Honorable Doctor, Improper Arrangement Read online

‘A ball is a little less boisterous than that,’ she said, and proceeded to teach the girls some of the steps, humming a tune as she did so. She did not notice Simon creep into the room and sit down at the piano, until he began to play for them. She stopped, overcome by embarrassment. ‘Oh, Dr Redfern, I did not hear you come in.’

  ‘Susan was busy and told me to find my own way up. Go on dancing with Annie. I will play for you.’

  She handed Annie over to Michael so that she could give Sarah a turn, while little Joe sat on the floor at Simon’s feet, sucking his thumb. It was a cosy domestic scene, not lost on Kate. He was made to be a husband and father and she wondered why he had not married. Surely that broken engagement was not still haunting him? She would not be put off by it, because she knew him well enough to know there was more to it than the gossips would have. If only…

  He stopped playing and his hands fell to his lap. The children became still as if they realised something was in the air, something they could not be expected to understand when Simon and Kate did not understand it themselves. He moved over to her. ‘Come, Mrs Meredith, let us show them how to waltz.’ He grasped her hands and pulled her to her feet, then began to hum, dancing her round and round, much to the delight of the four children.

  ‘Do you remember?’ he murmured. ‘The music and the moonlight and our steps fitting so well together?’

  ‘Yes, I remember.’ How could she forget? She had only to shut her eyes and she was back on the terrace in the moonlight, the distant music setting a time and rhythm to their beating hearts. She could feel again the pressure of his hand on her back, the warmth of his breath upon her cheek. Those few minutes had been very special. And it came to her in a sudden flash of insight that he was important to her, more important than Robert.

  ‘I did not want it to end,’ he said, unaware of her tumbling thoughts. ‘It was like a dream from which one is forced to wake to find reality is nothing like the fantasy.’

  His words served to bring her back to the present and she became aware of the children watching and listening. She stopped and broke away, her cheeks flaming.

  ‘Mrs Kate is going to a ball,’ Annie said in the silence that followed.

  Simon looked at Kate, one eyebrow raised. Now would be the time to explain about Robert, but she could not do that in front of the children. ‘At the Austrian Embassy,’ she said.

  ‘Escorted by Viscount Cranford?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Will you be going to the ball, Dr Redfern?’ Sarah asked.

  ‘Me? Oh, no, it will be much too grand for me.’

  ‘Doctor Redfern is teasing,’ Kate told them, forcing herself to sound normal. ‘Of course it is not too grand for him. It is simply that he has not been invited.’

  ‘Do you have to be invited?’ Michael asked. ‘Can’t you just turn up?’

  Simon laughed. ‘No, young man, you cannot just turn up. There are very strict rules.’

  ‘Oh, rules!’ Michael said. ‘Who cares about rules?’

  This precipitated a lecture from Simon about why rules were important and what would happen to the world if there were none, which silenced the boy for a few minutes, but he was soon his old self again. ‘Then if I was you,’ he said, ‘I’d make sure I had an invitation.’

  Kate risked a look at Simon, who turned away to look at the doll Annie was playing with, and she quickly changed the subject. After he had gone, Kate read them a story until it was time to prepare for bed, though her mind was most definitely not on what she was reading. Doubts about her future were beginning to surface with unsettling frequency and growing larger with every day that passed. Nerves, she told herself firmly.

  On the evening of the ball, Lady Morland came to her room to watch her put on the dress. It was finished off with a silk shawl, blue shoes, matching blue gloves and a bead reticule.

  ‘Lovely,’ her grandmother said, watching Corinne arrange her hair in thick coils about her ears and fasten them with pretty combs. ‘You will be the belle of the ball.’

  Kate laughed, though it sounded hollow to her ears. ‘I am a little too old for that, and in any case I am not sure I want to be the centre of attention.’

  ‘You had better become used to it, Kate. When you are Viscountess Cranford you will be in the public eye. What you wear and what you do is bound to be the subject of discourse.’

  ‘Oh, no, I hope not. I am sure to make some dreadful faux pas.’

  ‘Do not be so silly, child. You are a Hartingdon and a Morland, your breeding cannot be questioned. Just remember that and hold your head up. It would not hurt to be a little more disdainful.’

  And with this meaningless comment, the old lady dismissed Kate’s concerns and went off with Corinne to be dressed herself. That Kate was a widow and not a green girl mattered not to the old lady, who was determined she should be properly chaperoned on this most important of occasions.

  Her granddaughter returned to the children. She had established a routine with the children of washing and changing into night attire and had fixed a time for them to go to bed, depending on their age, which she was determined to stick to, but she had promised them they should see her in her gown before she left.

  Robert arrived exactly on time to find Kate coming down the stairs at the top of which four eager young faces watched her progress. He gave them a glance of disapproval, then turned his attention to Kate, bowing over her hand and saying, ‘You look very beautiful tonight, Katherine.’

  ‘Thank you.’ The blue dress flowed about her slim figure and the silk shawl set off her shoulders and creamy neck on which was fastened a necklace of sapphires set in silver filigree, one of the few pieces she had inherited from her mother. Corinne had arranged her hair becomingly in ringlets that fell from a coronet of hair, and added a little discreet colour to her cheeks. ‘You are far too pale,’ she had said.

  Robert was resplendent in dress uniform, the gold of the braid, epaulettes and buttons of the coat gleaming against the red material and the decorations he had won hanging from his neck. By contrast his white breeches and stockings were pristine. His hair had been carefully cut. She knew he had taken every bit as much care over his appearance as she had, which did nothing to make her feel any better.

  He produced a narrow box, which he handed to Kate. ‘A betrothal present.’

  She took it and opened it. Inside, nestling on black velvet, was a diamond necklace, which flashed in the lamplight. ‘Oh, my lord,’ she gasped. ‘This is too much…’

  ‘Not at all. When we are married you shall have the pick of all the Cranford jewels; this piece does not belong to the family collection. I want you to have it as a token of my earnest desire to make you happy.’

  She wondered briefly why he imagined expensive jewels were the way to her heart, but thrust the thought from her as unworthy. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Shall I help you put it on?’ he added, when she stood with it draped over her hand as if she did not quite know what to do with it.

  ‘Oh, yes, of course.’

  The blue stones came off and the heavy necklace went on where it lay against her throat, the stones sparkly like pieces of ice. His fingers felt cold against her skin as they fastened the clasp. She sped up to her room to put the sapphires back in her drawer, shooing the children away from the landing as she did so.

  Returning downstairs, she found Lady Morland, dressed in mauve taffeta, waiting to accompany them. After going to the study to say goodbye to her father and show him the gift, she took a deep breath and proclaimed herself ready. Aware of the children still giggling and whispering on the landing, she dared not look back at them as Robert escorted her and her grandmother to his carriage, which was waiting at the gate.

  The ball was a dazzling affair. The guests consisted of diplomats and their wives from many countries and every one of them sparkled with jewels, even the men with their decorations, rings, cravat pins and ornamented quizzing glasses. The colourful dresses of the ladies were easily matched by the br
ight hues of the uniforms of most of the men. The Prince Regent was there, dressed in the blue Hussar uniform he had devised for his own regiment.

  Robert led her forward and presented her to his Highness and then the Foreign Secretary, the Austrian Ambassador, and several other dignitaries whose names she forgot almost as soon as she had heard them, so bemused she felt. ‘You must always try to remember people’s names,’ Robert whispered to her. ‘It flatters them.’

  Later he left her with Captain Feltwell, a friend from his army days, while he went off to have a private conversation with the Ambassador. Captain Feltwell was young and cheerful and something of a dandy. He asked her to dance, during which they did not say much, the steps of the dance making conversation difficult, but afterwards, while they promenaded the ballroom, he kept up a lively conversation with tales of his adventures in the war in which Robert featured largely, then, having exhausted that topic, asked her about herself, which she did not mind at all. ‘Cranford tells me you have been married before,’ he said.

  ‘Yes. My husband was killed at Vittoria.’

  ‘My condolences. I am surprised it was so long ago.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘You seem so young. You could not have been more than a schoolgirl when you married.’

  ‘Captain, that is nothing but flummery.’

  ‘You have children?’

  ‘No, we were not married very long.’

  ‘Oh. I saw you with some children in Hyde Park the other day with a…their papa perhaps? You appeared to be enjoying each other’s company. Frolicking, quite uninhibited.’

  Unless he was singularly unintelligent, he must know she was not old enough to have mothered Michael, Annie or Sarah and was fishing for information, but could see no reason for secrecy. ‘I expect the children you saw were—’

  She got no further before Robert’s voice interrupted. ‘Feltwell, I must take Mrs Meredith away for the moment. We will see you again later.’ And with that he took a firm grip on her elbow and led her away.

  ‘My lord, were you not a little abrupt with your friend?’ she admonished, as they walked back to where her grandmother sat, enjoying a gossip with a friend she had found among the guests.

  ‘No, I do not think so. You were about to tell him about those dreadful children, weren’t you?’

  ‘They are not dreadful. They have simply lacked the advantages of a stable and loving home life. I am trying to remedy the deficiency in some measure.’

  ‘I am appalled that you took them to Hyde Park where you could be observed.’

  ‘Why not? Fresh air and exercise is good for them and it is better than letting them wreck the garden.’

  ‘I hope they are gone when I next call on you.’

  ‘I cannot promise that, my lord. Doctor Redfern has to find permanent homes for them. At least for all but Annie—she will go back to her own home as soon as her mother leaves hospital.’

  ‘He is a queer fish.’

  ‘Who is?’

  ‘Redfern. It is almost as if he is denying his birthright, hob-nobbing with the ne’er-do-wells.’

  ‘Oh, how can you say that?’ She rose immediately to the doctor’s defence. ‘Doctor Redfern is a philanthropist…’

  ‘I hope I may be called a philanthropist, but that does not mean lowering my standards. I give generously to charity, as is my duty, but I would never think of entertaining the object of that charity in my own home.’ He moved away from the seats where Lady Morland sat and led her from the ballroom into an anteroom, where groups of people stood about talking. ‘I have something to say to you,’ he said, guiding her to a corner where there were two empty chairs. ‘Please sit down.’

  She sat down, wondering what was coming. He sat beside her and leaned forward. ‘It has yet to be formally announced, but I have been offered the post I wanted at the embassy in Austria. I am to take it up on the first day of August. I want you to accompany me as my wife.’

  ‘But that is only six weeks away!’ She could not hide her dismay. Why hadn’t she realised what his ambition would mean to her?

  ‘You sound reluctant.’

  ‘It such a big step. I shall have to leave Papa and Grandmother and my home And I really would have liked a little longer to settle my affairs…’ She was stumbling over her reasons, none of which sounded very convincing in her ears.

  ‘I have told the Foreign Secretary I shall be married by the time I take up the appointment. It is important, Katherine.’

  What could she say? That she had changed her mind about marrying him? The consequences of that would be disastrous. It would ruin his career, and as for her—no one of any consequence would marry a jilt. She would be condemned to a life of widowhood. And there was her father and grandmother to consider, too; they did not deserve the ignominy such a step would mean. ‘Very well,’ she said with quiet resignation. Others had made a success of a marriage in which love was not the dominant factor and she must too. ‘I will be ready.’

  ‘Good. I will put an announcement in the Gazette.’

  She found herself wondering if he had delayed doing that until after she had been presented to the Foreign Secretary and the Austrian Ambassador and passed their critical appraisal. ‘Have you a particular date in mind?’

  ‘I leave that to you as long as we are married before I take up my appointment, that is all I ask.’

  ‘I will talk to my father and grandmother. I am sure Grandmama will want as long as possible to make the arrangements. She likes to do things properly, you know.’ She said it with a smile, but already she was trembling at the enormity of what she was undertaking.

  ‘Of course, that is as it should be.’ He paused. ‘And you will get rid of those children?’

  ‘I shall have to, shan’t I? I cannot leave them to Papa and Grandmama. It is a pity, since they have settled down so well.’

  ‘Perhaps you should have thought of that before taking them on.’

  ‘I know I should, but I felt so sorry for them and I wanted to help and I had no idea you would want the wedding to take place so quickly or that we should be leaving the country immediately afterwards. I thought when you said you were coming home, you meant to stay. It will be a disappointment to Dr Redfern, having to begin all over again finding somewhere for them.’

  ‘To hell with Redfern,’ he muttered under his breath, but then he smiled and stood up, holding out his hand to her. ‘Come, let us go and enjoy the dancing. We can talk about it tomorrow.’

  They returned to the ballroom and the rest of the evening passed in a blur of colour and music and muddled thoughts.

  At two in the morning carriages were called for and Robert escorted her and Lady Morland home. He did not come in when they arrived, but saw them to the door and promised to call the next afternoon to discuss the arrangements for the wedding.

  The Reverend had retired and Lady Morland was very fatigued, so they said goodnight to each other and climbed the stairs to their beds. Before she went to her room, Kate visited the nursery suite where Joan sat knitting. ‘Have they been good?’

  ‘Yes, though Joe cried a bit. He thought you were not coming back, but I told him you would be here when he woke up.’

  ‘Thank you, Joan. You go off to your own bed now and you do not need to hurry in the morning. I can manage the children’s breakfast.’

  The maid disappeared and Kate crept along the landing to their bedrooms. The boys were asleep and she stood looking down at Joe’s golden curls and was overwhelmed with a need to cuddle him. But she desisted. Dr Redfern had warned her against becoming too attached to him and she must heed the warning, because she was going to have to part with him and the others sooner than she had expected. On the other hand, she might, before another year passed, be mother to her own little boy. She left the boys and moved on to the girls. Sarah was snoring, but Annie was wide awake. ‘Not asleep, Annie? It is very late, you know.’

  ‘I wanted to wait for you to come back. Joan said you were going to marr
y that man and then you would go away.’

  ‘So I am. But not for a little while yet.’

  ‘I didn’t like him.’ It was said flatly.

  ‘Now, Annie, how can you know that? You have never spoken to him. He is a very nice gentleman.’

  ‘He made you take off your lovely blue necklace.’

  ‘He did not make me take it off,’ Kate said, fingering the diamonds at her throat. ‘He bought me this and it is only polite to wear something if it is given to you as a gift.’

  ‘I like the blue one best.’

  ‘They are both very fine. Now you must go to sleep. It will be morning before you know it.’

  Annie sighed and snuggled down into a bed a hundred times more comfortable than anything she had known before, and looked up at Kate. ‘Goodnight, Mrs Kate.’

  Kate smiled at the mode of address. ‘Goodnight, Annie. Sleep well.’

  She was just moving away when she heard the child say, ‘I like Dr Redfern best. You could marry him.’

  Later, in her own bed, she lay awake. Annie’s words had unsettled her, making her realise that once she married Robert, she would not see Dr Redfern again. Simon. Was he the hub of her disquiet? She put her hand to her face and was surprised to find her cheeks were wet. She rubbed at them with the back of her hand and tried to sleep, but when it came at last she was beset by bad dreams, none of which made sense.

  Next morning, she set the older children some arithmetic to do and bade Annie look after Joe while Joan was busy with her daily chores, then she joined her father and grandmother to discuss the arrangements for the wedding, which would have to be on Saturday the twenty-sixth of July at the very latest.

  ‘I hate to be rushed,’ the old lady said. ‘Why can he not give you a decent time to arrange it? There will be whispers.’

  Kate managed a laugh. ‘About Viscount Cranford? Oh, Grandmama, that is absurd. No one could ever accuse him of impropriety. As for me, what have they to whisper about? I am not interesting enough to be tattled over.’ Even as she spoke, she remembered Captain Feltwell. How many other people had seen her with Dr Redfern and commented on it?