Mask of Duplicity (The Jacobite Chronicles Book 1) (35 page)

“Oh, God, I hope not,” Beth groaned.

“Didn’t you like the prince, then? Many of the ladies find him most attractive,” Caroline commented.

Beth looked at her incredulously.

“I find that hard to believe,” she said. “Although on second thoughts, maybe not. I never cease to be amazed at what women find attractive.”

“Titles and money are powerful aphrodisiacs, my dear,” Caroline said, in an uncannily accurate mimicry of Sir Anthony. A shadow crossed Beth’s face briefly.

“It is as well that William Augustus has those, then, because he’s distinctly lacking in looks and personality,” she said. She had found his incipient obesity, his wet red lips and his protuberant blue eyes repellent. His remarks had been innocent enough; the state of the weather, polite requests as to how she was enjoying her first season in London; but every comment had been addressed to her bosom, and she had the strong conviction that apart from wanting a quick tumble with her, he felt that women were beneath contempt.

“Never mind. I am sure Anthony will protect you from any dishonourable intentions the prince might have. He’s an expert at bumbling innocently into any uncomfortable situation, just when the lady is most in need of rescue.” Caroline paused to refill her cup, then gave Beth a look of shrewd appraisal.

“Every time I mention Anthony’s name you look as though you’re eating a lemon. You might as well tell me what has happened. I assume you are still angry with him for telling you about Lord Daniel’s gambling problem?”

“That’s what he thought,” Beth said crossly. “No, I wouldn’t have been angry with him for telling me that. I would have been upset, but I needed to know, especially in view of what happened later...But he didn’t tell
me
, Caroline, he told the whole room of stupid babbling gossips while I was there, and took the greatest pleasure in doing so. It was horrible.” To her horror her eyes filled with tears, and she realised just how emotionally fragile she still was. She sniffed loudly, and looked down at her teacup.

“You are doing him an injustice, Beth,” Caroline said. “He took no pleasure in what he did, I assure you.”

“Is that what he told you?” Beth said hotly. “Well, I was there. Believe me, he relished every moment of it. He couldn’t wait to humiliate me in front of as many ladies as possible.”

“I can’t argue with you on that, Beth. You’re right, I wasn’t there. But I do know this. He called to see you twice a day for three days once he found out about Lord Daniel, but Isabella told him you were ill and could see no one. He was terrified that Daniel would propose to you at any moment and you would accept without knowing the reason behind it. We were all frightened of that. We knew how infatuated you were with him. To be honest, I thought he would persuade you to marry him anyway, regardless of the fact that it was clear he only wanted you for your dowry. It was Anthony who said you were more level-headed than I thought, and he was right. He could hardly force his way in to see you. He took the only opportunity he could to tell you.”

Beth looked suspiciously at Caroline’s face, which was flushed with emotion.

“Is that why he brought me here and then drove away? So you could argue his case for him, and persuade me to forgive him?” she said.

“No it isn’t,” Caroline snapped. “I thought he would come in with you. For God’s sake, Beth, I know how distraught you are about Daniel’s betrayal, but don’t assume everyone is like him. Anthony would be appalled if he knew I was defending him to you. He would no doubt prefer you to make up your own mind about the reasons for his behaviour. But I won’t sit here and let you accuse him unjustly. He is my friend, and so are you. We’re here for you, if you want us. But don’t take your anger and hurt at Daniel’s behaviour out on Anthony, or on me for that matter. It’s unfair.”

 Beth looked at the carpet, unable to speak. Caroline’s words had hurt her, and her first impulse was to lash out. But her friend was right. Beth had been infatuated with Daniel, had been able to see no wrong in him. And now she was trying to avoid more pain and humiliation by seeing the worst in everyone.

“I’m sorry you’ve been hurt, Beth, I truly am,” Caroline continued in a gentler voice. “But I cannot say I’m sorry that you’ve seen Lord Daniel for what he is. Neither Edwin nor I thought he was suitable for you, in spite of his title. I wanted to tell you that. This may surprise you, but Anthony was of the view that you should decide for yourself, and we should not try to influence you. It was only when he discovered how much debt Daniel was in that he decided to warn you. He had to, and you would not see him privately. I know you don’t like him much, but he cares about you, Beth.”

Beth still sat unmoving, her head bent. A huge tear suddenly splashed onto the pale silk, then another. Her shoulders heaved as she tried to swallow back the deluge, and then Caroline was kneeling beside her, her arms around her, and Beth leaned into the comforting warmth of her friend and gave in to her grief.

By the time Edwin came home, Beth had almost recovered, although her eyes were still red and swollen from the torrent of weeping. He strode in on the emotional feminine scene and stopped uncertainly three paces into the room.

“Ah,” he mumbled. “Er, is Anthony in the library, then?”

“No,” his wife replied. “He didn’t come in with Beth.”

“Oh,” Edwin replied, puzzled. “His coach is outside, so I thought...”

Beth started up.

“Oh!” she said. “He said he would send the coach back for me in an hour. I had completely forgotten. I must go.”

“You will do no such thing, until you’re ready. And I have something to tell you, once we have sorted out what to do about Anthony,” said Caroline.

“Shall I leave you in peace?” Edwin said, clearly eager to be away from this torrent of disturbing female emotion.

“No, sit down, you may be able to give some advice,” Caroline said.

He sat down on the edge of a chair.

“Beth has told Anthony in no uncertain terms that she wants to terminate their acquaintance,” Caroline explained.

Beth reddened.

“Er...what I actually said was that I had no need of friends who would stab me in the back for the thrill of being the first to pass on a piece of gossip.”

“Ah, I see,” said Edwin uncomfortably. “Well, that should do it, right enough.”

“He was very cold to me after that, apart from the spectacular act we put on for the king, of course,” she said in a small voice.

“Well of course he was,” said Caroline. “You have hurt him. If you’d been a man he probably would have called you out. That’s how men usually deal with insults, isn’t it?” She looked at her husband.

“Er...yes, it is one way, although of course it’s not looked on favourably by the authorities. Would you like some more tea?” he said brightly.

“No. Stay where you are,” Caroline ordered. “The question now, is, do you want to terminate your friendship with Anthony or not?”

“I don’t know what I want,” Beth said honestly. “I know I don’t have the high opinion of him that you do, but it seems I’ve been unfair to him when he was trying to help me. I can’t just leave things as they are.”

“She will have to see Anthony again next week, Edwin. The king has invited them to a musical soiree at the Palace.”

“Has he, by God!” said Edwin. “Your act must have impressed him, Beth.”

“Yes, yes,” said Caroline impatiently. “The question is, should she leave it until then to apologise, or should she write to Anthony beforehand?” Both women looked at Edwin.

“Em...well, by next week, he will certainly have calmed down, I would say. Perhaps it would be wise to wait until then. On the other hand, it could do no harm to send an appropriately worded letter in the meantime.” He smiled at the ladies.

“Now you know why Edwin is a politician, Beth,” Caroline said. “He’s an expert at not answering questions. Let me put it more directly, my love. What would you do if you had insulted Anthony in the way Beth has?”

“Probably bleed profusely all over Hyde Park,” Edwin mused. “It may surprise you, but Anthony is remarkably adept with a sword. I’ve seen him practising on occasion. I wouldn’t want him to challenge me to a duel.”

“I give up,” said Caroline, exasperated. “Go on then, we will have more tea.”

Edwin was out of the room in seconds.

“What was this matter you wanted to talk to me about earlier?” said Beth.

Now it was Caroline’s turn to look uncomfortable.

“It can wait. I didn’t realise just how upset you would be about Daniel. On the other hand, it’s probably better you hear it from me than anyone else.”

“You’re starting to sound like Edwin,” Beth said. She felt more cheerful now that she had had a good cry. It was nice to have people she could relax with and speak her mind to. “Tell me what it is. If it’s something upsetting, I’d rather hear it from a friend, than a malicious old cow like Lady Winter.”

“Lord Daniel has left London, and returned to his father’s estate,” Caroline said. Beth nodded. “Before he left, he let it be known that he had visited you, and that there had been an emotional scene.”

“That’s right,” said Beth. “He proposed to me and I refused him. We were both upset.

“That’s one version of the story,” Caroline said. She took a deep breath. “His version is that he discovered your mother was in fact a whore from the Highlands of Scotland who your father was duped into marrying. He said that once he discovered that, he came to tell you he could not marry you, and you begged and pleaded with him to change his mind.” She looked at Beth’s shocked countenance. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Perhaps I should have waited, after all.”

“No,” said Beth, her voice trembling with rage. “You were right. It was better I hear that from you.” She gripped the sides of the chair so hard her knuckles whitened. “By Christ,” she said in a low voice, “I wish I was a man. I would kill him for that. In fact, if I get the opportunity, I may do anyway.” She looked at Caroline, and then at Edwin, who had chosen that moment to reappear with a tray of tea.

“Just so that you both know the truth,” Beth said. “It is true that my mother was from the Highlands of Scotland. Her name was Ann MacDonald. She was poor. I was stupid and trusting enough to tell Daniel that. But she was not a whore. Nor was my father duped into marrying her. They loved each other, very much. I could not have had a better mother. And I could not have a worse brother. When this rumour reaches his ears, he will kill me.”

Edwin and Caroline exchanged alarmed glances. It was clear that Beth was not joking, or exaggerating. Anthony had told them he thought Richard to be brutal. Was he really that bad?

“No he will not,” Caroline said.

“You don’t know him, Caroline,” Beth replied. “I haven’t told you half of what he’s done.”

“No, but I do know that while he thinks you have a chance of a superb marriage to a man with military influence, it is in his interests not to hurt you, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but once this rumour gets round, no one will be interested in me,” Beth said.

“Nonsense! You’re still worth twenty thousand. And who will believe the malicious words of the out-of-favour son of a mere earl, when they know that the woman who rejected him has now caught the eye of none other than Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, a man who, I might add, has more military influence than any man in the country, except perhaps the king himself?”

Beth and Edwin both looked at Caroline.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’m not telling any lies. I think your brother, rather than wishing to kill you, will worship the ground you walk on when he hears this. And of course, the king and the duke will both be leaving the country soon, and will be too occupied with military matters in the meantime to condescend to refuting such rumours, should they get to hear of them. I think I’ll throw a small dinner party tomorrow. Just a few select friends. I am so sorry you’ll be unable to attend, Beth.”

“Thank you, Caroline,” Beth said.

“Think nothing of it. It will be my pleasure. I never liked the spoiled brat Daniel anyway. And I must confess to not liking your brother much, although he’s never done anything to me.”

“I am not thanking you for that, although I should. Thank you for telling me what Daniel said about my mother. You have quite cured me of my infatuation for him.”

It was true, she thought as the coachman assisted her into Sir Anthony’s waiting carriage a few minutes later. Her former love and hurt had been transformed into a slow-burning anger. She sank back onto the seat. What a long day! It seemed to have gone on forever! She could hardly believe it was not yet even four o’ clock. She had aged ten years today, she felt. She had certainly grown up. It would be a long time before she would give her heart again. She had learnt a good deal about betrayal and vindictiveness over the last days. And she had been guilty of both too, she thought uncomfortably as the carriage bounced down the rutted road. She had not given Sir Anthony a chance to speak, had condemned him out of hand and insulted him. And he had still treated her with the utmost courtesy in the presence of the king, had conveyed her to Caroline’s, knowing that she needed the comfort of a friend, and then had sent his coach back for her. She could not wait until next week to set things right between them. She would write tonight, tired as she was.

She sat for a few minutes, musing on how she could word a letter. Then she knocked on the roof of the coach, bringing it lurching to a halt.

* * *

The man who opened the door to Beth’s knock was dressed in green livery, and looked down at her in that slightly superior manner that all footmen worthy of their salt affected.

“Good afternoon,” she said briskly. “I have come to see Sir Anthony, if he is at home.” She almost hoped he wasn’t. She had ordered the coach to turn round and drive to the Peters’ household on impulse, and was already starting to regret it.

“Is he expecting you, Miss...?”

“Cunningham,” Beth said, looking more closely at the man’s face. Although he had only spoken a few words, his accent was unmistakably Scottish. She looked down at his hands, but he was wearing beige calfskin gloves. She could hardly ask him to take them off, or enquire as to whether he had a scar on his right hand.