Читать книгу The Bargain - Mary Jo Putney - Страница 8

London, July 1815

In his dream, Major David Lancaster was galloping across the Spanish hills on his horse, Aquilo, who ran with the grace of his namesake eagle. Between his thighs, the horse’s muscles were powerful and responsive to the slightest pressure. David laughed aloud, his hair whipped by the wind, feeling as if the two of them could run like this forever, rejoicing in the exuberance of youth and strength.

A distant scream of agony jerked him awake. Years of war had trained him to leap to his feet and grab his rifle while he scrambled from his tent to ward off attack. But instead of movement, he felt only savage pain as his half-dead body failed to respond. From the waist down, nothing moved, his lifeless legs anchoring him to the bed.

He opened his eyes to the ugly reality of the Duke of York Hospital. Aquilo had died at Waterloo, and so had David, though his body stubbornly insisted on clinging to the last embers of life. The soldier’s luck that had carried him through years of war without serious injury had deserted him at the end. A direct artillery hit would have been swifter and kinder than this lingering demise.

But it wouldn’t be much longer now. He clamped his jaw as the waves of pain ebbed to a bearable level. Though the dingy room wasn’t much, at least officer’s privilege gave him the privacy to suffer in solitude.

He recognized the soft, regular click of knitting needles and turned his head on the pillow to see his sister’s small form silhouetted against the fading light of the lone window. He felt a rush of tenderness. Sally had come every day since his return to London, arranging her duties so that she could spend as much time as possible with her dying brother. This was so much harder for her than for him. He felt no fear, only stoic acceptance. At the end, he would find peace. For Sally there would be loneliness, and the insecure existence of a governess with no family to fall back on.

Alert to his slightest movement, she glanced up to see if he was awake. Setting aside her knitting, she crossed the room to his bedside. “Are you hungry, David? I brought a nice beef broth from the Launcestons.”

He knew he should try to eat for Sally’s sake, but the thought nauseated him. His stomach was one of the many parts of his body that had lost interest in life. “No, thank you. Perhaps later.” He glanced at the window. “Time for you to go, before it gets dark.”

She shrugged her shoulders. Dressed in a plain gray gown, she was the very image of a modest governess. It saddened him to think that when he was gone, there would be no one left who would remember her as a wild little tomboy, racing him on her pony, scampering through the meadows with bare feet and shrieks of laughter. They’d been happy then, growing up in the green hills of Hereford. A lifetime ago.

Correctly interpreting her shrug, he said sternly, “Home, Sally. I don’t want you on the streets at night.”

She smiled, having known him too long to be intimidated by his officer voice. “Very well. I’ll dose you and be on my way.” Lifting the bottle of laudanum from his bedside table, she carefully poured a spoonful, then held it to David’s lips. He swallowed quickly, scarcely noticing the tastes of wine and spice that disguised the bitter opium that would mitigate his pain.

Sally put an arm under his shoulders and raised his head enough so that he could sip a little water. When he finished, she gently settled him back among the pillows. It had bothered him at first that their roles had been reversed, for it had always been his task to look out for her. But pride had swiftly dissolved in the face of his helplessness, and of Sally’s calm acceptance of the sordid realities of nursing.

“Good night, David.” She straightened the blanket over his inert body. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”

With a glance she confirmed that broth, water, and laudanum were all within his reach. The laudanum, at least would be needed before morning. Then she left, back straight and expression controlled. The room was mercifully too shadowed to show the bleakness in her eyes.

Colors began to intensify, shapes twisted, and pain eased as the opium began to take effect. His lids drifted shut. Thank God for laudanum.

While he wouldn’t have minded living a few more decades, he couldn’t complain. He’d had almost thirty-two years of mostly rewarding life. He’d traveled, fought honorably for his country, made friends closer than brothers. The only regrets he had were about Sally. She was a highly capable young woman, but life was uncertain. If only he could leave her enough to secure her future. If only …

The numbing warmth of opium soothed away the pain, and he slept.

Frowning, Lady Jocelyn glided into her drawing room, her voluminous riding habit belling around her. It was time to confide in her favorite aunt, who might have some useful insight into the situation. “Aunt Laura?”

She was about to say more when she realized that Lady Laura Kirkpatrick was not alone. Helping herself to tea cakes was Lady Cromarty, also an aunt but definitely not a favorite. It was too late to escape, so Jocelyn repressed a sigh and moved forward, saying with patent insincerity, “Aunt Elvira. What an … an unexpected pleasure.”

The countess smiled back with equal insincerity and an alarming array of teeth. “Since I was in town shopping, I thought I’d call to say hello. I can’t stay long since it’s a good two-hour drive back to Charlton.”

“I am quite aware how long a drive it is to Charlton.” Jocelyn seated herself opposite the two older women. She hated thinking of her childhood home. She loved the estate deeply and had even toyed with the idea of marrying her cousin Will, heir to the earldom. Like his father, he was amiable and easily managed, and through him she would eventually become mistress of Charlton again. Fortunately, common sense always prevailed. Will wasn’t a bad fellow, but she certainly didn’t want him as a husband.

Lady Laura poured another cup of tea and offered it to Jocelyn. “I’m glad you returned in time to join us.” As a military wife, she’d become an expert smoother of troubled waters, and where Lady Cromarty went, the waters were frequently whipped into a froth.

As she accepted the tea, Jocelyn hoped as she had often before that she would be as handsome as her aunt when she reached her forties. Both of them had the Kendal looks and coloring, with hazel eyes and chestnut hair gleaming with red highlights, but her aunt was blessed with the serenity produced by more than twenty years of happy marriage. A blessing that Jocelyn might never know.

Elvira, Countess of Cromarty, aunt by marriage instead of blood, was quite a different matter. Though she had not been born to a high estate, she had accepted her elevation to the nobility as proof that God was just. Today, her gaze was moving around the elegant room with proprietary interest as she devoured the cake.

Jocelyn’s lips tightened. “Stop evaluating the furnishings, Aunt Elvira,” she said in her coolest voice. “You are not getting this house.”

A lesser woman might have been embarrassed at such candor, but Lady Cromarty only smiled blandly. “Are you getting uncomfortable with your birthday coming so soon, and you still unwed?”

The subject on all their minds landed in the middle of the room like a cat among the pigeons. Determined to have his own way, even after death, Jocelyn’s father had left the bulk of his personal fortune to his daughter—on the condition that she marry by the age of twenty-five. If she didn’t, most of the investments and Cromarty House, the magnificent London mansion where they were sharing tea, would go to Willoughby.

“Why should I be uncomfortable?” Jocelyn asked with equal blandness. “I’ll admit I’m having some trouble deciding which offer to accept, but never fear. I shall certainly be married in time to fulfill the conditions of my father’s will.”

“I’m sure you’ve had your offers, dear,” Elvira said, her tone implying she thought nothing of the kind. “But when a woman reaches your age unwed, one has to wonder …” She gestured vaguely. “So fortunate that if you prefer spinsterhood, you’ll have quite a nice little competence, enough to live in some genteel place like Bath.”

“Since I dislike Bath, it is very fortunate that the issue will not arise,” Jocelyn said in a silky voice.

Elvira’s polite mask slipped into a scowl. “It isn’t as if you need the money. We have five children to establish. It was quite infamous of your father to leave Willoughby scarcely enough to maintain the estates.”

Actually, the fourth earl had left his brother ample income to support his family and maintain his lordly dignity, but the countess was the sort who could never have enough. Before Jocelyn could succumb to the temptation to point that out, Elvira shrieked. A tawny body had streaked over the back of the sofa and plopped onto her wide lap, eyeing the countess with golden eyes and a sadistic feline smirk.

Jocelyn repressed a grin. Isis had the usual cat genius for pouncing on those people who least wanted to be pounced on. Making a mental note to order oysters for the cat’s dinner, she pulled the bell cord before crossing the room to scoop Isis from the countess’s lap. “I’m so sorry, Aunt,” she cooed. “Apparently Isis has conceived a fondness for you. Or perhaps for that cream bun in your hand. Bad Isis.”

The cat blinked placidly, quite aware that the scolding wasn’t real. Isis had been the gift of a naval suitor who claimed to have brought her from Egypt, and her velvety, lion-colored fur and fine-boned elegance did resemble the felines seen in Egyptian temple art. The cat had far more aristocratic style than the Countess of Cromarty.

When the butler entered in response to Jocelyn’s summons, she said, “Dudley, my aunt was just leaving. Please have her carriage brought around.”

Even Elvira could take a hint that broad, but her expression was complacent when she rose. Clearly she thought that the husband hunting had been left too late. “Good day, Laura. And do invite us to your wedding, Jocelyn. If there is one.”

Accurately interpreting the look on her niece’s face, Laura hastily escorted the countess from the room. On the verge of one of her rare but incendiary bursts of temper, Jocelyn rose and stalked across the room to stare out at the street as she struggled to master herself. Elvira had always been irritating, and it was a mistake to give her the satisfaction of losing control.

A few minutes later, she recognized Lady Laura’s quiet footsteps entering the drawing room. Turning from the window, she said, “I’d marry a beggar from Seven Dials before I’d let the money go to Willoughby and that … that archwife.”

“One could wish that Willoughby had chosen a woman of more refinement,” Laura admitted as she sat down again. “But Elvira is right, you know. Time is running out. I haven’t pressed you about marriage because you’re no green girl, and you know your own business best. Relinquishing most of your inheritance is preferable to an unhappy marriage, and it isn’t as if you’ll be left penniless.”

“I have no intention of giving up the fortune I’m entitled to,” Jocelyn said crisply. “Certainly not to the benefit of Elvira.”

“You’ve had over three years to find a husband to your taste. The weeks left aren’t much time.”

Remembering what she had wanted to discuss, Jocelyn sighed and resumed her seat. “Oh, I know whom I want to marry. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet succeeded in engaging his interest. At least, not the marrying kind of interest.”

“How … interesting. I hadn’t realized you had set your sights on someone. Who is the dense fellow who hasn’t yet recognized his good fortune?”

Jocelyn reached into the sewing box by her chair and pulled out an embroidery hoop with fabric stretched across the frame. “The Duke of Candover.”

“Candover! Merciful heavens, Jocelyn, the man is a confirmed bachelor,” her aunt exclaimed. “He’ll never marry.”

“The fact that he never has doesn’t mean that he never will.” Jocelyn threaded a length of pale blue silk through a needle, then took a meticulous stitch. “He and I are very well suited, and his attentions have been quite pronounced in the last few months.”

“He does seem to enjoy your company. You were just out riding with him, weren’t you? But he has stayed well within the bounds of propriety. Morning calls and dances at balls, with the occasional ride or drive. Unless there is more that I don’t know about?” Her sentence rose at the end, turning her words into a worried question.

“He has always behaved as a perfect gentleman,” Jocelyn said with regret. A pity that the duke hadn’t crossed the line of propriety; he was not the kind of man to do that with her unless he had serious intentions. “But he has spent more time with me than with any other eligible female. He’s in his mid-thirties, and it’s time he set up his nursery.”

Lady Laura frowned. “You’ve set yourself an impossible task, my dear. Candover has perfectly good cousins, so he has no need to marry to get an heir. He’s been on the town for years and has never come close to marrying. He’s had his share of mistresses, but always widows or other men’s wives, never a marriageable young woman.” Her mouth twisted wryly. “If you want him as a lover, marry someone else and he’ll probably oblige, at least for a while. But he’ll never make a husband.”

“Blunt talk indeed.” Unnerved by her aunt’s assessment, Jocelyn considered the last months for the space of a dozen stitches. Had she imagined the duke’s interest? No, he found her attractive; she’d had enough experience of men to recognize genuine admiration. And the attraction was more than simple physical awareness of a member of the opposite sex. “There is a … a real sense of connection between us, Aunt Laura, perhaps because we’ve both been pursued by fortune hunters for years. But it’s more than that. I think there could be a great deal more.”

“It’s possible,” her aunt said gently. “But you’ve run out of time, my dear. If he hasn’t offered for you yet, I can’t imagine that you’ll bring him up to scratch in a mere four weeks. If you’re determined to marry no one but him, you’d better start packing. Elvira will want to move in here the day after your birthday. She wouldn’t dare put you out, of course, but I assume you have no desire to stay on at her sufferance.”

“I will not give her the satisfaction of getting what should be mine.” Jocelyn stabbed her needle into her embroidery with unnecessary force. Being no fool, she’d already realized that it was wildly unlikely that Candover would move from admiration to matrimony in the weeks left. “I have an … an alternative plan.”

“One of your other suitors? Lord MacKenzie would marry you in a heartbeat, and I think he’d make a wonderful husband.” Lady Laura dimpled. “Of course I’m biased, since he reminds me of Andrew.”

Jocelyn shook her head. MacKenzie was pleasant and good-looking, but not for her. “I’m thinking of accepting Sir Harold Winterson. It’s something of a game between us that he proposes to me regularly, but he’d be delighted if I accepted. The man must be seventy if he’s a day—too old to be interested in exercising his marital rights. I’d fulfill the terms of Father’s will, and it wouldn’t be that long until I have my freedom again. If I’m a widow, Candover will regard me in quite a different light.”

Lady Laura almost dropped her tea cup. “What an appalling thought! To marry a man while hoping for his death would be wicked. Foolish, too. I knew a girl who married a man Sir Harold’s age, hoping to become a rich widow soon. That was twenty years ago, and her husband is still very much alive, while she has lost her youth.”

As Jocelyn’s face fell, Laura added, “Besides, there is no age at which one can assume a man will not be interested in exercising his marital rights.”

Jocelyn shivered at the thought. “You’ve convinced me. Sir Harold is a sweet old gentleman, but I have no desire to be a wife to him.” She bit her lower lip. “While the idea of marrying a man at death’s door has merit, Sir Harold is quite vigorous for his age. One would have to be sure the man was really dying.”

“I’d like to believe that I’ve dissuaded you through moral logic, but I have the dismal feeling that it’s only the practical problems that discourage you. If you have any more outrageous schemes in mind, don’t tell me.” Laura regarded her niece gravely. “Marriages of convenience may be the way of the world, but I’d hoped you would find something better. A true meeting of minds and spirits such as Andrew and I have.”

Trying not to be envious, Jocelyn replied, “Few people are so fortunate.”

Unable to deny that, her aunt said, “Does it have to be Candover? If not MacKenzie, perhaps Lord Cairn. I’m sure he’d be a kind and loving husband.”

“But I like Candover, Aunt Laura. Men are not pairs of interchangeable gloves. In the seven years since my presentation, I’ve met no one except Candover whom I can imagine as my husband. You had plenty of suitors in your day. Would you have wanted to wed and bed anyone other than Uncle Andrew?”

“Not after I met Drew.” Lady Laura drew her hands together, as if debating whether to say more. “Darling, I’ve sometimes wondered. Does your … your reluctance to marry have anything to do with your mother?”

Jocelyn said in a tone that could chip ice, “We will not discuss my mother!” Realizing how immoderate that sounded, she said more calmly, “I scarcely remember the woman. Why should she have any effect on my marital choices?”

Her aunt frowned, but knew better than to say more. Willing to change the subject, she lifted a letter from the table next to her chair. “I’ve just received this from Andrew. He and his regiment are safely installed in Paris now. I imagine the Allies will occupy the city for some time while the French government is restored.”

“Did he mention any of the officers I met in Spain?” Jocelyn said with quick concern. She and her aunt had pored over the casualty lists after Waterloo. In the weeks that had passed, some of the wounded would have died.

Laura scanned the letter, reading aloud comments about officers that Jocelyn knew. “Here’s a bit of good news. Captain Dalton has been sent to the Duke of York Hospital here in London. He has a severe leg injury, but his life is no longer in danger.”

“Good news indeed.” Jocelyn smiled reminiscently. “Remember how Richard rescued me when I got lost trying to find Uncle Andrew’s winter quarters?”

“Remember!” Laura rolled her eyes in mock horror. “I could show you the exact gray hairs I acquired when you rode into Fuente Guinaldo with all those soldiers and not so much as an abigail to bear you company.”

“The maid I had then was such a hen-hearted creature,” Jocelyn said defensively. “How was I to know that she would flatly refuse to leave Lisbon?”

“The girl had a good deal better sense than you did,” her aunt said dryly. “It’s a miracle that you weren’t robbed and murdered by French troops, bandits, guerrillas, or heaven knows who else. You were mad to come bolting into a war zone like that.”

Privately Jocelyn agreed. That had been one of the occasions when her headstrong streak had erupted, despite her endless efforts to curb it. “I’d made inquiries, and it seemed as if the journey would not be unduly dangerous. I’ll admit I was a bit worried when my guide ran off and I had no idea where to find the regiment, but I was well armed, and you know that I’m an excellent shot. After Captain Dalton and his patrol found me, I was perfectly safe.”

“All I can say is that you have a highly capable guardian angel.” Lady Laura consulted the letter again. “Major Lancaster is at the York Hospital, too, but I don’t believe you met him. He was on detached duty with the Spanish army the winter you spent with us.” Her eyes became bleak. “He’s dying, I’m afraid.”

Jocelyn leaned across and briefly laid her hand on her aunt’s. The Waterloo casualty lists had been painful for her but far worse for her aunt, who had spent her life as an army wife and now saw her friends decimated.

Having met many officers through Lady Laura, Jocelyn sympathized deeply, because she’d liked the kind of men they were. Unlike the perfumed gallants of London, what they did mattered. Perhaps that was why she was attracted to the Duke of Candover, whose fine tailoring could not conceal his intelligence or air of purpose. He was considered an exemplary landlord, she knew, which spoke well of his character, and he was a force for principled reform in the House of Lords. Political views were another area where they were in tune.

Yes, Candover was the one. She liked him very well—but not too well.

If only she had more time for their relationship to grow and deepen. She’d observed the duke carefully and believed he would marry if he found the right woman. A woman of his rank, and a similar steady temperament.

But time had almost run out, and if she waited to bring him around, she would lose her patrimony. Moreover, if she was reduced to living on the modest stipend she would have left, she would lose most of her opportunities to meet Candover socially. She would no longer be a glamorous, much sought after heiress, but a woman of modest fortune past the first flush of youth. She shuddered at the thought. That was quite, quite unacceptable. Her rank in life was one thing she had always been sure of.

Damn her father! They had been so close—yet in the end, he’d betrayed her as surely as her mother. …

She cut off the thought with the skill of long practice. Better to think of what she could do to ensure that she would have both her inheritance and the husband she wanted. She had a month still, and a Kendal of Charlton never surrendered, even if she was of Charlton no more.

Returning to mundane matters, she said, “I think I’ll call on Captain Dalton at the hospital tomorrow morning. Will you join me?”

“I can’t tomorrow or the next day, but tell him I’ll be there the day after without fail.” Lady Laura rose and excused herself to write an answer to her husband’s letter.

Alone in the drawing room, Jocelyn’s mind returned to her dilemma. The obvious solution was to marry one of her suitors and have a fashionable marriage, each of them going their own way after an heir or two had been produced. Yet the idea revolted her. She didn’t want to be a brood mare to a man she barely knew, nor did she aspire to become one of Candover’s passing mistresses. She wanted to be his wife. She was resigned to the fact that few if any husbands were faithful, but at least if Candover strayed, he would be discreet about it. If she was really lucky, he might realize that his wife was all the woman he needed.

Despite her aunt’s revulsion at the thought, a swift widowhood would be preferable to a loveless marriage of convenience, for that would give her freedom and the time she needed to win Candover’s heart. But not Sir Harold Winterson. Lady Laura was right about that—it wouldn’t do to marry the old gentleman and find herself in the distasteful position of longing for his death so she could regain her freedom.

Jocelyn tilted her head to gaze at the gorgeously painted and gilded drawing room ceiling. As a child she often lay on the floor and made up stories about the paintings in the elaborate medallions. She loved this house almost as much as Charlton Abbey.

The unruly side of her nature surged forth again, and she swore an oath that one of her warrior ancestors would have approved. She might never win the duke’s love, and Charlton was forever lost, but Cromarty House was hers. No matter what it took, she would find a way to keep her home out of Elvira’s grasping little hands.