Grenville 02 - Lord John's Dilemma (7 page)

“You had no governess?”

“Papa arranged for her to have her vacations when Gerald had his. Until he went up to Oxford.” She sighed. “Then it was Miss Wilder all year ‘round. Plenty of time to learn dancing and watercolors.”

Delia stood up. “Now where have those girls got to?”

“I will go,” he said.

“We shall go together,” she said. “They are my responsibility. What games did you play as a child, Major?” Just talking to him about the secret worlds of their childhoods gave her a feeling of well-being. As they stood, he took her arm to guide her.

“My mother taught me at home until I was ten. But I grew up mostly in London, so my adventures were between the covers of the books she wrote and illustrated. I did not know what I was missing, but should I have children, I would like to give them the country childhood you had.”

There is a happy little boy inside all that melancholy.
There is hope for him, I think.

At that moment, they heard a cry. Delia’s heart leapt. “Oh my gracious! What now?” She began moving at a quickened pace through the woods at her left. The major’s long stride took him ahead.

She came to a small clearing where Mariah had evidently stepped into a rabbit hole.

“Are you hurt, my dear?” Delia asked.

“I twisted my ankle,” the girl said. A stack of sticks lay between her and Molly, who was looking at her sister with concern. Nellie was frisking about, whimpering.

“Hold on,” said the major. He knelt upon the carpet of last autumn’s leaves and examined the problem. Then he put his large hand down the hole and brought the foot out gently. “Sit down, Mariah, so I can examine it.”

He rotated her foot slowly and the girl drew in a hiss of breath. “Ouch.”

“Never mind,” he said. “It is not serious. Nothing is broken.”

“Mama is going to be angry,” Mariah said mournfully.

“Come. I shall carry you back.” He slung her up, cradling her in his arms.

“But your arm!” protested Delia.

“It is well enough. Mariah weighs next to nothing. Let us be on our way.”

Fortunately, Lady Lindsay was not about. Miss Lindsay and Leticia were sitting in a shady corner of the terrace, embroidering.

“Lord John!” Miss Lindsay cried, standing at their appearance. “I had no idea you were here. What has happened to Mariah?”

“I stepped in a rabbit hole is all,” said her sister.

“She’ll be right as rain if she stays off of it,” said the major. “Is your mother about?”

Leticia said, “She has gone calling, fortunately. I will go get some linen bandages and we can wrap it up.”

“Miss Haverley!” cried Miss Lindsay in a good imitation of her mother’s disdain. “How could you let this happen?”

“She could hardly have prevented it,” said Molly. “The hole is an old one. It was covered with dead leaves.”

“But what were you doing in the woods?” asked Miss Lindsay.

“We were taking Nellie for a swim,” said the major reasonably. “I shall take the dog back to the barn now.”

“Molly can do it,” said Miss Lindsay. “I imagine you are dying of thirst.” She looked up at the major and her displeasure seemed to dissolve. “You would probably like some lemonade.”

“I shall see to it,” said Delia.

Not wanting to irritate Miss Lindsay further, she entered the house and found Mrs. Daniels. She requested that lemonade be carried out to the group on the terrace. Then she disappeared into the library, where she intended to busy herself looking up some Blake and Wordsworth to read to Mariah while her ankle healed.

The library window looked out onto the terrace. Standing back and to the side so she was shielded by the fall of the drapes, she could see the major towering above Marianne, smiling one of his rare smiles as she entertained him with some witticism.

It appeared that Miss Lindsay was a talented flirt.
She
would never bore the man with tales of her childhood. When the major looked at her, he would see a desirable woman, not a plain little governess.

Delia straightened her back. Was she pitying herself? How silly she was.

I am not a plain little governess. It is only the role I am playing. But how is Major John Lambeth to know that?

As she turned away from the window, she wished he could see her in her finery just once.

{ 7 }

M
iss Lindsay was teasing John about his fondness for her sisters. “They are sadly lacking in discipline. Miss Haverley is not nearly stern enough with them.”

“Did you have a terribly stern governess?” he asked.

“She was a monster!” Miss Lindsay said, laughing. “I had to walk about with a book on my head and my fingers were raw from pricking them with my embroidery needle.”

Leticia returned with the bandage and began to bind Mariah’s ankle. “If I were you, Missy,” she said to her sister, “I would hobble upstairs to your room and pretend to be reading a good book so Mama does not find out what you have been up to. Otherwise you may lose another governess, and Miss Haverley does not deserve to be punished for your sins!”

John agreed with those sentiments. He had a feeling that whatever had brought Miss Haverley down in the world, she was reliving her happy childhood through Molly and Mariah.

“Miss Haverley is not at fault,” he said. “I wanted to meet Nellie and take her for a swim. Was she to override the wishes of a Lord of the Realm?”

Mrs. Daniels came onto the terrace with a large pitcher of lemonade. Miss Lindsay immediately poured out a glass for him. “You are too charming for your own good,” she said, raising an eyebrow as a smile played about her mouth. “But I am glad to see your spirits reviving.”

John realized she was right. He did feel better than he had in a long time. The Lindsay girls were obviously good medicine. And he had gathered more clues in the incidental mystery of Miss Haverley. She had lost both parents as well as her brother, he was quite sure. The jewels were obviously her inheritance. If they had kept a stable full of hunters, the family must have been quite well off. What had happened in the meantime?

It occurred to him that Lieutenant Tompkins, who had served under him, was from Kent. Perhaps he knew the Haverley name. He was exceptionally well connected. John decided he would send an enquiry. The mystery grew increasingly intriguing. The woman was obviously
not
cut out to be a governess.

As he was relaxing with his lemonade, Miss Lindsay asked, “Have you been invited to the Hetheringtons’ fête? It is to raise money for a new church roof.”

“Who are the Hetheringtons?” he asked.

“I forget, you did not live here much as a child. They live at the north end of the County. They are my parents’ age and have sons the same ages as all of us. It will be rather provincial, but should be fun. There is a ball afterward in the evening. I am certain your brother has had an invitation.”

John took a deep breath. If he was going to start courting Miss Lindsay, he should be about it. This fête offered a good opportunity. “Am I correct in my assumption that it is proper for single young ladies to ride with single young men in an open carriage?”

“You are, my lord.”

“When is this fête?”

“Three days hence, on Saturday, my lord.”

He took the plunge. “Will you do me the honor of driving there with me in my brother’s curricle?”

“Of course.” She smiled at him, but he felt an unwelcome distance between them, as though he were seeing her through a pane of glass. She was a beautiful woman. Why did his heart not stir?

Setting down his glass, he rose. “Well, then. I will be off. Thank you for the lemonade. I hope Mariah’s sprain will not be evident to your mother’s eye. I should hate her to be scolded for something that was my fault entirely.”

Miss Lindsay’s smile reminded him of the cat who had got into the cream. “Trust me, my Lord John, I will see that Mariah does not suffer.”

“I am obliged to you.” He bowed to her and then turned to Leticia. “Will you be at this fête, Miss Leticia?”

“Oh, I would not miss it! It is not your typical county fête. The Hetheringtons have imagination.”

He took his leave, suddenly anxious that his letter to Tompkins regarding Miss Haverley make the afternoon post. As he walked back to the manor, he was composing it in his mind.

However, once he arrived, it was to see a strange carriage in the drive. He was very surprised to hear his sister’s voice when he entered the vestibule.

“Anabella!” he said. “What a surprise! Neither Alex nor Felicity told me you were coming.”

“They did not know,” she said, smiling at him and standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “I wanted to surprise you. You look surprisingly fit, John. I am so glad. Felicity wrote that you were quite ill with fever.”

“Is that why you’re here? Did the doctor come?”

If he didn’t know his sister so well, he would have missed the minute hardening of her face as her jaw set. “No. I came with just the children.”

“I have not seen Terrence and Ruthie for over a year,” he said, squeezing her hands. “I am glad of your visit, Anabella.”

Felicity came sailing into the hall. “Anabella! How lovely to see you. When I did not hear from you, I assumed you were not coming.”

“I decided not to waste time writing, but just to pack our things and come. John is looking very well. I thought he was supposed to be ill?”

“I am a hardy plant,” John said. “I am used to healing up in surroundings much less luxurious than this.”

“And Felicity tells me you have resigned your commission?”

“Yes. Now tell me, what have you done with your offspring?”

“They are up in the nursery already, unless I miss my guess,” Anabella said with a laugh. To John’s ears, it sounded a bit forced. He knew whatever was bothering her, Felicity would winkle it out of her as soon as he left them alone.

He went upstairs to find his niece and nephew.

Before dinner that night, as they stood drinking Madeira in the drawing room waiting for Anabella to appear, Alex said to John in a low voice, “Bad business. Anabella has left Alan.”

“What? I was under the impression that they were very happy.”

“You know how difficult to please Anabella has always been,” his brother said. “I do not know the particulars, but she is anything but happy.”

“Does she intend to live here?” he asked.

“Where else does she have to go?” Alex asked. “Although I do expect Alan to come to that conclusion and to be among us shortly.”

Felicity added, “Anabella has always been of a dramatic temperament. It may mean nothing more serious than that they have had a spat. This has happened before.”

At that moment, they heard their sister on the stairs and started up a conversation about the Hetherington fête.

“I am to take Miss Lindsay in the curricle, if that meets with your approval, Alex.”

“Miss Lindsay?” squealed Anabella as she entered. “You are courting Miss Lindsay? How splendid!”

{ 8 }

D
elia did not escape a scolding from Lady Lindsay. The woman found her reading Wordsworth to Molly and Mariah in the schoolroom. Mariah’s leg was propped up on a chair. Lady Lindsay’s mouth was set in a grim line.

“Miss Haverley! Whatever were you thinking to wander in the
forest
with my daughters? Mariah’s sprain may prevent her from going to the fête!”

“It was Lord John’s idea!” lied Molly gallantly. “He wished to take Nellie for a swim. Then we went searching for a stick to play fetch.”

“Lord John was with you?” Lady Lindsay asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes. He carried me back to the house,” Mariah said. She gave a titter. “It was awfully thrilling!”

Her mother seemed somewhat appeased. “Lord John is to take your sister to the Heatherington’s fête in his curricle.” The lady’s satisfaction over this fact put her in an improved mood. “Miss Haverely, you will see that the girls stay indoors until Saturday when we leave for the fête. I do not want any more mishaps.”

Delia breathed more easily. She did not want to lose this post. It had been difficult to come by with only the forged reference Permelia had provided.

The next morning brought a letter from Permelia on her breakfast tray.

Dearest friend,

Life is very dull here without you. I was so glad to receive your letter!

Actually, we did have a bit of excitement yesterday. Lord Manchester paid me a visit. He wished to know your direction. He has not given up on his courtship. He is determined to wed you, I think. He looked very devil-may-care in his black riding costume. He had come all the way from London to see you.

When I would not give him your direction, he gave me a letter for you which I have enclosed. He does not give up easily. I am certain he continues to receive encouragement from your uncle.

Do not eat me, but would marriage to him really be worse than being a governess? At least you would have independence from your uncle and a home of your own. And I know how very fond you are of children. He is certainly not repulsive.

I have just completed Lord Byron’s
Corsair,
and it may have made me a bit too romantic. Forgive me if I have offended you with my suggestion.

I am to go to London with my parents for the Little Season. It will be so good to be there again. I know you do not care for London, but I am so very bored here. I long for a ball or a rout or even a ride in Hyde Park! But here I am embroidering pillowcases for my trousseau.

There is not even any gossip worth sharing. I miss you terribly.

Your devoted,

Permelia

Delia folded the letter and took up the enclosure from Lord Manchester with reluctance.

My very dear Lady Cordelia,

I hope that your disappearance has nothing to do with my paying my addresses to you. Your uncle is concerned for your well-being, as am I.

I would not be an onerous husband. I promise that you would have your independence. I repeat what I told you before: Once I have an heir, you are perfectly free to pursue your own life. You may even have a separate establishment, if you wish. I know how much you love Dorsetshire.