Chapter Four #2
She thrust the invitation towards her mother.
“If such respectable and unexceptionable people as the Blythes are still willing to associate with me, then my reputation is intact. They have invited me to spend the afternoon with them. I believe we shall be walking in Hyde Park at five o’ clock, when everyone will see me with one of the most decorous families and no one will have any reason to find me objectionable. ”
*
Lord Montgomery raised an eyebrow as Robert Walker threw his lean form into a deep, comfortable leather chair in the library of White’s Club.
His face was languid and his eyes anguished.
“Roly, she is the most exquisite, the most ravishing angel ever to tread the soil of this earth and I will die if she cannot be mine.”
“Angels are more usually considered to glide and float than tread,” Roland observed dryly, setting aside the newspaper that he had been reading.
His cousin sat up with an indignant huff. “You wouldn’t laugh if you had even an inkling of what I suffer. Only a cold-hearted prosaic philistine could reach the advanced age of two and thirty without ever having even one grand romance.”
“Just because I know how to control my emotions does not mean I do not feel deeply.” Roland stood up and paced in front of the large fireplace.
Not many members of the club were present this early in the day, although the betting book had already been opened, with the odds for an imminent marriage between Mr. Walker and Gwendolyn already drawing high stakes.
He regarded his young cousin thoughtfully.
“If you are still hankering after Miss Burroughs, it might be worthwhile to listen to the gossip,” he said.
“A marriage which has its foundation in scandal and betting books is not destined for lasting happiness. Her reputation had reached even as far as the quiet corridors of High Fell Manor and I will not give you permission to tie yourself to her.”
Even as he spoke, he was aware that the indignation and righteousness he should have felt at seeing Miss Burroughs brought low escaped him. Something more akin to pity stirred in his heart. Robert was talking, and Roland almost missed the import of his words.
“Miss who? Oh, Gwendolyn. She’s pretty enough, I suppose, but I’ve outgrown my childish infatuation with her.
No, Roly, I spent half an hour last night mesmerized by the ravishing and delightful Miss Bernice Blythe, better known as Bonnie, a name that suits her admirably.
She is everything a man needs in a woman, attractive, sweet-natured, demure and charming.
I am truly in love for the first time in my life. ”
Montgomery’s eyebrow shot right up. “Did this occur before or after you were found in a compromising position with Miss Burroughs?”
Robert’s face turned red. “I really don’t know why everyone is making such a fuss about that. We were just talking. The odds are more in favor of my bedding her than marrying her, as Sir Percy predicts.”
*
Gwendolyn was dressed demurely in a soft white muslin dress and a fichu she had borrowed from Mariana which modestly covered her décolletage.
Her hair was arranged in an unusually severe style and tucked beneath her bonnet to ensure no curls would escape.
Hairpins jabbed at her skull but she was determined to salvage her reputation.
Hyde Park was even more crowded than usual at the fashionable hour of five o’clock, the warm, early summer sunshine having coaxed many members of the ton outdoors.
Many more had been drawn out by the heat of gossip and Gwendolyn, strolling beside Grace, was conscious of curious stares and whispers that formed a wake behind them.
She tilted her chin up and held her shoulders stiffly, nodding regally to return greetings from acquaintances and envying the easy conversation Mariana and Bonnie were enjoying with Miss Saunders as they walked a few paces ahead of them.
Freya and Isolde also laughed and chatted as they followed behind with Mrs. Blythe and Lady Maynard.
They strolled past a gaggle of girls. Gwendolyn recognized Margaret Hadley, whose torn muslin had brought her and her friends into the hallway last night, holding court with a delighted audience, all eager to hear how she had caught the famed beauty in a compromising position.
Gwendolyn stared straight ahead as she passed them but she could not prevent her cheeks from turning red as she felt their surreptitious glances fall on her. Grace stiffened and quickened her pace as if her own reputation could be harmed just by being with Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn held her head as high as she could as she matched her steps to Grace’s.
She would not apologize for being beautiful and enjoying the company of men.
She liked to be admired, although deep down in her heart she wanted people, men and women, to like her, and many a night she had lain awake wondering what people would think of her if she did not look like a pretty doll.
Men did not usually expect her to say anything intelligent but only nod and smile when they spoke, and she often felt like one of her childhood toys that were now lying abandoned in the back of a cupboard in the long-unused playroom at the back of the house.
She had learned that the best way to keep people flocking around her was to be what they expected her to be, an empty-headed doll who could not be hurt because dolls had no heart.
They were almost halfway down Rotten Row before Gwendolyn found the courage to speak to the equally silent Grace. “Thank you for inviting me to walk with you this afternoon.”
Grace looked steadily ahead of her. “Mama suggested it. She and Lady Maynard believe that you were inadvertently placed in a difficult situation and we should do what we can to help show Society that you are not a fallen woman.” Then, as if realizing that her words conveyed her own reluctance to be near Gwendolyn, she added, “And I would like to know you better, too.”
Gwendolyn was startled. “Why? I have not been very polite to you.” She did not add that her flirtatious behavior towards Major Enderby had been inexcusable, but she knew that it must be uppermost in Grace’s thoughts.
Grace breathed in deeply. “No, you haven’t.
Perhaps that is why I think it is good for us to spend some time together.
” She stopped in her earnestness, nearly causing a party of young ladies behind them to stumble against them.
They had been walking too close, hoping to catch tidbits of gossip they could share at whatever events they would be attending that evening.
“I have seen glimpses of your character that transcend your beauty.”
Grace glared frostily at the girls who hurried past and then looked at Gwendolyn, her face very somber.
“I am not sure that you could understand what it is like to be an ordinary woman who does not have dozens of swains casting themselves at her feet.” She resumed walking, more slowly now.
“I do not have the ability to charm or interest men, as you do and I am burdened with the knowledge that the man to whom I am betrothed finds my company unstimulating.”
Gwendolyn swallowed the lump that was blocking her throat.
“I have it on good authority that men prefer gentle and sweet wives to outrageous flirts.” She tried to make light of Grace’s concerns.
Never before had anyone, other than Mariana, shared their innermost thoughts with her.
It was an uncomfortable feeling and yet she was also humbled by Grace’s candor, although she was unsure how to help her new friend.
A low, yellow phaeton drew to a still alongside the girls and their conversation was halted.
Gwendolyn uttered a low groan. A large lady of advanced years and wrapped in swathes of lavender chiffon, leaned forward.
She did not bother with a greeting. “Have you no shame, no self-respect or consideration for the decency of those unfortunate enough to be related to you, girl? I have heard the stories of your dreadful behavior last night. I had not expected to see you parading in the park today. Any self-respecting woman would have retired to the country and stayed there a few months, where your scandal might have blown over. Of course, I would not expect your mother to behave in a proper way but even she must know that your presence here gives the gossip mongers more grist to grind in their mills.”
The blood drained from Gwendolyn’s face and then rushed back, turning her cheeks bright red and making her eyes spark with ire. “Good day, Lady Murgatroyd. I believe you have not met Miss Blythe.”
Grace dropped a neat curtsey and greeted the lady, who looked at her through a quizzing glass and said, “Ah, the lass who is hoping to catch Enderby. You are a pretty sort of girl and have sweet manners but a man like that needs more gumption in a wife. You should secure him before a little flirt like my cousin’s daughter here snaps him up.
Men cannot be trusted to control their feelings for very long. ”
Her words appeared to conjure up the object of her derision, for a large chestnut stallion came to a halt a few feet from them and Major Enderby dismounted.
He handed the reins to his groom and came towards them.
His smart bow encompassed all of them but his eyes lingered on Gwendolyn for a moment longer than they should have.
Her confusion increased. She could not read his opinion of her in his hard eyes, and with a blush, she looked away.
Lady Murgatroyd sneered. “It’s clear to see which way the wind blows.
I suppose, Major Enderby, like most men, you will have your cake and eat it.
Well, I wish you bon appetit.” With that enigmatic statement, she prodded her groom with the end of her walking stick and he urged her chestnut pair forward.