TWENTY-SIX
Women of distinction held salons in which interesting mixtures of people were brought together for debate, gossip and discussion. Over the course of four Tuesdays in May, Maddie made her name as a hostess of remarkable skill, particularly in light of her tender years. When she sat with several distinguished peers at Epsom Downs in June, she was greeted by a vast network of those who longed for a first or second invitation.
No surprise, then, that Lawrence Ashford wandered over to the open carriage to spy. Maddie had cut back on her correspondence with the Admiral, but when she did write, she enclosed newspaper clippings that reported the comings and goings of the peers, albeit in vague terms that she could twist to alter perceptions. Just as gossip had been spread about her, so too did Maddie twist gossip, which she knew to be about others, and suggest that the reporters were talking about her. With glee, she pictured her stepfather squirming, fuming and helpless. When he showed that he felt the full depth of humiliation, perhaps then he would be amenable to negotiate a truce.
Lord St. Vincent resigned his post amid a flurry of complaints regarding the excess of nobility in the Royal Navy, and his official letter left no doubt that he was referring in large part to the Admiral. Among Maddie’s circle of friends, it was believed that any man who married off a daughter in a manner designed to cast aspersions on her moral character was not an officer to be respected, his rank due entirely to birth rather than merit. Having created such an image, Maddie regretted that it carried over to reflect on the Admiral’s strategic thinking as well. His recommendations in regard to the Mediterranean campaign had been discarded like a ship’s slops.
“What have you done?” Lawrence asked. “ I have only to locate Sunderland to find you nearby.”
“What is the harm?” she asked. “A lady must bask in the light while the sun shines, knowing that it must set at the close of her day.”
“A lady behaves properly,” he hissed.
“I have made the acquaintance of a Miss Gresham. Of no family, but a great beauty, and thus hoping for a most advantageous match.” Maddie looked her step-uncle in the eye. “My father should marry again and produce a son, don’t you think? Shall I encourage such a union?”
The suggestion took the wind out of Lawrence’s sails. “We are in agreement that your father’s conduct towards you was unacceptable. But he had his reasons, whatever they might have been.”
“A reason to humiliate me? After appearing to feel nothing but love for me, and to be pleased with my return from South Carolina. I kept my promises, and he broke his word.” One of the Thompson boys waved at Maddie, to inform her that a horse in which she held an interest was about to run. “If you will excuse me, I have business matters to attend to.”
The Second War of Rebellion Page 41