Chapter 20 Springtime #2
“Lord, yes! Dreadful girl. No morals worth mentioning. Did you never wonder why the parents raced up to town in the middle of the hunting season to tie you up, eh? Stupid girl had been fooling around with one of the grooms. Nothing came of it, luckily — we would really have had to throw her out if it had. No, she was lucky, but Father thought it best to get her safely engaged to you just in case of future accidents. Had no liking for it, but it had to be done. But then the stupid creature had to go fooling round with Pardow. Do you know Pardow?”
“I have never met anyone from that family.”
“Lucky you. We wish Patience had never met them, either. So then she found she had one in the basket and Pardow long gone, so the push was on to get her safely married to you. But you worked it out, fortunately. I have to say, I never liked the idea above half — forcing a man to take another man’s get.
Not right, is it? I would never stand for it. Get me some more punch, will you?”
“The punch bowl is only two steps away, my lord, and if that is too much effort, there is a footman over there. I have a cotillion to enjoy.”
As he left the room, he heard Lord Daniel’s imperious voice calling, “Footman! Hey, you there!”
Seething, Lance barely noticed his surroundings until a familiar female voice hailed him.
“Lance? Are you quite well?”
“Oh… Lottie! Just the person I need. Your smiling face will help me cool my temper.”
“Was that Lord Daniel I saw with you just now?” she said.
“It was, and a more arrogant, selfish, underhanded, devious, scoundrelly family I never met in my entire life. But I beg your pardon! I should not vent my spleen on you. This is our dance, I believe. Shall we?”
“Not for the world! Let us find a quiet corner where you can vent your spleen at whatever length is necessary to restore your equanimity.”
“A quiet corner? In this crush?”
But she led him round the room a little way, avoiding the dancers forming sets, and behind some potted plants to where a sofa sat unobtrusively.
“There! We shall be quite private here, and you may unburden yourself, Lance dear. At least, as much as you wish to tell me.”
“I am not sure if I can tell you everything, Lottie,” he said. “You are still an innocent, and the details of Patience’s betrayal are not fit for the ears of any respectable woman.”
“You mean she was with child? Oh, I know that! We all know that,” Charlotte said calmly.
“Her own maid was outraged by her behaviour and told Lily’s maid before she left — in the strictest confidence, naturally, but you can imagine how long that lasted.
I dare say every upper servant knew of it within minutes, and thus it seeped upstairs, too.
Everyone was very glad you saw through her in the end. Disgraceful woman!”
“Well!” Lance said, with a bark of laughter. “There are no secrets, it appears.”
“Very few, I regret to say, but nothing spreads beyond Staineybank, so you need not worry about that. But whatever did Lord Daniel say that has upset you so much? Surely there could be nothing new?”
“Only that Patience’s betrayal began even before we were betrothed.”
Lance’s sense of grievance was strong and Charlotte was a sympathetic listener, so he held forth for some time, telling her every detail. He even recounted how Patience had entered his bedroom at night.
“So she intended to compromise you!” Charlotte said, in shocked tones.
“That is despicable! But Lance, if you want to know my opinion, I do believe you are very well rid of her, however beautiful she is. What is the use of such a lovely exterior if the inside is rotten? But you need not worry, for you will find another lady to suit you before very long. In fact, you may already know just the person.”
“I have met so many young ladies since I came up to town,” he said, smiling at her.
“Pretty ones, wealthy ones, well-connected ones… but how shall I know that she will not deceive me just as Patience did? How can I know the heart of a woman in the space of a country dance or a drive in the park? How can I ever trust a woman again?”
“The length of a dance is not sufficient to know anyone, but over the course of several months, with someone you see very often, you will come to know whether you feel easy with her, whether you can talk to her and share intimacies. And if I might venture a hint — such women are not found solely amongst the daughters of the nobility. A woman brought up in humbler circumstances than Lady Patience might suit you better. More practical and not so expensive.”
“That is true, and easier to find, I should imagine. Lottie, you lift my spirits. What a good friend you are to me.”
“I shall always be your friend,” she said, laying one gloved hand on his. “You know you may depend upon me. If ever you wish to talk, I am always at your service. But now, we must join the others for supper.”
“Supper already? I had not noticed the time flying by.” He rose and with a little bow, offered her his arm. “May I escort you into supper, Miss Merrington?”
“Why, thank you, Mr Chamberlain. How very kind.”
Side by side, they joined the crowd thronging out of the ballroom and into the supper rooms.
From then onwards, Charlotte became his chief confidante in social matters.
At balls, he formed the habit of standing up with her for the supper dance, so that he could escort her into supper, the better to ask her views on his other partners.
At card evenings, he contrived to join her table, and when the ladies paraded in Hyde Park at the fashionable hour, he rode alongside them, and as often as not would find some excuse to walk with her for a while.
It was pleasant to have a female companion, not to court but simply as a friend. They still occasionally fell into flirtatious exchanges, for she had the same enjoyment of it that he did himself, but it never meant anything serious.
So he was startled when Denny said one evening, “Lance, what are your intentions towards Charlotte?”
Denny was preparing him for bed, so he waited until he was arrayed in nightgown robe and cap before replying. “Lottie? She is an amusing friend, that is all.”
“You should perhaps be aware that there is a great deal of speculation in the duke’s household on the matter.”
“It is hard to see why. What cause have I given anyone to imagine I have more in mind that a gentle flirtation?”
Denny paused in the act of gathering up discarded clothes. “Perhaps it is that you single her out so much. It has been noticed.”
“I have been scrupulously careful not to pay her excessive attention,” Lance said stiffly. “Do I take her driving? Do I ever stand up with her more than once? Have I ever tried to kiss her, or even to get her alone? I have not. You know I have not.”
“No, but if you have no thought of marriage, perhaps you should be a little more circumspect,” Denny said. “Goodnight, my friend. Sleep well.”
Circumspect? Was he not already sufficiently circumspect?
Lottie had never given him the least hint that she thought of him as a potential husband, or at least, he added punctiliously, not lately.
When he had first arrived at Staineybank, all the Merrington sisters had made rather a show of admiring him, but his engagement had deterred them.
He was no longer engaged, but surely nothing in his behaviour had given rise to expectations… or had it?
He cursed Denny for even mentioning the issue, for now he would be awake for half the night, wondering if he had unwittingly raised Lottie’s hopes.
He liked her well enough as a friend, but as a future wife? That thought had never even crossed his mind.