“Dearest Lady Katherine, you outshine the rest of this party.”
“Lord Sidley,” she acknowledged. “You remember Lord Carroll?”
“Indeed” He bowed to Carroll. Sidley hoped he conveyed the right parts of distance and humility. Carroll had to be treated as a respected rival, not the witless wastrel that he was. But Carroll, being witless, was not to apprehend his fate.
“Carroll, I fear I am not yet well enough to steal one of Lady Katherine’s dances from you”
“Well, II..
“But perhaps you would be kind enough to surrender her to me for a mere ten minutes? I promise I will return her to you promptly”
“Well, I”
“You do not mind, my lord?” Katie batted her lashes at Carroll, who looked delighted to have even so slight a decision sought.
“Your wish, my lady,” he said, and smiled sweetly as he bowed.
Sidley hated to separate the two, but he needed information. He led Katherine along the perimeter of the dancers, toward the supper room.
“It is difficult to contend with such a dashing cove as Carroll,” he confessed. “I hear all the young ladies consider him quite the catch”
“Oh, I have heard that as well! But then, you onceyou are also quite admired, my lord”
“You are too kind, Lady Katherine. You must know I feel my age, particularly in company with young Carroll. He will be able to dance for many, many more years.”
“I have seen older gentlemen dancing on occasion. Look at Colonel Bassett!”
Sidley preferred not. “Just so, Lady Katherine. Only on occasion, though,” he sighed. “When their spirits are unusually high. And most of them needn’t master a limp.”
She frowned and looked away, as though she acknowledged the impediment as insurmountable.
“You are riding again, Lord Sidley,” she said in en couragement. “Edgar told me he met you in the park just this morning.”
“I have to take that small bit of exercise, Lady Katherine. I fear I must surrender driving a carriage forever, as my arms are still too weak to manage the ribbons. Perhaps Lord Carroll might take us up sometime, as I understand he is an excellent whip.”
“To be sure, he is! Why, the other day we went so fast, I almost lost my newest bonnet! Everyone was plunging to the side!”
Sidley smiled sadly as they reached a table of refreshments. He handed a glass of punch to Katherine. “I find that speed often makes me quite queasy these days, Lady Katherine. If Lord Carroll does consent to ferry us, we must plead with him to drive slowly.”
Katie frowned. “Perhaps we should not go out with Lord Carroll, then.”
“But he seems most amiable.”
“Oh, he is! But I could not ask him to-to-”
“Drive in such a sedate manner?”
Katie nodded.
“Then sometime he might accompany us on a walk. Or better yet, we might all sit together. I have never asked-are you fond of needlework, Lady Katherine?” As just then the dancers were engaged in another lively reel, Sidley could barely keep his countenance as he watched Katie’s reaction. He suspected that she had at last struck him from her prospects.
“Well, no matter,” he said cheerfully. “Perhaps you also do some drawing, as does your cousin? When we sit together, you might draw, while Lord Carroll and I discuss the drainage of fields”
“I have never had much patience for drawing, my lord,” Katherine said, taking another gulp of punch and looking longingly at the joyous group of dancers. Lord Carroll, his magnificent blond mane shining in the lamplight, was notably one of them.
“Ah! Well, I imagine that Lieutenant Reeves must be most content to be home at last and watching Miss Ware draw. Although I did expect they might attend tonight. Or did Miss Ware have yet another lesson?”
“No, she was-” To his surprise, Lady Katherine again looked flustered. “She told us this afternoon that he had left”
“Left? To precede her to Northampton?”
“I don’t know quite where he’s gone, my lord. But … well. . ” She lowered her voice. “I suppose I might tell you, as you know her so well, and as it will all be out soon enough, about Marian’s-about her disappointment. She was looking very pale. It must be so distressing! I know that I should have been much beside myself-after two years too! She did ask that we not speak of it for a few days. But as you have always been so kind to Marian, my lord, about her painting, and the portrait-”
“Spare the saints!” In his impatience he spoke too loud. As Katie glanced uncomfortably at the startled faces about them, he leaned closer. “What has happened?”
“She seemed most calm about it, my lord. Though it must have been such a shock. William has cried off! He married someone else, someone named Rose, two months ago in Gibraltar, without letting on to Marian at all. He wrote her brother, Michael. And Michael told him he should come along to see Marian the minute he docked, although of course he must have dreaded doing so. But ‘twas the honorable thing to do, was it not?”
“Honorable!” Again he spoke too loudly. But he was amazed that he spoke at all. He was wild with glee. He wanted to kiss the thoughtless tattler before him. He wanted to leap into the midst of bounding dancers and plant Carroll a facer. He wanted to toss back his host’s insipid punch as though it were the finest Champagne. Only effort kept him from yelling aloud. His gaze sought Vaughn, whose own gaze narrowed as he left Lady Adeline and Clara and began to walk his way.
“Lady Katherine,” Sidley managed. The desire to smile nearly choked him. “This is shocking news. Shocking! Lieutenant Reeves has behaved in a most unacceptable manner. His conduct is disgraceful. Miss Ware is to be pitied.” Though a less pitiable creature than Marian Ware is hard to imagine. “She will rally. But it is imperative, absolutely imperative, Lady Katherine, that you not say one word more to anyone-no one at all, not even Lord Carroll” He laid one finger lightly against her lips. “It is not in your cousin’s best interest. And you must not tell her that you have informed me. She must not feel embarrassed or pitied in any way, becausebecause it is important that she be able to complete the portrait. That is my main concern. You understand?” What utter balderdash!
“Yes,” Katie said dubiously, “I see. Of course you wish it finished. And Marian is always happiest when she is painting.”
Happiest-yes, he thought. Out of the mouths of babes. And at once he saw his way clear.
“Lady Katherine, you are a gem,” he said, raising her gloved hand for a kiss. “Bless you” She glowed as he walked her back to Formsby. “You will remember what we discussed, Lady Katherine, will you not?” She nodded absently. Lord Carroll had not finished his dance. Katie’s gaze already followed her favorite in his exertions. But Sidley believed he might rely upon her-for perhaps a day at most.
Vaughn met him as he moved to the hall and escape. “What’s toward?” he asked. “You look the very devil, Sidley.”
“She is free, Vaughn”
“Free? Miss Ware?”
Sidley nodded as he collected his hat and gloves. “If you would, kindly see Clara and Lady Adeline home. I’ve a small matter to attend to just now. Not a word, please.”
Vaughn did not quite grin, though one eyebrow quirked expressively. But before Sidley could take his leave, a coachman came running up the steps to the door to confront the butler, the footmen, and Sidley.
“Here, you blokes-ah, sir-milord,” he gasped. “I saw the lights. Thought as you might help. There’s been a dreadful wreck. Up at the square. Lord Addlestrop’s landau and my, that is-Mr. Knox’s carriage. I fear Mr. Knox is very bad indeed. And there’s a lady …”
“Mrs. Knox?” Sidley asked sharply as Vaughn surged to his side.
“Ah, no, milord. Not the missus. Some-some other-”
Sidley pushed Vaughn back into the hall. “You must stay here,” he snapped. “You mustn’t be involved.”
And Vaughn nodded grimly as Sidley raced down to the street.
Edga
r called Marian to the study in the morning. Since she had advised her cousins only the previous evening of her broken betrothal, she expected Edgar to speak to her regarding her future. And as she had spent a sleepless night considering that very future, she now faced the meeting with a lingering megrim and considerable trepidation. She knew she would have no alternative if Edgar were to suggest, however kindly, that she return home to Brinford.
But to her relief, Edgar did not look worried or resigned. He held a letter, which he perused repeatedly and with obvious astonishment.
“Marian,” he said, his eyebrows high as he waved the missive in front of her, “I had no idea! Five hundred guineas! ‘Tis what Prinny shall give Lawrence for his portraits of the tsar and the king of Prussia!”
“I had no notion. But, Edgar, what five hundred guineas?”
“Your five hundred guineas, Marian! Sidley has deposited five hundred guineas at Drummond’s Bank in your name. You need only sign for the sum. ‘Tis payment for his portrait, and an advance for one of Mrs. Knox”
“Mrs. Knox?”
“He wants a portrait of Mrs. Knox as well. You mean you did not know?” As Marian shook her head, he added, “Perhaps you should not rely on that part of the payment, then. For there was a carriage accident last night, Marian, and Knox could not be saved.”
“How awful! And Mrs. Knox?”
“The missus wasn’t there, apparently, though Knox had company. And Mama’s friend Lady Addlestrop was injured in the other carriage. I sent ‘round for news earlier…. But as to this, Marian, whatever Sidley may have settled with Knox-well, we must sort that out. Seems to me, though, that even half of five hundred guineas is a considerable sum”
“It is too much-”
“You did not arrange it?”
“We spoke of a commission. I knew he would pay me-”
“If I invest this for you-or Michael does, of course-you shall have a small income, on top of that bit from your portion. And if others should want a portrait-”
“Then I would like to make some restitution to you and Aunt Edith, Edgar.”
“Oh, bosh, Marian! Mother and I discussed it last night. You are family. You must stay with us. ‘Tis absurd to think you should pay for your tea and jam. You won’t want to be back in Brinford just now anyway, with all of this upset over Reeves. And Mother would rather you kept company with Katie in any event”
“That is very good of you, Edgar. Though I shouldn’t wish to impose. And if I keep these funds from Lord Sidley, given the cost of my lessons, I must certainly give you-”
“If you keep it? Why, of course you must keep it! Sidley’s pleased with the work, else he wouldn’t have convinced the ‘Gruff’un’ to part with so much of the ready. And I must say, Sidley has more to hand than any of us supposed. What’s to frown about, Marian? Of course we’ll have to look into this Knox portrait. Mrs. Knox won’t want herself done up in mourning. But, otherwise, you should be fit to fly!”
“I am. I am. I-” She was just then comprehending the staggering size of the payment. “I needn’t marry at all”
Edgar shot her a quizzical look. “But you will, of course. Everyone does. ‘Tis expected. Though you’re unlikely to do so now, certainly, for a bit. Reeves did you no favor there, Marian. Mother’s quite cross with him. I’d no idea”-he waved the letter once more, ignoring Lieutenant Reeves’s failings for the much happier development-“that portraits were so much the thing.”
“‘Tis an excessive amount, Edgar. You mustn’t think anyone else would be so generous.”
“All the same, once this gets about-”
“I shouldn’t wish it to just yet. Do you understand? With William, and then Mr. Knox’s passing, I shall be rather infamous.”
“All the better!”
“Oh, Edgar!”
He looked a bit shamefaced. And just as Marian wished Edith were present, Edith arrived-to exclaim over Lord Sidley’s gesture and then to claim that it must indicate a desire to align himself with the family.
“That can’t be so, Mama,” Edgar protested. “He’s been seen more frequently of late in Miss Poole’s company than Katie’s, and if Katie’s serious about Sidley, she’s goin’ about it in a very odd manner. Steppin’ out with Carroll-”
“Your sister has not been `stepping out’ with Lord Carroll,” Edith reproved him.
“Now, you must admit that Katie’s smitten with Carroll, Mama. Making a cake of herself, if you ask me. And the bettin’ books at the clubs-”
“I will not have it, Edgar! Such wagers are not to be taken seriously.”
Edgar withdrew somewhat mulishly. And as he stood idly fingering Sidley’s letter, Marian asked if she might see it.
The note was brief and most unsatisfactorily terse:
Formsby
My lord,
As Miss Ware has substantially completed the portrait I commissioned from her, I have arranged for the sum of five hundred guineas to be available upon her signature and presentation of this letter at Drummond’s; this amount in final payment for the finished portrait and one additional, to be executed within the next twelvemonth, of Mrs. Griffin Knox. Yours & c.
Sidley
He had stamped it with a crest, which Marian examined with some curiosity. She had never before read his hand.
“Marian,” Edith said, drawing her bemused attention, “are you quite all right?”
“Yes, Aunt.”
“And Edgar told you of Mr. Knox’s accident last night?”
“Only that there was such an accident, and that as Mrs. Knox is now a widow, the commission may not still be desired.”
“I’ve just sent ‘round to Addlestrop’s, Mama,” Edgar said, “to inquire after Lady Addlestrop. She is not doing well. They’ve called for a physician.”
“Goodness! Poor Beulah. That such a thing should happen to her, who has such fragile nerves!”
“Not so surprising, Mama, when Addlestrop insists on putting that demented nag in the traces. The-horse, I mean, Mama. Their coachman said Knox would not yield, and he couldn’t.”
“Oh, dear. I must attend Beulah. Marian, I know you go to your lessons, but I must have the carriage. Edgar shall walk over with you and the maid. Never fear, I shall send the carriage ‘round for you later. Oh, why is Katie never up ‘til three?”
And as Edith rushed to ready herself, Marian left with Edgar, to spend their walk correcting his impression that she now need never take another class. She told her tutors, without explanation, that she hoped to remain in town a few weeks longer and then attempted to draw, with a remarked lack of success. Though she knew her situation happier than it had been the day before, though she usually forgot herself in her work, so much remained unsettled that she could not feel quite content. She had planned that from this summer on, her future would be William’s, but now that she was to stay with her cousins, her plans must align with theirs. Just how long such an arrangement might prove agreeable seemed most uncertain. And she was wishing fervently that her future might at last be entirely her own.
She was still mulling over her good fortune and its unexpected complications when she returned later that afternoon. Since she heard company in the west drawing room, she left her supplies for the maid to take on upstairs and removed her bonnet as she crossed the hall to greet Edith’s guests.
Inside the room her cousins were entertaining a score of callers, among them Lord Sidley, Lord Vaughn, and Clara Poole.
“I believe you know everyone, Marian,” Edith said, and Marian curtsied in acknowledgment. But her gaze was solely for Sidley and Lord Vaughn. For though Vaughn was used to appearing entirely solemn, he was now grinning broadly, and Sidley, whose health had so visibly improved over the past two weeks, appeared again to be ailing.
Marian frowned and moved toward him, only to be intercepted by Clara.
“Miss Ware,” she said, “I’m so pleased to see you today. I had hoped to meet with you again at the Holnotts’ party last night.”
> Marian explained, without truly explaining, why she had not attended the party with her cousins. Though she had been immensely relieved by William’s visit, it had been followed by an unrelieved headache, which fact she could relay in all truth. Marian liked Clara Poole, but at the moment she wished only to reach the opposite side of the room and Sidley. Thankfully, Edith chose to address Clara just then on some point relating to Dicky Poole’s engagement, and Marian excused herself.
She dearly wished to speak to him-to acknowledge his payment, to protest it, to thank him-but though Sidley had often approached her in the past, he did not do so now. He was frustratingly aloof. And she noticed with some dismay that his portrait had been brought down from her room upstairs and placed in one corner on display.
She did not think he would care for that indeed, he did not look as though he cared for it at all.
“Marian is so clever,” Katie was saying for the whole company. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Oh, please, Katie, Marian thought, not now. There was much chatter, much commendation, as Marian made her way to Sidley. She noticed with proximity just how pale and tired he looked.
“Are you well, my lord?”
“We have established that I am” His eyes did not reflect his smile. At her impatient glance he added, “Forgive me. I did not sleep last night. You will have heard there was an accident outside the Holnotts’ party, and Griffin Knox was killed. Given the number of revelers these days, the streets are unsafe at all hours. One can only do what one must… ” His voice trailed off. He was looking not at her but at Katie as she gushed to her callers.
Marian suspected that Lord Sidley had been called upon more frequently than anyone realized-and that he did more than most surmised.
“It sounds horrific,” she said.
“Yes.”
“My lord, I must suppose then that I-that is, I must presume that I will no longer be painting Mrs. Knox.” Sidley turned to look more fully at her. “Knox did not request a portrait. I did.”
“You did?”
Once again his gaze surveyed the Formsbys’ guests. “Some years ago,” he said, “Griffin Knox bought Jenny Lanning-or as near as one might still come in these isles to purchasing another. How a man could then be so jealously possessive of what he’d bought, yet mistreat her so, was a mystery to me. And very hard on my friend Vaughn there” Sidley raised his chin toward Lord Vaughn. “I should like the portrait for him, as a gift. Jenny Knox is a lovely woman, and Vaughn is now in a position to gratify his heart. A most enviable situation. When the fates intervene, as they did last night, we must take advantage. Do you not think so?”
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