Sussex Summer

by Lucy Muir

  By the time the night of the dinner with the Hamptons arrived, Edward had made two more morning calls on Jane. She appeared to have waited for his visits in her garden, but he still felt a reserve in her which he was at a loss how to overcome. He watched her now at the table speaking to his mother while Fanny visited with his sister, Mary. Mary had always been fond of Fanny and had known of Fanny’s betrothal to Jamie and the subsequent disgraceful actions on his part, and had been anxious to assure herself of Fanny’s recovery from the whole affair.

  Edward remarked how much more pleasantly the dinner passed without the presence of the Blackwoods and their aunt. Lord Blackwood had been an amusing conversationalist, but things were much pleasanter without the barbed remarks of Lady Martin and Lady Juliette. Squire Deane, his sister’s husband, was a hearty companion, and his diverting stories even had the power to keep Mr. Hampton from vanishing into the library. It was a comfortable family dinner, Edward thought, and he understood why his father had eschewed the city in favour of his country estate all these years.

  After the gentlemen rejoined the ladies in the drawing room, Edward asked Jane to walk in the garden, thinking to continue his campaign to win her affections. Haverton Park’s old-fashioned gardens were threaded with graveled walks that took one from one delightful spot to another, and the night air was filled with the sweet evening smells of the gillyflowers, tuberose and vesper campion.

  “Evening is my favourite time in the garden,” Jane commented, leaning down to smell the campion more closely. “So many flowers only release their scent with the setting of the sun.”

  “I shall always associate you with gardens.” Edward smiled, thinking Jane looked like one of the flowers herself, clad in a pink-sprigged muslin gown with matching ribbons. He bent down, picked a creamy-white tuberose and placed it in Jane’s soft brown hair. He saw her breasts rise and fall as his action made her breath quicken, and had a strong desire to enfold her in his arms and bury his lips in her luxuriant hair. But he had to restrain himself lest he frighten her away with too precipitate a declaration of his feelings. To distract himself, he spoke of Jamie.

  “It would seem my brother has permanently lost your sister’s affections. However he tries to attract her attention, she persists in ignoring him.”

  “Yes,” Jane said, laughing, thinking of how Jamie had sulked through dinner when Fanny ignored his gallantries. “I believe Fanny has tried several times to persuade him to agree to officially end their betrothal, but he refuses.”

  “I cannot say I blame Fanny,” Edward said with a smile, “but I shall miss the connection to your family.”

  They had reached a small fountain and by mutual consent stopped and sat on its edge, sharing the night peace. Edward, knowing he was making a mistake, but unable to stop himself, reached out and took Jane’s hand.

  “Jane, our families could still be connected if you would marry me.”

  For one delirious moment Jane was overjoyed, but anger soon followed. She knew why he was asking her for her hand, and it was not love for herself but because Lady Juliette had refused him, preferring the earl with his higher income and title.

  “How dare you ask me to be your wife because Lady Juliette refused you and removed to Bramleigh?” she cried, snatching her hand away from his.

  Edward’s eyes opened wide in astonishment at this reaction to his proposal. “I did not ask Lady Juliette for her hand,” he protested. “I realised it was you whom I loved and wished to marry before Lady Juliette ever left Haverton Park, but I could not ask you while she was still here. It would not have been proper.”

  “Do you expect me to believe that?” Jane said, standing up. She felt the flower he had placed in her hair brush her forehead, and she snatched it out, throwing it angrily into the fountain. “Do you think I have forgotten why you invited her here to Bramleigh? You told me yourself. Do you take me for a fool?”

  Edward stood up, as well, and reached for Jane’s arm, wishing to calm her.

  “Yes, it is true I did invite the Blackwoods here because I thought I loved Juliette, but I came to see that I did not,” he tried to explain. “It is you I love.”

  “Forgive me if I find that difficult to believe,” Jane replied. “You are just like Jamie. It is only your pride. Well, I assure you that you will recover from my refusal just as easily as he will recover from Fanny’s.”

  Jane abruptly pulled away from him and walked swiftly to the house, her indignation apparent in her stiff posture. Edward followed, his posture equally stiff, not betraying the hurt he suffered, cursing himself for speaking too precipitately. He had told Jane why he had invited Lady Juliette to Haverton Park, and how could she know of his change of heart? It would have been better if he had embraced her as he first had the impulse to do than to have spoken as he did. Somehow he would have to convince her of his sincerity, but how?

  Jane tried to disguise the ill temper Edward’s insulting offer had engendered, but it was a strain, and she was glad when the evening was over and she and Fanny were able to return home. She had evidently not disguised her feelings well enough, however, for when they arrived home, Fanny followed Jane to her bedchamber.

  “What is it, Jane? You have been acting oddly ever since you came in from the garden with Edward,” she said with concern.

  “I pray no one else noticed,” Jane said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

  “I doubt another would have; I only noticed because I am your sister and know you too well,” Fanny assured her sister. “What did Captain Tremaine do to make you so upset?”

  “He made me an offer.”

  “How wonderful!” Fanny exclaimed, going embrace her sister, but evaded her sister’s arms and moved away.

  “Wonderful?” she asked, pacing the floor of her bedchamber. “How dare he! I refused him, of course.”

  “Refused him?” Fanny questioned in confusion. “Then it was all for nothing.”

  Jane stopped pacing and looked at her sister sharply. “What was all for nothing?”

  “It makes no matter now,” Fanny said, turning to leave the room, but Jane grabbed her sister by the arm and held her.

  “What? Tell me.”

  “Lord Staplefield and I devised a plan,” Fanny confessed. “We decided you would make a much better wife for Captain Tremaine than Juliette, and planned incidents to make her show her true colours.”

  Jane was shocked. “How could you? You were the one who warned me Edward had only brotherly feelings for me, yet you discussed my feelings for him with Lord Staplefield? How could you?” she repeated wrathfully. “I am mortified. You and Lord Staplefield have acted despicably. That is why you never seemed upset when the earl flirted with Lady Juliette. You had planned it all. Lord Staplefield is no better than you—worse, since he is a man and older. How could you encourage him to trifle with someone’s affections, particularly after your experience with Jamie?”

  “Lady Juliette has no heart to trifle with,” Fanny defended herself, pulling out of Jane’s grasp. “Lord Staplefield’s behaviour did not go beyond what is acceptable. If Lady Juliette chose to read more into his actions than was there it is her own fault.”

  Jane could not completely agree with that assessment of the situation. If Lady Juliette had received no encouragement at all, she doubted she would have lost her interest in Captain Tremaine. The possibility that without Fanny’s machinations Lady Juliette might still have been with Edward made Jane grateful to the pair against her will, but she still felt Fanny’s behaviour had been reprehensible.

  “It was highly improper of you to have discussed such things with a stranger.”

  “Lord Staplefield is not a stranger,” Fanny protested.

  “No, not a stranger,” Jane accused. “You seem quite well acquainted with his house as well as his person. Have you been going there unaccompanied?”

  “I have done nothing improper. We only wanted to help. You and Captain Tremaine are too polite and proper to allow yourselves to see the
truth. If not for us you both would have landed with the wrong people.”

  “You are not the best judge of other people’s hearts! If Edward chooses Lady Juliette and I choose Lord Blackwood it is no concern of yours or Lord Staplefield’s,” Jane lectured, at that moment feeling very affectionate towards Lord Blackwood. He, at least, did not seek her company because the one he cared for most did not care for him, or discuss her intimate feelings with others.

  Fanny left the room with an injured expression on her face, and Jane, her anger spent, threw herself face down on her bed, sobbing with pain and mortification at the evening’s disclosures.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jane’s anger at Edward, Fanny, and Lord Staplefield continued several days. There were moments, however, when she wondered whether perhaps she should have accepted Edward’s offer, insulting though she had felt it was. Would it not be better to be with someone one loved, even though one were second choice, than to be forever without that person? Her feelings wavered back and forth.

  Captain Tremaine came by several mornings, but Jane was careful never to be out in her gardens of a morning and refused to remain in the drawing room with Fanny and their guest on those occasions, declaring that her preparations for the forthcoming ball at Bramleigh were consuming all her attention.

  Lord Blackwood’s calls were more problematic. Although Jane did not feel entirely comfortable when alone in his company, she could not forget he was a man who had chosen her. Nor could she deny the attraction that existed between them, albeit it was more physical than the emotional tie she felt to Captain Tremaine.

  Sometimes, Jane thought with a sigh, she could see the appeal of being a spinster. Affairs of the heart were too complicated.

  The coming masquerade at Bramleigh also gave Jane an excuse to stay away from Haverton Park, mean-spirited though she felt at avoiding Lady Tremaine and their daughter, Mary. And excuse was all it was, for Jane did not have much interest in the masqued ball, and only planned to wear a rose-coloured domino and mask. Fanny, however, was not satisfied with such a simple costume and insisted that Jane go in costume.

  “There is no time for me to obtain an elaborate costume, Fanny, even did I wish to,” Jane protested.

  “You could go as Diana,” Fanny insisted. “That would be a simple costume. All you would need is a length of cloth and a quiver.”

  “Diana,” Jane sighed. “There will probably be several Dianas. If I must go in costume, at least think of something original.”

  “Well, then you will be the best Diana. You are not interested in competing for the prize, anyway,” Fanny persuaded, and Jane reluctantly gave in to her sister. What did it matter if there were several Dianas? She could find respite in anonymity. She gave Fanny the pink sarcenet she had purchased in Brighton and left the construction of her costume to Mrs. Reid and Fanny.

  Jane thought her sister seemed overly excited about the masquerade, although perhaps it was just her own lack of interest that made Fanny’s seem excessive. And it was true there was the added excitement of the prizes. Lord Staplefield had decided to offer two prizes, one to the lady and one to the gentleman who wore the most original and daring costumes.

  Fanny was going as Queen Henrietta Maria, to complement Lord Staplefield, who was planning to go as Charles I. Jane was a little concerned that by wearing complementary costumes, her sister and the earl would be making too public a display of their friendship to be considered proper, but she said nothing to her sister or to her father. The thought of Lord Staplefield and Fanny discussing her feelings for Edward and making plans to throw them together still made Jane still angry enough not to care if her sister invited public censure.

  Lady Juliette sat on one of the delicately painted Adam chairs in the small circular dining room at Bramleigh and surveyed the assembled company with a sigh. It had been most discomfiting to find that Lord Crawford was one of Lord Staplefield’s guests. She was beginning to wish she had never come to Sussex at all. Captain Tremaine was not rich enough, and Lord Staplefield was proving elusive. She had thought the invitation to Bramleigh had indicated progress, but she was treated no differently than the other guests.

  But at least Lord Staplefield had stopped talking to her in those absurd old expressions since she’d been at Bramleigh. Though she had concealed her feelings well, Juliette had disliked the earl ever since it had become evident that he was doing it solely for her benefit. In truth, she disliked both Lord Staplefield and Captain Tremaine. She didn’t like being made a Maygame of by Lord Staplefield, and Edward was far too prosy and boring.

  She sneaked a look at Lord Crawford, and immediately regretted it when his light blue eyes intercepted the look and he smiled at her knowingly. Lord Crawford had been very game since he had arrived at Bramleigh; having assessed the situation, he had been careful not to draw attention to their mutual interest and had refrained from paying her any special notice. She looked at his large muscular form straining against his buckskins and olive coat and felt a moment’s regret. He might not be as wealthy as Edward and Lord Staplefield, but how much more a man Crawford was in other ways!

  Juliette forced herself to think of Lord Staplefield’s wealth and glanced about the drawing room, noting his many valuable possessions. After all, once she was married to the earl she could go her own way, she thought, looking speculatively at Lord Crawford. Yes, even that was possible after she provided Lord Staplefield with an heir.

  Juliette’s thoughts cheered her and her brilliant smile returned, captivating every gentleman who noticed it. She would bring Lord Staplefield to the sticking point by the end of the masquerade. She could not fail to gain his notice and win the prize for the most daring costume, she thought complacently as she pictured herself in the exotic costume she and her maid were constructing in the privacy of her rooms.

  When the other guests had rested sufficiently after their lunch and began to disperse from the drawing room, Lady Juliette retired to her bedchamber to work on her costume. She sent her maid to find some embroidery silks and tried on the satin cap she was fashioning. She stood before the gilt-framed oval glass and held several ostrich feathers on her cap at different angles in an effort to determine where they looked best.

  “Very charming, my dear. Although I think you should add some paste jewels—a band round the edge and a cluster in the centre, I think.”

  Lady Juliette gasped and whirled about to face Lord Crawford.

  “How dare you enter my bedchamber!” she exclaimed angrily. “If you were seen by anyone you could undo all.”

  “I assure you no one saw me enter,” Lord Crawford said, advancing farther into the room and closing the door behind him. “The gentlemen are gone to the stable to inspect Lord Staplefield’s cattle, and the ladies are entertaining themselves in the music room.”

  Lady Juliette did not feel reassured by his words, and her visitor endeavoured to set her fears at rest.

  “Do not fear, I have no desire to spoil your plans. In fact, I came to assist you in them by giving you a warning. You really must guard the way you look at me in company, my dear, or someone will notice and remember the old rumours.”

  Lady Juliette flushed at the emphasis he put on the last word and anger at having her thoughts so easily read by him overcame her.

  “You flatter yourself, Lord Crawford,” she said coldly, turning away.

  “I think not,” he contradicted and, coming closer, grasped Juliette’s chin in his hand and turned her face back to his. He gazed steadily into her eyes, and Lady Juliette’s expression slowly changed from one of anger to one that was almost flirtatious. Her long black eyelashes swept invitingly down over her cheeks, and her red lips pouted provocatively. Lord Crawford placed his lips over hers in a kiss that quickly became demanding. When he had aroused an equal hunger in Lady Juliette, he put her away from him.

  “Ah, what memories the touch of your lips awakens,” he said, meaningfully. “Are you quite sure you wish to have Lord Staplefield? He seems
rather a cold fish to me.”

  His lightly mocking words returned Lady Juliette to an awareness of the danger she was in while Lord Crawford remained in her bedchamber.

  “I am quite certain. Lord Staplefield has the wealth to support me in the manner which I desire. You do not. Please leave my chamber at once before you are observed.”

  “If you change your mind, my dear, you have only to let me know,” Lord Crawford said as he placed his hand upon the doorknob. “I still think it a pity you have chosen as you have. Or rather a waste. Only a true connoisseur of women deserves to possess you.” With a mocking bow and smile, he left the room.

  Lady Juliette hastened to close the door behind him and sank into a chair, still clutching the feathers in her right hand. She laid them down on a table, thinking that life was most unfair. Why did a prosy bore such as Edward and a buffoon such as Lord Staplefield have wealth, while she and her brother and Lord Crawford had none? It was decidedly unjust!

  The long-awaited night of the masquerade arrived at last. Mrs. Reid stayed late to help the Hampton sisters dress, almost as excited about the ball as was Fanny.

  “I think you must win the prize for the best costume, Miss Fanny,” Mrs. Reid said as she stepped back and admired the young woman’s costume.

  Fanny was undeniably magnificent as Queen Henrietta Maria. Her white satin skirts hung straight and full to the ground from a slightly raised waistline, and the three-quarter-length sleeves were slashed to expose blue satin beneath and tied below her elbows with blue ribbons. Matching blue rosettes adorned her waist and her dainty white satin slippers. Jane joined Mrs. Reid in her admiration of her sister and wished she had shown more interest in her own costume.

  Fanny and Mrs. Reid had constructed her Diana costume, and although Jane granted they had done well, she felt only half-dressed wearing it. The shell-pink sarcenet draperies fell to just above her ankles, clinging tightly to her figure and exposing sandals that laced about her limbs with pink ribbons. Her hair was curled tightly and rolled up on her head where it was held with a silver fillet, and to complete the costume she wore a satin-covered quiver of arrows on her back. As Jane adjusted the matching pink silk mask over her face, she wished it truly disguised her identity.