‘So my Papa often says, ma’am,’ answered Alethea, glancing covertly around the room as she wondered when Devenish would return, and how she could possibly face him. ‘But as for my plight, it was really all my own fault. I was warned that a storm was brewing and not to go far. Indeed, I didn’t intend to, but I rode into the wood for shade, and then lost my way, having been so foolish as to dispense with the services of a groom.’
‘Well, one can’t put old heads on young shoulders, they say; and a very good thing, too, for only think how odd they would look there! I dare say you’ll have come to no harm, for you don’t look a sickly child — quite the reverse, in fact. And in case anyone should be anxious about you at Roxeth Place, I’ve sent a message round to reassure them. James will take you back in the carriage presently, when you are sufficiently rested.’
‘Oh, no!’ exclaimed Alethea, involuntarily. Then, fearing that this sounded uncivil, she added hastily, ‘There is really no occasion for Sir James to put himself to so much trouble, ma’am. I can very well go home on Dulcetta, since I see it has quite stopped raining now and the sun is coming out again.’
‘And no doubt lose your way once more!’ laughed Lady Carteret. ‘No, you had far better go in the carriage, and one of the grooms can take the mare.’
‘But I assure you, ma’am, that I can’t possibly lose myself this time, for I shall keep to the road, and it is no distance at all,’ persisted Alethea.
‘Well, you must argue the matter with my grandson, for he seems determined to take you back, and I have long since ceased to attempt to tell him what he must do.’ Her shrewd eyes, so like Devenish’s, searched Alethea’s face and saw the embarrassment there. ‘What can he have been at to give you a disinclination for his company?’ she asked with a laugh.
Alethea blushed faintly. ‘It’s only that I don’t wish to put him to any more trouble on my behalf. He has been to enough already — I feel such a nuisance —’
‘You need not, James rarely does anything that he doesn’t wish to do. Not that I would have you think him selfish —’ She broke off, and her face lit with the fond smile common to grandmothers when speaking of their descendants. ‘He’s not near such a cold fish as he would have people suppose. He came into his independence young, and he’s a dandy, of course, just as his father and grandfather before him — the Devenishes were always men of fashion. But there’s more to him than that, as few people realise. At Oxford he was considered quite a prodigious classical scholar, but he was possessed of too lively a temperament to suit the donnish men. In him, the talents are oddly mixed; more so than in most men, who are content to be either one thing or the other.’ She sighed. ‘And then, of course, there is that quirky sense of humour, which I understand so well because he inherits it from my late husband. Altogether, his is a character which could well be misinterpreted. But there!’ She reached out a hand and rested it lightly on Alethea’s for a moment. ‘I feel I am prosing on in the most boring way about my grandson — a habit of elderly females. Pray forgive me, my dear. Can I offer you some more tea?’
Alethea declined the tea and would have attempted some answer to the rest of the speech, but just then Beau Devenish came into the room. He had changed his damp riding dress for a well-cut coat of light blue over a blue and white striped waistcoat and fawn breeches. She looked up at him, and it was as though a flame sprang up inside her. She quickly removed her gaze to the tea table, and kept it there.
Lady Carteret offered him tea, but he refused and seemed disinclined for conversation; so presently she said that perhaps she ought not to detain Alethea.
‘I shall see you tomorrow evening at Lady Middleham’s,’ she said, as she took Alethea’s hand in parting. ‘Pray give her my compliments. I trust that she hasn’t been made anxious about you, and that you yourself may feel no ill effects.’
Alethea thanked her for her kindness, and went with Devenish to the waiting carriage. During the short drive to Roxeth Place, they had little to say to one another. Once she attempted to thank him, but he dismissed the subject. When they arrived at the house, he escorted her to the door but refused her invitation to enter.
‘Take better care of yourself,’ he counselled, as they parted, ‘for the future.’
He sounded as though he really meant this, thought Alethea, as the door closed upon him. Was it possible — could it be that —? But she shut her mind resolutely to speculation which could only add to her present emotional upheaval.
Chapter XIX
Lydia was still in the doldrums on the following day. Even the prospect of an evening party which would be attended by several unattached young men, failed to raise her spirits. She kept complaining to Alethea that she was bored to death with Roxeth Place, with country society generally and with herself most of all.
‘I can’t wait to get back to Town,’ she concluded, after her second long diatribe in this vein. ‘Life here is beyond anything dreary — I only wonder that Eleanor can endure it!’
‘You seemed to be enduring it tolerably well before Mr Allerton returned to London,’ retorted Alethea, whose patience was understandably wearing a bit thin.
‘Why, yes, of course I did! Vivyan is exactly the kind of company I am used to, and most enjoy.’
‘And isn’t Sir James Devenish in that category?’ asked Alethea, forcing herself to speak the name.
Lydia pursed her lips. ‘Well, yes, in a way. But he and I are finished — you are the one he is paying attention to now, for the moment at any rate. But, anyway, one cannot compare him to Vivyan, who is the soul of sincerity.’
‘You think Sir James could never be sincere?’
‘Not he! He has such an odious quizzing sense of humour! Even when he’s flirting with one, and paying the most extravagant compliments, somehow one can never quite believe in them. Indeed, I always have the oddest feeling that he is all the time laughing at me! It’s not altogether comfortable, I assure you, and I’m not at all sorry to be quit of him. But Vivyan —’ her face softened — ‘Oh, he’s quite different.’
Alethea considered her cousin thoughtfully. ‘I wonder, Lydia, if you don’t perhaps mistake your interest in Mr Allerton.’
‘Mistake? What can you mean?’
‘It’s none of my business, of course; but I think you believe yourself to be merely indulging in a flirtation with him, do you not?’
Lydia studied her fingernails for a moment in silence. ‘Well — yes —’
‘Forgive me,’ said Alethea, quietly, ‘but — are you quite sure that you’re not more deeply involved? During the time we’ve been together, I’ve come to know you fairly well, and it does seem to me that he means more to you than any other gentleman whom I’ve seen in your company.’
There was no sound in the room for several minutes but the ticking of the ormolu clock on the mantelshelf. Lydia sat perfectly still, staring into space.
Suddenly the tears were falling down her face.
‘Oh, what can I do, Alethea?’
Alethea shook her head. ‘I can’t advise you, my dear. You’re the best judge of how matters stand.’
‘Mama!’ sobbed Lydia. ‘And Bedwyn! It’s true what Mama says, it would be a splendid match — I would like to be a Duchess — well, who wouldn’t, pray? But — but — Vivyan —’
Her grief exploded on the final word. She buried her face in her hands while sobs shook her whole body. Alethea rose quickly and went over to her, putting an arm about her shoulders.
‘There, there,’ she soothed. ‘You mustn’t upset yourself so. Only wait until you feel calmer, and then you can perhaps consider what it is you most want.’
Lydia made no reply, but clung to her cousin until the storm of weeping was over. Then she began to dry her eyes.
‘Tell me what you would do in my place,’ she asked, tremulously.
‘I can only suppose what I’d do if I were still myself, and I don’t think that would help you very much. We’re such very different people.’
‘I expect you�
�ll say that you would refuse Bedwyn and marry Vivyan,’ said Lydia, half defiantly.
‘If I truly loved Mr Allerton, yes. It wouldn’t cross my mind to accept anyone else. But then I’m not you, and I’ve never wished to be a Duchess, nor make a brilliant match. So how can I possibly say how you ought to act?’
‘You’re always so rational, Alethea! Don’t you ever find yourself in a turmoil, pulled this way and that by conflicting feelings, so that for the life of you, you can’t tell what you should do?’
‘Not very often, thank goodness, though I suppose everyone does at some time or another. But I have a profound distrust of taking any important decision when one is in a highly emotional state, so the only advice I will give you is to defer yours for a little while.’
Lydia nodded, and no more was said between them on the subject. Alethea reflected wryly that, if only Lydia had known it, her own emotions were in a scarcely less chaotic state than her cousin’s. She found herself at once dreading and longing for the inevitable meeting with Beau Devenish at the party that evening.
In the event, there seemed to be very little opportunity for private conversation between them. About twenty people were present, judiciously mixed as to age and sex. After dinner was over, the older members of the party played cards while the younger ones entertained themselves with conversation, music and an impromptu country dance.
During the meal, Devenish had been seated at some distance from Alethea, and, after it was over, he seemed in no hurry to seek her company. When they did chance to be together for a few moments from time to time, he had nothing to say that was in any way personal. He made no reference to yesterday’s encounter beyond expressing a hope that her health was none the worse for it, and conveying a similar message from Lady Carteret. Not once did he make any attempt to pay her one of his lighthearted compliments, or flirt with her in the old way. Alethea tried to tell herself that his changed conduct was a great relief to her; but she was too honest to succeed in this, and had to acknowledge her disappointment. Yesterday, they had seemed to be so close. She had wanted that new intimacy and understanding to continue and ripen. Her heart sank as she realised the full implications of this desire. It seemed she was in no better plight than Lydia.
She had too much pride to let anyone else suspect her feelings, however, and a lifelong habit of self-control helped her to mask them. She chatted pleasantly to the rest of the party, took her turn at the pianoforte and joined in the dancing with as much zest as anyone present. Once when she was being partnered by an agreeable young man who had shown her a certain amount of attention throughout the evening, she noticed Devenish’s eye upon her. He was frowning; but as soon as he saw that her head was turned in his direction, he looked away, addressing some remark to the young lady with whom he was dancing at that moment. He did not once partner Alethea; but this might have been due to the impromptu nature of the dancing, with every man leading in whichever young lady happened to be nearest to him at the time.
Alethea was relieved to see that Lydia seemed to have thrown off her despondent mood and throughout the evening had been ready to smile on every gentleman who showed a tendency to admire her. As usual, there were several of these, and it was some time before Devenish came close enough to her to exchange a few words.
‘When do you return to Town?’ she asked him.
‘Tomorrow. I collect you and Miss Newnham leave here on the following day?’
She nodded. ‘And not a day too soon for me, I assure you! Indeed, I wish we could return tomorrow, too, but Mama would not hear of Sunday travelling, of course.’
‘No, it’s only for unregenerate characters like myself,’ he agreed, with a lazy smile. ‘But don’t you care for a country life, Miss Lydia? The beauties of nature leave you unmoved? I suppose that is because you have beauty enough in your own person.’
‘Humbug!’ She could not resist giving him an arch smile, though the old conviction was lacking. ‘Don’t think to take me in, sir, with your compliments! You have no eyes for me nowadays — it is my cousin to whom you should be addressing such remarks!’
‘To your cousin — Miss Newnham, do you mean?’
‘What other cousins have I present, pray? You know quite well whom I mean, so it’s of no use to dissemble.’
‘Alas,’ he drawled, ‘I fear my poor compliments give scant pleasure to Miss Newnham. She will have none of them.’
‘And who is to blame for that, pray? The reason isn’t far to seek — she knows very well how little you mean what you say!’
‘Our acquaintance is so slight that Miss Newnham cannot know anything of me at all.’
‘Don’t depend upon that, sir!’ She fluttered her fan at him in reproof. ‘We poor females must look out for ourselves, you know, where you scheming gentlemen are concerned; and there are plenty of us to warn her what an odiously wretched flirt you are, and how little to be believed!’
His smile lingered as though fixed. ‘I see. Do I collect that you have already given your cousin such a warning?’
‘Why, of course! I should be totally lacking in all family feeling did I allow her to become an easy prey to one of the most accomplished philanderers in Town! I could never forgive myself!’
‘How very thoughtful of you, Miss Lydia. And I make no doubt that you show a similar compassion towards your own victims?’ There was a hint of steel behind the indolent charm of his voice. ‘You would always make it quite clear to them that you were not in earnest, and it was all a game?’
She could scarcely mistake his meaning. Two spots of colour showed in her cheeks.
‘Bah!’ she exclaimed disdainfully. ‘What an odious wretch you can be at times!’
He bowed. ‘As you say, ma’am. And I suppose that being so, I cannot persuade you to stand up with me in this next dance?’
‘Certainly not — in any case, I promised it to Mr Mainwaring. See, here he comes. Not that one needs to preserve strict etiquette at a scrambling affair such as this,’ she added, to give point to her rejection of him.
His smile widened, showing genuine amusement.
‘No, only when it chances to suit one’s inclinations,’ he agreed, affably.
She made no answer to this, but turned her sweetest smile on Mr Mainwaring, who promptly led her into the set that was forming. Devenish did his duty by another young lady who wished to take part; but from time to time his glance flickered towards the pianoforte, where Alethea was taking her turn at providing the music. So she had been warned off him, had she? It was something he might have expected, and perhaps it accounted in part for his total lack of success in getting up a flirtation with her. But that failure no longer rankled, for now his ambitions had changed.
Chapter XX
Eleanor saw the two girls off on Monday with many expressions of regret for the shortness of their visit.
‘You must come again after my confinement,’ she said to Lydia. ‘I can’t tell you how much good it has done me to have you here — I was feeling so downcast and dreary, and now I’m quite in spirits again! You, too, Alethea — next time you need a change from Somerset, pray do come and spend a few weeks with us. Dulcetta and the children will miss you sadly, too.’
‘Well, for my part,’ said Lydia to her cousin, as they settled themselves in the coach and set off for the road to London, ‘I shan’t be in a hurry to return to Harrow. I like to see Eleanor now and then, of course, but a few days of the country lasts me for a very long time. It will be better when she can come up to Town to pay us a visit.’
‘But I fail to see what is so very different about life in your sister’s home,’ objected Alethea. ‘We were entertained in much the same way as we would have been in London — evening parties and the like. We even had the company of two gentlemen from among your London acquaintances.’
Lydia frowned. ‘Yes, that’s the one thing that worries me, Alethea. If Mama should discover that Vivyan was there, there will be serious trouble, for she sent me away on purpose to separ
ate us, as you well know. Do you think you could possibly avoid mentioning his name? Or Devenish’s, too, come to think of it, for if we speak of him it will lead on naturally to Vivyan.’
Alethea looked dubious. ‘I’m such an unconvincing liar,’ she protested. ‘And, in any event, won’t your sister write and tell my Aunt all about it? Unless you swore her to secrecy, of course.’
‘No such thing! To do that would have been to invite her to tell Mama the whole! No, I am hoping that she won’t write for a day or two, and perhaps by then it won’t very much matter. Mama may have something else to think about.’
‘You mean perhaps the preparations for the ball on Thursday?’
‘Not precisely the preparations, but I was thinking of the ball. You know Bedwyn is to be present.’ She paused a moment, then added, ‘If I play my cards aright I can most likely bring him to a declaration. After that, Mama is not going to worry about Vivyan any more.’
Alethea considered her cousin thoughtfully. ‘I see. Does this mean that you have decided to accept the Duke?’
Lydia raised her chin defiantly. ‘Yes. I followed your advice, Alethea, and waited until I felt rational enough to weigh one thing against another. And it came to me at the party last night that all I needed to keep me content was to have plenty of admirers around me and to be a lady of consequence. Another thing, Bedwyn is quite old, you know and may leave me a rich widow before long.’
‘It’s melancholy indeed to think that you’re looking forward to being a widow before you’re a wife,’ said Alethea. ‘Are you quite sure that you can face the interim period with equanimity?’
‘Why not? Lots of girls marry men whom they scarce know or even like — men chosen for them by their parents. It seems to answer well enough for them, so why not for me?’
‘What about your sister Caroline? Would you say a marriage of convenience has answered for her?’
Lydia shrugged. ‘Caro’s was not near such a brilliant match as mine would be. Besides, her case was different — she was madly in love with another man when she was persuaded to accept Fothergill.’
The Beau and the Bluestocking: Romantic intrigue in Regency London Page 14
