Bibi returned their eager smiles. “And you believe your cousin to be an expert in ladies’ fashions?”
Lady Eleanor giggled. “You do have a point.”
“But your dress is magnificent.” Lady Lydia bit her lip as if she contemplated saying anything further and must have decided it was safe to proceed. “Could I persuade you to divulge the name of your modiste?”
“Perhaps I could do even better and accompany you to Madame Girard’s boutique. I think you will be pleased by her designs.”
Lady Eleanor clapped her hands. “Splendid! Have you any engagements on the morrow?”
“Nothing that cannot be addressed on another day.”
Amelia sat back with a satisfied sigh as Bibi formulated plans with the young women. Lord Norwick was opening doors for Bibi that Amelia had been unable to unlock. Perhaps Bianca Kennell was being afforded a new beginning.
Twenty-three
Bibi’s evening was going well. So splendidly, in fact, she had sent Amelia away with Mr. Hillary a few moments earlier before the gentleman forgot himself and tossed Amelia onto the dining room table and scandalized everyone.
Bibi floated into the retiring room, chuckling. Ladies were crowded around the dressing tables and a queue had formed to make use of the necessary hidden behind an Oriental folding screen. A few glanced at her in wry amusement, but no one spoke. As she approached the dressing tables, Mrs. Lamport and Lady Saribury closed their reticules and turned for the door.
One by one, the ladies filed from the retiring room as if in a great hurry, leaving Bibi alone. She plopped onto the tufted stool and sighed.
In the looking glass, Bibi caught the maid’s reflection. “There must be a fire.”
“The ladies did seem in a hurry. Perhaps they fear the cordial will run dry.”
Bibi caught the gleam of mischief in the young girl’s eyes. “What’s your name?”
The servant lowered her head. “’Tis Mae. Please forgive my impertinence.”
Bibi laughed. “I value impertinence myself. Does your employer appreciate your cleverness?”
“I don’t imagine so, milady.”
Bibi checked her reflection. A few curls had fallen from the diamond pins in her hair. Her lady’s maid had a devil of a time fashioning a lasting coiffure.
“Come demonstrate your other talents, Mae. One cannot earn her keep providing clever observations alone.”
“Yes, madam.” The young woman positioned herself at Bibi’s back. Releasing her hair from the pins, the maid twisted it deftly before reinserting the glittering fastenings.
“Do you know who I am?” Bibi asked.
Mae’s cheeks pinked. “From the ladies’ reactions, I’m guessing you are Viscountess Kennell.”
“I appreciate your forthrightness.” Bibi sighed and groped in her bag for her lip rouge. She would miss Amelia when her friend married Mr. Hillary. Although he was becoming a likable gent, Bibi doubted he would allow Amelia free rein to run about London with her as they had done the last year. She must resign herself to more evenings such as this one and endeavor to develop tougher skin.
The maid dropped her hands at her side and stepped back. “There you are, milady. You look even more ravishing than when you entered.”
Bibi turned her head different angles to view the girl’s work. “Saints alive. I do look splendid.” She twirled around on the stool to face the servant. “Whatever are you doing working for Lady Banner? You obviously do not attend the lady for it looks as if a rat has taken up residence in her hair.”
Mae giggled into her hand, her cheeks aglow.
Bibi winked. “See? I’m impertinent, too.” She closed her bag. “I do so enjoy impertinence and talent in one package. Do you have any desire to change employers? I have need of a new lady’s maid.”
The girl’s eyes expanded. “Oh. Yes, milady. I would find such work pleasing indeed.”
“Very well. Come around tomorrow morning to Kennell House.”
Mae curtsied. “I know the place.”
The door flew open and banged against the wall.
“Oh!” Bibi and Mae cried.
Lord Banner weaved in the threshold. He clutched the doorjamb to steady himself while he pointed a shaky finger at Mae.
“Get out.” His bleary eyes glinted with wildness.
Mae hesitated, looking between Bibi and Banner.
“I said get out!”
The girl dashed for the door, ducked under his arm, and escaped into the corridor.
Bibi stood and squared her shoulders. “You’ve managed to stumble into the ladies’ retiring room, Banner. I was leaving, so you may enjoy your privacy.”
She tried to move past him, but he snatched her arm and dragged her back inside.
His lip curled, baring yellowed teeth. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Bibi attempted to pry Banner’s fingers from her upper arm, but he dug his nails into her skin.
“Unhand me at once.” Her voice cracked.
“Norwick?” He slammed her against the wall. His hand circled her neck, pinning her there. Bibi’s heart pounded and a scream rose up in her throat.
Brandy laced Banner’s breath as he shoved his face close to hers. “You chose that bastard over me?”
Bibi clawed at Banner’s twitching fingers, fearful he would lose all sense and murder her while his wife and thirty guests partook of charades in the drawing room. Despite her tendency to court scandal, this was not one with which she wished to be associated. Crimes of passion were so bourgeois.
“Please, Charles. Release me.”
“No!” He smashed her head against the wall; a shooting pain fanned outward from the point of impact.
Bibi cried out, but he paid her no mind. Really, the man was inconsiderate, to say the least.
“You spread those pretty legs for every man with an erect cock. Yet you deny me repeatedly. Do you endeavor to torture me?”
“Think of your marriage, Charles.” Her fingers worked to loosen his grip.
“My wife is a wretched shrew.”
“Well, there is that slightly disagreeable quality about her, but surely she has many good points.”
“I would as soon toss her in the Thames as to look at her.”
This tack was not working. Perhaps if she offered to lend her carriage?
Banner leaned so close, she thought she might toss up her accounts from the stench on his breath. “I want you, Bianca. And by God, I will have you.”
The retiring room door slammed against the wall, and Banner flew backward, crashing into a dressing table. The mirror shattered. Bad luck, that.
Bibi’s knees quivered, but Jasper’s arm went around her and held her up.
“Did he hurt you, love?”
One glance at his concerned expression made her burst into tears. She should have told the truth about her association with Banner when she had the opportunity.
Lady Banner stormed into the room, her face ruby colored. “What, pray tell, is all the commotion? We can hear you in the front room.”
Jasper snarled. “Your husband was assaulting Lady Kennell.”
Lady Banner glared at Bibi then turned her fury on her husband sprawled on the floor among the mirror fragments. He looked more addle-brained than usual. A trickle of blood dripped from a cut on his forehead.
“Assault?” She laughed bitterly. “Is that what they call it these days? Since when is bedding a married man in his own home considered assault?”
Jasper puffed up with anger. “I saw him, Fi. His hand was around her neck.”
Lady Banner marched across the room to tower above her husband as he picked glass from his palm. “Is this true, Banner? Were you also assaulting Lady Kennell that time in the library?”
Jasper’s black eyes turned on Bibi. Fire blazed in their depths. She would have stepped away from him, but he held her against his side. “You had an affair with Banner?”
Nausea swept over her.
“I’m sorr
y,” she whispered.
His jaw hardened and his gaze turned to ice.
“We’ll take our leave now, Fi.” His expression softened when he looked at his sister. He was taking her side against Bibi. But what did she expect given the circumstances? “I’ll take Lady Kennell out the back. I do hope we haven’t spoiled your evening.”
Bibi sniffled as Jasper escorted her into the darkened corridor. The young maid, Mae, hesitated outside the retiring room, wringing her hands. Had she collected Jasper? Bibi must thank her if she dared to arrive for their interview tomorrow after this debacle.
Jasper propelled Bibi outside. The cooler night air swept over her and made her shiver.
In the carriage, he took the spot across from her and turned his gaze out the window. Silence was a stone wall as high as heaven erected between them.
“Jasper, please allow me to explain.”
“Hold your tongue. I’m in no state to discuss anything at the moment.”
Bibi squirmed against the seat. Her throat burned with unshed tears. She had destroyed everything.
When the carriage stopped inside the gates of Kennell House, Jasper lumbered from the vehicle then turned to assist her.
“I had expected honesty from you, Bianca, if nothing else.”
She dropped her head. “I’m riddled with regret, but I cannot change what has occurred.”
“No, I suppose you can’t.” He walked her to the door. “Don’t you believe in the sanctity of marriage?” His question held a curious inflection rather than judgment. She had expected censorship, and his response left her feeling more vulnerable. She had no defenses against this, whatever it was. A passing interest? Apathy?
She looked away to hide her hurt. “I was unmarried at the time.”
“Interesting way of looking at it, I suppose.”
He ushered her inside and handed his hat to the butler before leading her to the violet drawing room. Pulling the doors closed, he wheeled around. A frown marred his face.
“Allow me to rephrase my question. Have you no qualms bedding another woman’s husband?”
The room flickered as unwanted tears filled her eyes. She had never felt so ashamed, so deplorable. “You wouldn’t understand.”
He took a step toward her. “I will try, B, but you must tell me the truth this time.”
He wanted to forgive her. His eyes were glittery with hope, and she would disappoint him.
She swallowed hard, wishing she had protected her heart against Jasper and knowing it was too late. “Your sister has always treated me with disdain, as if I’m not good enough for the likes of her. My aim was to exact a small amount of revenge by engaging in a harmless flirtation with Lord Banner.”
The corner of Jasper’s mouth lifted, but he wasn’t smiling. “Fiona can be a dragon. I don’t imagine you are the first to wish to seek vengeance. But I cannot condone adultery.”
He wandered to the sideboard and poured two glasses of Madeira then offered one to her. “Marriage is a sacred vow that shouldn’t be broken. When I marry, I shall take no mistresses. And I will expect the same promise of fidelity from my wife.”
Bibi nodded, miserable at the thought of Jasper marrying and ending their association. She accepted the glass he held out, lowered to a chair, and sipped the liquor. The burn on her tongue reminded her of that evening. She set the crystal tumbler aside.
“Tell me what transpired the night Fiona discovered the two of you.”
Bibi squeezed her eyes closed. She didn’t want to remember, but she couldn’t hide from Jasper. Or herself.
“S-several months ago, I attended a soiree your sister hosted. Amelia left early. She’d had enough of Lady Banner’s haughtiness and urged me to leave too, but I recognized the opportunity to put your sister in her place. Banner had been flirtatious throughout dinner, and his attentions paid to me irritated her. I decided it might be retribution to make her squirm longer.”
Bibi looked down at her hands. How minuscule she seemed, so insignificant. So very petty.
“Banner retrieved drinks for us when the dancing began. I knew he had laced the punch with spirits on the first sip, but I liked the threat of scandal. The possibility of anyone discovering I partook of a man’s drink was titillating. I drank all of it at his urging.”
She hugged herself. “I didn’t anticipate the effect it would have on me. When Banner asked me to dance, my head felt light and my eyelids itched to close. I begged off, but he assured me a turn around the floor would revive me.”
Jasper’s jaw hardened. “Go on.”
“During the waltz, my legs began to feel weak. Like they were made of butter and were slowly melting. I told him a sudden illness had come upon me. He suggested we retreat somewhere so I might rest. I couldn’t argue. My tongue felt swollen and too dry.”
Her palms grew moist and she wiped them against her skirts, forgetting she still wore gloves. “Everything else is hazy from the moment he led me from the floor. I was in a dream state when he lifted me to the library table. I remember tipping to the side and almost tumbling to the ground, but he caught me. I thought him kind. Then his hands were under my skirts, and I tried to push them away, but my arms were so heavy.”
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the fog enveloping the rest of that night. She recalled the sound of screeching and the crash of glass, but nothing else before waking in her bed. Her head had pounded with such intensity, that she had thought it might burst.
Jasper’s eyes burned blacker than ever. “He drugged you.”
Bibi drew back. “No. Well, he gave me brandy, but I knew what he’d done.”
He sat his drink aside and approached her. “Bianca.” His voice was intense yet tender. It vibrated in her chest. Made her want to cry.
He didn’t need to tell her brandy would have no such effect. His grim expression said everything.
“He put a sleeping potion in my drink?”
“Likely laudanum.” Jasper’s fists tightened at his sides and his mouth thinned. “I’ll call him out for his trouble.”
“No, please.” She grasped his hand with both of hers. “Don’t risk your life for me. I’m to blame as much as he is. I shouldn’t have teased him. I shouldn’t have accepted the drink.”
Jasper knelt before her and took her face between his hands. “You are not to blame. Banner rendered you almost unconscious. He took advantage of your incapacitation.”
“Be that as it may, it would be foolish for you to challenge your kin to protect my honor.” She had no honor any longer. She hadn’t for a long time.
“Stop it.”
She met his steely gaze. “Tell me what it is I should stop and I’ll do it.”
“Stop implying you are nothing to me,” he ground out. “You’ve never been nothing.”
What could she possibly mean to him? She had become his lover, perhaps his mistress, but given his convictions, they had no future once he took a wife. A sharp pain seared her heart. She hadn’t entered this affair with any expectations for commitment, and if she had, tonight would have shattered her hopes. No gentleman would desire a wife like her.
“It has been a long evening,” she said. “May we please forgo this conversation?”
Jasper dropped his hands from her face with a loud sigh. “For the moment, we shall postpone our discussion.” He stood and urged her to her feet. “Shall we make our way to the bedchamber? I grow weary for bed.”
Bibi suppressed a gasp. “Yes. Of course.”
She had expected him to walk away from her tonight.
Jasper placed his hand on the small of her back as they climbed the stairs. “Are you certain he didn’t hurt you, my dear?”
Love for her darling earl swelled within her chest. “I’m fit enough for now.” That is until he would end their association and trample her heart.
Twenty-four
Amelia grasped her horse’s reins tighter as Clarabelle pranced and tossed her mane as if preening for the two stallions that
flanked her sides.
“Whoa.” A firm voice and strong hand proved useful in settling her mare. Soon Clarabelle walked serenely beside her companions along Rotten Row.
“You handle your horse well, Lady Audley,” Mr. Tucker said with admiration in his voice. Americans were oddly transparent; everything they felt announced in their expressions, everything they thought spoken aloud.
She smiled with polite detachment. “Thank you, sir.”
“Lady Audley has always been an excellent equestrian,” Jake said.
He grinned, his white teeth shining like pearls, as if Mr. Tucker had paid him the compliment. Good heavens, how she’d love to drag Jake back to Verona House and snuggle under the counterpane again.
Amelia’s cheeks heated at the shameful direction her thoughts traveled, and she dropped her eyes to the reins in her hands. She had become as wanton as Bibi, allowing Jake to stay the night. But who could fault her? Jake Hillary was handsome, passionate, and considerate.
She had been pleasantly surprised when he’d insisted she join him and Mr. Tucker for a ride in the park this morning. Jake never treated her as if she were a nuisance, as the gentlemen of her past tended to do.
He winked at her, making her flush with pleasure. “A few years ago, Lady Audley challenged another gentleman and me to a race. You should have seen her.”
“Mr. Hillary, please.” Amelia had been a bit less refined as a young lady.
“I have always been puzzled by how she missed the boisterous protests of her chaperone,” Jake added. “But she seemed to hear nothing of the lady’s caterwauling, although all of Northamptonshire must have heard her. Was it the wind in your ears, my lady?”
Amelia chuckled at his teasing tone. She supposed she had been a handful for Aunt Chloe.
Mr. Tucker raised his eyebrows. “Do tell, my lady. What was the outcome of the race?”
“I cannot recall now,” she said with a shrug, not wishing to embarrass her betrothed.
Jake laughed, a hearty, heartwarming sound that sent tingles all the way to her fingertips. “Don’t allow her coyness to fool you, sir. She shamed us both.”
“Lot of good it did me,” she said. “Aunt Chloe whisked me away from the house party before I could savor my victory. And I received an impressive scolding for my unladylike behavior.” The entire journey home, to be precise.
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