Midnight Bride (23 page)

"You do not understand, Louisa. I thought no one would need to know. As far as I was concerned, the fewer people who knew about this, the less chance there would be for a scandal. And you know how I feel about scandal." Elizabeth clasped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were white. "How did you find out?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"The servants."
Louisa's voice was thoughtful. "I have no doubt that Charles heard the same story. That would explain his sudden disappearance."

"Charles? What do you mean?" Elizabeth's face was as white as sheets bleached by the summer sun.

"My dresser said that Porter asked Jeffries about the gossip before he left. How could you be so foolish?" Louisa closed her eyes, trying to put the events in order in her mind.

"I did nothing. He was not there when I went to bed. He was there in the morning, but I know no one saw him leave. I got him out as soon as I could. The only people up were the servants, and he was in his room before the footman arrived to start his fires." Elizabeth had gone from distressed to
panicked
.

"And how would you know that?" Louisa's usually sleepy blue eyes were sharp.

"He told me when he asked me to . . ." Elizabeth broke off hastily. She got up and began to walk aimlessly around the room, aware of a need to escape from those clear blue eyes.

"Asked you to what?" her cousin asked, her voice as calm as she could make it.

Needing to defend her actions, Elizabeth turned to face Louisa.
"To marry him."
She watched in dismay as a look of relief passed over her cousin's face. "But I said no."

"You did what?" This time Louisa's question was almost a shriek.

"I told him no."

"Then you better write and tell him that you have changed your mind." Louisa rose and stood before her cousin, the difference in height bothering her not at all. She shook her finger at Elizabeth. "Have you no sense? Do you wish to be cast out of society forever? Of course you will accept him. Write him immediately."

"I won't. He does not want a wife, and I do not want a husband. I did nothing wrong. Why do I have to pay the price?" Determined, Elizabeth ignored the memory of the warm feeling that crept over her each time she received a letter from Dunstan. "The gossip will go away. All I have to do is stay here and face it. Remember that is what you told me before."

"Not this time." Louisa crossed to stand beside the window, looking out into the bright sunshine. "This time the gossip began with the servants. Their memories are long. And how long before the rest of the county finds out?" She turned to look at the girl she regarded as her daughter. "You yourself said only a few weeks ago that this was a merciless area. What do you think will happen when your neighbors hear the gossip?" she asked in a quiet voice. "And they will hear."

Elizabeth's face paled. Then she straightened her spine. "They know me too well to believe such rumors," she said firmly, hoping that she was right.

"But these aren't just rumors, are they?" Elizabeth sank into a chair, her head lowered. Louisa crossed to stand behind her, her hands longing to smooth Elizabeth's tousled curls, to smooth the hurts away. "Besides you know that certain members of this county's society enjoy nothing more than destroying a reputation. At least write Lord Dunstan and tell him that your secret has been discovered," Louisa suggested. If Dunstan had felt a need to make an offer before their secret was known, surely he would offer again. And this time she would make certain Elizabeth would agree.

"No."

"Elizabeth, that is not fair to the man. If someone mentions the gossip in his presence, you do not want him to be surprised. At least give him that courtesy." Louisa thought for a moment and then added, "He is a man with scandal in his past. I am certain he will want to avoid one in the present."

For a moment Louisa was afraid Elizabeth would refuse again,
then
the younger lady sighed. Louisa smiled slightly as Elizabeth rose and walked toward the desk. "My dear, it is the only way," she said quietly as she watched Elizabeth pull the paper from the drawer. "We will wait for his answer. Then we will write Lady
Ramsburg
so that she can make the arrangements for the wedding."

Elizabeth looked up with a frown, holding the freshly sharpened quill in her hands. "I will not write Lord Dunstan. It is only too evident that my first impressions of him that morning were the correct ones."

"What do you mean?"

"It is obvious to me that he made certain that the knowledge would be made public."

"How do you know that?"

"Who else knew? Only he and I were there."

"Didn't you say the servants were up?" By now Louisa was wringing her hands. She had been so certain this morning that a few simple words would explain the whole confusing problem.

"I told you no one saw him leave."

"Someone must have." Louisa stopped for a moment. "Or they could have seen him arrive," she said thoughtfully. "What time did he enter your bedchamber?"

Elizabeth cleared her throat. She tried to say something, but all she could get out was a croak. Then she tried again. This time Louisa heard her whisper. "I do not know."

"I suppose with that handsome scoundrel in my bedroom, I would forget to look at the clock, too," Louisa said, her tone more humorous than she would have dreamed she could make it.

"No. No!" Elizabeth's voice was so agitated that Louisa, who had been wandering about the room thoughtfully, turned to look at her in amazement. Elizabeth stood up and moved to her cousin's side. She grabbed one of Louisa's hands and held on tight as though afraid she would be lost without it. "I simply do not know. All I know is that he was there when I woke the next morning." Her low, husky voice pleaded with Louisa to believe her.

"He was in bed with you when you wakened?" Louisa asked quietly. "And you do not remember when he arrived?" Elizabeth nodded. "What was he wearing?"

Elizabeth's face flamed. Louisa looked at her and tapped her foot impatiently. "I do not think he was wearing anything," Elizabeth said hurriedly.

Louisa gasped. Her face flamed and then took on sterner lines. "Elizabeth, you will write that letter to Lord Dunstan immediately."

"I will not. I do not plan to be married by a fortune hunter." Elizabeth stiffened her back and crossed to the window where Louisa had been standing only a short time before. But she did not see the gardens or the sunshine. Once again she could see Dunstan on the floor, the pillow in his lap.

"Well, at least she did not tell me she never plans to marry," Louisa muttered to herself. She looked at her cousin carefully and then smiled. "Elizabeth, dear," she began this time, her voice concerned and loving, "we must find some solution to this problem. Perhaps we could quiet the gossip that is bound to happen in the county if you only announced your engagement."

"And have
him
leave me like Jack did? Is that what you want?" Elizabeth turned back to the room, her face set in stern lines. "I have been rejected once. It is not an experience I wish to go through again. And what would happen if he insisted that our marriage go through as planned? No, Louisa, I will not write to the man." She crossed to the desk and picked up the pen, meaning to break it. She stared at it for a moment and then sat down, pulling the paper before her once more.

"Elizabeth, I do not like that look on your face, to whom are you writing?" Good as Elizabeth had been as a child, almost too good, Louisa knew that look only too well. "Elizabeth, answer me!"

"To Mama.
You wanted to visit her. I am writing to accept her invitation." Louisa's mouth dropped open, but she shut it quickly. "You wanted to visit Brighton this summer. Can we be ready to leave in two days? I will tell Mama we will be there within the week.

Louisa watched as Elizabeth sanded the note, crossed to the
bellpull
, and then gave it to Jeffries.

"Send this off immediately," she said firmly. Then she turned to where her cousin stood, stunned, uncertain of the wisdom of Elizabeth's decision. "Are you coming with me, Cousin?" Elizabeth
asked,
her voice carefully neutral.

"Elizabeth, this will not stop the gossip," Louisa finally said.
"The servants?
Do you mean to leave all the servants here?" Elizabeth simply shook her head and left the room. "But, Elizabeth, you cannot simply run away," Louisa protested as she hurried after her.

Two days later, as they watched the luggage coach lumber away, Louisa was still protesting. "My dear, at least let me write Lord Dunstan. As soon as we reach Brighton, the news of what has happened will be one of the on-
dits
of the
ton."

Elizabeth ignored her until they too were underway. Then she turned to her, her hazel eyes clear and untroubled. "Jeffries and I had a long talk after you told me what the servants were saying. He and I chose the servants to go with us very carefully. Except for Miller and your dresser they will all return to the manor as soon as they have delivered us to Lord
Ramsburg's
summer home."

"Even overnight may be too long. What if they talk?"

"Jeffries has assured me that everyone knows the seriousness of the situation. I think we will have to trust his judgment." Elizabeth sat back and closed her eyes, surprised at her own reactions. The last two days had proved to her that her stepmother's and cousin's predictions were right. She could do whatever needed to be done. She sighed.
If only she could get that dratted man out of her mind.
But his smile and blue eyes were as clear as though he sat on the seat in front of her. Finally, by concentrating all her efforts on
the task, she managed to relax and drifted off to sleep.

By the time they reached Brighton, both ladies ached from the ride. The damp evening mist hid the house and shops from their view as the coachman drove them down
Steine,
as eager as his passengers to see the prince's fancy dwelling. In the mist even the pointed domes of the royal stables were hidden from view. As the carriage pulled into Marine Parade, Louisa sat back and dropped the window curtain. "Oh, how lovely to be near the sea again," she said, clasping her hands in her lap.

"You talk as though we lived miles inland instead of an hour's drive from the coast," Elizabeth said, faintly disappointed by the quiet that surrounded her. "And if this"—she waved her hand at the scene outside her window—"is the exciting life that Brighton promises us, then I truly will be happy here."