Lady Jane's Ribbons

by Sandra Wilson

  Shortly afterward, with Melville holding a large umbrella over their heads, she and Ellen emerged from the house to enter the waiting carriage. Within seconds of that, they were on their way to Grafton House, the fashionable drapers in New Bond Street.

  Rain or not, news of the lace had traveled and ladies had converged upon the shop from seemingly every corner of London. The place was dreadfully full, and very noisy indeed as ladies vyed with one another to attract the attention of the harassed young gentlemen assistants, who were doing their utmost to please everyone but were succeeding in satisfying only a very few. The polished oak counter was littered with drawers and trays, and cards of lace lay everywhere, their precious loads sometimes spilling over to trail perilously close to the damp floor and being trampled by the elegant shoes of the ladies pressing closest.

  It was half an hour before Jane and Ellen managed to reach the counter and secure the services of one of the assistants. He brought them several trays filled with cards of lace, and they began to search eagerly through them for the ones they liked best. They were quite absorbed in this pleasant task, when quite suddenly, a gentleman leaned between them from behind. Such conduct wasn’t to be tolerated and Jane was on the point of turning indignantly toward him to request him to step back, when she found herself staring at a bunch of gaily colored ribbons which was being dangled before her eyes.

  ‘I understand that these aren’t the only kind of ribbons to interest you, Jane,’ the gentleman murmured, dropping the ribbons onto the tray of lace in front of her.

  She recognized the voice only too well. With a gasp, she turned to stare into Lewis’s mocking gray eyes.

  THIRTEEN

  It seemed to amuse him to see how startled she was, but it was a disapproving sort of amusement. ‘My, my, it seems that what I’ve been told is unfortunately only too correct.’

  She recovered her composure a little, adopting a cool, dismissive manner. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir.’ Deliberately she returned her attention to the lace.

  ‘Come now, Jane,’ he said softly, ‘don’t let’s play games. You know perfectly well what I’m referring to.’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t. Please leave me alone.’

  ‘I’m prepared to discuss it in rather loud detail, if that’s what you wish,’ he replied, glancing around at the crowded shop, where a number of ladies would have overheard had he raised his voice even slightly.

  Turning back toward him, she couldn’t hide the anger and dismay she felt that her secret had so swiftly been discovered. ‘I would prefer not to discuss anything with you, Lewis, especially as it’s none of your business.’

  ‘I’m making it my business.’

  ‘By what right?’

  ‘By right of being someone who will not stand idly by and watch you make a spectacle of yourself. Now then, shall we go outside? It’s a little crowded in here for serious conversation.’

  She wanted to defy him, but she knew there was little to be gained from that. Snatching up her reticule from the counter where she had placed it, she bade Ellen wait where she was and then made her way out into the rainy afternoon.

  A sea of umbrellas swayed to and fro along the wet pavement, and the metallic clinking of pattens filled the air, as two elderly ladies, unable or unwilling to adopt the new fashion for over-shoes, hurried by on their outmoded little platforms, their shoes and hems raised safely above the rain-soaked ground. Jane would have stopped in the shelter of the doorway, but Lewis took her elbow and steered her through the rain to where her carriage waited. Opening the door he almost thrust her inside, climbing in after her and sitting opposite, flinging his top hat and cane on to the seat and then holding her unwilling gaze. ‘Now then, are you going to stop being difficult and tell me what all this is about?’

  ‘I fail to see why I should tell you anything, Lewis.’

  ‘If you don’t, I’m quite prepared to spread the rumor far and wide.’

  ‘Yes, I do believe you’d stoop to that.’

  ‘It could be that I regard such ungentlemanly conduct rather necessary if you’re to be protected from yourself.’

  ‘I find it quite insufferable that you, of all men, should preach about my protection.’

  ‘Don’t try to change the subject. Is it true that you’ve involved yourself in a stagecoach company, with a view to entering this damned race on Midsummer Day?’

  ‘Will you answer me one thing? How did you find out?’

  ‘Perhaps if I mentioned that I dined on deviled soles at Long’s today the answer would become quite clear.’

  ‘Mr Payne! He had no right!’

  ‘He’s worried about your safety, and justifiably so. And please don’t think he rushed to tell me straightaway. He hesitated quite considerably before eventually mentioning it.’

  ‘I’ll warrant he did,’ she replied drily. ‘He pondered the matter at great length, all the way from the first course to the last. I wonder who else he told? The entire dining room?’

  ‘Hardly. I’m the only one who knows. After I left him, I went to South Audley Street and Melville told me you’d come here.’

  ‘Should I be flattered to think you’ve chased across Mayfair after me?’

  ‘I’m not in the mood for any nonsense, Jane. Now then, although you haven’t come right out and admitted everything, it’s quite obvious that all I’ve been told is true, which surprises me since when I look at you, you appear quite sane, but then looks are evidently misleading. You must have taken leave of your senses to embark upon something as wildly improbable, not to say dangerous, as this. It’s dangerous not only because of the natural jostling for position that occurs during a race, but because Chapman’s eager to relieve your brother of a small fortune and the presence of a third coach might jeopardize that little plan. Chapman’s probably confident of beating the Iron Duke, but he can’t be certain of beating an unknown quantity in the form of another challenger. He’ll do his utmost to prevent that third challenger from even starting, so forget this imprudence, Jane, it’s too hazardous.’

  ‘Imprudence is Alicia’s stock in trade, not mine. I suppose she knows all about this? By the time you get back, the story will be all over Town.’

  ‘Alicia knows nothing about it.’

  ‘Ah, so the business at the ball taught you a little wisdom after all.’

  ‘Your tongue is so sharp it will surely cut itself one day,’ he replied drily, his eyes veiled so that she couldn’t tell if her barb had found a target. ‘Now then, about this horror you think to perpetrate upon society.’

  ‘Upon Henry,’ she corrected.

  ‘The monde is going to witness it, Jane, not just Henry. Have you any idea how many elegant souls intend to follow the race all the way to Brighton? The start on Tower Hill is going to be a mill to end all mills, it’s even being suggested that the queen herself intends to be there, so assuming that Chapman allows the Swan to get as far as the start, your grand gesture is going to be witnessed by everyone.’

  ‘A large proportion of the ladies will be cheering me on. Ribbon bores are the worst bores of all, and London seems to have more than its fair share.’

  ‘You’re quite set on this, aren’t you? Nothing I say will deter you.’

  ‘Nothing. Which I suppose means you’ll spread it far and wide in order to try and stop me.’

  ‘It so happens that I was about to tell you my price for silence.’

  She stared. ‘Lewis Ardenley, if I didn’t know you better I’d think—’

  ‘That I was on the point of propositioning you?’ He gave a faint smile. ‘Well, tempting as that notion might be, I have to confess that it isn’t what’s on my mind.’

  ‘Which is as well, sir, since I’d rather tell the world myself than submit to you.’

  He was still drily amused. ‘Really? It seems that I can recall a time when you didn’t feel at all like that about me.’

  ‘I’m older and wiser now.’

  ‘Are you?’ His
voice was suddenly soft, like the touch of silk, and there was a dark, practiced warmth in the lazy way his gray eyes moved over her.

  She managed somehow to meet his gaze without wavering. ‘Yes, Lewis, I am.’ Her voice was commendably level, even though he’d so easily managed to once again play havoc with her unwilling heart. He wouldn’t slip past her guard this time, not this time.

  He laughed lightly. ‘Very well, my wise Lady Jane, we’ll leave that highly debatable point for the time being and return to the matter in hand. Have you ever traveled to Brighton on a stagecoach?’

  The question took her by surprise. ‘No, of course I haven’t.’

  ‘Precisely, so you really haven’t any idea what it’s like, have you? To you, traveling to Brighton means the comfort of a private carriage, with very little inconvenience or danger.’

  ‘I think I know what stagecoach travel is like, sir. I’ve been very thorough in my inquiries.’

  ‘Have you indeed? Well let me point out that there’s a world of difference between hearing about something and actually experiencing it. Which brings me to my price for silence. I want you to travel to Brighton on a stagecoach – with me to escort and protect you, of course.’

  She stared at him. ‘I’m not the one to have taken leave of my senses, Lewis, you are.’

  ‘Take it or leave it, Jane. Either you do as I ask, or I blow the proverbial gaff on your madcap plan.’

  ‘But why do you want me to go to Brighton? What on earth purpose will it serve?’

  ‘It will show you that traveling on the king’s highway in a public coach is a vastly different experience from your private carriage! And what you see from the stagecoach, whatever it might be, will only be a shadow of what you’re likely to encounter if you’re stubborn and foolish enough to insist upon being on a coach in a race Chapman’s determined to win for the money.’

  She raised her chin defiantly. ‘And if at the end of this forced excursion I still remain firm in my intentions?’

  ‘If you do – and to my mind it’s a rather big if – then I’ll say no more on the matter.’

  ‘You won’t tell Henry?’

  ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

  She considered for a moment. ‘Very well, I agree.’

  ‘I trust that you’re not saying that because you have every intention of continuing with your idiocy even if you’re alarmed by what happens on the way?’

  ‘You’ll have to trust me, sir, since there’s no way you can know the answer.’

  ‘Don’t be overconfident, Jane. Those fifty or so miles to Brighton might prove the undoing of you yet.’

  ‘You say that as if you know something is going to happen.’

  ‘I’ve a shrewd notion that it will, especially since we’ll be traveling on the Nonpareil. Chapman has made himself many enemies, and he’s introduced a considerable spice to the race proceedings by laying that hefty wager with your brother. The Brighton road has become exceeding boisterous, with all manner of skulduggery afoot, and between now and Midsummer Day you may count upon it that the dirty deeds will flow thick and fast. The road on race day will not be a place for a lady, Jane, and that’s what I’m hoping to prove to you.’

  ‘We’ll see then, won’t we?’

  ‘Yes, we will, the day after tomorrow.’

  She gave an incredulous laugh. ‘So soon?’

  ‘Midsummer Day isn’t that far away. I’d insist upon tomorrow itself were it not for the fact that it happens to be Sunday, and you’ll no doubt need a day to pack a portmanteau and concoct a believable excuse to fob Henry off.’

  ‘Pack a portmanteau?’ she repeated warily. ‘Are you suggesting that we stay overnight in Brighton?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘I fail to see why.’

  ‘I have no intention of traveling to Brighton and back in one day. We’ll travel down on the afternoon Nonpareil and return the next morning in my private carriage.’ He smiled a little. ‘Public transport need not be suffered in both directions – I’m too fond of my creature comforts for that.’

  She was cool. ‘I trust you don’t harbor hopes that I will become one of those creature comforts.’

  ‘Hardly, since you’re not even a comfortable creature most of the time.’

  She ignored the remark. ‘And I trust that you’ve considered the implications of what you’re suggesting, for if this little jaunt is discovered, my reputation will be damaged beyond redemption.’

  ‘I doubt very much if we’ll be found out. We’re hardly likely to be recognized traveling as insiders on a public coach, and even if I am, you won’t be if you’re sensible enough to wear a veil of some sort.’ He paused. ‘I’ve already taken the liberty of sending my coach to Brighton.’

  Color leapt to her cheeks. ‘You were sure of my answer, weren’t you?’ she said a little angrily.

  ‘Yes.’

  She looked away.

  ‘As I was saying, I’ve already sent my coach ahead, to the White Lion in Bedford Lane, where rooms will be booked for us in the names of Mr and Miss Havers, brother and sister. Accommodation will also be reserved for your maid, to be sure that propriety isn’t offended.’

  Propriety may not be offended, sir, but I most certainly am.’ She glanced at him. ‘Why Havers?’ she demanded.

  ‘It’s my mother’s maiden name.’

  ‘False names can look extremely suspicious, especially if we’re seen at this White Lion.’

  ‘It isn’t an establishment exactly haunted by fashionable society.’

  ‘Really? I trust it isn’t a den of iniquity.’

  ‘It’s merely a comfortable hostelry which provides tidy accommodation and a reasonable table.’

  ‘One wonders how you know about it. Did dear Alicia acquaint you with its existence? Yes, to be sure that must be it, for I’ll warrant she knows a great many establishments which are, shall we say, off the beaten track?’ She gave him another sweet smile.

  ‘My, my, I had no idea you had so much of the chienne in you, Jane,’ he reproved, shaking his head and tutting disappointedly.

  ‘One learns from the dogs of this life, sir.’

  ‘Aye, and some of us appear to be more adept at learning than others.’ He picked up his hat and cane. ‘I shall have to tear myself away from your fascinating company now. I shall expect to see you in the coffee room of the Black Horse, Snow Hill, at just before four in the afternoon the day after tomorrow.’

  ‘Perhaps I should remind you that Mr Chapman is acquainted with me and might quite easily recognize me.’

  ‘Wear a veil, as I suggested. And don’t tog yourself out in the highest tippy of fashion, for that would most certainly draw attention on a stagecoach.

  ‘Lewis, I only possess the highest tippy of fashion,’ she replied acidly.

  ‘How very inconvenient for you. Still, I’m sure you’ll come up with something, especially since you’re so very eager to protect your reputation.’

  ‘I loathe you, Lewis Ardenley.’

  ‘Then I’m afraid you’re going to find the visit to Brighton extremely tedious, since you’ll be closeted with me for such a long time.’ He gave her a lazy half-smile. ‘But no doubt a creature of such indomitable spirit will not permit such petty adversities to weigh her down for long.’ He flung open the carriage door and stepped down into the pouring rain, turning to help her out. ‘Until the day after tomorrow then.’

  She snatched her hand away. ‘I do not look forward to it,’ she said, gathering her skirts and hurrying across the wet pavement to go quickly back into Grafton House, where the ladies still fought over the best of the lace.

  Lewis remained where he was for a moment, then he tapped his top hat onto his golden hair, closed the carriage door, and strolled on down the street, apparently quite oblivious to the torrential downpour, which soon soaked the costly fabric of his excellent coat.

  As she and Ellen returned to South Audley Street with their purchases, she regaled the astonished maid with the story of he
r plans and Lewis’s arrogant, interfering ultimatum. Reaching the house she found Charles Moncarm’s carriage waiting at the door. He and Henry were in the billiard room at the rear of the ground floor, the French windows open onto the gardens. The noise of the rain filled the room, and the air was a little cool, but the two men didn’t seem to notice; they were too engrossed in their play. The ivory balls chinked against one another on the green baize table, and the smoke from Charles’s cigar curled up thinly from the dish where he had placed it while he played his shot.

  Jane entered quietly, going to stand by the open windows to look out at the gardens, still thinking angrily about Lewis’s unwarranted intervention in her private affairs. She took a deep breath, reaching out to touch the moisture-laden blooms of the climbing rose growing against the wall by the window. She didn’t want to submit to his will in this way, but there was a secret part of her which thrilled very treacherously to the thought of being alone with him.

  ‘Jane? A penny for your thoughts.’ Charles was leaning on his cue, smiling at her as Henry prepared to play.

  ‘They aren’t worth a penny,’ she replied, turning. ‘I trust you’re winning and that Henry is soon to be trounced.’

  He nodded at the marking board on the wall. ‘I’m afraid not.’

  ‘Charles, you’ll simply have to do better,’ she said lightly, forcing away thoughts of Lewis Ardenley and Brighton, and concentrating upon the state of the game.

  ‘I know, and it’s most disagreeable, since I came here to see you and instead end up being demolished on the green baize by your brother’s superior play. I think I should have remained in bed today; the idleness would have been much more comforting.’

  ‘You came to see me? What about?’

  ‘I thought it was time we toddled along with the rest of the monde to see Madame Vestris’s legs in Don Giovanni in London. I gather her pins are well worth a viewing.’