A Curious Heart (Love Vine: A Regency Series) (15 page)

Allie brightened considerably and by the time they had reached her Aunt Alana's side, she was laughing merrily at Lady Eleanor's antics.

Lady Alana was relieved to see her charge in such good humor and joined them in recounting a few of her own mishaps. The ladies were thus engaged when Sir Gordon joined them, frowning mightily.

The earl was close on his heels, and though he was not exactly smiling, his eyes twinkled merrily, for he had not been so hugely entertained in years. He drew his features into a solemn cast, however, when his friend glanced at him with irritation.

 "I believe it would be prudent for us to leave now. Beasely's in a snit and I had to threaten him with bodily harm to prevent his spreading 'round this sad tale," the knight intoned gravely.

Sir Gordon then fixed his young sister with a quelling gaze. "He is not a very stable young man and you have managed to humiliate him dreadfully. He will only keep quiet about this if we are not here to remind him of his disgrace. A dozen persons at least have spied the two of you walking out to the terrace together and I shudder to think what tomorrows gossip will be. Not well done, Allie. Thought you'd have better sense."

Thoroughly chastised by her brother's censure, Allie shrank back into the shell of misery she had so recently withdrawn from, her eyes taking on a dullness once more.

Noticing this, Lady Eleanor gave the man a frown, and let fly with an invective. "Give over your pompous lecturing, Gordon! Can you not see the damage you are doing Allie? She has only just begun to emerge from her doldrums and you give her a setdown and a lecture for something that is no fault of hers. Better you whip that young man and chastise him for his behavior toward your sister."

With that, Lady Eleanor turned her back, pulled Allie's arm through her own, and with a haughty lift of her chin marched the girl away.

Her statement had not gone unnoticed by a few of the personages nearby, and before the evening was over a vast array of rumors had begun to fly about. One such rumor was that there would be a duel between Sir Gordon and Beasley at dawn. Another inferred Allie Pendleton had enticed the hapless Beasley to the veranda then, in an attempt to look the innocent, pushed him over when their tryst had been discovered by her brother.

And worse, there were those who suddenly remembered Griffin George having been much in Allie's company, only to disappear suddenly, giving rise to the dreaded speculation regarding her virtue.

 There were other rumors, of course—gossip being what it is—but the main thrust was Beasely's behavior. Beasley himself, by his silence, did nothing to disabuse anyone of their particular notions, damning Allie.

Alas, gossip had come Allie's way at last.

When they were all once more seated in the carriage, a quiet came over the group as Allie sulked. Lady Eleanor fumed silently and stared a hole through Sir Gordon, who sat stiff and outraged under her gaze.

Lady Alana, as well as Rothburn, found it prudent to keep silent in view of the high tempers boiling at the moment.

The carriage crawled along slowly, traffic being quite a snarl due to the many balls and parties just breaking up at this hour. As a result, they were nearly forty minutes getting back to the Pendleton town house, without a word spoken by anyone.

The air fairly crackled with tension and no one in the carriage sorry to depart its cramped interior. Sir Gordon took Lady Eleanor's arm to assist her up the steps, but she pulled away dramatically, startling all with her unusual display of ire. The usually mild-mannered lady was truly in a snit.

"I say, Eleanor. What is this exhibit for?" Sir Gordon protested her withdrawal with some heat in his voice.

"You, Sir, need to curb your excessive temper. The very idea of speaking so to your own sister!" She tossed her head and walked on, once more linking her arm through that of  her would-be sister-in-law. It seemed her own rant to the girl was tolerable, but his was not.

Allie allowed herself to be led along, hardly aware of the goings-on around her. The girl had fallen so hard into her depressed state that Lady Eleanor was alarmed. Thus she could not countenance her beloved's seemingly callous behavior toward the obviously suffering young lady.

Falling in behind them, Sir Gordon merely shrugged. He raised his eyes to the sky in silent sufferance of women's tantrums, while Rothburn held out his arm for his own lady love and helped her up the steps.

Rothburn would have done well to keep silent, but his natural tendency to fix things got the better of him. When they were all seated in the small library, he made his fatal comments.

"Eleanor, your attitude wants thinking over. After all, Gordon is her brother, and as such, has a perfect right to chastise the girl if he feels it necessary. Don't be so hard on the poor fellow."

His voice was calmness and reason itself, but the flash of temper in her eyes told him immediately that he had made a grave mistake. Trying to overcome his
faux pas
, he turned to Lady Alana, hoping to enlist her aid.

Before he could open his mouth, however, she turned a cold shoulder to him, and addressed Lady Eleanor, without so much as giving him a look. "You are quite right, my dear, to be upset. Although Allie was a trifle indiscreet in her behavior, she is young and we all need to remember that."

Lady Alana scowled at Gordon, her final comment strident as she rose from her chair. "As for me, it has been a long day and I'm quite ready for my bed. Shall I call for the carriage to drop you at home, Eleanor?"

Nodding her assent, Lady Eleanor rose and turned her back fully on Sir Gordon, who took the snub with a frown, grumbling under his breath about
women's vapors and foolishness
—which she heard all too clearly. With a stiffening of her spine, the lady started across the room, only to stop short when Rothburn tried once more to smooth the moment.

"I only meant, of course, that it is foolish to be upset with a man for doing his obvious duty by the females of his family. Men are supposed to oversee the behavior of younger sisters."

Rothburn made his voice even more reasonable, which only served to irritate both ladies. He continued, however, on his oblivious way with a further comment, directed this time to Sir Gordon. "Shall you apologize prettily to the ladies, sir, that we might have an end to this silliness?"

"Silliness?" Both women exclaimed together and looked at Rothburn as though they might throttle him.

Lady Alana finished him off with a quelling glance and a chilly manner. "You have behaved boorishly Lord Rothburn and owe Lady Eleanor an apology. Perhaps you need to remember that things that are none of your business should remain just that."

She motioned to Allie and Lady Eleanor to accompany her and headed for the stairs.

The two men watched the ladies departure, a limp and cast-down Allie between them. Sir Gordon spoke up when they were well out of earshot. "Really, Rothburn! Have a care. My aunt is a chilly one when her back's up and you've just about ruined me with Eleanor as well."

"Not you too, surely, old fellow? I thought you'd be pleased to have at least one person take your side." Rothburn was astounded that the whole episode had deteriorated into such a fiasco at a few innocent words.

"I know you meant well, of course." Sir Gordon reigned his temper. "No sense taking it out on you. Lets away to my study for a brandy and perhaps we can reason with the ladies when they come back."

That said, the gentlemen repaired to the inner sanctum for a libation, with a quick word to March to alert them when the women returned.

After seeing the girl to her room and giving her over to her maid, the two ladies descended to the foyer where the butler stood ready to direct them to the study.

Reluctantly, they went through the door and stood together just inside, looking thunder at their respective suitors. When they did not come forward immediately to be seated, Sir Gordon came to them, and taking each by an arm, led them to the couch, where they sat, mute and stormy.

Clearing his throat, Rothburn started to speak, but was forestalled by Sir Gordon who felt the earl had said more than enough this evening. Raising his hand for silence, he looked sternly at his friend and then turned his gaze to his beloved, his voice gruff with ill-concealed irritation. "Eleanor, you must believe that I have every intention of defending Allie's honor. I will send 'round Rothburn to call him out this very night."

From the corner of his eye he saw his friend sit up straight and stare at him, open-mouthed, but he went on, "Think you that I would leave such a deed undone?"

In truth, Sir Gordon had no real intention of dueling with the young squirt, but he felt that Lady Eleanor wanted him to. He knew that Rothburn would move heaven and earth to prevent the incident, so felt safe in his ploy. Anything to gain his beloved's regard.

"You intend to call him out?" Lady Eleanor sat perfectly still and gazed at him in horror. "I cannot believe you would be so imprudent. This matter must die a natural death and if you take such an action it will only call further gossip down on the girl. How can you be so—so foolish?"

Calling him foolish only served to anger Sir Gordon, who had thought she wanted this. Had she not said so earlier? He paced to the mantle and leaned against it, looking down into the flames. Reigning his temper failed. When he spoke, anger filled his words. "I don't know what the devil you want from me, Eleanor.

"First you take my head off for not calling him out, then you come down hard on me for wanting to do so." He lifted his eyes at last and looked straight at her. "Just tell me, if you would be so kind—" he spaced his words out carefully, as though speaking to a child, "—tell me just what you wish, and I shall endeavor to do it and put an end to this whole affair."

Lady Eleanor stood abruptly, offended beyond measure by his tone. "I want only to be gone from here immediately. I never told you to call anyone out. I only suggested that you should beat that monstrous young man to a pulp for attacking your innocent sister. That is not dueling."

"Wait, please." Rothburn stood and made another grave mistake, over the protest of his friend, whom he ignored. "I shall see to it that no duel is done here. I will talk to Gordon, and I will see you home also. No sense taking two carriages when one will do just as well."

He would have done well to stop there, but Rothburn being who and what he was, often carried the thing further than he should, and this time he was in up to his neck. "As for beating Beasley to a pulp, surely you cannot expect a gentleman to brawl in the streets like a commoner."

He turned to Sir Gordon, whose face had gone a brilliant red, and finished himself off. "But then, ladies will think with their emotions rather than using their heads—no logic, I suppose. Right Gordon?"

"Pray tell me, sir—did I hear you correctly? I vow you said we have no logical thought processes." Lady Alana stood abruptly, fixing Rothburn with a glacial stare. "Are we so short of brains that we cannot think at all, perhaps? Would you like to expound on that theory?"

Not waiting for an answer, she flounced from the room, sweeping her guest before her and left the two men staring after them. Lady Alana, stung to the quick that Rothburn could be capable of such idiocy, raised her chin haughtily as she passed him.

Sir Gordon, thoroughly incensed and unable to keep a cool head, was ready to do battle, if only to ease his anger and humiliation.

First she says fight, then she says don't fight.

Thinking of the rash young man who had accosted Allie he fell into an insensible rage, growling, "I shall call that young devil out right now. Will you act as second?"

 "Just let me see Eleanor home and I'll come back. Don't do anything rash until I return." Rothburn hurried across the room and out the door, seeking to undo the damage. He truly could not appreciate that his poorly chosen words had started this brouhaha and he felt put upon by them all.

In the foyer, the ladies refused him an audience, and he was left on the step as one went out the door and the other up the stairs. Hurrying to catch up with Lady Eleanor, he barely managed to climb into the carriage as the horses sprang forward. Once his eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, he smiled engagingly.