Page 52 of The Hazardous Measure of Love
‘Both his cousin and his Uncle Frederick left Adrien money,’ I said. ‘I think he will want to buy his own property with that to add to his legacy. He needs to be more independent, even if he does work with his father. And he is going to be able to marry Rebecca soon.’ I smiled. ‘At least his life is full of hope now.’
We dropped James off atThe White Hartin Aylesbury with half an hour to wait for the Mail and drove on steadily through the long, hot summer day, with several stops to let the boys out to run off some energy and to give their long-suffering attendants a little peace.
At last Luc announced, ‘The final change,’ and we stretched and smiled and all, I think, were imagining cool baths, long drinks and a civilised supper.
‘I will ride with the boys,’ Lady Radcliffe said. ‘They look very tired now and that means they will be a handful for poor Nanny Yates.’
‘I’ll do it,’ Luc said immediately.
‘No, they need firmness and you know perfectly well you are putty in their hands when they are tired,’ his mother said. ‘Your father was just the same with you and James.’ She turned to the nanny who was sitting on a bench watching two harassed nursemaids chasing small boys around the village green. ‘Let us call them, Mrs Yates. We will set out first and we will soon be home.’
‘Yes indeed, my lady.’ The two of them walked towards the duck pond – an irresistible temptation, of course – and the twins came running at their grandmother’s call.
‘She is wonderful with them,’ I said, watching them all climb into the carriage.
‘She said she learned all there was to know about naughty small boys from James and me.’ Luc watched the team set off at a brisk trot. ‘How are you feeling, Cassie?’
‘Weary. Glad we are all safe, depressed for those two young people and their families.’
‘There’s hope for Adrien and for Arabella,’ Luc comforted me.
‘Yes.’ I found I wasn’t so very comforted: I was jealous.
We sat side by side, my head on Luc’s shoulder, both too tired, I think, for talking or anything else, for that matter.
I must have dozed because I came awake with a jerk when Luc said, ‘Here we are at last.’
The carriage drive through the park at Whitebeams runs for almost a mile, and curves picturesquely to give tantalizing glimpses of the lake and the house. There is a final long sweep before the bridge over the narrow neck of the lake and we could see the other carriage, the team still keeping up a brisk pace.
‘Oh, look how close the deer are,’ I said, pointing. ‘So pretty.’ The herd of fallow deer were usually quite shy, but they must have been down to the lake to drink and were clustered close to the bridge.
We never discovered what spooked them, but suddenly the deer erupted into movement, springing towards the drive, then rushing away as the carriage rattled towards them. The lead horses shied, then the whole team bolted, even as our own driver was slowing our carriage to a halt.
The crash happened within seconds as the heavy coach swung and hit the pillar where the parapet began. The vehicle swung round, teetered and almost tipped on its side before righting itself with a thump.
Luc was out of the door while it was still moving, running towards the bridge. I followed, running too, close enough to see the small figures tumbling out and hitting the water. Luc dived in and I scrambled down the bank after him, tearing at my skirts until the light cotton ripped and came away. There was deep mud at the edge and I floundered through it, reaching desperately for the small hand I could just see through the murky water. I grabbed it and pulled, then managed to lift the child into my arms, stagger back to the shore and lay him down.
He was breathing. I turned him on his side, banged him briskly on his back and he threw up water, then flopped back, gasping.
‘Stay there,’ I told him and turned back to the lake in time to see Luc heaving an ominously still little body onto the grass. Which boy was which? I couldn’t tell.
At least I had been trained for this. ‘Let me.’ I pushed Luc aside and cleared the airway, then began chest compressions, horribly conscious of how small the body under my thrusting hands was. ‘Watch me,’ I ordered. ‘It looks brutal, but it has to be. You must take over when I get tired, unless he starts to breathe first.’
I could feel myself flagging, the words ofStaying Alive,that I was using to keep time, were coming out in gasps. And then, under my hands, I felt a change. I stopped, turned him on his side and he gave a huge, rasping breath, then, like his brother, threw up a flood of lake water.
‘Thank God.’ Luc stood up, turned towards the carriages and stopped dead. ‘No.’
The driver and Mrs Yates were sprawled on the grass, one of the nursemaids, kneeling by them. The other was standing by the door, blood on her hands and apron. Luc pushed her aside and I heard him say, ‘Mama!’
Chapter Sixteen
The driver of our carriage had cut the traces to free the team from the crashed coach and sent them galloping over the bridge towards the house. ‘That’ll bring someone out,’ he said when he reached me.
‘Help me get the boys into our carriage,’ I told him. We lifted them in, wrapped them both up in rugs, and I sent him off with them and one of the nursemaids. ‘Make sure someone stays with them the whole time,’ I told them. ‘Tell them to keep the boys awake.’
He seemed reliable, so I just had to trust him. I turned back to the wrecked coach, dreading what I was going to find.
The driver was sitting up clutching his head and groaning. Mrs Yates had her eyes open and was, quite coherently, demanding to know whether the boys were safe. I checked quickly that neither of them were bleeding visibly and that both could move all their limbs: then I looked inside.
