Echoes of a Promise (17 page)

When Andrew rode through the gates of the residency later that evening, Victoria Latham’s extraordinary claim to be Annabelle’s mother was still creating fantasies in his mind, and his thoughts were far away when Miss Eloise Marchant ran out across his path. She was being chased from the shrubbery by a large, golden-haired gentleman, and Andrew had to quickly swing his horse off the drive to avoid a collision.

Though he pulled the grey wide of her, Eloise fell into a fit of hysterics and swayed, seemingly about to collapse from shock, as the fellow ran up to fling his arms around her in a knightly fashion.

‘Ho, sir!’ he bawled at Andrew, as he dismounted to make his apologies for the near mishap. ‘I should deal with you for such reckless riding! Miss Marchant could have been killed!’ Eloise gave a little moan and seemed to sag further against her hero. It was an invitation for the big man to scoop her up in his arms.

It was an effort for him to lift her, but he was determined and, after Andrew had uttered the appropriate words to Miss Marchant, he and her champion exchanged a fleeting look that acknowledged their acquaintance. While Eloise Marchant was carried into the house, Andrew remounted and rode to the stables, grinning to himself.

So, Rufus Alexander, the womanizing prince of rogues, had arrived in Srinagar and had apparently set his sights on Lady Marchant’s
heiress. How delightful! Andrew chuckled aloud as he left his horse with the
syce
and walked to his quarters. Victoria would be amused when he told her about the notorious Rufus Alexander and their meeting years ago in Madras when Mr Alexander had hidden for days in the attic of a house where Andrew had been a guest.

Rufus – using one of his other names at the time – had been caught in a compromising situation with the wife of a Dutch merchant who’d quickly sent his band of cutthroats to find Mr Alexander, along with the lady’s ruby brooch that he’d slipped into his pocket. But Rufus had remained undetected, and eventually managed to escape from the city with both the brooch and his skin intact. Andrew later heard that he’d gone on to woo a woman in Lahore.

Victoria would laugh when he told her that story, Andrew thought as he slipped out of his jacket. What if he could find some way to help the handsome scoundrel bait a hook to snare the awful Eloise? Yes, indeed, if she became entangled with him, it would cost Lady Marchant dearly to buy him off. And she’d have little hope of smothering the scandal that would explode around her ears. What a delightful revenge that would be for the hurt that the Marchants’ vicious tongues had dealt to Victoria.

Both the Resident and his wife were showing signs of strain and counting the days until the Marchants’ visit came to its end. ‘Oh, Andrew, never have I known such difficult guests,’ Lady Phillips said shakily. ‘Absolutely
nothing
pleases them.’

Sir Ian looked at him over the top of his glasses. ‘Do stay and join us for lunch today,’ he said, a shade anxiously. ‘Lady Marchant has persuaded me to invite a gentleman – Mr Rufus Alexander. Do you know of him? He arrived up here only a week ago with a rather strange letter of introduction from the Governor-General, and he seems to have gone out of his way to ingratiate himself with our guests.’

‘Has he indeed?’ Andrew murmured.

Lady Phillips sniffed and sat forward. ‘I find him a little too, er—Mr Alexander is a most entertaining gentleman, but we know absolutely nothing about the fellow and Eloise Marchant has become quite sickeningly besotted with him.’

‘Well, I’m sure that neither you nor Sir Ian could be held accountable for any stupidity displayed by that young lady – and I don’t see how I can be of any help.’

‘Well, you’re a man of the world, Andrew, and I’d like to hear your impression of the chap.’ Sir Ian’s forehead furrowed. ‘Of course Lady Marchant tried at first to discourage the relationship with Eloise, but Mr Alexander has quite won her over now by inviting them both to sail down the Ganges with him on his yacht.’

Andrew was forced to turn his head quickly, cover his mouth, and pretend to cough.

‘It has all been so very sudden,’ Lady Phillips added, ‘and while I’ll be delighted to see the Marchants pack up and leave as soon as possible, I feel a certain degree of responsibility for having been the one to introduce this unknown gentleman to my sister’s friends.’

Andrew kept a straight face when he walked into the dining room and was introduced to Rufus. Initially there was a flash of panic in the fellow’s eyes but it disappeared when they shook hands and no reference was made to their previous acquaintance. Though Rufus had gained a little weight over the last ten years, his golden hair was still thick and waved to perfection, and he was expensively dressed.

Actually, a more handsome man would be hard to find, Andrew thought, as they sat around the table and he watched the two Marchant women falling under the spell of Mr Alexander’s silver-tongued tales about his adventures around the world. And his description of the yacht that he had moored at Benares.

Lady Marchant smiled frequently at his eloquence, and Eloise squealed with excitement when Rufus reached into his breast pocket and produced a photograph of a sleek steam yacht. ‘What a beauty,’
Andrew murmured, wondering which photographer’s shop had sold him the picture. ‘Are you planning to sail soon?’

The storm of gossip in Srinagar about Victoria Latham’s secret child was immediately dampened by Nigel’s outrage at the suggestion. ‘Utter, vicious nonsense! Who could have suggested such a thing? Obviously someone who doesn’t know my cousin at all!’

But all that quickly took second place to the news of Eloise Marchant’s engagement, and the cantonment buzzed all week with receptions and farewell dinners for the Marchants and Mr Alexander. But there were no tears at the residency when the trio finally departed for Benares.

But there were tears of laughter in Victoria’s eyes when Andrew described the whole charade as they sat alone on the upper deck that evening. ‘Oh, Andrew! You are a wicked, wicked man. There’s no yacht, is there? Should I feel sorry for Eloise and Lady Marchant? How long will it be before they discover that Rufus is a fraud?’

‘Well, it will have to be before they reach the Ganges.’ Andrew’s grin grew wider. ‘Rufus is sure to choose a night for Lady Marchant to discover her daughter in a compromising situation – and there’ll be witnesses, too, of course. Her ladyship will demand that they marry immediately, at which point I imagine that Mr Alexander will announce – most apologetically – that he already has a wife.’ He gave a hoot of laughter. ‘Oh, yes, Lady Marchant will be expected to dig deep into her purse to keep that scandal quiet.’

Victoria shook her head. ‘To think she couldn’t see through all his lies! Well, let’s hope she’ll learn a lesson and put that malicious tongue of hers to rest at long last.’

He raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Clearly, my nature is not as forgiving as yours, Victoria. After their attack on your good character, it will give me enormous satisfaction to speak to Lady Phillips while she’s writing her next Saturday letter to her sister in London – the sister who
arranged the invitation for the Marchants’ visit.’

‘You’re going to tell her the whole truth about Rufus?’

‘Absolutely! Once they’ve left Srinagar, I’ll say that I’ve just uncovered some very unpleasant news regarding the background of Eloise Marchant’s fiancé, and I
know
that we can then rely on her to send every detail straight to her sister.’ He winked. ‘How long will it take for the gossip mill of Mayfair to grind that pair of witches into the dust? I’m sure you’ll soon be able to enjoy the sweet taste of revenge, Victoria.’

She blew a long breath between her lips and shook her head slowly at him. ‘I’m very glad to have you as a friend and not as a foe, Andrew Wyndham.’

He hesitated before he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an envelope. ‘Well, I’ve done it, Victoria. This is it – my resignation from the regiment. I’ll give it to Colonel Moncrief in the morning, though I’ll have to stay on here until another man arrives to take on the job. And then I’ll head off with Annabelle and her
ayah
for Delhi or perhaps Bombay.’

Victoria stared at him wordlessly. Her fists clenched tighter as she listened.

‘Once I’m down there I’m sure to find a position in business somewhere. Perhaps in a merchant house, or with a shipping line. And the railway companies are expanding—’

She began to breathe fast. ‘Stop it, Andrew! Stop it! I know that you don’t want to leave the army. You
can’t
. You
mustn’t
!’ She gripped the arms of her chair. ‘Look, two things are crystal clear to me. In the first place, your dearest wish is to go out to Mardan and join the Guides. And secondly, you have a daughter who should not be separated from her father.’

She stopped and ran her tongue over her bottom lip, waiting for him to acknowledge her statement. But he made no comment and his frown deepened. She saw herself standing on the edge of a high cliff with this
man whom she’d come to care for very deeply. Yes, she was willing to admit it! Her feelings for him were strong. And decidedly warm. Now she thought that she could hear Aunt Honoria chuckling.

She drew in a deep breath. ‘Andrew, don’t you see that there’s a perfectly simple answer to your dilemma? If you joined the Guides in Mardan as a married man, you’d have a wife to care for your daughter while you were busy doing – well, whatever it is that you’d be required to do out there.’ She watched him expectantly, but he remained tight lipped.

Her impatience mounted.

‘Oh, Andrew! Open your eyes and look at me. Don’t you see that you’d only have to ask me to marry you and my answer would be
yes
?’

For a long moment he stared at her incredulously. But no words came. Should she have mentioned that she’d grown to love him?

‘Come along, Andrew, just think about it! Our marriage would solve your problem instantly, and I’m positive that we’d get along well together wherever we go. We already know that we can trust each other, and I’m sure many couples start out in marriage with much less than that.’

His frown deepened. Perhaps he’d understand her message more clearly if she went to him now and pressed her open lips against his tightly clenched ones. Yes, and when they opened, she’d slip her tongue into his mouth to play warm, velvety games with his. She wanted very much to do that. She felt her cheeks heating. She wanted him to hold her close so he could feel the pace of her racing heart and then he’d understand how much she wanted him to love her.

He didn’t move, and she remained sitting where she was, though her tone became softer, more persuasive.

‘I’m ready to go wherever you’re sent, Andrew, though you’d have to teach me how to be a proper army wife. I mean, I’ll need your help to understand the regiment’s rules and regulations, but I promise I would never let you down.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake, stop it, Victoria! What you’re suggesting is absolutely out of the question. I couldn’t ask you to— You have no idea what the isolation is like. You could never—’

She sighed, stood slowly and walked to his chair, crouched at his feet and placed her hands on his knees. ‘Don’t make the mistake of underestimating me, Andrew. I’d soon learn to be a
useful
officer’s wife, though I’m afraid that cooking is a complete mystery to me at the moment. But would I have to cook? No? Well, hopefully, I wouldn’t be expected to attend endless tea parties and play croquet. Anyhow, while you were away I could certainly teach Annabelle to read and write, sew – and draw rather badly. And to speak the Queen’s English. We’d always be there waiting whenever you returned from … wherever.’

She hesitated for a moment. ‘I admit that your daughter and I are not yet the very best of friends. I think she looks on me as a rival for your time and attention, but that would change once we were all living under the one roof.’

He shook his head at her, knowing full well that he was mad to reject her perfect solution. He should feel gratitude. Was it simply male pride that refused to let him even consider the idea? He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

‘Victoria, you haven’t given this nearly enough thought. Marriage is for men and woman who feel – I mean, you can’t really be serious!’

‘Oh, but I’m being perfectly serious, Andrew.’

‘No. Believe me, it’s best for you to forget about the whole thing. I’m not the easiest man to live with and you’re likely to find that you hate it out there on the frontier. Wives always have a difficult time when a husband’s duty has to take precedence over anything else, and – and accommodation is often Spartan. Sometimes families are left on their own for weeks at a time. No, Victoria, I would never ask you to share that kind of life, though I do thank you for your very charitable offer.’

She held his gaze. ‘All your talk of isolation and discomfort out
there doesn’t frighten me. And besides, Andrew, what I’m suggesting is certainly not
charity
. Indeed, far from it. I think I’ve come to understand you very well now, and my feelings for you have grown extremely warm. I
want
to become your wife. I want
you
to become my husband for better or worse.’

He saw the expression in her eyes and words eluded him. Was he imagining it, or was this delightful, intelligent woman prepared to open the door of her heart and invite him to enter? He stood slowly and took her hands in his, drawing her to her feet. A warm feeling of something like hope came rushing through his veins, urging him to drop his feeble resistance. ‘Victoria, do you really understand what kind of life you’d be stepping into?’

She gripped his fingers tightly and lifted her face. ‘No, Andrew, at this moment I probably don’t know much at all, but I promise to learn quickly. As I’ve said, don’t ever underestimate me.’ When he looked into her eyes, he could no longer doubt her resolve; he could only wonder at it.

Emotion threatened to overwhelm him, so he mastered it by becoming pragmatic. ‘Of course, if I do go out there and join the Guides, I’ll gain a promotion – which means I’ll be earning more than I do now. So, if I was to be – I mean if anything should happen, you’d find that living on a major’s pension—’