The Marquess Tames His Bride

Oh, well, if he did insist she call him Rawcliffe, it was at least marginally better than Zeus, which, to her way of thinking, bordered on the blasphemous.

‘And Atlas,’ Lady Harriet was saying, ‘that is Jack’s groomsman, he is really Captain Bretherton, who was also at school with them and quite their hero, on account of him being so tall and so defensive of the smaller boys who were prone to being bullied. And Archie…’ She trailed off. ‘Oh, dear, I don’t know how much I’m allowed to tell you about all that.’ She twisted her hands together. ‘And you must be beside yourself with curiosity.’

Funnily enough, Clare wasn’t all that curious. She felt as if she had enough on her plate with everything that had happened the last few days.

‘I would not want you to feel you were breaking any sort of promise you have made.’

Lady Harriet sat down on the nearest sofa to where she’d been standing. Frowned. Shook her head. ‘I haven’t made any sort of promise, actually, have I? He just sort of shook his head to show he didn’t want to tell you about what he’s been up to of late…’

‘Which wasn’t surprising, since it sounds as if he was in pursuit of some female. I suppose that is his idea of being tactful.’

‘Oh, no, it wasn’t anything like that! It was…’ She wrung her hands.

‘Perhaps, instead, you could tell me a little about the man who died? I admit, I am curious about him, since I have never seen Lord Rawcliffe so utterly…’ Yes, she wouldn’t mind learning something about the person whose death had upset Lord Rawcliffe so much that he’d let his true feelings show, even if it had only been for a moment or two. Especially since she’d done such a poor job of offering him comfort.

‘Yes,’ said Lady Harriet with what looked like relief. ‘There is no reason I may not tell you about poor Archie. He was another friend from Jack’s schooldays. And later he worked for your Lord Rawcliffe as his chaplain…’

‘Chaplain? No, he couldn’t have. I mean, the chaplain at Kelsham Park was Mr Kellet.’

‘Yes, that’s him. Archie was the nickname they gave him. On account of his being so clever. After Archimedes, the Greek chap who did a lot of inventing. And mathematics.’

‘Thomas Kellet? He is dead?’ She could hardly believe it. ‘And drowned? But…last I heard, he was coming to London to attend some lectures and consulting some scientific chaps who were working in the same area as him.’

‘You knew him?’

‘Of course I knew him. He was Lord Rawcliffe’s tame scientist. I mean,’ she added hastily, ‘that is the way everyone in Watling Minor referred to him.’

‘Oh. I see. Zeus said you had known each other for a long time. You live near Kelsham Park?’

‘Yes. My father was the vicar of Watling Minor. That is the nearest parish. I used to see Mr Kellet occasionally. He didn’t leave the grounds of the manor very often. Oh, dear. No wonder Lord Rawcliffe was so upset.’

‘Yes, and it was all my fault,’ said Lady Harriet, pulling a handkerchief out of a concealed pocket in her dress and blowing her nose.

Clare went to sit next to her and patted her hand. ‘I don’t see how it can possibly be your fault.’

‘But it was,’ wailed Lady Harriet. ‘If only I… I could tell you…’ She bit down on her lower lip, looking absolutely torn.

‘But you cannot break your word, I understand. Besides, it sounded to me as though Lord Rawcliffe feels responsible. So I don’t see how it can be your fault, as well.’

‘Because I was the one who sent Lord Rawcliffe to…to Norfolk. If he hadn’t gone there, Archie would never have gone to Dorset to confront his great-godmother and he wouldn’t have drowned.’

‘You sent Lord Rawcliffe to Norfolk?’ She shook her head. ‘Surely not. Knowing Lord Rawcliffe as I do, I could not see anyone being able to persuade him to do anything he didn’t wish to do.’

As soon as the words had left her lips, it was as if she was hearing somebody else reminding her of that fact. Lord Rawcliffe never did anything he did not wish to do.