Salt Hendon Omnibus 01 to 03

by Lucinda Brant

  Dacre Wraxton regarded Sir Antony under hooded lids with shoulders slumped. He knew there was no point trying to wheedle his way out of such an arrangement. He carried a sword but he had no skill with a blade, and as the only exercise he took was frolicking in a bed with a willing nubile female, he knew he would be cut down within minutes of any encounter with Sir Antony’s weapon of choice.

  “There is no need to threaten me,” he interrupted. “I will avert mine eyes from your intended and will have no further contact with her, verbal or written.”

  Sir Antony grinned. “That is a most excellent idea and is to be immediately executed. But it was not what I needed to tell you. The reason for your immediate departure, and the reason you will tell all and sundry whom you meet, and of course always in the strictness of confidences, is that you eloped with my sister to the Continent—”

  Dacre Wraxton lost his grip on his champagne glass. “Dear God, no.”

  Sir Antony caught the glass, which was empty, and deftly set it on a silver tray held by an attentive and eagle-eyed footman hovering at his shoulder. He almost felt sorry for the man, and he clapped a hand to the slumped sloping shoulder.

  “I should leave you to your misery, but I cannot in good conscience tell you an untruth. Diana won’t be fleeing to France with you. It is a ruse, but one you will abide by. That you eloped should suffice as the reason for your absence from London. Once on French soil, for your purposes, my sister died at sea, washed overboard by a rogue wave.”

  Dacre Wraxton eyed Sir Antony shrewdly.

  “I wondered when you would come to your senses and realize she is many slices short of a full loaf. There is the rumor Salt packed her off to the Continent, much as you’re doing the same to me, because her mind snapped when he married another. But my suspicions about her mental stability go way back. St. John also had his suspicions, and not long after he married her. He and I were friends at Eton, and in a far more intimate way, if you understand my meaning, than his friendship with Salt. I confess that to you and no other, only because Diana discovered that interesting tidbit about her husband and me and used it to sinister effect.”

  “I do not doubt it.”

  Dacre Wraxton heard the note of sympathy in Sir Antony’s voice.

  “Dear St. John. If he had not died of the smallpox when he did, I’m very sure she would have found a way of hounding him into an early grave…”

  He made Sir Antony a bow of farewell, saying with a huff of laughter, “Be assured, I will welcome the birth of your son and heir with much rejoicing. Adieu, my lord.”

  Sir Antony inclined his powdered head in farewell and stood aside to let the man pass. He watched him be swallowed up by the perfumed laughing multitudes strolling the length of the ballroom in preparation for the first of the dances, then took up his quizzing glass and scanned the crowd for sight of the love of his life. Lady Caroline instantly appeared out of the silken throng, as if she had been watching him for some time.

  She, like Jane, was dressed in a costume fit for the harem of an Ottoman potentate, in ornately-embroidered slippers, pantaloons of chocolate brown and mint green striped satin, and a bodice of chocolate brown velvet, cut low at the décolletage and made decent by the strategic draping of a translucent fichu of shimmering silver. Upon her head was pinned a small silk turban that matched the fabric of her pantaloons. She looked every bit a harem beauty, and he was certain that if the real Sultan of the Ottoman Empire clapped eyes on his Caroline, she would instantly be his favored jewel. But it was at her bright flaming hair that he stared. It was pulled over one shoulder and fell unrestrained to her thighs, tied loosely half way down its length with a mint green satin ribbon entwined with pearls.

  He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Instead, he smiled and bowed with a flourish over her hand in greeting. When he straightened, she grabbed the upturned braided cuff of his frock coat and, with a cheeky smile, disappeared with him behind an eight-paneled tapestry screen.

  The tapestry screen hid a small comfortable room where there was a chaise longue, several chairs about a low table, a washstand, and on a japanned side bureau a row of ornate silver ewers full of iced water, and a tray of glassware. In a far corner there was a dressing screen, and off to one side of this, two chairs drawn up to a small table that had upon it a seamstress’s serviceable nécessaire containing the sewing items required to repair rips and sew on dangling buttons. On the small table there was also a polished wooden box holding the cleaning products required for the removal of the wax that dripped from the candelabras onto the guests’ embroidered silk and velvet costumes. By the entrance to this quiet haven from the multitudes two footmen stood to attention, ready to assist any guest requiring a moment’s reprieve from the noise and the heat of the ballroom or who needed their expert repair services.

  Upon seeing the Lady Caroline in company with the gentleman with whom she had shared a passionate kiss in the anteroom off the Earl’s book room, one of the footmen nudged his counterpart and both took themselves off to stand guard on the other side of the tapestry screen.

  Alone together, Caroline threw her arms about Sir Antony’s neck and commanded he kiss her, to which he readily acquiesced.

  WHEN SIR ANTONY had the inclination to speak, he said, arms about Caroline’s waist, looking down into her upturned flushed face, “You’re not wearing stays.”

  “Silly. Harem girls don’t wear boning. Well, at least, that’s what Aunt Alice says. She is our resident expert, having been to Constantinople.” She sighed. “It is so liberating!” Then giggled. “And just a little bit naughty.” When he did not respond she cocked her head. “I thought you would like me this way…”

  Like it! His scalp prickled with suppressed desire. The thinnest layer of silky satin separated his flesh from hers, and hers was so intoxicatingly curvaceous he could hardly think straight. He swallowed and found his voice.

  “Dressed like that, it’s no small surprise why the Ottomans keep their women locked up in harems away from other men. I think it for the best if this is the first and last time you wear such a costume to a masquerade.” When she scowled, he pinched her chin. “But I would be very pleased if you wore your fetching harem outfit in the privacy of our home—just for me… You see, mostly I am a very congenial sort of fellow, but not where you are concerned. To tell a truth, I find I am inordinately possessive. I do not like the idea of other men looking at you with desire. I want you all to myself—always.”

  She touched his shaven cheek. “You will—always. I never want others to-to come between us, for others to interfere in our lives. I love you with my whole heart, and would hate myself if ever I were a disappointment to you…”

  So she had been surreptitiously observing his alcove conversation with Dacre Wraxton and worried now what that maggot of a man may have revealed to him. He would never tell. Not liking to see her apprehensive and miserable, he said, smiling into her eyes, fingers gently entwined in a long silken lock of her fiery mane,

  “That, my darling girl, will never happen. I, too, love you with my whole heart. I cannot say it enough. Soon I will be able to show you just how much…” He opened his frock coat and to reveal her brooch pinned to his chest, just above the red sash. “This token of my devotion will have to suffice for now. I have never been without it since you gave it to me, and soon, I will never be without you.”

  Caroline’s eyes widened and she gave a little sigh of relief.

  “Oh! You do have it! I thought—I thought I saw it—Never mind!” She dimpled and changed the subject, a hand to the gold buttons and brocade of his wide lapel. “As for your splendid costume, my lord, the only creature who should not see it is Peter. You will surely make him jealous. He thinks he is the only macaw in my life!”

  “Ha! Best Peter the Macaw see me for what I truly am—a rival for your affections.” He picked up his feathered mask and held it up to his face. “Semper will be very pleased his efforts were not in vain. Now, my love, as much a
s I would prefer to remain cozy with you here, we best rejoin the guests before the Pasha of Persia sends out his eunuchs to find us.”

  “Eunuchs? What is a eu—eunuch?”

  Sir Antony swallowed. A good question for her to ask, but not one to be answered there and then. He forgot that though she might be a widow, Caroline was only two-and-twenty and had led a very sheltered life under her brother’s roof.

  “Not a topic the Pasha would approve. I’ll tell you when we are married.”

  “You will tell me, won’t you?” she asked, eyes narrowed.

  “Of course. You can ask me anything once we are married and I will tell you honestly. My word on it.”

  This satisfied her and she said with a cheeky grin,

  “Pasha of Persia? I call him the Sultan of Glum! You laugh, but that is what he is, ever since he saw the females of his household dressed in Ottoman outfits. He was all very pleased to see Jane in pantaloons but I wish you could have seen the look of disapproval he pulled when told Kitty, Aunt Alice and I were part of his harem. Deep down, he’s always been such a straight-line walker!”

  “And a good thing, too!”

  She smiled cheekily, very pleased with herself. “Wait until he sees Tom and Mr. Willis!”

  Sir Antony chuffed her under the chin.

  “He has. He gave them the same gloomy reception.”

  Caroline’s smile instantly disappeared. She frowned.

  “Is there something or someone bothering him of late? He hasn’t been himself for weeks… I thought it was because he was worried about Jane and her third lying-in. He is always moody and preoccupied just before a baby is born. That surprised me because when there is first news of a baby on the way, he goes about with a grin on his face for days!”

  “I can only imagine it is because childbirth is a very scary experience—for both parents.”

  Caroline pondered this and then said, startling Sir Antony, “Yes, for us, it is. Animals are so much better at it than we are.” Adding seriously, “Is it Diana’s return from the Continent that is bothering him?”

  “I believe you are right. Diana has always had the power to make your brother testy. And now she has returned, he worries she means to interfere in his life.”

  “As only she can!”

  “Yes, as only she can, and will. Which is even more reason for us to rejoin the masses, to offer the Sultan of Glum our support.” He kissed her forehead. “Will you do me a great favor? Keep an eye on the children.”

  “Jane has already asked me to do so. I promised to look in on them every hour. Though why Jane and Salt saw fit to move the entire nursery to the tennis court…”

  “Oh, I am sure the children are enjoying themselves hugely,” Sir Antony said lightly. “With all the excitement in the house over the past few days leading up to this masquerade, and now the ball tonight, it will give them a sense of involvement. Particularly for Merry, who at twelve years of age must be wishing she were able to dress in pantaloons and join in the fun, and not be stuck with three children under the age of four as company. If Ron were here with her, perhaps she would feel differently.”

  Caroline tried to suppress a knowing smile, but Sir Antony caught the look in her eye and knew she was up to something. Sometimes he wondered if he knew her better than she knew herself.

  “Out with it! What have you and Merry concocted between the two of you? Don’t tell me you’ve disguised her in costume and she is somewhere close by?”

  Caroline’s lips parted but she said nothing. She was not going to be the one to give her cousin away. Aunt Alice was also in on the scheme.

  “Out with it, Caro! What have you done with Merry?”

  “Why should you think I—”

  “Because you did the same at the Hunt Ball when you were fourteen. Don’t think Salt and I didn’t know you had dressed yourself as a page boy and were lingering in the Gallery with the musicians watching proceedings!”

  Caroline gave a sigh at a remembrance.

  “Salt could not have cared less had the house been burning down around his ears! All he cared about was dancing with Jane. Who could blame him? She looked so beautiful in her gold satin gown… I might have been only fourteen, but I saw the way he looked at her and knew, even then, that he was in love with her. He’d been looking at her that way for a month or more! He still does, when he thinks no one is looking at him. I remember thinking then I wished you would look at me that way.”

  “Caro, you were only fourteen. If I’d looked at you at all, in any way, Salt would have had me gelded there and then, and I’d be the one wearing the eunuch costume!”

  Caroline giggled. “So that’s what a eunuch is!” She kissed his flushed cheek. “Wishes do come true. You do look at me that way—now.”

  “Caro, darling, please tell me if Merry is out there amongst that lot. It is very important.”

  Caroline pouted. “It will be much more fun for her if she thinks she isn’t being observed.”

  “I dare say it would be, if she didn’t have Diana for a mother. But she does, and if Diana knew Merry was in costume, flitting about the ballroom, she might create the sort of scene your brother abhors. You know she will blame Jane. So please—”

  “Oh! Yes! So she will. We—Aunt Alice and I—we didn’t think of that. Of course Diana will blame Jane, and cause a scene. It is just the sort of nonsense Diana thrives on. But I’m afraid it might be too late to do anything about it. I left Aunt Alice talking with Diana to find you…”

  TWENTY-SIX

  ‘OH? IS SHE TRULY HERE, here at the ball?” Diana asked with breathless surprise, turning full circle to look about the crush of guests because the large Elizabethan collar encircling her neck precluded her from looking over her shoulder.

  She had her back to the crowd and was talking with Lady Reanay, whom she had spied in conversation with Lady Caroline, Lady Porter and a group of matrons by the open sash window, sipping champagne and exchanging the latest gossip. She had watched Caroline cross the room to an alcove where her brother Antony was in conversation with someone out of her line of sight. With Caroline gone, she made her move and joined the party, Lady Porter and the three women quick to see she wanted a private word with her turbaned motherin-law. Two minutes of conversation and she had the old woman telling her what she wanted to know without the least need to exert any influence; silly old fool.

  “You mustn’t say a word to Salt! He is already out of charity with me for my attempt to take Merry to visit you. He was pleasant but firm in his refusal but I could see he wanted to bawl me out.” Lady Reanay shivered recalling that unpleasant interview, and looked at Diana with a small smile. “You always did look your best in red, my dear. And that ruff, so majestic! I once wore a—”

  Diana wasn’t about to let her change the topic.

  “He can hardly have objection to me seeing my darling daughter with a hundred onlookers present,” she interrupted. “I promise not to say a word, or give her away. If I could just see her… Please, my lady. You know what an agony it is for a mother to be denied access to her own child!”

  Lady Reanay was in a misery of indecision. She had made the Earl a promise she could not forfeit, and yet she understood only too well the distress of which Diana spoke. She had also promised Merry not to reveal her truancy if she kept to the small alcove between the refreshment rooms and the ballroom, where she could watch the guests, resplendent in their costumes, as they sauntered back and forth from room to room. As all the liveried footmen and pageboys were wearing black facemasks, in keeping with the masquerade theme, no one would be the wiser to Merry’s identity.

  What neither Caroline or Lady Reanay had envisaged was the vigilance which Nanny Browne and her nursery maids and sundry staff were keeping over the Earl’s children. When Merry did not return after being permitted to watch Lady Caroline dress for the masquerade, Nanny Browne sent one of the nursery maids to scour the house to find her, and to not return until she had Miss Merry firmly by the hand
. When the nursery maid returned in tears after an hour, Nanny Browne decided to involve the housekeeper, and on it went until the truancy came to the ears of the very servant in whose trust Merry had been placed.

  When the butler had a word in her ear about this state of affairs, Lady Reanay almost lost her turban, such was her jolt of surprise. What Miller confided played straight into Diana St. John’s hands. The old lady put a bejeweled hand to her pearl beaded bodice and taking a deep breath said to Miller,

  “We will keep this to ourselves for the time being. Send word to Nanny Browne that she has been found—oh! And that his little lordship has also been located and is safe with Miss Merry. I will seek out Lady Caroline and she can—”

  “Perhaps I can be of assistance, my lady?” Diana interrupted. “After all, I am here, and Caroline could be anywhere. By the time we find her, Magna and—?” She glanced at the butler with alarm, then said to her motherin-law, “Pardon me, my lady, but who is this little lordship keeping company with my daughter?”

  Lady Reanay squeezed Diana’s arm.

  “No! No! You mustn’t think that!”

  She pulled Diana by her full length sleeve towards the window, fearing to be overheard, but with the quartet playing and the masqueraders ever boisterous, it was difficult for Lady Reanay to raise her voice to be heard at all.

  “Edward—Lord Lacey—Ned—the Earl’s eldest son, has bolted from his nurse. He is quite a handful, and reminds me so much of his papa when he was the same age—too intelligent by half and just as naughty. Of course with that beautiful face and those golden ringlets he looks like an angel, so he could get away with strangling a cat and no one would think he had done such a wicked thing. Not that he would ever be so cruel. He is very gentle with Viscount Fourpaws, and with any of Caroline’s animals, particularly her darling little pug dog. He is not a wicked boy, just curious, as little boys are wont to be when bored. I just meant—”

  “I understand what you mean,” Diana said through her teeth, losing all patience with the old lady’s ramblings. She made a quick recover, and to hide her intense irritation made a show of fluttering air across her motherin-law with her fan, and said to the butler, who still hovered, “Have a glass of wine fetched for her ladyship, and a chair. But before you go, tell me what I may do to help recover my daughter and Lord Lacey and return them to the safety of the—nursery…?”