Читать книгу Regency Pleasures and Sins Part 1 - Louise Allen, Christine Merrill - Страница 50

‘A ball?’ Nick echoed his father icily. ‘And exactly how do you expect to introduce my wife to society at the moment, sir?’

‘As Miss Cunningham,’ his Grace suggested with equal froideur. ‘That leaves all Katherine’s options open, I believe.’ He smiled benignly at her.

‘And how do we account for the fact that an unmarried lady is living unchaperoned in an all-male household? Sir,’ Nick enquired with a politeness that did not convince Katherine for a moment.

‘I will simply not appear at all,’ she said hastily.

‘You are my wife, I will not have you skulking like some demirep I am ashamed to produce!’ he thundered, making her jump. The chaplain and archivist began an earnest conversation in a far corner about ecclesiastical Latin, obviously used to effacing themselves while the Lydgates robustly exchanged opinions.

‘Cousin Fanny,’ the Duke announced, ignoring Nicholas’s bristling indignation. He continued to address himself to Katherine. ‘Lady Fanny Craven, a cousin of somewhat straitened means who enjoys a visit to Seaton Mandeville now and again. I am sure she will be delighted to oblige and, as she lives in Durham, I foresee no problems with her travelling here in time.’

Katherine cast a hasty glance at Nick, who was still looking far from appeased. ‘Thank you, your Grace. That would be most kind, if Lady Fanny is able to spare the time.’ The idea of a ball in the great house, the thought a dancing in Nick’s arms, was powerfully tempting.

‘I am damned if I am having her living in the Dower House,’ Nick stated.

‘Of course not. Fanny shall have her usual rooms. I wrote this afternoon,’ he added, with sublime disregard to the effect this high-handed approach was having on his son and heir. Katherine, silently musing on how much like his father Nick could be, kept her counsel.

‘When do you plan to hold the ball, your Grace?’ she ventured, deciding it was time to intervene before Nick exploded.

‘In ten days’ time.’

‘Dinner is served, your Grace.’ Heron appeared at the door as Nick and Katherine said in unison, ‘What the devil am I supposed to wear?’

‘But I have no ball gown!’

‘You will both have to take yourselves off to Newcastle tomorrow and see to it,’ the Duke announced calmly, offering Katherine his arm and proceeding to take her into dinner.

Behind her she heard Nick’s sudden laugh and loved him for it. He was never a poor loser, despite, she suspected, rarely finding himself in that position.

The next day Katherine went in search of John. She had every intention of getting him to drive her and Jenny into Newcastle and not going with Nick, as she was quite certain her husband intended.

On her way out she pressed a letter into Heron’s hands. ‘His Grace has been kind enough to frank this for me.’ It was a brief account of her whereabouts for Arthur, and a plea to keep her present circumstances a secret. She was reluctant to commit anything to writing, but Arthur had been a good friend and she hated to think of him worrying. And now he knew her direction, he could let her know if he heard anything about Philip.

When she reached the stable yard, the grooms were polite but somewhat vague about John’s whereabouts. He might be in the tack room, or on the other hand he and Durren had been seen talking to the corn chandler. Would her ladyship like the boy sent to fetch him?

‘No, that is quite all right,’ Katherine assured them. ‘I will find him.’ She recalled Jenny telling her where John’s room was, so she made her way from the main stables into the quieter secondary yard and climbed the flight of external stone steps that led up to the room above the hay store which Jenny had described.

The door stood open, but inside all was silent. Just in case, Katherine looked round the door and froze in incredulous silence.

Her groom and her maid were locked in each other’s arms in what she could only describe as a passionate embrace. Katherine stole backwards as quietly as she could, but her very presence must have alerted the lovers for Jenny looked around.

‘Miss Katherine!’

‘I am sorry, I should have knocked, excuse me …’ She was already backing away down the steps when John appeared at the top.

‘Miss Katherine, please—may we speak with you?’

Flustered, Katherine climbed the steps again. She was definitely not of the school of employer who believed they should order their servants’ private lives for them, and, even if she were, John and Jenny would soon be independent of her.

‘I beg your pardon,’ she said stiffly as she re-entered the room. ‘I had no intention of—’

‘We are going to be married, Miss Katherine,’ John said bluntly.

‘Congratulations! I am so happy for you.’ Katherine embraced Jenny, then threw John into considerable confusion by kissing him on the cheek. ‘I am so sorry that our ways are going to have to part soon. But perhaps you have plans?’

‘We have that.’ John pulled out chairs and they found themselves grouped round the small table that served as John’s dressing table and desk. ‘My father owns a carter’s business down in Devon. He’s in a small way of trade and things are getting a bit much for him now. He’s been on at me to take over for a few years now and I reckon this is the time.’

‘And we also reckon,’ Jenny put in, ‘that we can make it more than just a small, local concern. We reckon that with a bit of hard work and some ambition we could have a network of haulage all over the West Country. And that’s not all.’

John picked up the tale with the ease that told Katherine this was a well-rehearsed discussion between them. How long had this romance been going on under her unsuspecting nose?

‘My mother has been running a shop. A haberdashery shop mainly; again, nothing flash, just a little business. But if we have a distribution network we could supply several shops, bring in good London wares to stock them—’

‘Serve the fashionable trade, or at least the merchant class,’ Jenny chimed in.

‘But that is a wonderful plan. You will go far, I can see it now.’

‘The thing is, Miss Katherine …’ Jenny met John’s eye, he nodded and she said tentatively, ‘If things really don’t work out for you here, Miss Katherine, we wondered if you’d like to come and stay with us while you work out what to do.’ She hurried on, almost gabbling before Katherine could speak. ‘I know it’d be a come-down, but—’

‘It would be anything but,’ Katherine said warmly. ‘I am touched that you should ask me. I hope I would not have to impose upon you, but if I did I insist on working for my bread and butter. Perhaps your new business would need a bookkeeper? It is about my only skill.’ It was a tempting vision of life with friends, an honest job of work to do, the challenge of building a business. If she could not be with Nick, then this was the next best thing. But however generous the offer, she knew it would have to be the last resort; she could not risk being a burden on the two people who had shown her unswerving loyalty.

‘That’s a good idea,’ John said with enthusiasm. ‘I reckon we could make a go of that. Now, you think on it, Miss Katherine. If it don’t suit—and heaven knows we hope it doesn’t come to it for your sake—you just say so, and no bones broken.’

‘John, you have to think about this …’

‘We have been,’ Jenny said. ‘And we’ve talked and talked. We wouldn’t say anything unless we were sure.’

‘Then thank you, both of you, I accept, but I promise I will not impose upon you unless I have absolutely no choice.’ The relief was almost overwhelming, and with it came the desolation—now, with a safety net below her, she had to accept that she was leaving Nick, there was no possible excuse not to. ‘When will you be married?’

‘When we get down to Devon,’ John said with a fond look at Jenny. ‘Jenny’s got no folks living, so that’ll be best.’

‘I’ll leave you in peace, then,’ Katherine said, getting to her feet and wondering if she was going to make it out of the door before she gave way to tears. What am I crying about? she wondered as she stumbled down the stairs. Happiness for John and Jenny, of course. A pang of jealousy? Yes, that too. Relief? Definitely relief. And heartache …

‘There you are.’ It was Nick. She could not retreat and it was too late to hide the tear tracks on her cheeks. ‘Kat? What is wrong?’

‘Nothing.’ She forced a smile on to her lips; it was not so very hard after all. ‘I am simply being foolish and sentimental.’ She tucked a hand under his elbow and walked away from the stairs. ‘You’ll not say anything yet, please, but John and Jenny are getting married.’ She chattered on, telling him all about their plans and omitting anything of her proposed part in them.

‘That is good news indeed.’ He stopped just before the arch into the main yard and took her by the hands. ‘I would have offered them places here, however things turned out, but this is best for them.’ He released one hand and fished in his pocket, producing a large white handkerchief. ‘Do not cry, Kat.’

The gentle pressure of the linen under each eye as he dabbed made her want to weep more, throw herself into his arms, confess her new plan to escape him, be comforted and persuaded that she was wrong, she could stay and that was the right thing to do.

‘Stop it,’ she ordered lightly, conjuring up a watery smile. ‘I am being foolishly sentimental and you are encouraging me in it. Now, were you looking for me?’

‘I have ordered the carriage to be brought round to the front in half an hour—we cannot waste any time in ordering clothes for Father’s confounded ball. In any case, I have to visit a tailor soon or all Robert’s coats will be out at the seams.’

‘But I need to find a Newcastle Directory, otherwise how am I going to find a modiste?’

‘I know just the one for you, and I have checked that she is still in business. Madame LeBlanc will be able to recommend a milliner and so forth.’

‘French?’ Katherine enquired, interested despite her worries about paying for all this. ‘I have never been able to afford a French dressmaker, even when things were much better at home.’

‘She is probably from Wallsend,’ Nick said cynically, ‘but she knows her business. Where are you going?’

‘To fetch Jenny. I cannot possibly go shopping in town without a maid, think what an appearance that would present! ‘

‘I was rather hoping I would be adequate company,’ Nick said with a grin.

‘And you know perfectly well what that would look like,’ she scolded, walking back towards John’s room. ‘We will be in the hall in half an hour.’

It did not occur to her to wonder exactly how her husband had acquired such a knowledge of Newcastle modistes until the three of them were standing outside Madame LeBlanc’s chic establishment.

‘Very smart,’ Jenny approved, eying the green paint picked out in gold and the tasteful window display.

The lady herself swept forward to greet the new arrivals, a smile on her lips. ‘Good day, madam, sir. How may I be of assistance?’ Then the smile changed to one of warm recognition and she cried, ‘Lord Seaton! Why, it must be five years at least since you have visited us.’

‘More like seven. Your memory is excellent, Madame. This lady is Miss Cunningham, who is a guest at Seaton Mandeville. Unexpectedly the Duke has decided to throw a ball and Miss Cunningham has no suitable wardrobe for such an occasion.’

‘But of course, I perceive this is a matter of the utmost urgency, my lord. When is the ball?’

‘In nine days’ time. Are we setting you an impossible task, Madame?’

‘For you my lord …’ she cast him a look which could only be described as coquettish ‘… for you we will contrive. Please, be seated while I fetch some pattern books and samples.’

‘Nicholas,’ Katherine said with a deceptively sweet smile, ‘how, exactly, does Madame know you so well?’

‘Not because we have had a liaison, which is what I suspect you are most improperly assuming. In my younger, wilder days I paid for a number of charming barques of frailty to be dressed by Madame.’

‘Really, Nicholas, I wonder that you tell me such a shocking thing.’ Katherine tried to sound outraged and failed.

‘I did tell you I had been a rake, Kat. But of course, that is now all behind me as I am a sober married man.’

Jenny, who had been correctly sitting to one side appearing not to listen, let a giggle escape her. Katherine gave both her companions a severe stare. ‘Shh! Madame is returning.’

Madame returned with a veritable train of attendants bearing fashion plates, pattern books and swatches of fabrics that made Katherine’s mouth water just to look at.

After almost an hour of flicking, pondering and discussion Katherine said, ‘This one.’ It was a charming gown, very simple, but given distinction by elegant bell sleeves and a graceful neckline. It also had the advantage of appearing relatively cheap compared to some more ornate offerings and simple enough to be made in a rush.

‘But, yes, you have excellent taste Miss Cunningham—’

‘No.’ Nick tossed a fashion plate on to the table. ‘This one.’

‘But Ni … Lord Seaton, surely this could not be produced in time.’ It was breathtaking, a slender, sleeveless column of a gown with a scooped and twisted neckline, given a touch of drama by the way the skirt was cut at the back to form a demi-train. The hemline was heavily beaded, as was the bodice, and Katherine could almost feel how the weight this would give to the fabric would make the gown hang and move.

‘It is not suitable for an unmarried lady,’ she said regretfully, letting her finger trail down the line of the drawing.’

‘Not in that strong colour with the jet beads, no.’ Madame flipped back a pile of silks and produced one with a flourish. ‘But in this and with crystal beading, what could be more refined and suitable?’

This was a silk of the softest primrose yellow. Madame urged Katherine to stand in front of the mirror while she draped a length of it over her shoulder. ‘You see? Over a white satin underskirt and with slippers and gloves of kid a few shades darker—enchanting.’

Katherine turned from the glass with a pang. ‘That fabric, that colour, but in the style I picked out first, if you please. The other is delightful, but I can tell it will cost considerably more and I had not budgeted for this expenditure,’ she said firmly.

‘There is no time to lose,’ Madame announced, scribbling in a notebook. ‘If Miss Cunningham and her attendant would be so good as to accompany Hortense to the fitting rooms, measurements may be made.’

Nick stood up. ‘Madame, will you be so good as to give Miss Cunningham directions to suitable shops for her slippers, gloves and so forth? Miss Cunningham, I will meet you back at the Lamb and Flag at three o’clock, if that will be enough time? And I will order a late luncheon.’

He smiled inwardly. Kat already had that focused look, which, in his wide experience, women always acquired on a serious shopping expedition. She might be acting most sensibly about her choice of gown, but he did not delude himself that by the time she and Jenny arrived back at the inn they would have subjected Newcastle’s most eligible emporia to a thorough pillaging.

‘Yes, thank you Lord Seaton, that will be delightful,’ she said over her shoulder, already halfway through the door. Then suddenly the focused look vanished and she smiled at him, excited and enchanting, and his heart contracted painfully, startling him. It seemed this business of being in love took some getting used to.

‘Madame!’ He pulled himself together and lifted the second design, the one he had chosen. ‘This gown, if you please. There is no need to say anything to Miss Cunningham until the first fitting. And, Madame, send the account to me.’

The knowing black eyes narrowed and he smiled at her. ‘No, Madame, this is absolutely not what you suspect.’ As he opened the door on to the street he added, ‘Quite the opposite, in fact.’

Nick was not surprised to find himself still alone at the Lamb and Flag at half past three and congratulated himself on his foresight in ordering a cold collation. When the door finally did fly open to admit two flushed and chattering young women, he rose to his feet, nobly forbearing from a pointed glance at the clock on the mantelshelf.

‘Have you had a successful expedition?’ he enquired, pulling out chairs.

‘Just look!’ Kat gestured at the pile of bandboxes and parcels that a sweating inn servant had deposited on the settle. ‘And I congratulate myself on exercising the utmost economy. We found the equivalent of the Soho Bazaar and made some fine bargains, I can tell you.’ She attacked the cold meats with admirable appetite.

‘How did you get it all here?’ Nick asked, fascinated.

‘Madame LeBlanc lent us a footman. It was most kind of her, considering I am only buying one quite modest gown and she cannot expect any further patronage from me. Would you like some of this pickled salmon? It is excellent.’

For a few minutes they were quiet, enjoying their very belated luncheon, then Kat asked, ‘Did you succeed in finding your tailor still in business?’

‘And my bootmaker, and my hatter,’ Nick said with some satisfaction. ‘And my equivalent pile of incidental shopping is in the carriage. Goodness knows how we are going to get it all home; I expect to have to sit on the box.’

He watched Kat affectionately as she found the sweetmeats and pounced on them. ‘This is an interesting new experience for me, shopping with my wife,’ he said, forgetting to guard his tongue. Instantly the shutters came down behind her eyes. He could have kicked himself. How was he ever to persuade her to give in and to let the marriage stand?

Attempted seduction had not worked and had only driven her further away; persuasion had failed, even hard common sense had broken on the rocks of her resolve. Perhaps courting her would work. There was the ball, after all—what more romantic setting could there be than Seaton Mandeville en fête for a ball, moonlight on the towers, music and flowers and wine working upon the senses? Nick absently peeled an apple, the peel curling over long fingers, and plotted.