Chapter 16 A Departure
It was so many hours of wakeful wretchedness before Lance fell asleep that he was woken by Denny’s vigorous shaking.
“Come on, slug-a-bed, time to get moving.”
Lance groaned. “Leave me alone, you devil.”
“No, no, you have to get up. The dragon wants to talk to you.”
“Dragon?” Lance muttered sleepily. Then, sitting up abruptly, “The marchioness? Wants to talk to me? The devil she does! And I want to talk to her, too. Quick, quick, man, where is my—” He laughed suddenly.
“No. Let her wait.” Another bark of laughter.
“Yes, she can wait for me, for a change, but it will not help her.”
“You speak in riddles, my enigmatic friend,” Denny said. “Come on, your washing water is getting cold.”
“I want a bath,” Lance said.
“A bath? That will take an hour at least. Oh, I see. Very well.”
It was almost two hours before Lance presented himself, immaculately groomed, in the Blue Parlour, where the marchioness awaited him.
However thunderous her expression might have been at being kept waiting for so long, by the time the footman had opened the door fully and ushered him inside, her face was wreathed in smiles.
“Ah, Mr Chamberlain! How good of you to wait upon me so early in the day. I do hope the early start has not inconvenienced you.”
“Not at all,” he said in his blandest tones. Which was true, of course, but he was not about to apologise for keeping her waiting. The apology should be entirely in the other direction.
“Do sit down, Mr Chamberlain… or may I call you Lance? I feel we know you well enough now to take that liberty.” He inclined his head in acknowledgement. “I have ordered some food… coffee and chocolate… pastries… or there is wine, if you prefer.”
“Nothing, thank you.” As if he would eat or drink with this wicked woman!
“Lance…” She smiled at him again, and he thought he had never seen such a false smile.
“Patience has confessed to me what she did — such a naughty girl! She is an innocent, of course, and although she has been told many times that she must not be alone with a man, and especially not in a bedchamber, well… I have never explained to her just why it must be so. Indeed, much as a mother may wish to protect her daughter from false steps, she would never wish to despoil her innocence.”
That was a sentiment with which Lance could agree wholeheartedly.
“You were quite right to be angry with her. Indeed, I have rung such a peal over her myself as she will not forget in a hurry, I assure you. She has been a very silly girl, but it was all because of love, you see. She loves you very much, Lance, and it drives her to foolishness.” She sipped her cup of chocolate, as if this were just another morning call.
“I assure you, once she is married she will be entirely content, but her distress at present is so great… I do believe that the most sensible course of action now is for you to marry sooner rather than later. I have not always thought so, as you will recall, but given my poor girl’s unsettled state of mind and her desire to be joined to her true love at all costs, I feel a mother’s natural caution must give way.
So it will be best to obtain a bishop’s licence and marry at once.
There, now that that is settled, I shall—”
“No.”
The chocolate cup slipped from her fingers, to crash onto the saucer. “I beg your pardon?”
Lance rose, looking down at the marchioness’s white face, eyes wide as she saw her plans disintegrate around her ears.
“I am very sorry to disoblige you, but I cannot possibly marry Patience at once. May — that was what you stipulated in November, was it not? May or June, and that suits me perfectly well. A spring wedding in town, with all her friends about her — what could be better? So why the rush? Why drive through the desperate state of the roads at this time of year? Why the desire to marry immediately? Why the clumsy attempt to compromise me? I could make a guess, Lady Pentavon. I could wonder whether Patience is quite as innocent as you profess. I could, but I believe I know the answer and if that is true, then Patience is not a fit wife for any respectable man.”
She recovered herself quickly, glaring at him superciliously.
“Mr Chamberlain, we have overlooked your humble standing in society and prepared to accept you into the family for the sake of our love-struck daughter, but you forget your place! Have we not been generosity itself in offering you the full dowry, and a house as well, since you cannot provide a suitable establishment for her? Twenty thousand pounds — it is a princely sum! And you throw our kindness back in our faces with these dreadful insinuations.”
“Then it is not true? Patience is entirely innocent, is she?”
“Of course!”
“And you would swear that on the Holy Book, would you? Think carefully before you answer, madam.”
A long pause. “Thirty thousand pounds… and a knighthood. Pentavon has influence at court, so—”
“You disgust me,” Lance said savagely, turning for the door.
Lady Pentavon burst into noisy sobs, collapsing in upon herself like a hot air balloon with a leak. “But you love her!” she wailed. “Surely you cannot believe such dreadful things of your own darling girl? Marry her and all will be well, I swear it!”
“Marry her, and I am cuckolded before the parson has even done his work,” Lance said disdainfully.
“I am right, am I not? There is only one reason for a girl to want… no, to need to marry in such haste. You are a disgrace to your noble rank, Lady Pentavon. I am not your equal, indeed, I am barely a gentleman by your standards, but I am of respectable stock, and I will not have my family’s blood tainted by a woman of such loose morals as Patience appears to have.
I suggest you go back to Gloucestershire and look about you there for someone prepared to take her off your hands. ”
And so saying, he swept out of the room.
***
Agentle tap on the door drew Lance from his darker thoughts.
“Who is it?”
“Lily. I have brought you something to eat, since you missed breakfast.”
He smiled. How kind she was! Crossing with quick steps to the door, he unlocked it and threw it wide. She stood on the threshold, as composed as ever, waiting while a maid bustled in with a tray and then withdrew.
“They have gone,” Lily said quietly. “Many tears from the young lady, and black looks from her mama. Poor Lord Daniel will have a miserable time of it, trapped in a carriage with the two of them. Are you—? Forgive me, but is there anything you want? Anything any of us may do to help?”
“There is no help for what has occurred,” Lance said.
“Then the betrothal is definitely at an end? There is no possibility of a reconciliation?”
Lance glanced up and down the passageway to ensure that they were quite alone. “Lily, there is only one reason why a young lady needs a husband in a great hurry. I could not contemplate marrying her in such circumstances.”
She nodded, showing no surprise. “I feared something of the sort. The Merrington ladies saw only romantic attachment, but there is a desperation in such a journey at this time of year. I am very sorry for it, Lance. What a shame, after all the excitement of your reunion yesterday, to end in this way.” She half turned away, then turned back.
“We are all going out for a walk later today, since it is dry for once. Would you like to join us? Fresh air and exercise and congenial company might lift your spirits after such a disappointing outcome.”
“Thank you, I should like that.”
“We will meet in the Marble Hall at one o’clock. I shall send your man up to you. Enjoy your breakfast.”
And with that she was gone, in a swirl of lavender silk and delicate perfume, her slippers making no sound on the carpet.
***
Georgie could not decide which was most astonishing — that Lady Patience had arrived unannounced and clearly ecstatic to see her betrothed, or that she had left again the next morning, her engagement broken.
No one seemed to know quite what had happened, and Mr Chamberlain would say only that they had discovered irreconcilable differences between them and realised that they were not well suited after all.
He was remarkably phlegmatic about the business, considering how abruptly all his hopes had been destroyed.
The Merrington ladies formed a defensive shield around Mr Chamberlain, ensuring that he was never left alone to brood.
Whether he was painting or taking a brisk walk in the garden or writing letters in the breakfast parlour, where perhaps he had retreated to escape his shadows, one or two of them were sure to be there.
When evening came, they set themselves to find little amusements to lift his spirits.
Not that he seemed to be in low spirits, and sometimes his exchanges with the sisters bordered on the flirtatious.
“What do you make of it?” Jamie said as he and Georgie readied themselves for bed that evening. “What can possibly have happened to cause such a spectacular rift?”
“They quarrelled, I suppose,” she said. “What else?”
“Yes, but what about?” he said, speaking a little more loudly than usual since he was undressing behind the screen.
“They seemed perfectly content when he escorted her upstairs last night, but then she left before breakfast this morning. What could have happened in the night to cause such a rupture?”
Georgie sat down on the edge of the bed to roll down her stockings. “I can’t imagine, although… perhaps he tried to take liberties?”
“That would hardly be surprising in an engaged couple, and I cannot suppose that he would press her if she resisted. Besides, when she left, she seemed upset rather than angry, and the mother was upset, too. Did you know that Lady Pentavon spent half an hour talking to him this morning, very early? Provided wine and edibles, too, which he did not touch.”
“No!” She jumped up and poked her head round the side of Jamie’s screen. “Really?”