The Anonymous Amanuensis Read online

  The butler bowed slightly, his expression unchanged. Eve found herself wondering if his face had frozen in that expression, as children were often threatened with. Alone again, she quickly removed all non-incriminating items from the trunk, then locked it securely with her gowns and petticoats safely inside.

  Luncheon was dominated by Penelope's excited chatter and Quinton's responses to her naïve questions about London and the ton. Miss Comstock dined with them, but had little to say beyond warning her charge several times not to bedevil her brother. The toplofty Ackroyd directed the service. Here, as in Town, there seemed to be no housekeeper and no female servants in evidence. Eve wondered why, given Quinton's extreme dislike of women, he had invited his sister and her governess to visit Fallowfeld.

  Following the meal, Quinton warned his sister that he and Eve would be working much of every day and that she would have to amuse herself. At her pout, he reminded her that he had told her this before and she had agreed not to be a nuisance. His words were tempered by a suggestion that she explore the stables and chose herself a mount, with Mosely's advice. As if his words had reminded him, Quinton turned to Eve who was just leaving the dining room. "And you, as well, Eve. When we have put our office in order, you should go to the stables and look over the assortment there."

  Eve thanked him and went upstairs to the office. Several hours' work awaited her, and she wanted to get it done so she might visit the stables that very day. When she sought Mosely later that afternoon, Ackroyd advised her that he would probably be found at the stables. He was, indeed, and was engaged in grooming Quinton's magnificent black stallion, a huge horse that Eve admired upon first sight.

  "I thought you were a sailor," she said, coming up behind him.

  He grinned over his shoulder. "Nothing says a man can't change 'is way of living. 'Orses, now, they ain't anywhere near so dangerous as ships. And they stay a lot drier."

  "That they do." She watched him as he stroked the brush along the shining black coat. "How beautiful he is!" The horse twitched and snorted at the sound of her voice.

  "Aye, that 'e is. Quiet there, fellow," Mosely soothed. "I wouldn't get too close if I was ye, lad. Regal, 'ere, is pretty unfriendly and 'e 'as a tendency to bite."

  Eve stepped back, not particularly wary of the horse but not wanting to alarm him. "Mr. Quinton suggested you might help me choose a mount. Have you the time this afternoon?"

  "Aye. Just let me put this fellow back in 'is stall." He led the horse away and returned shortly. "Now lad, just 'ow well do ye ride?"

  "Well, I have been told I do very well, but it has been several months. Perhaps you could choose me a moderately spirited hack and judge for yourself." Eve had not ridden astride since she was a child and did not wish to make a fool of herself.

  When Mosely led out a rangy sorrel mare, she looked the horse over. "I'll wager she is not the most attractive horse in Mr. Quinton's stables, but she looks as if she has plenty of wind. Does she jump?"

  "Like a pegasus. Raspberry 'ere is one of the best horses in the stable, but she don't look anywhere as good as she rides. Spirited, too, but not fractious. Let's see 'ow ye do."

  Eve took a moment to introduce herself to the horse, crooning and scratching her nose.

  Raspberry whuffled and lipped her collar.

  "No, love, I haven't a carrot for you. But just wait. I promise you one later. Now," Eve said as she gathered the reins, "let us see how you go." She swung herself into the saddle and found Mosely's estimate of stirrup length perfect. While they waited for Mosely to mount, Eve and Raspberry took a few turns about the stable yard, feeling each other out. The mare, to Eve's delight, proved to be a pacer.

  Later, as they urged the horses into a gallop along a back lane, Eve laughed aloud in her pleasure. Raspberry, as if feeling her rider's joy, lengthened her stride until they had left Mosely behind. When Eve finally pulled Raspberry to a halt, the man was fully a quarter mile behind them. As she waited for him to catch up, Eve dismounted and hugged Raspberry. "Oh, you beauty!"

  Mosely reined up. "So ye like 'er, do ye? Miss Penelope, now, she just sniffed and went on looking for a flashier mount. She couldn't have 'andled Raspberry like ye did, lad, and that's a fact, for all that she rides well enough. And whoever said ye rode well didn't lie. All right then, lad, Raspberry's yers."

  "Thank you, Mr. Mosely. She is a wonderful horse." Eve remounted and they rode back to the stables in companionable silence.

  When Quinton entered the office next morning, he found Eve already there. "You did not ride this morning?" he asked her.

  "No, sir," she said, seeing by his garments that he had already been to the stables. She regretted having missed seeing him astride Regal.

  "Why not? Morning is the best time to do so," Quinton said absently, as he riffled through the previous day's post.

  "I intend to do so this afternoon, after I have done working."

  "Nonsense!" He tossed the pile of correspondence back on to her desk. "It does Raspberry no good to sit in the stables all day. And I do not require you to stay indoors on a day as lovely as this. Out!" And he pointed at the door.

  "But Mr.--" Eve faltered. His finger still pointed at the door. "Oh, very well, but you will spoil me. And there are several letters to translate."

  "There is no need for either of us to spend more than half days working as long as we are in the country, Eve. I have many fewer social demands on my time here, so I can do my share. You should enjoy yourself while you have the chance." He leaned back and propped his booted feet on an open drawer in the desk. "Did Sir Wilfred never give you a holiday? Is that why you are do diligent about your tasks?"

  "Gran...ah, he granted me Saturday afternoons free, sir, and Sundays were spent in meditation and prayer. I usually rode in the evenings after my work was finished."

  "The old curmudgeon. Chas said his father was a sanctimonious sort. Well, I order you to ride daily, to help me amuse Penny, and to enjoy yourself while we are here. Now, will you get out of here and go riding?" A rare smile took the sting from his orders and Eve skipped out.

  She changed into her oldest trousers, wishing she had some buckskins. Short of sending to Tom for them--and how would she explain that action--she had no idea how to obtain them. At least she had decent riding boots.

  She sat, holding one boot and wearing the other, reflecting on how much she liked Mr. Quinton. He is so much more cheerful than I expected, and so kind. How I wish I could be myself and be done with this masquerade. In her mind's eye she saw his crooked smile, his pale gray eyes, and was conscious of a warm feeling in her middle. Shaking her head, she quickly donned the other boot and grabbed her hat. Do not think about him, she told herself crossly. He is your employer and he will never know that you are a woman.

  Penelope was just mounting the little chestnut mare she had selected as her mount when Eve arrived at the stables. "Oh, how glad I am to see you, Mr. Dixon. Will you ride with me? Mosely cannot, and I hate to take a groom."

  Eve agreed and soon was mounted on Raspberry. "I must confess I prefer a riding companion, Miss Penelope. I had to ride alone most of the time at my last post, and did not enjoy it nearly as much as if I had had company."

  "I know what you mean. Miss Comstock does not ride and Fa--my father--only rides to get somewhere, never for the pleasure of it. I learned to ride from our groom at Seabrooke, but he rarely has time for me any more." The girl glanced shyly at Eve. "Perhaps we could ride together every morning."

  "Whenever I am not needed by Mr. Quinton," Eve agreed, turning Raspberry onto the lane where she and Mosely had raced the previous day. "Have you been this way? It opens out soon and there are some lovely views farther on."

  The two of them rode along the lane, talking of this and that. Penelope was curious about Eve and asked many probing questions. Whenever possible, Eve told the truth, or only bent it a little. She hated the lies she was forced into by her deception. By the time they had reached the junction of the lane with a w
ider road, she and Penelope were well on the way to becoming friends.

  "Do you know, Mr. Dixon, I was terrified at coming here, to Fallowfeld," Penelope commented as they turned their horses onto the road.

  "Why?" Eve said.

  "Oh, because I had only seen Jamie a few times, briefly, for the past several years and remembered him as being so much more silent and solemn than he is. I was quite in awe of him, for all he was never other than kind to me. But he almost never smiled."

  Eve laughed. "I, too, thought him overly serious when I first met him. But do you know, Miss Penelope, I think that his is a naturally thoughtful disposition, one that was encouraged to reticence by the trials and frustrations of having to make his own way in the world as a very young man. You know, he began his mercantile career when most young men are carefree and heedless."

  Penny's exclamation of surprise stopped Eve's words. "What is it?"

  "I was surprised, Mr. Dixon. I had not realized he engaged in...in trade." Her tone told Eve what she thought of a gentleman lowering himself to such a common pursuit.

  "You should be proud of him. He is a most successful merchant and has earned the approbation of the ton." It is only an exaggeration. Just because there are still some who snub him does not mean that most do not respect and admire him. "Furthermore, he is a very kind and generous person."

  "Oh, I know that," Penny cried. "He invited me here, did he not? And he has promised to present me next spring?"

  Eve chuckled, wondering if Penny had any idea of the sacrifice her brother was making to have his sister and Miss Comstock among his household. It was quite a departure from his usual all-male ménage.

  "I do hope he will not change his mind," the girl bubbled on. "I so look forward to all the balls and the parties, riding in the park and...and...oh! Just everything in London!" She hesitated. "You said my brother had followed a mercantile career since he was a young man. Do you mean he is a storekeeper?" Her expression showed distaste.

  Quickly Eve reassured her that Quinton's business dealings were many and varied, and none of them entailed his selling across a counter. "Have you never spoken to him of what he does in London?" She thought it more peculiar that Quinton's own sister knew so little about him. What an unusual, aberrant family.

  "Well, I asked Fa, but he always fobbed me off, saying I would not understand." Her finger went to her chin, and her expression became thoughtful. "I do believe he is ashamed of how Jamie made his fortune." Penelope giggled. "What a great pity! I have always held him in awe, and now I am even more impressed. But I shall not let on, for it never does to let one's brothers know that one is impressed with them. They can become quite unbearably conceited. At least that is what Miss Comstock told me. She should know, for she has four older brothers."

  They rode on a ways, leaving the woodland and crossing a wide meadow where ox-eye daisies and Queen Anne's lace waved in the light breeze. Its far edge dropped away into a gentle slope, which allowed a distant view of the River Stour. They dismounted and admired the view.

  Eve breathed deeply of the warm, moist air. Such a peaceful, mild region, vastly different from the Cleveland Hills of Yorkshire where Elmwood was.

  "So this is your first visit to Fallowfeld, Miss Penelope," Eve said when they had remounted and turned back the way they had come. "How long do you remain?"

  "Oh, do call me Penny, for I am sure we shall be good friends. I have never had a friend before. There are no young people of our class near Seabrooke. And Fa would never take me to Norwich or anywhere. There were the children of our tenants, of course, but as we grew up, we grew apart. They lead such different lives, you know, and Fa discouraged me from seeing them, anyway, once we got out of short skirts. I have been so wretchedly lonely!" she concluded in a mournful voice.

  "You shall be lonely no longer. I am also certain that we shall be friends. Since Mr. Quinton has told me that I shall only be working half days while we are here, we can have many adventures together. To begin, shall we race to the gates?"

  Penny agreed and kicked her horse into a gallop. Eve nudged Raspberry's sides and tore after the younger girl, but held her mount in so Penny might win the race.

  During the light conversation in the parlor that evening, Eve's fingers itched for knitting or needlework, so that her hands might be occupied as were Penny's and Miss Comstock's. She found herself unable to relax, even after retiring. Sleep eluded her. Penelope was such a nice child. How unfortunate it was that the girl had never known a mother's love.

  Penny had artlessly confided that Miss Comstock, who had been her governess since she was twelve, was the closest to a mother she had ever had. Her infancy and young childhood had been overseen by a series of nursemaids and housekeepers of whom Penny could recall little. Matthew and Farley, closer in age to James than to Penny, had seldom been at home after the girl was out of leading strings. They had attended Eton, as appropriate to their station, but neither had continued his education. Instead they had both gone to reside with their mother and taste the delights of London.

  Penny confided to Eve that, on their few visits home, she had found her brothers to be nasty, mean boys--liars, cheats, and thieves. Although discounting this impression by a younger sister, Eve admitted to herself that, if the two were anything like their mother, Penny might very well be right in her estimation of their characters.

  From the girl's artless disclosures, Eve also gained the impression that Lord Seabrooke, although kindly enough, was ineffectual and absentminded. Apparently he had provided the child with little of a father's attention and love. Although her brother, Jamie, had given her much of his attention during his infrequent visits to Seabrooke, Eve gathered they had been too few and too far between to satisfy the girl's need for attention from her family.

  The more Eve heard about James Quinton's family, the better she appreciated her own, for all life had been catch as catch can during much of her younger years. What a singularly unpleasant childhood Penny must have had.

  Once again Eve found reason to regret her masquerade. Her masculine persona would undoubtedly prove a handicap in the development of a true friendship between her and Quinton's young sister. And Penny was in need of a friend and confidant, Eve was certain.

  The girl's prattle revealed an incredibly inaccurate knowledge of what her Season would entail. Miss Comstock, for all her homely wisdom, did not appear to have great experience with Society. Her knowledge of the ton seemed to have been gained solely through the reading of romances and articles in publications such as La Belle Assemblèe.

  Doubtless she had filled Penny's imagination with tales of beautiful but poor maidens being swept off their feet by handsome, rich dukes and other such faradiddle. Even Eve, totally inexperienced as she was, knew that many young girls, fresh from the country, frequently had a harrowing time of it in their first Season. Penny would need a wiser and more sophisticated hand to guide her than Miss Comstock.

  But how to tell the girl's brother without giving offense? Would he believe such a warning, coming as it did from one whom he believed to be an eighteen-year-old youth?

  Not likely.

  Chapter Eight

  The friendship between Eve and Penelope grew as the days went by. Eve was often hard pressed to maintain her masculine persona during their daily rides. The two often tied their horses to a convenient shrub and sat in the grass on a low rise where they had a view of the lush fields and oak woodlands around Fallowfeld. Many girlish confidences were received by Eve as they spoke of Penny's dreams and ambitions.

  Eve was herself much more reticent, for the dreams she held in her heart were not those suitable to the young man she seemed to be. She entered in to Penny's fantasies about her Season with enthusiasm, but was careful to warn the girl frequently that it would have its pitfalls and its disappointments.

  Eve, enjoying her growing intimacy with Penny, was not at first aware when the girl's reactions to her underwent a subtle change. Penny had been more subdued than usual
for several days before Eve took notice of it. When the girl's usually buoyant spirits were absent for the third day in a row, Eve questioned her about it as they sat on their grassy knoll.

  "There is nothing wrong with me, Mr. Dixon. Must one be always laughing and carrying on like a silly chit?" She rolled over and lay on her stomach, gazing up at Eve. "You must think me such a child! But I promise you I am not. Why I am old enough to...to marry!" Her always rosy cheeks flamed and she buried her face in her hands.

  Concerned, Eve touched the girl's shoulder lightly. "Oh, my dear, have you developed a tendre for someone?"

  Eve's memories of her first love were still painful. Leander Smythe had been a friend of her father's, much younger than Jonathan Dixon, and incredibly handsome. At least to Eve's young eyes. He had broken her heart, and that he had not ruined her to boot was probably due to his winning a large wager and taking himself off to greener pastures.

  Penny nodded, but did not show her face.

  "Is he someone unsuitable? Someone your brother would disapprove of?"

  A silent no.

  "He does not reciprocate your regard?"

  Muffled, the reply came. "He does not know of it."

  "Ah. That does make the matter somewhat difficult." Thinking to cheer the girl up, Eve said, "Perhaps you have not given him any indication of your regard."

  Penny pushed herself erect. "I have tried, but he is blind!" Her eyes welled tears, one of which traced its way down her cheek. She sniffed.

  Eve was at a loss for words. She reached out and clasped Penny's hand.

  And found hers caught in an unbreakable grip. "Eve, can you not see how I have come to regard you?"

  Good God! Eve drew back as far as she could, given Penny's hold on her. "Penny, I...ah, you...Oh, this cannot be!"