The Nonesuch (32 page)

Authors: Georgette Heyer

Tags: #Fiction, #General, #Romance, #Historical

BOOK: The Nonesuch

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Laurence looked at him in quick surprise, flushing. He said, with a short laugh: ‘Much obliged to you! It’s more than George does!’

‘George doesn’t mean all he says.’

‘He can mean it or not for anything I care. Waldo, if I asked you to buy me a cornetcy, would you do it?’

‘Tomorrow!’

‘Would you expect me to pay it back?’

‘Good God, no! Of course I shouldn’t!’

‘Then why won’t you
lend
me the blunt for something I
want
?
You’ll say a cornetcy wouldn’t cost you much above seven or eight hundred pounds, but you wouldn’t get it back, remember! Whereas if you was to invest in my scheme you’d make a
profit
!’

Sir Waldo sighed. ‘I’ve already told you, Laurie, that –’ He broke off, as the door opened, and Miss Trent came in, accompanied by Tiffany.

‘Oh, so you’ve recovered, have you?’ said Laurence, surveying Tiffany with acute dislike. ‘In prime twig, I daresay! Never stouter in your life!’

Tiffany
was looking rather pale, and decidedly tear-stained, but she was evidently restored to good-humour. Paying no heed to Laurence, she smiled seraphically upon the Nonesuch, and said: ‘
Thank
you
for coming to rescue me! I might have known you would do so, and I’m glad now, though I didn’t wish anyone to come after me, at first. But Ancilla says I have made
such
a
scandal that there’s nothing for it but to take me back to my Uncle Burford, which is exactly what I want! She says she shall write to Aunt Underhill immediately, and as soon as Aunt sends back her consent we shall be off.’

‘God help your Uncle Burford!’ said Laurence.

‘You needn’t think I have
anything
to say to you, because I haven’t!’ Tiffany informed him. ‘And I won’t beg your pardon for throwing the clock at you, whatever Ancilla says, because you told lies, and cheated me, and you deserved to have it thrown at you! And, in any event, everything has turned out for the best, and I
am
going to London! So I’m not sorry about anything. When are
you
going to London, Sir Waldo?’

‘Almost immediately!’ he replied promptly.

For an instant his eyes met Miss Trent’s, brimful of laughter. So fleeting was the silent message that passed between them that Tiffany was unaware of it. She looked up at Sir Waldo through her lashes. ‘I thought you might be,’ she said demurely.

But Laurence had not missed that swift, revealing exchange of glances, and he ejaculated: ‘So
I didn’t
miss my tip! Well, I had a notion you was shamming it, coz! Now perhaps you’ll own –’

‘Laurie!’ interrupted Sir Waldo. ‘I should warn you, perhaps, that if you wish to succeed as a horse-coper you must learn to keep your tongue between your teeth!’

Laurence looked at him. ‘Are you bamming me?’ he asked suspiciously.

‘No: merely warning you!’

‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about!’ complained Tiffany, by no means pleased at being overlooked.

‘Well, who wants you to?’ retorted Laurence. ‘It’s coming to something, so it is, if I can’t talk to my cousin without having an uppish scrub of a brat prying into what don’t concern her!’

‘Scrub?’
cried Tiffany, colour flaming into her cheeks. ‘How dare you speak to me like that? I’m not a scrub! I’m not, I’m
not
!’

‘A scrub!’ repeated Laurence, with relish. ‘Distempered into the bargain!’

‘Quiet!’ commanded Sir Waldo.

‘Oh, very well!’ said Laurence, subsiding.

‘I’d liefer be anything but a Bartholomew baby, which is what Courtenay says
you
are! And also a –’

‘I said,
Quiet
!’

Tiffany was so much startled by this peremptory reminder that she gasped, and stood staring up at the Nonesuch as though she could not believe that he was speaking not to his cousin, but actually to her. She drew in her breath audibly, and clenched her hands. Miss Trent cast a look of entreaty at Sir Waldo, but he ignored it. He strolled up to the infuriated beauty, and pushed up her chin. ‘Now, you may listen to me, my child!’ he said sternly. ‘You are becoming a dead bore, and I don’t tolerate bores. Neither do I tolerate noisy tantrums. Unless you want to be soundly smacked, enact me no ill-bred scenes!’

There was a moment’s astonished silence. Laurence broke it, seizing his cousin’s hand, and fervently shaking it. ‘I
knew
you was a right one!’ he declared. ‘
A great
gun, Waldo! Damme, a
Trojan
!’

About the Author

Author of over fifty books, Georgette Heyer is one of the best-known and best-loved of all historical novelists, making the Regency period her own. Her first novel,
The Black Moth
, published in 1921, was written at the age of fifteen to amuse her convalescent brother; her last was
My Lord John
. Although most famous for her historical novels, she also wrote twelve detective stories. Georgette Heyer died in 1974 at the age of seventy-one.

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When Eleanor Rochdale boards the wrong coach, she ends up not at her prospective employer’s home, but at the estate of Eustace Cheviot, a dissipated young man on the verge of death. His cousin, Mr. Ned Carlyon, persuades Eleanor to marry Eustace as a simple business arrangement. By morning, Eleanor is a rich widow, but finds herself embroiled with an international spy ring, housebreakers, uninvited guests, and murder. And Mr. Carlyon won’t let her leave…

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Miss Charity Steane is running away from the drudgery of her aunt’s household and trying to find her grandfather. When Viscount Desford encounters the lovely waif, he feels honor bound to assist her, but dashing about the countryside alone with an unknown young lady is sure to bring ruin upon her—and him, if he’s not careful.

Regency Buck

Miss Judith Taverner and her brother Peregrine are none too pleased when they find that their new guardian, Julian St. John Audley, Earl of Worth, is an insufferably arrogant dandy not much older than themselves. Lord Worth doesn’t want the office of guardian any more than they want him. But when someone tries to kill Peregrine, Lord Worth cannot help but entangle himself with his adventuresome wards, leading to witty repartee, surprises, and an unexpected and delightful ending.

Faro’s Daughter

When Max Ravenscar offers her a fortune to
refuse
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Black Sheep

Abigail Wendover, “on the shelf” at 28, is determined to prevent her high-spirited young niece from falling prey to a handsome fortune hunter. The only man who can help her is scandalous Miles Calverleigh, enormously rich from a long sojourn in India, but the black sheep of his family. Miles turns out to be a most provoking creature—with a disconcerting ability to throw Abby into giggles at quite the wrong moment.

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Historical Fiction

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In the early 15th century, the time of real knights in armor, Simon rose from obscurity to become friend to Prince Henry and a bold warrior against France. Known for his silence and uncompromising principles, Simon “the Coldheart” nonetheless had a complex personality and earned the fierce loyalty and admiration of soldiers, kings, and children alike. When Simon was sent to lay siege to Belremy, he engaged the Lady Margaret in a battle of wits and words until she not only surrendered to the English but became his bride. Brilliant period language and Heyer’s perfect grasp of the details of daily life make for a fascinating and blood-stirring read.

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An Infamous Army

In the summer of 1815, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees, as Napoleon Bonaparte marches down from the north and the Duke of Wellington struggles to cobble together an army to meet the threat. At the center of the glittering social scene is the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. Even her betrothal to the dashing Colonel Charles Audley fails to curb her wild behavior—but as the Battle of Waterloo begins to rage, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart truly lies.

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Mysteries

Behold, Here’s Poison

It’s no ordinary morning at the Poplars—the master is found dead in his bed and it turns out that his high blood pressure was not the culprit. From the dotty Zoe Matthews to her wonderfully malicious nephew Randall, every single member of the quarrelsome Matthews family has a motive and none, of course, has an alibi. The suspects maneuver, mislead, quibble and prevaricate as the amiable Detective Inspector Hannasyde sifts through the evidence trying to discover the murderer before the next victim succumbs. Heyer’s dialogue is a master class in British wit, sarcasm and the intricacies of life above and below stairs. A truly fiendish plot tests the ingenuity of the quietly resourceful Inspector Hannasyde and leads to a clever and unpredictable conclusion.

The Unfinished Clue

At first glance, it should have been a lovely English country-house weekend party. But it’s the guest-list from hell and the host, Sir Arthur Billington-Smith, is an abusive wretch who everyone at the party turns out to have a reason to hate. When he’s found in his study stabbed to death, the unhappy guests and estranged family find themselves under the scrutiny of Scotland Yard’s cool-headed Inspector Harding. The unlikely cast of characters is sketched with Georgette Heyer’s usual brilliant wit and insight into human nature. Inspector Harding emerges as an unlikely hero, following red herring after red herring and finding his own happiness in the process.

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In a classic English country-house murder mystery with a twist, it’s the butler who’s the victim of murder, rather than the murderer. When local barrister Frank Amberley, on his way to visit his aunt and uncle, takes a wrong turn and discovers a murder, on impulse he protects the young woman he meets at the crime scene. In the course of ferreting out the killer, his disdain for the bumbling police adds comic relief, and he displays true brilliance at solving the crime. Heyer uses her attention to detail and masterful characterizations to concoct a crime in which every clue complicates the puzzle, and the police are typically baffled. The conclusion will come as a surprise and delight to Heyer afficionados and general mystery lovers alike.