“Where did he go on those days he said he was overseeing the repairs?”
“He would ride out to various villages and stay at the local inn, do a little fishing, even sightseeing he told me, that sort of thing.”
“You were very right to purchase him a pair of colors.”
“How glad I am that you have expressed your approval,” he said facetiously.
She rolled her eyes at him. “I think he will be very happy in the army.”
“As do I.”
“By the way, have you seen Hetty this afternoon? I have been looking for her but cannot seem to find her. There is something I would ask her.”
“She has taken her walk.”
“Her walk?”
“Lady Sandifort says that once each month she takes a very long walk in the direction of Bickfield, and that she has done so for years.”
“Oh, yes, of course. I believe she referred to it once as her nature walk and says that, though it is very long and in its way tedious, she says that it keeps her feeling quite fit and well.”
Lucy realized as she spoke that there was something odd about Hetty’s nature walk, though she said nothing to Robert. Hetty was not in any manner a lady who enjoyed exercise. She did not mind going for rather leisurely walks with the children about the estate but she certainly never made a point of walking out merely to improve her health. And as for horses, Lucy could not get her on the back of one if her life depended on it.
However, she had little time to concern herself with Hetty’s oddities since Valmaston would be arriving from London on the morrow. She could only wonder just what sort of stir he was likely to cause among the family and whether or not Lady Sandifort would be sufficiently pleased with his attentions to continue her unusual cheerfulness and good will toward the family.
“So, tell me, Robert, have you yet forgiven me for having invited Valmaston to Aldershaw?”
“No, of course not. However, I have begun to wonder just what bee is buzzing around your bonnet this time that you would have done so, for I am beginning to understand that you do very little without a strict purpose in mind.”
At that she laughed heartily. “You begin to understand me.”
“I believe I do,” he said.
She glanced up at him and saw that he was not teasing in the least, but rather that he was quite serious in a very penetrating manner. She was completely taken aback and wondered what, if anything, he meant by saying such a thing to her. Her heart turned over in her chest and she felt a blush of hope climb her cheeks.
To be understood—now there was something, indeed!
On the following evening, Lucy entered the drawing room on Lord Valmaston’s arm. If she had had any fears about just how he would conduct himself, they were allayed by his civil, proper behavior as he was introduced to everyone present. That he took Lady Sandifort’s hand in his and kissed the air above her fingers was an attention that actually set her ladyship in a flutter. Lucy could not remember ever having seen Lady Sandifort lose her composure before.
Valmaston moved on and greeted Robert again. Lucy felt that the same understanding the gentlemen had reached in London had transferred to the wilds of Hampshire and she breathed a little easier. For his part, Robert showed not the smallest sign of disliking the rogue’s presence.
Henry, however, was a different matter entirely. He offered but a polite bow and a stiff greeting. Lucy watched him carefully. She found herself surprised by his demeanor, for he appeared as one who would prefer to call Valmaston out rather than share the same drawing room. The earl, however, ignored him and instead turned his attention to the ladies, in particular to Anne and Alice.
Lucy, a trifle put out that Henry would snub her guest, moved to sit beside Hetty. In a low voice, she asked, “So what do you think of him?”
Hetty remained silent and that for so long a time that Lucy glanced at her and saw that she was staring rather dumbly at Valmaston.
“Hetty?”
“I beg your pardon?” she inquired. “What was it you asked?”
“What do you think of my friend?”
Hetty finally turned to look at her and yet it was as though she still did not see her. “You refer to Valmaston?” She gestured to him with a casually flung hand.
Lucy thought her comical, for she had never seen her so rattled before upon merely meeting a man. She nodded.
Hetty once more turned to regard Valmaston. Lucy for her part continued to look at Hetty, noting how her gaze took in his entire figure as he in turn seated himself between Anne and Alice, both of whom had begun to giggle. “I vow, except for my brothers, I have never seen a more handsome man. How is it he has never married?”
“Perhaps he has been waiting for precisely the right lady.”
“Perhaps. His manners are so engaging. Look how Alice laughs, and she never laughs when gentlemen address her!”
“I have known him from the time I was very little and when he would speak with me, even when I was a child, I vow I always felt as though I were the only person in the world.”
“Did you never fancy yourself in love with him?”
Lucy was not so much surprised by the question as by her certain response. “Never, though now that I look at him I only wonder how I could have been so stupid.”
Hetty laughed. “Although, we are both presently forgetting his truly vile reputation.”
“He was always perfectly civil with me.”
“You had your father to keep watch over you.”
Lucy shook her head. “No, you do my friend an injustice, I think. I trust him, Hetty. I always have. I would trust him with my life and I cannot say that about most of the gentlemen I know, your brothers excepted, of course.”
Suddenly, Valmaston was on his feet and addressing Lady Sandifort. “My lady, your daughters have given me such a notion and I was hoping you might oblige us.”
“Anything, my lord,” she said, batting her lashes up at him.
He cleared his throat. “I have not attended a ball for these three months together and I fear I will miss my steps unless I have a little practice. Your stepdaughters have been so kind as to indicate that they would serve as partners for me if we were to dance this evening. Would this be agreeable to you and might I also persuade you to go down a dance or two with me as well?”
“Oh,” she murmured softly. “How could I possibly refuse so sweetly proffered a request?”
After dinner, the merriment began. As Lucy well knew, Valmaston possessed an enormous ability to charm the female sex and he fulfilled his promise to her with every word, look, and gesture he extended, not just to Lady Sandifort but to all the ladies.
The armory was quickly cleared of furniture, the suit of armor was removed to the nearest antechamber, and Hetty took up her place at the pianoforte. She was greatly skilled and was able to play whatever country dance was commanded of her.
With three gentlemen present, all of whom were enthusiastic in their desire to help the twins, the dancing commenced. Lucy went down the first set with Henry, Anne danced with Robert, and Lord Valmaston partnered Lady Sandifort. The second set, Anne traded places with Alice, for it was of little use for her merely to watch. Lucy saw at once that Alice needed more practice than her sister and she believed she understood just what had prompted Valmaston’s suggestion of dancing in the first place.
In the midst of the dance, Lord Valmaston feigned forgetting his steps—for it was clear he knew them as well as he knew his own name—and bumped into at least three of the other dancers. “How clumsy I am!” he proclaimed.
Only then did Alice begin to smile, to relax, and to enjoy herself.
Because Lady Sandifort had no intention of relinquishing the opportunity to flirt with Valmaston, Lucy found herself watching the dancing nearly the entire time. She noted that Robert took Alice under his wing. He gave her instruction upon instruction in a kind voice with exceeding patience. Alice bloomed beneath his tutelage. Lucy felt such admiration for him
in this moment. Not all gentlemen, in fact very few gentlemen, would exhibit so much love and kindness toward a sibling. She felt her heart swell as she watched him. He was completely intent on helping Alice and once or twice, as Valmaston had done, feigned missing his steps merely to set her a little more at ease.
After nearly two hours of such exertion, as delightful as it was, Lucy ordered refreshments brought to the drawing room. A platter of fruit, sweetmeats, and ices were prepared for the dancers, all of whom expressed their appreciation for the sustenance.
During this time, Lucy found herself in a quiet corner with Robert. “You have been quite gracious this evening,” she said.
He seemed surprised. “Thank you, but to what are you referring?”
“Your kindness to Alice is both remarkable and admirable. I commend you, indeed, I do.” When he chuckled and appeared disbelieving, she continued, “I promise you, I am most sincere. Indeed, I am not funning.”
“I can see that you are not, so I thank you, very much, but Alice is after all my sister and it is no hardship for me to offer my help.”
Lucy smiled. “You were at your best, you know, when you tripped.”
He met her gaze and smiled as well. In that moment, time paused for Lucy. She had forgotten how easily it was to become lost in his eyes for reasons that were as incomprehensible to her as they were magical. He continued to smile as he looked at her, which only made her smile a little more.
Hetty once more took up her place at the pianoforte and called out another country dance.
“You should dance with me this time,” he said, offering his arm.
She looked at his arm and wanted nothing more, but the dancing was not meant for her but for Anne and Alice, and certainly Lady Sandifort had no intention of giving up the set to her. “I should not,” she whispered. “You know I should not.”
Robert glanced about and lifted his chin in Alice’s direction. “She is becoming exhausted and will benefit at this point as much from observation as from practice.”
Lucy saw that Alice was indeed looking a trifle fatigued. Before she could say anything, however, Robert called to his sister. “Alice, do sit down for the next set. Lucy means to dance with me.”
Even if Lucy had been inclined to object, she could not have done so in the face of Alice’s expression of supreme gratitude.
“Very well,” she said, taking his arm.
He chuckled. “I would not have insisted had I thought you would be so reluctant.”
“You know very well why I refused. It had nothing to do with you.”
“Indeed! Now you have given me a shock.”
Lucy took her place opposite him and when the music began she offered her opening curtsy and he his required bow. The dance progressed in a manner that suited her quite well, for he teased her a great deal and nothing could have pleased her more.
He was quite a skillful dancer, there could be no two opinions on that score. He moved as a gentleman on a ballroom floor ought to move, with considerable grace and confidence that left his partner feeling quite secure both in her steps and in the certainty that her feet would not be bruised by his inadequacies. She realized he was in many respects just as she believed a man ought to be, and something inside her began to tremble.
After the dance, Henry demanded that he be permitted to go down the next set with Lucy. Again she might have refused, but Alice was quick to call out. “Please, Lucy, do dance with Henry. I am beginning to see where I have been erring. Indeed, it is of great use to me to watch all of you perform your steps.”
Lucy smiled at Henry. “Very well.”
As a partner, Henry danced nicely but not so well as Robert. His movements were perhaps more graceful but he lacked something that his brother possessed quite fully. There was a purposeful feel to Robert’s dancing that as a partner gave her greater confidence.
Having sat out for two sets, Alice was properly rested and agreed to once more take up her place, this time opposite Lord Valmaston. Henry partnered Lady Sandifort and Robert offered his arm to Anne. Lucy watched with great interest as the rogue continued to charm Alice from her embarrassment and was even able to engage her in conversation toward the end of the dance. There was no surer indication that Alice had mastered her steps than when she exhibited the ability to converse while dancing. So it was that she gave a small cry of delight when Hetty played the final notes.
Two more sets convinced the party that both young ladies were well prepared for the assemblies.
Over the next several days, an air of excitement ran through the house. It seemed to Lucy that Anne and Alice were not the only ones looking forward to the local ball. The dressmaker arrived nearly every day for fittings, for the delivery of headdresses and finished gowns, for a consultation about stockings and gloves and slippers, so that the ladies especially spent much of each day traveling from one bedchamber to the next examining the latest addition to one or the other’s wardrobe. Even Lady Sandifort was so happy that she forgot her usual machinations and dispensed her advice with what seemed to Lucy to be a genuine spirit of generosity and happiness.
Only one hiccough occurred to mar the joyful air of the house. Lucy had accompanied Anne and Alice to Lady Sandifort’s sitting room, which overlooked the back gardens. Lady Sandifort was dancing the waltz about the chamber in a beautiful dark blue silk gown, embellished with Brussels lace that framed a quite lovely décolletage. Both the younger girls laughed and clapped their hands in three-quarter time. Anne was humming as well.
“How well you look in blue,” Lucy said. “I vow I do not know which I prefer with your dark brown hair, the blue or the exquisite pink satin.”
Lady Sandifort waltzed by the window, began to make her turn, and stopped abruptly. An expression of horror suffused her face as she gazed down into the garden. “Good God!” she cried.
Lucy could not imagine what had overset Lady Sandifort so severely. At first she thought perhaps one of the children had been hurt, for their playful cries had been rising from below for the past half hour. Yet this seemed unlikely, since Lady Sandifort rarely expressed even the smallest concern for her brood. No, something else had disturbed her ladyship.
She moved quickly to the second window and saw what had brought the color draining from Lady Sandifort’s face. Hetty was walking toward the maze in the company of Lord Valmaston and they appeared to be deep in conversation, even though the children followed them.
Lucy wished desperately that she could slip her thoughts quite magically into Valmaston’s mind and give him a hint. Beneath her breath, she murmured, “Please let her go, please let her go.” She understood there was a great deal of mutual dislike between the ladies, but this trespassing upon Lady Sandifort’s territory would be unforgivable in her eyes. For the present, however, the two of them were just walking and not particularly close together. If they entered the maze, however, she was convinced that the entire roof would suddenly collapse on the household!
Lucy mentally continued to speak to Valmaston and as if having heard her silent pleas, he bowed to Hetty and headed in the direction of the stables, his riding crop in hand. The children ran into the maze. Lucy was ready to breathe a sigh of relief but Hetty made the enormous mistake of glancing in Valmaston’s direction. The distance was too great to possibly construe her expression or meaning, but this final glance was Lady Sandifort’s undoing.
“What the devil does that horrid little wretch think she is doing?”
Lucy felt Lady Sandifort’s rage flood the bedchamber. She quickly signaled for Anne and Alice to leave the room. They needed little encouragement, being well versed in their stepmother’s ways, and disappeared into the hall with the force of a cavalry charge.
“She has designs on him!” Lady Sandifort fairly shouted. “That . . . that complete simpleton who cannot say two words together without sounding like a complete ninnyhammer! She means to have Valmaston, only how does she think she will win such a man as that? She has no beauty, no skills,
no conversation, no grace in her countenance, and what man could ever love a woman with black hair?”
Lucy did not know where to begin. She was a little frightened by the violence of her expressions, and that over Hetty merely turning to look at the earl. “Do you think she was, indeed, looking at Valmaston? It did not seem that way to me.” Oh, the whiskers she often told in her ladyship’s presence.
“Do not play the ninnyhammer with me, Lucinda Stiles. You know very well she was.”
“Well, there are innumerable rabbits in the garden, and snakes as well, for that matter. She could have heard something in the shrubbery and surely Valmaston would have disappeared down the path to the stables before ever she turned to look at him. Surely! Besides, Hetty has already told me that she is rather disgusted that Valmaston is come.”
“Much she knows about anything!” she cried irrationally.
Lucy let her shoulders sag. “It is very sad, is it not?” She was about to tell more whiskers, more horrible whiskers, for they were wholly disloyal to one of her dearest friends. “Hetty has been nowhere and seen nothing. Oh, I admit she has had several Seasons, but she is hardly to be considered a woman of great breeding, experience, and ton. Would you not agree?”
Lady Sandifort puffed her cheeks and finally moved away from the window. “She is one of the most ridiculous females I have ever known. Why, do you know that when her father died, she tried to take over the management of the house in my stead?”
“Whyever would she want to do that when you are here?”
“Precisely!” Lady Sandifort flopped down in her chaise longue and popped a sweetmeat in her mouth. “I have always disliked her. She sneers at me, you know.”
“No,” Lucy breathed.
“Yes, she does, quite frequently. She thinks herself so superior and yet she ought to be learning at my feet. We are of an age, you know. But she has never been married and I have every confidence she has never taken a lover.” An odd expression, quite vile, overcame her pretty features and transformed her beauty into something quite hideous. “How well I know she has not! I am aware of her secrets, though. Of course, she does not know that I know, but I am well versed in the very core of her heart and if she is not careful I know precisely where to aim a dagger from which I know she would never recover.” She glanced at Lucy. “You see how restrained I am? I could have hurt her quite deeply a score of times but I withheld because she is my stepdaughter. Yet she uses me so very ill!”
Valerie King Page 16