by Liese Anning
'Thank you,' Verity said as she embraced Lady Harrington. They both had tears in their eyes. 'I will always treasure them. And when I wear them, I will think of my mother and her generous best friend.'
'Come, my dear,' Lady Harrington said as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, 'we will make our eyes red and our cheeks blotchy. Then I will never be able to look the Duchess in the face again,' she said as she smiled at Verity, 'come, let us go downstairs and find his lordship.'
The road leading to the Richmond's, in the Rue des Blanchisserie, was crowded with carriages filled with smartly dressed ladies and gentlemen eager to arrive for the evening's entertainment. Lady Harrington was becoming a little impatient with the delay and was once more critical of the host. 'We have been at a standstill for nearly ten minutes,' Lady Harrington said impatiently. 'This queue of carriages is far too long. Charlotte should have more servants out here, organising them.'
'Lavinia,' Lord Harrington said, 'this wait is no longer than that for any ball in London.'
Eventually, after more complaints from Lady Harrington, they all, at last, entered the ballroom. It was hard to believe that the beautifully decorated room had once been a coach house. Even the critical Lady Harrington had to admit that the ballroom had been organised spectacularly. The Richmond's had spared no expense. There were candles in all the recesses, providing enough light to illuminate every corner of the room. Fresh flowers had been artfully arranged to provide a visual display, without impinging on the guests’ movements, and the ballroom was large enough to accommodate the dancing that would, no doubt, take place later that evening.
The ballroom was already crowded when they arrived. It appeared that anyone who was anyone had made an appearance at the Duchess's spectacular ball. Everyone of importance, apart from the man on everyone's lips, the Duke himself, had arrived. His noticeable absence had made the other guests a little restless, and it was no surprise that the reason for his absence was the main topic of conversation.
They had not been there long when the Gordon Highlanders, dressed in their traditional kilts, came into the room, playing their famous pipes. The sound of the pipes was almost deafening, but they impressed the gathered guests with their display of dancing. Once they had all left, and the rapturous applause had died down, the dancing began. The first dance was a waltz and the small, but proficient orchestra played it skillfully. A young officer, who introduced himself as Lieutenant Hamilton, asked Verity to dance. Verity did not feel confident dancing in public, but she could not refuse without seeming rude. Lady Harrington had employed a dance teacher for Verity so that she could practice before an official ball. The dance teacher had not been impressed with Verity's movement across the dance floor and had tried to teach her how to move with fluidity. She tried to concentrate on the steps that he had taught her.
As she danced, she could not help notice junior officers coming into the room to deliver messages to their senior colleagues. It was in the middle of the dance when her partner was interrupted by one such message. He apologised to Verity and took her back to Lady Harrington.
'I am sorry to bring this to an end, but I must leave,' he said as they walked across the ballroom towards the Harrington's.
'Do not worry,' Verity said in reply, and then added, 'is the battle, everyone has been talking about, imminent?'
He was a little taken aback by her question. He did not reply immediately, probably considering whether he should give any information away. Concluding that Verity was not a threat and that if there were an imminent war, it would not make any difference if she knew or not, he said, 'yes, yes, it is. I have been ordered to rejoin your regiment. No doubt we will march tomorrow at dawn.'
'Oh,' Verity whispered.
He had mistaken her subdued answer for fears for her safety. 'Do not worry,' he said, trying to reassure her, 'we will give old Boney a good hiding and send him packing. Just you wait and see,' he then added, 'we will show him a bit of British steel.' He saw the look of horror on her face and then added, 'do not worry, you will be quite safe here in Brussels.'
'I do not think it will be as simple as that,' she said almost to herself. She did not want to argue with the young man, but he was talking flippantly about an advent that could endanger the lives of many, including her brother. 'Have you ever seen military action?'
'No,' he said defensively, 'but I have been told it is glorious.'
'I have been told it is a little like hell on earth,' she said not mincing her words.
He looked shocked by her statement, and, after he delivered her back to Lady Harrington, he quickly left. Lady Harrington, who had seen the end of the exchange, looked concerned. 'Verity, my dear,' she said quietly, 'are you quite well?'
'Yes, my lady,' she replied, 'it is just a little too hot in here.' The room was indeed stiflingly hot. The windows and doors were wide open, but that evening there was not even the smallest of breezes coming through them.
Just before midnight, there was a buzz of conversation around the room. The Duke, at last, had arrived. Looking at him, one would never have guessed the grave political situation that was unfolding around him. He talked with the ladies, while he received dispatches from officers fresh from the field. Sometimes, he would read these dispatches immediately, at other times he put them in his pocket to read later. One such message was delivered to him by Colonel Mitford.
Verity saw James from a distance. He gave the Duke a message and then had a brief exchange with him. James caught her eye, and, after his conversation, made his way immediately over to her. 'Verity,' he said with urgency, 'I must talk with you.'
Verity nodded. He had been riding, and his breeches and boots were splattered with mud. He looked out of place compared to the other officers who were immaculately dressed.
'Privately,' he then added, 'please follow me.'
Verity looked around. Everyone seemed to be more interested in discussing the unfolding events, rather than noticing whether she had left the room. She followed James into a small anteroom. 'Verity,' he said, taking her hands in his, 'I do not have much time.'
He stopped, and they stood opposite each other, just gazing into each other's eyes. 'Verity,' he said, at last breaking the silence, 'I just wanted to see you again before I took my leave.'
'Has it begun?' she asked quietly.
'Yes,' he answered, 'the French moved a lot quicker than we expected. We have been taken by surprise.'
'And Reggie,' she asked, 'is he still with you?'
'He has returned to his regiment, and they will be receiving their marching orders very soon.' He answered.
Verity shut her eyes and bowed her head, 'Oh,' she muttered.
James, sensing her distress then said, 'he is a good lad, and will make an excellent officer. I know this may be hard to believe, but he is not the reckless boy I first met. Over the past weeks, he has impressed me with his maturity. I was hoping for you to meet him before the battle, but I am afraid we ran out of time.' He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a letter. 'He asked me to give you this.'
Verity took the letter from his hand, 'thank you,' she said in a whisper, 'for everything you have done for him.'
'I would have liked to have done more, but as I said, time was against me.' He sighed, and then said, 'time has always been our enemy, has it not?'
Verity nodded.
He touched her cheek with his fingers. ‘If only we had met under different circumstances,' he said wistfully. 'When I first met you, I was still grieving for Isabella, and now,' he said, bowing his head, 'war; and my interfering family.'
'Yes,' Verity replied, 'it has never been the right time.'
'I am sorry Verity,' he said, 'this is when I should promise myself to you. I should ask you to wait for me.' He put his forehead against hers and said, 'but that would not be fair, and...' He stopped abruptly. 'Verity, I should have asked you to marry me, when I first met you at Hadlands, but I thought it would not be fair to bring a wife all the wa
y to Spain. But now, I fear, it is too late.'
Verity could feel the tears stinging the corners of her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. As she looked at him, she gently touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers. His cheek felt rough with the day's growth of stubble, and she could see that he looked incredibly tired. She reached up and touched his lips with hers, and she felt him shiver as they kissed.
Verity then drew away and touched his lips with her fingertips. 'Goodbye, James,' she said almost in a whisper, 'and God's speed.'
James said nothing. He just turned around and walked out of the small room leaving Verity feeling very alone. It was the same feeling she had experienced at Hadlands when he had left her for the first time.
She quickly gathered her wits together and joined Lord and Lady Harrington at the supper table. 'Verity, my dear,' Lady Harrington said, 'are you quite well? You are looking a little pale.'
'Yes, thank you, I am quite well,' she replied, 'it is just a little hot in here.'
'Sit here, next to the window. That should revive you.' Lady Harrington said with concern.
Once they had started to eat their supper, Lady Harrington loudly whispered to her husband, 'he is sitting next to her?'
'Who is sitting next to who?' Lord Harrington replied to her a little puzzled.
'The Duke, of course, who else am I going to talk about?' Lady Harrington whispered back a little impatiently.
'I still don't understand,' Lord Harrington said, puzzled by his wife's comments.
'That woman, Lady Frances Webster. Look,' she said to her husband, 'she is flirting with him now, and he is positively encouraging it. It is a wonder that her husband does not put a stop to it. She is with child after all.'
'Wellington likes to flirt, and that is all it is, my dear, flirting.' Lord Harrington replied firmly.
'I do not know, Harry,' she said still looking at the couple, 'they do say, there's no smoke without fire.'
'I would be more worried by the Prince of Orange, who has just made another appearance.' Lord Harrington told his wife as the concerned looking Prince whispered in Wellington's ear, 'I do not know how the Duke can remain so calm when the world is falling apart around him.'
The guests, in the dining room, continued to eat the delicacies that the Duchess had carefully selected, while the Duke continued to entertain the two ladies on either side with small talk. 'If the message had been urgent, surely he would have left before now?' Lady Harrington said.
Then after twenty minutes, he rose from the table and announced that he was off to bed, and he disappeared with the Duke of Richmond to his study. 'Now it begins,' Lord Harrington said, 'I think it wise to leave now, my dear.'
While Lord Harrington had disappeared to summon the carriage, Lady Harrington and Verity returned to the ballroom. The dancing after supper had started again. This time the atmosphere, in the ballroom, was very different from earlier that evening. The orchestra still played, but the music was now subdued.
There were several couples on the dance floor. Verity could not help but stare at one couple. The woman clung onto the gentleman as they danced slowly around the floor, her head resting on his shoulder. Verity felt tears in her eyes as the gentleman gently put his hands on the woman's shoulders and pushed her slowly away. As he spoke to her, she shook her head and held onto his arms. He smiled and gently kissed her forehead and pushed her away once more. He then walked away, leaving her standing on the dance floor, looking at him. The tears were flowing down her cheeks.
Lady Harrington gently touched Verity on the shoulder, 'we should go,' she said quietly. There was no doubt that the scene had also affected Lady Harrington. 'The carriage is outside.'
Chapter 24
It was the early hours of the morning, just before dawn, when the night was at its darkest when Verity returned home from the ball. As she looked from the carriage window, she barely recognised the same streets that only hours ago, had seemed so familiar. Soldiers, dressed in their uniforms, were huddled together in their respective regiments. Some were leaning against the walls, and, being familiar with the unpredictability of war, they were trying to snatch a little rest. They knew, from experience, it could be some time before they would get the chance to sleep again. The central park, which, only just that afternoon, had been full of ladies and gentlemen parading around without a care in the world, was now crowded with soldiers using the open space as a temporary barracks. Their campfires twinkled in the distance, like stars in the night sky, as they patiently waited for the coming dawn and their order to march.
They were driven back to the house in silence, all of them lost in their thoughts. When they arrived, they bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways. Verity immediately retired to her room. She could only think about her brother's letter, that James had given her that evening. It was still unread and hidden in the recesses of her reticule.
Once she returned to her room, a maid was already waiting for her. She helped Verity undress and get ready for bed. The usually chatty young woman was tired and performed her duties in silence. When Verity was ready, she dismissed the maid and then sat on the end of her bed, with the letter in her hand. As she looked at the front of it, she recognised the familiar untidy scrawl of her brother's hand, spelling out her name.
Verity carefully opened the red wax seal. It had been pressed with her brother's signet ring, and she recognised the familiar imprint of the family crest. She opened it carefully and began to read. Dear Verity, it began, I intended to visit you, but unfortunately, I have been called back to my regiment. I do not deserve it, but please accept my apologies for how I have treated you and Cassie. If I get out of this alive, I will come back and make it right. Yours as ever, your brother, Stanford.
The letter was brief, but heartfelt, and brought tears to Verity's eyes. If she had had a chance to see her brother before he went to war, she would have accepted his apology wholeheartedly. She would have told him not to worry about her or Cassie. She would have also told him to look after himself and come back safely without injury. But, it was now too late. He was on the eve of his first conflict, and he would not know that she had forgiven him.
Verity climbed into bed and tried to sleep, but sleep alluded her. She could still hear the noise of bugles from the street below, even though her bedchamber was at the back of the house. Dawn was just beginning to break, when Verity, curious about what was happening outside, put a wrapper around her shoulders and went to the drawing-room at the front of the house.
The drawing-room was empty when she arrived. She walked across the room in the darkness, over to one of the large windows, and carefully opened the shutters, folding them back into the position they occupied during the day. The faint orange light, from the sun, was beginning to flood the street below. She watched as, on the bugler's command, soldiers formed themselves into columns and began to march up the cobbled streets. Verity continued to look at them as regiment after regiment marched past. And she began to wonder how many of these men would be alive at the end of the day.
Verity was interrupted by Lord Harrington entering the room. 'I am sorry, my dear,' he said as he saw her look startled, 'I thought I heard someone in here.'
Verity replied, 'I could hear the soldiers from my room, at the back of the house, and I just wanted to see for myself what was happening.'
'They have received their marching orders,' Lord Harrington said as he walked over to her, 'I have heard they are marching towards a village called Waterloo.'
They stood next to each other in silence, looking at the scene below, until Verity said, 'I am worried about my brother, Reggie.'
'I met him the other night, and he came across as a sensible young man.' Lord Harrington said, trying to reassure Verity, 'he is with a good, well lead regiment, and they will look after him.'
'I hope so,' Verity replied. There was another long silence, as they continued to look out of the window until Verity, once more, broke the silence, 'I have not been
honest with you, or Lady Harrington for that matter. There is something I need to tell you about my family.'
Lord Harrington smiled and said, 'come sit down, and I will get you a brandy. You can tell me everything in your own time.'
Verity walked over to one of the chairs near the fireplace and sat down. As she sat in silence, she watched Lord Harrington pour out two glasses of brandy and bring them over to where she was seated. Once he had sat opposite her, she reached into the pocket of the wrapper and pulled out her brother's letter. 'Colonel Mitford gave me this letter this evening. It is from my brother,' She then gave it to Lord Harrington, 'please read it, my lord,' she said as he took the letter.
There was silence as he unfolded it and read it.
After Lord Harrington, had given the letter back to Verity, she then said, 'it is easy for me to forgive my brother for what he has done to me. My father influenced him and helped him form a negative opinion of me, but my sister...'
'Your sister is dead, is she not?' Lord Harrington replied.
Verity shook her head, 'I am sorry, but I lied when I told you she had died. She is alive and here in Brussels.'
'Why did you not tell us?' Lord Harrington said gently.
Verity bowed her head, and a few tears fell down her cheek, 'I am sorry,' she said again, 'I lied. But, I could hardly believe the truth about her myself.'
'Have a drink,' Lord Harrington said, motioning to the brandy in her hand, 'and then tell me everything in your own time.'
Verity took the glass in her hands and took a sip, 'do you know Major Ellington?'
'Only from a distance,' he said, 'I have never been friendly with the man.'
'My sister, Cassie, is in a house of ill repute, run by Major Ellington.'
'How did she end up there?' Lord Harrington asked in surprise.
Verity told him everything. Firstly, she told him about how she had first met both Major Ellington and Colonel Mitford at Hadlands after her father's funeral. Then she related to him about how she was told, by her family's solicitors, that her sister had died. She also told him about the doubts she had experienced concerning her sister's disappearance. Lastly, she told him about how she had discovered Cassie's whereabouts, here in Brussels, and her brother's knowledge of her sister's fate. 'I am sorry I mislead you and Lady Harrington,' Verity eventually said, once she had finished. Then she added, 'I will, of course, leave your household immediately.'