A Simple Lady (12 page)

“Nonsense!” Elizabeth found herself smiling. There was no small degree of pleasure, she was discovering, in having a handsome man verbally prostrate himself at one’s feet. “You must not think I hold that against you. After all, your message to my mother-in-law was responsible for her coming to visit me and then bringing me to London. Thus, the outcome of your action has been most pleasurable for me, I assure you. I have gained a new friend in the dowager and enjoyed new and delightful experiences in town.”

Elizabeth’s escort smiled at last. “Thank you, my lady. You have not only been kind enough to forgive me, but you have also given me the means by which I can forgive myself. Knowing my actions, even inadvertently, were responsible for bringing you to London makes them appear much less odious in my eyes. I would never have forgiven myself had I caused you pain by my repetition of those silly rumors about you. It was foolish of me to believe them in the first place.”

Elizabeth inclined her head and stared straight ahead, delighted that the challenge of driving on the increasingly crowded street had reclaimed Gerald’s full attention. His self-recriminations were becoming a bit embarrassing and—Elizabeth was forced to admit—a trifle boring. What was wrong with her? She was in the company of an unusually handsome man who was making his admiration for her clear in his every word and sideways glance. Why did her mind insist on comparing him with another man, one who scowled more often than he smiled, one who frightened her so much that her blood quickened in her veins each time she saw him, one who—

“Ah, Hatchard’s at last,” Gerald announced, interrupting Elizabeth’s thoughts.

“Yes,” she agreed, turning to him with a bright smile designed to cover her sudden surge of guilt. She really should be ashamed of herself. Gerald had been all that was amiable and considerate. She had absolutely no reason to compare him with Kenrick and find him wanting. The fact that she had done so made her determined to be especially kind to him. Thus, she readily agreed when he suggested that, considering they were cousins by marriage, they should call each other by their Christian names.

Hatchard’s was filled with people that day who, to the best of Elizabeth’s ability to judge, had no interest whatsoever in books. Although several elderly gentlemen seemed engrossed in the newspapers that were provided on a table for their entertainment, most of the patrons stood about chatting and watching for acquaintances to enter the door.

Elizabeth was pleased to be recognized and greeted by a few ladies she had met during morning calls with her mother-in-law. None seemed to have been previously acquainted with Gerald, and when Elizabeth introduced him, she thought she detected a note of reserve on the part of Mary’s friends.

Gerald’s acquaintances, on the other hand, indicated great pleasure upon being introduced to Elizabeth, and she soon found herself among a small cohort of young people discussing the latest
on dits
. It was a new and heady experience for Elizabeth—being instantly accepted into a group that was both young and fashionable—and if their conversations sometimes threatened to bring a blush to her face, Elizabeth assumed the fault lay with her. After all, she reminded herself, her experience with the
ton
was very limited.

It seemed, however, that Gerald, too, felt the conversation was growing a bit too warm for Elizabeth’s ears, for he soon made their excuses to his friends, explaining that Elizabeth wished to look about for some particular books. As he gently guided Elizabeth away from the group, he bent to whisper into her ear. “Silly gudgeons, but harmless, I assure you, my dear Elizabeth. Still, perhaps you should not mention to Kenrick that I introduced you to them. He has never approved of my friends, I fear.”

Elizabeth merely nodded her agreement. She could hardly explain that she would not have been likely to mention Gerald’s friends to her husband in any case. After all, she and Kenrick rarely talked, and then only to quarrel. Elizabeth quickly picked up a book and began leafing through it, pretending deep interest in a tome of sermons while rapidly blinking her eyes. How silly of her to grow teary, simply because she and her husband got along so badly.

“Gerald! You naughty boy! Here you are in town and have not even bothered to call on me. I should never speak to you again.”

Elizabeth glanced up and then openly stared as an exquisitely dressed woman approached Gerald, her expression of coquettish pouting in no way distracting from the beauty of her heart-shaped face or the brilliance of her dark blue eyes. Her hair, only a shade darker than Gerald’s, reminded Elizabeth of marigolds. Despite knowing that her own maroon walking dress was in the latest mode, Elizabeth suddenly felt like a dowdy country bumpkin.

Stepping between Elizabeth and Gerald, the stranger quickly placed her hand on Gerald’s arm and tilted her head to look up into his face. “I declare, I am quite put out with you, sir. I have been bored to distraction, wishing you were here to enliven my days, not to mention my evenings.”

Fully expecting Gerald to be gazing at this vision with open admiration, Elizabeth glanced at him and nearly gasped with surprise. For an instant, she had thought she detected pure fury blazing in his eyes but realized she must have been mistaken when Gerald smiled and reached to pat the lady’s hand, which was still lying on his arm.

“My dear Ethel. What an unanticipated pleasure. This, obviously, is a fortunate day for me, for now I can enjoy the company of
both
of my lovely cousins. Elizabeth, may I present Mrs. Stanhope, my cousin on my mother’s side. Ethel, this is Elizabeth, my cousin Kenrick’s wife.”

Mrs. Stanhope turned slowly, biting on her curving lower lip, her pretty eyes twinkling as though she were enjoying a private joke. “Lady Kenrick. How wonderful! And a new cousin for me. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Town is so thin of company at the moment. Besides, one must always be pleased to find a new friend, do you not agree? And obviously you and I are destined to be friends. After all, we are related in a way. Cousins by marriage are still cousins, are they not? Do you not agree that most likely we shall soon become good friends?”

“Of course,” Elizabeth murmured, wishing she did not feel as though she were meeting someone she would rather not know. The word “toadeater” leapt to mind, and Elizabeth was instantly ashamed of herself. She had always disliked snobbery but now feared she was exhibiting signs of haughtiness herself. Determined to repel any such tendency, she smiled brightly. “Yes, I am certain we shall be friends.”

Mrs. Stanhope clapped her small, gloved hands. “Wonderful. I’ll look forward to helping you steer your way through the sometimes rocky shoals of London society.” Her gaze dropped to the book of sermons Elizabeth still held. “For example, we must be careful not to show interest in reading materials that might label us as Bluestockings. I never read anything more demanding than the latest novels myself.”

Elizabeth felt a flush of irritation warming her face. She didn’t appreciate Mrs. Stanhope’s advice but neither did she wish to engage in a discussion of literature with the woman, who was now staring at Elizabeth with an expression in her eyes that Elizabeth could not read.

The next instant, Mrs. Stanhope smiled broadly and clasped her hands under her chin in a pleading gesture. “May I impose on you, my new friend, to accompany me on a call tomorrow afternoon? I must visit an elderly great aunt, and she always terrifies me. Perhaps, if I have a new acquaintance at my side, she will refrain from eating me.” Her tiny trill of laughter set Elizabeth’s teeth on edge.

“I would be pleased to accompany you, Mrs. Stanhope, but I am not certain what plans my mother-in-law might have made for us.”

“Call me Ethel, please. After all, we
are
cousins. If you cannot go tomorrow, perhaps you will be free the following day. I simply
must
have a friend by my side, and you did say you would be my friend.”

Elizabeth stifled a sigh. She was trying very hard to like Gerald’s cousin but was finding it a difficult task. Certainly she did not want to accompany the lady to visit her elderly and crotchety great aunt. Still, perhaps it would be best to agree. Mrs. Stanhope would likely learn quickly that she and Elizabeth had little in common and would then allow the friendship to die a natural death.

“I was about to say, Ethel, that I am not sure what plans my mother-in-law has made for tomorrow. However, I daresay she can forego my company for the afternoon. Therefore—”

Ethel didn’t wait to hear the rest of Elizabeth’s sentence. She trilled another of her grating little laughs. “Wonderful, my dearest Elizabeth! I am sure my coachman will know how to find Kenrick House. I shall be looking forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon around three. Goodbye until then, my newest cousin. Goodbye, Gerald. Do not forget your little Ethel, just because you have a new cousin. Goodbye.”

Upon returning from Hatchard’s, Elizabeth immediately asked Larkman for her mother-in-law’s location and was directed to the drawing room where she found Mary pouring over the latest issue of
Gallery of Fashion.
The dowager glanced up, smiled, and immediately returned to perusing her periodical.

Approaching her preoccupied mother-in-law, Elizabeth attempted to gain her attention. “Mary, may I ask you a question?”

“Hmmm. Of course, my dear. I declare, some of these patterns must have been designed for giantesses. They would make me look like a veritable dowd.”

“Mary, are you acquainted with Mrs. Ethel Stanhope?”

“Who, my dear? Mrs. Stanhope? No, I think not. Did you meet her at Hatchard’s?”

“Yes, and she has invited me to go calling with her tomorrow. She is Gerald’s cousin on his mother’s side, but I am not certain—”

“Oh well, if she is Gerald’s cousin, I am sure she must be unexceptionable, my dear. I am pleased you have made a new acquaintance. I have been aware that my friends are too old for you, although they like you very much. Still, you need younger companions. Well! Just look at this design, Elizabeth! How anyone could show to advantage in a creation like that is beyond my comprehension.”

Elizabeth realized she would get no further information from Mary and so, as she knew was expected of her, she immediately joined her mother-in-law in disparaging the various dress designs pictured in the popular periodical. Still, her mind was not at ease. Rarely did she meet someone who instantly aroused her antipathy, but Mrs. Stanhope had certainly managed to do so. But, Elizabeth reminded herself, she had agreed to accompany the lady and she could not draw back now. She was determined, however, that after tomorrow, she would find excuses to turn down any future invitations from her “newest cousin.”

* * *

By the following afternoon, Kenrick was growing frustrated. He had not seen his wife since the day before when she left with Gerald to visit Hatchard’s, and he had been longing to look into her eyes in hopes of determining whether his mother had indeed been correct. Was Elizabeth really a sweet girl who had been terribly mistreated by her parents? He was finding it easier and easier to believe that his wife had not been guilty of deceit prior to their marriage. He was less willing to believe her parents had thought her a simpleton. One would have to be an idiot not to realize that Elizabeth was a very intelligent woman, and the Earl and Countess of Ravingate were not idiots.

“Larkman, can you tell me where my wife is?” Kenrick asked, frowning as he handed his cane, gloves, and hat into the hands of a footman. It was ridiculous, he was thinking, that although a man and his wife lived under the same roof, their engagements could consistently take them in opposite directions.

“I believe, my lord, that Lady Kenrick has joined a friend for the afternoon.”

“A friend? Then she is not with my mother?”

“No, my lord. The dowager marchioness is, I believe, in the drawing room.”

Kenrick’s frown deepened. To the best of his knowledge, Elizabeth had not made any friends in London apart from his mother’s contemporaries. Unless Gerald… “Damnation,” Kenrick muttered under his breath. He turned to hurry up the stairs to the drawing room.

“Mother, where has Elizabeth gone, and with whom?” Kenrick asked as he flung the drawing room door open with a bit too much force. It slammed into the wall with a resounding crash.

The Dowager Lady Kenrick, her cap askew, sat up in her chair abruptly, her book sliding unheeded to the floor. She blinked sleepily at her son. “Good afternoon, dearest. I must have dozed off. So silly of me, but Elizabeth and I have been keeping late nights over the past few weeks. Come in, dear, and sit down.”

Kenrick took a deep breath. “I am sorry I woke you, Mother. I was just wondering where Elizabeth is.”

“Elizabeth? Oh, she left some time ago in the company of one of her new acquaintances, someone closer in age to Elizabeth than my own friends, I am happy to say. A charming lady, I’m sure, although I did not meet her. Her carriage called for Elizabeth, and the lady did not come in.”

Kenrick breathed a silent sigh of relief and dropped into a chair beside his mother. Elizabeth was not with Gerald, thank God. “I’m pleased to hear Elizabeth is making friends. Do I know the lady?”

“I would not be surprised to learn that you do. She is one of Gerald’s cousins.”

Kenrick suddenly straightened in his chair. “I was not aware that Gerald had any cousins other than me.”

“Oh, this lady is related to Gerald through his mother. I was never really acquainted with Gerald’s mother’s family because she died when Gerald was born, and I had been married to your Papa for less than a year at the time, but I believe Gerald’s maternal connections are quite respectable.”

“And quite elderly, as I recall,” Kenrick muttered. “Did Elizabeth mention this lady’s name?”

“Yes, she did. Now if I can just recall. The first name was Ethel. I can remember that easily because Ethel was my grandmother’s name. You never knew my mother’s mother, of course, because she died before you were born, but she was a wonderful lady. I recall once when I was a child—”