‘Keep a wary eye out for Cradley bamboozling Miss Banham,’ murmured Sir Harry, his voice gaining a growl. ‘I would not trust that fellow an inch, and she has no more worldly wisdom than a kitten.’
‘I agree, on both counts. For what it is worth, I do not think Cradley has serious intentions, for he will marry cold-bloodedly, for advantage, but he may attempt “bamboozling” just to entertain himself. I cannot stand the man.’
‘Well, it is no better for that, other than the thought of Miss Banham becoming Lady Cradley, living close by and forever being out of reach, would be a torment.’ Sir Harry sighed.
Sir Rowland had a sudden thought. What if that had occurred to Mary Lound? Not with reference to Cradley, but to Miss Banham becoming Lady Kempsey, living across the park in ‘her’ home and with the man265for whom she had developed a … distinct preference? It would crush her.
‘You can be sure that I will do what I can to keep the wolf from the lamb, my dear fellow. I was heartily pleased to find Mi … Mary took against him at first meeting, but then she is a very unusual “lamb”, in some ways so very worldly wise and yet in others a total innocent.’
‘Thank you. I am glad we bumped into each other today, Kempsey, very glad. I will do what I can, and wish you every success. I want her to be happy. Lord, that does sound as if I am her brother!’
‘She could do a lot worse.’ Sir Rowland smiled, but gravely. ‘She misses her brother James intensely, does she not?’
‘Yes. I do too, to be honest. He was the best of good fellows, and my best friend also. She idolised him when small, adored him when older. They were close, but then we were a triumvirate … Except, of course, that Mary was not a man so the word is not right. “Trio” sounds too much like three musicians.’
‘And she has told me she is no musician.’
‘Very true. Half an hour at the keyboard working on her music would drive her into a very bad humour, mostly from frustration. She once said she wished she could take an axe to the instrument.’
This made Sir Rowland laugh, and the two gentlemen parted upon the best of terms.266
True to his word, when next he saw Mary, Harry Penwood brought the subject round to his encounter with Sir Rowland.
‘He has bought a hunter for his brother, and two for himself. I did not see them, but he seemed very satisfied.’
‘No doubt. Were you looking for a horse?’ Mary seemed keen not to talk about Sir Rowland.
‘Oh no. I met him near The George and he invited me to partake of a luncheon with him.’
‘Very friendly of him,’ she said, with acerbity.
‘Yes, it was, actually, so I see no need for you to sound waspish. He is a jolly decent fellow, and here you are snapping at him as though he was on a par with Cradley.’ Harry was stung on behalf of the man he felt he would come to call ‘friend’.
‘He is not, and we both know that. I have never suggested …’
‘I think he is settling well, but it was difficult to tell exactly,’ continued Harry, ignoring her last comment. ‘Seemed a trifle preoccupied, even a little blue-devilled.’
‘Perhaps that was because his brother has just gone back to Oxford.’
‘No, really, that won’t fadge. I mean, a fellow does not look like that because his brother heads off to the university for eight weeks or so.’
‘You never had a brother, Harry,’ Mary reminded him.
‘I know, but … No, it was not his brother’s267departure, I would swear to that.’ Harry shook his head, but left it at that, fearing to push too hard might set her back up. Better to leave it as a hint and let her consider the import of it in private. ‘You are not exactly looking in plump currant yourself, my dear. Not ailing, are you?’
‘No. I … I will miss the fishing over the winter, and I have no hunting to distract me this season. I fear being cooped up, or reduced to aimless walks.’
‘You never termed your walks “aimless” before.’ He looked questioningly at her.
‘Well, not aimless, then, but …’ That was the nub of the matter, really. Everything felt ‘aimless’ at this moment, for she had no aim in life other than to exist from one day to the next. There was nothing hopeful upon her horizon. One might argue nothing had changed since July, but it had, for Rowland Kempsey had appeared in her life, and there had been a glimpse of more than existence and penny-pinching, a glimpse of something previously unimagined and that filled her with a glow of excitement. That glow was extinguished, totally. No, not totally, for if Harry was right, and the man who haunted her dreams was in low spirits, could it be … just possibly be … that he—
‘Mary?’
‘Sorry, Harry, I … suddenly remembered something Mama asked me to tell Cook to order.’
Harry did not for a moment think that the truth, and268so, when he left, he felt he had sown the seeds of doubt in fertile ground. What either party made of the first green shoots was up to them.
Sir Rowland was a man of patience, but in this instance his patience was being eroded. He had thought, just once, that Mary Lound had looked at him as he took his pew in church on Sunday, though he had caught the turn of her head only from the corner of his eye. Yet when he left the church, he found she had exited with the clear intention of not encountering him outside. He did not know if Penwood had seen her as yet, of course, but … the face he had glimpsed was pale, and her skin normally had a healthy glow to it. Could she not see a way to break the impasse between them? He could not face this going on and on, so it looked as if he must do something, somehow. He must do as Penwood suggested. Mary Lound was straightforward, one who spoke her mind. He must be open with her, at least part way. If he told her that he felt her friendship withdrawn from him, and that it was all come from a misunderstanding that they could excise from memory, and request they start again, would she not grasp the chance? It would not mean apology or looking weak or foolish. Yes, what had happened, or not happened, between them since Miss Banham played the pianoforte in the drawing room should be forgotten, every last bit of it, and then … If he felt like this, was it not a sure sign that his feelings were not transient, that life without269Mary Lound in it would be a lesser form of existence? If he married her, if she chose to marry him, there would be stresses and strains, but if she never felt unloved or rejected they would not cause such a rupture in their closeness as had happened over this.
