A Matter of Honor (18 page)

Somehow she must cling to her resolves;

she must refuse his advances, keep herself aloof until
Cecilie
was married. Then she at least would have the inheritance. There was nothing to do but hold on. No other answer.

She was still going over and over events in her mind, looking for a way out when there was none, when Bates appeared at the door of the sitting room. He looked just a trifle dismayed. Aggie rose to her feet as he said
,
“If I might have a word with you
.
Miss
Trimble.”

“Of course
.
Bates.” She joined him by the door. “What is it?”

“There’s a caller, miss.” Bates lowered his voice. “A Lord
Parrington.”

“Parrington!”
Dismay made Aggie’s voice rise.

“Yes, miss. He’s come to call on Miss Cecilie.”

“Oh dear
.
Bates. Did his lordship leave no instructions?”

“No, miss. I only know the last time he was here, the Earl looked rather angry when he left.”

Aggie tried to think. “I wish we could send him away.”

“I can’t do that, miss. Not without the Earl’s orders.”

Aggie stood thinking. How could she tell what
Denby
wanted done? True, he had turned down
Parrington’s
offer, but he had not left any orders about
Parrington
himself. While she stood there, trying to decide, she heard footsteps in the hall.

“Ahhh,
here you are.” Lord Parrington’s voice was bright and cheerful. “My, how lovely you ladies look.”

Cecilie,
who had been gazing out the window, turned to greet him, a stern expression on her face. “Good day,” she said sharply, so sharply that Aggie, already agonizing about
Denby’s
reaction to such a call, was quite startled. Bates chose that moment to fade discreetly away.

Even Lord Parrington seemed taken aback by
Cecilie’s
sharpness, but he quickly marshaled his wits and forced a smile. “Good day to you
.
Miss
Winthrop.”
He nodded to Aggie. “Miss
Trimble.”

“What do you want?” demanded Cecilie truculently.

This time Parrington had more difficulty in appearing unmoved. “Why, I have come to pay a social call. To inquire after your health since your exposure in the balloon.”

“My health is f
i
ne, thank you,”
Cecilie
replied flatly. There was something very wrong here
,
Aggie could see. Cecilie was being almost rude.

“And your little friend
Dillydums?”
continued
Parrington,
ignoring her tone.

Cecilie fastened him with a bellicose eye. “You needn’t inquire after Dillydums,” she said crossly.

Lord Parrington settled himself somewhat uneasily on the edge of a chair. Clearly this call was not going as he had expected. “But my dear Miss
Winthrop,
I must. I was extremely upset by the thought of the poor thing’s plight. Shivering up there in the cold.”

Aggie found that she was staring at them and resolutely picked up her needlework which was lying nearby. It was clear that Cecilie was going to handle this. She would need no help.

Cecilie did not take a chair. She drew herself up to her full height and glared at the offending Parrington. “The game is up, milord,” she declared hotly.

Parrington looked confused. And no wonder, thought Aggie. She herself did not fully understand what was occurring.

“I said,” repeated
Cecilie
icily, “the game is up. There is no use in your trying to pull the wool over my eyes.”

“But, Miss
Winthr
-”
Parrington
began.

“Milord Parrington,” Cecilie said in her haughtiest tones. “You are quite wasting your time. I may be a young woman, and a trifle foolish about animals, but there is nothing wrong with my understanding - or my eyes.”

“I don’t understand
-”
Parrington began.

“The matter is quite apparent,” continued Cecilie coldly. “Your concern for animals is faked.” She held up a slim hand to halt his protest. “I have seen your horses, milord. I looked at them closely. They were not the cattle of a man who cares for his beasts. They were ill-fed and ill-treated.”

Parrington was on his feet now. “Those were new horses, just bought,” he explained suavely. “The poor things need feeding up.”

It was a palpable lie
,
thought Aggie, but really a rather good one under the circumstances. Cecilie was not convinced. “Good day
.
Milord Parrington. Kindly do not bother to call again. I shall not be in.”

“But
-”

Calmly Cecilie turned her back on the man. For the merest fraction of a second Aggie saw the anger in his eyes, then he masked it and bade her good day. “I shall endeavor with all my might to change your harsh opinion of me,” he said to
Cecilie’s
rigid back; but she stiffly ignored him, as with one last ingratiating smile toward Aggie, he left the room.

Moments later
Cecilie
turned from the window. Tears of rage stood out in her eyes as she faced Aggie. “That impossible man. I hate him!”

“But, Cecilie,” Aggie could not help asking, “I thought you liked the man.”

Cecilie frowned. “I did - before.”

“Before?”

“Before his lordship told me about
Parrington’s
horses.”

“You believed his lordship?” The words were out before Aggie could stop them.

“No,” said Cecilie with a little smile. “Not when he said it.” Her smile widened. “I do not believe much of what the Earl says.” She settled herself comfortably in a chair. “But it did give me cause to think. So I decided to f
i
nd out.”

“And how did you do that?” asked Aggie curiously.

Cecilie smiled again, a little wickedly. “Millie has a certain groom for a friend, Waters. And she asked him. When he was waiting for the Earl one night at White’s, he had the opportunity. So he looked over Lord
Parrington’s
cattle - and spoke to his grooms. They were quick to tell him that
Parrington
is not good to his beasts at all. They complained of him bitterly.” She gave Aggie a smug look. “Waters brought the word back to Millie and Millie to me. And I determined if ever I saw Lord Parrington again to give him a good piece of my mind.” She smiled with obvious satisfaction. “And I did
,
didn’t I, Aggie?”

Aggie nodded. “You did indeed, my dear. But do you think you might have been a trifle rude?”

“I hope so,” replied
Cecilie
complacently. “His lordship said Lord Parrington was nothing but a fortune hunter. And he was right. The man deserves to be dealt with sharply.”

Aggie did not at all deny this; what did disturb her was the flash of malevolent hatred that she had seen in Parrington’s eyes during that one unguarded second. She felt that the man was evil and very much to be feared. But surely Cecilie had given him such a set-down that he would not call again. And, since the Earl would never listen to his offer, Cecilie ought to be safe enough. Aggie pushed the fear to the back of her mind. Aside from spreading malicious rumors, there seemed very little that Lord
Parrington
could do.

With a sigh,
Cecilie
rose from the chair. “This business of looking for a husband is rather dreary.” She turned to Aggie with a little grin. “I still think my idea of a kind of marketplace is a good one.”

Aggie shook her head. “Good idea or not, it is not feasible. You know it.”

Cecilie’s
grin widened. “But, Aggie, think of all those bare chest
-”

“Cecilie! That is enough!” Aggie felt that she simply could not stand any more such talk. It inevitably brought to her mind a picture of the Earl’s unclothed chest. And the resultant warmth and longing that rose in her breast completely unnerved her. She wondered sometimes that she could speak to him at all. His very presence in a room gave her such an intense feeling that she could scarcely function properly. And there seemed no way to change her feelings. It was entirely useless to think of not having such feelings. No matter what she told herself about their
unsuitability,
she could not make them go away. She could not regard the Earl as an ordinary man; it was just impossible.

As
Cecilie
rose and moved toward the window, Aggie returned her attention to her needlework. “Have you seen no one that you could form a partiality for?” she asked idly.

“There is young Mr.
Sadler.”
Cecilie’s
eyes glowed. “He’s such a courageous man. We did a deal of talking on the way to Dover. And I thought at first.
..”
She sighed. “But no, he won’t do. You see
,
he won’t take a woman along with him generally. It was an accident yesterday, you know. I bumped a rope climbing in. I thought it would be glorious fun, but he said he wouldn’t want his wife floating about in a balloon. And he hasn’t much money, nor much time for animals. So I decided not to set my cap for him.”

Aggie found she had been holding her breath and slowly let it out. She made no comment. Sometimes silence was the best way to deal with Cecilie.

“But I am getting tired of waiting, Aggie.” Cecilie took a turn around the room. “I want to have a husband; to be a grown-up lady who can do as she pleases.”

Aggie smiled. “Grown-up ladies seldom get to do as they please.”

“Of course they do,” said Cecilie. “Why else should they grow up? Look at Lady
Alicia.
And Lady Jersey. Why, Jersey can keep anyone she wants in or out
of Almack’s.
Certainly she can do as she pleases.”

Aggie sighed.
Cecilie
was right
,
but only to a degree. “Lady
Alicia
is a fashionable widow,” she reminded her charge. “And Lady Jersey is a leader of the
ton.
You are neither. Nor are you likely to be for some

time.”

“I know, but still - if I had a husband -certainly he would be more amenable than the Earl.” She smiled impishly. “Especially if I were good to him.”

“Cecilie! Wherever have you heard such things?” Aggie’s outrage was in part assumed, but it was not necessary to let her know it. The girl was getting far too forward in her remarks.

Cecilie shrugged. “Millie tells me all about the great ladies. How the men flock to attend them. How they buy new gowns every week. Why, Lady Alicia never wears the same gown twice. Never. Millie says the lady has dozens of beaux.”

Aggie found this whole discussion uncomfortable, but she dared not show it.

Cecilie’s
voice fell to a hushed tone. “Millie says Lady Alicia can have any man in London, but she wants his lordship.” The girl’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “Do you suppose she’s seen his chest?”

Aggie was too disturbed to scold
Cecilie
for this unladylike talk. A small voice inside her told her that the lady in question had undoubtedly seen the Earl’s unclothed chest, not once but many times. And the thought made Aggie quite wretched.

“Oh,” cried Cecilie, “if only some wonderful man would come along and sweep me off my feet.” She hugged herself. “I want to be mistress of my own establishment.”

The door to the sitting room opened quite suddenly and the Earl stood there. He was wearing Bedford cords, a coat of brown nankeen, and a striped twill waistcoat. Though he had obviously just come in from the street, his boots gleamed brightly.

“Good day
,
milord.” Cecilie
’s
tone was quite cheerful and Aggie knew that the girl was thinking that this time, at least, the Earl would find her actions acceptable. To
Cecilie’s
surprise the Earl did not return her greeting.

Instead, he strode into the room and took up a stand before the hearth. Cecilie was still too lost in her feelings of virtue to notice, but Aggie sensed immediately that something was angering him. For several long moments he stared at the two of them. Cecilie did not seem to mind, but Aggie felt her breath quicken and she knew they were in for a scold. She tried to think of the reason for his anger
,
but she could think of nothing else that
Cecilie
had done wrong. Nor she herself.

Then
Denby
turned directly to face her. “You had callers today.” It was a statement, not a question.

Aggie nodded. “Yes, milord.”

“I see.” His frown darkened. “And did you not think it ill-advised to receive a fortune hunter?”

So this was it. Aggie took a deep breath. “I did not receive Lord
Parrington,”
she replied quietly. “Nor did Cecilie. He came into the room while I was trying to discover from Bates if you had left any orders concerning him.”

“And you let him stay? A fortune hunter!” The Earl’s tone was caustic and Aggie flushed in spite of herself. She was about to continue her explanation when Cecilie broke in.

Her expression of complacency had fled and she glared at Denby with the righteous indignation of one who has been terribly wronged. “Just a minute, milord.” Her voice was so sharp that the Earl’s head came up in surprise and his gray eyes focused on her.

Spellbound, Aggie watched the two glare at each other. “There was no need for Aggie to send Lord Parrington away,” Cecilie said icily. “And if you were not so intent on bullying everyone, you would give us a chance to explain.” She faced the Earl bravely, her back rigid and her eyes blazing.

His lordship’s chin went jutting out even further and Aggie saw him take a deep breath as though to control his anger. “Very well,” he said f
i
nally in a voice that clearly betrayed his efforts at restraint. “Since I suspect that this may take some time I suggest we all be seated.” As he spoke he drew up a lyre-back chair and sat down. His position was certainly not a relaxed one and when
Cecilie
settled herself, she took a position of equal rigidity.
Denby
looked at her coldly. “You may begin.”