"My lord, I must speak with you... There is a very urgent matter--"
Polly was amazed to find that she was out of breath, sounding quite shaken.
"It concerns your sister--" Henry"s attention sharpened. He took her hands in a strong grasp.
"Concerning Laura? What is it? You are shaking, Lady Polly! What can be the matter?"
Polly glanced around instinctively. Most of the guests were preoccupied with the serious business of eating and drinking, but a few glances were being cast their way.
"Not here," she said softly.
"I have a letter for you. It is a delicate matter..."
Henry nodded, offering her his arm.
"Perhaps you will be good enough to show me your father"s sculpture collection before supper. Lady Polly? I have heard tell that it is very fine."
It was dark outside and not secluded enough for a private conversation.
They re-crossed the courtyard hastily and went in through the long library doors. The library was in near darkness, only one branch of candles throwing its shadowy light over the sculpture which was indeed accounted very beautiful. Henry shut the door behind them and Polly moved to light some more candles. From a purely practical point of view. Henry would hardly be able to decipher his sister"s script in the gloom. Her hands shook a little as she lit the wavering flame and turned back to him.
Henry was standing with his back to the door and Polly felt once again the little leap of her heart that his presence always caused.
"Here." She took the letter from the bodice of her gown and pa.s.sed it over, still warm from the contact with her skin.
"You will be wanting to read it in peace, I am sure, my lord--" But she was not to get away so easily.
"Just a moment--" Lord Henry said, sounding preoccupied. He had already unfolded the missive and scanned its brief contents, but when he looked up at Polly, his gaze was intent.
"When did Laura give this to you?"
Polly glanced at the clock.
"No more than fifteen minutes ago, my lord."
"Then why does she imagine that I will be reading it several hours hence?"
He tapped the letter.
"She states quite clearly here that she will have been gone for several hours, yet you say it is only fifteen minutes! I could catch them up quite easily if I chose!"
"Yes." Polly struggled a little, wishing she had beaten a retreat sooner, "that is. she asked me to give it to you in a little while but--" She broke off with a slight gesture.
"I thought that you should know at once--" Polly stopped again. This was coming out all wrong and Henry was frowning deeply as he watched her.
"Why?" he demanded.
"Were you so determined that I should put a stop to this? I have not forgotten your aversion to elopements!"
"No!" Polly was stung.
"It is unfair of you to bring that matter up between us again, my lord!
I wish Lady Laura every good fortune! But I could not just stand by with your letter for a few hours and then give it to a servant to pa.s.s to you and pretend that it had not been in my possession all the time!
I just hoped that you would make the right decision--" She broke off. "
Truly, my lord,"
she finished, a little desperately, "it is best that I leave you to consider matters."
"No," Henry said firmly, "I do not think so." He was leaning on Sea grave"s beautiful inlaid walnut desk and was still frowning.
"There is a mystery here which I feel must be unravelled. Laura gave you the letter and asked that you give it to me in a few hours" time, to give them a good head start. You say that you wish them well and indeed it must be so, for in here--" he flicked the letter as it lay on the desk "--she also says that you advised her most kindly to follow her heart." The look he gave her was sardonic. "I cannot believe you to have indulged in such double-dealing, Lady Polly, that you advise my sister to elope and then immediately give her away! Pray, sit down and explain the matter to me!"
Polly glanced across at the door. It seemed so much easier just to run away, except for the conviction that Henry would probably run after her and bring her back, and cause a scandal in the process. The deepening smile on his face suggested that he had guessed her thoughts--all of them.
She sat down on one of the elegant gilt sofas and tried to marshal her thoughts.
"It is true that Lady Laura confided in me her feelings for Mr Far rant,"
she admitted, "and also that I was aware of the objections of her family to the match. You and I have discussed as much! I do not know what part your sister has a.s.signed to me in all this, but I freely admit that my advice to her was that she should do what she thought was right. She has more determination than I ever did at her age--she knew what she wanted and now she has taken it, and I wish her all the luck in the world in her choice! " "Then why did you pa.s.s me her letter so swiftly?" Henry asked.
"You must know that I could stop them if I chose." He had come round the desk and taken the chair opposite Polly"s, watching her all the while.
Polly was intensely conscious of his intent gaze resting thoughtfully on her face.
She prayed that it was too dark for him to read her expression. This was the most difficult part.
"I did not wish to deceive you," she said candidly. "Whilst I wish your sister success and happiness, it was more important to me that you should know of her actions and choose for yourself. If you decide to go after them I shall be very sorry, but I will still feel that I did the right thing in entrusting the letter to you now rather than later."
There was a little silence. Polly"s face was growing hot under that unrelenting scrutiny.
"A little late in the day to be speaking of trust between us," Henry said drily.
"You must forgive me. Lady Polly, if I find it difficult to accept that you are finally trusting me with information in the belief that I will do the right thing. There have been other occasions, arguably more important, when you did not show any such confidence in me!"
Polly clasped her hands together tightly.
"If you are speaking of my engagement to Mr Dit ton then I can only concede that you are right, my lord. However, if we must indulge in recriminations, allow me to say that you are hardly blameless yourself Henry smiled slightly.
"Your point. Lady Polly! But it is a little different. I would have done anything I could to save you from Dit ton."
"Almost anything," Polly said sweetly.
"Let us not rake over the past, my lord, for we shall only quarrel! It seems that you cannot forgive me my lack of trust and I resent that you did not fully confide in me!
Un trusted and untrustworthy both! But will you go after your sister? " Henry shook his head slowly.
"No, I will not. I never opposed the match, although I cannot deny that it will cause a great deal of trouble. But..." he sighed "it is not my choice to spoil Laura"s happiness! " Polly let out a long, unsteady breath.
"Oh, thank you!"