Read The School for Brides Online
Authors: Cheryl Ann Smith
The School for Brides (20 page)
Noelle smirked. Eva very much hated it when she smirked. “Aunt Penn is my godmother. She will not say no to me.”
Eva’s eyes widened. “Lady Pennington is your godmother?” she said dumbly. This association with her sister was getting worse. Eva hadn’t known how well connected her father had been. Mother rarely talked about that aspect of his life. She liked to speak only of the times when he was with them.
At Noelle’s nod, she leaned back and sighed. “You think she will not question the arrival of this relative she has never met? I hear she is a dragon with the ability to expel smoke out of her nose.” The situation had the makings of a disaster. “What of your mother? She will take one look into my eyes, Father’s eyes, and realize the deception.”
“Oh, Aunt Penn isn’t as fire-breathing as is rumored. She can be a dear.” Crinoline rustled as Noelle stood. She put her palms together and tapped her fingers. “Mother will be in Bath. She’s felt poorly of late, suffering with headaches, and is in seclusion. Aunt Penn may consider herself an expert on families of the Ton, but she doesn’t know everyone. Father has cousins scattered all the way into Scotland.”
Though she knew Noelle’s idea was absurd, the thought of attending a ball caused a stir of intrigue inside Eva. She’d never attended a party, much less a ball the magnitude of the Pennington ball. Most of the newspapers called the yearly event the official start of the Season. Everyone who mattered would be there, polished to shine.
It was a world closed off to Eva and her ilk. If the Ton knew her history, they’d have her drawn and quartered.
She lifted her nose and frowned at Noelle. “No one will believe such an outlandish story. No, I will not attend, no matter how deeply you scowl. If there is even a small chance of discovery, well, I cannot risk it.”
Slippered footfalls moved back and forth as Noelle began to pace. Eva’s stomach tightened. She understood enough now about her sister to know that Noelle didn’t like to be told no. She had a determined look in her eyes that worried Eva. She braced herself for a fight.
“Who besides the housekeeper and Harold know about your mother’s history?” Noelle asked.
“No one.”
More pacing. Her hands became very animated when she was plotting something. Eva wondered if anyone had ever told her no and lived to tell.
Noelle stopped and spun to face Eva. “Then how could anyone find out? Your mother has virtually vanished from this earth, and it’s been more than ten years since she was seen publicly on Father’s arm.” Noelle stopped, and her eyes brightened. “You will spend the weekend with me at the town house so your position as my visiting cousin will be established and accepted. Then you will disappear back into the northern wilds as quickly as you appeared, with none the wiser.” She danced about as if she had just invented a cure for the plague. “It is brilliant.”
Eva knew her chances of escaping the plot were thin. And spending time in her father’s London home would be glorious. She’d always hidden herself, tucked away; lingering outside the bright light of society and his legitimate family. To spend time surrounded by his things would make her feel close to him again.
“What of the current earl?”
Noelle smiled. “Uncle Arthur is in India studying plants and birds. If he had his druthers, he’d never return to England. His man of affairs pays the bills, and Mother oversees everything else. The staff aside, we will have the house to ourselves.”
Though everything inside her knew she was standing in front of a speeding coach, Eva could no longer summon the will to throw her body from the path and save herself. Her long-squelched sense of adventure wouldn’t allow it. She’d just have to pray for good luck.
“There will be hundreds of guests,” Eva managed weakly, her will crumbling. “Perhaps I’d be lost in the crush and spend the evening unnoticed if I wear something plain . . .” She let her voice trail off as Noelle’s shriek damaged her hearing. For a Lady, her sister didn’t always act as a proper blue blood should. Eva ought to give her a copy of Lady Watersham’s book to read when she wasn’t plotting mischief.
“I have just the gown for you, Eva. I bought it yesterday.”
Eva glowered. “You were awfully certain I would agree to this madness, sister.” She took one look in Noelle’s bright eyes, and her stomach dropped to her toes.
A
fter Noelle took off for home to see to the gown, Eva carefully portioned out part of Father’s monthly stipend to Cook for supplies and to pay the small staff. She set aside a handful of shillings and a few other coins from her school earnings, what she could afford, to make a modest payment to His Grace. It would take years to settle the debts, but she couldn’t face the prospect of owing him forever. The weight of the financial burden was bearable if she reminded herself that one day, she’d be free of him.
fter Noelle took off for home to see to the gown, Eva carefully portioned out part of Father’s monthly stipend to Cook for supplies and to pay the small staff. She set aside a handful of shillings and a few other coins from her school earnings, what she could afford, to make a modest payment to His Grace. It would take years to settle the debts, but she couldn’t face the prospect of owing him forever. The weight of the financial burden was bearable if she reminded herself that one day, she’d be free of him.
She’d met with the investigator, Mister Crawford, and made a visit to Cheapside. The women were now as worried about Yvette as she was, and Eva assured them she had hired someone to look for the missing woman.
Pauline had wrung her hands. “I think she’s in danger, Miss Eva.” She refused to meet Eva’s eyes and examined the tips of her slippers. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I know she’s in danger.”
Eva was startled, and the women all stared at the buxom blonde. Her bottom lip quivered. Pauline seemed on the brink of an emotional breakdown. “Have you a reason to believe so, Pauline?”
The courtesan nodded slowly, and tears welled in her eyes. “The night she left, when everyone else was asleep, I stumbled into her in the hallway upstairs. She was wearing her cloak and carrying a small satchel.” Pauline sniffed and dabbed an eye with her knuckle. “It was after midnight.”
Eva handed her a handkerchief. “Where was she going?”
Pauline blew her nose. “She swore me not to tell. But under the circumstances, I must.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “She wanted some things from her town house. Her lover was very generous after the beatings. Every time he hurt her, he’d buy her a trinket to assuage his guilt. She’d somehow heard he was at his country home for the rest of the month. She believed it would be safe to return if she slipped in and out unnoticed.”
“Oh, Pauline,” Eva said. Her heart twisted, and she put a hand over it. “You should have told me right away.”
The girl sobbed quietly into her hands. Rose circled an arm around her shoulder and looked hopelessly at Eva.
Eva lifted her eyes to Harold, who stood in the doorway, his face grim. She took no comfort in his expression. He was as concerned as they all were. She wanted to send him off to pummel the mysterious lover, but had no clues to who he was or where to find him.
She suspected the situation was dire. If Yvette had been misinformed and her protector discovered her sneaking around the town house, there was no telling what he might do to his runaway courtesan.
“I never noticed any bruises,” Abigail said softly and turned her gaze on Harold. There were gray smudges under her eyes as she seemed to silently beg him for help. Worry over Yvette had taken a toll on her, on all the women.
Sophie nodded. “I once had a lover who was rough. I never saw any signs of it on Yvette. If not for our shared confidences, I’d never have known.”
“None of us suspected,” Eva said. She turned back to Harold. If only he had been notified of Yvette’s dangerous plan immediately, he could have stopped her. “Harold, is it truly possible this lover has kidnapped her?”
He crossed his arms and shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything. If she’s being held somewhere in London, gossip will find its way to me.”
In all the time she’d known Harold, Eva had never once questioned his loyalty or asked him for information about his past. Now, as she looked into his hard expression, she wondered if she should have used more vigilance when she accepted this man so willingly into her life. It was easy to forget that some men had darkness in their souls that could be deadly when they were crossed; a darkness that was hidden until it was too late.
Still, even now, when she saw cold anger etched into his features, she knew he’d never hurt her and her courtesans. The man who’d kidnapped and possibly killed Yvette was the one in danger. Harold took his position as their protector seriously. If anyone dared hurt one of his flock, he’d see them punished.
That was what worried Eva.
“I’m afraid when we do find her, there will be little we can do against the culprit,” Abigail said simply. She turned away from Harold. “There are different rules for those with a title and those without. Even if he murdered her, if her lover is high-ranking, he will not be punished. His friends will do what they can to cover up the crime. No one will care about a dead courtesan.”
The bitterness in Abigail’s voice shocked Eva. She wondered about the young woman’s history. Truthfully, Eva knew nothing about her, about any of the women, really. Just a few tidbits of shared information casually dropped into conversation. Eva rarely became close to any of her charges. Once they left her care, they began new lives and put their pasts behind them. And Eva was part of those pasts.
Abigail had kept to herself and followed her instructions without complaint. Eva often wondered how the quiet beauty had become a courtesan and if her anger at noblemen came from experience. Whenever one of the other women had pressed for details of her life, she’d quietly changed the topic.
“It’s true, Miss Eva,” Sophie said. “I once knew a girl who was the lover of Lord Applegate. She vanished without word to anyone. There were rumors he’d killed her in a jealous fit after he caught her speaking with another man. There was a brief investigation, then the matter was dropped. To this day, she is still missing.”
Eva wanted to dispute the outlandish charges. However, there was truth in it all. Men like His Grace had to be caught strangling someone in the center of Grosvenor Square, in front of a hundred witnesses, before any justice would be meted out.
A grim prospect indeed.
Eva looked at her charges, and there was deep worry on all faces. Though the five courtesans were not all friends, they’d developed a bond over the last several weeks while working toward a common goal. Now, one was missing and they wanted to know the truth.
“We must all hope for Yvette’s safety,” Eva said. She had to distract them. “My, ah, friend assures me the investigator is excellent in his profession. He will find her.” Eva knew just how competent Mister Crawford was. He’d flushed out most of her secrets. When he was finished, Mister Crawford would know what kind of jam Yvette ate on her toast and what her favorite perfume was. If she had come to harm, they would know soon. “Why don’t we go out into the garden, ladies, and have tea? It is a lovely day.”
D
o you really think Yvette is alive?” Harold asked hours later when they arrived home. He took Eva’s cloak and hung it on a peg by the door. Sounds filtered from the kitchen, where the evening meal was being cooked, and the scent of cinnamon drifted through the household. Eva took no comfort from the familiar sounds and smells. The day had been exceedingly trying.
o you really think Yvette is alive?” Harold asked hours later when they arrived home. He took Eva’s cloak and hung it on a peg by the door. Sounds filtered from the kitchen, where the evening meal was being cooked, and the scent of cinnamon drifted through the household. Eva took no comfort from the familiar sounds and smells. The day had been exceedingly trying.
The speculation about Yvette’s fate had not been squelched by her attempts to get the women focused on other topics. There was a constant undercurrent of apprehension lingering in all of them. Until Yvette’s fate was established, there would be no peace for anyone.
Eva lifted her face to his. A common concern over the missing courtesan had given them a brief and tenuous truce today. Still, she knew Harold hadn’t gotten over his displeasure with her. His frustration still simmered beneath his stoic surface.
“I don’t know.” She turned and led him to the parlor. “My greatest hope is to find her well. However, I am worried. If her protector is a violent man, he may have punished her for trying to leave him. I fear the depths of his anger.”
Pulling off her bonnet and the pins from of her hair, she removed the wig and spectacles and set both on a low table. Harold crouched and banked the fire. The glow of the flames took away some of her chill as she moved to the settee and settled on its overstuffed cushions. In her home, she normally felt safe from the ills of the city outside its walls.
If not for her father’s generosity, she could well have ended up like Yvette, like any of her courtesans. But the press of disaster always lingered now, with His Grace holding her debts over her head. These walls had been breached time and again, and she could not build them high enough to keep His Grace out of her life.
“I am to blame for this,” Harold said, and stood. “Had I been vigilant, she would not have gone off alone.”
“How were you to know of her plans?” Eva protested. “You cannot be with our courtesans constantly. They must make their own decisions. Even had you suspected anything, she would have found a way to sneak off. You couldn’t chain her to her bed.”
“If I wasn’t occupied with other matters,” he said simply, “I would have spent more time with the women and sensed something untoward.”
He didn’t accuse her directly, but the implication weighed on her shoulders. In his opinion, if not for her relationship with His Grace, Harold might have thwarted Yvette’s escape.
Tiny hairs prickled the back of her neck. “You will not blame me for what has happened.” She couldn’t believe Harold could be so cruel. Hurt filled her. This could not be just about whom she bedded. There was a deeper reason for his cutting anger. Something she could not see. “Yvette is responsible for sneaking out in the middle of the night.”
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