Passion's Song (A Georgian Historical Romance) (14 page)

Isobel put down her delicate china cup. “What do you
mean?”

“
We are virtually inundated with
flowers and various fancy gewgaws!”

“
We, Father?” She cocked her head
at him.

“
Go look for yourself!” He
followed her to the drawing room and stood in the doorway while she
looked through the cards piled on a tray at one end of the
table.

“
Small reward for my sore feet!”
she commented, pleased to hear him laugh. She opened a note that
accompanied a bouquet of tulips. She could barely recall the earl
who had sent them. “But what am I to do with all this?” She
gestured at the flowers covering the table.

“
You will have to acknowledge
them. Of course, you must return jewelry or anything else of
value.”

“
But it will take all day! This is
ridiculous.” She picked up a box of chocolates, then let them fall
back on the table with a thump. She reached for the card with a
huge vase of fragrant blood-red roses. They were from Lord
Strathemoore.

“
Do you continue to think I shall
have trouble finding a husband for you?” He paused. “I have
received no fewer than five offers for you just this
morning.”

Isobel turned to him. “Will I have any choice in the
matter, Father?”

“
As long as I approve. As long as
I approve,” he said slowly.

“
Only Hobson’s choice, then?” She
hid a bitter smile by bending her head to the roses Lord
Strathemoore had sent. Had Lord Hartforde sent her roses? she
wondered.

I

One of Lady Julia’s passions was going to the
Haymarket to see the Italian opera, and after she had persuaded
Isobel to accompany her once, they became regular visitors on
Tuesday nights. Lord Burke frequently escorted them, and even when
he did not, he could always be counted on to arrive before the last
act to join them for coffee afterward. When Isobel hinted that he
might be in love with Julia, she only laughed and professed not to
care more for one man than she did for any other. Still, when he
did not accompany them to the theater, Julia seemed distracted
until he arrived

One Tuesday night Julia and Isobel were escorted to
the Haymarket by Lord Hartforde, who was making a rare appearance
at the opera. This was one evening when Isobel could not attend to
the singing onstage. All three of them were out of sorts, and
trouble had started in the carriage. Julia was put out because Lord
Burke was absent. Isobel was trying to pretend Lord Hartforde’s
presence did not unnerve her in the least. She was sitting quietly
with her hands folded in her lap staring out the carriage window,
from which she could see absolutely nothing, while she listened to
Julia and her brother chatting. Lord Hartforde seemed put out at
Isobel’s presence. He had greeted her coldly and proceeded to act
as though she was not there. She was, therefore, startled when he
spoke to her.

“
Has our conversation bored you,
Miss St. James?” he inquired in a voice of gallingly false
concern.

“
Certainly not, my lord.” She
hoped she succeeded in sounding surprised at the thought of being
bored by any word chancing to fall from his lips.

“
I think, then, you must have been
reciting one of the classics to yourself, you are so
quiet.”

“
Gallia est
omnis
…” she intoned, making a wry face at
him.

“
And have you the idea to conquer
Gaul?” he asked. “You’ve come to the wrong country for
that!”

“
No, sir, I shall be happy enough
with just a small part of London, I think.”

Julia laughed and pretended not to notice the glare
Isobel sent her brother’s way.

They took their seats in the box engaged for the
season at a cost of fifty guineas, and Lord Hartforde, sitting some
three seats away from Isobel, began stirring restlessly and tapping
his fingers on the arm of his chair. Isobel was tempted to tell him
to go away if he could not bear to let others enjoy the singing.
Instead, she contented herself with a stern frown in his direction.
His look in return was one of innocence, but the tapping did not
begin again until some quarter of an hour later during an aria she
particularly wanted to hear. She finally screwed up enough courage
to lean over and briefly cover his hand. He stopped, but thereafter
she was unable to think of anything but how warm his hand had
felt.

During the first intermission they were joined by
Lord Allryn, an anemic young man who seemed delighted to find Julia
without Lord Burke in attendance.

He sat next to her and earnestly engaged her in
conversation. Just before the end of the intermission, Lord Burke
stepped into the box.

“
Good evening,” he greeted Isobel
and Lord Hartforde before turning to Julia, who very coldly said
how surprised she was he had been able to tear himself away from
his engagement and then turned back to Lord Allryn as though she
could not bear to miss anything he might say.

The second act started and for all of five minutes
the box was quiet. Then Lord Hartforde started his fidgeting again
and Lord Allryn kept up a constant sibilant chatter. Isobel could
hardly follow the performance because of all the whispering and
finger-tapping going on in the box. Lord Hartforde smiled when she
propped her elbows up on the railing and leaned forward in an
attempt to follow the music. She would have covered his hand again,
but he was tapping—deliberately, she surmised, from the grin he
gave her when she glared at him, with the hand farthest from
her.

The second act ended and Lord Allryn, clearing his
throat, said, “My dears, it occurs to me Easter is almost upon us!
I go to Bath at Easter, you know. It is becoming an annual
pilgrimage for me.” He leaned back in his chair and fingered a
button on his coat. “I expect that during the fortnight I shall be
there, my health shall be vastly improved. I took physic for a
certain complaint of mine.” He coughed behind his hand. “I suffer
so, you understand, that at last the doctor quite insisted I should
go to Bath.” Just as he was getting into his stride, he was
interrupted by Lord Hartforde, who rose and excused himself to the
company. “Hartforde, my good man,” Lord Allryn called out before he
could leave, “you ought to go to Bath yourself. One’s health is
such a delicate thing. And if I may be so bold, I might ask you to
bring your vastly lovely sister with you, and of course”—he looked
at Isobel—“if you can persuade the vastly lovely Miss St. James to
come as well, Bath will be the pleasantest spot in all England.”
Proud of his gallantry, he looked to see if Julia was
impressed.

“
I am afraid, Lord Allryn, that my
sister makes her own schedule, and as for Miss St. James, I have no
influence with her at all. If you will excuse me.” He nodded and
left the box.

After Alexander was gone, Lord Burke did his best to
divert Julia’s attention from Lord Allryn, but his reserve of
manner and good breeding prevented him from having any success. He
sighed and, except for a single glance at Isobel, kept his gaze
steadily fixed on Julia. Lord Allryn, not being completely obtuse,
perceived he had Julia’s undivided attention and proceeded to take
full advantage of it by relating to her in particular detail the
diet recommended him by his physic. His fervent recitation of the
condition of his stomach was brought to a halt by Lord Hartforde’s
return—this time with Mrs. Vincent on his arm. The brief silence
ended when Allryn turned to Mrs. Vincent and began telling her
about the shocking consequences of inattention to diet.

There was no finger-tapping during the last act.

When the final scene was over, Isobel leaned over to
Lord Hartforde and whispered, “Really, sir, you might have found a
more private place for your assignation!”

She felt a warm hand on her bare shoulder and his
breath in her ear. “The idea, I do confess, was not mine, but if I
have succeeded in annoying you, Miss St. James, my happiness is
complete.”

When she turned to scowl at him, he was engrossed in
kissing Mrs. Vincent’s hand.

At Mrs. Vincent’s urging, the whole party went to
take coffee. Though she tried to avoid it, Isobel ended by sitting
between Lord Hartforde and Lord Allryn, who turned his attention to
her once he saw Lord Burke had usurped Lady Julia. They were soon
joined by Lord Strathemoore, who took the seat closest to Isobel
and struggled unsuccessfully to divert her attention from Allryn.
Mrs. Vincent saw how frequently Lord Hartforde’s eyes fell on
Isobel, and her plump lips turned down in displeasure.

“
My lord”—she put a hand on
Alexander’s arm and gave him a weak smile—“I do not feel at all
well. May I impose upon you to drive me home?”

“
Of course, madam,” he said,
almost instantly erasing the wrinkle of annoyance that appeared on
his forehead. “If you will excuse me,” he said to the company as he
rose and extended his hand to Mrs. Vincent. “I trust I am leaving
my sister and Miss St. James in good company.” He nodded at Julia
and, as he bent over Isobel’s hand, murmured, “I leave you, then,
with some small part of London yet to be conquered.”

“
I shall be happy only if that
part includes yourself!” Isobel retorted, chagrined that he had so
easily divined her feelings and did not care to spare them one
iota.

II

After the night when Lord Hartforde had so clearly
demonstrated his disdain for her, Isobel swore to herself she would
give up thinking about him. To that end she decided she would take
more interest in other men than she had in the past.

One exceedingly fine morning she let herself be
persuaded to go to Hyde Park with Julia. They had just joined the
line of carriages when Isobel saw Lord Burke and Lord Strathemoore
waving to them. From Burke’s expression of relief, Isobel suspected
he had been looking for them. She leaned forward and instructed the
driver to slow down. When the two men reached them they exchanged
idle banter for a few minutes before Lord Burke finally mentioned
he had tickets to a masquerade. “I should be honored if you two
ladies would accompany me.” He looked at Julia with such sheep’s
eyes that Isobel had to glance away so he would not see her
smile.

“
Oh,” said Julia, sounding
terribly disappointed, “my lord, at another time we should have
been delighted, but Miss St. James and myself are engaged for the
next fortnight!” Lord Burke’s hopeful smile faded. She turned to
Isobel. “Lord Allryn’s invitation was so kind, do you not agree,
Miss St. James?”

“
Indeed, Lady Julia, vastly so,”
answered a startled Isobel.

“
And really”—Julia looked back at
Lord Burke—“as I said to Allryn, I do not want to wait until Easter
for Miss St. James to see Bath.”

Lord Burke, who was trying not to look crestfallen,
wished them a safe journey and a pleasant visit, then begged their
leave to go.

“
You don’t really mean to go to
Bath, do you?” Isobel asked when the two men had left
them.

“
Of course not!”

“
Well, don’t you think Lord Burke
will notice when we are still in London during the next
fortnight?”

“
Have you ever been to Sussex?”
she answered. “We have an estate near Ashdown Forest, and I find I
have a sudden hankering to visit it.”

As it happened, Lord Burke proposed to Julia the day
before they were to leave for Sussex, but Julia declared that she
was not at all certain she ought to accept him. She thought him too
somber and not nearly romantic enough for her. She assured Isobel
that their trip to Sussex was more necessary than ever in order
that she might determine without distraction what she ought to tell
Lord Burke. And, anyway, she had no intention of accepting a man
the first time he asked.

I

Ashdown Grey sat impressively at the top of a slight
incline about five miles from the closest village. The long
approach was lined with chestnut trees up to the iron gates, where
the road curved around immaculately kept lawns. Rolling fields of
green spread out on three sides, and on the fourth the edges of
Ashdown Forest made a smudge on the horizon. The house itself was a
huge stone building. The original central portion had been built
during the time of Elizabeth, but the rest of the house was
intricately ornamented with balusters, pilasters, and other fancy
stonework. There were two brick side wings that had been added
under the Hanovers. The effect was not at all displeasing, if
somewhat eccentric.

The interior of the house lived up to the promise of
its facade. The massive oak doors swung open into a large
marble-floored hallway, with gilt arches curving up into high,
frescoed ceilings.

“
Is there a music room here?”
Isobel asked as they followed a footman up the stairs.

Julia laughed and took her hand. “Yes, there is, and
as soon as we’re settled, I’ll show it to you. You’re an angel to
humor me!” They spent the afternoon exploring the entire house and
by the time they had finished a late dinner, they went to bed
pleasantly exhausted.

Julia sat on Isobel’s bed the next morning and
watched Bridget brushing out her bright hair. “Do you mind that
I’ve made you come here?” she asked.

“
Not at all.” Isobel sat still
while Bridget braided and pinned her hair.

“
I expect we shall be utterly
bored in a day or two. Everyone is in London.” She sighed and lay
down on the bed. “We could go for a ride this morning, I
suppose.”