“All agreed it would be simplest as there is to be only the family."
Jennifer approached him impetuously and cried, “Oh, Philip, the most wonderful thing! They are going to do a play written by Miss Forbes's cousin and have just been choosing parts. Lord Kilbane assures me there would be a part for me if I should like it.” She threw the young Irishman a look of sheer ecstasy and a smile which made her dimples peek out. “It would be necessary for them to change the script if they did not have another lady, and that would be such a shame! Do say I may join them, do!"
“Jennifer, you have not considered that they must rehearse daily and you are situated some miles from here.” His voice was gentle, persuasive, but his eyes were wary. Nothing would be worse than for her to have a tantrum here.
“Oh pooh! I could ride over every day on that adorable mare you got for me. She will need the exercise and I should love it.” A flash of annoyance lit her eyes briefly at his unrelenting expression, but she controlled it to say, “If you did not wish to accompany me, of course I would bring a groom. No harm would come of it."
Pontley was torn with indecision. It was galling to be forever denying her those treats she most wished, but he could envision her losing her temper under the strain of repeated rehearsals. Her histrionic abilities he did not doubt after her imitation of Roscius, but her ability to apply herself for a lengthy period of time to any project was more suspect.
Unexpectedly, support for the plan came from Glenna. “Do let her join us, Lord Pontley. We have chosen an amusing play, very short, written by my cousin Mary Stokes, and we have no intention of being in the works for more than two weeks. Both Lord Kilbane and I will be leaving early in the new year."
When Pontley reluctantly assented, Jennifer squeezed his arm in a child's gesture of approbation. “You are the dearest man, and I promise you I shall be on my very best behavior."
“Your aunt will have to agree as well, Jennifer."
“I'm sure she will be delighted to have me out of the house,” she retorted with a saucy smile.
Kilbane approached with their only copy of the play and suggested that they decide which role she would fill. “Perhaps you would like to read it first. We have been doubling up on characters, so I doubt it makes any difference to any of us which character you choose. Lord Pontley might be interested in joining us as well."
“Thank you, no. I fear I have not the least talent for acting.” Pontley was looking for a way to extract Glenna from the group so that he might speak with her. When a visitor was announced for the vicar, the young people decided to appropriate the dining parlor for the time being so that they could familiarize Miss Stafford with the play and help her choose a part. “Might I have a word with you, Miss Forbes, before you join the others?"
“You will want to know how we left Manner Hall,” she suggested and urged the others to go along without her, which they were more than willing to do. “We might walk in the garden; there really is nowhere else.” She made a helpless gesture to indicate the size of the vicarage and went to fetch her pelisse.
There was a threat of snow in the air, but the ground was dry and the air crisp. Glenna led Pontley through the shrubbery to the garden paths beyond, where there was little enough to be seen but the empty beds and forlorn bare trees. “I wish you had let us pay your coachman, sir. He would not take a thing."
“Those were his instructions, Miss Forbes, and you may rest easy that he has been rewarded for his diligence in seeing you and Miss Thomas safely here."
“We thank you for your kindness, but certainly it was enough to lend us the carriage for such a long trip. Now it will have to be returned to the Hall."
“I'm not worried about that, so you needn't trouble yourself."
Glenna could only nod under his direct gaze. “The kitchen is delightful, you know. Betsey cannot sufficiently sing its praises and produced the most delectable dishes to show her appreciation. The painting was completed some weeks ago, and we left with the grounds vastly improved, if not perfect. Mr. Glover insisted on sending a ham to the vicarage. I hope you don't mind."
“I'm pleased that he thought of it. The vicar and his wife have been kind in sparing their daughter to you for so long."
“Phoebe disliked leaving as much as I did,” Glenna said incautiously.
Pontley stopped walking and turned to face her. “I told you to stay on, Miss Forbes. There was no need to leave so soon.
“No, no, I didn't mean we felt forced to leave. Phoebe's parents wanted her home for Christmas and there was no reason for me to stay there. All I meant to say was that we both enjoyed being there and appreciate your offering us the opportunity."
He waved aside her thanks and resumed their walk, his hands dug into his pockets. “What will you do now?"
“After I leave the vicarage? I still have not decided precisely. Originally I thought to take lodgings in Hastings, but that would mean having a companion, you know, and the thought does not appeal to me."
“You would have been better off if you had married Westlake."
“Undoubtedly, but I did not wish to do so,” she replied coldly.
“Thought he'd be too much underfoot, I dare say. But I cannot think he would have interfered with your independence, Miss Forbes. He didn't strike me as a very forceful man."
This time it was Glenna who paused. “I am not interested in your opinion of Mr. Westlake, Pontley. Shall we return to the house?"
“I meant no offense, Miss Forbes. Come, walk a little further with me. Miss Stafford will not be ready to leave yet and I would merely cast a damper on her enjoyment if I joined the group."
Glenna shrugged off her irritation. “I imagine life is a little dull for her at Lockwood, especially with your aunt. You don't mind her joining our theatricals, do you?"
“Not much. As you say, she is in need of a diversion."
“Her enthusiasm is infectious. She's like a—"
“An elf, I believe you called her once, Miss Forbes.”
A flush rose to her cheeks. “I was quoting you, my lord. For myself I should have used ‘pixie.’”
“She is certainly in tearing spirits right now, but she does come down from alt eventually. Her ... nerves are ... delicate, and, aside from the daily ride over here, I most fear the strain that a performance would put on her. You must let me know if the burden appears too great for her."
His consideration for his fiancée inexplicably moved Glenna and the lump in her throat made it impossible for her to do more than nod. She bent down to pick off the withered head of a dead flower but could not decide what to do with it, and stood staring at it for a moment. Pontley took it from her hand and tossed it into the field beyond. “Your cheeks are rosy from the cold,” he said gently. “Shall we head back?"
Afraid that she would appear uncivil if she did not soon offer some conversation, she cast wildly about her mind for a subject. “I brought the mare with me and have stabled her in the village, since they have no stable here. If I take lodgings in Hastings ... Well, that is one of the reasons I would rather not. To part with her would be awful, but if I must, then I will give her back to you."
“I would be happy to keep her for you at any time, but perhaps you should think of visiting in the country. Your cousin who wrote this play, could you not stay with her?"
“Mary Stokes? I don't know. Her family is in Hampshire, near Alton, and I suppose they would not mind my coming, but it would be no permanent solution. I will not plunk myself down on my relations and be one of those guests you cannot dispose of. Before I stayed at Manner Hall I was perfectly content to return to Hastings and pick up my life there. Now it seems such a useless thing to do.” She smiled tentatively at him and tossed up a disparaging hand. “You see, I am become even more opinionated and perverse. I enjoyed having something to do, and I would not even have Papa's papers to work on now in Hastings, as I donated them to the University at his request. I beg your pardon! How stupid of me to belabor you with my co
ncerns. I never meant to."
“I am honored that you are so frank with me and I only wish I had an answer to your problems.” His brow was troubled and he slowed his pace while he considered her dilemma.
“Oh, please, think no more of my crotchets,” she begged, embarrassment overcoming her. “You have been kindness itself, and Phoebe assures me that I was very callous in my treatment of you. I am pleased that all has worked out so well on your behalf."
It seemed impossible to Pontley that Miss Forbes, for all her sense and discernment, should not have immediately divined Miss Stafford's true character. Though he had been duped for several weeks on his first visit to Huntley, he had somehow believed that Miss Forbes would take in at a glance what he had failed to see for so long. Had she not determined that Peter Westlake, although a nice enough young man, would not suit her as a husband? And that decision made even in the light of the problems she now faced? He wished to shake her, and hold her, but he merely said, “Indeed."
“Do you know,” she continued, unaware of his troubled thoughts because she did not dare look at him, “I think I will write to Mary. She will be so pleased that we are to perform her play and might even make the effort to attend our performance. If she were to come here I might return with her to Hampshire for a spell, but I will not begin a tour of my relations. Other than Mary and her family there are no close ones, in any case.” She offered him a forced smile of assurance. “Phoebe suggested I should visit the Stokeses, too."
“And could you take the horse there?"
“Oh, yes, it would be an ideal place to have her. Mary hardly ever rides but her father and brother do, so I should have company.”
They were approaching the house now and could see the young people through the dining parlor window. Phoebe and Kilbane were laughing at something Miss Stafford had done or said, and it looked a very merry gathering. Glenna turned impulsively to Pontley and lay a hand on his arm. “You need not worry about the play, you know. There is nothing improper about it—just tongue in cheek abuse of country house parties."
He laid his hand briefly over hers before she removed it. “I was not in the least worried, Miss Forbes, and I far prefer that it be a comedy to a heavy drama."
They entered through the long windows which Phoebe obligingly opened for them, and Miss Stafford triumphantly announced to Pontley that she was to be Miss Glimmer. “You will like the play, Philip, as it is truly diverting. There are all these women discussing each other's characters when one is absent, but mostly they deplore the niggardly meals and the fact that the men are forever out hunting. There is a great deal of discussion about a Mr. Brunt, who never even appears! And when the ladies aren't raking one another over the coals they are writing letters, all day long, to everyone and anyone who isn't there, vowing they are missing the most delightful event.” She turned shyly to Glenna and asked, “You will not mind that I am to be Miss Glimmer?"
“Most assuredly not!” Glenna protested with a laugh. “Phoebe surely told you I was sadly put out to be cast as a youngster at my advanced years. Mrs. Snip will do very well for me."
Kilbane gave a hoot of laughter, but Phoebe hushed him. “You may have one of my parts, if you like. I am left with Cornelia Chaos and Lady Lump and would be just as pleased to have only one."
“No, if you wish for me to play the harp, I think one role will be more than enough. Phoebe, shall we invite Mary Stokes to attend our performance? I could stay with Mrs. Carter for a night or two."
“Yes, do. Would you go back with her?"
“I have a mind to, for a while.” She glanced at the scattered sheets on the mahogany dining table. “We should make another copy of the play so that Miss Stafford may take it home with her next time she comes."
“Please, you are all to call me Jennifer,” the girl said happily, “and tomorrow, if I may come then, I will copy down my own speeches."
Phoebe said she would be welcome any time, and was roundly seconded by Kilbane. In an effort to prove her sincerity in her promise of good behavior, Jennifer allowed Pontley to draw her away then without the least demur.
Chapter 15
Glenna found the next few days fully occupied with the play and her endeavors to crochet a shawl for Phoebe for Christmas without being surprised in her task. Jennifer Stafford came daily, with a groom, and seldom wavered in their delight in the project. It was in her role as Miss Glimmer that she was expected to flirt with Kilbane in his role as Mr. Hedgehead. There was a good deal of amusement over this interaction at first, but Glenna became aware of a subtle difference in Kilbane's attitude before long. When originally he had appeared enchanted with Jennifer, she had been not the least alarmed, as it seemed to her natural that anyone would be with such a sprite. But Glenna became uncomfortable when she witnessed his deepening attachment and constant attentions to the girl.
“I think we have put the cat among the pigeons,” she announced one night as she brushed her hair for bed. “Kilbane is completely star-struck with the girl and I hate to see him hurt. I think Jennifer is too young to realize that she is encouraging him, and besides, it is flattering to have such admiration as his."
“Nonsense,” Phoebe replied with asperity. “She knows precisely what she is doing and does not care a fig if he is hurt."
Glenna was startled by her vehemence, and turned to confront her friend. “Whatever are you saying, Phoebe? Have you taken the girl in dislike?"
“Oh, it's impossible not to like her, with her gaiety and eagerness. She reminded me of a particularly adorable puppy. But I will not believe that she is so naive as to be unaware of what she is doing. Kilbane is like a brother to me, Glenna, and I could kick him for being so blind. The girl is engaged to Lord Pontley, very soon to be wed, and what does Kilbane do but lose his heart to her. I came in this afternoon to hear her confiding to him in the most pathetic way that her aunt does not treat her with any affection. He looked as though he would gallop off to confront the old lady with his ferocious anger. To me it is not laughable,” she finished mournfully.
“I cannot imagine the old dragon treating anyone with affection, but surely Pontley makes up for that.” Glenna did not meet Phoebe's eyes in the glass.
Phoebe studied her friend critically. “What makes you think he would know how to handle such a spirited child? I have never heard you acclaim him for his tenderness. Jennifer confided to me that he is very strict with her, never allowing her to ride alone, even on the estate. And when he is displeased with her he does not come to dine and spend the evening with her and her aunt. You can be sure she has told her tale to Kilbane, too, for his sympathy. I tell you, Glenna, so long as she has someone to fuss over her and shower her with praise, she has not the least concern for whom she hurts."
For some time Glenna had fought to conceal this knowledge from herself, but now she was forced to acknowledge it. She had watched Jennifer as closely as Phoebe had, and her heart ached for Pontley when she realized that the girl was selfish to a degree. No word of praise for Pontley escaped the girl's lips unless he had done something to especially please her, and then she spoke of it off-handedly, as though it were her due. Although it was not difficult for Glenna to see how Pontley had fallen in love with the child (did she not have Kilbane's example daily before her eyes?), she foresaw an uneasy future for them. Oh, Jennifer probably returned his love as far as she was able, but Glenna doubted the tenuous nature of such an affection would provide Pontley with the happiness he deserved. Jennifer's affections were freely given to anyone who returned them at the time, and the viscount was sure to be continually wounded by such a weathervane. Glenna uttered a dispirited sigh. “She is but a child, after all. Perhaps she will grow out of her selfishness."
“And what of Kilbane in the meantime, Glenna? Are you willing to sit back and watch him make a fool of himself?"
“I really cannot see what I can do, Phoebe, or you either. We are not likely to be able to break the spell she has cast over him, and he would not thank you for
interfering. I am as anxious as you that she not hurt him or Pontley. Remember, Kilbane will return to Cambridge in a few weeks, and Jennifer will soon be married."
“You must speak with Pontley,” Phoebe said stubbornly.
Glenna was horrified at the thought and cast her hands up in despair. “What would you have me say to him, my dear? Let me see. How about, ‘Pontley, you must treat Miss Stafford with greater affection so that she will not seek solace elsewhere'? No, I have it. How about, ‘Pontley, you clumsy ox, you are making as great a botch of your second engagement as you did of your first'?"
A reluctant chuckle escaped Phoebe, but she said sternly, “It is no laughing matter, Glenna."
“I know, but you can hardly expect me to give advice to him, love. Be reasonable. When he sees how impressive Kilbane's attentions are to her, he will be moved to imitate them and she will not need Kilbane's worship."
“And how is he to see them if he never accompanies her?"
“You might have your mother invite him to dine,” Glenna suggested impassively.
“Very well, but I hope you realize we would have to include the dowager.
“Oh, Lord, I had not thought of that. Perhaps it would not be a good idea...
“No, but as it is the only thing you can suggest, we will have to make the best of it."
Glenna experienced an unwonted exasperation with her friend. “For the life of me, Phoebe, I cannot see how you blame this whole mess on me and expect me to find the means of remedying it."
“If you had married Pontley this would never have happened,” her friend retorted.
“Your reasoning is impeccable, Phoebe. I will bid you good night."
* * * *
The invitation to dine was sent with Jennifer the next day, and on the following one came Pontley's acceptance on behalf of himself, his fiancée and the dowager. Jennifer did not appear to be overjoyed by the treat, and Phoebe was skeptical, but it was Kilbane and Glenna who were most wary. Kilbane had no desire to be faced with the betrothed and the aunt of his little jewel, and Glenna could have lived her life through without seeing the dowager and had no regrets. Only the vicar and Mrs. Thomas were oblivious to the undercurrents, and they were so blissfully unaware that Phoebe was almost distressed for them.
The Nomad Harp Page 14