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Authors: Hilary Gilman

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She smiled up
at him with unshadowed affection. “My dear, how I wish that I could return the
compliment, but, indeed, you look tired, Anthony. Are you unwell?”

“No, Aunt, I
am not conscious that anything is amiss,” he answered rather abruptly, dismissing
the subject. “How is my ward?”

“Delightful in
every way. I cannot wait until you see her. I think you will be pleased with
what I have done. She is in the garden at the moment, though I have no doubt
that she would very much rather be in the stables. I sent her out to pluck some
roses to arrange, which is something all women must learn to do. I fear the
road to young lady

hood is rather hard on
the poor sweet.”

The Earl smiled.
“I shall render myself agreeable, then, and rescue her. In the rose garden, you
say?” Lady Horatia nodded and watched in great satisfaction as the tall figure
made his way out into the hot summer sunshine.

As Debenham walked
slowly towards the perfumed rose beds, he reflected that he had no right to
expect a very warm welcome. He had not seen Kitty since that night last March, but
the memory of the terms he had used towards her haunted him still. He had sent
her down to Debenham with John the next morning, without attempting to see her
again, and had communicated with her since only through her lawyers. He had
devoted all his time since to proving his ward's claim to the Brabington
fortune; and, thanks to the evidence of the family Bible, combined with
surprisingly little opposition from young Lord Brabington, his lawyers were
able to establish to the court's satisfaction that Kitty was indeed heiress to
the vast inheritance. The house was, of course, entailed to the new Lord
Brabington, together with the estate and revenues; but these had diminished as
the old lord had allowed the estate to fall off in later years. However, the
fortune that Kitty was to inherit had nothing to do with the land and was
invested in various ways that ensured her a very generous income for life
without her ever having to touch the principal.

This was the news
that had brought Lord Debenham down to see her. He wanted to tell her himself
that she was a wealthy young woman and advise her to take care. He had not
forgotten Mr Wellbeloved, nor did he think that Wellbeloved had forgotten them.

He found Kitty
where Lady Horatia had told him, sitting rather disconsolately on a rustic bench
surrounded by fragrant rose beds. She made an exquisite picture as she leant her
head upon one white hand, the ruffles at her elbows accentuating the new
womanly curves of her lovely arms. She was attired in a
Robe a
l’Anglaise
of cream and gold
brocade, very fashionably made up by my Lady's own modiste. The riotous curls had
been arranged to frame her face while one dark ringlet fell across the décolletage
of her gown. A basket of roses at her feet testified to her former occupation,
and in her hand she held a bloom, from which she was engaged in slowly
stripping the petals.

The Earl
became conscious that his breath was coming rather quickly and, with an effort,
he regained something like his usual composure before leaving the shelter of
the walk and strolling forward into the sunlight.

As his shadow
fell across her, Kitty glanced up quickly and, over her face, there came a
smile of such breathtaking sweetness that Debenham found he was quite unable to
greet her with the formality he had determined upon. Instead, he smiled
tenderly upon her and took her hand, saying, “My dear, I am overcome. I think I
should have been given some warning, for I swear I was near to begging pardon
for having intruded upon this fashionable young lady in mistake for my ward.”

Kitty laughed.
“Do you approve, Sir? Truly, I have tried very hard and, of course, Lady
Horatia has been so kind that I love her already.”

“My dear, what
can I say? I fear I shall have much to contend with when I introduce to the ton
a young lady with your attractions, in addition to a tempting fortune. There
will be match-making mammas ready to murder me, I dare say.”

“I am glad you
think well of me, Sir,” she replied, rather wistfully. Their eyes met; each knew
that the shadow of their last meeting must be dispelled if it were not to
destroy this promising new relationship.

“Kitty, I have
to beg you to forgive me for my words on the occasion of our last meeting. I have
regretted them deeply. There is no excuse that I can give you. I am in your
hands.”

Mistress
Brabington searched her guardian's face and, seeing real anxiety there, she
gladly accepted his apology and signified the event by throwing her arms around
his neck, a proceeding that severely tried Debenham's resolution. However, if
loyalty to his bride had not acted as sufficient restraint, the knowledge that
her embrace was as innocent as a child's must have done so.

“Now that we
are friends again, Sir, I wish you will explain to me how I come to be an
heiress, for I find it very confusing.''

Lord Debenham seated
himself beside his ward and retained her hand in what he hoped was an avuncular
manner. “First of all, Kitty, I must tell you that what Wellbeloved related to
you was basically the truth. Your father was the youngest son of the
Brabingtons and, for various sins, was cast off when he was twenty or
thereabouts. No one could have foreseen that his three elder brothers would all
fail to reach their fortieth birthday. It was the most unlucky series of
mischances and must have seemed to the old man, who outlived all his sons, to
be a curse of some kind. However, he died in forty-five and, in default of a
direct heir, your father, having been presumed dead, a distant cousin became the
new baronet. Now, if your father had been tried and convicted of treason, he
would have forfeited his goods to the crown; but

forgive
me if I pain you, my dear

as he died before
being convicted, all his goods are inherited by yourself. Lord Brabington, of
course, retains the title and all that is entailed upon him, but there is a
very large fortune un-entailed, of which you are now the possessor.”

Kitty whistled,
a heartening reminder of her boyhood, and then became rather grave. “Poor Lord Brabington,”
she remarked. “He must be very angry that I have turned up out of nowhere to
deprive him of a fortune.”

“One would
have imagined so, Kitty, but I must say he has behaved very well, unexpectedly well
when one considers his reputation.”

“And what is his
reputation, dear Sir?” she inquired softly.

“He is, I fear,
a weak and vicious young man,” responded Lord Debenham. “Indeed, if it were not
that the closeness of your relationship makes it impracticable, he is precisely
the kind of man I would wish you to avoid.” The Earl regarded his ward
thoughtfully. “You see, my dear, you are not only a supremely attractive young
woman, you are a very considerable heiress, and when you appear in town there
is no doubt that you will have many suitors. You are very young and, though I
do not desire to impose restraint upon you, I must ask that you consult either
myself or Lady Horatia before forming any friendships or attachments. Can I
depend upon that, Kitty?”

It is not to
be supposed that a young lady accustomed to roaming the cities of Europe with an
indulgent father would submit readily to such dictatorship. However, she had
learnt quite enough from Lady Horatia to know that this was a case for feminine
guile rather than the open rebellion she would have made a few months ago.
Therefore, she smiled sunnily upon his Lordship, secretly, however, reserving
the right to be friends with exactly whom she chose. My Lord, who was falling
momentarily more deeply under the spell of his ward, was unsuspicious of a
docility that would certainly have warned him had he been regarding the young
lady objectively.

Observing that
they had left his good aunt alone for quite long enough, the Earl offered his
arm to his companion, and together they made their way down the shady paths
that led them back to the house.

Lady Horatia was
on the watch for them and immediately rustled forward to draw them into the
morning room, where a cold collation had been laid out for their refreshment.

The meal was
passed very merrily, for Kitty kept them laughing with her naughty account of
her recent trials and drew laughing protests from Lady Horatia in describing
that good lady's first arrival.

The remainder
of the afternoon was spent in showing her guardian the skills she had acquired
over the last three months in order that he might assure himself that she was
quite ready to appear in Society. As he was able to praise everything he saw,
from her court curtsies to the fluttering of her pretty fan and the placing of
her patches, he pronounced himself very satisfied and announced his intention of
taking his ward to the fashionable city of Bath within a month.

Debenham
returned to town early the next morning, the bearer of a good many commissions
from his affectionate aunt concerning all the little trifles indispensable to a
young lady making her first appearance. Within a very few days, a constant stream
of packages began to appear, containing, besides such entrancing articles as
fans, shawls, muffs, slippers, and stockings, the even more important lengths of
silk, satin, brocade, and lace that were to furnish Kitty with a wardrobe worthy
of the Brabington heiress.

The great Celine
herself journeyed down from London and stayed long enough to render herself
odious to the local seamstresses, whom she bullied unmercifully in order to
produce her exquisite creations in time.

Debenham had
signified that he intended to hold a ball in honour of his ward upon her
arrival in Bath, and, naturally, the gown to be worn on this important occasion
was the subject of long and delightful discussions between the three ladies.
They decided finally upon an open robe of figured brocade in palest pink worn
over a petticoat of silver net. Lady Horatia grew quite tearful when she saw
her charge arrayed in this creation and, when questioned, could only mutter direfully
against poor Amelia Henshawe, who was quite unconscious of the uncharitable
feelings she had aroused in the gentle lady's breast.

Kitty grew
tired of being fitted for her new gowns long before her wardrobe was complete; but,
eventually, all was finished, packed up, and sent on before them to Bath, and
they were able to step into Lord Debenham's well-sprung coach on the first
stage of their journey.

 

Six

 

It is not to
be supposed that Mistress Kitty, inured to the more exotic splendours of Rome,
Vienna, and Madrid, would find much to impress her in the fashionable
watering-place of Bath. She compared it unfavourably, indeed, with Baden-Baden,
where a good many of her adolescent summers had been passed. But she settled
down happily enough in the pleasant house Lord Debenham had acquired for the
season and was willing to own herself glad of the change.

It was in Bath
that she tasted the first pleasures of being female and realized that even
tight lacing had its compensations. She was not to be seen formally until my
Lord's Ball, but on the several shopping expeditions she made in company with
Lady Horatia, she was at first astonished and then delighted to find that she
commanded an uncommon degree of admiration wherever she went. Lady Horatia also
rejoiced in her charge's success, which she not unnaturally regarded as a
compliment to herself.

Lady Horatia had
no doubt that Kitty would be besieged with partners at the coming Ball, but as
she said to her nephew: “My dear Anthony, I cannot but feel our sweet Kitty
would go on very much more comfortably at her party if she were acquainted with
one or two young ladies of her own age. Do you not think that I might perhaps
take her to the Pump Room tomorrow in order to introduce her to some sweet
girls I know of?”

The Earl shrugged.
“Whatever you think best, dear Aunt. I believe that you will find Lady Amelia
at the Pump Room tomorrow, indeed, for I have just received this note, which
informs me that the family arrived in Bath this afternoon. Perhaps you would be
good enough to introduce them.”

“But my dear,
surely that is a pleasure you would prefer to reserve for yourself?” responded Lady
Horatia, with a touch of malice.

She found Debenham
was regarding her very seriously. “I realize that you have discovered in some
way my feelings for my ward, but pray believe me when I say that there is no
possibility of my breaking with Amelia. I must request you not to tease me on
the subject. I know I can rely on your affection. It can afford me nothing but pain
to see them together; to be offered the chance of comparison is what I dread. But,
dear Aunt, I shall find it very much easier if I am not conscious that I am
watched and my behaviour noted.”

Lady Horatia was
much affected. “My dear boy, I shall never refer to it again, I promise. But
how I wish it were not so, for, of all the women in the world, Kitty is the
very one to make you happy.”

He made no
reply, and Lady Horatia slipped from the room, from whence she retired to her
chamber and relieved her feelings by setting them all down in a lengthy letter
to the Comtesse de Longueville.

True to her
promise, she escorted her charge to the Pump Room the next morning. Mistress Kitty
could not comprehend the pains her mentor took with her that morning, but Lady Horatia
was determined that Kitty should outshine poor Lady Amelia in every way, if only
for her own satisfaction. His Lordship would not be there to compare the two
women, but the rest of the Polite World undoubtedly would.

And so, when
Kitty finally entered the Pump Room that morning, she was a vision of
fashionable loveliness. Lady Horatia had arrayed her in dull amber silk lavishly
trimmed with gold lace, in which costume she entered the fashionable throng
like a golden rose. Several ladies took an immediate and lifelong dislike to her
upon first sight while, upon the impressionable men, she produced a quite
contrary effect.

BOOK: Dangerous Escapade
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