as she tried to repress a remark on the benefits of activity for a healthy figure.
They admired the little pools and grottoes and sauntered amidst the crowds. All of them studiously avoided speaking of Lady Dennery and more particularly of the possibility that she might become the next Duchess of Delahaye.
Sophia and Philip paused to admire a group of marble statuary whilst Simon and Jane walked on ahead.
‘Are you enjoying all this or do you miss Ambergate, Janey?’ Simon asked suddenly, gesturing at the crowded gardens.
Jane smiled. ‘A little of both, I suppose! I am enjoying the Season, but I shall not be sorry when it ends.’ A shadow fell across her face as she realised that the matter of the marriage to Lord Philip would have to be resolved once and for all by then. In an effort to be cheerful she turned a smile on her brother.
‘What about you, Simon? I suppose you’ll be going home in a couple of months?’
‘I’ll spend some time at Ambergate,’ Simon agreed, ‘but Alex has invited me to Yorkshire for the shooting in August.’
‘Has he!’ Jane realised that she was out-of-proportion cross. The Duke of Delahaye seemed to interfere in everything! ‘After you have helped him marry me off to his brother, I suppose!’
Simon flashed her an ironic glance. ‘We shall have to be quick about it then, or else Philip will have eloped with Sophia!’
Jane sighed, sliding her hand through his arm. ‘So you have noticed it! Yes, their affection is becoming a little too apparent! And whilst it would solve one problem, I suppose-’
‘It would only cause another,’ Simon finished grimly. ‘Alex would be furious and matters would be off to a very bad start!’
‘Yes…’ Jane looked round to see if Sophia and Philip were within earshot. To her surprise they were nowhere to be seen. The empty walks stretched away on either side of the gravel path, dark with their high hedges.
‘Oh! It is too bad! They should have more sense than to slip away together at a place like this! Sophia should be more careful of her reputation and if Lord Philip does not have honourable intentions-’ Jane broke off, afflicted by a powerful guilt. She was all too aware that she had encouraged the couple to spend time together.
Simon was frowning as he scanned the crowds.
‘They cannot have gone far. We may see them if we walk towards the pavilion-’ He broke off suddenly, staring over the heads of the crowd. ‘Well, I’ll be…’
Jane saw that her brother was watching a slender blonde girl who was walking swiftly away from them. At her side, a portly man in a striped red and white waistcoat appeared to be talking to her urgently, almost running to keep up with her. Jane saw her shake her head once, decisively, then the man tried to catch her arm. The couple turned down one of the dark walks, and at the same time, Simon dropped Jane’s arm and darted off after them without another word. Jane stared in stupefaction.
To have gone from being in a party of four to being alone seemed strange and vexatious, but Jane was a sensible girl and realised that she could find her way back to the rotunda with little trouble. There were plenty of people about and she felt quite safe. Far more provoking was Simon’s erratic behaviour. Evidently he had recognised either the girl or her companion, but as to why he had rushed off without a word…Jane started to walk slowly back towards the rotunda. As she passed the pool with the statuary, she thought she saw Philip and Sophia just disappearing around the corner of one of the walks to the right of her. At the same time, Jane glimpsed the tall but unmistakable figure of the Duke of Delahaye coming towards her. She was not sure if he had seen her, but did not want to wait and find out. The first difficult explanation-why she was alone-was linked too closely to the second-where Sophia and Philip were. And if his Grace of Delahaye should come across Lord Philip with Sophia down one of the dark walks…Without further ado, Jane whisked around the hedge and hurried after the disappearing couple.
Although the crowds were thick only a few yards away, here between the high hedges it was dark and silent. Jane came to a crossroads, where a marble nymph reclined in a mossy bower. Looking around, she felt as though she had entered a maze. Any moment she would lose her sense of direction and become completely lost. She was about to abandon Sophia to her fate, turn around and retrace her steps, when she heard a faint noise.
Jane realised that the walk was not as deserted as she had at first thought. The portly gentleman she had seen earlier crossed her view briefly as he turned down a parallel path. The girl was no longer with him and he was skulking in the shadow of the hedge. For some reason Jane shrank back, praying that the gossamer white of her dress would not betray her. There was something so furtive in the man’s behaviour that it made her deeply uneasy.
Then she froze. There was a summerhouse ahead of her at a point where five of the walks converged, and she had just noticed Alex’s tall figure stride into the centre in order to scan the crowds thronging along the main walks. And she could also see the portly gentleman, stalking as quietly as a cat, up the shadowy edge of the nearby path. The moonlight glinted on the white stripes of his waistcoat and on the silver blade in his hand. It seemed ludicrous, yet there was a stealth about the man that was infinitely frightening, and each step took him closer to Alex’s unsuspecting back.
Jane did not wait another moment. She flew down the walk, making as much noise as possible, raced up the steps and tumbled into Alex’s arms. To her left she heard the rustle of leaves and saw the shadows move as the man slipped away as silently as he had come.
‘Your Grace!’
‘Miss Verey? I have been looking for you!’ There was a lazy amusement in Alex’s voice. ‘Whatever can you have-?’ His tone sharpened as he felt her knees give way and she sagged against him. He took her by the upper arms and shook her slightly.
‘What has happened? Has somebody hurt you? Answer me!’
‘No! Oh, you must come away…’ Jane could hear her voice breaking shamefully. Now that the immediate danger was over she found that she was able to neither stand nor speak properly. Alex’s face was very close to hers, his eyes blazing. If he had not held her, she knew she would have fallen.
‘Jane? You must tell me what is wrong!’
Jane took a deep breath. ‘You must come away from this place, your Grace! There is a man with a knife-’
Alex took a swift look around. ‘A pickpocket-’
‘No!’ Jane said, beating her hands against his chest in her agitation. ‘A murderer! He has a knife!’
‘Very well. We will go at once.’ Alex captured both her hands in his own, infinitely reassuring, grip. His voice was very calm. He saw that she was shaking and wrapped his cloak close about her, at the same time urging her forward and down the summerhouse steps towards the crowded paths.
‘Can you manage to walk back to the others, Miss Verey? It is but a step and you are quite safe.’
With Alex’s arm around her and one of her hands still resting in his, Jane managed to walk shakily back towards the main path. Once they had rejoined the press of people wandering back towards the rotunda, Alex let her go and offered her his arm in a more circumspect manner. Jane let out a huge shaky breath.
‘Oh, thank goodness! What a horrid thing to happen!’ She glanced up at Alex’s face and saw that he was frowning. He drew her into one of the lit alcoves and helped her to a seat.
Seeing her look of surprise, he said quickly, ‘We shall go back to the others directly. But first, Miss Verey, can you tell me what happened?’
He was so matter of fact that Jane was determined not to be missish. ‘I saw the man earlier when I was walking with Simon,’ she said, as calmly as possible. ‘He was a fat man in a bulging waistcoat, not some ragged pickpocket. Then, just before I saw you in the summerhouse, I heard a noise and saw him creeping down the walk towards you. He had a knife in his hand! I saw it!’
Alex remained silent. His dark brows were drawn and he looked to be thinking of something far beyond the brightly lit pleasure gardens. Whatever his thoughts were, Jane could tell that they were not pleasant. She shivered.
‘An opportunist thief,’ Alex said easily, after a moment. ‘It was foolish of me to step aside from the crowds, for Vauxhall is well known for its petty thieves and criminals. I am sorry that you should have had such a shocking experience, Miss Verey, but I beg you to forget it. The man missed his chance and will be long gone by now.’
Jane did not reply. Something in her wanted to protest that the man had been no simple thief, but what proof did she have? It was the most obvious explanation. After all, who would intentionally seek Alex out with murder in mind? The idea seemed ridiculous.
