Berkeley Square
London
Your Dearest Grace (Or might I call you Thomas now?)
I have spoken to Mother and she and I would like to know if we might take you up on your kind offer to visit Pemberton? My sister, Cordelia, Mother, and I would love to see our investment in action and propose coming for a long weekend at your convenience. There need be no fuss made over our coming. We live a simple life and expect no special treatment. Think of us as just a part of the family.
Thomas found that to be an interesting turn of phrase. What might she be hinting at?
At present we are at liberty to come at any time, so just drop us a note and we will accommodate your schedule.
If there is anything you need from London, please let me know and I shall happily be your errand lady.
I remember you saying we might not ride the racehorses, but might you and I find time to ride together while there? I should love to see the extent of your lovely Pemberton.
With all Gracious Wishes,
Prunella Alderman
Thomas could not help but notice her reference to getting to know the extent of Pemberton. No doubt she was sizing him up, to see if he might be a worthy marriage candidate. There seemed to be a calculating side to her that he had not seen before. Or, perhaps, he was reading more into her note than was intended.
He would need to consult with his Grandmamma before replying and he went up to her rooms and knocked.
Sithens answered the door and bade him enter.
“Ah, Thomas, you caught me at the perfect moment. I was just going down to see cook about putting up the raspberries in a delicious jam. You know how I love to turn my garden produce into tasty treats.”
“I do, as we enjoy eating them all winter long.”
“What have you there?” she asked seeing him holding a letter.
“This is what I have come about. It is a letter from Lady Alderman requesting a visit with her mother and sister at our convenience. She says it is to follow up on her investment, but I suspect what she really wants to do is size us up.”
Grandmamma chuckled. “And very wise of her I must say. After all, I am certain she does not want to marry a pig in a poke.”
“But do you not find it a bit calculating?”
“Why would that be? Are you not doing the same with her? Would there be any interest in her on your part if she were penniless?”
Thomas had to admit she did have a point. “Then you feel comfortable having her come for a visit?”
“Of course, my dear Thomas. As far as I am concerned she just might make the perfect duchess. And I shall be certain to spend some time with her so that we can get acquainted. I feel a woman’s perspective might help you make your decision.”
“Then I shall send her a note this afternoon,” he said, standing to leave.
“Oh, Thomas, did you not tell me the new horses were due today?”
“Yes, later. And I have to say, I am very excited. Now we can really get our business going.”
“But do you not still need to raise some capital?”
“We do, and I have not forgotten. However, we needed to buy these horses or lose them.”
“I shall be jam-making with cook this afternoon, but as soon as they arrive, let me know. I would very much like to see them and feed them each an apple.”
Wilcox needed to go almost directly to Gloucestershire to visit with Ralph and pay the first half of the money for the illicit shipment. However, he also needed to follow through with the Widow Monmouth. He could not afford to let her fall into Lord Linton’s grasp without a fight.
He knew that she was at home and receiving guests on Wednesday afternoons, so he decided to surprise her with a charming nosegay of violets.
Entering her salon for tea, he was surprised to see another gentleman seated across from her at the tea table.
“Lady Monmouth,” he said crossing to her. “I was passing by my favorite flower shop and saw these and thought of you.” He bowed and presented the nosegay to her.
“Oh, Lord Mowbray, how lovely, and how kind you are. This seems to be my day for flowers. Lord Linton also brought me that lovely bouquet.” She pointed to a large sumptuous flower arrangement that stood on the top of the piano that made his little offering seem quite insignificant. “You have met, have you not?”
“I have not had the pleasure,” Wilcox said, in a strangled voice.
“Lord Linton, Lord Mowbray… Mowbray… Linton,” she said waving her hand at them. “Tea, Mowbray?”
Wilcox scowled at Linton. The huge man was seated in his chair like he had outgrown it and needed to shed it to be comfortable. His complexion was sallow, his hands spotted, and he stared through his monocle as though he had just stumbled upon a corpse.
“Come join us,” Elizabeth said, patting his place at the table.
Wilcox reluctantly complied—his mind churning with how to deal with this situation. He was quite able to manipulate Elizabeth when she was alone, but he was uncertain how he would fare with Linton present.
Wilcox began, “Lord Linton, where is your seat?”
“Huh? I do not follow,” Linton replied.
“Your estate? Where do you live?”
“Ah… Kent. Coast. Near Margate. Cattle and sheep.”
“Gloucestershire. I am currently associated with shipping,” Wilcox added.
“Hmm,” Linton said and then went quiet.
Wilcox turned to Elizabeth. “I am on my way back to Gloucestershire for a spell. Business calls. And I was thinking, if you were free, you might want to come for a visit. I have a fine property and can offer some excellent riding. I could set up a few dinner parties, and you might want to visit the cathedral. A fine example of a Norman abbey church turned into a delicious gothic cathedral.”
“I may not consider a trip at the moment,” she said. “My responsibilities require my staying in London for the time being.”
“Another time perhaps.”
“Perhaps.”
Linton leaned forward as much as his paunch would allow and said, “I have a box for the opera on Thursday next, and I am putting together a little supper after. I would be so honored if you could attend both. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales shall be attending. And I believe he will be accompanied by her Highness, the Princess Wittlesbach.”
“How charming, I should love to attend.”
“As my escort, of course,” Linton added.
Elizabeth smiled and turned the crust of her sandwich over on her plate.
Wilcox could not compete with that. He had no recourse but to offer the most outrageous lie. “Oh, yes, Princess Wittlesbach. I understand she just returned from Bath. It seems she was being treated for a debilitating disease she contracted from some Russian Grand Duke or other in Heidelberg. But I understand she is only lightly scarred.” Elizabeth registered profound shock. Wilcox stood, and said with a bow, “Now, if you will excuse me, I really must be going. I have my weekly visit to comfort the poor orphans at Saint Catherine Labouré.” And with that, he bowed again and left.
Chapter 29
Thomas and George were ecstatic with their new horses. The day after they arrived at Pemberton, the two men spent the entire day with Barnstable examining every inch of the horses, making certain they were in the top of health. They then spent the rest of the day leading them around the training ring so that they could become familiar with their new surroundings.
Thomas and George stood leaning against the training ring’s fence, watching their four thoroughbred horses becoming acquainted near the end of the afternoon.
“Well, friend, here we are,” Thomas said. “We have the beginning of our stable and now all we need to do is raise the other thirty percent of the investment. Have you any wonderful new ideas?”
George considered. “I hate to say this, but I really believe Ralph is our best chance. He knows the proposal, and I believe he would have invested with us if it had not been for the interfere
nce of your uncle.”
“What do you think? Now that he knows about you and Helena marrying, might he reconsider?”
“I am afraid to say, I think not. He has accepted the marriage because he has no choice, but I know he is still not happy about it, and I know for certain he is still angry at you.”
Thomas sighed and then sucked in his breath. “Lady Alderman and her mother and sister will be coming for a visit soon. Perhaps they might have some other ideas of someone who might be interested. We have exhausted all of our other leads.”
George put his hand on Thomas’s shoulder. “Something will come along. At least we have enough to keep us going for now.”
“But time is running out to enter next season’s races. We need to be registered within the next month or two, and we need to be able to put up cash to do that. Cash we do not have.”
“And we must start thinking about finding a jockey,” George said. “That will be an expense which we will need to include in the other thirty percent.”
“Might not Barnstable serve as our jockey?”
“You must be joking. Take a look at him. He is far too old and too large to be an effective jockey. He is a magnificent trainer, but he could never be our jockey.”
Thomas remembered an encounter he had, not that long ago, and he realized he might know of the right person. But he was puzzled about how to approach the young man. “George, I think I might know of a local lad who could make our perfect jockey. But it is an errand you must take on.”
“Why is that?” George asked.
“The young man is Robert, Miss Jenny’s younger brother… and… well… it would not be appropriate for me to approach him… after…”
“After what, you dog?” George asked with a smile. “I thought you and Miss Jenny were on good terms. Did you not invite her to do the pastries for the ball?
“I did, but things might have become a little complicated between us.”
“Oh? And how is that?”
“We… I… was developing feelings for her. But my focus is now on Lady Alderman, and I must squelch those feelings for Jenny. Therefore, I do not believe I should be the one to approach her brother. If I ran into her again… well…”
George nodded in sympathy. “I do understand. And is this young man experienced with horses?”
“He is not, but he has expressed to me a passion for riding. And I thought that Barnstable could train him. He is small, slight of stature, and I believe would be perfect on a horse.”
“But is that what we want? Will we not need an experienced jockey?”
“He will be a great deal less expensive than a seasoned professional, George, and we have time to train him. We need to save every penny we can until we get the rest of our investment.”
“Then leave it to me. I will interview him and see if he is qualified and interested.”
Barnstable had just quartered the last horse, and he came over with the last set of tackle to store away.
He said, “It is time, Your Grace… We need to start work on the course. It is all well and good working in our small ring, but we need them to be stretching their legs on a half mile course.”
Thomas and George had already chosen the spot to build a dirt racing course. It was a level field that had been cleared of brush and small trees and was ready for workmen to start posting the fences and doing the final clearing and leveling of the track’s dirt surface.
Thomas turned to George and said, “Maybe tomorrow you can contact young Robert and sound him out, I will get the workmen started on the track, then we can meet up afterward and see what is next for us to do.”
George nodded. “And then we need to raise the rest of our investment.”
Now that George and Helena were no longer restricted to meeting secretly at her Aunt Rosemary’s, George was able to meet his fiancé at Springford Manor at any time. It was such a huge relief for Helena to anticipate Georgie’s appearance any morning or afternoon without clandestine notes for secret rendezvous.
Helena was working with her mother on the guest list for the wedding when Benton appeared and announced, “Miss Helena, your fiancé has arrived and wishes to see you. He is in the blue parlor, Miss.”
“Thank you, Benton.” She turned to her mother. “Can we continue this later?”
“Of course, dear,” her mother responded.
Helena ran to greet her dearest George.
“How lovely. I did not realize it was already tea time?” she said as she entered the parlor.
“I am actually on an errand and wanted to consult with you first.”
“Very well,” she said, sitting in a chair opposite him with her hands folded in her lap. “I am ready to be consulted,” she teased.
“I know Jenny is your very best friend—aside from me, of course.”
“Of course.”
“And Thomas and I are in need of a jockey.”
Helena howled with laughter. “And you are thinking of Jenny as a jockey?”
“You are being silly. Of course, not. We are thinking of her brother, Robert.”
“But he has never ridden anything that I know of. Why him?”
“Apparently, Thomas believes he is interested and can be trained, and well... we want to give the lad a break… and he will be a lot cheaper than a professional.”
Helena gave him a sour expression and shook her head.
“Not a good idea?” he asked, dubiously.
“I have no idea. But it seems like a complete long shot to me. Robert is working with the family in the bakery. Why would he want to just up and leave the family for a rather strange job?”
“Fame and fortune for one thing,” George said without a lot of conviction.
“Truly?
“Helena, like anything in life, there are no guarantees, but evidently the young man expressed an interest to Thomas at some point and now Thomas believes we should give him a chance.”
“Then why does Thomas not ask him?”
George leaned in as though he was to impart a great secret. “Apparently, Thomas and Jenny developed feelings for each other, and now that Thomas is courting Lady Alderman, he feels he must leave the task to me.”
Helena nodded. “So, he has admitted having feelings for her?”
“Apparently. In any case, he wants me to ask the lad.”
“And you are consulting me, why?”
“I am not quite certain how to go about this. Should I ask him directly? Should I speak first to his parents? Or maybe I should ask Jenny? You know the family so well—I thought you might be able to advise me.”
“Hmm,” Helena said, as she considered what might be the best approach.
“Of course, if you think we are on the wrong track altogether, then I should like to know that as well.”
“You know what? Perhaps it would be better to sound out Jenny first. She will know the best way to approach this if she thinks this will suit him.”
“But do you think Jenny might be hurt if her brother was to work for Thomas when she was unable to? I know it was her big dream to be a pastry cook in a great house.”
“I think Jenny is magnanimous enough to not stand in her brother’s way if she believes it will benefit him. Although, I cannot say it will not hurt her at some level.” She thought for a moment then asked, “Are you planning to go over there now?”
“That is my plan.”
“They should be finished at the bakery shortly. Let us have tea first. Then would you like me to accompany you?”
“What would that accomplish?” he asked.
“In case Jenny should need my support. I am not saying she will, but I would like to be available to her should she need me.”
“If you like. I came in the trap, so you will not need your horse.”
The bakery was already closed when the trap pulled up in front of the bakery.
Helena said, “Sometimes Jenny lingers in the bakery after they close the shop. Let us go in the back way and see if sh
e is still there.”
“I will secure the horse and join you,” George said jumping off the trap and helping Helena down.
Helena found the back door open and she went inside and called out, “Jenny? Jenny, are you still here?”
A Pure Lady for the Broken Duke_A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 22
