line of her bodice.
Frances could feel the knot in the tree bark press into her back as she shrank away from him. Then she watched as he gave an exaggerated sigh and strolled languidly to his horse, which was grazing contentedly in the lush grass of the park. He climbed into the saddle with practised ease and touched the brim of his hat towards her.
‘I do hope we will meet again soon, Lady Tyringham,’ he called, over his shoulder, as he ducked under the gateway and out of sight.
CHAPTER 56
12 October
The twelfth chime echoed into silence. Frances pulled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. There was only a faint glow from the embers now and what little heat they emitted was hardly enough to take the chill from the gloomy parlour.
‘Will you not come to bed, my love?’
Her husband was silhouetted against the pale moonlight that showed through the window of their apartment.
‘I cannot rest until he has returned.’
‘Nor I,’ he admitted. ‘But you will be warmer under the covers.’
Frances smiled as he held out his hand. She had not told him of what had passed with Buckingham that afternoon. He would be angry with her for taking such a risk – angrier still if he heard what the duke had done. Her arms felt bruised where he had gripped them, and every time she closed her eyes she could feel the warmth of his mouth on her neck. Mingled with her revulsion was a deep unease, as much for what she had felt as for what he had threatened.
‘What if he has told him?’
Her words hung heavy in the darkened chamber. Slowly, Thomas lowered his hand. ‘I am almost more afraid of that than of anything else,’ he said. ‘George is as much my son as our other boys.’
‘He loves you no less in return, Thomas,’ she replied, rising to embrace him. His arms felt stiff as they encircled her.
‘I pray God it will be enough, if he should find out the truth.’
Frances pressed her face against his chest. She was just as terrified as he that George would be lost to them if he were to discover that they had concealed the truth all these years.
‘Do you think we should warn him about Buckingham, discourage him from spending any more time with him?’ she asked. ‘He is old enough to form his own judgement of such a man, after all.’
‘No,’ Thomas replied. ‘George may be mature in years, but he knows little of the world. Even men of greater experience have fallen under the duke’s spell.’
‘He is hardly an innocent,’ Frances countered. ‘He spent much of his childhood at court and has been managing the Longford estate for three years and more.’
Her husband held her apart from him then, his eyes blazing with sincerity. ‘That may be true, my love, but George can have encountered no one as duplicitous as the duke. Besides, if we try to deter him from seeing Buckingham again, he will hardly agree to it without an explanation – and that is something we cannot provide.’
The click of the latch made them both start. George stumbled into the apartment, uttering a curse as he tripped over one of the flagstones. ‘You scared me half to death!’ he exclaimed, as Thomas moved to help. ‘Mama? Why are you not in bed too?’
‘We are not so old and dull as you suppose, my boy,’ her husband said, before she could reply. ‘How was the duke?’ Although he kept his tone light, Frances heard its edge.
‘The very best of men!’ her son exclaimed.
She exhaled as the soft light illuminated his face, which was flushed with excitement. He did not know. But her relief soon turned to disquiet as George proceeded to regale them with every detail of his evening – the delights of Buckingham’s table, the sumptuousness of his chambers and, above all, the many and varied virtues of his new acquaintance.
‘I am pleased it was worth delaying your journey for,’ Thomas said, when at last George had paused to draw breath.
‘Oh, yes!’ he exclaimed. ‘The memory of it will stay with me always – though I hope it will soon be superseded by others.’
Frances bristled. ‘Others?’
‘Many others, I hope,’ her son replied. ‘The duke made me promise to return to court whenever I have leisure to do so – which will be often, I’m sure. He even talked of visiting me in Cambridge. He has estates close by, apparently.’
‘He has estates in every part of