The Gamble (3 page)

I stared at him in amazement. “You want me to hide behind the drapery?”

“I think it will be very much to your advantage to do so,” he replied.

He looked as if he were enjoying himself enormously.

The drapery he was referring to was a gold-velvet affair that hung on either side of the tall, narrow window that was behind the library desk.

“Quickly!” he said, and his voice was so imperative that I scurried across the floor and slipped in behind the gold velvet. It tickled my nose and I tried to press back against the wall to get away from it. The earl arranged the folds so that they covered my feet.

Thirty seconds later I heard the library door open and a woman’s perfectly modulated, excessively well bred voice said, “There you are, Philip. I must speak to you.”

“Ah, Aunt Agatha. How lovely to see you this fine morning. How may I serve you?”

The exchange between the two people in the room on the other side of the velvet curtain was entirely pleasant and civilized, but I knew instantly that they didn’t like each other.

Lady Winterdale said, “I wish to discuss with you the date for Catherine’s come-out ball.”

“Sit down, Aunt Agatha,” Lord Winterdale said pleasantly.

I thought darkly that it was nice to see he didn’t keep every female standing while he sat and stared at them.

There was the rustle of silk skirts as his aunt presumably took one of the chairs in the room. Once she was seated, the earl said blandly, “I appreciate your seeking my advice, of course, but I hardly see what the date of Catherine’s come-out ball has to do with me.”

“Philip! Of course it has something to do with you! We are having it at Mansfield House, after all.”

Silence from Lord Winterdale.

“Aren’t we?” Lady Winterdale asked sharply.

“I was not aware of such a plan,” Lord Winterdale said.

“Of course we are having it here,” Lady Winterdale snapped. “Mansfield House is one of the few houses in London that has a ballroom. I had Eugenia’s come-out ball here, and I fully intend to have Catherine’s as well.”

“Ah, but when you had Eugenia’s come-out ball, my uncle was Lord Winterdale. Now I am. There is, you will admit, a difference.”

This time the silence was on Lady Winterdale’s part.

Finally she said, “Philip, are you telling me that you will not allow me to have Catherine’s come-out ball in this house?”

She sounded as if she might explode.

“I didn’t say that,” Lord Winterdale returned. “Precisely.”

“Then what did you say? Precisely?”

Lord Winterdale appeared to veer off in another direction. “I have just received a letter from an old friend of my father’s. He tells me that one of my father’s friends, Lord Weldon, has died recently and left his two daughters penniless. In his will, Lord Weldon unfortunately named me to be their guardian.”

“You!” Lady Winterdale said. I could hear the horror in her voice. “You are twenty-six years old. You are not fit to be anyone’s guardian, Philip. You can’t even govern yourself.”

Lord Winterdale said sarcastically, “Believe me, my dear aunt, compared to Lord Weldon, I am a paragon of virtue.”

I could hear silk rustle as Lady Winterdale shifted in her chair. “Well, what has all this to do with Catherine’s come-out ball, pray?”

“This is what it has to do with Catherine’s come-out ball,” said Lord Winterdale. “I want you to present Miss Newbury with Catherine, Aunt Agatha, and take her around with you during the Season.”

Lady Winterdale’s reply was crisp and immediate. “This is impossible. Utterly impossible. I know who Weldon was, and he was almost as disreputable as your late father. I want nothing to do with any daughter of his.”

I could feel my hands ball into fists. The fact that she was right about Papa did not make me feel any less inclined to hit her.

“That is unfortunate,” Lord Winterdale was saying regretfully. “If you would present Miss Newbury, I was thinking that you and Catherine might move into Mansfield House for the Season. That, of course, would save you the cost of renting a house. You would also have the use of the Winterdale town carriages as well, which would be another savings.”

I could almost hear Lady Winterdale toting up sums in her head. Then she said in a hard voice, “Let us get our facts straight, Philip. If I present this Miss—what is her name?”

“Miss Newbury. I do not yet know her first name.”

“If I present this Miss Newbury of yours, then you will allow Catherine and me to live, rent-free, in Mansfield House for the duration of the Season.”

“That is correct.”

“You will allow me to use the ballroom to introduce Catherine to the
ton
.”

“That is correct.”

Another rustle of silk. Then, “Who will pay for the come-out ball?”

“I will,” said Lord Winterdale.

Lady Winterdale heaved a regretful sigh. “It just isn’t feasible, Philip. Weldon died quite recently, I believe, and the girl must be in mourning for at least six months. It is impossible for her to have a Season this year.”

“I realize that this would be true under normal circumstances,” Lord Winterdale said, “but the circumstances surrounding Miss Newbury’s situation are scarcely normal. She is virtually destitute, Aunt Agatha. If she does not find a husband, she will find herself thrown on the parish.”

Well, I didn’t think things were quite as bad as that, but it certainly didn’t hurt for Lord Winterdale to make my plight sound as pitiful as possible.

“I am certain that if you throw the mantle of your enormous consequence over her, that the
ton
will overlook her lack of mourning,” Winterdale said coaxingly.

“I don’t know about that,” Lady Winterdale said dubiously. “The rules for mourning are very strict.”

“As you said earlier, everyone knows the worthlessness of Weldon. Surely there will be some pity for his daughter. Particularly if you sponsor her, my dear aunt.”

“Hmmm,” said Lady Winterdale. It sounded to me as if she were beginning to come around. “What does she look like? Is she presentable?”

“I believe she will be reasonably presentable once her wardrobe is spruced up a little,” Lord Winterdale returned blandly.

Reasonably presentable indeed!

I heard Lady Winterdale get up and begin to walk around the room. From what I had heard during the course of this interview, I didn’t care for her any more than Lord Winterdale appeared to, but I began to pray that she would accede to this scheme of his. I wouldn’t mind posing as his ward if it would get me what I wanted.

At last Lady Winterdale said, “What a mercy it is that I did not put a deposit down on that house in Park Lane.”

“It must have been meant,” Lord Winterdale said smoothly.

“Well then,” Lady Winterdale said briskly, “as the Season opens in a few weeks, Philip, I think it will be important for Catherine and me to move into Mansfield House as soon as possible. We have a great deal of shopping to do.”

“By all means, Aunt Agatha. You will let me know the date, and I will arrange to have Miss Newbury move in at about the same time. I am certain that she and Catherine will get along splendidly.”

“I suppose I shall have to take her shopping with us,” Lady Winterdale said sourly.

“If you don’t wish to be ashamed of her, certainly you will have to take her shopping.”

I was irate. I thought the dress I was wearing was perfectly acceptable. Certainly it was in style in Sussex.

“Who is going to foot the bill for these clothes, Philip?”

“You may have the bills sent to me,” came the easy reply.

“What about Catherine’s new clothes?” Lady Winterdale said tentatively. “You know how slender is my widow’s portion.”

“My dear aunt, my uncle left you very well provided for, as well you know. However, I will be happy to foot the bill for Catherine’s clothes as well.”

“Well, well, well.” Lady Winterdale sounded excessively happy about all of this. “I should like the ball to be at the beginning of the Season, Philip, so that Catherine is immediately distinguished from the rest of the girls who will be crowding the marriage mart this year.”

“Choose the date, Aunt, and the ballroom will be at your service,” said Winterdale.

I could scarcely believe that I was hearing all of this. Things were proceeding beyond my wildest dreams.

After a little more discussion between aunt and nephew in regard to the come out, Lady Winterdale made her departure and I was allowed to step out from behind my drapery. I stood there in front of it and looked at him.

“You heard what transpired, Miss Newbury,” Lord Winterdale said blandly. “Are you satisfied?”

“I am very satisfied, my lord,” I said slowly. “What is it that you wish me to do now?”

“Where are you staying at the moment?” he asked.

“Grillon’s.”

“Well you can’t remain there alone. Nor can you come here until my aunt is installed to chaperone you. I suggest that you go home and wait until I write to tell you that it is proper for you to return to Mansfield House.”

I nodded.

“Where is Weldon Hall?”

“It is in Sussex, my lord.”

“You must give me the direction.” He moved to his desk, sat down and picked up a pen. I gave him the direction to Weldon Hall and he wrote it down.

“I don’t think that it will take very long for Aunt Agatha to move in,” he said ironically, “so I would be prepared to return quickly.”

I nodded.

He blotted his paper and looked up at me. “Well, I think that will be all, Miss Newbury,” he said. He did not get out of his chair. “By the way, what is your first name?”

“It is Georgiana, my lord.”

He nodded. “Miss Georgiana Newbury.”

He wrote it down, as if he would forget it if he did not do so.

I said coldly, “I have been wondering what caused you to change your mind so abruptly, my lord. You were ready to show me the door, and then all of a sudden I was hiding behind the drapery and discovering that I was your ward.”

“I did it to annoy my aunt, Miss Newbury,” he said with a devilish lift of those reckless eyebrows. “I confess that I expect to derive a good deal of pleasure from seeing her fury this Season as she is forced to escort you around with Catherine.”

I thought that Lady Winterdale was a woman who had lost both her husband and her son under tragic circumstances and surely deserved a little more consideration than was being shown her by her nephew. However, since I was the beneficiary of his heartlessness, I held my tongue.

I said instead, “It sounds to me as if you will be spending a great deal of money on this presentation. Is it worth it?”

“Oh yes, Miss Newbury,” he said. “Believe me, it is.”

CHAPTER
three

I
RETURNED TO
G
RILLON
’
S IN A VERY PECULIAR FRAME
of mind. I should have been delighted, I thought. After all, had I not achieved everything I had come to London to achieve? I was going to make my come out in society under the sponsorship of a lady of impeccable connections and reputation. I would have an opportunity to meet a great many eligible young men, and surely one of them would like me well enough to make me an offer, and surely I would like him well enough to feel that living with him would not be an eternal penance.

I
was
delighted, I told myself. But the truth was that I was also infuriated. I had never, in all my life, met anyone who had so instantly set up my back as the Earl of Winterdale.

Really, he was quite the rudest man I had ever met. Writing my name down as if otherwise he would forget it!

Why, he had not even inquired about how I had traveled to London. Doubtless I would have to return home on the stage, and then, when he deigned to write to inform me that the time was appropriate for me to return, I would be forced to travel back to Grosvenor Square on the stage as well. With all the clothes that he had insulted dragged along with me inside my portmanteau.

With one part of my mind I knew that I was being unreasonable, that it was unfair to expect a man whom one was blackmailing to behave toward one as if one were a lady. But the fact remained that I thought he was insufferable.

The rest of the afternoon stretched out before me emptily, and I decided that rather than kick my heels in a boring hotel room, Maria and I should see some of London. I particularly wanted to see Westminster Cathedral, but Maria was so eager to view Madame Tussaud’s wax collection, which was presently being exhibited in London, that I didn’t have the heart to deny her, and we went there. I, after all, would be returning to the city. Maria would probably never see London again in her life.

The full-sized wax figures of famous historical characters, displayed in lavish costumes, were utterly amazing. Maria and I had a grand time, oohing and aahing at the astonishingly lifelike representations, until an odiously intrusive man, with an oily, ungentleman-like manner, began to talk to me and would not go away.

“Is this fellow bothering you, ma’am?” I heard a soft, masculine voice say from behind me.

I turned to find myself looking into the hazel eyes of a young gentleman dressed in the blue morning coat and buff pantaloons of the upper classes.

“I ain’t bothering the lady,” the odious man said. “I’m just pointing out some of the best parts of the exhibit to her.”

“I told you that I did not wish to speak to you, sir, and you would not go away,” I said coldly. “You most certainly are bothering me.”

“Take yourself off, then, and leave the lady alone,” the newcomer said in a commanding, aristocratic accent.

After a moment’s hesitation, the odious one slunk off, and the gentlemanly young man turned to me with a very nice smile. “So young and lovely a lady should not be at a public exhibition without a gentleman escort, ma’am. If you have your carriage with you, I will undertake to escort you to it safely.”

It was very nice to hear oneself called a young and lovely lady, particularly when one had only just been called
reasonably presentable
by other obnoxious parties.

“I am afraid I did not come by carriage, sir,” I said regretfully. “My maid and I took a hackney cab.”

“Then you must allow me to fetch a hackney for you now.” He must have seen the resistance on my face, because he added hastily, “That is, if you have seen the entire exhibition?”

“Well . . . I believe Maria wished to look at the figures of the Roman emperors,” I said.

“Then allow me to escort you,” my rescuer said immediately. “My name is Sloan, ma’am. Lord Henry Sloan.”

I held out my hand. “How do you do, Lord Henry,” I said graciously. “I am Miss Georgiana Newbury.”

“Miss Newbury,” he returned with a charming smile. “I am honored to make your acquaintance.”

The rest of the afternoon was extremely agreeable. Lord Henry was a very pleasant young man, and he had many interesting and amusing tales to tell of the historical figures featured by Madame Tussaud in her collection.

He seemed to be delighted when I told him that I would be making my come out this Season.

“That means I will be seeing you again,” he said. “I reside at my father’s house during the Season and we shall be forever running into each other at balls and things.”

I wasn’t quite sure who Lord Henry’s father was, but I didn’t like to betray my ignorance. Fortunately, he clarified the matter for me almost immediately.

“My father is the Duke of Faircastle, you know.”

“Oh,” I said faintly. “Of course.”

“And who will be presenting you, Miss Newbury?” he asked in the nicest possible way.

We were standing waiting for the hackney Lord Henry had summoned to cross the street to us, and I looked down to smooth an imaginary wrinkle from my skirt.

“Lady Winterdale,” I mumbled.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Lady Winterdale,” I said more clearly.

“Good God,” he said.

I looked up. I met his nice, ordinary hazel eyes, and said, “I am Lord Winterdale’s ward, you see, and he has asked Lady Winterdale to present me along with her daughter, Lady Catherine.”

Lord Henry stared at me. “You are Winterdale’s
ward
?”

“Yes,” I said stonily.

“And he has actually inveigled Lady Winterdale into presenting you?”

“Yes,” I said again. “You see, my father left my sister and me virtually penniless, Lord Henry, and consequently I must marry. Lord Winterdale was very kind, and he persuaded his aunt to present me, even though I should technically be in mourning for at least six months.”

“I wonder how the devil Winterdale managed to do that?” Lord Henry murmured. He answered himself almost immediately. “He must have offered to foot all the bills.”

I could feel the color flush into my cheeks. “As a matter of fact, he did.”

Lord Henry grinned. It was a pleasant smile, not wicked, like the smile of another person I could name.

“I can foresee that we can look forward to a very interesting Season this year,” Lord Henry said lightly. “Ah, Miss Newbury, here is your hackney now. Allow me to assist you inside.”

Maria went first, and I followed. When once we were established inside, Lord Henry lifted his hand to close the door. Before he did, however, he leaned inside and said, “Allow me to give you a piece of advice, Miss Newbury. Or perhaps I might instead call it a warning. Lord Winterdale is never kind.”

He withdrew his shoulders from the carriage and closed the door. “Grillon’s,” I heard him tell the driver, and the cab moved off.

Lord Henry raised his hat to me as the cab went by.

* * *

When I walked into the front hall of Grillon’s the desk clerk told me that a message had arrived for me two hours earlier. I took it up to my room and unfolded it there. It read:

My carriage will call for you tomorrow morning at eight o’clock to take you back to Sussex. Winterdale.

When I had left Mansfield House this morning I had been vastly annoyed that he had not made any arrangements for my travel. Now I was annoyed that he had made arrangements without consulting me.

I am usually a very reasonable person. I didn’t know why this man had managed to have such an irritating effect on me, but I told myself that I was going to have to learn to curb my feelings. If I was going to live under the same roof with Lord Winterdale during the two months that the Season lasted, I was going to have to learn to ignore him.

Unfortunately, he did not seem to be the sort of man it was easy to ignore.

My return journey to Sussex was far more pleasant than my original journey had been. Lord Winterdale’s coach was well sprung and the velvet squabs inside were deliciously comfortable. The food when we stopped was very different as well: a good soup and fresh fish at one inn and perfectly cooked roast lamb at another. We even had time to finish our meals before we had to get back on the road.

I had two weeks at home before the letter arrived from Lord Winterdale informing me that his chaise would be arriving in two days’ time to bring me back to Mansfield House in London. Rather to my own surprise, I was relieved to receive the summons. It was becoming increasingly difficult to answer the questions of my friends about Lady Winterdale’s sudden desire to give me a Season.

Nanny had been shocked because I was not mourning my father.

Anna was miserable because I was going away again.

Sir Charles and Lady Stanton were very worried that I was going to be taken advantage of by Lord Winterdale.

“I will tell you bluntly, Georgie, that he does not have a good reputation,” Sir Charles had told me when I had gone to visit them to impart my news. “He inherited the title a year or so ago after his uncle and his cousin were unexpectedly killed. His own father was a dissolute bounder who dragged him around the cesspots of Europe all the while the boy was growing up. He’s respectable now, of course. Any man with the Winterdale wealth and title would be respectable. But I would not like to see any daughter of mine living under his roof.”

We were sitting in the parlor at Allenby Park, having tea. At least, Lady Stanton and I were having tea. Sir Charles was having something stronger.

“What about Lord Winterdale’s mother?” I asked Sir Charles. “Did she travel around Europe with him as well?”

Sir Charles poured himself a little more hock. “His mother died when he was quite young, I believe. I don’t know why his father didn’t give the boy to some female relative to look after, but apparently he didn’t.”

Lady Stanton offered me another piece of bread and butter. “I remember that there was some scandal attached to the marriage,” she offered. “His mother was only the daughter of a country clergyman or something.” She frowned. “I seem to recall that there was an elopement.” She folded her lips. “Suffice it to say, Georgiana, that I do not think it is a wise move for you to put yourself under the power of a man like that.”

I put my teacup back on the small mahogany piecrust table in front of my chair. “I am not going to be alone with him,” I said. “His aunt and his cousin will be there, after all, and his aunt will be in charge of me. I will be very well chaperoned.”

Sir Charles scowled. “You are a very pretty girl, Georgie. Who knows what the scoundrel might have secretly planned?”

I folded my hands in my lap. “Sir Charles,” I said patiently, “as things stand, I have very few choices. I must find a home for Anna and me, and in order to find a home, I must first find a husband. You must agree that I have a better chance of finding someone to marry me in London than I do in our small village in Sussex.”

We looked at each other. We all knew that Frank wanted to marry me, and we all knew that they did not want him to.

“You should marry your cousin,” Lady Stanton said. Her fresh-colored countrywoman’s face was set sternly. “It would not take very much to bring him up to scratch, Georgiana. We all could see that clearly when he visited Weldon Hall last Christmas.”

“I think my cousin is repulsive,” I said firmly. “He kissed me last Christmas, and I almost got sick to my stomach.”

Lady Stanton frowned and put down her teacup with a small click. “He should not have done that.”

“Well, he did. And it was disgusting.” I took another bite of bread and butter.

“It takes a while for a young girl to grow accustomed to a man, Georgiana,” Lady Stanton said.

“I didn’t at all mind Frank kissing me,” I said boldly. “In fact, I rather liked it.”

The squire groaned, got to his feet and went to look out the window. Lady Stanton gazed at me in obvious distress.

“Don’t worry,” I said to them. “I am not going to marry Frank.”

“It is not that we don’t like you, Georgie,” Sir Charles said, turning to look at me. “It is just that all of my own money is tied up in Allenby Park, which as you know will be going to Edward. Frank needs a wife with some money of her own if he is to make a career in the military.”

“I know that,” I said.

“I am afraid that your lack of a portion might affect your chances in London as well,” Lady Stanton said worriedly.

I knew this and I had already begun to think that perhaps I could squeeze a few thousand pounds out of Lord Winterdale for a dowry.

How quickly one becomes accustomed to a life of crime.

“I have some of Mother’s jewelry that was left to me,” I lied. “Perhaps I could sell that.”

The Stantons sighed. They had been good friends to me for many years, and they didn’t like this scheme at all, but they really didn’t have any alternatives to offer.

“If for any reason at all you find that things are not going as you think they should, write to me and I will come and fetch you home immediately,” Sir Charles told me.

I smiled at him. “Thank you,” I said, grateful for his kind offer but at the same time bitterly aware that Weldon Hall was not home to me anymore.

* * *

The night before I left Weldon Hall I burned all the papers relating to my father’s blackmailing scheme—including the papers incriminating Lord Winterdale. I had always known that I would never use Papa’s evidence against any of his victims. If my threat had not succeeded with Lord Winterdale, I would have burned the evidence anyway.

I then penned short notes to each of the four victims I had not approached personally. I thought it would be sensible to keep the notes as uncomplicated and as unrevealing as possible and so I wrote:

Dear (here I put in the appropriate name), You will be relieved to know that a certain file of papers which I discovered in my father’s desk after his death has been disposed of. Very truly yours, Georgiana Newbury.

I regarded this note and was pleased with my own delicacy. I had written enough to reassure the victim, but if by chance the note should fall into the wrong hands, my words were enigmatic enough to keep the victim safe from exposure.