II #4
“Maria has not yet arrived, then?”
“Not yet, but both she and little Minnie Seymour are expected on Sunday week. It begins to look as though she will be able to keep the child, after all, you know.”
“So I heard. The guardian angel wins through at last.” He raised an eyebrow. “What do you think of that case, Miss Lindale?”
Nell was perfectly willing to discuss Maria Fitzherbert’s efforts to adopt the eight-year-old child entrusted to her care some years earlier by friends.
It was a topic that had fascinated her for some months.
Other powerful members of the Seymour family, for many reasons, had been unwilling to agree to the adoption and had steadily refused to leave Minnie with the prince’s mistress for longer than certain specified periods of time.
At one point the prince himself had even offered to settle ten thousand pounds on the child if the head of her family, Lord Hertford, would agree to leave her to the care of himself and Mrs. Fitzherbert.
Unfortunately, the offer had only made matters worse.
Nell had not understood why at the time, but Huntley explained with a grin that it was because of an earlier friendship between a Seymour lady and the prince.
“The family feared his gift might be misconstrued, you see.”
Nell chuckled. She had known only that the offer had been declined, the official reason having been that young Minnie would one day possess a fortune of her own.
“I think it was very kind of Lady Hertford to help them,” she said.
The chief objection to Mrs. Fitzherbert, as everyone knew perfectly well, was her religion.
There was widespread public prejudice against the Church of Rome, which manifested itself when a lawsuit ensued for custody of the child.
It was not until Mrs. Fitzherbert was able to enlist the support of her friend, Lady Hertford, that a compromise had been reached.
Lady Hertford was said to have coaxed her lord into claiming guardianship of the child, and once it had been granted by the Court of Chancery, she convinced him to allow Mrs. Fitzherbert to act as his deputy.
“Prinny certainly dotes on the child,” Huntley said now.
“Indeed,” Nell agreed. “There can be no doubt that he and Mrs. Fitzherbert both love her dearly. It would be cruel to separate them, especially in view of the fact that Minnie’s spiritual welfare has now been entrusted to a bishop of the Church of England.”
“Thus offsetting any Roman tainting at Maria’s hands?” The cynicism had returned. His voice, though pitched low, was harsh.
Nell’s eyes widened. “You speak as if you think I disapprove in some way, sir. I assure you I do not. Only those who do not know how kind she is have dared to question Mrs. Fitzherbert’s motives.”
“And she has been kind to you?”
“Indeed, sir. Mrs. Fitzherbert is kind to everyone.”
Huntley looked as if he would like to pursue the conversation, but his attention was claimed at that moment by Sir Henry.
Nell turned back to find Lord Crossways attending to his dinner.
She felt oddly breathless, and it seemed strange to realize there had been others nearby while she conversed, however briefly, with the dark gentleman sitting so disarmingly near her.
When he had turned to answer Sir Henry she had for a moment expected to find herself alone.
It was very odd indeed to see her sister chatting with her brother and Lady Agnes deep in conversation with young Rory.
Jeremy appeared at her shoulder to clear the first course, and a moment later he was back with a roast of beef to begin serving the second.
She spoke again from time to time with her dark neighbor, but the group at the table was a small one, and it was not long before the formal atmosphere waned, and when Clarissa complimented Nell on her lovely scarf, the conversation promptly became general.
“I own, I should like very much to have one made in a similar pattern,” Clarissa went on, “however, I daresay such delicate lace must come very dear.”
“Oh, no,” Nell replied with a chuckle. “It was duty-free, you see.”
“Came to the house in a loaf of bread, if you please,” Kit put in with a laugh.
When Rory demanded more information, the others realized that the topic was not precisely suitable for the dinner table, and Nell deftly turned the subject, but not before she noticed that Huntley’s eyebrows were sternly knitted again.
Directly after dinner, Lord Crossways made their apologies and both he and his lady bade their daughter a fond adieu.
Huntley departed with them in order that they might give him a lift to the house in the Marine Parade which he had hired for the Season, but before he left, he made it plain to both the Lady Aurora and Miss Lindale that they would be seeing more of him in the immediate future.
“Perhaps you will accompany me in a walk along the cliffs tomorrow,” he suggested.
“We should be delighted, sir,” Nell replied.
Next to her, Rory muttered under her breath, “Perhaps.”