The Fortune Hunter Page 8

  ‘Yes, sir, and thank you, sir.’

  Bay turned to Charlotte and shook his head. ‘We have been monstrously interrupted, Miss Baird. Earl Spencer, who was responsible for bringing us together, is now forcing us apart. He says that he has a matter to discuss with me of the utmost urgency. I don’t believe that it is urgent at all, but as the Earl is both my patron and my commanding officer, I have no choice but to go.’

  Charlotte was disappointed, but also a little relieved. She knew that Middleton had been on the point of saying something significant, which would tip them from a flirtation into something more serious. She wanted to have that conversation, but she also found the prospect terrifying. Things were happening so quickly. She had no patience with Augusta’s view of Bay, but she wanted more time to observe him. She shook her head saying, ‘But we are in no hurry, are we, Captain Middleton? Surely we can wait a few hours?’

  ‘Of course we can wait – for you I can be the most patient of men – but it goes against my every instinct.’

  Charlotte laughed.

  ‘You are not in a race now, Captain. I will still be here when you return. And who knows? If I can evade the ladies of the house I might even be able to print up your photograph.’

  The stable clock began to chime the half-hour, startling them both. Charlotte reacted first.

  ‘Heavens, I must go and change at once and so must you. If we are both late for lunch, I think Augusta will have you arrested for abduction.’ She turned and began to walk through the arch.

  Bay followed and put a hand on her arm. ‘But Miss Baird, Charlotte, am I right to feel lucky that I have met you?’

  Charlotte smiled. ‘I think we both might be lucky, don’t you?’

  All the Trimmings

  Middleton found the earl in the Althorp stables, looking over a handsome chestnut mare. As Bay had found the horse for him, he was happy to agree with Spencer that she was a beauty, but he couldn’t believe that he had been summoned to look at a horse he knew better than its owner. Spencer broke a carrot into pieces and offered it to the horse on the palm of his hand. The horse snorted and filled the stable with its steaming breath. The Earl turned to Middleton and clapped him on the shoulder.

  ‘Apologies for summoning you over here on a Sunday, Middleton. Matter of some urgency.’

  ‘So I gathered from your note. But you didn’t give me much to go on,’ Bay said.

  ‘Too sensitive to put in a letter, Middleton, and besides, some things need to be explained man to man.’

  ‘That sounds a little worrying,’ Bay smiled.

  ‘Nothing to worry about. This is what I would call pleasure masquerading as duty.’ The Earl took Bay’s arm and started to walk around the yard, stopping briefly in front of each horse. ‘I don’t know if you have heard, but Easton Neston has been let to the Empress of Austria.’

  ‘Lady Crewe mentioned something about it last night at dinner.’

  ‘I called on the Empress yesterday. Remarkable woman, really looks the part if you know what I mean. I am no stranger to royalty but she is quite something. The face that launched a thousand ships and all that…’

  ‘But I thought the Empress was a grandmother already.’

  ‘You would never know it, Middleton. She is as slender as a young girl and her complexion is quite perfect. I can’t say this in front of the Countess, of course, but I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.’

  Bay laughed. ‘You appear quite smitten, sir. Have you summoned me here to act as your Cupid?’

  ‘If only…’ The Earl shook his massive head. ‘She is the sort of woman to turn a man’s head. You should see her hair, Middleton, all piled up on her head like a crown – and what a profile!’ The Earl fell silent for a moment, lost in admiration.

  Bay, who was feeling impatient by now, took out his pocket watch. It was a quarter to four. If the Earl did not get to the point soon, he would have to ride back to Melton in the dark.

  ‘My curiosity is aroused. I hope I shall get the chance to see the Empress in the flesh.’

  ‘You will, Middleton. That’s why I asked you over here. The Empress has come here to hunt. She is going to ride out with the Pytchley tomorrow.’

  ‘I shall look forward to seeing whether she is as beautiful as you say,’ Bay said with a touch of irritation, ‘but I still don’t understand why you summoned me over here.’

  ‘Stop interrupting and I will tell you,’ the Earl said. ‘The Empress needs a pilot, and while I would do it myself like a shot, I am too old to keep up with her. There is only one man for the job.’ He pointed his meaty forefinger at Bay.

  Bay was silent for a moment and then he shook his head. ‘I am flattered, of course, that you would entrust me with such a responsibility, but I am afraid I must refuse. You know very well that when the Queen of Naples asked me to be her pilot I said no. What makes you think that it should it be any different for the Empress? Surely there must be somebody who wants to open gates for royalty? Hartopp, for instance, would jump at the chance to be a royal nursemaid.’ He tried to keep his tone light, but he could not prevent his annoyance from poking through.

  Spencer simply ignored his outburst, smiling patiently as if talking to a child.

  ‘There is quite a difference between an ex-queen of an Italian principality and the wife of the ruler of the largest country in Europe, Middleton. Refusing the Queen’s request, while a touch ungallant, was your own business, but when I ask you to look after the Empress of Austria’ – the Earl stopped in front of a pretty grey mare and pulled back her gums to look at the teeth – ‘you are not really in a position to decline.’ Satisfied with the animal’s mouth, the Earl moved on to the next stall.

  Bay was silent. Although he no longer worked for Spencer since they had returned from Ireland, the Earl was his patron and supporter. If Disraeli lost the confidence of the House in the next few months, as everyone expected, then Spencer would be back in the Government. Bay had no great desire for an official appointment, but he knew that a position of some kind would make it much easier for him to pursue his interest in Charlotte Baird. As an impecunious cavalry captain on half-pay he was not much of a catch, but if Spencer was to give him some post, he would have a salary and some claim to be a coming man. And while he had no desire to pilot the Empress, there was some consolation in being offered a position that both Chicken Hartopp and Fred Baird would covet.

  ‘But what is an empress to me? How will I look after her?’ Middleton looked at his patron’s red face, which still held its patient smile, and realised that there was nothing he could say that would change the desire on one side and the obligation on the other. He bowed his head and said quietly, ‘I will do it, of course, since you ask me, but I wish you hadn’t.’ He hit the side of the stall with the flat of his hand and the grey mare snorted in sympathy.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, Middleton, there won’t be any gates to open. The Empress is an excellent rider. And as for looking after her, I am sure a man of your experience will have no difficulty in keeping her happy.’ The Earl winked at Bay.

  ‘And it is important that she is happy, Middleton. Relations with Austria are delicate at the moment, and we need to keep them as an ally against the Prussians. So anything you can do to further the cause of Anglo-Austrian friendship will be appreciated by the Foreign Office. The word from Berlin is that Bismark is furious that the Empress is here, and anything that riles old Otto is good news for us.’

  ‘I will do my best, of course, but you of all people know that I am no diplomat,’ Bay said.

  ‘I think even you will manage to make yourself agreeable to a beautiful woman. What is more, although the Empress has brought her own string of horses, my guess is that she is going to need some new ones, and who better to help her find them than you, Middleton?’ Spencer started to shake with impending mirth.

  ‘So … don’t look … a gift horse … in the mouth, old man.’ When he had finished laughing at his own joke, he said in his
normal voice, ‘Will you come in for a quick tot of something to keep out the cold? If we go in by the kitchen, we can get to the library without being disturbed by the womenfolk.’

  Bay hesitated. He did want a drink, but it was getting dark and he didn’t want his horse to lose its footing on the way home, the day before the hunting season started.

  ‘I should like to get back to Melton before the light goes completely.’

  ‘Pity. Still, I am sure you have your reasons, eh Middleton?’

  The Earl gave Bay another of his enormous winks.

  ‘My wife tells me that the little Baird girl is staying at Melton.’

  Bay looked at him in surprise.

  ‘Nice little thing. I knew her mother, wonderful horsewoman. But absolutely reckless. Would jump anything. The husband tried to stop her but she wouldn’t be told. Can’t say I was surprised when she broke her neck. She left all the Lennox money to the daughter, so Miss Baird comes with all the trimmings. You could do a lot worse for yourself, eh Middleton? Just the sort of wife a man needs if he wants to win the Grand National.’

  Middleton said nothing. He was embarrassed by the Earl’s directness. Men and women of Spencer’s generation saw nothing wrong in talking about marriages as if they were market transactions, but he found it distasteful. The last thing he wanted was to be thought of as a fortune hunter. He liked Charlotte Baird a great deal. There was the way that she remembered everything he said to her, the way she listened with her head slightly tilted. It was true that he might not have married her a year ago, but he was a different man now. He wanted a quiet place that he could call home. He could imagine Charlotte waiting for him in the drawing room, puzzling over one of her albums but listening all the time for his step on the stair. But then there was the money. He told himself that when he had first met Charlotte at the ball, he had not known that she was an heiress, or rather he had not remembered until a day or two afterwards, when Hartopp had taken him aside at the club and told him about the fortune and his own prior claim to it. ‘I was winnin’ her over, Middleton, winnin’ her over, and then you come along and turn her head. Leave her alone, Bay, she’s a nice gel and I want to marry her.’ Bay had felt sorry for Hartopp. He knew after one dance with Charlotte that she would never become Mrs Hartopp. But as Chicken was rich, no one would accuse him of being on the make, although Bay knew that Hartopp found the money quite as appealing as Charlotte’s other charms.

  ‘It’s time you settled down, Middleton. Found yourself a wife of your own.’ Spencer emphasised the last word. Bay wanted to punch the Earl’s beefy, smiling face, but instead he adopted what he thought of as his courtier demeanour.

  ‘Miss Baird is certainly a charming girl.’

  ‘Charming and rich. Capital combination.’ The Earl raised his arm, and Bay evaded the inevitable slap between the shoulder blades by stepping aside and gesturing to the groom to bring his horse up to the mounting block. ‘I’ll write to the Empress, then, and tell her that she will be in your capable hands.’ The Earl winked at him. ‘No better hands with a horse, and quite good at handling women too from what I hear.’

  Middleton looked up at the sky. A low ray of winter sun was pushing through the swollen grey sky.

  ‘It looks like snow. I hope the Empress is prepared for the going to be heavy.’

  Royal Sisters

  Earl Spencer’s note was delivered to the empress after dinner. Baron Nopsca brought it into the drawing room himself, knowing that his mistress would want to read this right away. The Chamberlain hoped very much that the letter did not contain bad news about the arrangements for tomorrow. Her Majesty was looking forward to taking part in a real English hunt so much, and she did not like to be disappointed. As he walked into the double cube of the drawing room, he realised to his horror that he had forgotten to put on his gloves. He wondered if he should go back and fetch them, but it was too late – the Empress had seen him. She was sitting next to her sister, Queen Maria, on the sofa in front of the fire; her brother-in-law the King, Prince Liechtenstein and Count Esterhazy were standing by the mantelpiece; Countess Festetics was sitting in the corner, sewing.

  He put the note in the Empress’s outstretched hand as quickly as he could before she noticed his naked hands. But the Empress merely thanked him in German before opening the envelope and then saying in English, ‘It is from your friend Earl Spencer, Maria. He says that he has found me a pilot for the hunt tomorrow. His name is Captain Middleton. Do you know him?’

  Her sister flushed, ‘Yes. I have heard of him.’

  ‘I don’t understand why I have to have a pilot, but the Earl insists. He claims that this Middleton is the best rider in England.’

  ‘Only the best rider in England would be able to keep up with you, Majesty,’ said Count Esterhazy.

  ‘Oh, don’t be such a courtier, Max.’ The Empress laughed. ‘I am sure that the English ladies ride like the wind.’ She turned to her sister. ‘What do you think, Maria, will I be able to stand the pace?’

  ‘I don’t know why you ask me, Sisi. You know very well that you always come first.’

  If Sisi caught the bitterness in her sister’s voice, she didn’t show it. She carried on, ‘And did you see the famous Captain Middleton when you were hunting last year?’

  ‘I did. He can ride, certainly, but I doubt that you will find his manners to your taste,’ Maria replied.

  Sisi put her hand on her sister’s arm. ‘Oh dear, was he rude to you? I shall have to scold him. But I have had enough of good manners. Dear Felix and Max are so relentlessly charming that a little roughness will make an interesting change.’

  The Empress stood up and moved towards the windows. The curtains were drawn against the dark, but she drew one back and looked out into the night.

  ‘It is snowing.’ She turned and asked her sister, ‘Will the hunt still go ahead?’

  ‘I guarantee it. The English cannot bear to be deprived of their sport. And everyone will turn out tomorrow to see you,’ said Maria.

  ‘But I am here incognito. I am travelling as Countess Hohenembs, so it won’t be the Empress hunting tomorrow.’ Elizabeth stood very straight, her face flushed. ‘This is meant to be a private visit. I don’t want to be a circus attraction.’

  Count Esterhazy and Prince Liechtenstein glanced at each other, hearing a familiar note in the Empress’s voice. Countess Festetics looked up from her sewing. Count Eszterhazy was the one to speak first.

  ‘But Majesty, the people tomorrow will be your favourite company – riding folk whose only desire is for a good day’s hunting. Perhaps there may be a frisson at having royalty among them, but my guess is that it will be your horse attracting all the attention.’

  Elizabeth stared at the Count for a moment and then her face relaxed, her lips almost curving into a smile.

  ‘But which horse? I am worried that none of them are used to jumping these English hedges.’

  The men pounced on this conversational opening and began to discuss the merits of the Empress’s horses at length. Countess Festetics resumed her sewing.

  Elizabeth went back to sit next to her sister.

  Maria said, ‘You mustn’t blame the English for wanting to look at you, Sisi. Their queen has shut herself away since her husband died. And the papers are full of you, even though you are travelling incognito. Everybody wants to see “the most beautiful woman in Europe”.’ Maria smiled thinly at her sister.

  ‘But I am so tired of being stared at. Can you imagine what it feels like to know that everybody is looking at you, all the time?’ Elizabeth spoke in a rush of emotion but kept her voice low. She looked to her sister for sympathy but saw that Maria’s face had closed up.

  There was a little pause and then the ex-queen of Naples said, ‘There are worse things in life, Sisi, than being stared at.’

  Silver Nitrate

  The snow began to fall just as Bay reached Melton. While he waited for someone to come out and open the gates he watched the flakes fall
and settle on the gravel underneath the lighted windows of the lodge. Inside he could see a woman feeding a baby in a wooden high chair while her husband looked on. The baby was laughing and trying to pat her cheek as she held up the spoon. The child had managed to smear a good dollop of his porridge on his mother’s face and Bay watched as her husband, the gatekeeper, tenderly brushed it away.

  Tipsy neighed with impatience and the man looked up and saw Bay. Seconds later he came out.

  ‘Sorry to keep you waiting, sir. Would you like me to light you up to the house?’ He held up a lantern.

  Bay felt unaccountably guilty for having disturbed the peaceful domestic scene. He found a coin in his pocket and handed it over. ‘No need for you to come out on a night like this. I’ll take the lamp myself.’

  The gatekeeper was delighted. ‘If you’re sure, sir. Thank you very much indeed.’

  * * *

  At his usual gallop, Bay would have covered the drive from the lodge to the house in minutes, but now the snow and the lantern slowed him down. He felt the flakes settle on his eyelashes and moustache. Charlotte would laugh if she could see him now. He thought that he wouldn’t mind being laughed at by Charlotte. When Blanche Hozier had made fun of him for some slip of the tongue or social awkwardness, he had felt the scorn beneath her smiles. Charlotte, though, was different. She might tease him, but there would be no derision in her laughter.

  The baby in the lodge had made him think of Clementine, the daughter he had never seen. He could not see Blanche – blonde, immaculate Blanche – feeding a baby with a spoon and having her face smeared with porridge. Instead he imagined Charlotte holding a baby out to him.

  Tipsy stumbled, jolting Bay out of his domestic daydream. The snow was laying a blanket of hush over the landscape and there was no light apart from the flickering gleam of the lantern. Then he heard the chimes of the stable clock sounding seven times – if he hurried he might be able to find Charlotte before dinner. Forgetting his concerns about the hazardous snow, he nudged Tipsy into a canter.