Page 37 of Scandal at Greystone Manor

‘I must return to Hadlea tomorrow,’ he said, ‘and will call at the Manor to apprise Sir Edward and Lady Cavenhurst of what happened and reassure them that Isabel is recovering. I assume Jane will stay with her sister? I will return to take them home when Isabel is well enough to travel.’

‘Thank you, my lord. I do not know what we would have done without you.’

‘I did nothing. Please convey my good wishes to both ladies and tell Isabel I wish her a speedy recovery.’ He picked up his hat, bowed and left the house for his rendezvous with Drew.

* * *

If he had hoped for a quiet supper and then home to bed, he was thwarted by the arrival of Lord Bolsover. ‘May I join you?’ his lordship asked. Not waiting for a reply, he sat down at the table where Mark waited for Drew to arrive. ‘I would hear how Miss Cavenhurst goes.’

‘She is recovering at the home of her aunt.’

‘I am glad to hear it. I was fearful that she had sustained a serious injury. A rather headstrong girl, I believe. Has no one told her that the terrain of the park away from the Row is too uneven for a lady riding side-saddle to attempt to gallop? Most unseemly, but courageous, all the same.’ He smiled suddenly, but it was the smile of a tiger. ‘Undoubtedly Andrew Ashton thought so, for I could see he was most solicitous of her. I helped him take the horses back to the stables, you know.’

‘So I heard. We are indebted to you, my lord.’

‘He bears watching, that friend of yours.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘Why, you are in danger of losing your bride, or I miss my guess.’

Mark was furious, but contained his temper with an effort. ‘You, sir, are impertinent.’

‘I am merely stating a fact. It seems to me all the Cavenhursts are untrustworthy.’

‘Why are you so interested in my fiancée, Bolsover?’

‘I am interested in all the doings of that family. Her brother has deprived me of a considerable amount of money and I cannot let that go unchallenged.’

‘What do you propose to do? Neither Sir Edward nor, come to that, either of the Misses Cavenhurst, is responsible for Teddy’s gambling debts.’

‘Not in law, perhaps, but I am sure Sir Edward would wish to avoid the scandal of a scapegrace son welshing on his debts.’

‘I believe Sir Edward considers a spell in India will set him to rights.’

‘Only because he does not have the blunt to pay his son’s dues, or so I have heard. It is a pity I did not know that earlier before I acquired all the debts. Now, I shall have to rethink my strategy.’

‘I do not know how you came by that piece of tittle tattle, but you have been misinformed.’

‘I think not. Ah, here is your friend, Mr Ashton.’ He stood up. ‘I leave you to make what you will of what I have said, but rest assured, by hedge or by style, I will have my revenge.’

‘What did he want?’ Drew asked as he sat down and beckoned a waiter.

‘He was enquiring of the invalid. I do not think he cares a groat how Isabel is, he was simply trying to garner information about Teddy.’

‘You can hardly blame him for that. He’s lost a deal of blunt.’

‘Then why spend more buying up the rest of Teddy’s debts? I do believe it is Sir Edward he is after and he means to do it through his son or his daughters.’

‘I do not see how.’

‘Neither do I, but he spoke of revenge, which puzzles me, since I cannot see that he has been harmed by Teddy or anyone else in the family. There is more to it than debt.’

The waiter came to take their order and they left off their discussion while they decided what to eat.

‘Would you like me to try to discover what it is, while you are gone to Hadlea?’ Drew asked as the waiter disappeared. ‘Bolsover may have confided in some of his associates, who might not know my connection with you.’

‘Yes, please do that. He appears prodigiously wealthy, which is surprising because the estate he inherited from his father is only a moderate one in Northamptonshire, not enough to support the kind of life he leads.’

They talked about how the information could be achieved and used while they ate. Not once did Mark mention Bolsover’s hint that he might lose Isabel. Andrew Ashton was an honourable man, a long-term friend and he would not betray him in that fashion. But all the same, he could not quite dismiss the idea, not least because Isabel herself had been behaving strangely ever since she met him. If only she had not had that accident, they would all be on the way back to Hadlea the next day and out of harm’s way.

---