125443558 lady pamela by clare darc2

7/27/2019 125443558 Lady Pamela by Clare Darc2

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Lady Pamela by Clare Darcy


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OneLady Pamela Frayne, descending

the elegant Adam staircase of hergrandfather's Berkeley Square town houseon a February morning in a veryfashionable light puce walking-dress ofFrench merino, admirably becoming to her

dark curls, wore a somewhat preoccupiedexpression upon her face. This wasscarcely surprising, as she had just comefrom a consultation with the housekeeper,had an appointment with a famous Bruton

S tr e e t modi s t e within the hour, andwished to consult her grandfather beforeshe left the house upon the progress of hispresent attack of the gout.People who saw Lady Pamela only

in Society, one of the chief ornaments ofwhich she had been since her come-outthree years before, were used to considerher a dashing, extremely volatile, andeven rather shatter-brained young lady,

whose penchant for impulsive actioncould usually be counted upon to plunge


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her, if not into scandal, at least intointeresting notoriety on the average oftwice each Season. She had half a dozen

times been rumoured on the brink ofmarriage with various members of hercoterie of admirers, who ranged from theheir to one of the premier dukedoms in thekingdom to an immensely wealthy Spanish

nobleman, the Marques de Barrera. Thelatter gentleman's ardent pursuit of her hadengaged the breathless interest of the tonfor several months, only to end indisappointment both for him and for them

when her betrothal had suddenly beenannounced to Adolphus, Lord Babcoke, ahighly eligible and reliable peer some tenyears her senior, whom she had known allher life.

The engagement was something of asurprise to everyone, including theprospective bridegroom, who, though hehad been among Lady Pamela's admirersever since she had been old enough to

have admirers, had never seriouslyconsidered putting his fate to the touch


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until he had found himself, during a houseparty at Osterley Park, mysteriously alonewith her in the tapestry room,

benevolently observed by the nymphs andCupids represented in its famous Gobelinsdepicting Les Amours des Dieux. Perhapsheartened by this encouraging atmosphere,and by Lady Pamela's unexpectedly

complaisant air, he had made his offer andbeen accepted, and if certain unkindmamas, the hearts of whose daughters'swains had for three Seasons past beenfalling down flat at Lady Pamela's feet,

remarked rather spitefully that it wasprobably Lady Pamela who had decidedto marry Lord Babcoke, rather than theother way round, it was nonethelessundeniable that the engaged pair were

very fond of each other and that the matchwas an exceedingly suitable one.To say the truth, as Lady Pamela'sgr a nd fa the r, Lord Nevans, alwaysobserved, she had a head on her shoulders

when she chose to use it, in proof ofwhich he was able to cite the fact that she


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had been holding the reins of hishousehold with great skill and aplombever since the death of her mother two

years before.And if she turns into one of thosemanaging females," he was wont toconclude, "Babcoke will have onlyhimself to blame, for though she has an

odd kick to her gallop she's a sweet-goer,and needs only a light, steady hand on thereins"which mode of expression LordBabcoke, though a sporting peer himself,would have liked to deplore but did not

dare, as Lord Nevans's hasty temper hadbeen famous throughout England for fortyyears.That that temperdespite hislordship's advanced age and present

uncertain state of healthwas still a forceto be reckoned with was made obviousanew to Lady Pamela on this wintermorning as she reached the foot of thestaircase. As she did so, the door of the

breakfast-parlour at the back of the hallwas suddenly opened and his lordship's


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secretary came rapidly outso rapidly, infact, that Lady Pamela thought he mighthave been shot from a cannon except that

he did not go far enough. She stopped andlooked at him, between compassion andamusement.You poor man," she said. "Is he atit again? What is it this time? Politics?

The war? Or is it only that his gout isparticularly troublesome this morning?Young Mr. Underdown, who wasthe latest in a long line of secretarieswhose feet Lord Nevans, to do him

justice, had always seen set firmly uponthe political or diplomatic ladder when helet them go, mopped his brow and said hereally didn't know.I think it's all of them, to tell the

truth, Lady Pamela," he said. " Andyourbrother, if you don't think it impertinent ofme to say so"Oh, dear!" interpolated LadyPamela, for her younger brother and their

grandfather's heir, Viscount Wynstanley,was of an age and temperament where his


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actions were constantly arousingdisapproval in Lord Nevans's breast.andsomething missing from the

red Foreign Office box that was left lyingon the hall table yesterday," Mr.Underdown concluded unhappily. "Idare-say it is my fault. Things of that sortshouldbe kept locked up."

Fiddle!" said Lady Pamela kindly."That is, I don't mean they shouldn't be, ofcourse, but how you are to manage it whenGrandpapa willkeep the keys himself andsend Stopford to fetch papers for him in

the middle of the night when he can'tsleep, and then forgets where he has putthem in the morning, I cannot imagine.Mr. Underdown, who, like everyother secretary Lord Nevans had

employed from the time Lady Pamela hadbeen fifteen, had fallen in love with herelegant, tip-tilted nose, winged blackbrows, and dark-fringed grey eyes, whichmade up an enchanting ensemble that

looked rather as if it had been sketched bythe pen of a dashing artist, appeared


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gratified by her ladyship's making excusesfor his negligence. But he repeated withno alteration in his careworn air that itwas

all his fault and he would have to makeenquiries and hurried off.He really i s rather a lamb, and soconscientious, and it is perfectly wickedof you to rake him down for something that

is probably quite your own fault,Grandpapa," said Lady Pamela, enteringthe breakfast-parlour and advancing tokiss Lord Nevans upon the top of hismassive, white-haired head.

That famous political peer, whowas looking very uncomfortable with hisgouty leg propped on a footstool besidethe Pembroke table from which he wasendeavouring to eat his breakfast,

glowered at her.Damned young puppy!" he said."That is, if it's Underdown you mean. Andno more use to me than if he was one, andnot weaned yet!" He looked from under

his beetling white brows at Lady Pamela,who had seated herself opposite him and


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was selecting buttered eggs and toast fromthe dishes being offered her by Hadsell,the butler. When Hadsell had left the room

he continued abruptly, "Where's yourbrother, eh? Do y o u know where he'sgone?"Wyn?" Lady Pamela looked up inslight surprise. "Is he up and gone out at

this hour? I daresay it is a prizefight then,or something of the sort, for you knownothing else will get him out of bed beforenoon."Yes, I do know," said Lord Nevans

grimly. "But it wasn't a matter this time ofgetting him from his bed. He wasn't in itlast night. Nor,"he added, as Lady Pamelamerely looked somewhat amused, thoughendeavouring to appear shocked to uphold

the proprieties, "has he come in thismorning. And there's a document missingfrom my despatch-box"Grandpapa!" said Lady Pamela,now looking shocked in good earnest.

"You can'tthink that Wyn"Oh, can't I!" said Lord Nevans, his


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eyes kindling fiercely and his right handcoming down upon the table in a blow thatmade the dishes jump. "Damme, you know

as well as I do, girl, that that youngjackanapes is in Dun territory as deep ashe can go, for all I bailed him out of thehands of the cent-percenters no longer agothan last November. And that paper has to

do with Wellington's future plans; it'sworth any amount he likes to name, if he'swilling to see it get into French hands!Lady Pamela, her face expressingincredulity and indignation in equal parts,

said that if anyone else had hinted such athing about Wyn she would have his liverand lights, which caused her grandfatherto say severely that she was as bad as hewas, but obviously not really meaning it.

Yes, I am," agreed Lady Pamelaunexpectedly. "In fact, I am worse,because I was traitorous enough to takeyour meaning at once when you said thata b o ut Wyn. Grandpapa, you know he

never would or could do anythingdishonourable!He may be forever


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kicking up larks all over town, and gettinginto company with a set of people hewould never dream of asking to his home,

but it is the outside of enough for you to bebelieving that he would tamper with yourofficial papers!"Then who else has done it?" LordNevans asked heavily. The angry flush

faded from his leonine face, to bereplaced by an expression of gnawinganxiety. "Underdown will have it that Ihave merely misplaced the memorandum,but the lock on that box has been prised,

Pamela. I haven't shown it to Underdowno r to anyone else; it's my hope that theshameless young cub was in his cupswhen he did it, and will replace thememorandum when he comes to his

senses. But his not having put in anappearance this morning looks badverybad, indeed. You know the sort of men heh a s been associating with these pastmonths. A set of ras cally scrubs,

rakeshamesand Captain Sharps every one of


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them, though some, like Cedric Mansell,bear honourable names.

At the mention of the Honourable

Cedric Mansell, the highly notorioussecond son of the Earl of Whiston, LadyPamela's brows drew together in a suddenfrown. She was not herself acquaintedwith the Honourable Cedric, for, in spite

of his excellent personal gifts and urbanemanners, he had not for some years beenpersona grata in the saloons of hostessesi n the first rank of Society, and indeedwas himself known to prefer the quite

unmentionable haunts frequented bymembers of the infamous Beggars' Club.

An unpleasant incident at White'sinvolving marked cards, which had beenglossed over when Lord Whistonor,

rather, Lady Whiston, who was aconsiderable heiress and held thepursestringsin the familyhad come downhandsomely with a large sum of money

upon the Honourable Cedric's behalf, hadbeen only the first of several unpalatable


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scandals that had attached themselves tohis name. But in spite of this Lady Pamelawas aware that he had a certain influence

over some of the wilder of the youngermen, who were flattered by the attentionsof what they admiringly called an out-andoutcock of the game, up to every rig androw in town.

A few words let fall by her youngbrother upon the occasion of their lastmeeting the day before recurreduncomfortably to Lady Pamela's mind atthis point. She had been descending the

stairs, on her way to a rout-party at LadyMaytham's, when he had come dashing upthem in his usual impetuous way,demanding the time of her as if his verylifeor at least the outcome of the latest

harebrained adventure in which he wasinvolveddepended upon it.It is just on ten, I believe," she hadreplied, upon which the Viscount had saidwith an air of great relief that that was all

right then, as his appointment was not tillhalf after, and there was plenty of time,


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after all.Daffy Club? Or Cribb's Parlour?"Lady Pamela had enquired teasingly,

fastening the last buttons of her longFrench kid gloves as she spoke, for LordBabcoke was below and she was makinga praiseworthy attempt that week,knowing how he disliked being kept

waiting, to be on time for all herengagements, to the extent of havingescaped from the hands of her dresser,Pletcher, before that austere andfashionable female had succeeded in

putting the final touches upon her toilette.But somewhat to her surprise LordWynstanley, instead of laughing orimpishly confessing to a much lessrespectable engagement for the evening,

had suddenly looked serious and said no,dash it all, it was a far more importantmatter than that.I can't tell you about it now," hehad said, with the portentous air that a

young man of nineteen may sometimes puton to impress an elder sister, though he


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should know better than to try. "ButCeddie Mansell means to put me in a wayto make my fortune, so you can see that it's

vital I meet him tonight. If I miss him, Ishall have to go down to Whiston Castle.

And he had run on up the stairs,leaving the words of distaste she hadmeant to utter on the subject of the

Honourable Cedric and all his worksunspoken upon her lips. They would not,at any rate, she was quite sure, have hadthe least effect upon her young brother,who was very proud of his new-found

status as a boon companion to a top-ofthe-trees sporting figure like CedricMansell. And in any event, she hadreflected, if he was going to WhistonCastle there was not much harm he could

get into there, for, although she washerself unacquainted with Lord and LadyWhiston, she understood from LordWynstanley, who occasionally visited theEarl's ancient country seat in Wiltshire

w i t h the Honourable Cedric, that hisfriend's papa and mama led a staid and


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entirely exemplary existence there.She had therefore attached littleimportance to the incident at the time,

thinkingif she had thought about it at allthat her brother's conviction that theHonourable Cedric would be able to puthim in a position to lay his hands upon aconsiderable and no doubt sorely needed

sum of money merely had reference to acockfight or a badger-baiting for whichhis friend was about to give him a surething. But her grandfather's words hadsuddenly put the whole matter in quite a

different light. She could not believe thatWyn, who had been begging Lord Nevansever since he had been seventeen to buyhim a pair of colours and allow him to

join Lord Wellington's army and fight the

French in the Peninsula, could have been aparty to what his grandfather obviouslybelieved was an at tempt by Bonapartistagents to obtain a document of such highvalue to them that they would be willing to

pay an extremely large sum for it. But shecould well credit the fact that Cedric


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Mansell might be, and it was not beyondthe bounds of possibility that he had eitherduped Wyn into helping him to obtain the

memorandum, orwhat was even morelikelythat he had some hold over youngLord Wynstanley that had enabled him toforce him by threats to deliver thedocument over to him. If he had been

pressing Wyn over gaming debts, forexample, Wyn might have been driven, indesperation, to give him the document, notrealising its importance, and consideringanything better than being obliged to apply

once more to his grandfather to make goodhis losses at play.Certainly, if the memorandum hadindeed disappeared, her young brotherwas the only person in the house who had

had both the motive and the opportunity tolay his hands upon it. Mr. Underdown shecould dismiss at once as a possiblesuspect: he was far too young andingenuous to have been feigning the deep

concern he had expressed to her over thepaper's loss. And the servants had all been


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in her grandfather's employ for years, tosay nothing of its being highly improbablethat any of them would have had the least

idea that this particular paper had been ofany special value.She finished her breakfast in anabstracted silence and went off upstairs toher dressing room. Here she found

Pletcher engaged in laying out a dark pucepelisse and a chinchilla muff for herexcursion to Bruton Street, which she hadby this time altogether forgotten. Of onething she was quite certain now; she was

notgoing to Bruton Street until she had gotto the bottom of this matter.Pletcher," she said suddenly, withone of her swallow-flights of impulse thatmade her the despair of all sober-minded,

straight-thinking people, Lord Bab-cokeamong them, "I want to speak to Brill.Will you ask him to come here at once?Pletcher looked as if she were aboutto say that it was not her duty to demean

herself by running errands, but she had avery good place with Lady Pamela and


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knew it, so she contented herself withputting on a martyred look and rustled outof the room. In a few moments Brill, Lord

Wynstanley's valet, appeared.Brill," said Lady Pamela, whonever believed in beating about the bush,"where is Lord Wynstanley?Brill turned a face of polite and

wooden composure upon her. "I could notsay, my lady," he replied.Can't orwon't?" said Lady Pamela.Brill, who had been acquainted withboth her and Lord Wynstanley ever since

they had been a pair of altogetherenchanting and extremely troublesomechildren and he a second footman, showedno surprise at this direct attack.Both, my lady," he responded

equably. "That is to say, I have not seenhis lordship since he left the house onyesterday evening, and I have no directknowledge of where he has gone. But Imay say that if I had, I should not think it

proper to betray any confidence hislordship had reposed in me."


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Don't be stuffy, Brill," LadyPamela advised him kindly. "He has goneto Whiston Castle, hasn't he?

Brill repeated that he could not say,but admitted, upon direct crossexamination,that he had packed up aportmanteau for his lordship at an hoursometime past eleven on the previous

evening.Good Lord!" said Lady Pamela."Well, look here, Brill, don'ttell LordNevans. I mean, it's all right about theportmanteau, but don'tsay he's gone to

Whiston Castle."I don't know that his lordship hasgone to Whiston Castle, my lady," Brillpointed out, a look of misgiving slowlydawning upon his face. "So I can't very

well tell Lord Nevans"Tell him he has gone totoMelton, to visit Mr. Boulton," LadyPamela said, inventing rapidly, uponwhich Brill, looking shocked, said it

wasn't his place to tell Banbury tales tohis lordship, and, besides, he had seen


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Mr. Boulton himself in Bond Street theday before.Oh, wellSir Harry Wolford

then," Lady Pamela said, nothing daunted."Only don'tsay Whiston Castle, becauseit will worry him. And, Brill, I want youto have a post-chaise fetched here. I amobliged toto go to Lady Ashlock at

once. I received an express from her thismorning.Her most passionate partisan couldnot have claimed that Lady Pamela was agood liar, but she was a very positive one,

and had a way of looking in such limpidand innocent expectation of belief at theperson to whom she had just told someoutrageous faradiddle that few people hadthe audacity to challenge her. Brill opened

his lips to speak, shut them, opened themagain to say, "Yes, my lady," in accents ofresigned despair, and went off.The next person to be attacked wasPletcher. "Pletcher," said Lady Pamela,

when that estimable female had returnedto her dressing room, "I want you to pack


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up a portmanteau and my dressing-case forme. At once. I am needed at Lady

Ashlock's for a few days. An express

arrived this morning.Pletcher, well aware that LadyPamela was on the closest of terms withher cousin, Lady Ashlock, a dashing youngmatron now in residence with her husband

and baby at their country seat in Kent,said, scenting scandalfor there had beenbackstairs rumours of dissension betweenLady Ashlock and her spouse on thesubject of her inability to keep her

expenditures within the limits of herallowancethat she hoped there was NoTrouble.Well, yes. There is. Little Gileshas the measles," said Lady Pamela,

wondering if one-year-old babies had themeasles and then deciding that it didn'tmatter, as Pletcher would not believe herstory, anyway. "I am leaving at once, sopray don't delay," she went on. "Only the

necessaries for a few days' stayand Ishan't need you with me, Pletcher."


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Shan'tneedme!" said Pletcher,so astounded and affronted by thisextraordinary statement from a Lady of

Quality that she interrupted her employer,a solecism of which she had never beforebeen guilty in the course of an upright andfashionable life.No," said Lady Pamela firmly, and

resigned herself to the probability that shewould find, when she returned to BerkeleySquare, that Pletcher, considering she hadsunk herself beneath reproach by going

jauntering about the country without her,

had given in her notice and she would beobliged to find another abigail. "And nowdo hurry with the packing, for I must go atonce," she concluded.When Pletcher had departed she

hurriedly filled her reticule with aplentiful supply of bank notes and goldguineasfor though it was nowhere nearQuarter Day, when she customarilyreceived the very handsome allowance

Lord Nevans made her, she was alwaysable, as chatelaine of his household, to put


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her hand upon additional sums without thenecessity of applying to himand then satdown at her little French writing desk to

compose a note for her grandfather.Him, she knew, she dared not facewith her tale about Lady Ashlock, for hewould see at once that she was cutting asham and would have no qualms whatever

about putting her through an interrogationt h a t would be bound to end in hisdiscovering what she meant to do andforbidding her to do it. But if Wyn was tobe rescued from the consequences of his

own folly she must be the one to do it, shethought, for men always went about suchmatters in quite the wrong way, becominggrave and official about them and endingby ruining people's lives.

Lady Pamela was extremely fond ofher young brother and she had a rooteddislike to his life's being ruined, so shewrote a note to Lord Nevans, whichhowever much he might doubt its veracity

he could not well controvert until hehad got in touch with Lady Ashlock in


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Kent. And by that time, Lady Pamela considered, she herself would have arrivedsafely back in Berkeley Square from her

own journey into Wiltshire. Brill nowreturned with a post-chaise and thegloomy tidings that it was coming on tosnow, which news did not daunt LadyPamela in the least. She put on her

warmest muscovy sable pelisse and a pairof velvet half-boots, withstood with greatfirmness the representations of Brill thatshe had much better allow him to senddown word for the post-chaise to be

dismissed and his lordship's owntravelling-carriage to be brought out forher journey, waved aside Pletcher'simpassioned entreaties to be permitted toaccompany her, and trod down the stairs

to the front door.Pletcher followed with the dressingcaseand Brill with the portmanteau. Justas Lady Pamela crossed the threshold asnowflake hesitated, swirled in a strong

east wind, and then gently alighted on thetip of her elegant nose. It was indeed


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coming on to snow.TwoBy the time Woolhampton had been

reached, the snow, which had been fallingsteadily ever since the post-chaise had leftLondon, was so deep and showed such astubborn, leaden-skyed determination notto let up at all that day that the post-boys

at the Angel, where a stop was made tochange horses, displayed a distinctreluctance to mount the fresh team that hadbeen put toa reluctance finallyovercome only by the bestowal of

somewhat reckless largesse from LadyPamela's purse.

At Hungerford the roads wereworse, and even gold guineas, itappeared, had now lost their power of

persuasion. It would be madness, thelandlord of the Bear Inn declared, toexpect any vehicle to make its waythrough the deep-drifted roads, withdarkness coming on and the snow showing

not the least sign of abating. Even the BathMail, he was sure, would not come


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through that night, and Miss might wellexpect to be snowbound for several days.However, he added obsequiously, his eye

taking in the sable pelisse and thehandsome dressing-case--complete, nodoubt, with a dazzling array of cut-glassbottles fitted with gold caps and adornedwith diamond chipsreposing upon the

seat beside Lady Pamela, if she would bepleased to step inside she would find awarm fire, a good bed, and an excellentdinner, and no cause, he was sure, toregret the chance that had made her a guest

in his house.Lady Pamela, with someimpatience, said that she had no intentionof stepping inside.My good man," she went on in her

delightful voice, which made the landlorddecide that he could not really dislike her,even though she w a s making him standoutside on a very cold evening, with asharp wind whipping snow down the back

of his neck, "this i s a posting-house, Ibelieve? Obviously, then, it is your


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responsibility to provide me with horsesand post-boys so that I may continue onmy journey. I only wish to go to

Marlborough, you know," she added, as ifthat town were around the very next bendi ns te a d of a good ten miles away,including one of the worst stretches ofroad between London and Bath.

The landlord, looking harassed, saidthat was all very well, but she was boundto land in a ditch if she tried to get there inthis weather and he wouldn't have it on hisconscience to send a young lady into that

sort of bumblebathnot he! A brief butspirited argument then ensued, from whichthe landlord would have emerged quiteworsted had it not been for the fact that hewas aware that none of his post-boys

would venture himself in such a storm, sothat he was obliged in spite of himself tocling to his original position.Fortunately, before the conversationcould become positively acrimonious, a

diversion was caused by the arrival in theyard of a very dashing-looking coach, its


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crimson, blue, and white bodyworkemblazoned with gold letteringproclaiming it as the Lightning, bound for

Bath and Bristol. Its ribbons were held bya tall dragsman in a snow-covered,multicaped driving-coat, who seemedquite impervious to snow and wind, and

jumped down from the box with as

matter-of-fact an air as if it had beenbroad noon on a bright spring day insteadof an arctic February dusk with snow deepupon the ground.

A pair of ostlers who had emerged

from the stables at the sound of wheelsmore out of curiosity, it seemed, than fromany intention of performing their usualduty offiggingout a fresh team andputting them towere greeted by a shout

of indignant severity from the middle-agedguard as he clambered down from hisperch behind and hastened to set the stepsfor the passengers to descend.Hout! Are ye daft, then, to be

standing there like a set of great loobiesinstead of tending to your lawful duties?"


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he addressed them wrathfully, in a strongScots accent.Meanwhile, the tall coachman,

accepting a steaming glass of punch from ashivering waiter who had come runningout of the inn to tender it to him, strolledup to the landlord, who was regarding himin patent astonishment.

Surely to goodness, Mr. Carlin,you're not think ing of going on toMarlborough in this weather!" heexclaimed. "You'll never get through!"No!" snapped a stout gentleman in

a Polish greatcoat and a Joliffe-shallow,both so thickly covered with snow that itwas obvious he had been one of theunfortunate roof-passengers on the coachthat had just arrived. "He w o n ' tget

throughand it's a wonder to me that wehave arrived this far with all our limbsintact, for we were within ames-ace ofcapsizing half a dozen times on the way, Ican tell you!"

Wheest, man!" said the guard,whose whirlwind of activity since he had


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jumped down from the coach evidentlyhad now been widened to include thepractice known as "kicking the

passengers," for he had removed hissnow-encrusted white castor and, touchinghis forelock to the stout man, wassoliciting a tip. "Dinna ye ken the sayingthat a man is no a proper coachey till he's

overturned his coach at least once, or howwould he ken how to right it again? But yeneedna fear the Master; he's a prime whip,and if ye canna ride safe wi' him, ye'llride safe wi' no one!

The stout' man, extracting a shillingfrom his pocket, bestowed it grudginglyupon the guard and then, remarkingscathingly that, prime whip or not, he hadno fancy to risk his neck riding with a

madman who had no better sense than tospring his horses in a snowstorm, stampedon into the inn, the mullioned windows ofwhich showed an inviting glow ofcandlelight in the winter dusk. The guard

thereupon announced to the coachman thatit appeared if they went on to


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Marlborough they would go empty, theother passengers having, to a manor awoman, for there was one lady even now

having a fit of the vapours tothe extent thatit was requiring the services of three mento lift her from the coachhavingsignified their intention of remaining at theBear.

Oh no, you will not go empty!"said Lady Pamela, suddenly putting herhead out the post-chaise window throughwhich she had been parleying with thelandlord. "I am going on to Marlborough,

and since this utterly afflictive man willnot provide me with horses and post-boys,I shall go in your coach.She thereupon evinced everyintention of stepping down from the

postchaiseinto the snow, which she wasprevented from doing only by thecoachman, who with seeming negligenceplaced himself at that moment in the

doorway and surveyed her calmly.The view he was favoured with of


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Lady Pamela's enchanting countenanceas much as could be seen of it frombeneath the fur hood of her pelissehe

appeared to find quite satisfactory, forwhat expression there was to be read uponhis dark, handsome face, which showed,even in the growing dusk, a pair of blackeyes of an almost buccaneerlike

directness, was approving. Lady Pamela,however, seemed unmoved by this tacitexpression of admiration, and merelyremarked in a rather imperious voice,"Pray step aside, sir! Do you not

understand? I wish to go to Marlboroughin your coach!The coachman did not move. "Thequestion is," he responded unexpectedly,pushing his shallow-crowned beaver a

trifle farther back upon his cropped blacklocks and speaking in accents that sherecognised with some astonishment asbeing very definitely those of a gentleman,"Will you get to Marlborough in my

coach? I shouldn't lay odds on it, if I wereyou."


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Well, of course I am not going tolay odds on it," said Lady Pamela, with anair of virtuous severity. "I never gamble!

But what has thatto say to anything? Doyou mean that you won't take me? That isquite illegal, I am sure, so long as I paymy fare!"Oh, I'll take you, right enough," the

coachman assured her in his matter-of-factway. "That is, if you don't mind runningthe risk of ending up in a snowdrift. I can'tpromise that you won't, you know.The landlord, an interested auditor

of this conversation, interrupted at thispoint to say with a satisfied air, "There!You see, Miss! It's just as I told you; it'snot safe for you to go on, even if Mr.Carlin d o e s intend to try to take the

Lightningto Marlborough. Which, if Imay say so," he added, addressing thecoachman severely, "is nothing more thana crack-brained start, as you'd know, Mr.Carlin, if you'd been driving on this road

for longer than a pair of weeks or so! Nosane man would try to take a coach down


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Forest Hill in this weather!"No, I daresay he wouldn't," thecoachmen equably agreed. "Not, that is,

unless he had laid a wager that he wouldreach Bath tonight. Very red-faced man atthe King's Head in Thatchamsaid hewas a cousin of Harry Stevenson's" (this,as even Lady Pamela knew, was a famous

coachman whose skill in handling theribbons had won the notice and admirationof the Prince Regent himself), "and Harrycouldn't do it and no more could I. Offeredto put up a pair of Yellow Goblins to back

his words. Naturally I accepted." Helooked critically at Lady Pamela'sfashionable pelisse and the little velvethalf-boots peeping out from beneath it. "IfI were in your place, though," he advised

her, "I shouldn't go. The red-faced manwas probably right, you know. I'd say it'sthree to one we shan't make it."Then why are y o u going?"demanded Lady Pamela.

But in response to this question thec o a c h m a n merely smiled faintly,


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appearing to intimate that if one did notunderstand this, when he had alreadystated that there was a wager involved, it

would really do very little good to try toexplain it.Well, you are a strange sort ofcoachman!" said Lady Pamela, raising herwinged black brows at him. "I wonder that

your proprietors care to employ you, sinceyou have so little regard for theirproperty! But I shall go with you, all thesame. I fancy you are merely trying to fobme off with all this talk of overturning.

She thereupon signified once moreher intention of descending from thepostchaise;but the coachman, remarking that ifit really was her wish to go with him there

was no need for her to begin by wadingthrough the snow, forestalled her fromstepping down by picking her up bodilyand carrying her over to the coach, wherehe deposited her inside as disinterestedly

as if she had been a parcel. The guardfollowed with her dressing-case and


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portmanteau, and, having placed theformer beside her on the seat and stowedthe latter away in the boot, went to spur

the labours of the men who were puttingtothe fresh team by caustic reminders tothem of the Bear's proud boast that fiftyseconds was all that was needed for itsostlers to make a change of horses.

Meanwhile, the coachman stoodbeside the offside wheel-horse, calmlyobserving the ostlers' work; then, crossingto the near-side, with a few pithycomments on his new cattle, which Lady

Pamela, herself schooled by a famousjudge of horseflesh, could wellappreciate, he cast a professional glanceat harness and reins and, returning to theoff-side once more, took the reins, picked

up the whip, which rested in readiness onthe wheelers' backs, and mounted to thebox. Here he checked the tautness of thetraces again and then, nodding to the ostlerstanding at the wheelers' heads, with a

slight yielding of the reins gave theleaders the office to start. The guard at the


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same moment swung himself up behindand, putting his horn to his lips, loosedone long-held clear note and a cluster of

upper partials into the dark, snowy air, asif in defiance of the weather.Lady Pamela, now ensconced insolitary state in the interior of the movingcoach, sat taking stock of her present

situation. When she had set out from hergrandfather's house that morning, herintentions had been very simple. She hadmeant to drive in a post-chaise to WhistonCastle, which was, she knew, near

Marlborough, have a slight accident justoutside its gates in that post-chaise (onecould always bribe a post-boy), and seekrefuge inside the Castle while repairswere being made.

Once upon the ground, she hadthought, it would be possible for her,without arousing the suspicions of anyonein the house, to use her not inconsiderableinfluence with her brother to induce him to

get the memorandum back by fair means orfoul from Cedric Mansell, if he had


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already given it to him, or not to give it tohim at all if he had not. And if LordNevans turned out to be quite wrong and

Wyn had not taken the memorandum in thefirst place, there would be noharm doneexcept for Wyn's being temporarily muchincensed with her because she hadsuspected him of abstracting papers from

his grandfather's despatch-box, and asWyn, who was of a sunny and forgivingnature, always got over his fits of tempervery quickly, there would not be muchharm done in that case, either.

An accident to a stagecoach,however, appeared to present aconsiderably greater difficulty than one toa post-chaise, even to a mind famousthroughout the t o n for an ingenuity that

was quite unimpressed by obstacles andalmost awe-inspiring in its directness.Still it was just possible, Lady Pamelathought, as she frowned at the snowtumbling down from the dusky heavens

outside the window, that a coachman whowas not expected to be able to bring his


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quite undeserved, for he was keeping hishorses well together under exceedinglytrying conditions. It was, in fact, now

snowing harder than ever, and anoverturned giglying at the side of the roadpresently gave mute testimony to the fatethat would already have overtaken thecoach had it not been for the dexterity and

experience of the dragsman who held thereins.But not even dexterity andexperience are able to win the battleagainst Nature when itor sheunfairly

decides to throw overwhelming oddsagainst human ingenuity, and Lady Pamelasuddenly found herself careering in a veryundignified manner across the seat to theopposite side of the coach and landing in a

tangle of furs against the far window. Herdressing-case, which had arrived therebefore her, banged painfully against herribs as she did so.Confound it!" said Lady Pamela,

righting herself indignantly.She crawled up the seat to the


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window beside which she had been sittingfor the one against which she hadlanded was quite smothered now in a

snowdriftand found herself staring upinto the amused eyes of the coachman,already standing outside and wrenchingthe door open for her.You look like a cat crawling out of

a well, and almost as bedraggled," heinformed her, extending his hand to her."Don't look so fierce; I told you we mightcome a cropper, you know."Yes, I do knowand it is, after

all, quite what I intendedonly not here!"Lady Pamela said, climbing out into theroad with Carlin's assistance andattempting to smooth her ruffled apparelinto some semblance of propriety. "I do

think it is odiously inconsiderate of you tohave had an accident in this place, whereit will do me not a particle of good,instead of outside Whiston Castle! But Idaresay," she went on, recovering her

temper almost immediately and lookingabout her at the dark, windy, drifted


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landscape, "that it is not entirelyyourfault. After all, you could not have knownwhat I wished to do, and I must say that I

don't see how you have managed to keepthe road this far. What are we to do now?"she enquired, with such completeconfidence in his providing her with aninstant solution to the problems caused by

the overturning of the coach that theamused expression upon Carlin's darkface lit into positive laughter.Lady Pamela's brows went up."Well, I d o n ' ts e e anything to laugh

about!" she said. "We shall freeze to deathif we stay here! Is there an inn, or at leasta house, anywhere near?The coachman, composing hiscountenance, said there was an inn of sorts

not far distant where they might findshelter"also," he added, "of sorts. Youwould have done far better, you know, tohave stopped at the Bear in Hungerford."People who say, 'I told you so,' "

said Lady Pamela with great hauteur, "areeven more odious than people who


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overturn other people in snowdrifts."Yes, I know," said Carlinsympathetically. "But I shall redeem

myself by not asking you to explain to mewhy you desire to have an accidentoutside Whiston Castle until after I havegot you to a place more suitable forconversation than this.

And he thereupon plunged throughthe snow to assist the guard in freeing thehorses from the overturned coach.What a veryodd coachman he is,to be sure!" thought Lady Pamela, staring

after him and determining to put somequestions of her own once they shouldhave reached shelter. "He must be agentleman who has come down in theworld, though from the looks of him one

would think it far more probable that hewould have taken to a career as ahighwayman rather than as a coachman tomend his fortunes!She then called to him to say that,

since at least one of the horses appearedto be uninjured, she was sure it would be


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possible for her to ride it if he wouldengage to lift her upon its back and lead it,and added imperatively that on no account

were her dressing-case and portmanteauto be left behind. This caused the guard tomutter something in strong Scots aboutwomen, which fortunately the wind blewaway, and in a short time Lady Pamela,

perched upon the broad back of one of thelead horses like a damsel in a mediaevaltapestry going on a pilgrimage, with herportmanteau and dressing-case strappedupon its mate's, was being led by Carlin

through the drifted snow, while the guardstruggled behind, leading the remaininghorses.ThreeThe Swan and Bell was one of

those very small, very ancient, veryinconvenient inns that would certainlyhave been open to extend hospitality toLady Pamela had she actually been amedieval damsel, contemporary with

Chaucer, seeking shelter upon apilgrimage. It had an undulating thatched


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roof over wattle-and-cob walls, stoneflaggedfloors, and rooms so low-pitchedthat she was certain her tall coachman

must be in imminent danger of concussionwhenever he attempted to pass beneathone of the door-lintels.

As a haven from the storm,however, it was a great deal better than a

cow-byre, which was the only otherstructure they had passed on the way, andLady Pamela, making the best of thematter, accepted with equanimity the factthat there was no private parlour and that

the small, lattice-windowed, dimity-hungbed chamber to which she was shown wasalmost entirely taken up by a very largeand lumpy-appearing bed.Her best bedchamber, the landlady,

awed almost to tears by the sables and thedressing-case, nervously explained, wasoccupied at the moment by a young womanwho had been brought into her house notan hour before after an accident to a gigin

which her leg had been broken"if you'llpardon the expression, my lady," she


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added in an access of prudishness, as ifshe had suddenly been stricken with theidea that real Ladies were above having

legs like ordinary people and floated uponthe earth on nothing but wispy draperiesand the tips of Denmark satin sandals, or,in the present case, velvet half-boots.Lady Pamela, however, accepted

the term without any visible signs ofshock, much to Mrs. Parslow's relief, andasked what was being done for theunfortunate young woman.Well, my lady," confided Mrs.

Parslow, again suppressing tears, whetherof gratification over being in conversationwith a real Lady or sympathy over herguest's plight she herself could not havesaid, "you might rightly say nothing at all,

beyond making her as comfortable as Ican, poor thing, for there's nobody to sendfor the doctor unless it was my own boyNed, and he's only twelve and small forhis age, being as Parslow went off to

Marlborough this morning with the pig andnot hide nor hair have I seen of him since.


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not take umbrage, only saying, "Fiddle!"which made the tall coachman laugh. Hethen, having enquired of Mrs. Parslow

where the doctor was to be found, tookhimself off.Lady Pamela, left alone in her littlebedchamber, where a very cheerful firewas burning, took off her snow-wetted

clothes, did her hair, and put on ahigh-waisted frock of cherry-colouredmerino with a narrow skirt trimmed withembroidered braid. Unaccustomed as shewas to performing such services for

herself, she was rather proud of the effectwhen she had finished, and thought thateven Pletcher could not have disapprovedof it, except in principle.That Pletcher had been quite right

upon another point, howeverthat of theunsuitability of her travelling without hermaidshe had already been made aware.Even Mrs. Parslow, though unused tocatering for the Quality, had been unable

to conceal her surprise at her unattendedstate, and that the odiously bold-mannered


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coachman was also nourishing a gooddeal of curiosity about her she was bynow perfectly conscious.

However, as she was equallycurious about him she felt it was no morethan fair exchange. And having an idea atthe back of her head that a man of hisrather unusual qualities might come to be

useful in some as yet unspecified way to ayoung lady under the possible necessity ofmatching wits with one or moreunscrupulous gentlemen, she consideredthat if he would satisfy hercuriosity she

would satisfy h i s , and then see if anarrangement might not be worked out.

At about the time she had got this farin thinking things out, there was a tap atthe door and Mrs. Pars-low put in an

anxious face.Excuse me, my lady," she said,"but it's a bit of crimped cod and a curdpudding and some calf's fry, unless you'dlike the boiled tongue with turnips

instead" by which Lady Pamelaunderstood that she was being invited to


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partake of such dinner as the Swan andBell afforded.Declining the boiled tongue and

turnips, she draped a handsome Norwichsilk shawl to fall negligently over herarms at the elbows and followed Mrs.Parslow down the narrow stairs, the latterlamenting all the way the lack of a private

parlour in which her distinguished guestcould be served in suitable solitude andstate.Not that there's anybody in thecoffee room just now," she said, as she

stood aside to allow Lady Pamela to enterthat snug apartment, its crimson-hungwindows glowing in the light of a wellmade-up fire."But if Mr. Carlin was tocall for his dinner now, I couldn'task him

to eat it in the kitchen, my lady!Lady Pamela said of course shecould not, and looked with approval at theshining brasses of the fender and thesnowy cloth spread invitingly upon the

table, at which she at once seated herself,for she was quite famished after her


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journey. While a frightened little maidbrought in a well-laden tray from thekitchen, a noise of footsteps and voices

outside in the passage betokened thearrival of the doctor, and a moment laterthe door of the coffee room was openedand the guard looked in. Upon seeing her,he apologised and would have withdrawn,

but she called to him without ceremony tocome in.Have you been to fetch thedoctor?" she enquired, seeing hissnowcovered

boots and clothing. "You had bestcome in and warm yourself at the fire. Ifancy there is not another so good in thehouse. The guard thanked her, and stood bythe large stone fireplace warming his

hands and occasionally regarding her witha scrupulous appearance of not doing so.On the whole, he seemed friendly in spiteof his ferocious black brows, andappeared to have got over his disapproval

of her insistence upon having herportmanteau and dressing-case rescued


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from the coach along with herself, so thatshe thought it safe to enter intoconversation with him.

Is the storm growing any worse?"she asked.The guard said no worse and nobetter, adding after a moment that theywouldn't get the Lightningo n the road

again thatday or the next, and then lookedwith speculative interest at her dinner.You had better go and ask Mrs.Parslow for something," Lady Pamelasaid, correctly interpreting the look.

"There is a boiled tongue and turnips, Ibelieve. But don't go yet," she added, atonce regretting having placed temptationin his way, as she had not yet broached thesubject she wished to discuss with him.

"Where is Carlin? Did he go with you tofetch the doctor? And what is yourname?"she went on, adding question to questionin a manner that even Lord Bab-coke, whoconsidered her in all other respects a very

good sort of girl, was sometimes wont todeplore.


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The guard, however, who had had agood Scottish mother and was thereforeused to inquisitiveness, took the questions

quite in stride and, answering them inreverse order, said Quinting, and whatcall had the Master to be going out in thatweather when one could do the job, and ifhe had finished seeing to the horses he

might be upstairs washing up.Yes, he seems quite particularabout his appearanceI mean for acoachman," Lady Pamela said. "Notthathe wears several waistcoats, one more

perfectly dreadful than the other, and acoat with so many capes that it makes himlook like a deformed mountain, andmother-of-pearl buttons as big as platters,the way they do. But he does look clean.

Quinting glowered, and mutteredsomething about why wouldn't the Masterbe clean?I don't know," said Lady Pamelafrankly. "He is a gentleman, isn't he? I

daresay he has suffered reverses and comedown in the world. Was it gaming?


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The guard gave her a harassedglance and then began to look obstinate asonly a Scotsman can. But if it was his idea

to escape further inquisition by pretendingsudden deafness--an art developed to ahigh degree by uncooperative gardenersand ladies' maids seeking to evade theirlawful dutieshe soon found that he had

met his match, or indeed his mistress, inLady Pamela. That elegant young lady wasquite used to dealing, with a shatteringdirectness quite belying her fashionablyfragile appearance, with recalcitrant

underlings, and in the space of ten minutesshe had dragged out of Quinting a gooddeal of information concerning Carlinwith which it was evident he did not muchcare to part.

Yes, he admitted reluctantly, Mr.Carlin was a Scotsman, like himself.Had been in the army, perhaps? Heseemed to have something of the air of amilitary man. Yes, that he had.

What regiment? (Quinting wasobstinately sil e n t . ) What regiment?


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Quinting, in obvious despair at thepersistence of women, grudgingly namedthe prestigious 3rd Dragoon Guards, and

Lady Pamela's brows rose skeptically.Yes, I daresay he wouldtell yousomething of the sort," she said. "Morelikely a Line regiment"That it was not!" said Quinting

indignantly.But how do you k n o wthat?"enquired Lady Pamela, her skepticismunabated, which had the effect of drivingQuinting into a frenzy of circumstantial

assertions and evasions, leading to theclear impression that he could answer ifhe would, as far as giving informationabout Carlin's army career wasconcerned, but that his lips were sealed.

Good heavens!" said Lady Pamela,her curiosity now thoroughly aroused. "Doyou mean to say he was cashiered?"No!" roared Quinting, regardingher with such an air of righteous wrath that

Lady Pamela, feeling something like MaryQueen of Scots before John Knox, hastily


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retreated and said she hadn't meant toimply that there was necessarily anythingdisgraceful in Carlin's past.

Disgraceful!" said Quintingscornfully. "And him mentioned indespatches time and again by his lordshiphimself!" by which Lady Pamela quitecorrectly understood him to mean that the

tall coachman, before coming down in theworld and taking to the road, had receivedthe commendations of Lord Wel lington forbravery and efficiency in carrying out his 'military duties in the Peninsula.

But then," she could not preventherself from arguing logically in reply,"why should he have wished to leave thearmy?"upon which Quinting mutteredsomething darkly about family reasons that

made her wonder quite groundlessly aboutan entanglement with the Colonel's wife orsomething of the sortnot too far-fetcheda supposition, it appeared to her, in viewof the coachman's personal endowments

and obvious easy address with theopposite sex, though it was just as


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possible that Quinting did not have theleast idea what he was talking about andthe real reason for Carlin's having left the

army had to do with gaming debts that hehad been unable to pay.

At any rate, this conversation gaveimpetus to the vague idea she had alreadyformulated in the back of her mind about

enlisting Carlin's aid in her pursuit of themissing document, and when he himselfcame intothe coffee room a few minuteslater, looking remarkably cheerful for aman whose coach lay at the moment

overturned in the snow, she surveyed withinterest and approval his alert, intelligent(and incidentally remarkably handsome)features, his athletic figure, and hisgeneral air of being perfectly competent to

cope with any problem that might bepresented to him.He himself appeared to have hisattention fixed chiefly upon the very gooddinner Lady Pamela was eating, which he

regarded with an expression of interestalmost equalling that which Quinting had


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displayed, and, the small maid scuttlinginto the room just then bearing theforgotten curd pudding, he enquired of her

whether there was any more where thatcame from.Oh yes, sir!" said the maid, in aterror-stricken whisper. "In a moment,sir!

And she thereupon vanished,Quinting seizing his opportunity to makegood his escape as well. The coachmandrew up a chair to the table and lookedenquiringly at Lady Pamela.

I hope you have no objection?" heasked politely. "I looked into the kitchen

just now, but it is a very small room,smelling strongly of onions, and as itseemed more than a little overcrowded

already"Oh, do sit down, by all means,"said Lady Pamela affably. "It may beboiled tongue and turnips instead of calf'sfry, I believe, but you may have some of

this curd pudding, if you like.Carlin said he was hungry enough to


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eat a boiled ox entire, to say nothing of itstongue, and accepted the curd puddingwith suitable gratitude. The little maid

then came into the room with more calf'sfry, a large tankard of ale, and half a largegoose-and-turkey pie, on which thecoachman fell with avidity.You don't seem at all put about by

the accident to your coach," Lady Pamelaobserved, remarking his hearty appetite."Won't the proprietors be very muchdispleased at your having taken it upon theroad when it was so very probable that

you must come to grief?Carlin, neatly turning the tablesupon her, said that he fancied no more thanher relations would be at her having takenthe equal risk of travelling in such

weather.Yes, but relations cannotdischarge one," Lady Pamela pointed out,"and your proprietors can. Still, as you aresuch an excellent whip, I daresay you will

be able to find another situation quickly ifthey do." She added speculatively, "I


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expect you would be very much pressedfor money if you did not?- "Oh, I should not find myself quite

under the hatches," Carlin assured her."Why?"Why?" repeated Lady Pamela,rather blankly.Yes, why?" said Carlin. "You may

as well cut line, you know, because it'sperfectly obvious that you want somethingof me. You have been looking at me eversince I walked into this room like ahighwayman at a prospective victim. What

is it, my money or my life?"Well, actually," said Lady Pamela,regarding him with evident respect for hisperceptiveness, "neither. But I d i dthinkyou might be of some help to me,

especially if you feel you may bedischarged from your position and wouldlike to earnoh, shall we say, twentyguineas, for example?Carlin looked first amused and then

severe. "Look here," he said, "you can't goabout offering chance-met strangers large


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sums of money in hedge-taverns withoutrunning the risk of very unpleasantconsequences. You're far too young and

pretty to be knocked on the head androbbed, which is the least of what mayhappen to you if you're not more careful."Gammon!" said Lady Pamela. "Iam one-and-twenty, and quite accustomed

to looking after myself. And, though Ibelieve I am generally accounted to bepretty, my nose is not at all classical."I like it that way," remarkedCarlin, which piece of gross impertinence

Lady Pamela decided to overlook.As a matter of fact," she went on,"it is the greatest coincidence that youhave likened me to a highwayman, for Ihave been thinking ever since I met you

that that is exactly what you remind me of.I suppose you have not?" She pauseddelicately.Carlin assured her gravely that hehad not yet been driven to those straits,

upon which Lady Pamela looked regretful.Now don'ttell me," said Carlin,


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"that you wish to engage my services inholding up a coach."Well, not precisely," Lady Pamela

acknowledged. "But if one wishedpossibly toto steal something back thatwas one's own property, or at least one'srelation'sCarlin pushed back his chair. "Good

God!" he said. "You had better tell me thewhole of it. Just what is it that you are upto? But no!" He held up his hand. "Beforewe begin, are you really Lady PamelaFrayne, as the landlady assures me you

told her you were, or is that, too, a part ofthe plot and you are actually the PrincessCharlotte in disguise?"I don'tthink," said Lady Pamela,somewhat affronted, "that you are taking

this seriously, Carlinif that really isyourname, which I am much inclined todoubt. This is a matter of the utmostgravity; in fact, the fate of the country mayhang upon it!" She hesitated, wondering

momentarily if she was quite mad to betaking this stranger into her confidence,


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even if he hadserved with distinction inthe 3rd Dragoon Guards; but there wassomething in his manner that overcame her

doubts. He didappear so very capable ofdealing with the sort of situation it seemedpossible she might be confronted with atWhiston Castle, and, after all, one hadheard of gentlemen who had gambled

away their fortunes at White's or Watier'sa nd had taken to the coachman's life asbeing one eminently suited to theirsporting talents, although she personallyhad never met any of them. "I daresay you

have heard of Lord Nevans?" she went onto Carlin, taking the plunge.The very prominent member of HisMajesty's Government? To be sure. Butwhat?"

He is my grandfather," said LadyPamela, the whole story tumbling outhelter-skelter, now that she had begun."And he i s growing rather old, and hasneverbeen properly careful of things, Mr.

Underdown, his secretary, says; only ofcourse Mr. Underdown does not know all


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about this as yet, and no more would I, ifGrandpapa had not been in such highfidgets over Wyn's disappearing at the

same time as the memorandum that he flewinto one of his takings and told me thewhole before he knew what he was about.Wyn is my brother, Viscount Wynstanley,"she explained.

So you see I mustfind him, andthememorandum"Wait!" begged Carlin. "You willhave to go back a bit, because I don't seein the least. But it sounds to me, on the

face of it, as if you were taking somethinginto your hands that doesn't belong there inthe least, and if I were you I should returnhome at once and let your grandfatherhandle the matter. I am certain he will

make a much better job of it than youwill.Lady Pamela said coldly that hergrandfather was in the gout and couldn'tleave the house, and besides, how could

heCarlinpossibly know what sort ofjob she would make of it when he knew


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practically nothing at all about her?When Cissie Pelfrey was engagedto a perfectly odious man and couldn't get

unengaged from him because her fatherand mother doted on him, I was the onewho told her what to do and it succeededbeautifully," she said. "And I do think youmay be useful to me now, although I don't

as yet know exactly how, because ifCedric Mansellhe is the man I think mayhave gotten the memorandum from Wyndoes not quite like giving it back to him,you look as if you might be able toto

persuade him to do so. Wyn is very young,you see, only nineteen, and though he doesgo occasionally to Jackson's BoxingSaloon, I am afraid he does not take itseriously enough, so that Lord Bab-coke

says he is sometimes glaringly abroad, ifyou know what that means. Lord Babcokeis the man I am going to marry," sheadded, upon which Carlin enquired if hislordship knew that.

Of course he knows it! He askedme to," said Lady Pamela indignantly.


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Well, don't fly up into the boughs,"Carlin advised her. "I only thought it mightbe another of your plans, and if it was, I'd

say it had a much better chance to comeoff than the one you are engaged in justnow, no matter who Lord Babcoke is. ButI wonder," he added thoughtfully, "if heknows exactly what he is taking on.

Lady Pamela said loftily that thatwas none ofhis affair, and then, becomingpractical, proceeded to enlighten him as towhat had been her scheme for gainingadmittance to Whiston Castle under

plausible circumstances, and what shehoped to accomplish when she got there.But now the snow has ruinedeverything," she concluded. "I didthink ofbribing you to take your stagecoach to

Whiston Castle and overturn itthere, but Ican see that there might be difficultiesabout that. I mean, it i s out of the properway for a Bath and Bristol coachCarlin asked in a very logical

manner if she had ever thought of simplydriving up to the gates of Whiston Castle,


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announcing herself, and asking to beadmitted.Oh no, that wouldn't do at all," said

Lady Pamela decidedly. "Wyn would bequite put out, and I shouldn't blame him,besides its being bound to put everyone ontheir guard."Put who on their guard?" demanded

Carlin, but Lady Pamela only said she wassure it ought to be whom, and would hereally do it, then?Do what?" asked Carlin.Lady Pamela sighed. "You don't

l o o kstupid," she said, "but I daresayappearances are deceiving. Very well. I'llput it to you one time more. Willyou driveme to Whiston Castle, and undertake tohelp me when I get there?"

No," said Carlin unequivocably.Lady Pamela rose from the tableand, with what in a young woman of lesserdegree would certainly have been called aflounce, walked out of the coffee room

and up the stairs to her bedchamber.Four


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When Lady Pamela came down tobreakfast on the following morning shefound that the snow had stopped, the sun

had come out upon a cold and glitteringworld, and Carlin and Quinting,accompanied by the young man who hadoverturned the gigand Mrs. Parslow's sonNed, had gone to see what could be done

about putting the Lightningand the gigontheir wheels again.Being unable to formulate any planfor leaving the Swan and Bell in theirabsence, and being the sort of person who,

like Shakespeare's Hotspur, is apt to say,"Fie upon this quiet life! I want work,"when not confronted with battles or atleast minor crises to solve, Lady Pamela,when she had finished her breakfast, went

to enquire of Mrs. Parslow how the youngwoman who had had her leg broken in theaccident to the gi gwas doing. Informedthat she was doing as well as might beexpected, except for being "quite in the

mopes," Lady Pamela went upstairs,fetched a bottle of lavender water from


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her dressing-case, and, knocking at thedoor of the best bedchamber, went insideto take matters in hand with her usual

energy.She found the sufferer propped up inbed looking very wan and woebegone, butquite willing to confide her troubles to heronce she had arranged her pillows in amore comfortable fashion and had bathed

her forehead with the lavender water. Hername, she said, was Maria Clover, andshe came from Hungerford, where she hadbeen employed as abigail to an elderlylady of quality who had died suddenly a

f o r t n i g h t since. By a fortunatecircumstance, however, the elderly lady'sniece had possessed a distant relation, acountess, whose daughter, just turnedseventeen and about to make her come-out

in London, was in need of a maid, and thisposition had been offered to Miss Clover,as possessing a reliable and sobercharacter and having given satisfactionover a period of two full years to a lady

whom Miss Clover herself had noscruples in describing as "a regular old


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brimstone."But she was used to deck herselfout in the very latest style," she grudgingly

admitted, "and to go to Bath every winterand to London for the Season, so that aperson did have a chance to see a littleLife, my lady"which innocent phrase,Lady Pamela shrewdly suspected,

observing Miss Clover's black curls andvery pretty face, undoubtedly covered agood deal of backstairs flirtation withwilling under-butlers and gentlemen'sgentlemen. "Only I w a s so looking

forward," continued Miss Cloverdolefully, "to having a younglady to dofor. I've never seen Lady Sabrina, butLady Overfieldshe was my oldladywas used to say she was a regular picture,

and as lively as a grig, so that her motherhad a hard time of it to keep her in hand.

And now here am I, laid up with thishorrid broken l e g, and of course LadyWhiston will be obliged to get someone

else for her daughter.Lady Pamela, who had been giving


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this narrative something less than her fullattention, her mind being occupied withvarious schemes for getting herself to

Whiston Castle as soon as possible,suddenly sat up with a jerk.Lady who?"she ejaculated.Miss Clover stared at her. "LadyWhiston," she repeated. "She is Lady

Sabrina's mother, you see"You don't mean" breathed LadyPamela, "you can'tmeanLady Whistonof Whiston Castle?"But I can. I do," said Miss Clover,

her eyes growing round in her pretty face.By Jupiter!" said Lady Pamela,reverently and quite improperly. "I a m inluck! My dear girl, how would you like toearn--shall we say, ten guineas?for

doing nothing but lying here in this bed?Some two hours later, when Carlin,along with Quinting, Ned Parslow, and theyoung man who had been driving the gig,returned to the Swan and Bell, he found

Lady Pamela in the deserted coffee room,almost bursting with her impatience to talk


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to him. Having summarily dismissed theother members of the party to the kitchen (where, it may happily be reported, a

blazing fire and hot rum toddies werewaiting to welcome them), she draggedCarlin into the coffee room and closed thedoor.You can't think what a piece of

luck I have had!" she said, regarding himso triumphantly that Carlin, although a mannot noted for prudence, at once began tolook wary. "You know that young womanupstairs who has broken herleg?"

Yes," said Carlin. "Look here, didI hear someone mention rum toddies?"They can wait," said Lady Pamelaimpatiently. "Her name is Maria Clover"

No, they can't," objected Carlin."It's as cold as well, it was deuced coldout there, and I want warming."If that isn't just like a man!" saidLady Pamela scornfully. "Very well! You

shall have a rum toddy, then!She went to the door and sent an


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imperative call out to the kitchen, whencein a few moments there emerged the littlemaid, bearing a tumbler of something hot

and aromatic, which she tendered toCa r l i n. He accepted it with thanks,whereupon she scuttled back to the kitchenagain and Lady Pamela shut the door ofthe coffee room behind her.

Now," she said, "willyou listen tome? That girl is engaged to go to WhistonCastle as maid to Lady Whiston's daughter

A look of comprehension, not

unmixed with amusement and a certainawe, crossed Carlin's face on the instant.Good God!" he ejaculated. "Don'tgo on. You wouldn'tyou couldn't"Oh yes, I can, and I shall!" said

Lady Pamela. She looked at him withsome approval. "I must say you are veryquick on the uptake," she said. "Theideaoccurred to me the moment I heard thegirl say she was going to Whiston Castle,

but I never expected you to be so clever."It's not cleverness, it's madness!"


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said Carlin with conviction. "How in thedevil's name do you think you can succeedin passing yourself off as a servant? That

imperious manner of yours would betrayyou in five minutes."It might," agreed Lady Pamela withaplomb, "if I intended to masquerade asanything but a fashionable lady's maid. It

is quite obvious that you know nothing atall of those superior creatures. My owndresser has a manner that would freeze aduchess, and refused to take the situationat all unless I provided her with an

underling to do the brushing, pressing,cleaning, and other such menial tasks.And,"she added, as she saw Carlin's eyesgoing over her elegant cherry-colouredfrock, which even to masculine eyes

shrieked of fashionable modistes and noexpense spared, "Miss Clover and I arequite of a height, and she is almost asslender as I am as well, so there will benot the least difficulty about clothes.

Carlin shook his head. "I don'tbelieve it," he said flatly. "Do you mean to


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tell me that it is your intention to go toWhiston Castle in that wretched girl'sclothes and try to pass yourself off as a

lady's maid? You may not know theWhistonsI hope I may give you creditfor not being such a pea-goose as toengage in this harebrained scheme if youdidbut what the devildo you think your

brother will say when he claps eyes onyou?"Well, I have been thinking of that,"said Lady Pamela seriously, "and in thefirst place, you know, he may not even be

there any longer by the time I arrive. Andin the second place, Wyn is notsuch aclothhead as to give me away. He wouldsimply wait until he could get me aloneand then ask me quite privately what kind

of rig I was running."He sounds as bad as you," saidCarlin uncomplimentarily.Oh, he is much worse!" LadyPamela assured him with pride. "But that

is neither here nor there. The thing is that Iwant you to help me, because though I


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shall of course go to Whiston Castle quitea s Miss Clover would have done, in thatyoung man's gig, so that there will be no

difficulty now about t hat , the r e is notelling what sort of situation I shall findwhen I get there, as far as thememorandum is concerned, and so itseems quite possible that I shall need

some help in getting it back. So I thought,since you know about horses, you mightcontrive to be taken on as a groom atWhiston Castle, and then if I need you, youwill be there.

Carlin put the empty tumbler downupon the sideboard with what seemed toLady Pamela quite unnecessary emphasis.No!" he said. "I thought we wentall through this yesterday, Lady Pamela."

Well, we did," acknowledgedLady Pamela. "But sometimes whenpeople have an opportunity to think thingsover, they change their minds."Well, I haven't changed mine," said

Carlin flatly.Lady Pamela looked scornful. "Oh,


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very well, then," she said, "if you are sopoor-spirited as that." A thoughtfulexpression suddenly descended upon her

face. "Perhaps Quinting" she begantentatively.Carlin grinned. "You are welcometo try," he said. "Care to lay a wager onthe result?"

I have already told you that I nevergamble," said Lady Pamela coldly. "Onegamester in the family is quite enough. Notthat I blame Wyn," she added, anxious notto be misunderstood, "for he cannot help

it. It is in the Blood"upon which Carlinasked what about herblood?I have cured myself of it," saidLady Pamela proudly. "It happened when Iwas ten, and lost a pony I particularly

liked to an odious cousin I didn't like atall. But I believe," she went on, thethoughtful look returning to her face, "yes,I do believe I am about to have a relapse.Carlin, I shall lay you fifty guineas to one

that you cannot succeed in introducingyourself into the household at Whiston


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Castle. What have you to say to that?And she gazed at him sotriumphantly that Carlin, for his part,

looked as if he would have liked verymuch to shake her, which made her, thoughordinarily quite brave, take a prudent stepor two backward out of his reach.But he controlled himself, and only

said in an exasperated tone that heconsidered that as taking an unfairadvantage.Yes, it is," said Lady Pamela, "butone can't bother about being fair when it is

something as important as this. Will youtake the wager?Carlin said he would think about it.You are afraid you will lose, Iexpect," said Lady Pamela encouragingly,

"but I do think you should give it a try.One never really knows how clever onecan be at inventing things until one makesthe attempt.For example, I left word with my

grandfather that i was going to my cousin,Lady Ashlock, because I knew it would


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worry him if he thought I had gone afterWyn. Carlin said disrespectfully that just

because she was an unprincipled liar therewas no reason she should believe thateveryone else was, and he would have tothink about the Lightning. Lady Pamelaenquired if it was much damaged.

No," he said. "But neither of thewheelers is fit to go, and I shall have to goto Marlborough for horses, which I shallprobably be able to do tomorrow. Thewind is changing and unless I am much

mistaken we shall have a thaw tonight."Oh, famous!" said Lady Pamela."Then I shall be able to get on to Whiston,too"for she had been much exercisedover the delay to her plans caused by the

snow, and only the thought that theweather must have caused an equal delayin any plans Cedric Mansell might havefor getting the memorandum out of thecountry had kept her in reasonable

patience throughout the day.Being unable now to obtain any


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more definite assurances from Carlin thathe would take up the wager she hadoffered him, she went upstairs once more

to Miss Clover's room to perfect her plansfor her coming sortie into Whiston Castle.She found her, despite her broken leg, insuch a state of euphoria over the thought ofexchanging her own modestly fashionable

wardrobe for a sable pelisse, a dressingcaseworth at least fifty guineas, and tenguineas more in coin of the realm, all atthe price of a situation that she was unableto take up at any rate, that it was difficult

to pinher down to giving the informationconcerning her recent situation with LadyOverfield, which Lady Pamela consideredshe should be familiar with in order to beable to take her place without suspicion at

Whiston Castle. But this information waseventually extracted from her, togetherwith certain useful details concerningEtiquette Belowstairs, of which LadyPamela, in spite of having lived all her

life among servants and doing a very goodjob of managing her grandfather's


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establishments in town and country, hadhad no very clear idea.

As Lady Sabrina Mansell's maid,

Miss Clover informed her, she would rankin precedence after the butler, thehousekeeper, the groom of the chambers,Lord Whiston's valet, and Lady Whiston'sabigail, with which select group of

individuals, along with the personalattendants of any other guests or membersof the family in residence at the Castle,she would be expected to foregatherbefore dinner in the Housekeeper's Room.

The Honourable Cedric Mansell'svalet will no doubt take you in to dinner,my lady, if he is in residence," MissClover went on, warming to her subject,"as I understand Lord Whiston's eldest son

is abroad at present. I daresay it mightmake it simpler for you, as to how you areto act with the butler and the housekeeper,if I was to say you might think of him asthe Prince Regent and her as the Queen.

What is the matter?" she interrupted herlecture to enquire, as Lady Pamela, seized


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with a fit of the giggles, suddenly lost herbattle to preserve her countence.N-nothing," said Lady Pamela

unsteadily. "I am sorry. Do go on. I wasonly thinking that, as the Prince is so littleinclined to stand upon ceremony amonghis friends, I might better think of thebutler asas the Archbishop of

Canterbury?Miss Clover, considering this, saidthat it might be an excellent idea. She thenwent on to inform her that it would be feltto be proper for her, when among her

fellow servants, to refer to her own younglady as Sabrina, just as the HonourableCedric's man would refer to his gentlemanas Cedric, but that, out of deference toone's colleagues, it was customary to refer

t o t hei rgentlemen and ladies by theirtitles.And I think, my lady," she said,"that you will find everything done quitecomme it faut, as we say, at Whiston

Castle. I had an auntie there in service afew years back who has since gone to her


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reward, poor soul, and she told me therewas no mixing of the classes there, withhousemaids and footmen getting above

themselves and having their after-dinnerwine in the Housekeeper's Room with theupper staff, or the head still-room maidtrying to take precedence over the headhousemaid.

Lady Pamela, her head reeling" atthese disclosures, said it might be as wellif Miss Clover gave her further details asto what the proper etiquette was in regardto belowstairs meals.

Upper and lower staff, dinner inthe Hall, but upper staff leaves after themeat course to eat their pudding and drinktheir wine in the Housekeeper's Room,"said Miss Clover crisply and rather

severely, as if surprised by Lady Pamela'signorance in such matters. "After theyleave, the first footman takes the butler'splace at the head of the table and the headhousemaid the housekeeper'sunless

there is a female cook," she added, withineffable contempt for such establishments


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as did not engage a proper French chef." She ranks above the head housemaid.The footmen, under-butler, coachmen, and

pantry-boys take all their meals in theHall, but housemaids take breakfast in thehousemaids' sitting room and still-roommaids take theirs in the still-room"Waitpray!" begged Lady

Pamela, who was beginning to get quiteout of her depth and felt something like aChinaman or an Indian suddenly thrown inwith countesses and duchesses andwondering which of them he was expected

to take in to dinner and if he would beexcommunicated if he walked out of theroom before someone more important thanhe. "I think you had best tell me only whatI must do, and not about the others," she

said. "You see, I d o quite know what Ishall have to do for Lady Sabrina, for I amacquainted with all that my own maiddoes for me, but when I am away from herbelowstairs it will all be quite new for

me, so I don't think you should confuse mewith talking about housemaids and stillroom


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maids."Oh, no! You will have very little todo with t h e m , my lady!" said Miss

Clover, with all the contempt of a pre-Revolutionary French duchess for thesans-culottes.

And, though she was herselfconvinced that Lady Pamela was quite

mad, having had only a very sketchyexplanation from her as to her reasons fordesiring to masquerade as a lady's maid atWhiston Castle, and expecting that at anymoment her relations would appear and

put her under restraint, carrying off thesable pelisse, the magnificent dressingcase,and the ten guineas as well, she wenton very kindly explaining to her theintricacies of life belowstairs, halting only

when Mrs. Parslow appeared in thedoorway with a dish of Restorative PorkJelly for her.Five

A thaw, as Carlin had predicted,

set in overnight, and early on thefollowing afternoon Lady Pamela, attired


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in the neat grey frock and demurekerseymere pelisse in which Miss Cloverhad arrived at the Swan and Bell, was

able to make her escape from that hostelryand set off for Whiston Castle.This was not accomplished withouta certain amount of difficulty, for theyoung man who had been engaged to drive

Miss Clover to the Castle, not being of aparticularly powerful intellect, could notat first grasp the reason for its beingnecessary for him to venture his vehicleupon roads that resembled quagmires

rather than thoroughfares, and to addressLa dy Pamela as Miss Clover, who heknew very well was lying in Mrs.Parslow's best bedchamber with a brokenleg. But a golden guinea slipped into his

hand acted as a notable stimulus to hismental processes, so that he eventuallyconsented to look upon matters in theproper spirit, allowing Lady Pamela todrive him out of the yard of the Swan and

Bell without protest, for that young ladyhad decided, after one look at the way he


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take the reins again, and was driven byhim through a pair of great iron gates andalong a winding drive that led through

open parkland, flourishing shrubberies,and smooth lawns to the massive greystone pile of the Castle itself. Thisimposing monument to the pride of amediaeval ancestor had been gently going

downhill, as far as upkeep was concerned,ever since the start of the eighteenth century, the recent Earls of Whiston havingbeen a vague and inefficient lot, quiteunlike the swashbuckling Mansell who

had built the family fortunes. But themarriage of the present Earl to animmensely rich heiress, the daughter of abrewer-king, had turned matters about andprevented the Castle from finally slipping

out of the hands of the Mansell familyaltogether. It may be recorded, however,that the present Earl, who was kept uponvery short financial rations by his wifeand obliged to live the year round upon

his ancestral estates because LadyWhiston did not care for London,


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sometimes wished that it had.Lady Pamela had little opportunityto admire the magnificent rounded towers

of the Castle's south, or entrance, front,because, in her role of Maria Clover, thiswas naturally not her destination. She wasdriven instead by a side route to anarchway leading to a cobblestoned yard at

the rear of the house, where she wasdeposited before a large door andallowed to wait for several minutesbefore the door was opened to her by avery young scullery maid.

I am Miss Clover. Lady Sabrina'snew maid," Lady Pamela added, herselfconfidencedeserting her momentarily asthe little maid dropped her a frightened

curtsey, exactly as she would have done ifLady Pamela had announced herself by hertrue title. But then she remembered MissClover's lecture on the rules ofprecedence belowstairs, and realised that

she was only being given her due as LadySabrina's personal attendant by the lower


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orders of the Whiston Castle staff.The scullery maid conducted her,with many breathless apologies for having

kept her waiting, along a stone-flaggedcorridor to a door at its end, where shetapped and was bidden by a ratherterrifying bass voice to come in. LadyPamela, who had been given the

impression that she was being led into thehousekeeper's presence, was for a momentslightly confused, but upon entering theroom she found herself indeed confrontinga female, a very stout one in black

bombazine, with such a large andoverflowing double chin that it appearedto carry her face down almost into herbosom. The scullery maid, basely desertingher charge at the sight of what Lady

Pamela reminded herself was to her theequivalent of Royalty, said somethingincoherent and bolted off down thecorridor, and Lady Pamela, considering acurtsey called for by the baleful glance

being directed at her out of the small eyesabove the double chin, dropped a


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125443558 lady pamela by clare darc2

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