Free Hervey 06 - Rumours Of War by Allan Mallinson

sister, in a letter, that they would be staying at Holland Park, but he had not divulged his orders for Portugal. It was true that, at the time of writing, the precise date of his embarkation was unknown, but without doubt he had been in a position to give notice, and he wished fervently now that he had. Elizabeth was dismayed, in part angry even; she made no pretence otherwise. Georgiana, too, was disappointed. Neither seemed to him especially saddened (he was wrong in this too), and for that he was grateful. He resolved to make every effort during their time at Holland Park, every effort to be attentive and diverting. But he was not without anxiety about the coming three days.
    In his letter he had explained to Elizabeth that they would be staying at the house of a general and his lady with whom he had become acquainted through the agency of the Duke of Wellington himself. He had omitted any further detail, and this he now sought to supply. He told her that Lieutenant-General Sir Peregrine Greville was absent on duty, but that Lady Katherine Greville would be just as delighted to receive them. She was of the Irish peerage, he explained, and therefore always glad of company. Elizabeth saw nothing amiss. Had she been entirely candid she would even have confessed to being somewhat relieved at not having to deal with Sir Peregrine, who she had imagined would be either port-filled or irascible, or even both.
    It came as a great surprise to her, therefore, when she met Sir Peregrine’s youthful wife. Indeed, it was all she could do to stop herself remarking on her surprise. ‘We are very obliged to you, Lady Katherine. Especially since we learn that my brother is to leave these shores again so much sooner than we had ever imagined.’
    ‘Ah yes,’ replied Kat, affecting a bemused sort of frown. ‘The instant he heard there might be action he determined to go.’
    Hervey felt his heart sinking, but could think of no way to stay the incriminating flow.
    ‘But we must thank Providence that it will be at the nearer side of the Mediterranean Sea instead of at the far distant one.’
    Elizabeth looked puzzled, and there was an uncomprehending silence, until Hervey relieved it. ‘Lady Katherine refers to the Greek war. There are some who think we shall be engaged there too.’
    Elizabeth stared at him as much as to say ‘you will be sure to tell me if you go?’
    Hervey looked uncomfortable.
    ‘Well, it is but speculation,’ said Kat. ‘Though the Duke of Wellington, I think, would own that it should come to a fight. That is the import of his late mission to St Petersburg, is it not, Matthew?’
    Elizabeth thought it was not so strange, perhaps, that Kat should call her brother by his first name, though it implied a degree of familiarity which she had not imagined to be the case. They quite evidently moved in the same circles, which was no doubt understandable, even though her brother was new-returned to England. And there was such a difference in the manners of the country and London. All the same, it made her just very slightly uneasy.
    Georgiana liked her, though. This much was evident in her wide eyes. ‘Did you know my mama too, Lady Katherine?’ she asked blithely.
    Kat smiled, an indulgent smile but a kind one. ‘No, my dear, I did not. And I very much regret it, because your father has told me you are the very model of your mother.’
    ‘Thank you, Lady Katherine,’ said Georgiana, now wholly charmed by the third daughter of the Earl of Athleague. ‘And Private Johnson says I ride almost as well as did Mama too.’
    ‘Indeed? And who is Private Johnson, my dear?’
    ‘He is my father’s groom, Lady Katherine. He went all the way to India with him.’
    Kat glanced at Hervey.
    ‘He has been with me a good age, ma’am. Since Spain, indeed.’
    ‘And shall he go with you there again?’
    It was a detail that Hervey had not thought to share – certainly not here or now. ‘Well, I . . . Yes, I do believe he