The Regency Season: Hidden Desires

‘I shall need it,’ he said ruefully, then turned his horse and set out after Paul at a canter.

Jenny blinked hard as he rode away. For a moment he had seemed to promise so much, but then he’d withdrawn from her. She would be foolish to let herself hope that he would offer her more than friendship. She must not expect it or let herself think of it!

Yet she had thought of it. Was she wrong to think that he liked her as much as she liked him? Or was that simply wishful thinking—a longing for the kind of happiness she’d never known?

Jenny saw Lucy some little distance ahead and ran to catch her up. As Adam had forecast she was crying, dabbing at her cheeks with a scrap of lace kerchief.

‘Paul did not mean to upset you,’ Jenny said. ‘They think only of catching that man—and of punishing him.’

‘I wish they may do so,’ Lucy said angrily. ‘Why will Paul not look at me? It is as if he blames me for what happened to his brother.’

‘No, how could he?’ Jenny was caught by her strange expression. ‘I thought you blamed him for it?’

Lucy’s voice caught on a sob. ‘Paul would never...but now he will not speak to me or look at me. If he catches me looking at him, he scowls as if he hated me.’

‘I am certain he does not,’ Jenny said and put an arm about her waist. ‘I think he is in so much pain that he scarcely knows what to think.’

‘Even when he was thrown from his horse he would not look at me,’ Lucy said. ‘We all heard the shot. We know that someone tried to hurt, perhaps to kill him—but yesterday he accused me of thinking he’d arranged the accident to deflect suspicion from him. As if I would think such a thing.’

‘Did you tell him so?’

Lucy’s cheeks flushed red. ‘He made me cross. I said that the idea was only in his mind and that only he knew what had put it there.’

‘Oh, Lucy—that does sound as if you blame him,’ Jenny said, her gaze narrowed. ‘Why did you say such a thing to him?’

‘I do not know,’ Lucy confessed tearfully. ‘It is just that everything is so horrid and my mind is in turmoil. I feel guilty because I was not in love with Mark, as everyone believed.’

‘Yes, I know, but you must not let it affect your relationships with others,’ Jenny said. ‘You like Paul. Why do you not show him that you still value his friendship?’

‘I...cannot,’ Lucy said. ‘If he would be as he was at the ball, charming and sweet...but he has changed. He is cold and bitter and angry—angry with me. I do not know what I’ve done to make him so.’

‘I think his anger is as much frustration as anything,’ Jenny said. ‘He loved his brother and at the moment he can do nothing to avenge him. That is why it is so important to them all to find the rogue. Besides, if he attempted to kill Paul, he is a dangerous man. He needs to be on his guard.’

‘Yes, I know.’ Lucy shuddered. ‘If anything happened to Paul I could not stand it—I really could not, Jenny.’

‘I am sure it will not,’ Jenny comforted, though she knew that it was possible unless Paul took more care of his safety. ‘I dare say the rogue has left the area. He must know that he is being searched for.’

‘Yes, word will have spread and people will be watching for a stranger who has no business in the area,’ Lucy agreed. ‘Now, please may we forget it and talk of something else?’

‘I am determined to read Miss Austen’s latest novel as soon as I can take it from the library,’ Jenny said. ‘Though there is no reason why I should not subscribe to my own copy. Your mama subscribes to parcels of the latest novels, does she not?’ Lucy nodded and Jenny smiled. ‘Then perhaps she will furnish me with the address of her supplier. Books are a luxury my aunt thought unnecessary. She said why buy them when it was possible to borrow—and my uncle thought both novels and poetry a waste of time. Now I can please myself and I think I shall purchase a set of Lord Byron’s works as well as Miss Austen’s—and Fanny Burney’s, too.’

‘I always borrow Mama’s and I’m sure you could too,’ Lucy said. ‘But if you wish to set up a library of your own it would be the greatest fun. We could draw up lists and discover what bindings they come in. When you have a house of your own your books might look very smart set out on the shelves if you have them covered in red or green leather.’

‘I know it is possible to buy such sets,’ Jenny said, warming to the subject, because it pleased Lucy. ‘I must enquire the price. I’ve been used to economy these past months, but there is no reason why I should not treat myself to a few pleasures.’

‘There is little more satisfying than a new book,’ Lucy said. ‘When one looks at the cover there is so much to discover, so much to explore. One never knows where the author will take one or what kind of adventures the poor heroine must endure.’ She laughed. ‘I think I should not like to be the heroine in Udolpho, though I loved reading it.’

‘Yes, so did I,’ Jenny said. ‘I had to smuggle it into my bedroom so that my aunt should not see it—but I do have my own copy of that book. It is bound in cloth, not leather, but the story is just as wonderful.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Lucy agreed. ‘Nothing is worse than row after row of boring books in leather. They look well, but one cannot read them—but how delightful it must be to have one’s favourite books bound so. It is an indulgence, of course...’

Jenny could do nothing but agree. Lucy’s spirits had lifted and, in helping to cheer her friend, she had found some ease from her own distress.

She was looking forward to the trip to Bath, and, if Adam had gone to Cornwall, she had nothing to stay here for—but she felt the loss of his company keenly. She had seen him almost every day since that fatal day when he’d taken her up from the side of the road and she was going to miss him. Her heart raced every time she saw him approaching her and she was very much afraid that she might have fallen in love. It was ridiculous of her, of course, but she feared it might have happened that first night at Ravenscar.

If only Adam felt the same. Had his grandfather not been in sore need, she was sure her fortune would have been enough to help him improve his own estate for the benefit of their children, giving them a comfortable life together. Unfortunately, she was not sure it amounted to enough to pay the earl’s debts.

Jenny would not have grudged the money had it enabled Adam to do what was needed. She had no desire to wear ostentatious jewels and one simple carriage would be sufficient. A short stay in London in a house hired for the Season would content her and if Adam’s fortune were modest it would be enough—but he was determined to settle the earl’s debts and she was not sure it could be done.

No, she would not dwell on such things. Adam had told her he intended to visit his grandfather’s estate in the hope of improving the situation and perhaps he would. Sometimes when a mine ran out of copper it was possible to find a vein of some other precious metal, like tin or silver.

How wonderful that would be!

Jenny smiled at her own thoughts. Such things only occurred in novels. It was far more likely that the land was worthless and could not even be sold.

* * *

‘I was never more glad of someone’s company,’ Lady Dawlish said to Jenny some days later. ‘Indeed, I do not know what we should have done had you not been kind enough to come here and stay. I have never seen my poor Lucy so down and I do not know how to lift her. I am afraid that she will sink into a decline.’

‘I do not think it, ma’am,’ Jenny told her with a smile. ‘It is true that she soars from the depths to the heights and back again, but she is stronger than you may imagine. I am certain she will recover once we are in Bath. Here, everything reminds her of Mark.’

‘They were always together, even when they were little. Indeed, she and Paul were of an age and they tagged after Mark. He was always the leader, the golden god they all wanted to notice them. Until Lucy went away to finishing school I thought nothing would come of it. Then both Mark and Paul joined the army. It was when Mark was home on leave and Lucy had just returned from her school that they first became attracted to each other in that way.’

‘Yet they were not engaged immediately?’

‘I was determined that Lucy must have at least one Season. Dawlish and Ravenscar had always promoted the marriage, but I was not certain until Lucy told me that he had asked her to wait for him until that last campaign was over. Mark did not wish her to be a widow before she was hardly a wife and I agreed. I think her papa and Ravenscar would have liked a wedding sooner, but I wanted Lucy to be certain.’

‘Yes, I see. It was very sensible of you, ma’am. What should you have done had Lucy changed her mind and decided they would not suit?’

‘I should have supported her and taken her away—to Paris or the Italian lakes. Her papa would have been disappointed and Ravenscar, too—but I would not have allowed her to be pushed into a marriage she could not like. Now of course we must think of another match for her. I believe an older man might suit her, for Lucy likes to be spoiled, and I think perhaps Mark did not always dance to her tune.’

‘I met him only once in London,’ Jenny said. ‘Was he like his brother?’

‘Not at all. Mark was larger than life—one might even say arrogant at times. He was given homage and expected it, though one could not grudge him for he was a truly talented man. At riding, shooting, wrestling—any sport—he excelled. He was also clever, though his taste in reading did not extend to poetry or novels. He had a serious mind and would no doubt have taken his seat in the House one day. He laughed at Lucy for reading trash and thought she should improve her mind.’

‘But Lucy loves poetry and novels.’ Jenny looked at her thoughtfully. ‘I am not certain he was the right husband for her, ma’am.’

‘Perhaps not. I had wondered if she was beginning to realise it—and then of course he was killed. One is not certain how to behave. The Ravenscars are our particular friends, of course, and Papa thinks we should share their grief—but why should my poor girl suffer?’

‘I think it very hard for her,’ Jenny said. She knew more than Lucy’s mother, but could not betray a confidence. ‘Yet I know that she is feeling better each day.’

‘Well, we are off the day after tomorrow,’ Lady Dawlish said. ‘I think I must ask Papa to pay a courtesy visit to Ravenscar to tell them we are leaving. However, there is no need for you or Lucy to accompany him. I think it could only distress Lucy again.’

‘Yes, I believe so.’

Jenny had no desire to visit the estate, because Adam was not there. She’d heard nothing from him since he’d left the area for Cornwall and wondered how he fared. If Paul had called on them, he might have brought news, but he had not been near since that last day in the Park when he’d ridden off in a fit of temper.

Paul was suffering as much as anyone. Jenny suspected that his pain was not all due to his grief for his brother, but she had no right to speculate or to tell Lucy what she thought might be on his mind. Lucy and Paul must sort out their affairs themselves.

Was Adam finding the rich seam of tin he needed? Or would he discover that the mine was played out and there was no alternative to his problem but the marriage he wished to avoid?

* * *

‘You do not think we could blast deeper into the earth and find a new seam of copper?’ Adam asked the former mine manager. ‘I know it would cost money, but I think I could fund it—if there’s a chance.’

‘I think this part of the mine is played out,’ John Thawson said and frowned. ‘I did hear once that there might be tin in the old mine—the one the earl closed down years ago for lack of money.’

‘You’ve never seen it?’

‘No. It was one of the older miners. He had retired then, but swore on his oath that there was a rich seam of tin if your grandfather would open the old workings up again.’

‘Was the earl approached?’

‘He said he had no money for chasing a forlorn hope. I dare say he thought it just a tale made up to provide work for the men in these parts. Times have been hard since the mine closed down. There are very few still working and the work is jealously guarded. Men from one mine are not welcomed at another and fights break out if they try to undercut the wages.’

‘Yes, I see.’ Adam was thoughtful. ‘Where can I find this man—the one who saw the seam of tin?’

‘He died a few months ago. He was in his sixties and that is a good age for a man who has worked in the mines.’

‘A pity. Is there no one else who might know of the location of this seam?’

‘Horton had a daughter and a grandson. The boy is sixteen and illegitimate—a little wild, they say. I think Horton was fond of him—and now you mention it, I’ve seen them close to the old workings on more than one occasion. It is possible that the old man showed him what was there—or they may just be using the old mine as a place to store contraband. I think Jake is in with a gang of smugglers that frequent this part of the coast.’

‘I see...’ Adam smiled. ‘Well, perhaps I should speak to this young man. He may be able to help me.’

‘I wish he might, sir.’ Thawson frowned. ‘Would you truly consider opening the mine again if a new seam of either copper or tin was found?’

‘I should certainly go into it,’ Adam said. ‘For one thing work brings prosperity to the villagers—and that means they take more care of their homes and they cultivate the land better. Everything has been let go. I cannot put the estate back into any sort of order without help. Had I a fortune at my disposal I would do what I could—but the estate needs to pay for itself.’

‘Yes, of course. Folk blame the earl for what happened, but they don’t understand that no one can keeping pouring money into an empty hole in the ground.’

‘My grandfather is old and tired. He has not managed things as well as he ought, but he loves this land—and it would give him pleasure to see the people prosperous again. I shall find Jake Horton and ask him if he knows where this seam is.’

‘It might be best if you speak to him first,’ Thawson said. ‘If you went down the old shaft alone, you could be in danger. Parts of it may be flooded—and if they’re using it to store smuggled goods you might end up being murdered.’

‘Then I shall visit the Hortons at home and speak with them,’ Adam said. ‘At least there is something I can do. If there’s anything worth opening Wheal Margaret for, I would be willing to have a go. It may come to nothing, but there is always a chance.’

‘You never know with a mine, sir,’ Thawson said. ‘I’ll go down the newer workings myself and take a look. Now that I know someone is willing to open them up again, it’s worth exploring a bit further...’

‘I’ll come with you,’ Adam said. ‘Could we go today? I can call on Jake Horton this evening.’

‘Best leave it until tomorrow,’ Thawson said. ‘He will probably be out with the Gentlemen if it’s a moonless night.’

Adam nodded. ‘Aye, you’re right. But I could speak to his mother. She might sound him out on the idea—and if they need to move a few barrels I’d rather give them time to do it than cause bad feeling.’

Thawson laughed. ‘You’ll make a good master here, Captain Miller. You understand men better than your grandfather ever did—but that’s to be expected after what you’ve been through out there.’

‘War teaches you to respect your fellow men, the troopers as well as the officers,’ Adam said, a grim light in his eyes. ‘We might as well take a look at Wheal Sarah now, while it’s still daylight.’

‘Won’t be much light down there. We’ll need hard hats and lamps to see what’s what. I just hope it isn’t completely flooded.’

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