Martha Schroeder

by Lady Megs Gamble

  James glared at her, his eyes hard as sapphires. How dare she insinuate that Lady Meg was anything but a complete lady? Meg’s behavior when he himself had first met her was conveniently forgotten. He saw her in his mind’s eye only as she was when she had smiled at him and talked with him at Mattingly Place the evening before. Lovely. Vivacious. Glowing with life and friendliness.

  “She has been most kind to me.”

  “Ah, yes. So I have noted.” James heard the dry, speculative tone in Mrs. Headley’s voice but had no idea how to counter it. Had this provincial gossip guessed what he and Meg had agreed to?

  As they headed into the drive that led to the house, James thought of what marriage would mean. Not just the abstractions of home and family, or the scenes he had pictured of himself as the center of both. This time he thought of all that would be required in order to arrive at that state. Of the kind of talk, the open-hearted honesty that Meg showed so easily but that he had seldom even attempted. Was it possible for him to learn at this late date?

  James shook himself out of his brown study and found they now stood outside the wide oak door of Lady Meg’s house. He smiled and dismounted and found as the door opened to reveal the aging butler that his heart quailed within him.

  “Is Lady Margaret or Miss Fairchild at home, Meadows?” Mrs. Headley demanded.

  As they were ushered into the house, James had a strong urge to find Lady Meg and whisk her away from this critical, observant lady. Unfortunately, he knew that Meg would never countenance such rudeness, even if he attempted it. Get a hold on yourself! You didn’t run from Boney’s ships or the pirates; you ‘re surely not going to be frightened away by this old beldam!

  The ill-assorted party was shown into the drawing room. In a matter of minutes, Annis Fairchild entered with an apologetic smile.

  “Lady Margaret is away from the house right now,” she said, holding out her hand to Mrs. Headley and smiling at the two girls. “You know she’s in the saddle a great deal of the time. But is there anything that I can help you with, Mrs. Headley?” She gestured to the older woman to be seated and then asked, “Can I perhaps offer you some tea or other refreshment?”

  Mrs. Headley frowned a little, as if she was not quite sure if it was proper for Miss Fairchild, who, after all, was only a paid employee, to act as if she were the Headleys’ social equal.

  James, however, scented freedom and said briskly that he would ride out and look for Lady Margaret, as he had some questions of estate management to put to her. Annis’s eyes twinkled at him. He could tell she knew perfectly well that he was fleeing the scene. She pointedly told him that Meg was expected back for luncheon in a very few minutes. Checkmate.

  As if on cue, Lady Meg entered the drawing room with a brisk, no-nonsense stride. She checked immediately upon catching sight of her almost betrothed. For some reason he appeared especially vital and attractive as he stood tall and straight, with the sun gilding his dark blond hair.

  Smiling a little shyly, she held his gaze and said, “James, how nice to see you. Can you stay and take luncheon with us?”

  James glanced at his side at the same moment Meg heard a sharply indrawn breath. With sudden dread, she looked over to see not only Mrs. Headley but her two silly daughters—and all of them staring at her as if she had suddenly turned green.

  Nothing to do now but plow ahead. “And Mrs. Headley. What a nice surprise! How fortunate that I returned for luncheon. Usually, you know, I take sandwiches in my pocket and eat wherever I happen to be.”

  She saw Mrs. Headley frown and remembered that to the older woman, Meg’s acting as estate manager was on the borderline of hoydenish behavior.

  She tried again. “And Sukie and Mellie. How you both have grown.”

  Sukie and Mellie frowned. Too late, Meg noticed that they were each a stone heavier than the last time she had seen them. Oh, dear. Why had she never paid attention to Annis’s strictures on thinking before you spoke? She cast a helpless smile in her companion’s direction and excused herself to wash her hands.

  Annis took over, as Meg had known she would. “I’ll just see when luncheon will be ready. I do hope I can tell Meadows that you are all staying?” Annis’s quiet voice and gentle smile never failed to soothe.

  Mrs. Headley picked up her reticule and gestured to her daughters, “No, no thank you, Miss Fairchild. I had no idea it was so late. We must be on our way. The girls and I just came to ask you and Lady Margaret to come to a little dance and supper that we are giving on Saturday. Captain Sheridan has already accepted,” she added, simpering.

  “I—I’m sure we would love to come. Of course, I will have to ask Lady Margaret what her plans are.” Annis took one look at Mrs. Headley’s face and realized that the news that Lady Meg had seemed suspiciously happy to see Captain Sheridan and— most significantly—had called him by his first name, would be served up with the refreshments wherever the Headleys went. Calling the captain by his given name had been a terrible mistake. Was there not something Annis could do to head off die gossip Meg hated so much?

  Uncharacteristically, Annis acted on impulse. She went over to the captain and took his arm with a proprietary air. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mrs. Headley’s eyebrows ascend to meet her hairline. Already she was rethinking her story. For good measure, Annis smiled up at James, who was looking down at her in watchful silence. She could tell he knew she was up to something, and was willing to wait until he understood her plan, thank heavens.

  “I’m sure Lady Margaret will not deny me the pleasure of coming to your dance even if she cannot be there,” Annis said, smiling even more blindingly at James and incurring an even more disapproving stare from Mrs. Headley.

  James said nothing, but he couldn’t resist a small smile. Annis had successfully blunted the Headley woman’s attack by drawing the fire to herself. There was nothing he admired more than gallantry toward a comrade, and he smiled approvingly down at Annis.

  “Well!” Mrs. Headley shimmered with outrage. “I will certainly be glad to see the captain and Lady Margaret.” With that final shot she rose and summoned her daughters to do likewise. As she turned to sweep out of the room, her magnificent exit was spoiled by Meg’s reappearance.

  “Oh, Mrs. Headley, I am so sorry you feel you must—

  “Far be it from me to give you advice. Not after the way you spoke to me the last time I thought to give you a hint to guard your good name. But some people take a great deal too much upon themselves. I would be careful if I were you of encroaching persons hanging on your sleeve for their own advantage!”

  “I beg your pardon, Mrs. Headley. I am afraid I don’t fully understand.” Meg looked at her visitor with bafflement.

  “I’ve said all I mean to on the subject. Come, girls!” And she swept from the room, her two daughters trailing behind her like smaller vessels after a ship of the line.

  James bowed over Annis’s hand. “That was bravely done, Miss Fairchild, but I fear you may have called down the furies upon your head.”

  “Never mind, Captain. She has never approved of me.” Annis attempted to shrug off the incident.

  But Meg was not to be left out. “Just what are you talking about? What could Annis possibly have done to send Madam Headley sweeping out of here like an insulted queen?”

  “It was nothing, Meg, truly. You know Mrs. Headley.”

  “It was Miss Fairchild’s attempt to throw herself on her sword to spare your reputation,” James said bluntly. He recognized that although he viewed the entire scene as much ado about nothing, for unmarried young women who lived permanently in the neighborhood, the kind of gossip Miss Fairchild and Lady Meg were going to have to endure could be very painful.

  Meg refused to leave the topic until she knew exactly what had happened. Her reaction disturbed James. “Oh, lord, Annis, what possessed you to do such a harebrained thing? And in front of the biggest gossip in the county! Before the cat can lick his ear, the world and his wife will know tha
t both of us are trying to ensnare the handsome captain!” She sank down onto one of the brocaded settees and put her head in her hands.

  “Now, Meg, it isn’t that bad. She won’t say a word about you. It’s my shameless behavior Mrs. Headley will condemn; you know that. She’s always thought you treated me too much as an equal, and this

  will—”

  “I know, I know,” Meg said. “That’s just the trouble, don’t you see? You are so pretty and so talented that most of the old cats around here are ready to cut you to ribbons anyway. This will be their chance! Oh, Annis! I don’t want you hurt!”

  The two young women exchanged looks that conveyed much more than words could. All the affection each bore the other glowed in their eyes.

  “My dear,” Annis said at last, her voice thick with emotion, “you know this doesn’t begin to repay you. Besides, after you marry, I will be gone from this neighborhood while you will remain. What can a little gossip do to me then?”

  At her words, an arrested expression came to Meg, and she looked at James in a way that made him wonder if he had forgotten to shave part of his face that morning. “That’s it,” she said, a smile breaking over her features. It was like the sun coming up, and James couldn’t help but smile back.

  “It? What is ‘it’?” he ventured after a moment of silence.

  “Don’t you see? We must protect Annis’s reputation.”

  “And yours as well, my dear,” Annis replied. “Calling the captain by his given name was really quite fast. She won’t let you soon forget it”

  “She will if James and I announce our betrothal at her dance!” Meg said triumphantly. “That will silence her. Then I will be perfectly justified in calling the captain James, and you will have simply showed him the affectionate kindness you would feel toward the future husband of your former pupil and present friend!”

  James stared at her, dumbstruck. Of all the cursed luck! If he let Meg announce their engagement without having told her of his irregular birth, she would have sealed her fate without full knowledge of the facts.

  “But, Meg—I mean, Lady Margaret,” he began haltingly. “I don’t think that would be at all a wise thing to do.”

  Meg stared at him for a moment, color flooding into her face. “I—I—Of course, Captain, I didn’t mean to force—I only thought—” She cursed herself for once again blundering in where angels wouldn’t tread and turned blindly toward the door, which Annis had tactfully closed behind her moments before.

  “No, no! You misunderstand! It is not that I do not wish to marry you.” James’s heart seemed to stutter in his chest before it began to beat more strongly than ever. He turned and gathered her into his arms, where she fit as if made for him. Her golden brown curls tickled his chin.

  “Oh, no, Meg. I do, I do wish it. Most sincerely. I only thought you might need time to reflect. It is such an enormous step, and the advantages are all on my side.” He bent his head and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

  At that moment James wanted nothing so much as to marry this warm, honest, glowing woman as soon as he could. To have the right to call all that loyalty and love his own was so much more than he had ever imagined he might have.

  Meg took a deep breath. She was moved and charmed by James’s tender kiss and his strong, warm arms holding her in a loose embrace.

  “That’s all right, then,” she said at last with a sigh. “For a minute, I was afraid that there was something that would keep us from marrying. What do they call it in church? An impediment? Or that, upon reflection, you didn’t wish to marry me.”

  “There is nothing I want so much as to marry you, Meg.” Guilt washed over him, but he did not bring up the one great impediment that he knew of and she did not.

  “Good.” She pulled away far enough to look up at him, her smile bathing him in warmth. “That’s settled, then. We’ll announce it as a surprise at the Headleys’ dance, and watch Mrs. Headley swallow her tongue.”

  She laughed and took his arm, and James knew he would say nothing to break this enchanted mood. He would be silent and trust to the sailor’s luck that had kept him safe through all the storms at sea and, God willing, would keep him and his promised bride safe through all the storms to come on land.

  Chapter Eight

  Saturday evening was unexpectedly chilly. Meg and Annis wore only light shawls over their dresses, and they shivered a little as they entered the aging coach that was Hedgemere’s only suitable vehicle. Both had dressed in their best. Meg wore a simple green silk that fell in graceful folds to reveal the tips of her green kid slippers. The gown was unadorned, lacking even a ruffle, except for a pale yellow sash at the high waistline. Annis’s dress was cream-colored muslin, with a neckline even more discreet than her employer’s. Her gown was cut using less material so that the skirt was straight, falling less gracefully than Meg’s.

  Annis had designed both dresses and had made sure that there were enough differences so that a discerning eye—that of Mrs. Headley, for example—would see that Annis was not setting herself up as her employer’s social equal. What Mrs. Headley could not know was the argument that had occurred before Meg had given in to Annis’s insistence that the difference in their status be marked, for her own peace of mind.

  Meg had acquiesced but had insisted in her turn that Annis wear a pink-and-cream shawl that she had purchased for that very purpose. It was hard to get the best of Lady Margaret Enfield, Meg thought smugly as they rolled down the road toward the Headleys’ large stone house. It was set in a formal park-like lawn, with rhododendrons lining the drive. Every window gleamed with candles.

  The idea of a party was always exciting—even though one knew everyone who would be there, and knew to a nicety what they would say and how they would say it. But tonight was more than an ordinary party! Tonight Meg was planning to astonish everyone and confound the gossiping Headleys by announcing her engagement. She felt a frisson of trepidation and wondered if she was doing the right thing, announcing her engagement before her solicitor arrived. Nonsense. This was going to be fun, confounding everyone! Anticipation gave her feet wings as she and Annis mounted the steps to the gleaming black front door.

  As they entered, she could see Gerald standing under the chandelier in the drawing room to the right of the center hall. That meant that the captain must be nearby. She looked around as Mrs. Headley bore down upon them.

  “Margaret,” she said effusively, “how lovely you look. I’ve always liked that dress. Is that a new sash you’re wearing with it?”

  Tact was not Mrs. Headley’s strong suit, Meg thought ruefully, as she forced a smile and said, “Yes, Annis insisted that yellow would be just the contrast needed. I’m so glad you like it. She has exquisite taste, hasn’t she?” It had not escaped Meg’s notice that Annis’s presence had been ignored.

  “Yes, so she does. Good evening, Miss Fairchild. You must excuse me.” Mrs. Headley turned away then said in an under-voice, “Margaret, I must speak to you on a subject of grave importance.”

  “Good heavens, ma’am, whatever can that be? Do not tell me that Sunshine has strayed onto your land again? She is an adventurous one for a cow. I do not know what to do to keep her at home!”

  “No, no, of course it has nothing to do with one of your cows, Margaret. Please, do pay attention. This is important. Meet me in the library in a quarter of an hour, and I shall tell you something that you must know.” Mrs. Headley frowned and looked as serious as if she had some state secret to impart.

  “Very well, ma’am,” said Meg, with no intention of keeping that appointment. This evening was meant for joyous surprises. An interview with Mrs. Headley was not likely to be either joyous or surprising, so she would contrive not to have one.

  How simple life was, she thought, if you arranged it properly.

  “Meg, my dear,” Lady Mattingly said as she came up to greet the ladies from Hedgemere, “how lovely you look. And you, Miss Fairchild. That is a lovely shawl. Did you make it
yourself? Or was it a gift?”

  Lady Mattingly was at it again. Meg smothered a grin and moved aside, the better to search for the captain, as Annis said quietly, “It was a present from Lady Margaret, my lady.”

  “She has always been such a generous girl.”

  “Yes. As you know, I have more reason than most to be aware of that.” Annis’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of rose.

  Lady Mattingly noticed. “My dear, I had no intention of embarrassing you. You have done quite as much for Meg as she has for you. Think what her life would have been like if her governess had been unkind or overbearing. You’ve been a godsend to her from the moment you arrived.”

  The color in Annis’s cheeks grew more vivid. Her work, and indeed her pleasure, had been to see Meg grow up to be a fine young woman. And now to be noticed and praised for her part in Meg’s life, and in such a kind way, almost overset her. Particularly after Mrs. Headley had made her feel like a grasping hussy.

  “Thank you so much for telling me that,” Annis murmured, her voice a little unsteady, “I shan’t make a cake of myself, but I very much needed to hear that tonight.”

  Lady Mattingly gave her a kindly smile. “I can imagine. Mrs. Headley was mentioning your name to several of her cronies when we arrived. She treated Captain Sheridan to a very piercing look as well. Gerald has given me orders that I am not to question you or Meg or the captain about—about anything.” And Lady Mattingly raised her hands and chuckled. “So, you may sit by me and talk anytime you feel the need this evening, Miss Fairchild, and be assured you will be spared any questions.”

  Annis smiled and thanked her. Indeed, Lady Mattingly was more than kind even when her curiosity and desire to set the world to rights got the better of her tact. She had a warmth and charm that set everyone at their ease, even hired companions. Annis couldn’t help but wonder if Gerald’s mother would be so friendly if she knew of Annis’s feelings for her son.

  Although a country parsonage is not a worldly place to grow up, Annis knew quite well that the answer was no. Like most mothers, Gerald’s mama hoped he would make an advantageous match, one that would bring him money or political connections to help his diplomatic career.