When she had first heard about the party she had agreed with Aunt Lavinia that it was unusual for Lady Norcroft to host something of this nature without months of preparation, but then had dismissed it from her thoughts. The invitation had come a mere two days after she had shared Daniel’s bed and Cordelia had had any number of other concerns pressing on her mind. But when she’d learned of his father’s involvement, Daniel’s friendship with Norcroft, and the earl’s insistence on a masked event it was as if the pieces of a puzzle suddenly fell into place.
Cordelia was convinced Daniel was behind it all. Obviously the man wanted to hide behind a mask for their first real meeting. Probably because he believed she had fallen in love with Warren. Or rather, with him masquerading as Warren, but he didn’t know that she knew that. It made perfect sense. Well, not perfect sense but what about the two of them thus far had?
Oh, this was going to be fun.
She did wish she had someone to talk to about it all, though. As free-spirited as Aunt Lavinia was, and as much as she claimed to be excellent at keeping secrets, there was only so much Cordelia was willing to confide in the older woman and a great deal she was certain her aunt might not understand.
As for Sarah, while she’d always been Cordelia’s confidant, the two hadn’t said anything of note to one another since Will’s return home. Sarah was spending every free minute with him, which was to be expected of course. Beyond that, she seemed vaguely uncomfortable around Cordelia, as if she were keeping something from her. And indeed she was. The front hall footman had confided in the cook’s assistant who told Cordelia’s maid who couldn’t wait to tell Cordelia that on the very day Will had arrived home, there was a gentleman, an American, asking for Sarah. The footman had said there had been some confusion over the real identity of both Sarah and the American and that they and Will had retired to the library for a significant amount of time. Sarah hadn’t said a word to Cordelia. Obviously, her loyalty now was to the man she loved rather than to his sister and that was as it should be. Sarah was her dearest friend and Cordelia was happy that she and Will had found each other, even if Cordelia couldn’t help but regret the loss of the closeness that had been part of their lives nearly forever. It left Cordelia without anyone to share her secrets with, no one to give her advice that she probably wouldn’t listen to anyway, and surprisingly lonely as well. Still, Sarah was obviously blissful and if this was the price Cordelia had to pay for her cousin’s happiness, so be it.
She ran her fingertips lightly over the green silk. When she had realized Daniel had already known the truth when they’d met at the museum, she had been furious. Everything he’d said to her then had seemed a lie. But every passing day, every new piece of information brought further reflection. The man had lied about his name, but she wasn’t at all sure he’d lied about himself. He might not quite be the salt of the earth, but she hadn’t learned anything that indicated he wasn’t a decent sort. Exactly as she’d thought he was when she’d thought he was Warren. The kind of man one could depend on for the rest of one’s life.
A knock sounded at her door.
Still, one did have to wonder what he had planned for tonight and why he didn’t simply confess all and be done with it.
“Cordelia?” The door opened slightly and Amelia popped her head in. “Are you in here?”
“Yes?” Cordelia stared. The last person she expected to see today was her oldest sister. Amelia pushed the door wider and stepped into the room, Edwina right on her heels. “What are you doing here? I thought the family wasn’t coming back to London for another few days. How did you get here? Is Mother with you?”
Amelia carefully pulled off her hat. “The rest of the family isn’t coming home until tomorrow. We arrived on this morning’s train. Mother is still in Brighton, and a good day to you too.”
“We’ve been invited to a charity ball.” Edwina peeled off her gloves. “We would hate to miss a charitable event.”
“We are most charitable you know.” Amelia smiled pleasantly. “Besides, Bea is certain she’s going to give birth any day now and she wrote practically begging us to come back to London.”
Edwina snorted. “She’s the size of a small cottage but, I daresay, nothing will happen for a good month. I wasn’t silly enough to tell her that to her face, though. She’d quite bite my head off.” Edwina grimaced and took off her hat. “We stopped to see her before we came here. She’s rather cranky these days.”
“Yes, I visited with her the other day,” Cordelia murmured.
“However, it gave us the perfect excuse to return home,” Amelia said, placed her hat and gloves on top of a chest of drawers and casually meandered around the room. “I daresay this room hasn’t changed a bit since it was mine.”
Cordelia ignored her. “I thought you came home because you were going to a charity ball?”
Edwina smiled brightly. “And wasn’t that an excellent reason.”
Cordelia studied her sisters. Admittedly, she didn’t know them well, but their behavior was definitely odd. “What are you up to?”
“She’s a suspicious sort, isn’t she?” Amelia said to Edwina. “I had no idea she was so suspicious.”
Edwina shook her head. “It does prove the point, though, doesn’t it?”
Cordelia narrowed her eyes. “What point?”
Amelia’s gaze slid around the room. “Although the room used to be yellow, didn’t it?”
Edwina looked around. “I think so, but I do like this peachy color.”
“What point?” Cordelia said again.
“Simply that you are as intelligent and perceptive as we suspected.” Amelia glanced out the window. “Ever since you left Brighton, we’ve been thinking.”
“And talking,” Edwina added.
“About you,” Amelia said lightly.
“What about me?” Cordelia said slowly
Amelia heaved a heartfelt sigh. “We regret that we haven’t been closer. That we’ve, well—”
“Ignored you all these years.” Edwina settled herself on the fainting couch. “Treated you as something of an afterthought.”
“I never felt like an afterthought,” Cordelia muttered. “Although now that you’ve brought it up…”
“We’ve discussed this with Bea and she agrees.” Edwina shrugged. “In a cranky sort of way of course.”
“We’d like to make it up to you,” Amelia said firmly. “Now that you are about to be married, we’ll have all sorts of things in common.”
“We can be quite helpful, you know.” Edwina smiled in an encouraging manner. “About setting up a household and managing servants and any number of other things.”
Amelia caught Cordelia’s gaze. “And managing husbands.”
“You’d be surprised just how much managing a husband needs.” Edwina sighed. “But, between the three of us, we have a great deal of experience in such matters.”
“And even though you’ll be in America,” Amelia added, “we intend to write.”
“Every day.” Edwina paused. “Or maybe every week.”
“We can be the sisters we’ve never been,” Amelia declared.
Edwina nodded. “Unburden ourselves to one another.”
“Share our lives. Our thoughts,” Amelia said. “Our troubles. Our secrets…”
“Oh, yes, that’s good.” Edwina patted the seat beside her. “Do sit down, Cordelia, and we can begin sharing right this very moment.”
Cordelia sat cautiously. “Sharing what?”
“Our secrets of course.”
“I don’t have any secrets.” Cordelia shook her head. “No, no, no secrets. Not even one. I wish I did. I should think it would be quite fun to have secrets but, as much of a shame as it is, I don’t have any.” She forced a pleasant smile.
Edwina and Amelia traded glances. Amelia sighed and produced a small pouch from somewhere in the folds of her wide skirts. She moved to the dressing table, opened the pouch, and tipped it over. A handful of coins clinked onto t
he table.
Cordelia frowned. “What’s that?”
“That is what’s left of four pounds, sixteen shillings.”
“Four pounds, sixteen…” At once Cordelia realized the significance of the amount. “Oh dear.”
“Blood money,” Edwina said in an ominous voice.
“Don’t be absurd. It was a simple bribe.” Amelia rolled her gaze toward the ceiling. “In many ways I’m embarrassed that our sons did not live up to their agreement.”
“Perhaps if you had paid them as much as we used to pay you and Will…” Edwina said under her breath.
“Nonetheless.” Amelia sank into a nearby chair. “The boys said they escorted you to meet a man.”
“Did they?” Cordelia said weakly.
Amelia studied Cordelia carefully. “And that man called you Miss Palmer.”
“It was dark,” Cordelia murmured.
“And.” Edwina paused dramatically. “He kissed you.”
“They were spying on me? Those wicked beasts!” Indignation swept through Cordelia. “They were supposed to go directly into the house. I trusted them. They gave me their word. And they certainly took my money under false pretenses, the little bandits.”
“They’re children, Cordelia, and worse, male children. A certain amount of deception is to be expected.” Amelia shrugged. “One day they’ll be men.”
“And then there will be hell to pay,” Edwina muttered.
“Regardless of how we found out, we did find out.” Amelia leaned toward the younger woman. “Now we want to know if you’re in some sort of trouble. Involved in something of a scandalous nature.”
“Or if you’re having a grand time.” Edwina glanced at her older sister and winced. “Which, of course, would be wrong.”
“We’re not here to judge, we just want to help.” Amelia leaned toward Cordelia and met her gaze firmly. “We meant everything we said in Brighton. We do feel you’re old enough to make your own decisions. And we’ll stand by you, no matter what.”
“Besides, we’re much better at keeping secrets than our sons are.” Edwina grinned. “And you won’t have to pay us even a penny.”
Amelia nodded. “Which means our rates are extremely reasonable. Only a certain amount of sisterly trust is required.” Amelia paused. “We haven’t earned it up to now, but we do intend to make up for that from this point on. Well?”
“Well?” Edwina added.
“Well…” Cordelia’s gaze slipped from one sister to the next. She had absolutely no reason to trust them, but then she had no reason not to trust them either. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about Daniel. And even if they proved to be no better at keeping secrets than their sons, it would scarcely matter soon at any rate. If her sisters were willing to make this sort of gesture, Cordelia should be willing to accept it. “It’s a long story and somewhat complicated.”
Amelia patted her younger sister’s hand. “We thought it might be.”
“And not entirely proper,” Cordelia added.
“Oh good.” Edwina smiled in a wicked manner. “Do go on then.”
Cordelia drew a deep breath. “It all started when Father told me he wished me to marry…”
Within minutes, Cordelia had explained everything from the moment she mistook Daniel for Warren in the park to her discovery of his true identity to her belief that tonight’s ball was his doing. She skirted around the part about sharing his bed. That was a secret even the most trustworthy of sisters should not have to keep. “And that brings us to tonight.”
“I agree with you,” Amelia said slowly. “Mr. Sinclair has definitely had a hand in tonight’s event. And I think you’re right. The next step should be his.”
“Still.” Edwina gaze met Cordelia’s. “You should probably have some sort of plan.”
“I do, more or less.” Cordelia slanted a quick glance at the green silk. “I am perfectly willing to confess to him, even to apologize but—”
“But only after he does.” Amelia’s voice was firm. “It won’t do at all for you to do it first. It sets a bad precedent for a marriage. It would give him the upper hand and once that happens, you will have a devil of a time getting it back.”
“Nor should you ever, ever admit you’re wrong,” Edwina said. “About anything.”
“But what if I am?”
“Whether you are or not is beside the point. Regardless, it’s entirely possible to apologize for a transgression without actually admitting you were wrong.” Edwina nodded. “It’s one of the first things a clever woman learns about managing a man in marriage.”
“The trick, however, Cordelia dear,” Amelia said, “is to let him think he does indeed have the upper hand. To allow him to believe he is the captain of his ship, so to speak, the master of his household and all that.”
“It sounds rather manipulative,” Cordelia murmured.
“Do keep in mind, this world of ours belongs to men. You should know that better than anyone. If you were a man, you could earn your own way and spend the rest of your life pursuing travel or whatever else you wished. However we, as women, are not helpless. But we do need to use every weapon at our disposal to ensure our place in the world.” Amelia raised a brow. “And I can’t imagine manipulation would bother you of all people.”
“In truth, Amelia.” Cordelia smiled slowly. “It doesn’t.”
“Good.” Amelia beamed. “Now about tonight—”
“But we haven’t asked her the most important question of all.” Edwina frowned. “She’s going to marry this American but does she want to? Does she love him?”
Amelia’s eyes widened with surprise. “I thought that was obvious. One doesn’t go through this kind of effort for a man one doesn’t love.” Amelia met Cordelia’s gaze directly. “And a man doesn’t go through this kind of trouble for a woman he doesn’t love.”
“Do you really think so?”
Amelia nodded. “I’m confident of it.”
“I fell in love with him when I thought he was someone he wasn’t,” Cordelia said slowly. “And now that I know who he really is…” Cordelia wrinkled her nose. “Nothing has changed except for his name. I don’t believe I can live without him nor do I wish to.”
“Excellent.” Edwina nodded with satisfaction and got to her feet, Amelia and Cordelia following suit. “That’s that then.”
“As for tonight”—Amelia collected her hat and gloves and started for the door—“I would suggest you don’t do anything beyond acting as if nothing has changed from the last time you saw him. Pretend you don’t know who he really is. It shouldn’t be at all difficult given he’ll be wearing a mask.” She gave her youngest sister a quick hug. “And do remember, Cordelia, in this game you and Mr. Sinclair are playing, it is definitely his move.”
“We must be off.” Edwina too embraced Cordelia. “Neither of us has the vaguest idea what we’re going to wear tonight.” Edwina gathered her things and turned to leave.
Amelia opened the door and cast her little sister an affectionate smile. The oddest lump formed in Cordelia’s throat. For the first time, possibly in her entire life, she felt like she did indeed have sisters who cared about her and liked her and didn’t consider her an afterthought. For the first time she truly felt like one of the Bannister sisters. It was a pity it had taken this long, but then given the differences in their ages perhaps it was unavoidable. Still, it had happened now and Cordelia was both grateful and more than a little touched.
“One more thing, little sister.” Amelia nodded toward the bed. “Wear the green silk. It’s an excellent weapon.”
Lady Norcroft had produced nothing short of a miracle.
Daniel gazed over the Norcroft terrace and beyond to the gardens with as much pride as if he had had a hand in this himself. He hadn’t of course. Still, it was perfect.
The doors between ballroom and terrace had been thrown open and the inside of the house melted seamlessly into the out of doors. Refreshments and tables were positioned at
one end of the ballroom, chairs were arranged in rows at the other in preparation for Daisy’s performance. Outside, music from barely glimpsed musicians floated down from a balcony above the terrace, as if from on high. Lanterns were strung from the terrace well out into the gardens.
The crowd was no less impressive than the setting. Norcroft’s mother had worried that a ball at this time of year, when nearly everyone who was anyone was in residence at their country homes rather than in London, would attract enough guests to make it worthwhile. But apparently there was something to be said for throwing a party out of season.
Daniel had spotted Cordelia almost immediately upon her arrival a quarter of an hour or so ago and now surreptitiously watched her stroll around the perimeter of the terrace, greeting acquaintances. Creswell had sent word as to the color of her gown and mask, as well as what Miss Palmer would be wearing should Daniel be inclined to confuse the two of them again. Daniel liked Creswell, which, since they would soon be related, seemed a good omen.
Still, Creswell might not have the good sense Daniel had credited him with. What was he thinking to allow his sister, his youngest sister, to appear in public in such a dress? He didn’t care if it was the latest fashion, her shoulders were bare and her bodice was definitely too low, revealing entirely too much, well, too much Cordelia. It didn’t matter that very nearly every other woman present had exposed shoulders and bosoms that looked as if they might spring free of their garments at any minute. This was Cordelia. His Cordelia! And the color. Good God. Daniel had never thought of a color as being particularly scandalous, but the rich sea green silk was downright decadent. The shade made Cordelia’s dark hair look richer and her peach tinged skin seem creamier. What kind of dress did things like that? How could a responsible brother allow it? And why wasn’t every man in the place besieging her at this very moment? Daniel shook his head in disgust. As much as there were several Englishmen he now considered friends, he certainly didn’t understand them. How could an entire country of intelligent men have allowed Cordelia to get to the advanced age of twenty-five without being snapped up? Still, it was fortunate for him that her fellow countrymen had failed to recognize a jewel in their midst.
Secrets of a Proper Lady Page 24