To Catch a Husband(45)

He waited expectantly but Daniel made no reply. He glanced at Ann. Her eyes were fixed upon him but he could not read her thoughts.

He said quietly, ‘If that is the case then I am very sorry for it, but I cannot in conscience withdraw my support for this cause.’

‘Very well, if that is your final word.’ Lord Harworth turned to his sister. ‘Ann?’

She rose, drawing the diamond ring from her finger and holding it out to him.

‘Do not feel too sorry for me, Daniel,’ she said. ‘Being engaged to you was not half as much fun as I expected it to be.’

He nodded, relieved. ‘Perhaps that is because I am not the right man for you.’

‘Perhaps not. I have thought for some time now that Garston might suit me better. He is family, you see. He understands our position.’

‘Then I wish you every happiness, Miss Harworth.’ Daniel picked up his hat and gloves. ‘In the circumstances I think it would be best if I did not stay for dinner. Please convey my apologies to Lady Harworth.’

‘I will.’ Lord Harworth gave a dismissive nod. ‘I bid you good day, Blackwood.’

As Daniel reached the door Ann called to him. He turned.

‘When you find Kitty will you give her my love?’ she said, smiling a little. ‘And tell her there is no ill will in this house towards her. Is there, Bertram?’

Lord Harworth shifted uncomfortably and gazed down at the carpet, tracing the pattern with the toe of one beautifully polished boot.

‘No, none,’ he muttered. ‘Pray tell Miss Wythenshawe I realise now that our marriage would have been a grave mistake.’ He looked up. ‘Tell her she is welcome at Kirkleigh at any time. As are you, sir, as long as you leave your opinions at the gate!’





Chapter Fourteen




‘Oh, dear, I cannot make head nor tail of this letter.’

Mrs Wythenshawe passed the paper to her sister. ‘Jane, dear, you must read it and tell me what you think of it.’

Aunt Jane coughed and put the letter in her lap.

‘Well, it is from a London lawyer.’ She cleaned her spectacles and settled them back more firmly on her nose. ‘I do not claim to understand every word of it, but it says there is an annuity due to the widow of Mr Walter Charles Wythenshawe.’ She looked up, her mouth open in astonishment. ‘Three hundred pounds a year!’

Kitty gave a little gasp. Mrs Blackwood had kept her word, but Kitty had not expected her to be so generous.

‘And you have no idea who is our mysterious benefactor?’ Aunt Jane handed the letter back. ‘My dear sister, can you recall no acquaintance of Walter’s who would do this, and after all this time, too?’

‘No, I can think of no one.’ She looked up, her eyes shining. ‘We shall be very comfortable now! We shall be able to rent a better house. Kitty will not need to become a governess! And we will not need to take in any more sewing!’ Mama gave a little skip as she crossed to the little table beneath the window. ‘I shall reply to this immediately, for the lawyer asks me to advise him of the bank I wish to use to receive the money. Oh, dear, how exciting! I am sure I shall not be able to set a stitch today!’

‘Then do not, Mama,’ Kitty urged her, smiling. ‘You should take a holiday.’

‘And so I shall, my love, but first we have Miss Blackwood’s two gowns to finish. They are promised for tomorrow morning, and no matter how rich we may become, I will not go back on my word!’



It was Kitty’s intention to be at home the following day. She wanted to meet Mrs Blackwood and thank her for her generosity, but a sleepless night sapped her courage. To see Daniel’s mother again, or his sister, would only reinforce the feelings of desolation and loss that constantly dragged at her spirits. She rose from her bed, determined not to meet them. She would pen a letter to Mrs Blackwood. A much better idea, she decided, since she would be able to choose her words carefully and ensure that her gratitude was properly expressed.

Having made her decision, Kitty dressed quickly and announced that she was going out.

‘I am going to see…going to see…’ Kitty searched around in her mind for a name. If only her mother had not kept her quite so confined she might have comfortably spent the day with someone in the village, but her mother had never mixed with their neighbours and there was no one Kitty knew well enough to call upon unannounced. She thought with regret of Ann Harworth: by giving up the chance to marry Ann’s brother, she had lost her only real friend. The pain of that disappointment gave her an even greater desire to escape. ‘I am going to walk over the moors to Coldclough Valley. To collect elderberries.’

‘But that is such a long way,’ declared her mother. ‘It will take you the best part of the day!’

‘I know, but all the ripe berries around the village have been picked and the valley is particularly well stocked with elders.’

‘But Mrs Blackwood is coming this morning,’ protested Aunt Jane. ‘Will you not stay to see her? Upon her last visit she showed you such a flattering amount of attention…’

‘Then please, make my apologies, Aunt,’ said Kitty hastily. ‘I am sure you do not need me—indeed, it will be very cramped in here if we all stay. Besides, I fear the weather is going to break and if I don’t collect the berries today they may all be ruined.’ She picked up her basket. ‘Do not be anxious for me, I shall be back before dark!’ And with that she whisked herself out of the house.

Kitty hurried out of the village and was soon following the path across the moors. It was such a warm day that she tucked her shawl into her basket. The sun burned through the thin muslin of her gown, warming her shoulders. She loved the empty moors on days such as this when the late August sunshine seemed to acquire an added brilliance, a sudden, flaring reminder that autumn would soon arrive.



By the time Coldclough Valley was in sight she was hot and flushed with her exertion, but her spirits had risen considerably. Perhaps the future was not quite so bleak after all, and although her spirit balked at taking charity from Mrs Blackwood, she could not deny that the annuity settled upon her mother would make life considerably easier.

‘And Mrs Blackwood was very right,’ she told herself, coming to a halt on the path. ‘We would not have been in this situation if I had never met her son. Horrid, horrid man!’

As she tilted her face up to catch the sun a sudden movement attracted her eye and she looked back the way she had come. There in the distance was the small black shape of a horse and rider. Kitty gasped.

‘It could be anyone,’ she muttered, trying to calm her racing heart.

She blinked and rubbed her hand across her eyes. The figure was too far away to pick out any detail, but instinct told her it was Daniel. The big black horse, the upright figure—it had to be Daniel. As she stared, the rider changed course and began to move more quickly. He was heading in her direction.

‘Oh, heavens!’

She picked up her skirts and ran towards the clough. He was such a long way behind her, she only had to reach the wooded valley and she might be able to evade him. She reached the ridge and hurried down the path into the valley, allowing her pace to slow a little once she was sure Daniel could no longer see her. She was dismayed to see how far she would have to walk before she reached the woods, but there was no choice: the river cutting through the valley bottom might be small but it was very deep and it effectively blocked her path. She must go either up or downstream. She chose to head towards the woods. She half-ran, half-scrambled down the bank, thankful that the ground beside the tumbling waters was covered with a short, springy turf that allowed her to make good progress.

But not good enough. All too soon she saw Daniel on the ridge above her. She began to run, but he urged his horse to descend the shallow bank diagonally to cut her off. She heard the jingle of harness and the thud of hooves. Speed was useless. Kitty slowed again to a walk, turning to glare at Daniel.

‘How did you find me?’ she called out.

‘Your mother described to me the path you had taken. You have her eyes, you know: a beautiful moss green. She is a most delightful woman: I left her taking tea with Bella and my own mother. I think they will get on very well.’

Kitty refused to be pleased.

‘I do not want to talk to you. Pray go away.’

‘But I want to talk to you.’

‘There is nothing to say!’

‘But there is. Kitty, listen to me—’

‘Go away!’ she cried. ‘How dare you come here and—and torture me like this! I told you I would have nothing more to do with you.’

‘But I am a free man—Ann and I are no longer engaged.’

‘So you have broken her heart, too!’

‘No, it was—! Kitty, hell and damnation, will you stand still for a moment!’ He jumped down from his horse and came towards her.

‘No!’ Kitty stopped, putting up her hand as if to hold him off. ‘Do not come any nearer. If you do I will…I will jump in the beck!’

His lips twitched. It pierced her heart to remember how much she loved his smile.

‘That would be a little extreme, don’t you think?’

‘No!’ she retorted angrily. ‘You have b-brought me nothing but pain: I would walk through fire rather than talk to you again!’