Читать книгу Rescued by the Viscount - Anne Herries, Anne Herries - Страница 10

Chapter Two

‘Charlie!’ Mr Matthew Stevens cried and grabbed his sister’s shoulders, giving her a little shake. ‘Thank goodness you’re back. You’ve been so long and I was terrified that you’d been caught!’

‘Oh, do stop fussing, Matt.’ Charlotte dimpled mischievously up at her brother. ‘I told you I could do it. It was a simple climb up the wisteria into his bedchamber. He’d left the window open, as we knew he always does, and the stupid thing was lying on his dressing chest. I grabbed it and climbed down again, in no more than a few minutes. He will never guess it was I—no one could possibly know. I shall just have to make sure never to wear the necklace in town, because if he saw it he might recognise it.’

‘I was sick with worry the whole time. You were so long. If it was as simple as that, why were you so long?’

‘Getting the necklace back was easy enough,’ Charlotte said and bit her bottom lip. ‘It was when I climbed out of the window and then over the railings into the street that I got into a bit of bother...’

‘What happened? Damn it, Charlie. Mother will kill me if I’ve ruined your chances. I should never have let you talk me into letting you risk yourself.’

‘You didn’t, you just stood there and lectured me about my morals—which is more than rich when it was you who stole the damned thing in the first place.’

‘I didn’t intend to steal from you, Charlie,’ Matt said, torn between remorse and reproach. ‘He is just such a brute...to be honest, I’m scared of him. He said if I didn’t pay the gambling debt he would approach Father and I couldn’t let that happen.’

‘No, it would have been dreadful,’ his fond sister said and smiled her forgiveness. ‘I don’t care about the wretched necklace, but if you’d asked I would have given you what is left of my allowance, and I could have told you that those diamonds were fakes.’

‘How was I to know? They’re damned good, Charlie. I thought they were real.’

‘Uncle Ben left me all his wife’s jewellery in good faith. I’m sure he didn’t know that Aunt Isobel had replaced most of it with fakes.’

‘Why do you think she did it?’ Matt asked, puzzled. ‘Surely her allowance was enough without doing such a thing to family heirlooms?’

‘I think she was a secret gambler,’ Charlotte said, wrinkling her smooth brow. She sighed and shook out her long dark hair, which had been jammed under one of her brother’s old school caps with the badge removed. They were in her private sitting room, which led into her bedchamber, and she was tired, the shock of having narrowly escaped being roughly abused coming home to her now that she was safe. ‘Mama said something about it when we had the jewels valued and realised some were fake.’

‘I feel awful about having Uncle Ben’s money now. He might have left some of it to you if he’d guessed about the jewels.’

‘That money is to buy you a commission in the army and to keep you as a gentleman should be able to live. Besides, you won’t come into it for another year and it isn’t so very much after all.’

‘No.’ He looked rueful. ‘Harding thought I was the heir to a large fortune, which is why he fastened his claws into me—but ten thousand and a small country estate is hardly a huge fortune, Charlie, and I can’t touch a penny for ages. If I’d had my own money I wouldn’t have taken your necklace. I was going to pay you back when I could afford it, and I knew you didn’t like that necklace anyway.’

‘It is old-fashioned,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Had it been real I should have had it remodelled for me, but Mama says it isn’t worth it. She says I can wear her diamonds if I have occasion.’

‘Why did you go to all that trouble to get it back then?’

‘Because if Lord Harding realised you’d given him a fake necklace to settle your debt to him, he would have labelled you a cheat and a thief—can you imagine what the gossips would make of that? My chances of making a good marriage would be lost, as would yours of joining a decent regiment.’

‘Yes...’ Matt looked gloomy. ‘I’ve been such a damned fool, Charlie. If it hadn’t been for you...’

‘It’s over and no one ever needs to know anything about it,’ Charlotte said. She thought about the man who had grabbed at her as she was passing through the park. His hands had soon discovered her secret and the thought of him touching her breasts made her feel sick, but it had been dark there in the park and she was fairly certain that he would not recognise her if they met in society. Both he and his companion had been drunk—but the man who had saved her was another matter. Charlotte knew him by sight, for she’d seen him leaving his house across the square earlier that evening, and a couple of times he’d driven by her as she was returning to their house, but they had never met in a formal way. She knew that for a moment he’d had the opportunity to look at her face in the streetlight—but had he seen enough to know her when she was dressed as a young lady of fashion? She could only hope that he had not taken much notice.

‘I hope no one will find out, for both our sakes,’ Matt said. ‘If Harding guessed it was my sister that took the necklace...he might kill me. Yet, you’re right, Charlie. He can’t know. No one can if we keep it to ourselves.’

‘I’m not about to tell anyone.’ She dimpled wickedly up at him, her eyes wide and innocent, but filled with mischief. ‘It’s over now, Matt. Go to bed and let me get some sleep. It’s that big ball tomorrow and I want to look my best. Unless I can find a husband poor Papa is going to lose everything.’

‘Why did he have to invest his money unwisely?’ Matt bemoaned the situation. ‘We were happy enough with what we had—but he thought that venture in the East would bring in a fortune for silks and spices, only the ship sank and all its cargo with it.’

‘And he didn’t think to insure it,’ Charlotte said. ‘Thankfully, Mama had some funds put by for my come out—and if I can find a rich husband he will settle Papa’s debts and all will be well.’

‘What about you?’ her brother asked, looking at her with dark brown eyes that were very like her own, except that hers were flecked with gold and his were simply dark. ‘Will you be happy taking a man just for his money? He may be years older and not at all handsome.’

‘Beggars cannot always choose,’ Charlotte said, sighing despite herself, because she had once dreamed of being swept off her feet by a tall dark prince who would carry her off to his castle and lavish her with love and gifts. ‘I shall hope for the best. And not all rich men are old and fat.’

‘No, I suppose there are a few eligible young men around, if you can find one. A man would be a fool not to marry you if he were rich and single.’

‘You are my brother and prejudiced in my favour.’ She gave a gurgle of laughter and then darted at him, giving him a peck on the cheek before pushing him towards the door. ‘Go, before we wake everyone and they come to see what’s going on. I want to get out of these things before anyone but you has the chance to see me.’

Locking the door behind him, Charlotte went into her bedroom and glanced at herself in the long cheval mirror. A mischievous grin curved her mouth as she saw that she made a fetching youth. No one would know she was a girl unless they happened to touch her in the wrong places, which one of those horrid men had done. They hadn’t seemed to care whether she was a girl or a youth, but were intent on having their way with her in the park either way. And would have done had she not kneed one of them in his privates, leaving him yelling in anger and pain as she made it as far as the gates. However, they would probably have caught her again had it not been for the viscount—Captain Jack Delsey.

Charlotte had known the name of the gentleman who came to her rescue almost from the first day they took up residence in the pleasant garden square. Her mama had been given a list of the residents of the square so that she might leave calling cards, however, she could not do so until they called on her for she was the newcomer. Papa might call if he so wished on the single gentlemen, of which there were two in residence at the moment. One was a widower with three children on a rare visit to town, the children left in the country with their maternal grandmother, and the other was the viscount. Papa had not yet called on either, though the widower had left his card and therefore Mama was preparing to invite him to a small card party she was arranging with her acquaintance in town. The viscount, meanwhile, was the grandson of the Marquis of Ellington and one of the best prizes on the matrimonial market. However, Mama had warned Charlotte not to set her hopes too high.

‘Captain Viscount Delsey is rather too far above us, dearest,’ she’d told Charlotte when they’d seen him drive up in a spanking rig of the first order. ‘Quite charming I understand—but elusive. Some of the most beautiful girls in society have cast their lures at him, but he ignores them all. He is a rake, my love, and flirts with all the pretty girls, but never forms an attachment—or only clandestine ones. He would merely break your heart. Now Mr Harold Cavendish is another matter. He is in his early forties, still attractive and wealthy—and Mrs Featherstone told me that he is looking for a wife to care for his poor motherless children.’

‘A widower with three children, Mama?’ Charlotte pulled a face. ‘I think I would prefer someone who had not been previously married—we are not desperate just yet, are we?’

‘No, dearest, of course not. I do not wish to push you into anything that distresses you. Indeed, I wish this had not been necessary at all—but poor Papa is at his wits’ end, and if you do not marry to oblige us...’

‘But I shall, Mama,’ Charlotte assured her. ‘Please do not worry. There will be someone who is both rich and agreeable to me. I promise you, it will all come right in the end.’

‘My poor dear child,’ her mama said. ‘Had your aunt not sold those jewels we might have avoided this. You could have sold them to pay a part of Papa’s debt.’

‘I would gladly have done so,’ Charlotte assured her. ‘But they are worth very little. I must marry to advantage. I have made up my mind to it—and I shall not let you down.’

Undressing and hiding the youth’s clothing at the bottom of one of her drawers, Charlotte reflected on that evening’s episode. Had she been caught and abused...it did not bear thinking about! If she’d been unmasked and her wicked act had been revealed, she would have been ruined and her family with her. It was no wonder that Matt had been terrified. He’d begged her not to consider such a mad escapade, but she’d overruled him, as she always had in the past. Her brother might be three years older, but she had the stronger will. It was she who ought to have been a boy for very little frightened her. Even the near-escape she’d had had not truly bothered her, only the fear of what might have happened.

But it hadn’t and she refused to worry about what might have been. She’d recovered the fake necklace. Lord Harding could only blame himself for leaving the necklace on his dressing table before going off for the evening. Besides, he deserved no sympathy. Matt was certain he’d been cheated and was determined never to play cards with the man again.

Charlotte was just going to forget all about it.

* * *

Mama had decided to leave cards at the homes of her acquaintances in town and wanted Charlotte to accompany her.

‘We shall not stay anywhere, but merely leave cards,’ Mama had told her. ‘On the way home we will visit the mantua maker and collect some rather lovely shawls I ordered from Madame Rousseau.’

However, Mama’s plans did not go entirely as she anticipated, for at the first house they called, they encountered Lady Rushmore just as she was leaving and she begged them to come in and take some refreshment with her.

‘It is such an age since we met and I was going to call on you this afternoon,’ the lady said, insisting on sending for coffee and little almond cakes in the front parlour.

They were soon joined by the lady’s son and daughter, who had come down to see why their mama had not gone shopping as she planned. Miss Amelia was a pretty, fair girl with a lisp and pouting lips, her hair hanging in ringlets about a heart-shaped face. Her brother Robert was tall, well built and dressed in the height of fashion, with shirt points so high he could scarcely turn his head. He seemed to spend most of his time preening before one of the gilt-framed mirrors, and when he did speak his conversation was of horses and his new phaeton.

Miss Amelia laughed a lot and talked endlessly of her new clothes, which she was purchasing for her trousseau. She had recently become engaged and was interested in little but her wedding and clothes. Accustomed to talking of poetry and music with her brother, and of listening to Papa speaking in an entertaining way of the gentlemen he met and dined with at his clubs, Charlotte found herself longing to go home after just half an hour.

However, just as she thought they might be ready to leave, a gentleman was announced as Sir Percival Redding. He was a man of perhaps five and thirty, brother to Lady Rushmore and of a florid complexion. His dark hair curled in a manner intended to be casual and his clothes were as elegant as his nephew’s, though slightly more wearable for his shirt points were not above average, and his coats were cut to allow for ease of movement. However, he had a pleasant manner and regaled the ladies with his tales of society.

Somehow he ousted Amelia from her seat beside Charlotte and sat down to tell her the story of how he had recently dined with the Prince Regent at Brighton in the Pavilion.

‘’Pon my word, Miss Stevens, it must have been nigh on a hundred degrees. I felt I was melting and poor dear Lady Melrose fainted twice.’

Charlotte had heard that the Regent liked his rooms over-warm, but was interested in all the details of the Pavilion, with its Chinese decoration and the towers that gave it the look of an Eastern Palace.

* * *

It was as Mama stood up to pull on her gloves some twenty minutes later, clearly intending to leave, that Sir Percival stood and bowed to Charlotte, as she too rose from the small sofa. His neck was a little pink as he bent over her hand and asked if she was going to Markham’s ball that evening.

‘Yes, we have been invited. It is my first ball in town, though I have been to the assemblies in Bath several times.’

‘I too shall be there,’ he said, smiling down at her. ‘May I hope that you will save me two dances, Miss Stevens? I prefer the country dances for I am not enamoured of the waltz—though I see no harm in it for others.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Charlotte replied easily. She quite liked the gentleman, for he was friendly and more entertaining than his relatives and she was grateful to know that she would not sit out at least two of the dances that evening. ‘I shall be very happy to reserve the first of the evening and the last country dance before supper.’

‘I shall now look forward to the evening,’ he promised, looking a little like the cat that had stolen the cream. ‘And if I may I shall claim you for supper.’

Charlotte inclined her head and followed her mama from the house. It was only when they were inside the carriage that Mama turned to her with an approving look.

‘I am proud of you, Charlotte. Sir Percival was very taken with you. I saw it at once. I do not say it will lead to an offer immediately, but he would be a good choice. He was in the army for many years, my love, and never married, but Lady Rushmore told me she believes he is at last thinking of settling down. Would it not be a fine thing if you were married to the brother of one of my oldest friends? He is comfortable, you know. Perhaps not as rich as...’

Charlotte’s mind drifted away as she glanced out of the window, watching the fashionable ladies and gentlemen promenading in the busy streets. The morning had flown and they would have time only to collect their shawls before returning home for nuncheon.

Mama was still droning on about how fortunate it was that they should meet her friend, as she was driving away, and Charlotte managed to stifle her sigh. She supposed that Mama must review every gentleman they encountered as a possible husband for her daughter, but she wished she would not jump to the idea of marriage so swiftly. It was not that she disliked Sir Percival. Indeed, she would prefer him to the father of three motherless children, but Charlotte was still hoping for more. Surely she was entitled to a little romance before she settled for marriage?

* * *

When they were set down outside their lodgings in the fashionable square, she shook out the folds of her gown and walked into the house a little ahead of her mother. She stopped abruptly as she saw her father; he was bidding farewell to a gentleman, who had clearly been visiting while they were out.

Charlotte’s heart caught with a mixture of shock and pleasure, for it was the viscount, and mixed with the relief that he had at last called on them was the fear that he might recognise her from the previous night.

‘Ah, Charlotte my dear.’ Her father’s warm deep voice reached out to her. ‘You have returned just in time to meet Captain Viscount Delsey—he lives in the house opposite, just across the square, and kindly called on me this morning to invite us all to a dinner and cards one evening next week. Sir, this is my daughter, Charlotte.’

Charlotte took off her bonnet and shook out her long dark ringlets, extending her hand towards their visitor as she dipped gracefully. ‘I am delighted to meet you, sir, and sorry we were out all morning.’

‘No matter,’ he murmured, lifting her hand to drop an air kiss just fractionally above the soft leather glove. ‘I was happy to meet your father—and your charming brother. Matthew is to attend a card party with me another evening, but I believe we are all promised to Lord Markham this evening.’

‘Yes, we are looking forward to it,’ she said, her heart fluttering as he gave her an intent look before releasing her hand. She glanced down, her long lashes hiding the fluttering emotions inside her. Could he possibly have recognised her from that brief glance the previous night—or was it just her guilt that made her think his gaze narrowed in speculation?

‘As am I,’ he replied gallantly. ‘Will you grant me the privilege of a dance for this evening—preferably a waltz? I trust you do waltz, Miss Stevens?’

‘Yes, Captain Delsey, I do and I shall,’ she replied, demurely. ‘I have waltzed in Bath several times, and in town, with the approval of Lady Jersey, who is a great friend of Mama’s and granted me vouchers for Almack’s. I am older than I look, you see.’

She saw an answering gleam of humour in his eyes, his brows rising to tease her. ‘I would hazard a guess at eighteen?’

‘I am more than nineteen,’ she murmured in a soft voice. ‘It is my size, you understand. People think because I am petite I must be younger.’

‘Ah, such a great age,’ he murmured. ‘One would think you hardly above fourteen if one saw you briefly from a distance...’ His eyes held a look of mocking amusement that made her heart thud rapidly.

Was he hinting that he had recognised the urchin of the previous evening? Her gaze fell away in confusion for she was unsure how to reply.

Fortunately, her mama had entered the house, and, after taking off her shawls, bonnet and gloves, looked expectantly towards the viscount. The introductions were made and Charlotte was able to move on towards the stairs. She was about to climb them, when she heard herself addressed and turned once more to see that the viscount had spoken directly to her.

‘I was wondering if you and Lady Stevens would like to drive to Richmond with me on Friday, Miss Stevens? My sister, Lady Sally Harrison, has got up a picnic to watch a balloon ascension and she asked me to bring some friends with me. I have invited two gentlemen, who will ride—but there is room in my curricle for both of you.’

‘We should enjoy that very much,’ Mama answered for her. ‘It is kind of you, sir—and your cousin. We are not yet acquainted with Lady Harrison.’

‘Then I shall remedy that this evening,’ he promised, bowed deeply to her and sent Charlotte a knowing smile before leaving.

‘Well, what a charming young man,’ Lady Stevens said as she followed her daughter to the landing above. ‘I hardly dared to hope that he would call on us. I expected we might meet in company, but to call on your father shows true consideration, my dear.’

‘So you approve of him now, Mama,’ Charlotte said, struggling not to laugh. ‘Why, only the other day you called him a hardened rake—I’m sure you did.’

‘I did not think then that he would pay you the least attention,’ her mother said sharply. ‘You are a pretty girl, Charlotte. No one could deny that, but you have little fortune to recommend you and I do not expect every gentleman we meet to fall at your feet. That is why you must make the most of your chances...not that I am suggesting the viscount is a chance for you. Charming as he may be, I do not expect an offer from him.’

Charlotte turned away without answering. She suspected that Captain Viscount Delsey had called this morning to discover whether his suspicions concerning her were correct. Had he seen her prior to that escapade last night? Or had he somehow seen her return to her home in the early hours of the morning?

She had not dared to hire a cab, walking swiftly through the streets and keeping to the shadows as much as possible. However, if he had done so, he might have arrived at the same time as she did, if perhaps he’d delayed his return for some minutes before taking the cab. Charlotte was almost sure he knew the young urchin he’d rescued had been her in disguise, but she would deny it if he asked. It would be too risky to admit where she’d been and what she’d done that evening.

He had seemed to be amused. She could only hope that he would not betray her secret, as it could ruin her family.

Alone in her room, Charlotte glanced in the mirror. There was a sparkle in her eyes that she did not think had been there earlier. She sensed a challenge ahead and a hint of danger, for the viscount was a flirt and a rake and she had done something that might make him think she was careless of her reputation.

Supposing he tried to take advantage of his knowledge? Her stomach clenched with nerves, because she knew that one hint of what she’d done the previous night would ruin her.

Surely, Captain Delsey was too much the man of honour to tell anyone else what he knew?

Perhaps if she had a chance that evening, she could appeal to his sense of chivalry. But what excuse could she give? To tell him that she’d stolen back a necklace given by her brother in payment of a debt was shameful and would destroy any lingering good opinion he had of her and her dearest Matt. Yet what else could she tell him?

Try as she might, Charlotte could not think of an excuse that would not make her seem either wanton or dishonest. All she could do was to hope that he would keep her secret without being asked.

* * *

It was a long afternoon for Charlotte. Mama insisted that she spend most of it resting, and, though she had taken a book to her room, for some reason her mind would not follow the story of romance and adventure in pages of Fanny Burney’s novel. Instead, she found herself reliving the moment when Captain Delsey had saved her from the drunken gentlemen. His quick action had been decisive and she would have liked to thank him at once, but had felt the best course for her to follow was to disappear as swiftly as she could. Thankfully, the remainder of her journey home had been uneventful. She’d hoped it could all be forgotten, but now the hideous thought that one careless word from Delsey could destroy her chances of a good marriage lay heavy on her conscience.

Mama was relying on Charlotte to ease her father’s burden of debt. For that she must marry a man of consequence and wealth, but most of the aristocracy were rather starchy as regards reputation and behaviour; the merest hint of scandal attached to a young lady’s name would ruin her chances of a good marriage. What Charlotte had done was so outrageous that, if it were discovered, she would be an outcast from society.

Matt had warned her against her mad escapade, but nothing would have persuaded her. It was not her brother’s fault, though if he had not confessed to her she might not have discovered the necklace had gone for weeks. He had not been able to live with the guilt of stealing from his own sister, and, when told that the necklace was fake, confessed the whole. Charlotte had been determined to save her family from the scandal that would have resulted from such a fraud and her headstrong courage had led her to act without truly thinking of the consequences.

As a tiny child she’d followed wherever her brother led, climbing trees, swimming in the shallows of the river near their home wearing only her drawers and petticoat, and being beaten for her wickedness more than once. She’d ridden well from the age of three, joining the hunt when she was thirteen, and successfully ridden any horse her brother could master, throwing her heart over as she cleared fences three times her height. Matt told everyone she was fearless and their wild pranks were often at her instigation as they grew into their teenage years. Mama had taken her in hand when she was sixteen, insisting that she must behave like a lady if she wanted a Season in town, and so she had given up her tomboy behaviour—until the previous night when she’d climbed into a man’s bedchamber and retrieved the fake necklace.

Only now did Charlotte understand that this was not one of the childish pranks she’d shared with her brother. She was a thief. Even though the necklace was her own, Matt had pledged it in settlement of a debt. A gambling debt, and one that might have been incurred as a result of her brother being cheated, was not like a proper debt to a tradesman, Charlotte told herself, to ease her guilt. Lord Harding was known to be a hard gambler; some whispered he fleeced young gentlemen who were not up to all the tricks played on them by card sharps who treated them as plump pigeons, ripe for the plucking.

If Matt was right and he’d been cheated the night he fell so deeply in debt that he’d been driven to take her necklace, then Lord Harding deserved to be robbed of his ill-gotten gains. And yet she could not help feeling that she had done something shameful.

There was no point in thinking about it, she could not give the necklace back, but must be careful never to wear it anywhere it might be seen by a man who might recognise it as his property.

Charlotte pushed the worrying thoughts out of her mind. She’d been seen climbing from the window after retrieving that necklace, but only by a couple of very inebriated gentlemen—and one possibly sober one who had looked into her face for the merest second. She could only hope that Delsey would not put two and two together and make five.