Willem might be unhappy with the truth, but he did not have enough to support a woman of her class and never would. Daphne could not imagine her sister managing on what a servant earned, and she’d never made any effort to give Willem that impression.
Daphne remembered her idle dreams of supporting herself with dance. How young she seemed back then, though very few weeks had passed since that time. She’d never be happy as a governess, but she’d waste away on the pittance offered a dancer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jasper pushed past Aubrey’s butler, calling out for his friend in a tense voice. He needed to share the news with someone, someone he could trust.
“Dammit Aubrey, where are you?”
Aubrey stepped out of the library, a book dangling from his hand. “What is it now? No need to rouse the whole household.” His laughter silenced abruptly as he saw Jasper’s face. “Come into the library. You look in need of a strong drink.”
Following his friend, Jasper sucked in a breath full of old wood and leather, something that never failed to calm him before.
It had little effect in this moment.
Jasper dropped into one of the high-backed leather chairs and stared glumly at his friend. “Is there something so unlikable about me then?” he asked, voicing the question that had stung him since his mother passed on the news.
Aubrey tried for a laugh but once again sobered. “Why would you even ask such a ridiculous question? You’re the toast of the town, have your very own following, and behind every biting word hangs envy. Women swoon to see you, no matter how many years they’ve put behind them.”
“Not all women,” Jasper muttered, bracing his head between his palms.
“So that’s what this noise is all about? One of your light-of-loves has taken off with the jewels you’ve showered on her.” Aubrey rose and put a hand on Jasper’s shoulder. “There’ll be another soon enough. It’s not like you weren’t tiring of the latest anyway. You told me so yourself.”
Jasper shrugged off the touch and also rose, pacing back and forth along the shelves. “If only it was something that simple,” he bit out. “I’d be relieved to have my lover take herself off to the country permanently and save me the whining.”
“There. You see. If a lover whines when put aside, it’s surely not from a lack in yourself.”
Jasper turned back to look at his friend. “And is that all I’m worth? The pleasures of the moment and all too fleeting regard bought with expensive baubles?”
Aubrey sank into the chair Jasper had vacated and stared at him. “You sound as if you regret that fact. You think there aren’t girls across London who would die for the chance to be your bride? It’s you who has earned the reputation for skill at dodging their grasp, not any effort on their part to turn you aside.”
Placing his hands on the back of another chair, Jasper leaned heavily against it. “Tell that to the one who caught me,” he said, unable to keep the bitterness from his tone. For all his parents soured him on the thought of marriage, he’d discovered a small part of him had hoped to prove them the exception.
“Blast it, Jasper. I’m not some kind of mind reader, you know. Out with it. I’m done guessing at what has you in a tangle.”
Jasper stepped around the chair then sank into it, wishing he’d never raised the subject. What man wanted to admit, even to his closest friend, that he’d been duped?
“Whatever it is, it can’t be half as bad as you’re making out,” Aubrey said in a coaxing tone.
That pulled a laugh out of Jasper, the sharp bark of sound surprising even him. “Oh,” he said, “and what could be worse than having the only one ever offered the privilege of becoming my bride declining the gift?”
Aubrey stared at him for a long while, clearly dumbfounded. “She what?” he sputtered. “The bride your mother chose for you said no?”
Finally seeing some humor in his friend’s face if not in the situation, Jasper managed a true smile. “She not only declined, she gave up everything to escape being bound to me for all time.”
“Speak plainly, man. You make no sense with all your riddles.”
Jasper inclined his head and responded, “She took herself off to elope with another man. That’s the care she had for me and my charms.” He wondered if she had been the one to read the book after all. Maybe she had more depth to her than he’d supposed and found his own character too shallow.
“Now wait,” Aubrey said, “Are you truly saying your mother’s handpicked bride has absconded?”
Jasper nodded.
“Why that’s wonderful.” Aubrey leapt to his feet, clapping his hands together. “Don’t you see? Your mother chose so poorly that if word gets out you’ll be a figure of pity. She has to let it go now. You’re free—”
“Free to be mocked behind my back and pitied before my face? What kind of freedom is that? Do you really think all those adoring women, and don’t forget their mothers, will not be staring at me to see what flaw they could have overlooked. I’ll not be considered a leading bachelor, but rather a monster or idiot who just managed to deceive them all this time.” His head dropped back into his hands as he stared fitfully at the carpet.
“Hmm,” Aubrey said. “I can see your point. How far has word spread?”
Jasper frowned. “The earl’s keeping it quiet for now so only my family and now you know the truth. He plans to spread a story about her falling ill and going into isolation. My mother was too sharp to fall for such a tale, and she’s likely not to be the only one. He’s offered up his youngest in her place so the agreement can still stand.”
“There you go.” Aubrey laughed. “You’re free. If no one knows the true story, they’ll think you a saint to take on the younger daughter.”
“Sure,” Jasper grumbled. “And how long before the truth gets out? Someone saw them together; you know they did. It’s just a matter of time.”
Aubrey crossed to Jasper’s side and patted him gently on the shoulder. “Seems to me as though you were almost looking forward to this matrimony. If not, this wouldn’t hit you so hard. It’ll blow over.”
Jasper almost looked up in protest, but found he couldn’t gather the energy. The picture he painted would mean an end to everything he’d been without much to replace it. “Don’t you see? My mother’s acceptance of the younger daughter won’t help at all. She’s barely out of the nursery and hasn’t been presented to the Prince Regent. I can add cradle robbing to my grand list of accomplishments, a desperate attempt by a desperate man who none in their right minds would choose.” A groan passed his lips, and he laced his fingers over his bent head.
“See here, Pendleton, you can’t let it get to you. She didn’t know you from Adam. If anything, this escapade makes her look the fool, not you. Buck up. There’ll be others still vying for the position as your bride if you reject the schoolgirl.”
Jasper laughed, finally managing to pull his head up. “You forget my mother’s already decided how to seal my future. I have no choice in the matter. I’ll spend my life tied to the younger sister of a woman who refused me. Even if the mocking would have died down in time, how can it with the constant reminder of my future wife crawling at my side, her curls tucked into a country bonnet.”
Aubrey’s expression surprised another laugh out of Jasper.
“Is she really that young?” his friend asked, horrified.
Jasper waved the thought away with a sharp gesture. “Had she finished her schooling, she’d have been presented this year. Age has little to do with it. What will such a girl know about anything?”
Recovering from his shock, Aubrey crossed to the bar and poured two fingers of fine scotch into each of their glasses. “Some things require a stiff drink,” he said, pressing one glass into Jasper’s hand and keeping hold of the other. He took a long sip then lowered his drink with a thoughtful look on his face. “That may be the best thing of all,” he said. “Just imagine what you could teach her. You could grow your very own perfect w
ife.”
Tossing the full measure into his mouth, Jasper grimaced, not at the fine liquor but at Aubrey’s suggestion. “I’m not some nursemaid to teach a child the ways of the world,” he ground out. “I’d prefer someone with a bit of conversation and who knows her way around the bedroom rather than a parrot who copies everything I say. It’ll be hard enough to lie with her, knowing she won’t have a blessed idea what to do.”
“Jasper, Jasper, Jasper,” Aubrey said, shaking his head. “You’re determined to see the harm in this without ever recognizing the good. No goodly wife has experience in the bed, and that means no annoying habits to tolerate.” He took the glass from Jasper and placed it next to his own on the bar. “To put your suckling bride from your mind, you need a fine distraction. I’ve heard incredible things about a dancer down at Monsieur Henre’s. Nothing like the others I made you see. Solid has never been spoken with her in the same sentence. More like brilliant and stunning. I’ve been meaning to check her out myself. Come with me. If she’s half the artist everyone seems to think she is, it’ll be sure to take your mind off this mess.”
Shaking his head, Jasper headed to the bar to reclaim his glass. “I don’t think some fancy performance is what I need. More like a few more slugs of that scotch then I’ll head a little further west to find myself something pleasurable.”
“I thought you wished to cool things with your latest. Melissa, was it not?”
Jasper twisted his lips into a sardonic smile. “With the current state of things, perhaps I should be grateful to her, but no, I’ve delivered her parting gift and hope only our paths won’t cross until she finds a new lover. I was thinking along the lines of more strong drink and a round or two of cards.”
Aubrey put a restraining hand on his arm. “I promise you, from what I’ve heard, this dancer is stimulating enough for all your senses. And I can’t let you go down there alone. Not in your current state. You’d end up in a brawl or worse. You won’t regret this, I swear. And if you do, I’ll take you wherever you want to go afterward. Only say the word.”
Shrugging off his friend’s grasp, Jasper sighed. “If it will get you off my back, I’ll give your dancer a look. But if she isn’t all you’ve said, I’m gone and you’ll be coming with me.”
“IT’S A WONDER YOU HAVE any skills at all,” Cynthia said as Daphne slipped into the costume area. “You can’t even dress yourself and your hair is a mess.”
Daphne didn’t respond, just turned her face away as the other dancer passed, forcing herself not to tug on her skirt in an attempt to straighten it. With so much time lost getting Willem to talk, she’d barely managed to change before he handed her into a hire coach, his face blank of any emotion, a perfect servant.
She cursed under her breath as the brush tangled in the strap holding her mask on, wasting precious time.
The ribbon tightened against her face sharply as a hand pulled from behind.
Cynthia leaned over her shoulder and whispered, “I’ll bet you wear this mask so the boys down at the pub don’t recognize you. You couldn’t handle the comments they might make about how you flaunt yourself. Or is it the master’s rules you find too constricting.” The dancer stepped away, framing Daphne with her hands like a grand painter. “Maybe that’s why you wear the mask, hmm? Don’t want the master to find out how you spend your time away from here. Always rushing in late with your hair and dress awry.” She leaned close again, sniffing loudly. “Not a hint of sex about you, but a good wet rag can take care of that.”
“You should know,” Daphne muttered, unable to keep herself from responding, especially since, on the few times she’d managed to come early, she’d often found Cynthia in the alley wrapped around a man, rarely the same one.
“What did you say?” Cynthia’s enraged tone echoed in the small room, calling attention to their altercation. The other dancers turned to stare as Daphne tried to focus on the brush, now hopelessly entangled with her hair.
“Don’t you turn away. Don’t think you can say such things when we all know you found your place by padding the master’s bed. No other reason he’d choose someone off the street to take the lead.”
Daphne leapt up, her chair falling back to strike the floor with a loud clatter. “I have not,” she cried. “I would never.”
The other dancers moved closer, as if drawn in against their will.
“Then why the mask?” Cynthia asked, her tone scornful. “Why do you hide your face not just from the audience, but from all of us? You think we’re blind? All those special meetings, the allowances he makes for you. Even your quarrels sound more like equals than a dancer desperate to keep her position. If not your body, what did you sell to him…or do you hold something over the poor man.”
Daphne’s knees shook but she refused to back down as she scrambled for something she could say. The truth would cost her everything and they probably wouldn’t even believe it.
“What is going on here?” Monsieur Henre’s voice had never been more welcome as he burst into the room.
The dancers who had yet to finish changing into their costumes squealed and dove for more cover, but he didn’t pay them any attention as he stalked across the room.
“You may not have heard over your yells, but the chime sounded,” he said, his voice low and threatening. “You are due on the stage.”
Daphne flinched under his pointed glare and ripped the brush out, taking with it a good bit of hair. She stepped behind one of the dividers and changed faster than she ever had before. She needed this dance more than anything, and no petty jealousy was going to take it from her.
“Cynthia. I’ll see you in my office. Now.”
The dancer let out a squeak then Daphne heard Monsieur Henre’s heavy footsteps marching the other woman toward the door. It closed firmly, but without a slam.
A smile started to pull at her face, but Daphne shook away the emotion. She didn’t have time for it. She needed to get ready and get out on the stage.
WHEN THE CARRIAGE PULLED UP outside a quiet building, Jasper turned to look at Aubrey, a question in his eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Aubrey said. “We’ve missed the opening, but we’ll still be able to get in.”
Without waiting for a reply, Aubrey pushed open the door on his own and swung down, moving forward to talk to his coachman.
Sighing, Jasper followed him. If Melissa hadn’t become too clingy to continue with, he’d have gone to her for soothing instead of trailing after Aubrey. The last thing he needed was something educational.
“Come round for us in two hours,” Aubrey told the coachman.
Jasper took quick steps to his side and grabbed Aubrey’s arm. “Two hours? Are you mad? I doubt I’ll last two minutes in there.”
Aubrey laughed and shook off his hold. “Such faith in me. It’s a wonder you ever let me choose where we’ll go on any night. But don’t worry. This place caters to all walks of life, and hackneys are plenty. If you really need to escape, we’ll find a way. My driver knows well enough to wait for a short while then head back home if I don’t appear.”
Still grumbling, Jasper let his friend direct him to the heavy wood doors, closed against the night. He could feel an ache starting at his temples, and another stiff drink, or maybe several, would enact a better cure than a cultural event.
“I’m sorry, sir. You can’t go in.”
Jasper heard the tail end of the argument as he stepped inside.
Aubrey pulled out some money and waved it at the man. “How much for a box?” he demanded, his annoyance obvious.
“No one is allowed in once the performance starts. It’s policy.” The man matched arrogance with arrogance despite their difference in station. “Besides, there is not an open box in the house. If you’d come earlier, then maybe you could have found space on the floor, but I’m afraid it just isn’t possible. You’ll have to come back on another night.”
“I don’t want to come back another night.” Aubrey visibly reined in his temper
and grabbed Jasper’s arm, pulling him up to the small desk. “My friend here has had a bit of a shock, and I want to cheer him up. Can’t you do something for us?”
Jasper could see the trace of a smirk, quickly suppressed as the man adopted a sympathetic look instead. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. If I had a choice…” He shrugged. “But it is not my decision. You’ll have to leave now. I need to see to our paying customers. Maybe you can find some cheer a little further to the west.”
Aubrey gaped, staring after the man who had abandoned his desk and slipped through a door that closed soundly behind him.
“Give it up, Aubrey. He obviously didn’t fall for your charm. This just proves we weren’t meant to play voyeurs this night. Let’s go somewhere where we can participate, preferably with a nice drink in hand.” Jasper tugged on Aubrey’s sleeve, pulling him toward the exit.
His friend resisted for a moment, still staring at the door that had swallowed his quarry. “We could sneak in,” he muttered.
Jasper laughed aloud. “This isn’t a brothel when we were still in short pants, my friend. If you want scandal, let the new gossip be all about how you were dragged kicking and screaming out of a cultural event. It’ll make my own woeful tale pale in comparison.”
With one last glance at the inner door, Aubrey shrugged. “I suppose you’re right. I’d hoped…well, it doesn’t really matter what I’d hoped now. I guess the waterfront it is. Do you think we can find a pub serving something more than the scrapings left when good ale has been sent to the better establishments?”
Clapping his friend on the shoulder and steering him toward the door, Jasper grinned. “We’ll find you one if it means testing every establishment from here to the other end of the Thames.”
“Aubrey? Aubrey St. Vincent?”
They both turned toward the sound as doors opened all along the inner wall, spilling out members of the ton in one area and those from the floor in another.
Beneath the Mask Page 13