Jack
Lindsey, Lord St Anton and Rosie Delacourt are the hero and heroine of ‘The
Rebel’s Promise’. These interviews take place half way through the story, when
they are both in London and the conflict between them is at its height.
Rosie
agreed to be interviewed at the London home of Sir Clive Sheridan’s aunt (with
whom she is staying). We caught up with Jack at his club where he was meeting a
friend for lunch.
1.
What
would we find under your bed?
Rosie
My
brother’s dog, Beau! ‘Twas ever his habit to conceal a bone or two under there!
Jack
Until
I received the King’s pardon, it would probably have been me … hiding there
from the redcoats!
2.
What
makes you happy?
Rosie (bites her lip)
Just
a few months ago my greatest pleasure was to be found in a delivery of chintz
for a new gown, or a pretty bonnet! But now, since I cannot be with Jack, there
can be no true happiness for me. I will never, however, regret meeting him and
falling in love with him. I just wish that circumstances had been different, or
that I could explain things to him.
London
life is a whirl of parties and balls, which, would, in other circumstances, be
enjoyable. But, since all of these remarkable events have occurred, I am
happiest when engaged in simple pleasures such as a quiet hour spent with my
dear brother.
Jack (a faraway look comes into
his remarkable blue eyes)
Mine
has always been a restless, adventurous spirit. I enjoyed the excitement of
battle and the intrigue of planning the rebellion. And I have always been at
home in a ballroom! Dancing, drinking and flirting – always leading, of course,
to a romantic assignation – were once all amongst my favourite past-times.
But,
of late, my tastes have changed. Mayhap that is due to my advancing years? I
have now reached the grand old age of seven and twenty, after all! I believe my
greatest happiness would lie in spending the rest of my life with one woman …
the right woman. I thought I had found her but, sadly, I was mistaken about her
true nature …
3.
What
was the worst moment of your life?
Rosie
Since
that day in December when I found Jack lying unconscious at the road side, I
have endured many dark moments. The worst of those, by far, was when I heard
that my darling Jack had been killed in battle at Culloden Moor. At the same
time, my brother and I were in grave danger and I needed Jack with me then,
more than ever.
Of
course, I now know that he did NOT die. No matter what he thinks of me (her lip
trembles) … a world with Jack in it will always, for me, be a better place than
one without him! But, sadly, he may as well have died that day, for he is now lost
to me forever.
Jack
It
was when I returned from exile in France to find that Rosie was to marry Sir
Clive Sheridan. The very dastard who betrayed me to the redcoats! How could
she?
I
promised I would return and she said (he pauses, struggling to gain control of
his emotions) ‘If it takes forever, Jack, I will wait for you’. But she did not
even wait six months!
Yet
… and this makes me sound like the worst kind of coxcomb imaginable … I still struggle
to believe she prefers that scoundrel to me! When we are together, I sometimes
think, from the look in her eyes, that her feelings towards me are unchanged. But
she must love Sheridan … why else would she stay with a cur like him?
4.
If
you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be?
Rosie (very quietly)
It
would be to Jack, of course. He does not understand why I must marry Clive and if
I told him the truth, we would all – myself, Jack and Harry – face the gallows.
Even if I was prepared to risk my own life, to count the world lost for love
and go to Jack … I have a duty to Harry. I dare not … (she looks away and
repeats, as if she is trying to convince herself) … I dare not.
Jack (spends a long time
thinking about the question)
I did
not consider my family name when I joined the Jacobites. I followed my rebellious
instincts. Meeting Rosie and falling in love with her – and I fell so fast and
so hard that I amazed even myself! - made me stop and think about the future,
something I have never done before.
I
must one day marry and have heirs … although … (he stops and abruptly changes
the subject). I would apologise to future generations of Lindseys, lest any
action of mine has sullied our name.
5.
What
is something people would be surprised to know about you?
Rosie (with a blush and a
mischievous smile)
That
I had only known Jack a few short days when I asked him to make love to me. He
laughed at me and called me a ‘shameless hussy’ … but he succumbed eventually! That
night before he left was the most wonderful, magical … Pray forgive me (she
rummages for a handkerchief) …
Jack (with an exasperated sigh)
Well,
at the present moment it would be that I am NOT Lady Bella Cavendish’s lover! I
will not bore you with the details of how that rumour began but, suffice to
say, it has spread around London like wildfire. Even my best friend (he glances
up as Sir Peregrine Pomeroy, on cue, enters the room) will not believe me! He
is convinced I am – what was the delightful phrase he used? Ah, yes – ‘keeping
cully’ with Lady Bella!
Make
no mistake, Bella is very beautiful and … well, I have every reason to believe
she would be happy for us to become better acquainted. But we are just friends
(he sighs) … no, I assure you, there really is no more to it than that!
6.
What
one word best describes you?
Rosie (quickly) – Impulsive
Jack (bitterly) - Loyal
7.
Who
should play you in a film?
Rosie
What,
pray, is a ‘film’? (she listens carefully, then laughs) I still have no idea
what it means, but it sounds prodigiously entertaining! I am reliably informed
that there is an English actress, Miss Samantha Barks, who looks somewhat like
me and who would admirably fulfill the role.
Jack
I
confess I am intrigued by this uncommon notion! It is like a stage-play, you
say? Which actor would play me? ‘Twould require a devilish handsome man, of
course (he laughs and strikes a heroic pose) … I believe Mr Rob James-Collier would
conduct himself well in the part.
Excerpt
There followed a nightmarish few weeks during which Jack
appeared to be at great pains to demonstrate to Rosie that he had, indeed, as
he predicted, recovered from his infatuation with her. Since his remedy took
the form of indulgence in a series of outrageous flirtations with a parade of
very willing partners, he could not have found a more successful method of
torturing her. At every ball, rout or party – even strolling in the park – as
soon as he espied Rosie, Jack would turn into an unrecognisable philanderer …
and there was never a shortage of ladies prepared to indulge him.
On one memorable occasion, Rosie had been forced to
endure the spectacle of him taking snuff from the proffered wrist of a plump,
little lady of notoriously questionable morals. The lady herself had announced
that Lord St Anton was very welcome to take snuff from various other parts of
her anatomy. Jack, sensing Rosie’s
outraged eyes upon them, had smiled his wickedest smile in reply.
The following night, on a visit to the theatre, Rosie’s
attention was shared between the performance on the stage and the one in the
box opposite. Jack and Sir Peregrine had been joined by several ladies who
seemed intent on vying to see which of them could behave in the most scandalous
manner. Sitting rigidly straight in her chair, Rosie resisted the sudden,
overwhelming impulse to storm over there and drag the painted strumpet - who
was currently sitting in Jack’s lap and hanging about his neck like a limpet -
out by her hair.
Her misery was compounded during a dance given by one of
Sir Peregrine’s flirts who paraded a steady stream of enticing young ladies
under Jack’s nose. He obliged by dancing with each one in turn whilst making
himself charming to them all. Rosie put on a brave face, whilst wanting nothing
more than to crawl away and hide in some dark corner to lick her emotional
wounds. Sir Peregrine – who was renowned for his skill on the dance floor –
requested her hand, and, for the first time, it cost her a pang to explain to a
prospective partner that she could not dance because she was in mourning.
Despite the crushing throng, he led her to an empty sofa in a quiet corner and
managed to conjure up two glasses of champagne. They watched the dancers in
silence before Sir Peregrine said quietly.
“Our mutual friend is not a happy man.”
Jack was circling straight-backed, with hands behind his
back, while casting a roguish glance back over his shoulder at his giggling
partner. There seemed to be little evidence in his manner to support Sir
Peregrine’s assertion.
“He looks cheerful enough to me,” Rosie replied, with a
touch of acidity in her voice.
“Ah, that is exactly what he would have us believe,” Sir
Peregrine informed her wisely, “The lady who secures my friend Jack’s heart
will be most fortunate, Miss Delacourt. His nature is such that he will, I believe,
remain true to her throughout his life.”
“’Tis a happy circumstance that there is no such lady
then,” Rosie remarked, as Jack’s partner presented him with a flower from her
breast and he kissed it reverently before placing it in his button-hole, “And
he is free to play the field. At which, you must admit, he seems very adept. ”
Sir Peregrine sighed, “Have you ever encountered two
people whose stubbornness is so great, Miss Delacourt, that it makes you long
to bash their heads together?”
She stiffened a little at that and he hoped he had
managed to rouse her to anger, but instead she smiled and said quietly, “My
father used to call me ‘mulish’ when I was a child.”
“He sounds a most perceptive gentleman,” Sir Peregrine
told her gently. Their hostess came along at that moment to claim the dance he
had promised her and he rose. Bowing in own his exquisite way, he said in an
undertone, “Think on what I have said, Miss Delacourt. Appearances can be
deceptive.”
Jack was doing his cause no favours, he acknowledged. At
that precise moment, he could be seen, in full view of the whole room, taking
turns to sip from a glass of champagne with yet another simpering
debutante.
