Georgette Heyer

“ The lightning smile flashed into Jack's eyes.
"How ferocious! But pray do not be ridiculous over a mere scratch. Recovered, indeed!"
"Ye still look ill. Nay, Jack, take that frown off your face; 'tis of no avail, I am determined."
The door closed softly behind Jim as Carstares shook his head.
"I can't, Miles. You must see 'tis impossible."
"Pooh! No one who comes to Thurze House knows ye or anything about ye. Ye need not see a soul, but come ye must!"
"But, Miles—"
"Jack, don't be a fool! I want ye, and so does Molly. 'Tis no trap, so ye need not look so scared." ”

“ The hope died out.
"You are ridiculous, sir."
"'Tis an art, my dear, most difficult to acquire."
"Sir—Mr. Everard—whoever you are—if you have any spark of manliness in you, of chivalry, if you care for me at all, you will this instant set me down!"
Never had she seemed more beautiful, more desirable. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, soft and luminous, and the tragic mouth pleaded, even trying to smile.
"It would appear that none of these attributes belongs to me," murmured his Grace, and wondered if she would weep. He had never a taste for a weeping woman.
But Diana was proud. ”

“ He was tortured by the thought of Diana at the mercy of a man of Tracy's calibre; Diana in terror; Diana despairing. Unconsciously he pressed his knees against the smooth flank and once more Jenny fell into that long, swift stride. She seemed to glide over the ground with never a jar nor a stumble. Carstares was careful not to irk her in any way, only keeping a guiding, restraining hand on the rein, and for the rest letting her go as she willed. On and on they sped, as the time lagged by, sometimes through leafy lanes, at others over fields and rough tracks. ”

“ Dick, Dick, think!"
"I have thought. God! how I have thought!"
"It is not fair to me! Oh, think of your honour—Wyncham!"
"My honour is less than nothing. 'Tis of his that I think."
She sprang up, clutching at his arm, shaking him.
"Richard, you are mad! You must not do this! You must not, I say!"
"I implore you, Lavinia, not to try to make me change my decision. It is of no use. Nothing you can say will make any difference." ”

“ The next instant a kiss was planted full on the little lady's lips, and he heard Jack Carstares' voice exclaim:
"Fie on you, Molly, for a spoil-sport! Here had I fooled Miles to the top of my bent—and 'pon rep.! he scarce knows me yet!"
My lady disengaged herself, blushing.
"Oh, Miles, you do know Harry—my cousin Harry?"
O'Hara collected his scattered wits and rose nobly to the occasion.
"Of course I do, me dear, though at first he gave me such a shock, I was near dumbfounded. Ye are a mad, scatter-brained fellow to play such a thrick upon us, devil take ye!" ”

“ Miss Betty drew her chair closer, and in a minute they were deep in truly feminine conversation: the prodigious extravagance of the servants; the helplessness of men-folk when left to themselves, and then London, its shops, its parks, the newest play.
Lady O'Hara was begged to take a dish of Miss Betty's precious Bohea—a very high honour indeed—and when Mr. Beauleigh came into the room he found his sister and daughter seated on either side of a pretty, animated little lady whom he had never before seen, talking hard, and partaking of tay and angel cakes. ”

“ Pray, what of you? Are you so selfless?"
"Not at all. I am precisely the same. I was merely suggesting that you might be happier an you could depose 'self.'"
"You had best do the same yourself!"
"My dear Lavinia, when I feel the need of greater happiness, I most undoubtedly shall. At present I am quite content."
"You are unkind!" she protested. "And you sneer at me."
"Pray, accept my heartfelt apologies! You shall come to Andover if the worthy Richard permits."
Her face cleared as by magic.
"Oh, Tracy! Oh, I am so desirous to be gay once more! ”

“ My lord ignored this remark. A curious smile played about his mouth.
"Egad, Miles, 'tis very entertaining! I, the erstwhile sober member—what is the matter?—am now the profligate: I dice, I gamble, I rob. Dick the ne'er-do-weel is a saint. He—er—lives a godly and righteous life, and—er—is robbed by his wife's relations. After all, I do not think I envy him overmuch."
"At least, you enjoy life more than he does," said O'Hara, grinning. "For ye have no conscience to reckon with."
Carstares' face was inscrutable. ”

“ Oh yes, yes! You think me a shrew! I know! I know! But you need not frown on me, sir, for you are worse! No, I will not hush. I am a horrid woman, yes, but you are a cheat—a cheat—a cheat!"
Carstares strode over to her.
"Lavinia!"
"No—no! Leave me alone! You make me miserable! You refuse me everything that I want most, and then you threaten to disgrace me—"
"That is untrue!" cried Richard, goaded into replying. "I will not promise, that is all. What have I refused you that was within my means to give you? God knows you try your best to ruin me—"
"There! There! 'Tis I who am to blame! ”

“ There would be no choice; I should be made to marry the dear old woman. You would bully me into it."
She laughed.
"Seriously, Jack, could you not settle down near here?"
"Not with that old woman, Molly."
"Never mind her; won't you consider it? No one need know you—in fact, you need see no one—and—oh, Jack! don't look like that. Miles, is he not ridiculous?"
"Sure, alanna, 'tis a dreary life he'd be leading," chuckled O'Hara.
"I see what it is, Molly. You have planned to make me a recluse, and to marry me to my housekeeper. I protest, 'tis great ill-usage!" ”

“ We were both cross—and then we were both sorry. I am very fond of poor Dicky."
"Fond of him! Ay, so you may be, but you do not love him! Not as a woman loves a man—do you?"
"Harold!"
"Of course you do not! You used to love me—no, do not shake your head, 'tis true! You would have married me had it not been for Tracy."
"Oh, Harry! How can you say so? What had he to do with it?"
"What, indeed! Whose fault was it that I was time after time refused admittance at Andover? Whose fault was it that you were induced to marry Carstares?"
"Not Tracy's. 'Twas my own wish." ”

“ Jack had assented gladly enough—to have a friend once more was such bliss—and had given Miles the name of the inn and the village where he would find him, for O'Hara had insisted on bringing the mare over himself. So Carstares rode off to Trencham and to Jim, with the memory of a very hearty handshake in his mind. He smiled a little as he thought of his friend's words when he had shown himself reluctant to give the required promise:
"Ye obstinate young devil, ye'll do as I say, and no nonsense, or ye don't leave this house!" ”

“ There was a long silence, and then my lord lied bravely.
"I hope that she will—in time—forget me," he said.
Diana sat very still. No more roses were destroyed; the breeze wafted the fallen petals over her feet, lightly, almost playfully. Somewhere in the hedge a bird was singing, a full-throated sobbing plaint, and from all around came an incessant chirping and twittering. The sun sent its bright rays all over the garden, bathing it in gold and happiness; but for the two in the pleasaunce the light had gone out, and the world was very black.
"I see," whispered Diana at last. "Poor lady!" ”

“ In the morning they would all walk as far as the Assembly Rooms, and Miss Betty would drink the waters in the old Pump Room, pacing sedately up and down with her friend on one side and her niece on the other. Madam Thompson had very few acquaintances in Bath, and the people she did know were all of her own age and habits, rarely venturing as far as the crowded fashionable quarter; so Diana had to be content with the society of the two old ladies, who gossiped happily enough together, but whose conversation she could not but find singularly uninteresting. ”

“ It was impossible to live in town under an assumed name, as he would like to have done, for too many people knew Jack Carstares, and would remember him. He saw that he must either live secluded, or—and the idea of becoming a highwayman occurred to him. A hermit's existence he knew to be totally unsuited to a man of his temperament, but the free, adventurous spirit of the road appealed to him. ”

“ Soon I shall come to Andover. Will you let me stay a few days?"
"The question is, will Richard allow you to stay so long in my contaminating presence?"
"Richard would never keep me away, Tracy!" she replied proudly. "He could not. Oh, why is it that I don't love him more? Why do I not care for him as much as I care for you even?"
"My dear Lavinia, like all Belmanoirs, you care first for yourself and secondly for the man who masters you. That, alas! Richard has not yet succeeded in doing." ”

“ Jack looked at him.
"Oh, ay! I'm a tactless oaf, I know, and me manners are atrocious to be for trying to break through the barriers ye've put up round yourself. But, I tell ye, Jack, it hurts to be kept at the end of a pole! I don't want to force your confidence, but for God's sake don't be treating me as if I were a stranger!"
"I beg your pardon, Miles. It's confoundedly hard to confide in anyone after six years' solitude." He struggled into his coat as he spoke, and settled his cravat. "If you want to know the whole truth, 'tis because of Diana that I am going." ”

“ My dear Lavinia!"
She laughed at his haughty tone.
"You've not always been so nice, Tracy! But what of your Diana? An you are so infatuated, you had best wed her."
"Why, so I think."
Lady Lavinia gasped.
"Tracy! You do not mean it? Goodness me, but a marriage!"
"Why not, Lavinia?"
"Oh, a respectable married man, forsooth! And how long will the passion last?"
"I cannot be expected to foretell that, surely? I hope, for ever."
"And you'll tie yourself up for the sake of one chit? Lud!"
"I can conceive a worse fate for a man."
"Can you? Well, tell me more! 'Tis monstrous exciting. ”

“ Shortly after, Jim arrived, highly contented with his new surroundings, and able to give a satisfactory verdict on Jenny's stalling. He had quite accepted O'Hara as a friend, after some jealous qualms, and was now well pleased that his master should be in his house instead of roaming the countryside.
At five o'clock, as the gong rang, my lord descended the stairs resplendent in old gold and silver trimmings, determined to be as gay and light-hearted as the occasion demanded, as though there had never been a Diana to upset the whole course of a man's life. ”

“ Up she sprang, kicking her skirts as she always did when angered.
"Money! money!—always money!" she cried. "I do not care one rap for it! And Richard is not wealthy!"
"Richard is heir to wealth," replied his Grace calmly. "And even an you are so impervious to its charms, I, my dear, am not. Richard is extremely useful to me. I beg you will not leave him for any such mad rake as Lovelace, who would be faithful to you for perhaps three months, certainly not longer."
"Tracy, I will not have you speak to me like this! How dare you insult me so? ”

“ Oh, will not Bob be furious, though!"
"It were almost worth while—just for the sake of foiling him. He would so like to succeed me. But I really do not think he must." His elbow was on his knee, his chin in his hand, and a peculiar smile on his lips. "Can you imagine him stepping into my ducal shoes, Lavinia?"
"Very easily!" she cried. "Oh, yes, yes, Tracy! Marry the girl!"
"If she will."
"Why, 'tis not like you to underrate your persuasive powers!"
His Grace's thin nostrils wrinkled up in a curious grimace.
"I believe one cannot force a girl to the altar," he said. ”

“ Richard rose, gathering up his letters and stared across at this man who had been Jack's greatest friend. He took a step towards him. As he did so, O'Hara turned and caught sight of him. Richard was about to hail him, when he suddenly noticed the change in his expression. The good humour died out of the Irishman's eyes and left them hard and scornful. His pleasant mouth curved into a disdainful line. Carstares stood still, one hand on the back of a chair, his eyes rivetted to O'Hara's face, reading all the reproach, the red-hot anger that Miles was trying to convey to him. ”

“ Then Diana told Thomas to take charge of my lord's horse that they could see, quietly nibbling the grass further down the road, stooped and picked up his Grace of Andover's sword, with its curiously wrought hilt, and jumped into the coach to help Miss Betty to attend to Jack's wounds.
The slash on the arm was not serious, but where the pistol had taken him was very ugly-looking. While she saw to that, Miss Betty loosened the cravat and removed my lord's mask.
"Di, see what a handsome boy 'tis! The poor, brave gentleman! What a lucky thing he came up! If only this bleeding would stop!" ”

“ Tracy was the Duke. Richard smiled a little cynically; he had already had to lend his Grace a thousand guineas to pay off some "trifling debt."
"He means it right enough. I believe it would puzzle him to find it."
"Do you say so? Why, 'tis impossible man! Tracy was in town scarce a fortnight since, and he had a run of the devil's own luck. I tell you Dick, I saw him walk off with a cool five thousand one night! And then he denies me a paltry three! Lord, what a brother! And all with the air of an angel, as if he had never lost at dice. ”

“ Jack's eyes danced with the sheer joy of battle, and his point snicked in and out wickedly. He knew Tracy of old for an expert swordsman, and he began warily.
The girl's persecutors retained a firm hold on either arm, but all their thoughts were centred on the duel. The men on the box got out their blunderbuss, ready to fire should the need arise, and the girl herself watched breathlessly, red lips apart, and eyes aglow with fright, indignation, and excitement. As for the old lady, she positively bobbed up and down shrieking encouragement to Carstares. ”

“ If Carstares begged his wife's company one morning, she was full of regrets: Harry was calling to take her to Vauxhall or to Spring Gardens. When he entered his door, the first sight that met his eyes was the Captain's amber-clouded cane and point-edged hat; and when he looked out of the window, it was more often to see a chair draw up at the house and Lovelace alight. After patiently enduring a week of his continued presence, Carstares remonstrated with his wife: she must not encourage her friend to spend all his time at Grosvenor Square. ”

“ Not for nothing had he fought against the world for six long years. Their teaching had been to hide all feeling beneath a perpetual mask of nonchalance and wit; never for an instance to betray a hurt, and never to allow it to appear that he was anything but the most care-free of men. The training stood him in good stead now, and even O'Hara wondered to see him in such spirits after all that had passed. Lady Molly was delighted with her guest, admiring his appearance, his fine, courtly manners, and falling an easy victim to his charm. ”

“ On the whole, she had enjoyed the winter, for she had induced Richard to open Wyncham House, Mayfair, the Earl's town residence, where she had been able to hold several entirely successful routs, and many select little card-parties. Admirers she had a-many, and nothing so pleased her vain little heart as masculine adulation. Carstares never entered his home without stumbling against some fresh flame of hers, but as they mostly consisted of what he rudely termed the lap-dog type, he was conscious of no jealous qualms, and patiently submitted to their inundation of his house. ”

“ I like you."
"Tare an' ouns! you must like someone else in the world besides me?"
"I can think of no one. And I do not exactly worship the ground you tread on. The contemplation of my brothers appals me. I have loved various women, and shall no doubt love many more—"
"No, Tracy," interposed Fortescue, "you have never loved a woman in your life. 'Tis that that might save you. I do not allude to the lustful passion you indulge in, but real love. For God's sake Belmanoir, live clean!"
"Pray do not distress yourself, Frank. I am not worth it." ”

“ His Grace put up his eye-glass, faintly astonished.
"What of it? Pray think a moment, Lavinia!"
"'Tis not likely that I shall be the one to disgrace the name, Tracy!"
"I sincerely hope not. I give you my word I should do all in my power to prevent any foolhardy action on your part. Pray do not forget it."
She sat silent, biting her lips.
"It is, my child, unwise to play with fire. Sooner or later one gets burnt. And remember that your gallant captain has not one half of Richard's wealth." ”

“ I thought you would be pleased," remarked Lord Robert, and chuckled. "Allow me to point out to you that there is a chair—two chairs—in fact, quite a number of chairs—immediately behind you."
She sat down, chattering excitedly.
"Why, 'tis nigh on five years since I saw Harry! Has he changed? Lud! but he will deem me an old woman! Is he like to be in town for long, I wonder?—Dear me, Bob, look at the two ladies over behind that seat!—Gracious! what extraordinary coifs, to be sure! And cherry ribbons, too!... Tell me, Bob, where did you meet Harry Lovelace?" ”

“ A slow smile dawned on the man's face.
"Ah, it be a purty sight to watch her—so it be!" he said, and received a guinea from Jack, who never tired of listening to praise of his beloved Jenny.
Carstares remounted, nodded farewell to the ostler and rode leisurely on down the street, soon branching off to the right into a typical Sussex lane, where he trotted between uneven hedges, sweet with blossom and with May, and placid fields rolling away on either side, upwards until they merged into the undulating hills, barely discernible in the gloom, that are the downs. ”

“ Low over her neck he bent, holding the Duke's sword across his saddle-bows with one hand and with the other guiding her. So he covered some three miles. He reined in then, and forced her to a canter, saving her strength for the long distance ahead of them. She was in splendid condition, glorying in the unrestrained gallop across the turf, and although she was too well-mannered to pull on the rein, Carstares could see by the eager twitching of her ears how she longed to be gone over the ground. He spoke soothingly to her and guided her on to the very lane where Diana had ridden that afternoon. ”

“ His face grew solemn.
"She knew—Jack—in Vienna—I—I wanted to hear all she could tell me of him—I could think of nothing else."
"Oh, Dicky! How—how wickedly foolish I have been! And 'twas that that made you so cold—and I thought—oh, dear!"
He drew her head down on to his shoulder again.
"My poor love! Why, 'tis the kindest lady imaginable, but as to loving her—!" He kissed her hand lingeringly. "I love—and have always loved—a far different being: a naughty, wilful, captivating little person, who—"
Lady Lavinia clasped her arms about his neck. ”