The Wicked and Wonderful Miss Merlin (11 page)

The two of them spent the day very pleasantly and were sitting together in the large front parlour, still talking and laughing when Robert walked in.  Immediately, they fell silent.

‘Miss Merlin,’ he said.  ‘Would you excuse Eleanor for a few minutes please?  I should like to talk to her…perhaps here if you would not mind?’

‘Certainly, sir.’ Samantha got up, nodding her head pleasantly as she went past him and out of the room.  She hoped that her face was not pink, though it did feel a little warm.

Walking out into the hall, she went through a door at the back and into the library.  The shelves were filled with books that she thought interesting, and what she liked most was the worn look of the leather bindings.  Perusing them shelf by shelf she discovered many interesting books she would enjoy reading, if she were to remain here for more than a few days. However, she would not allow herself to think about how pleasant she found her surroundings for it was likely that she would find herself dismissed at any moment.

When she heard the door open behind her, she did not look round for she imagined it would be Eleanor come to tell her what her brother had said to her and jumped when she heard him speak her name.  She turned swiftly to look at him, her eyes wider than she knew and apprehensive.

‘My lord, I did not expect you…’ She held her breath, believing that she was about to be sent home.  ‘You wished to speak with me?’

‘If you will forgive me for my former rudeness to you please.  I have not treated you well – and last night I behaved badly.  Please accept my apology.’

‘There is nothing to apologise for, my lord.’

‘I think there is on my part…and I apologise for my carelessness this morning.  I should have remembered we had a guest who might walk towards the lake.’

‘I…ought to have turned away at once but somehow could not…it is I who should apologise, sir.’

‘No, no, the fault was mine.’  A flicker of humour showed in his eyes.  ‘We shall agree to differ for there is something of more importance to discuss. I have come to tell you that I have made my peace with Eleanor,’ he said.  ‘She understands that I do not intend to forbid her marriage, but that she must wait until I have become properly acquainted with Mr Brockleton.’

‘I am glad of that,’ Samantha replied, but her heart sank.  Now he would tell her that he had no further need of her services and she would be asked to leave.  ‘I can pack my things and leave this afternoon if you wish, sir?’

‘I would prefer that you stay,’ he said, a little nerve flicking at his temple.  ‘I have promised Eleanor that we shall go down to Bath for a few weeks once Mr Brockleton joins us.  She needs a chaperone if she is to make her come out in Bath society, which I feel is more forgiving and easier for her than London.  It is my hope that you will accept the position – I am prepared to pay whatever is required.’

‘Accompany you to Bath?’  Samantha’s heart leaped as she saw the faint smile in his eyes.  When he looked at her like that…but he was thinking only of his sister.  ‘The school will be closed for six weeks now,’ she said.  ‘Pupils do not do well in the heat of summer when classrooms are stuffy and the sun calls to them.  Those that have nowhere else to go spend their time having picnics by the river or walking in the woods and visiting the lady of the well…the wishing well…’ The words dried in her throat as she saw his right eyebrow arch.

‘Tell me of this wishing well please?’

‘It is merely nonsense, nothing that would interest you, sir.’

‘Will you not call me Brough or Robert?  I do not like to be reminded of my title always and sir is so formal.  Please, tell me.  My curiosity is aroused.  Where is this well?’

‘In my woods but really…it is nonsense…’

‘Samantha,’ he chided amusement in his eyes.  ‘Is this the response of a friend?  I beg you to tell me the story you tell to your girls.’

‘It is only that sometimes the lady may grant a wish if you ask at the right time…just nonsense, as I said.’

‘Please, will you not tell me the whole?’

‘If you visit the well at midnight, throw a coin into the well, then sometimes the lady will grant you a wish.  It is my belief that your wish should be for someone else.’

‘A pleasant notion,’ he murmured, a smile on his lips.  ‘I must try her sometime.’

‘Remember that the wish must be for someone else.’ Samantha smiled.  ‘She does not always grant your wish, but if she is minded to you will know…’  She shook her head.  ‘No, I shall not tell you for it is a secret.  Only a few have their wish granted, for she does not always respond – and the wish she grants is not always the one you ask in words.  It is the wish of your heart, because she knows what is truly in our hearts.’

‘No wonder your pupils believe you have magic,’ Robert said.  ‘Eleanor told me that you tell stories that draw your listeners into a magic circle and transport them to another place.  I almost believe in your lady of the well.’

Samantha laughed.  ‘No, do not humour me.  I dare say you think I am foolish or that I deliberately deceive…that I am a wicked woman who seeks to corrupt the minds of young girls.’

‘I may have thought that once, but Eleanor clearly loves you.  You may be a little wicked, Miss Merlin, but also rather wonderful.’

Samantha’s heart caught.  She could see that he was teasing her now and when he laughed, she saw a man she liked very well indeed.  In a temper he could be a tyrant but she admitted that he’d had good cause to be angry.  Now, he seemed softer, younger, and his smile made her heart dance.

‘You have a silver tongue, Brough,’ she said.  ‘Very well, I shall come to Bath with you for a few weeks, but then I must return and prepare for the next term.  There are schedules to be planned and reports for the parents – though of course some of the work may be done at Bath, when we are not out or entertaining.’

‘You would be sad to give up your school I imagine?’

‘It has been my life since my parents died and left me the house but very little money.  My father was in the habit of lending money to his friends, which they never repaid.  I had to do something and I was asked to help a young lady prepare for her debut into society, which I did to her mother’s satisfaction…and then it became a school.’

‘A school with a difference I think,’ he said, looking thoughtful.  ‘Without you it would be much like any other school I suppose?’

‘I have teachers, capable good women who have devoted themselves to the pupils…and then there is Jeanne…’

‘Jeanne?’ he asked, eyebrow arched.  ‘Is she a teacher?’

‘At the moment she is a pupil-teacher,’ Samantha said, a sad expression in her eyes.  ‘Jeanne’s parents died, as mine did in an accident.  She was left a small inheritance, which would enable her to live independently until she married, but she says that she does not wish to marry.  Her ambition is to remain at the school and teach…and she is a little like me.  She is half-French and she tells the history of France in such a way that the girls improve in that subject swiftly.  I believe she has heard the lady of the well sing…’

‘Ah, so the lady of the well sings, does she?’  Robert smiled again.  ‘And will Jeanne stay at the school to teach if you…if perhaps you could not?’

‘I think she would like to live there and become like me, or that is what she tells me.  When she is ready she will be our French mistress – and teach history and music, at which she excels.’ Samantha sighed.  ‘However, I rely on my school for my living and it is my life.  I could never leave my home.  I love it too much.’

‘Then I must think myself fortunate that you are prepared to give us so much of your time, Samantha.’

‘Oh, I shall think of it as a delightful holiday.  I often visit friends for a few weeks in-between terms.’

‘We must make certain the trip to Bath is as pleasant as we can make it – for both you and my sister.’  Robert inclined his head.  ‘I shall not take up more of your time.  I believe you and Eleanor were planning to take a picnic to the lake today.  I shall not disturb you, but see you again this evening.’

Samantha inclined his head, too uncertain of her thoughts to reply.  He left her standing there and went out.  For a moment she stood staring at the bookshelves without seeing them.  Then she gave a delightful gurgle of laughter.

She was to have the pleasure of his company that evening and for the next few weeks in Bath.  Yet what would happen then?  In a month’s time she must return to her home and begin the preparations for the next term.  She had always looked forward to each new term, welcoming the returning pupils and greeting the new ones, but suddenly the idea did not hold quite the appeal it once had.

Shaking her head to clear it of foolish notions, she selected a book to read while they lazed by the river.  This was just a visit, a holiday.  The school was her life and she must not forget it.

Robert frowned as he walked to the stable, where a groom was saddling his horse.  His recent absences meant that he had much to do before they left for Bath, though he wished he might spend his day at the lake with Eleanor and Miss…Samantha.  How well her name tripped off his tongue.  She had such clear eyes and a wonderful smile…a hint of wickedness about her mouth as she laughed, as if she had a secret she would not tell.  She had reluctantly told him about the lady of the well, but what else was there to know?

Robert wanted to know everything about her.  She fascinated him, filled his thoughts when he ought to be thinking of serious matters to do with the estate.  He knew that he had fallen beneath her spell…even if the only magic was the age-old magic of love.  Witches did not truly exist except in fairytales, and Samantha was surely not a witch even if they had been anything more than a myth.

He knew that he burned to make love to her, to have her in his arms, his bed, to touch her skin and kiss her until she cried out with passion and begged for more.  Did she have feelings for him?  Once or twice he had seen a flicker in her eyes, but she was clever at hiding her thoughts from him.  She was not obvious, as so many women were when inviting him to enter an illicit relationship.  Not that he wanted such a relationship with Samantha…no, he wanted much, much more.  If she were once his he would never let her go, never want her to be touched or loved by another man.

Her home meant everything to her. Could he persuade her to leave it for his home? Robert had a large and prosperous estate, on which several hundred men and women relied for their livelihoods.  He could not walk away from his duty. Her house was a pretty place and the woods were nice, but his woods were of equal size and alive with the red deer and, other small mammals and birds. His gamekeepers bred partridge, pheasant and there were black swans on the lake, also a variety of waterfowl that his grandfather had introduced to the estate.  He had his dogs, most of which lived in the stables, though there was a spaniel he allowed the freedom of the house.  He would not mind Samantha introducing her own dogs if she so wished…but he could not offer her a wishing well.

Pulling his thoughts up sharply, Robert realised that he was thinking of offering her marriage and it took his breath away.  How had he come to this so swiftly?  One minute he had thought her a careless, wicked woman to neglect her pupils and instil her doctrine into their innocent heads – and now he was thinking of her as the woman he wished to marry: the only woman he had ever wished to marry or would wish to marry.

Had he run mad?  For a moment he wondered if he were indeed bewitched, and then he laughed.

No such thing!  He had simply fallen in love.

The sun was warm on their heads as they sat or lay on the rugs the servants had spread for them.  One of the footmen had carried a large hamper out to the lake edge, but they had dismissed the servants and, when they were ready to eat, spread out the good things inside on the rug provided.  Cold chicken, packed in a container with ice underneath to keep it cool, ice that had almost turned to water by the time they ate.  Pastries, fresh bread and butter, similarly packed so that it did not melt away in the sunshine.  A bottle of wine had been hung in the water from a metal stake to cool it, but the girls preferred the lemonade from a sealed jug that had also been cooling at the water’s edge.

‘Robert would drink the wine if he were here,’ Eleanor said.  ‘I remember when we were young – before Mama died – we used to come here sometimes in the summer and picnic.  Papa drank wine cooled in the lake but Mama had the servants bring her an iced fruit cup.  They were backwards and forwards all the time, serving us with food.  I prefer it this way…just the two of us.  Except that I wish Toby could be here.’

‘He will come down soon I am sure,’ Samantha said.  ‘You must try not to worry, dearest.’

‘I do worry for he should have recovered sooner.  If anything were to happen to him…’

‘I am sure it will not.  Doctor King said it often happened that the dizziness lingered for a time – and Toby was fortunate not to have been more seriously injured.’

‘Yes, I suppose so,’ she said.  ‘He told me that Lady Merrill considers him her favourite nephew and may well leave him something when she dies.  I do not count on it for I shall have my portion, and Toby has a small estate and his allowance.  It will surely be enough to satisfy Robert’s notion of Toby being able to support me?’