25. Chapter 25 #2
Composing himself, he stepped to the arched opening that separated the room from the hall and stared at the sight before him.
Fanny and Cora sat on the sofa clutching each other affectionately as they laughed at the sight before them.
His wife was dressed in breeches and a justacorps—undoubtedly one of her costumes—while a trim and well-dressed gentleman stood beside her.
The man had his thumbs hooked in his braces and made a to do about setting his hips properly in a slight exaggeration of a masculine walk with his toes pointed outward.
Jenny followed his advice and mimicked the gentleman’s swagger almost perfectly, which caused her mother and sister to howl with laughter again.
Situated in an armchair only slightly removed from the entertainment, Devonworth chuckled along with them .
“David.” His mother-in-law was the first to notice him when her giggles subsided. She stood and drew everyone’s attention to him hovering at the entrance of the room. “We’re glad you’re here.”
“Fanny.” He walked over to meet her. She embraced him quickly and gave him a fond kiss on the cheek.
He still wasn’t accustomed to how affectionate this family was, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
“I wasn’t expecting you.” He glanced at his wife who appeared stunned by his arrival.
Her eyes wide and her body stiff as she dropped her comical pose.
After greeting Cora and Dev, he turned to Jenny, who had regained her composure. “Good evening, Jenny.”
“Good evening, David,” she murmured, examining a fingernail as if she’d snagged it.
That’s the moment he realized Jenny was more ill-at-ease with him when in the presence of her family than when they were alone. Curious.
Before he could ruminate on that, his thoughts were interrupted by Fanny taking the lead with introductions. “David, darling, this is my friend Miss Nellie Goodwin, a very talented performer who specializes in male impersonation. Nellie, this is my son-in-law, Lord David Felding.”
“Pleased to meet you, my lord.” The performer followed the words with a theatrical bow complete with an elaborate arm roll.
He bowed in return while trying not to study her too closely and give the appearance of rudeness.
Had he passed her on the street, the trim handlebar mustache, short hair, and bespoke three-piece suit would have made him assume she was a man and not an impersonator.
In fact, her entire demeanor gave her the aura of a dandy who had stopped for a visit before going out for an evening on the town .
“Your name seems familiar, Miss Goodwin. Have you performed in London recently?” he asked.
“Indeed, my good sir,” she said with a proper English accent and a low voice that seemed natural.
Fanny clasped his arm and eagerly relayed her friend’s accolades.
“Nellie is the highest-paid performer in America at the moment,” she gushed.
“She’s finishing a tour of Europe after selling out concert halls and theaters for the past two years.
She’s even booked out through summer back home.
We were lucky that our paths crossed in Paris for a few nights before she sails for New York. ”
The actress rocked on her heels as she listened to this and added, “Unfortunately, I’ll miss Jenny’s debut, but I couldn’t miss out on helping her perfect her walk for her performance.”
“You’ve been more than kind to help me,” Jenny said, her eyes narrowed with concern. “But I’m glad you won’t be able to stay. I won’t be nearly as convincing as you.”
“Nonsense. You’ll do fine,” Miss Goodwin said. “Remember, you don’t have skirts hindering your movements. You can walk freely now.”
David took the armchair near Dev as the lesson in masculine walking and comportment continued. Before long he was laughing along with everyone else when Jenny intentionally exaggerated her walk. She was a natural performer, lighting up when they reacted to her. He couldn’t take his eyes from her.
It wasn’t long before Miss Goodwin encouraged both him and Dev to stand and demonstrate a particular walk. They both agreed to comedic effect when Jenny tried to emulate them.
“You’re keeping your thighs too close together,” he murmured as Jenny mimicked him and they walked to the far side of the room. “Imagine you’re walking with a pair of bollocks between them. ”
Laughter burst out of her as he’d intended. Her eyes were alight with merriment when she smiled up at him. “I could lodge a pair of rolled up stockings in my breeches. That would help.”
He chuckled and Mme Tremblay appeared in the doorway and called them all to dinner. The meal was a lively affair that was filled with as much laughter as it was nourishment.
They ended the night back in the drawing room with samples of a few arias that Jenny was to perform with Miss Goodwin demonstrating how to walk while singing when the situation called for it.
Then Fanny took to the piano and Miss Goodwin treated them to some of the music from her shows.
While she didn’t have costumes to change into, she flawlessly changed her voice and demeanor from dandy to working man to ruffian and back again.
It was after midnight when their guests returned to their hotels, leaving David and Jenny alone.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the evening,” he said, walking beside her up the stairs.
He was surprised by that. Being a part of her family felt good and wholesome, like he really did have a family.
Alfred and Kit were his family, too, but they were not nearly as boisterous and demonstrative as the Doves and the people who seemed to gravitate to them.
When Miss Goodwin invited them to sing along, he had no trouble joining in with Dev to voice the deeper parts when the music called for it.
“Good. I’m glad.” Though she had taken his arm, she had yet to look at him. “It was fun.”
He sensed that something was wrong, because she had reverted to her demeanor from when he’d first got home.
He tried a couple more times to get her to smile again, recalling a humorous moment from his manly walk demonstration and mentioning a funny line from one of Miss Goodwin’s songs, but she hardly did more than incline her head in agreement.
She’d probably noticed how he couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her pantaloon-clad legs.
They were well formed and distracting. He lamented the fact that her thighs were covered by the longer coat.
He’d have liked to see how the trousers shaped her hips and backside.
Still, he couldn’t take anymore. Walking her to her bedroom door, he asked, “Have I displeased you in some way?” He couldn’t quite look at her face as he said it, preferring the brass button on her uniform instead.
She took in a breath. “No, I’m merely…surprised that you were home for dinner tonight. You’ve been out late all week.”
His lungs seized. She was angry because he hadn’t been around.
She missed him. “I thought you would prefer it.” When surprise flashed on her face, he added, “I know you were reluctant to stay here. I didn’t want you to feel…
stifled. And after the party that night, I thought you might appreciate some time alone. ”
Her brow furrowed. “I’m glad my presence here hasn’t affected your…social calendar.”
She didn’t seem happy about that at all. He clenched his teeth to hold back a smile. She liked him more than she wanted to admit. “I’ve been spending most evenings at En Soirée. Perhaps we could go together. Camille would love to see you.”
“Yes, she stopped by the theater. They’ll be at opening night. I’m afraid I don’t have the time for an outing. Tonight’s amusement was necessary.”
“Of course. Perhaps later then.”
She frowned. “Won’t you be going back to London after opening night?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Yes, briefly, but I can return here later.”
Her frown didn’t lessen; if anything, it deepened as she nodded and turned to enter her room .
“Jenny?”
She paused and looked at him over her shoulder.
He took a breath and forced out the words he thought might ease her mind. It was possible he was wrong, but he suspected he knew why she was upset. If he was right, then he knew he meant more to her than she let on. If he was wrong, then he was in this marriage entirely too deeply for one person.
“I’m not out…visiting women. There hasn’t been a woman since…” Since you. But he wasn’t brave enough to explain how he’d tried to sleep with another woman and failed and had come running to her because he couldn’t get over her. What sort of husband admitted that to his wife?
She pressed her lips together and her eyes lit up. The air between them even felt lighter. But she only said, “That’s none of my concern.”
“Isn’t it?”
She shook her head and rushed into her room, closing the door behind her, but he could have sworn he saw her smile.