Page 56 of Scandal at Greystone Manor

‘No, you cannot.’ He scooped her into his arms and carried her down to the ground floor and back down the hall to the kitchen. She could feel the hair which had so entranced her, as she clasped her arms about his neck. It was soft and not wiry at all.

Mrs Godfrey had just put the hare into a pot on the stove and was scrubbing the table. She looked up when they entered. ‘Mercy me, what happened?’

Mark lowered Jane carefully into a chair. ‘Miss Cavenhurst caught her foot in a rotten stair and twisted her ankle. It will need bathing in cold water and binding up.’

‘Them stairs will be the death of someone afore long,’ the woman said, as she went to a pail and poured water into a bowl which she placed at Jane’s feet. ‘Here, take your stocking off, miss, and put your foot in that. It’ll cool it, while I fetch some binding.’

‘I’ll wait outside, Jane,’ Mark said. ‘Mrs Godfrey will call me when it’s done and I’ll carry you out to the curricle.’

* * *

‘I feel such a fool,’ Jane said when this was accomplished and she was sitting in the curricle ready to be taken home, one ankle heavily bandaged, its shoe on the floor by her feet. ‘We were warned the stairs were unsafe, I should have paid more attention to where I was putting my feet. Thank goodness you were there to cushion my fall. Did I hurt you?’

‘No, I only wish I had taken more care of you.’

‘It wasn’t your fault. And we didn’t look at the outbuildings after all.’

‘I did while Mrs Godfrey was binding you up.’ He flicked the reins to start the horse off on the homeward journey. ‘There are some stables, a coach house and a shed. Mr Godfrey was in the garden where he had planted a few rows of cabbages and beans and he showed me round. There is a small dower house on the far side of the garden which is included in the sale.’

‘Do you think the house is in too bad a state for our purpose?’ Her ankle was hurting abominably, but she tried to ignore it.

‘Not if the price is right.’

‘I have a picture of it, repaired, redecorated and furnished, its windows gleaming and the garden neat and tidy. And children’s laughter echoing everywhere. I want the children to be happy.’

‘Of course you do, so do I.’

‘The first-floor rooms are spacious enough to make dormitories, the upper rooms the servants’ quarters and perhaps a small infirmary if any of the children should be unwell. Downstairs could be the refectory and the school rooms.’

‘You were thinking all that as we went round, were you not? It’s as if it is already yours.’

‘Not mine, Mark, the trust’s.’

‘As you say. Would you like me to negotiate with Mr Halliday for you? I am afraid you are going to have to rest that foot for a little while.’

‘Yes, curse it,’ she said. ‘But please do what you can.’ She paused. ‘We didn’t have our picnic, did we?’

‘No, but it is not too late. Are you hungry?’

‘A little.’

He turned the curricle off the road into the shelter of some trees where he brought it to a stop. ‘Sit there,’ he said, jumping down and removing a wicker basket from under the seat. She watched him place it under a tree. He took off his coat and laid it on the grass, then came back for her.

‘I can hop down,’ she said, placing her good foot on the step and trying to stand.

‘I think not.’ He scooped her up as if she weighed no more than a feather and carried her to the tree where he gently lowered her on to his coat and sat beside her, so close she could feel his trouser-clad thigh through her thin dress. It was highly improper, but there was no one to see them and Mark himself seemed unaware of the impropriety. She knew she ought to move away, but she stayed where she was, letting her imagination play with a picture of them as a married couple and it was quite in order for him to put his arms about her, carry her, sit so close they touched.

‘Comfortable?’ he asked.

‘Yes, thank you.’

He pulled the basket closer and began unpacking it, bringing out ham and chicken legs, bread and pastries, two plates, a bottle of wine and two glasses. ‘This is a feast,’ she said.

‘Yes, Mrs Blandish lives in fear that I shall starve, so help yourself or I shall be in trouble if I take anything back.’ He was pouring wine as he spoke and handed her a glass.

‘It’s champagne,’ she said as the bubbles tickled her nose.

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