‘I suppose I must go after Tish—’ Durant muttered. ‘She’s self-centred and autocratic, but underneath all…’
‘She’s a child in the hands of a beast.’
‘I’ll kill him!’ said Durant, as they both hurried towards the landau. As Fenton automatically made his bow to the ladies, Durant said briefly. ‘Mr Joyce, a curate from Miss Clarence’s parish.’ He jumped onto the box and said to his groom, ‘Greg, I’ll take the reins. I want you to go to the stables and ride on the North Road. Check the coaching inns around about where a hired coach might stop for refreshments. I cannot see that Tish will go without her breakfast. When you pick up her direction, ride back to me. I may meet you on the road.’
‘Yes, my lord,’ said the nimble Greg and was already disappearing down the road on foot.
‘Why do you send him ahead, Sebastian?’ asked Anne, on hearing this.
‘I don’t know,’ Durant said ruminatively. ‘ I think that old devil gave up the plan too easily. And, after Tish’s note, he must have known I would follow.’ He climbed on the box of the landau. ‘Can we go with Mr Fenton to Grosvenor Square before I set out? I want to know the progress on Miss Oldfield. I’m sorry, Anne, aunt.’
‘It makes no odds, my boy. But will you take me to your home to rest before you do so?’ said his aunt, faintly.
Durant looked impatient and guilty at once. ‘Of course.’
‘May I suggest you drive to Grosvenor Square and then I take the landau to Durant House and install Miss Fortescue? I will return with the carriage to Grosvenor Square promptly.’
Durant looked at him. A curate. ‘Can you drive these horses?’
‘I believe so,’ said Mr Joyce.
‘Oh wait, Joyce is it?’ said Wilbert Fenton, who had joined them in the landau having tied his horse behind, ‘you are the little brother of the Almighty who shamed him by getting into The Four Horse Club when he was blackballed.’
‘I am. He was furious.’
‘And rather proud of you, I think,’ said Fenton. ‘Let him drive, Durant. The horses will come to no harm.’
‘Mr Joyce is full of surprises,’ said Anne Clarence, a little archly.
Joyce reddened slightly, Fenton noticed, with the tiny part of his brain that was not focused on Felicity and the way to ease the distress of his wife.
They put this plan into fruition and soon were all ensconced in the Fenton’s elegant drawing room, Mr Joyce arriving just after Lady Aurora joined them from her chamber. No one could guess, thought Anne, except by the surfeit of powder around her eyes, that she had surely been crying her eyes out on her bed. Her face brightened when she saw her husband, ‘Wilbert—’
‘I had an idea that I had to attend to. That perhaps Lord Stanford had a hand in this.’
‘Oh, sir, you know she would not look at him…’ said Lady Aurora.
‘But she might have been fooled by him otherwise. The offer of a ride to her position?’
Durant was very still, but the shadow of a smile crossed his face as he stood by the handsome mantelpiece, ‘No sir, she confessed to me that Lord Stanford had always made her feel bilious.’ His voice changed, ‘No, he has eloped with my cousin.’
‘Lady Letitia missing too? It is quite unbelievable,’ said Lady Aurora. She turned to her husband, ‘What is the matter with today, my love? Cannot we just return to yesterday?’ Her voice broke, and her husband put an arm around her and caused her head to rest on his shoulder.
‘Should you not be on the Great North Road, my lord?’ Fenton said to Durant.
‘I am awaiting Mr Benedict Fenton’s findings first.’ He strode the length of the room, ‘Though why I should go and save a selfish minx from the consequences of her own folly, rather than bring an innocent home where she belongs—’
‘Yes, but there are many of us to look for Felicity, and only one to save Lady Letitia,’ said Wilbert Fenton, gently.
‘The list!’ said Durant suddenly. ‘Miss Fleet was able to give me a list some of the positions that Miss Oldfield applied to.’
‘Better than we found,’ said Benedict, entering the drawing room with his hands in his pockets and a defeated look on his face. Lt Sloane followed.
‘It may not help. I had a glance. There is a school in Yorkshire, another in Bath and a third in Brighton. And this may not be all. How can we know?’
‘Well, we can all ride out in the different directions. Wilbert might take Brighton, Benedict, his home county of Yorkshire and Lt Sloane, if he would consent to do so, Bath.’
‘And you must take carriages, in case it is too difficult to hire one to bring her home,’ said Genevieve.
‘In Brighton or Bath?’ said Benedict, ‘you must be tumbled in the head, Jenny.’
‘Genevieve is right — all the quicker to bring her back to us. And mind, Wilbert, do not take no for an answer. Tell her she must come home. Tell her I am ill,’ her voice broke once more. ‘It will not be untrue if I cannot see her safe home soon.’
Genevieve went to her side and made her sit down. Her head came up almost at once, though. ‘You—’
The butler announced Miss Althorpe and Miss Carter-Phipps.
Miss Carter-Phipps had a piece of blotting paper smeared with a dark substance.
‘We have a list!’ said Miss Althorpe excitedly.
‘I went to the library. I wondered if they just turned the blotting paper on the writing desk instead of disposing of it. And I was quite right. I could not read enough of the blottings to have an address,’ she said.
‘Well, yes—’ began the Lieutenant.
‘But then, I used a trick of my brother and I when we wanted to connect to each other by secret message. You can write on paper and the impressions are on the blotting paper beneath! And then guess what next one can do—’
‘I’m afraid—,’ said the viscount.
‘Use charcoal to run over it lightly and one can read the whole thing. Thankfully few people use that desk, so there was nothing but a few book titles and this — it is a list of three schools. One is in Yorkshire—’
‘One in Bath,’ said Durant
‘And one in Brighton, ‘added Benedict.
‘Oh, how did you know?’
‘We got the list from Miss Fleet.’
Miss Althorpe sat down with a jolt, her red curls jumping, ‘Well, how completely rum. And I thought us so perfectly brilliant.’
‘Thank you girls. But the gentlemen must set off now. Felicity was out of the house before the servants this morning, she had several hours on us.’
‘Excuse me,’ said Anne Clarence quietly. ‘Is there any real need for these heroic rescue attempts? Would not a letter to the various schools suffice? And then, by breakfast tomorrow, you might know at least if Bath or Brighton can be ruled out.’
The company looked at her, shocked. ‘But anything might happen to her in the meantime,’ said Lady Aurora. ‘What if she is rejected for being too pretty as she was in London? Where would she go?’
‘Well I expect she would find a room at an inn for the night, and one could pick up her trail easily.’
‘You don’t understand, ma’am,’ said Benedict. ‘Felicity is so gullible that anyone might trick her.’
‘Yes. She thinks the best of people. Even Sir Ralph Gordon, after he pinched her…’ said Althea.
‘And she believed that Miss Friel, who has said vile things about her all season deserves to be pitied,’ added Vivien.
‘Well that just shows you!’ said Benedict.
‘I mean, she went off with Lord Durant,’ said Lady Sumner.
‘He can be very persuasive,’ said Anne Clarence with a smile.
Durant laughed.
‘Well,’ said Mr Carter-Phipps, to Lt Sloane’s pride, ‘If he had done so to me I should have poked him in the eye with my parasol. But when I said this to Felicity, she just said that she was glad to help his old aunt find a home more suited to her, and closer to London so that her doctors might be called out if need b
e.’
‘And she didn’t even know the woman.’
‘She sounds like a very fine girl,’ remarked Mr Joyce.
‘Oh she is,’ murmured Durant, ‘wherever she goes, even the servants love her. The butler at Lady Ellingham’s damn near cried on my shoulder when he knew she was gone. And I’ve never seen his face even move before.’
‘And she’s a beauty, too. All on her own with not even a maid…’ Lady Aurora sobbed
Benedict frowned. ‘My sisters could take better care of themselves than she.’
‘My goodness, I understand. You must all leave immediately to search for her,’ said Anne Clarence.
‘Not I— I must find Tish.’ The viscount stood irresolutely, not quite able to leave the room. ‘When I come back, Anne, we must talk.’
‘Yes, we must.’
‘I, too, would like a word with you when you return, my lord,’ said Mr Joyce.
Durant looked at him. ‘Mr Joyce?’ he supposed Joyce must be seeking preferment, but he had little attention to give to such things and considered the curate a horse’s ass for bring it up at a time like this. ‘Very well, I’ll try to find time for you when I return.’
Benedict had turned to Genevieve, whose eyes were exceedingly bright and whose smile was very fixed and very wide. ‘Do not worry, my dear. I shall bring her home.’
‘I know you will, Dickie. I can see how you care for her.’
‘Of course I do. Everyone loves Felicity.’ He smiled down at her. ‘I’ll bring her back.’ She grasped his hand, hardly able to speak.
Lady Aurora, meanwhile, was talking lowly to her husband, and he replied, grasping her to him and kissing the top of her head. The lieutenant in regimentals was saying farewell to the young lady, Miss Carter-Phipps was it? — she who had the very determined face.
As she watched all this, Miss Clarence found Mr Joyce at her shoulder. ‘I feel we have wandered into a heroic melodrama.’
‘It would seem so.’
‘The young lady is much cared for.’
‘Yes. I met her, she is quite charming. A beauty of course.’
‘Oh. And she seems to have affected everyone.’
‘Yes. Lieutenant Sloane asked for her hand. I think Mr Benedict Fenton admires her greatly, and all this running away has been brought on by a great scandal about her going off with a man without a chaperon.’
‘Oh, the poor girl. And which of the two young man is at the heart of the rumour?’ he said dubiously regarding the Lieutenant taking the hand of Miss Carter-Phipps and kissing it.
‘Oh, neither. That was Viscount Durant!’
They looked at each other, his shocked look shook her and she lost her composure. They giggled and he spun her around quickly so that they could not be seen. Durant’s back had mercifully been to them, he was saying his farewells to the Fentons, and was about to go.
‘Oh, stop me, dash it!’ said Mr Joyce.
‘I c-can’t. You’ve sent me off. This is a tragedy to these people. Even the thought of Letitia in trouble can’t seem to make me stop.’
‘Why has she run away?’ asked Joyce, his voice still shaky.
‘I think it might be because Bastian was being beastly to her about telling the world about Felicity driving off with him.’
‘When he didn’t?’
‘Oh, but he did!’
‘Surely he must—’ said Joyce, still laughing under his breath.
‘But he cannot because he is m-m-marrying me!’
For some reason, this seemed utterly hilarious, and Joyce gave a small squeal as he sought to keep from exploding with laughter.
A finger touched her back she straightened, but sent her large eyes rolling for help in the direction of Mr Joyce, as though for aid.
‘Are you quite well, Anne?’
‘Yes, yes, of course.’ She said with difficulty.
‘I must go. I shall send word when I have found Tish.’
She gathered herself.
‘Good luck, Bastian.’
‘Anne, I—’ he started.
But Anne Clarence had only so much control. ‘Yes, my dear friend. But not now. For heaven’s sake, GO!’
But at that exact moment, anther voice form the doorway called, ‘Bastian!’ the door burst open, and in ran Lady Letitia Fortescue, straight into her cousin’s arms, ‘Do not be cross with me, Bastian, I know I did wrong. I know it.’
‘Tish!’ he said, clasping her in his arms. But as another figure entered the room shyly behind, the whole room, apart from Anne Clarence and Mallory Joyce, rushed forward.
‘Felicity!’ the cry rang out and Lady Aurora reached her first, telling her she would never be forgiven, never, but clasping her so hard to her that her bonnet went awry and hung down her back by its long ribbons, and she began to laugh.
Chapter 15
The Return
The little man in the strange waistcoat had been a very good listener, it turned out. And he had to be for Felicity’s tale of two abductions and a black-hearted lady who had caused a scandal, and the kindness of the wicked abductors (all three of them) and the handsomeness of one, and the fact that though she had had much attention since she came to London, she had already met her own idea of magnificence on the road, and he turned out to be a viscount, who was willing to take responsibility for the trouble that resulted in his abducting her, but could not marry her because he was already promised. But the Beau Monde did not know of the engagement, because of illness in the lady’s family. So they wondered if Lord Durant would not marry her because she was indeed a fallen woman.
‘Sir, what precisely is a fallen woman? Don’t you have to run off with someone, or at least kiss them to be one?’
‘I should thinks so, miss.’
‘Well then I assure you, I am not. I merely went in a carriage to pretend to be a lady because the gentleman needed to buy a house. It could have happened to anyone.’
‘Uh-huh. So everyone tried to make it clear you were a good girl, I have that. So what happened then?’
‘Well, even old Lady Harrington, who is a very great moral stickler, supported me at a dinner when a young lady turned her back on me, and I might actually have been saved. But then two things happened in the same day. I found out that my dear friends had paid for my season, and not my aunt who wears an ancient bonnet and a wig even at breakfast, and I got a letter to say I might attend for the position of junior mistress at this school.’ She dabbed her eyes. ‘Well three things really. I was also accosted by a horrid rake, and rescued by the wicked abductor. But he isn’t really. And I can see how much it troubles him, my being insulted. For the rake had once before offered me marriage, but this time I am not sure what he was offering, but I am very sure it was an insult. And it made my rescuer—’
‘The wicked abductor?’
‘Well, yes. It made him so very angry and he said he’d deal with him and he apologised again. And I can’t help but see that I am becoming such a trial to all of them. Having to defend me and come up with schemes to make the black-hearted lady my friend so as to deny any reports about me.’
‘The black-hearted lady?’
‘I daresay she isn’t. That’s just what my friends Miss Althorpe and Miss Carter-Phipps call her, oh, and Miss Fleet, of course. Because we found one in a book.’
He shook his head in trying to decipher this. ‘And who is the black-hearted lady?’
‘She is the cousin—’ Felicity sobbed, and then, pointing, ‘It’s her.’ A coach was passing and Felicity glanced inside to see a beautiful bonnet that she recognised on the inside passenger. She hung out the window to see the driver and started.
‘What—?’ said the little man grasping her pelisse, lest she tumble out.
‘Oh!’ said Felicity, ‘it is the rake and the black-hearted lady.’
‘Do you mean to tell me that two people from your story are in that there coach right now?’
‘Yes!’ said Felicity. ‘Whatever can it mean? Can they have followed
me? But why would they know I was here? If it was anyone, I would think it would be one of my wicked abductors—’
‘The viscount? Why would he follow you? I thought you said ‘e’d be glad to be rid o’ you?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Felicity in a small voice. Then she frowned. ‘No, that is not it. When I told my dearest friend Vivien that Lord Stanford had proposed to me, she said it was unheard of, for Stanford only pursued heiresses. I cannot understand why he would offer for me.’
Her companion looking at her large eyes and ripe mouth might have an idea, but he said only, ‘No. And is the black-hearted lady—?’
‘An heiress. She is very rich indeed, says my best friend. Oh, goodness, we must stop this.’
The little man cocked his head on one side, ‘Don’t she deserve ‘er fate?’
‘Oh, no! It is too awful. And it would hurt the viscount so very much. He hates that man.’
‘The wicked abductor? And you wish to help ‘im as well?’
‘But I assure you, I do not think of him in that way at all. It was just that Miss Fleet and I cast him in the role of the villain in the novels we were reading.’ She ring her hands. ‘Oh sir. What can we do?’
For answer the little man looked at his pocket watch, a fine brass specimen, and then stuck his head out of the window and called to the coach man. ‘Where are we now?’ he shouted, Felicity thought, though she could not be certain, as the wind took his words with it. He put his head inside again after a few more words with the mail coachman, and he said, ‘Now it is my thoughts, miss, that they will want to rest the ‘orses or even change ‘em. But he won’t want to use any of the big coaching inns, not for ‘is business. There’s too many a jack who could know ‘im and know what ‘e’s about and maybes interfere.’
‘Oh yes! I daresay anyone could come in.’
‘We’ll be stopping in an hour, but to my mind he’ll want a quieter place such as the Cat and Mouse just two miles ahead.’
‘We must go there! But the mail coach won’t stop. Not for anything.’
‘‘E’ll stop for me,’ said the little man. With that he hoisted himself out through the window and onto the roof with remarkable strength and dexterity. Felicity heard the coachman protest in the strongest terms, some altercation, and then she supposed that the little man had joined him on the box. She ran through what she would do or say to Lady Letitia when she saw her, and only foresaw rejection and danger from Stanford. She was very afraid, but still she must try.
Felicity and the Damaged Reputation: A witty, sweet Regency Romance Page 21
