The American Earl (13 page)

“I don’t know any private sellers in London,” I returned gloomily.  “And I need a horse right now.  I can’t wait for months, looking around here and there.  Besides, I
want
to see Tattersall’s.  It is
the
place to go to buy any kind of horse. They auction off carriage horses, hacks, and hunters as well as racehorses … Sir John told me all about it. It’s where he purchased Roderick, his best hunter. I want to go.”

Maria and Lizzie exchanged glances. 

Lizzie said, “If you go to Tattersall’s, Julia, my mother will have a seizure. It really is one of those rigid rules that a girl disregards at her peril. And your behavior reflects on my mother, too, don’t forget.”

What Lizzie didn’t say was that it would reflect upon her as well.  If I went to Tattersall’s with Evan I would dish her season as well as mine. 

It’s so stupid
, I thought in frustration.

We walked in silence for a while and I tried to get back into the mood of enjoying the spring. I wasn’t having much success, though, when I heard Lizzie say, “If you were a boy, you could go.”

I stopped, turned, and stared at my cousin. She stopped as well and looked back at me. “Lizzie,” I breathed reverently, “you are a genius.”

We were staring at each other in mutual satisfaction when Maria asked, “Why is Lizzie a genius? We all know that you could go to Tattersall’s if you were a boy.”

“To go to Tattersall’s all I have to do is
dress
as a boy,” I said with a triumphant smile.

“You wouldn’t!” Maria cried.

“Why not?”

“Evan will never take you!”

“There is that,” Lizzie said. “If you want to pick out your own horse, you have to go with Evan. He’s the one who has to pay. And he has to do the talking too. If you open your mouth everyone will know you’re a girl.”

Maria said indignantly, “Lizzie, you’re as bad as Julia.”

“Not quite as bad,” Lizzie returned. “I wouldn’t do it myself. Well, I don’t want to go to Tattersall’s. But it’s the only way Julia is going to get there.”

“You’re right,” I said. 

“My father and brothers would never allow you to do such a thing,” Lizzie said, “but Evan is an American.  Perhaps he won’t realize quite what an … outrageous … thing the
ton
would consider such a masquerade.”

My brain was teeming with ideas. “I could disguise myself as a groom, one of those little ones who ride behind their masters in sporting vehicles. No one would think it odd for me to accompany Evan if I was dressed like that.”

“Yes, but people would think it odd that you weren’t holding his horses,” Lizzie pointed out. 

I scowled and kicked a small rock on the path in front of me.  This had to work.  It was such a brilliant idea.  I kicked another rock and an idea dawned. “He would need a groom to hold the horse he
buys
,
wouldn’t he?”

Lizzie frowned thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose he would.”

“Won’t there be grooms working for Tattersall’s who do that?” Maria asked.

“Evan won’t know that,” I said. I almost clapped my hands with glee. “He doesn’t know a thing about Tattersall’s. I’ll tell him that he’ll be expected to come accompanied by a groom, and that the groom will be me. He’ll think it’s all very natural.”

Maria objected. “I don’t think you’re being fair to Evan. He’s been so nice to us, Julia. Suppose you get found out and he gets blamed? That would be a rotten way to repay him for all he’s doing for us.”

“But don’t you see?  That’s what’s so perfect about this,” I said.  “Evan doesn’t give the snap of his fingers for the opinion of the English
ton
.
  All he wants to do is negotiate a mortgage on Stoverton, pay off our father’s debts, and sail home to America. No one in America will know what he’s done. Nor will anyone care!”

“I don’t know,” Maria said unhappily. “You always make the most outrageous things you do sound reasonable. But this isn’t reasonable, Julia. It’s … oh, I don’t know what to call it.”

“It’s a masquerade,” Lizzie said.  “The
ton
holds masquerades all the time.  This one is just a little more adventurous, that’s all.”

I grinned.  “You
are
as bad as I am, Lizzie.”

Lizzie’s light blue eyes glimmered. “You’re so much fun, Julia. I’m glad we’re having this season together.”

“You’re fun too,” I returned. And I meant it. I had always thought that Lizzie would be just like her mother. I pictured Aunt Barbara’s face if she knew what Lizzie was recommending and grinned.

“Where will you get the clothes?” she asked practically.

This was a good question.  The stables at Althorpe house held Aunt Barbara’s four carriage horses, my father’s four, and Baron.  Aunt Barbara had a groom to look after hers and I had Toby’s nephew Sammy looking after mine.  Sammy was small.  Like me.

“Do you have any money?” I asked Lizzie.

“I still have some of my pin money left.”

“If you let me have it, I’ll give it to Sammy if he lends me his extra set of clothes for the day.  He’ll do it.  He’s Toby’s nephew, after all.”

“You have to look the part,” Lizzie warned. “You can’t get caught, Julia. That would be disastrous.”

“I won’t get caught,” I said. “I promise.”

“What if Evan doesn’t agree?” Maria asked.

“I’ll make him agree.”

Maria rolled her eyes but didn’t answer.  She knew it was futile to try to change my mind.

* * * *

The first thing I did when we got home was pay a visit to the stable and have a chat with Sammy, who was happy to loan me his extra clothes in exchange for the remains of Lizzie’s pin money. Within a short time I was possessed of a package containing a shirt, breeches, boots, jacket and hat. I raced back to my room to try them on.

The clothes were new, having been bought when Sammy was hired to come with us to London, so I didn’t have any unpleasant dirt or smell to deal with. I put the tan breeches on first and they fit fairly well. My legs are longer than you would think in relation to my height. The jacket sleeves were too long, but I tucked them under. The hat had a peak, which was good because I could pull it low to hide my face. It was also full enough to allow me to stuff my hair under it. The boots, however, were too big.

How could someone as small as Sammy have such big feet? I grumbled as I tried to walk around the room in the cumbersome footwear.  Perhaps if I stuff some paper into the toes it will stabilize them.

I tried this idea and, while far from perfect, I decided it would have to do. My own boots would look too small for a boy.

I was still in my costume when I heard a knock on my door. “Who is it?” I called cautiously. 

“It’s us, Lizzie and Maria,” Lizzie called back. “We’re alone.”

“Come in,” I said. “Quickly.”

The girls scuttled into the room, shutting the door behind them. The two of them stopped dead and stared at me as I posed in front of the fireplace.

Lizzie began to laugh. “You look perfect,” she said.

“Thank you,” I replied modestly.

Maria almost wailed, “I wish you wouldn’t do this, Julia.”

I went to her and put an arm around her. “Maria, darling, nothing bad is going to happen. You shouldn’t be so afraid all the time. Sometimes you have to take chances if you want to be happy.”

“If you want to have your own way, you mean,” Maria retorted.

I grinned and began to walk around the room. “These breeches are wonderful. One feels so free, so unfettered.” I strode back and forth across the floor a few times, trying to get the knack of walking in the big boots. “It’s so unfair that girls have to wear dresses.”

“I like my dresses,” Lizzie said. “They’re much looser and more comfortable than those horrible high neck cloths that men have to wear. I hate the feeling of something close around my neck. I always feel as if it’s choking me.”

“I suppose that’s true,” I replied as I continued to pace the floor.

Maria said, “When are you going to ask Evan? If he doesn’t agree, you’re dished, Julia.”

“I’ll ask him as soon as he gets home.  Grantly said he was going into the city to meet with some solicitor.”

“We should go downstairs to wait for him,” Lizzie advised. 

“All right,” I returned. “Go ahead and I’ll meet you in the drawing room after I’ve changed.”

Chapter Sixteen

Evan’s appointment in the city was with Mr. Rothschild, the solicitor Roger Spenser had recommended.  They had a long and fruitful discussion, and, when Evan left Simon Rothschild’s office, he felt there was a real chance he would be able to sell the art in the London house.  If he could sell those valuable paintings, he’d realize enough money to considerably lower the debts his uncle had left. 

If he got Julia settled, he could be on a ship for America by June.

He had written a long letter to his sister Frances explaining his dilemma and apologizing for his delay in returning home.  Not that she needed him to run the business; she and John had been doing that well enough for years.  Evan had done his part by investing a great deal of his own money in the company, but he felt guilty about his protracted absence. 

He was thinking nostalgically about how delightfully simple life was in America when he walked into his palatial London establishment. A footman was there to take his hat. The fellow probably did nothing more all day than stand in the hall waiting to take people’s hats. What kind of useless job was that for a man? People could perfectly well place their own hats on the table.

It’s ridiculous
,
he thought grumpily as he started toward the library.

Suddenly Lizzie appeared at the door of the main drawing room.  “Evan, might I see you for a moment please?” she said.  As he started toward her she disappeared back inside.  When he reached the door he almost bumped into Lizzie and Maria, who were on their way out.  Lizzie favored him with a bright smile while Maria gave him a strange, anxious look, muttered a greeting, and whisked past him.

He looked toward the fireplace and saw Julia standing there.  He frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” she replied. She gestured to one of the elegant gilt chairs that lined the wall. “Sit down. I have something to ask you.”

His grumpiness was displaced by curiosity. He took the seat she had designated and waited to be told.

She came to sit on the chair next to him, turning so she faced him. She was wearing one of her old dresses as the new ones had not yet been delivered, and her hands were tightly clasped in her faded muslin lap. For the first time since he had known her, she looked uncertain.

He said encouragingly, “Yes?”

She lifted her chin and her expression became resolute. “You know how much I want to go to Tattersall’s with you to pick out my horse.”

He sighed. “Yes, Julia, I know. But I think we have to respect the superior knowledge of Aunt Barbara in this matter. It would cause a scandal if you went to Tattersall’s.” He added, speaking slowly and clearly, “I do not wish to cause a scandal and wreck Lizzie’s season.”

She leaned a little toward him, her gray eyes fixed on his face. “It would cause a scandal if I went to Tattersall’s dressed as a girl. But what if everyone thought I was a boy?”

It took him a moment to digest what she had just said. She kept gazing at him, steely determination in her extraordinary eyes.

“Are you proposing to dress up as a boy?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes. I borrowed some clothes from Sammy, and they fit perfectly. No one need ever know who I am.”

Evan felt an almost irresistible desire to laugh. But she was too serious, too determined, for him to do that to her. So he schooled his face to gravity and said, “I see.”

“I’ll stand right next to you the whole time,” she said. “It’s an auction and if I see a horse I want you to bid on, I’ll just touch your coat. No one will know that you’re taking instructions from me. I won’t talk at all.”

He regarded her skeptically. How could anyone look at that face and think she was a boy?

He said, “Your eyes are a very unusual color, Julia. Suppose someone who sees you with me at the auction meets you again in a ballroom? Won’t he suspect?”

“I have a hat with a peak and I can pull it down low over my forehead. And I won’t look at anyone, Evan! I promise. The costume is perfect. No one will know.”

He was silent.

She drew a deep, resolute breath and said bravely, “Please?”

Why shouldn’t she pick out her own horse? he thought.  She knows a hell of a lot more about horses than I do.  She hated coming to London.  At least she should have a horse to ride. 

“I’d like to see you in this outfit before I make up my mind,” he said.

Her face lit with joy and he blinked. Julia happy was a beautiful sight. He would like to see her look like that more frequently.

“I’ll try it on for you,” she said. “Where can we go?”

“My bedroom has a dressing room attached,” he said. “You can use that.”

“I’ll go upstairs and get the clothes,” she said. “Wait here.” She almost ran out the door.

He got up from the sofa and walked over to one of the windows, which looked out on a line of Greek-style columns.  He scarcely saw the elegant columns, however.  In his mind’s eye he was seeing Julia’s face. 

He had never met a girl who was as unaware of her looks as Julia.  She seemed to have no idea of how beautiful she was.  Once she was cleaned up and dressed properly he had no doubt she would have plenty of men interested in marrying her – especially with the handsome dowry he planned to offer. 

He frowned. He would have to make certain that the dowry was tied up in a way that couldn’t be abused by her husband. He made a mental note to consult with Mr. Rothschild about that.

The door opened and Julia was there, a bundle of clothes clutched to her chest. He got up and said, “Come along and we’ll see what you look like.”

They went down the hall to the earl’s apartment, which was enormous.  Evan had been shocked to see that it had two bedrooms, each with an attached dressing room.  At home married couples slept in the same room.  In the same bed. Then he had thought,
Of course, if you married for money or social status, and not for love, you might want to have your own space.