“A decidedly sensible suggestion,” Sir Harry agreed. “Lady Emma and I will keep straight ahead at this level. This is the course requiring least exertion.”
“And the way requiring most exertion is upward,” the marquess said. “I shall go that way, of course. And . . . Mrs. Mannering may accompany me since she appears to have more stamina than the other ladies. Moreton, you and Lady Thelma may move downward and across. Shall we agree to half an hour? If none of us has found the cave by then, we shall have to abandon the attempt for another day. Mrs. Mannering?”
Sir Harry offered his arm to Lady Emma again and congratulated her on having a relatively easy path to follow for the next half-hour. Nicholas Seyton seethed with frustration at the very clever maneuvering Uppington had just succeeded in. He would have Katherine to himself for at least half an hour among trees where there was almost no chance of interruption. And those were the two who were the most likely to find the cave. At least they would be headed in the right direction. Somehow he was going to have to steer Lady Emma uphill too without her realizing the fact.
Kate had felt thoroughly alarmed when the marquess first suggested that they search for the hermit’s cave in three pairs. She had pledged herself at the start of the afternoon to make sure that Lady Thelma was not left alone with him. She was even more alarmed when his real scheme became obvious. His plan had been made in order to lure her into his company, not Lady Thelma. And she knew from her experience in the library two evenings before that he would not play the gentleman once they were out of sight and sound of the others. She gazed in some desperation at the retreating figures of the other four, particularly at the departing back of Sir Harry Tate, whom she had snubbed quite rudely a mere few minutes before. He had quite unwittingly been her rescuer on that earlier occasion. And now he was already disappearing among the trees.
“Well, Kate,” the Marquess of Uppington said, a mocking smile of triumph on his lips, “shall we proceed?”
“Is it likely that a hermit would have lived so far up the hill where others might have difficulty reaching him?” she asked, trying to look thoughtful. “I believe we would do better to go downhill too, my lord.”
“Do you forget that hermits do not want the company of others?” he asked. “Come, Kate, take my hand and I shall help you up if you find the going difficult.”
“Not at all, my lord,” she said hastily. “I have always enjoyed walking and climbing. This slope is not even particularly steep.”
They moved sharply upward for a few minutes, Kate gazing despairingly downward in the vain hope of catching a glimpse of one of the other couples among the trees.
“Well, bless my soul!” the marquess said, stopping abruptly ahead of her. “I do believe this must be it.” Kate leaned to one side and peered around him. The trees thinned out suddenly into a circular patch of rough grass. At the top of the clearing was a sheer face of bare rock and in the middle of it a hole large enough to admit one person if he stooped down somewhat.
“I do believe you are right,” Kate said with wild enthusiasm. “How splendid that we are the ones to find it. I shall call for the others immediately. ”
But before she could match action to words, his hand clamped on her wrist and he was smiling down at her.
“Not so fast, Kate,” he said. “Imagine how foolish we should feel if we dragged them up here only to find that this was not the cave at all. Let us go inside.”
“Oh, no,” she said, pulling at her wrist, which nevertheless stayed very firm within his grasp. “I am afraid of small dark places, my lord. I would feel much better if we called the others and you three gentlemen could explore.”
“Ah, but you need not be afraid,” he said with that smile she was growing to feel very uneasy about. “I shall be here to hold you close if you become afraid, Kate. Come along. I shall go first and you may follow.”
Kate gave a hasty glance back the way they had come. Yes, she thought, it would be relatively easy to bolt back downward as soon as he disappeared inside the cave and then lose herself among the trees. However, he did not give her a chance to put her plan to the test. He transferred his grasp to her hand and kept his hold of it as he lowered his head and stepped gingerly through the opening in the rock. He had to step downward, with the result that his head was below the level of hers when he turned to look out at her.
“This is amazing,” he said. “The cave appears to be quite large despite the smallness of the entry. Come, Kate. There is nothing to be afraid of. It is not even particularly dark in here.”
And because her one hand was firmly imprisoned, Kate saw no point in not offering the other and allowing him to help her take the step down to the hard floor of the cave. She almost forgot her fear of her companion as she became aware of cool air and a sense of spaciousness. The cave stretched above their heads, losing itself in shadows. The floor was hard earth, level like the floor of a home.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “this must be the hermitage. I can just imagine a holy man living here, sitting outside perhaps during the evenings, gazing down on the valley as he told his beads. Look, the walls are rough. But are not those shelves, deliberately hewn out of the rock?”
“Do you know, Kate,” the marquess said conversationally, “I do not care a fig about the holy man or his hermitage or his shelves. I would far prefer a live woman and a secluded setting where we are unlikely to be disturbed for some time.”
Kate tried to be casual. She tried to draw her hand away almost absently, without jerking it. But his fingers held it like a vise. “I take that as a compliment, my lord,” she said. “But really it is most unfair of us to keep our find to ourselves. I shall call the others.”
He laughed. “It will not do, Kate,” he said, jerking at her hand so that she found herself colliding with his chest. “You know why you are here and what we are going to do together before we leave. You are no maiden to feign ignorance.”
“My lord,” Kate said, tipping her head back and forcing herself to look him squarely in the eye, “I am sensible of the compliment you pay me, but I am afraid you do not understand. I was faithful to my husband and I remain faithful to his memory. I have no wish for a flirtation or for any form of dalliance. Let me go now. I am sure it is time to go back to the picnic anyway.”
He. laughed again. “You have me almost persuaded that you really are reluctant, Kate,” he said. “Believe me, you would be unusual if you are. Most females find my title and my money irresistible, and I believe they are not averse to my person either. It is no small honor to be mistress to the marquess of Uppington, you know.”
“It is an honor I could live without, thank you,” Kate said.
One of his hands was untying the strings of her bonnet. He flung it down now and threaded his fingers through her tightly drawn-back hair. “Come on, Kate,” he said, “this is far too good an opportunity to miss.”
“My hairstyle may look simple,” Kate said, grabbing at his wrists and trying to pry his hands from her hair, “but it takes long enough to create. Remove your hands, my lord.”
He was smiling at her. “You really do play hard-to-get, do you not?” he said. “But you will find me persistent, Kate. I mean to have you. Kiss me now.”
“Thank you, but I would prefer to kiss a toad,” Kate said. “Ouch!” This last was in reaction to the success of her attempt to dislodge one of his hands from her hair.
But he dragged the whole left side of it free of her bun too.
