Mr. Malcolm's List (19 page)

“Selina,
be reasonable.
 
You may not be concerned
about your reputation, but I do care about mine.
 
If you leave and we are not engaged, people
are bound to think I behaved dishonorably toward you.
 
Why, Cassie has already threatened to end our
friendship if I do not marry you.
 
If you
stay on for a few more days, perhaps a week, and we enter into a pretend
engagement, then later we can say that you jilted me.
 
At least then no one can accuse me of
behaving badly.”

“But then
I will be labeled a jilt,” Selina said.

“Better a
jilt than a—”

“I grasp
your point,” Selina said hurriedly.

“I was
going to say reject.
 
That will be my
role, unfortunately.
 
What did you think
I was going to say?” Malcolm asked, smiling.

“It is
not important,” Selina said.
 
“So you are
saying that I will only have to pretend for a few days—”

“I think
a week would be better,” Malcolm said, interrupting her.

“All of
the guests are scheduled to leave in three days anyway.
 
I do not think our performance needs to
extend past their departure,” Selina said, looking suspiciously at Malcolm.

Malcolm
hurried to dispel her suspicions.
 
“You
are right, of course.
 
I had forgotten
that was the date they had mentioned.
 
So
you will stay for the last three days of the house party then?”

“I
suppose so,” Selina said.
 
Malcolm wished
she sounded a little more excited.

“Good.
 
And we will behave as if we are engaged?”
Malcolm asked.

“I will
not deny it if asked, but please do not expect me to play the doting
fiancé.
 
I refuse to go that far.”

“Of
course not, I do not expect it of you,” Malcolm said.
 
“Although if you could behave as though you
do not find me utterly repulsive, that might make our engagement a little more
believable.”

“But I
thought you could not abide deception?
 
Surely you would not want me to prevaricate?” Selina asked, wide-eyed.

Malcolm
realized the next three days were going to be more difficult than he could ever
have imagined.

Not two
minutes after Malcolm left there was another knock at the door.
 
Selina resisted the urge to yell, “Go away,”
remembering that she was supposed to be a happily engaged woman now.
 
So she went to the door, to find Julia in the
process of opening it.

“Selina,
I am so glad you and Malcolm have worked out all of your problems.
 
I was absolutely consumed with guilt, but now
I can be happy again,” Julia said, following Selina into the room.

Selina
was in the midst of returning her clothes to the closet.
 
She continued with that task, while Julia
made herself comfortable on the window seat.
 
“I am overjoyed that you no longer have me on your conscience,” Selina
said.

“What are
you doing?” Julia asked, ignoring her friend’s sarcasm.

“I am
unpacking.”

“Unpacking?
 
How can you be unpacking, we have been here
for over a week.
 
I do not understand,”
Julia said.

“Yes,
well, I had begun to pack, but then changed my mind, and now I am unpacking.”

“Why had
you begun to pack?
 
Surely you were not
going to leave right after becoming engaged?
 
I have to say, I am quite pleased with the way things turned out.
 
I had thought at first that I may have ruined
your prospects, but now I think you must admit that you have reason to be
grateful to me.”

This was
too much for Selina to bear.
 
“Well,
before you begin congratulating yourself too enthusiastically, you should know
that Malcolm and I are only pretending to be engaged until the house party
ends, at which time I plan to jilt him.”
 
Selina began to smile slightly.
 
“You
know, I think that is the only part of this whole business that I will enjoy.”

Julia sat
up in her seat and stared at Selina in dismay.
 
“What do you mean, pretending to be engaged?
 
Why would you pretend?
 
You seemed to be getting along rather well
when I saw you together in the fountain this afternoon.”

Selina
blushed at the reference to her aquatic activities, busying herself with the
remaining dresses on the bed.
 
“Yes,
well, that is what finally determined me against Malcolm.
 
He had the unmitigated gall to suggest that I
had arranged the afternoon’s events in order to compromise him.”

“Did
you?” Julia asked.

“Of
course I did not!” Selina said, offended.
 
“Lady Kilbourne did.”

“Really?
 
I would have never suspected it of her.
 
She always behaves so properly.
 
I find her a little intimidating, actually.
 
I had wondered if Cassie was behind it, but
it was executed so well I had to discount him immediately.
 
If he had done it,
he
would have been
the one to end up in the fountain.”

Selina
found herself giggling at Julia’s comment, much to her own surprise.
 
She sobered almost immediately, throwing
herself onto the bed and wailing, “Oh, why do things have to be so
complicated?”

“I wish I
knew.
 
I would have never expected to
fall in love with someone like Henry.
 
He’s so…
nice
,” Julia said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

“I wish
my problem were that Malcolm is nice, but it is the exact opposite.
 
You would not believe the things he said to
me.”

“But you
said Lady Kilbourne locked you in the conservatory.
 
Does Malcolm know?”

“Yes, he
is the one that told me.
 
And he
apologized for his suspicions of me, and said he still wanted to marry me.
 
But it is not enough, Julia.
 
He’s distrustful of me and he’s being forced
into marriage with me.
 
That is not the
foundation for a happy relationship.”

“Did he
know that you wanted to leave?”

“Yes,
that is when he came up with the idea of the false betrothal.
 
He said he did not want people to think he
had behaved dishonorably toward me.”

“I think
that was an excuse to make you stay, Selina.
 
It is not like any of us would have gossiped about the matter.
 
No, I believe he is more anxious for this
match than you suppose.”

“Do you
really?” Selina asked hopefully.

“I do
indeed.
 
Which is not to say that he
should not be allowed to suffer a little,” Julia said, with a wicked smile.

“Julia,
perhaps it would be best if you did not interfere,” Selina said, a little
worried by that smile.

“Nonsense.
 
Everything will be fine.
 
Trust me.”

Selina
would as lief trust a snake, but she nodded meekly, having learned that it did
not pay to argue with Julia.

Sixteen

It is to
be wondered why Selina and Malcolm were feigning an engagement when practically
the entire house party knew it to be a pretense.
 
Malcolm had confided the truth to his mother,
who had confided in Mrs. Dalton, who had confided in Mr. Dalton.
 
Selina had of course told Julia, who had told
Henry and Cassie.
 
The only person who
did not know what was transpiring was Mrs. Thistlewaite, who would not have
cared anyway, as she was engrossed in a particularly challenging piece of
needlework.

However,
the entire party went out of their way to pretend they were totally unaware
there was anything amiss with the engagement.
 
At dinner, that was all anyone spoke of and, upon retiring into the
drawing room afterwards, the conversation was still focused on the supposed
nuptials, until Selina felt she would rather scream than answer another
question about when the wedding was to be, and where, and who was to make up
the bridal party.

Lady
Kilbourne and Julia were having more fun than they could remember in their
attempts to put Malcolm and Selina out of countenance.
 
Lady Kilbourne was particularly successful
when she suggested that Malcolm and Selina ride out in the morning so that
Malcolm could introduce his affianced bride to his tenants.

Malcolm,
who appreciated what his mother was trying to do, thought she was in danger of
going too far.
 
Selina was far from
looking the part of the blissful bride, and looked particularly perturbed at
Lady Kilbourne’s suggestion.

“Perhaps
it would be better if we took such a tour once the banns were posted,” Malcolm
suggested.

“What?
 
And have your tenants feel as if they were
the last to know?
 
I do not think that
would serve at all,” Lady Kilbourne protested.
 
“No, it is better for you to go tomorrow.”

Malcolm
looked over at Selina with a shrug, as if to say he had tried, but there was no
gainsaying his mother.
 
Secretly,
however, he was pleased.
 
The more people
Selina was introduced to as his fiancé, the harder it would be for her to
wriggle out of the engagement.
 
Malcolm
figured that was probably why his mother made the suggestion in the first
place, and he began to feel a whole new respect for her.
 
He also realized that his poor father had
never really stood a chance.

He left Selina’s
side to walk to the tea tray, where he was joined by Julia.
 
“So you and Selina are to make a match of it
after all,” she said.

“It does
appear that way, doesn’t it,” Malcolm said.

Julia
smiled at the way he phrased his response, which caused Malcolm to wonder what
it was that made her grin so.
 
“I am very
pleased that you are to marry my friend,” Julia said, “but I must tell you that
there is one person who is still not reconciled to the match.”

“Indeed?
 
Who might that be?” Malcolm asked, hoping she
would not say Selina.

“Why, Mr.
Ossory, of course.
 
You must have noticed
how he admires her.
 
He confided to me
that he wishes she will cry off, for he still has hopes in that regard.”

Malcolm
looked over to where Selina sat just in time to see Henry approach her and sit
in the seat Malcolm had just vacated.
 
He
had no way of knowing that Julia had arranged matters so Henry would be seen in
company with Selina at the same time she was telling Malcolm that Henry admired
Selina.

“I am
sorry that Mr. Ossory still entertains hopes in that direction, because he is
destined for disappointment,” Malcolm said, looking quite fierce.

“I must
admit I would be happier were he not to attain that particular goal,” Julia
said.
 
“So I have come to warn you not to
do anything foolish that might turn Selina against you and cause her to break
the engagement, because then we will both have cause for regret.”

Malcolm
just nodded, still observing Henry and Selina, and Julia smiled, pleased to see
him looking so tormented.
 
She was less
pleased when he walked briskly over to Selina and Henry, demanding his seat be
returned to him and making it very obvious he was angry.

Henry
walked over to Julia’s side, looking rather bewildered.
 
“I swear, I do not know what is wrong with
Jeremy.
 
His mood seems irrationally
violent.
 
I had just gone over to speak
to Selina as you suggested and he nearly bit my head off.
 
I hope he and Selina work out their
differences soon.”

“Oh, he
is merely jealous.
 
I told him you still
had hopes for a match with Selina, and he is indulging in a fit of temper.”

“You did
what?” Henry asked, his voice louder than usual.
 
When Julia noticed they had become the
cynosure of all eyes, she quickly pulled him out the doors that led to the
gardens.

“It is
perfectly harmless, Henry.
 
I just wanted
to be sure that he values Selina as he ought.
 
I thought if he knew that you were waiting in the wings he would be even
less likely to allow Selina to break their engagement.”

“Julia, I
have had it with you inventing stories and getting me involved in these silly
schemes of yours.
 
I would have thought
you’d have learned your lesson by now.”

Julia was
surprised to see that Henry was really angry.
 
“But, Henry, this is not a scheme, it’s really very innocent.
 
You don’t even have to do anything.
 
Although it might be a good idea if you
showed Selina a
little
extra attention.”
  

“You
see!
 
That is exactly what I mean.
 
I refuse to pretend an attraction I do not
feel, just because you have been fabricating stories.”

“But it
is not an attraction you do not feel. You
are
attracted to Selina.”

“So now I
am not even allowed to decide to whom I am attracted?
 
The least you could do is allow me to decide
that!
 
Does
this
seem as though I
am attracted to Selina?” Henry asked, and pulled Julia into his arms, where she
was very thoroughly kissed.
 
“Well?” He
asked afterward, but in a completely different tone of voice than he had used
previously.
 

“Henry,”
Julia said softly, still nestled in his arms, “I thought you were nice.”

So Henry
bent and kissed her again, in a manner that was considerably naughtier than it
was nice.

Things
were not proceeding as well for the couple still left in the drawing room.
 
After Henry and Julia left the room, Selina
turned to Malcolm and questioned his behavior toward Henry.

“Yes, I
am sure you would not want me behaving unkindly toward
Henry
,” Malcolm said, in a voice laden with significance.

“I do not
want you behaving unkindly toward anyone,” Selina said.
 
“But particularly toward someone who is
supposed to be your friend.”

“Yes, he
is
supposed
to be my friend, just as you are
supposed
to be my
intended bride.”

Selina
looked at him in justifiable confusion.
 
“I gather from your tone of voice I am expected to infer something from
that statement, but I am sorry to say that I have no idea what you’re talking
about.”

“I am
sure you do not,” Malcolm said, still in that sarcastic tone.
 
“You are just biding your time, aren’t
you?
 
You are just waiting until you can
jilt me so you can announce your real engagement to Henry.”

“My
engagement to Henry?” Selina started to laugh.
 
“Malcolm, we’ve been through all this already.
 
Henry no longer has any interest in me other
than that of a friend.
 
I am actually beginning
to believe he is forming an attachment to Julia after all, poor man.”

“Julia
just told me—” Malcolm began, only to realize that the other inhabitants
of the drawing room were paying much more attention to his and Selina’s
conversation than they were to their own pursuits.
 
A whist game that had begun between Cassie,
Lady Kilbourne, Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had apparently ceased altogether, and even
Mrs. Thistlewaite had looked up from her needlework.

“Excuse
us for a moment,” Malcolm said, pulling Selina through the French doors that
Julia and Henry had exited a few minutes earlier.
 
Once on the terrace they were confronted with
the sight of Julia and Henry locked in a passionate embrace, barely ten feet
away.

“You were
saying?” Selina asked Malcolm softly, so as not to disturb the kissing couple.

Malcolm
shook his head in disbelief.
 
“I will
never believe another word out of that woman’s mouth.
 
I wonder if Henry knows what he’s getting
into.”

Selina glanced
back at the couple. “He does not appear to mind.”
 

She
started to return to the drawing room when Malcolm stopped her with a hand on
her arm.
 
“Wait,” he whispered.
 
“Why don’t we take a walk in the gardens?
 
They appear to have had quite an effect on
our friends here.”

“Thank
you for the offer, but you forget that we are not truly engaged.
 
And you must have a care for your
reputation,” Selina said, wriggling out of his grasp and returning through the
French doors into the drawing room.
 
But
Malcolm was relieved to see that she was smiling.

“No, I
have not forgotten we are not truly engaged.
 
That’s what I was proposing to remedy,” Malcolm said aloud, still facing
the doors.
 
He turned back toward Julia
and Henry, determined to interrupt their rendezvous.
 
It was unfair of them to be so cozily
entwined while he was out there all alone.
 
He walked closer to them, clearing his throat loudly.

Julia and
Henry did not spring apart guiltily, as occurs in all the best novels, but they
did separate long enough to notice Malcolm standing there, glaring at
them.
 
Malcolm hoped Julia was blushing,
but it was impossible to tell by moonlight.

“Jeremy,
old chap,” Henry said.
 
“I noticed that
you and Selina had come onto the terrace but I was hoping you’d get the hint
and leave.”

“Henry, I
must warn you that the woman you are embracing is a lying, deceiving hussy,”
Malcolm said, slowly and clearly.

Julia
gasped, and looked to Henry to come to her defense.
 
“I know all that, my friend,” he said, “but I
thank you for the warning just the same.”

Julia
began struggling to get out of Henry’s embrace.
 
“Why, you, you dastardly knave, you scoundrel, you—”

“Hush,”
Henry said, ignoring Julia’s efforts to free herself.
 
“You didn’t allow me to finish.
 
I was going to tell him I plan on devoting my
life to keeping those nasty habits of yours in check.”

Malcolm
could not see how that statement could possibly be construed as a compliment,
but it seemed to have the appropriate effect, for Julia was no longer
attempting to leave Henry’s embrace.
 
“You do?” she asked.

“I do,
indeed,” Henry said.
 
“In fact, I
positively look forward to it.”
 
As it
was obvious he was about to initiate another kiss, Malcolm gave up on
attempting to reason with his friend and returned to the drawing room.
 

Selina
retired to her chamber directly after leaving Malcolm on the terrace, more
cheerful than she’d been in days.
 
She
was happy for her friend Julia, of course, but most of all she was happy that
Malcolm was jealous.
 
She doubted he
would have been so angry if he was not a little in love with her.
 
For the first time since that dreadful
masquerade ball she allowed herself to become optimistic about her future.
 
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling,
saying aloud, ‘Mrs. Selina Malcolm, Mrs. Jeremy Malcolm’ and laughing over how
silly she was being.
 
She shivered at the
thought of receiving more kisses from Malcolm, and thought she might have
enjoyed some that very evening if she hadn’t refused his offer to walk in the
gardens.
 
Her imaginings took her to the
altar and beyond, but none of her thoughts were of Malcolm’s estate or his
riches.
 
No, it was the gentleman himself
she dreamed about, and if some of those dreams brought a flush to her cheek and
a fluttering to her stomach, who could fault her for dreaming?