A Suitable Bride (3 page)

If she took the servants’ staircase she wouldn’t need to go out of her apartment and risk coming face-to-face with her father. As she dashed into the dressing room there was a thunderous hammering on her sitting room door and this added wings to her feet. She wouldn’t be surprised if her parent kicked in her door – she’d never heard him so enraged before.

She emerged on the floor above and burst into Miss Newcomb’s sitting room without knocking. ‘Good heavens, Miss DuPont, whatever’s wrong? You’re as white as a sheet.’

‘My father wishes to do me harm for something I said to my mother. I don’t think he’ll attack me if I’m with you.’ Her knees were trembling and cold perspiration trickled between her shoulder blades. She’d hoped never to feel this way again, that such terror was a thing of the past.

‘Sit down, my dear, I promise nothing untoward will take place whilst you’re with me. Mr DuPont is well aware that I am still in contact with my previous employers, Sir John and Lady Roberts, he’ll not wish me to blacken his name.’

Grace collapsed into the nearest chair and clasped her hands in her lap and attempted to calm herself. She could do no more than nod her thanks, the ability to speak appeared to have deserted her. She flinched as heavy footsteps could be heard approaching in the passageway outside.

Miss Newcomb moved smoothly towards the door and placed herself squarely in front of it. When it flew open she remained where she was, rigid with disapproval at such a rude entrance.

‘This is my domain, sir, you’ve no right to enter it without my permission. Kindly remove yourself.’

Her father, red-faced and spluttering, pushed her roughly aside. ‘Get out of my way, woman, I’ll not be gainsaid by the likes of you. You can pack your trunks and leave here today. You’ll have no references from me.’

Suddenly Grace was on her feet, her fear gone – now she was as angry as he. ‘You’re despicable. How dare you treat Miss Newcomb with such disrespect? I’ll be happy to go to Silchester Court and you may be very sure that I’ll find myself a husband so that I have no need to ever return here.’ She helped her governess to her feet. ‘You shall come with me, Miss Newcomb, I’ll do better with you there to guide me.’

Her father deflated, his choler gone as quickly as it came. He rubbed his eyes and his shoulders slumped. He looked bewildered, as if he didn’t know how he found himself in a place he’d no right to be. ‘I beg your pardon for intruding, Miss Newcomb, I’d be most appreciative if you would accompany my daughter to Silchester in three weeks’ time. You’ll need to replenish your wardrobe – I’ll not have you showing up my daughter in your drab clothes.’

This was hardly the conciliatory speech one might have expected from someone who’d so patently misbehaved, but in the circumstances it would have to do.

‘Go away, sir, you have caused enough upset for today. I’ll not be dining downstairs again. In future Miss Newcomb and I will dine together in my apartment.’ Grace stared at him and he muttered something unintelligible and slunk away.

As soon as he’d gone Miss Newcomb flopped onto a chair. ‘My dear, how absolutely dreadful. I’d no idea Mr DuPont was such a violent man. If I’d known I should never have taken the position…’ Her voice trailed away as she realised what she was saying.

Grace dropped to her knees beside her and took her hands. ‘I’m very glad that you did, I don’t know where I’d be without you. I wasn’t looking forward to going to this house party, but with you to guide me I believe I might carry off my masquerade.’

Chapter Three

The atmosphere at DuPont Manor was decidedly chilly after Grace’s confrontation with her parents. Fortunately the house was so vast it was perfectly possible to avoid seeing either of them. A week passed in which Miss Newcomb selected a number of gowns that Madame Ducray vowed would be ready the following week.

‘Are you quite sure Mr DuPont will pay for all these items, my dear?’

‘He will; he has so much money he’d scarcely notice if we bought a thousand gowns. By the by, I’ve written to Lady Peabody explaining that I shall be bringing my companion as well as my personal maid and am awaiting a reply.’

‘I’ve also made enquiries about the Duke of Silchester and received a note from a dear friend this morning. Word has it that Lord Sheldon is looking for an heiress to restore the family fortunes which means, far from being ostracised, I believe you will be a favourite candidate.’

‘I should think it highly unlikely that the duke would allow his brother to make an alliance with anyone not from the top drawer of society, however much money they might bring with them.’ Grace had thought about this a great deal in the past few days. ‘I’m not aiming to ensnare Lord Sheldon, but am hoping there will be lesser mortals attending this house party who might consider me a catch.’

Miss Newcomb seemed unsurprised by this comment. ‘In which case, my dear, might not your father refuse to release your dowry? Indeed, would he not refuse his permission altogether?’

‘He could, that’s true, but my trust fund was set up by my grandfather and will become the property of my husband the moment the marriage certificate is signed.’

‘In which case, your scheme might well be successful. I remember hearing about a similar case some years ago. The young lady in question moved in with her future in-laws until she was legally able to wed. It would be unusual to have so long an engagement, but not unheard of.’

The weather had improved and was more like summer today. ‘Shall we take a stroll around the gardens before our supper arrives? My parents have gone out to dinner so there’s no likelihood of an unexpected meeting.’

Grace put on her bonnet and tied the ribbons under her chin. She tilted her head and smiled at her reflection, satisfied that despite her unfashionably brown skin she wasn’t an antidote. She had two of the three necessary requisites to make a good marriage – money and appearance – however she rather thought that her lack of the third – pedigree – might prove to be more important than possessing the other two.

Her three dogs joined them on their walk and she decided to extend their promenade to the ornamental lake so she could throw sticks for the animals to fetch. Miss Newcomb remained at a safe distance as this activity was taking place.

‘I’m soaked to my petticoats but the weather’s so warm I’ll be dry before we reach the house.’ She sighed as she called the trio to follow. ‘I’ve been thinking about my dogs and my horses and have decided that I’ll take Rufus and these three with me. I don’t trust my father not to dispose of my pets in my absence.’

Miss Newcomb looked aghast. ‘You cannot take these animals with you. Such a thing is just not done in society. Children and pets remain at home – it’s the way things are done in the
ton
.’

‘Fiddlesticks to that! Silchester Court must have dozens of dogs running about the place, and an extra horse will hardly make any difference at all. After all there will be our four carriage horses to accommodate as well.’

Her governess raised her hands in surrender. ‘I see that whatever I say you’ll go your own way, so I must accept your decision. I sincerely hope it’s not one you live to regret.’

Miss Newcomb had no wish to visit the stables so made her way inside leaving Grace to ponder on her decisions. She could hardly take the dozen broodmares, the half a dozen yearlings and four new foals with her but she was equally determined her father would not sell them off therefore alternative arrangements must be made.

The head groom, Collins, greeted her with a smile. ‘I reckon the grey mare will foal tonight, Miss DuPont, have you come to see how she does?’

‘No, I’ve come about something far more important.’ She explained her dilemma and then made her outrageous suggestion. ‘I shall be leaving here next week and have no intention of ever returning. The night before I go, you must remove from here and take them all to Mr Rankin’s farm. He has more than adequate stabling and plenty of good pastureland and is more than happy to accommodate you all until I can make other arrangements.’

He slapped his thigh. ‘I know the place well, it’s a grand idea, but don’t you think Mr DuPont will look for us? He’ll not be happy to find these valuable beasts have vanished.’

‘I doubt he’ll be bothered, at least not at first. In fact as he rarely comes down here he might not even notice. It’s fortunate that the stabling for his horses is elsewhere. I have sufficient gold to tide you over and will send you more if necessary.’

The matter settled satisfactorily she returned to the house and just had time to change before Miss Newcomb and the supper trays arrived. Over their meal she made another radical suggestion.

‘I wish you to call me by my given name in future, I consider you my friend. I’ve no idea what your first name is – would you be prepared to allow me to address you informally as well?’

‘My name is Sarah, and I’d be honoured if you choose to call me by that. However, Grace my dear, it might be better if you call me Aunt Sarah – what do you think? We have no wish to raise any more eyebrows than we have to.’

‘Aunt Sarah it shall be. I hope you’ll stay with me whatever happens next. Although the bulk of my dowry will go to my husband, whoever he might be, I shall have an annuity of £2000 to spend as I please. If you have no wish to remain in my new household then I’ll buy you a cottage nearby and give you a pension so you may live in comfort.’ She reached out and clasped her hand. ‘Whatever you decide to do, dear Aunt Sarah, I wish you to remain part of my life as you are the only family I have now.’

*

Bennett was delighted with the arrangements for the house party. Everything he’d suggested had been put into place and he couldn’t remember there ever being such excitement at Silchester Court. His older brother strolled into the billiard room.

‘There you are, Madeline is searching for you waving another paper. I don’t blame you for hiding.’

‘Despite the vast size of your establishment, Beau, this is the only place that’s not been invaded by staff wishing to primp and plump everything in their path.’ He pointed out of the window towards the newly refurbished boathouse. ‘Even that has been attacked. I much preferred it in its faded state – I just hope I manage to find myself a bride after all this conspicuous expenditure.’

‘It’s been so long since we had a function of this size that standards had been allowed to slip. We stand on no ceremony amongst ourselves, but we must keep up appearances when we have house guests.’

He was about to reply when his sister burst in still waving the letter Beau had mentioned earlier. ‘At last. I’ve just heard from Great-Aunt Agatha – it’s an unmitigated disaster.’ She pushed the paper into his hands and he saw at once it was a letter and not a list.

He quickly scanned the contents. ‘Damnation! How in the name of Hades did word get round that I’m looking to marry for money?’

Beau reached out and flicked the paper from his hand. ‘Not ideal, admittedly, but not an unmitigated disaster. There might well be a few polite cancellations from those who wish their daughter to not only marry an aristocrat, but a wealthy aristocrat.’

‘We’ve only invited girls with substantial dowries so I don’t see why anyone will refuse to come on that account. I’m irritated that somebody close to the family has been gossiping.’

Madeline retrieved her letter. ‘It can’t be because of the invitation list – I was very careful not to invite just heiresses, but a mix of suitable candidates. Anyway, there’s nothing we can do about it now. I also came to tell you both that a diligence has just arrived piled high with a miscellany of punts, rowing boats and sailing dinghies. Our neighbours have been very generous. I thought you might like to oversee their storage, Bennett, as it’s your idea to have activities involving them.’

‘Excellent, Madeline, I’ll come with you now. I can’t work out what sort of races to organise until I know what crafts are available.’

He spent a pleasant afternoon helping the labourers unload and his younger brothers joined him. ‘We’ve got three punts, five rowing boats and the same amount of sailing dinghies. There are also a couple of coracles – God knows where they came from.’ Aubrey was wearing only his breeches and he was plastered with green weed and mud from fooling about in the lake.

Perry, the more circumspect of the two, had removed his boots and stockings but kept on his shirt. ‘I’ve counted the poles and the oars and we’re one short of the latter. The dinghies all have a sail of some sort so there’s no problem with them. Not sure what we need to propel the coracles along.’

‘Some sort of paddle, I saw two in the bottom of the cart and put them in with the punt poles. Let’s see who can go the furthest before we fall in.’ Aubrey tossed one of the coracles into the water and then jumped in after it, sending a cascade of water over both his brothers.

Bennett was still in his boots and was not amused. ‘You’re a nincompoop, little brother, and if you were not already in the lake I’d toss you in myself. Perry, are you going to take him up on his challenge? You’re so wet you might as well. I need to see how stable those things are before I include them in the aquatic events.’

Perry carefully lowered the second coracle into the lake and, holding steady with one hand, gingerly stepped in. The vessel rocked wildly for a moment and then stabilised. ‘I say, this is rather fun. Come on, Aubrey, I’ll race you to the island.’

Each of them had a paddle and used it vigourously. Initially the boats spun but then they worked out how to move forward and they were off. They were excellent swimmers so if they did fall in there would be no problem, especially as the lake was only deep around the island.

He tossed a coin to each of the labourers and the cart driver and wandered off to see if the magnificent maze was now ready to be used by the guests. The six feet tall yew hedges had been clipped back and the pathways cleared of brambles and weeds. He could hear his sisters laughing from somewhere in the depths.

‘Girls, did you remember to take in your flags? You could be lost in there for days if you didn’t,’ he called out cheerfully.

‘We’ve always been able to find our way out, Bennett, as you very well know. We’ve just placed the last clue for the treasure hunt at the centre.’

‘I wish you hadn’t told me that, I intend to participate in this event myself with one of our guests – now I shall have an unfair advantage. I could go directly to the centre of the maze and miss out all the other clues and thus win.’

The girls appeared at the exit flushed and happy. ‘That would do you no good, brother, as you need all the clues in order to solve the conundrum and reach the prize.’

‘Excellent. I was dreading this house party but now I’m actually looking forward to it. Apart from the odd village fête when Mama was alive there’s never been anything like this. I was down in the village yesterday collecting a few items from the smithy and was stopped by a dozen or more people who could talk of nothing else. Not only are we going to enjoy ourselves, but we’ve also brought extra work and income to our tenants and the villagers.’

‘Strangely enough the entire staff is as excited as we are to be having so many extra visitors. We have eighteen families coming which will mean almost seventy sitting down to dine. Peebles is worried we won’t fit everyone around the table and is considering using the small dining room as well as the grand.’

‘Please don’t burden me with these details, Madeline, I’ve no interest in domesticity as you know.’ He smiled and gave each sister a brotherly hug before continuing on his way to the stables. He was reassured by the head groom that they could accommodate the extra horses by turning most of them out into the paddocks. A dozen extra men had been employed to help for the month.

He wandered along the open loose boxes patting equine noses and pulling silky ears – even here the festive atmosphere had spread. He stopped at the end box, the one that contained his own mount, Lucifer, a magnificent black stallion.

‘Good afternoon, my boy, I see you’re eager to be turned out for the evening. I hope you won’t let me down when we have the races as I’ve staked my reputation and a good deal of my blunt on you winning.’

The horse dropped his head and slobbered over his shirt. A groom had overheard his remark and popped his head over the half door of the adjacent box.

‘There’s not a horse in the country who can better Lucifer, my lord. He’ll win every race right enough.’

Here the servants were treated well and the relationship between family and staff was relaxed. ‘I sincerely hope you’re right, but several of our guests are bringing their own riding horses and there will be fierce competition.’

*

The journey from Surrey to Hertfordshire was not overtaxing and didn’t necessitate an overnight stay. Grace had everything planned and although Lady Peabody, in her latest missive, had said that they were not expected until Tuesday or Wednesday, her ladyship intended to arrive on the latter. Grace decided she would leave on the Tuesday and thus avoid having to say insincere farewells to her parents who had naturally read Lady Peabody’s letter for themselves.