Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind (7 page)

“Oh, no,” Ginny said. “Aunt Regina and I are quite agreed. I shall remain at Dunsmere indefinitely. It seems I and high society are not a good mix.”

“I see” Sir Anthony lingered at the table, his expression unreadable. Standing in front of her as he was, it was difficult for Ginny not to notice the way his dark hair curled crisply away from his brow. Brows that hovered over intensely blue eyes, accentuated by the dark blue of his elegant coat. From the coat, it was but a small feat to take in the snug fit of his buff pantaloons, encasing well-muscled thighs and tucked securely into the tops of shining black Hessians. “Well, then I suppose this is good-bye” His boot tassels twirled from view as he spun away and headed for the door.

“Why, you muth be Thur Anthony,” lisped a girlish voice from the hallway. “You look much better than Mama thaid.”

Ginny attempted to get a glimpse at what kind of creature this could be, but the girl was hidden from view by Sir Anthony’s broad back.

“That is most kind of you,” Sir Anthony replied. “May I ask whom I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“But of courth! Thilly moi! I am Luthinda Barrington.”

Lucinda Barrington. It couldn’t be! True, she was barely out of the schoolroom so Ginny was little acquainted with her, but she hadn’t a lisp the last time they had spoken. She did, however, contrive to turn heads everywhere she went, even then.

Lucinda took Sir Anthony’s arm and drew him back into the room. “I was juth about to partake of my breakfast,” she lisped on, “and la! What a thurprise! Oh, Mith Delacourt, Mama thaid you were visiting. Tho good to thee you again.”

“Yes, what a surprise, indeed,” Ginny said. “Sir Anthony and I were just discussing the benefits of speaking truth, were we not, Sir Anthony?” Surely he would have many home truths for this girl.

“Yes, we were, Miss Delacourt. A delightful conversation. Would you like some kidney steak, Miss Barrington? It is very good.”

“Ooooh, yeth, I love kidney steak.”

Ginny watched in rapt fascination as the creature actually clapped her hands and giggled like a baby. There were girls in London who behaved in just such a nauseating fashion, but such airs were unknown in the provinces. Until now.

Sir Anthony served up a dish of the steak and placed it in front of Lucinda.

“Thank you oh tho much, Thur Anthony,” Lucinda squealed. With another clap of her hands, she picked up her fork and ate. Sir Anthony sat nearby and smiled his encouragement.

Ginny wondered if Sir Anthony could possibly be taken with the pitiful girl and what it was about her he could admire. True, she had hair like spun gold and a mouth like a bow, but couldn’t he see past the china blue of her eyes to that hideous beauty mark? It was set above a dimple in her cheek-one of a pair-and Ginny was sure it was false.

She took her plate to the sideboard and served herself another helping of eggs and a rasher of bacon. She added a couple of pieces of toast for good measure. She intended to hear the entire proceedings between Sir Anthony and Lucinda even if she had to chew at a snail’s pace. Fortunately, food was plentiful, and she could have all the servings she would need to avail herself of every word.

Sauntering back to the table, Ginny said, “Sir Anthony was just about to leave us, were you not?”

“Oh, no! You mustn’t!” Lucinda exclaimed.

“Well, I do have some business to attend to in London, but I suppose it could wait a while longer.” Ginny wasn’t sure if Sir Anthony’s smile was for Lucinda or courtesy’s sake. Surely he couldn’t be attracted to the ninny!

“Oh, yeth, make it wait. I am so starved for company. Last month I broke out in itty-bitty spots all over my entire body. Oh, don’t worry, the quarantine was over weekth ago, but it has taken forever for the silly spots to fade. I am mithing my very own London come-out because of it,” Lucinda said with a wide-eyed look. “I am quite sure that no one hath ever endured such a tragic circumstance in the hithtory of the world”

“Oh, my!” was all Ginny could manage to say else darker thoughts would tumble off her tongue. Why, she seemed to feel herself the center of the universe!

“Enchanting,” Sir Anthony murmured.

Suddenly, Ginny couldn’t eat another bite. “I really should go check on Nan and see about sending for a doctor.”

“Don’t even worry about it for one itty-bitty minute. Mama hath theen to it and he should be arriving soon.”

If Mrs. Barrington had taken it upon herself to send for a doctor, things must be serious. “Is Nan that sick then? I must see her right away”

“Oh, I wouldn’t if I were you. Mama that’s it looks like the chicken pox, same as I had. If it is, we shall all be quarantined in the house together. Isn’t that marvelouth!”

Sir Anthony smiled at her, indulgently. “If that is to be the case, I can’t think of two more charming ladies to help while away the time.”

Amazing. Not only had Lucinda transformed Sir Anthony into his former polite self, but he was now ex tending his largesse to Ginny as well. Nevertheless, even a saint couldn’t take a quarantine’s worth of Lucinda Barrington. It was perfect! Sir Anthony was bound to show signs of strain in the interim, and Ginny just might find out what it was about him that didn’t quite meet the eye. “I find I am looking forward to it as well,” she said.

“Oh? And what of your roses? Can you turn your back on them so easily?” Sir Anthony drew his gaze from Lucinda to give her a cool smile.

“It would seem I have no choice. Besides, this proves to be most entertaining.” While Ginny was concentrating on giving Sir Anthony her haughtiest look, the door opened to admit the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

A true Adonis, his hair was as gold as Lucinda’s and rippled in waves to his snowy white cravat. His eyes were dark and soulful, fringed by lashes long enough to make any woman envious. His mode of dress was modeled after Beau Brummel and his voice after Byron, deep and musical.

“Miss Barrington!” he cried. “I thought I would never lay eyes on you again.”

“Lord Avery,” Lucinda squealed. “You have come at last! Mama said you might when she saw you in London” This last was said with a decidedly lispless air.

“Yes, I have come, my flower, and not a moment too soon. It seems almost a past lifetime since I last gazed into those limpid pools of blue.”

“He means my eyes,” Lucinda informed Ginny and Sir Anthony.

Lord Avery seemed to take notice of them for the first time. “My flower, who are these people?”

“Why, this is Sir Anthony Crenshaw, and that is Miss Delacourt”

Lord Avery forced his eyes from Lucinda’s face to Ginny’s. He must not have found it utterly odious for he lost no time in striding to her side. “Miss Delacourt” He took one of her hands and turning it palm up, he placed a light kiss on her wrist. “Delighted!”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord.” Ginny pulled her hand from Lord Avery’s and smiled into her lap. Lord Avery did not take the hint. He hovered over her, formulating his next flowery phrase, no doubt.

Sir Anthony stood with a loud scraping of chair legs against the gleaming hardwood floor. “Lord Avery, a pleasure. Have you had your breakfast yet this morning? There is a very good kidney steak on the sideboard.”

Lord Avery lifted his quizzing glass and considered Sir Anthony. “Yes, indeed. I could smell it, so aromatic, so rich, wafting down the hall.”

“Ooh, would you like some?” Lucinda squealed. “Let me help you” She picked a plate off the sideboard and began piling it with generous servings from each dish. Lord Avery followed like a dog on a leash.

“Well ,” Ginny said when Sir Anthony had seated himself next to her. “He is remarkable”

“You think so?” Sir Anthony looked down the length of his nose at her. “I think he is a bit of a nodcock, myself”

“Miss Barrington seems to find him utterly charming. She must feel comfortable around him. Her lisp has made a most sudden departure”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“No doubt it is her other qualities which claim your notice” Such as Lucinda’s fluttering eyelashes and welldesigned decolletage.

“Um, yes. No doubt. Now about our change in plans..

“Oh, had we a change, Sir Anthony? I had already made the decision to stay on. It is only yourself who will be inconvenienced by the quarantine.”

“If indeed there is one, Miss Delacourt. We have yet to hear from a physician.”

“You seemed quite willing to accept the possibility a moment ago. Indeed, you expressed yourself delighted by the prospect of being shut up in the house with two such charming ladies.”

“One mustn’t believe everything one hears, Miss Delacourt”

“Oh really? Poor Miss Barrington. I’m sure she believes you find her enchanting.”

Sir Anthony glanced at Lucinda still fussing over Lord Avery’s plate at the sideboard. “She is refreshingly different.”

From whom? Ginny wanted to ask but wisely held her tongue.

“Though I cannot fathom what she sees in Avery.”

“Perhaps the same things she sees in you, Sir Anthony.”

Sir Anthony did not respond, but the way his cup clattered in its saucer led her to believe she had touched a chord.

After taking a last sip of chocolate and serenely wiping her fingers on her napkin, Ginny stood. “I think I shall just go see about Nan. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lord Avery. Miss Barrington, so lovely to renew our acquaintance.” With a nod to Sir Anthony and a flip of her skirts, she walked out.

Ginny made her way to Nan’s room with new determination. There was more than a little evidence to suggest Sir Anthony was a man of real emotion, perhaps even of passion. With Miss Lucinda Barrington and Lord Avery standing buffer, she thought she could now unleash the beast.

GGWhat do you mean the doctor will not come?” Ginny demanded of Mrs. Barrington cowering behind the door of the adjoining room. Through a crack in the door, Ginny glared at the one brown eye, large with distress, Mrs. Barrington dared to expose.

A pair of highly rouged lips replaced the eye. “I mean that Dr. Simms trusts my good sense. She looks just as my Lucinda did a month back”

Ginny cast a look of frustration at Nan. Her fever had passed, but she was now covered head to toe with spots. She was a picture of agony, writhing in pain, lying on her hands. Ginny knew the urge to scratch those spots was almost beyond her ability to withstand.

“If the doctor would just come and see her, I’m sure he would know what to do for her.”

“It’s the chicken pox, plain and simple,” came Mrs. Barrington’s voice through the door. “Poultices for the itching and laudanum to make her sleep is the best we can do” The crack in the door disappeared with a snap. There were the sounds of footsteps, another door opening, and Mrs. Barrington’s capricious step down the hall to the stair.

Sir Anthony, reading the paper in the library, heard someone coming down the stairway. It could only be Lucinda. She had a light, unpredictable step, not a thing like Ginny’s brisk, even stride. He tossed the newspaper onto a table, hoping to relieve his boredom with some conversation when she passed by the open door. He counted himself most fortunate when he spotted the matronly lace cap on a dark head of hair in time to duck his own into the hastily retrieved newspaper. He had no wish to converse with Mrs. Barrington. He hadn’t made many points with her of late, and she had a way of letting him know it. A high-pitched, whining sort of way.

Too late. She had seen him. She tripped into the room like a battle ship in full gale. “Sir Anthony, is that you?”

Gad. Could that be a musical tone to her voice? He wondered what he had done to put her in such charity with him. He lowered the paper. “I’ve just been helping myself to the periodicals. It seems that the ‘change has suffered a bit of a reverse”

“How unfortunate,” Mrs. Barrington crooned. “My, you are looking very natty this morning, Sir Anthony.”

He emerged from the society page and gave her a wary smile. “Yes, well, one can affect wonders with a good, bracing bath”

“Dear me. Was the water that cold, then?”

“Just a bit cooler than tepid, but I’m not wishful to complain. Your hospitality has been most abundant.”

Mrs. Barrington blushed and twittered behind the hand she had put to her lips. He supposed it was to hide a row of sadly yellowed teeth.

“Well! I am most happy to hear you say so. I imagine you might have heard already. The doctor has ordered the house under a ten-day quarantine.”

“There was a rumor bantered about at breakfast. Miss Delacourt and I are fortunate to have stumbled upon such a capable hostess”

“It is our good fortune that we have two handsome bachelors in our midst at such a time.”

“Two?!” Sir Anthony prayed he wasn’t being considered a potential mate for the Barrington’s hen-witted daughter. “Ah, that is to say, Avery is staying? He can’t have been exposed as of yet”

“Very true, but we mustn’t let on. Our poor Lucinda has been confined to the house for the past month, and we could not let such a talented young man slip through our fingers. He is a poet, you know.”

Sir Anthony tried to smile. “So I’ve heard”

“Yes, well, we shall convince him to stay. Actually,” she added coyly. “It should not be very difficult to achieve. He has had his eye on Lucinda for quite some time.”