Portrait of Jonathan (5 page)

‘Is he indeed?' Jonathan said rather shortly and turned away abruptly. ‘ I too must change before dinner,' and he left the room whilst his mother's puzzled eyes followed him.

What, she mused, was going on in the mind of her taciturn son?

For a few moments before dinner the Eldon family found themselves together before Lavinia appeared.

‘Now, Rupert, tell me of your visit to Lord Rowan.'

‘Well, m'dear, Rowan was distressed at what we had to tell him—as I had imagined he would be…'

‘But did he say he would help the child?'

‘Well—yes,' Lord Melmoth said slowly. ‘You don't sound too sure. Surely he did not refuse—she is his grand-daughter?'

‘He was not
un
willing, my dear Evelina, but somewhat doubtful of the success of such a move. Remember, my dear. Rowan hardly knows his grand-daughter. He has not seen her for a number of years and therefore has no notion of the girl's adult character. He can only—unfortunately—compare her with her parents and in so doing is apprehensive. No doubt he fears she will bring similar trouble to him as her father before her did.'

‘Ah, I understand,' his good wife said gently. ‘But did you not tell him of the resemblance between Lavinia and her grandmother, Mélanie?'

‘No, my love. I thought of it—but decided that it was best that Rowan should find the likeness himself—it will be a pleasant surprise for him after all his pessimistic thoughts. And besides, there were other reasons. For one, I thought he would not believe me, perhaps think that I was trying to sway his decision by playing on his love for his wife—and for another,
we
do not know the child's character well enough. She appears harmless, but …'

‘Papa, Lavinia wouldn't hurt a fly, she's a sweet girl and has been cruelly used,' Giles burst out, his young face hot with indignation.

His father turned his twinkling eyes on Giles.

‘My, my, Lavinia has found herself a champion and no mistake. Calm down, my boy, I meant no insult to the child. I was merely trying to explain why I found our visit to Lord Rowan difficult.'

‘I'm sorry, Papa, but she's so—so lost and helpless. She does so need someone to take care of her.'

The other three members of the family looked at Giles, no doubt all wondering whether his interest in the girl was becoming more than just the desire to help her.

‘Well,' said Jonathan, ‘she'll soon have Lord Rowan. Despite his reluctance, he has said he will take her to live with him.'

‘But he wants to leave it for a week or two,' continued Lord Melmoth. ‘He would like her to stay here for the moment and then he will come up to London, meet her and take her back with him.'

‘And what about her parents?' Lady Melmoth reminded him.

‘Ah, now they might present the greatest difficulty, of course. But Lord Rowan has said he will see Gervase. An unenviable task—it won't be easy for him.'

‘I wonder what bargain Gervase Kelvin will try to hold his father to,' Jonathan said softly.

‘Bargain, what do you mean, bargain?' asked the Earl.

‘I still think Gervase is up to something. Their invitation the other evening to dinner was proof. I cannot imagine he will let the matter rest there. Even if he allows her to go now, I think that at some time in the future he will try to use her—especially if Lord Rowan becomes fond of her, as we expect he will.'

At that moment the door opened timidly and Lavinia appeared.

‘ 'Pon my soul,' the Earl said, ‘is this the same child, Evelina?'

‘Yes, Rupert,' his wife replied, with pride in her voice. ‘Come, my dear,' she continued turning towards Lavinia, ‘and sit by me.'

The girl moved forward smiling tremulously at Giles, who grinned broadly at her. She glanced quickly, with frightened eyes, at Jonathan, whose half-closed eyes followed her progress across the room, and then she lowered her gaze swiftly.

‘We've been to see your grandfather, my child,' Lord Melmoth said kindly as Lavinia seated herself beside Lady Melmoth and arranged her skirt carefully.

‘M-my
grandfather?
' The wide brown eyes regarded him with surprise. ‘Lord Rowan, you m-mean?'

‘Yes, and he's coming up to town next week to meet you.'

‘Oh no—I mean—he cannot possibly mean to meet me. We—I mean—my father is …' she plucked nervously at the material of her dress, ‘ estranged from Lord Rowan.' The girl hung her head as if the shame of the family quarrel were all her own.

‘We know all about that, my dear,' Lady Melmoth said kindly, taking Lavinia's cold hand in hers and patting it comfortingly. You do not have to explain to us. Do you know that Lord Melmoth and your grandfather are business partners?'

She nodded. Yes I have heard Papa speak of it.'

‘Have you indeed—and what did he say?' Lord Melmoth's tone held a note of sharpness, unusual in the mild-tempered man.

‘He was t-talking about three weeks ago, about inviting you to d-dine and said—and said …' She paused a moment as if unable to continue, whilst the four members of the Eldon family waited attentively.

‘… he said he wanted to c-cultivate your friendship to try and get you to take him into the Company, but,' and she raised her brown eyes and regarded Lord Melmoth steadily, ‘ I really cannot understand why because he is already engaged in business with Lord Thorwald and Lord Myron.'

‘Ah,' said the Earl, with a wealth of expression in his tone, ‘we thought as much!' He slapped his thigh triumphantly.

Lavinia looked from Lord Melmoth to Lady Melmoth, to Jonanthan and lastly to Giles, fear written in her face.

‘Have I said s-something I should not have done?'

‘No—no,' Giles said quickly hurrying to her side. ‘Anything you tell any of us here goes no further. You may trust us, you know, Lavinia. Can't she?' he demanded of his family.

Her smile was a little uncertain still. Jonathan strolled languidly to the centre of the room from his usual position in a chair by the window.

‘Of course she can,' he said in his slow, deep tones, but never glancing once in her direction. But when Giles turned back to Lavinia he found her gazing at Jonathan like a rabbit mesmerised by a stoat, and he too followed her gaze and regarded the straight, solemn figure of his brother.

During the following two weeks, before Lord Rowan made his proposed visit to London in order to make the acquaintances of his grand-daughter, two events took place which had some effect on Lavinia's life.

The first, and perhaps the one which was to have the greatest effect on the young girl and cause her a deal of unhappiness, happened three days after Lord Melmoth and Jonathan returned home.

Lord Thorwald, the senior partner in the Company which was the rival to the Keldon Line, and his wife, Lady Anthea, were invited to dine at ‘Eldon House': an unusual occurrence but for a reason.

‘We'll play them at their own game, my lord,' said the roguish Earl of Melmoth to his wife in the privacy of their bedroom. ‘ If we can't bring the whole business into the open, we must resort to their tactics to try to find out what is going on.'

‘But what of Jonathan having to meet Lady Anthea again?' asked his wife with worried eyes.

‘Ah—hum, yes, well, he need not be present if he wishes otherwise. Silly business, all that, wasn't it, my dear?'

‘Yes, Rupert—it could have been disastrous—and even now I am not sure just how Jonathan feels about it all. Don't forget he bears the scars to this day, and always will, of his—affair—with Anthea.'

‘Now, Evelina, you know as well as I do, no one
knows
for certain how Jonathan came by that scar—it may be a lot of romantic nonsense that he got it fighting a duel over the woman.'

‘If it was not a duel, my dear Rupert, why was Viscount Selwyn out of society for two months, supposedly laid low with fever, if he was not recovering from a wound inflicted by Jonathan?'

‘Was it he Jonathan was supposed to have fought? I had forgotten.'

‘Viscount Selwyn was besotted with Anthea and because Anthea seemed to favour Jonathan the more, Selwyn called him out.'

‘And Jonathan came off best and so he won,' Lord Melmoth said proudly.

‘That makes it no less foolhardy,' Lady Melmoth said firmly.

‘Evelina, it is all a long time ago, all of eight years, is it not? Viscount Selwyn recovered.'

‘Yes, but he never married and neither has Jonathan. Anthea married Lord Thorwald—for his money I don't doubt.'

‘Then she's the bigger fool of the three,' snorted the Earl.

‘But why has Jonathan not married?' said Lady Melmoth slowly. ‘Is it because he can find no woman to match Anthea in his heart?'

‘Nonsense,' replied her husband. ‘It's just that he has seen more sense—hasn't found the right woman. That business sobered him up, you must admit that, he was a bit of a young rip before.'

‘Yes, yes, he was—though you wouldn't think it to see him now. And poor Giles would be too if he had not got both father and elder brother to quell his high spirits.'

‘Truth is, my love,' said Lord Melmoth kissing his wife's forehead. ‘Jonathan cannot find a woman to compare with his mother.'

‘Rupert, really.' But she was pleased by his flattery.

Lady Melmoth continued to worry about her elder son. It was high time he was well-married and producing a son and heir. She sighed, fastened a pearl necklace about her throat and regarded her appearance in the mirror with satisfaction yet without conceit.

At the same moment, Lavinia too was seated before the mirror in her room. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at herself. What a plain creature she was. She could not even wear this beautiful evening gown Lady Melmoth had bought for her to any advantage, she thought. Her hair had been expertly dressed again by Lady Melmoth's personal maid, but Lavinia was so unused to a fashionable style that she held her head rigidly for fear the pins would loosen should she move her head quickly and her hair come cascading down to her shoulders. The dinner party before her would be an ordeal. Lavinia did not mind so much now dining with just the Eldon family, though she was still in awe of Lord Melmoth and as for Jonathan, she hardly dare to glance in his direction for fear he should see her adoration for him plainly written in her eyes.

Tonight, she thought, she would have to face these guests and, to make matters worse, Lord Myron and her father were connected with them in business. She felt as if she were being caught up in some kind of intrigue which she could not understand and her only salvation she felt, lay with the Eldon family whom she trusted instinctively.

But what would happen, she thought unhappily, when she was obliged to return to her parents to be bullied as before, used by them as a pawn to ingratiate themselves with such repulsive people as Lord Myron? Lavinia sighed heavily, dried her tears and walked stiffly towards the door, bracing her shoulders for the evening ahead of her.

The guests had not arrived by the time that the family and Lavinia had gathered together in the drawing-room. Lord and Lady Melmoth made such a handsome couple, Lavinia thought enviously. He was so distinguished-looking and she so beautiful and elegant. What a contrast to her own parents. If only these two charming, generous persons were her parents, she mused longingly. But then, if they were, Jonathan and Giles would be her brothers, and whilst she could welcome the latter in such a role, the last relationship she would wish for with Jonathan was as a brother. She knew she could never hope to win him as a husband, but nevertheless even a plain girl can dream, she thought.

Jonathan was as immaculately dressed as ever. The black tail coat and trousers, contrasted with the white waistcoat, shirt and bow tie, seemed to make him taller and more severe. Whilst Giles wore much the same style of clothes, though his shirt was frilled whereas Jonathan's was plain, he wore his with a more casual air and lacked the elegance of his brother.

‘Vinny, you look positively charming,' Giles grinned, took her hand and kissed it in mock gallantry.

Lavinia, somewhat startled by his approach and at the unusual shortening of her name, smiled nervously and blushed, but Giles' display had given her a little confidence and she did not fear the evening quite so much as she had done previously. She even dared to meet Jonathan's steady gaze instead of dropping her eyes in acute shyness.

‘My Lord and Lady Thorwald,' announced the butler in sonorous tones and the Eldon family turned to greet their guests. Lavinia too turned towards the door, interested to see these people whom she knew to be involved with her own father and Lord Myron in business. At the thought of the latter personage, she shuddered involuntarily. To her surprise, Jonathan must have noticed for he moved to her side and smiled down at her quickly before turning back to greet the guests.

As Lady Anthea made her entrance, Lavinia gasped. She had never seen such a ravishingly beautiful woman. Of course, Lady Anthea was dressed in a gown of emerald green silk trimmed with white lace and styled in the very latest fashion. The neckline was low and the bodice tight-fitting but, Lavinia noticed, the skirt was not quite the usual crinoline shape being flatter in front but voluminous at the sides and forming a train. Lady Anthea's hair—a rich auburn colour—was dressed in an elaborate style high on her head but with curls framing her face. She was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman Lavinia had ever set eyes on, but, she thought, Lady Anthea's green eyes were rather hard and her mouth held a hint of cruelty.

Lavinia could not help but notice, as no doubt did everyone else in the room, that Lady Anthea's eyes immediately sought Jonathan, whilst he returned her gaze steadily, a small, amused smile at the corner of his mouth.

Overwhelmed by Lady Anthea's beauty as Lavinia was, the sight of Lord Thorwald caused her the greater surprise. He was all of seventy—in fact he appeared even older. He was a small man, much smaller than his wife—a fact which was emphasised by his stooping frame. He was painfully thin, his hands claw-like, the blue veins sharply etched upon the back of his hand.