An Improper Suitor

by Monica Fairview

  She looked down at the ring. It served as a reminder that her future was in this man’s hands. ‘No doubt you know best,’ she said. ‘You most certainly have plenty of experience in the matter.’

  His mouth twitched. ‘Yes, I do have experience,’ he drawled, ‘but unfortunately, not in marriage.’ He reached out and took her hand. Not as a lover would, but in friendship. ‘You may not believe it, but this is not an easy thing for me, either. True, I can draw on my past experience with women, but, as you so aptly put it, marriage is a very different game than dealing with a mistress.’ He looked serious now, his eyes seeking her in an earnest attempt to communicate.

  She nodded. He was meeting her part of the way, at least. ‘Then we must muddle through together as best we can,’ she said.

  The musical soirée at Lady Pitton’s had been mercifully short. They excused themselves early, citing Lady Bullfinch’s illness as an excuse. For Julia, of course, it had not been an excuse at all. The first thing she did when she arrived at the house was run upstairs to make sure her grandmother had not experienced any recurrence.

  For him, the soirée had been interminably long. Normally he enjoyed musical performances, but today he had other things on his mind. It became clear immediately that no scandalous gossip had circulated. Everyone greeted Lionel as they normally did, and Julia received the usual kind of attention. It was becoming abundantly obvious that there was to be no scandal.

  Mercifully.

  Which left him with a dilemma. He had offered to marry Julia because of the scandal. Now that they had been spared, there was no real reason to marry her except that he had already given her the betrothal ring, and they had reached an agreement.

  But I don’t have to marry her. He could be free once again to resume his normal life. His life as a rake, Julia would call it. Well, what was wrong with that? He had been happy enough living that life, until a few days ago. Now he would be able to pursue that lifestyle again, without a care in the world. He did not have to become a tenant for life.

  The problem was, he would have to tell her and he did not want her to think him cold blooded and uncaring. He especially did not want her to feel jilted. It was hardly gentlemanly to offer for a lady and then withdraw the offer two days later. It was the devil’s own scrape.

  The door of the library creaked open slowly. Julia’s eyes – amber tonight, because of the gold trimming on her dress – combed the room, then rested on him. She nodded, satisfied, and stepped in.

  ‘Your mother said you had not left yet,’ she said. ‘She said I would find you here.’

  He smiled. ‘I needed to reflect on things, particularly our marriage plans.’ He managed to keep his words vague enough, until he had actually decided to speak to her.

  His gaze went to her ring finger where he placed the ring earlier. She had taken it off, of course, before anyone else noticed it and knew of their engagement. But the very emptiness there seemed an indication. Why had she not worn the ring and announced their betrothal to the world?

  Perhaps she was not yet completely convinced. In which case, he could broach the subject without hurting her feelings.

  He took a deep breath. There was no easy way to do this. But he had to.

  He started to speak, only to find she had already started saying something. ‘I have something to—’

  ‘I wish to discuss—’

  He threw her a wry smile. ‘Ladies first, I believe.’

  ‘Very well,’ she said. The small maroon box was in her hand: the ring box. She twirled it around absently between her fingers. ‘It is only that—What I would like to say—’

  ‘Yes?’ he said, prompting her.

  ‘There is no way of saying this without causing offence, but I would like to end our engagement.’ The words came out in a rush. ‘The circumstances that led to its formation are no longer there. No one knows of it, so there can be no embarrassment. You did not offer because of an attachment, and I am not attached, so—’

  She was making a hash of it, but he would not help her out. Now that the boot was quite on the other foot, he found the situation intolerable. It infuriated him that she could stand there so calmly and toss away a chance at a marriage that had a great deal to offer her.

  ‘Let me make sure I understand you correctly,’ he said, coldly. ‘You wish to end the engagement.’ He said it with emphasis, as if she was saying something absurd instead of the very thing he had been planning to say just minutes ago.

  She lifted her chin. ‘We both know that we were pushed into our engagement by circumstances. We did not go into it blindly. You were a gentleman and you offered to protect my reputation. But such a radical step is no longer required. No one knows of the engagement’ – she cast him an examining glance – ‘at least I hope no one does, since I did not even inform anyone, not even Grandmother. So it is simply a matter to be settled between the two of us.’ She placed the ring box decisively on a table in front of them.

  It was logical, of course. It was what he wanted. But, devil take it, she could have at least waited a day before bounding into the room to break off the engagement.

  Of course, nothing had really changed. If they declared their association over, no one would be any wiser. And he would be exactly where he was, just a few days ago. Which was where? On the verge of developing a longer standing arrangement with the Golden Widow. She had ogled him quite noticeably at the theatre, during Kean’s performance. She was a morsel he had tasted, but would not mind tasting again. Provided she did not become indiscreet.

  He examined his companion and the soft changing brown-green of her eyes, the fiery highlights that flickered in her hair, the way her chin curved into a pronounced, obstinate edge. It was very clear from the way she held that chin right now that she expected him to consent.

  Well, he would consent, and devil take her. He hoped never to set eyes on the obstinate chit again.

  ‘I am hardly the type of gentleman to compel a lady against her will,’ he said, trying to keep the sullenness out of his voice. ‘You are, of course, free. However, I hope you will continue to take advantage of my mother’s hospitality until you are certain you are completely safe from Neave.’

  ‘Today was the last day of the wager. Surely after today I will be safe?’

  ‘I cannot answer for his actions. It is possible. But it might be better not to tempt fate.’ He recognized her hesitation. ‘You need not worry that I will embarrass you with my presence,’ he said, his voice laden with irony. ‘Now that we have nothing more to fear, there is no longer any reason to escort you to any events.’ He paused and examined her. ‘You will have what you have requested time and again. I will leave you alone.’

  She shook her head. ‘I am sorry if I was impatient with you,’ she said. ‘I am aware that I am greatly indebted to you in more ways than one. I know that I have behaved badly. I hope you will forgive me.’ She offered him her hand.

  Her confession touched him unexpectedly. He took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘Perhaps, if things had not started as they did,’ he said, ‘our connection might have gone in a different direction. As it stands …’

  She nodded. ‘Yes.’ He wanted to ask her what she meant. But she pulled her hand away, gently. ‘Thank you for everything,’ she said. She slid away, across the floor, out of his grasp, out of the room.

  What was it about the way she moved that drew his attention?

  He supposed he was not likely to find out.

  The thought should have brought with it relief. Instead, he felt an unaccustomed sadness, as though something warm and sunny had disappeared from his life.

  CHAPTER 14

  Julia waited one more day before returning to her home in Grosvenor Square. She preferred to take no risks, and besides, Lady Bullfinch needed rest. Lionel, true to his word, stayed away, despite Lady Thorwynn’s assertion that he was expected for dinner. A place was set for him, but he did not appear. The empty seat remained throughout the dinner, a reminder of hi
s absence. Julia could not help feeling that the dinner conversation flagged a little, without him.

  Lady Thorwynn had been the best of hostesses, and her kindness unlimited, but Julia was glad to return to her home, to be on familiar ground again. She had lived in her grandmother’s townhouse from the time she was three, except for occasional stays in the country with friends of her family. The familiar picture of her mother stared down at her from the top of the wide stairway and a pang passed through her.

  She mounted the steps and gazed into her mother’s warm honey-brown eyes. It was a picture painted before her mother had met Julia’s father. ‘I did the right thing, Mother. You would have been proud of me,’ she whispered. The expression in the honey eyes did not change. Julia stood still for a long moment, waiting. Then, with a sigh, she turned away.

  As though she had been away for a year, not a few days, Julia inspected the house, making a list of work that needed to be done. She fell into neglected household tasks with unusual energy, throwing the household into a frenzy of spring cleaning.

  She was in the dining-room arranging flowers when Rumbert announced a visitor.

  ‘Miss Neville to see you,’ said Rumbert. ‘I took her to the parlour.’

  ‘Thank you, Rumbert,’ she said.

  She found the young woman pacing the parlour, obviously in a state of agitation.

  ‘What is it?’ cried Julia.

  Amelia crossed the room quickly. ‘Thank goodness you are home,’ she said, her brow wrinkled with anxiety. ‘I came as quickly as I could when I learned what had happened. I had no idea you were involved in their schemes, you see, so didn’t say anything before, but when I heard them talking—’

  Clearly it was not an emergency. Relieved, Julia put her arm around the girl’s shoulder, and led her to the settee.

  ‘Come, sit down. I’ll ring for some tea, and then you can tell me all about it,’ she said, reassuringly.

  ‘Oh, but you don’t know—’

  ‘I know you’ll tell me, by and by,’ she said. She tugged the bell pull. ‘Whatever it is, it can wait until we have some tea.’

  Despite her soothing attempts, Miss Neville stood up again and began to wander around the room, picking up objects and staring at them, then putting them down again. Perhaps she should not have called for the tea. Julia doubted she would drink any of it.

  The tea tray arrived. Julia poured and handed Amelia a cup.

  ‘Perhaps you would like to tell me what this agitation is about?’

  She began an incoherent narrative that Julia could not make head or tail of. All she understood was that her parents would force her to marry an ogre – an earl – a very ugly old man with half his teeth missing and warts on his face – if she did not obey her mother. By marrying another earl, also an ogre, but quite young.

  ‘If you don’t sit down, Amelia, I’m afraid I won’t comprehend a word that you’re saying.’

  She sat down then. Julia supposed that now that she had started the narrative, she was growing calmer.

  ‘Could you start again? With the ogre – I mean old man earl?’

  ‘If you saw him,’ said Miss Neville, leaning forward in an effort to convince Julia, ‘you would know why I could never, never marry him, apart from being very old.’ She stopped to consider this. ‘Some people who are very old look nice and kind. But this man doesn’t look kind at all. He just looks ugly and beastly.’ She shuddered. ‘He used to be one of Prinny’s friends, before they quarrelled. At least, that’s what Papa said. I think that is why he wants me to marry him. Because he has a lot of influence at court.’

  ‘Not if he’s quarrelled with the Prince Regent,’ said Julia. ‘Look what happened to Beau Brummell.’

  ‘That’s what I thought. Not about Beau Brummell, but the other part. But Papa has political ambitions, you see, and he’d do anything to get closer to Prinny. He has some plans he wants implemented, and he is constantly seeking to get close to the Regent. You know how they are saying King George cannot live long—’

  ‘Yes, yes, I know that,’ interrupted Julia. She did not want to hear Lord Medlow’s opinion on the court or the royal family.

  ‘Anyway, my father was adamant. He went so far as wanting to draw up the papers. But Mama objected.’

  That surprised Julia. She would have imagined Lady Medlow delighted to sink her teeth into someone so powerful.

  ‘Mama thinks he smells of the shop,’ Amelia explained. ‘There’s a grocer somewhere in his ancestry, she says, or something like that. Anyway, she managed to make Papa promise to put the whole thing off. She convinced him that there was no hurry. I hadn’t even had a Season, you see. Mama is sure I’ll find someone just as good. They brought me to London, to make my come out, and be presented at court, which is, of course, important to Papa. And if I receive an equal or better offer of marriage, then I would not need to marry Lord Frugford.’

  Julia had heard of Lord Frugford, though she had not met him. According to the on-dits, he was a lecher.

  ‘That day in Hyde Park.’ She took a deep breath and looked at her hands. ‘I swear to you it was not my idea at all. My mother threatened me if I did not do it.’ She rose again and began to pace. ‘It was no accident. My fall, I mean. At least, I did really fall. But it was because I pricked poor Stargaze with a nail, and he went wild. I was sorry to hurt him, but Mama insisted it was necessary.’ She looked hopelessly at Julia. ‘You hate me now, don’t you?’

  Julia shook her head. But her thoughts were racing. That explained at lot of things that seemed odd at the time.

  ‘She was with me at the park, you see, and she sent the groom to fetch something, so he couldn’t immediately catch up with me. We knew Thorwynn was riding in the park. All he had to do was chase after me and Lady Nattleham would do the rest.’

  ‘But you fell,’ I said. ‘Suppose you had fallen badly and hurt yourself?’

  Amelia grinned. ‘I am an excellent horsewoman. I can do tricks on a horse. One of the grooms in the stable used to belong to a circus, and when I was small he taught me how to slide down to either side of the horse without falling.’ Her eyes gleamed. ‘That’s what I did. I slid off the horse and crumpled to the ground.’

  ‘Did your mother know this?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Julia thought better of her for this at least. If she knew her daughter would come to no harm, then her actions were less despicable.

  ‘And then you happened upon us and the whole thing came to nothing.’ She frowned. ‘I was very glad of it, for I don’t wish to marry Lord Thorwynn, either.’

  Julia looked puzzled. ‘Surely he’s a better option than Frugford.’

  ‘Oh, much better,’ said Amelia, quickly. ‘I know he’s your friend, and I’m sure he is very agreeable, but he – he frightens me.’

  ‘Frightens you?’

  ‘He has a way of looking at you as if you are an insect below his notice. I like him a bit better now, after we talked in the theatre, for he was quite kind there. But I still don’t want to marry him. Especially now.’

  She tried to puzzle out what Amelia meant by that last statement, but decided she did not know everything yet.

  ‘What I fail to understand,’ Julia said, ‘is why you came to tell me this so suddenly, and why it threw you into such agitation.’

  Amelia grew confused. ‘Agitation?’ she asked, puzzled. Something must have occurred to her, because she gave a little laugh. ‘No, that wasn’t what made me agitated,’ she said, as though it was perfectly obvious.

  So there was more. Julia had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

  ‘My mother was very vexed when the attempt did not succeed. She had put a great deal of planning into it. She did not want to give up. So she planned for Lord Thorwynn to be caught in a compromising situation with me.’

  ‘In the library, at the Kinleigh ball,’ said Julia,

  Amelia nodded. ‘Yes. My mother wrote a note suggesting an assignation by a lady. I was to be very naught
y and soft talk him and somehow bring him to embrace me or kiss me, though I had no idea how I would accomplish that. But when I opened the door of the library I found you were there already. You had your back to me and didn’t see me.’

  Julia remembered that moment’s panic and despair. It was a wonder she had not noticed the door opening. She had been jumping at shadows.

  ‘So I crept away and went to find Mama and Lady Telway to warn them. I couldn’t find them, and someone claimed me for a dance. It was someone Mama didn’t approve of – Captain Neave, whom I think you know – so I took advantage of her absence.’ Her eyes lit up and her face brightened. ‘He’s a very amiable gentleman, not at all silly like so many of the others. I think I may come to like him.’ Then she remembered why she was here, and the brightness disappeared. She pouted. ‘Mama remonstrated with me all the way home in the carriage. How she couldn’t rely on me for anything and other such things. But how could I have made Lord Thorwynn kiss me when you were already in the library? It stands to reason. But there was no convincing her. No use explaining anything to her when she’s irrational.’ She grimaced. ‘She said I’d put her in an awkward situation. As if I planned it all. She saw you with Lord Thorwynn, and would have so loved to embroil you in a big scandal, but she’s determined not to let you have him.’

  Well, that explained why there had been no scandal. ‘What is it, then, that brought you to me today?’

  ‘I heard them discussing something about using you to make Lord Thorwynn offer for me. I felt I had to warn you. I can’t continue to play her game. And I don’t want lose your friendship. I value it highly.’

  Julia smiled at her warmly, glad of her affection.

  Amelia paused, frowned, and added, naively, ‘Apart from the fact that I have no other friends in London, I wouldn’t have anyone to go out with.’