, “Well?”

“I told her all about men and women,” Emily blurted.

“All?” He grinned.

“All.”

“You cannot possibly know very much yourself,” he said flatly. “Tell me what you said to her.”

Emily blushed fiery red. “I will not. It was difficult enough for me to discuss such a subject with Dolly, but I saw at once that she had absolutely no comprehension of the dangers involved in her relationship with Mr. Saint Just, so it was clearly my duty to explain them to her.”

“I hope you frightened the little cat senseless.”

“Well, she was shocked, of course, but that will pass. You do not think I did wrong?” Suddenly it was of prodigious importance to her that he should not think that.

He shook his head. “Best thing you could have done under the circumstances.”

Emily sighed, surprised by her deep relief. “I thought, you know, that I might have put new ideas into her head, worse notions than were already there.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you had, but you needn’t concern yourself if you did. Dolly’s own selfishness will protect her. She means to make a good match, and she must know—if she doesn’t, you must make sure to tell her—that no man of high estate will be interested in damaged goods.”

“Well, I did tell her that,” Emily said on a note of satisfaction, “and I told her also that I would not conceal from you what she had done.”

“Very proper.” He smiled at her. “I won’t insult you by suggesting that you recalled that Oliver would tell me—”

“Of course not! I told you—”

“I stated that badly,” he admitted. “You could not have known, after all, that Oliver would tell me anything. He might have decided to protect his friend instead.”

“I could not have thought that after seeing him last night,” Emily said honestly. “Has Mr. Saint Just departed?”

“It seems,” Meriden replied carefully, “that he had passed out at the table before Oliver returned to him last night. Unable to wake him, Oliver caused him to be carried to his bed, and being a conscientious host, he has determined that he ought not to wake his guest before he’s slept his fill.”

Laughter gurgled in Emily’s throat. “He didn’t say that! That sounds much more like something Harry Enderby would say.”

Jack nodded, his eyes twinkling. “Not at all the thing to disturb a man when he’ll wake to a raging head, not to mention an order to take himself off at once.” He became more serious. “Don’t mistake me, though. Young Oliver is very angry, with himself as well as with Saint Just. The lad seemed to expect me to tear a strip off him for what happened.”

“Well, didn’t you? I confess that I was persuaded you would. He brought that scoundrel here, after all.”

“But he didn’t make him into a scoundrel. I told Oliver that I was content to leave his friend to him, that I had other, more important things to do today and thought him thoroughly competent to attend to Saint Just.”

“When do you meet Mr. Scopwick?” Emily asked bluntly.

“Shortly before noon. I have given it out that I have business at Enderby Hall today, so no one will think it odd when I leave the Priory at that time. Melanie knows what to do.”

“Yes, I know, for she told me. Are you quite certain she will be safe, sir?”

“Yes, so don’t you think for a moment about lending your protection to ours.” When Emily flushed guiltily, he nodded. “I thought so. You hear me, my lass. I have already had all the uproar I can tolerate this week, so don’t you provoke me again. I’ve done all I can think of to keep you out of this and I mean you to stay out. You stay right here at the Priory and keep your long nose out of those woods. Is that understood?”

Emily nodded.

“I’d like to have your word,” he said with a level look.

Emily stiffened. “Haven’t I said I will not leave the Priory grounds? You insult me, sir, demanding that I give my word like a half-baked schoolboy. Shall I cut my finger and mix my blood with yours? Would that satisfy you? Or must it be in writing and witnessed by a dozen men? Only say what you want, Meriden, and I will endeavor to provide it for you!”

“Lord, what a temper!” Jack stood up and moved toward her, causing Emily to jump to her feet and skitter away from him. But when he laughed, she stopped where she was and glared at him. He shook his head. “What did you think? That I would shake you, or worse?” When she did not answer, he chuckled again. “Very well, Emmy love, I won’t insult you. I will merely state once more that if I find you anywhere near Melanie or that path through the woods, I will deal with you as you deserve.”

Emily fled, glad only that he had not forced her to give him her solemn word. She had said she would not leave the Priory grounds, and she would not. But neither could she let Melanie go off alone. Jack had not considered what would become of the little girl after they caught her witch. He seemed to think Melanie would just run along home again. Emily knew the child would do nothing of the kind, for she was certain that curiosity would win out over good sense and that Melanie would stay right there. If an altercation ensued, she might be hurt. And, too, Jack seemed to have forgotten about the old woman’s accomplice. No old woman had struck her down. Of that she was certain. Only a strong arm could have accomplished such a feat. Emily intended to be on the scene to see that such a thing did not happen again. And she could do that without leaving the Priory grounds. Indeed, she thought smugly, she could walk nearly all the way to the village without leaving Staithes property.

If there was a cloud over her satisfaction, it was the fact that Jack would not see the matter as she did. There would no doubt be a reckoning afterward, but she would deal with that when it came. In the meantime, there was no way she knew of by which she could sit quietly at home and let Melanie walk alone into danger. Thus it was that when, from the window of the drawing room, she saw the little girl setting forth, Emily waited only long enough to be certain Melanie was well on her way before she hurried downstairs, determined to follow her.

She had reached the front hall when she heard her name urgently called from the landing. Turning, she saw Dolly waving a single sheet of paper.

“Aunt Emily, where are you going? I must speak to you at once. Oh, it is dreadful. You will never believe—”

Casting a glance at the interested William, Emily interrupted the flow of words, saying matter-of-factly, “I see that you are big with news, Dolly. Do you come with me into the library and tell me quickly, for I am just going out.”

“Oh, but you cannot! Indeed, when I tell you—”

“Come down at once,” Emily said more sharply. “Cheltenham drama has no place in your mama’s front hall.”

“Well, you would not have said so if you could have seen the plays Mama and Papa and their friends got up when they had a house party here several years ago,” Dolly said, coming rapidly down the stairs as she spoke, “but only wait until I tell you—”

“Be good enough to keep silent until we may be private,” Emily said, firmly telling herself that Melanie would be safe until she returned from the village, by which time Emily would be in her place in the home wood, a place from which she could see the path clearly and watch the area where Meriden and the vicar would be hidden. She had no doubt that the two men would conceal themselves in the shrubbery, but there was a tree …

“Aunt Emily, attend to me,” Dolly said fiercely. “Oliver has challenged that dreadful Mr. Saint Just to fight a duel!”

“W
HAT?” EMILY STARED AT
her niece in disbelief. “Nonsense, Dolly, you mustn’t let your imagination carry you beyond the line of being pleasing.”

“But it is true. And Mr. Saint Just accepted his challenge. Only look at this.” She handed the sheet of paper to Emily and watched her rapidly scan the words, adding helpfully, “As you see, Oliver writes that he is leaving his bay gelding to me and his school ring and his embossed saddle to Giles. To Melanie—”

“Hush, Dolly, I am trying to read,” Emily said impatiently. “Mercy me, he truly means to do this terrible thing. Where is Bishop’s Clearing?”

“Why, it’s near the main road through the woods. There used to be some sort of little chapel there before they built Mr. Scopwick’s church—only of course it wasn’t Mr. Scopwick’s church then, for that was centuries ago when the Priory really was a priory and the bishop was used to come occasionally to say the Mass or whatever in the little chapel.”

“Enough! Do you mean to say the clearing is near the vicarage?”

“No, didn’t I just tell you? It is near the top of the road a short distance before it emerges onto the moor.”

“Merciful heavens, ’tis near where I was struck down, then. They will be dueling not a hundred yards from … from the road,” Emily said, just stopping herself from revealing too much to Dolly. “But no doubt they mean to fight with swords.”