‘Mrs Ancrum.’ He bowed over her hand. ‘You are acquainted with my mother, I believe?’
‘Lady Dalmorren?’ The old woman looked at him, her faded eyes surprisingly shrewd. ‘Ah, yes, I knew her as Maria Aynsworth. She was several years my junior and we lost touch after I retired to Bath. How does she go on?’
‘Remarkably well, ma’am, thank you.’
‘Give me your arm, my—no, I shall not stand on ceremony with the son of so old a friend, I shall call you Tristan!—give me your arm, my boy, and we will take a turn about the room. I am better if I do not stand still for too long.’ Tristan obliged and she continued, ‘Is your mother in Bath with you?’
‘No, ma’am. She has gone to stay with my sister at Frimley.’
‘I had heard she still resides at Dalmorren.’
‘Why, yes, ma’am. I am not married and the house requires a mistress.’
‘And that is why you are in Bath, is it? To find a wife?’ She noticed his slight stiffening and gave a cackle of laughter. ‘Your attentions to Natalya Fairchild have been noted. You cannot get away with anything in Bath, my boy. Hotbed of gossip.’
‘Obviously. Although I thought I had been most careful not to single out Miss Fairchild.’
‘Anyone braving the Pridhams’ displeasure enough to dance twice with that young lady would arouse comment.’
‘She does appear to be uncommonly hedged about,’ he replied cautiously. ‘Do you know why that should be, Mrs Ancrum?’ When she did not reply he added, ‘My nephew, my sister Katherine’s son, has shown a decided partiality for the lady.’
‘And the Pridhams sent him to the rightabout, did they?’ She shrugged. ‘He will recover.’
‘But I happen to believe Miss Fairchild is not indifferent to him. If that is the case, then his mother will want to know a little more about her. The Pridhams are most discouraging, but I was told that you are good friends with the young lady.’
‘But you weren’t told that I am a gossip!’
He smiled. ‘No. As you so rightly pointed out, there is gossip aplenty in Bath. I am looking for truth.’
She turned her head and gave him a long, considering look, but did not speak.
He said at last, ‘Mrs Ancrum, why are the Pridhams so discouraging?’
‘I can tell you nothing.’
‘Is that because you know nothing?’
‘It is not my place to speak of such things.’ She released his arm and held out her hand to him. ‘I will wish you good day, Lord Dalmorren.’
Thus dismissed, Tristan could only take his leave of Mrs Ancrum, but he left the Pump Room with far more questions than he had entered it.
Chapter Four
Following the outing to Beechen Cliff, Natalya determined to put Lord Dalmorren out of her mind. Tristan Quintrell might be the Nineteenth Baron Dalmorren, as she had discovered after browsing through her uncle’s copy of Peerage & Baronetage, but he was not worthy of her consideration, since he chose to think ill of her. How could he believe she was in love with Freddie Erwin!
She liked Freddie, who would not? After all, he had not been put off by her aunt’s and uncle’s attempts to discourage him. She appreciated that and with so few real friends in Bath she enjoyed his company, but although only months separated them in age, he was far too much of a boy to appeal to her. No, she preferred gentlemen of a more serious character. Ones, moreover, with whom she might discuss more than last week’s ball or the latest play. Someone well read and with wide-ranging knowledge of the world.
Someone very like Tristan Quintrell, in fact.
No! She must not think of him.
Natalya was obliged to tell herself the same thing several times over the next few days, for he remained stubbornly in her head and no amount of study could dislodge him. When she picked up her book on astronomy, she recalled sitting beside him at the lecture and their all-too-brief discussions on the subject. When she had her dancing lesson, she remembered his lithe grace at the Assembly Rooms, and when she joined the Grishams for a nature ramble with their old governess she found her thoughts wandering off. She wondered if His Lordship was still in Bath. If he would look for her in vain at that evening’s Dress Ball, which the Pridhams had decided it was not necessary to attend.
Waking to an overcast sky and steady rain did nothing to lift Natalya’s spirits the next morning. The day stretched before her. Friday was designated a study day, when she would read various informative works, usually of history or philosophy, and discuss them with Mr Pridham. They had read Voltaire and Rousseau together in French. More recently she had finished Mrs Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which had not been one of Mr Pridham’s recommendations, and she was now making her way through all six volumes of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, but even the thought of Mr Gibbon’s very readable work could not make her look forward to the day with any great enthusiasm and it was with relief that she received an invitation to go out.
Aggie brought the note to Natalya while she was breaking her fast in her room and she lost no time in seeking out her aunt and uncle. She found them in the drawing room, engaged in their usual morning
