‘Because she is so very beautiful.’
‘Did she say that?’
‘I think it was more the voice of Miss Cudlipp speaking in her head.’
‘Talk some sense into her, Miss Pym, I beg of you. She might do something silly, like running off into the snow.’
‘I shall do my best,’ said Hannah, ‘but the damage done by a silly governess is hard to counteract in a short space of time.’
‘What takes you to Exeter, Miss Pym?’
‘I have never seen Exeter.’
‘I do not understand.’
‘I have a wish to travel,’ said Hannah, clasping her long, thin fingers.’
‘On the common stage?’
‘The stage-coaches are not common to me,’ said Hannah. ‘I used to watch them going along the Kensington Road. All that motion and adventure.’
‘You live in Kensington?’
‘Yes, at Thornton Hall.’
Lord Harley looked at her curiously. ‘You must be one of the Clarences.’
‘Distantly related, my lord,’ said Hannah, quickly lowering her eyes.
‘Indeed? And which branch of the family would that be?’
Hannah felt a stab of panic. The aristocracy and gentry knew everything about everyone. It was their way of making sure that no interloper or adventurer broke into their gilded ranks. There were ladies, Hannah knew, who did little else but discuss families and relations.
She looked miserably into her brandy glass and prayed for inspiration.
‘You are not running away as well?’ asked Lord Harley sharply.
No reply.
‘Come, I shall find out, you know. Clarence died only recently, and I am a friend of his brother, Sir George.’
‘I lied,’ said Hannah miserably. ‘I was the housekeeper at Thornton Hall for years and years. Mr Clarence left me five thousand pounds in his will. It has always been my dream to travel and see the world.’
‘There was no need to lie to me.’
Hannah raised her eyes. ‘There was every need,’ she said passionately. ‘Servants, my lord, are the most despised class in England. Oh, I have heard the ladies talk about us often in the days when Mrs Clarence used to entertain. Hard as we work, we are regarded as some sort of parasite. The tradesmen and artisans despise us too. They consider the whole servant class lazy and unskilled. You ask me to talk sense to Miss Freemantle. If that young lady realized for a moment she was talking to a servant, then she would not listen to a word I said.’
He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Strange as it may seem, Miss Pym, there was a Pym in my family, a fourth cousin, recently dead, of the Surrey Pyms, the last of the line. I will make you a present. Use your good sense with Miss Freemantle, and you may claim me as kinsman to all who care to listen.’
‘It is of no use,’ said Hannah. ‘My voice …’
‘What is up with your voice?’
‘There is a certain coarseness of accent.’
‘My dear Miss Pym, as a lady of your years should know, it is only recently that the ton started ruthlessly shedding their regional accents. I myself went to see a great-aunt in Edinburgh and could not make out a word she was saying. You are over-sensitive on the subject of rank. Banish it from your mind. If it helps, you are now Miss Pym of Surrey.’
‘I felt very wicked lying like that,’ said Hannah in a small voice. ‘Perhaps it is best to tell the truth, and if people are of any worth at all, they will not despise me. Sir George did not. He … he took me to Gunter’s.’
‘Well, there you are. But the world is a wicked and vain place, and there are many misguided people like Emily Freemantle. Think on it. You may use relationship to me as you think fit.’ He gave her a charming smile. ‘You have perhaps too much character for a gentlewoman and too much concern for others. Why, for example, did you think to bring poor little Mr Fletcher clean linen and a new wig? They were Miss Freemantle’s, I assume, and I am also sure she would never have thought of such a thing.’
Hannah put her hands to her face in sudden consternation. ‘I have stolen from her,’ she whispered.
‘She has no need of them. Tell her I commanded you to find something. But you have not answered my question.’
‘Oh, dear.’ Hannah put down her glass. ‘It is this wicked evil drink, my lord. It made me feel so confident, so assured, that it did not dawn on me until now that I was stealing.’
‘Tell her first thing in the morning, and if she is enraged, let me know and I will hand everything back, even if I have to rip it off Mr Fletcher. But what was in your mind?’
‘I feel Mr Fletcher is a bachelor and has never had anyone to care for him,’ said Hannah slowly. ‘I do not like that Captain Seaton. I suspect he is an adventurer and after little Mrs Bisley’s money. You see, I feel she was married to Mr Bisley and probably very fond of him for a long time. She is one of those ladies who rely totally on a gentleman for their very existence. The captain cleverly moved into the vacuum created by Mr Bisley’s death. Mrs Bisley should have more time to mourn. As it was, I think she saw in the disgusting captain a broad shoulder to lean on. Mr Fletcher has a neglected air, neglected in body and spirit. I do not think he has much money, and I do not think anyone has ever cared for him. I thought that perhaps if he were arrayed in clean linen and a good wig, then perhaps …’
Her voice trailed away. Lord Harley roared with laughter, his black eyes dancing. ‘I’ faith, Miss Pym, you are a travelling matchmaker.’
‘It was the drink,’ said Hannah in a hollow voice.
‘Poor Mr Fletcher,’ said Lord Harley with a grin. ‘Into what masterful hands he has fallen. I scrub his back and you make over his clothes. Let well alone, Miss Pym, and heed my advice. Never think for a moment you can alter the course of people’s affections. Now we shall have some sobering coffee and go to bed.’
He rang the bell. No one answered its summons. The inn was quiet apart from the roaring of the wind in the chimney.
At last the landlord appeared, looking worried. ‘Beg pardon, my lord,’ he said, ‘but the maids went to their homes in the town as they usually do, along with the waiters, me not having the room to house them here. I got the ostlers to help them through the storm. There’s not one here now but me and missus, and she is feeling poorly. I myself will bring you anything you desire.’
‘Go to bed, landlord,’ said Hannah quickly before Lord Harley could say anything.. ‘I shall fetch coffee myself. You will need your strength for the morrow.’
‘Thank you, mum, but it don’t seem fitting.’
‘Anything is fitting in such a storm as this. Pray retire,’ said Hannah, ‘and I shall look at your wife tomorrow and see if she needs help.’
When the landlord had bowed his way out, stammering his thanks, Hannah said, ‘I shall fetch the coffee now, my lord.’
‘You are no longer a servant, Miss Pym. It appears we must all be our own servants, and it will do us no harm. Lead the way!’
He followed Hannah through a long narrow corridor and then through a green baize door and so to the kitchen of the inn, which was at the back. Here the noise of the storm was worse than ever. He sat at the table and watched as Hannah ground coffee beans and then made a jug of coffee. She was arranging cups on a tray when he said languidly, ‘We will drink it here. Are you never tired, Miss Pym?’
‘I am fortunate in needing very little sleep,’ said Hannah. ‘Oh, my lord, what a wonderful day it has been. God is very good.’