Rendezvous (45 page)
Authors: Amanda Quick
T
hree
months later Augusta was entertaining Claudia, who had recently returned to Town after her wedding trip, when Harry stalked into the drawing room. She saw at once that he was scowling ferociously over a document he held in one hand.
Augusta arched a brow. “What on earth is the matter, my lord? Did your publisher reject your manuscript on Caesar’s military campaigns?”
“’Tis far worse news than that.” Harry handed her the document. “That is from the solicitors who have just finished settling Sally’s estate.”
“Is something wrong with the way it was handled?” She scanned the legal paper quickly.
“You will notice,” Harry said evenly, “that you are named in her will.”
Augusta was delighted. “How thoughtful of Sally. I would so love to have something of hers as a keepsake. I wonder what she left me. One of the pictures in Pompeia’s,
perhaps? We could hang it in the schoolroom. Meredith and Clarissa would enjoy it.”
“That is an excellent notion,” Claudia agreed, eagerly looking over her cousin’s shoulder. “I was wondering what would happen to all those wonderful paintings.”
Harry’s scowl deepened. “Sally did not leave you a painting, Augusta.”
“No? Then what was it? A silver bowl or one of the statues, perhaps?”
“Not exactly,” Harry said. He laced his fingers behind his back. “She has left you the whole damn club.”
“What?” Augusta raised her head to stare at him in astonishment. “She left Pompeia’s to me?”
“She has left you her entire town house to be run as a private club for the benefit of ladies such as yourself
who share a certain similarity of outlook and temperament
. I believe that is how it is expressed in the will. She hopes that your cousin will be one of the patronesses.”
“Me?” Claudia appeared shocked and then she started to smile. “What a wonderful thought. We could turn it into the most fashionable salon in town again. I shall so enjoy that. Miss Fleming will love Pompeia’s, too.”
“Sir Thomas may have something to say about that, seeing as he intends to marry Clarissa next month,” Harry warned.
“Oh, I am certain Papa will not mind.” Claudia smiled. “Wait until I tell Peter.”
“Yes, it will be interesting to see how Sheldrake reacts to the notion, will it not?” Harry observed grimly. “After all, he is now a married man and as such I believe he has recently discovered a whole new sense of the proprieties.”
“Yes, he has become something of a prig lately, has he not?” Claudia shrugged. “But I expect I can convince him that reopening Pompeia’s will be a wonderful notion.”
Desperate now, Harry turned back to Augusta. “I do not care for the expression on your face, my dear. ’Tis obvious
your brain is already churning forth ideas of how Pompeia’s could be reopened immediately.”
“Graystone, just think,” Augusta said encouragingly. “It would not take long to get everything ready. We shall have to take on staff, of course, but many of the old servants may still be available. Clarissa can help us manage things. We can notify all the ladies who were once members and they can tell their friends. This is so exciting. I cannot wait to get started. Pompeia’s will be bigger and better than ever.”
Harry held up a hand and infused his voice with dark, masculine authority. “If there is to be a new Pompeia’s, there will also be a few new rules.”
“Now, Harry,” Augusta began coaxingly. “You need not concern yourself with the petty details of Pompeia’s management, my dear.”
He ignored that. “First, there will not be any gaming allowed in the new version of Pompeia’s.”
“Graystone, really, you are much too straitlaced about some things.”
“Second, the place shall be run strictly as a genteel salon for ladies,
not
as a parody of a gentlemen’s club.”
“Honestly, Harry, you are positively old-fashioned,” Augusta muttered.
“Third, Pompeia’s will not be reopened until after my son and heir is born. Is that quite clear?”
Augusta lowered her eyes, the very picture of the demure, virtuous wife. “Yes, my lord.”
Harry groaned. “I am lost.”
Harry’s son, a healthy babe with a lusty wail that could only have come from the Northumberland Ballinger side of the family, was born five months later.
Harry took one look at the infant and then smiled at his tired but happy wife. He was almost as exhausted as she was this morning. Last night had been harrowing, although the
midwife had assured him everything was proceeding quite routinely.
Harry had spent every moment at his wife’s bedside during her labor. He had vowed eternal celibacy every time he had put a cool washcloth on Augusta’s sweating brow or felt her nails dig into his palm. Now she was safe and he realized he had never been more grateful for anything in his life.
“I believe we shall call him Richard, if that suits you, Augusta.”
She glowed up at him from the pillows. Harry thought she had never looked more beautiful.
“I should like that very much. Thank you, Harry.”
“I have a small surprise for you.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and opened the velvet pouch he had brought upstairs with him. “Your mother’s necklace was returned from the jeweler’s this morning. As you can see, the man did an excellent job of cleaning and polishing it. I, uh, thought you might like to see it for yourself.”
“Oh, yes. I am glad it is back.” Augusta watched as the ruby necklace spilled onto the quilt. The brilliant red stones burned with a fiery light in the morning sun. She smiled, clearly pleased. “They did an excellent job indeed. It looks lovely.” Then she frowned.
“Is something wrong, sweetheart?”
Augusta picked up the gleaming necklace. “There is something different about my necklace, Harry.” She sucked in her breath. “Good heavens, my lord, I believe we have been cheated.”
Harry narrowed his eyes. “Cheated?”
“Yes.” Augusta cradled her son in one arm and examined the necklace very closely. “These are not my mother’s rubies. They are darker. More brilliant.” She looked up with a grim expression. “Harry, the jeweler has switched stones.”
“Calm yourself, Augusta.”
“No, I am certain of it,” she said. “I have heard of this sort of thing happening.”
“Augusta—”
“One sends a perfectly good necklace out to be cleaned or repaired and the jeweler replaces the genuine stones with cut glass. Harry, you must go back to the jeweler’s at once. You must make him return our rubies.”
Harry started to laugh. He could not help it. The whole thing was too ludicrous for words.
Augusta scowled at him. “Pray tell, what is so amusing, my lord?”
“Augusta, I assure you those rubies are quite real.”
“Impossible. I shall go to the jeweler myself and demand he return my mother’s rubies.”
Harry laughed harder. “I would like to see the look on his face when you complain that he switched the stones. He will think you have gone mad, my love.”
Augusta eyed him uncertainly. “Harry, are you trying to tell me something?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you anything at all, but since you are determined to make an issue of this matter, you had better know the truth. One of your illustrious ancestors pawned the Northumberland Ballinger rubies years ago, my love. It was Sally who realized your rubies were actually nicely cut glass.”
Augusta’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you certain?”
“Positive. Just to be sure, I had the necklace appraised before I did anything rash. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I thought I could carry off the switch, but obviously you have found me out.”
Augusta stared at him in wonder. “Harry, if you replaced all of the rubies in my necklace, you must have spent a fortune.”
“Mmmm, yes, one could say that.” He grinned. “But it was worth it, my dear. After all, I have got myself a most virtuous wife and her value is infinitely far above rubies. Indeed, there is no way I could ever put a price on her. But
the least I can do is see that when she wears rubies, she wears the real thing.”
Augusta started to smile. “Oh, Harry, I do love you so.”
“I know, my sweet.” He kissed her gently. “Just as you must know that you are my heart and soul.”
She held his hand very tightly. “Harry, I want you to know that with you I have found my home and my heart.”
“And I am the luckiest of men,” he told her softly. “I have found that treasure beyond price that I was seeking.”
“A virtuous woman?”
“No, my darling. It turns out that was not quite what I was searching for, after all, although I have most certainly got myself a virtuous wife.”
She regarded him curiously. “Then what was it you were seeking, my lord?”
“I did not know it in the beginning, but what I really wanted was a loving wife.”
“Oh, yes, Harry.” She smiled up at him with a lifetime of love in her eyes. “You most definitely have got yourself a loving wife.”
Look for Amanda Quick’s
tantalizing novel
Don t Look Back
Available now in paperback
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The Keeper set aside the candle and opened the old, leather-bound volume. He turned the aged pages carefully until he found the passage he sought.
…
It is said they meet in secret in the dead of night to conduct their strange ceremonies. There are rumors that the initiates worship the snake-haired Gorgon. Others claim that they gather in obedience to their master, who commands Medusa’s power to turn men to stone
.
The master’s talent is said to be a strange and terrible sort of magic. After inducing a deep trance in his victims, he issues orders to them. When he releases them from their thrall, they execute those commands without question
.
The great mystery is that those upon whom the art is practiced have no memory of the instructions they were given while they were entranced
.
It is believed that the master’s power is greatly enhanced by the forces of the strange gem he wears
.
The stone is carved with the fearsome image of Medusa. A wand is cut into the gem below the creature’s severed neck. This device is said to be a representation of the magical rod used by the cult’s master to effect a trance
.
The carved gem is similar to an onyx, save that its alternating bands of color are rare and exceedingly strange shades of blue, instead of black and white. The dark outer layer is so deep in hue as to be almost black. It frames the image of Medusa, which is cut into the light-colored layer of the stone. This second layer is a shade of blue reminiscent of fine, pale sapphires
.
The gold bracelet in which the stone is set is
worked with many small piercings to create a pattern of entwined snakes
.
The master is greatly dreaded in these parts. His identity is always concealed by a hooded cloak during the cult’s ceremonies. None knows his name, hut the gem carved with the Gorgon’s head and the wand is his emblem and seal. It is also believed to be the source of his power
.
I am told that the stone is known as the Blue Medusa
.
Tobias watched Lavinia walk up the steps of Number 7 Claremont Lane and knew at once that something was very wrong. Beneath the deep brim of her stylish bonnet, her face, always a source of intense fascination for him, showed signs of an odd, brooding tension.
In his admittedly limited experience, Lavinia rarely brooded over a problem or a setback. She was more inclined to take immediate action.
Much
too inclined to do so, in his considered opinion.
Reckless
and
rash
were words that came to mind.
He watched her from the window of the cozy little parlor, every muscle in his body tightening with a battle-ready tension. He had no patience with premonitions and other such metaphysical nonsense, but he trusted his own hunches, especially when it came to matters concerning his new partner and lover. Lavinia looked nothing short of shaken. He knew better than most that it took a great deal to rattle her composure.
“Mrs. Lake is home,” he said, glancing at the housekeeper over his shoulder.
“About time.” Mrs. Chilton set down the tea tray with an air of enormous relief and bustled toward the door.
“Thought she’d never get here. I’ll just go and help her with her coat and gloves. She’ll be wanting to pour the tea for her guests, I’m sure. Likely be looking forward to a cup herself.”
From what he could see of her face in the shadow of the bonnet, Tobias had a feeling that Lavinia was more in need of a healthy dose of some of the sherry she kept in her study. But the medicinal dose of spirits would have to wait.
The guests waiting for her here in the parlor had to be dealt with first.
Lavinia paused at the front door, searching through her large reticule for her key. He could read the signs of strain around her fine eyes quite clearly now.
What the devil had happened?
During the affair of the waxwork murders a few weeks ago, he thought that he had come to know Lavinia rather well. She was not easily flustered, overset, or frightened. Indeed, in the course of his own occasionally dangerous career as an investigator, he had met very few people of either sex who were as cool in threatening circumstances as Lavinia Lake.
It would require something quite dramatic to put that grim expression in her eyes. The prickle of unease that drifted through him had a chilling effect on both his patience and his temper, neither of which was in especially good condition at the moment. He would look into this new situation just as soon as he could get Lavinia alone.
Unfortunately, that would not be for some time. Her guests appeared prepared to converse at some length. Tobias did not care for either of them. The tall, elegantly lean, fashionably attired gentleman, Dr. Howard Hudson, had introduced himself as an old friend of the family.
His wife, Celeste, was one of those extraordinarily attractive females who are only too well aware of their effect on the male of the species and not the least hesitant to use their gifts to manipulate men. Her shining blond
hair was piled high on her head, and her eyes were the color of a summer sky. She wore a gossamer thin muslin gown patterned with tiny pink roses and trimmed with pink and green ribbons. There was a small fan attached to her reticule. Tobias considered that the dress was cut quite low for such a brisk day in early spring, but he was almost certain that the deep neckline was a carefully calculated decision on Celeste’s part.
In the twenty minutes he had spent with the pair, he had reached two unshakable conclusions. The first was that Dr. Howard Hudson was a charlatan. The second was that Celeste was an out-and-out adventuress. But he suspected he would do well to keep his opinions to himself. He doubted that Lavinia would welcome them.
“I am so looking forward to seeing Lavinia again,” Hudson said from the chair where he reclined with languid ease. “It has been several years since we last met. I am eager to introduce her to my dear Celeste.”
Hudson possessed the rich, resonant voice of a trained actor. It had a deep, vibrant quality that one associated with well-tuned instruments. The sound grated on Tobias’s nerve endings, but he had to admit that it commanded attention in an almost uncanny fashion.
Hudson cut a decidedly fashionable figure in an excellently tailored dark blue coat, striped waistcoat, and pleated trousers. His neckcloth was tied in an elaborate and unusual manner that Tobias thought his brother-in-law, Anthony, would have admired. At one-and-twenty, Anthony was at the age when young men paid acute attention to such things. He would no doubt also approve of the unusual gold seals that decorated Hudson’s watch.
Tobias mentally calculated that the doctor was somewhere in the middle of his forties. Hudson was endowed with the distinguished, well-modeled features of a man who would no doubt always turn ladies’ heads, regardless of his age. His wealth of dark brown hair was silvered in
a striking manner, and he wore his clothes with an authority and aplomb that would have done credit to Brummel himself in the heyday of his social reign.
“Howard.” The strain evaporated from Lavinia’s green eyes as she swept into the parlor. She held out both hands in unmistakable and enthusiastic welcome. “Forgive me for being late. I went shopping in Pall Mall and misjudged the time and the traffic.”
Tobias was fascinated by the change that had come over her in the past few minutes. If he had not caught that brief glimpse of her expression when she came up the steps, he would never have guessed now that she had been troubled.
It annoyed him that the mere sight of Dr. Howard Hudson had had such an uplifting effect on her mood.
“Lavinia, my dear.” Howard rose and took both her hands in his long, well-groomed fingers, squeezing gently. “Words cannot express how wonderful it is to see you again after all this time.”
Another wave of disturbing, albeit inexplicable, unease washed through Tobias. Hudson’s most arresting features, aside from his riveting voice, were his eyes. An unusual combination of brown and gold in color, they had a compelling effect.
Both voice and gaze were no doubt extremely useful in his profession, Tobias thought. Dr. Howard Hudson was a practitioner of the so-called science of mesmerism.
“I was so very pleased to receive your note yesterday,” Lavinia said. “I had no notion that you were in London.”
Hudson smiled. “I was the one who was delighted to discover that you were in Town. Imagine my surprise, my dear. The last I heard, you and your niece had gone off to Italy as companions to a lady named Mrs. Underwood.”
“Our plans changed quite unexpectedly,” Lavinia said smoothly. “Emeline and I were obliged by circumstances to return to England sooner than we had anticipated.”
Tobias raised his brows at that understatement, but he wisely kept silent.
“Well, that is certainly fortunate as far as I am concerned.” Howard gave her hands another little familiar squeeze and released her. “Allow me to introduce my wife, Celeste.”
“How do you do, Mrs. Lake,” Celeste murmured in dulcet tones. “Howard has told me so much about you.”
Tobias was briefly amused by her manner. The almost theatrically gracious inclination of Celeste’s head did not conceal the cold assessment in her pretty eyes. He could see her measuring, weighing, and passing judgment. It was obvious that she immediately dismissed Lavinia as no threat and of no consequence.
He was amused for the first time that afternoon. Dismissing Lavinia was always a mistake.
“This is, indeed, a pleasure.” Lavinia sat down on the sofa, arranged the skirts of her plum-colored gown, and picked up the teapot. “I had no notion that Howard had married, but I am delighted to hear it. He has been alone much too long.”
“I had no choice in the matter,” Howard assured her. “One look at my beautiful Celeste a year ago and my fate was sealed. In addition to making me a lovely wife and companion, she has proven herself quite adept at handling my business accounts and appointment book. Indeed, I do not know how I would get by without her now.”
“You flatter me, sir.” Celeste lowered her lashes and smiled at Lavinia. “Howard has attempted to teach me some of his skills with mesmerism, but I fear that I have no great talent for the science.” She accepted the cup and saucer. “I understand my husband was a dear friend of your parents?”
“He was, indeed.” A wistful expression crossed Lavinia’s face. “He was a frequent visitor in our home in the old days. My parents were not only exceedingly fond of him, they counted themselves among his greatest admirers.
My father told me on several occasions that he considered Howard to be the most accomplished practitioner of mesmerism he had ever met.”
“I take that as a very great compliment,” Howard said modestly. “Your parents were both extremely skilled in the art themselves. I found it fascinating to watch them work. Each had a unique style but each achieved amazing results.”
“My husband tells me that your parents were lost at sea nearly a decade ago,” Celeste murmured. “And that you lost your husband that same year. It must have been an extremely trying time for you.”
“Yes.” Lavinia poured tea into two more cups. “But my niece, Emeline, came to live with me some six years ago and we do very nicely together. I am sorry that she is not here to meet you this afternoon. She is with friends attending a lecture on the monuments and fountains of Rome.”
Celeste managed an expression of polite sympathy. “You and your niece are alone in the world?”
“I do not think of it as being alone,” Lavinia said crisply. “We have each other, you see.”
“Nevertheless, there are only the two of you. Two women alone in the world.” Celeste gave Tobias a veiled glance. “In my experience, being on one’s own without the advice and strength of a man to lean upon is always a difficult and unhappy situation for a woman.”
Tobias nearly fumbled the cup and saucer that Lavinia had just thrust into his fingers. It was not Celeste’s completely inaccurate assessment of Lavinia’s and Emeline’s personal resources and abilities that jolted him. It was the fact that, for a few seconds there, he could have sworn that the woman was deliberately flirting with him.
“Emeline and I manage quite well, thank you,” Lavinia said, an unexpected edge on her words. “Pray, have a care, Tobias, or you will spill your tea.”
He caught her eye and realized that beneath her
drawing-room manners, she was irritated. He wondered what he’d done this time. Their relationship seemed to lurch from the prickly to the passionate with jolting force and very little middle ground, as far as he could determine. Neither of them was entirely comfortable yet with the fiery affair that had blossomed between them. But he could certainly say one thing about their liaison: It was never dull.
That was unfortunate, to his way of thinking. There were times when he would have given a great deal for a few dull moments with Lavinia. The time might provide him with an opportunity to catch his breath.
“Forgive me, Lavinia,” Howard said with the air of a man who is about to broach a delicate subject. “I cannot help but notice that you are not practicing your profession. Did you abandon the science of mesmerism because you found the market weak here in London? I know that it is difficult to attract the proper sort of clientele when one lacks social connections.”
To Tobias’s surprise, the question seemed to catch Lavinia off guard. She gave a tiny start that caused the teacup in her hand to tremble. But she recovered swiftly.
“I have embarked upon another career for a number of reasons,” she said crisply. “While the demand for mesmeric therapies appears to be as strong as ever, the competition is extremely fierce in that line and, as you noted, it is not easy to attract an exclusive sort of clientele unless one has connections and references in Society.”
“I understand.” Howard nodded somberly. “Celeste and I will have our work cut out for us, in that case. It will not be a simple matter for me to establish a new practice here.”
“Where have you been practicing until now?” Tobias asked.
“I spent several years in America, traveling and lecturing on the science of mesmerism. A little over a year ago, however, I grew homesick and returned to England.”