Dominic (12 page)

“
W
hen do you go
?
”

“As soon as they
let
m
e
out of this
accursed
bed.
I will give
t
h
em
one
day
m
ore
and
then
I
rise
of
m
y
own
accord. I
will
have
done
with
this pa
m
pering.”
Then
dropping
his tone Vale’s countenance was seen to alter. “By-the-bye, I believe I have reason to thank you.”

“
W
hatever for
?
” asked
W
r
oxh
a
m perplexed.

“Thor!”

“Aye, least
I could
do.
T
hought
it was what you would wish. No sense in prolonging his agony.”

“Exactl
y
! You acted very pro
m
ptly
and
I
am
grateful. He deserved better.”

“No
m
ore need be said,” replied Wroxha
m
, rising to take his leave. Then as he gained the door, “
W
h
a
t say you that
when
y
ou are
m
ore the thing I drive down to Stovely and
bear
you
co
m
pany
for
a
few
days?
Perhaps
you
will let
m
e know when you feel up to it?”

“An excellent
idea,”
s
m
iled Vale. “
T
hough I
m
u
s
t
warn you, the place can be cursed tedious this ti
m
e of year, but there is some good blood in the stables. One thing I will say
for
m
y
sire,
he
has
a
knowing
eye
for
horseflesh, never known him
to
buy a plug.”

“So
m
ething
I
believe
you
to have
inherited,
Do
m
i
nic, nothing on your yard to be asha
m
ed of.”

“That is in
d
eed pr
a
i
se
c
o
m
ing from such a noted whip as you,” b
o
wed Vale from
his pill
o
ws.

“No need to be sardonic,” snapped
W
r
oxh
a
m, as ever disconcerted by his friend’s ton
e
, never quite sure of his
m
eaning.

“Oh
, take a damper
,
” laughed Vale
.
“
I intended no
slight
on
your
driving
ability,
I
assure
you.
I
am glad
you approve
of
my
choice.
In
d
eed
I
have
a
pri
m
e
young
filly at
Stovely
who is ripe
for bringing
on.
W
e
s
hall
scho
o
l her.”

W
r
oxh
a
m
grinned
reluctantly.
“I
will
look
forward
to it, nothing I enjoy
m
ore. What is her lineage
?
”

“Firefly out of Genevieve.”

“Ho, she should prove a sweet goer, what have you called her?”

“Sonnet! Do you approve?”

“Aye,
‘tis
fair
enough,”
agreed
W
r
oxh
a
m, letting hi
m
self out into the corridor and with a brief adieu he was gone.

Left alone the e
arl eased hi
m
self to a more co
m
f
orta
b
le position. As he had avowed, he longed to be away from Blake House but if truth were told, every bone in his body ached inter
m
inably. Although he
was reluctant to ad
m
it it, the
accident
had
left
him weaker
than
he
would
have supposed.
However,
it
needed
only
a
visit
from
Regina, one
of
his
younger
sisters,
to strengthen
his
resolve
to travel to Stovely at the first opportunity. She was a lively girl
of
eighteen
who
chatt
e
red
incessantly
and
drove
him to
distraction
with
recounts
of the
social
eve
n
ts
she
had attended in the last week. Though he
feigned interest for a short while, he found
i
t
quite
necessary to bring their discourse to an abrupt and unceremonious end, which had the effect of sending her out of his co
m
pany in high dudgeon whilst he took refuge in sleep.

Chapter
Four

Stovely Hall was at its most splendid in summer
, though Vale did not altogether
a
ppreciate
its beauty. In his present
m
ood, the
m
agnifice
n
t house of varying antiquity with
Palla
di
an
f
rontage, set
a
m
ongst
velv
e
t
l
a
wns
and bountiful
foliage,
m
eant
nothing to
hi
m
.
Instead,
now
that his health was so
m
ewhat recovered, he confined his interests to the stables and whatever sport could be found within
Stovely’s boundaries. That at least afforded him so
m
e pleasure. It was the first
L
ondon season he had
m
i
ssed
since
entering
society
a
nd
it
irked
him to
forgo
the pleasures it afforded. He had never atte
m
pted to s
a
m
ple country
society,
finding
the
m
ere
conte
m
plation
of
it
dull to
the
extre
m
e.
It
was then
with
so
m
e
surprise,
that
upon receiving
a
visit
from Squ
i
re
Murray,
he
found
hi
m
self agreeing to attend the
m
onthly ball held at the local asse
m
bly roo
m
s. Regretting
h
i
s decision as so
o
n as t
h
e squire had quitted his company, he was unable to believe that
his
desire
for
so
m
e,
in
d
eed any, diversion should have driven
him to
accept
t
h
e
invitation.
For
was
not
such
an outing beneath his notice?

Still,
it
may prove
e
n
te
rt
ainin
g
,
he
thought
and
so
m
ade up his
m
i
nd to go, much
m
ay it be against his better judg
m
ent, reasoning that he need
not
stay
the
whole evening if it proved not
to be to his liking
.

Indeed,
such
was
his
m
i
nd
as
he
stepped
from
his coach at the hallowed portals the following week, and it took
only
a
cursory
glance
at
the
other
notables
arriving for
an
evening’s
e
n
tertain
m
ent
to
confirm
h
i
m
in
the belief that it would prove a thoroughly dull affair.

He had intended on a late arrival but instead found that others had had that selfs
a
m
e thought. In honor of the occasion
h
e had
chosen to
wear
h
i
s
second
best
eve
n
ing attire of burgundy satin. The choice of which his valet had seen
fit
to
la
m
ent,
believing
it
o
n
ly rig
h
t
that
h
i
s
m
aster should appear at his most regal and thus create the i
m
pression due to his rank and fortune. However,
m
y lord had
overridden
his
protestations, dee
m
ing
the
affair
not worthy of so grand an effort. Even so, he presented
an i
m
posing enough figure as he paused
m
o
m
entarily before mounting the steps to the roo
m
s.

Entering the outer chamber, he
lifted his quizzing glass the
better
to
survey
the gathering
throng,
beco
m
i
ng
only too
aware
that
he
in t
u
rn
beca
m
e
the
object
of
scrutiny. Several
of
the
ladies
showed
a
keen
interest
in
him but
there
were
dark mutterings
amongst
their
escorts
who
were
m
ore
aware
of
the
extent
of
his
reputation.
Retre
a
ting
into
aloofness
, Vale
returned
their
cursory
bows with
a
mocking
in
c
lin
a
tion of his head. To the ladies he
m
ade a profound leg and s
m
iled sweetly, noting with considerable
a
m
use
m
ent
the
i
r differing reactions to his
presence
from those of their escorts.
He
was ever
conscious of the
e
ffect he had on the fairer
sex and was not wholly displeased by it.