Lady Knightley's Secret. Anne Ashley

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      Chapter Three

      Casting a far from appreciative eye round his allotted bedchamber, Richard rose wearily from the bed and went across to the bell-pull. He felt decidedly unrefreshed, but was only too well aware that he couldn’t blame his singular lack of sleep on unfamiliar surroundings, or on the four-poster bed which had proved both comfortable and roomy. Oh, no, the sole culprit for his insomnia lay not in this elegantly appointed room, but in the bedchamber almost directly opposite. And wasn’t that damnably frustrating in itself?

      Unable to suppress a crooked half-smile, he seated himself at the dressing-table. Even now, he still found it difficult to accept that the elegantly poised young woman who had introduced herself the evening before, with all the calm self-assurance of some Grand Duchess, was the same Elizabeth Beresford he had known years ago.

      Mother Nature, he mused, had wrought nothing short of a miracle there. In the space of a few short years she had transformed an unappealing nonentity into something quite out of the common way. To say that Elizabeth was the most beautiful woman he had ever clapped eyes on would be a gross exaggeration, he knew, but there was no denying that she was quite captivatingly lovely, both face and figure a delightful vista to any gentleman of superior tastes.

      He experienced yet again the stirring of desire as his mind’s eye, for perhaps the hundredth time, visualised her as she had rounded the corner of the passageway the night before, seeming to float, not walk, towards him, like some enchanted, ethereal creature well above his touch. But this ought not to be the case, he reminded himself. By rights he ought to be able to touch that young woman whenever he desired; by rights she ought at this point in time to belong to him, body and soul; and he experienced a sense of acute disappointment, not to say resentment, that this was not the case.

      Running slightly impatient fingers through his sleep-tousled dark brown hair, he cast his mind back over the years, trying to remember the last time he had set eyes on the young girl whom both his father and godfather had wished him to marry. His memory was hazy, but he vaguely recalled having glimpsed her at Henry Beresford’s funeral, a forlorn and solitary little figure standing quite apart from her mother and vivacious elder sister.

      It must have been a year or, maybe, two later, when he had been out in the Peninsula fighting for his country, that he had received that one and only letter from her. She had considered that they were no longer obliged to comply with the wishes of their deceased fathers, and had released him completely from any obligation he might still have been harbouring to marry her.

      Honesty prompted him to admit that he had experienced immense relief after reading that missive. After all, what man in his right mind was wishful to tie himself for life to a rather drab and plump female who had seemed incapable of stringing more than half a dozen words together at any one time? Of course he had felt duty-bound to write back suggesting that they wait a year or two before finally coming to a decision. He had received no further communication from her and, truth to tell, he hadn’t given Elizabeth Beresford a single thought during the intervening years…No, not one, until he had unexpectedly come face to face with her again the previous evening.

      The bedchamber door opened and his valet entered, breaking into his far from satisfying reflections, and Richard managed with a modicum of success to put thoughts of Elizabeth aside. This relative peace of mind was destined not to last very long, however, for the first person he set eyes on when entering the breakfast parlour a short while later was none other than the sweet torment who had deprived him of so much sleep throughout the night.

      As he seated himself at the table he experienced a rather irrational stab of irritation. He wasn’t quite certain whether this stemmed from the fact that Elizabeth, bright-eyed and cheerful, betrayed all too clearly that she hadn’t suffered from lack of sleep, or that she appeared on remarkably friendly terms with their host, who was still looking highly amused at something she had just said.

      ‘I trust you slept well?’ Brin enquired after a servant had supplied Richard’s needs.

      ‘Very,’ he lied. ‘You have a remarkably comfortable home here. It was a pleasure to sleep in a bedchamber where the fire didn’t billow out smoke every five minutes. I really must attend to the chimneys at Knightley Hall. Several of the fireplaces there are quite shocking.’

      ‘I recall a similar problem at my parents’ home,’ Elizabeth remarked, ‘especially when there was an east wind. Thankfully, I’m not plagued by such a nuisance at my home near Bristol.’

      Richard frowned slightly at this. He had assumed, quite wrongly it seemed, that she still resided in her childhood home in Wiltshire, although he vaguely recalled learning of her mother’s demise a few years ago.

      ‘I wasn’t aware that you no longer resided in Wiltshire, Miss Beresford. Do you live with a relative?’

      ‘I did reside with my maternal grandmother. Sadly, she died last autumn.’ A veil of unhappiness clouded her eyes as she looked directly across the table at him. ‘And may I offer you my belated condolences. Some time ago I learned of your brother’s death. Such a terrible tragedy!’

      Offering him no time in which to respond, Elizabeth rose to her feet and transferred her attention to their host, that spontaneous, sweet smile which had won his regard so quickly touching her lips. ‘I shall pay a visit to Verity’s room first. So, shall we meet in the stable yard—say, in half an hour’s time?’

      Watching her leave the room, Brin experienced, yet again, amazement at her continued unmarried state, and shook his head in complete bewilderment. ‘I still find it difficult to understand why that lovely creature isn’t married.’

      The hand raising the fork to Richard’s mouth checked for a moment. Yes, he ruminated, she most certainly ought to be. And if it wasn’t for the fact that the contrary little madam had suddenly taken it into her head to go against her deceased father’s expressed wishes, she would now be married to me!

      Suddenly finding his appetite had deserted him, he pushed his plate aside and turned to his host as a thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘Am I right in thinking that Miss Beresford’s sister resides not too far from here?’

      ‘Yes, about three miles away.’

      In that case, why hadn’t Elizabeth chosen to stay with her? Richard wondered. She could quite easily have visited her friend the Viscountess whenever she wished. Evadne must surely feel affronted knowing that her sister had preferred to stay here. Why, it was tantamount to a direct snub!

      ‘I hope Verity has remembered to warn Elizabeth that Lady Chiltham is not an infrequent visitor,’ Brin continued, and failed to notice his friend’s rather puzzled expression. ‘Apparently the sisters don’t get along too well. But, then, you’d know all about that, I dare say, your being a friend of the family.’

      ‘No, I didn’t know,’ Richard freely admitted, and was rather intrigued by this snippet of information. ‘Up until yesterday evening I hadn’t set eyes on either of them since the day of their father’s funeral.’

      ‘Well, no doubt you’ll be given ample opportunity to renew your acquaintanceship with Lady Chiltham during your stay with us. As I’ve already mentioned, she’s not an infrequent caller,’ Brin responded, his СКАЧАТЬ