The Regency Season

by Ann Lethbridge

  The boy closed the door, shutting himself outside.

  ‘Christine said you might be able to help us in our search for a certain man,’ Minette said.

  ‘For a price,’ the woman said.

  ‘How much?’ Freddy asked. ‘And how can we be sure you have the information we need?’

  Minette glared at him. He ignored it. If she thought he was going to sit here like a bump on the proverbial log, she should have known better.

  The woman rolled her shoulders. ‘You cannot be sure, but this man you seek is as much my enemy as he is yours. If not for him and his like, my husband would be alive and I would be living in Paris.’

  ‘We understand, madame,’ Minette said gently. ‘You have lost much. I would like to help you as well as find the man we seek. We will pay what is reasonable for the information.’

  The woman’s expression contained resentment. ‘I am not asking for charity, mademoiselle. The chance to make a decent living, to bring up my son in a good home, not this...’ she shuddered, glancing around her ‘...this rat-infested room, surrounded by criminals who are allowed to wander the streets.’

  Many of the criminals were debtors, allowed the freedom of Borough as long as they did not step outside set boundaries, but there were other sorts of criminals here, too, as there were in all the poorer neighbourhoods of London.

  ‘Name your price,’ Freddy said. ‘And we will see if the information you have is worth it.’

  ‘I personally do not have the information you seek,’ the woman said.

  Freddy looked up at the ceiling, a plea for divine intervention. None came. ‘Why am I not surprised?’

  ‘Freddy,’ Minette said in a warning. ‘Who does, madame?’

  ‘My brother. He hides where you will not find him until our demands are met.’

  ‘Your brother,’ Freddy said. ‘His name is Vitesse?’

  ‘No.’

  Of course not. The woman was a widow, using her married name. To find her brother he’d need her maiden name. No doubt the Alien Office would have collected that when they had permitted her to take up residence in England.

  Minette also looked unhappy with the woman’s reply. ‘You told Christine you had information about Moreau.’

  The woman tensed. ‘Henri is afraid. He wants to help, but if this man finds out...’ She pressed her lips together. ‘He needs to know, if anything happens to him, that I will be cared for. It is his duty as the head of our household. It is a small thing to ask.’

  ‘What is it you want?’ Minette asked with a very practical tone to her voice.

  ‘Christine says you are to be married. To this Duke.’ She nodded at Freddy. ‘You will need a trousseau of the finest.’

  Freddy frowned, but Minette was smiling. ‘You are a seamstress.’

  The other woman nodded. ‘I do fine work. You will see.’ She raised her voice. ‘Lilly!’

  A girl of around eight peered around the open door. ‘Oui, Maman?’

  ‘Bring them,’ the woman commanded.

  The child disappeared and returned a moment later, struggling to carry in her arms what looked like three dolls. Madame Vitesse took them from the girl and stood them up on the table. ‘This is my work.’

  Dolls?

  ‘Oh,’ Minette breathed, fingering the fabric of the doll’s gown. ‘This is beautiful. I have seen nothing like it in London. Look, Freddy, isn’t it exquisite?’

  Really? He narrowed his eyes at the doll. The dress was some fancy silky stuff, and it revealed quite a bit of the doll’s shape above the neckline. Revelation came like a flash. He’d seen something like it in his mother’s drawing room as a boy. ‘They are dressmaker’s dolls.’

  Both women looked at him as if he was a dolt.

  ‘You see, mademoiselle,’ the woman said, ‘I was just beginning my business in Paris. I had left my old mistress to start on my own. I had one very important client, a woman at Court. She would have made my name but—’ She made a chopping motion with her hand. ‘There was nothing. No work. No food. Everything we had we left behind.’ Tears welled in her brown eyes. ‘Family. Money. Everything. Henri was positive we could start again. But for that I need a patron. I have no contacts here in England. No money for a shop. For fabric.’

  ‘So if we give you money to open a shop, you will tell us what we want to know.’

  The woman’s face hardened. She shook her head. ‘That is only part of it. You will wear the gowns. Go to parties. Talk of my work. Then I will give you the information you seek.’

  She was using them. Imposing on Minette in the worst possible way. Anger surged in Freddy’s veins. He rose to his feet and glared at the woman, who seemed to shrink in her chair. ‘That will take weeks. I am sorry, madame, but there are other ways to obtain this information.’

  ‘Freddy is right,’ Minette said also rising. ‘We do not have time—’

  ‘Two weeks,’ the woman said, her face white, her voice weak, scared. ‘I can do it all in two weeks.’ She glanced over at her daughter. ‘Please. For the sake of my children.’

  ‘Not a day over two weeks,’ Minette said.

  ‘No,’ Freddy said. ‘That is too long to have him running freely around England.’

  The woman’s eyes became crafty, as if she sensed she could drive a wedge between them and come out a winner. ‘The man you seek, he has much to do before he is ready. You will not want him alone. You will want his web.’ She nodded. ‘Web. That is what Henri called it. Move too soon and you will cut off the head, but you will not have the body.’

  ‘If she’s right...’ Minette said, looking at him.

  He clenched his jaw so hard he felt his back teeth give. ‘If she’s lying, her children will be orphans.’

  A satisfied smile crossed the Frenchwoman’s face. Clearly she did not believe the threat any more than Minette did, because she was shaking the woman’s hand. ‘It is a bargain.’

  Freddy reached into the pocket in his coat. ‘How much do you need to get you started?’

  The woman’s eyes gleamed. ‘A hundred pounds. It will rent the shop and the accommodation above and buy enough fabric for the first gown.’ She narrowed her eyes, her gaze running over Minette. ‘A carriage gown like this one,’ she said, picking up the doll dressed in green velvet with fancy decoration down the front. ‘Are you to attend a ball soon?’

  ‘My engagement ball is in a couple of weeks,’ Minette said. ‘Many important people will attend. It is to be held at my fiancé’s estate in Kent.’

  The woman beamed. ‘You shall wear my gown.’

  ‘Understand this, madame,’ Freddy said. ‘If this delay causes me to fail in my task to find this man, you will not like the consequences.’

  The woman’s gaze flew to Minette and back to him. ‘I assure you all will be well.’ She picked up a small cloth bag at her feet and pulled out a bunch of string. ‘I will measure now and send a note to say when I will come to you for a fitting. Then we will choose the fabric for the rest of the gowns. Please, stand and I will help you unclothe.’

  Minette rose and turned her back to the woman. ‘Freddy, please. Madame Vitesse will help us.’

  Madame Vitesse was helping her all right. Helping her to be naked.

  Freddy’s body tightened at the thought of seeing her wearing nothing but little bits of string. Inwardly cursing, he turned his back. ‘Hurry up. I don’t want to keep my horses waiting any longer than is needed.’

  A low laugh from Minette said she didn’t believe his impatience for a moment.

  It must have been the hoarseness in his voice.

  * * *

  ‘That went excellently well,’ Freddy said, once they were back on the road. ‘The woman gulled you. Gowns.’ He snorted.

  The derisive edge in his voice brought Minette straighter in her seat. ‘It could have been worse.’

  ‘I suppose it could. She could have asked me to dress every lady in the ton.’

  ‘You are being a bear. This way you will get
both him and his men.’

  He grunted. ‘If I didn’t know better, I might think she knew about this betrothal of ours before we did.’

  She winced. ‘About that. As soon as we have dealt with Moreau, we will announce our engagement is at an end.’

  He sent her a look full of disgust. ‘And how do you propose to do that?’

  ‘I’ll cry off.’

  ‘Wonderful. Tell me what other schemes there are floating around in that lovely head of yours.’

  ‘There is no need for sarcasm.’

  ‘I’m not being sarcastic. I simply want to know what I am in for next.’

  Why was he arguing about this? He had made it quite clear he didn’t want to wed her any more than she did him. Contrary man. No matter what she said, he would argue. And yet... She frowned. ‘Are you saying you actually want this marriage?’

  The glance he gave her was full of exasperation and something else. Bleakness? Loneliness? ‘I’m saying we don’t have a choice. What about Gabe and your sister? If you don’t care about anyone else, what about their sensibilities?’

  ‘I will simply inform them we discovered we did not suit after all.’

  His chest rose and fell with a huge sigh. A man tried to the limit of his patience. She braced for his next assault. It wasn’t long in coming. ‘After what Sparshott and his daughter saw, your reputation will be ruined, Minette. Those things don’t go away. There will be no decent men throwing their hats in the ring. Not after that. You need the protection of my name.’

  For a man who had been so set against marrying, his insistence was odd. Something inside her twisted painfully. Longing. Surely not. The man was marrying her to preserve his honour. Using her for his own purposes, as Pierre had used her. She wasn’t fool enough to think it could possibly be more. ‘I don’t want to get married. To you or anyone else. You don’t even like me.’ Dash it, why had she given voice to that little bit of resentment?

  ‘I don’t dislike you.’ His voice was arctic.

  ‘In truth? When you think I planned to trap you into marrying me?’

  He winced. ‘I beg your pardon. I am as much to blame as you for what happened.’

  She gasped theatrically. ‘Are you actually apologising?’

  ‘Now who is being sarcastic?’

  She laughed. ‘Touché, Your Grace.’

  He smiled, albeit a little unwillingly and fleetingly. Still, it made her heart feel a little lighter to see his expression ease. He looked much younger, more approachable. Perhaps... But no. She was right. When this was over they would part company. Because when this was over, even his honour wouldn’t be enough to make him want her as his wife.

  A pang twisted in her chest. ‘Let us see how we feel about it once Moreau is caught.’

  He looked unconvinced but resigned, and that was the best she could hope for.

  Chapter Five

  The next three days were a whirl of activity for Minette. First Madame Vitesse had involved her and Nicky in the selection of a site for her new shop. Nicky had been more than willing to help the woman after Minette had told her that their countrywoman had provided her with assistance, though she did not correct Nicky’s misunderstanding that the help had come while Minette had been alone and struggling to survive in France.

  If guilt was a pain in her chest, she consoled herself with the knowledge that the seamstress was helping them both, or she would be, once she retrieved her property from Moreau.

  Then there had been the fittings—first the promised carriage dress then this evening gown. Not the one for the engagement ball—that would come later in the week. This one was for a rout they’d been invited to at the last moment. She smoothed her hands down her skirts as she sat at the dressing table while her maid put the final touches to her toilette. Madame Vitesse was undoubtedly talented. The gown was extraordinarily beautiful with a floor-length slip of white satin and a white gauze overdress draped in the style of the ancients. Fastened at the side, the overskirt fell to an inch below the knee and was edged with Greek keys. White satin sandals and gloves finished the ensemble.

  No one would doubt it was an original or very French.

  Tonight would be her and Freddy’s first appearance in public since the betrothal announcement. The ton would be watching, waiting to see how he reacted to her. Waiting to condemn if he gave the slightest hint he wasn’t pleased with the match. After all, he was a duke and she was nothing but an upstart émigrée, even if her sister was married to a nobleman who had the support of the royal family.

  More importantly, tonight would give her an opportunity to speak to him alone. Madame Vitesse had been none too happy when she’d arrived with this gown. And with good reason.

  Christine settled a tiara of carnations, in a colour Madame Vitesse had called maiden’s first blush, low on her brow, careful not to disturb the ringlets framing her face and clustered on her crown. She slipped her hands into the elbow-length gloves her maid held out and stood before the pier glass to judge the effect.

  Christine sighed. ‘Perfect, mademoiselle.’

  Yes, Madame Vitesse knew her business. It would not be her appearance that put the Duke of Falconwood to shame this evening. She turned away from her reflection at the same moment Nicky entered.

  ‘Oh, my,’ Nicky said, her eyes alight with joy and admiration. ‘You will outshine them all.’ Her hands went to her stomach.

  A self-conscious laugh left her lips when she realised Minette’s gaze had followed the movement. ‘The baby has quickened,’ she said a little breathlessly. ‘Little flutters deep inside. The doctor said it is quite normal, but honestly they are quite startling.’

  An ache pierced Minette’s chest. By falling for the wrong man she had given away the chance to know such joy herself. She shook off the feeling of loss. She would revel in her sister’s happiness and be the best aunt any child could have. She crossed the room and hugged Nicky. For several years she had thought she might never see her sister again. The joy of their reunion had been tempered by the knowledge that she had thrown away all that her sister had sacrificed. But she would make amends.

  They broke their embrace. ‘Turn around,’ Nicky said. ‘Let me look at you.’

  Minette spun around and her skirt gently swayed with her movement.

  Christine discreetly withdrew.

  ‘Freddy will be dazzled,’ Nicky said. ‘I can’t believe you two...’ Her words trailed off and she cast Minette an enquiring look. A look of concern as well as love.

  ‘I know,’ Minette said, putting all the joy and lightness in her words and expression she did not feel deep inside. ‘It came as quite a shock to us, too. Who would have guessed that what we thought was dislike was something else entirely?’

  She could not bring herself to say the word ‘love’. It would be too much of a lie. Even for her. She let her gaze take in her sister, who was dressed in the high fashion of a married woman. The deep turquoise suited her and disguised the coming of a child. ‘You look lovely.’

  Nicky smiled. ‘Gabe loves this colour.’ She gave Minette a sly smile. ‘And when you are married you won’t be stuck with boring old white.’ She tipped her head. ‘Though I must say you are one of the fortunate few who has the colouring to carry it off.’

  They linked arms and headed downstairs.

  At the foot of the staircase, two men looked up at the sound of their steps. Both men were dark. Both men were undeniably handsome in their own way. Gabe an absolute charmer with a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. Naturally he had eyes for no one but Nicky.

  Freddy was a very different story. Although his gaze showed approval as he took Minette in from her head to her feet, there was little warmth in him. He used to smile when they had first met years ago. Not at her, but at things Gabe had said. Male humour at things unspoken but understood. He’d even smiled at Nicky from time to time, like a brother at a sister. But where she was concerned, for the most part she’d felt only cool distance.

  A
layer of ice like a wall to keep her out that seemed to have grown thicker over time.

  She wanted to take a hammer to it. Shatter it. Find the man beneath. She’d prefer active dislike to this chilly indifference.

  As they reached the bottom step, both men stepped forward, Gabe to take Nicky’s arm, his eyes awash with his love as he gazed at his wife, and Freddy to present her with a small posy in a silver holder. The flowers matched those in her hair, but these were real. She took the offering with a curtsey. ‘Thank you. How clever of you to find exactly the right shade.’

  An expression flashed across his face and if it hadn’t been impossible she might have thought he was pleased. ‘Lady Mooreshead offered her aid.’

  Disappointment flickered to life. No doubt Nicky had arranged the whole thing. ‘Thank you, Nicky.’

  Her sister gave her an odd look. ‘I merely informed His Grace of the colour. No more.’

  Gabe was frowning at them as if he sensed something wrong. Minette brought the posy to her nose. ‘They are perfect.’

  Freddy leaned forward and kissed her cheek, a brief hot brush of his lips across her skin. ‘You are welcome,’ he said silkily.

  As she met his blue-black gaze she had the impression of heat flaring in their depths. An act for the benefit of others? Or something more?

  Coolly, deliberately, he set her away. ‘I believe it is time we left.’

  * * *

  As the carriage rocked through the night, Freddy relaxed against the squabs and contemplated the woman he was to marry. Lovely. Beautiful. The words didn’t do justice to the vision he’d witnessed walking down the stairs of Gabe’s townhouse. Freddy didn’t have the words to express what he had felt inside him. She was, of course, both of those things, but she was so much more. Warmth. Light. Joy. And there was also darkness. A shadow that lingered around her as if waiting to blanket her inner glow.

  If only she would trust him enough to tell him what caused those shadows. To let him help overcome her dragons. But then again, he didn’t have the right to her trust. They might be getting married, but they would never be a husband and a wife in the truest sense.