‘I hope you will not show yourself so defiant to Lady Sayleford!’ her mother cried.
The outburst offered her a chance to inform the ladies that Lady Sayleford was already acquainted with her—and her school. She wasn’t sure why the Dowager Countess had not told her aunt about their prior acquaintance, but since she had not, Ellie didn’t intend to, either. She’d wait and see how the situation developed.
She took a deep breath, the knots in her stomach loosening. Aunt Marion had treated her coldly at first, but was thawing a bit. And once they reached Lady Sayleford’s, she’d have Maggie and Christopher’s support to ease things further.
* * *
A few minutes later, the carriage arrived in Grosvenor Square and they were shown into an elegant blue salon. Though her mother and aunt halted on the threshold in surprise, not expecting other callers to be present, Ellie was delighted to see Christopher standing beside the sofa on which Lady Maggie sat with her aunt.
He gave her an encouraging smile as she entered, the glint in his eyes turning sardonic as Lady Wanstead recognised him and recoiled. Ellie, however, felt her spirits lift. Just knowing he was present calmed her. And ridiculous as the notion was, she couldn’t shake this gut-level conviction that with him near, no injury could befall her.
Her aunt, however, paid no attention to the other occupants, coming straight to the Dowager Countess and leading the ladies in a curtsy. ‘Lady Sayleford, thank you for finding time in your busy schedule to see us on such short notice. But we don’t want to intrude. We can wait until your other visitors leave.’
‘No intrusion at all, Lady Enfield,’ Maggie’s aunt said. ‘Since the matter at hand is deciding how best to present Miss Wanstead, I asked them to come.’
Looking puzzled, Ellie’s aunt opened her lips as if to question Lady Sayleford, then closed them. ‘Very well, I bow to your expertise. May I present my niece, Lady Wanstead, and my great-niece, Miss... Parmenter.’
Lady Sayleford and Maggie both rose, returning the curtsies. ‘Lady Wanstead,’ the Countess said, nodding. ‘Miss Parmenter. And may I present my great-niece, Lady Lyndlington, and her husband’s good friend and fellow Parliamentarian, Mr Lattimar.’
After another set of bows and curtsies, Lady Sayleford turned to Ellie. ‘How are you, my dear? Things are going well at the school, I trust?’
‘They are, Countess. We have several students now, and a programme of instruction in place. Lady Lyndlington and her father have both made substantial contributions towards its support, for which I cannot thank them enough.’
‘Excellent! As I told you when we dined, I find it both brave and highly commendable of you to take on running such an enterprise. Shall we be seated? Harris,’ she said, turning to the butler, ‘would you bring tea, please.’
Ellie couldn’t help feeling a bitter gratification at the shocked expressions on the faces of her mother and aunt. So the fallen woman knows some respectable people.
As soon as the butler had withdrawn, Aunt Marion said, her tone not entirely masking her irritation, ‘Why did you not tell me you were already acquainted with my great-niece, Lilliana?’
‘You never asked,’ Lady Sayleford said. ‘Only told me of a problem you would need my assistance to circumvent, so that the after-effects wouldn’t ruin the prospects of an innocent girl. An aim of which I approve, which is why I asked you to call. Shall we proceed?’
‘Of course,’ Aunt Marion said faintly. ‘What do you recommend?’
‘As you can see, Miss Parmenter is already supported in her current endeavour by several well-regarded members of Society. Naturally, she can’t accompany you to Society events, but it’s not as if she’d been a dancer on the stage. When word of the relationship gets out—and sooner or later, it’s bound to—simply acknowledge it. You may add that I am aware of the circumstances and have given Miss Wanstead my full approval. Send the curious to me, should they have further questions.’
‘Thank you, Lilliana. That is most gracious.’
Lady Sayleford shrugged. ‘If you wish to receive Miss Parmenter at your home privately, I envisage no difficulties. Though I doubt you will avail yourself of that opportunity. After ten years, you must hardly know each other. If I’ve been correctly informed, there has been no communication with her whatsoever in all that time.’ The Countess looked over at Lady Wanstead. ‘Not even from her mother.’
‘Th-that’s true,’ Lady Wanstead stuttered in alarm, ‘But I hardly see how—’
‘You were in a difficult position, Lady Wanstead,’ the Dowager agreed. ‘In the country, without any means, with another daughter to protect. But really, Marion,’ she said, turning her reproving gaze on Lady Enfield, ‘how could you have let the silence extend so long? And don’t try to tell me you had no idea what was going on. Sayleford was still alive when it happened, and rumours of Wanstead’s difficulties and what he’d done to recover from them permeated the clubs like a foul odour.’
‘Of course I knew!’ Aunt Marion cried. ‘But what could I have done? She was already ruined by the time I heard of it!’
‘Send her a note to see if she was well? Or if you feared having a written connection to her, place a maid in the household to watch over her, so you would know if she were in need. Something. Anything other than turn an innocent over to Summerville and cut her off from everything and everyone she’d ever known. Merciful Heavens, Marion, she was your flesh and blood!’
Continuing in a quieter tone, Lady Sayleford said, ‘Were it not to protect her innocent sister, I might refuse my assistance. I do intend to lend my support to Miss Parmenter. In fact, my dear, I should like to become a contributor to your school. Helping girls without any resources to preserve their virtue and honesty is a worthy goal.’
Before Ellie could respond, Lady Sayleford turned towards the door. ‘Ah, here’s Harris with our refreshments,’ she said in a pleasant tone, as if she hadn’t just reduced Ellie’s mother and great-aunt to shocked, red-faced silence. ‘Since we’re agreed on the way forward, let’s have our tea. Maggie, will you pour?’
Her heart pounding, almost as shaken as her relations at the Dowager’s fierce attack and unexpected sympathy, Ellie looked at Lady Sayleford, surprise, gratitude, and a turmoil of other emotions holding her speechless. The Dowager gave her a wink and a quick, conspiratorial nod.
Then Ellie looked at Christopher—and found him trying hard to suppress a grin. ‘Bravo, Aunt Lilly,’ he murmured under cover of Maggie handing him his cup.
‘You have a new girl at the school, Mr Lattimar was telling me,’ Maggie said as she gave Ellie hers. ‘Quite a character, it seems.’
‘Having your pocket picked by a scamp wearing boy’s clothing is not generally the introduction you want to a girl you invite to join your students,’ Christopher said.
‘To be fair, she didn’t actually pick your pocket,’ Ellie protested.
‘Only because, as she put it, she was “too tired and weak”.’
‘A thief, Miss Parmenter?’ Lady Sayleford said. ‘Are you sure she can be made into an honest citizen?’
‘What else was she to do after she lost her family, Countess? I suspect most of us would choose thievery, if the alternative were starvation. But she’s very much interested in books and learning, so I think she can be saved. I intend to at least try.’
Before the Dowager could reply, the sound of raised voices by the door distracted them, followed by the entrance of Harris. ‘Excuse me, my lady, but there’s a Miss Wanstead here, demanding admittance. I told her you were busy, but...’
Before he could finish, a young female edged around him and darted into the room. ‘Sophie!’ Ellie’s mama gasped. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I knew I should have suspected something when you positively shoved me out to go shopping. But when I returned to have Basker tell me you’d gone on
an important call with Aunt Marion, I—’
As the girl’s gaze left her mother’s face to scan the room, she broke off abruptly. ‘Tess!’ she cried. ‘It was you in that shop! Mama tried to persuade me otherwise—but oh, I knew it!’
Without realising she was doing so, Ellie set down her cup and rose to her feet, her gaze drinking in every detail of her little sister’s face and form. ‘How lovely you’ve grown, Sophie.’
And then the girl ran to her, flinging her arms about Ellie in a ferocious hug before pushing back to gaze up once again into Ellie’s face, tears in her eyes. ‘They told me you were dead, Tess. That you’d sickened with a putrid fever, and they sent you away to protect the rest of us. Oh, I’ve missed you so much!’
‘I’ve missed you, too,’ Ellie whispered, hugging her tight again.
‘Sophie, you shouldn’t have come,’ Aunt Marion scolded. ‘If your presence were required, we would have brought you. Apologise to Lady Sayleford for bursting in uninvited, and leave us at once.’ She turned an angry gaze on Ellie’s mother. ‘We’ll deal with the matter of your talkative maid later.’
‘I’m very sorry to have intruded, Lady Sayleford,’ Sophie said, dropping a curtsy deep enough to grace a royal drawing room. ‘Although I am not at all sorry to have discovered my sister. Where have you been all these years, Tess?’
‘That’s quite enough, Sophie,’ Aunt Marion said. ‘This matter will be better discussed at home.’
‘But if you are discussing my future, why should I not be present? And I want to know what happened to Tess. And why you lied to me!’
‘You don’t seem to have much control over your other great-niece either, Marion,’ Lady Sayleford observed. ‘From what I’ve just seen, if you’re thinking of pawning her off with some facile explanation for Miss Parmenter’s disappearance, I doubt it will work. I recommend you tell her the truth—finally.’
Sophie sank into another curtsy. ‘Thank you, Lady Sayleford. But if my sister is here, you must know the truth, too. Can you not just tell me straight away? When I thought she was dead, I was heartbroken. I’m not a child any more. I think I deserve to know what happened.’ She paused for breath and a quick frown. ‘And why did you call her “Miss Parmenter”? That was our governess’s name!’
A smile tugged at Ellie’s lips as she watched her sister use all the persuasive charm that had usually induced Ellie to grant Sophie whatever she was pleading for. From the amused expression on her face, it appeared the Dowager was not proof against it, either.
‘Why don’t we let Miss Parmenter explain,’ Lady Sayleford said, gesturing to Ellie.
Tell her—and forfeit her loyalty and admiration? Like all girls of her class, Sophie would have been brought up to look upon courtesans with disapproval and disdain. Ellie wasn’t sure which would be worse: having someone else relate what had become of her, or confessing that shame herself.
Would Sophie’s joy at finding her turn to revulsion when she learned what Ellie had become? If so, how could she bear it? How could she bear Christopher seeing it?
For a moment, she considered asking to delay, as Aunt Marion had advised. But she knew what it was to live with half-truths and evasions. The little girl who had adored and mourned her did deserve the truth. And better it come from her.
‘I’m afraid it’s rather shocking.’
And so, Ellie gave a short account of Summerville’s visit, his disreputable offer, and her father’s acceptance of it, concluding with the fact that she’d lived in London as the Viscount’s mistress until his death the previous autumn.
Though her sister’s face paled, she kept her gaze focused on Ellie throughout the brief narrative. After sitting silently for several moments after Ellie finished, she turned to her mother.
‘How could Papa have done something so...monstrous? How could all of you just...let her go?’ Wheeling to Ellie, she cried, ‘I would never have abandoned you! I won’t abandon you now! Having found each other, can we not be sisters again, openly?’
‘You have no idea what it would cost to acknowledge her,’ Aunt Marion flashed back angrily. ‘We’re trying to preserve a future for you! Not have it destroyed before the Season has barely begun!’
‘I appreciate your loyalty, darling Sophie, but Aunt Marion is right,’ Ellie said. ‘One ruination was enough; let us not have this reunion lead to another. My disgrace provided the funds to restore the estate and fund a dowry to see you respectably married. Don’t let my lost reputation be for nothing.’
‘If the truth about you ruins my chances with ton suitors, so be it! I wouldn’t want to marry a man so concerned about Society’s approval that he expected me to deny my own sister.’
‘Commendable words, my dear, but you must also be realistic,’ Lady Sayleford interposed. ‘I see no reason you should not meet your sister in private, but an open and public association would, I’m afraid, mar your reputation irretrievably.’
Sophie turned a pleading gaze on Lady Sayleford. ‘My aunt says you are the most influential lady in all the ton. Surely you see how unfair it is for Tess to suffer because of what our father did to her! Could you not right this wrong, and get her reinstated into Society?’
The Dowager sighed. ‘I only wish I could right it. But though I wield enough authority in Society to ensure that you will be able to make a respectable match, even I cannot persuade others to change their inflexible standards. No matter how unjust the situation may be, there truly isn’t any way to restore your sister to her rightful place.’
Sophie’s chin quivered, but she nodded. ‘If you cannot do it, then I expect it cannot be done. But you said I would be able to see Tess?’
‘If you meet her privately at the home of a respectable member of Society, I don’t see why not.’
‘An excellent idea, Aunt Lilly!’ Maggie said. ‘You may call on me, Miss Wanstead. Miss Parmenter will often be present, consulting with me about the school.’
‘But, Maggie dear, you’re not always up to receiving visitors.’ Lady Sayleford smiled at Sophie. ‘My niece is expecting, and is often unwell. You must call on me, Miss Wanstead and Miss Parmenter. I also expect you to keep me abreast of developments at your school. I don’t suppose Society would object to your niece calling here, do you, Marion?’ she asked, turning to Ellie’s aunt.
Lady Enfield forced a smile. ‘No, Lilliana, no one in Society could object to my niece visiting you.’
‘Either of them,’ Lady Sayleford said drily, before turning her gaze to Ellie and Sophie, seated side by side. ‘What a charming picture the two of you make. Perhaps I shall commission a portrait.’
Ellie’s mama gasped, Christopher almost choked on his tea—and a laughing Sophie clapped her hands. ‘Please, do so, Lady Sayleford!’
‘Vraux will want to buy it, to add to his treasures,’ Christopher said.
‘You should come entertain them while it’s being painted,’ Lady Sayleford told Christopher. ‘Sitting for a portrait is so tedious.’
‘Lady Sayleford!’ Ellie’s mother cried. As the Dowager raised her eyebrows, Lady Wanstead rushed on, ‘I suppose it’s acceptable for a married lady to associate with her husband’s friends, or a...woman like Tess to be escorted by him, but to allow an innocent maiden to associate with him? Surely you’re aware of his reputation!’
Before an indignant Maggie could fly to Christopher’s defence, Lady Sayleford put a hand on her arm. ‘Mr Lattimar has earned himself quite a naughty reputation,’ the Dowager replied. ‘But having recently decided to marry, he is in the process of reforming his behaviour. Your daughter stands in no danger from associating with him. In my home,’ she added mildly enough, but with a look that said she didn’t appreciate having her judgement questioned, especially by a woman who’d deserted her elder daughter.
‘You’ve decided to marry?’ Maggie asked a clearly startled C
hristopher. ‘Giles will be so pleased!’
‘With Mr Lattimar’s well-known charm, good looks, pedigree and important connections,’ Lady Sayleford continued, ‘I expect he will be quite sought after. There’s nothing quite so attractive to the ladies as a reformed rogue. If he’s truly reformed,’ she added sotto voce, raising a warning eyebrow at Christopher.
‘To think, you were planning something this important, and Giles didn’t know—but Aunt Lilly did,’ Maggie said with a laughing glance at Christopher. ‘I swear, Aunt, you must have spies in every household in London!’
Lady Sayleford lifted an imperious eyebrow. ‘One must stay informed. But now I’ve finished my tea, and it’s time to rest. Marion, you can be assured that your little “problem” is solved. Girls, I do look forward to seeing you again soon. You come, too, Maggie, if you’re feeling up to it. And you, Mr Lattimar. The best of luck with your courtships.’
With that, she rose, and perforce the other guests did as well. After bows and curtsies, the Countess made a grand exit, her callers trailing in her wake.
Ellie followed her friends out. ‘That went off better than I could have dared hope,’ she said, catching up to them. ‘Thank you both so much for being here to support me.’
‘With as forceful a champion as Aunt Lilly turned out to be, our support wasn’t necessary,’ Maggie said. ‘But we were pleased to offer it.’
‘Did you know the Dowager was going to...champion me?’
‘With that blistering indictment of your mother and aunt? No,’ Maggie said. ‘But I’m not surprised. She’s ferociously devoted to family.’
‘How did she find out I’d decided to start looking for a wife?’ Christopher asked.
‘You know she didn’t hear it from me,’ Ellie said with a rueful glance.
Maggie laughed and shook her head. ‘Aunt Lilly knows everything! She really must have a spy in every household in London.’
‘Can we see you home?’ Christopher asked Ellie. ‘As splendid as it must have been to see your relations so thoroughly routed, dredging up those memories cannot have been pleasant. Besides, with your mother and aunt having just experienced a thorough dressing down, you might rather not share a carriage with them.’
Secret Lessons with the Rake Page 10