A Grand Deception (12 page)

"Of course. I did not wish to continue before you ladies
were ready." He looked to Susan and Mr. Stanley, who were
discussing the massive ornate facade before them.

"I am sure I can speak for Miss Wilbanks that we are
more than ready to move forward." Muriel had no doubt that
what lay inside would prove interesting to her. Susan, on the
other hand, might find the outing only tolerable.

If Muriel were to guess, what her friend truly enjoyed was
being in the company of Mr. Stanley, no matter what their
destination.

After returning Miss Holbrook to her residence, Sherwin sat
in the barouche reminiscing over the time he had spent with
Muriel that morning at Devonshire House. It had been very
uncomfortable at first. But when he stood close to her, took
her hand into his, touched her ... A smile spread across his
face. He could not deny it had been very pleasant.

Then he recalled that very afternoon at the Egyptian Hall.
Muriel's astonished expression was not one he'd soon forget.
Mr. Ambrose had not seemed nearly as impressed with the
towering, marble-columned Isis and Osiris entrance as she.
And whatever did she see in that man?

A bright glint woke Sherwin from his trance. The reflection of light from a fob, dangling from a gentleman's ribbon,
caught his attention. Up ahead, walking along the street he
traveled upon, were Mr. Ambrose and Mr. Stanley.

"Stop the carriage!" Sherwin had a burning desire to know
where the two men were headed. He kneeled on the opposite bench and grabbed the driver's coat to gain his attention.

"I cannot, milord," the driver replied. "I has my orders
from your lady mother." But the horses slowed. "I am to
return directly to Lloyd Place at the conclusion of your afternoon drive."

The barouche had slowed enough for Sherwin to leap
from the transport to the ground without injury. He called
up to the driver, "Very well, then, you follow your orders. I
would not wish to see you sacked on my account." He glanced
at the two men across the street, making sure they remained
in sight. Sherwin brushed off his trousers, straightened his
waistcoat, and set the sleeves of his jacket to rights.

Then the carriage came to a full stop. Horse hooves and
their jangling riggings nearly muffled the driver's reply.
"What shall I tell her ladyship? She cannot like this, milord.
I beg of you..."

"That will be my problem, won't it?" Sherwin would face
that difficulty when it arrived, for his mother would not be
pleased by his absence.

Mr. Ambrose and Mr. Stanley turned into a doorway and
entered an establishment, which caused Sherwin to take immediate notice and end his discourse with the driver.

"How will you manage to find your way back to Lloyd
Place?" the coachman called down to him.

"I cannot think about that now. All I know is that I will manage." Sherwin had to move forward or lose the two
gentlemen altogether. "I'll not have you disobey Lady Amhurst. Off with you!"

Sherwin crossed the barouche's wake after it moved
down the street without him. He glanced at the building's
white exterior and bow window before stepping inside.

"Lord Amhurst!" one of the staff members nearly shouted.
With a shuffle of papers, a few others dashed around him,
and a second steward called out, "Welcome to White's Gentlemen's Club!"

The dues had been paid, he was told, for a lifelong membership for the earls of Amhurst. Sherwin wasn't quite sure
what he had stumbled into. White's Gentlemen's Club? All
he knew was that Mr. Ambrose and Mr. Stanley had entered.

He strode down the carpeted hall and through a doorway, turned, and turned again through another portal, full
of purpose but without knowledge of the destination.

What did Ambrose have that Sherwin lacked? Was he
taller, more handsome, or better educated? Why would Muriel prefer the company of this man to Sherwin's?

Dash it! Sherwin glanced about. He was lost ... yet again.
He was only moments behind Ambrose and yet had managed to lose his quarry.

He stepped into a room where two young gentlemen
stood at a hearth with drinks and cheroots, resting their feet
on the fender. They straightened at Sherwin's sudden appearance and abruptly left.

No sooner had the young men departed than a trio of elderly gentlemen poked their heads out from around three
tall leather chairs before getting to their feet and quitting
the room.

No one wanted to be near him and the blue-devilled way
he was feeling at the moment. The sentiment was reciprocal.

He clasped his hands behind his back and paced before
the now-deserted, smoldering fireplace.

"I say . . ." A sotto voice interrupted Sherwin's solitude.

Sherwin turned, not to glare at the disturbance but to see
who'd been brave enough to enter.

"Lloyd? Is that you?" A wavy-haired fellow strode into
the room, fairly skipping.

Sherwin pivoted toward him for a better look. If the fellow got any closer, he'd appear as only a giant blur.

"Freddie?" He almost did not recognize the Earl of Brent
outside of the walls of Eton. Two years Sherwin's senior,
Muriel's brother, Freddie, had recently been graduated and
had been acquainted with him for these last four years.

"It is you! What the devil-" Freddie glanced around the
empty room. "You look a veritable thundercloud ... and, by
the by, what are you doing in Town?" He strode to his
schoolmate and shook his hand. "Thought you had no stomach for the social scene, Lloyd."

"I don't, and it's Amhurst now, I'm afraid." He hated the
sound of it and secretly dreaded it when people called him
by that name.

"You're the new earl?" Freddie returned.

Sherwin answered with a curt nod. "Lost my brother
Charles in the war last year, and both James and Father were
carried off by influenza this past winter."

Freddie gave a sharp, low whistle. "Rum luck, of man."
He clapped Sherwin on the shoulder.

A lump came to Sherwin's throat, and his eyes began to
water. Freddie's clap had been the only physical contact
he'd received to console him.

"Now you're saddled with the family responsibility. What
wise words does Moo have for you?"

"I never told her of my circumstance." Sherwin tried to
sound brave.

"Never?" Freddie turned to a sideboard to fill two glasses
and held one out for Sherwin.

"No." Sherwin declined the spirits with a shake of his
head.

"Does she know you're here in Town looking for a bride?"
The question evidently was not an inquiry regarding Sherwin's purpose but whether or not Muriel knew of it.

Sherwin was taken aback. He hadn't mentioned anything
about marriage.

"You'd surely be in deep mourning if the need for a wife
was not imperative, my man." Freddie chuckled, then sipped
from his glass.

"Just so," Sherwin acknowledged. "I made the mistake of
not relaying those details to Moo-Lady Muriel. In my defense, she never mentioned her intention of coming to Town
either. We met inadvertently at Almack's the other night,
and, I must admit, we each surprised the other. There was a
rather unpleasant row."

"In the middle of Almack's?" Freddie's eyes widened in
surprise. "Well, Moo values honesty if nothing else. So I can
see why she'd be upset."

"We're no longer at daggers drawn. Managed to patch
things up for the time being. Hope it holds." Sherwin had
no idea how things would be between them when next they
met. Couldn't be any worse than it had been, really. "Have
you seen her?"

"No, I haven't stopped at Worth House yet. Just got into
Town and thought I'd wash a bit of traveling dust off before
dropping in on the family." Freddie set his empty glass upon the table. "I knew you two exchanged letters. I thought you
fancied her."

Perhaps Sherwin did, a little.

"No, there's nothing between us-not romantic-no, it's
nothing like that." Sherwin felt his face grow warm. He
knew there should not be any objection to the topics they
discussed. Men had been called out and shot for the unsavory
behavior of which Freddie spoke. And, being her brother,
he'd be the one taking the initiative to restore his sister's
honor.

"I believe you are in need of a friend," Freddie announced.

"I-I am in need of a what?" Sherwin stared at Freddie
as best he could, although the Earl of Brent appeared as a
hazy blob of brown.

"You need a male companion. Someone to set an example,
show you how to be handy with your fives, punt on tick,
watch that you don't stray into dun territory, and see to it
that-"

"-I dress well?" Sherwin straightened with interest.

"Is there a problem with your wardrobe?" Freddie eyed
Sherwin with less formality than Miss Torrington had last
night. "Your clothing appears to be finely constructed."

"I didn't choose these. My mother did." It was a confession Sherwin hated to voice.

"Oh, I see your point." Freddie reached for the decanter
and filled his glass.

"I think a man has a right to have a say about his own
clothing, don't you?" Sherwin hadn't thought along these
lines before Miss Torrington had raised the subject, but she
had made a good point. "Not that I took any interest in my
wardrobe before. My mother has taken care of such things
for me."

"Haven't got a mother, but I should think a man's got to learn how to fend for himself." Freddie sipped from his
glass. "If taking a hand in choosing one's waistcoat isn't
one of them, I'll be dashed."

"You will help me, then?" Sherwin had had no idea how
much he needed the guidance of an older male. It was fortunate Freddie had come along.

"It's a male's prerogative, I should think." Freddie appeared
set on the idea. "Don't have any brothers of my own, and
you've lost yours recently. I'd be glad to lend a hand."

"I can't thank you enough, Freddie." Sherwin's chin
lowered nearly to his chest. Even if his brothers were still
alive, he wasn't sure he'd be experiencing such an outing
with either of them.

"One thing, though." Freddie drained his glass and set it
on the table. "You can't go on calling me Freddie. It's Brent
from now on-best you remember that. We're not schoolboys anymore, Amhurst."

Right enough. Sherwin motioned to the door. "Let's be
off then, Brent."

Goodness-it's Freddie!" Aunt Penny's voice carried from
the marbled foyer of Worth House down the corridors and
probably to the attics.

Tall, dark, and handsome, Frederick, Earl of Brent, had
his father's wavy hair but the dark coloring of his mother, a
trait shared with his sisters Augusta and Muriel.

"Freddie!" Muriel called out, and she ran down the corridor to her brother.

"Aunt Penny, Moo." He greeted each with an embrace
and a kiss on their cheeks.

The Duke soon joined them and held his hand out to his
son. "Good to see you, Frederick."

Freddie grasped his father's hand, and they shook-like
two real men. Even though Muriel had grown since she'd
last seen him, Freddie stood much taller, and he looked,
somehow, much older. Perhaps it was the stubble of whiskers on his wide jaw or the set of his broad shoulders that
made a difference. It certainly was wonderful to see him
again.

"Please tell me you're staying here with us," Muriel implored.

"Of course I'll stay, unless there are any objections," he
teased. "Then I can set up at Clarendon's."

"This isn't quite a family reunion, but with Gusta in Suffolk and Char-Char in Cornwall, it will have to do."

"May I offer you a drink?" The Duke gestured that his
son follow him.

Muriel fairly dragged her brother behind their father toward the library.

"I barely recognized you, Moo," Freddie teased her.
"Look at you, in an honest-to-goodness frock with lace and
ruffles, your hair in curls-I can hardly believe it! You
might even attract a man, done up like that." He laughed and
grew serious when he took a closer look. "You're more than
passable-I suppose, you're not an antidote-quite pretty,
actually."

"You're such a man of the world," she groaned. "And it's
Lady Muriel now, my lord."

"My lord, is it?" Freddie lifted her and spun her around and
around, making her squeal in a most unladylike fashion and
making her terribly dizzy besides. "You're mighty haughtydangerous with a bit of Town bronze."

His Grace poured into two glasses. "Moo, here, has even
attended Almack's."

"You don't say!" Freddie gawked at her. "Why, you really
have changed. No longer trying to alter hundreds of years
of tradition at Eton? Have you left poor Headmaster Keate
alone finally?"

Freddie knew very well that, without a formal education,
she could not be admitted to a higher-education institution,
whether or not it admitted females. Still, she would keep her
matrimonial ruse even from her brother.

"Will you do me the favor of informing me which you
plan to lay siege to, Cambridge or Oxford? And I'll make
plans to attend the other."