Sussex Summer (20 page)

Juliette’s thoughts cheered her and her brilliant smile returned, captivating every gentleman who noticed it. She would bring Lord Staplefield to the sticking point by the end of the masquerade. She could not fail to gain his notice and win the prize for the most daring costume, she thought complacently as she pictured herself in the exotic costume she and her maid were constructing in the privacy of her rooms.

When the other guests had rested sufficiently after their lunch and began to disperse from the drawing room, Lady Juliette retired to her bedchamber to work on her costume. She sent her maid to find some embroidery silks and tried on the satin cap she was fashioning. She stood before the gilt-framed oval glass and held several ostrich feathers on her cap at different angles in an effort to determine where they looked best.

"Very charming, my dear. Although I think you should add some paste jewels—a band round the edge and a cluster in the centre, I think."

Lady Juliette gasped and whirled about to face Lord Crawford.

"How dare you enter my bedchamber!" she exclaimed angrily. "If you were seen by anyone you could undo all."

"I assure you no one saw me enter," Lord Crawford said, advancing farther into the room and closing the door behind him. "The gentlemen are gone to the stable to inspect Lord Staplefield's cattle, and the ladies are entertaining themselves in the music room."

Lady Juliette did not feel reassured by his words, and her visitor endeavoured to set her fears at rest.

"Do not fear, I have no desire to spoil your plans. In fact, I came to assist you in them by giving you a warning. You really must guard the way you look at me in company, my dear, or someone will notice and remember the old rumours."

Lady Juliette flushed at the emphasis he put on the last word and anger at having her thoughts so easily read by him overcame her.

"You flatter yourself, Lord Crawford," she said coldly, turning away.

"I think not," he contradicted and, coming closer, grasped Juliette’s chin in his hand and turned her face back to his. He gazed steadily into her eyes, and Lady Juliette's expression slowly changed from one of anger to one that was almost flirtatious. Her long black eyelashes swept invitingly down over her cheeks, and her red lips pouted provocatively. Lord Crawford placed his lips over hers in a kiss that quickly became demanding. When he had aroused an equal hunger in Lady Juliette, he put her away from him.

"Ah, what memories the touch of your lips awakens," he said, meaningfully. "Are you quite sure you wish to have Lord Staplefield? He seems rather a cold fish to me."

His lightly mocking words returned Lady Juliette to an awareness of the danger she was in while Lord Crawford remained in her bedchamber.

"I am quite certain. Lord Staplefield has the wealth to support me in the manner which I desire. You do not. Please leave my chamber at once before you are observed."

"If you change your mind, my dear, you have only to let me know," Lord Crawford said as he placed his hand upon the doorknob. "I still think it a pity you have chosen as you have. Or rather a waste. Only a true connoisseur of women deserves to possess you." With a mocking bow and smile, he left the room.

Lady Juliette hastened to close the door behind him and sank into a chair, still clutching the feathers in her right hand. She laid them down on a table, thinking that life was most unfair. Why did a prosy bore such as Edward and a buffoon such as Lord Staplefield have wealth, while she and her brother and Lord Crawford had none? It was decidedly unjust!

* * * *

The long-awaited night of the masquerade arrived at last. Mrs. Reid stayed late to help the Hampton sisters dress, almost as excited about the ball as was Fanny.

“I think you must win the prize for the best costume, Miss Fanny,” Mrs. Reid said as she stepped back and admired the young woman’s costume.

Fanny was undeniably magnificent as Queen Henrietta Maria. Her white satin skirts hung straight and full to the ground from a slightly raised waistline, and the three-quarter-length sleeves were slashed to expose blue satin beneath and tied below her elbows with blue ribbons. Matching blue rosettes adorned her waist and her dainty white satin slippers. Jane joined Mrs. Reid in her admiration of her sister and wished she had shown more interest in her own costume.

Fanny and Mrs. Reid had constructed her Diana costume, and although Jane granted they had done well, she felt only half-dressed wearing it. The shell-pink sarcenet draperies fell to just above her ankles, clinging tightly to her figure and exposing sandals that laced about her limbs with pink ribbons. Her hair was curled tightly and rolled up on her head where it was held with a silver fillet, and to complete the costume she wore a satin- covered quiver of arrows on her back. As
Jane adjusted the matching pink silk mask over her face, she wished it truly disguised her identity.

However, when the carriage arrived to take them to Bramleigh and Mr. Hampton, clad in a simple black domino and half mask, did not seem to find anything amiss with either of his daughters' costumes. Jane reluctantly decided that if a clergyman did not find her attire indecent, she should not, and resigned herself to appearing in it.

* * * *

Lord Blackwood knocked upon the door to his sister's dressing room at Bramleigh and was admitted by Perkins. 

"Dear sister," Adrian said, looking at his sister appreciatively as she surveyed herself in a cheval glass, "you will be the most beautiful woman at the masquerade. Without a doubt you will win the prize. However," he continued, leaning negligently against the large mahogany wardrobe, "it will avail you nothing."

"Tell me what you have come to say and leave so I can finish dressing," Lady Juliette said impatiently, tying the fringed sash of her Turkish costume at a slightly different angle and standing back to judge the effect.

"I wished to inform you that 1 shall be leaving for the Continent to join Father a few days hence. There is no purpose in remaining here. It will not be your home. You have lost the game. You let Tremaine go and cannot see you are being played for a fool by Lord Staplefield."

Lady Juliette looked at her brother scornfully. "Much you know about it."

"Perhaps I know more about it than you think," Lord Blackwood said warningly. "I have eyes for others besides myself, and I use them. I advise you to cut your losses and take Lord Crawford. You have already enjoyed his favours, and he seems to be interested still. Perhaps that is why Lord Staplefield invited him to Bramleigh for the masquerade. He is a most considerate host," Lord Blackwood finished with a wicked smile.

Lady Juliette looked at him in fury and threw a silver-backed hairbrush, but he dodged it easily and the mark it left was upon the wardrobe. With a last grin at his sister he went to go don his own costume. His sister
was
a beauty. Too bad she hadn't the understanding of people to use that beauty to real advantage.

* * * *

The masquerade was set to begin rather late by country hours—at eight—but as the Hamptons drove up the circular drive to Bramleigh, Jane understood why the earl had chosen that hour. The shrubs and trees about the house had been filled with lanterns in the shape of stars, and in the fading light of the day, Bramleigh was taking on the aspect of a fairyland. As their carriage stopped before the brightly lit residence, footmen in lively coloured liveries carrying flambeaux came forward to assist them from the carriage. Jane felt a thrill of anticipation despite herself.

Lord Staplefield and his aunt stood in the doorway of the ballroom to welcome the guests. His aunt was dressed rather plainly as Rubens's wife, but Lord Staplefield, as Charles I, looked quite splendid in a blue satin doublet and breeches that tied at the knee with bows. The long full sleeves of his white shirt were slashed from the shoulder to the wrist, revealing pink satin beneath. A large lace-edged collar turned down over the shirt, and the long dark locks of a wig fell over his shoulders. Silk hose, square-toed leather shoes decorated with rosettes of pink ribbons and a wide-brimmed plumed hat completed his outfit. Jane had to admit that the earl presented a very dashing and romantic figure in the costume of the seventeenth-century king. He welcomed the Hamptons warmly, with a special smile for Fanny, and the family passed into the ballroom to join the rest of the company.

The ground-floor rooms of Bramleigh had all been opened so the guests could wander at will from the ballroom to the withdrawing room, supper room and card room. The rooms had been lavishly decorated with plants, and hundreds of lamps of coloured glass had been placed about, throwing the stucco decorations on the walls and ceiling into relief and casting muted shadows on the guests.

Mr. Hampton, as usual, vanished within minutes of their entering the ballroom. Jane and Fanny had no doubt he could already be found in the library upstairs. They searched resignedly for the Archers, recognizing them in a Greek noble and his wife with their son Christopher and daughter Marianne as their slaves.

The sisters sat in the gilt chairs by the wall with the Archers and amused themselves trying to identify the costumed guests. Although all the guests were masked, they felt they recognised many of their friends. The lady with the russet hair dressed as Queen Elizabeth could only be Lady Tremaine, and the Henry VIII beside her must be Lord Tremaine. Marianne was the first to spot Lady Juliette.

"Isn't Lady Juliette beautiful!" she exclaimed, and the others turned to look.

Lady Juliette's costume was very daring indeed, particularly for the country. She wore full pink drawers gathered at the waist with a fringed yellow sash, a low-cut blouse of fine white lawn covered by a blue stole whose ends were caught up at the waist under a jewelled girdle. She had completed her costume with a blue feathered cap, embroidered slippers, and a jewelled mask. She did indeed look quite exotic and beautiful, Jane thought somewhat enviously.

Lord Blackwood had entered with his sister, also clad in Turkish dress. Long baggy trousers of yellow silk were sashed at his waist over a fine cambric shirt, both topped by a fur-trimmed open robe of blue. The brother and sister were attracting a great many looks, both admiring and disapproving. Lady Juliette, if not her brother, was sure to win a prize, Jane thought.

They soon lost sight of the Blackwoods in the crowd and turned their attention back to the other guests. Jane thought she recognised Edward's sister, Mary, as a shepherdess, and Lady Archer spied Squire Shirley in the costume of a chimney sweep. Jane looked for Edward, but could not spot him, although Fanny saw Jamie, dressed in the colourful costume of a running footman: bright blue tunic weighted down by a heavy gold fringe, stockings but no breeches, a cap with feathers, and carrying the long cane tipped with a silver ball that was the running footman's hallmark. Jane wondered if the ball contained the mixture of white wine and eggs that a real running footman's would have. It was even a more daring costume than Lady Juliette's, and Jane hoped he would capture the men's prize.

The sisters amused themselves for quite a long time admiring the costumes. As Jane had predicted, there were several Dianas, although none like hers. There was also a highwayman, Arcadian princess, old woman, Jane Shore and a minstrel, whom none of them had identified by the time the dancing started.

The dancing began with a slow stately allemande. Jane was led out by Lord Blackwood, whose eyes gleamed with admiration through his yellow silk mask. As she curtseyed to Lord Blackwood, Jane finally spied Edward, dressed as Richard Coeur de Lion, standing up with Lady Juliette.

So he did not care for Lady Juliette, Jane thought angrily. Then why was he standing up with her for the first dance? Anger and jealousy at the sight provoked her to smile enchantingly at Lord Blackwood. Although she knew Lord Blackwood was aware who she was, the etiquette of the masquerade prevented either from openly acknowledging the identity of the other. Thus relieved of any inhibitions, she flirted with Lord Blackwood more daringly than she ever had before. When he led her back to her place by Lady Archer, a pressure on her hand and the look in his eyes told her he was going to hold her to the promise of her flirtatious conduct.

The second dance at the Bramleigh masquerade was traditionally a minuet, the most popular dance of the eighteenth century. The former Lord Staplefield had placed it at the beginning of the dance program so the guests would watch it before going to play cards or to other amusements. The minuet had gone out of style, for it was an extremely complicated and difficult dance. Few of the younger people troubled to master it, but they stood about to watch and admire the older couples perform the intricate steps.

The musicians, who were dressed as Arcadian shepherds, were poised to begin the minuet when Lord Staplefield stood on the first landing of the staircase and held up his hand for silence. When the rumble of conversation ceased, he held up two objects.

"I should like to announce the winners of the prizes for the most original and daring costumes. I thank you all for entering into the contest with a spirit I know my great-uncle would have admired, for it is reminiscent of that golden age which he so relished."

There was applause, and Lord Staplefield bowed, sweeping his plumed hat off gracefully. "First for the ladies," he said, and unfurled a beautiful fan. From their position near the musicians, Jane could see it was of a silk so fine as to be transparent, and the ivory guards appeared to be ornamented in gold.

"Although every lady here tonight is beautiful, there is no question but that the most original and daring costume is that of the Turkish princess," he proclaimed.

Lady Juliette went forward to claim her prize amidst great applause. As she took the fan from Lord Grandville he bestowed a kiss upon her hand and she curtsied with exquisite grace, obviously in her element.

"For the gentleman," Lord Staplefield continued, "there is an ebony snuffbox." As he held it up, the jewel-encrusted lid glinted in the candlelight. "Again, I believe there can be little argument that the most original and daring costume is that of the running footman."