The Chaperon Bride

by Nicola Cornick

  ‘I will go,’ Sibella said resignedly, struggling up again. ‘Come, David, you may escort me down and content yourself with the thought that you are doing Annis a splendid favour. You might as well come too, Charles, in case we need the extra authority!’

  Once left on her own, Annis sat back and closed her eyes. She let the hum of the crowd wash over her. Normally she enjoyed the theatre, but tonight there were too many other things going on. She had the feeling that if she gave Fanny an inch, the little hoyden would take a mile.

  She opened her eyes abruptly, feeling a prickle of awareness, a sudden conviction that someone was watching her. The crowd in the theatre was dissipating a little now and Annis caught a glimpse of Charles, talking to someone behind one of the tall ornamental pilasters. His companion moved slightly, and Annis saw that it was Della Tilney, Adam Ashwick’s sister, a vivacious, dark-haired beauty who always looked supremely elegant. Annis frowned slightly. It seemed curious that Charles and Lady Tilney should be on such good terms when he worked for Ingram and she was the widow of the man Ingram had ruined…

  A second later she forgot all about Della Tilney when she realised that Adam Ashwick was looking directly at her. He was leaning against a nearby pillar and he did not look away as she caught his gaze. Annis saw him incline his head slightly to acknowledge her then start moving towards her, cutting a path through the crowd with an easy authority. He did not take his eyes off her the whole time.

  Annis felt a little flustered. She did not understand why Adam Ashwick should have this effect on her and it only made her more disturbed that he should do so. She fidgeted with her fan, smoothed her skirt and looked away in an attempt to calm herself, hoping that Lord Ashwick might in fact have some other destination in mind. Sibella and David had joined Fanny and Lieutenant Greaves now, breaking up their cosy tête-à-tête whilst leaving Lucy and Barnaby Norwood together. Annis smiled her appreciation at Sibella’s tactics.

  ‘And serve you right, you little minx!’ she said aloud.

  ‘Good evening, Lady Wycherley.’ Adam Ashwick’s voice came from behind her, smooth and betraying a hint of amusement. Annis jumped and spun around in her chair. So he had been intending to seek her out. The thought made her go quite hot all over.

  ‘Lord Ashwick. How do you do?’ She forced a polite smile. ‘I do apologise. I was not…I did not…I was not addressing you.’

  ‘I guessed as much.’ There was a glimmer of a smile in Adam Ashwick’s eyes. He gestured to the chair beside her. ‘May I?’

  ‘Oh, of course!’

  Annis had assumed that he would not be staying and now felt surprise and another emotion she could not quite place. She did not look to be distinguished by Adam Ashwick’s attention and to be so set her a little on edge. It was something to do with the speculative interest she saw in his eyes, an interest he made no effort to hide. When they had met at the inn she had felt a curious tug of affinity with him and it was the last thing that she had expected or wanted. She was accustomed to living without male companionship and after an unhappy early marriage had no intention of changing that state. Yet it was disconcerting that, for all her seven-and-twenty years and her relative experience, there was a man who could disturb her equilibrium.

  ‘I hope that you are enjoying your return to Harrogate, Lady Wycherley,’ Adam said lazily. ‘I understand that it is several years since you were here?’

  ‘Indeed it is, my lord.’ Annis smiled. ‘I shall always think of this as my home even though I have spent so much time away. It is pleasant to be back here. Do you find it so?’

  Adam smiled back. ‘I find Harrogate enjoyable enough for a short space of time.’

  Although they were talking quite conventionally, Annis was acutely aware that Adam was watching her intently. It was as though he was making the first moves in a game—a game he showed all the signs of pursuing. Annis caught her breath at the thought.

  She raised her brows coolly, determined that his appraisal should not discomfort her. ‘You do not appreciate the Yorkshire countryside, my lord?’

  ‘Oh, the countryside is extremely beautiful. It is the society of a small town that I find somewhat restrictive. The same company, the same balls and parties night after night…’

  ‘Rather like London during the Season, in fact,’ Annis said, with just a hint of asperity in her tone.

  Adam laughed aloud. ‘You put me neatly in my place, ma’am! Yes, I suppose the Season in London does bear a striking resemblance to the Season anywhere else, be it Brighton or Harrogate. It is simply on a grander scale—and I have my own friends and entertainments.’

  ‘So I hear!’ Annis said sweetly. She saw that he was not offended by her directness; on the contrary, the laughter lines deepened about his eyes and there was amusement in their grey depths. She imagined that it would be very difficult to discommode Adam Ashwick. He had far too much experience.

  Annis shifted slightly in her seat, wishing that she did not feel quite so hot. It was a humid night and, with the candles, the heat was almost overpowering. Then there was her purple turban, which was making her head itch and ache. First the black bombazine and now the dowager purple, Annis thought ruefully. It was a very long time since she had wanted a man to see her in anything other than her drab chaperon’s clothes. Now though, Adam Ashwick’s cool grey gaze was fixed appraisingly on her face and Annis was vain enough to wish that she were appearing to slightly better advantage. It was a novel experience for her to want a man to admire her and it was contrary to every sensible precept that governed her actions.

  ‘You are often in London, are you not, ma’am?’ he asked. ‘How comes it that we have never met there before?’

  Annis gave him a very straight look. ‘It is hardly surprising that we have not met, my lord. I believe that you do not attend débutante balls and I never attend events of any other sort.’

  ‘Then that is one advantage that a small town confers,’ Adam observed. ‘Here we may all meet and mingle together. A decided benefit, Lady Wycherley, for otherwise I might never have met you.’

  Annis laughed, refusing to be flattered. ‘You are very apt with your compliments, my lord.’

  The smile deepened in Adam’s eyes. ‘Do you imply that I am not sincere? I assure you that you are quite mistaken.’

  Annis flicked him a look. His whole attention was focussed on her in a manner that was decidedly disconcerting. She looked away.

  ‘Oh, men offer compliments when it suits their purpose! I could not have worked as a chaperon for so many years without realising that fact, my lord.’

  Adam grimaced. ‘You are a cynic, ma’am, as no doubt a chaperon should be. I expect it helps you sort the genuine suitors from the rakes when you are trying to make a match for your charges.’ He leaned back in his chair and fixed her with a challenging look. ‘Let us test your assertion. What is my purpose tonight?’

  Annis frowned a little. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘You said that men offer compliments when it suits their purpose. So what was my purpose in complimenting you?’

  Annis looked away, vexed to realise that she was blushing. She had the feeling that she was straying towards dangerous ground here and was not going to be lured into offering a view. She gave Adam a reluctant smile.

  ‘As to that, I have no notion.’

  Adam shifted slightly. ‘I think that you do. You suspect that I want something and am therefore making myself agreeable.’

  Annis laughed. ‘I apologise. I was judging on past experience, my lord. Most gentlemen try to charm the chaperon if they are interested in her charges. Perhaps you are looking to marry and are wanting an introduction to the Misses Crossley, Lord Ashwick?’

  Adam kept his face straight. ‘I thank you, but no. They do not interest me. You, on the other hand, Lady Wycherley, are a different matter.’

  Annis kept her lips tightly closed and vowed to make no more unwary comments that evening. Adam Ashwick was altogether too quick to take her up on t
hem. And Adam, who evidently knew to a nicety when to leave matters in his dealings with the fair sex, smiled slightly and turned the subject.

  ‘Did you enjoy Miss Mardyn’s dancing tonight, ma’am? I am not entirely sure that Harrogate was quite ready for the experience.’

  Annis smothered an unexpected smile. ‘I found it very imaginative, my lord. I can see why Miss Mardyn is so popular.’

  There was an answering smile lurking in Adam Ashwick’s eyes as he took in all the things that Annis had carefully omitted to say.

  ‘I believe that we have The Death of Captain Cook after the interval,’ he said. ‘That should be something of a contrast. Will it be melancholy, do you think?’

  ‘Almost certainly,’ Annis said cheerfully. ‘If your taste runs to something more classical, my lord, you might wish to return next week, for I believe Mr Jefferson will be appearing in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Or is Shakespeare too sober for you?’

  ‘On the contrary, I like a good tragedy,’ Adam said easily. ‘However, I am not entirely certain that I shall be here next week. I have business at Eynhallow, my estate towards Skipton, and shall be back and forth to Harrogate during the next month.’

  ‘Of course,’ Annis murmured. She had forgotten that the Ashwick estate bordered her own land at Starbeck. Starbeck could scarcely aspire to be called an estate, for it was too small, and almost entirely surrounded by its more powerful neighbours. There were the Ashwicks and then, of course, there was Samuel Ingram’s property at Linforth.

  ‘I understand that your cousin has property in the same direction,’ Adam continued. ‘That charming little house at Starbeck is his, is it not?’

  Annis smiled slightly. ‘Starbeck is mine, my lord,’ she said, aware of the hint of pride that crept into her voice. ‘Charles administers the property for me, but it belongs to my branch of the Lafoy family.’

  For a second Adam looked surprised. ‘Does it, indeed? But I thought—’ He broke off, a hint of speculation in his eyes.

  Annis raised her brows. ‘What did you think, my lord?’

  ‘Why, merely that Starbeck belonged to Mr Lafoy rather than yourself.’ His voice dropped. ‘It is pleasant to think that I am not entirely surrounded by hostile forces.’

  Annis laughed, despite herself. ‘I am sure that it cannot be as bad as that, my lord.’

  ‘I assure you that it is.’ Adam’s gaze was resting thoughtfully on Samuel Ingram as he chatted to an acquaintance in the theatre pit. He turned back to Annis. ‘You cannot have failed to hear of my…dispute with Mr Ingram, Lady Wycherley, so I do not scruple to mention it. May I hope that you are more sympathetically inclined than your cousin?’

  Their eyes met and held. ‘You will find that I am most independently inclined, my lord,’ Annis said coolly. She had no time for Samuel Ingram, but she did not want Adam Ashwick casting her as an ally against Charles.

  Adam nodded. ‘I imagine that is the best I can hope for?’

  ‘I believe so.’

  ‘Then we understand one another.’ Adam smiled at her. ‘You seem a most unusual chaperon, if I may say so, Lady Wycherley.’

  Annis gave him a cool look. ‘From what perspective, my lord?’

  ‘Well, most chaperons do not own their own estates. One has the impression that they have to work for a living, whereas you, Lady Wycherley…’ Adam gave her a thoughtful look ‘…you give the impression of choosing your profession. As I said, it is unusual.’

  Annis laughed. ‘Oh, I have to earn my living, my lord! It is true that I enjoy my work most of the time, and that I prefer to be busy rather than to wither away as some kind of genteel poor relation, but—’ she shrugged ‘—it is not truly a matter of choice.’

  ‘I see.’ Adam did not seem put out to discover her lack of funds but then, Annis thought, if he had ever seen Starbeck he would know that she was scarcely flush with money. ‘One gets the strong impression that you value your independence, ma’am.’

  Annis was a little startled. She had not been aware that she had given away so much about herself. Normally she was remarkably guarded in speaking of herself, particularly to strangers. Particularly to gentlemen of Adam Ashwick’s reputation and experience, who saw far more than they were told.

  ‘I value my independence almost above all things, my lord,’ she said slowly. ‘And being a chaperon is vastly superior to being a governess or schoolteacher, you know. I may choose when I work and whom I chaperon. I travel and meet people—’ Annis broke off, thinking again that she was offering far too much personal information and wondering why she was telling him such a great deal. It did not help that Adam was giving her his undivided attention, watching her animated face with a faint smile on his lips. She fell silent in something of a confusion.

  ‘As I said, you are a most unusual chaperon,’ he murmured.

  Annis rallied. ‘Do you know many chaperons in order to make such a comparison, my lord?’

  ‘No, I concede that I do not know many at all.’ Adam was watching her with a lazy amusement that made Annis’s skin prickle. ‘As you correctly surmised, ma’am, I move in vastly different circles.’

  ‘I imagine that most chaperons can only be grateful for that, my lord,’ Annis said tartly. ‘One must be constantly vigilant for the safety of one’s charges and a gentleman who is not interested in matrimony might be pursuing them for a wholly different purpose!’

  Adam laughed. ‘My dear Lady Wycherley, I am not interested in marrying your charges, but I equally uninterested in endangering the virtue of innocents! Only the most hardened of rakes would be so inclined!’

  Annis nodded. ‘I see. You make a distinction between yourself and such gentlemen, Lord Ashwick?’

  Adam raised his brows. ‘Certainly I do. I am no rake, although I see by your expression that you remain unconvinced, ma’am!’

  Annis’s lips twitched. ‘I imagine that it matters little to you what I think, my lord. We shall not be having much conversation in the future.’

  ‘How so?’

  Annis gave him an old-fashioned look. ‘Must I spell matters out, my lord? I am a very proper chaperon with two young ladies to look after. You are…’ She paused.

  ‘Yes? I am…what?’

  ‘A gentleman that I would warn my charges to avoid. I am therefore unlikely to set the bad example of courting your company myself.’

  Adam burst out laughing. ‘My dear Lady Wycherley! You are harsh towards me. And most direct.’

  ‘I beg your pardon.’ Annis steadfastly held his gaze. ‘I always feel that honesty helps one to avoid misunderstandings later.’

  ‘I will grant you that, although I deplore your poor opinion of me, ma’am.’ Adam was still smiling. ‘Perhaps if we had met when we were younger you would not be so wary of me. Indeed, I am surprised that we did not meet, given that we shared a childhood in this very place. I remember your cousins well from my youth.’

  Annis smiled. ‘Everyone remembers Sibella, my lord.’

  ‘Of course! The incomparable Sibella Lafoy! My brother Ned was heartbroken that she preferred David Granger to him. But where were you, Lady Wycherley?’

  Annis looked away. ‘I was not brought up near here, my lord. My father was in the Navy and my family travelled a great deal. I visited Starbeck but rarely.’

  ‘I see. And when you were married? Did you live in London then, ma’am?’

  ‘No.’ For the life of her, Annis could not prevent a slight shiver. ‘We resided in Lyme Regis.’

  She turned away and made a business of looking for Lucy and Fanny in the crowds milling below. Both of them were firmly under Sibella’s supervision, though Fanny was still casting enticing glances over her shoulder at Lieutenant Greaves. Despite the fact that her attention was diverted, Annis could tell that Adam Ashwick was still watching her.

  His gaze was steady and perceptive. After a moment he said gently, ‘I am sorry. Have I said something wrong?’

  Annis looked back at him, then quickly away. There was no
coolness in those grey eyes now, only a searching look that was as disturbing as it was observant. She fidgeted with her fan.

  ‘No, not at all. Of course not! It is just…I am sorry…’ She floundered, hearing the arch brightness in her own tone. That would convince him of nothing other than the fact that she was disturbed by something. She sounded as socially inept as a schoolgirl. Taking a deep breath she looked him in the eye. ‘I beg your pardon. It is simply that I do not talk about my marriage.’

  ‘Why not? Were you very unhappy?’ Adam’s tone was soft.

  Annis blinked. She was not accustomed to such plain speaking, especially with a man who was virtually a stranger. Yet something in his own directness called an answering candour from her.

  ‘Yes, I was. Which is why I do not like to speak about it, sir.’

  She thought that he would let the matter drop, but Adam touched the back of her hand lightly. ‘I am sorry to hear it, ma’am. Forgive my impertinent questions. When I want to know something I tend to be blunt.’

  Annis forced a smile. ‘Please do not apologise, my lord.’ She frowned a little. ‘I am simply uncertain of how we come to be speaking on matters of such intimacy when we are barely acquainted.’

  Adam smiled at her. Annis watched the lines deepen about his eyes again and felt a strange pang deep inside her.

  ‘Natural affinity, I suppose,’ he said softly. He touched her hand again, the lightest of touches. ‘’I shall always be happy to speak with you on any matter you choose, Lady Wycherley.’

  ‘Annis!’

  Annis tore her gaze away from Adam and swung round abruptly. Charles Lafoy had returned to the box and he looked to be in a very bad temper. Annis suspected that this was due in part to the Misses Crossley, who were chattering like a pair of magpies as Sibella ushered them back to their seats, but it was also indubitably the result of finding her deep in conversation with Adam Ashwick. To her own annoyance, she felt herself blush.