“Lady Ada, do stay still for a moment and decide which you’re going to wear tonight to the Wellingboroughs’,” Rose pleaded.
Ada reluctantly stopped pacing and looked at the dresses that lay on the bed. Beside La Vague, she had acquired two others. Her favorite was a long, shimmering, intricately ruched gown from Fortuny called Delphos. It was said to have been inspired by the moonlight on Grecian marble ruins, and it shimmered with a mysterious color that seemed somewhere between blue and silver.
“This is such an elegant shape,” Rose said, as if echoing her thoughts. “You’d need to wear the new straight-line corset, my lady, but I’m sure it would suit you.”
“I’m not sure…” Ada hesitated. It was a beautiful dress, perhaps even more beautiful than La Vague, but she couldn’t concentrate on dresses now. She was feeling oddly nervous about seeing Ravi. It had been such a long time since their last communication.
“Or what about this lovely kimono style?” Rose went on, smoothing the vivid silk of the third dress. “It’s daring, I know, but the colors—”
“They’re truly beautiful,” Ada agreed. Bright, Eastern-inspired colors, lavish embroidery, and exotic shapes were so much of the moment, with the fashion for Russian music and dance.
“Won’t you try it on, my lady?” Rose suggested, holding the dress out to her.
Ada hesitated. “Perhaps later.” She simply had too much on her mind. She went toward the door. “I must have a walk before I decide, to—to clear my mind.”
She opened the door to the startled face of a maid, who had been just about to knock.
“Oh!” She searched for the maid’s name; the Milborough staff were still strangers to her. “What is it, Polly?”
“Oh, I—” The girl blushed, clearly not accustomed to speaking directly to a lady. “There’s a visitor for your ladyship. Mr. Sebastian Templeton is in the drawing room.”
“Sebastian? Here, to see me?” Ada was surprised; she had thought him in Oxford. “I will be down instantly.”
She hurried down the stairs and across the marble floors to the drawing room. Not for the first time, she thought how smart and fashionable Milborough House was—yet it felt somehow unlived in, not like Somerton. Perhaps she had finally come to think of Somerton Court as her home.
Sebastian turned toward her as she opened the drawing room door. Ada thought he looked tense; his face was pale and red spots burned in his cheeks.
“Sebastian!” she exclaimed with a smile. “What a pleasant surprise.”
Sebastian looked at her with relief. “I’m glad to find you alone. I must have a word with you.”
Ada, startled, nodded. “Of course.” She looked inquiringly into Sebastian’s face. “What’s the matter? You look quite pale.”
Sebastian forced a laugh. “Do I? It’s just the cold. Ada, how would you like to see the artistic event of the year?”
She frowned, and Sebastian brought the tickets out of his pocketbook. “Vronsky’s folk ballads recital. I quite forgot that I had tickets, but it seemed a shame to waste them.”
Ada laughed in amused astonishment. “So you came down from Oxford today? Sebastian, you are extraordinary!”
Sebastian laughed, but it sounded forced. “Yes, another one of my freaks. But what do you say? You are so fond of music, I thought that it might amuse you to go.”
Ada’s face fell. “I can’t, Sebastian. I’m very sorry, but we’re all engaged for dinner at the Wellingboroughs.”
“That will be a political thing, won’t it? It sounds like a terrible bore. Can’t you throw them over?”
There was something desperate in Sebastian’s voice. Ada looked at him in surprise. “No, impossible.”
“But if your father and my mother and Charlotte are all going—”
Ada shook her head. She was thinking of Ravi. “I’m terribly sorry, Sebastian. It was very good of you to think of me…” She hesitated, and a thought suddenly came into her head that made her flush with excitement.
“I may have a solution!” she burst out. “Sebastian—would you consider taking someone else instead of me?”
“Who do you have in mind?”
She beckoned him forward and whispered. “How about Rose?”
Sebastian stared at her in astonishment.
“Rose? You don’t mean your maid?”
Ada nodded and blushed. She dropped her voice even lower. “Sebastian, you mustn’t tell anyone, but that isn’t me practicing the piano, it’s her. You have no idea what a talent she has, but she’s never had the chance to cultivate it. If she could go to this performance it would mean so much to her.”
“I—but—” Sebastian was left speechless. He had thought he was up for anything, but it seemed his perfect lady of a stepsister was beyond him in audacity. Still, a maid is a woman, isn’t she? Rose had grace and elegance, and she was very attractive even in a maid’s uniform. And certainly no one would know who she was. The more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him. A smile spread across his face. Stake everything on one throw of the dice, that was his style.
“I’ll ring for her at once.” Ada had been watching his face, and now she swiftly rang the bell.
Rose was startled to find not only Lady Ada but Master Sebastian waiting for her. She bobbed a curtsy, wondering why both looked so embarrassed and excited.
“Rose,” Lady Ada burst out. “You would like to go to a concert, wouldn’t you?”
“A—a—?” Rose tried to imagine what a concert could be like. She had heard of such a thing, of course, but never imagined going to one.
“Sebastian would like me to go to hear Mr. Vronsky tonight, but I can’t, of course, as you well know. But I thought of you. I know you would enjoy it. The music is said to be exceptional—and exactly the kind of thing that would inspire you.”
Rose had understood barely one word in ten of Ada’s speech, but one objection stood out clearly.
“I couldn’t, my lady. I wouldn’t know what to do or how to behave—”
“I would take the greatest care of you,” Mr. Sebastian said at once. “You needn’t worry, Rose. No one would suspect that you are not—not—used to attending concerts.”
“But I don’t have anything to wear to such a thing.” Rose was thinking of her wardrobe. Her one smart dress was sober and respectable, but she knew that it wasn’t the thing to wear to a proper concert, with ladies and gentlemen there.
“Well, that is no problem!” Ada said triumphantly. “We’re about the same height and the same size. You can wear something of mine—in fact, of course! You can wear one of my new dresses!” She clapped her hands. “Perfect!”
Rose opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out. Wear Lady Ada’s new dress? Go to a concert? The one idea filled her with horror, the other with longing. She looked from Lady Ada to Master Sebastian.
“I—I—I’m not sure. I—”
“Oh, Rose, please, please don’t argue! This is the most wonderful chance for you.” Ada ran forward and took her hand. “Come with me and we’ll arrange it all. Sebastian,” she flung over her shoulder, “be ready to keep the coast clear.”
Sebastian went after them and caught Rose’s arm. He pulled her back and said, softly and seriously, “Rose, I must tell you, this is not a favor I am bestowing upon you. I am begging you—quite honestly—to be my companion for this evening. If you only knew it, you are my last hope.”
Rose only had time to stare at him in astonishment before Ada came back to get her.
“I don’t feel right about doing this.” Rose looked nervously in the mirror as Ada helped her dress. “Your beautiful new gown…”
“Nonsense, Rose, it’s a wonderful opportunity.” Ada’s cheeks were pink as she helped Rose undress. She was so pleased at the idea of Rose seeing the man who had praised her composition that she was determined to overrule any objections. “If you can bring yourself to introduce yourself as the composer of that tune he enjoyed so much at Lady Fairfax’s—
”
“I couldn’t, my lady!” Rose blushed bright red.
“I understand—but you’re really too modest.” Ada sighed. She turned back to the dresses. “Now which one would you like to wear?”
Rose shrank back.
“Then I will choose for you.” Rose held up the three dresses one by one, her head cocked to one side as she considered them.
“Oh yes!” she exclaimed as she looked at the Poiret kimono. “Rose, the rich blue makes your eyes simply sing.”
“But it was so expensive—”
“All the more reason to get as much wear as possible out of it, then! Now, here we have an extraordinary object.” She held up what looked like a very short bodice. “The salesgirl called it a brassiere. It is to be worn beneath the kimono instead of a corset, in order to preserve the shape.”
Rose made a face. “It doesn’t look very decent.” She managed to get it on. “I don’t know what my mother would say.”
“She won’t know; no one will.” Ada laughed.
She helped Rose dress, and turned her to the mirror to see herself. Rose’s eyes widened and a smile broke through her worried expression. She looked like an exotic orchid, her dark hair piled delicately upon her head.
Ada twirled Rose around gently. The silk swung and swished while still seeming elegant, and it suited Rose’s slim, young figure perfectly. Her neck seemed long and white, and her large blue eyes were set off to perfection by the shimmering colors. Ada gazed in the glass and laughed as the resemblance between them struck her.
“Why, we could be sisters!” she exclaimed. “No one would ever guess you did not wear dresses like this every day of your life, Rose.”
“You—you don’t think I’m getting above my station?”
“I think your station is music,” said Ada firmly. “I think nothing can be wrong that allows you to follow your dreams. And I think you deserve a beautiful dress for once in your life.”
Rose nodded. “I love it, my lady,” she said happily.
Ada squeezed her hand. “Come along, then—let’s not keep Sebastian waiting.”
Featherstonehaugh House, the foreign secretary’s mansion, stood at the most select end of Park Lane, imposing at the top of its flight of marble steps. Torches burned to mark the way up the staircase, and footmen in the Wellingborough livery of green and gold stood as motionless as statues to mark the way.
Ada stepped down from the carriage, the silvery sheen of her dress swishing around her. She had chosen the Delphos gown in the end. She snuggled a little deeper into her mink. The fabric was thin and it was still winter. For jewelry she had chosen a strand of pearls, so long that it reached her hips and accentuated the graceful, Grecian columnlike silhouette of the dress. She also wore a curious, heavy bracelet of Indian silver that had belonged to her mother. Rose had suggested it, and Ada had seen at once that it would balance the dress perfectly, giving strength to its fragile elegance. She hoped that Ravi would notice that it was Indian, and take it as a compliment.
“You look wonderful, my dear,” said her father, with a proud smile. He took her arm and led her up the stairs, followed by Fiona and Charlotte. “Don’t worry,” he added in her ear, “I have arranged everything with Lady Wellingborough.”
What did that mean? Ada wondered. But she barely had time to give her father a puzzled smile before the footman had sprung to open the doors for them and they were inside the imposing hall of Featherstonehaugh House. Ada blinked in the dazzling electric light. Before them, the butler threw open the doors and announced, “Lord Westlake, Lady Westlake, Lady Ada Averley, Miss Charlotte Templeton.”
As she stepped into the crowded drawing room, Ada barely noticed the admiring glances that the gentlemen turned toward her. She was searching the room for Ravi. He was nowhere to be seen.
“My dear Fiona. Lord Westlake. What a true pleasure to welcome you to our home.” A clear, imperious woman’s voice cut through the chatter of the drawing room, and Ada saw Lady Wellingborough coming toward them, making her way through the Chinese vases and occasional tables upon which small, exquisite antique curiosities gleamed. The bright electric light from the chandeliers made the jewels around her neck and the jet beading on her dress sparkle. In one hand she carried a massive fan of ostrich feathers and ivory. At the same time, her husband, a serious, elderly man, approached Lord Westlake and shook his hand warmly. Lady Wellingborough and Fiona exchanged greetings, and Lady Wellingborough smiled at Ada and Charlotte.
“How lovely to see you both.” Though she spoke warmly, she had an air of great dignity, and Ada felt she would never be able to relax around her. She even outclassed Fiona, who seemed positively girlish beside her.
Lady Wellingborough led them through the crowd. “You know Lady Emily Maddox, do you not?” she said, pausing by a group of women who stood exchanging pleasantries under a huge Burne-Jones tapestry.
Emily smiled as she turned to them. “How delightful to see you!”
Charlotte did not look at all pleased, but Ada did not have time to notice, for Lady Wellingborough was gently guiding her away from the group.
“And Ada, there is someone I am sure you would like to meet again.”
Ada looked around as she followed Lady Wellingborough. There were about twenty people in the drawing room, and the chatter and laughter echoed from the high ceilings, but she could see Ravi nowhere. Her heart fell. Perhaps he had been prevented from coming, and this was all for nothing…
“Ada!” A man’s voice brought her back to herself. She looked up to see Lord Fintan smiling at her. She hadn’t remembered how handsome he was. He bowed over her hand, and she thought what a perfect gentleman he was.
“Now, you two know each other very well,” said Lady Wellingborough. “I will leave you together to talk.”
She glanced to the side as she turned away, and Ada followed her gaze to see her father smiling at her. She blushed. So that was what he had meant. He had arranged with Lady Wellingborough to set her up with Lord Fintan for the evening. She hardly dared glance toward Charlotte and Fiona. This would not make their relationship any easier. But she had given her father to understand that she was interested in Lord Fintan romantically, and she had to keep up the illusion or risk the truth being suspected. She tried to imagine how Charlotte would have handled the situation. There had to be something witty, flirtatious that she could say—
“Old women always have matchmaking on their minds,” said Lord Fintan in a low voice. His eyes twinkled. “But we need not let that stop us having a pleasant conversation, need we?”
Ada looked up in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be so aware of what was going on. The laugh that rose to her lips was natural and unforced, and she said, without even having to think about it, “It would be impossible to have anything other than a pleasant conversation with you.”
The look of pleasure on his face made her blush and lower her eyelids. When she looked up, her heart almost stopped. Ravi was standing close behind Lord Fintan, near the fireplace. And from the look on his face, she knew he had seen and heard her flirt with Lord Fintan.
“I hear you have made friends with my sister,” Lord Fintan was saying. “She is mischievous, but she means well.”
Ada followed his glance over to where Emily was standing, still in conversation with Charlotte and Fiona. Emily smiled and raised her fan in a small gesture of greeting or approval, Ada was not sure which. She could not smile back. It seemed the whole room was expecting her to flirt with Lord Fintan, and she could hardly complain since she had given the impression that that was her intention. She could not back out now. Questions would be asked if she did. And yet Ravi was watching everything.
“Yes—Emily is delightful,” she managed.
“Has she talked to you about Oxford?” Lord Fintan lowered his voice and leaned closer to speak to her. Ada knew it was just so that her father would not overhear, but she also knew it must look intimate. Ravi’s frown deepened, and he abruptly walked awa
y, heading toward the nearest group of men who were talking.
“Yes…but my father doesn’t approve.” Ada did not have to fake the despair in her voice.
“Ah,” Lord Fintan said in understanding. “Well, perhaps he can be persuaded.”
“Perhaps.” Ada felt, at that moment, that she would have given up every dream of Oxford just to be able to explain things to Ravi. She desperately wanted to escape from this conversation. Then the butler entered and murmured something to Lady Wellingborough. Lady Wellingborough nodded, and he announced: “Dinner is served, ladies and gentlemen.” Footmen flung open the big doors at one end of the room to reveal a beautifully dressed mahogany table with a gigantic ice sculpture of an elephant with a howdah on its back. The room was hung with Indian silks, and the chairs were decorated in the same way.
A collective murmur of gratification went up from the room. Lady Wellingborough took Lord Westlake’s arm, and the others in the room paired up, each with their nearest equal in rank, as they prepared to proceed to the dining room.
“May I?” Lord Fintan offered his arm to Ada. She had no choice but to accept.
As they walked through into the dining room, she glanced behind her. She wished she had not. Ravi and Charlotte walked behind her, and both had faces like thunder.
Rose started to her feet with the rest of the audience. She did not hear herself applauding; she hardly heard the thunderous applause of the others. She had forgotten all about Sebastian, until he placed a hand on her shoulder.
She turned to him. “Oh, sir—I mean,” she stumbled, remembering that she was supposed to be pretending not to be a maid. “Mr. Templeton. Wasn’t it the most wonderful thing? I’ve never heard music like that.”
“Yes, it was magnificent.” Sebastian smiled at her. “Perhaps he’ll give us an encore.”
Rose wasn’t sure what an encore was, but she kept on applauding. The music had been so simple and yet so rich, it had brought back to her the folk tales that her grandmother had told her when she was a child. Full of magic and wonder, little people, and enchanted stone rings—she had never dreamed that they could be turned into music like this. She clapped harder and harder as she remembered the way Mr. Vronsky’s long, nimble fingers had flown across the keyboard as if they too were enchanted.
Cinders & Sapphires (At Somerton) Page 15