Dangerous Escapade (13 page)

“Yes,”
whispered Kitty despairingly. “Oh yes.”

“And he?” questioned
Madame.

“He loves me,
too,” responded Kitty. “But he is already promised to Lady Amelia, you see, and
he says he cannot jilt her, even though I know that Captain Markham is her
lover….”

“I beg your
pardon!” exclaimed Madame la Comtesse, startled.

Kitty nodded vigorously.
“It's quite true, Ma'am, for I saw them embracing after my ball. But my Lord
says that it makes no difference, for he cannot in honour give such a reason
for breaking the engagement.”

“That is very
true, my dear,” conceded Madame. “For a man who did such a thing would be
almost as much an outcast as the woman herself, and I cannot feel that it would
benefit you greatly to be married to a social pariah.”

“No,” agreed
Mistress Kitty dolefully.

Madame patted her
cheek. ''Do not despair,
petite
,” she
counselled. “I am sure that something will occur to put matters to rights. I am
a great believer in fate, you know.”

Kitty smiled
wanly, but she had no such faith. However, she was considerably cheered by the
timely arrival of a bouquet of white roses bearing Lord Courtney's card,
followed almost immediately by Courtney in person to sue for the honour of the
first dance with the heiress. This was graciously allowed him. He stayed for
half an hour entertaining the two ladies and then took his leave.

Upon leaving
the house, he almost bumped into my Lord Debenham, who was ascending the steps
just as he was about to descend.

“I say, old
fellow,” cried the Viscount cheerfully. “I've just been visiting the divine
Kitty. You're a fool, Tony, my boy. If you're not careful, I'm going to snatch the
prize away from under your nose, and that's fair warning.”

“My dear Julian,
as it seems to have escaped your somewhat erratic memory, may I remind you that
I am betrothed to Lady Amelia,” rejoined Lord Debenham acidly.

“Seems to me it's
not my memory that needs jogging. The
on
dit
is that you haven't been seen in her company for weeks,” replied
Courtney frankly.

“Let them talk,”
shrugged Lord Debenham. “It is nobody's business but mine.”

“And Lady
Amelia's,” reminded Courtney.

The Earl regarded
his friend humorously. “Julian, I refuse to be taken to task on my own doorstep,
particularly by a young idiot who should know better!”

“Sorry, old
fellow, but you know I'm dashed fond of you and well…you know what I mean.”

“Of course I
do,” Lord Debenham assured him. “Please believe that Amelia does not suffer by
my absence.”

“I daresay she
doesn't,” muttered Lord Courtney to himself as he strode off. “What I say is
that she damn well should!”

Meanwhile, the
Earl, with consummate grace, was making his bow to the Comtesse with whom he
was already slightly acquainted.

The Earl, who
was not so much in love as to be totally blind to feminine charms, had always found
the fascinating countess much to his taste and, as Kitty was still behaving
towards him with studied coolness, he was content to sit beside the older woman,
although his eyes often strayed to his ward's lovely face. They had many
friends in common and shared an intimate knowledge of Paris, where Madame de
Longueville had lived since she first married. Lord Debenham, who had met the
Comte de Longueville in France, found it difficult to imagine this exquisite, sophisticated
lady enjoying connubial bliss with that amiable but doltish nobleman. However,
report had it that they were a devoted couple and, in any event, he was in no
position to criticize other people's matrimonial arrangements. What madness had
induced him to offer for Lady Amelia he could not now fathom, but he had made
his bed and he supposed they must all lie on it.

He was
informed by his ward that he was to have the pleasure of escorting all three
ladies to the masquerade that night, to which he replied that he would be
delighted.

“I am very much
looking forward to it,” Madame de Longueville told him. “I expect to meet so
many of my old friends.”

The Earl bowed
and murmured something complimentary, but it was obvious that his attention had
strayed once more to his ward. Kitty was looking very appealing in a gown of
soft pink, but it was her air of anticipation that disturbed him. Distrustfully,
he attributed her excitement to the prospect of being with Lord Courtney at an
event at which conventions of decorum were notoriously lax.

Disturbing as
the last few weeks had been for the Earl, for Cedric, Lord Brabington, they had
been a period of unmitigated gloom. He preferred not to dwell upon the scene
that had taken place upon his return to his lodgings on the morning of his
abortive love scene with his cousin, for it made him shudder even to think of
it. Wellbeloved had been cursed unpleasant about the whole thing, and
Brabington had had a very good mind to cut the acquaintance altogether. He was,
however, no match for Wellbeloved who had, after venting his first annoyance
with a careless blow that left an angry, red mark on Brabington’s cheek, set
his devious mind to plotting once more. It was apparent that the heiress could
no longer be won by fair means; indeed, he had never really thought so poorly
of the girl as to imagine that she would ever contemplate marrying her odious
cousin. His plan had been to take advantage of their friendship to lure her
into his trap. It was, he reflected, more difficult than one had thought to
kidnap a young lady of fortune who was escorted wherever she went by a stout
footman and more often than not by at least one lovesick swain. He was aware
that she must have been warned by Lord Debenham against him, and he had a
higher opinion of her intelligence than to send her notes suggesting mysterious
assignations. He had been considering this problem for some time when, calling
upon Lord Brabington one evening, he found that pretty gentleman engaged in
trying on a new domino of puce silk, which he had purchased in honour of the Duchess's
masquerade the following night.

“A masquerade!”
exclaimed Wellbeloved. “Does your cousin attend?”

“Aye, I believe
so. All the world and his wife will be there.”

“Who will be her
escorts?” demanded Wellbeloved quickly.

Brabington considered:
“Well, as it's an important occasion, I presume Debenham will attend. She
usually has that young rake Courtney in attendance, too, and probably one or
two gallants may walk by her chair.”

“Who is this
Courtney you mention? Is he a favoured suitor?”

“So they say,
but to my mind it's Debenham she wants. I've seen her look at him and, what's
more, I've seen the way he looks at her.”

Wellbeloved
smiled. If this was true, it added spice to his revenge. “Do you know the Duchess
well, Brabington?” he asked thoughtfully.

His companion flushed.
“Extremely well,” he answered shortly.

“Then, my good
friend, procure for me an invitation to this affair. I cannot miss what is
obviously to be an event to remember.”

Brabington went
off sulkily to execute his commission, leaving his accomplice to make his own
preparations. These led him to don the garb of a gentleman's gentleman and to
retire to a popular ale house close to the Earl's mansion. Next, after judicious
enquiry, he approached a respectable-looking gentleman temporarily employed as Lord
Debenham's valet. John, who hated Town life, was enjoying his annual holiday. This
gentleman was pleased to allow his new friend to buy him a tumbler of extremely
fiery gin, and it was not long before Wellbeloved departed armed with the information
he required.

Kitty was supposed
to be dressing for the masquerade, but instead, she was sitting in her
petticoat, slowly brushing her hair and plotting the Earl’s downfall. For that night
she intended to show his Lordship just what he was allowing to slip through his
cruel fingers. In short, she had decided to make her guardian jealous by
flirting desperately with as many young men as she could find to indulge her. A
knock from Lady Horatia at her chamber door reminded Kitty that time was
getting on, so she rang for her abigail and was laced into a gown of white
satin, lavishly decorated with crystal beads so that the gown shimmered as she
moved. She slipped on the matching silk domino and tried the effect of a loo
mask, which made her eyes dance in a most fascinating manner through the slits.
She descended the stairs to find the whole party waiting for her and apologized
prettily. She was received with indulgent smiles and ushered into her chair, beside
which walked Lord Courtney and his friend, the Hon. Peter Carlton, who had
conceived a silent but overpowering admiration for the heiress. Lord Debenham escorted
his aunt and their guest and, if he regretted his position, he was far too
well-mannered to allow it to appear.

The masquerade
was already in full swing when they arrived, and many masked couples were
treading gracefully around the room, no doubt trying to discover the identity
of their partners. Lord Courtney stepped forward to claim his dance.

As Kitty moved
off upon Courtney's arm, she was unable to resist sending the Earl a
provocative glance over her shoulder. He received it with an ironical bow and
immediately turned to offer his hand to the lively Comtesse, who was very willing
to oblige him.

There was
little pleasure to be had from the dance for any of the older members of the party.
Their precious charge was behaving in a manner that made one at least of her preceptors
long to slap her. But, if Lady Horatia nourished vengeful thoughts, the Earl
was in a worse case. The sight of his ward flirting outrageously with her gallant
suitor produced in him a murderous rage, nothing mitigated by the reflection
that, could he but throw duty to the winds, he might enjoy all the heiress'
smiles himself. Glancing around the overcrowded ballroom, he was further
infuriated to see the number of significant nods and smiles being exchanged
among the assembled Ton.

Kitty was not
unconscious of the brooding figure of her guardian, elegant as ever in a
midnight-blue silk domino. Her excitement mounted as his eyes followed her
possessively about the room; a flush of pleasure mounted her cheeks, her eyes
sparkled dangerously. Some of the reckless spirit of her boyhood days, until now
ruthlessly suppressed, welled up inside her. She was determined to stake her future
happiness upon this night's work, to overcome the rigid code by which Debenham
had always lived by the sheer force of her own passion.

When the orchestra
ceased to play, Kitty desired her partner to lead her to Lady Horatia's side,
where she seated herself, vigorously plying her fan to cool her overheated countenance.
Courtney, to his chagrin, was dispatched in search of refreshment, but his
place at her side was not long empty. Almost immediately, the Earl appeared and,
taking the fan from her, began to ply it, while reading a rebuke under his
breath that brought the blood rushing back to her cheeks.

“I must insist,
my ward, that you will stop making a spectacle of yourself for all these fools
to gape at. You make yourself ridiculous!”

“How dare you!”
she gasped. “I have done nothing improper, nothing to merit this rebuke.”

“How dare I? I
am your guardian, Ma'am, and it is upon me that your atrocious behaviour
rebounds!”

Hot tears of
anger welled up into her eyes, “Oh, if I were but a man you would not speak to
me so!” she cried.

“If you were a
man, Kitty, this entire intolerable situation would no doubt have been avoided.
I can only say that I heartily wish it were the case.”

“Oh! How can
you be so unkind,” she whispered chokingly.

The Earl may
have been softened by this tearful speech; indeed, his hand went out towards her.
But, at that inopportune moment, Lord Courtney returned with his refreshments,
and all intimate conversation came to an end. His offerings were accepted with a
grateful smile but, greatly to his delight, the heiress was too hot to eat
—
Lord Courtney must conduct her out of the
insufferably crowded hall, or she vowed she would swoon.

His Lordship
was all solicitude and, presently, she found herself seated beside him in a
secluded part of the gardens. Courtney had not failed to notice his lady's distress,
palpable even in the sheltering darkness of the night, and now he took a hand
that still trembled and begged to know in what way he might serve her. “You
know, m'dear, that I would do anything for you, you have only to command me.”

“Oh, Courtney,
there is nothing you or anyone can do,” she sighed. “I have been very foolish,
and now I must pay the penalty. I thought to win his love; instead I have lost
even his respect.''

“The Earl?”
demanded Courtney shortly.

“Of course. Do
not blame him, I beg, for it is all my fault.”

“M’dear, look
at me,” begged his Lordship, carrying her hand to his lips. “I know I'm not the
sort of first-rate fellow Debenham is. I mean, I'm not handsome like him not too
bright either, but...I love you Kitty, far more than I ever thought I could
love anyone. You can't have Debenham, you know, and damn, he's a cold sort of
fish for a girl like you, even though he is my friend. Won't you think about taking
me instead, darling? I'd do my damnedest to make you happy.”

She smiled at
him very sadly. “You are far too good, dear Courtney, to be tied to a woman who
loves another man. The friendship I could give you would never suffice and, in
time, I daresay you would grow to be sorry you ever married me. You see, I
could never love anyone as I do him. He found me when I had no one, and he has given
me everything. I must love him; there is no help for it.”

Courtney pressed
her hand. “I'm sorry,” he murmured inadequately. “I wish I could offer you some
comfort, but as far as I can see, there was no hope. Lady Amelia has her claws
into Debenham and she won’t ever release him.”