Rescuing Rosalind (Three Original Ladies and Their Gentlemen)

by Vandagriff, G. G.

  “I have always been fond of Aunt Clarice’s companion, but I cannot see you as an eccentric, Fan. What could be more boring than collecting beetles, for goodness sake? Do you not want a family and children of your own?”

  Before Fanny could form an answer, a footman entered the open doorway and announced the arrival of the Marquis of Deal. It was a good thing because Fanny did not have an answer ready.

  Wiping her tears from her cheeks, she bounced to her feet, grabbed her bonnet and veil, and put them on her head. Elise secured the ends of the veil in a knot at the back of her neck.

  “There!” she said. “See, Elise? No one will know me.”

  “Wear your pelisse. I went for a morning ride, and it is brisk outdoors.”

  “Yes, Mother,” Fanny said with feigned meekness.

  * * *

  “My, what a dramatic veil!” the captain declared. “People will think I am driving a very mysterious personage. But, bad luck for me, it seems. Even I cannot see your face.”

  “You shall have to imagine it,” Fanny said.

  She relished the feeling of his gentle mastery as he seized her around the waist and lifted her up onto the perch. “Oh,” she exclaimed, catching her breath. “This is very exciting. I have never ridden in a phaeton. I declare, I can see all of Mayfair from here!”

  The phaeton was painted black and picked out in silver, the horses matched grays. So narrow was her perch that when Lord Deal was beside her, his very muscular thigh came in contact with hers. Fanny felt a thrill of adventure.

  “This London traffic is deuced annoying,” the marquis said as he maneuvered the equipage through the tangle of carriages of every size and shape, drays, street sweepers, and tinkers hawking their wares above the sound of hoofbeats and the jangle of harnesses.

  “I find it thrilling,” Fanny said. “Shropshire was so quiet, and nothing ever happened there.” Fanny arranged her pelisse over her knees. “Elise says that you came into your estate unexpectedly. You must tell me where it is and what it is like.”

  “Deal is in Kent along the south coast. The estate is rambling and the house is a tumbledown. But the view of the sea is wonderful to behold. I find the sea air invigorating in any season.” He looked over at her and she nodded.

  “As do I!”

  “It is very tumble-down at the present time. The last Marquis of Deal had many estates and never lived in this one. No one has lived there for a generation. I have set roofers, glaziers, and brick-layers to work on the manor house to begin with. It is in very bad repair.”

  “What about the grounds? Does it have a park?”

  “Yes, and there is a badly neglected farm with a score of empty workers’ cottages. The garden looks haunted. You would probably adore it. There are thorny rose vines overgrown to menacing proportions. Right now, the entire property is ripe for a fairy tale.”

  “It sounds vastly intriguing! How I should love to see it.”

  He looked at her with a grin. “You would not have me put it in order, but use the whole thing as a stage set.”

  Fanny was warmed by his words for a reason she did not precisely understand. As he maneuvered the streets, she considered him as a suitor. Though Deal was quite a bit older than she, Fanny did not think it a fantastic idea. He was certainly handsome enough. She fancied the cleft in his chin and those moss-green eyes, so startling in a face weather-beaten and tanned. He had not cut his hair, but still wore it pulled back in the old-fashioned style.

  Her consciousness of him surprised her. Fanny had experienced very little attraction toward the pinks of the ton. And she had thought the marquis to be unwontedly sober. But the phaeton and this whole adventure belied that. She fell to wondering what it would have been like to see him command his ship.

  When their race against time began, it was thrilling to the extent that she was even a bit frightened. She held on to the high seat with a tight grip. Heads turned as they whizzed by. And then the dreaded rain began. But the feel of the raindrops that spattered through her veil was exhilarating. Throwing her head back, she welcomed them with a laugh.

  “Must we stop at Richmond?” she asked. “This rain would not keep me from wishing to go on.”

  “I’m afraid we must. My leader seems to have cast a shoe.”

  “Oh! How vexing. I hope he will not go lame. Perhaps we should stop.”

  “There is no shelter until Richmond. I would not have you succumb to an inflammation of the lungs.”

  “I should not. I am hearty as a goat.”

  He laughed at her, and the sound added to the thrill.

  When at last they reached Richmond, they stopped at the first inn that offered services to reshoe the gray. Fanny enjoyed the captain’s strong hands on her waist again as he handed her down. With one arm around her shoulders, he showed her inside the inn and placed her in front of a roaring fire in a private parlor.

  “I must see to my horses. I will have the landlord bring tea and cakes, and hopefully I will join you shortly.”

  Fanny chose to keep her hat and veil in place, as she knew, though the marquis might not, that sitting in a private parlor with a gentleman behind a closed door was not comme il faut. It was just one more of the many things that could ruin her.

  It was as well she had taken this precaution, as the marquis returned with an acquaintance. He was tall and thin as a beanpole and tanned like Deal. His eyes surveyed her with open interest.

  “Rosalind, can you credit it?” the captain asked. “I have just found my First Luff, Lieutenant Clark, outside the inn. He will join us for tea.”

  “What, pray, is a first luff?”

  “Navy slang for a First Lieutenant. He iss second-in-command to a frigate captain.”

  “So this is your ladybird!” the lieutenant said. “And veiled, too! Have you been fishing in another man’s preserve, Captain?”

  Fanny knew a moment of panic. He took her for a straying wife or a member of the muslin company! She kept her mouth firmly closed, merely nodding a greeting. Thank heavens the marquis had called her Rosalind and not Miss Edwards.

  She poured the lieutenant a cup of tea and passed him the indifferent cakes which had tasted like raw oats to her palate. The men fell to discussing how their various shipmates were situated, the boredom of life without a war to fight, and inevitably moved on to past adventures. Growing annoyed at being excluded from the conversation, Fanny began to tap her foot.

  At length, the lieutenant addressed her. “And how did you come to make the acquaintance of this ne’er-do-well, Rosalind? I swear he has only been on the town a couple of days.”

  “I am an actress,” she said, deepening her voice to disguise it.

  “Oh! And in what production are you currently appearing?”

  Deal merely looked amused.

  “I am resting. But shortly, I shall be auditioning for the part of my namesake in As You Like It. I first met your captain years ago, when I was performing that role.”

  The lieutenant looked her up and down, his eyes insolent as he took in the details of her form. “Why the veil?”

  “I have a protector. He is very jealous. In fact, he is known to be violent.”

  “The devil you do!” the lieutenant exclaimed as his captain grew still more amused. “The captain can hold his own in any squabble of that sort. Do you have a friend? Someone who wouldn’t mind being seen with an old salt like me?”

  “You are too modest, Lieutenant. I find you exceedingly attractive. All that is wanting is for you to make an appearance in the greenroom of the Covent Garden Theater tonight. I will wager you will make the acquaintance of any number of young ladies who would accompany you gladly.”

  “Assuming you are right, shall we make it a party, the four of us?” he asked.

  Deal demurred. “Rosalind and I have private business this evening, Clark. I’m certain you understand.” He rose. “Now I must see if my leader has been shod, if you will excuse me.”

  Once he left the room, Lieutena
nt Clark turned his full attention on Fanny. “My dear, just a word of warning. The captain is a very good man. Absolutely first rate when you’re facing the enemy. But he takes a scunner at the notion of any permanent attachment.” He stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing the small room. “He is the original misogynist.”

  “Perhaps you do not know him as well as you think. He is very discreet,” she said, unable to believe she was having such an outré conversation. Feeling daring, she added, “We have had an ongoing relationship these many years.”

  Looking startled, the lieutenant peered at her, trying to make out her features. She blessed her veil.

  “Will you break with your protector, now that the captain is free?”

  She pretended to consider. “That depends very much on what the captain has to offer me. More than auld lang syne, I hope. A girl has to watch out for herself, you know. She will not always be a girl.”

  Lieutenant Clark seemed struck by this. “I suppose that’s true.”

  “What’s true?” Deal entered the room.

  “I was just telling the lieutenant that girls like me need to watch out for themselves. There is no one else to do it for us if we do not.”

  The marquis started to grin and ended by throwing his head back and giving a hearty laugh. “Well, my dearest ladybird, the horse is shod and we must away. Good luck, Clark.” Patting his waistcoat, he removed a calling card. Going to the table that provided a quill and ink, he penned something on the back. “Come visit me in town if you are ever at a loose end,” he said as he handed the card over.

  When his friend left the room, Deal turned to Fanny. “You, my dear, have been excessively naughty. I suppose you must tell me with what farradiddle you entertained the lieutenant so that I might not give you away.”

  She raised her chin. “Just that we have a friendship of many years’ standing, and that you are very discreet. He said you were a misogynist. Is that true?”

  “You were right the first time. I am very discreet.”

  This answer tugged a bit at her heart. “Do you have a mistress, then?”

  “Now, why would I discuss that with a pert little minx like you? You are forgetting yourself in your enthusiasm for the part you are playing.”

  She sighed. “You have been very sporting up until now.”

  “Well, now we must go if we are to get you home before nightfall.”

  { 5 }

  AS HE TURNED HIS HORSES TOWARD THE ROOMS he rented in Curzon Street, Buck reflected on Rosalind’s question regarding his misogynism. He was surprised at Clark for terming him a woman-hater. He had never thought of himself that way. His lieutenant had never been privy to his personal life. It was a fact that he had steered clear of women “of quality” before. That was thanks to his mother, of course.

  However, Rosalind was the most unexpected and entertaining person he had encountered since leaving his ship. What would the future bring? She may chafe at her bridle, but Rosalind was a lady. There was only one course open to him if he wished to claim her for his own. And in addition to his childhood memories, Buck had always had a sea captain’s natural distrust of marriage. Many a man had been betrayed while he was at sea.

  But his life was no longer a sea captain’s. And the changes brought about by that fact were many. Used to commanding men of all different classes and backgrounds, he had found the ton distressingly homogenous. Thinking of this, he changed his mind about going home and decided to pay a visit to the handful of his seamen who lived in the East End. He would stand them all drinks and see how they were getting on. Life was difficult for them since the war had ended. The sea was the only life they knew.

  He pulled his phaeton up in front of the lodgings he had purchased for them. To his dismay, he heard sounds of a fight through the open front door. At the very moment he set his feet on the street, a large man was expelled from the opening to land at Buck’s feet. The door slammed. When the man clambered to his feet and stood, Buck saw that it was Seaman Hawkins. His nose was bloodied and probably broken.

  “What is this?” Buck asked the heavily muscled Hawkins.

  “Bliddy nora! Hafter all we been frew togever, ‘e sez as ‘ow I pinched ‘is baccy.”

  “And did you?”

  “I never! You knows me better ‘n that, Capting.”

  “I thought I did. Have you had any luck finding a job, Hawkins?”

  The seaman looked away and coughed. “I ‘aven’t. I ‘elps hout at the market for pennies, just to feed meself. Fanks to you, Capting, I ‘as a roof hover me ‘ead, which is more than I can say for a lot o’ blokes what sleeps in the street.”

  Buck made a decision on the instant. Hawkins had been a good seaman, showing not only unquestionable loyalty but initiative, as well. “Do you think you could live in the country?”

  “I dunno. Hain’t never been there.”

  “I’ve come into property. You were a good ship’s carpenter. Let’s go have a drink and talk about your working for me in Kent.”

  Hours later, Buck exited the East End pub, having engaged the first of his cottagers to work under his estate manager to begin putting the cottages in repair. He took Hawkins to the mail coach and paid his fare to Deal. The man carried a letter to his estate manager and money to hire a hack to carry him to the estate, to which he had a rough map.

  Clapping Hawkins on the back, he remounted his phaeton and headed for Curzon Street, not particularly relishing a lone dinner at White’s. He supposed it would be another dreary night for which he would need to change into evening clothes. What a confounded bore!

  But when he arrived in the club dining room, it was to find the Duke of Ruisdell checking his watch at a table by himself. Ah! Buck had forgotten. The duke wanted a word.

  “I was just about to give you up as a casualty of Fanny’s exuberant charms.”

  “I parted company with Miss Edwards at four this afternoon,” Buck said.

  “Well, I’m afraid I’ve dined without you. The lamb is first rate. And it seems they must have some smuggled brandy in the cellar. I recommend it.”

  After Deal had ordered his dinner, the duke said, “Did you beat Northbrooke’s time to Richmond?”

  “Northbrooke?”

  “Marquis of. Good friend of mine. He set it some five or six years ago; I’ve forgotten. Used to be an out-and-outer, but since his marriage, he keeps to Wiltshire most of the time.”

  “My leader cast a shoe. I must make another attempt.”

  “But not, if you please, with my ward.”

  “Your ward?”

  “That is what I wanted to explain. Until she comes of age next year, Fanny is under my guardianship. Being new to town, you wouldn’t know what is common knowledge to everyone else.”

  Buck was intrigued. “And that is . . .”

  Ruisdell looked uncomfortable. “It used to be in the nature of a joke, but it has become all too serious. Elise and Fanny’s mother is known as Lady Hatchet. For good reason. The woman is so deranged, she belongs in Bedlam. She actually terrorizes her own children.” Using his sugar spoon, the duke scored the tablecloth with deeply indented lines. He appeared to be suffering under strong emotion.

  The waiter appeared with Buck’s lamb, peas, and roasted potatoes.

  Ruisdell said, “I don’t have formal guardianship, but I have full authority granted to me in a writ instituted by their father in the Court of Chancery. Fanny and her younger sister, Sophie, consider my home their home.”

  Buck wondered what details his friend was keeping to himself. Thinking of Rosalind being physically or emotionally hurt in any way made him see red. Years of commanding a ship had given him enough taste of bullies to last a lifetime. “Why are you telling me this, Ruisdell?”

  “Fanny is far more fragile than she appears.”

  “You think I would hurt her?”

  “Not intentionally. But I wanted you to know that there is a vulnerable woman beneath all that bravado.”

  Buck
considered this. “It is a pity she’s a lady, for she is a very talented actress.”

  “She immersed herself in Shakespeare when she was growing up, convincing herself she was a great actress. According to Elise, she played role after role through her childhood.”

  “I have seen evidence of it. Who is she when she is not acting?”

  “That very issue has become a problem. We don’t know anymore. She tries on different lives daily.”

  Buck was silent, considering Rosalind’s behavior that afternoon with Clark.

  “Are you certain it is that dire? Perhaps she only amuses herself. She does not appear to be a victim, you know.”

  “She told Elise this morning that she was blue-deviled and longing to break free of the restrictions of the ton.”

  “Well, I can agree with her there. I’m feeling a bit blue-deviled myself. It is a strange civilization—this upper ten thousand. It is as much hidebound by pointless and absurd shibboleths as the heathen savages I met on my voyages.”

  The duke looked uncomfortable. “I pray you will not share that observation with Fanny. Whether or not we are strange, that is the world we must live in. She has a fortune settled on her from her Aunt Clarice. We don’t want her to fall victim to a fortune hunter through her forward ways. It would be very easy to compromise her. Elise and I must make certain she does not spoil her chances.”

  Buck began to feel uncomfortable. He ran his finger under his collar. “I like Miss Edwards rather well, as you have gathered. But I’m not in the market for a wife.”

  “Then please refrain from entertaining her more shatterbrained ideas. In fact, I would greatly appreciate it if, instead of encouraging her as you did today, that you might show some restraint where she is concerned.”

  “What a pity,” Buck said. “To restrain such an enthusiastic and delightful young woman. Are you attempting to recruit me, Ruisdell?”

  “I’m saying watch her and watch yourself, old man. She’s like a whirling dervish. I know not where she will end up.”