Page 58 of Rivals at Ashmore Castle

‘Is that what you mean to do?’ he asked. ‘Paint portraits?’

‘I don’t know yet. It’s certainly more interesting than painting landscapes.’

But his attention had wandered again. He was frowning slightly. ‘I shall be glad at least to see Jervis removed from the delights of London. I’m afraid he enjoys them too much.’

She glanced in the same direction and caught a glimpse of his brother and her sister dancing together. ‘Is he to be sent to Hamburg as well?’ she asked.

‘No, to America. There is a shipping magnate in Baltimore who has a daughter ready to be married.’

Alice felt a pang on her sister’s behalf. ‘So he’s to be sacrificed on the altar of matrimony, is he?’

Bentham looked down at her. ‘He won’t mind in the least,’ he said. ‘I’m told Baltimore is home to an uncommon number of pretty women, and I don’t suppose he’ll allow marriage to slow him down. My brother is not troubled too much by ambition. Being a large fish in a small pond suits him to a T.’

Alice wondered if he was giving her a warning to pass on to Rachel. But Rachel loved Angus, didn’t she? She was just flirting with Jervis, that was all. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Are you ambitious?’

‘I’m a second son,’ he said. ‘We have to cut our coat according to our cloth. If my father wants me in Hamburg, Hamburg is where I’ll be found.’

‘I see. Well, I hope you’ll be happy there,’ Alice said. ‘I should like to travel. Italy and Greece, the cradle of the arts. I’d love to see them, but I don’t suppose I ever shall. Unless—’

‘Unless?’ he asked kindly.

‘Unless I marry a man who likes to travel,’ she said.

After the first dance Jervis left Rachel to dance with other girls, but she had plenty of offers so was not upset. It was good, she felt, to show him how popular she was. And to show Angus, if he was watching – but she had not seen him since that moment by the lake. She didn’t know if he had left, or simply that she had not spotted him in the crowd. But she was angry with him for not showing that he minded when he had seen Jervis kiss her. That cool nod, that indifferent greeting…He ought to have been furious. Having Miss Canning on his arm was no excuse. That was just a business arrangement, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it? She replied at random to the remarks of her current partner, too deeply involved in her thoughts, and after a few more he stopped making them and they revolved in silence.

At the end of the dance she was glad to find Jervis at her elbow, ready to take her, with no risk that someone else would intervene. He seemed in high good mood, held her a little more closely than was quite customary, and hummed the tune a little as he whirled her round at the end of the floor.

A glimpse of Giles, dancing staidly with Kitty, decided her. ‘You know that my brother is here? My elder brother, Lord Stainton.’

‘Is he?’ Jervis said, more polite than interested.

‘Yes, and I think when this dance is finished you should take the opportunity to talk to him,’ she said, quivering at her own daring.

He loosened his hold enough to look down at her. He seemed amused. ‘Do you think he will enjoy talking to me?’

‘It is a good opportunity to catch him,’ she said, ‘while he’s in London.’

‘I’m sure he’s a charming man,’ Jervis said, ‘but we are not acquainted. I shouldn’t know what to talk to him about.’

She felt her colour rise. ‘About us, of course,’ she said. He looked quizzical. ‘I know that people have noticed. I think it’s time that you made things official.’

His smile disappeared, his eyes grew veiled. ‘I’m not sure I know what you are referring to,’ he said.

With a sick feeling in her stomach, she ploughed on. ‘My mother is my guardian but she lives in Germany, and Giles is head of the family. I think it would be best if you asked him for my hand.’

He didn’t answer for a significant moment, not long in absolute terms, but long enough for Rachel to feel and understand her humiliation before words spoken made it certain. ‘My dear ma’am,’ he said, ‘my admiration for you knows no bounds. But if I have somehow given you the impression that I meant more than I did, I shall blame myself for not being more guarded.’

‘What—’ was all that Rachel managed to say. Inside, she was screaming.

‘We have enjoyed each other’s company,’ he went on firmly, ‘but I have always known you were meant for another – just as I am.’

‘You are?’ she gulped.

‘I leave next month for America to fulfil a very long-standing engagement. Her family and mine came to an understanding on the subject many months ago. I am sure you knew that.’ He gave a smile that made her want to scream all the more. ‘This is a tease, is it not – a little joke on your part?’

For a moment she wanted to shriek, and call him all the names she could lay tongue to. Of course I didn’t know! You’ve never given the slightest hint! You’ve pursued me like a free man and deceived me!

But then she realised he was offering her a way of saving face. She swallowed hard, stitched on a smile, and took it. ‘Just a tease, of course,’ she said. ‘I wish you every happiness, Mr Farocean.’