Читать книгу Paying the Virgin's Price - Christine Merrill, Christine Merrill - Страница 10

‘Well, this was a most satisfying afternoon,’ Honoria announced, as they neared the end of their shopping trip to Bond Street. ‘And perhaps next time, we will persuade Diana to buy something for herself.’

‘There is nothing I really need,’ Diana said, as much to persuade herself as the girls. It was always tempting, on these forays, to make a purchase of some sort. But even a small one was an unnecessary indulgence.

‘Then perhaps what you need is to sit down and have an ice. It would be very refreshing, after such a long walk.’ Honoria was looking longingly in the direction of confectionary.

‘The walk was not very long at all, Honoria, and should hardly exhaust you. Exercise, when taken in moderate amounts, is beneficial to health. And I am sure that tea at home will be refreshing

enough.’

‘Sometimes, Diana, you are far too sensible.’

Diana smiled at the accusation. ‘I need to be. Or you would indulge every whim, and grow too plump for your new gown.’

‘Is that the gentleman who called yesterday, Diana?’Verity Carlow was staring in the opposite direction, and making an unladylike effort to point over the stack of parcels she was carrying, at a man on the end of the block. ‘Oh, do say it is him. For he is every bit as striking as you described him.’

Diana prepared a reprimand, and then glanced in the direction her friend was looking, and saw the sun glinting off the silver hair of the man she had seen in the parlour. In the last twenty-four hours, she had spent so much time thinking of him that it felt almost as if she had conjured his image to appear on the street. It was hard to believe she was truly going to see him again after such a short time. But he must be real, for he looked very different than he had when she had seen him in the house. Today he seemed carefree. He was without a hat. And with the wind ruffling his hair, and his green eyes squinting into the sun, he looked almost as though he belonged on the deck of a ship, staring out at the sea.

She wondered if that was his true job. Sea captain. Or perhaps privateer. Surely something very romantic and commanding. He stood on the sidewalk as though he had conquered half of London. And here she was, spinning more romantic fancies around the poor man. But she had to admit, the effect that the sight of him had on her was sudden and difficult to control. It brought with it a faint breathlessness that increased as she realized that he was coming in their direction. ‘Yes,’ Diana said, trying to keep the excess of emotion from showing in her voice. ‘That is Mr Dale. Whatever can he be doing here?’

‘Shopping, I am sure,’ Honoria said. ‘Just as everyone else is doing. Perhaps he is visiting the tobacconist or the bank.’Apparently, the man’s imposing nature was lost upon her. She was looking at Diana in a most searching way. ‘While you made his behaviour yesterday sound very mysterious, you noticed nothing about him that would prevent him from mixing in society, did you?’

‘Well, no.’ It was just that she did not ever remember seeing him here before. And she was sure, had he shared the street with them in the past, she would have noticed.

Diana doubted Marc’s apparent friendship with the man would require his sister’s association with him. If it did, Marc would introduce them properly, in his own good time. For safety’s sake, she prepared to steer Verity and Honoria to the other side of the street. ‘You are probably right. He is shopping, or running errands of some sort. But I doubt he means to mix with us. He seemed most uncomfortable when visiting yesterday, and was in a hurry to leave.’

Verity gave her a round-eyed look. ‘He did not seem to hold us any ill will, did he?’

‘Of course not. But neither did I have any reason to think he might wish our company today.’

‘Nonsense,’ said Honoria. ‘We do not mean him any harm. We are only being friendly. It is not as if Verity and I are angling after him, no matter how flattering your description might have been.’

Verity shaded her eyes with her hand for a better look. ‘Flattering as well as accurate. He is most handsome, is he not?’ She grinned at Diana. ‘And it would show an amazing lack of Christian charity to appear to shun our brother’s old friend, if we meet him on the street.’

Although she was sure that Verity’s heart was at least partly in the right place, Honoria must know that an act of Christian charity by a marriageable young lady towards an attractive, eligible man was liable to be misinterpreted. But it was too late to explain this, for Honoria was waving her handkerchief at the gentleman in question. ‘Here, Mr Dale! Over here!’ She set out at a quick pace towards the man, who was momentarily curious as to the identity of the person greeting him. But then he recognized Diana, trailing in Honoria’s wake. And his eyes took on a distinctly hunted expression.

‘Honoria!’ she said sharply, hurrying after the girl. ‘You have not been properly introduced to the man.’

Honoria ignored the tone of warning. ‘Nonsense. He told you he had seen us as children, did he not? Then surely we need not be so formal. But if it bothers you, then you must remedy the fact immediately, and present us to him.

‘Mr Dale? I understand that you are an old friend of our family. I was most disappointed to be indisposed when you visited yesterday.’ She favoured Mr Dale with her most brilliant smile and then cast a significant glance in Diana’s direction.

Diana gave up, and said, with a resigned tone, ‘Mr Dale, may I present Lady Honoria and Lady Verity Carlow.’

He gave a somewhat stiff bow, and answered, ‘You are correct, ladies. We are already acquainted. Although you were both much too small to remember me, and I was but a boy when I last saw you.’

Verity said, ‘Miss Price and I were speculating on your appearance in Bond Street. I do not remember seeing you here before.’

Diana coloured and gave a small shake of her head to indicate that they had been doing nothing of the kind, for the last thing she wanted was to reveal the true nature of her speculations. She was sure that her head-shake looked nothing like the saucy toss Verity was giving her golden curls, to make them catch the sunlight.

Nathan Dale was wearing the same poleaxed expression that men often got when the Carlow sisters turned their considerable charms upon them. He muttered, ‘Tailor,’ as though he could barely remember what had brought him out to shop.

‘So you frequent the area?’Verity gave Diana a triumphant look. ‘I suppose we have seen you in the past. But the renewed acquaintance of our families puts a fresh face on the experience. Now that we know you again, we shall be running into each other all the time.’

Diana was sure that this was not the case. She was convinced that she would have been drawn to the man’s striking appearance, had she seen it before.

For his part, Mr Dale looked positively horrified at the notion that he would be seeing them again and again.

But Verity ignored this as well, and said, ‘Now that we have found you, may I ask you to be of assistance? We are overburdened by packages. If you could help us regain our carriage?’

No gentleman could refuse, although this one looked like he wished to. He glanced around for a moment, almost as if he was embarrassed to be seen with them. But then he bowed again and took the packages anyway, then turned to help them find their transport. Once that was achieved, it seemed Verity would not be satisfied with the aid of servants, but required Mr Dale to escort them all the way back to the house.

Diana could see him struggling to come up with a polite refusal, his eyes finding hers and holding them with a mute appeal for aid. But then, Honoria linked her arm through his, and all but dragged him into the carriage to sit beside her. ‘There,’she said, giving a sigh of satisfaction. ‘This is much better, is it not?’

Mr Dale gave a nod of polite agreement. Although since she was seated opposite him, Diana could see from his miserable expression that this was the last place on earth he wished to be. He remained in strained silence as the normally quiet Verity prattled on in a most annoying way about the price of ribbons and the challenge of finding a sufficiently fluffy coq feather in exactly the right shade of blue.

Diana had no idea what had gotten into the girl, although she suspected it had something to do with silver hair and green eyes. But she was well on the way to giving her a megrim. Mr Dale seemed of a similar mind, squirming in his seat as though he wished to fling open the door and dart from the coach, willing to risk a fall beneath the horse’s hooves, over slow death by millinery.

Honoria was no better, clinging to Mr Dale’s arm as though she sensed his desire and was trying to prevent the escape. If the girl truly wished to gain the man’s attentions, she would need to choose another approach entirely. And much to Diana’s dismay, she could find no desire to help either of them. If the man took a sudden and violent distaste to the Carlow sisters, it would forestall the risk that she might have to chaperone any of them, enduring painful evenings of lingering glances, staring intently into her needlework while ignoring their whispered endearments.

Was it only yesterday that she had been eagerly awaiting the appearance of Verity’s first real suitor? She loved the girl, and wished her well as she struggled in the shadow of her older sister. If Verity finally made a choice, then Diana should be relieved, not annoyed. Unless it was this particular man.

And while she was sure of Honoria’s ability to captivate any man, she could not warm to the idea that the object of her affection was the enigmatic Mr Dale. No matter that she thought he was exactly the sort of man she could put forward as a steadying influence on either of them. To be forced to sit in the corner and watch as Nathan Dale grew increasingly besotted over either of the Carlow daughters would be the most difficult thing in the world.

Perhaps Mr Dale thought the same, for he was squirming again. He stretched his long legs out before him, and they brushed against Diana’s skirts.

She gave a surprised jump as his calf touched hers.

He straightened suddenly, mumbling apologies.

Honoria nudged Verity with her toe from the opposite seat, and there were a few muffled giggles from the two girls until Diana gave a disapproving cough.

Mr Dale seemed to fold in upon himself, trying to take as little space as possible and cause no further incidents.

At last, the carriage arrived in front of the Carlow town house, and before it could come to a full stop, Nathan Dale had the door open and the step down. He offered a hand to Verity and then to Honoria. Once he had seen them both safely to the ground, he turned back for Diana. He wiped his palm upon his coat-tail and gave an embarrassed bob of his head, as though he did not wish to look into her eyes. But at the last moment, he looked up, his amazing green eyes catching hers and holding them. And then, his hand touched hers.

Her feet were on the ground, and he was turning away. But she had the strangest sensation that an important moment had passed, though she had no recollection of it. And it was a shame, for if the time had been spent with her hand in his, she thought that she would very much have liked to have a clear memory of it.

She came back to herself offering a silent prayer of relief that the trip was over, only to hear Verity insisting that Mr Dale simply must stay for tea, and her sister heartily agreeing. Honoria had reached out to catch the man by the arm again, before he could escape into the street. And now, she was reminding him that it was teatime, after all.

After dragging him so far out of his way, it was only logical that the girls offer him refreshment. Diana should commend them for their hospitality. But the events so far had left Diana’s nerves frayed to the point where she was sure her cup would be rattling on the saucer loud enough to block out the sound of conversation.

And Mr Dale, damn him, could not seem to find voice enough to refuse the girls. If he did not wish to be with them, then why could he not say so—and end her torment? Instead, he allowed himself to be led as meek as a lamb into the sitting room for tea and cakes.

They were barely seated, before Verity sprang to her feet. ‘I wonder what is taking so long? Cook is normally much more prompt than this. Perhaps someone should go and check.’

Diana was weighing in her mind the possibilities. It would not do to leave the girls alone in the room with a stranger, while she went to talk to the help. If that was what Verity was attempting to orchestrate, she underestimated her chaperone. She would tell the girl to ring for Wellow, the butler, and lecture them both later about the need to sit patiently when one had guests.

But before she could take action, Honoria announced, ‘I will just go and see after things.’And she was up, out of her chair and out the door. She turned back. ‘And Verity, you must come with me.’

Her sister rose. ‘Can you not find your own way to the kitchen?’

‘Of course. But I suspect I shall eat all the sandwiches before they are even brought here, for I am famished. If you do not come to watch over me, I swear, I will not leave a thing for Mr Dale.’

‘Really, I…do not require anything,’ he finished to the closed door.

And Diana found herself alone again, with Nathan Dale.

There was a moment of very awkward silence. And then, he spoke. ‘Miss Verity did not talk nearly so much when last I saw her. Of course, she was an infant at the time.’

‘She did not talk so much when last I saw her either, and it has been barely an hour. I do not know what has got into her.’ Diana hoped it did not sound like an indictment of her friend.

Apparently, he feared the same. For he said, ‘I mean no disrespect. For all her chatter, she is a pleasant girl, as is her sister. Have you known them long?’

‘I came into the household when Verity was almost fifteen. She is still nineteen and barely out.’

‘And Honoria twenty. The family must be very proud of them.’ For a moment, his gaze grew distant, as if remembering the past. And then he focused on her again. ‘And before coming here, did you have another position?’

‘As companion to an elderly lady in Kent.’

He leaned forward as though he found her rather uninteresting life to be riveting. ‘And did you prefer that job to this one?’

She smiled, surprised at his questions. ‘One position is much like another, I expect. But on the whole, I find it more enjoyable to watch the young. It was difficult to see the person in one’s care wither and die, knowing there was nothing to be done. Much more pleasant to see them blossom, as young Verity has.’ She gave a small sigh. ‘Soon, they will have no need of a chaperone here. The girls shall be fine married ladies, with husbands and houses of their own.’

‘And you will be out on the street.’He looked as though the prospect alarmed him.

She gave a little laugh of reassurance to soften the blunt way he had described her pending unemployment. ‘Hardly, I am sure. Lord and Lady Narborough have been most kind to me. They will see to it that I am properly placed somewhere. I trust them to help me, when I am no longer needed here.’

‘You might be surprised.’ He muttered the words under his breath, and for a moment, she suspected that his fondness for the family was not as great as it had at first appeared.

‘Well, in any case, I am not too worried,’ she lied. ‘When this job is finished, I will find another family who needs me. There are always openings for sensible women of a certain age.’ Although they might not be as enjoyable as her current place.

‘A sensible woman of a certain age. I see.’ Perhaps he found her good sense to be a disappointment. Or perhaps it was her age that bothered him. He was frowning at her. ‘But should you not find a place to your liking, do you have family to return to?’ He was on the edge of his chair now, as though her answer were deeply important to him.

She shook her head. ‘It has been just me for almost five years. But my situation is hardly unique. And in some ways it was easier for me than it has been for others. My mother died when I was young. And I was well-settled in employment before my father died. There was no period of sudden turmoil, as I found myself homeless and alone with no plan for the future.’ In fact, the turmoil was several years past, and her anger with her father had cooled by the time she’d lost him for good.

‘But you have no one else? I mean: no prospects, other than employment?’

She looked at him sharply. Was he enquiring if there was a gentleman in her life? ‘Certainly not.’

And now he’d realized how that question had sounded, for he fell into pensive silence, before beginning again. ‘I am sorry if my curiosity was inappropriate. But if you should find yourself in constrained circumstances and there is anything I can do to help…’

And now it sounded as though he were about to offer a carte blanche. ‘No, Mr Dale,’ she said firmly, so there could be no question of her meaning. ‘I can assure you, that whatever my circumstances might be, I will not be needing help with them.’

A short time later, Verity and Honoria returned followed by a footman with tea things. Apparently, the time away had calmed Verity’s nerves, although Honoria had the same enigmatic smile on her face as before. They set about arranging the table for Mr Dale, like consummate hostesses. They were solicitous of his needs without clinging, and they conversed without the annoying chatter that had bothered her in the carriage.

It gave Diana the chance to retreat to a corner with her cup and stay well out of the flow of talk, allowing the girls to get to know the gentleman better. If he could be called a gentleman, for his behaviour to her had been most forward and more than a little strange. She wondered if she had given him too much credit the first time they had met, swayed by his charm and his physical appearance.

And if her silence now permitted time to observe the fine features of Mr Dale? Then she doubted he would notice, and she could hardly be blamed for it. She did find him to be a very handsome man. And she sincerely hoped she had misunderstood his intent toward her. He spoke easily enough with the girls, now that she was out of the way. There was nothing improper about his speech or manner. And he’d lost that curious sense of agitation he had brought to even the most mundane of his questions to her. When he rose to go, he thanked Verity and Honoria in turn, then paused as he looked in her direction, seeming to swallow his nerves before giving her the same polite words of thanks and a short stiff bow. And then, he was gone.

There was a moment of silence, as though Verity wished to be sure that the man was totally out of earshot, before she spoke, as though he could hear their opinions of him through the brick walls and on the street. Then she turned and smiled at Honoria. ‘Well?’

Honoria smiled and nodded. ‘Oh, yes. I think most definitely.’

And then she turned to Diana. ‘And what do you think of the gentleman, Miss Price?’

Apparently, she was to render the final verdict, and she did not wish to, for her own opinion was most decidedly mixed. She took care to discount her own strong reactions, and did her best to view him as she would any other prospective suitor. ‘I am glad that you are both so definite on the subject of Mr Dale. He seems a fine person, and was most courteous in his behaviour. Your inviting him into the house was not inappropriate, although it was somewhat unplanned. If there is a past history between your families it cannot be too terribly improper. But despite what you might think, we do not know him very well at all. I doubt your father or brothers would approve, should things progress to the point where he might make either of you an offer before they can be consulted.’

‘Us?’ Verity sat down, laughing heartily. ‘Oh, Diana. If you do not see the truth of what has been happening, you must be blind. However are we to trust you with advising us on our futures, if you cannot manage your own?’

‘What has my future to do with it?’

Honoria grinned. ‘We heard the way you spoke of him, after his visit here yesterday. The vividness of your physical description was enough for Verity to pick him out of the crowd on Bond Street. And apparently, you did not see the way he looked at you when we met him.

His eyes followed you as though you were the only woman present. So we waylaid the poor fellow and made ourselves as tiresome as possible. Then we left you alone together, as soon as we were able. You did not expect us to play chaperone, did you? For that would be more than a little ironic.’

‘Me?’ Her voice cracked on the word.

‘Yes, you, you goose,’ said Verity. ‘I wondered what would become of you, once I was wed. It would be so much better for me, were you to be a proper married lady as well, and not a companion to another. For then we could all remain friends and see each other as often as we liked.’

‘Me? Married?’

‘To Mr Dale,’ Honoria completed the thought. ‘You are right, Verity. It is the most perfect idea in the world.’

‘Me.’ And now that they had placed it there, the thought was stuck in her head and would not be dislodged. ‘Married.’ It had been so long since she had even thought of the word as it pertained to herself, that she could not manage to form a sentence around it. ‘To Mr Dale.’ If it had been one of the girls displaying an interest in the man, she would have given a lecture at this point about the importance of knowing a gentleman better before using such a word in connection with him. Horses should be put before carts. There should be frequent meetings between the interested parties. Affection and love were things that should be nurtured before a more permanent arrangement could be considered.

But suddenly, she felt as foolish as either young girl. Her head was flooded with visions of a home of her own, a husband of her own, and her own children, all with the sparkling green eyes of Nathan Dale.

If she were thinking clearly, then she would have told the girls that, if a gentlemen were as rushed into making an offer as they wished for Mr Dale to be, the offer he might make would be one that no proper woman could accept. What must he think of her? He must suspect that she had arranged their private conversation by manipulating the girls, all in an attempt to court him for herself. How would she be able to speak to the man, when next they met, if her head was full of romantic nonsense and his ideas were much more worldly?

She forced her fears into the background and looked at the girls with her most prim and sensible gaze. ‘No. I am sorry. The idea does not appeal to me in the least. If this visit with him was arranged for my benefit, then while I thank you for the concern, I can assure you that no further such plans are necessary.’She swallowed hard, and lied. ‘I am quite content to remain as I am.’