End of January 1814—Ladywell, Northumberland
'We have arrived, miss.'
Snow swirled around the Honourable Phoebe Benedict as she
alighted from the carriage. Not the soft downy flakes of
her Cotswold childhood, or the coal-flecked ones of London,
but hard biting snow with a wind to match, the sort of snow
that crept into the bones and lingered. Phoebe peered
through the veil of white. The house rose up in front of
her—grey, stern, without a hint of candlelight to welcome
her.
For the first time since she'd started this journey, her
optimism vanished and the nerves coiled around the pit of
her stomach, waiting to strike. She was truly alone here,
without friends or family. Phoebe gave her head a decisive
shake, banishing all thoughts of failure back to that dark
and lonely place. She would demonstrate to all her family
and acquaintances that she was capable of more than
visiting and pouring endless cups of tea.
'Are you going to take this…this creature with you, miss?'
the coachman asked, reaching into the carriage and
withdrawing a wicker basket. He looked at it with distaste
as the 'creature' in the basket gave an angry cry.
'Yes, of course.' Phoebe took the basket and peeped under
the cloth at the scrawny kitten. A pair of green eyes
blinked up at her before the cat let out another ear-
piercing yowl. She hated to think about what could have
happened if she had not spotted it lying beside its dead
mother, friendless and alone. 'I refused to leave the
creature to die in the cold of the inn, and I am hardly
likely to leave it now.'
'I have no idea what Mr Clare will say about a cat.' The
coachman grimaced slightly. 'The big house doesn't have
any, like. No pets whatsoever now that Miss Diana…I mean
Lady Coltonby…has left with her terrier. I should have said
at the time, but I just wanted to get on with the journey.
Mr Clare is not going to like it.'
'Cats are a useful addition to any home.' Phoebe tucked the
basket under her arm. She would find a way. How could
anyone turn a helpless kitten away? Simon Clare's sister,
Diana, Lady Coltonby, was the epitome of grace and charm
combined with practicality. Her brother was bound to be the
same. He would see the necessity of keeping a cat, if he
did not already possess one. 'They help to keep the mice
down and only ask for a saucer of milk and a warm place by
the fire in return.'
'You are braver than I. The master doesn't take kindly to
his will being crossed. I can tell you that for nothing.'
'Once Mr Clare understands the situation, I feel certain
that he will be amenable.'
'I say nothing.' The coachman shook his head gloomily. 'Mr
Clare gave me orders to return with Miss Diana or not to
come back at all. Mayhap we should have stayed in London.'
'Lady Coltonby specifically sent word.' Phoebe juggled the
basket with her large portmanteau and withdrew a
letter. 'She assured me that this would suffice. Lord
Coltonby agreed. Mr Clare wants help with his son. I am
here to provide it. It is a sensible, practical solution to
the problem.'
'I just wouldn't want to cross him, not on account of a
kitten that was likely to die anyway.' The coachman tapped
the side of his nose. 'You ain't seen him in a temper,
miss.'
'One must do one's duty as one sees it. One's destiny is
not written until it is lived. Something had to be done.'
Phoebe looked towards the house again and knew she had to
believe the words. This was about more than saving a
kitten. She had to face Simon Clare and break the news that
his sister would not be returning to Northumberland as he
demanded. Mr Clare had to accept the inevitable.
A blast of freezing air drove the snow into Phoebe, hitting
her like a thousand pinpricks, making her stagger back.
With one hand she clasped her bonnet, and, with the other,
the basket and portmanteau. Slowly she struggled towards
the house. The door crashed open. A tall dark figure stood
silhouetted as he held a lantern aloft. Great arcs of
yellow illuminated the white of the driving snow. 'Is that
you, Diana? You took your time. Come into the warmth at
once, you will catch your death in this perishing cold.'
'Miss Phoebe Benedict. The Countess of Coltonby sent me in
her stead.' Phoebe started forwards, but the snow brushed
against her skirt, weighing her down, making her footsteps
heavy, as if even the weather had decided that this was a
bad idea. 'I have a letter.'
'John, Diana is there, isn't she?' The man's voice held a
note of impatience. 'I sent you to bring back my sister,
not some stranger off the wayside.'
'No, Mr Clare, I brought this one on your sister's
expressed instruction. Miss Diana sent her with her best
wishes. It ain't my fault.'
'Throw her back at once.' Mr Clare lowered the lantern.
Phoebe put her hand to her mouth, unable to stifle a gasp.
The light suddenly highlighted a black eye patch and a
scarlet burn that covered half the man's face. His hair was
far longer than fashionable, flowing ragged about his
shoulders. She had thought to meet a model of urbanity, but
Mr Clare bore a closer resemblance to a wild savage. 'I
sent for Diana. She is the only one who can help! I do not
have time to waste on strangers.'
He began to swing away. In another moment, the door would
be closed, and her chance gone, all down to her weakness
and indecision. She would have to go back cap in hand to
her sister-in-law and admit that she had failed and had
been utterly wrong to try. Phoebe tightened her grip on the
basket. Impossible after the scorn the Dreaded Sophia had
poured on Phoebe's head when she had explained her
determination to save James from his fate. And how could
she condemn her stepbrother to life in a debtors' prison
because a man's appearance shocked her into inaction?
Phoebe squared her shoulders and looked directly at Mr
Clare, willing him to keep the door open. 'Lady Coltonby
sent me. I have a letter from her in my portmanteau
explaining.'
'The devil she did. Who precisely are you?'
'Phoebe Benedict.' She made sure her words were clear and
precise. Said it slowly so that he could understand. 'I am
Lord Coltonby's second cousin.'
'And why in the name of all that is holy should Diana send
you? Why should she wish to foist you on me? My sister
should know her duty. When you have finished gawping at me,
you may go.'
Phoebe winced, hating that he had seen her bad manners.
Whatever had happened to the man, it was not his fault. Nor
was it any of her concern. Her concern was with James and
the aid that Lord Coltonby would give him because she had
agreed to this task. The Benedicts might be poor now, but
they would never stoop low as taking charity. There had to
be a payment for the favour. 'I have had experience with
scarlet fever. My younger stepbrothers had it several years
ago. Lady Coltonby felt I was ideally placed to look after
your son.'
She refused to flinch under his gaze and ignored the
stubborn downturn of his mouth. She could be immovable as
well. She returned his dark brooding gaze, measure for
measure. Suddenly something flared in his eyes and she knew
she had won a small victory.
'Miss.Miss Benedict, it is all very well and good, but I
sent for my sister. I specifically requested her. Why isn't
she here? Why has her husband sent you? Jenkins! Jenkins!
Where is that butler when I need him?'
'Is there a problem, master?' A tall man appeared behind Mr
Clare. 'Where is Miss Diana? I heard the coach.'
'Lord Coltonby has kept her from me and has sent this
person in her stead.' Mr Clare gestured imperiously with
his cane. 'Once again Coltonby has turned my world upside
down.'
'Lord Coltonby told me that I was specifically to inform
you that he opposed my coming here.' Phoebe drew a calming
breath. She had worried her cousin was being sarcastic, but
now she saw he had known the sort of welcome she might
encounter. 'It was my cousin's considered opinion you would
not allow me past the front door and would waste everyone's
time, pigheaded idiot that you are—his words, not mine. He
was most insistent that I say those words to you. I
apologise for them.'
'I know what my brother-in-law is like. I am well
acquainted with his way of speaking.' The scar on his
temple throbbed. 'Continue with the story.'
Phoebe kept her head up and concentrated on the warm
enticing pool of light behind Mr Clare, rather than on his
thunderous scowl. She did not have the luxury of walking
away. There was more than her pride at stake. 'Lady
Coltonby disagreed. She felt you would understand her
reason. It was only through her pleading that Lord Coltonby
relented.'
'Ah ha, why didn't she send her maid Rose? Rose understands
the situation. She knows Robert and his escapades.'
'Lady Coltonby's reason for remaining in London is not
something I would like to discuss during a blizzard. May I
come into the warmth?' Phoebe took several steps forward.
Another blast of arctic air drove the stinging snow against
her body. Her toes and the tips of her fingers no longer
appeared to possess any feeling. He couldn't be such a
monster as to slam the door in her face, not after she had
journeyed all this way. 'Your coachman and I have been
travelling almost straight from London, with only brief
stops to change horses, and I am near perished. If you will
not allow me entrance, Lord Coltonby indicated that I could
rest at his house before returning to London.'
'You had best come in, then. I refuse to give my brother-in-
law the satisfaction.' Simon Clare gestured with his
cane. 'Say your piece. In the morning, you may return to
London and inform Coltonby that I require my sister. But I
will not have put it about that Simon Clare fails to
provide hospitality to Coltonby's messengers or relations
on a night like this!'
Phoebe closed her eyes and willed herself to hang on to her
temper. Mr Clare was upset that his sister was not there.
She had seen his letter with its bold spiked handwriting
and terse demand for his sister to return, but she had also
glimpsed the blotch under his name as if he had hurried the
words and had been far too worried to let the ink dry
properly.
'I would not like to be in your shoes, miss. The master
appears to be in a right royal temper,' the coachman said
in an undertone. 'I ain't seen him like this for years.'
'He has had his expectations dashed.' Phoebe eyed the man
in the doorway whose fury appeared to grow with each
breath. 'He will understand once I give him Lady Coltonby's
letter. He will see the sense in what his sister and I have
done.'
'I will be ready in the morning, miss, early, like. I'd go
now but them horses will only be fit for the knacker's yard
if they don't get some rest.'
'I refuse to depart without performing my task. I have
given Lady Coltonby my word.' Phoebe fought to keep her
voice steady. 'All Mr Clare has done is to make me more
deter mined.'
'Like I said, miss, the morning will suit me fine.' The
coachman touched his hand to his hat and began to lead the
horses away.
Phoebe straightened her spine and marched towards the house
without a backwards glance. But suddenly the bone-rattling
coach seemed far more hospitable than the large, grey house.
Crossing the threshold, she closed her eyes for a second,
savouring the warmth. Hearing an impatient cough, Phoebe
opened them and discovered she was staring into Simon
Clare's furious face. He had been handsome once, but one
side of his face bore fierce red marks, and he had a blaze
of white running through his hair. He leant heavily on a
cane as if his side pained him. Antagonism bristled from
every pore as he moved slowly to let her in. Phoebe revised
her opinion—not a savage, but a pirate captain, someone who
wanted to bend the world to his will.
'I believe you said my sister sent a letter, explaining her
reasons.' He held out a stern hand. 'I will have it now.'
The ticking of a large clock filled the silence as she
waited for Mr Clare to finish reading. With each ponderous
tick, a little more of her easy optimism faded, vanishing
until it became the merest wisp. This scheme was not going
to work any better than the half-a-dozen plans she had
rejected. She should never have attempted it. Mentally she
tried to rehearse the words she would use when she returned
to Atherstone Court and begged Sophia's pardon. Her brief
moment of triumph and independence was over before it had
truly begun.
Phoebe struggled to keep herself upright. She refused to
give this pirate captain the pleasure of seeing her burst
into tears. She would simply have to pretend; if she
pretended long enough, everything might work out. 'As you
can see, Mr Clare, everything is straightforward.'
'So you say.' Simon Clare stared at the woman standing in
front of him in the entrance hall and attempted to control
his temper. Her cloak was fine, but worn, and her bonnet
not of the best quality, but her voice held an educated
tone. The woman was no demure and downcast servant. Instead
she stood there, shoulders back and eyes blazing.
Exactly where had his sister found this woman and why had
she sent her when his instructions had been precise? Robert
needed someone who would understand. The simple words
resounded in his brain. I am unable to come. She is
immensely capable. The truth hit him. Diana had refused his
simple request. Simon ignored the pulling of his shoulder.
The pain behind his eye rose to a blinding crescendo. He
had had such hopes. Diana would have instinctively
understood what to do with the boy. Once she'd arrived,
everything would have gone back to normal. Only now he was
faced with some harpy of a cousin. 'Why did she send you?'
'Lady Coltonby assured me she had put the details in her
letter.'
Simon glanced up at the ceiling, trying to regain control
of his emotions. He hated being infirm, hated the indignity
of asking for help, but most of all he hated that Diana had
abandoned him. Abandoned him for her new husband and the
bright lights of London. Even her letter was a single
uncrossed sheet. He folded it and put it in his pocket. 'I
must wonder what part of my letter my sister failed to
understand.'