Regency High Society Vol 3. Elizabeth Rolls

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СКАЧАТЬ could do anything to avoid the fleeting contact with that much too attractive masculine mouth. She would have derived a deal of pleasure from stamping on one of those large feet encased in boots that since the previous night had received a polish, but as there were several other patrons present she refrained and merely betrayed her resentment of the chaste salute by flashing a speaking glance, which he blithely ignored.

      As this was the first time she had eaten downstairs since her arrival at the inn, Katherine gazed about her with interest, and although the Major maintained a flow of conversation to which she only needed to contribute the occasional ‘yes’ or ‘no’, she did notice his attention straying as the meal wore on, his keen gaze alternating between a spot beyond the window, quite outside her own field of vision, and a certain area in the coffee-room beyond her left shoulder.

      She realised at once that something was not quite to his liking, and was not unduly surprised, after they had both eaten their fill, that he seemed disinclined to linger. ‘I fear, my dear, that I must leave you to your own devices this morning,’ he remarked in a carrying voice, which the bearded man seated alone at the table nearest the door must surely have heard. ‘I have an appointment with my bankers, so I’m afraid we must delay our departure until tomorrow. Annoying, I know, but it cannot be helped.’

      Had Katherine not known that the Major was acting the part of the loving, considerate husband, she might have supposed the smile of gentle warmth he bestowed upon her as they made their way towards the stairs was perfectly genuine. ‘Why not enjoy a last spending spree and treat yourself to a new bonnet?’ he suggested. ‘It might be some little time before we have a chance to visit Paris again, my love, so take advantage of a last browse round the shops.’

      After accompanying her back up the stairs, he followed her into the bedchamber, where he remained only for the time it took to collect his outdoor garments. Then, without uttering anything further, not even a word of farewell, he left her, closing the door quietly behind him.

      Katherine clearly detected a murmur of voices from the room adjoining her own, which Marie had occupied throughout their time at the inn. She could not hear precisely what was being said, and even if she could she doubted very much whether she would have understood half of what was being uttered, because the conversation quite naturally was being conducted in rapid French. Even so, there certainly seemed an urgency about the whispered exchanges.

      Some few minutes elapsed before she heard a firm tread along the passageway, and several minutes more before she saw, from her bedchamber window, Major Ross leave the inn, and set off at a brisk pace towards the centre of the city. Almost at once a figure emerged from one of the doorways on the opposite side of the street and made off in the same direction. Mere coincidence, or something more sinister? She could not help wondering.

      Her faintly troubled thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and a moment later Marie entered, dressed in her outdoor clothes. ‘Ah, madame!’ she announced cheerfully, immediately perceiving Katherine by the window. ‘Your husband has instructed me to bear you company in your quest for a new bonnet. How lucky you are, madame, to have such a generous husband and one who, moreover, panders to a lady’s every whim.’

      Katherine’s response to this piece of arrant nonsense was to give vent to an unladylike snort of derision. She couldn’t help thinking that poor Marie was allowing those lingering feelings of gratitude to cloud her judgement when it came to assessing Major Ross’s true character.

      She chose not to argue when it was suggested that it might be wise to don her heavy, fur-lined cloak before venturing out on what promised to be a very mild, almost spring-like day. Nor did she attempt to discover why Marie should consider it essential for her to place all the funds in her possession, enough to purchase a dozen dresses, let alone bonnets, in her reticule before setting off. It was only after they had left the inn, and Marie for once chose to dawdle along the streets, while maintaining an inexhaustible flow of small talk that Katherine began to suspect her companion had a very good reason for behaving in such an uncharacteristic way.

      This suspicion was confirmed when, idly glancing in a shop window, she happened to catch sight of the man who, earlier that morning, had been seated alone at a table in the coffee room. His grey hair and beard suggested that he was not in the first flush of youth, and yet his gait was remarkably sprightly, and his hard, dark eyes, she noticed, before he stopped to study the goods on display in another shop window, appeared youthfully clear and direct.

      ‘Marie, am I imagining things, or are we being followed?’

      Katherine feared the worst when her companion’s fixed smile began to crack. ‘Yes, petite,’ Marie admitted, as they continued their stroll. She did not, however, attempt to quicken her pace. ‘Major Ross suspected that there were people watching the inn. But do not be afraid. He is at this very moment organising your removal from the city. All we need do is successfully lose our shadow. And I believe I know how this can be achieved. Endeavour, petite, to behave normally, and on no account be tempted to keep checking if he is still behind us.’

      Resisting the temptation to glance over her shoulder proved to be more difficult than Katherine might have imagined. Strangely enough, though, she did not feel alarmed; in fact, she felt more intrigued than anything else, wondering how the traitor’s henchmen had managed to locate their whereabouts.

      Of course she realised that Sir Giles had intended to make it known that he had managed to discover the whereabouts of Justine Baron’s sister, and that Louise would be travelling to London under an assumed name. It was also possible that Sir Giles had made it known that the person whom he had engaged to escort Louise to England would be adopting the role of her husband. But what had made them suspect that she might be Justine’s sister? Did she truly bear such a strong resemblance to the Baron sisters?

      This might possibly be the reason, Katherine supposed. Yet it still did not account for the fact that the traitor’s associates had managed to locate her so easily. Paris was littered with inns. It would take some considerable time to visit them all in order to search for their quarry. Had it been pure chance which had prompted them to stumble upon the inn at which she and the Major were putting up?

      Marie’s unexpected exclamation of delight induced Katherine to abandon her puzzling conjecture for the present, and she turned her attention to the creation in the shop window which appeared to be holding Marie so enraptured. She suspected at once that there was something more to her companion’s display of enthusiasm, and so offered no resistance when Marie insisted on entering the premises in order to view the fussily adorned bonnet more closely.

      No sooner had they stepped over the threshold to find the establishment surprisingly empty except for one sales assistant than Marie’s demeanour changed dramatically. She insisted upon seeing the proprietress, and after a few moments’ haranguing the young assistant was persuaded to go in search of her mistress.

      Not appearing best pleased at having her daily routine disrupted, the modiste, like a fearsome Amazon prepared to do battle, suddenly appeared between the plush red velvet curtains. Surprisingly enough, however, after one startled glance of recognition, she clasped Marie to her ample curves, for all the world as if she were some long-lost bosom friend.

      A hurried and whispered exchange swiftly followed, the result of which had Madame throwing up her hands in a despairing gesture, casting a sympathetic glance in Katherine’s direction and voicing the fervent hope that all hardhearted males would suffer the torment of eternal perdition.

      Although faintly puzzled by this pronouncement, Katherine didn’t hesitate to follow the modiste when she beckoned imperiously with one podgy, beringed hand. Having once passed between the velvet curtains, she found herself in a dimly lit passageway, from which, she swiftly discovered, one gained access to an enclosed, narrow СКАЧАТЬ