An Artful Deception

by Karen Cogan

  Since Katharine had few coins for rent, Mrs. Baker had agreed to give her food and lodging in exchange for help with the sewing. She was a popular, if poorly paid, seamstress and needed help, though she clucked and frowned over Katharine’s stitches and made her pull them out until they were neat and proper.

  Katharine stabbed her fingers with her needle and got knots in her thread. Yet, little by little, her stitches were improving. She wondered, now that she had been dismissed, if she would finally become proficient enough to serve as a proper lady’s maid.

  The tea kettle began to sing and Mrs. Baker nodded her approval at the hem. “Ye are learnin’. Ye couldn’t do a single stitch worth saving when ye came.”

  Katharine smiled. “I am glad you approve.”

  “Put down yer work and come to tea.”

  Over the few days that Katharine had been there, they had begun the habit of taking daily tea together. Mrs. Baker lived alone and seemed to enjoy having another woman in the house to talk to over tea or during their simple meals.

  Today, Mrs. Baker glanced out the window to say, “My, but look at the fancy carriage that has stopped right near me house.”

  She laughed and added, “I do not suppose they could be coming ‘ere to see me.”

  Katharine moved to peak out the window. What she saw caused her heart to rise to her throat. Lord Philip was alighting from the carriage and heading straight to their door. The scoundrel must have found a way to make poor Lizzy talk, for she knew the girl would never willingly give her away.

  She clutched at Mrs. Baker’s sleeve. “Please, I know that man and it will not do for him to find me. I beg you, do not give me away.”

  One look at the girl’s pale face convinced Mrs. Baker of the seriousness of her plight. She patted Katharine’s hand. “Yer not to worry. Take yerself to the back room while I rid us of the bloke.”

  Philip’s driver had asked along the row of houses until he found the residence of the seamstress. It was a shabby house with an ancient door that set crooked upon its hinges. Philip shuddered as he remembered the manner in which he had turned away the woman who was meant to become his fiancé. He had thought to remove her as far away as possible to ease the pain she had caused him. Yet, as he sprang from the carriage, he was thankful that he had not succeeded. By now, she would have arrived at her uncle’s estate to be married to her cousin. His stomach soured as he thought of how close he had come to losing her forever.

  He rapped on the door. A middle-aged woman in a white cap and homespun dress answered. She looked at him suspiciously as he doffed his hat and asked, “Good afternoon, madam. May I inquire as to whether you have a niece by the name of Lizzy? And if so, I believe she sent a young woman here to stay with you.”

  The woman fixed him reprovingly. “If I was to have a niece, why should I tell you?”

  “I have come to apologize for a misunderstanding. I wish to try and right a wrong that I have done the young woman that Lizzy sent.”

  The woman continued her sturdy sentry at the door. “What did you do to Lizzy that make ‘er give ye my name?”

  “Nothing. Lizzy confessed out of a desire to help her friend. And I have come with the same motive.”

  Philip caught sight of a figure moving toward him from the far shadows of the room. To his delight, Katharine appeared at Mrs. Baker’s elbow. She studied Philip a moment and said, “It is all right, Mrs. Baker. I do not believe he has come to cart me to jail, at least not at this moment.”

  Scowling, Mrs. Baker moved away from the door. “I will take up me sewing. But I will not be far if ye need me.”

  Philip could not fault the suspicion that he saw in Katharine’s eyes as she invited him inside. “Please sit and be so kind as to tell me what brought about the honor of this visit? If you came to assure yourself that I have been to no more balls, I can pledge to you that I have not, for you are still in possession of my trunk.”

  She sat upon a worn settee and bade him take the chair that faced her.

  He ignored the glare of Mrs. Baker as she sat by the window, bent upon her work. He had not come this far to be intimidated by anyone’s inhospitality. He had come to find Katharine and nothing would change the relief that he felt to find her safe and well.

  “I have come to beg your pardon for doubting you. I wanted to believe you. And I wish that I could say that I came to my senses. Yet I did not believe you until I found the artist who painted your portrait when you were a child. There is no mistaking that the young girl in that portrait is you.”

  Katharine’s eyes widened in surprise. “You found the artist? How?”

  “I asked the man painting my portrait if he knew of any French artists who might have been here a score of years ago.”

  “And he knew of the man?”

  “He did. And I have purchased your portrait as a gift for you, if you will have it.”

  Katharine did not know whether to smile or cry. So instead she said, “It was kind, I am sure. Yet you cannot believe that buying the portrait will make up for ordering me from your home with the intent of forcing me to marry a man I despised.”

  “But I did not believe you would be forced to marry anyone. Then, when you ran away, I thought that you might have gone back to my estate. You knew we would not return for some time and you could have stayed there without our knowledge. Mrs. Parker would not have known what had transpired in London.”

  Katharine frowned. “So you naturally thought me capable of this deceit also.”

  “Please do not be severe upon me. When I did not find you, I suffered innumerable tortures imagining you alone and in need.”

  “And now that you have found me, what do you purpose to do?”

  The tremble of her lips did not escape his attention as he said, “I wish you to come home with me. I long to begin again and see if we can recapture the interest that we had in one another. I hope that we may forget the past and fulfill the wish of our parents, and indeed my own wish, to know one anther better.”

  Katharine turned away. She felt the anger that had protected her and given her courage begin to crumble. She had coveted his good opinion and had suffered sorely when she had lost it. She could hardly believe that he was so humble in wishing to restore it when, in all fairness, she knew that she was as much to blame for the muddle as was Philip.

  Yet she could not resist asking, “And what of Miss Buckley? Will she not be disappointed if I return?”

  “I do not care for either Miss Buckley or her disappointment. I shall be contented if only you will agree to come away to Park Street, this time as our guest.”

  Katharine caught her lip between her teeth. Philip’s change of heart was too sudden for her to comfortably adjust. How could she simply walk back into his house and expect Lady Charlesworth and all the servants to change their opinion of her? It would be awkward at best. And yet, if she turned him away would she not be denying both her own happiness and Philip’s for the sake of her pride?

  She was aware of Philip’s eyes upon her as she thought over the matter. She became firmly resolved not to live in his house. Instead, she would discover whether he was sorry enough to help her with her original plan.

  She gave him a level look as she said, “I do not think it best that I return to your house. I came to London with the intent of setting up my own residence with the pension left me by my father. However when the solicitor looked into my claim of inheritance, he heard that I had died in the accident and denied me my pension. You could assist me in proving my identity and securing a small residence. Then, perhaps we could see if our feelings for one another are what we believed them to be.”

  Philip gave her an incredulous stare. “Surely you jest. A young lady in residence alone? Surely you cannot believe that to be a prudent plan?”

  “I shall ask you to send Lizzy to be my maid. I am sure that she would come. And I shall hire a butler and cook. So, you see, I would not really be alone.”

  “What of your reputation?”
/>
  “I do not think it will suffer if I hire a proper staff and I am chaperoned by my maid. After all, I am an orphan. If I refuse charity, what else am I to do?”

  “You know very well that you could return with me. I am sure my mother would wish for you to be with us once she is convinced of the truth.”

  “She will be shocked and embarrassed. I doubt she would wish to appear in public with me. And I could never feel comfortable in such a circumstance.”

  Philip frowned. “Then you are firmly resolved upon your course?”

  “If you will help me gain my funds.”

  “And if I will not?”

  “Then I shall stay here and become the best seamstress this side of London.”

  She heard Mrs. Baker give a derisive snort as she muttered something that Katharine did not want to hear.

  Philip sighed. “Then I suppose you leave me little choice other than to assist you, though I do not agree with your plan.”

  Katharine’s heart welled with happiness. She turned to her protectress. “What do you think, Mrs. Baker? Should I allow Lord Charlesworth to assist me?”

  The woman studied Philip with bold eyes. “He seems obliging. Do what you want.”

  “Then I shall. May I stay with you until we are able to secure my residence? When I receive my pension, I shall be happy to pay you rent for the days that I have stayed.”

  Mrs. Baker’s grin showed that she was missing two front teeth. “Now that is a fair and proper plan.”

  She turned to Philip and said gruffly, “I was going to have to turn her out on the street in a day or two for she sews quite ill.”

  Katharine laughed. “I am afraid it is true.”

  Philip drew Katharine to her feet. “I shall make inquiries into suitable residences that are for rent. And shall I call for you in the morning to go round to the solicitor?”

  “I should be most grateful.”

  He bent over her hand and bestowed a kiss.

  “And, Lord Charlesworth, I should appreciate it if you would send round my trunk.”

  He looked down into her eyes and said, “I will send it this very afternoon.”

  “Thank you, my lord.”

  She watched his broad shoulders as he departed and swung into his carriage. Part of her longed to go after him and tell him that she had changed her mind and that she wanted to live in his house and see him at supper every night. Yet, she held back, telling herself that she could not be happy living with Lady Charlesworth’scharity. If she and Philip were to find happiness, they must do it on neutral ground, apart from the approval or disapproval of matrons who would be quick to lend their opinions.

  Mrs. Baker set down her sewing and studied Katharine. “I have to say, I did not half believe yer story. But with such a proper gentlemen to have come ‘ere, I suppose it must be true.”

  Katharine smiled. “He is a gentleman, is he not? And handsome, too.”

  Mrs. Baker nodded. “And you were fool enough not to go with him.”

  Katharine stared out the window. “I was. But I thought it for the best. I hope that I was right.”

  True to his word, Philip sent her trunk that very afternoon. Katharine had it deposited in the small sewing room where she slept. As she went through her choices, seeking a gown for the visit to the solicitor, she noticed how out of place they looked in her bleak quarters. She hoped she might rent a small townhouse on the west end. Perhaps it might even have a garden. She sat, fingering the satins and lace, entranced by the picture in her mind. When Mrs. Baker called her to their simple supper, she was picturing a bedchamber with a proper dressing table and perhaps a window seat that looked out upon the street.

  The next morning, Katharine dressed carefully in a soft printed cotton day dress. She washed with cold water from the kitchen basin and pulled her hair neatly back from her face. When Philip arrived, she felt neat, if not as clean as she would like to have been.

  “You look fresh as a flower,” he told her as they boarded the carriage.

  Katharine smiled up at him. He was handsome in a dark riding jacket and boots with an ebony shine. “I shall be forever grateful for your assistance. I am afraid my last visit to the solicitor left me with lingering trepidation. And yet, with you along, I do not believe that I shall fear facing the man.”

  Philip longed to draw her to him. With some difficulty, he resisted the urge to put his arm around her slender shoulders. “Then let me be your protector, for I shall relish the opportunity.”

  They arrived, puncturing the fantasies of the young articled clerk, when he saw Katharine flanked by a gentleman. Glumly, he ushered them into the office of Mr. Adkins, who being familiar with the Charlesworth family and convinced by the testimony of the portrait that Philip had found, was soon brought round and convinced of the truth of the charade.

  Katharine graciously accepted his apologies and offered her own for the deceit that had caused the confusion.

  On the ride home, she felt overcome by relief. “I do not deserve for things to turn so quickly in my favor.”

  Philip grinned down at her. “Perhaps you do not. And yet your charm and beauty melt the hearts of men and make them wish to take up your cause.”

  He ran a finger gently down her cheek. When she did not protest, he cupped her chin and kissed her gently as they stopped in front of Mrs. Baker’s rundown shop. Katharine savored the warmth of his lips, and then asked, “Are you not afraid that someone might recognize you, my lord, in this end of London, kissing a girl of unknown reputation?”

  “I am not at all afraid. But perhaps, it is your reputation that should concern us.”

  “Indeed yes. Have you had a chance to inquire as to available lodgings for a young lady of suspicious background?”

  Philip turned serious. “I asked around at the club last night. No one knows of anything for rent. It is the beginning of the season, you know. I shall make more inquiries today.”

  Katharine tilted her head to look into his eyes. “I am grateful for your help.”

  Philip’s dark eyes glittered with mischief. “I shall expect to be repaid. You must dance every dance at each ball with me.”

  Katharine feigned shock. “Highly improper, my lord. What will everyone think?”

  He planted a light kiss upon her brow. “They will think that I am enamored with you. And they will be right.”

  He escorted her to the door and bid her good-day. “I promise to come to you as soon as I find you a proper residence.”

  She watched him ride away, once again feeling a keen loss at his departure. Perhaps, one day, they would not need to be parted. Perhaps, they might be together each day…. She reined her train of thought. It was presumptuous and premature. Anything could happen between now and the fulfillment of her dreams. She determined to live each day as it came and let the future unfold as it would.

  Philip did not come at all the next day, or the day after. Katharine began to wonder if he had forgotten his promise. She had nearly made up her mind to hire a hackney and visit him when a carriage pulled up at her door. She smoothed her hair and skirt and hurried to greet him, as eager to see him as she was to hear his news.

  The ancient hinges squeaked in protest as she opened the door. Her eyes widened to see, not Philip, but Lady Charlesworth standing upon the stoop. Lady Charlesworth fixed her surroundings with a disapproving eye before turning to Katharine.

  Katharine closed her jaw that had dropped with surprise. “Lady Charlesworth, what could possibly bring you here?”

  Lady Charlesworth glanced behind her as though fearful of being seen. “I must speak with you. I shall be relieved if you will come out to my carriage and take a ride with me.”

  Katharine hesitated a moment, and then said, “Let me fetch my bonnet and I shall be right out.”

  She hurried to get a bonnet and a light paisley shawl before joining Lady Charlesworth in the carriage. She turned to her at once and asked the painful question that had sprung to her mind, “Is it Philip
? Is he sick? Has he been injured?”

  “No. Let me assure you I have not come bearing ill news of Philip.”

  Katharine felt her drumming pulse begin to slow with relief. Yet as she absorbed the comforting news, she felt her curiosity rise. What had driven Lady Charlesworth, of all people, to come to this end of town to see her?

  Lady Charlesworth directed the driver to head toward the center of town. As they neared Charing Cross, Lady Charlesworth took a deep breath and plunged into her reason for coming.