Chapter 14 #3
Once upon a time, Tally had been much better at dissembling. He well knew of the outing to Mirobello. He likely knew to the minute how long Jordy had gone missing and how Eglantine had figured in the boy’s rescue. Tally’s valet would have apprised him of that much.
“We enjoyed a couple hours of fresh air, though the day was marred by some drama. Jordy chose to hide in an oat bin and suffered a knock on the head when the lid came down on him. Cousin Bernard located him with Eglantine’s assistance, and as far as I know, the boy is fine. More tea?”
“Please. Is this why Annette has been gracing us with fulminating silences and pensive frowns? Her younger cousin became the center of attention and Eggie the heroine of the piece?”
Tallister had many faults, but an unobservant papa he was not.
“Perhaps, or perhaps Annette is simply very young and prone to moods. She came home from the park yesterday on Cousin Bernard’s arm, so to speak.
She was by turns ecstatic to have won his escort and wroth that he wouldn’t accompany her to any of the shops. ”
Though in support of Tally’s point, those flights and dips in Annette’s moods did seem to be growing more dramatic, if such a thing was possible.
Coraline added sugar and milk to Tally’s tea, then poured out for herself.
“Do you encourage her fondness for Cousin Bernard?” Tallister asked.
“Annette claimed Eggie and Entwhistle would tarry for hours at the bookshop, which is likely true, and there was Cousin Bernard having to kick his heels while Sorcha’s children flew kites with the footman.
He was probably relieved to have an excuse to quit the park and go about his day.
You will come with us to Chanderton, won’t you? ”
Tally stirred his tea, though it needed no stirring. “Would not miss it. Richard will make an appearance. His one reliable concession to family ties. I don’t believe he and Huxley have met. Should be entertaining.”
Coraline had not planned for Richard to be on the guest list. Annette despised him, and he was none too fond of her. “Thank you for the warning. How is Richard getting on these days?”
“As illegitimately as ever.” Tally set down his tea and took a slice of orange torte from the plate in the center of the table.
“Tallister, be serious. If Richard is rackety in the wrong direction at the wrong time, he could make things very difficult for our girls.”
“I have listened at every available keyhole, my dear, for news of Richard and any interesting on-dits regarding Cousin Bernard. The usual wags have little to say, though I’ve already seen a bet on the books that Annette will be married to her handsome cousin before she makes her come out.”
“Was the sum at issue respectable?”
“A hundred pounds.”
The wager was probably five pounds, and Tally was being kind. “I cannot approve of Annette’s name being bandied about in the clubs.”
“But you would not mind seeing her married to Cousin Bernard. I honestly do not think they would suit.”
Neither did Coraline, but since when did suiting come into it?
“Bernard Huxley is legitimate, unlike Richard. He is ordained. He’s received everywhere.
He’s solvent. He enjoys the status of heir presumptive to a wealthy barony, and his mother’s family sports an earldom.
Annette could do much, much worse.” And Cousin Bernard would be understanding about the settlements, lest he embarrass his own family.
Tally took a bite of his torte and sent Coraline the sort of considering perusal that meant he was truly paying attention and wanted her to know it.
“Annette will come right,” he said. “She is your daughter, after all, and the duchess will take a hand in her presentation. If Nettie is nigh unbearable these days, that’s to be expected.
This spring is the bad dress rehearsal before the wildly successful opening night next year.
Put your mind at ease, Corrie dearest. We shall contrive and triumph in the end.
Nettie has her heart set on marrying a handsome prince. ”
Once upon a time long ago, Coraline would have been fortified by such a display of paternal optimism. The theatrical metaphors were appropriate, coming from Tally, who was nothing else if not a born thespian.
“Tallister, what are you up to?”
“Coraline, you wound me. I am the same doting father and husband I have always been. If I’m keeping closer watch on the talk in the clubs, it’s because secrets have a way of not remaining secret, and whatever Cousin Bernard’s connection to Annette becomes, we want to be the arbiters of its terms, don’t we? ”
Tally was prone to attempting interfamilial blackmail. He’d searched in vain for any little scandal that might have reflected poorly on the present duchess, and when he’d tried to extort money from Richard over some seditious drunken ramblings, Richard had laughed in his face.
“Tallister, I esteem you above all other men, but please do not embark on any schemes where Cousin Bernard is concerned.”
Tally munched another bite of torte. “Have you schemes of your own in train, my dear? Best tell me, if so. We wouldn’t want to work at cross-purposes.”
So he was up to something. That would not do. “The only scheme I have embarked on is the presentation of our oldest daughter to Society on the best-possible terms. That her dowry remains distressingly modest is a situation for her doting papa to remedy.”
Coraline expected either sulking or an outburst—Tally was always going on about economies and the burden a younger son faced—but instead, he finished his torte, rose, and kissed her temple.
“You may rely on me to do all in my power to aid your ambitions, dearest Corrie. I always have, and I always will. I’m off for a stroll through St. James’s.
Even at this unlikely hour, one can hear the most interesting news.
Fencing at Angelo’s, lunch at the club, a hand of cards thereafter, and hack at the fashionable hour. Enjoy your day.”
He’d visit his mistress at some point during that exceptionally un-busy day.
Coraline did not begrudge him his pleasures—four daughters were enough—but she’d heard nothing in his recitation about addressing the situation with Annette’s funds.
Blackmailing Bernard Huxley might accomplish that end, but recruiting him as a son-in-law would put his whole fortune much closer to where Coraline wanted it.
Nothing said the two objectives were mutually exclusive. Coraline helped herself to a slice of torte—her second, it was quite good—and mentally wished her spouse the best of luck.