Rogue in Red Velvet (21 page)

He glanced at his sister as if exchanging a joke with her, then performed the most beautiful bow imaginable, Alex excepted of course. “Madam, you are welcome. What do you say we dispose of all the titles and formality and resort to our first names? It’s a family joke, that we are all named after emperors and empresses.”

Helena laughed merrily. “We have such wonders as Marcus Aurelius and Nicephorus among our cousins.”

“Marcus and Nic,” her brother said. “I drew the line at Jule or Jules, so pray, do call me Julius when we’re
en famille
.”

Connie found him utterly charming. Also utterly terrifying, a sense of danger lurking below the urbane exterior.

Connie bowed. “If you wish it, of course. I’m Constance. Connie.”

“Then sit down, Connie and have a dish of tea. I think we have macaroons as well.” Helena inspected the plates the maid had brought. “Ah yes, so we do. We put back dinner for an hour, awaiting your arrival but you might be faint with hunger after your long journey.”

They exchanged a smile.

Alex escorted her to a sofa and sat her down.

Julius cocked his head at Alex. “Any news to impart?”

“Just that we’re here and thank you for helping,” Alex said. “I made sure the footmen positively yelled Connie’s name across the main tap room of the inn and then again when a fresh coachload of passengers arrived. I fussed about the disposition of her trunk and gathered quite a crowd before we were finally off. They will know that Helena’s dearest friend has arrived from the country. Today.”

Julius sat next to his sister on the other sofa and crossed one leg over the other. He wore breeches to match his coat and a waistcoat decorated with such delicacy Connie wanted a closer look. But she didn’t stare.

Helena wore a gown of darker blue, simpler but just as elegant.

Such an expensive air of fashion intimidated Connie, but she tried not to show how much this situation overwhelmed her, particularly after her recent adventures.

“How would you like us to help you, Connie?” Julius said.

She appreciated being consulted on the matter. “I’d like to clear my name, if I can and lift any stain before I—before I move on.” She doubted Alex would propose again. He was being the perfect chivalric knight, as well as acting on the attraction that undoubtedly flared between them but she didn’t want to be beholden to him forever, or put him under an unbearable burden of debt. “I want the choice, even if I never take advantage of it. And I want Jasper to suffer for what he’s done. He shouldn’t marry Miss Stobart.”

“That is the main crux of my interest,” Julius said. When Alex threw him a fulminating look, he spread his hands in a gesture of apology. “I’m sorry but it is. I won’t have anyone of that nature running amok when I can prevent it. Of course I want to help you too, Connie but I do feel that you could help yourself to a great extent. Dankworth has to be stopped.”

He leaned back, supremely at ease in these opulent surroundings. “We have two aims. To destroy Jasper Dankworth, or at the least to let people know what he’s capable of and to ensure you are accepted in society, Connie. As a person in your own right. I think we’ll achieve this best by attacking on several fronts at the same time.” His voice hardened. “We’ll ruin him.”

It sounded like a promise. One Connie could wholeheartedly agree with.

Chapter 13

Waking in yet another strange bed seemed almost normal to Connie. All those inn beds on the road, then the strange one at Cratchitt’s, then at Mother Dawkins’s. Now here.

This was by far the most luxurious. After meeting Julius and Helena yesterday, Helena had taken her to her room and called her own formidable maid, Marsden. Together with Saxton, they measured her and decided what colors she should order. Her protests that the gowns would be too costly, that she couldn’t take this fell on deaf ears. Saxton was thrilled and Helena told her she needed them if she was to take her proper part in society, so she succumbed and settled to enjoying the experience.

That night, at dinner, it was only Helena, Julius and Connie. “I’ve sent Alex away,” Julius said. “I want to get to know you, Connie, and with him acting the perfect knight, that’s hard to do.”

A civilized conversation later and they understood each other much better. They enjoyed similar books, and Julius kept the conversation ranging widely over subjects that had Connie believing that at least one of her dreams would come true, and she’d get to see some of the sights before she went home.

However one matter raised contention. After the footmen had brought in some delicacies to complete the meal, Julius dismissed the servants.

As Julius helped Connie to a slice of almond tart, he commented, “You must get your wardrobe in train. I believe the bawd stole what you had?”

“Indeed, but I am here as myself, so I need not spend too much on replacements.” She wanted no further subterfuge, no pretending she was more than a country widow come to visit friends in town.

“We must make a splash,” Helena put in. “Everybody must know you’re my dear friend and our protégée. You need the support of our family.”

“Alex is rallying them as we speak, letting them know you’re here. I’ll join him later to support what he’s saying. We won’t tell them everything, only that you came to town to visit us and the Downhollands are your godparents. And that Jasper Dankworth has betrayed you by affiancing himself to another woman. Do not concern yourself, Connie, he won’t tell them the other secrets.”

Connie wasn’t sure she wanted anyone to know even that much, but she was learning just how close the Emperors were. “But I thought I just had to show myself—“

“We plan to take you to some of the most exclusive affairs in London,” Julius said calmly, evidently unaware of the terror he was evoking in his guest. “You must have the wardrobe to suit.”

Helena clapped her hands. “I have had the most delicious idea! I will sort the gowns that I have bought and not worn and my maid will make some of them over for you.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly—”

“Connie, please,” Julius said. He gave Connie such a pathetic look that she burst out laughing. “The house is crammed with my sister’s gowns, many of them unsuitable for her, bought on a whim. I have begged her to sort them out, but she will not have it.”

Connie bit her lip. Of course, the allure of new clothes appealed to her, but she couldn’t possibly take them. On the other hand, they were right. She needed something to stand out in the highest of society. An idea struck her. “We are of similar build. I could purchase them from you.” Even second hand, the kind of gowns Lady Helena wore, and so far, today she’d seen two exquisite ones, would ruin her. So be it. Better to be ruined buying gowns than have her reputation shredded. At least she’d get something from them.

“If you insist, we’ll call them a loan,” Helena said, her eyes dancing, “but in truth, it means I can go shopping for more. Your coloring will suit the colors much better than I do. I am somewhat of a magpie. If it’s shiny, I buy it. I’ll send my maid to you with a selection after dinner. Better still, come to my room and we’ll decide together.”

“Don’t you have a ball or something to attend?”

Helena waved her concerns away with a careless wave of her hand. “Pooh, this is much more fun!”

Later, in Helena’s bedroom, Connie surveyed the plethora of gowns thrown carelessly on the bed and nearly passed out from shock. She couldn’t possibly take even half of these.

“Aren’t they too grand for a poor country widow?” she protested.

“Not if you want to make a splash,” Helena picked up a dark green gown that flashed as she moved the fabric. The dull satin background only served to emphasize the decoration. “This never suited me. I look like a dowd because this green is too dark for me. It would become you admirably.” Ignoring Connie’s protests that she had more than sufficient, Helena added the gown to the growing pile.

“You won’t find much occasion to wear fine gowns in Cumbria, I suppose. But you’ll need them here.” Connie smiled. She liked Helena. Perhaps they could remain friends once this sorry episode was over and Jasper no longer a threat in her life.

So at the end of the day Connie found herself with two new friends and a new, dazzling, wardrobe, most of which she’d persuaded Lady Helena to loan her. And far fewer than the ones her ladyship wanted to give her in the first place.

She went to bed and slept the sleep of the just, waking in the morning to a brand new world.

Connie folded her hands behind her head and stared at the embroidered canopy above her. Goose feathers made for better sleep than a rope bed and a thin feather mattress. That was for sure. But she suspected that a certain relief also added to her dreamless sleep last night. She was doing something. At last, she could act instead of being the recipient of acts committed against her.

And strange though it might seem, she missed her bed partner. Missed rolling over straight into Alex’s arms. Foolish in the extreme, considering their brief, though glorious history. And she’d turned him down? Sheer madness but necessary madness. If he came to her again, which she very much doubted, it had to be as a man wanting a woman, not as a man
rescuing
a woman. What she’d shared with Alex had been inevitable, rare and sweet. Even if she’d only had the one kiss, the one in the library at the Dankworth’s, that would have sufficed for some time. But she had so much more now.

A knock on the door preceded the entrance of her maid bearing a large tray, which introduced the scent of food and tea into the room. Connie hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she smelled that heavenly aroma.

“If’n it please you, missus but Lady Helena says if you feel up to it would you like to accompany her to the mantua-maker this morning? And she’d like to stop at the Exchange and visit a toyshop she’s fond of.”

Toyshops sold expensive trinkets. Connie doubted she could afford any of the goods on offer but she guessed this was her first test in society.

Today’s gown was a lovely green silk, cut in the latest mode, with a petticoat of palest pink. She’d sent a fine cap, barely a wisp of lace and double ruffles. Unfortunately, Connie took a larger shoe size than Helena but her outdoor shoes would, if not match the gown, at least not offend if she wore them. And the day was fine enough to wear a shawl and leave off a cloak. A straw bergére hat, with a bunch of ribbon sewn on to the brim would go with it.

After eating, she got out of bed, stripped and Saxton helped her wash. She put on her shift and a pair of stays before she sat at the dressing table for Saxton to pin up her hair.

Then came the gown. So light, so pretty, Connie caught her breath when she stood before the mirror and viewed herself, turning in delight to view the deep box pleats at the back, which flowed nearly to the floor. She was surprised that Saxton didn’t have to take the gown up a little but the maid explained that she’d already done so.

Thinking no more about it, she had Saxton pin her hat in place and found her gloves and fan.

Her heart beating hard in anticipation, she went downstairs to find her hostess similarly attired but in blue. Helena had an effortless elegance Connie admired, because it was something all her own and either bred into her or developed so long ago she didn’t have to think about it. Connie should develop something similar, something that belonged to her alone. If the next few days had their required effect, she might have the time to do so. But she had a fight on her hands, ladylike though it would be.

Helena led the way to an open landau outside, two gorgeous grey horses champing at the bit, a smartly attired coachman at the front and two liveried footmen behind. They climbed into the low-bodied, open topped carriage and set off.

Despite her worries, Connie enjoyed the drive into the city. Even if no one had told her they were travelling through the fashionable part of London, she’d have known from the general air of prosperity and cleanliness, although the streets and squares weren’t devoid of the shabbier element. Boys darted from one person to another, begging, selling, probably picking pockets and street sellers bawled their wares in none-too-tuneful voices. Somehow, the combined effect of street sellers, horses and chat sounded like sweet harmony. The deep bass tones of a chair mender combined with the high-pitched call of a milkmaid to provide something Connie had rarely heard. Of course, she’d visited big towns before but London was in a position of its own and she began to believe what she’d heard—nothing like it existed anywhere else.

Helena was smiling. “You remind me of the time I first visited London. It was after I came to live with Julius, so I had a somewhat interesting introduction. I had to attend court. It’s beastly hot and the clothes you have to wear are simply hideous. London astounded me. I truly believe there’s nothing like it anywhere else.”

“Not as big, certainly.” Connie would dearly love to travel, to see more of the world but she’d always assumed she’d have to content herself by reading about it. “I need to write to my godfather to tell him the state of affairs, when I can do so, although I believe Alex is writing, or has already done so. He will be distressed that Jasper has done his best to ruin me.” She frowned. “I don’t know if Lord Downholland will believe me, though. Jasper is his nephew and my godfather’s designated heir.”

Helena touched her hand. “I’m sure he’ll know who is telling the truth. You must hide nothing from him and be completely honest.”