‘A bit like me,’ Lord Treblinger interjected, ‘except all I got for my troubles was your father,’ and he laughed, ‘Speaking of which, I hope you’re keeping him abreast of all that is going on. He might say he is glad to be rid of you, but if I know your father; he’ll be bored already with only the twins to entertain him.’
‘I wrote to him yesterday,’ Susan said, ‘I’ve told him all about the ball and, of course, about Sara’s walk with Bart.’
‘Susan,’ Sara exclaimed, ‘what an impertinence, you had no right.’
‘Come now dears, let’s not fight,’ Lady Treblinger said, ‘Sara, you’ll just have to write a scandalous letter about Susan after tonight’s ball. In your beautiful new dresses, I am sure every eligible cavalry officer in attendance, and no doubt some of the ineligible, will want to make your acquaintance.’
With breakfast completed, the household went about their daily business. The Treblingers took a walk in the formal gardens, a habit they had adopted over the past week, walking before the sun reached its height, for it was still uncomfortably warm in the city during the day.
The three sisters busied themselves as young ladies with nothing much really to do are able. As the day wore on, their thoughts turned to preparations for the ball. Having never attended such a gathering, they were somewhat unsure as to how best to present themselves, but Lady Treblinger and Mrs. Killingdon were both on hand to impart the necessary wisdom required to ensure that they would look their best.
It took several hours for these procedures to be accomplished, and it was close to five o’clock before the young ladies had donned their newly acquired dresses and examined one another and themselves in their sitting room mirror.
‘You look as pretty as a picture, Sara,’ Daisy said.
‘As do you,’ Sara replied, ‘Susan, the dress fits you so perfectly, it’s like a glove.’
‘I have never felt so like royalty before,’ Susan said.
‘You all three look spectacular,’ Lady Treblinger said, ‘I knew you would, I just knew, come downstairs now and show his Lordship.’
Lord Treblinger was equally impressed and secretly took great pride in the fact that he would be escorting such beautiful young women to the ball that night. The Treblingers, in only a few short weeks, had come to view the Mills sisters as their own offspring. It was with great happiness that the party set out that evening for Hareburn Grange, where an astonishing array of characters awaited them, some familiar, and some quite new.
~
‘What a magnificent house,’ Sara said as the carriage pulled up in front of the Grange and the three sisters looked out.
Torches had been lit at the entrance, and liveried footmen stood waiting to greet the guests as they arrived. Around them others were alighting from their own carriages, and a vast array of finely dressed ladies and gentlemen could be seen arriving for the ball.
As the footman helped her down from the carriage, Sara chanced to see Mary Dinkster arriving with her father and brother. She waved and her new friend waved back, as Lord and Lady Treblinger led the way into the house. The doors were wide open, leading into an enormous hallway from which another set of doors opened onto the ball room, which was flooded with light and in which the dancing had already begun.
‘Lord and Lady Treblinger of Springside accompanied by their companions: Miss Daisy, Susan and Sara Mills,’ the footman announced.
As with every announcement of new arrivals that evening, a sea of heads turned towards them, and Sara found herself blushing at the attention now directed towards her.
But the gaze of the gathered assembly did not last long, for aristocracy can, as the Mills sisters discovered, be the most superficial of people. Having assessed the new arrivals, they returned to their dancing. A young couple approached Lord and Lady Treblinger who gave the appropriate obeisance.
‘None of that, George,’ the young man said as the two gentlemen shook hands, ‘Who are these charming young ladies?’
‘Your Grace, may I present Daisy, Susan and Sara Mills, daughters of Mr. Ernest Mills of Springside, who have accompanied my wife and me to Bath for the season.’
‘A pleasure to make your acquaintance,’ he said, ‘may I present my wife, the Duchess Charlotte of Hareburn.’
‘It is such an honour to have been invited here this evening, sir,’ Susan said.
‘The pleasure is ours,’ the Duke said, smiling once again.
They passed a time in most congenial conversation until new arrivals demanded the Duke’s attention, but his wife lingered a little longer.
She was strikingly beautiful, with long black hair and the most perfect complexion Sara had ever seen. She told them about the estate and the history of the ball, which had been a tradition for generations. The three ladies instantly warmed to her, with her natural charm and easy-going personality, a little like Mary Dinkster who herself was dancing with one of the gentlemen.
‘I mustn’t keep you from the dancing any longer,’ the Duchess said as yet more guests arrived, demanding her attention, ‘I have no doubt we shall speak again as the evening progresses.’
Lord and Lady Treblinger were on the dance floor, his Lordship’s attack of gout having recovered enough to allow for a merry jig with his wife.
The Duchess left them for other guests, and the Treblingers joined the girls at the side of the ball room where they observed the scene.
Anyone who was anyone in Bath that season was present at the Hareburn ball. Many came down from town especially for the festivities, and it was a highlight of the local social calendar. As we have already heard, the Dinksters had arrived around the same time as the Treblingers. While watching the dancing, the Duke of Mantelhurst, Bartholomew and Mary, accompanied by a young man whom no one had seen before, approached the small party.
‘It’s so good to see you,’ Mary said, embracing Sara and her sisters.
‘I’ll second that,’ the Duke of Mantelhurst said, himself embracing Sara, a little longer than she would have liked, ‘You all look radiant, what beautiful dresses,’ and Sara’s sisters now endured the same long embrace.
‘Hello Sara,’ Bart said, taking her hand, ‘I trust you are enjoying the evening.’
‘Very much so,’ she said, ‘Though I am yet to dance.’
‘I hope you will let me remedy that situation,’ he said, offering her his hand once again.
‘Don’t steal her away just yet, Bart,’ Sara said, ‘I haven’t introduced anyone to Cameron yet.’
‘Cameron Styles,’ the young man who had remained silent until now, offered his hand to his Lordship before proffering himself to the ladies.
‘Mr. Styles is a most successful businessman in the city,’ Mary said, ‘He and Bart were at Oxford together and he often joins us for the season.’
‘I have no family of my own,’ Cameron explained, ‘the Dinksters are like a brother and sister to me, and his Grace has been the father I lost.’
Cameron Styles was a most attractive man, his well-built physique and keen face framed by his blond hair, and dark green eyes gave him a most pleasant appearance. His gentle manner led Sara to the conclusion that, though he and Bart were joined by friendship, their resemblance ended there.
‘Now then,’ the Duke of Mantelhurst interrupted, ‘it’s an old man’s prerogative to choose a pretty girl to dance with and I’m going to choose all three of you before anyone else should get their hands on you.’ Without further ado, he led Sara to the dancing where she did her duty and danced with the elderly aristocrat until he had decided that Susan deserved the same experience.
As she returned to the wall and Susan went to her fate, Bart and Cameron were waiting for her.
‘Now, who shall have the second dance?’ Bart said, extending his hand.
‘Dear me, Bart, let the lady recover a little, she’s been flung round the dance floor by your father enough to make anyone giddy,’ Cameron said.
‘Well I
shall have my turn later,’ the other said, leaving Sara and Cameron, and making for the punch bowl.
‘He can be a brute sometimes,’ Cameron said, ‘You wouldn’t believe how often I have to apologise for him. His heart is in the right place, just sometimes he forgets that privilege doesn’t mean entitlement.’
‘If truth be told,’ Sara said, ‘all this is rather new to me, I’ve never been to a ball before.’
‘Do they not have balls at Springside? That is where you are from, is it not? I’d have supposed the Treblingers would throw the most wonderful parties there.’
‘Oh, they do, but not like this. Springside holds dances in what is called ‘the big barn’. We push the hay bales back and the fiddlers play as we dance the jig. This is so much more formal than I am used to, I fear causing offence.’
‘No one could think that,’ Cameron said, ‘Bart is just Bart, that’s all, and I know how highly Mary speaks of you. Come now, if you are fully recovered from the Duke’s exuberating, perhaps I could take the second dance. Bart seemed to have turned his attention elsewhere.’
Bart was indeed looking elsewhere, engaged in an animated conversation with the Duke of Hareburn, and so Cameron and Sara approached the dance floor where Susan had finally been dispatched from the arms of the lascivious Duke, his attention finally turned to Daisy.
A new dance was just beginning, and Sara was concentrating hard on remembering Lady Treblinger’s directions, for they had practiced this particular jig only yesterday.
‘Left, right, step, one, two, three and back,’ she said to herself, as Cameron laughed at the intense look of concentration on her face.
‘Come now,’ he said, ‘it’s much easier than that, let me show you,’ and taking a hold of her waist, he led her in the dance so expertly that she began to feel that perhaps she did know what she was doing after all.
As the music came to an end, and they retired to the wall out of breath, they caught one another’s eye and smiled.
‘I am most grateful for you allowing me the pleasure,’ he said.
‘As am I for your kind invitation, sir,’ Sara said.
But their assignation had not gone unnoticed, and it was clear that Bartholomew Dinkster was not happy at his friend’s intrusion upon his own designs. In a moment he appeared at their side, where, dosed with punch, he demanded Sara’s attention, whisking her to the dance floor, where once again she was twirled and whirled around like a doll.
Thus, the evening continued with the Mills girls finding themselves to be quite the star attraction, for new company is always sought amongst the upper classes who tire so easily of one another.
At midnight, the call for carriages was announced and, as the music finished playing, the Treblingers, Daisy, Susan and Sara made to say their goodbyes.
‘I have greatly enjoyed meeting you,’ Cameron said before Bart could approach them.
‘As have I you,’ Sara said, blushing a little.
‘I do hope we shall meet again, I wonder perhaps,’ and he paused, ‘No, perhaps that is a little forward. It’s just that we go to the Burgher’s hall this coming Saturday evening for the performance. I forget what it’s called, but it will be a most splendid show I am sure, and perhaps you might join us, but I shall discuss it with the Dinksters. Your sisters too, of course.’
‘It would be another new experience for me,’ Sara said, ‘I have never found myself at such an occasion before, though I have heard much of them.’
‘Then I shall see what can be done. Until then, goodnight,’ Cameron said.
The party wished a goodnight to the Duke of Mantelhurst and the twins, Mary making her apologies that she had not spent more time with Sara, a fact she promised to rectify very soon. The Duke, on his part, made it clear that he was eager to see them all again, and so the company parted, bidding goodnight to their hosts and climbing into their respective carriages.
The ball had been a most splendid occasion for all, Sara in particular, now that she had met a man who treated her less as an object to be acquired, and more as the young lady she was.
‘Wasn’t Cameron most charming?’ Susan said as they approached Springside House.
‘He seemed most interested in your acquaintance, Sara,’ Daisy said, ‘Why, we have only been in Bath a matter of weeks and already you have two admirers. Whenever shall it be our turn?’
‘Well you would not want the admiration of one of them,’ Sara said, ‘Besides, the Duke of Mantelhurst is showing a great interest in us, so that is one further suitor for me and a start for both of you.’
At this Daisy looked rather cross; until Lord Treblinger interjected.
‘Now come, girls, there are enough eligible gentlemen in Bath for everyone, and isn’t it every young lady’s dream to marry a Duke?’
‘George,’ Lady Treblinger said, ‘don’t encourage the Duke of Mantelhurst from afar, however would I explain that to their mother?’
With the mood lightened a little, they reached Springside House. Soon, all three young ladies were safely in their beds, thoughts of tonight’s ball foremost in their minds.
Sara Mills had never experienced the machinations of the opposite sex before and now it seemed that two or three gentlemen, if you count the Duke, had designs upon her. She realised that the coming weeks may prove a difficult social whirl to negotiate, but she felt certain that such adventures could only serve to make life more interesting. Thus, she fell asleep with the smiling face of Cameron at the forefront of her mind, hoping that it would not be long before she saw him again.
CHAPTER SIX
Emerging Heartache
Life in Bath continued to pass most pleasantly. Sara and her sisters took walks in the parks, and Lady Treblinger introduced them to a number of her friends and acquaintances in the city, many of whom were keen to meet the young ladies from Springside.
But across town, at the lodgings of the Duke of Mantelhurst, there was much talk of when next the gentlemen would catch sight of the Mills sisters. His Grace suggested that, should one of them be persuaded to marry him, he would be a most happy man indeed.
On their parts both Bartholomew and Cameron were eager to once again see Sara, though Bart secretly considered any of the sisters to be a suitable match, should they be open to persuasion. Cameron Styles, however, had a more honourable disposition, and he was keen to make the further acquaintance of Sara who had made a most perfect impression upon him.
In the wider town, there was great anticipation of the forthcoming performance of Artexerxes by Thomas Arne. It was to be the first time that such an opera was staged in the city, the Burgher’s hall having been requisitioned for the performance by the company who were coming all the way from London to perform. Naturally, the high society of Bath had been eager to secure a ticket to the performance, and thus by happy chance both the Dinksters and the Treblingers, along with their assorted friends, found themselves attending the performance on the Saturday evening which followed the Hareburn ball.
~
‘Forgive me for not sending you a formal invitation, Sara,’ Cameron said, as he bounded up to her at the entrance to the hall that night, ‘When I found out you were coming, I was ever so excited.’
‘I have heard that the performance is quite spectacular; they say it is an opera in English,’ Sara said.
‘That’s right, I saw them perform it once in London, it was just marvellous. I wonder if perhaps you would care to sit with us? I’m sure the Dinksters would be pleased.’
Sara received a nod of approval from Lady Treblinger, her sisters tittering behind their fans as the party made its way into the hall for the performance.
‘Look who I found,’ Cameron said, as he led Sara to the place where the family were seated.
‘Oh, Sara,’ Mary said, ‘do come and sit here, then see Cameron can sit on your right, and you and I can have a most pleasant talk, I’m sure.’
Her brother seemed about to interject but Sara was
now seated, having endured the Duke’s hand upon her hip as she passed him by.
‘You look radiant, my dear,’ he said, ‘just radiant.’
Bartholomew remained quiet.
Whilst the Burgher’s hall was unlike the pictures of the London theatres she had seen, the company had made it out most pleasantly, and now it seemed like the whole town had turned out for the performance which was presently to begin.
The Treblingers, Susan and Daisy, were now seated some distance off, but Sara felt quite at home amongst the Dinksters. The old Duke was harmless enough, and though she felt Bartholomew’s feelings towards her growing a little cold, it seemed that she had found a more charming companion in Cameron Styles.
‘I think they’re about to start,’ Mary whispered, squeezing Sara’s hand.
The stage had been set using packing crates, a red curtain hung down from the ceiling which now, with a call for silence, was ingeniously pulled up to reveal the first act.
Sara was mesmerized by the performance, the singing and the movement captured her imagination, and she found herself escaping into a world entirely different from her own, as pleasant as that was.
She had no recollection of time passing as the performance ended and around her the hall burst into rapturous applause as the company appeared on the stage to take their final bow. Around her the others stood to continue the ovation, and she felt Mary’s hand once more in her own.
‘Oh, wasn’t it wonderful,’ Mary said, ‘weren’t you just enraptured by it?’
‘Indeed I was,’ Mary said, ‘never have I seen something so wonderful in all my life; it makes me long to see more, perhaps in London one day.’
‘You could visit us there,’ Mary said, ‘Do say you will?’
‘I should love nothing better,’ Sara said.
A Most Congenial Lady Page 4