Chapter Twelve #2
“They know it,” Mr. Feldstaffer said. “However, if they do not hear from Lady Dudmore that they are not to go, they will chance it. Lady Copperstone feels the best thing to do is proceed as normal. Face it down, if necessary.”
“Quite right, to my mind,” Mr. Penny said. “After all, Lady Beatrix is blameless in all this.”
“The ton rarely considers whether or not a person is blameless,” Mr. Rennington said, chafing his hands as if he’d got a chill.
“It is risky,” Mr. Browning said. “The queen may take umbrage should she hear the talk.”
“Hopefully the shameful entertainments will distract everyone,” Mr. Harkinson said.
“I’d hardly call them shameful,” Mr. Penny said.
“I do not know what else one might call the sporting events Lady Dudmore devises. Twin tennis? Rudderless sailing? Blind lawn bowls?”
“Let us recall, gentlemen, that the queen and Lady Dudmore design the entertainments together.”
“The queen,” the gentlemen murmured in unison.
“Mr. Feldstaffer,” Mr. Penny said, “I do hate to inquire into a less than cheerful subject, but it is said that Lord Harrelston came upon the unfortunate scene out of doors.”
“He did indeed,” Mr. Feldstaffer said. “Lord Chester was attempting to wrestle his actress into a hackney. What Lord Harrelston thought about it, I cannot say.”
“We must somehow encourage the match between Lady Beatrix and Lord Harrelston,” Mr. Wilburn said. “I do hope we have not inadvertently discouraged it by…what we did.”
“Nobody will find out what we did, though,” Mr. Rennington said, dabbing his forehead with his handkerchief.
“No, no, surely not,” Mr. Penny said.
“As we swore on our motto at the beginning of this particular endeavor,” Mr. Browning said, “not one of us knows who wrote that note. It has been washed out of our memory. Even though we do know.”
All eyes drifted toward Mr. Wilburn. “Cum virtute,” he said with spirit.
“Cum virtute,” the other League members answered.
Mr. Feldstaffer noticed that nobody had an idea on how to encourage Lord Harrelston. He supposed it mattered not, as any idea was bound to go wrong anyway.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Beatrix and the countess had hardly known what to do with themselves that morning.
It was their at-home day and they did not know if they were to be shunned.
Who had heard of the actress coming to Lord Chester’s house while they were there?
Who knew about Beatrix’s mistaken comment about the shameful book?
Did nobody know? Did everybody know? Would anybody come?
They paced, they had tea, they sewed, they walked round the square. Finally, the afternoon arrived and they would discover where they stood.
As it happened, the countess had nurtured close relationships with the other Tory widows of the ton, those ladies who saw little of their husbands when parliament was in session. Those ladies had either not heard the gossip or were impervious to it out of friendship and loyalty.
Beatrix played the pianoforte softly while her mother conversed with her friends. She felt a sense of peace come over her. Whatever was to happen with this stupid gossip, her mother had not lost her friends.
Mr. Feldstaffer opened the drawing room doors. “Lord Monroe, my lady.”
Beatrix’s hands stilled on the keys. Why had he come? She really was in no sort of mood to smile and entertain a gentleman that she’d begun to find annoying.
Nevertheless, she owed a show of good grace to her mother and would not let her down in front of her friends.
The countess greeted him and Beatrix followed suit.
“Lady Beatrix, charmed,” Lord Monroe said. “I hope I am not too bold, but I do recall that you and your sister have made it a habit to identify flora on your estate. May I offer this little book of illustrations of the common flora of Hertfordshire.”
“Very kind, Lord Monroe,” the countess said, excusing Beatrix from saying anything about it. “Beatrix, perhaps take Lord Monroe to the bookshelf and show him the book of illustrations done by Lady Mellon on just the same subject.”
Beatrix frowned, which appeared to surprise her mother. She forced a smile. “Of course,” she said.
She led Lord Monroe back to the shelf of books that Miss Sprite had deemed fit for polite society to read.
Lady Mellon’s book naturally held a place of honor.
Their neighbor had made drawings of plants, made guesses as to their names, and then paid to have it published so she might gift it to her neighbors.
The countess was given two copies—one for home and one for Town.
Beatrix did not think anybody found a particular value in the book, especially since some of the names she’d assigned were more whimsical than correct.
However, everybody knew that a visit from Lady Mellon would include a visit to their bookshelf to ensure the book was there.
She would even find reasons to visit a person’s library if she did not see the book displayed in the drawing room.
Beatrix pulled it off the shelf. “Here it is. Lady Mellon’s Thoughtful Musings on Greenery.”
“Extraordinary,” Lord Monroe said.
Beatrix stared down at the book. She did not know why the lord would claim it was extraordinary. The cover depicted a lady drawn to resemble Lady Mellon, though far more complimentary than she actually appeared, reverentially holding up a clump of pasque flowers.
“You are so brave, Lady Beatrix,” Lord Monroe murmured.
“Why?” she asked. She found the lord’s ideas about the supposed weakmindedness of women really very tiresome.
Lord Monroe did look as if he’d been thrown on the back foot. “Oh, well as to that, the talk, you know.”
“About what?” Beatrix of course knew about what, but she was not inclined to allow Lord Monroe to talk in generalities. If he had something to say, he could say it.
“About…what?”
“Yes. About what?”
“Well, the talk about Annie Wister attending your musical evening.”
So that was what was being said. “Lord Monroe, it was not my musical evening and the lady did not attend it. Miss Wister turned up and had a regrettable outburst. Furthermore, I did not invite her.”
“No, no, of course you are blameless. I know that. It is just the ton is not always so kind.”
Beatrix stared at him. He imagined he was being kind in what? Believing in her?
“The important thing is, depend on those who stand stalwart beside you. Not every gentleman will. Naturally, you can count on me.”
Was Lord Monroe trying to somehow turn the situation to his advantage? Was she meant to like him because he stood stalwart beside her? She did not want him to stand beside her. He ought to go stand by somebody else. Did he hint that someone like Lord Harrelston would run the other direction?
Perhaps he thought she ought to be desperate to clutch on to anybody she could get.
If that is what he thought, he was much mistaken.
Miss Sprite might have kept her and Caroline na?ve, but that lady had not forgotten to install a sturdy backbone in her charges.
Beatrix would rather end a spinster than have to listen to Lord Monroe all day long.
Mr. Feldstaffer caught Beatrix’s attention, as the drawing room doors opened. “Lord Harrelston, my lady.”
This caused very much more of a stir in the room, and in Beatrix too. He had come to their at-home day. That must be a very good sign. If he wished to drift away from her, he would hardly visit. Lord Monroe was not correct in his hints. At least, that is what she hoped.
“Harrelston,” Lord Monroe said quietly.
“Indeed, so it is,” Beatrix said. “I will go to greet him but do stay here and enjoy perusing Lady Mellon’s book. You will find it very illuminating.”
She left him with the books in his hand. He could read about the flora of Hertfordshire all day long if he liked it.
“Lady Beatrix,” Lord Harrelston said.
“Lord Harrelston,” Beatrix said. She hardly knew how to begin a conversation. The last time she’d seen him, she’d been leaving Lord Chester’s house. She still did not know how much he’d seen or what he’d made of it.
“I wonder, Lady Beatrix, might we take a turn around the room?”
The countess nodded her acquiescence. Lord Harrelston held his arm out. She laid her hand gently on it and they proceeded to walk the length.
Lord Monroe hurried over, despite Beatrix telling him to stay where he was and read Lady Mellon’s book.
“Harrelston,” Lord Monroe said. “Ah, strolling. I do like a stroll.”
“This is a two-person stroll, I’m afraid,” Lord Harrelston said.
Lord Monroe looked taken aback by it. Beatrix guessed this was the first time the lord had been pushed out when he’d attempted to push in.
“Lord Monroe, you did say you would read Lady Mellon’s book and give your impressions.”
“Did I?”
Beatrix nodded solemnly. “The chair by the window is ideal for reading. Excellent light.”
Lord Monroe trudged off, apparently to do her bidding. Lord Harrelston watched him go with a critical eye.
"If Lord Chester has not apologized to you directly, I will do it for him," Lord Harrelston said once Lord Monroe was out of earshot.
“I have not seen him, nor do I expect to,” Beatrix said.
“As you might imagine, due to the loud nature of the exchange on the street, there is talk.”
“Lord Monroe was eager to mention it,” Beatrix said. “I find it very aggravating, as all I did was attend a musical evening that I did not even particularly want to go to.”
“No?”
“No.”
“I cannot believe Chester has involved you in it.”
“I was not even certain what it was, actually. Miss Sprite has been so good as to explain it to me.”
“Did she?”
Beatrix nodded. “She told me what was her best guess about it, in any case. I suspect she must be right.”
“Not all gentlemen act as gentlemen, I am sorry to say.”
“So you do not keep an actress?” Beatrix asked. She did not imagine so, but it would be well to find it out.
Lord Harrelston nearly staggered over the question, which hinted to Beatrix that it was perhaps not a question that ought to be asked. “Certainly not,” he said.
“Ah, I see I should not have asked the question,” Beatrix said. “But really, how is one to know a thing if it cannot be asked about?”
“You have a point,” Lord Harrelston said. “Aside from Lord Chester’s chosen way of living, to my mind the real crime is that I believe he has led the lady on to imagine there might be a wedding at some point. At least, I think so based on what I heard.”
Beatrix was inclined to agree. It made her rather sorry for Miss Wister.
She had been led on. She probably did not have parents or a Miss Sprite who could have protected her from falling into such a situation.
She would have got stars in her eyes over the idea that a baron, someday to be a viscount, wished to marry her.
It would have seemed like a lifeboat coming to rescue her from a stormy sea. Lord Chester had deceived Annie Wister.
“Scoundrel,” Lord Harrelston muttered.
“I wonder, what I say is, it would not be my place, but I would hope something could be done for the lady. So that she would not have to depend on men like Lord Chester.”
Lord Harrelston appeared pensive over the idea.
“But as I say, it is not my place,” Beatrix said, thinking she might have gone a bit far in discussing Lord Chester’s mistress’s future. “Do you have many entertainments coming up for you?” she said to change the subject.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose you will go to Lady Hyacinth’s ball? It is always well attended.”
“I believe we once thought we would, but my father says we are to travel to Kent to attend Lady Dudmore’s house party.”
Lord Harrelston looked surprised to hear it. Lord Monroe seemed to appear out of nowhere and said, “Lady Dudmore’s party. How delightful. I will attend myself.”
“Really?” Lord Harrelston said.
“Indeed. Lady Dudmore is very fond of me. I’m a jovial guest who does not complain too much about her plans.”
Beatrix looked to Lord Harrelston, but he did not say if he attended or not.
Much to her annoyance, Lord Monroe refused to be sent away this time. Rather, he had read Lady Mellon’s book, or at least flipped through it, and talked relentlessly about what he had discovered between its covers. It was certainly more than Beatrix had ever got from it.
The time for a call had long run its course and there were some minutes where both gentlemen were trying to get the other one to go. It all came to naught and they ended up both going.
Lord Monroe had insisted on putting the book he’d brought directly into her hands.
Lord Harrelston looked annoyed about it, which she did not mind at all.
Then Lord Monroe made a great fuss over seeing her at Lady Dudmore’s party in Kent.
Lord Harrelston looked annoyed over that too, which she also did not mind.
She just wished she knew if he was going. She was fairly sure not, or he would have said so. But then there was the thin thread of hope that he might go, as he had not definitely said he would not.
Beatrix also wished she knew if Lord Harrelson had heard about that book she’d supposedly read and approved of. He’d made it clear that he did not fault her for the scene in front of Lord Chester’s house. But what if he heard about what she said about that book? Would he be so indulgent about that?
It all felt a muddle. Beatrix thought Lord Harrelston liked her. Really, she knew he did. But it might be very tenuous. It might be broken at any time.