Simply Scandalous (7 page)

Benedict, whose lack of a right arm prevented him
from enjoying riding, had not considered that Captain Cary might do anything but ride in the chaise
with Juliet. Naturally, if the Captain meant to ride his
own horse, that put quite a different complexion on things. "I will write to Dr. Cary directly," he said. "If
the Captain is in London, no doubt he has heard of
our ... predicament."

"Horatio will be anxious to assist me," she said
confidently. "He has been most attentive since he
came to London. He has even taken me aboard his
ship, the Monarch."

Benedict looked at her sharply. "Indeed?"

Juliet went on in her lively manner. "She is docked
at Tilbury, you know, and Cary and I dined there like
real sailors, with our plates shuffling back and forth
with the tide."

He smiled faintly. "Astonishing!"

"Horatio is much admired in London. He goes
everywhere, and everyone is talking of him. In the last
month of the war, he captured no less than five
French frigates, and there is talk of elevating him to
the knighthood. Serena Calverstock has dubbed him
Phoebus and likes to think he is dangling after her,
but, of course, I have warned him about her. "

Upon writing to the Captain at his rooms in the
Grillon, Benedict discovered that Juliet was right.
Horatio was more than glad to assist his cousin, and
the departure was fixed for the following morning
after breakfast, which Benedict invited the Captain to
take with them in Park Lane.

When Captain Cary arrived, Benedict was again dismayed by his good looks. The Captain wore his dark
gold hair cropped short in the latest fashion; his eyes
were bright cornflower blue; and though he wore
small whiskers, one felt it was not in order to hide any
defect of his features. Beyond that, he was tall and
trim; he had new clothes; and he carried himself
like a gentleman.

Juliet greeted him a little doubtfully. She had asked to go to Hertfordshire impetuously, thinking only of
her own preferences. But perhaps she had been wrong
to impose on her cousin and cause him to change
his plans.

Horatio at once put her scruples to rest. "You will
not credit it, perhaps," he said as they sat down to
breakfast, "but I was on the verge of calling to offer
my assistance."

Juliet, seated opposite him, forced a smile. "It's
very good of you not to abandon me in my disgrace,
Cousin. Benedict thinks I've damaged myself beyond
all hope of repair."

"I am sorry for you, Cousin," he said, shaking his
head. "But I don't think it so black as that, Sir Benedict. After all, from what I understand, Lord Swale
quite deserved his humiliation. Of course, some very
old-fashioned tiresome people-"

"Like Benedict!" said Juliet "Like Stacy Calverstock."

Horatio lifted a brow. "Calverstock? What had he
to say?"

"He was chivalrous enough to ask for my hand!"
she told him, laughing. "Did you ever hear anything
so paltry?"

Horatio's eyes twinkled at her. "And shall I wish you
joy, Cousin?"

"I wouldn't marry a man who offers for me out of
some misguided pity," Juliet replied in scorn.

"Even if you loved him?" Horatio teased her.

"Especially not if I loved him," she said promptly.
"That would be agony for me. In any case, I do not love
Stacy Calverstock, I assure you."

Benedict watched this exchange thoughtfully. He
had seen the look on the Captain's face when Juliet had
spoken of Calverstock's offer. The Captain had recovered quickly and had made a joke, but his first reaction had been intense displeasure. Could it be that Captain
Cary was in love with Juliet? It seemed so, and, what was
more, Juliet seemed to return his admiration. In many
ways, Benedict reflected, it would be an ideal match, especially if the Captain had grown rich in the war. Such
a circumstance would not be likely to move Juliet's
heart, of course, but it went a long way toward making
Benedict easy in his mind. He began to think of the Tanglewood scheme with greater complacency.

"There, you see, Benedict," Juliet startled him by
saying, "I've had two firm offers of marriage!"

"What?" he said sharply.

"Were you not listening? Cousin Horatio was just
telling me the most amusing story. Completely apocryphal, I do believe, but apparently, when the Prince
Regent heard about the race, he declared that he
would marry me as soon as he is divorced from the
Princess of Wales!"

Benedict was not amused. He had no great opinion of the Carlton House set, and he had no desire
to see his sister drawn into its incessant absurdities,
freaks, and scandals.

"You will be pleased to know, Sir Benedict, that the
members of White's have taken action against Swale.
No gentleman with a wager on yesterday's race has any
intention of collecting. Including Mr. Alexander Devize
and my own patron Lord Redfylde," Horatio added.

"There!" said Juliet, pleased. "Even his club is on
my side."

After breakfast, she went upstairs to kiss Gary goodbye, and Captain Cary went with her. To her surprise, her brother was awake. With her help, he was
able to sit up and drink a little water.

He greeted Horatio fondly but had not the strength
to shake hands.

Horatio was plainly shocked at the sight of his
cousin. Cary's arm was in a splint, his head was bandaged, and his lean, handsome face was haggard.
Deep violet shadows stood under his gray eyes. But his
sense of humor had not been quenched. "I like the
fungus better and better each time I see it," he told
Horatio with a faint smile. "Perhaps I shall take this
opportunity to grow whiskers too."

Cary was pleased to learn that Juliet was going to
Tanglewood. "I can't bear her clucking over me like
a hen! I'll dictate a letter to you every day, Julie," he
promised. "Do not bother your head about me. If you
were to stay here, you would be bored to sobs."

"I do hate leaving you, Cary, but if I am to be sent
away, I had much rather go to my cousins."

"Look after her, Horatio," Cary said. "Indeed, she
is not the willful hellion you may think! She was
always quite tame before. And, if no other harm
comes to me, I expect she will be a good girl all the
days of her life. Your father needn't worry she will lead
Cynthia astray!"

"No, indeed," Horatio scoffed. "Only I wish she
had called upon me to take your place, Cousin.
Though I very much doubt I should have contrived
to win the race."

"Tell your father I shall visit Tanglewood as soon as
I am able," said Cary. "I know the Manor has been
sadly neglected. I thank you for bringing it to my attention. Somehow, I never think of it, though it is my
mother's birthplace and my grandmamma was kind
enough to leave it to me when she died. I can't think
why she didn't leave it to you."

"Perhaps it is because I was at sea when she died,"
Horatio said with just a hint of reproach. "You are very much looked for at Tanglewood and very much
missed, Cary."

"Yes," Juliet chimed in. "Whenever I go there, the
people talk of nothing else but the absentee landlord.
You must do better, Cary."

Cary chuckled softly. "Very well," he said. "I shall!
There is one favor I should like to ask of you before
you go, Julie. Would you please inform Lady Serena
Calverstock of my condition? Perhaps I flatter myself,
but I believe her ladyship may be worried about me."

Horatio gallantly agreed to stop at Lord Redfylde's
house in Grosvenor Square, where Serena, who was
the sister of Lady Redfylde as well as the cousin of
Stacy Calverstock, resided.

"You do not much care for the lady," Horatio said
as he handed Juliet into the chaise.

"I don't believe she cares a button for my brother,"
Juliet declared. "She is false to her toes."

"But, my dear cousin," he protested, "they are seen
everywhere together! Cary even allows her ladyship
to drive his chestnuts."

Juliet flushed angrily. There had been a time when
she had been the only female allowed to drive her
brother's famous chestnuts, and she could not give
way graciously to the beautiful Serena. "You do not
know her as I do, Cousin," she told him. "You have
been away fighting. You have not seen how coldly she
conducted herself to my brother in the months before
you returned. It was quite sudden that she began to
take notice of him, I assure you, and I don't believe
for an instant she is sincere. Before my brother, she
was equally enchanted by Mr. Alexander Devize! I believe she enjoys having men dangle after her. Why else
would she have had seven Seasons in London but have
accepted no offers?"

"Has she had offers?" Horatio inquired, apparently amused.

"Several," Juliet replied. "No one is rich enough or
high enough for her, it seems. My poor brother was
on the verge of making her an offer, but I convinced
him that Tanglewood Manor is not sufficiently grand
to tempt her! I persuaded him it would be foolish to
ask for her and that it would only cause them both
great embarrassment."

"You did, did you?" Horatio's blue eyes twinkled.
"What an excellent sister you are. Perhaps," he added
with mock seriousness, "you would allow me to deliver
your brother's message to the lady-I cannot be in
danger for I have neither titles nor estates."

Juliet looked down at her hands. "It had occurred
to me, Cousin, that Lady Serena might not be at home
to Miss Wayborn today. Would you mind awfully-?"

"I am Miss Wayborn's servant," he replied so gravely
that she laughed.

Horatio was not twenty minutes in Lord Redfylde's
house. "I think you are right about the lady, Cousin,"
he reported to Juliet. "She seemed not to care in
the least for your brother's injuries nor for your own
predicament, my dear Juliet. Her ladyship was quite
cold on both subjects."

"Indeed, I am heartily sorry to have been right
about her insincerity," said Juliet, biting her lip. "Cary
will be hurt, and I expect I am to blame, but at least,
he is free of her now."

The peaceful village of Tanglewood Green lay
twenty miles north of London in Hertfordshire, and travel was easy along the Great North Road. Juliet, her
maid, and Captain Cary arrived at the Vicarage no
later than one o'clock to the great surprise of Dr. Cary
and his wife, who had expected to see their son the
following week and Juliet not at all.

The Vicar's house was a large and stately stone
building that at one time had held as many as seven
children and their parents, as well as a full contingent
of servants. The eldest of the Carys' seven children
was Horatio, but the next five children had been
named simply and safely George, Tom, Mary, James,
and Edward. Then, quite unexpectedly, at the age of
forty, Mrs. Cary had given birth to a second girl. Her
surprise was so great that she had named the baby
Cynthia. Now seventeen and a beauty, Miss Cary was
the only child left at home.

When Juliet arrived, Cynthia and her mother were
preparing to visit an elderly woman in the parish. They
instantly offered to revise their plans, while Juliet
suggested that she take Mrs. Cary's place.

"But, my dear, you must be tired from your journey,"
Mrs. Cary protested weakly. She was a large, comfortable woman who did not care for walking, and it
had already occurred to her that, if Juliet went with
Cynthia, it would give her time to make arrangements for her unexpected guest. The Carys considered themselves very humble country people, and the
arrival of their smart London cousin, who had been
presented to Queen Charlotte in the state drawing
room of St. James's Palace, was sufficient to frighten
Mrs. Cary into taking her very best linens out of the
lavender-scented tissue in which they were stored.

Juliet insisted. After the confinement of the carriage, a long, healthy walk was just what she liked. Mrs.
Gary's half-hearted objections were easily overcome while Sailor, the family's spaniel, ran up to Juliet and
shoved his nose under her hand in a bid for her attention. It was soon decided that Sailor would accompany the girls on their errand.

Alighting from the vehicle, Mademoiselle Huppert
gazed up at the Vicarage with an expression of Gallic
scorn. If her mistress delighted in scampering about
the countryside with dogs and baskets of food, she,
Mademoiselle, had better ideas. Approaching Mrs.
Cary, she rather coldly asked for the housekeeper.

Juliet, meanwhile, took the basket from Cynthia,
and, arm and arm, the pair started down the lane.
Like her brother, Cynthia was fair-haired and blueeyed, but while her brother was bronzed from his time
at sea, Cynthia was pale, an almost ethereal-looking
beauty. Besides being quite the loveliest girl Juliet had
ever seen, Cynthia held a place of honor in her
cousin's heart, for Cynthia had been kind to Benedict
the summer before when he had visited Tanglewood
with his half-sister for the first time. Hampered by his
missing limb and scarred face, Benedict was usually
painfully awkward around the fair sex, and Juliet
would always be grateful to Cynthia for making him
feel so comfortable on that occasion. Indeed, she
was determined to make a match between the pair.

She lost no time in acquainting Cynthia with her own
disgrace, and her cousin, whose dull life in the country had ill-prepared her for tales of midnight muggings
and curricle races, listened in rapt fascination, horrified to learn that Cary had been attacked. "But, surely,
it was an accident?" she said nervously.

"Accident! "Juliet's color rose, and her eyes snapped
dangerously. "He was attacked from behind and
beaten mercilessly."

"Oh," said Cynthia, anxious to calm her fiery cousin. "I did not mean an accident, of course. But a mistake.
Could it have been a mistake?"

"A mistake?" Juliet scoffed. "They knew exactly
what they were about. They were sent to do their
work. Lord Swale paid them to make sure Cary could
not drive his chestnuts in the race."