The Rebellious Debutante

by Meg Alexander

  ‘Mud sticks, my dear. Verreker will know it well enough. There are always those who claim that there is no smoke without fire. The damage to Louise’s reputation will be immense if she appears in court.’ Rushmore’s face grew grim.

  ‘And if you find him, Adam? What then?’ Perdita looked up at the Earl and caught her breath. This was a man she did not know. At that moment he looked capable of murder.

  She gave a little cry of anguish. ‘You will take care, my darling? You must not kill him. He isn’t worth it.’

  ‘I shall not kill him, but before I have finished with him, he may wish that I had done so. Now, let us leave this unpleasant subject for the moment. We are coming to the inn where we shall change our team.’

  ‘So soon?’ she asked in wonder. ‘The time has gone so quickly.’

  Rushmore smiled down at her. ‘We have covered many miles, my love. Come, you must be in need of some refreshment!’ He helped her down as the landlord came bustling out to greet him. Bowing low, he led the Earl indoors.

  Perdita’s face showed her amusement as she was shown into a private parlour.

  ‘Something amuses you, Perdita?’ His lordship was puzzled.

  ‘I was thinking of the contrast between this and my previous journey. It is all so…so comfortable.’

  He caught her to him, then. ‘That will always be my dearest wish, my dear. I promise to guard you from all harm. Now, try to eat. We have a long journey ahead of us.’

  Perdita needed no further encouragement. As she looked at the table laden with viands she realised that she was very hungry. There were pies and pasties of every kind, flanking a massive joint of cold roast beef and a succulent ham.

  Rushmore poured her a glass of wine.

  ‘Is it not a little early?’ she demurred.

  ‘Drink it!’ he said firmly. ‘It will help you sleep. You have had a trying time, my love. Miss Langrishe is sure to be distressed if you arrive in Bath looking exhausted.’ He waited until her glass was empty. Then he refilled it for her.

  ‘I shall be tipsy,’ she warned.

  ‘Then I shall have you in my power,’ he teased, twirling an imaginary moustache. ‘Who knows, the evil Earl may have his way with you…?’

  Perdita blushed, but she was laughing, much to his satisfaction. The look of strain had vanished from her face, and he was glad of it. She had borne enough in these past few days.

  When they resumed their journey, he held her in his arms until she fell asleep. Then he looked down tenderly at the lovely flower-face. She would not suffer further if it lay in his power to prevent it.

  This was not the time to tell her that he expected swift developments. Verreker needed money urgently. To obtain it he must act quickly. His most likely ploy would be to offer to drop the charges against Louise in return for a handsome settlement. It was fortunate that Perdita could not, at this moment, see the expression upon the Earl’s face.

  I’ll see him in hell first! he vowed silently.

  Chapter Thirteen

  They arrived at Laura Place to find the family in a state of acute anxiety. Perdita had been dreading a confrontation with her aunt, but Miss Langrishe was too relieved to see her safely returned to Bath than to do more than to give her a reproachful look.

  She took Perdita in her arms. ‘Wilful child! Could you not have trusted me with your plans? Ellen or one of the grooms might have travelled with you—’

  ‘Forgive me, ma’am. I had no wish to worry you, but it seemed to me that I must go to find the Earl without delay.’

  ‘You were right!’ Miss Langrishe turned to Rushmore. ‘This is a pretty coil, is it not? What are we to do? I feel that I have failed Louise in every way.’

  ‘Ma’am, that is not so, believe me!’ His lordship looked grave. ‘Louise may be living under wretched conditions, but at least she is safe. My fear was that she might be abducted. You took care to see that it did not happen.’

  ‘We never left her alone,’ Amy said quickly. ‘But we did not expect this accusation. If you could but see her in the gaoler’s house, you would not be so content.’ She turned away to hide her tears.

  ‘You think me content? Amy, you do me less than justice! I shall not rest until the charge is dropped.’

  ‘But, Adam, what can we do? Perdita will have told you that she and Amy tried to see the owner of the shop, but he was nowhere to be found.’

  ‘He cannot stay away for ever. The Runners are here in Bath. They will find him, and Verreker too.’

  But in the event it was Perdita who saw Verreker first. As she and Amy crossed the Pulteney Bridge on the following morning, he strolled towards them, doffing his hat politely. When he made as if to pass them, Perdita stepped in front of him.

  ‘You?’ she cried in disbelief. ‘I wonder that you dare to show your face in Bath.’

  ‘And why should I not do so, Miss Wentworth? This is still a free country, I believe.’

  ‘It should not be so for you. You should be behind bars—’

  ‘Like your friend Miss Bryant? A sad business, that! I was taken in by her. It had not occurred to me that such a girl would take to thieving.’

  Amy stepped towards him with an arm upraised, but Perdita held her back. ‘No!” she said firmly. ‘This criminal will get his just deserts when the Earl of Rushmore catches up with him.’

  ‘Ah, yes, the noble Earl! Such a warlike gentleman! Will you pass on a message from me, Miss Wentworth? If the Earl should offer me violence in any way, I’ll have him charged with common assault.’

  ‘You cur!’ Perdita could contain herself no longer. ‘Any man worthy of his salt would have found employment instead of preying on defenceless women.’

  ‘Are you accusing me? That would leave you open to a charge of slander, my dear. You should take care to curb your tongue. After all, you have no shred of proof. I was deeply shocked to hear that your friend had been taken in charge.’

  ‘Liar!’ Amy hissed. ‘You are behind this plot!’

  ‘Miss Amy, I will make allowances for your youth, and your affection for your friend, but really I cannot allow you to make such statements without contradiction. What possible connection could I have with this haberdasher’s store? I am not in the habit of buying lace and ribbons either for myself or my friends. You are quite mistaken, but may I give you ladies a word of advice?’

  He waited, and smiled when he received no answer from either of the girls.

  ‘You may not welcome it,’ he continued. ‘But there is a simple answer to the problem. In these cases I understand that a charge is often dropped if suitable recompense is offered.’

  Perdita gave him a look of cool disdain. ‘I thought it must come to this,’ she said. ‘We are now at the hub of it, are we not? Let me assure you, Mr Verreker, we shall not buy you off. You will not receive one penny for this attempt at blackmail.’

  ‘Then, ma’am, though I can only refute these hysterical and unfounded accusations, I fear that your friend must stand her trial. Such a pity! It will quite destroy her reputation in Polite Society.’ Verreker gave them an ironic smile. ‘That, of course, must be the happiest outcome. If she is found guilty I doubt that she will be hanged, but I wonder how she will enjoy life as a convicted felon in Australia…’ He brushed past them, and strolled unhurriedly across the bridge.

  ‘I could kill him!’ Amy was trembling with rage. ‘I’d like to stab him through the heart, though I doubt if I could find it. Oh, Perdita, what are we to do?’

  ‘Adam will know,’ Perdita told her quietly. ‘Don’t worry! Verreker will not best him!’

  ‘You seem very sure of that, but love has made you blind. You heard what Verreker said. He knows how to use the law. I’d hoped that Rushmore could force him into a confession with the use of a horsewhip, if necessary.’

  ‘Adam won’t do that, though he was tempted. To lay himself open to a charge of assault could serve no useful purpose.’

  ‘What then?’

  ‘He feels that we
must not frighten away our quarry. Up to now Verreker has had the luck of the devil on his side. It cannot last. Sooner or later he will make a mistake and then we shall have him.’

  ‘But what of Louise? We have no time to lose. It is but weeks to the Assizes. She must be out of her mind with fear at the thought of standing in the dock like a common felon.’

  ‘Adam has gone to see the magistrate,’ Perdita comforted. ‘He may have better news for us.’

  Amy shot a sharp look at her sister. ‘Something has happened between you two, I think. I saw it at once when you returned last night. In spite of all, you both have a certain look…’

  Perdita smiled. ‘How quick you are!’

  ‘Lord, it would be obvious to a babe in arms! Have you accepted him?’

  ‘Yes. He knows now that I love him. Oh, Amy, I have no right to feel so happy in the midst of all our troubles.’

  ‘I don’t see why not,’ Amy said stoutly. ‘Thank heavens that we have something to celebrate at this awful time.’

  ‘We cannot celebrate just yet, but you are happy for me?’

  ‘Of course!’ Shaken though she was by the encounter with Matthew Verreker, Amy managed a teasing grin. ‘What a pair you are! You will deal together famously, though I expect that battle will be joined at frequent intervals. Never mind! It will remind his lordship of his fight against Napoleon.’

  ‘It won’t be in the least like that,’ Perdita said with dignity. ‘We shall be a sober married couple.’

  Amy laughed aloud. ‘I’ll believe that when I see it. Oh, Dita, are you sure? You hated him so much at first.’

  ‘I was a fool! It was not love that blinded me, but my own stupid pride. I am such a stiff-necked creature. I refused to see what was under my nose. Adam must be a saint. He loves me in spite of all my faults.’

  Amy laughed again. ‘He does not strike me as a saintly creature, which is probably as well. You could not live without a challenge, sister dear.’

  ‘But you do like him, don’t you? You forgave him long before I did myself.’

  ‘I discovered that there was nothing to forgive. We misjudged him, but I believe that he loved you from the first moment he laid eyes on you.’

  Perdita’s eyes were shining. ‘He told me that himself. Oh, Amy, I’m the luckiest person in the world. I can’t believe that I’m to be his wife.’

  ‘Have you told Aunt Trixie?’

  ‘No, of course not. I wanted you to be the first to know, but we planned to keep our love secret until Louise is freed.’

  ‘Then you must not go about looking starry-eyed,’ Amy scolded. Then she smiled. ‘Your news will come as no surprise to Aunt Trixie. She foretold this very outcome whilst you were in London.’

  Perdita had the grace to blush. ‘I haven’t been very clever,’ she admitted. ‘I did not know that I had advertised my feelings.’

  ‘Only to those who know and love you, Dita.’

  ‘Thank heavens for that. Come, Amy, let us hurry back to Laura Place. Adam must have returned by now. He may have news for us.’

  This was so, but the news was not encouraging. As Adam had expected, his rank availed him nothing in pleading Louise’s cause. The magistrate had made it clear, if not in so many words, that in England no one was above the law.

  ‘Then she must stand trial?’ Miss Langrishe had aged visibly in the last few weeks. Her gout was worse, and now she could not move without pain. ‘It seems so wicked that she must be humiliated in this way to answer a trumped-up charge.’

  ‘It may not come to that,’ Adam said quietly. ‘Verreker is being watched. My men have found him here in Bath.’

  ‘We spoke to him this morning,’ Perdita said softly. ‘He was crossing the Pulteney Bridge.’

  Miss Langrishe gasped. ‘And what had he to say to you? I wonder that he dared to show his face in public.’

  ‘He is quite untroubled, Aunt. He denies all knowledge of any plot, claiming that he does not know the owners of the shop. He did suggest, however, that it might be as well for Louise’s friends to pay what he termed “compensation”.’

  Miss Langrishe grimaced. ‘I have been wondering… Adam, do you think perhaps it might be as well—?’

  ‘Out of the question, ma’am!’ he told her firmly. ‘Pray do not give up hope that we shall come about. There is still time.’

  ‘I hope you may be right, but if anything should go wrong? The child would not survive a voyage to Australia, penned in the hold of some prison ship with those who are treated as cattle.’

  ‘Oh, Adam, you would pay before you let that happen to her, would you not?’ Amy pleaded.

  Adam took Perdita’s hand. ‘Am I to believe that there is only one among you who has faith in me?’ he said.

  Amy and Miss Langrishe were quick to reassure him, but they still had questions.

  ‘I want to believe you, Adam,’ the older woman said. ‘But, if this case should come to trial, how is Louise to prove her innocence?’

  Adam frowned. ‘I’ll admit that it won’t be easy,’ he said quietly. ‘She may not give evidence on her own behalf, nor may her friends give evidence for her.’

  ‘How unfair!’ Perdita was incensed ‘What of her counsel, then?’

  ‘He, too, may not address the jury on her behalf.’

  ‘And this is English justice?’ Perdita was pale with anger.

  ‘He is allowed to examine and cross-examine witnesses.’

  ‘I see.’ Perdita lost her temper then. ‘I wonder that you can be so sanguine, my lord. It seems to me that Louise is to be condemned unheard.’

  ‘Not so, my dear!’ Rushmore took Perdita’s hand in his. ‘There have been developments.’ He reached into the pocket of his coat. ‘This letter was delivered to me this morning.’

  ‘What is it?’ Miss Langrishe eyed the missive as if it were some loathsome reptile. ‘Not more bad news, I hope?’

  ‘Not at all.’ Adam unfolded the paper. ‘The letter is anonymous, of course, but it contains some interesting information. Apparently the three plotters are disappointed that no effort has been made to buy them off. Each would like to propose a compromise, but they are afraid of the other two.’

  ‘But what does this mean?’ Perdita cried. ‘It cannot help Louise.’

  ‘It is the first glimmer of hope,’ Adam assured her. ‘I have never believed in honour among thieves. When these men are taken, each will attempt to save his own skin by revealing details of the plot.’

  ‘But you will need evidence against them,’ Perdita cried in despair. ‘As yet we have nothing.’

  ‘Don’t give up hope, my love!’ Oblivious of his companions, the Earl dropped a kiss upon her brow. ‘This news is encouraging, believe me!’

  Miss Langrishe recalled him to a sense of decorum. ‘My dear Adam, you forget yourself!’ she accused. ‘That is, unless you have offered for Perdita.’

  Adam did not hesitate. ‘You knew of my intentions, ma’am. Perdita’s father gave me permission to address her. Now I am happy to tell you that she has agreed to become my wife.’

  ‘Oh, my dears! What joyful news! Perdita, come and kiss me! I wish you both happy, indeed I do, but bless me, there can be no doubting it. You are well matched and must have years of loving companionship ahead of you.’ Suddenly, Miss Langrishe looked more her old self. The colour returned to her cheeks and her worn expression vanished.

  Perdita was blushing furiously. ‘Aunt Trixie, you don’t seem surprised,’ she whispered.

  For the first time in weeks Miss Langrishe laughed. ‘Your secret must have been obvious to a blind man,’ she teased. ‘The symptoms were all there, my dear, though it took you some time to recognise them for yourself.’

  Perdita clung tightly to his lordship’s hand. ‘I didn’t think it possible to feel so much in love. It is quite wonderful…’ When she looked at Adam her heart was in her eyes. ‘But, Aunt, we have agreed that this is not the time to celebrate our betrothal. We shall wait until Louise is cleared of this
monstrous charge.’

  ‘I hope that may be soon.’ Amy began to pace about the room. ‘How can she clear her name if she is not to be allowed to speak in her own defence?’

  ‘I did not say that,’ Adam assured her. ‘If the worst should happen and she is brought to trial, she will be allowed to assure the court of her innocence. Her lawyers, I can tell you, will be the finest in the land, and there will be many witnesses to her good character.’

  ‘It may not be enough.’ Amy was close to tears. ‘She must be terrified.’

  ‘I intend to reassure her, my dear. Tomorrow I shall go to Ilchester—’

  ‘How can you offer her any hope?’ Amy would not be comforted. ‘What can you say to reassure her?’

  Adam looked at the anxious faces of his companions. ‘I don’t wish to raise unfounded hopes, but today I had a long talk with the magistrate and I told him the full story. He is a reasonable man and he accepts that Verreker, after failing in his first attempt to gain Louise’s fortune, is probably behind this latest attempt. He is ready to proceed against the man with the full rigour of the law, but he must have proof.’

  ‘And in that we are sadly lacking.’ Amy was disconsolate. ‘We need a miracle, and they are hard to come by.’

  ‘Stranger things have happened. Now, Amy, what do you say? Will you go with me to see Louise?’

  Perdita looked startled. ‘Am I not to go to Ilchester too?’

  ‘My love, I need you here. I believe that events will now move fast. My men have orders to report to you if they have any news.’ He bowed to Miss Langrishe. ‘Forgive me, ma’am! I would have asked that you be told, but I thought you not in the best of health.’

  ‘Your news has cheered me, Adam. Perdita and I will see your men together should the need arise. There may be something we can do.’

  ‘No!’ he said firmly. ‘I beg that you will take no action, however tempted you may be. I know my little hot-head here!’ He slipped a loving arm about Perdita’s waist. ‘She is fully capable of entering the fray alone. It would be a mistake. The quarry shall not escape us, but he will flee if he suspects that we have any evidence against him.’