by Gayle Buck
“Oh, yes. I am never ill,” said Lady Eustace cheerfully. Lady Alverley introduced her granddaughters. “This is my eldest granddaughter, Miss Sarah Sommers, and this is Miss Margaret.”
Lady Eustace looked up at the younger ladies as they also politely shook hands. “How like your mother you both look! Though she was quite fair, fairer than you, Miss Margaret, you have both inherited the shape of her lovely eyes and her delightful profile.”
“Then you knew our mother?” asked Sarah, surprised.
“Quite well. Pray sit down and make yourselves at ease,” said Lady Eustace. She waited until Lady Alverley and her granddaughters had seated themselves before she continued. “I was already wed when Annabelle Alverley came out. She was barely seventeen and I was already a matron with two lively toddlers, so one might assume that there was too much of a gulf between us. But we became friends, of sorts. Do you recall, Lady Alverley?”
“Indeed. You and my daughter were often in one another’s company,” said Lady Alverley with a polite smile.
Lady Eustace easily read the questions in Sarah and Margaret’s eyes that they were too polite to utter. She laughed and lightly touched her covered knees. “I was not as you see me now, of course. The hunting accident that robbed me of my mobility happened many years later. In those days, however, I danced and rode better than most. That was the real tie between Annabelle and myself. We enjoyed the same activities. She had few equals on the dance floor or in the fields on a hunter, did she, my lady?”
“No; no, she did not,” said Lady Alverley in a somewhat strangled voice.
Lady Eustace looked swiftly at Lady Alverley and quick concern touched her face. She reached out to squeeze her ladyship’s gloved hand. “Forgive me, Lady Alverley. I did not realize that such happy memories would bring pain to you.”
Lady Alverley stiffened her carriage. “You need not apologize, my lady. I am perfectly all right, I assure you. I had forgotten so much and had not realized—”
Lady Eustace nodded. She picked up a silver bell from the occasional table that was next to her chair and rang it. “I have been terribly remiss. I have yet to offer refreshments to you. Allow me to do so now.”
A door opened and two footmen entered, bearing trays. A lavish tea was spread before the ladies, and in a few minutes they were sipping tea and had accepted several biscuits and small cakes. Lady Eustace took only a cup of tea, laced generously with cream. She easily led the conversation in general topics, making inquiries about what the Season had in store for Lady Alverley’s granddaughters.
Lady Alverley responded to her hostess’s polite queries. Soon her ladyship was describing the many delightful plans that she had made for Sarah and Margaret, which included a grand ball, presentation at Court, and their debut at Almack’s. “I have already procured the vouchers for Almack’s, which you will no doubt understand has pleased me very much.”
“Oh, yes, I can see how it must have,” said Lady Eustace. “You are beforehand with the world. Most of our young misses are not so fortunate to begin the Season so situated.”
Lady Alverley accepted the compliment with a smile. “I am beginning with just a small gathering, of course, just to see how they go on. Naturally I do not anticipate any difficulty, for Sarah and Margaret are well brought up due to the influence of a superior governess. However, I should like them to gain a measure of confidence in company before I fully launch them.”
“Of course. That is very understandable. I have often thought it such a shame that so many of our young misses are simply thrown into society without having the advantage of getting their feet wet first. You are wise, my lady,” said Lady Eustace. Lady Alverley bestowed a gratified nod on her, and Lady Eustace turned to her other two guests. “And what are your thoughts on all of this. Miss Sommers, Miss Margaret? I suppose that it must all seem to be rather overwhelming at this point.”
“We have not had much leisure to think about it, my lady, and perhaps that is just as well,” said Sarah with a smile. “Miss Hanson has taken us shopping and subjected us to measurings and fittings ever since we first arrived, while Grandmama has taken us with her when she makes her calls.”
“And we ride most mornings with Mrs. Jeffries,” said Margaret, nodding. “So we have already become very busy.”
“And do you like this new schedule?” asked Lady Eustace.
“I like it very much. I am very happy to have to come up to London,” said Margaret with bright eyes.
“And I, also,” said Sarah. “Grandmama has been everything that is kind to us.”
Lady Eustace chuckled. “I am glad for you, my dear. Lady Alverley, they are delightful.”
“Thank you, Lady Eustace.” Lady Alverley looked proud. “I have already enjoyed having them with me.”
The door opened. Lord Eustace stepped in, but paused with his hand still on the doorknob. “May I join you, ma’am, or is it a private party?” he asked with a smile.
Sarah had hoped that Lord Eustace would be taking tea with them. When they had arrived and she had seen that he was not present, she had been disappointed. Now she felt an upsurge of gladness. His lordship was such a kind gentleman. It was a pleasure to see him again, naturally.
At her son’s query, Lady Eustace at once held out her hand. “Gil! Of course you may join us. You do not mind, Lady Alverley, I hope?”
“Of course not,” said Lady Alverley, smiling.
“Thank you, my lady,” said Lord Eustace, closing the door and going over to salute his mother. He took her hand and bent down to kiss her cheek. “You appear delightfully, ma’am. Is it a new cap?”
Lady Eustace put her hand up to the scrap of lace on her hair. “You have noticed! How sweet of you, my dear! Yes, it is new. I had Martha purchase it for me only yesterday.”
“Very fetching,” said Lord Eustace approvingly.
Lady Eustace turned a laughing countenance toward her guests. There was a hint of pink in her cheeks. “You see how I am blessed in my son. He is quick to flatter me and pay just the sort of attentions to me that every lady prefers.”
“You are fortunate, indeed, my lady,” said Lady Alverley. She bestowed a nod on Lord Eustace as he turned from greeting his mother and took her own hand. “My lord, it is always a pleasure. I must always bear you a debt of gratitude for coming in so timely a fashion to the aid of my granddaughters.”
“I did only what anyone would have done, my lady,” said Lord Eustace easily. He turned to greet Sarah and Margaret. They were seated together on a settee. “I need not ask how you are, for it is evident that you are both in great beauty.”
Sarah blushed. “Thank you, my lord.”
Margaret flashed a bright-eyed smile at him. “Yes, thank you, Lord Eustace! You are quite one of our favorite acquaintances, for you have such divine manners.”
Lord Eustace laughed, while his mother hid a smile behind her hand. “I think that I have had my compliment rather neatly returned to me,” he commented.
“Margaret is wonderfully forthright, as you can see,” said Lady Alverley smoothly. “She speaks but the truth, however. Lord Eustace has become a favorite of us all. I trust that we shall be seeing more of you in the future, my lord.”
Lord Eustace pulled a wingback chair near the gathering, so that he was seated between his mother and the two sisters.
“Certainly you shall, my lady. I was telling my mother at breakfast of the delightful outing that my sister and I have planned to Astley’s Circus. She was naturally very much in favor of my invitation to Miss Sommers and Miss Margaret.”
“Yes, indeed,” said Lady Eustace with a smiling glance toward the younger ladies. “I well recall how one can take the greatest delight in the simplest of entertainments. I was never more surprised—I mean, glad to hear that my son had decided to take my advice. I have urged Gilbert often lately to mingle with a livelier set, for he has grown too preoccupied with my concerns.”
“Nonsense, ma’am. You know that I enjoy looking out fo
r your interests,” said Lord Eustace. He looked around at Lady Alverley and her granddaughters. “You probably do not know, for my mother does not like to exalt herself. My mother is a benefactress to several orphanages.”
“No, I was not aware,” said Lady Alverley, obviously surprised.
“But how admirable!” exclaimed Sarah.
“Thank you, my dear. I find it to be extremely satisfying,” said Lady Eustace. She waved her hand around the beautifully furnished boudoir. “I am very comfortably cared for, as you can see. Since the accident, I have had much time to reflect and to read things about our world to which I previously had not paid much attention. Oh, one gathers impressions about things, of course. But one really does not know what is happening until one has the time to look around. I discovered that I did not like myself very well, for my life did not seem to count for much.”
“That is not true,” said Lord Eustace quickly.
Lady Eustace reached out and briefly squeezed his hand. “You are biased. I have told you so. Regardless, my feelings were quite the opposite. So I decided to involve myself in orphanages and providing schooling and training for the poor children who have been left to fend for themselves all over this city.”
Lady Alverley was regarding her hostess with an open mouth. She seemed to have been struck speechless. Margaret also was looking at Lady Eustace with wide eyes.
“Are there a great number of such children, ma’am?” asked Sarah.
Lady Eustace nodded. “Regretfully, yes. So many have lost their fathers in the war and some arc castoffs from families that are simply too poor to care for them. I am associated with several orphanages now, some in the city proper and some that have been established in the country. It is my hope that with proper food and shelter and training, these poor creatures will be able to better themselves, and to find employment when it is time.”
“But surely—” Lady Alverley shook her head. “Forgive me, Lady Eustace, but it seems to me that it is a rather... daunting project. You cannot hope to save every dirty street urchin, surely. And those whom you do befriend, shall they not turn against all that you have attempted to do for them and return to the very squalor that bred them? It is breeding that tells in the end, is it not?”
“God willing, I trust and hope that Christian charity will overcome such disadvantages, my lady,” said Lady Eustace, smiling. She reached out to her son again, lightly touching his sleeve. “I owe much of my present contentment to my son. He has been my faithful deputy in all ways.”
“Indeed!” said Lady Alverley on a note of astonishment.
“I do not take to myself all of the glory. My mother’s man-of-business handles all of the myriad details that are associated with such charities, but I occasionally visit the orphanages to be certain that all is being done as it should be. In fact, that is where I was headed when I came across the accident to your granddaughters’ coach, my lady,” said Lord Eustace.
Sarah thoughtfully regarded his lordship. She did not think that she would be surprised to discover that he had downplayed his role in governing Lady Eustace’s charities. She liked him the better for it, appreciating his innate modesty.
“Your previous engagement! That is why you could not stay to dine with us,” said Margaret.
Lord Eustace suddenly met Sarah’s gaze. “Precisely, Miss Margaret,” he agreed.
Sarah smiled at him. She recalled very well that Lord Eustace had been taken aback by Margaret’s innocuous invitation and that he had obviously understood her own attempt to shield her sister from possible censure. It was kind of him now not to reveal the particulars of that dinner invitation, for certainly Lady Alverley, at least, would be horrified to know how free Margaret’s conduct had been.
“Have you and Mary decided upon a firm date to take my grandsons to Astley’s Circus?” asked Lady Eustace.
“Indeed, we have. Has my sister yet contacted you, Lady Alverley?” said Lord Eustace.
“There was a very pretty note from Lady Frobisher in this morning’s post,” said Lady Alverley, nodding. “Lady Frobisher mentioned Tuesday next, I believe.”
Lord Eustace nodded. “I hope that is agreeable, my lady?”
“Quite,” said Lady Alverley, smiling at him. “Sarah and Margaret will be delighted to join your party that afternoon.”
“Oh, yes! I shall look forward to nothing else all week!” exclaimed Margaret.
Sarah chuckled, her hazel eyes gleaming with fun. “Why, Margaret, how is this? I thought you had any number of things that you wished to do this week?”
“Well, perhaps only half as much,” amended Margaret.
Everyone else laughed, while Margaret good-naturedly shook her head, not minding at all. Lady Eustace addressed Margaret. “After you have been, you must be sure to come to visit me again, for I shall want to hear all about everything.”
“Oh, I shall do so indeed, my lady,” said Margaret promptly. “I promise you! You are such a gracious lady that I know that I shall feel very comfortable in talking with you again.”
“You are a good, kind girl,” said Lady Eustace.
“Indeed, she is,” agreed Lady Alverley, throwing a pleased glance at her youngest granddaughter.
While the other ladies talked, Lord Eustace had turned to Sarah. “I know that you do not look forward to the outing with the same enthusiasm as your sister, Miss Sommers. I hope that you will not be too bored.”
“I do not think that I shall be, my lord,” said Sarah, a little surprised by his statement. “I am very willing to be amused, I assure you.”
Lord Eustace smiled. “My sister expressed some concern to me that I was dragging you into what is, after all, a juvenile party. I described you to her as a young lady of good understanding and that put her into a quake. She hopes that you will not find it too dull to be obliged to spend an afternoon with her children.”
“I hope that I am not so starched-up that I cannot enjoy myself in whatever company I find myself, my lord!” exclaimed Sarah, laughing.
“You relieve my mind, Miss Sommers,” said Lord Eustace.
“But now I have been put in a quake, my lord,” said Sarah, twinkling at him. “What will Lady Frobisher expect of me?”
“My sister is excessively good-natured, as is her husband, Lord Frobisher. They are very much devoted to one another and to their children. I don’t think that you need fear anything from their hands, Miss Sommers,” said Lord Eustace reassuringly.
“I am already predisposed to like them,” said Sarah.
Lord Eustace gave a slight bow from the waist. “And you will be well received by them, I assure you.”
A moment later Lady Alverley announced that it was time to take their leave of Lady Eustace. “I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, my lady,” she said, giving her hand to her hostess.
“I am glad. Come back at any time, my lady. And you, also, Margaret, Sarah! You will always be welcome,” said Lady Eustace.
When the leave-takings were done, Lord Eustace offered to escort Lady Alverley and her granddaughters to the door. “Thank you, my lord. That is exceedingly kind,” said Lady Alverley.
When they emerged from the town house, Lord Eustace himself helped all of them up into Lady Alverley’s carriage. As the carriage rolled away, Lady Alverley said, “Well, I thought that went very well. Lady Eustace is charming, though I thought she has grown to be a bit odd, too. However, I understand it often happens thus with recluses and invalids.”
“Why, what do you mean? I found Lady Eustace to be quite interesting,” said Sarah.
“And I, also. It is such a wonderful thing that her ladyship is attempting to do,” said Margaret.
“That is precisely what I meant when I said that Lady Eustace has become a bit odd,” said Lady Alverley. “No one in their right mind spends literally a fortune on such charities! Why, it is absurd! What can one gain from it?”
“Obviously her ladyship enjoys the satisfaction of helping others,” said Sarah.
Lady Alverley shook her head. “Ridiculous! In my opinion, Lady Eustace is casting away her substance to no good purpose.”
“Why, don’t you believe in helping the poor, Grandmama?” asked Margaret, astonished.
“Of course I do. But there must be limits, my dear,” said Lady Alverley. “Individuals of our class have no business indulging such fanatical ideals. I am surprised that Lord Eustace so readily accepts his mother’s folly.”
“Would it be more acceptable if Lady Frobisher were to gamble away her fortune?” asked Sarah.
Lady Alverley narrowed her eyes, regarding her eldest granddaughter with a cold gaze. “That was both impertinent and stupid, Sarah. I believe that I have made perfectly clear my views on wasting one’s fortune away with excessive gambling. This is not the same thing at all.”
“It was fortunate that Lord Eustace came in. He was extremely obliging,” said Margaret hurriedly.
Lady Alverley’s attention was nicely diverted. Her ladyship nodded with sudden complacency. “Nothing could have exceeded his lordship’s civility. What was Lord Eustace saying to you toward the last, Sarah?”
“He merely wanted to assure me that Lady Frobisher was anticipating our inclusion into her party,” said Sarah.
Lady Alverley gave an amused smile. “Whatever may have been said to the contrary, I believe that this whole expedition was dreamed up by Lord Eustace. You cannot convince me that such an elegant gentleman has the least interest in spending an afternoon at Astley’s unless he has other thoughts in mind.”
“However that may be, ma’am, I am persuaded that Margaret and I shall enjoy ourselves famously,” said Sarah.
* * *
Chapter 8
Sarah liked Lady Frobisher on first meeting her. Lady Frobisher was a young matron in her early twenties, fashionably dressed in an azure-blue pelisse trimmed with ermine fur. A large upstanding velvet bonnet framed a pretty face and an inquisitive gaze. She came into the drawing room, escorted by her brother, and followed by her nanny and two small boys.
Sarah stared at the little boys in amazement. They were twins, each blond with large gray eyes and merry expressions, about three or four years old. They were dressed alike in belted smocks and pantaloons, and as far as Sarah could tell, there was not a distinguishing feature between them.
