Chapter Nineteen
Roberta had returned to Ashton House and a mountain of invitations, as well as a list from Countess Matilda of all the functions she and Niki must attend. His aunt seemed to have taken it upon herself to be their majordomo.
But first, Roberta wanted to see Estelle Longhurst.
She set out for the Longhurst home as soon as possible, eager and anxious in equal parts.
She just hoped Estelle had listened to her advice before she let herself be swept away by Karl’s charm.
Surely nothing terrible could have happened in so short a time?
Barely a week! And yet she had a niggling sensation in the pit of her stomach that Estelle would agree to whatever the charming Karl asked of her.
Lady Longhurst was seated on the settee in the sitting room and sent her a languid smile. “My dear Roberta, how lovely to see you! You look enchanting in that bonnet. I posit it is the latest fashion?”
Did she look enchanting? The effect of her bonnet had been the last thing on Roberta’s mind as she dressed to come here, but she smiled back and accepted the compliment.
“Estelle is still abed, the lazy chit,” Lady Longhurst went on. “We had a rather raunchy little gathering last night.” She laughed wickedly, and Roberta tried to keep her smile in place. “We probably kept her awake until the early hours.”
“Oh. She did not take part in your gathering?”
Lady Longhurst raised her eyebrows. “Goodness me, no. She ate supper with us and then went out to a ball with some of her friends.”
Relieved, Roberta felt herself finally begin to relax.
“Oh, and there was that handsome gentleman who seems to have taken such a shine to her. I believe he is your fiancé’s brother.” She leaned forward and whispered beside her hand, even though there was no one else in the room to hear. “Karl.”
Roberta felt every muscle in her body tighten, even in her throat. For a moment, she could barely speak. “I…I think I will go up and speak to her,” she said and rose to her feet.
Lady Longhurst waved a hand. “Tell her it is long past time she came downstairs. She has been very inconsiderate.” She yawned.
Roberta knew where Estelle’s room was. It was where they had first met when Olivia brought her here, on her way to Ivo.
Her sister had been worried about bringing her younger sister to such a place, but Roberta had spent the evening playing with Estelle’s collection of dolls and wishing she had never come.
Even so, friendship between her and Estelle had flourished.
A tap on the door brought forth a disgruntled, “Go away! I have already said I do not want any toast or tea. Just—just leave me alone.”
Roberta’s hopes that everything was all right were dashed.
She leaned into the door and said quietly, “Estelle? It is me, Roberta. May I come in?”
There came the sound of bedclothes moving and then a shaky, “Roberta?”
She didn’t wait for anything more, even for permission.
There was something very wrong happening, and she had an ominous feeling she knew just what it was.
Roberta opened the door and peered inside.
The curtains were still drawn and it was very gloomy, but she caught sight of Estelle’s white face as she lifted her head from the pillow.
Her hair was loose and tangled about her, not at all as it usually was, because Estelle was very particular about her hair.
“Oh, Roberta,” she choked, and burst into tears.
Roberta hurried to take her in her arms.
It took some time for the truth to come out. Estelle had sobbed until she was too exhausted to sob anymore, and then she had agreed to Roberta asking the maid to fetch tea and some toast, to restore her strength, and after that, she was finally able to speak.
As Roberta had thought, Karl had gone with her to the ball and then persuaded her to be alone with him.
It did sometimes happen that young women were inveigled into the arms of rakes, and Roberta was persuaded that was what Karl was.
Yes, it was unfortunate and painful for Estelle, but it could have been buried from gossiping tongues with some careful maneuvering.
Unfortunately for Estelle, she and Karl were discovered by their hosts in a position that left no doubt as to what they were doing.
“It won’t stay a secret,” Estelle admitted bleakly. “The word will be out this morning, and I have no one to blame but myself.”
Roberta was momentarily too angry to speak. “He is an experienced older man, and you are a young innocent girl. If anyone is at fault, then it is Karl.”
“I wanted him to overcome my doubts,” Estelle admitted softly.
“I liked him. Very much. And can I say that I liked what he did to me?” Her eyes filled with tears.
“At least I liked it up until the end. Then I wanted him to stop and I…I told him so, and he did stop, although he wasn’t very happy about it.
But before we could put our clothing in order, the door opened and…
We were caught. I wept, and when I said he would have to marry me he—he laughed, Robbie.
He laughed and said that was never going to happen, and he walked out and left me. ”
“Appalling,” Roberta said, her voice shaking.
“Mother will say it is only what I deserve,” Estelle responded. “She has always warned me I must not encourage gentlemen until I am married to one.”
“That may be true, Estelle, but Karl should have been a gentleman instead of a cad. What he did was wrong, so very wrong.” She dampened her emotions and tried to think clearly. “I will tell Niki. Something must be done. Karl must make this right for you.”
Estelle’s eyes rounded like saucers. “No! Please don’t tell the prince. Karl will say it is my fault. He will blame me, and the prince will believe him.”
“He won’t believe him,” Roberta said with certainty.
“And besides, what can he do?” Estelle began to cry again, tears leaking down her cheeks and into the sopping bodice of her nightgown. “It is too late. I am r-ruined.”
“It is not too late,” Roberta said firmly. “You are not ruined, or at least, only in the eyes of the gossips. Karl persuaded you into a ruinous situation, but you stopped him.”
“Yes, I did.” Estelle sounded gratified. “Thank you for believing me.”
Roberta’s heart ached. “Of course I believe you! Now what of your mother? Should you tell her? You will need her support.”
Estelle gave a heavy sigh. “The story will reach her soon enough. I know I will have to tell her first, but she will be so angry with me.”
After she had persuaded Estelle to rise and get dressed, they made their way downstairs. Lady Longhurst was angry, but most of her anger was aimed at Karl. She made threats and ranted and raved, tears streaking her cheeks, and then opened her arms and held Estelle tight.
“If any of our friends and acquaintances say a word of censure then I shall remind them about their own frolics in my house!”
But it was not the Longhursts’ cronies who would do the damage—it was the members of polite society who disapproved of Estelle and her family and would enjoy tearing them down.
When Roberta finally set out for Matilda’s town house, she was tired and emotional, but relieved that Estelle and her mother seemed resolute. “Let them say what they want!” Lady Longhurst had declared. “They will not break us.”
Roberta wanted to speak to Niki before he heard the news. She wanted him to tell her he would help Estelle, and that Karl would be punished. It was a fundamental case of right and wrong, and surely Niki would see that?
It occurred to her that the prince may not be at his aunt’s house, but she would know where Roberta could find him. She could not wait. Her best friend needed her help right now.
Matilda looked at her as if she had grown two heads.
“You want me to interrupt him when he is speaking to Chamberlain Francis? Would you expect to interrupt a gentleman who is in conference with your prime minister? Because it is the same thing.”
When she put it like that, Roberta accepted she was overstepping the mark. “When will he be finished?” she said, resigned.
“They will dine together. It will be finished when it is finished. The chamberlain has come all the way from Holtswig to speak to Niki on an urgent matter. I cannot interrupt, Lady Roberta. Indeed, I will not.”
Roberta stood up, then sat down again. She wasn’t sure what to do, she just knew that she must speak to Niki. “Then I will wait until he is done,” she said firmly.
She could tell Matilda wanted to argue but something about Roberta’s expression must have warned her that it would do her no good. And when Roberta added, “I can sit in my carriage outside your gates if you wish, but it may cause some gossip,” Matilda accepted that she had lost the battle.
Matilda was kind enough to find her a corner in a room she used for writing letters and embroidery, and Roberta was brought tea and cake.
She found she was hungry despite the twisting worry in her stomach, but she made the food last as long as possible.
When she finally finished, she sat and waited in silence, broken only by muffled sounds from the rest of the house and the ticking of Matilda’s mantel clock.
After a while, she began to feel sleepy. The cake had been so good, she had probably eaten too much of it, and when her eyes closed for the third time, she let them stay closed.
Estelle’s wan, pale, tearstained face stared back at her.
It hurt to think this had happened, and it hurt even more when Roberta acknowledged that it was she who had brought her friend and Karl together.
If only she hadn’t asked Estelle to come with her to the theater.
That theater performance had been a disaster in more ways than one.
She wasn’t even sure what Niki could do, but she knew he would help her friend. She trusted him, she believed he was a good man, and no matter what happened to them in the future, she hoped that trust would never die.
It was so comfortable in her chair in her tucked-away room. By the time far away church bells rang out the hour, Roberta was fast asleep.