Alicia left at the end of ball with Lady Sophia and Sir Anthony pleased no-one had introduced her to the Duke and his magnificent son. As she sat in the carriage returning home she deplored the skill of Weston’s tailoring because the form fitting garments that had covered the Marquis, had made it all too easy for her to remember the details of the glorious golden body they encased.
Chapter Seven
The Wynstanley carriage left a little earlier than the Chalcombes because Edward had been delayed by the Duke of Langsdown, who wanted to bring up a matter that was to be discussed in the House. They spent some time arguing how it should be dealt with and then the Duke asked.
“What was all that with Sir Cecil Clarence, Chalcombe? I know he’s an idiot and a blot, but it’s a bit much to give a chap the cut for.”
“It’s really Sir Anthony’s story but I’ll try to explain. Sir Anthony was named trustee to Miss Alicia Lambert who is Colonel Sir Charles Lambert’s only child. Sir Cecil married the widow and until recently Alicia lived on his estate. After the death of her mother he left Alicia to act as unpaid housekeeper, governess to her half-sisters and for the last three years as agent to the estate while he enjoyed town life. He made no attempt to contact her trustees, but it is possible the idiot didn’t know and he couldn’t be bothered to bring her into society. Sir Anthony admitted he’d forgotten all about the girl. Then Clarence married Lady Clarissa and took her back to his estate, without even informing Alicia.”
“I remember Colonel Charles fondly, he was a good sort. I guess Lady Clarissa cut up pretty rough?”
“That’s putting it mildly; the pair of them cooked up a scheme to marry Alicia to Lord Emmersley. Alicia refused to agree, but they had the banns read without her consent. Threatened to starve her into agreeing and told her he’d turn her out, if she didn’t marry Emmersley.”
“William Emmersley? He was at school with me and a nasty bully he was then. I should think she refused, he’s buried three wives and they led a dog’s life. So what did Alicia do?”
“She fled to her Aunt, Lady Maud Prestyne who contacted Sir Anthony. The girl knew nothing about her inheritance, so believed she was a pauper and was thinking of hiring herself out as a governess. Anyway she has a respectable dowry. She sent for her father’s man, who had been their head groom, to bring Sir Charles’s books which had been left to her, and her pony. Lady Maud insisted he also demand her mother’s jewels given her by Sir Charles. Lady Clarissa threw a screaming fit over losing them, but Alicia’s man threatened them with the magistrates over their attempt to force Alicia into marriage and they eventually handed them over. Sir Cecil cannot legally justify his actions as he was not even her legal guardian.”
“I take it all back. You and Wynstanley did absolutely correctly. Sir Cecil’s behaviour has not been that of a gentleman. I shall cut him myself. I assume Lady Wynstanley is bringing Miss Lambert out?”
“Yes, Alicia’s a lovely girl, no trouble at all. Rides well and very well informed. Madelaine is very taken with her. Not a beauty but very pleasant company. She has been making a habit of thrashing me at chess.”
Lady Madelaine who had been talking to Lady Wroxham came over and joined her husband, taking his arm. Sebastian, who been waiting for the Duke to finish conversing followed her over and the Duke introduced his son to the Chalcombes.
“Farndon, you’re Beau Farndon’s brother?”
“Peter was handsome. I heard he had gained that sobriquet.”
“It seems a bit misplaced, now having seen his brother. Peter was a real neck or nothing, great fellow! He called on us when he got back from France and stayed for a couple of days. He’ll be much missed.”
“You couldn’t call the present Marquis, Beau, Edward,” Madelaine said cheekily to her husband. “Belle might be more suitable.”
Sebastian chuckled at Edward’s horrified face as he tried to apologize for his wife’s insult.
“I have been called worse, there’s no need for an apology. But the adjective is an understatement of your own beauty, Milady,” he said with a flourishing bow in the French manner to Lady Madelaine flashing an impish grin. Turning back to Edward he continued, “I’ve seen you at Gentleman Jackson’s, Chalcombe. I’m not quite up to your weight, but I’d like to risk a bout some time. All this easy living in town is getting me out of condition. I fear I shall get fat and my tailor will start moaning.”
Madelaine giggled at the thought of the charming Marquis getting fat or of Weston daring to complain.
“Fencing is a better all-round exercise than boxing, Lord Farndon,” she suggested.
“I do fence, I’ve been taking lessons at Senor Vargez’s but I don’t seem to be improving. He tells me I fence wonderfully, that I am the best of his pupils, but I doubt I’d have much chance if it came to fighting in earnest. I believe your father, the Comte de Morlaix was quite a duellist in his youth. I was disappointed to hear he is in France, or I would have asked him to teach me.”
“I don’t understand why you should need to learn to fight, Sebastian. It is not as if you are in the army and duels are outlawed,” his father stated.
“I don’t know why father, but I have a feeling it would be a good idea to improve my swordsmanship. I’ve found it sensible to follow my feelings.”
As the instinct of the Vernons was something even the Duke admitted to, he said no more. Peter was an example of one family member who was believed to have had the Devil’s own luck at least in battle, but certainly not at the card table.
“I’m sure the Duke and Farndon can keep a confidence. Madelaine was taught by her father. She still beats me regularly with a foil, though with a sabre I can make use of brute strength. Reckon you could teach the Marquis to fight, Madelaine?”
“He moves well on the dance floor, but he sees me as a woman, Edward. I wouldn’t want you getting jealous. Show me your wrists, Sir please.”
The Marquis held out his hands and she gripped his hands and twisted hard.
“Your right wrist is quite flexible, but you have little strength in your left.”
“Why should it matter?”
“If your opponent pinks your right arm, do you intend to lie back as he delivers the coup de grace or will you pick up your sword and fight on? My father is nearly as good with his left as with his right arm. It saved his life several times. I think I can teach you. My father taught me buttons off. It concentrates the mind wonderfully. Don’t worry I won’t pink your pretty face. Do you suffer from the English vice?”
“Madelaine, what kind of question is that to ask? Besides I’ve never heard the English had any vices that the French don’t also have.”
“Milady is asking whether I like being beaten, whether I enjoy experiencing pain. The French believe the English upper classes are thrashed so much at school they learn to enjoy it. The answer is no, Madame. I was only beaten once at school and I didn’t like it much. I’m afraid I was rather good at school. I left as head boy, magna cum laude.”
“What were you beaten for?” Madelaine asked intrigued.
“I was beaten for doing Peter’s Greek homework for him.”
“But Peter was two years ahead of you in school!” protested his father.
“And I was four years ahead of him in every subject, father. When I left school I was offered a scholarship at Cambridge, but I told them to give it to someone who couldn’t afford the fees. I believe Julian Creighton was awarded it. My college offered me a Fellowship before I left, but I declined. Apparently when I was approached by the Foreign Office, they asked the Dean for a recommendation to their best student who had also taken modern languages. My name was put forward by him as Sebastian Vernon. I was offered the position before they realised I was your son, but they saw the title as a bonus.”
“Why did you never tell me any of this, Sebastian? I would have been so proud!”
“I tried to tell you when I was made head boy, but it was just after mother died and you had no time for me. I hoped you
would come to my leaving presentation, because you came to Peter’s. You were forever complaining to Peter about his school reports, but I don’t think you ever bothered to read mine.”
“I’m sorry son. Peter was always in some kind of trouble, I assumed because there were no complaints about you that you were doing all right. I never realised you were so gifted. What did you think of the girls on offer, did any of them take your fancy? I though young Lady Jane seemed a charming young lady. She looked like she had plenty of conversation.”
“Lady Jane? She engaged to point out the failings of the other girls I’d danced with in quite salacious detail. She was amusing, but her voice grates and some of her remarks were vicious. I doubt I would enjoy being married to her. As for the other girls, they were all playing off their airs, trying to lead me on. Two of them tried to drag me off to the terrace and one to the library. They don’t need chaperones, I do. As for the past it doesn’t matter I always knew I was the spare. I just felt it might be time you realised I am not the brainless idiot, you think I am. I spoke to Lord Liverpool myself and told him he was mistaken that I wanted to return to the Diplomatic Corps and to call off the pursuit. I doubt it will have any effect.”
“I think I might have misunderstood what you did for them. Lord Liverpool suggested your services were indispensable. He said you could not be replaced.”
“I was involved in a lot of confidential negotiations, but I doubt that is why they want me back.”
“Why are they so determined to get you back?”
“It is not a matter I can talk about openly. I’ll tell you some other time.”
Taking their leave of the Wroxhams they departed to their carriages, Madelaine having first invited Sebastian to a lesson on the following afternoon.
Chapter Eight
Alicia woke later the following morning than usual. She rose and dressed in her new dark green riding habit. Sally was surprised to be called so early but brought her hot water and a cup of chocolate which was all she fancied consuming. Downstairs she discovered half a dozen bouquets had been delivered from five of the young men she had danced with at the ball and one from Captain Redgrave. She sent a request to Greenways to saddle Siren, and asked Lady Sophia’s housekeeper for vases for the flowers. Speedily arranging the flowers tastefully while she waited, she displayed them in the drawing room and dining room, slipping the cards into her reticule.
Alicia rode off towards Green Park with Greenways.
“How did things go at the ball last night, did you enjoy yourself, Miss?” he asked.
“It went really well, I danced every dance and there are six bouquets of flowers which have been left for me. The Clarences came, she wore a wine dress with so many trimmings she could have stocked a shop. But the Wynstanleys and the Chalcombes cut them and so did a lot of other people. They were totally humiliated. In the end Cecil led Clarissa away and she was practically in tears. I almost felt sorry for them, Greenways.”
Greenways guffawed at the news of the Clarences’ embarrassment. Feeling she was a little unsettled, he wondered if something besides Sir Cecil and Clarissa had upset her. Alicia was not certain if Lady Madelaine would be meeting her, because of the late night and their usual time to ride was an hour earlier. Lady Madelaine did not appear, but they were joined by Lord McKinlay, Captain Redgrave and another military gentleman whom she had danced with the night before whose name was Major Alexander Mallinder. She had received flowers from both of the officers and thanked them prettily for their bouquets.
Alicia thought after Lord Edward Chalcombe, Major Mallinder had been the most accomplished dancer of her partners. He was charming and darkly handsome she supposed, however his elegant dancing and person had paled in comparison to that of Sebastian Vernon. The Duke’s son had outshone all the other men in Alicia’s eyes. They might have been fireflies blotted out by the glare of the sun. Her male admirers rode alongside paying her outrageous compliments. Greenways rode vigilantly behind, pleased his mistress was having fun, as she glowed with the gentlemen’s flattering attentions.
He liked Captain Redgrave and thought he seemed a decent man. He did not believe Lord McKinlay’s flirtation with Alicia was anything to worry about. He thought he knew his mistress better than think she might fall for his amiable buffoonery. He was however, not sure about this Major Mallinder. There was something about his handsome face, Greenways found to dislike. His memory itched, trying to locate a memory, something to do with his name Mallinder. It might be another man, but it was not a common name. Greenways thought he might ask some old army comrades about Major Mallinder. His polished compliments seemed a little too forced for his taste.
Whether Greenways would have worried more or less, if he realised how little notice his mistress was paying to the gentlemen’s compliments, for her eyes and mind were on another gentleman who was riding on the far side of the park, on the back of a golden brown stallion. Greenways had noticed the horse and had jealously admired its points. He approved how the handsome blond man handled the spirited animal, as he chatted pleasantly to an exquisite older lady riding beside him.
Lord McKinlay noticed Sebastian’s entrance into the park too. He would have hailed him, but he could hardly acknowledge the ‘Incomparable Miranda’ while in Miss Lambert’s presence. He would rib Sebastian about reviving his old romance, when he got him alone and tease him about the entry in Brook’s gaming book which recorded the odds on which debutante would hook him. He had not placed a bet himself, but he doubted any of the leading contenders would manage to snare him. He had seen Sebastian show no interest in any of the ton’s acclaimed toasts. His friend had always had excellent taste in women, but he thought he would want something different from a wife than he had in his mistresses.
Lord Stephen would wait before laying down his blunt. He thought Sebastian’s choice of bride would be a surprise to most of society. Unlike most of the ton, Stephen knew Sebastian was not just a pretty face. The acuity of his mind and the insight with which he summed up his contemporaries Stephen had long envied. He would watch and wait to see how the cards fell before venturing an opinion. For the matter of his own bride he was thinking Miss Lambert might do very well. Not a true beauty, but she had apparently done a great job managing Clarence’s estates and had given him excellent advice on running his own. His mother had indicated she would approve the match.
Alicia’s dowry might be only moderate, but there was the rumour Lady Prestyne would leave her fortune to her. If that was true, then none of the young ladies on town had better expectations. He might be in with a chance as he made Alicia laugh, although Mallinder seemed to be determined to catch her interest. The ladies seemed to like Mallinder and Stephen acknowledged he had polished manners and danced well. However he did not think Miss Lambert seemed on the point of falling for his manifold charms. She seemed to be only half listening to what he was talking about.
Then Lord Stephen noticed her eyes flickering off in the direction of the Marquis, who had taken his leave of the lady he had ridden with. So that was how the wind blew! That was all to the good, if Miss Lambert had a crush on Sebastian, she would not be taken in by Mallinder’s charms. It was unlikely Sebastian would notice Alicia. When she realised she had no chance with the Marquis, he would be the amusing friend whose shoulder was available to cry on. He would try to become her friend and bide his time. He had no pressing debts and did not exactly need a fortune, but he found nothing in Alicia to dislike and Lady Prestyne’s wealth was certainly a prospect worth considering.
The other men had been ahead of him in sending her flowers, but Stephen remembered overhearing her grumbling to Lady Madelaine that a mathematics text she was interested in was out of print. He was sure he had a copy in his own library. It was not a usual interest for a young lady, but then Miss Lambert clearly had an intellect above most of the crop. He had only been a moderate student, but for once having taken science and mathematics with his degree might come in useful. He would gift wrap the book
and invite her to one of the lectures of the Royal Society and make a push to encourage her intellectual pursuits. Stephen was surprised to find he was looking forward to the prospect. He liked Alicia and would try to be a good husband, if he was lucky enough to win her. Even if he failed he thought she was a woman he would like to keep as a friend.
Alicia’s days were packed and she threw herself into making the most of her time in town. Every evening there were parties to attend. She was much pursued. Everywhere she saw the Marquis doing the pretty to a swarm of hopeful girls, but she had escaped being introduced to him. She began to accept his presence in the background and tried to think of him as a beautiful work of art to be appreciated, without wishing to possess. Alicia heard other debutantes openly appraising the Marquis’s physical charms; verbally undressing him, making Alicia blush over how accurate their imaginations were. Venturing no opinion as they cattily gossiped about which of their number had most recently had her hopes of attracting him dashed.
Lady Sophia was disappointed her ward had found no man who inspired her, with more than polite interest, but was not despairing of success. Lady Sophia had been amazed Alicia had taken so well. She had a number of respectable suitors, there was plenty of time. Lady Sophia planned to present Alicia in the following season, hoping she would find a man then whom she could esteem. Alicia had already declined three proposals including the one from Captain Redgrave which had surprised Lady Sophia. She had thought the Captain too young to consider settling down. Alicia’s closeness with Lord Stephen slightly concerned Lady Sophia, for she doubted the practical joking lord would make Alicia happy, but she was relieved there seemed nothing of the lover in his manner towards her.
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