‘Oh, I do hope everything will be well!’ Eleanor fretted, as they took their places in the drawing-room and waited for the tea to be served. ‘I could not bear it if they came to blows and made matters all the worse!’
Beth squeezed her arm. ‘All will be well! I am confident that Marcus will behave as a gentleman ought and will apologise to Kit! And if he does not I shall never forgive him!’
‘I confess I shall be glad that matters may revert to normal,’ Charlotte said, casting a glance at the Dowager to make sure that she was out of earshot. ‘These last few days have been very difficult! Not so much the…’ she blushed, ‘the denial, if you understand me, but the tensions it created! Why, I had to stab Justin quite hard with my embroidery needle yesterday to encourage him to desist in his attentions!’
Beth laughed. ‘I understand you! I shall not be sorry either! But who would have thought that Lady Salome would spring such a surprise!’ Her gaze fell on Eleanor.
‘You are very quiet tonight, Nell, and you look very poorly. Very poorly indeed! Charlotte, does not poor Eleanor look positively sickly—’
‘Yes, she does, Beth dear,’ Charlotte said comfortably, ‘but I do not think it will help Eleanor feel any better for you to keep repeating it! Come here, Nell, and sit by me.’ Charlotte patted the sofa.
Eleanor sat, feeling rather uncomfortable. If Charlotte only knew what she had done to Kit she doubted she would be so friendly. Eleanor dreaded having to explain herself to Beth and Charlotte—both of them knew what had happened during Kit’s absence and both of them had been the most stalwart of friends, but she suspected that she would be pushing their understanding by asking them to condone her demand for an annulment. Once or twice during the evening she had felt their gaze upon her and almost thought that they knew, but perhaps that was only her conscience making her feel guilty. Perhaps it was cowardly of her, but for now she was determined to keep quiet.
‘As well as the comfort of reverting to normal in our behaviour to our husbands, it will be a relief to have the whole family united,’ Beth said, making Eleanor feel much worse. ‘I confess there were times when I thought it impossible to lay our quarrels to rest, but now I have real hope…’
Eleanor shifted and fidgeted on the sofa. The thought of ruining Beth’s hopes of a united family made her feel quite ill. It seemed that as soon as they had achieved harmony she would spoil it all again. She had planned to approach Marcus for help tomorrow.
‘Do you think Lady Salome has finished with us all yet?’ she whispered, casting a glance across the room to where Lady Salome and the Dowager were chatting over the teacups. ‘I have the most lowering notion that she has something else up her sleeve!’
Beth fixed her with a very direct look. ‘You sound as though you are afraid of something, Nell!’ she said acutely. ‘And perhaps you should be, for I do not believe that Lady Salome has finished at all! Indeed I think that she has only just begun!’
By the time that the gentlemen rejoined them, the guests had started to arrive and Beth and Marcus went off to greet them whilst the others went through to the ballroom. Eleanor, who had expected to see at least a trace of constraint in Justin and Kit’s behaviour, was a little taken aback to find them conversing with ease and a male camaraderie that left her feeling ever-so-slightly excluded. It was, as Beth would have said, quite typical.
Kit and Charlotte went off to dance, Justin stood up with Beth and Marcus led Lady Salome out, leaving Eleanor with a lingering sense of exclusion as she took a rout chair and sat the dance out at her mother’s side. So now the entire family were on great good terms—except for herself and Kit, of course. He could have danced with her if he had wanted, but he had not chosen to do so. Eleanor concentrated fiercely on the detail of her fan and told herself that she should not be surprised. She was the one who had set a gulf between herself and Kit and could not now complain when he showed a coldness towards her. All the same, she felt lonely.
The dance seemed long and gave Eleanor ample chance to reflect on what would happen if she persisted in her demand for an annulment. The scandal would be huge, her family might well cast her off, and she would be alone…She was not sure that she had the strength to pursue such a course. Yet what was the alternative? Her eyes ached with unshed tears as she watched Kit dancing with his sister. They made a striking couple, so tall and fair, so at ease in each other’s company, so happy…She could have been happy with Kit, if matters had fallen out differently.
‘Would you like to dance, Nell?’
Marcus had returned Lady Salome to the chair at Lady Trevithick’s side and was now standing before her, smiling slightly. Eleanor could see that a certain element of tension had already left him. He looked younger—and happier. Her heart felt like lead in comparison. Was she the only one left feeling miserable? But there was Kit, of course, whose misery was also entirely her fault.
She took Marcus’s hand. ‘Thank you, Marcus. I should like to dance.’
They joined a set that was forming.
‘You are looking better, Marcus,’ Eleanor said slyly. ‘It must be a great relief to you that Beth will be…er…speaking to you again!’
Marcus’s lips twitched. ‘You knew about that, did you, Nell? I confess that that is one of the attractive aspects of the situation.’ His smile faded. ‘However, I believe I owe you an apology, before all else.’
Eleanor raised her eyebrows. ‘Indeed, Marcus? Why is that?’
‘Minx,’ her brother said. ‘You are well aware! I know that I have made matters very difficult for you and Mostyn these two weeks past, when they must have been difficult enough already, in all conscience! I am sorry.’
Eleanor’s gaze flickered. ‘It is Kit who is owed the real apology—’
‘He has had one.’ Marcus grimaced. ‘I have seldom made a man so grovelling an apology in my life and I hate to say that he was entirely gracious about it! I think that I may appreciate him as a brother-in-law after all!’
Eleanor looked away.
‘What about you, Nell?’ Marcus said suddenly. His dark eyes were concerned. ‘Are you happy?’
‘I…Marcus…’ Suddenly Eleanor’s throat was dry. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask Marcus for an interview to discuss the annulment, but she was not at all sure that he would be sympathetic. Probably he would not have been sympathetic before his rapprochement with Kit, and now it was even more unlikely. She swallowed hard. Marcus was looking at her quizzically.
‘What is it, Nell?’
‘Stop thief!’
Everyone froze and swung around as Lady Salome’s deep, throbbing accents rent the air. The string quartet wavered on for a few bars then died away and a hush fell over the ballroom. Marcus, Eleanor and the rest of the family converged on Lady Salome, who was standing like a vision of justice, pointing the finger at Lord Kemble.
‘That man,’ she said grandly, ‘has just stolen my diamond brooch!’
‘I have to admit that it was very clever of her,’ Marcus said later, ‘for all that I wish she would not do such things!’
The six of them were sitting in the drawing-room, taking a glass of wine to restore them after the trials of the evening. Both Lady Salome and the Dowager Viscountess had retired, leaving only the younger members of the party. Charlotte was sitting within the circle of Justin’s arm and looking very happy, Beth looked relieved but tired. Only Eleanor and Kit were a scrupulous distance apart, in separate armchairs.
‘I do not really understand why Lord Kemble did not simply blame Mama for giving him the brooch,’ Eleanor said, a little hesitantly. ‘Although I suppose it might have been something to do with the threatening manner in which you were standing over him, Marcus!’
‘Can’t stand the man!’ Marcus said bluntly. ‘If I had thought I could get away with calling him out—’
‘And a very good thing you did not!’ Beth said briskly. ‘Matters have worked out quite for the best! Everyone is cold-shouldering Kemble, for all that he
tried to pass it off as a mistake!’
There was a little silence. ‘Do you think that Lady Salome deliberately left the brooch lying for Mama to find?’ Eleanor asked.
It was Charlotte who answered. ‘I am sure of it! I was sitting beside them but a moment before and Lady Salome was wearing it then! She must have slipped it on to the table, Lady Trevithick picked it up, and when Kemble came across to provide his usual supply of the laudanum…’ She shrugged. ‘There it was to hand as convenient payment!’
‘Too convenient!’ Justin said, with a grin. ‘A neat strategy! Lady Salome is watching, realises that there are plenty of people who can testify to the fact that the brooch is in fact hers, and makes her accusation—’
‘And Kemble cannot deny it is in his possession!’ Marcus finished, a gleam in his eye. ‘To pretend as he did that he picked it up off the floor in ignorance simply makes him look dishonest, if not an actual thief.’ He sighed. ‘I suppose it is better to let it go at that…’
‘Of course it is!’ Beth said sharply. ‘We do not wish to draw any further attention to your mother’s part in this, Marcus!’
Eleanor fidgeted. ‘I do feel responsible for not telling anyone of Mama’s thefts before now! I am so sorry, Beth…’ she turned to her sister-in-law ‘…the Trevithick ruby bracelet is gone and it is my fault! It is simply that I could not believe it at first…’
Beth shook her head. ‘I think that we all misjudged Lady Trevithick’s desperation, Nell! Oh, we all laughed at her with her little bottle of laudanum and the way she was forever taking a draught, but we had no notion of how harmful it was becoming! It was only when Lady Salome explained to me just how damaging are the effects that I realised…’ She stopped. ‘It is all most distressing. What can we do now, Marcus?’
‘I think that Mama will have to go away for a space,’ Marcus said, grim-faced. ‘Perhaps when we return to Trevithick and she has a new grandchild to occupy her and is away from town…’
There was another silence. No one seemed very hopeful. Thinking back, Eleanor realised that she could not remember a time when her mother had not been dependent on her little bottle of laudanum. To deprive her of it now might cause untold harm.
She got to her feet, yawning. ‘I am sorry, but I must go home! It is late and I am monstrous tired!’
It was the signal for the group to break up. They went out into the hall, Marcus and Justin discussing with Kit the possibility of meeting up the following day for a visit to Tatersalls. Beth raised her eyes to heaven.
‘You would think that they had never been at odds!’ she whispered to Eleanor. ‘But it is fortuitous, for I must speak to you, Nell! It is most urgent! May I call tomorrow—Oh!’
Eleanor made a grab for her arm as Beth slipped, but it was too late. Her sister-in-law lost her footing and tumbled down on to the marble floor, letting out a little shriek as she fell. Eleanor, ashen-faced, fell to her knees beside her. The floor was slippery with candle grease and Beth was lying awkwardly, twisted on one side.
‘Beth!’ Eleanor grabbed her hand. ‘Beth, are you hurt?’
There was a dreadful moment of quiet, and then Beth moved a little gingerly and started to sit up. She gave a groan. The others, who had frozen with shock for a brief moment, now hurried up. Marcus cradled his wife to him with such tenderness that Eleanor caught her breath.
‘Beth—’
‘I am all right, Marcus!’ Beth spoke shakily. ‘There is no harm done!’
Marcus tightened his grip. ‘Are you sure you are not injured?’
‘I feel perfectly well,’ Beth said more firmly. ‘Or at least I will do when you stop squashing me! I have not twisted my ankle nor do I feel remotely unwell. It was only a spot of grease and a minor tumble.’
‘But the baby—’ Marcus began.
‘She will be quite all right.’ Beth tried to get to her feet. ‘Oof! I feel a little short of breath, that is all!’
Charlotte bustled up. She had nursed her first husband and his comrades on campaign in the Peninsula and was a staunch support in any emergency.
‘Beth, keep still and do not try to rise. Marcus, can you carry her upstairs? I am sure she will be quite well, but it might be safer to send for the doctor. Justin, if you would send one of the servants…’
Within ten minutes, all was organised. A footman had run for the doctor, who appeared with great promptitude. Beth was carried up to her chamber, protesting volubly, and Kit and Eleanor were left to kick their heels in front of the fire in the drawing-room and wait for news.
Eleanor sank down on the sofa and knitted her fingers together to stop them shaking. She felt cold and vaguely sick. If Beth lost her child…But of course she would not, she could not…Beth was strong and the fall had only been a little one…
‘I could not bear for it to happen to someone else!’ she said. She missed the searching look that Kit directed at her down-bent head, the sudden stillness that held him for a moment before he went over and threw another log on the fire. He came to sit by her.
‘Why do you suppose she thinks it will be a daughter?’ he asked.
Eleanor blinked at him. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘A daughter.’ Kit smiled. ‘Beth referred to the baby as “she” just now!’
‘Oh!’ Eleanor smiled. Suddenly she felt a little warmer. ‘I think it is because she is determined to have a daughter first, and then a son! She said that she wanted her daughter to be first in order to give her a natural superiority when the son inherits the title—and of course, because girls are better behaved than boys!’
They smiled at each other. ‘I am sure it will be a girl then,’ Kit said. ‘It would not dare be otherwise!’
‘I am sure they will love it, whatever sex it may be!’ Eleanor said. Her voice wavered a little. Kit took her hands. ‘Nell. It will be all right.’
Kit’s grasp was infinitely gentle and comforting. He slid an arm around her and drew her close to him, stroking her until her shivering stopped. Eleanor leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. She had not thought but to accept the comfort that he offered. Kit’s arms were a haven against the world and her own fears, and she felt her body relax a little.
The door opened. They both jumped to their feet as Charlotte came in.
‘Well?’ Eleanor demanded.
Charlotte smiled. She looked relieved. ‘Beth is very well. The doctor has said that there is no cause for alarm but that she should be careful for a few days. Naturally she is already making the greatest fuss about being confined to her bed! I hope that you will both call tomorrow to try to distract her! She will be the most tiresome patient otherwise!’
The journey back to Montague Street was a short one and was accomplished mainly in silence, but when they reached the house and Eleanor wished Kit a good night and made for the stairs, he put a hand out and touched her arm lightly.
‘Eleanor, a moment.’
Eleanor looked at him, surprised. ‘Kit?’
‘May we speak?’ There was something closed and watchful in Kit’s face and Eleanor hesitated. Her emotions were still close to the surface, dangerously so.
‘I am very tired, Kit,’ she said, knowing she sounded reluctant. ‘In fact, I feel exhausted! It has been such a difficult evening—’
‘A glass of wine would restore you and help you to sleep,’ Kit suggested. ‘Take one with me.’
He held the door of the drawing-room open and after a moment Eleanor joined him. The thought of a drink was pleasant and she told herself that she need not stay long, nor be drawn into a difficult conversation. This was no time to pursue the subject of an annulment, for she was sure that she would simply burst into tears and flee at the first mention of the word. She hoped that Kit would not take advantage of her evident distress to push his case.
Kit took her cloak from her, installed her in an armchair and lit some of the candles from the one branch that was already burning in the room. The light was soft and pleasing, as was the warmth
of the fire. Eleanor felt herself start to relax. It was only now that she realised how tense she had been during that dreadful episode after Beth’s fall. She watched Kit covertly as he moved to pour them two glasses of wine. He did not call the servants and somehow this added to the sense of warm familiarity in the room.
Eleanor took her glass of wine from him, her fingers brushing his. She turned her thoughts aside from the intimacy of that touch, trying to keep at bay the loneliness that always dogged her now.
‘Eleanor,’ Kit had taken the chair across from her and was leaning forward, watching her intently. The ruby wine swirled in his glass, rich red in the firelight. ‘There was something that I wished to ask you…’
Eleanor opened her eyes wide. ‘Oh? Then ask it, my lord.’
Surprisingly, Kit still hesitated. He looked away, then directly at her. Eleanor felt the power of his glance and felt also the first pang of apprehension as his tension communicated itself to her. She narrowed her eyes, puzzled.
‘When we were in the drawing-room after Beth had had her fall,’ Kit said slowly, ‘you said that you could not bear for it to happen to someone else.’ He shifted slightly. ‘What did you mean by that, Eleanor?’
Eleanor sat stock still. She felt nothing—no shock, no despair, no surprise. She wondered vaguely how she could have given herself away so easily when she had tried so hard and for so long not to do so. And she heard herself say lightly:
‘Did I say that, my lord? I do not recall.’
‘You did say that.’ Kit was remorseless and she knew he would not let it go now. Fear nibbled at her stomach. He was watching her still. She shifted uncomfortably.
‘I am not entirely sure what I meant…’
‘I do not believe you.’ Kit put his glass down. ‘You meant that you could not bear for someone else to lose their baby, did you not, Eleanor?’
Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment. The firelight danced behind her closed lids.
‘Eleanor, please answer me.’ Kit’s face was in shadow, his voice steady, and she sensed his resolve. ‘Please.’
The Notorious Marriage Page 20