Page 44 of The Count’s Charade

The reminder threw a stab of anguish into Grace’s heart. She hid it, busying herself with rising and brushing off her petticoats. She caught at Henri as he struggled for balance one-handed, taking his weight. Once he was secure, she smiled at him.

“I don’t know about you, but I could do with a cup of coffee.”

Henri laughed. “An idea excellent, ma chère. Let us to the kitchen to make it, for I fear Jemima has the work of a mountain with this washing.”

In silence, Grace clumped at his side towards the back door, prey to a sneaking image of a future composed of just such companionable moments.

The visitor was of middle years, but a man of strength and vigour that contrasted with the sickly state of health of his daughter. Sir James Levisham’s wife, he was wont to explain, had been of a similar constitution, which was why he had only the one child living. Grace had grown fond of him, but his presence in her house this late Monday afternoon gave her no pleasure.

At her urging, he had taken a seat at the table, accepting the glass of sherry with which Grace supplied him, and allowing himself to be deflected from his mission to give an account of his sudden dash to the coast.

“No, it was not Serena this time, my dear. My young scamp of a grandson had managed to break a limb.”

“Oh, no,” Grace exclaimed, thrown out of her own concerns for a moment.

“Don’t fret, Grace, my dear. Little tyke is as happy as a grig, for he has the whole family waiting upon him hand and foot. Which is why Constant sent to me to arrange for the vicarage maid to go down to act as nurse. Couldn’t have that, as you may suppose, or the place would be a shambles by the time they returned. Took one of my own girls down. Gave me an excuse to spend a few days with them, for I don’t mind telling you, I miss them all like the devil.”

Aware of Sir James’s doting fondness for her nephews, and his constant anxiety for her sister-in-law’s life, Grace readily appreciated this. She replied suitably, and listened with feigned interest to an account of his sojourn in South End, knowing full well it was but a prelude to the business that must have brought him.

It was not long before his grizzled brows drew together under his wig, and a troubled expression settled into features a trifle heavy in the jaw. Grace braced herself.

“But this is all beside the bridge, I’m afraid, my dear. I feel sure you know why I am come.” He gave her an avuncular smile. “Though it is always refreshing to see you, dear Grace, this is by way of an official visit.”

She grimaced. “I know, Sir James.”

“Such a rigmarole as I have been given.” He tutted gently. “I thought it best to come and see for myself before providing Wooferton or Mayberry with any sort of warrant. Besides that, I have a peculiar interest in you, my dear Grace, and I know Constant would expect me to enquire into the circumstances.”

“You are very kind.” Grace smiled a little, though her heart was bleak. “However, I have little doubt you have been given an accurate account of the circumstances, insofar as Wooferton and Mayberry are aware of them.”

Sir James pursed his lips, looking very much as if this was not what he had wanted to hear. “Then the fellow is here still?”

“Yes. Though he would not have been had those dratted Frenchmen not come here on Saturday, and demanded to search the house.”

A very different expression now took possession of Sir James’s countenance, and he stiffened. “They did what?”

Grace was hard put to it not to laugh, a crazy sort of hysteria taking possession of her mind. “Well, as the leader Loriot threatened to shoot the lock on the front door, I had little choice but to allow them to enter.”

The suffusion of indignation that overspread Sir James’s cheeks was balm to her, but she did not think it would serve her. He had driven himself to Wonts in his phaeton, and his groom was walking the horses up and down the lane. Grace dared not suppose his purpose to be other than to remove Henri forthwith. She would not be surprised to find that Wooferton and Mayberry were following on horseback. For this present, however, his attention was deflected.

“I shall have something to say to them when they find themselves before me, I can tell you. How dared they presume to search an English house, let alone terrorise a lone woman? I never heard of such a thing! Frenchmen to enter here without so much as a by-your-leave? Good God, whatever next?”

Grace watched him lift his wine and toss it off, setting the glass down with a snap. She would have liked to encourage him to continue in this strain, but it was more than her nerves could stand. If the confrontation with Henri was inevitable, let it come sooner rather than later.

All through yesterday’s stolen hours, his going postponed for that the stage did not run on Sunday, the dread had mounted within her. He ought to have left in the early hours this morning, but they had lingered talking into the night so that Henri had slept too late. Grace knew she should have insisted on his going, and wondered if this result had been lurking in her secret desires. If he was in the area, he was within her reach.

“Let that be for the moment, sir. We succeeded in concealing the Frenchmen’s quarry, and that is all that matters to me. What concerns me more is how you mean to keep him safe. If, as I suppose, you intend to take him into custody.”

The high colour died a little, and Sir James resumed his avuncular manner. “My dear, I understand you to have been fiercely protective of the fellow, but —”

“He is a gentleman, sir,” Grace interrupted, an edge to her voice. “He may not have been living as one in France, but there can be no mistaking his origins.”

A heavy frown settled on his brow. “Ah, now there we are in a difficulty, Grace.”

She felt a sliver of anxiety. “How so, sir?”

“Wooferton has had speech with these — er — French Government agents. It would seem that your fugitive is not, as you undoubtedly suppose, an émigré.”

The hollow of dread that had attacked her before on this question opened up more widely. “Are they saying he is a spy?”