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.’It was only afterwards that Jemima thought there had been something odd about the last bit of that conversation, but she could not quite put her finger on it, and in any case, she was so busy preparing for the birthday that she had no time to brood over matters.But it came back to her at the ball at Shawes.Dinner had been very elegant, and afterwards the diners stood around in the drawing room chatting while they waited for the hour to arrive for the ball to begin.She was talking to Lord Chelmsford about horses when Allen strolled over to join them, and the Earl changed the subject.‘By the way,' he said, 'I've had a most odd letter from our young friend in Paris,' he said.'The direction on the wrapper was most amusing - all it said was "To the Lord Chelmsford; London" - but of course it got to me all right.' Allen was giving Chelmsford significant looks, and even went so far as to hem, but the Earl was fumbling inside his coat for the letter, and did not notice.'Deuce take it, I made sure I had it here somewhere - what? - no, that's not it.Well, no matter, I remember well enough what it said said you'd spoken to our young cousin when you were there in '83, and undertaken to tax me about readmitting him to the family—’He broke off at this point, at last seeing Allen's gestures.He raised his eyebrows politely, and Allen said, 'The matter has been a close secret, Charles.I'm afraid you may have—'‘What? Oh, Lord, you mean Jemima doesn't know? Dam'me - I beg your pardon, Jemima - I never thought I assumed, as she was married to my brother—'‘I'm sorry to have overheard, even inadvertently, something I should not,' Jemima said quickly, trying to conceal that she was burning with curiosity.'I shall take myself off at once, and give you privacy.’Allen and Chelmsford exchanged looks, and Allen said, ‘Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if Jemima knows it all, now she has heard that much.'‘Good heavens, no, you must not break a confidence for my sake,' Jemima said.‘It concerns a pensioner of mine,' Chelmsford said.Not to put too fine a point on it, he has a certain amount of Morland blood, albeit with a bend sinister in the way, Ma'am—'‘I shall leave you at once,' Jemima said, smiling firmly, and walked away, her thoughts racing, despite her determination not to be curious.When she had gone, Chelmsford said, 'So what is all this, Allen? Why didn't you tell me about it?'‘He asked me to represent to you his wish of being taken back into the family, and I promised him I would think about it.I did think about it, long and seriously, but when I considered the inevitable repercussions, I decided it would be a most undesirable thing, and so I did not mention it to you.He has a child you see.'‘A child? A bastard?'‘Apparently not.He said his wife died.A girl child, Charles, with Morland blood and Stuart eyes.' The two men regarded each other in grave silence for a moment.‘A most undesirable complication,' Chelmsford concluded.‘Precisely.And even if there were not a child, think of the explanations that would have to be made.You have seen already, in the last five minutes, how much trouble he could cause.'‘Damn it, Allen, I'm sorry about that.It never occurred to me—'‘It doesn't matter.There were reasons why I didn't tell Jemima about it.I suppose I will have to explain to her, but it won't be easy.'‘I'll write back to Henri and refuse, then.But has it occurred to you that there is no way in which we can prevent him from turning up on the doorstep one day, if the fancy takes him?'‘I think you have the means to put pressure to bear on him,' Allen said.'You could make the pension conditional upon his maintaining secrecy.'‘Yes, that's true.Good idea.And I'll tell you what - I'll write and say that I shall continue to pay the pension to his daughter as long as he keeps mum.If he's a decent man, he won't want to jeopardize her future.’When he rejoined Jemima, she smiled brightly at him and spoke pointedly of a neutral subject, and he lifted her hand and kissed it in token of thanks.He was afraid that if he told her the bare facts, she might guess the rest.Yet if he told her nothing, she might guess at worse things.He would have to think carefully what to say, and how to say it, and choose his moment.*Amelia Fussell and Horatio Morland opened the ball, to the chagrin of many of the young ladies present, who had hoped for the honour, but Jemima could not tell whether Mary minded, for she was at once approached by Tom Loveday, John Anstey, and James Chetwyn, and was too busy allocating them their time for her face to reveal anything to her mother.William presented himself with a bow to Caroline Fussell, and James claimed Celia Anstey's hand with a flourish.The other young people paired off, and the ball began.Mary had taken Tom Loveday for the two first, and Jemima was a little put out to see Chetwyn at once return to Edward's side, and the two of them plunge into deep conversation.She made her way quickly to them.‘Edward, why are you both standing here like this?' she asked in a voice low but urgent.'Everyone will think you so rude.Look, there are young ladies with no partners.You, Edward, in particular - don't you see Miss Elizabeth Anstey sitting down? Go and ask her at once.'‘But Mama—'‘Don't you see, it looks as though you thought yourselves too good to dance with these girls.Would you insult the whole of York?’‘But I—'‘Not in the least, madam,' Chetwyn interrupted Edward firmly.'Thank you for reminding us of our manners, when we had so lamentably forgot them.We shall pick two York roses this instant.Ned - you go that way, and I'll go this.Your servant, ma'am.’He gave her a charming bow, gave Edward a firm shove in the small of the back towards the younger Miss Anstey, and walked off himself in the other direction, and a moment later led a blushing young lady into the set.Relieved of her responsibility for a moment, Jemima was able to walk around, watch the dancing, talk to the other matrons, and remember, with a certain amount of wistfulness, her own dancing days.Edward danced the two first with Elizabeth Anstey, the two second with her sister Margaret, and the two third with Caroline Fussell.The two third were Mary's dances with Chetwyn, and at the end of them, Horatio Morland came up to claim her hand, and Jemima was so occupied in watching Mary and Horatio together, in order to determine if there was any truth in the talk, that she lost sight of Edward and Chetwyn.The two fifth Mary danced again with John Anstey, which was enough in any case to cause comment, but Jemima noticed, as must every gossip in the room, that Miss Morland's eyes and cheeks were bright, and that she had no lack of things to say to her partner.Jemima did not know whether to be pleased or worried [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]