Chapter Eight
When the maid came to tell her that the time had come, Louisa had finished her tea and gone to her room via the back stairs, just as Percy had suggested.
It was not particularly dignified, but it was less trying on the nerves than being caught before she was ready and required to account for herself.
She had done nothing wrong. At least, nothing she could think of.
But it seemed that her presence was all it took to make Grandfather unhappy and she wished to put off the proof of that for as long as she could.
She’d washed and changed into one of her best day dresses, taking care that it was not too extravagant, nor too plain.
She was not a dowd, but neither was she wasteful with what money she was given.
The blue striped muslin, trimmed in bias stripes of the same fabric, was fashionable without calling attention to itself, just as she liked it.
Percy had told the servant they would meet her in Grandfather’s bedroom, which meant they would arrive first. Not too early, she hoped, or she would be scolded for her tardiness.
She opened her bedroom door and listened for the sound of voices on the stairs before going out to join the men, who were coming towards her from the opposite end of the hall.
Percy waved and smiled at her, gesturing that she hurry so they might meet in the doorway at the same time. As they did, the duke took a protective step towards her, as if he was eager that they be seen as a couple.
It was just what she’d imagined a real fiancé might do, on the rare occasions her fantasy had included a wedding.
In those dreams, the interview had been brief, for she’d also created a guardian who’d smiled and wished her well.
But to have a daydream too close to reality was nothing more than worrying and she did enough of that already.
She refused to do that now. This would be the only visit of its kind and what would be would be. She would smile through it, no matter what. She nodded to Percy that she was ready and he knocked on the door of the suite.
‘Enter.’
The word might have been ‘Run!’ for how it affected her. Her knees went weak and she turned towards the stairs, ready to retreat.
The duke placed a steadying hand on her elbow, as Percy opened the door, then led her forward into the bedroom.
She had not seen Grandfather since a brief visit last Christmas. Six months, almost seven, was a long time, for an old man. Each time she returned home, she could not help looking for changes in his face or his manner that would prove time’s passing.
She rarely found any. He was sitting in his favourite armchair, a silk robe thrown over his shirt and waistcoat.
It gave the impression that he’d just got up from a nap, though the bed had not been slept in.
A thick cane was ever ready at his side, to be pounded on the floor in moments of displeasure.
His hair had been steel grey when they had first come here.
It was not getting any greyer, nor had it grown sparse.
His eyes were grey as well, but still clear.
His face was lined but not wrinkled. The creases were more the result of his perpetual frown than an indication that he was nearing his end.
And now, he was looking from one to the other of them, a minute examination that hinted his mind was as sharp as ever.
‘You took your time getting here,’ he said finally, glaring at Percy.
The criticism had no obvious effect. Her brother’s smile never wavered. ‘Hullo, Grandfather. It is good to see you as well.’
‘If you were eager to see me, you’d have been here long before now. I called fully a half hour ago.’
‘I was in the garden, enjoying a pipe.’
Since Percy never smoked, this was an obvious lie meant to draw attention away from her. She must remember to thank him, later.
‘Tobacco is a filthy habit,’ the old man snapped.
‘Isn’t it though,’ Percy replied. ‘Expensive as well.’
Grandfather growled in response.
‘The roads were dry and the weather fine, all the way from London,’ Percy said, answering the polite question about their travel that had not been asked. ‘We made good time.’
‘And brought a stranger into my house,’ he replied, staring at the duke with dislike.
Louisa held her breath. She doubted Bonham was accustomed to such bold scrutiny, nor to being treated as if he was unwelcome. It was the purview of peers to make the people around them uncomfortable, not the other way around.
But he took it with a mild smile and amiable silence, waiting for his introduction.
‘Not a stranger to us,’ Percy said, smiling from Grandfather to the duke and back. ‘May I present Mr Thomas Smith.’ He gestured from one to the other. ‘Tom? My grandfather, Lord Skeffington.’
The duke bowed. ‘My lord.’
Louisa swallowed the hysterical laugh that was threatening to escape.
The man at her side wore no disguise, but he was so deep into the character he’d created that she could hardly find him.
The bow he’d offered to her grandfather was not the offhand respect of a man meeting his inferior.
It was the subservient gesture of someone who knew that his future rested in the hands of the man he was meeting.
It was received as such and answered with a slight lowering of her grandfather’s head and a dismissive wave of his hand. He had no interest in greeting the interloper before him. The whole interview was a petty annoyance. Louisa could see it radiating from every fibre of his body.
Things had barely begun, but they were already not going well.
‘I was most surprised by Percival’s letter and the enclosed clipping from the newspaper,’ he said, staring at her as if she’d written it herself.
It was a good thing she had not entered the room brimming with hope.
As she usually did in these interrogations, she could feel any optimism inside her shrivelling like fat on a griddle.
‘I don’t know why,’ Percy replied, sounding faintly amused. ‘It was the news you should have been expecting. The very reason we both went to London for the Season. Lou was supposed to find a husband. Here he is.’
‘Yes,’ the man in the chair said, drawing the word out with a snakelike sibilance. ‘I can see where you would think so, Percival. You always were a bit of a dolt.’
She could not help it. She flinched. Percy remained unmoved. ‘So, you have told me, often enough. But at this late date, you are unlikely to get another heir, so we will all have to make the best of it.’
The man in the chair gave a harumph of disgust.
‘Tell me, Grandfather, if my purpose in London was not to find a husband for my sister, just what was your object in sending us there?’
The old man’s eyes narrowed. ‘I sent you there to find a husband for her and you’ve done a damn poor job of it these last few years.’
Percy took a half step to the side and flourished his hand towards the duke, as if he had conjured him from thin air. ‘I have made up for the deficiency this year. Mr Smith has offered. Louisa has accepted. The matter is settled.’
‘But I did not give you permission to make the final decision,’ her grandfather said, wrinkling his nose. ‘To announce it in The Times and trot out some stranger as a fait accompli?’ He turned to Thomas, looking him up and down in a way that expressed his severe disappointment.
‘Well, it is too late to do anything about that now, other than to accept my punishment with good grace,’ Percy said with an easy smile.
‘I am sure you will find no fault with the man in question. His prospects are good. His family as well. He is quite devoted to Louisa and she to him. Since the season is now over, we will not see a better match.’
The old man harumphed again. Then, he pointed to Percy and said, ‘Go. I wish to speak to the happy couple in private.’
‘Very well, sir,’ Percy said. He turned, smiled at her and gave Thomas a hearty clap on the back and a conspiratorial wink. Then, he was out the door, leaving the three of them alone.
This was followed by another long silence, a trick Grandfather often used to make her nervous.
If it went on much longer, she was likely to blurt out a confession, just as she always used to.
These interviews often ended with her choosing some random sin and hoping that it would be enough to placate him.
But this time would be different. The duke was standing here with her.
As Percy had said, Grandfather would want to talk man to man.
But he had no idea who he was dealing with.
Bonham was not the sort to slink away at the first sign of trouble.
He would do his best for her. She need do nothing but stand her ground and await the outcome.
She glanced towards the duke. As she’d expected, he showed no sign of cracking under the strain. He’d adopted a posture akin to Percy’s benign indifference. It was clear that Tom Smith was not afraid of a tense silence. He was ready to outwait his opponent, no matter how long it took.
‘Account for yourself,’ Grandfather ordered after almost a minute without speaking.
The duke reached into his pocket and produced a packet of papers.
‘Since we have not met before, and the circumstances of my offer to Louisa might seem sudden, I assumed you would want more than Percy’s assessment of my value.
I have brought letters of introduction, testaments to my character and, of course, a letter from my banker.
I hope that they will put your mind to rest as to the suitability of the match and the security of Louisa’s future.
’ He took a few steps forward and held out the papers.
The old man snatched them, glared and reached into his pocket for spectacles, taking great care to wipe the lenses before scanning the documents. There was another long silence as he did so.