Chapter Twenty Three
‘With a cap of Valenciennes,
and a velvet hood’
Afterwards, Julia could not remember all of the horror of that night. She recalled the sudden silence as the dragoons rode on, rounding up men and ponies, and she recalled crawling from her hiding place to the inert form of Gerald, knowing the moment she bent over him that he was dead. The sightless, beautiful eyes stared wide open beyond her, and gently she had closed them, sobbing all the while, horribly aware of the blood caused by the terrible blow to his head.
Then Ridges had taken her by the shoulders and had led her back to the house. She remembered Mrs Knight and Smithers fussing over her, putting her to bed, then oblivion.
They kept her in bed for the next few days and she tried to block out the events that had occurred on the night of the run. Lady Wentworth and Susan had called to enquire after her, as well as Martha Blake. When Julia finally dressed and went downstairs, she found everything the same, except for the correspondence that awaited her. She couldn’t face it just yet, and instead asked Molly if she could bring Jimmy to her. He came in, slightly apprehensive at first, but Julia’s welcome smile soon restored his confidence.
‘Jimmy, I have you to thank for my rescue in the church. I still don’t know exactly what happened after you left me.’
‘Well, Miss,’ Jimmy’s face was aglow with the remembered excitement of that night. ‘I went to go and wake up Mr Ridges and get Athene, but before I could, Mr Hamilton caught me. In the dark and in my hurry, I hadn’t seen him. But anyway, I knew you were friends and that maybe he could help you.’
Jimmy broke off looking worried.
‘It’s all right, Jimmy. What you did was right.’
He looked vastly relieved and continued on in a rush.
‘Well, I told him what had happened and where you were, and that I were going to get Mr Ridges, but he took hold of me and didn’t want to let me go. But I managed to break away. And then…’
With a gulp he carried on.
‘I woke up Mr Ridges and saddled Athene and started off to find the revenue man like you asked me, but I was too late. Somehow they knew, and the dragoons and the revenue men came upon the smugglers, and there were fighting, and well,’ here he finished lamely, Il think you know the rest.’
‘No, I don’t, Jimmy. Not all of it. Only that Mr Hamilton, who took me out of the church, was killed by one of the dragoons. Is that not right?’
She desperately hoped he would correct her and that her memory of that night was wrong. Instead he nodded his agreement.
‘Yes. Mr Hamilton was one of three men who died that night and there were several more injured.’
Julia felt sick.
‘The Reverend Talbot has been arrested and so have several others.’ Jimmy voice was gleeful.
‘Wyatt?’ It came from her involuntarily.
‘He got away, Miss.’
Her optimism fell and she leaned back in her chair, drained and exhausted.
After thanking Jimmy yet again for his loyalty and bravery, she dismissed him. She felt the tears pouring down her cheeks as Gerald’s face loomed before her. She wanted to cast out those last memories of when they had been in the church together. She wanted to remember only the rides and his flashing smile. With a shudder, she stood up and wondered for the first time how the Frenchwoman had taken the news.
Going over to the desk, she sat down and wrote a brief note to Lenore, asking if she could call on her the next day. Sealing it, she rang for Molly and asked if Ridges would have it delivered.
She began to go through her correspondence. Amongst the letters was a familiar hand and with pleasurable anticipation, she opened it. Philip wrote a charming letter. With courtly grace and a slightly apologetic air, Philip conveyed to her that his mother had recently had a relative to stay, the Honourable Arabella Wetherby, the heiress daughter of the late Lord Wetherby. Did Julia remember her from her time at Court? Julia did. Arabella was as lovely as she was wealthy, sought by every fortune hunter in the land!
Well, it appeared that now Philip was to inherit the Earldom, Arabella was disposed to look kindly upon him, and that when his period of mourning was over, an official announcement of their betrothal would be made public. Naturally, as a friend, Philip knew that she would be pleased for him. He and Arabella sincerely hoped that after their marriage, Julia would come and stay with them at Sharnborough.
To her surprise, a little laugh escaped her lips. How doubly foolish she had been. Gerald with his intense flashing air and Philip with his courtly manners had both attracted her interest, but all to no avail - Gerald was now dead and Philip would marry another.
Perhaps it was because of Gerald’s death, despite his treatment of her, that Philip’s news did not seem as painful as she once would have imagined. Half-heartedly, she went through the rest of the letters.
On official notepaper was a brief note from Lieutenant Wareham. He was sorry to hear of her misadventure on the night of the run at the hands of the smugglers, and hoped that when no longer indisposed, she would send him word, for he would like to call with information of definite interest to her.
Julia sat very still, turning the paper over in her hands, the lieutenant’s serious face suddenly before her.
Reaching for a pen, Julia began to write.