“I wonder if we could find out more about this duel? Someone else had to have known about it. Perhaps I’ll get another detective to look into it. The ton likes to gossip, but they do tend to protect their own so our best bet might be to try to find out if there was a doctor present.”
“’Pon my word! I don’t believe it. Jon, is that you?”
Jon turned in the direction of the voice to find himself being approached by a flamboyantly-dressed young man.
“Well, well, Teddy. I see that town life agrees with you,” he returned, rising from his seat, hand outstretched.
Teddy pumped his hand vigorously. “What has happened to unearth you from Oxford? I thought you were going to molder away in that stuffy old place. Don’t tell me you’ve finally decided to get a little town polish.”
“Actually I finally decided it was time for me to leave.”
Jon turned to Jay and introduced him. Jay stood and found himself shaking hands with a young man in his early twenties with bright gold hair that any matron would envy and shrewd gray eyes. He might look like a dandy with his brightly striped pink and yellow waistcoat over dark trousers, but there was an intelligence in his expression that stopped Jay short of writing him off as fluff.
“Lord Teddy Hartwell, Lord Thanet.”
“A pleasure, sir,” Teddy said genuinely.
“Hartwell? You wouldn’t by any chance be related to Gerald Hartwell, the Earl of Weston, would you?”
“My older brother. D’you know him?”
“I did. We were at school together for a while,” Jay replied. “He was a year older than I, but a year younger than my brother. How is he doing?”
“Fine, fine,” Teddy answered. “Got leg-shackled last year and settled into happy domesticity. Wife expecting their first child any day now.”
Jay groaned. “Makes me feel old, somehow.”
“Shouldn’t, y’know. Both very happy, just hope they don’t do something rash and name the baby after one of them.”
Another chair was brought up and Teddy joined them. “Why is that?” Jon asked as a waiter brought another glass.
“Brother’s name is Gerald, wife’s name is Geraldine—both grew up answering to Geri. A damned nuisance at family gatherings,” Teddy grumbled. “Oughta be a law against people marryin’ with the same or almost same name.”
“Interesting,” Jon agreed, splashing some brandy into the new glass and handing it to his friend.
The three spoke of mundane matters for a time, Teddy filling them in on the latest gossip, then Jay asked Teddy whether his brother had been in town at the same time as Aaron’s duel.
“Don’t know, but I’ll ask. Even if he wasn’t, still might have heard something. Of course, Mama might have heard something, too. She knows everything about everyone. A more interfering busybody you’d never want to meet, but if there’s something you want to know, she probably does.”
“Someone had to know with whom he dueled and why. There had to be seconds and a doctor,” Jon noted.
“Not necessarily,” Jay responded. “If they really wanted to keep it mum, they might have dispensed with any number of the normal accouterments. I would guess our nemesis, Roderick Milton, would have been Aaron’s second and maybe the only one.”
“Probably true. And, even if there was a doctor, and we could find him, he might not admit it,” Jon said. “I do remember Milton was the one who brought Aaron’s body home. The old man was never the same after that.”
“I thought you were away at school?”
Jon shook his head. “I couldn’t have been, now that I think of it. It was late summer, probably late August.” For a moment, Jon seemed to look backward, then he grinned. “Tina and I weren’t paying too much attention at the time—we were too busy spoiling Felicia, although Tina reacted strangely.”
Jay chuckled. “You did a good job.”
“About the only thing I’ve done well,” Jon commented wryly.
“Not true,” Teddy chimed in. He turned to Jay. “Was the best in the class at school. Could do anything.”
There was a long silence, then Jon leaned back in his chair and sighed, “Anything except protect my mother and sisters from Roderick Milton, that is.”
Jay wanted to ask what he meant about Tina reacting strangely, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Having seen her, he could imagine his brother would have been proud of her beauty. They would have been a perfect foil for each other—Aaron, tall and golden, while she was petite with lush, dark hair. The image plagued him.
In the three days since he’d returned to London, he’d relived again and again the scene in the dower house drawing room. But he dwelt less and less on what was said and more and more on remembering Tina—and memorizing her every move, gesture, and expression.
“You did what you could at the time,” Jay told Jon now. “But you cannot continue to dwell in the past. We will both ensure past mistakes are not repeated, and old debts are settled for good. Then we will move on.”
Chapter Four
“Maybe today?” Felicia asked as she took her seat opposite Tina at the table in the sunny breakfast parlor.
It was a rhetorical question. Every day since the marquis left two weeks ago, Felicia began each day with the same question.
And each day Tina answered, “Possibly,” because she didn’t know either.
She knew Felicia felt she’d ruined her chance to make a good impression on her brother, but Tina disabused her of that notion by explaining the conversation that had taken place after she stormed out. Tina had been surprised to learn Felicia suspected Mr. Milton of cheating them all along, but was frustrated because she could not prove it.
Picking up her teacup, she sipped the fragrant brew. Moving back into the main house and picking up the threads of their former lives had been easier than she thought, but not without some bumps.
The cook was a woman from the village who, upon learning that she and Felicia were returning to the house, declared she wouldn’t work for gypsies, then packed up and left. Thankfully, Martha was willing to step into the position, but it left her searching for a housekeeper as she’d planned on Martha taking that job.
Keyes had few recommendations for a replacement. Mr. Milton had caused enough trouble in the nearest village that few women were willing to work at the house. It was too bad, Tina reflected, that Mrs. Keyes had died a few years back, although the confusion might have been too much. That particular family had served the Collings family for so long there were a few in each establishment.
The staff treated her as mistress of the house, and she had to insist she be moved into her old room rather than one of the larger suites. She suspected Keyes thought she should have moved into the marchioness’ suite.
Wasn’t that what Papa promised? a voice in her head whispered. Despite Aaron’s death, everyone seemed to expect she was still to be the next marchioness.
Tina was not so naïve. She knew that while Jay’s appearance meant things were looking up for her and Felicia, it leant a new uncertainty to her situation. One she couldn’t ignore.
Her stepfather wanted her to marry one of his sons—it hadn’t seemed to matter which one, and because she was eager to please him, she had agreed. After all, Aaron spent most of his time in the city, so she would have had free reign at Thane Park, and Jay, well, his father hadn’t known whether he was even alive, so he promised the house and estate to her.
“What about Felicia?” she’d asked him once, but he waived away her concern.
“You will be the marchioness,” he told her. “Felicia will be well taken care of.”
But not everything worked to her stepfather’s order. Aaron died, and Jay returned. Now, she wondered if the betrothal agreement would come back to haunt her. It bothered her more than she would admit, even to herself. Almost as if it meant she had no choice. Of course, there was the rub—she didn’t have any choice if she wanted to be mistress of Thane Park. And she did want to be. It was, after all, what she had been bro
ught up to be. She sighed and looked up, noticing Felicia watching her expectantly. She blinked.
“You were daydreaming again,” came the accusation.
“I’m sorry, did you say something?”
“Madame said you need to have another fitting this morning. She told me not to let you forget it.”
“Oh.”
Another sign their lives had taken a turn for the better. A week after the marquis’ departure, a coach laden with Madame and her girls arrived. Sent by Jay and Jon, Tina was informed Madame had been hired to completely outfit them both with new wardrobes. Felicia had been ecstatic, Tina, wary.
“And who is paying for this?” she inquired.
“I was told ze marquis was responsible for ze young miss and ze earl was responsible for ze young lady,” Madame answered, as if expecting the question.
Tina relaxed upon learning Jon was paying for her wardrobe. She might have been more concerned had she known of the argument which ended with the compromise. Madame actually didn’t care who paid—she had been given carte blanche to dress the two young ladies and she intended to see it happen.
As it turned out, Madame was pleasantly surprised and delighted to dress two such lovely young women. She was also cautious. Both gentlemen warned her they would not pay for anything outrageous, and she had been warned that the young one was a bit wild and might need guidance. The older one, she discovered, was determined not to dip too deeply into what Madame was sure was a very deep pocket.
*
Tina endured her fitting later in the morning while mentally reviewing what still needed to be done. There were still two cottages needing new thatch, and she would have to look in on Mrs. Wills and her new baby. At least the Wills would still speak to her. She’d get Martha to pack a basket.
“M’lady, s’il vous plait?” Madame’s plaintive voice interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.
Tina looked down at the dress she was wearing. The shimmering aqua color of the overdress almost perfectly matched her eyes, and the underskirt, revealed by the scalloped edge, was trimmed with deep flounces of white lace. The off-the-shoulder bodice and white-lace bertha should have been indecent, but Madame assured her it was all the rage in London. Tina had never had anything quite so lovely before.
“And how is Felicia’s wardrobe coming?” she asked the modiste as she stepped down off the stool.
“All zat can be finished will be done by ze end of ze week, zen we will leave. Ze rest will be shipped as soon as possible.” Madame pursed her lips for a moment, then continued. “Ze young miss, she does not want a riding habit, but ze marquis said she must have one.”
Tina smiled. She knew the last thing Felicia wanted to do was ride like a demure miss, but she also knew it was necessary. And, she also knew just how to get Felicia to cooperate.
“Then you may tell her no more dresses will be finished until the habit is done. She has a few, so she will have to make do with them.”
After one of Madame’s girls helped her out of the aqua creation and back into her day dress of peach muslin—another new one—she added, “I will inform her brother of my decision. I think he will agree.”
Madame nodded.
Tina left the room and headed down to the kitchen. Martha beamed at her as she entered. “Luncheon will be ready shortly, my lady.”
“Lovely. Would you prepare a basket for me to take to Mrs. Wills and her new baby this afternoon? I will leave right after luncheon.”
“Of course, my lady. Would you like anything in particular in the basket?”
“Perhaps some bread, cheese, and a meat pie or two. And, if you can manage it, a couple of fruit tarts.” The cook nodded and turned back to chopping vegetables as Tina left.
Tina strolled back toward the front of the house, wondering as she went where Felicia had gotten to. Her thoughts reminded her she meant to ask the marquis about employing a finishing governess. It was time Felicia settled down to learning the basics required for entry into the ton. She was sixteen now and already clamoring for a season. Although Tina had taught her sister all she knew, she’d never had a season and did not know all the ins and outs of such an undertaking. And, because they had no close relatives on whom to depend—she was sure her paternal grandmother would not even acknowledge them, much less help them—they would have to hire someone. Perhaps she should write to the marquis and ask him to contact an agency, provided he didn’t return within the next day or two.
Glancing into the drawing room, she noted it was empty and sighed again. Where had Felicia gone now? The luncheon gong sounded and she headed for the dining room. Felicia entered through the front door as she was crossing the foyer. Dressed in a sunny yellow day dress, Tina smiled at the bright picture she made. With her dark hair tied back with a ribbon the same color as her dress, Felicia looked every bit the demure young miss Tina knew she was not.
Over luncheon, Tina told Felicia of her decision regarding her wardrobe and the finishing governess. As she expected, Felicia was not happy regarding the habit and Tina steeled herself for another explosion of temper.
“I don’t see why I have to wear a habit and ride sidesaddle just to please a brother who I only laid eyes on recently,” she grumbled.
“Perhaps it’s because he specifically requested you have one. Or,” Tina persisted, “perhaps it’s because he is aware you cannot ride astride in London.”
“And why not? It’s perfectly sensible. Everyone should ride astride.” Felicia argued.
Tina smiled in response. “Maybe someday you will start a new fashion. Until then, you will have to live within the confines of the current fashion which requires women to wear habits and ride sidesaddle.”
Felicia continued to complain, but Tina knew the habit would be ordered. The subject of a finishing governess, however, was a different matter.
“Why would I want some old harridan making my life miserable under the guise of teaching me manners?”
“What makes you think she’d make your life miserable?”
“She wouldn’t let me ride Midnight,” Felicia declared, “or help Martha in the kitchen, or go fishing with Mick, or help Ella with her babies, or…”
“Felicia!” Tina cut short her list. “She’s to come and help you, not lock you in your room.”
“And how do you know that?”
Tina rolled her eyes heavenward for forbearance, then fixed Felicia with a hard look. “Do you really think Jon or I would employ someone we knew would be unkind to you?”
Felicia had the grace to look sheepish. “I know you wouldn’t deliberately, but suppose she’s nice to you but not so nice to me?”
Tina wondered where Felicia dredged up such imaginings. “You would just have to tell me, then, wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose.”
Tina watched her sister push her food around her plate. Finally, she put down her fork and asked, “Felicia, what’s wrong? You have finally gotten rid of Mr. Milton, your brother has returned, we’ve moved back into the house, and it looks like you’re going to get your season. So, why aren’t you happy?”
Felicia put down her fork and looked up with a sigh. “I suppose it’s because I know things are beginning to change and I’m not sure I want them to after all.”
Tina sipped from her water glass. “So you want Mr. Milton back?”
“Of course not! Of all the things that have started to change, that’s the only one I would not want reversed.”
“Only that?” Tina teased. “You mean you really don’t want any new gowns, after all?”
Felicia made a very unladylike sound of annoyance. “Of course I want new gowns. We both need them. That’s not at all what I meant.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I—I’m not sure I can. I just have this feeling things are going to change even more than any of us could have anticipated.”
“And your part in all this will be…?”
Felicia let out a very large sigh. �
��If I knew, I wouldn’t be so worried.”
Having no answer, Tina resumed her meal, giving herself time to think. Maybe she just didn’t understand, but they still had to make a decision.
“So, what do you want to do about preparing yourself for a season?” Tina asked again. “You know I’d love to be able to help you through it, but I don’t really know all that is necessary.”
Felicia toyed with the stem of her water glass. “I thought maybe,” she hesitated, concentrating on the liquid in the glass, then continued in a low voice, “maybe I could go to a young ladies’ academy.”
If Felicia had declared that she was going to fly, Tina wouldn’t have been more astounded. She wanted to go away?
“It would be the same as hiring a finishing governess,” she rushed on, “but I’d just be somewhere else. You wouldn’t have to find someone who we all like, and maybe I’d make some friends my own age, and I promise to be really good. I’d even leave my breeches at home. I wouldn’t—”
“Felicia!” Tina interrupted the stream of words. “Felicia, are you serious?”
Momentarily silenced by Tina’s exclamation, Felicia merely nodded.
“And when did this idea surface?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but before Jay returned, I just didn’t think it was a possibility.” She rushed on before Tina could speak again. “Oh, Tina, I know everyone around here thinks of me as a undisciplined hoyden and worse. I suppose I have just let them all think that because it hurt so much otherwise, but I really want to learn to be like the other girls. I know I read too much, and riding on Midnight in breeches scandalizes and scares everyone in the area, but I can learn to be proper, so I don’t embarrass you, or Jon, or Jay when I finally make my come-out.”
Tina sat and listened. It never occurred to her that Felicia was so wild and defiant because she was hiding behind a wall of hurt. The pain in her sister’s voice brought home to Tina just how much the last few years had changed her carefree little sister and she wondered why she hadn’t noticed it.
She had been so busy trying to keep them afloat, she had neglected Felicia terribly. There had been so many other problems, she hadn’t taken the time to see Felicia longed for something more. And the isolation they experienced hadn’t helped. How had she missed seeing her grow up?
The Gypsy Legacy: Marquis Page 6
