Free Jane Austen Mysteries 10 Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron by Stephanie Barron Page B

that he is suffering, you see, on account of dear Richard."
    I stopped short. What courage the child possessed, to speak out against all caution, all portents in that black and furious face, wavering above her! Where had she learnt such courage? Or was it the broken voice of desperation that spoke--seeking a support of any kind that offered? I could not walk coldly from such a plea; my heart must hear it, and my temper cool. I felt my looks soften, and I forced a smile for the girl. She was so very young, after all--
    "If I have offended you, Miss Austen, I beg leave to apologise," her father said stiffly. "Such words ought, I apprehend, to have been reserved for Byron himself. But he is unfortunately from Brighton at this present. When he returns, I shall know how to act."
    "Papa!" In alarm, Miss Twining grasped his coat sleeve. "You cannot challenge a poet to a duel! Every feeling must be offended!"
    He shook her hand away as tho' it had been a fly.
    "It is difficult, Miss Austen, for a father to know what he should do for so wayward a daughter. How Catherine can have abandoned propriety yesterday, and entered the coach of a stranger--abandoning reputation and every claim to honour.... I know my duty--the girl ought to have been soundly whipped, and confined to her room--but circumstances prevented the natural consequence of sin."
    This was heaping mortification upon mortification; Miss Twining looked weak with shame, and she could not lift up her eyes. I sincerely pitied her.
    "I have an idea that your daughter repents of her impulsive folly," I said firmly, "and would be grateful for silence from us both on the subject. It is no deprivation to me, sir, I assure you, to talk of more cheerful matters."
    "It would have been better for her, had she not been seen abroad this se'ennight," General Twining persisted heavily, "but our visit to the Camp could not be put off. I observe you are in mourning, ma'am--and that you will have noted, for your part, that I am in blacks as well. My son--my only heir --was killed on this day, a year since, under that disreputable fool Wellington's command in Spain. It is for that reason--for that solemn observance of our irremediable loss--that Catherine and I have visited the Hussars this morning."
    "You have my deepest sympathy," I murmured.
    "Mr. Hendred Smalls," the General said broodingly, "--a most respectable clergyman, with every distinction bestowed by the Regent himself--was so good as to offer a service of penance for the redemption of my poor son's soul. His brother officers took leave from their duties to attend--they have not entirely forgot my martyred Richard. You will apprehend that Catherine's absence should have excited comment, at a moment when comment was least desired. Her penance, therefore, has been forestalled a little." He unbent so far as to lean towards me, as if to confide. "I would not have Mr. Smalls think ill of her for the world. I should not wish that gentleman to have a horror of one who might, with a little push, be all to him in future."
    I collected the General intended to make a match between his daughter and the loyal clergyman--was it for Mr. Smalls that Miss Twining had rebuffed so dramatic a parti as Byron? Was it possible the clergyman had won her heart, to the exclusion of all other interests--even the most Romantic Lord to walk the streets of Brighton? And how had such an ardent attachment won the General's approval? The girl was, after all, but fifteen; Mr. Smalls, if he had advanced so far as to earn the Regent's notice and favour, must be somewhat older than a curate, and an unlikely companion for a child barely out of the schoolroom. I glanced at Miss Twining in sympathy--there is nothing as dreadful as the publication of one's love affairs--and found her disgusted gaze fixed upon some object behind me.
    I turned, and espied a rotund gentleman of advanced years hastening towards our party. His face shone with perspiration, despite the mildness