Young bloods - Scarrow Simon (библиотека электронных книг txt) 📗

'That's enough,' Kitty smiled, and kissed him quickly. 'Come on,' she said, tugging his arm. 'It's cold. Let's go inside and sit by the fire.'

As they approached the entrance to the Hall, a groom scurried out from a side entrance and took the reins from Arthur, leading the horse away towards the stables. With Kitty still clutching the sleeve of his bright red uniform coat, they climbed the weathered steps to the main door. Beyond the threshold the familiar smell of polish and a faint dampness wrapped itself round Arthur like an old friend. Kitty released her grip and he followed her across the hall and down the dim corridor towards the library. On the way they passed the closed door to Tom's study and the muffled voice of Kitty's brother could be heard in conversation with his agent. Arthur was tempted to tarry a moment and listen, but quickly dismissed the thought; he was here to make an honest and open appeal for Kitty's hand, not to skulk about like a spy on the scrounge for intelligence.

A log fire glowed in the large iron grate and Kitty led him over to a long couch that faced the fireplace and took full benefit from its heat. A book lay open on the arm of the couch and Arthur recognised it as the copy of Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding he had given Kitty for Christmas. He nodded towards the book.

'Waiting for me all morning, eh?'

'Most of it,' Kitty answered, then blushed. 'Well, it certainly felt like it.There's not many girls I know who'd sit in a freezing porch waiting for their beau to arrive.'

'How many girls do you know?'

'Enough to make such a judgement,' Kitty replied.

'I'm overcome by gratitude.'

'Don't try to be sarcastic, Arthur. It doesn't suit you.' Kitty pouted, then rang a small bell. 'You'll have some tea?'

'Tea? I think I need something a little stronger to calm my nerves.'

'Nerves?' Kitty raised her eyebrows. 'You? I'd never have believed it. Sensitive, yes – but nervous… Arthur Wesley, you are something of a dark horse, I do declare.'

He leaned closer to her and stared frankly into her eyes. 'Please, Kitty, don't tease me so. I've never been more serious, nor had so much at stake, in my entire life.'

She stared back at him in silence for a moment and then reached a hand up and stroked his cheek.'Bless you, my dear, dear Arthur.You really do love me, don't you?'

He nodded, and said softly, 'And you? Tell me it's true, what I hope you feel. Tell me.'

She smiled and her lips parted. 'I-'

The door to the library creaked open and the two of them quickly moved apart. A maid entered and stood waiting for instruction.

'I'll have some tea, Mary.'

'Yes, Miss Pakenham.'

'And a brandy for the captain.'

'Yes, Miss Pakenham.'

As soon as the maid had left the room Arthur leaned back towards Kitty, but the spell had been broken and she looked embarrassed, her eyes darting round the library, lighting upon an ivory chess set on a card table.

'Chess! Let's have a game of chess while you wait for Tom.'

'Chess?' Arthur repeated weakly. 'Must we?'

'Yes, we must. Come.'

And so they sat down to a game, in the winter sunshine that slanted in through the library window. Arthur's troubled mind could not focus on the game and he was in a hopeless position in fairly short order.

'I thought soldiers were supposed to be good at tactics,' Kitty grinned, over the top of a fine china cup. 'God help us if you are representative of the men who will lead our armies if there is a war.'

Kitty took another sip and set the cup down delicately. 'Do you think there will be a war, Arthur?'

'There will be a war, Kitty. We cannot avoid it any longer. Those French radicals must be stopped. Otherwise England will endure the same bloodshed. Not now, perhaps, but some day soon.'

'Tom says that if it comes to war, it will be the longest and bloodiest that England has ever fought.'

'He's probably right,' Arthur replied.'He generally thinks he is, even when he's mistaken.'

'Careful, Arthur, we are talking about my brother, after all.'

'Sorry.' Arthur quickly returned the conversation to safer ground. 'If there is a war, then the French must lose. France is like any other country. It cannot endure without a king, and the nobility. Who else could lead them? It is not in the nature of the common folk to rule themselves. They need us more than we need them.We are what gives structure and security to their lives.'

'You seem very sure of it,' Kitty frowned.

Arthur picked up his queen and advanced it. 'Check.'

Kitty's eyes dropped to the chessboard. She thought a moment and shook her head.

'Poor Arthur… There.' Her hand shifted a bishop in between her king and the queen. 'Your queen's pinned. You'll have to sacrifice her, and then it's mate in… two.'

'What?' Arthur frowned at the pieces and he was about to protest when the door opened again. A footman entered.

'Captain Wesley, sir.'

'Yes.'

'The master will see you now, sir. If you'll follow me.'

Arthur rose from the table and before he moved away, Kitty grasped his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. 'Good luck.'

Tom Pakenham was rearranging the ledgers on his desk and did not deign to look up as his guest entered the study.

'Wesley! Good of you to come. Take a seat.'

There was no seat near the desk and Arthur had to take one from the secretary's desk in the far corner and carry it across the room. He set it down directly opposite Kitty's brother and sat, with an erect back, and waited.

Tom dipped a quill and started to write out a note. 'Be with you in a moment…'

A silence grew in the musty-smelling study, broken only by the scratching of the quill.Arthur seethed with fury at this cavalier treatment, but for Kitty's sake, and therefore his own, he kept his tongue still and did not move. At length Tom pushed the document to one side, lowered his quill and smiled at his guest.

'There, I'm done! You wouldn't believe how much time I spend on those bloody tenants.'

'I have had some experience. I looked after my brother Richard's affairs when he left for England. Besides, times are hard. The farmers are having a difficult enough time feeding their own even before they can pay the rent.'

Tom gave him a hard look. 'You sound just like one of those radical Frenchies.'

'Nothing could be further from the truth, Tom.'

Kitty's brother leaned back in his chair. 'Anyway, Wesley, I expect you've come here for permission to marry young Kitty.'

'I have.'

'What reason have I to consent to this request?'

'There is a mutual affection between us. I could make her happy.'

'Affection? Happiness? They're all very well, but what prospects have you, man? Eh? What prospects? You're just a captain. Do you think my sister can live on your pay?'

It was precisely the argument that Arthur had expected and he had prepared his response.'I have written to my brother to ask for a loan to purchase a major's commission. He has agreed.That will mean more pay. Sufficient to look after us for the present.'

'And the future? I assume you'll want children. What then?'

'It'll take time before I can afford a colonelcy,' Arthur admitted. 'Unless, of course, there is a war. In which case I will be in prime position for rapid promotion without having to purchase further commissions.'

'Indeed? You rate yourself highly. Perhaps too highly. As it happens, I have made some detailed enquiries into your character and background. No conscientious brother would do any less,' Tom justified himself quickly. 'It seems that your superiors are unaware of any outstanding qualities in you. Moreover, I understand that you already have substantial debts. Should you buy a major's commission, then any advance in pay will be set against yet more debt arising from the purchase of the rank.'Tom smiled. 'I'm sure you see my difficulty here, Arthur. I believe you may be a good man, and Kitty certainly entertains a fondness for you, but I cannot permit her to squander her affections on a junior officer with few prospects of promotion and a vastly greater prospect of impoverishment.'