Alissa Baxter (13 page)

“I did not mean to imply that you were, Miss Grantham,” Letitia answered quickly. An apprehensive expression flitted suddenly across her face. “Are — are — you, by any chance, acquainted with my brother, Miss Grantham?” she asked.

Deeming it wise to keep her acquaintance with the Duke of Stanford a secret, Alexandra was about to dodge this question by making some vague response, when a deep voice coming from behind her said softly, “Miss Grantham is indeed acquainted with him.”

Alexandra gasped upon hearing the disturbingly familiar voice, and spinning around, uttered one pithy word to the dark haired man leaning nonchalantly against the balcony doors: “You!”

A pair of “formidable-looking eyebrows” rose at this, and the Duke said urbanely, “Indeed, it is I, Miss Grantham, and I am delighted to see you too,” he continued dryly, noting the almost comically horrified look directed at him by Alexandra.

Realising that she must have sounded intolerably rude, Alexandra flushed, and sank into a deep curtsey as befitted the Duke’s rank. Upon rising, she said politely, “Your grace. What a — er — pleasant surprise to meet you again.”

The Duke straightened from his lounging position, and looked sardonically at Alexandra. “Do not attempt to deceive me, Miss Grantham. You may be surprised to see me, but you are certainly in no way pleased.”

Alexandra lifted her chin. “My lord Duke, you presume too much! I am wholly unaffected by your presence. Indeed, one could even say indifferent.”

“I see that your tongue has not lost its sharpness, Miss Grantham,” the Duke said, looking narrowly at her. “Are you normally so caustic or do you save your particular brand of set-downs just for me?”

“Set-downs, your grace?” Alexandra said blandly. “I was not aware that to be unaffected by someone was to insult them. Pray accept my heartfelt apologies.”

His eyes silently acknowledged the hit, but Alexandra had the uneasy feeling that she was taking on more than she could manage by engaging the Duke of Stanford in verbal swordplay. If she was not mistaken, Stanford was a master at that particular game, and she suspected that, once challenged, he would be a formidable adversary.

Consequently, looking rather apprehensively at him, Alexandra wondered what he would say in response to her audacious comment, but the Duke, deciding to ignore provocation, at least for the present, turned his attention instead to his errant sister. This young lady had listened with considerable glee, and with no little awe, to Alexandra’s deliberate attempts to deflate her masterful brother’s ego, and in the process had quite forgotten her previous nervousness at being discovered by Robert, unattended by her cousin, out on the dark balcony. Now however, as his disapproving countenance came to rest on her, it quickly returned.

“And may I enquire, Letty, as to what you are doing out here — alone?” he asked coldly.

Searching her mind frantically for an explanation that her perspicacious brother would accept, Letitia weighed up all her options. Knowing him as she did, she was certain he would see through any attempt by her to dissimulate. Thus, looking rather desperately at Alexandra, she said, “But, I am not alone, Robert. I am accompanied by Miss Grantham!”

Unable to resist the pleading look directed at her, Alexandra came obligingly to the rescue of her new young friend, saying, “Yes, indeed, your grace. It was so stuffy indoors that Lady Letitia and I decided to come outside for a breath of fresh air.”

The Duke looked mockingly at Alexandra. “As a respectable companion for my sister, my dear, you would be the last person I would choose. If I accurately recall, when I last encountered you it was precisely because you were unaccompanied that I took you to task.”

Alexandra was about to make an extremely unwise retort to this remark, when the doors of the balcony opened, and her grandmother appeared. Lady Beauchamp looked around, and seeing Alexandra, said in an exasperated tone of voice, “Oh, there you are, child! I have been searching all over for you. There is someone in particular to whom I wish to introduce you.” Upon seeing the Duke and his sister standing nearby, she continued, “Good evening Robert, Letty. I trust that you are well?” Not waiting for a reply, Lady Beauchamp carried on, “I am rather surprised to see you at a gathering of this sort, Robert. Débutante parties are not quite your style, I would have supposed.”

“You suppose correctly, ma’am. They are interminably dull affairs. I am on my way to White’s, and only stopped here to see whether Gerard wishes to accompany me there.”

“He will be most thankful that you have come to his rescue, Robert,” Letitia said, smiling ruefully. “He was extremely put out when Cousin Amelia insisted that he accompany us here. He said that he had no wish, as he phrased it “to do the pretty to a bunch of females”, but Cousin Amelia said that it was his fraternal duty to escort us here. So, he agreed — albeit very ungraciously. I think you will find him in the card room, Robert.”

“He has more than likely escaped into the garden to blow a cloud, Letty. Somehow, I do not see Gerard playing whist for six-penny points,” the Duke commented dryly, before proceeding to enquire after Lady Beauchamp’s well-being, and in turn answering her queries as to the state of his own mother’s health.

The Dowager Duchess of Stanford had suffered from a severe arthritic complaint for many years, which prevented her from coming to London for the Season. However, her close friends — Lady Beauchamp being one of their number — kept her well informed about the goings-on of Society, and also, at her request, of the activities of her various offspring. The Duke, who was aware of this fact, and had no desire to be cross examined by his mother’s steadfast friend on his recent escapades, excused himself from Lady Beauchamp and Alexandra after a short while and, bestowing a glinting smile on them both, escorted his sister back inside.

Lady Beauchamp turned to Alexandra, and said, “So you have made the acquaintance of Letty Beaumont, my dear. She is a charming girl, but far too headstrong. Robert keeps a close eye on her for she is apt to fall into the most unfortunate scrapes.”

“If that is so, Grandmama, I suppose the Duke’s attention will be diverted away from bringing me into fashion,” Alexandra said thoughtfully.

Lady Beauchamp snorted, and said in her forthright way, “Do not count on it, my dear! Once Robert has made up his mind to do something, he invariably does it. And, he has promised to make you the talk of the town.”

Alexandra shrugged her shoulders, and said in a dismal voice, “I am not at all sure that I would like that to happen, Grandmama, if it means that at every function I attend, I have to endure the attentions of a set of veritable mooncalves. That is why I escaped out here.”

“You should not have come out here unattended, my dear. I was looking all over for you, and could not find you,” Lady Beauchamp chided.

“I am sorry, Grandmama. I did not realise that.”

“Never mind, my dear,” Lady Beauchamp said, with a smile. “I can quite see why you are frustrated with having to endure the conversation of a set of callow youths who are only a few years your senior. That is why I particularly wish to introduce you to my godson, Sir Charles Fotherby. He is all that a gentleman should be, and is of an entirely different stamp from the type of young gentleman with whom you have come into contact since your arrival in London. I am sure that you will get along famously with him.” On this optimistic note Lady Beauchamp, ignoring Alexandra’s doubtful expression, shepherded her charge back inside.

Later that evening Alexandra smothered a yawn as Hobbes helped her undress. She reflected, once she had climbed thankfully into bed, that the remainder of the evening had been of a far more enjoyable nature than the first part. This was largely due to the fact that Sir Charles Fotherby had turned out to be as charming as her grandmother had suggested he would be. Alexandra had spent some few minutes conversing with the engaging baronet on a range of interesting topics, from her love of horses, which he shared, to the intricacies involved in successful fly-fishing. He appeared everything that a gentleman should be — kind, solicitous and pleasant company. Unlike a certain other man who was nothing of the sort, Alexandra thought bitterly, scowling into the darkness. She had come to the conclusion that the Duke of Stanford could only be described as insufferable! He was far too sure of himself, to the extent that she longed to put him properly in his place. Alexandra was pleasurably conjuring up wonderful situations where the Duke, for some obscure and utterly improbable reason, was under her power and begging her for mercy, when tiredness overtook her and her heavy eyelids closed in sleep.

After breakfast the next morning, Sir Charles Fotherby called at Beauchamp House. Alexandra looked up when the handsome baronet was admitted to the Morning Parlour, and rising gracefully from her chair, said with her charming smile, “Sir Charles! What a pleasant surprise.”

Sir Charles moved forward, and bowed over Alexandra’s outstretched hand. “I wish you good morning, my dear Miss Grantham. I hope that you feel as refreshed after a good night’s rest as you look? I have called with the hope of inviting you for a drive in the Park. My curricle is waiting outside...”

“Then we must not keep your horses standing, Sir Charles. If you will grant me a few minutes, I shall join you directly.”

Alexandra hurried upstairs to put on one of her fashionable new bonnets, a charming pale yellow affair with an upstanding poke, and a high crown that framed its wearer’s face exquisitely. No curled plumes adorned this artful confection, but the matching yellow satin ribbons, tied into a bow under one ear, set the hat above the ordinary. Alexandra, after informing a secretly delighted Lady Beauchamp of her godson’s invitation, met this gentleman in the Hall. Sir Charles handed her into the curricle, and, after nodding to his groom, set the restless horses in motion.

Alexandra looked admiringly at the pair of perfectly matched chestnuts harnessed to the curricle, but sat quietly by as Sir Charles manoeuvred the curricle into the busy London traffic. The chestnuts were spirited animals, and Sir Charles needed all his attention to keep his horses in check. When they turned into the gates of Hyde Park, however, Alexandra looked up at him and said appreciatively, “I must compliment you on your splendid horses, Sir Charles. They are fine-steppers, indeed.”

“Yes, they are something out of the ordinary way. Prime bits of blood and bone. I have received numerous offers for them from hopeful buyers, but will never part with them.” He paused briefly, then continued with a rueful smile, “I fear I may sound odiously sentimental, Miss Grantham, but my horses, to me, are like old friends.”

“It is the same for me, Sir Charles,” Alexandra said warmly. “I am embarrassed to say that I miss my faithful mare, Starlight, far more than I do my aunt who remains at Grantham Place. A shameful state of affairs, indeed!”

“Do you intend to ride when you are in London, Miss Grantham?”

“I do. I have arranged for Starlight to be brought to London. I am fairly aching to exercise my limbs, you know. The sedentary way of life of a town-dweller is not for me.”

“Feeling a trifle cramped, Miss Grantham?” Sir Charles asked, with a sympathetic smile.

“Yes, I am,” Alexandra admitted frankly. “At home, I had the advantage of enjoying far more freedom than a young girl in London is allowed. The majority of gentlemen I have been introduced to in London treat me as though I were a piece of fragile porcelain. I believe that they fear I may break — so solicitous are they in their attentions!”

“You cannot blame them entirely, my dear. You have a marked air of fragility about you.”

“Well, it is deceptive, then,” Alexandra said smartly. “I am as strong as an ox, you know, and I dislike being thought of as a helpless creature, unable to take care of herself. The very idea is nonsensical!”

Sir Charles chuckled. “If you flash your eyes like that at your numerous suitors, my dear, they will very soon come to realise that fact.” As he spoke, Sir Charles caught sight of a lady waving imperiously at him, and drew the curricle up to the side of the carriageway.

Alexandra suppressed a sigh when she saw that the ladies making their way over to Sir Charles’s curricle were none other than Mrs Hadley, and her daughter, Jane. She brightened a little, however, when she saw that her dear friend Emily, Mrs Hadley’s stepdaughter, was also with them. Another lady of middle years, who was unknown to her, accompanied the Hadleys.

Mrs Hadley smiled affably as she stopped beside the carriage. “My dear Miss Grantham. How delightful it is to see you again! I hope that you are well? May I present my sister, Mrs Morecombe, to you? Edith — Miss Alexandra Grantham, a neighbour from home, and a dear friend of my daughters.”

Mrs Morecombe smiled thinly. “Miss Grantham,” she murmured, inclining her head.

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance, ma’am,” Alexandra said politely. She smiled at Jane and Emily, before turning her attention to Mrs Hadley. “I am perfectly well, thank you, Mrs Hadley. I trust that you had a good journey to London?”

“Oh yes, thank you. A very good journey, indeed. You left earlier than planned, did you not?”

“I did, ma’am. Grandmama arrived earlier than expected and, before I knew what she was about, whisked me off to London.” Looking at Sir Charles, Alexandra continued, “Mrs Hadley, Jane and Emily, you must allow me to introduce my companion to you — Sir Charles Fotherby.”

Sir Charles bowed politely and said, “Delighted to make your acquaintance, ladies. Mrs Morecombe and I have met,” he added with a formal nod in Mrs Morecombe’s direction when Mrs Hadley made to introduce her sister to him.

“Indeed, it is quite like my dear sister to be acquainted with all the most charming people in London, Sir Charles,” Mrs Hadley said in a complacent voice. “You, of course, know that she cuts quite a figure in Polite Circles. She has a vast acquaintance, and I am relying on her to pave the way for us socially. Jane and I are also acquainted with his grace, the Duke of Stanford, which should aid us. Are you on terms with the Duke, Sir Charles?”