by Mary Nichols
He smiled. ‘No, I did not think she would. Are you out of favour for accepting?’
She gave a little chuckle, the first he had heard from her for some time. ‘She has never been able to stand up to Lucy. And, of course, with Myles to back her, even Rowan will say nothing, though he glowers a lot.’
‘Then I shall look forward to seeing you there,’ he said, squeezing her arm again.
At the park gate he took his leave and she went the rest of the way treading on air.
Chapter Nine
Felix was in his study, working on the speech he meant to make in the Lords, when a messenger brought him a note from Myles, asking if he and Lady Lucinda could call later that afternoon. It gave no indication of why they wanted to see him, but he supposed it might have something to do with Esme. Perhaps she would accompany them, though the letter gave no indication of it. He hastily penned a reply saying he would be delighted and then sent for his housekeeper to make sure she would have refreshments prepared. After that, he could not put his mind to his speech and went from room to room picking things up and putting them down again, unable to settle to anything.
He did his best to hide his disappointment when Esme did not arrive with her sister and brother-in-law. After greeting them and making them welcome, he sent for tea and cakes and ushered them into the drawing room. When the tea tray came, he asked Lucy if she would do the honours. ‘At the moment this is a bachelor establishment,’ he said. ‘I rarely entertain ladies for tea. In fact, I do not think I ever have, though my mother enjoys it when she is in town.’
Lucy sat at the table to pour the tea, while the men took armchairs on either side of the hearth. ‘I learned from Esme that you are still not welcome at Trent House,’ she said, handing Felix a cup of tea. ‘And so we decided there was nothing for it but to come and see you.’
‘And very welcome you are.’
‘We heard the sad news of Sir Robert’s passing and came down at once,’ Myles put in, standing up to take his tea from Lucy. ‘According to reports I have read, his death is giving the opposition fresh impetus.’
‘Yes. Did you know Colonel Sibthorp has put down a motion calling for a setting up of a select committee to reconsider the whole idea?’
‘Yes. It is one of the reasons I am keen to do my bit to keep the momentum going. I am sure Sir Robert would not have wanted it abandoned. I would value your views. Personally I think the arrangements are too far advanced to cancel and if this design of Paxton’s is passed, it will be a step nearer fruition.’
‘Did you know the building is being called the Crystal Palace by Punch?’ Lucy put in. ‘It rolls off the tongue so much better than the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, don’t you think?’
‘Yes. It seems to have caught the imagination of the public and that perhaps is a help. I plan to use it when I speak against the Colonel’s motion when it reaches the Lords.’ It was common politeness to pursue the subject introduced by his guests, but what he really wanted to hear was how Esme was. ‘The money is nearly all there and I believe there has been a good response from all over the world to requests for people to send exhibits. Even the entrance fees have been decided and the ordinary people are all looking forward to visiting it, saving up their pennies towards the cost. Trains have been laid on for them and lists of cheap accommodation are being prepared so that they are not left to sleep on the streets. It would be a crime to cancel it now.’
‘I agree. My railwaymen are particularly keen and I have booked space myself to show one of my new locomotives. It might have to be transported from the rail depot in pieces and assembled on the spot, but it can be done.’
‘My exhibit is not on such an enormous scale,’ Felix said, with a laugh. ‘In fact it is only fourteen inches high. I have it with me. Would you like to see it? I would value your opinion.’
‘I don’t know anything about glass manufacture, but I will be honoured.’
Felix went to his bedroom and fetched a box containing the figurine from a cupboard where he had put it when he arrived back in London. While they watched, he sat at the table opposite Lucy, took it from its case and carefully undid the yards of material he had wrapped about it and stood it on the table. ‘There! That is my Crystal Girl. What do you think of her?’
‘Why, it’s Esme!’ Lucy exclaimed.
‘You recognise her?’
‘Of course. You have captured her exactly.’
‘Thank you, my lady.’
‘Did you know about the new name for the Exhibition when you named her?’
‘No, it is coincidence. She has always been my Crystal Girl.’
‘I am sure it will be much admired. Is that what you promised to show Esme?’
‘Yes. I wanted to know what you felt about it. Would she object?’
‘I don’t see how she could. It’s exquisite.’
‘She doesn’t know what it is yet and I cannot display it without her consent or the consent of the Earl and I am not sure I can obtain either. Esme…We quarrelled, you see, and she is always so jealously guarded, I cannot get near her to try to explain.’
‘You spoke to her yesterday.’
‘Indeed, I did, and it was a pleasure to think she might have forgiven me, and I thank you for allowing it, but it was not like a private conversation.’
‘You said you would not show it to her until other things had been resolved. Would that perhaps have something to do with Ma’amselle Lefavre? That is her name, is it not? She told Esme you were engaged to be married. Is it true?’
‘No, although there was a time, several years ago, when it might have come to pass, but she suddenly went off with someone else. He died and so did her father and she came to England, hoping to renew my interest.’
‘And succeeded?’
‘No, she did not.’ He was emphatic. ‘I told Esme so, but I could not give her any assurance that I would not see Juliette again.’
‘Then you cannot blame Esme. You see, Lord Gorridge told her you were helping the Revolutionaries in France in forty-eight and that’s how you met Ma’amselle Lefavre and became engaged to her, but when the uprising began, you left her and fled back to England. She has only now been able to follow you.’
‘He said that? No wonder she was angry, but why did she not tell me what he said?’
‘I think she wanted you to tell her yourself without any prompting.’
‘But I could not.’ He paused and took a deep breath. ‘I had better tell you the whole, in strict confidence, that is, and you shall judge as you see fit.’ He went on to tell them everything that had happened. ‘I am in a cleft stick. I cannot tell Esme about my work for the Duke and her mind has been poisoned by others. I am afraid she will not listen to me. And, forgive me, Lady Lucinda, Lady Trent is your sister, but she is almost throwing Lady Esme at Viscount Gorridge, who is being altogether too accommodating.’
‘Why don’t you approach our father?’ Lucy said after a moment’s thought. ‘I would be extremely surprised if he would condone a match between Esme and Edward Gorridge. Tell him everything. Get his permission to approach Esme. Rosemary can do nothing then, though you will still have to deal with Lord Gorridge and your other problems.’
‘That’s sound advice,’ Myles said. ‘I doubt the Earl has heard all the gossip, which I am sure is confined to a certain section of London society, and there is no need for you to tell him you have been denied entry to Trent House.’
‘Thank you.’ He carefully wrapped the figurine again. ‘I should like say how much I appreciate the trust you have put in me. It is comforting to know I have at least two allies.’
‘Oh, more than that, I am sure,’ Lucy said. ‘There is Esme…’
‘Ah, there’s the rub. How can I ask her to share the life of someone so tainted by gossip, even if my problems were resolved?’
‘I was given to understand you already had,’ Lucy said with a smile.
‘I tried, but the rumours have become worse since Mr
Connelly was arrested. The money draft found on him was mine. I gave it to him to pay Edward’s gambling debts, but Edward refuses to go to the police and corroborate it.’
‘I see what you mean about a cleft stick,’ Myles put in. ‘But surely the Duke of Wellington has it in his power to exonerate you?’
‘No doubt he will do so in his own good time—I only pray it will be before Esme commits herself to Gorridge, or anyone else.’
‘She won’t do that,’ Lucy assured him. ‘She loves you.’
‘Loves me!’ he exclaimed, the weariness suddenly leaving his voice and becoming animated. ‘Are you sure?’
‘She says she does and I have no reason to think she does not mean it. Her problem is Ma’amselle Lefavre.’
‘Then I will have to deal with it. Please, I beg of you, treat all I have said in confidence, tell no one, not even Esme. I must resolve that problem myself.’
His visitors assured him they would say nothing and soon afterwards took their leave. As soon as they had gone he began pacing the room, backwards and forwards. Esme loved him. His sweet Crystal Girl loved him. He did not doubt that Lady Lucinda, if not Myles, had come to him with the express purpose of telling him so. But he wanted to hear it from Esme’s own lips and he could not ask her until she had been convinced that Juliette Lefavre meant nothing to him. Suddenly making up his mind, he went into the hall, grabbed his hat from a side table and left the house.
Clarges Street was only a short walk away and did not give him time to have second thoughts. It would perhaps have been better for everyone if she had not been at home when he arrived, he might have calmed down and approached her in a different way. Instead he went in all guns blazing.
Mrs Ashbury, he was told by the footman who admitted him, was not at home and neither was Mr Ashbury.
‘Miss Lefavre?’
‘I believe she is in the garden, my lord.’
‘I’ll find her,’ he said. ‘No need to announce me.’
As far as the man was concerned, Lord Pendlebury was an acceptable visitor, nephew to the house’s owner, so he did not demur and went back to cleaning the silver, leaving Felix to stride through the house and make his way into the small garden at the rear where he found Juliette sitting on a bench beneath a cherry tree, with a book on her lap.
She jumped up when she saw him, letting the book fall to the ground. ‘Felix,’ she cried in delight. ‘Madame Ashbury and Victor ’ave gone visiting and you ’ave come to bear me company in my loneliness.’
‘No, I have not.’ He stooped and retrieved the book, putting it on the seat where she had been sitting. ‘I came to ask you—no, to demand to know why you told Lady Esme Vernley we are to be married.’
‘But, mon cher, would you have me deny it when she asked me most particularly if it was true? I could not tell the lies.’
‘It is most certainly not true and I do not know why you should think it is. I would not marry you if you were the last woman on earth.’
She laughed harshly. ‘I might be the only one who will ’ave you by the time the gossips ’ave done with you.’
‘Gossip that you have promoted, you and that evil cousin of mine. If you want to stay in this country, I suggest you do something to repair the damage. No, I do not suggest it, I require it.’
‘Oh, Felix, you are so funny.’ Her laughter had a bitter edge to it. ‘When the revolution comes, it will all go into the melting pot and we shall see who gives the orders then.’
‘It won’t happen, not in England.’
‘We shall see.’
‘Yes, we will. And you will find yourself on a boat back to France and those evil associates of yours imprisoned. One of them already is.’
‘The man was—’ow do you say?—expendable.’
‘Go back to France, Juliette. There is nothing for you here.’
‘Oh, yes, there is. Now, if you value your good name, you will leave before Mrs Ashbury returns and I tell her you ’ave ruined me.’
‘You wouldn’t?’ It was a rhetorical question; he knew the answer. As if to reinforce it, she put her hand to the neckline of her dress and began to tug at it, though not enough to tear it. He stared at her as if she were mad, bowed formally and turned to go. Furious, she picked up her book and threw it at him. The corner of it caught his cheek. He turned his back on her and left, dabbing at the cut with his handkerchief. ‘You will regret that, Felix Pendlebury!’ she shouted after him. If she had not been his enemy before, she certainly was now, and far from resolving matters, he had exacerbated them.
Esme dressed with particular care to go to Lady Aviemore’s soirée. She was going to see Felix and with luck might contrive to have a little private conversation with him. She was as excited as a small child, when given the present she had most longed for. ‘What shall I wear?’ she asked Miss Bannister. ‘I must look my best.’
‘You always look well, Miss Esme. What about the white spotted muslin?’
‘No, that makes me look pale. The striped silk.’
The stripes, in two shades of blue and one of cream, were used lengthwise on the sleeves and the bodice, which finished in a point at the tiny waist, and in alternate diagonal panels in the full skirt. A small row of ribbon bows went down the front from neck to hem, otherwise it was unadorned. A tiny head-dress of lace and ribbons sat on the back of her head, hardly concealing the rich gold of her hair, which Miss Bannister had tamed into smooth curls with combs and pins. Impatient to be off, she slipped into her shoes, picked up a tiny reticule and a fan and went downstairs to join Lucy and Myles.
If anything, Lady Aviemore’s salon was even more crowded than it had been before and the sound of everyone talking at once reached their ears as soon as the door was opened to admit them. ‘My goodness, Babel!’ Myles exclaimed, as they made their way into the room.
‘I cannot see him,’ Esme whispered to Lucy.
‘Patience, sweetheart,’ Lucy admonished. ‘If he is here, he will find us.’
They moved farther into the room and were immediately swallowed up by the throng, many of whom knew Myles and Lucy and were anxious to ensure their support for the project. Esme, a little outside their conversation, looked about her for the man who filled her heart and all her thoughts. Even then she did not see him until he spoke her name just behind her left ear and she whirled round to face him. ‘Oh, you startled me, coming up behind me like that.’
He smiled. ‘I beg your pardon, Lady Esme. Are you well?’
‘Yes, thank you.’ She was shaking like an aspen and her knees were feeling decidedly wobbly. ‘Are you?’
‘Yes, but all the better for seeing you.’
‘You must not say things like that.’
‘Why not?’
‘You know why. It is flirting, and men who are betrothed should not flirt.’
‘Not even with their prospective brides?’ It was said with a quirky smile and his head turned slightly to one side.
She was not amused. ‘But that is Ma’amselle Lefavre. She said you and she were to be married—’
‘She lied.’
‘She did?’
He looked down into her face, noting that the animation had returned to it and her eyes sparkled. Her lips were slightly apart and he longed to crush them beneath his own. ‘Yes. Oh, we cannot talk here, it is too crowded. I must speak to you privately.’ He looked about him. Everyone was busy with their own conversations, mostly in very loud voices; they did not appear to be interested in Felix and Esme, cocooned in their own little world. He took her hand. ‘Come with me.’
She pulled away. ‘No, I cannot. We will be missed.’
‘Very well. I am going into the garden for a breath of fresh air. If you have a crumb of pity for me, join me in a little while. I will not keep you long.’ He bowed formally and she watched him make his way from the room. It was a slow progression, because he had to keep stopping to speak to people on the way, who wanted to know his views on the Exhibition and whether he would speak again
st the Colonel’s motion. He disappeared through the door at last but when, after a minute or two, she moved to follow him, she found her way blocked by Edward Gorridge.
‘My lord, you startled me. I did not know you would be here.’
‘It seems everyone is here,’ he said. ‘Her ladyship is no mean hostess.’
He would not move aside and she was forced out of politeness to speak to him, though, remembering what Lucy had told her, she was wary. ‘Yes, she is very popular.’
‘I trust you have recovered from your injury?’
‘Yes, thank you, my lord.’
‘I am sorry our trip to Richmond was not as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be. I planned to arrive at least an hour earlier so that we could ride together and you could put Blaze through her paces before we sat down to eat.’
‘That wasn’t your fault.’
‘I am glad you think that. I would find it unbearable if you thought ill of me.’
His words made her look sharply into his face, but his dark eyes gave nothing away of what was going on in his head. ‘Thought ill of you, my lord? What reason could I have for doing that?’
‘I trust you would have no reason,’ he said. ‘Except there are some who cannot forgive, however much a man might repent his folly, and I feared they would turn you against me.’
‘I will make up my own mind,’ she said, itching to get away, but unwilling to let him see her impatience.
‘By that I must suppose you have not yet decided to put me out of my misery and consent to marry me.’
‘You do not look miserable to me.’
‘Ah, that is because I live in hope.’ He smiled, an oily smile that almost made her shudder. She found herself thinking of what Lucy had told her and if Lucy had seen him arrive. She did not want a scene, but had no idea what to say to him. She was saved having to reply when he went on, ‘Can I prevail upon you to come riding with me tomorrow morning? We could go to Green Park and you could give Blaze her head there.’
‘My lord, you know I cannot accept her.’
‘I understand but, as I said, I live in hope and will leave her in the mews in case you change your mind.’