Angel's Touch (12 page)

‘
Do
you think she will come to me?’ he asked Braxted
suddenly.

The boy was still
chuckling, and in his present mood he did not hesitate, but lifted
his sister and handed her up to the man sitting on the wall.

Peggy’s own squeals were instantly quenched as she gazed
uncertainly at the face of the man who held her on his
knee.

‘
Peggy, do you know who I am?’ the marquis asked
quietly.

Watching with interest, the young boy poked at his father’s
arm. ‘Who’s this, Peggy? Who’s this?’

The infant looked from
one to the other, a little pink tongue travelling uncertainly about
her lips. One tiny finger pointed at the man and she looked to her
brother for guidance.

‘
Oo
dis?’

Braxted poked again. ‘It’s Papa, Peggy.
Papa.’

The
word on his lips warmed Salmesbury’s heart, and he cradled the
infant a little closer. She was looking at him again, savouring
this new identity, as if she was not quite sure of its
significance.

‘
Oo
dis?’ she asked, pointing again.

‘
I told you,’ her brother said impatiently.
‘This is Papa.
Papa,
Peggy.’

The
lesson had gone home. Her little finger jerked forward and prodded
the marquis in the chest. She said it with confidence.

‘
Papa. Papa.’

Salmesbury could not
speak.

Chapter
Five

‘
It
will not do, Inskip.’

The
gentleman addressed, who had served as secretary to the most
unexacting master anyone could wish for since the marquis came into
his inheritance just after the birth of his son, nodded his
head.

‘
I
agree, my lord. But it is difficult.’

Salmesbury frowned up at him from the huge desk that
dominated one end of the saloon that served as his office, while
his secretary had a smaller desk on the other side of the room,
which in practice he rarely used. Since the accident, it was he who
generally attended to the administrative details of the business of
the estate. His master, once he had recovered enough to be capable
of participating, preferred to spend long hours driving around,
ostensibly visiting tenants, investigating complaints and examining
areas which were in need of repair. Inskip suspected—not without
some justification—that Salmesbury’s real incentive was that he
could more readily brood in isolation aboard his phaeton without
incurring criticism from his long-suffering well-wishers, Hoff in
particular.

Thus
Inskip was invariably to be found on the other side of the
marquis’s desk where all the accoutrements of the job were
conveniently to hand. He had long fallen into the way of making
decisions without referring them, so that his master’s access of
sudden interest in the children, and more particularly in the
vagaries of Lady Margaret’s nurse, had taken him by surprise. His
faculties were for the moment dulled

‘
It
is difficult to know what to do, I mean,’ he added apologetically,
noting his employer’s frown.

‘
Well, I know what to do,’ the marquis informed him with
decision. ‘She must be got rid of.’

‘
Yes, I see that, my lord,’ agreed Inskip. ‘But as you are no
doubt aware, her ladyship will not tolerate the nurse’s absence.
Already, I am informed, she has—er—made it known that Kittle was
missed when she returned to the nursery.’

The
marquis smiled. ‘My dear Inskip, don’t be shy. You may as well say
she kicked up the devil of a dust and be done with it.’

The
secretary grinned. ‘Quite so, sir.’

‘
My
hand may have been forced temporarily, for obviously I had to let
her remain for the present. Nevertheless, after what I saw
yesterday, she will have to go. Good God, I could not reconcile it
with my conscience to leave Peggy in the charge of such a
woman.’

He
saw an odd look in his secretary’s face, and had no difficulty in
interpreting it. ‘Yes, I know, Inskip. I should have done something
before this. And so I would have, had I known of it. But that is in
the past, and I do not mean to allow myself to become ignorant of
these things again.’

Inskip met his eyes. ‘I am glad of it, my lord. We have
missed you sorely.’

‘
Thank you,’ Salmesbury said simply, and there was no need for
more words between them on the subject.

The secretary paced a
moment or two while his employer drew absently on a sheet of paper,
his mind busy.

‘
I
wonder, my lord,’ Inskip said suddenly, ‘if we could try a little
subterfuge.’

‘
By
all means, if you think it will answer.’

‘
Say that we employ a
second
nursemaid—at least so we
shall inform the world at large—and allow Lady Margaret time to
become used to her.’

Salmesbury sat up eagerly. ‘The very thing. Once Peggy
accepts her, we may give Kittle notice and the change will be less
drastic. An excellent idea.’

‘
It
may not work,’ cautioned the secretary. ‘Children take odd fancies
to people, and it may be—’

‘
Odd
fancies indeed,’ scoffed his lordship. ‘Nonsense, Inskip. One nurse
is much like another. It is all a matter of whom one is used to.’
He saw that Inskip was eyeing him uncertainly and a bitter smile
twisted his lips. ‘You would wish to tell me that Kittle stands to
Peggy in place of her mother, I dare say. But I cannot agree.
Recollect, Inskip, that persons of our order are in general in the
company of servants. Why, I scarce saw my own mother above a half
dozen times in a month, I dare say.’

‘
But she was
there
,
sir,’ said the secretary with meaning.

The
black eyes gazed at him, pain in their depths. Salmesbury’s voice
was very quiet. ‘I can do nothing about that, Inskip.’

The
secretary disagreed, but he did not say so. If the marquis would
only go out into the world, he felt, it would not be long before
some young lady captured his interest. But he sighed inwardly,
thinking how unlikely it was that his employer would expose himself
as a cripple before the public eye. He was destined to be
surprised.

After a moment the marquis spoke again, his tone determinedly
cheerful. ‘Now we have that settled, I must have your help on
another matter. It is Wystan’s birthday in a couple of days and I
would like, if possible, to think of something to do. Something
different, unusual.’ He looked hopefully at his secretary. ‘Come
now, Inskip, you are such a clever fellow. I am sure you can think
of some suitable entertainment.’

Inskip smiled. ‘Well, sir, an idea does spring to mind. Lord
Braxted himself mentioned it to me, though where he had his
information I am at a loss to imagine.’

‘
Good God, don’t sound so mysterious, man. Out with
it.’

‘
It
seems there is to be one of these—er—village style diversions on
Saturday.’

The
marquis covered his eyes with one hand and groaned. ‘God help me!
You don’t mean one of those appalling occasions where old men puff
tobacco for a quart of gin and young women engage in a donkey
race?’

‘
Exactly so, my lord,’ confirmed Inskip, grinning. ‘It is to
be held on Tunbridge Wells Common in honour of the soldiers who
have gone off to France.’

‘
Tunbridge Wells!’ echoed his lordship, and experienced an
abrupt jolt in his chest as the image of bright hazel eyes and a
friendly smile surrounded by black curls leapt into his
mind.

‘
Master Wystan—I mean, his lordship—did speak rather wistfully
of a desire to attend the event,’ offered Inskip in an apologetic
tone. ‘There is expected to be quite the atmosphere of a fair. Lord
Braxted expressed a strong wish to see a—a bearded lady who is to
appear, and—’

‘
A
bearded lady? Good God!’

‘
Yes, sir. And an enormously fat pig is promised. However,’ he
added, as a look of horror passed over his employer’s face, ‘I did
venture to point out to his lordship that it was unlikely that
—’

‘
No,
no,’ interrupted the Marquis. ‘If he has set his heart on it, how
cruel it would be to fob him off with some other amusement that he
would not like half as well, I dare say. Besides, it will serve
admirably for a birthday treat. We may celebrate here on Friday,
the day itself, and then make an expedition of it to these
diversions.’ He nodded, briskly determined. ‘Yes, we shall go. We
shall take Peggy and Kittle, too. And you and Eastleigh may
accompany us.’

‘
Well, if your lordship does not mind,’ Inskip said hastily,
‘I have a great deal of business on hand.’

The
marquis smiled. ‘But I do mind, Inskip. And if you imagine I will
attend this dreadful event without your support, you were never
more mistaken. Moreover, it was your idea, my friend. On your own
head be it.’

Saturday dawned fair and bright, much to the Salmesbury’s
chagrin. He had half hoped for rain, which would have afforded a
legitimate excuse to cry off the promised treat. But no such
fortune occurred, and the whole party set off just after ten so as
to be there in good time for the asses’ race scheduled to begin at
twelve. Inskip having provided himself with a programme of events,
they were able to plan the day to encompass all those that Braxted
particularly wished to witness.

The
marquis groaned in spirit when they arrived at the Common to find
an enormous crowd of persons wandering about in their holiday
best.

‘
For
the Lord’s sake, let us keep together,’ he said, feeling harassed
already.

‘
I
think, my lord, it will be as well to appoint a place of rendezvous
at which we might seek each other out should we become separated,’
suggested Inskip.

‘
Yes, indeed,’ agreed Mr Eastleigh. ‘At my advanced years, you
know, one cannot be racing about hunting for persons in a crowd.
And I dare say you, my lord, would not wish. . .’

He
left the sentence delicately unfinished, but the marquis laughed.
‘Very true, Eastleigh. But Hoff will stick with me to succour me if
I should be overcome by fatigue.’

‘
That I will, me lord,’ said the groom grimly, who had joined
the party on his own insistence for no other purpose.

A meeting place was
appointed, and it was agreed that anyone who became lost should
proceed to that point on the hour and wait there to be rescued.

‘
The
pig, sir!’ Braxted piped up, impatient of the delay, and becoming
excited by the clamour and bright cloth awnings and ribbon-decked
poles he could see dotted about. ‘You said I might see the fat
pig.’

‘
So
I did.’ The marquis looked about rather hopelessly, daunted by the
press of persons. ‘Now, where in the world is the wretched creature
to be found?’

Mr
Eastleigh tutted, equally at a loss, and Inskip fell to studying
his programme, hopeful that the celebrated pig’s whereabouts might
be mentioned therein. It was Hoff who saved the day.

‘
Never you fret yourself, me lord. Nor you neither, Master
Wystan.’

With that, he let out
an ear-piercing whistle and an urchin materialised out of the
crowd.

‘
It’s me sister’s boy, me lord. Here, Tommy!’ he called,
pulling forward the lad, who came shyly, twisting his cap in his
hands. ‘Lives here, he does. I’ve arst him to find out where
everything is so he might lead us there, me lord.’

‘
What admirable foresight, Hoff. And thank God! Well, then,
young Tommy, lead on.’

It
was therefore with surprising ease that the marquis’s party made
their way through the throng, although their progress, hampered by
the necessity of shouldering a pathway through the crowds—a task
taken on by Hoff and Inskip—was necessarily slow.

This
was to his lordship’s advantage, and Salmesbury and his children,
with Peggy carried in the nurse’s arms, were able to move in a
fairly leisurely way.

The
little group attracted some attention as they passed through, for
the quality of the marquis’s garb and that of his son was marked,
although both wore countrified frock-coats and breeches of quiet
hue. Added to that were Mr Eastleigh’s clerical black, Inskip’s
neatness and Hoff’s livery. Such an array could hardly fail to draw
interest. But such was the festive mood of the party that none of
them even noticed.

They caught a glimpse
of the course on which the races were to take place, which had been
marked out by the beribboned poles Braxted had seen, and there was
plenty to look at on the way: stalls with sweetmeats and toys for
sale, vendors with trays wandering through the crowd, and several
tents in which were advertised other freakish objects to be gawped
at.

But
very soon they found themselves in the presence of the fat pig,
which was indeed a revolting creature, so large as to have
difficulty shunting about its makeshift sty. This did not prevent
it, much to Braxted’s delight, from rustling up to push its eager
snout over the poles in search of further sustenance.