Miss Cresswell's London Triumph (27 page)

As she thought about it, she arrived at the same conclusion as Ned, that it must be Cassie and not Teddy who had needed to return to Cresswell. A plan slowly began to take shape in her brain. She smiled slyly to herself. Well see who is the smart one now, Cassie Cresswell, she vowed as she set about laying her strategy.

It was not that Arabella had set her sights on Ned. While he possessed an attractively large fortune, a handsome countenance, and an air of elegance, he did not appear to be committed to making the best use of these attributes to win an important place for himself in the ton. Besides, he didn't have an impressive title, and Arabella was not ready settle for anything less than a marquess. No, she didn't really want Ned. He did have an annoying tendency to see right through one or to become serious over the most boring things. But she could not bear the thought of anyone else attracting someone who had been her most devoted admirer, especially if that someone were that impertinent little tomboy Cassie.

Arabella began to weave her plot. As her scheme depended on convincing her parents that exhausted by the rigors of the Season, she needed to return to a place that she had hitherto referred to in terms of deepest loathing, it took some doing. But Arabella had not been the toast of society without developing her dramatic capabilities to a high degree and she began to cultivate a charmingly languid air which threatened an immediate decline if the beauty were not removed to the restorative climate of the countryside.

Despite their wealth, Sir Lucius and Lady Taylor had never been particularly comfortable in the ton, conscious as they were that the fortune which had opened all the doors for them had come from trade on Lady Taylor's side. For them, the simple life of country landlords concerned with parish affairs and the pleasures of gardening and farming was far more attractive than the frenetic pace of the London Season. They would have been more than content to spend their lives without setting foot in Town if it had not been for the social aspirations of their beautiful daughter. Unable to deny her anything, they had put up with the dirt, the crowds, and the noise of the capital, taking pleasure in her happiness and pride in her success. Thus they were entirely surprised but delighted at Arabella's sudden whim and, as always, moved quickly to grant her whatever she wished.

Within days, the ton had been deprived of two of its brightest stars, but true to its fickle nature, after some initial comment, it forgot all about them and carried on as always, flirting, dancing, and gossiping.

It would have been too much to hope that a return to the country could restore Cassie's former equanimity, but as she rose each day to peace and solitude and descended to the library after her morning chocolate, and as she took long walks in the lanes around Cresswell, smelling the sweet scent of roses in the hedgerows and responding to the "Good to see you back. Miss Cassie," from passersby, she did begin to regain a measure of serenity. Having put the possibility of meeting Ned as well as the scenes of their latest disastrous encounter at a distance, she was able to gain some objectivity.

At first she resumed her studies only for the diversion they offered, hoping that if she occupied her mind enough with these, it would not revisit the uncomfortable thoughts which had recently been torturing-it. Initially the distraction she sought evaded her, but she kept at it, and as the days passed, she discovered that her studies not only took her mind off unhappy memories, they offered solace and a chance to recapture the sense of ease with herself that had been so badly upset by her discovery that she was head over heels in love with Ned Mainwaring.

He was still constantly in her thoughts, but she was freed from the powerful emotions aroused by his immediate presence, and was able to reflect more calmly and rationally on the situation. You were friends before you realized you were in love with him, Cassie Cresswell, and you can continue to be friends no matter whom he loves, she told herself. If this seemed a rather bleak future to look forward to after the intensity of the feelings she had experienced in his company recently, it was at least peaceful and one she could bear to live with. True to say, the passion with which she had reacted to his kisses, though it had exhilarated her, had also frightened her in the power it seemed to have over her. Cassie could imagine nothing more wonderful than surrendering herself to it in Ned's arms, but at the same time she was afraid of what would occur if such a situation did befall her and she did happen to give in and allow herself to be swept along by it.

You're probably well out of it, my girl, she congratulated herself. Why, given the chance, you might degenerate into a mindless hedonist devoting yourself entirely to pleasure. Ned had helped her to discover a propensity for this in herself that was nearly as alarming as the revelation that she was in love with someone who, far from wanting to indulge in these propensities with her, was more accustomed to regarding her in the light of a younger sister, a precocious younger sister, but a younger sister, nevertheless.

Sorting out and coming to terms with all these new and disturbing emotions was a slow process and there were times when Cassie despaired of ever regaining her peace of mind, but gradually she began to take pleasure in life again, helping Teddy practice his cricket, playing fetch with Wellington, punting on the pond, and galloping over the countryside in a way she was never able to do in London.

One day, nearly a fortnight after her flight from Town, she was congratulating herself on the commencement of her recovery from all this madness of love and passion when Teddy burst into the library, trailing his cricket bat and followed by his three devoted spectators. "That lady with the mean eyeth ith here. Aunt Cathie, and she'th looking for you," he announced.

"The lady with mean eyes?" Cassie was mystified. "You know, the one in the park," he elaborated. Cassie continued to look blank. Sighing heavily, he continued, "You know, when we were there with that man' and we lost the boat and Wellington rethcued it and we saw Ned and that lady with the mean eyeth."

Enlightenment dawned. "You mean Arabella? She's here?" Cassie asked incredulously, not able to fathom the idea of Arabella anywhere else but London in the middle of the Season.

Teddy nodded vigorously just as Arabella, elegant in a peach-colored walking dress, followed the footman into the library. His mission accomplished, Teddy departed with as much haste as possible. Wellington, Nelson, and Ethelred, having taken full measure of the lady with mean eyes and come to no very complimentary assessment of her character, were at his heels.

"Cassie, so delightful to see you," Arabella drawled as she stripped off her gloves and draped herself gracefully on a nearby settee. "Are you rusticating because you are as ennuyee and exhausted by the incessant social demands as I?" she asked, heaving a sigh and trying to look as fragile as a voluptuous figure would allow.

Cassie, never ordinarily at a loss for words, remained nonplussed while Arabella, oblivious to her surprise, rattled happily on. "Of course, keeping up one's role as an incomparable can be quite the
most wearing thing. I was beginning to look positively hagridden, and Ned—here she paused significantly before continuing— *dear Ned, was naturally so concerned."

"Ned," Cassie repeated stupidly.

"Well, yes. Of course he doesn't want me to tire myself out and he does worry so about my happiness, poor boy, though in the circumstances it's only natural."

"Of course," Cassie agreed, totally missing the careful emphasis her visitor had put on the word "circumstances."

Arabella was becoming quite annoyed. Really, for all her reputation as a bluestocking, Cassie was being remarkably obtuse. Her back to the wall, she was forced to dispense with subtle hints and adopt some degree of falsehood. "Certainly it's only natural, isn't it, for a man to want his intended to be in radiant health?" she inquired archly.

"His intended?" Cassie echoed. "I didn't know. I hadn't heard ..." Her voice trailed off.

Having committed herself to a course of deception, Arabella could do nothing but brazen it out. And it wasn't such a very big lie, after all. With Cassie disposed of, Arabella felt confident of bringing such a situation to pass. She tossed her head and smiled condescendingly. "Of course it's not yet formally announced, but surely youVe known this age of our understanding."

Cassie's mind was reeling. All her hard-won peace of mind evaporated in an instant. She felt dizzy and there was the oddest sensation at the pit of her stomach. Raising her hand to her brow, she said faintly, "Excuse me. I'm afraid that I haven't been the hostess I should be. That's delightful news. Now, if youll excuse me, I have the most dreadful headache." Without a backward glance she rushed from the room.

"And that," Arabella announced with satisfaction to the empty room, "is that." She pulled on her gloves and rang for a footman, smiling at him prettily as he led her to her carriage.

With no clear idea of where she was going, Cassie ran to her room, tore open the cupboard, and pulled out her oldest, most comfortable riding habit. Struggling with the last few buttons, she raced to the stables calling to Jim to saddle Chiron.

"But Miss Cassie," he protested, "the sky's that dark. It's coming on to storm for certain."

"I don't care!" she snapped in an unusual show of temper. "Just saddle him!" "Yes, miss, he replied, looking aggrieved. John would have his hide, but when a woman looked that upset, he knew better than to argue with her. He threw her into the saddle and she tore out of the stable yard as though the hounds of hell were after her.

Cassie still had no very clear idea of where she was headed. All she knew was that she had to get away—away from everything and everybody that was familiar. She wanted to escape to the anonymity of the open fields, where she could ride until she was too exhausted to think.

Not long after Arabella's triumphant departure another visitor rode up the gravel drive at Cresswell, rang the bell, and requested to see Miss Cassie. It was Ned. Unable to endure another day of uncertainty, he had ridden down from London the night before. He had spent the night at Camberly, where he made the unpleasant discovery that sleeping in his old room and visiting the scenes of his childhood, so much of which had revolved around Cassie and Freddie, only made the longing to see Cassie and to beg her to marry him that much stronger. He had spent a restless night trying to sort out his thoughts and deciding on the best way to convince someone he had just insulted that he wanted nothing so much out of life as to spend the rest of it with her. Finally, giving up all hope of sleep, he had gotten up and began to pace the floor. At the first light he had thrown on his clothes and ordered Brutus to be saddled and brought 'round. Though it was still far too early to think of calling on anyone, Ned hoped that a long morning ride would clear his head, calm him down, and make the time pass more quickly until he could call on Cassie. He had ridden for hours and poor Brutus's flanks were glistening with sweat before he had the courage to present himself.

"She's not here!" he exclaimed in dismay when the footman who had answered the door returned from an unsuccessful search of all the rooms.

"Perhaps she's out in the garden, sir. If you care to take your horse to the stable, you could ask them there," he suggested apologetically.

Ned led out a sigh of exasperation and headed off to the stables.

"Miss Cassie left some time ago, sir," Jim replied when questioned as to his mistress's whereabouts.

"What?" thundered Ned. "You saw the sky and you let her go? Where are your brains, lad?" An ominous rumbling in the distance made him demand more urgently, "How long has she been gone?"

"Not long, sir. I'm that sorry, sir," the stableboy apologized. "You know Miss Cassie. When she gets something fixed in her mind there's just no stopping her." He shook his head.

"Which direction did she go? Ned was beginning to sound frantic as another crack of thunder and a flash of lightning increased his concern for Cassie's welfare.

Jim pointed to the fields on his right. "She went that way, sir, but there weren't no stopping her," he spoke again in defense of his actions. If he had been apprehensive before about what John Coachman would say when he discovered that he had let Miss Cassie go off in such weather, he was even more worried by the dreadful expression on Ned's face. Master Ned was a gentleman who could handle anything. Why the stories he'd heard about his and Master Freddie's adventures in India would make your hair curl! But he looked proper frantic now. "I'm sorry . . ."he began again, but his words were cut off as Ned leaped on Brutus and clattered out of the yard.

The wind had picked up by now and the first large drops of rain were beginning to fall. Ned rode like a madman in the direction Jim had pointed, trying vainly to distinguish the outline of a horse and rider as the rain, falling in earnest now, streamed down his face. The motion eased his tension somewhat, and as he began to think more clearly he recalled a favorite ride Cassie often took on the ridge the other side of a small wood. He headed straight into the trees, in too much of a hurry to seek out the path he knew was there. Branches slapped in his face and tore at his clothes. He lowered his head on Brutus's neck, grimly urging him on. The thunder was closer now and the horse whinnied in terror as there was a loud crack directly overhead.

After what seemed an interminable time he burst clear of the trees and saw before him the ridge with a horse and rider barely visible in the distance. "Cassie! Cassie!" he shouted, even though he knew full well she could never hear him above the storm, especially at that distance.