Amanda Scott - [Dangerous 04] (16 page)

“Apparently,” Catherine said. She was still sorting, not looking at Letty, and Letty followed her lead. Anyone watching them would assume that if they conversed they spoke only about details of their task. “In any event,” Catherine went on, “you must understand Her Majesty’s increasing fear of gossip. As much as any other factor, it keeps people from approaching you in friendship. Many fear that to be seen talking to you might leave them open to suspicion of consorting with the opposition, and the exaggerated Tory outrage over Lady Flora has not helped.”

“But the queen is not supposed to take sides politically,” Letty protested.

Catherine shrugged. “Perhaps you can tell her that. I do not know anyone else who can, particularly when people dare to criticize her devotion to the prime minister. She quite dotes on Melbourne, you know, although I did hear that today she told him she is thinking of marrying.”

“Marrying! Well, she can’t marry him, so who can it be?”

“A cousin of hers named Albert, one of the Saxe-Coburg lot. Her uncle, the King of the Belgians, desires the union, and she has great respect for him.”

“But if she adores Melbourne … Is she so anxious to get married?”

“More eager to be rid of her mama, I think,” Catherine said. “She has complained because Melbourne insists that as an unmarried queen she must have a chaperone, and only the Duchess of Kent is of sufficiently high rank.”

“I should think the news of a possible marriage will upset any number of people when it gets out,” Letty said. “Sir John Conroy, for one. He will never regain favor if Her Majesty has a husband.”

“No,” Catherine agreed, looking troubled. “Melbourne is not pleased, either, from what I hear. He said he did not think a foreigner would be popular. He persuaded her to put off making a decision until Albert visits in October.”

“Did it take him two days to persuade her?” Letty asked, chuckling.

Catherine smiled. “That is hardly all they talked about,” she said, “what with Hastings’ letters, the intensifying debate over the Jamaican question, and deciding whether to allow the House of Commons to install gas lighting. The men talk of little beyond Jamaica, of course. Certainly, my husband talks of little else.”

“He is not coming tonight?”

“No, he had a meeting to attend.” She smiled ruefully, adding, “It is just as well that he did not come, since he suggested, quite firmly, that I not encourage you to talk to me.” She grimaced. “He said it would do my reputation no good.”

After a heavy silence, underscored by the buzz of conversation around them, Letty said, “We’ve got away from what we meant to talk about, have we not?”

In an undertone, Catherine said, “Why shouldn’t I have an affair? Everyone does. My own husband has his
chère amie.
A woman has her pride, after all.”

“The affair is your business,” Letty said. “In truth, I am more interested in what you were telling me when your husband interrupted us.”

“I don’t recall what I was saying.”

“You said that Sir John Conroy had approached you and certain others.”

Casting her a look of sardonic amusement, Catherine said, “He hoped we would try to influence Her Majesty on his behalf, of course. As if I had any such influence. Her Majesty is far more interested in building an image of authority than in cultivating friendships amongst her younger, less important ladies.”

“She does keep a certain distance, I’ve noticed.”

“Yes. Moreover, I owe my position to my father’s power in Parliament, not to my husband’s; and no one—least of all the queen—would think I could influence Papa. He arranged my appointment as a maid of honor soon after she ascended the throne, thinking that the position would help me marry well. Most fathers think that, I believe, and, in my case at least, with good reason.”

“Most, perhaps,” Letty agreed, grateful that her father was not one of them. He had left to her the decision of whether to accept the appointment, and had taken great care to be sure she understood all it entailed, both privately and politically.

They chatted a little longer, until they had arranged the many sheets of music in good order. Then, other duties parted them, and before the invited guests began to arrive, Letty noted that Raventhorpe was also in attendance. She saw him look her way once, speculatively, while she chatted with one of the guests, but he made no effort to seek her out, and she took care not to look toward him again.

Before the queen’s grand entrance, Letty’s duties kept her occupied. She circulated among the guests to see that no one was ignored or neglected. She performed the same duties, in fact, that she had frequently performed in her parents’ home, and at the Paris embassy. The company included representatives of many factions, and as a result, she found old acquaintances and even some new ones who did not instantly stiffen when she approached them. Little by little she began to relax and enjoy herself.

When the queen arrived, accompanied by her bedchamber ladies, her other ladies quickly gathered round her. Victoria liked to impress her company with the splendor of her entourage, and on this occasion, Letty thought they did her proud. Their gowns were lovely, well made, and colorful. Jewelry flashed on arms, around necks, and in their coiffures. The energy level in the room increased noticeably.

The chamberlain soon announced dinner, and the guests followed Victoria two by two, strictly by rank and precedence, into the picture gallery. There, the long dining table awaited them, splendidly laid with the royal linen, plate, and sterling. When everyone had taken their places, and footmen had seen to their immediate needs, servants presented the first course for Her Majesty’s approval. Receiving it, they began to serve the company.

Somewhat to Letty’s consternation, Raventhorpe had taken a chair nearly opposite her. She encountered another narrow-eyed look, and wondered what on earth he could be thinking. His presence stirred unfamiliar sensations throughout her body, and at first it was all she could do not to keep looking at him.

No doubt, she thought with a sigh, he would soon offer his advice again, especially if he should discover his great-aunts’ little secret. The thought gave her sufficient strength to avoid looking at him, and she soon forgot his presence in the need to attend to her dinner partner. That gentleman, an elderly, somewhat deaf lord of the realm, clearly expected to impress her with his opinions on subjects ranging from Parliamentary politics to the world at large.

Again her experience at diplomatic tables served her well, and she managed to keep the old gentleman talking without ignoring the man on her right when his partner temporarily deserted him. She paid little heed to her food, accepting and eating what her footman served her. Still, her partner caught her off guard when, after expounding at length on certain activities of the East India Company, he said abruptly, “What do you think, Lady Letitia? Will the directors sanction the introduction of paper money in Bombay? Will they authorize the Company to become shareholders in a joint-stock bank there or in Bengal?”

About to assure him, demurely, that he must know more about such things than she did, Letty unexpectedly caught Raventhorpe’s eye. Noting a gleam of condescending amusement, she realized that he had been listening (most improperly, too, since he sat across the table from them and ought to have been attending to the fat countess on his right).

Impulsively, she smiled at her partner and said clearly, “In my opinion, sir, the East India Company cannot legally become copartners or shareholders in any banks established in Bombay or Bengal. To do so would clearly be engaging in commercial business as much as if they were to buy and sell tea or indigo. As you surely know, the act of Parliament authorizing their new charter in 1833 requires them to discontinue and abstain from all commercial business, with but certain exceptions. Therefore, the only question is whether the business falls within any of those exceptions. In my opinion, it does not.”

The elderly lord blinked.

“Shall I explain my reasons, sir?”

“Good God, no! I mean, I quite agree with you, my dear, but who on earth has been filling your pretty head with such stuff?”

She smiled, taking care not to let her gaze drift across the table. “I’m afraid I read the newspapers, sir. Quite shocking behavior in a female, is it not?”

“Good Gad.”

Thus encouraged, she said, “Now, the business of bank notes, I find interesting and rather bewildering. Imagine a place where such paper promises-to-pay have hitherto been quite unknown, despite the fact that commerce has flourished there for ages. But is that an evil or a blessing, do you think?”

“Paper money would make things much easier for everyone in both states, I should think,” her companion said warily.

“Ah, but Calcutta, sir, like the United States, Great Britain, and France, is overrun with banking establishments and deluged with paper money. And Calcutta has suffered all the evil money panics that those countries have suffered, whilst Bombay and Bengal have endured none of them. Introducing paper money sounds a most risky business to me, but perhaps you see the benefits more clearly than I do and would be kind enough to explain them.”

He was happy to do so, and long before he had tired of the subject and exchanged it for a new one, Letty had recovered from the brief, uncharacteristic impulse that had driven her to puff off her knowledge of world affairs.

With the savory before them at last, her partner nodded toward the head of the table, where Victoria was deep in conversation with the prime minister, who sat at her left, and said, “Quite a fetching young thing, ain’t she? But she oughtn’t to cast such sheep’s eyes at Melbourne. It don’t look at all proper.”

Knowing better than to comment on either the queen’s appearance or her conduct, Letty said with a smile, “Her Majesty is most considerate, sir.”

“Aye, she’s a sweet lass,” he said. “Quite a contrast to what her murderous uncle Cumberland would have been if he’d got his claws on our throne as well as Hanover’s when the old king snuffed out. Of course, Cumberland could still inherit the crown if he outlives Victoria and she don’t marry and have children first, but I daresay we’re safe enough for now. Mind now,” he added earnestly, “I don’t know but what England might be better off under a law like the one those Germans have, which prevents females from inheriting their throne. Still, they’re welcome to keep Cumberland in Hanover, and that’s my opinion on the subject.”

Well aware that she had no more business discussing Her Majesty’s uncle, the King of Hanover, than discussing the queen, and aware, too, that her companion was feeling the effects of numerous glasses of wine, Letty said, “I find our laws quite as fascinating as you do, sir. I only wish females were allowed to study them.”

The diversion worked, as she had been sure it would, and the old gentleman spent the remainder of the time before the queen’s departure from the table explaining kindly why it was quite impossible to allow women to study law.

When Her Majesty had departed, the rest of the ladies retired to the green drawing room again to await her return and that of the gentlemen. The men had an exact quarter hour to enjoy a glass of port, two if they were swift about it.

Lady Portman, again overseeing the behavior of the lesser ladies, asked one of them to take a seat at the pianoforte and to play until the others joined them.

“Something quiet,” she said. Then, catching Letty’s eye, she moved toward her, but before she spoke, Catherine approached, looking anxious.

“Forgive me, Lady Portman, but may I be excused for a few minutes? My dinner partner stepped on my lace and tore it. I’ve got pins, of course, and although it’s at the back, I think I can mend it quickly.” She said the last bit doubtfully.

Lady Portman said, “How very careless, but you must not look untidy. You may have five minutes, Lady Witherspoon, but do not dawdle. Use the ladies’ withdrawing room beyond the throne room. Perhaps if Lady Letitia were to assist you, you could manage the task in less time.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Catherine said. “Do you mind, Letitia?”

“Not at all,” Letty said.

“I hoped she would suggest that,” Catherine said with satisfaction as they passed through the empty throne room to the corridor beyond. “I’ve been talking with the most tedious man, and I simply must get away for a moment to breathe.”

“Is your lace really torn?”

“Oh, yes, but it’s the merest trifle. I daresay if I tie my petticoat strings tighter it won’t show, for it’s my petticoat lace that tore. Look here, can I call upon you at Jervaulx House, or will that cause a fuss?”

“Of course, you may; I’d be delighted,” Letty said with perfect sincerity. “I am to ride with Her Majesty in the morning at the riding school, but perhaps you can call tomorrow afternoon, or the next day, if we need not be here.”

“The Jamaican affair appears to be reaching a boiling point, so I daresay Her Majesty will be conferring long hours with her ministers,” Catherine said. “Witherspoon said Melbourne is having difficulty holding his majority together. I am not sure what difference it makes, but one knows that if the prime minister is feeling pinched, Her Majesty will want to do all she can to help.”

Aware that their conversation was straying into dangerous territory again, Letty smiled and said, “Do come to call at the first opportunity.”

“Well, I will, because you cannot come to my house. Witherspoon would have an apoplectic fit. I don’t know when I shall manage, though, because there is always—” Breaking off with a rueful grimace, she fell silent.

“We had better go back before Lady Portman sends someone to find us,” Letty said. “Her Majesty will be returning this way soon.”

The sound of masculine voices warned her that the gentlemen had returned to the drawing room, and she found herself hoping that her dinner partner had found someone else to whom he could expound his views. As she and Catherine entered, she glanced swiftly around, hoping to spot the elderly gentleman before he saw her, but she found her view suddenly blocked by Raventhorpe’s large figure.

“Good evening, Lady Letitia,” he said.