Courting Lord Dorney

by Sally James

  The next morning, wearing a walking dress she’d acquired in Harrogate, Bella sallied forth with Jane. Mary followed to carry the parcels. The dress was of a delicate primrose shade, with deeper gold ribbons at the high waist and gold Spanish embroidery round the hem and the edges of the short puffed sleeves. With it she wore a poke bonnet of the same colour, again trimmed with gold ribbons, brown sandals and elbow length gloves in a supple leather. Jane was still wearing half-mourning for her husband’s cousin, and had on a gown in a pretty shade of lavender trimmed with dark grey braid.

  Much as Bella would have liked to wear one of the necklaces from India, she bowed to Jane’s advice that it would look crude.

  ‘Save the jewels for evening, and even then, if you don’t want to cause comment, you should wear very simple styles. Remember you’re not a wealthy young lady.’

  Jane having decided it was now time to abandon her mourning for a man she’d never met, they spent two absorbing hours selecting materials, bonnets and gloves, shoes and fans, and arranging for the dress lengths to be made up in the latest modes. Then they strolled towards the Upper Rooms where Jane signed the subscription book, and on towards the Pump Room.

  ‘I don’t think I’ll drink the water,’ Bella said thoughtfully. ‘Let’s just listen to the music rather than sample that.’

  They had almost reached the doors when Mary, who had been casting anxious glances behind her for some time, turned to try and shoo away a small, scruffy looking mongrel trailing after them.

  ‘I wonder if the poor animal’s lost?’ Jane said doubtfully. ‘I noticed him outside the Assembly Rooms.’

  ‘He looks as if he’s been lost for some time,’ Bella commented. ‘See how thin he is, poor little scrap.’

  ‘What should we do?’

  Bella’s reply was lost in a sudden flurry of excited yapping, as a mincing poodle escaped from the leash held negligently by a small, dandified man, and rushed in to attack the stray.

  Mary stepped hurriedly backwards out of the way for the mongrel, although only half the size of the poodle and in much worse condition, was not prepared to suffer the indignity of being chased off by a pampered, coiffured, scented monster, however much larger it was.

  ‘Beau! Come here at once, sir! Heel! Stop it, I say. Oh, do listen to me, you wretched animal!’

  The dandy was hovering several yards away from the fracas, helplessly wringing his hands, while a quizzing glass danced unheeded on the end of a black velvet ribbon, and a cane slid from his nerveless grasp onto the ground. He was ejaculating feeble commands in a progressively weakening voice.

  ‘Use your cane! For heaven’s sake hit him!’ Bella exclaimed.

  ‘Hit him? Hit Beau?’ the dandy almost screamed at her. ‘He’s never been hit in his life!’

  ‘He might have better manners now if he had!’ Bella retorted sharply, and before he could prevent her she picked up the cane and turned towards the dogs.

  They were growling ferociously as they circled and nipped each other in an attempt to find a grip.

  The stray was weakening, though still game, but as the poodle went for his unprotected neck Bella brought the cane down sharply.

  The poodle yelped, turned to face this new attack, and snarled as he gathered himself to spring at Bella.

  Mary screamed as the dog hurled himself forwards, but Bella calmly thwacked the poodle across his nose. With another yelp, this time of real pain rather than surprise, the poodle decided he’d had enough and took off at speed in the direction of the river.

  Jane laughed. ‘Oh, Bella! You attract trouble!’

  ‘How dare you!’ The dandy was spluttering from surprise and uncontrollable fury. ‘How dare you attack Beau? A highly strung, delicate animal like that! He’ll be lost! I paid a great deal for him! I’ll make you pay for your interference, madam!’

  ‘Don’t be such a tedious fool! He’ll find his way home when he’s hungry!’ Bella snapped, tossing the cane towards him and not looking up from where she crouched beside the mongrel.

  ‘Are you hurt, ma’am?’ a new voice intervened, and Bella glanced up to find another man bent over her.

  Her eyes seemed unable to move, and she did not reply. He was a little above average height. Broad shouldered and narrow hipped, he wore his discreetly elegant clothes easily. The thought went through her mind that he looked far more distinguished than the overdressed fop she had clashed with.

  He was as dark as Bella herself, with short hair dressed in a carefully casual style. His eyes were a brilliant blue, wide apart and piercing. His mouth, lips curved in amusement, was - here Bella forced her errant thoughts to change direction.

  ‘Your hand!’ the newcomer said, reaching down to lift it from the head of the mongrel, which she had been stroking soothingly. ‘There’s blood on it. Were you bitten?’

  ‘Miss Bella! Are you hurt?’ Mary demanded urgently, trying to pull Bella to her feet.

  ‘What? Oh, the blood. No, of course not, I wasn’t near enough. It’s this poor little fellow, that wretched poodle must have bitten his shoulder. Look, there’s a tear and his leg obviously hurts him, see how he’s holding it.’

  ‘You’ve driven my dog away, beating him so viciously. If he’s lost or injured you’ll pay for it!’ The dandy was still hovering on the fringe of the little group.

  Bella was trembling, but she scrambled hastily to her feet, cradling the mongrel in her arms, and turned angrily on the dandy.

  ‘I think it would be more to the point if you paid for your careless folly in letting that undisciplined, vicious brute attack this poor creature who was doing nothing at all to provoke him!’

  ‘That miserable object? Who cares about him? He looks as though no one’s claimed him for months. My dog is exceedingly valuable!’

  ‘It’s precisely because he’s a poor, miserable object and clearly no one has cared about for a very long time that he deserves consideration now, sir! Your pampered brute should be shot! All pampered, ill-tempered fribbles should be shot!’ she added, flashing a contemptuous glance over him, from his red-heeled shoes, skinny legs encased in skin-tight pantaloons, and violet waistcoat beneath a deeper purple coat.

  He spluttered in indignation, but Bella paid no heed. She heard a stifled laugh behind her as she stalked away towards Pulteney Bridge, Jane beside her, and the mongrel nestling contentedly in her arms, licking his wounds and occasionally the face of his rescuer.

  Mary, apprehensive, caught up with her.

  ‘Miss Bella, I thought he’d have apoplexy!’ she gasped. ‘I wonder who on earth he was?’

  ‘A nonentity who tries to make up for nature’s mistakes by causing himself to be a spectacle,’ a deep, musical voice answered. ‘Ma’am, pray let me carry the animal for you. He must be quite heavy despite his deplorable condition.’

  Before Bella could reply the dog was lifted from her arms. It was the man who’d spoken before. After a brief moment of wariness the dog decided to accept this new arrangement and relaxed.

  She looked up at the man beside her. Her head came only to his shoulder, and the thought came to her that it would be a very comforting shoulder to lean against, should she ever be in need of comfort.

  ‘What do you intend to do with him?’ he asked.

  ‘I’d better take him home. Just until his wounds have healed. Perhaps Mrs Dawes knows of someone who wants a dog?’

  ‘I doubt you’ll get rid of him now,’ the stranger prophesied, laughing. ‘Perhaps we ought to introduce ourselves. I’m Richard Yates, at your service.’

  ‘I’m Bella, that is, Isabella Collins. And my cousin, Lady Hodder. I’m most grateful for your assistance, sir. Jane, I wonder if Mrs Dawes likes dogs?’

  * * * *

  Alexander Yates lived with his mother and two younger sisters in a small house on the London Road. When his cousin appeared he came into the hallway as the footmen was opening the door, and tried to hustle him into the small room his father had used as a library.

&n
bsp; ‘Alex, have patience! I must pay my respects to Aunt Emma before we can talk.’

  Alex grinned ruefully. ‘Sorry, Richard, but I’ve been waiting so long to talk to you.’

  ‘Two weeks since I had your letter! Hardly a lifetime. And I understand that the lady of your heart will not be in Bath for a few days yet?’

  He followed the footman up to the drawing room where his aunt, the widow of his father’s younger brother, sat near the window with some embroidery on her lap. She glanced at the footman and sighed. Lord Dorney had no difficulty in interpreting that sigh. She maintained that she could not afford a butler, and the footman was less than six feet tall, and his calves were less impressive than the calves of her wealthier friends’ footmen. Despite his own monetary difficulties, his aunt frequently wondered why he was not willing to assist her to move to a better part of the town, and employ more servants. The truth was different. She was miserly and resented spending money.

  ‘Well, Richard, it’s been a long time since you deigned to visit your poor relations,’ she said now. ‘You may kiss me.’

  He bent down and brushed her cheek with his lips. He’d been in Bath three months ago, but knew better than to argue with his aunt. She positively enjoyed complaining about her grievances, and she had a multitude of them. He wondered how Alex and his sisters could endure living with her. One day, one hour, was enough for him.

  ‘I’m here now. I trust I find you well?’

  She launched at once into a catalogue of her aches and pains, the snubs and slights she had received, and the disgraceful behaviour of tradesmen who did nothing but cheat honest customers. Lord Dorney exchanged a wry glance with Alexander. Eventually they escaped and Alexander led the way downstairs, letting out a huge sigh as he did so.

  ‘Why don’t you take rooms in London?’ Lord Dorney asked abruptly. ‘You can afford it. She has her jointure, and you’re not nearly so poor as she pretends.’

  ‘I can’t leave Fanny and Anna to bear all her ill humours all the time,’ Alexander said, sighing. ‘As it is I’m away more than she likes.’

  ‘I honour you for it. Most young men would have fled long ago. But what will happen when you marry? Could you subject your bride to her constant complaints?’

  ‘That’s what I need to talk to you about. I wondered, that is, I hoped, you would allow me to rent Dorney Court from you, when I marry Felicity. That is, if she accepts me, I haven’t actually asked her yet. Mama could move into the Dower House. She’s often said she’d like to live in the country. Then I’d still be near enough to look after her.’

  Lord Dorney frowned. ‘Alex, I need somewhere to live myself. I’ve sold almost all the property my mother left me, apart from Fellside, which I hope I’ll sell soon, and a couple of houses in Highgate Village, which are let out. I only have the hunting box, and the town house is let. I may dislike what Selina has done with Dorney Court, but I used to love the place, and will no doubt appreciate it again when it’s restored. It’s my only proper home.’

  ‘Are you planning to marry?’ Alex asked swiftly.

  ‘After Robert’s experience of marriage, do you think I’m in a hurry to tie the knot?’

  ‘You’ll change your mind when you meet the right girl,’ Alexander said, and Lord Dorney marvelled at the optimistic confidence of youth.

  ‘Perhaps,’ he said. ‘You can have the dower house, but I don’t think Felicity would care to share it with your mother. And what of your sisters? They are still young, they no doubt wish to marry, if only to escape from your mother. They’d have far less opportunity of meeting suitable men if they were living in the country. Dorney Court is isolated, there isn’t much society nearby.’

  Alexander sighed. ‘I know. But I can’t bring Felicity here. My mother would soon drive her to distraction. I can afford to buy a small house in Bath just for us, so that we could live separately, but not one in the country too, and Felicity likes the country.’

  ‘You can come to Dorney Court whenever you wish. I won’t object, and you can invite friends at any time. But if you ask your mother to stay, give me good warning and I will have urgent business in London! Now, when am I going to meet Felicity?

  ‘In a day or so, I hope. She is away with an elderly aunt at the moment, but she and her sister, Lady Andrews, will be returning home soon. Their parents are dead, and she lives with Lady Andrews in Lansdowne Road. I wanted you to meet her before I declared myself.’

  Lord Dorney grinned. ‘You don’t need my permission. But if I don’t approve? Will you abandon her?’

  ‘No! Of course not! Oh, Richard, you know I want your approval, but I don’t need your permission!’

  ‘They for your sake I hope I find her as attractive as you clearly do.’

  * * * *

  Bella stood behind the curtains of the drawing room staring at the retreating back of the exceedingly handsome Richard Yates.

  ‘How attractive he is!’ she said to Jane. ‘There was no one nearly so good-looking at Harrogate. Did you see the way his hair curled over his ears? And his eyes, the lashes were as long as a girl’s. And his mouth was so well-shaped!’ She sighed. ‘He doesn’t need padding on his shoulders! Not like some of the fops I met in Harrogate. I wonder if he’s married?’

  ‘Bella!’ Jane was shocked. ‘You surely can’t imagine you’ve fallen in love with the first presentable man you meet?’

  ‘He’s not the first presentable man I’ve met,’ Bella argued. ‘There were some even more handsome in Harrogate, even if I didn’t like them. And I didn’t say I’d fallen in love with him. I only wondered if he was married.’

  ‘Then you must have been considering him as a husband, and I thought you wanted to marry for love?’ Jane countered swiftly.

  ‘Well, of course I’m considering every reasonable man as a husband,’ Bella changed tack slightly. ‘That’s why we came to Bath. It would be a ridiculous waste of time and effort getting to know someone who was already married, or falling in love with them.’

  ‘Yes, but one doesn’t normally talk about it quite so frankly!’

  ‘That’s a great deal of time wasted too, hinting and pretending not to be interested, when really it’s all most girls and their mamas ever do think about.’

  Jane abandoned the argument. Much as she often deplored her young cousin’s outspoken views, when she stopped to consider the matter she had to acknowledge Bella spoke a good deal of sense, and it was only the conventions of society which made such frankness unacceptable.

  ‘He’ll almost certainly be in the Pump Room tomorrow morning,’ Bella said slowly, ‘and we’ll soon discover all about him. It was a pity he wouldn’t come in. And fortunate Lizy took a fancy to the dog.’

  ‘Yes, she’ll soon have him looking sleek and fit, she and Mrs Dawes won’t be mean with the scraps. And then what will you do with him?’

  Bella looked speculatively at her. Jane knew that look and took a deep breath, ready to reject Bella’s next plan.

  ‘Perhaps Mrs Dawes knows someone who wants a dog,’ Bella said, but without much hope.

  ‘Lizy asked her, and she doesn’t,’ Jane squashed that hope.

  ‘Oh. Well, we’ll be here for some weeks,’ Bella said in a dismissive tone.

  ‘And the dog will get more attached to you. What will happen when I have to go to London and you go home?’

  ‘I can’t take him back to Trahearne House. Papa’s old Blackie won’t permit any other animal in the house,’ Bella said slowly. ‘Jane, you ought to have a dog. Don’t you think he’d be company for you, while Philip’s away?’

  ‘No, I don’t!’ Jane spoke with unusual determination. ‘I already have those two cats you saved from drowning, because Blackie practically ate one of them. You’d have liked me to have little Jed, and I almost had to take the terrier you found in the woods, the one with a broken paw, who’d been caught in a trap, except that he was run over by a chaise.’

  ‘Poor little thing! That wretched coachman was driving too
fast and the poor lame animal couldn’t get out of the way in time. Do you think some dogs are more likely to have accidents than others?’

  ‘I don’t know, and you’re changing the subject. What are you going to do with this one?’ Jane demanded severely.

  ‘Jane, wouldn’t you really like a dog to take for walks?’ Bella asked wistfully. ‘He’d be company for you, and he’d love it in the country.’

  ‘No, I don’t need more company, so one of the qualities you’d better insist on for your future husband is a boundless love of stray animals!’

  ‘Mr Richard Yates got on with him very well, he seemed to know exactly what to do to make the dog trust him. We can’t keep calling him the dog. He’ll have to have a name.’

  ‘Ask Mr Yates for suggestions. Go and change out of that filthy gown then come and look at these fashion plates. We must choose some more patterns ready for the dressmaker. She’s coming this afternoon. Do you think this riding habit with the epaulettes and the tall hat looks too military? And do you like the braiding on the bodice of this walking dress?’

  Chapter 4

  They spent the rest of the day discussing the latest fashions, arranging with the dressmaker which gowns she would make first, settling into the house, and before dinner strolling with the dog round Sydney Gardens. Bella looked eagerly about her in the hope of seeing her cavalier, but the only men in the Gardens were elderly, infirm, or in obvious attendance on other young ladies. Later she retired to bed, weaving secret, hopeful plans, for despite her reluctance to admit it to Jane she had found him amazingly attractive. Could she, plain, plump, dumpy Bella Trahearne, ever hope to attach such a man? She vowed to herself to do all in her power towards that aim.

  On the following morning she urged Jane out early, despite the latter’s protests that a fashionable man would be unlikely to stir at such an impossible hour. To Bella’s chagrin Jane was proved right, and the only inhabitants of the Pump Room were elderly invalids and their companions.