Page 45 of A Sense of Injustice
‘And he is yours? Goodness, you are fortunate.’
‘I cannot accept him as a gift, even though that’s really what he is, so I am treating him as a permanent loan.’
Louise decided not to embarrass her new friend by asking her why the earl felt so generously inclined towards a servant. Both ladies mounted up, with Romulus running in excited circles around their horses. They rode from the stable yard side by side, with Flora pointing out various landmarks as they made their way towards the reservoir.
‘It’s breath-taking,’ Louise said, as a cool breeze touched her face and she found herself surround by trees sporting leaves of a hundred different shades. ‘And so peaceful. I am unaccustomed to a lack of people everywhere I go, or to the purity of fresh, country air, but it is a situation I could easily become accustomed to.’ She threw her head back and watched fluffy clouds scudding across the sky. ‘I think I must be a secret recluse. I should certainly find it easy to settle somewhere remote in the countryside and not miss society.’And I might well have to when my reputation is in tatters.
Flora smiled. ‘I am glad you’re enjoying it. For my part, I have never been able to understand the lure of big cities. Oh, they have their excitement and share of culture, but are also horribly overcrowded and not always safe.’
‘Do you ever get to take this for granted?’
‘You are asking the wrong person,’ Flora replied. ‘I have not yet been here for a full year. And I might not get to be,’ she added, sadness in her tone, ‘if the countess’s health does not improve. When she dies I shall be without employment, but we shall not entertain such gloomy thoughts on such a lovely afternoon.’
‘Are we still on the earl’s land?’
‘No. This is the tow-path. We don’t get many barges using the canals now, not since the railways became a more efficient means of transportation. This is public land that anyone can use.’ Louise suppressed a shudder. She had no reason to suppose that Cleethorp was in Wiltshire yet, and even if he was the chances of encountering him in this delightful spot were slim. But there again, she had stupidly told Miss Gregory where they were going. She had forgotten about that but felt slightly less anxious when she remembered that Miss Gregory had not actually mentioned her sister’s arrival. Surely she would have said something if she was here? ‘It leads to the reservoir but I don’t suppose anyone will choose to swim in this weather, so it’s safe to assume that we will have it to ourselves.’
‘How reassuring.’
They reached an open stretch of common land and the horses became agitated.
‘Shall we canter?’
Louise smiled, more than ready to get rid of a few cobwebs. ‘By all means.’
They set off side by side, but Flora and Amethyst quickly outstripped the slower horse. Louise was impressed by her friend’s control of the lively gelding. When they drew rein at the end of the run, she smiled at Flora’s flushed face and sparkling eyes, watching as she patted Amethyst’s neck with enthusiasm.
‘He’s astonishing,’ she said breathlessly. ‘And yet surprisingly responsive and he doesn’t try to run away with me.’
‘He’s beautiful,’ Louise agreed.
She gasped when they walked on, turned a bend in the path and the expanse of the reservoir came into view, its ruffled surface sparkling under a weak autumn sun.
‘Astounding!’ Louise breathed.
‘Shall we rest for a while and enjoy the tranquillity?’
‘By all means.’
Both ladies dismounted and tied their horses’ reins to a low branch. They sat on the springy grass close to the water’s edge. Romulus, his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth, flopped down beside them, panting.
‘It’s hard to imagine anyone harbouring disreputable intentions in such a peaceful spot,’ Louise mused as she plucked at a stem of grass.
‘And equally easy to imagine getting the better of anyone who attempts it.’
‘What if I am carrying Cleethorp’s child?’ Louise asked in a sudden rush of anxiety. ‘How will I ever survive the shame? Is it even possible after just one…well, you know?’
‘Unfortunately, it’s a subject upon which I am ill-advised to offer advice, but sadly I do think it is possible, if unlikely. Best not to worry about it unless the situation arises. But if it does, you are stronger than you think and will get through it. You certainly have the financial independence to make it possible. You could go abroad or pass yourself off as a widow and move to the wilds of Scotland until after your confinement.’
Both girls giggled as they invented increasingly unlikely scenarios. Louise discovered that laughing eradicated much of her anxiety and she felt herself slowly relaxing. She leaned back on her elbows and turned her face up to the sun.
‘If it weren’t for Marianne, or for disappointing Grandmamma, I think I would happily tell Cleethorp to go to the devil since there would be nothing he could do to harm me.’
‘I think you will have that satisfaction anyway. But give Luke time to do his work first. He tends to make things happen fast when he sets his mind on a purpose, so the wait will not be a long one.’
‘What of you, Flora? You mentioned earlier that when the countess dies you will have to look for another position. What do you have in mind?’
Flora shrugged. ‘I have absolutely no idea, but something will turn up, I expect. One thing’s for sure though, I will starve before I return to Cathedral Close.’
