Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Feeling as if she’d been kicked in the midsection, Eugenia struggled to breathe as she stared across the lawn at the petite brunette beauty waiting beside Lord D’Asti’s carriage, as a woman who could only have been the girl’s mother alighted next to the mystery girl.
Well, that answered the question about her chaperone.
Eugenia’s chest constricted even tighter, as if trying to crush the life out of her racing heart as Lord D’Asti stepped out of the carriage and stood beside the women, acknowledging Lady Bellingham with a broad smile as she swooped down on them.
“I knew we shouldn’t have come,” Eugenia hissed, where only Susan could hear her.
Her legs felt as if they were encased in lead, and she stiffened further as the mystery girl and Lord D’Asti shared a look and a hearty laugh about heaven only knew what.
“Come, now.” Susan’s gentle scolding sounded almost motherly to Eugenia’s ears. She had no doubt that her friend would make a fine mama to her future children. “It is never a good idea to jump to conclusions, dearest.”
Susan’s murmur was barely audible, but she gave Eugenia’s arm a reassuring squeeze before, with an insistent tug, spurring Eugenia back into motion across the lawn. Towards Lord D’Asti, and the two women.
“What on Earth are you doing?”
Eugenia desperately tried to tug her arm free of Susan’s grip, without making a scene.
“We are going to greet Lord D’Asti, of course. I am sure that he will be delighted to see friendly faces amongst the party guests. We can speak to him, and perhaps uncover information about who his traveling companions are, and why they arrived together.”
Eugenia trailed slightly behind Susan, feeling like she was wading through mud as they crossed the lawn, and then the gravel, and came to a halt just a few steps away from Lord D’Asti and his companions.
Don’t jump to conclusions, Eugenia thought.
There could be a perfectly rational explanation for this, that has nothing to do with that awful article in The Society Reporter.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you arrive together.” Lady Bellingham’s voice boomed loud enough that Eugenia jumped, forcing herself not to wince. “I’m curious. How did that come about?”
The younger of the two women glanced over at Lord D’Asti, all but caressing him with her gaze as she addressed Lady Bellingham’s question.
“A wheel broke on our carriage shortly after we left Elkington. I thought that we would be stranded, or have to turn back, but Lord D’Asti’s coachman spotted us. The good Count insisted on rescuing us!”
The girl’s voice was rich and melodious, though perhaps a bit bolder than Eugenia was used to hearing from anyone aside from Marjory and Millicent.
“It was really quite chivalrous of him. He even left a groom to aid our coachman in fixing the carriage, and hopefully they will be here with our luggage in no time.”
This came from the girl’s mother, whose voice was much breathier than her daughter’s, and somehow seemed to have less substance as a result.
Lord D’Asti clasped his hands behind his back and cleared his throat.
“Ladies, you speak as if I am a knight in shining armour, but it was the neighbourly thing to do. I obviously could not leave you ladies vulnerable and stranded on the side of the road, especially not when we were all traveling to the same house party.”
Susan cleared her throat, then, and smiled brightly when Lord D’Asti turned his attention from Lady Bellingham and his companions to her.
“It is delightful to see you again, Lord D’Asti.” Susan offered the Count a mischievous grin, and then flicked a pointed glance at Eugenia, whose cheeks heated in response. “And you remember my dear friend, Lady Eugenia Calthorpe, of course.”
“Yes, of course.” Lord D’Asti returned Susan’s smile and bowed. “I am pleased to see you again.” The count straightened, then, and motioned to the women beside him. “Allow me to introduce the Duchess of Elkington and her daughter, Lady Catherine Stewart. Their estate lies close to one of mine.”
Although Eugenia was not personally familiar with the ladies Lord D’Asti had just introduced, she had certainly heard of them.
If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d heard their names mentioned several times throughout her last Season, as gentlemen in need of making a wealthy match lamented the Stewart family’s absence as they mourned the death of the late Duke of Elkington.
Eugenia curtsied stiffly as Lord D’Asti made the introductions.
“I was sorry to hear of the late Duke’s passing. You have my deepest condolences.”
“Thank you.”
The Duchess and Lady Catherine returned her curtsey, murmuring the automatic, polite response in unison.
Just as Eugenia was opening her mouth, a more likely than not foolish question for Lord D’Asti on her lips, Lady Bellingham clapped her hands to draw the attention of the people milling about in front of the house.
“If I may have your attention, please!” Lady Bellingham bellowed the words so loudly that everyone in her immediate vicinity took an instinctive half-step back from their hostess.
“Now that all of the guests have finally arrived, I think it’s high time that this house party commences.
For this evening, I have entertainment planned for us in the form of billiards for the gentlemen and cards for the ladies, while the staff work to get your belongings and your servants settled into your appointed rooms for the duration of your stay. ”
Eugenia stifled a groan. She desperately wanted to know so many things, though none of them would be prudent to ask, particularly in front of these strangers, who were apparently his neighbours at least at one of his estates in the country.
Had he missed her as much as she had missed him? Had he thought of her at all while they were separated? Eugenia burned to know the answers, but dreaded what those answers might be, at the same time.
Lydia couldn’t help but relish the uncertainty on Lady Eugenia’s face as she took in Lord D’Asti’s arrival with Lady Catherine Stewart and the Duchess of Elkington.
She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking openly as the guests all turned away from the lawn and filed into the house for the night’s games.
She hung back near her mother and Lady Rosebury, allowing the crowd to file inside ahead of her.
Lady Rosebury cleared her throat and looped her arm through Lydia’s mother’s as the two of them went slowly towards the house together, obviously hanging back so that they wouldn’t be overheard by the guests who’d entered before them.
“I know how you absolutely adore a good wager, Lady Bellingham, so I’d like to propose one, if you’re interested?”
Lydia cringed and bit her bottom lip, glad that she was walking slightly ahead of the two matrons, so that they couldn’t see her face twist with distaste.
She loathed her mother’s foolish gambling habit, mostly because her mother had no luck at all, and never seemed to win a single wager she ever placed.
Lydia absolutely could not fathom why her mother insisted on continuing to place bets when she lost over and over again.
It made no sense to her. Lydia would never bet on anything, unless she was absolutely certain that she would win.
Since that wasn’t possible, she never wagered at all.
“Of course I’m interested. So, what are we betting on, my dear friend? Out with it!”
Lydia shook her head at the sheer glee in her mother’s voice.
Papa will not be pleased if he finds out.
Curious, despite her best intentions otherwise, Lydia chanced a glance over her shoulder at them. Lady Rosebury’s smile was positively lupine, her full attention focused only on Lydia’s mother.
“I’d like to wager on the outcome of this house party, if you’re up to the challenge.”
“I’d be delighted!” Lydia’s mother clapped her hands like an over-excited toddler. “I wager one thousand pounds that this house party I’ve organised will yield at least one marriage proposal, if not more, by the end of the party.”
Lady Rosebury cackled, obviously pleased by Lady Bellingham’s confidence.
“I love you dearly, my friend, but I’m afraid I must bet against you. I wager fifteen hundred pounds that -- considering who populates your rather fascinating guest list -- this particular house party is far more likely to yield an outrageous scandal than a marriage proposal.”
Lydia bit her lip, not necessarily enjoying Lady Rosebury’s thinly veiled condescension. However, she knew that it was highly likely that the insufferable gossipmonger was quite correct in her assessment.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Lady Bellingham sputtered.
“Oh, come on, dearest.” Lady Rosebury clicked her tongue and sucked in a deep breath, obviously gearing up for a long-winded explanation, one that Lydia fully intended to shamelessly eavesdrop on.
She drifted down the hall, far behind the herd of guests in front of her, but also far enough ahead of her mother and Lady Rosebury that she wouldn’t be immediately suspected of eavesdropping, even though that’s exactly what she was doing.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lydia spotted Lady Rosebury’s reflection in the large, floor-length mirror which hung in the entrance hall.
The woman actually lifted her hand, preparing to tick reasons off on her fingers like a know-it-all schoolmistress.
“You’ve invited a girl with a history of throwing rather spectacular and unfortunately public tantrums, not to mention the fact that she tried to trap one of the other now-married guests into an unwanted marriage.
Then you’ve got a nearly penniless Count -- if the rumours are to be believed -- who has debtors breathing down his neck, and you’ve got the reckless, tragically ruined society darling who was so desperate for attention that she risked her own reputation defending him.
After she threw herself on society’s mercy for him, what did he do?
He disappeared for months on end, then arrived at this house party accompanied by another wealthy young lady, who has an impeccable reputation and a king’s ransom for a dowry, practically clinging to him like a limpet.
What you have here is a recipe for disaster, or some truly delicious gossip, depending on how you want to look at it. ”
Lydia stopped dead in her tracks, cocking her head as Lady Rosebury’s soliloquy echoed in the back of her mind. As she mulled the words over, divine inspiration struck.
Lady Rosebury’s words are all but an exact copy of things that have been written and published in The Society Reporter in recent months, including that delightfully vicious piece about Lady Eugenia, Lydia realised.
She stepped to the side as her mother and Lady Rosebury reached the spot where she’d stopped to think.
Her mother paused, looking Lydia over with a concerned frown.
“Are you quite all right, Liddy, darling?”
“Yes.” Lydia forced a stiff smile, avoiding Lady Rosebury’s gaze. “Just feeling a little lightheaded and paused to catch my breath, that’s all.”
Lady Rosebury seemed to take Lydia’s excuse at face value, and tugged Lady Bellingham back into motion on their way to the parlour where the ladies would play cards. Lydia stared at their retreating backs as the pieces all began to fall into place in her mind.
Not too long ago, during a rather distressing conversation with her father in his study, Lydia had spotted Lord and Lady Rosebury’s names on a list of investors, right alongside her own father’s name.
At first, she hadn’t been able to see the name of the company invested in, but the memory of seeing that page on his desk had driven her insatiable curiosity to the point where she had actually snuck back into his study later that day, just to discover which business it was, that he’d invested in.
She’d been shocked to discover that it was a publishing house – one responsible for, among other things, The Society Reporter.
This has to be more than mere coincidence; the phrasing is too exact.
Lydia narrowed her eyes, glaring at Lady Rosebury’s retreating back as she continued up the hall.
I am certain that Lady Rosebury is dirtying her hands by feeding the writers at The Society Reporter gossip, practically writing the articles for them.
That means that Lady Rosebury is actively engaging in working for a scandal sheet.
How utterly improper of her! More than that, it’s a leverage point I can, and am willing to, use to get what I want.
What was most amusing of all, Lydia thought, was that Lady Rosebury would, if she had discovered any other member of the ton doing exactly what she was doing, have made sure to utterly destroy their reputation…