Moonstruck Madness

by Laurie McBain

  Richard jumped to his feet and hopped around the room ecstatically, his tea forgotten. Sabrina leaned forward and touched Mr. Smithson’s hand lightly. “How can I ever thank you enough? I feel criminal as it is, by not having noticed his infirmity before this,” she told him remorsefully, “but I never knew until a few days ago. He kept it from us, and of course one is always too busy to really look at the people closest to them,” Sabrina berated herself.

  “My dear child, don’t be so harsh on yourself. The young gentleman will now be able to see normally, and from his conversation I would allow that he is far better off than his contemporaries, for his years of enforced confinement and devotion to his studies have matured him and given him a mind of his own. You can be very proud of him.” Mr. Smithson patted her hand reassuringly.

  Sabrina placed a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she said fervently, tears glistening in her eyes, much to Mr. Smithson’s dismay.

  “Come along, Richard, we must be off,” Sabrina called as the bell above the door tinkled and another customer entered the shop.

  “Friday,” Mr. Smithson called after their departing figures and received two smiling waves in answer.

  They arrived back at the house a little before two, flushed and excited and loaded down with packages. Richard ran into the salon with a laughing face, twirling a new amber-headed cane in one hand and a package of brand-new books, securely tied together, tucked under his other arm. A dab of dark chocolate still smeared the corner of his mouth as he threw himself down on the rug and eagerly opened his books.

  Sabrina flopped into a chair and gave a tired smile. “Richard shall have his new eyeglasses on Friday, and will see as well as you or I,” she told Mary, who’d been watching Richard in amazement, her face mirroring her hopes.

  “That’s wonderful. I can scarcely believe the change in him already, Rina,” Mary sighed in relief, then chuckled, “of course, it could be those new books he is poring over.”

  Sabrina smiled in satisfaction and sorted through the packages in her lap, giving Mary, Aunt Margaret and Hobbs each a gaily wrapped parcel.

  Hobbs’s cheeks flushed red as she undid the wrapping to find several delicate lace handkerchiefs and matching gauze mobcaps. She fingered the frilly caps lovingly with shaking hands, tears in her eyes as she looked up at the faces around her.

  “Oh, Lady Sabrina,” she gulped, her thin face puckered with emotion, “these are the nicest pretties I’ve ever seen, or ever had. Are they really for me?” she asked hesitantly, afraid someone might snatch them from her as she tightened her bony fingers over the box.

  “They are yours to wear to church on Sundays, or whenever you feel like dressing up,” Sabrina declared stoutly.

  “Oh, thank you,” she crooned, her eyes devouring the little bits of lace.

  “Aunt Margaret, see what we bought you,” Sabrina told her aunt who was for once watching everything around her with interest. She moved her ever-present sewing aside as Sabrina put a large package on her lap. Mary crowded close to watch as Aunt Margaret excitedly opened her present. She gave a gasp of sheer pleasure as her eyes feasted on the beautiful black japanned box. Opening it, she gave a squeal of delight as she saw the piles of colorful silk threads: three shades of green, four of blue, five of purple, countless shades of every hue available in the shops.

  “Oh, my dears, thank you! So precious,” she murmured as she excitedly fingered through all of the colors, inspecting them carefully.

  “Mary, for you.” Sabrina gave her a small package.

  “I wonder what it is,” she asked excitedly, as she carefully unwrapped the gift while Sabrina watched impatiently. Mary drew out an ornate gold box with colorful pictures enameled on its surface, and opening it found a gold heart-shaped locket attached to a thin gold chain. “It’s beautiful, Rina,” Mary breathed, a soft smile curving her mouth. “I won’t say thank you, because it isn’t enough, but you know what this means to me. Mother had one very similar.” She reached up and hugged Sabrina, then asked, “What did you get for yourself? You did buy something?”

  Sabrina laughed. “Of course, I’m not that unselfish.”

  She unwrapped a large package and lifted from its folds a lavender-blue velvet, fur-trimmed pelisse. She slipped her arms into the arm slits and rubbed the fur with the tip of her chin.

  “How lovely, Sabrina,” Mary cried out in admiration. “Turn around and let me see the back.”

  Sabrina paraded around the room, spinning and whirling to their delight. “We are going to relax and enjoy ourselves, and not worry about anything for the rest of our stay in London. Everything is working out perfectly,” Sabrina stated confidently as she hugged the fur pelisse around her.

  From then on the days passed quickly. They toured the city, watching the big ships dock on the Thames, and they shopped and explored the parks, feeding the ducks and watching the swans regally glide past on the placid lake.

  By the end of the week Aunt Margaret had stocked up on Bohea tea and her favorite snuff and scent and accompanied Sabrina and Mary on their trips to the milliner, dressmaker and bootmaker, where they placed orders to be sent to Verrick House and added to their wardrobes several hats and gloves purchased on the spot.

  By Friday they were packed and ready to leave London. It had dawned stormy, and the cobbled streets were slippery and dangerous as Sabrina, snug in her fur-trimmed pelisse, and Richard left for Mr. Smithson’s. With a warming fire burning behind the fire grate in his shop, Mr. Smithson fitted Richard’s eyeglasses.

  Richard stood silent as he gazed out on a sharply defined scene, the cobbles and windows across the court clearly visible. Sabrina held her breath as she watched the back of Richard’s head as he stood so still. When he turned and looked at her a solitary tear was clinging to his cheek.

  “I can see everything, Rina. I can see as good as you, now.” He hugged Sabrina fiercely, then held out a small hand to the very quiet Mr. Smithson. “Thank you, sir, you’ve given me something I can never repay,” he told the old gentleman seriously, his young face very adult behind the gold-rimmed eyeglasses now sitting snugly on the bridge of his small nose.

  Mr. Smithson took the extended hand and shook it heartily. “It was my pleasure, Lord Faver, my pleasure indeed.”

  Sabrina paid Mr. Smithson, and with messages for Mrs. Taylor and his nephews, they left him standing in the doorway waving as their coach rumbled down the street.

  Richard craned his head out of the window constantly, pointing to this building or that monument, jumping around the coach like a small monkey in a tree. “It’s so wonderful, Rina. I can see the river and the ships going down it, and the docks, and look at that!” he called to Sabrina as they turned off before reaching an overturned carriage that had collided with a farm wagon loaded with poultry, feathers floating down on the crowd that had gathered around the mishap, the road blocked as traffic clogged the intersection.

  “I wonder if anyone was hurt?” Richard asked, still straining to catch sight of the accident. “I can hardly wait to get back to Verrick House and go riding,” Richard confided, his excitement bubbling over.

  As they entered the town house Richard’s hand found Sabrina’s and he asked diffidently, “Will you help me learn how to ride properly?”

  “Of course, and I’ll be a hard taskmaster,” Sabrina warned, thankful to see his eyes shining behind the small, round eyeglasses. “And if you learn quickly I’ll take you to a special place and we can have a picnic,” Sabrina promised him, noticing for the first time the nervous tension of the footmen standing in the hall, and the harassed look on Cooper’s face as he greeted them and held open the door to the salon, his back very stiff and his manners at their most formal.

  Sabrina frowned as she walked into the room. Richard bounced in, unaware of the tensions within as Mary sat quietly, a frozen expression on her face, and Aunt Margaret was huddled over he
r needlepoint, the top of a white, starched cap bobbing every so often as her fingers busily moved.

  “Mary?” Sabrina asked. “What is the—”

  “Well, well, if it isn’t little Sabrina,” a voice spoke softly from the corner of the room.

  Sabrina stopped walking abruptly, Richard bumping into her from behind. She reached out automatically to catch him as she turned to face the voice. Richard stood silently beside her, Sabrina’s arm protectively across his shoulders.

  A medium-sized man in a rose-colored silk coat with matching waistcoat and breeches, white silk stockings and elegant pumps, his powdered wig tied back with a black ribbon and a black silk patch on one cheek, bowed mockingly to them as they stood there like ghosts.

  Sabrina’s face paled as she stared hypnotically into eyes the same shade of violet as her own, black eyebrows that arched in the same curve. But there the similarity ended, for the man’s face was tired and lined with cynicism. His mouth curved into an unpleasant smile at the stunned expressions on the faces about him.

  “What, no glad cries of greeting from my daughter?” the marquis asked amusedly, then his eyes narrowed as they focused on the silent Richard. “So, you are my son? Don’t take much after me, do you? Look like a real little Scotsman with that red hair,” he sneered, casually taking a pinch of snuff.

  “Your seed did little to mark him, my lord. He has his character and intelligence from his Scottish ancestors. I, as you can plainly see,” Sabrina mocked him back, “am the only one who bears the Verrick looks—and the cursed temper and tongue that go with them. So beware, my lord, should you decide to exercise your wit at my family’s expense.”

  The marquis sucked in his breath in a gasp of surprise, sneezing violently several times. He recovered quickly and a reluctant smile of admiration crossed his dissipated features.

  “I stand warned, but my friends also say that I can charm the devil, too. I wonder if your forte extends to that also.”

  “Friends?” Sabrina questioned doubtfully, a dark, silky brow arched delicately in disbelief. “I didn’t think you had any, my lord?”

  The marquis was silent for a moment before laughing loudly with genuine amusement, his face for once innocent of its contemptuous expression. He was still smiling as the salon door opened and the contessa entered, a surprised expression on her face as she saw the marquis’ smiling face.

  “Luciana, my love, she is priceless, and a chip off the old block. By God, it is too much to be hoist on my own petard. Imagine being bested by my own daughter.” He wiped at his eyes with a jessamine-scented handkerchief. “How fortunate that the contessa and I decided to return a day early, or I would have missed this loving little exchange with my family.”

  “A pity we are leaving this afternoon, but then it is always wiser to take one’s medicine in small doses,” Sabrina said sweetly. “If you’ll excuse us, my lord, we’ve things to see to before we depart.”

  “Now where are your manners, my dear? You haven’t met my wife, Luciana, yet.”

  The contessa had been standing silently in the doorway and now she swept forward in a wave of perfume and rustling silk, her fingers weighed down with jeweled rings as she stretched out her welcoming hands.

  “Oh, caro, this one è molto bella,” she cried, and cupping Sabrina’s small chin in her hand stared down into her face in amazement. “It is unbelievable that she would look such as you, caro. And this one, oh, so dear,” she said, and gave the speechless Richard a big hug. “Such hair!” She chuckled good-naturedly, then turned her attention again to Sabrina, whose eyes had widened in realization as she’d watched the contessa, remembering where she’d seen her before. Her lips quivered with amusement as she thought of the incident and the contessa’s pearl earrings, her dimple appearing briefly in her cheek.

  “Ah, she even has the dimple, caro,” the contessa said shaking her head.

  “Yes, it would seem that she is a great deal like me, my love,” the marquis admitted proudly, with a touch of vanity as he saw himself in Sabrina.

  The contessa made herself comfortable on the settee beside Mary, and taking one of Mary’s cold hands she commented, “This one is like the Madonna, she is very quiet, but she sees and knows, eh, child?” she asked, looking into Mary’s surprised eyes. “I have ordered tea, a disgusting custom, for your family, but for me a little sherry,” the contessa told them as she stared at Mary and Sabrina with a penetrating gaze, then said something to the marquis in Italian, her words seeming to have a startling effect on him, for his eyes narrowed speculatively and an amused smile softened his mouth. “I have always believed you to be an astute and very clever woman, Luciana, but now I must congratulate you.”

  Sabrina stared at them uneasily, not liking the assessing look they were giving Mary and herself. Richard’s arm sneaked around Sabrina’s waist and he moved closer as he silently watched the man who was his father, and whom he had seen for the first time today. Aunt Margaret had closed herself off completely from the unpleasantness, seldom looking up at her brother or the contessa.

  Sabrina came to a decision. “Come along, Mary, Richard, Aunt Margaret.” She motioned to them to follow her. “We will take our leave of you, my lord, and trust that we will not meet again.”

  “Oh, but we shall,” the marquis answered conversationally as he poured both himself and the contessa a sherry from the decanter a footman had brought in on a tray, along with a silver teapot and plate of sweets which the contessa was choosing from. “I’ve a notion to become reacquainted with my dear family. It has been such a long time. A pity I didn’t visit you at Verrick House sooner, you’ve made it quite comfortable, although a bit rustic for my tastes. Yes, I think I really must get to know you all much better,” he taunted, watching Sabrina with detached interest as her eyes flashed with anger. She walked over to him, looking unbelievably beautiful. He sat down with his sherry, prepared to enjoy himself.

  “Family?” she repeated. “Since when have you, the irresistible marquis, admitted to having a family? You’ve always been too busy traveling through Europe on your Grand Tours to inquire about the health and happiness of your family. Oh, no, why you even were too busy to come to see your wife buried. Before she was even cold you were off to London, your son only a few days old and not even seen by his father, the mighty marquis. And what has it been now? Ten years since we last saw your fatherly face? Are you sure you even remember our names, or how many children you sired?”

  Sabrina’s angry eyes flashed as she stared down at the marquis whose face had become a pale and rigid mask, his knuckles white as his hand gripped the fragile crystal stem of his glass.

  “You’re no father to us. The only father we ever knew was our grandfather. The only affection we ever received was from him.”

  Sabrina turned on her heel and stalked to the door where she turned around, Mary and Richard on each side of her, and Aunt Margaret nervously hovering nearby. “We don’t need you, or want you, my lord,” she told him, bitterness shaking her voice.

  The marquis stood up slowly, a disagreeable expression on his face. “My, my, no love lost between us, is there? Quite a little family you’ve become. So loyal and clannish, it must be the Scots blood in you. The old man did a thorough job on all of you, didn’t he? I should never have allowed him to snatch you off to the Highlands with him. Even my own sister as well, who hasn’t a drop of Scots blood in her, has turned against me.” He looked at the contessa, who’d sat in silent dismay through the scene, and gave a wry smile. “You see, they have turned against me, Luciana.”

  He picked up his gold-headed cane from the floor beside his chair and began tapping it thoughtfully as he pondered his words, then looking up he spoke in a hard voice directed at the four people standing before the door.

  “Now let me tell you a few truths. I am still your legal guardian. I have full and complete authority over the lot of you. Should I decide, I c
ould throw dear Margaret out of the house and leave her to manage on her own. You wouldn’t like that, would you?”

  Aunt Margaret gave a wounded cry, tears crowding into her eyes, and with a sniff slumped down into the nearest chair. Mary rushed over to her and put a comforting arm about her shaking shoulders, and glared back at her father.

  “Of course, I haven’t decided to do that yet. And, of course, there’s the rest of you. I could easily separate you. Take Richard on my next trip to Europe. Educate him properly.”

  “Caro,” the contessa pleaded softly, “you upset the bambino.”

  “I’ll handle my family,” he answered in a bored tone, taking a pinch of snuff carelessly. “You see, Sabrina, I still hold that winning hand. I always have and always will. No, you will stay here in London—at least, you and Mary will. The house is too small to accommodate all of us comfortably, and besides, there isn’t much to amuse a small boy, or Margaret, here in town. They will proceed back to Verrick House as planned.” He met Sabrina’s angry look, daring her to contradict him, unmoved by Richard’s unhappy face and trembling mouth.

  Sabrina glared at him for a moment, feeling impotent and furious, then with an angry stamp of a small foot, turned and ran from the room. At that, as if they were all released from immobility, Mary, Richard, and Aunt Margaret followed her in a quick exodus, leaving the marquis and contessa sipping their sherry in the salon.

  Mary and Richard found Sabrina stretched out on the bed in their room, her face buried in her pillow. They climbed onto the bed and sat beside her. Sabrina rolled over onto her back, shaking her head in disbelief.

  “What is happening? Why, Mary? Why is everything falling apart? Nothing is the same—nothing. Why is everything changing? We were so happy at Verrick House. We should never have left there.”

  At Richard’s sob Sabrina turned a grief-stricken face to him. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. You know I would give anything to have gotten your glasses. You know that. I don’t regret one single thing because of it.” She hugged him close and felt his trembling body.