time.'
She laughed - very low. 'What else is more important?' George inclined his head towards his host. 'The affairs of the kingdom.'
'And you are concerned with those?' 'Among other things.' 'What other things?'
He hesitated, a little nettled that she knew nothing about him. 'Affairs of the county. You do not live in Cornwall, ma'am?'
'I live at Hatherleigh. Just over the border - in England.'
They talked a few minutes. Her voice was husky and she had an attractive laugh, which was almost all breath - low, indolent and sophisticated. You felt there wasn't much she didn't know about life - and didn't tolerate. He found himself glancing at her low-cut gown and thinking her breasts were like warm ivory. It was an unusual thought for him.
As another course was served a man called Gratton leaned across the table and boomed at him: 'I say, Warleggan, what sort of stand do you take on Catholic Emancipation? I've never heard you speak about it in the House!'
'1 speak little in the House,' George replied coldly. 'I leave oratory to the orators. There are other ways of being valuable.'
'Yes, old man, but you must have an opinion! Everyone has, one way or t'other. How d'you vote?'
It was a ticklish question, for, on this as on so many other domestic subjects, George differed from his host and was at pains to hide it for the sake of his personal good. Gratton was a ninny anyhow and deserved to be taken down. But George was not quick-witted, and he was aware that Lady Harriet was listening.
'To tell the truth, Gratton, it is not a subject on which I have extravagant feelings, so I vote with my friends.'
'And who are your friends?'
'In this company,' said George, 'need you ask?'
Gratton considered the plate of venison that had just been put before him. He helped himself to the sweet sauce and the gravy. 'I must say, old man, that that's a very unsatisfactory answer, since it's a subject on which governments have fallen before now!'
'And will again, no doubt,' said Gratton's partner. 'Or will fail to stand up in the first place!'
'Mr Gratton,' said Lady Harriet, 'what would you say to emancipating the Wesleyans for a change? Now the Prince of Wales has taken up with Lady Hertford I suspicion we shall all be psalm-singing before long.'
There was a laugh, and talk turned to bawdy speculation as to the nature of the Prince's relationship with his new favourite.
Lady Harriet said to George in a low voice: 'I take it, Sir George, that your fondness for the Catholics is not so great as that of my Lord Grenville?'
He had appreciated her turning the subject and suspected it had been deliberate.
'Personally, ma'am, I care little one way or the other, since religious belief does not loom large in my life. But for the preference I'd keep them out of Parliament and public service. They've bred traitors enough in the past.'
As soon as he had spoken he regretted his frankness and was astonished at his own indiscretion. To say such a thing in this company was folly indeed if he wished, as he did, to remain on the Grenville political stage-coach. He cursed himself and cursed this woman for provoking him into speaking the truth.
He added coldly: 'No doubt I offend you, but I trust you will look on this as a personal confidence.'
'Indeed,' she said, 'you do not offend me. And in return I will give you a little confidence of my own. I hate all Catholics, every last one. And William, I fear, knows it.'
William was Lord Grenville.
All things considered, George found he had enjoyed his dinner more than any for a long time. It was as if he had put on the spectacles he now used for reading and looked through them onto a more brightly coloured world. It was disconcerting, but far from disagreeable. He distrusted the sensation.
Ah well, he told himself, it would all soon be forgot. There were many soberer matters to be attended to. But a few days later, rather to his own surprise, and having thought all round it a number of times, he put a
She laughed - very low. 'What else is more important?' George inclined his head towards his host. 'The affairs of the kingdom.'
'And you are concerned with those?' 'Among other things.' 'What other things?'
He hesitated, a little nettled that she knew nothing about him. 'Affairs of the county. You do not live in Cornwall, ma'am?'
'I live at Hatherleigh. Just over the border - in England.'
They talked a few minutes. Her voice was husky and she had an attractive laugh, which was almost all breath - low, indolent and sophisticated. You felt there wasn't much she didn't know about life - and didn't tolerate. He found himself glancing at her low-cut gown and thinking her breasts were like warm ivory. It was an unusual thought for him.
As another course was served a man called Gratton leaned across the table and boomed at him: 'I say, Warleggan, what sort of stand do you take on Catholic Emancipation? I've never heard you speak about it in the House!'
'1 speak little in the House,' George replied coldly. 'I leave oratory to the orators. There are other ways of being valuable.'
'Yes, old man, but you must have an opinion! Everyone has, one way or t'other. How d'you vote?'
It was a ticklish question, for, on this as on so many other domestic subjects, George differed from his host and was at pains to hide it for the sake of his personal good. Gratton was a ninny anyhow and deserved to be taken down. But George was not quick-witted, and he was aware that Lady Harriet was listening.
'To tell the truth, Gratton, it is not a subject on which I have extravagant feelings, so I vote with my friends.'
'And who are your friends?'
'In this company,' said George, 'need you ask?'
Gratton considered the plate of venison that had just been put before him. He helped himself to the sweet sauce and the gravy. 'I must say, old man, that that's a very unsatisfactory answer, since it's a subject on which governments have fallen before now!'
'And will again, no doubt,' said Gratton's partner. 'Or will fail to stand up in the first place!'
'Mr Gratton,' said Lady Harriet, 'what would you say to emancipating the Wesleyans for a change? Now the Prince of Wales has taken up with Lady Hertford I suspicion we shall all be psalm-singing before long.'
There was a laugh, and talk turned to bawdy speculation as to the nature of the Prince's relationship with his new favourite.
Lady Harriet said to George in a low voice: 'I take it, Sir George, that your fondness for the Catholics is not so great as that of my Lord Grenville?'
He had appreciated her turning the subject and suspected it had been deliberate.
'Personally, ma'am, I care little one way or the other, since religious belief does not loom large in my life. But for the preference I'd keep them out of Parliament and public service. They've bred traitors enough in the past.'
As soon as he had spoken he regretted his frankness and was astonished at his own indiscretion. To say such a thing in this company was folly indeed if he wished, as he did, to remain on the Grenville political stage-coach. He cursed himself and cursed this woman for provoking him into speaking the truth.
He added coldly: 'No doubt I offend you, but I trust you will look on this as a personal confidence.'
'Indeed,' she said, 'you do not offend me. And in return I will give you a little confidence of my own. I hate all Catholics, every last one. And William, I fear, knows it.'
William was Lord Grenville.
All things considered, George found he had enjoyed his dinner more than any for a long time. It was as if he had put on the spectacles he now used for reading and looked through them onto a more brightly coloured world. It was disconcerting, but far from disagreeable. He distrusted the sensation.
Ah well, he told himself, it would all soon be forgot. There were many soberer matters to be attended to. But a few days later, rather to his own surprise, and having thought all round it a number of times, he put a
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