Читать книгу His Lordship's Desire - Joan Wolf - Страница 11

Diana had never been to London, and she stared out the window as the carriage rolled along the busy streets of the nation’s capital. There was so much traffic! And noise! And dirt! She was used to her quiet little corner of Berkshire; London was a big change.

The Devizes’ London residence was a solid, substantial house made of brown brick and red dressing, like many of the other houses on the fashionable Grosvenor Square. The family and servants piled out of the coaches and phaeton and Diana stretched her legs and her back as she stood on the pavement outside the front door of the house. She was not accustomed to sitting still for such a long period of time and she felt like taking a nice brisk walk to loosen up her muscles. But the rest of the family was already moving toward the front door, and she followed.

Alex, Lady Standish, Sally, Mrs. Sherwood and Diana all trooped into the green marble entrance hall. The housekeeper came running to welcome Lady Standish and while the two women were talking, Diana peered into a small anteroom set off by round columns that opened off the right side of the entrance hall. The floor of the anteroom was done in black and white squares of marble and there was a portrait of a man in a white wig hung over the alabaster fireplace.

Henrys now came in the front door and Lady Standish presented the butler to Mrs. Daughtry, the housekeeper, as if she was presenting royalty. Henrys was followed by the cook, Monsieur Lapierre, who was presented as if he were God.

Mrs. Daughtry volunteered to show Henrys and Lapierre to their respective domains but Lady Standish said that the family would establish themselves without assistance.

“Let us all go to our bedrooms first,” Lady Standish said. “I think we need to freshen up.”

“Good idea, Mama,” Alex said, and Diana found herself following everyone down the passage to the great curving staircase. The staircase was painted white, with a polished wood railing, and in the roof above the third story was a large window, which allowed for natural illumination during the day.

The bedrooms were on the third floor, except for the master bedroom suite. When they had reached the second floor, Lady Standish said, “Alex, you should have the earl’s bedroom now.”

He looked a little uncomfortable. “It is not necessary for you to vacate it, Mama,” he said. “I don’t want to push you out of your room.”

“No, I want you to have it,” she insisted. “It is the right thing to do and I shall be perfectly happy in the yellow bedroom. It has a dressing room attached and is exceedingly comfortable.”

He stood for a moment looking at her and frowning.

“I mean it,” Lady Standish said firmly. “You must take your proper place both in the family and in society. The master bedroom is yours.”

“Well…” Alex said slowly. “If you are sure.”

“I am very sure.”

Alex nodded and went off through the second-floor drawing room while the rest of them climbed the stairs to the third floor. Lady Standish opened the first door that was on their left and said to Diana, “This will be your room, dear. Servants will be coming shortly with water for you to wash up.”

“Thank you, Cousin Amelia,” Diana said, and walked into the largest bedroom she had ever occupied. It had blue-painted walls, a white stucco fireplace and a blue Turkish rug on the floor. The bed was large and hung with blue draperies, and a comfortable-looking upholstered chair was pulled up in front of the fireplace. There were two windows set high in the walls so they could let light in over the top of the building next door.

Diana thought of her closet-size bedroom at home. My goodness, but she had come up in the world!

She was still staring around her when a knock came at the door and her mother came in. “I am right next door,” she said. “Aren’t these beautiful rooms?”

“They’re wonderful,” Diana said. “This one even has its own watercloset!”

“So does mine,” Mrs. Sherwood said with a smile.

Diana sat on the bed. “This almost seems too good to be true. Cousin Amelia is like a fairy godmother, doing this for me.”

Mrs. Sherwood went over to look at a pretty china statue of a shepherdess that reposed on a table along the wall. “It is amazingly generous of her,” she agreed. “But then she has always been so good to us.”

“She’s never spent so much money on us before.” Diana looked at her mother, who was still examining the delicate figurine. “It’s really Alex’s money she’s using, isn’t it?” she said abruptly. “If the earl was alive, she wouldn’t be doing this.”

Mrs. Sherwood turned to face her daughter. “I don’t know where the money is coming from, my love. But if it is Alex’s, he certainly has put forward no objections.”

Diana’s jaw set. “I hate to be beholden to Alex.”

Mrs. Sherwood’s pretty face became suddenly somber. “Perhaps he thinks he owes you something, darling,” she said. “And perhaps he does.”

Diana’s eyes flashed and color stained the porcelain skin over her cheekbones. “If I was starving, I wouldn’t take a scrap of bread from Alex,” she declared.

Mrs. Sherwood came over to sit next to her daughter on the bed. “Don’t be foolish, darling. This come-out is a godsend for you. Particularly since you turned down all the nice men who offered for you at home.”

Diana scowled. “I didn’t love any of them, Mama.”

“Diana…” Mrs. Sherwood put her hand up and turned her daughter’s face toward her. “I hope you are not still setting your heart on Alex.”

Diana pulled her face away and jumped up from the bed. She whirled to face her mother. “Didn’t you just hear me, Mama? I wouldn’t take Alex if he were the last man left alive on this earth. Believe me, I have no desire to become the Countess of Standish.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Mrs. Sherwood said quietly. “But if he is financing our trip to London, then it behooves us both to be nice to him. I want you to make a good marriage, darling. I don’t want you to have to spend your life hanging on the sleeve of a generous relative. I want to see you with your husband and children at your side. I don’t want you to be alone in life. I want you to be happy.”

“Oh Mama.” Diana came back to the bed and hugged her mother, pressing her cheek against her mother’s hair. “You have had so little in your life. Papa left us when I was so young—why you have practically been a widow for all your life.”

Mrs. Sherwood’s arms came up to hold Diana. “He had no choice, darling. He had to go where he could get advancement. We had no money beyond his officer’s salary.”

The two women stayed like that for a few moments, and then Diana stepped back. Diana said, “And now we have no money beyond his pension.”

Mrs. Sherwood looked up at her daughter. “You have been given a wonderful opportunity to make a good match, darling. Don’t alienate Alex and throw it away. Please.”

Diana drew a deep breath. “All right, Mama. I promise I will be nice to Alex.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Diana sat on the bed, staring into space long after her mother had left the room.

It had been late in the afternoon when the Standish party arrived, and after dinner everyone stayed at home except Alex. “Papa was a member of Brooks, and I thought I’d have a look in and see what I have to do to establish my credentials,” he said. Brooks was the club most often patronized by the aristocrats of the Whig party, and the Standishes had always been Whigs.

Lady Standish frowned. “A great deal of gambling goes on at Brooks,” she warned her son. “Several men have lost their entire fortunes at play there.”

He smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Mama. I am not stupid enough to do that.”

“I know you aren’t, Alex. But be careful, please.”

Alex knew that his grandfather had almost beggared his family with gambling and consequently Lady Standish had a deep-rooted fear of gaming of any kind.

“I’ll be careful,” he promised. “And my presence will spread the word that you ladies are in town. You want invitations, don’t you?”

Lady Standish agreed that they did, and Alex went off.

Diana was so excited to be in London that she didn’t expect to sleep well, but she went right off. When she woke the sun was shining in her window. A young maid came in with a cup of hot chocolate for her to drink while she was getting dressed.

“Thank you,” Diana said. The girl reminded her of a kitten, her brow was wide and her face tapered to a small, pointed chin. “What is your name?”

“Nancy, miss,” the young girl replied.

“It is nice to meet you, Nancy,” Diana said. “Are you one of the new hires?”

“Yes, miss. I’m just come to Lunnon from Derbyshire.”

“This must be a big change for you. I know it’s a big change for me to come from the country to the city.”

“That it is, miss,” the girl agreed.

“Well, I wish you good fortune in your new life,” Diana said.

“Thank you, miss.” The maid gave a big smile, which showed pretty white teeth.

She left and Diana got on with the business of dressing for the day.

The Standish women spent the entire day shopping. Diana had a wonderful time. She was fitted for morning dresses, driving dresses, a riding habit and evening gowns. Lady Standish ordered her a new pelisse, as the weather was still chilly in April. Sally got a similar wardrobe, and they both picked out dresses to be altered by the afternoon, so they could go driving in the park.

Diana had a moment of unease when she realized the amount of Alex’s money that Lady Standish had just spent on her, but she pushed the thought aside firmly. I am going to have fun, she told herself. I’m not going to spoil things for myself by worrying about Alex’s money. So when the time came to dress for their ride in the park, her spirits were high and her thoughts were eager.

Hyde Park was the place to be at about five o’clock in the afternoon during the Season. Most of the ton regularly turned out in their best riding and driving gear and took the path along the Serpentine to see and to be seen. Alex had volunteered to drive Diana and Sally and they both proudly wore the dresses they had purchased that morning. Diana’s was rust-colored, with a short cape and buttons all down the front. Over her coppery curls she wore a small brown hat, which tilted to one side, almost over her eye and on her feet she wore low leather boots. When her cousin knocked at her door to see if she was ready, Sally was a vision in blue, with a matching bonnet tied under her chin.

The girls complimented each other and together went downstairs to meet Alex. He was wearing a caped driving coat that made his shoulders look very wide. Diana noticed that his hair had been cut. His neck looked tanned and strong.

He glanced from his sister to Diana and said, “You ladies look beautiful.”

He was speaking to them both, but looking at her. Diana said a little self-consciously, “It must be our new clothes.”

“They are very becoming,” he said.

For the briefest of moments their eyes met and held, then Diana looked away. “Is the carriage ready?” she asked.

“Yes, it is right outside,” Alex responded and they all turned toward the front door. The park was filled with fashionable carriages and well-turned-out men and women on horseback. The horses were sleek and shiny and all of the carriages sparkled with cleanliness. Everyone was dressed in the height of elegance: the men wore immaculate buff breeches and polished riding boots with black or brown riding or driving coats; the women’s outfits were more varied: from curricle dresses and pelisses, to the kind of full-skirted riding habits that Lady Standish had ordered for Diana and Sally earlier that day.

It was an incomparably rich-looking scene, very different from the one in Berkshire that Diana was accustomed to. Certainly none of her suitors from home could match the immaculate and fashionable gentlemen who were gathered in the park today.

She glanced at Alex out of the corner of her eye. He was the handsomest man she had seen so far.

He fits in here, she thought. And so does Sally. But me? I’m not in the same class with these people.

A feeling of unease swept through her as she looked at the brilliant scene around her. Had she done the right thing in coming to London? At home everyone knew her situation and was comfortable with it. But what would all of these elegant people think if they knew that her bedroom was the size of a closet and that if it wasn’t for the generosity of her mother’s cousin they probably wouldn’t have meat on their table more than once a week.

She was a little more silent than usual as they drove along the path, letting Sally and Alex do most of the talking. A curricle pulled up next to them and saluted Alex. He stopped.

“See you are taking the ladies for a spin, eh Standish?” the fashionable gentleman driving the curricle said.

“Yes, I am,” Alex replied courteously. “Lord and Lady Sudbury, allow me to introduce my sister, Lady Sarah, and my cousin, Miss Diana Sherwood.”

“So lovely to meet you,” the lady said in nasal, aristocratic tones. “We knew your father well,” she said to Sally. “How is your dear mother doing?”

“She is well,” Sally said. “She is back at Standish House now, resting.”

The lady’s small, curious eyes turned to Diana. “I do not believe I know the Sherwoods,” she said.

Alex answered before Diana could speak, “Mrs. Sherwood is my mother’s first cousin, and the two of them are as close as sisters, as are Sally and Diana. We all grew up together at Standish Court, you know.”

“How cozy.” Lady Sudbury’s gaze raked Diana from her head to her feet. “Is this your first visit to London, Miss Sherwood?”

“Yes,” Diana replied in a composed voice.

“Diana and I are here to make our come-outs,” Sally said pleasantly. “Mama is planning to hold a big ball in a few weeks. I’m sure you will be getting invitations.”

“How lovely.” Lady Sudbury’s eyes returned to Diana. “And I suppose I shall see you girls at Almack’s?”

“I certainly hope so,” Sally said brightly.

Lord Sudbury spoke for the first time, “Let’s get going Clarissa. I don’t like to keep the horses standing for long.”

“Of course.” Lady Sudbury shared a restrained smile among the three of them. “Au revoir,” she said.

There was a little silence as they once more drove along the crowded pathway. Diana had gotten a distinct impression that her cousins had been trying to protect her, and it made her uneasy. Alex had definitely implied that she lived at Standish Court. All of her worry about not being accepted came rushing back.

“I didn’t particularly care for Lady Sudbury,” Sally, who was usually so kind to everyone, said.

“He’s something in the government, I believe,” Alex said.

“She seemed—cold, somehow.”

“This isn’t the country, Sal,” Alex said. “You and Dee are going to have to get accustomed to the fact that not everyone in London is warm and friendly, the way they are at home. People here are always jockeying for position in society. For example, perhaps Mama was not planning to invite the Sudburys to her ball. Now you have forced her into it.”

Sally protested. “She made it sound as if she and Mama and Papa were great friends.”

Alex deftly steered them past another carriage. “Perhaps they were, perhaps they weren’t,” he said.

“How do you know so much about London society?” Diana suddenly demanded.

He gave her a quick look. “I may never have been to London for the Season, but remember I went to Eton with the sons of all these people—and I served on Wellington’s staff with a number of others. I know how they tick.”

His words made Diana even more nervous. If position was what was important to these high-fashion people, then what kind of a reception was she going to get? She knew she was attractive enough, and she knew that her beauty had been responsible for all of the marriage offers she had received at home. But would beauty be enough in a society like this one?

She said as much to her mother that evening, when she went into her bedroom to say good-night.

“Perhaps this venture was a mistake, Mama,” she said. “Perhaps we should have stayed at home. What if no one asks me to dance at any of these balls? I shall be humiliated.”

“That won’t happen,” Mrs. Sherwood said definitely. “When the young men get a look at you, you will have partners. Don’t worry about that, my love.”

“Well…perhaps I will have partners, but will anyone want to marry me? I am only an army officer’s daughter. I have no money, no status…”

“Stop worrying, Diana,” her mother chided. “You are a very beautiful young woman. You will find a husband, I’m certain of it.” She kissed Diana’s cheek. “Now get some sleep. I will see you in the morning.”

Diana gave her mother a shadowy smile and went on back to her own room. She wasn’t sure she was going to like London at all.