He shook his head. ‘Thankfully, my presence will not be required in town. And like you, I would rather avoid the crush.’
‘Then, perhaps you will come to my birthday party on the Saturday.’ She flushed a little. ‘Mrs Pridham said I might invite whomsoever I chose and Freddie is coming, so perhaps you would like to come and keep an eye on him.’
The last words were uttered with a hint of defiance and he laughed. ‘My nephew is at liberty to go wherever he chooses, Miss Fairchild. I am not his keeper. But for all that, I should be delighted to come along, if I may.’
A day in the fresh air was the perfect excuse for Natalya to retire early, but she lay in bed for a long time with her hands behind her head, gazing out of the window at the moon. Everyone had declared the picnic a great success and Natalya had enjoyed it, especially riding with Lord Dalmorren. She blushed as she remembered how he had helped her to dismount. The feel of his hands on her waist, the sudden suspicion that he was going to kiss her and her shocking realisation that she would very much like him to do so.
The idea of Tristan wanting her made Natalya shift restlessly in the bed. There was no doubt that she found the man dangerously attractive. She liked him, but not in the safe, friendly way she liked Freddie. She blushed again when she recalled how she had invited him to her party. She had told herself it was in order that he might see that she and Freddie were no more than friends, despite the rumours, but in her heart she knew it was because she wanted to see him, to talk to him. Her heart gave a little skip. Perhaps she might even flirt with him.
The pleasurable anticipation that accompanied the idea was soon pushed aside by other, more worrying thoughts that had nagged her all day. The threats Freddie had received. He had dismissed the idea that his uncle was behind them, but it was possible, if Tristan considered him a rival. If Tristan was base enough to threaten his own nephew, then she wanted nothing to do with him. And if he was innocent, as Freddie believed, then he might be threatened, too. But who would do such a thing?
She had spent much of the ride back from the picnic pondering that question. As soon as she arrived back at Sydney Place, she requested a private word with her uncle and told him about the threats made to Freddie. He had looked genuinely shocked by the news and his subsequent denial that he knew anything about them rang true. He was pompous enough to believe that, having rejected Freddie’s suit, no one would gainsay it and he would think no more of the matter.
She pulled the covers a little higher around her. Freddie was anxious no one should think he had given in to intimidation and withdrawn his suit and she had been happy to go along with it, but now she wished they had made it plain to everyone that he was no longer a suitor. She should have told Jane and Laura as much today.
And Tristan. More than anyone she wanted Tristan to know she had no interest in his nephew!
‘Well, he will know soon enough,’ she announced to the darkness. ‘On Saturday I shall be one-and-twenty. I shall be able to decide my own future.’
But would she? That very much depended upon what she learned of her parentage. Also, although there appeared to be no shortage of funds for her upbringing, she was not aware of any fortune that she could call her own and, without money, how would she live? Despite her education, it would be very difficult to earn a living as a teacher or governess without references and she doubted very much if the Pridhams would help her to go her own way.
The thoughts went round and round in her brain until at last she turned over and snuggled down beneath the covers.
‘It is no good speculating,’ she muttered into her pillow. ‘Hopefully the Pridhams will have some good news for you on your birthday. Then you can decide upon your future.’
Chapter Eight
The invitation to the Grishams’ sketching party arrived the following morning, but despite Mrs Grisham’s assurances that Natalya would be escorted to and from Royal Crescent by her own very superior maid, Mr Pridham insisted that Aggie should go with her. Natalya tried to argue.
‘Surely it is not necessary for such a short journey,’ she reasoned. ‘It is not as if I am fresh from the schoolroom. And besides, what possible harm can come to me in Bath?’
‘Once you attain your majority you will be free to act as you wish,’ he returned heavily. ‘Although I hope you will allow yourself to be guided by older and, I hope you will agree, wiser heads.’
‘And will you tell me then who I am?’ she asked, momentarily diverted. ‘I should like to know something of my history. Indeed, I think I am entitled to know.’
She did not miss the nervous look that her aunt threw at Mr Pridham, but he remained resolute.
‘Trust me, Natalya, all will be revealed in the fullness of time. You must have a little patience, if you please.’
‘I believe I have been very patient, Uncle! Ever since I left school and came to live with you, I have asked you to tell me who I am, but you have fobbed me off.’
She saw the muscle twitch in her uncle’s cheek, a sure sign that he was growing angry.
‘No expense has been spared in your education or your upbringing,’ he retorted. ‘You should be grateful that so much care has been lavished upon you.’
‘And I am grateful, sir.
