‘And the passengers? Was Miss Fairchild alone?’
‘Her maid went with her, sir, no one else. I saw them loading two trunks and a portmanteau.’
‘You did very well, Simon. With your description of the chaise it should not be difficult to discover which road they took out of Bath, although I have a pretty good notion of where they are going.’ Tristan was already tying his neckcloth while Hurley was shaking out his riding jacket. ‘Take a couple of fellows with you to report back and in the meantime have John make sure my chaise is ready with all speed!’
It was a long journey and the weather was inclement. Sunshine and showers. Natalya knew they were travelling east, but other than that she had little idea where they were going. They changed horses frequently, and at each stop coffee and a little food was brought out to the carriage by one of the footmen. Whenever Natalya or Aggie stepped out of the carriage to use the necessary at the posting houses, one of the servants escorted them. They were civil, but uncommunicative, and Natalya wondered uneasily what would happen if she should ask to be taken back to Bath.
Aggie, however, had no such concerns. She thought the journey an exciting adventure and looked out eagerly at the passing landscape.
‘Are you not the least bit anxious about the future?’ Natalya asked her, as they drove across a particularly bleak expanse of heath.
‘Oh, no, miss,’ came the cheerful reply. ‘Mrs Pridham told me that if I was a good girl and did as I was told it was very likely I would be allowed to remain as your lady’s maid. If you was agreeable, that is,’ she added hastily.
A small comfort, thought Natalya, reasoning that if she was to keep her maid then the Pridhams did not expect her to become a governess, or a companion.
She tried to calculate how far they travelled and, by the time the carriage slowed and turned into a gated drive, she thought it must be close on a hundred miles. They should be near London, although she had no sense of it, for the last part of their journey had been off the main coaching road and through thick woods.
She sat upright and stared out of the window as the carriage rattled its way through a landscaped park. Eventually they emerged from the trees and she saw that the drive ended at a pretty manor house. Its steeply pitched roof was studded with windows and topped with tall chimney stacks. Below, there were regularly spaced windows on two floors and a rusticated basement level. A set of shallow stone steps swept up from the drive to the main entrance, which was crowned by a shell-like pediment. Everything was neat and well maintained. It spoke of affluence, as did the comfortable equipage that had carried her from Bath in such luxury. Should she be reassured by that?
The carriage swept around the curving drive and came to a stand. As Natalya alighted a man in a black coat hurried down the steps and bowed to her.
‘Miss Fairchild. You are expected, ma’am.’
The servants were unloading her trunks. Natalya swallowed, cast a quick glance to make sure Aggie was at her shoulder and followed the man into the house.
A woman in a black gown and snowy apron and cap was waiting in the hall. Her rosy cheeks and cheerful countenance were reassuring.
‘I am Mrs Noakes, the housekeeper.’ She dropped a curtsy. ‘Your rooms have been prepared, if you and your maid would care to follow me. I am sure you would like to wash and change your gown before anything else.’
Natalya would have preferred to be taken directly to meet her mysterious benefactor, but after a journey of eleven hours she suspected she looked quite dishevelled. She and Aggie followed the housekeeper up the stairs to a comfortably appointed bedchamber with a dressing room, where Mrs Noakes pointed out that a truckle bed had been prepared for her maid.
‘Now, ma’am, when you are ready, you just ring the bell and I will come and fetch you.’
Natalya interrupted her. ‘Mrs Noakes, who am I to meet here, what is his name?’
The housekeeper shook her head. ‘I am afraid I cannot tell you that. As a matter of fact, I am not sure of his name myself. I have instructions merely to look after you until he arrives.’
‘You do not know?’ Natalya stared at her. ‘Is this not his house, then?’
‘Goodness me, no! The master has given the gentleman the use of the Lodge for a few days.’
‘And who is the master?’
‘Ah, now, that is a delicate matter and not one I can discuss.’
Natalya gave a little cry. ‘I do not understand any of this!’
Mrs Noakes regarded her sympathetically. ‘No, ma’am, but I am sure it will all be explained in due course.’
‘That is all anyone ever says to me!’ Natalya bit her lip. ‘And if I wish to leave?’
The housekeeper looked a little shocked at that.
‘Leave? But you have only just arrived! However, if that is what you wish, then I am sure we can arrange for the chaise to be brought back to the door for you very quickly.’
‘You were not given orders to keep me here?’
‘Lord love you, no, Miss Fairchild! I am sure no one wishes to do that.’
The housekeeper was smiling at her, no hint of guile in her homely countenance. Natalya sighed. She had been travelling all day and the thought of quitting this place and travelling through the night to return to Bath did not appeal to her.
She sank down on the stool in front of the dressing table.
‘Very well, I will stay. For now.’
The housekeeper beamed at her and dropped another curtsy. ‘Thank you, ma’am, I will call back for you presently.’
Mrs Noakes hurried away, her black skirts rustling, and Natalya was left
