Lord Philip's Christmas

by Michele McGrath

  The fichu was duly found, arranged and pinned. Grace nodded happily. “That is much better.”

  “Good.”

  A fan, a small reticule and silk slippers completed the ensemble. Alice could not help smiling as she contemplated the result of their efforts.

  “Now you must sit still, while I dress or we will never be ready in time. I intend to be sitting in the salon when the gentlemen arrive and watch their faces when they see you.”

  “Oh, madam, I wish I could see them too,” said Bennett.

  “Well you shall, to thank you for all your hard work this evening.” Alice replied. “I’ll leave my fan behind and pretend I asked you to bring it to me just before they come into the room. Will that do?”

  “That would be wonderful, madam. Thank you.”

  So, Bennett was lurking in the hallway when the men returned. She followed them and was in time to see the polite interest turn to surprise when they beheld Miss Talbot in her new guise. Edward immediately recognized her though and approached to shake hands.

  “Why, how different you look tonight, Miss Talbot. I congratulate you. A transformation.”

  Grace smiled and tried unsuccessfully to repress the blood that rushed to her cheeks as she glanced at Philip.

  “Lady Alice and Bennett were the ones who made the transformation.”

  “Then I congratulate you both as well. I have never seen Miss Talbot look better.”

  “Yes indeed.” Philip came forward and kissed Grace’s hand. “That style suits you and enhances your beauty.”

  This time Grace was aware that she was trembling just a little.

  “Don’t you think that she should continue to dress this way, Edward?”

  “Undisputedly,” he replied.

  “Lady Kirkmore won’t like it,” Grace protested.

  “I shall speak to Mama,” Alice said. “A young lady should not be made to dress and act as if she was fifty years of age. Am I not right, Philip?”

  “You are right and, for all the attention she will pay to me, I’ll second your arguments with Mama.”

  “Then it is decided,” Edward said firmly. “I shall tell her that I cannot bear to see you the way you were before and beg her to spare my sensibilities.” This was too much for Alice who spluttered,

  “Edward you are a wretch. Grace always looks well.”

  “Neat and tidy certainly but not as elegant as she does now.” He cast a glance at Grace. “Don’t look so tragic, Miss Talbot. I imagine you have been reading those gloomy novels where a companion must wear dark colours and dress her hair plainly. Am I correct?” Grace laughed at this sally which was only too true and nodded. “You must do as you think best of course but if you choose to be more in the fashion, I will engage to speak to my mother-in-law in your defense.”

  The group spent a pleasant evening before the Countess returned. Grace had fully intended to retire earlier, so her borrowed finery would not be seen but she had been enjoying herself too much and forgotten the time. For once her dreams had become reality when Philip smiled at her and she had revelled in his attention. Now she was fairly caught. Lady Kirkmore walked through the door and immediately stood still, as if she could not believe her eyes. Grace felt very nervous. Alice rose immediately and said to her mother,

  “Hello Mama, how do you like Miss Talbot’s new style? She looks far more the thing, doesn’t she?”

  Alice knew instantly that she had made a grave mistake when her mother’s lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, but Edward prevented any immediate outburst by saying,

  “I beg your indulgence, ma’am, but I really cannot have anyone who is dowdy in my party. It gives a very off appearance. People will think that we are short of money or lack of consideration for others.”

  “Miss Talbot, I’m surprised at you,” the Countess said frostily, ignoring him. “I don’t know what you can have been thinking of. You’re not some light o’love but my companion. If this is how you behave when I am absent for a single evening, what will you do if I am away for a longer period? I can’t keep you here if this is how you are conduct yourself. How could you?”

  “Ma’am let me explain…” Grace faltered, aghast.

  “Mama, it was my fault. I wanted to find out how Grace would look dressed in the current mode. I pressed her and she agreed. It is not her fault.”

  “If she agreed, it is most definitely her fault.” The Countess said to Grace. “Pack your bags. You leave in the morning.”

  “Mama,” Philip asked, “why are you so upset over something so trivial?”

  “Hold your tongue. I am quite able to manage my own affairs, I thank you.” snapped his mother.

  Grace turned on her heel, trying hard to control her tears, and moved a few steps towards the door but Edward said,

  “Don’t go, Miss Talbot. Since it seems that my mother-in-law has no further need of your services, I am in the happy position to offer you employment. Only yesterday my wife was telling me that she was lonely without someone to join her on all her expeditions. I know that she will be pleased if you accept this offer, is that not so, Alice?”

  Alice gave a little gasp at this overt defiance of her formidable parent but she said at once,

  “Indeed it is and very happy to do so. Will it suit you, Grace? You would be doing me a great favour if you accept.”

  “I…” Grace fought to command her tongue. She glanced over at the Countess who had turned white with rage.

  “What an excellent solution, brother,” Philip declared, a sardonic smile on his face as he watched his mother. “Would that I had been in a position to offer it myself. Miss Talbot is in no way to blame for choosing to dress becomingly for once and in private.”

  “How dare you, Philip!”

  “Easily. I remember quite well how you used to speak to my sisters when they bought a new ribbon or put flowers in their bonnets like the country girls. Miss Talbot is lucky that she is not one of your daughters.”

  “So you are all against me, I might have known. A renegade son and now an ungrateful daughter and all because of this…”

  “Pray say no more, ma’am. You are fatigued and there is no need for all this heat…”

  “Indeed there is. Since you all defy me, I don’t intend to stay here a moment longer than I must. Send Lawrence to me and we will remove from this hotel, which I have always thought inferior.”

  She swept from the room. Alice said, feeling conscience stricken,

  “I should go after her…”

  “Do no such thing. Let her leave. She will come to no harm in another hotel and we won’t have to listen to her reproaches.”

  “Edward, how could you!”

  “Very easily. I don’t like my wife to be bullied and ordered around. This upset would have happened sooner or later. and now we can enjoy our holiday in peace.”

  “I’m so sorry to have put you in this position, Grace,” Alice said. “You knew my mother better than I did. Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course I can. You have never been anything but kindness to me.”

  Chapter Eight

  True to her word, the Countess departed from the hotel the next morning, taking her servants and her trunks with her. She swept the manager aside without vouchsafing any explanation and it was left to Edward to soothe the poor man’s feelings and to settle her unpaid bill. Alice felt extremely guilty, but shared Edward’s sense of relief that she would no longer have to tolerate her mother’s disapproving presence.

  Grace, looking white and strained from a restless night, came into the dining room nervously. She had to be reassured that the offer of employment remained valid and that both Alice and Edward wanted her to join them.

  “I shouldn’t impose on your good nature,” she faltered.

  “Indeed you should and must,” Alice insisted. “I was the one who got you into trouble with Mama, so this is only justice. Besides, it is true that I am lonely when Edward deserts me to go to the Salle des Armes or other such place
s gentlemen go to alone. It’s delightful to think that I will have a female to talk to, rather than being left alone. Please say that you want to stay with us.”

  Grace laughed. “How can I refuse such a generous offer? I only hope that you won’t quickly tire of my company.”

  “Not likely,” Alice replied, “and now you may be yourself and dress as a gentlewoman, not as a sort of upper servant. That is something we must see to right away.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t!”

  “Yes you can,” Edward interrupted. “It was very true what I said to my mother-in-law last night. I can’t have you dressed as a dowd. I beg you to indulge me by dressing as the lady you are.”

  “Philip told me how much he was much taken with you last night. He would be disappointed if you did not keep your new appearance. We must not disappoint him, you know,” Alice said with a knowing smile.

  “No, we must not disappoint Philip,” Grace echoed happily.

  The next couple of weeks passed in a whirl of excitement and activity. Edward and Alice attended many social occasions, accompanied by Grace, who blossomed in her new world of encouragement rather than criticism. Philip came with them to several events where he thought he would be welcome. Grace could almost believe as if she had stepped into one of her dreams and she resolutely shut her mind to the future. She was happy. Philip was even more interesting than she had supposed and she looked forward to his company. Most of the time he too, seemed to seek her out, although occasionally he would retreat into his thoughts. His face changed when he did so and he frowned into the distance. Called to order, he would apologise, plead a brown study and then become himself again. Once or twice Grace wondered if he was trying to fix his interest with her, but that could not be so, of course, given the difference in their circumstances. For now, she would not let that thought matter. The dream would end and she would deal with the consequences when she had to, but not yet. She did not want to wake up until she was given no choice.

  Philip could not have said what had drawn him to this tall, dark girl, so different from Celia. He was aware that she had changed since his mother left and he found her both sympathetic and with a well-informed mind. He liked her, he admired her, but if he had been asked at that moment, he would have said that he was not in love with her. He was free, but he had unfinished business. Until that had been attended to, he had no future beyond the immediate present.

  Grace had indeed shed the personality traits she had been forced to employ for most of her life, as the vicar’s daughter, the teacher and the paid companion. She had always been kept in the background and made to watch her words. Now, for a short time, she could make believe that she was a young lady travelling to Paris simply for pleasure. She made witty sallies, took part in animated discussions and danced as if she did not have a care in the world. It was as if she had returned to those far-off days when her mother was still alive and she was loved and encouraged.

  Once or twice the party caught sight of the Countess in the distance. She immediately turned away when she beheld them, so they felt no particular need to approach her. Grace had been perturbed the first time this happened and it took all Alice’s persuasion to reassure her that it did not matter. She gradually relaxed when she found that no one was talking about her. Lady Kirkmore, it seemed, had no wish to encourage gossip about the reason why she had parted from her party.

  Philip came with them to visit Malmaison, the country house of the Empress Josephine. A home without a mistress now, for Josephine had died the previous year. One of her former ladies-in-waiting showed the group around, even pretending to remember the Baron de Vezey from better times and making them welcome.

  “A pity it is winter. The Empress’s roses are wonderful to see in the summer. I used to love coming here on the few occasions it was necessary. What did you think of the house?” Philip asked as they drove away.

  “I can’t say I care for the heavy Roman furniture,” Alice replied and her brother laughed. “Far too military for my taste.”

  “I doubt Josephine had much choice in the matter. Napoleon modelled his home and the country on the ancients, you know. He fancied himself a conqueror and a descendant of Roman conquerors.”

  “Which he was for a while,” Edward commented.

  It was a peaceful and happy day. Philip stayed on to dine with them, talking late into the evening. He spent more time with Grace than his sister or brother-in-law, telling her about his travels and making her laugh. Alice viewed them with an indulgent eye. When they were alone together, Alice asked her husband,

  “Do you think Philip and Grace will make a match of it?”

  “What, are you matchmaking, little wife?” he teased her.

  “Well it seems to me that they are very taken with each other.”

  “Your family won’t like it, especially your mother. The Earl of Kirkmore can look as high as he wants for a bride.”

  “The Earl maybe, but Philip no. He has never been interested in cutting a dash in the polite world. He likes Grace and there is no reason why they should not marry, if they want to do so. Her birth is respectable even if her fortune is not.”

  “Perhaps. We will see.”

  The group had arranged to meet later that week to go on another expedition, this time to the palace of Saint-Cloud. They were all ready, with the carriage at the door, but Philip did not arrive at the appointed hour.

  “I wonder where he is?” Edward asked, after a half-hour had passed with no sign of him.

  “Perhaps he has overslept.”

  “If he doesn’t come soon, it will be too late to start,” Edward grumbled. “Saint-Cloud is further than Malmaison. We won’t have much time at the château, even if we leave within the next hour. We are engaged to dine with the Quentins this evening, remember.”

  “It’s not like him to fail without notifying us. Let’s send a note to his lodgings, unless you think he has gone to the Salle?”

  “She may have done. A message to each place certainly, although I fear we must postpone our outing until another day.”

  The notes were duly written and dispatched but Philip still did not appear. Alice became more and more agitated as the hours passed, wondering what had happened to delay him. She could not settle to anything. Grace offered to read to her, to take her mind off the situation but Alice, for once, snapped and then immediately apologised for her rudeness. Her nervousness infected Grace who found her hands shaking when she tried to occupy herself with some needlework. Edward went out for a walk but came back with no further information. They spent a miserable day. Shortly before they had to dress for dinner, Marco Pezzi arrived.

  “Forgive me, Monsieur, for interrupting you,” he began.

  “Monsieur Pezzi, have you news of my brother?” Alice jumped to her feet and demanded as soon as he entered. “Do you know where he is?”

  “I’m not perfectly certain, Madame; I haven’t seen him since last night.” The Italian shot a look at Edward. “If you please, Monsieur, a word with you in private.”

  Edward’s eyebrows rose. He glanced at his wife who had suddenly gone pale. Grace stood beside her holding her hand, looking equally anxious.

  “Something has happened to him. I’m sure of it! Tell me at once!”

  “Courage, my love.” He turned to Marco. “Speak, Monsieur, Lady Alice is a brave woman and it serves no purpose to keep her in ignorance. I have no secrets from my wife.”

  “Very well then. I suggest that you sit down.” When they had done so, Marco continued, “Louis came to me after I had gone home from the Salle. He begged me to act as his second in a duel which was to take place early this morning. I tried to talk him out of the affair but I was unsuccessful. He told me that his quarrel was of long standing and he insisted on going ahead, even though the other man had chosen pistols. As you are aware, the challenger has the choice of weapons. With a rapier Louis is deadly. I doubt there are ten men in France able to match him but with a gun I did not know.”

  �
�Can he shoot, Alice?”

  Alice grimaced. “Not well. I remember that our game keeper, who taught both my brothers, told me that Julian was the better shot and I know that he was only fair.”

  “Unfortunate. I’m surprised he agreed to the terms in that case. What happened next?” Edward asked Marco.

  “I declined to act for him, in the expectation that he would not be able to find another second at such short notice. I expected him to give up the idea and apologise to his opponent. When he did not come to the Salle this morning, I thought merely that he was angry with me. I decided to go to his lodgings after my work was over. When your note reached me, I came here instead.”

  A knock on the door interrupted them. Their servant showed an agitated young girl into the room who immediately burst into a torrent of rapid French. Edward and Grace found it difficult to understand her, although Alice and Marco had no problem.

  “I am Agathe Bouchard, Mesdames, Messieurs. I work for the Baron and I have just received your note. He did not return home last night. His bed has not been slept in and the supper I left for him is still on the table untouched. Please tell me that he has not come to harm?”

  Edward led her to a chair and gave her a glass of wine. “We can’t be sure and we share your worry. Is it usual for him to spend the night away from his apartment? After all, he is a young man and Paris is a city of many pleasures.”

  “He was not like that, Monsieur, certainly not when Madame was alive. It’s only since his sister arrived that he has gone out more. If he intended not to come home, he used to tell me, so I shouldn’t prepare food for him. He said nothing to me yesterday; that is why I am worried.”

  “Perhaps something unexpected happened. Where did he go on the occasions he did not come back?”

  “Once or twice he stayed with his cousin. That is all I remember.”

  “His cousin? Victor Debord?”

  “I don’t know his name, but he was the one who came to Madame’s funeral.”

  “I wonder…”

  “What do you wonder?” Alice asked her husband and her tone was sharp.