At last, however, shortly after noon on Wednesday, the third day after Sir Brian’s return, his coach, recognizable by the unicorn crest on the door panel, rolled up before the tall house at the southwest corner of Hanover Square, and a footman gently assisted Lady Susan Peel to the flagway. Jessica, hearing the sound of a coach through the open drawing-room window, flew to see who had come to call, and then, with a tiny shriek of jubilation, she picked up the skirts of her dusky-rose silk gown and hurried downstairs to meet her aunt.
Bates was just opening the front door when she reached the halt and Jessica hurried out onto the stoop. “Aunt Susan! Oh, Aunt Susan, he did it. I knew he would, but it began to seem as if you would never come home.”
Lady Susan allowed herself to be gathered into a crushing hug right there on her doorstep in full view of anyone who might chance to be watching from the square or from George Street, and even went so far as to return the embrace with fervor.
When the butler cleared his throat, her ladyship chuckled, releasing her niece, “Do behave, love. You are embarrassing Bates.”
“Nothing of the sort, my lady,” he countered, grinning at her in a most unbutlerlike fashion. “If it were not to take action beyond my station, I should be tempted to do just as Miss Jessica has been doing. Perhaps, however, not upon the doorstep.”
“Oh, Bates, I have missed you,” Lady Susan told him, reaching past Jessica to squeeze his hand, which gesture caused, the little man to blush right up to the glossy top of his white-fringed pate. “You have been my dear friend as well as my butler for so many years that you seem quite one of the family,” she told him. Then, turning a deaf ear to his near-stammering gratitude, she smiled fondly at her niece. “Come along inside, Jessica. We have provided enough sport for the neighbors.”
Upstairs in her bedchamber a few moments later, Lady Susan rang for her woman to order a bath and a complete change of clothing.
“I put this gown on fresh this morning,” she told Jessica bitterly, “but it is already saturated with the stench of that place. Really, if Bow Street is anything to go by, our jails need a thorough cleaning, and I daresay there are any number of other things that ought to be changed, as well.”
Jessica chuckled, clasping her hands upon her knees. “A new crusade already, Aunt? Should you not await the judgment of the court in this one first?”
Lady Susan looked grim and a little fearful. “I do not want to go back there, Jessica,” she said simply.
Tears sprang to Jessica’s eyes, and she brushed them aside with an impatient hand. “I am certain that Sir Brian will do whatever must be done. After all, he is undoubtedly the man who effected your release.”
“Indeed, it was Sir Brian who set matters in motion,” Lady Susan agreed, “although he did so first by discovering that the Duke of Grosvenor was in Bath and then by sending a courier to fetch him. Next, he sent word to Brighton to General Potterby, who, as you know, has the Regent’s ear. Amongst them all, they managed to stir enough mares’ nests to manage the thing. They have also prevailed upon the clerks to set a time for the trial—Wednesday next before the King’s Bench.” She paused, wrinkling her brow a little. “Sir Brian said it would probably be a speedy business, for there are but few arguments to be made before either our side will prevail or theirs will.”
“I do not know how I shall manage to contain my apprehension until I know what the outcome is to be,” Jessica said intensely.
“Well, I do,” announced her ladyship, her expression lightening as she breathed deeply of the scent of roses that began to permeate the room as a footman filled a porcelain tub with perfumed water. “I mean to be just as busy as I can be. Unless we have ceased to receive invitations, I mean to go everywhere and do everything, just in case right should not prevail. It would be most foolish to have missed what opportunities one had to enjoy oneself before being locked up forever in a noisome cell.”
Accordingly, that very evening, Lady Susan Peel astonished the beau monde by appearing at no less than three routs, a musicale, and a veritable crush of a ball at Devonshire House. She was in fine fettle, attired in a magnificent gown of green silk moiré with puffed sleeves, a high neck, and a gossamer gold overskirt. A splendid emerald-and-gold necklace encircled her neck, and a matching bracelet had been clasped around her right wrist over her long white glove. She carried herself with her usual graceful dignity, but the sparkle in her eye showed anyone who chanced to take note of it that she was actually enjoying the sensation she was creating.
Jessica, accompanying her aunt, albeit with some reluctance, was attired with equal splendor in a close-fitting gown of her favorite lavender silk, its high waistline emphasizing the magnificence of her breasts, its softness clinging seductively to the swell of her hips. Her lovely hair was piled into an intricate confusion of curls and plaits, with curly tendrils that had been allowed to wisp about her face and ears and down the back of her slender neck. Her skirt, falling gently to a whispering scalloped hemline, was embroidered with a circle of tiny pink roses and mint-green leaves at each scallop, while a vining of similar embroidery edged the low-cut neckline. She wore diamonds and amethysts at her ears, neck, and wrists, and there were tiny amethyst buckles on her mint-green satin slippers.
Their appearance at the first affair caused quite a stir, but both ladies carried it off with a high hand. Indeed,
Jessica thought, Lady Susan’s dignified bearing and artless smile must have caused a good many persons to entertain second thoughts with regard to any tales they might have heard. Her aunt behaved as though there were nothing out of the ordinary at all. Jessica could only admire her courage. As for herself, she cringed a little inside at the looks they received, and only by the third rout was she able to believe that she was playing her part as convincingly as her aunt was. But then, after a dreary half-hour at a musicale, where the conversation had, perforce, to compete with the amateur talent being displayed, they went on to Devonshire House, and even before she saw him, Jessica knew Sir Brian was present.
She could not have said precisely how she knew. Perhaps it was the slight tingling in the fine hairs at the back of her slender neck. Or perhaps it was a tightening in her stomach or the pounding in her breast. Certainly, she experienced all of these sensations, but they might as easily have been caused by the increasing strain of the evening and not by anything more abstruse than that.
The Duchess of Devonshire, known for her unbounded kindness, greeted them with practiced aplomb. Not by so much as the turning of a hair did she indicate that she was surprised to see Lady Susan in her house, or that she was at all distressed by her presence.
“How nice to see you, Miss Sutton-Drew,” she said in her cultivated, high-pitched voice as Lady Susan moved on and Jessica followed in her wake. The duchess sounded perfectly sincere, Jessica thought as she returned the greeting. As though she knew nothing at all of any scandal. But then Jessica saw Lady Jersey approaching, and beyond her, leading a slender redhead toward the dance floor, was Sir Brian.
Lady Jersey’s eyes registered shock as they came to rest upon Miss Sutton-Drew’s lush figure, but Jessica paid no heed to her, having eyes for nothing but Sir Brian and his partner. The musicians were playing a country dance, and the pace was fast and merry, but Jessica’s gaze followed only the one couple. They were laughing and clearly managing to carry on a lively conversation despite the music and accompanying thunder of dancing feet. A surge of unmistakable jealousy welled up in Jessica’s bosom, surprising her. She actually felt her fingers curl into the palms of her hands as she experienced a strong desire to snatch the red hair out by the roots.
“I can only say that I am astonished! Quite astonished, Miss Sutton-Drew.”
Startled nearly out of her wits by the indignant nasal voice, Jessica nearly retorted that she was likewise astonished, that she had never known herself to react in such a fashion in all her life. But then she realized that the speaker was the pretentious, gossipy Lady Jersey and quickly put a guard
on her tongue, raising her eyebrows slightly instead.
“Yes, my lady?”
“That Susan Peel should be so blind to all sense of decency,” declared her ladyship in tones of strong disapproval. “I have never credited her with more than common sense, you know, but that she should inflict her presence upon us in such a way as this, with the cloud of criminality hovering above her as it does—why, it quite takes one’s breath away.”
“Not noticeably, madam,” Jessica retorted without thinking. Then, realizing it would do no good for her to incur Lady Jersey’s displeasure, she added hastily, “That is to say that everyone has been most kind, you know. I am persuaded that all of Aunt Susan’s friends must realize that she has done only what her conscience impels her to do.”
“That is as it may be,” was the haughty response, and Jessica noted the offended expression on her ladyship’s aging face with a touch of dismay. “But although that dreadful Prodmore woman behaves as though she has done nothing untoward, until this dreadful business is done, I should have expected Susan to behave more discreetly.”
“No, would you really, ma’am?” Jessica asked gently, her eyes glinting now with humor. “Would you truly expect my aunt to hide away in the country somewhere until this all blows over or until she is carted off to jail?”
Lady Jersey gasped. “To mention such a likelihood in civilized surroundings, Miss Sutton-Drew, is not the behavior of one who is at all nice in her ways.”
“Good evening, Frances,” said Lady Susan, just behind them. “You got away from me, Jessica, when I paused to speak with Emily Cowper.” She favored Lady Jersey with a long, measuring look. “You appear to be out of temper, Frances. Has this naughty puss been defending me too fervently to suit your taste?”
Lady Jersey drew herself firmly erect and looked down her nose. “I have merely been telling your niece,” she said, making the last two words sound as though she had got a bad taste in her mouth, “that you ought to have had the good sense to remain in seclusion until this unfortunate affair has been concluded. One way or another,” she added ominously.
“I see,” said Lady Susan in musing tones. “You would sweep me under the nearest carpet, would you? Well, Frances, I have never been one to hide from the truth or from unpleasantness. Nor have I ever been one to seek seclusion. I still have my friends, regardless of my present difficulties, and you may be assured that when this business is done, those are the friendships I shall cherish most. Shall we see who is here, Jessica, who might be trusted to offer us some pleasant conversation?”
Lady Jersey stood like a stock, but as far as Jessica could ascertain, she might as well have been so much ambient air for all the notice Lady Susan paid to her offended expression. Somewhat in a daze, Jessica once again fell in behind her aunt, as that lady swept on through the crush, creating a pathway before them by simple strength of personality. Lady Susan paused occasionally to speak briefly with a friend or to wait patiently while one young gentleman or another signed his name to Jessica’s dance card, but at last they reached the far side of the ballroom, where a number of comfortable chairs had been placed for those who had no particular wish to dance. Jessica sank gratefully into one of them, noting as she did that Lady Susan seemed to sigh with relief when she sat down beside her.
“All well, Aunt Susan?”
Twinkling blue eyes met her own, but there was a rueful note in her ladyship’s voice when she spoke. “It has been an interesting evening, has it not?”
Jessica chuckled, regaining her own strength of spirit. “It has, Aunt. It surely has. Do you intend to do this every night until the trial?”
“Not if it will distress you, dearest,” was the reply. The look in the blue eyes softened. “This affair has been difficult for you, has it not?”
Jessica nodded, feeling a burning of tears in her throat. “But it doesn’t matter, Aunt Susan. You are all that matters to me.”
“Not all, I think,” replied her ladyship cryptically, glancing at a point beyond Jessica’s right shoulder. Then she smiled and held out her gloved hand. “Good evening, sir. Thank you for sending your coach to fetch me this afternoon. It was most kind of you.”
“It would have been a deal kinder, my lady, to have come myself,” said Sir Brian in his quiet way, “but as I hope my coachman explained, there were other matters requiring my attention.”
“I understand, dear boy,” she said, her smile warming. “He said you were meeting with Sir Reginald Basingstoke. I trust the meeting proceeded advantageously?”
“We believe so. Several interesting facts have come to light, thanks to the unceasing labors of Mr. Wychbold. Lord Gordon knew what he was about when he acquired that gentleman’s services on your behalf.”
Jessica had been sitting silently, listening to them, but her nerves seemed to be all aquiver, making it seem as if some sort of electrical field had engulfed her. Every cell in her body seemed alive to his nearness. This time it was not a mere matter of a little warmth creeping through her. This time every fiber of her being seemed to be shouting at him to pay heed to her. It was difficult to believe he could not actually hear the signals her body was sending to him. Even the sound of the music and the constant drone of conversation, punctuated by girlish giggling and occasional bursts of masculine laughter, seemed to fade into the background, so that all she heard was the sound of his voice, interrupted from time to time, distressingly, by the lilting tones of Lady Susan’s as they discussed the matter of her upcoming trial.
Neither of them asked Jessica to contribute an opinion, and she was left to sit in musing silence until suddenly Sir Brian’s cool voice interrupted her reverie.
“Will you give me the pleasure of your company for this dance, Miss Jessica?”
15
AS HE SWUNG JESSICA into the circle of waltzers, Sir Brian said, “I was surprised to see the two of you here, though her ladyship seems to be weathering the stormy looks well enough. How are you faring?”
Jessica found it difficult to concentrate upon his words while his right hand pressed so authoritatively against the small of her back and his left held the gloved fingertips of her right. He was too close, and as always his nearness disturbed her composure. Indeed, his breath stirred the wispy tendrils of hair that curled about her right ear. When his silence indicated that he was awaiting her reply, she glanced up at him from under her lashes to see that he was watching her steadily.
She smiled. “I confess I have felt an urge from time to time to do something of a violent nature,” she said. “Some of our so-called friends have strained the limits of my patience nearly to breaking. I don’t know which is worse, the honey-sweet words one knows are spoken with the greatest insincerity or the cold looks from persons who have hitherto shown themselves to be well-disposed toward Aunt Susan’s reforming crusades.”
“I would never have advised either of you to expose yourself in such a fashion as this,” Sir Brian replied, his tone surprisingly grim.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “If we—either of us—had been wise enough to seek such advice, do you mean?”
“I do, indeed.” The tone was even more grim.
“Well, but as it happens,” she pointed out gently, “you were not at hand to provide us with your opinion. Nor,” she added, unable to keep the expression in her eyes from challenging him, “did we believe we required advice upon this particular matter. Aunt Susan has no wish to hide in Hanover Square.”
“I said nothing of hiding; however, you would have done better to have remained quietly at home until next Wednesday’s business is concluded,” he retorted uncompromisingly. Then, before she could take up the gauntlet, he changed course, continuing in a gentler voice, “How are your young charges bearing up?”
“Very well, thank you,” Jessica told him, eyeing him warily, since she had expected him to say a good deal more. “Jeremy is a bundle of nervous anxiety and fevered excitement over the fact that his papa will be along shortly to collect him. And Albert is enjo
ying a pampered sort of leisure he has never known before.”
“I hope you are not spoiling that boy,” Sir Brian said sharply, “for it would be to do him a disservice. Even if we can bring Lady Susan off, Albert does not look forward to the sort of privileged future that Jeremy will enjoy.”
“No, of course not,” she agreed, “but Aunt does mean for him to go to school, you know.”
They discussed the two boys amiably then until the waltz ended, but when Sir Brian restored her to Lady Susan’s side, he paused a moment as though he would say something further to her. With a glance at her ladyship, who was deep in conversation with the mother of a hopeful debutante, he looked down at Jessica. She had not yet taken her seat.
“Would you like some refreshment?” he asked at last.
“No, thank you. If that is a boulanger the musicians are beginning, I have promised this dance.”
“I see. Look here, Jessica…” He broke off with a frustrated gesture.
“Sir?” She cocked her head, regarding him with bewilderment.
But he had seen her partner approaching, and he merely shook his head. Lady Susan turned just then with an apology for seeming to ignore him, and he responded lightly before taking polite leave of them both. He did not approach them again before they departed for Hanover Square.
In the next few days before the trial, Lady Susan saw to it that they were never idle. From Venetian breakfasts and al-fresco luncheons to afternoon loo parties and carriage rides in the park at the fashionable hour of five, their activity was so feverish that Jessica scarcely had a moment to concern herself with her private thoughts. She saw a good deal of Sir Brian, nevertheless. He stopped in to visit occasionally, but each time, although his attitude was perfectly cordial, and she even caught his eyes resting intently upon her from time to time, he gave no indication that he wished to have private speech with her, and his conversation was directed mainly to Lady Susan.
The Battling Bluestocking Page 21