Chapter Twenty-One
Jacob should not be feeling surprised. It had happened sooner than he’d expected, and certainly sooner than he had hoped, but it was over.
Margaret had seen him back in his old environment.
She had come to her senses and realised there was no future with a man such as he.
All this proved was what an intelligent, sensible woman he had married.
He looked around the room. Even at this wedding his friends’ behaviour was leaning towards the riotous and he suspected it would not be long before they were encouraged to leave and continue their carousing elsewhere.
Jacob would join them. Margaret had made it clear that was what she assumed he would do, so he would not disappoint and would live up to—or should that be down to?—his deserved reputation.
He just wished he had more enthusiasm for what was starting to seem like an empty, pointless way of filling in time.
He took another glass of champagne from the tray of a passing footman, hoping that would help him get in the mood as he watched Penvale, Fenshaw and Pettigrew begin one of their inevitable drinking games.
Fenshaw spotted him watching their antics and called out something indecipherable, which Jacob chose not to answer. But that didn’t stop him from staggering across the room and slapping an arm around Jacob’s shoulder.
‘Now that this do is coming to an end, we’re planning to go on to a party at Marlborough House. Henry can’t join us tonight, obviously, the poor blighter, but now that you’ve got rid of the old ball and chain there’s nothing to stop you.’
Fenshaw leant in closer, breathing alcohol fumes over Jacob. ‘Quite a number of pretty chorus girls have been asking when Dukie Rosedale will be returning, so you can spend the night making up for lost time.’
Jacob shrugged off Fenshaw’s arm and leant backwards to escape his breath. ‘I’m not in the mood for partying, or for chorus girls.’
‘Suit yourself, but you’ll be missing out on a good time.’
Jacob expected him to depart, but he stood beside him, swaying like a sailor who was yet to find his sea legs.
‘Baroness!’ Fenshaw called out, catching Helena’s attention, and signalling rapidly with wildly flailing hands for her to join them.
Jacob’s body tensed. He wanted the company of his ex-lover even less than that of a chorus girl.
He would hate it if Margaret saw them together, in case it gave her cause to doubt his fidelity.
Then reality hit him once again. She was gone.
What did it matter now? He had been given permission to be as unfaithful as he wanted, even though he had no wish to be so.
‘Jacob says he doesn’t want to come to the Prince of Wales’s party. You should be able to convince him that after being stuck out in the countryside for simply ages, what he needs is a bit of fun.’
‘I believe he is having lots of fun,’ Helena said. ‘Now, go away and play with your friends,’ she added, shooing Fenshaw with flapping hands as if he were an annoying animal which had entered the wrong garden.
Thankfully, he staggered off to join his friends, who were now under the watchful eyes of some rather tall and stern-looking footmen.
‘Thank you for that, Helena.’
‘You’re welcome. But I’m surprised the Duchess is not at your side. I’m sure she could deal with the likes of Fenshaw.’
‘Margaret has been called away.’
Helena frowned at him. ‘I hope it wasn’t something I said.’
‘Something you said?’ That seemed unlikely. Margaret had never been under any illusion about his relationship with Helena. She also knew that it was all over between them and Helena had never been a woman to indulge in dramatics or petty revenge.
‘Yes, I followed her into the ladies’ retiring room because I simply had to tell her how lovely she is looking.’
‘Yes, she is, isn’t she? But that is hardly something for you to feel apologetic about.’
‘Well, I may have gone on a bit about what a wonderful time we had together in…well…in the bedchamber.’
‘I see,’ Jacob said, the tension in his chest and shoulders tightening up a notch.
‘And well… I did remind her that you’ve had rather a lot of women in your life and you do tend to move on eventually.’ Helena smiled apologetically. ‘I should have kept my mouth shut, shouldn’t I?’
Jacob released a long, slow sigh. ‘No. You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.’
‘Sorry, Jacob, I hope I haven’t ruined things for you.’
‘No, unfortunately, I am more than capable of doing that myself.’
‘Well, I had better join my husband, as I’m sure he will not like it if he sees me talking to you.’
Jacob watched her cross the room to join the Baron and knew he could not be annoyed with her.
Helena had said nothing that wasn’t true, or rather, had been true of him in the past. Right now, he could not imagine a time when he would ever want any woman other than his wife.
He also had no interest in partying the night away.
Instead, he would return to his townhouse, alone. So he walked across the room to say goodbye to his friend, who he was yet to speak to since congratulating him outside the church.
‘How’s married life treating you?’ he said to Henry with a level of bonhomie he did not feel.
‘So far so good,’ Henry said with a laugh, slapping Jacob on the back. ‘Who would have thought that the two of us, the most unlikely men in London, would fall in love and marry?’
‘Love?’ That was not a word he’d expected to come out of Henry’s cynical mouth.
‘Yes, love. Isn’t it wonderful?’ Henry continued, oblivious to his friend’s stunned surprise as he looked over at his bride, who was talking to her mother.
‘I have to tell you, Jacob, you were right, and I was completely wrong.’
Jacob was unsure what he’d been right about, so waited for Henry to explain.
‘It is possible to be struck by Cupid’s arrow, even if in my case the little cherub’s aim was slightly off when I first met the future love of my life.
But on the second occasion he was right on target.
’ He turned to look at Jacob, wearing a decidedly infatuated expression.
‘It was at the first ball of the Season. I was bored and escaping to the card room. We passed each other in the hallway when my heart was pierced.’
He paused, still grinning in that peculiar manner. ‘I fell in love immediately, forgot all about the card room and became a reformed man on the spot. Love really can change a man, can’t it?’
He looked at Jacob as if expecting him to agree.
‘We’re planning on starting a family as soon as possible,’ Henry continued, once again looking towards Gwendolen. ‘My lovely wife is sure there’s already a little Gwendolen or Henry on the way and I do hope she’s right.’
‘Is that why you married in such haste?’
Henry laughed. ‘It’s what we told her father so he wouldn’t put up any objection to us marrying immediately.
As much as we enjoyed playing the game of eluding the chaperone, we wanted to start our married life and stop having to steal time alone together.
But what of you?’ he said, turning to Jacob.
‘When are you and your lovely wife going to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet?’
Henry looked around as if trying to find Margaret in the swirling crowd of guests.
‘We have no plans to do so.’ The empty space that had taken up residence inside him since Margaret’s departure grew bigger and deeper.
They’d never discussed children and after his own childhood he knew he’d make a terrible father, but maybe, just maybe, with Margaret, things would be different.
So much else had changed since he’d met her.
But it mattered not now. She had made it clear they were to abide by their original agreement, so children were out of the question.
‘Really?’ Henry frowned at his friend as if his words were difficult to understand. ‘Don’t you feel as if you simply must be joined by children, a family of your own? Gwen and I certainly do.’
‘That’s because you’re in love,’ Jacob said, surprised to be having such a conversation with his jaded, cynical friend.
‘Yes, we are,’ Henry said, looking over at his bride. ‘As I said, who would think the two most unlikely men in London would fall in love?’
Henry had once again adopted that smitten expression. He was certain that he never looked at Margaret in that manner. Did he?
‘Just as a matter of interest,’ he asked, keeping his voice as detached as possible. ‘What makes you assume I am in love with Margaret?’
Henry turned his attention back to his friend.
‘It’s that soppy way you kept looking at her.
I recognised it immediately. And when old Fenshaw joined you I could see how much you wanted to get away from him.
I pointed it out to Gwendolen and she agreed.
You’re a reformed man. Just like me. Love has changed you.
Even when you were talking to Helena, a woman reputed to be one of the most attractive in London, you looked no more distracted by her appearance than you would be if you were talking to your maiden aunt. ’
Soppy? Really? Jacob doubted that, but before he could contradict his friend, Gwendolen joined them.
‘I was disappointed that your wife left before I had a chance to talk to her,’ she said to Jacob.
‘Yes, I’m sorry. She was called away suddenly.’
‘It must have been very urgent for her to leave your side,’ Gwendolen said, a note of suspicion in her voice.
Hardly. She could visit her friends at any time. That wasn’t the urgency. The urgency was to get away from him.
‘I hope nothing is wrong,’ Gwendolen continued. ‘And I do hope we can all get together once my husband and I return from our honeymoon.’
She smiled at Henry, obviously enjoying referring to him as her husband.
‘As I said to my husband earlier, apart from ourselves, I have never seen two people who are more in love or more right for each other than the two of you. My husband might not have noticed it at his weekend party, but the other debutantes saw it immediately. Margaret was besotted with you, just as you were with her.’
Jacob tried to make sense of her words, but it was as if she was suddenly speaking a foreign language. That was not how he remembered their time together at Henry’s weekend party.
‘And when we saw you swooning over each other at the church today it was obvious your time together had caused that love to grow,’ Gwendolen continued.
‘No, we’re—’
‘So, whatever little spat the two of you have had, fix it, because Henry and I want to have friends who are happily married and just as in love with each other as we are.’ She looked over at the rest of Henry’s friends, who were now being corralled towards the door by the footmen.
‘And I think it might be a while before any of those men are struck by Cupid’s arrow. ’
‘But—’
‘And it would be a tragedy if the two of you fell out during our wedding.’ She sent Henry a sly smile. ‘You wouldn’t want to ruin our happy day, would you?’
Jacob had no answer for that.
‘So, off you go then,’ Gwendolen added, making the same shooing motions Helena had done with Fenshaw. ‘Go and make it up with your wife.’
It was apparent that Henry was not the only person to be changed by love, as this woman was certainly not the reserved and compliant young woman that Margaret had described.
But were they right? If someone as unlikely as Henry could be changed by love, was it also possible that he too could be? Could he become a man who Margaret could love? There was only one way to find out.
‘Off you go,’ Gwendolen repeated.
Following the bride’s instructions, he left the room, a small spark of hope flaring inside him. He wasn’t sure if he could fix things between him and Margaret, but he had to try, because if he didn’t he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.