Chapter Eight
Reuben absorbed the full force of Farrah’s disapproving gaze and felt uncharacteristically defensive.
Perhaps he should not have interfered, or at the very least told her the truth.
It wasn’t like him to be indecisive. God alone knew, he had enough problems of his own without getting involved in the Dalton family’s dispute, so why had he withheld his suspicions and made everything more complicated?
‘I am sure that the duke was motivated by good intentions,’ Lady Bartholomew said softly.
‘I suspect the duke is capable of speaking for himself,’ Lady Farrah replied, probably more acerbically than had been her intention. ‘I apologise, ma’am,’ she said, covering her mouth with her hand, ‘if I sound ungrateful or impolite, but …’
Her words stuttered to a halt as Lady Bartholomew waved the apology aside.
‘The floor is yours, your grace,’ she said, looking faintly amused, presumably because her niece was no respecter of Reuben’s elevated status.
Being challenged, he was fast discovering, was as refreshing as it was unusual, to say nothing of keeping him on his toes.
Reuben cleared his throat, desperately wanting to remove the bruised look of disapproval and uncertainty from Lady Farrah’s expression.
‘I have had the pleasure of counting Lord and Lady Bartholomew among my close acquaintances ever since I graduated from university and became active in local society. I have always enjoyed their society and, if you will excuse me from speaking openly ?’
‘I wish you would,’ Lady Farrah said, tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair and earning a chuckle of amusement from her aunt.
Young ladies, or ladies of any age, did not customarily lose patience with a duke, he wanted to tell her.
But Lady Farrah was clearly no respecter of social boundaries.
He liked that – and so much else about her unusual character – which was perhaps why he had involved himself so directly with her problems.
‘I met your mother for the first time yesterday and saw … well I saw …’
‘There’s no need to temper your words, your grace.
I have only enjoyed the pleasure of my aunt’s company for a few minutes but can already see marked differences in their characters.
’ She sent Reuben a sweetly sarcastic smile.
‘I hope that saves you from any further embarrassment. There again, I find it hard to imagine a gentleman of your stature being embarrassed about anything for long.’
Reuben exchanged a bemused glance with Lady Bartholomew, who appeared to find the situation increasingly diverting.
‘I think I ought to be the one to explain.’ Lady Bartholomew reached across to touch her niece’s hand. ‘How much do you know of the reasons for the dispute between your mother and me?’
‘Up until yesterday, nothing at all. It was never talked about when I was growing up – indeed it was a long time before I even realised that I had any relatives at all other than Sophia. When I did discover your existence and asked Mama why we never saw you, she flew into the most dreadful rage and spoke cryptically of being ill-used. Papa was tight-lipped on the subject too when I approached him for an explanation, so I learned not to speak of it.’
Lady Bartholomew gave a grim nod. ‘That does not surprise me.’ She leaned towards Farrah.
‘I shall not say anything to denigrate my sister. The fault was not hers, but mine.’ She paused and it seemed to Reuben as though Farrah held her breath, waiting for her next words and yet not wanting to hear them.
‘I fell in love, you see. With Lord Bartholomew. The gentleman whose affections my sister thought she had procured.’
‘So I understand.’
‘I knew none of this myself,’ the duke said.
‘Not until yesterday when my mother enlightened me. Bear in mind that I only inherited the dukedom two years ago. Prior to that I took little interest in our neighbours’ relationships.
Besides, it was none of my business and I was fully occupied coming to grips with the duties I had inherited far earlier than I had supposed would be the case. ’
‘The duke explained things to me,’ Lady Farrah said. ‘At least insofar as the duchess was able to enlighten him, but I should like to hear it from you, Aunt. As I say, my mother will not speak of it, and I have a burning curiosity to know about the circumstances, if you can bear to talk about it.’
‘Your interest is quite natural, my dear.’ Lady Bartholomew paused, presumably to gather her thoughts.
It was generous of her, Reuben thought, to tackle such an emotive issue when her husband’s life expectancy could be measured in days.
Perhaps even hours. But then again, the timing of this meeting with the niece whom she had clearly wanted to know for years could be deemed providential: an ideal momentary distraction from her crippling grief.
The majority of ladies wouldn’t dream of receiving at such a time, but it did not surprise Reuben that the countess put little stock by society’s mores.
‘Lord Bartholomew did admire your mother. As did your papa.’
Lady Farrah blinked. ‘At the same time?’
‘The gentlemen were the best of friends, and both were highly eligible. They were seldom apart. Where one went, the other followed. My husband danced with your mother on two occasions and then asked permission to call upon her.’
‘Which is tantamount to a declaration, I am given to understand,’ Lady Farrah remarked, with the suggestion of a smile.
‘It certainly would have given hope to the family of the lady in question. My family. The house was in uproar as we awaited their visit.’ She chuckled.
‘Our mother had all but ordered Ruth’s wedding clothes.
I was not out at the time, being a year younger than my sister, and found it all fascinating, even though it didn’t have anything to do with me – or so I thought.
I was pleased for Ruth though, who was bursting with excitement at the prospect of becoming a countess. ’
‘You and Mama were close?’
Lady Bartholomew waggled a hand from side to side. ‘Not exactly. We grew up with very different interests and ambitions. I can’t remember a time when Ruth had not anticipated landing herself a wealthy, high-born husband.’
‘Rather like Sophia and me,’ Lady Farrah said in a voice so quiet that Reuben barely caught the words.
‘I was at home when the gentlemen called and … well, there is little more that I can say. I was literally swept off my feet by Lord Bartholomew’s charm and sophistication.
He told me that he knew there could be no other female in his life the moment he laid eyes on me.
And to my shame, I felt the same way. There were the most terrible arguments, of course.
The names Ruth called me.’ She shuddered.
‘I knew that Mark would not take Ruth, even if I refused his proposal, which our mama would not have permitted me to do anyway. There were plenty of other gentlemen sniffing around Ruth, and unlike me, it was not love at first sight for her. She simply wanted the social advantage of being a countess, the wife of a famously wealthy earl, and resented the fact that she had been passed over for a sister who was not even out. If Mark had settled his interest on anyone outside our family, then her pride would not have been quite so badly hurt, I have always thought, and we would not have become estranged.’
‘It is not your fault, Aunt.’
‘Even so, I still feel some guilt to this day. Not that Mark had declared himself, or even given any indication that he intended to, other than asking if he could call upon Ruth. And he was far from the only gentleman to do so.’
‘I see.’
Lady Farrah looked absorbed, and Reuben would have given a great deal to know what thoughts were occupying her mind.
‘Your mother was fit to be tied when Mark offered not for her, but for me. Nothing I said could placate her, not even when Lord Dalton pursued her. She looked upon him very much as second best, simply because his fortune was considerably smaller than my husband’s.
She accepted his offer, though, to save face I’ve always thought.
It wouldn’t do for her sister, who had not even made her curtsey to the queen, to waltz away with the second most eligible catch of the season, leaving her on the shelf. ’
‘And so she married Papa.’
‘Indeed. And she hasn’t spoken to me since that day. I thought she would come round given time, but she never did. When I was unable to have children and she knew how much I longed to be a mother, I think it gave her immense satisfaction to have two daughters whom I was not permitted to know.’
‘But no sons. I have often heard her lament the fact.’
‘I dare say, but she actually forbade me to have anything to do with you or your sister.’
‘Such spite.’ Lady Farrah shook her head. ‘It must be exhausting to bear such a long-standing grudge. The past cannot be altered, so why not make the best of things?’
‘One thing your mother could not destroy was the bond between my husband and hers, and they maintained their friendship in secret. Your father knew he could not mention it in front of his wife. It would send her into the most dreadful rage.’
‘I imagine that they saw one another here in the country,’ Lady Farrah said.
‘Yes, and in their clubs, which were safe from the prying eyes of females.’
‘But not those of other men, who doubtless passed information on to their wives.’ Lady Farrah tapped her fingers on the arms of her chair.
‘I wonder if Mama heard of their continued friendship through the gossip mill. That might account for her permanently bad mood, as it showed that Papa would not be dictated to by his wife.’
‘In my experience, the gentlemen tend not to speak out of turn about anything they hear at their clubs,’ Reuben said, making his first contribution to the conversation for some time. ‘It’s an unwritten rule.’