A Rogue for All Seasons (Weston Family) (25 page)

“There’s no stopping either of them when they put their minds to something,” James said, clapping a hand on Henry’s shoulder and urging him to sit. “The girls will return soon enough. Now, tell me how you’re getting on with the stud…”

The curtain had already risen and the actors were just coming onstage when his sisters returned to the box. As they settled into their chairs, Henry tapped each of them on the shoulder. They looked at each other, and then back at him.

“I need your help. Diana is refusing to see me, and if I can’t speak to her, she’s going to marry that dull sod sitting beside her.”

A little sigh escaped from Olivia. Such a romantic, she was. She would help him, and he suspected that, of the two, she was behind their most outrageous plots. He needed Isabella, too. She provided the daring and determination to follow through with Olivia’s mad plans.

Isabella shot Olivia a quick frown before turning back to him. “Are you simply against Diana marrying the dull sod, or do you hope to take his place?”

“The latter.” He would set aside his pride to ask his sisters for help. He didn’t need to trample it by telling them he’d proposed to Diana and been refused. They’d know soon enough. Isabella would insist on knowing everything he’d told James tonight, and she’d tell Olivia.

“Very well,” Isabella agreed. “We’ll help you. Come to the house tomorrow, and we’ll decide what your next step should be. Three o’clock?”

“I can come in the morning,” he offered.

“No,” Olivia said quickly. “Not in the morning. Mama is coming to Izzie’s to, ah, help with… with something, and she will only ask you questions. Don’t come before three.”

He nodded. Sheldon had the right of it; those two were definitely up to “something,” as Olivia had so eloquently described it. He glanced back at his brother-in-law. Poor bastard. Henry knew his sisters too well to imagine Sheldon had a chance of dissuading them. When Isabella and Olivia put their minds to something, there was no stopping them. He was counting on it.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jason believes I am planning an elaborate fête as a surprise for his birthday. The poor man is terrified, and I suppose the last list I left on his desk—by accident, of course—might have been excessive. I shall reproduce some of the items here for your amusement:

—Decorations still needed for Egyptian theme room—sarcophagus ice sculpture?
—See Mme. Bessette about harem girl costume…
—Fireworks, fireworks, and more fireworks!
—Ask Lord Blathersby about loan of sheep for the evening…

Can you guess which one I actually mean to do? This will be a memorable birthday indeed!

—FROM THE MARCHIONESS OF SHELDON TO HER AUNT THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS OF SHELDON

A
T PROMPTLY TWO O’CLOCK THE
following day, Diana grasped hold of the ring on the door of Dunston House. The brass lion head above it regarded her with solemn, inquisitive eyes. She questioned her presence there, too.

During last night’s intermission, she’d sent Sir Samuel to fetch a glass of lemonade for her, and then she’d stood in the corridor outside their box. She’d hoped for a few minutes alone, but only moments after Sir Samuel headed off, someone called her name. When she looked up, she found Isabella and Olivia (as Lady Dunston and Lady Sheldon insisted she call them) descending on her like hounds on a fox.

“Diana!” they chorused, smiling brightly as they flanked her, each taking an arm.

Though she topped both of them by several inches, she suspected resistance would be futile. She couldn’t imagine what they wanted with her… unless they didn’t know she’d ended her arrangement with Henry. Her stomach dropped as she imagined telling them—women who had quickly become her friends—and seeing hurt and anger fill their eyes.

“We’ve seen neither hide nor hair of you of late,” Isabella complained.

“I took ill at Lady Langley’s.”

Not precisely true, but what should she say?
Your brother gave me such extreme pleasure I thought I should die of it, and then he proposed marriage. I refused. My refusal won’t break his heart, but my acceptance would eventually break mine. My future is with Sir Samuel, but until it’s secure, I don’t dare risk seeing Henry. I don’t know if I have the strength to turn him away a second time…

“Oh, dear!” Isabella clucked. “You were among those unfortunate souls? You poor dear! How curious that Hal didn’t say anything.”

“He’s been away this past week,” Olivia countered.

Diana’s chest contracted at her words. Foolish, as she’d just wished him away, but she wondered where he’d been… and whom he’d been with.

“He wasn’t gone for a week,” Isabella argued. “He must have returned to London by Sunday evening because James went with him to the sale at Tattersall’s on Monday.” She groaned. “I didn’t see Hal, but I was forced to listen to a long recitation about the horses he purchased.”

“No one cares about that, Izzie,” her sister responded.

Actually, Diana
did
care. She cared both about Henry’s whereabouts and the stock he’d selected, but she knew better than to say so.

“Did you enjoy the play?” Olivia asked her.

“Not particularly,” Diana admitted. “I find little humor in a husband and wife fighting, especially over something insignificant.”

“It’s too ridiculous,” Isabella agreed. “To think of ending a marriage over a card game! At least if he’d thought she was having an affair, there would have been cause.”

“Izzie!” Olivia hissed.

“Oh!” A pained expression crossed Isabella’s face, and Diana imagined she was remembering that Diana’s parents had separated for just that reason. “I meant no offense—”

“As I’ve taken none, all is well,” Diana reassured her.

Sir Samuel came back then with her lemonade, and Diana disentangled herself from Isabella and Olivia on the pretext of taking the drink. Before Diana could excuse herself and Sir Samuel and return to the box, Olivia asked Sir Samuel how he found London.

Isabella tugged Diana a little ways away. “As dreadful as the couple in the play are, three weeks into my marriage I would have traded places with them in a heartbeat.”

Diana shook her head in disbelief.

“I couldn’t fight with James because he wasn’t there,” Isabella explained with a thin-lipped smile. “I battled an old mattress instead, but I imagined it was James when I vented my spleen with some choice words and a fire poker.”

“Good heavens,” Diana gasped. She must remember not to anger Isabella.

“Livvy and Jason were smarter,” Isabella continued. “They got their fighting out of the way before the wedding.”

“I see,” Diana said, though she didn’t really. “Is it family tradition for newlywed couples to argue?”

Isabella laughed. “All couples, newlywed or otherwise, have their disagreements.” She gestured to Diana. “The night of Lady Langley’s, I believe you quarreled with more than the crab. Hal left for Ravensfield the following morning.”

“He has work he must see to.” The knowledge that he’d been at his stud eased the tightness in her chest.

“True, but his estate isn’t so far as to preclude spending a night in town. Tonight is the first I’ve seen of him since before he left and he… He’s not himself. Hal’s a relatively simple man.”

“No, he’s smart—”

Isabella held up a hand. “Calm yourself, Diana. I don’t mean he is simpleminded, though he is unbelievably thickheaded at times. Hal is simple in that he doesn’t lose sleep over the complexities of the universe or parliamentary reforms. If he’s unhappy, the cause isn’t difficult to discern. Hal’s world centers on two things right now: the stud and you. As he claims the stud is progressing steadily, logic points to you.”

Diana took a deep breath. “You’re aware that Henry and I had an arrangement. Our courtship wasn’t real.”

“Stuff! I know you care for my brother, and he cares for you. Your relationship may have begun as an act, but as you spent time together, true feelings grew between you. That is a real courtship.”

Diana flushed. “I— It’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated,” Isabella said bluntly.

Diana’s mother came into the corridor then to inform them that the curtain was rising for the second play.

“I apologize. I never intended to have this conversation here.” Isabella spoke softly as Olivia and Sir Samuel joined them. “Oh, dear,” she exclaimed, pitching her voice to include everyone. “We’ve been here the whole of the interval without accomplishing our purpose.”

“My sister and I are having an intimate gathering of like-minded ladies tomorrow afternoon,” Olivia explained. “Do say you’ll join us, Miss Merriwether. Unless you have a previous engagement?”

“You are coming to call tomorrow, are you not?” Diana looked pleadingly at Sir Samuel.

His complete misinterpretation of her plea was, she supposed, not terribly surprising. The look he gave her was fond, almost indulgent as he said, “I wouldn’t dream of standing between women overdue for a gossip.”

“Before you protest,” Isabella murmured, “I should warn you that I will not take no for an answer. If you don’t come to me, I’ll call on you.”

“I’ll join you tomorrow,” Diana told Olivia.

“I’m so pleased,” Isabella said, as if she’d given Diana any choice. “We’ll leave you to enjoy the play now, and we’ll see you tomorrow at Dunston House at two o’clock.”

So here she was, questioning her sanity as she faced the lion. Squaring her shoulders, she rapped the polished brass ring against the back-plate. The door opened a moment later and she stepped into the beast’s den. Somehow she doubted she would leave as unscathed as Daniel.

She followed the butler to the drawing room. As she’d suspected, only Isabella and Olivia were present. They greeted each other, warmly on their part, warily on hers.

As they sat, Diana remarked, “This certainly is an intimate gathering, but I don’t believe we’re like-minded. As I told you last night, matters with Henry are complicated.”

“We’re willing to listen,” Olivia offered. “Perhaps things aren’t as complicated as you think. We
are
like-minded. All of us in this room want what is best for both you and Hal.”

Diana shook her head. “I understand your concern for your brother, but why should you care about me?”

Isabella rose from her chair and moved to sit beside Diana on the sofa. “We care because we are friends.”

“Will we remain friends after I marry Sir Samuel?” Diana challenged.

Olivia sighed. “If that’s what you truly want, we will support you in your decision. Neither you nor Hal would be happy together if you honestly preferred another man. Having seen you in the presence of both men, I have difficulty believing that is so. Do you love the baronet?”

“No, but one doesn’t need—”

Isabella reached over and held one of Diana’s hands. “Do you love my brother?”

Diana hesitated.

“There’s a measure of relief to be found in unburdening yourself,” Olivia said. “You need have no concern of our discretion. I swear on the lives of my children, the words spoken between us today will never travel beyond the three of us.”

“I would never endanger Rosie or Edward,” Isabella added, “but if you wish further assurance…” She tilted her head back and looked up. “On my daughter’s life, I swear not to repeat what is spoken of today.”

That these women would make such promises in order that she might feel comfortable spilling her troubles to them… They overwhelmed her, both with their kindness to her and their close bond with each other. Would a similarly special relationship have developed if her mother hadn’t lost the baby following her parents’ separation?

When they’d first come to live with her grandparents, her mother had told her the time in London was a long holiday. They’d gone to Gunter’s for ices and to Astley’s to see the clowns and trick riders. Diana had wept through the performance since everything reminded her of her father.

Alex had been too young to understand, but Diana had known the truth about how long their holiday would last. As the bump in her mother’s stomach grew larger and firmer, she funneled all her love into her new sister. She just knew the baby would be a girl. Maybe she wouldn’t hurt so badly inside once she had a sister to love and to love her in return.

Then her father had shown up at Lansdowne House, banging the knocker on the front door hard enough to rattle the pictures on the walls. She and Alex had run out of the nursery to see what was happening. Like the last time her parents were in the same room, she heard yelling, crying, and protestations of love. But the wreckage they left behind this time was far worse than a broken vase. There was no replacing a sister, and there was no glue strong enough to hold together broken hearts or a broken family.

Diana started at the soft brush of a handkerchief on her cheeks. She realized she was crying, and Isabella was blotting her tears. How long had she been lost in the past? She reached up and took the handkerchief. “My apologies,” she murmured. She didn’t bother wiping her damp cheeks. The heat of her embarrassed flush would dry them quickly enough. “I got caught in an unhappy memory.”

“There’s no need to apologize for tears in this house,” Olivia told her. “Our mother cries at every small thing and, since having Bride, so does Izzie.”