Valerie King (8 page)

Robert was fairly shaking with rage. There was so much in this impudent, impertinent speech to cause his ire to explode in his head that he scarcely knew where to begin. He was about to give her the dressing down she so richly deserved when suddenly she smiled and spoke, “Yes, yes, I know you wish to feed me to the dogs, but indeed, if you will only listen to me I believe you will not find my purposes quite so abhorrent.” She dropped her voice to a whisper, but still she smiled, “Besides, if you ring a peal over my head, there is a good chance that the children will hear us quarreling and I strongly suspect they have heard enough of that to last a lifetime.”

How much he despised her warm smiles, especially when they were coupled with rational thought and precise truth. “Very well,” he said between clenched teeth. “To the garden we shall go . . . at once!”

Robert followed Lucy out of doors and in a low voice began, “I have never known a lady so presumptuous as to have extended an invitation she had no right to give, and that to a man of, of, of—” He could not complete his thought, for to speak of Valmaston’s reputation to a complete innocent was unthinkable.

“Do save your breath to cool your porridge, Robert. I can see that you are overset but let us retire to the maze that we might brangle in private.” She cast a meaningful glance up at the windows.

Once more he clenched his teeth but refrained from speaking, at least until they had reached the depths of the horridly overgrown maze. His face was stinging from at least two branches of yew Lucy had let flip back into his face. Finally at a clearing, when he threw up his arm to ward off the striking of yet another branch, he took strong hold of her arm. “Is that necessary?” he cried.

Lucy began to laugh. “Of course it is, for I know very well you mean to come the crab with me. However, we are now free to speak, so let me understand you. In your office you were play-acting when you said that of course I must invite Lord Valmaston?”

“Yes, I was following your lead! Lucy, I ask again, how could you—”

“But what possible harm can come of inviting Valmaston to stay for a few days beneath your roof?”

He stared at her utterly aghast. “And you accused me of stupidity!” he cried. How was it possible she could imagine it would be at all acceptable for a rogue of Valmaston’s stamp to be welcome in his house? He could think of only one thing that would give satisfaction in this moment: to box Lucy Stiles’s ears! Unfortunately, he was a gentleman of some conscience and regardless of how much he knew he would be justified in doing so he showed great strength of character in restraining himself.

“I see you have at last taken command of yourself,” she said, smiling in that maddening fashion of hers.

He growled. “Valmaston! Of all the wretched things to have done, I cannot believe you would have invited him to my house! Have you gone mad?”

“Of course not,” she responded, lacing her fingers in front of her. “Quite the opposite. As I was saying before, I believe I have shown great good sense, and if you had a little yourself you would have done something similar any time this twelvemonth past.”

He took deep breaths. He forced his rage to diminish, for it would do no good at all to simply keep arguing with her. She seemed to believe she had acted rightly, perhaps even prudently. “Do you have any comprehension at all just what sort of man Valmaston is?”

At that she grew very somber. “The best of friends,” she stated firmly, and so sincerely that he was taken aback. She continued, “He was always a perfect gentleman with me and over the years he grew very dear to my father, I assure you. Our estates marched beside one another in Somerset, but surely you knew as much.”

He shook his head. “I did not know you accounted him as a friend.”

“He called often, at least once a fortnight when he was in the West Country, and he was especially attentive to me when my father died. So you see, whatever his reputation may at one time have been and perhaps even still is, I will always consider him and call him my friend.”

Robert narrowed his eyes. There was no dissimulation in her expression. She meant what she said. A terrible suspicion pierced his heart. What if Valmaston had worked his wiles on Lucy? What if she had already lost her heart to him?

“Tell me you are not in love with him,” he cried, unable to keep quiet on the subject.

“I shall not rise to that fly,” she returned, this time folding her arms over her chest.

“You ought not to allow yourself to be swayed in any manner by that man. If you only knew half—”

“I do not give a fig for gossip,” she cried, cutting him off, “whether based in truth or not! He is my friend and I will stand by that.”

“But he has not invaded your heart, at least tell me that much!”

She seemed rather shocked and lowered her arms. “Nothing of the sort.”

He breathed much easier. “You are such an innocent.”

“I am not a chit just out of the schoolroom, Robert. You do not need to protect me, if that is what you are thinking. And let me say this, that if my heart did lean in his direction, I would let it lean all the way! He is a great man. You do not do him justice in these opinions.”

“I will grant that he does serve well in Parliament, but we are not speaking of such things.”

“Robert, pray be at ease. He is needed here and I would trust him with my life. I promise you that if I thought for a moment any of your sisters would be endangered by his attendance at Anne and Alice’s come-out ball, or a brief stay beneath your roof, believe me I would not have invited him.”

He fell silent, pondering all that she had said. Finally he asked, “Why is he
needed
here? You said he was needed here. To what purpose?”

She shook her head as though trying to make him out. “You truly do not see in which direction my purposes tend?” she asked.

“Only that you seem to want Valmaston here with you,” he said. Again he feared that, regardless of what she had said, her heart was not indifferent to the earl.

“Then let us just say that my sole object was to make certain that Anne and Alice had their ball—or are you not amazed at how reasonable Lady Sandifort became once she learned that I had invited the earl?”

He opened his mouth to speak and then he understood. “Oh,” he murmured. “I begin to see.” He sincerely doubted, however, that Lucy had guessed at the entire truth as to why Valmaston’s presence would so greatly appeal to Lady Sandifort. Of course she would have designs on the earl, but he saw something more, something that had provoked her into refusing the ball in the first place. In truth, Lady Sandifort had been angry with him, but this he could not say to Lucy, certainly not without receiving a host of questions on the subject, which he had no desire to answer.

“Robert, I suppose I am asking you to trust me. Can you?”

He was surprised by the question. “A little, I suppose,” he responded, but there was an odd voice from deep within his mind that said,
you trust her a great deal more than that.
He found himself shocked.

She smiled. “I suppose
a little
will have to do then. Let me just say that I have a profound reason for requiring Valmaston’s presence here at Aldershaw.”

“So I have apprehended but I do not believe you understand everything.”

“Perhaps not,” she said, “but of one thing I am certain. There will now be a ball whereas yesterday there would not.”

At that he smiled. “To argue that point would be fruitless.”

“So it would,” she said cheerfully.

“Then a ball there will be and Valmaston shall reside beneath my roof. Good God!”

“Then all that remains is to settle the date for the ball. I shall consult with Lady Sandifort. Will that be agreeable to you?”

He shook his head. “As much as any of this can be!”

 

 

Lucy returned to the house and discovered that Lady Sandifort had already spoken with Cook, and the date of the ball, which would of course include a supper for which Cook would be responsible, had been set for the third Tuesday in August. Armed with this information, Lucy retired to her bedchamber and opened her writing desk. She penned a long letter to Lord Valmaston explaining her need of him at Aldershaw, something she knew would come as a complete surprise to him, for she had indeed told more than one whisker about having invited him to Anne and Alice’s come-out ball. How her conscience prickled her! But there was nothing for it—a woman of Lady Sandifort’s unhappy character required measures of the most extreme!

Instead of seeing the letter posted by the mails, however, she walked to the village and hired a man to ride to London and deliver the message personally to the earl’s townhouse in London. She knew he was fixed in the metropolis for several weeks and she only hoped that, after all her machinations, he would be able to attend a ball about which he had not even the smallest awareness. She instructed the rider to await an answer, even giving him sufficient funds for several nights’ lodging should he be required to stay in town until such time as he could receive the response.

Afterward, she went to the local pub and discussed the hiring of laborers with the innkeeper who, by the nature of his profession, was able to direct her to the proper men. Though she did not have her entire fortune at her command, her quarterly allowance was quite generous so that in the end she was able to hire several house servants as well.

Later that evening, in the armory where the family gathered as was the tradition, Lucy informed not Robert but Lady Sandifort as to precisely what she had done, that she had hired laborers and servants to put the house and gardens in order so that the family could be comfortable. She had not dared to look at Robert as she spoke. “I know it was presumptuous of me and impertinent, but it is my gift to Anne and Alice that they might enjoy a proper come-out ball. Of course, had I not already invited Lord Valmaston, I would not have done so.”

Lady Sandifort lifted an approving brow. “You did very right, though I daresay had Robert managed his affairs better he could have long since seen things mended at Aldershaw. But you have done what was right and good.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Only then did she dare to look at Robert to see how he received her news. As she suspected, he was not in the least content with her. His complexion was ruddy, his eyes seemed to bulge a little in their sockets, and the glare he settled upon her face sent a severe shiver down her spine.
In for a penny, in for a pound
, she thought.

Lucy glanced at the others. Henry appeared completely stunned, Hetty not less so. George, however, merely frowned rather heavily.

“We are to have a proper number of upper maids?” Rosamunde asked, glancing around in strong disbelief.

“Yes,” Lucy responded.

“I shall have a bath every night,” she murmured ecstatically. “In rose water.”

Her husband glanced at her, clearly surprised that she would say such a thing. As for the others, several throats were cleared.

Robert rose solemnly to his feet.

Lady Sandifort called out sharply. “Now, Robert, I can see that you mean to give our darling Lucy a dressing down but I wish you will not, for she has meant only what was best for all of us. I take it kindly in her that she has acted on behalf of your sisters and why should she not be of use while she remains here?” She turned to Lucy and offered a beaming smile.

Lucy said, “You have spoken my thoughts precisely. I ought to be of use and I will be.”

Anne regarded Robert anxiously. “Do you mean to forbid our ball? Is that what you were going to say before Lady Sandifort interrupted you?”

Lucy watched a great deal of indecision pass back and forth across his face. “I was,” he said.

“No,” Anne whispered, tears filling her eyes.

Robert turned to Lucy and cast her a scathing look. “I suppose if I refuse now I will be harassed by all the ladies of the house.”

“Yes, you will,” Hetty said, but she was laughing and hurriedly gained her feet to slip her arm through his. “All will be well,” she said. “You must trust that Lucy is doing what ought to be done. Do not worry. We will find some way to repay her for this great kindness.”

“Yes, we will,” Henry cried, also rising to his feet. He crossed the room to quickly possess himself of Lucy’s hands. “You are an angel. I am convinced of it.”

George, seated in a chair near his wife, shook his head. “But these expenses will be very great, indeed! Are you certain, Lucy? I only wish that I could be of use as well, but all my funds are fixed at Baddesley.”

“Do not distress yourself, George. I believe my father would have wished for me to be of use to your family. He loved you all so very much, and you in particular, for he always thought you would have made a very fine officer had your inclination tended in that direction.”

George glanced at his wife and appeared to grow uncomfortable. “Very kind of you to say so. Colonel Stiles was a favorite here at Aldershaw, as you very well know, Cousin.”

“Am I to have no say in this?” Robert inquired strongly.

“No, Brother,” Hetty stated softly. “Lucy is doing what she believes is right and following the dictates of one’s heart is always a proper thing.”

Lucy watched Robert’s shoulders fall and she realized for the first time that he was obviously bearing a rather heavy burden, perhaps heavier than she had yet come to understand.

 

 

Two days later, the rider returned with word from Valmaston. He would be delighted to attend the come-out ball as well as to pass several days at Aldershaw. With this portion of her scheme in motion, Lucy turned her attention to the manor and surrounding grounds.

The next fortnight at Aldershaw saw rapid changes. Three upper maids entered into service and Mr. Quarley was assigned six stout laborers, fine young men used to hard work, to remove years of debris from the orchards, portions of the home wood, and all the areas of the formal gardens both in the front of the house and the back. No part of the estate was left unattended, so that as each morning dawned, Lucy saw improvements that warmed her heart.

Her primary interest was in shaping the leggy shrubs, trees, and overgrown flowerbeds into a reasonable state but not so severely that they would require months of recovery before appearing pretty again. To this end, part of the job of the laborers was to bring water to the garden, a task that required primarily the work of their shoulders as they hauled brimming buckets from the stream by the home wood.

The effect of sufficient water applied beneath a vibrant summer sun was evident day by day and week by week. The lawn recovered quickly and even the bare patches filled in speedily. The entire expanse, both front and back, was kept properly scythed by a seventh man that Robert decided to hire permanently as undergardener to Mr. Quarley. Fortunately for the lawns and the flower beds, summer showers became sufficiently frequent so that within a month Aldershaw had the beginnings of recovery.