Sir Anthony’s daydream was rudely interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Reluctantly, he turned to find Lord Avery, his chin wobbling. “Come, now, Avery,” he said, putting his arm around his shoulder and steering him toward the stairs, “you really mustn’t. With those red, glassy eyes, Mrs. Barrington will have you in tea and poultices in a trice.”
When they reached the salon, Avery slumped into a chair and put his head in his hands.
“What is it? Miss Barrington hasn’t fallen into a decline or some such thing?”
Lord Avery rocked his head in his hands. “No, nothing like that. In fact, she seems quite gay”
Sir Anthony felt a stab of annoyance. “Well, what is it then? You’re not still pining over her, are you?”
Lord Avery raised his head. “And why should I not be? Wouldn’t you if your intended called you a buffoon and announced to the world her intention of never marrying you?”
“I hardly think the occupants of this house constitute the world!”
Lord Avery shot from his chair. “And then for her to be suddenly so gay and merry when I thought she was every bit as miserable as I. It is beyond bearing!”
Sir Anthony was confounded. “Have you seen her? She has been least-in-sight for days now.”
“I just ran into her in the dining room. She was eating! Eating, I say! When I commented on her restored health, she launched into a monologue about a ball she plans to give when the quarantine is over. All she could talk about was how lovely her gown will be and with whom she will dance and how many. She is in raptures, while my heart is in shreds and I despair of ever knowing happiness again!” Once more, his chin began to wobble and tears sprang to his eyes.
Sir Anthony felt something akin to panic. Anything but the tears! “Come now, Avery, it can’t be that bad. Surely the girl just needs a good talking to!”
The look of hope that sprung to Lord Avery’s eyes was too sudden, swift, and sure for comfort. “You would talk to her, for me?”
It wasn’t precisely what Sir Anthony had in mind. He proceeded with caution. “If there is something I can do or say that would ease your woes-within reason, that is-then I am happy to oblige.”
“Oh, bless you!” Lord Avery cried, his tears all but disappeared. “Talk to her! Find out what her game is. Does she still wish to marry me? What am I to do to win her heart? I must know!”
“Calm down, there is plenty of time left,” Sir Anthony soothed, leading Avery back to his chair. “We have nearly three or four more days of this quarantine still to get through. Perhaps if you brightened up a bit, a moratorium of sorts on the tears, et cetera. In fact, you haven’t seemed any happier about the engagement than she”
“I was unhappy about it but only because of the way it came about” Dejected once more, Lord Avery hid his face in a handkerchief. “I came to this house with the intention of asking her to be my wife. I could wait no longer!” he cried. “But if she doesn’t make it clear that I am her choice, then I will look elsewhere. There are other fish in the pond!” His head jerked up. “Ones perhaps not so very golden but beautiful nonetheless.”
The panic was back. “You don’t mean Miss Delacourt?”
“Certainly I do. Why not? She has given me no reason to think she feels adversely toward me. Besides, I am a lord. She would be a fool not to want me. In return, I think she would make a very comfortable wife.”
“If you think that, then you have never kissed her,” Sir Anthony mumbled, feeling savage.
Lord Avery drew himself up in a posture of hauteur. “Naturally, I have not. And I have not been alone with Lucinda in her bedchamber as everyone seems to believe.”
“I think perhaps you should concentrate on one thing at a time,” Sir Anthony replied with as much calm as he could muster. He doubted Ginny cared for a title or the men who bore them, but Avery wasn’t exactly the sort of noble she despised either. Perhaps Avery’s habit of saying everything he felt was exactly what Ginny wished for in a mate.
The sooner Avery had Lucinda safely hooked, the safer Sir Anthony would feel. He mustered up some enthusiasm. “Why, you and Lucinda were made for each other! In fact, Ginny said Lucinda has been bluedeviled over being robbed of her coming-out. She certainly enjoys being courted. It stands to reason that the way this engagement came about is causing all the trouble!”
“I suppose you’re right,” Lord Avery agreed, pacing the room. “Yes, yes, of course! It’s not me at all! Oh, why didn’t I think of it before!” he cried, his eyes growing wide and his face pink with excitement. “It’s perfect!” He turned glowing eyes on Sir Anthony. “So, you’ll do it then?”
“Do what?” Sir Anthony didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking.
“Court Lucinda, of course!”
“What?!” It was Sir Anthony’s turn to shoot out of his chair.
“Not for keeps, of course! If what you say is true, and I daresay it is veritable fact, Lucinda wants romantic drama and plenty of it!”
“Yes, but shouldn’t it be you who supplies the drama, not I?” Besides which, how was he to further his romance with Ginny while courting Lucinda? It defied all reason.
“Oh, I will, never fear! It is simple; tonight at dinner, flatter her until she is putty in your hands. My Lucinda has but one flaw, she becomes putty far too easily,” Avery mused.
“Er, yes, I see. Putty,” Sir Anthony murmured, amazed by this new side of Lord Avery.
“Second, insist that she meet you in your room after everyone else has retired.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think that would be at all..:
Lord Avery seemed not to hear. “That is when I arrive on the scene!” he said with growing excitement, one finger in the air, the other hand clenched in a fist. “I rescue Lucinda from your clutches and bear her away to the safety of her parents. Suddenly, I am a hero, our engagement will no longer be under a cloud of suspicion, and Lucinda will happily settle down in her new role as my intended bride.”
Sir Anthony was impressed. The plan in its entirety made some sense. In fact, it could actually work. Of course, if the intended target were anyone else, it was an utter piece of folly, but one could not deny the phenomenon that was Lucinda. Sir Anthony began to pace.
“You must promise to rescue me, er, her right away,” Sir Anthony asked with a firm shake of his finger in Lord Avery’s direction.
“Yes, oh yes!” Lord Avery agreed, his head bobbing up and down.
“You must promise that no word of this gets out to anyone whatsoever!” If Ginny stayed in her room for dinner just has she had for the past three nights, she need never know about it until it was all done. Surely by then he would have had a chance to explain the ruse.
“Yes, yes indeed, anything you say,” Avery promised, head continuing to bob.
Certainly Ginny would understand, even approve. Hadn’t she come up with her own plan to bring Avery and Lucinda together? Then why did he feel a growing presentiment of disaster? “I suppose it could be worth the risk..” Sir Anthony began but was struck speechless by Lord Avery’s hurling himself at his feet in an attitude of supplication.
“Please, oh, please, I beg of you. It is my only hope!”
Sir Anthony sensed tears in Avery’s future. “All right, all right, if you insist, yes, I will do it.”
Avery jumped to his feet. “Perfect! Time to start dressing for dinner! No, never mind, it’s early days yet, but you, you should get started. You will need all the time there is left if you hope to outshine me tonight!”
Avery left the room a changed man. Hope had sprung eternal in his heart. Sir Anthony couldn’t help but feel more hopeful toward his own romance as a result, but first he would have to get Avery and Lucinda smelling thoroughly of April and May.
Ginny was beginning to suspect Sir Anthony to be a man in love. He appeared in the drawing room before dinner in a state of agitation heretofore unknown to her. His eyes were a bit too bright, and his usual fluid grace was replaced by sharp and hurrie
d movements. The dinner bell was rung before she had a chance to reflect long on the change in him.
The meal, consisting of mutton, partridge pie, braised ham, and various vegetables, was nothing out of the common way, but Sir Anthony’s actions were. When he leaned over the table to whisper a few words to Lucinda, Ginny told herself he was merely being polite. When he gazed at Lucinda steadily throughout the main course, Ginny decided he must have a pressing reason to do so. It wasn’t until the fruit and cheese were placed on the table and Sir Anthony likened Lucinda’s lips to the plums on her plate that Ginny began to grow concerned.
It would seem Lord Avery agreed. “You go too far,” he hissed, punctuating his remark with a kick to Sir Anthony’s leg under the table. Ginny could only speculate as to Sir Anthony’s reply as it was inaudible. The fact that it so effectively placated Lord Avery aroused her curiosity further.
Sir Anthony then turned once again to Lucinda and said, “It would seem your fiance takes exception to my admiration of you. But when one is promised to such a beautiful girl as yourself one must become accustomed to the efforts of other men to win your heart, isn’t that right, Avery?”
To Ginny’s surprise Lord Avery’s only response was to glower into his plate. Lucinda, for once speechless, gauged her betrothed’s reaction from beneath a sweep of lashes. Squire Barrington and his wife exchanged looks of astonishment. Ginny’s fork clattered to the floor. A footman attempted to restore it to her, but she was incapable of any action except that of staring in horror at the scene before her.
Mrs. Barrington rose to her feet. “I think it is time the ladies withdrew.” Lucinda wasted no time in following her mama out the door, indulging her curiosity only once to confirm that Sir Anthony’s gaze did indeed trail her progress from the room.
When she had gone, his gaze swung back to Ginny, guilt written all over his face. His admission of guilt only strengthened her sense of betrayal. Quickly, she hurried away before she was blinded by the tears she knew were coming.
The faces that greeted Sir Anthony when he entered the drawing room were all curiously blank of expression. As no one spoke, it would seem their brains were equally devoid of thought, but he didn’t fool himself on that score. Everyone that mattered must think him a thorough cad. He hated what he had to do, but he could hardly pull out now.
Avery came in right behind him and, without even a glance at his betrothed, took up a seat next to Ginny, a clever ploy that would leave Sir Anthony a clear path to Lucinda. Hurrying across the room to where she sat by the fire, he lowered himself into a position beside her where his words would go unheard by the others. “Miss Barrington. Allow me to apologize for that uncomfortable scene earlier.”
Lucinda frowned. “You said those pretty things to make me uncomfortable?”
“No,” though he had certainly been uncomfortable saying them. “It’s only that I should not have been so bold with so many others about. We wouldn’t want to upset Lord Avery, would we?”
Lucinda made a moue. “We wouldn’t? I had rather thought it to be a very good idea.”
“Why is that?” It was not the reply he was expecting. Maybe this would be easier than he feared. “You must tell me, Miss Barrington.”
“If I were to tell you, would you promise not to tell Eustace?”
“You have my word of honor. My only wish is to stand your true friend.”
Lucinda gazed at him, wide-eyed. “My friend? You are not in love with me, then?”
“No, my dear, I am not. Did you wish me to be?”
“Yes, of course! Oh, pray, do not misunderstand. It is only that I am most hopelessly in love with him but ever since our engagement, he no longer seems to be in love with me. That is why you need to be in love with me!”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I do misunderstand!”
“It is very simple. Ginny persuaded me that if I acted happy and cheerful, Eustace would remember that he loves me. It hasn’t worked” She looked anxiously at Avery and Ginny seated together across the room. “It was my own idea to look as fetching as possible at the ball and dance with everyone who asks me, even the fat ones” She sighed.
Sir Anthony struggled to maintain his sobriety. “I begin to see your dilemma.”
“Oh, I am so glad! I was afraid no one knew how much I would despise having to do that. And you mustn’t tell me that no fat men will ask me to dance, because I know Jem Feddleswank intends to. He is forever asking me to stand up at the local balls.”
“And you are afraid you will have to do him the honor.”
Lucinda nodded. “It is not so much that he is fat, it is that, well, he creaks”
“He creaks, Miss Barrington?”
“On account of his corset. And he..” She hesitated and leaned so close to Sir Anthony, he thought her mother, seated not three feet away, would be carried off in a fit of apoplexy. He tried not to think about how Ginny was reacting at the moment.
“Miss Barrington, whatever could be so horrible? I trust he does not take liberties..
“Oh, no, nothing like that. It is much worse. He… he sweats”
Sir Anthony could not restrain the fit of laughter that escaped him.
“Miss Barrington, that is a fate to be avoided at all costs. However, I do believe I have a solution to your problem.”
Lucinda clapped her hands. “How wonderful! What is our plan?”
“Avery is meeting me in my room tonight directly after we all retire. You must be there first”
Lucinda frowned. “I will ask my mother. I can’t think she will approve, however. She may even say we must get married.”
Sir Anthony knew a spasm of alarm. “No! We shan’t tell your mother. No one shall know anything about it but Lord Avery. Don’t you see?”
“No, I don’t.” Lucinda looked as if she were about to weep.
“Come, Lucinda, what do you think Avery would do if he thought I were about to ravish you?”
“Is that what you are planning to do? Because I don’t think I would like it much,” she said with a pout. “And I don’t think Lord Avery would like it much either.”
Sir Anthony ground his teeth. “We won’t want him to like it. He will see that you are in danger, remove you from my clutches, and declare his undying love. For you!”
“Yes, oh yes, now I see! It will all be so romantic! He will drag me into his arms”-she cried, her eyes shining-“then, perhaps, throw you out of the window or some such thing. It will be marvelous!”
Sir Anthony didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Sir Anthony didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was holding a beautiful girl in his arms, who, no matter how lovely, was not the object of his affections but more valuable still in that she was to pave smoother the road to his true love. She was a tantalizing armful, though not precisely tempting when his memories of the more womanly Ginny filled the very same space.
Ginny! He hadn’t expected her to show up for dinner and never had a chance to explain the ruse to her. Just after his conversation with Lucinda, Mrs. Barrington had tired of the mismatched liaisons, he and Lucinda in one corner, Ginny and Avery in the other, and set up a card table where she could keep everyone under her eagle eye. It was an agonizing evening, to say the least. And now he was standing in his bedchamber, his arms full of Lucinda.
She was gazing up at him, her eyes pools of uncertainty. “Are you certain this is how it is done, Sir Anthony? You are holding me so stiffly and not at all close. I don’t know that Lord Avery would find anything exceptionable in it at all”
“My apologies, Miss Barrington.” He shifted her in his arms and attempted to draw her closer without any part of them touching. As he pulled her this way and that, Lucinda gasped but remained impassive in his embrace until finally he had to admit his was an impossible endeavor. There were simply too many parts at too many angles to take all of them into account.
Just when he concluded that touch they must, steps were heard in the hall.
“Oh, do hurry, sir,” Lucinda cried.
Panicked, he yanked her full against every part he possessed.
“Yes, just like that,” Lucinda said, her voice ecstatic and loud enough to be heard by whomever lurked on the other side of the door.
“Lucinda! What are you doing in there?!” a voice from the hall demanded.
Sir Anthony made a move to bolt the door, but Lucinda was too caught up in her role to realize the voice did not belong to Lord Avery. She flung her arms around his neck causing him to drag her dead weight across the floor. “Save me, save me!” she cried loud enough to wake the household.
He did not make it in time. The door flew open and there stood Ginny, the person dearest to his heart and least welcome in his bedchamber.
“Whatever in the world are you doing?” Ginny winced. It was quite clear what it was they were doing. Hadn’t she found herself in just the same position, in just this same room, in just those same arms? Somehow the recollection only increased her confusion.
“Dancing lessons” Sir Anthony tugged at Lucinda’s hands clasped tight about his neck. “We were attempting to dance, were we not, Miss Barrington?” Lucinda only gazed at him, a look of acute incomprehension on her face. “For the ball.”
“Oh please, Sir Anthony, you don’t truly expect me to believe Lucinda came to you for dancing lessons? I have seen her dance at more than one local assembly, quite creditably I might add, though I have never before witnessed a version of the waltz so warmly performed”
Ginny noted the startled look that leaped into his eyes. Then his face adopted his familiar shuttered look. “It is I who cannot dance, Miss Delacourt. Miss Barrington was good enough to take a moment to show me a step or two”
Ginny stared, bewildered that he could utter such a bald-faced lie. After all, he had waltzed with her in his arms only four nights ago.
Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind Page 13