A Reason to Rebel (3 page)

She shuddered and walked through the door he was holding open, not once glancing in his direction and refusing the support of the arm which her father offered her.

Chapter Two

“Michael, you look quite disgustingly well.” Alexander, Viscount Crawley, grinned broadly as he shook his friend’s hand. “Married life clearly agrees with you. And Mrs. Cleethorpe, it is a pleasure to see you again.” He took Susanna’s hand and bowed over it, brushing his lips across the back of her glove. “Welcome to Crawley Hall.”

“Lord Crawley.” Susanna dropped into a graceful curtsey.

“Married life is excellent, Alex, I thank you,” said Michael. “I heartily recommend the institution. You should try it yourself.”

“Ah, a splendid suggestion. But one can hardly try such a thing and then change one’s mind if it does not suit. Besides, you have plucked the only rose that will not wither when separated from the vine.” Alex sighed with such magnitude that Susanna was obliged to stifle a giggle.

“Absolutely!” Michael smiled with smug complacency. “Go and find your own flower, Alex, and stop coveting mine.”

“Have we intruded upon a private party?” Susanna’s eyes scanned the crowd gathered on the manicured lawns of Crawley Hall.

“My mother is enjoying her first house party since her bereavement.”

“Oh, then we are intruding.”

“Not at all. She is looking forward to getting to know you,” said Alex, his tone reassuring. “It was such a crush at your wedding that she complained afterwards the two of you did not get the opportunity to converse.”

“It would appear that I have put ideas into her head.” Michael eyed with amusement the bevy of young ladies seated beside their chaperones on the terrace. “Perhaps your mother wishes you to follow my example.”

“Is that not how all mothers occupy their time?” asked Susanna.

“I daresay it is.” Alex followed the direction of his friend’s gaze. “But it would seem that subtlety is a commodity singularly lacking in my particular parent’s armoury.”

“You do not seem overly concerned.” Michael pulled his wife’s hand through the crook of his arm as the three of them headed towards the terrace.

“It is her first foray into society since her bereavement.” Alex’s face clouded with regret at the premature demise of his much-respected father. “I would not spoil it for her by making difficulties.”

“And has one of these young ladies attracted your fancy, Lord Crawley?” asked Susanna with an impudent grin.

“They are all so charming, it is quite impossible to choose between them. But now that you are here, Mrs. Cleethorpe, I daresay you will soon be able to regale me with the particulars of their various accomplishments. In fact I would wager that you and my mother between you will have selected exactly the right bride for me before the sun goes down. If you are able to do so, you will save me a vast amount of trouble.”

“It would be my pleasure,” said Susanna. “But first you must enlighten me as to the particular qualities you seek in a lady. Tell me, should she be tall or slight; dark or fair? What accomplishments do you most admire in the female sex? Should she keep up a stream of light conversation for your entertainment or would you prefer a lady who appreciates the value of silence?”

“Ah, but if I were to reveal all that, I fear it would not only spoil your sport but greatly reduce the field.” Alex sighed. “And so I will leave it for you to make that decision for me as well.”

“Do not think me unequal to the challenge.” She smiled as she cast her eyes over the assembled young ladies in a contemplative manner.

“I have complete faith in your abilities.” Alex returned her smile. “But pray tell me, Mrs. Cleethorpe, what did you make of Italy?”

They spoke generally of their travels for the next few minutes. Susanna expressed her delight in all they had seen, her face alight with animation. She admitted that it had been her first journey outside of England and Alex enjoyed her enthusiasm. As he listened to her detailed descriptions of the sights she had seen, he wondered when he had become so jaded, so immune to the simple pleasures of life that he scarcely noticed them any more.

“Mother,” he said as they strolled towards the group taking tea on the terrace, “here are Michael and Mrs. Cleethorpe come to join us at last.”

“Michael, how delightful! We had almost given up on you.”

“Lady Crawley.” Michael kissed her outstretched hand with affection.

As school friends, Michael and Alex had spent many a happy holiday romping in the grounds of this vast estate. As a consequence, Lady Crawley was like a second mother to Michael. Alex imagined that, like him, his friend would still be able to find his way blindfolded through the trees in the private woods, so often had they fallen out of them as boys. “I trust I find you well, ma’am?”

“Oh, you know me, Michael, I am always in the rudest of health. That is part of my trouble. And Mrs. Cleethorpe, you are very welcome, my dear.”

Susanna curtsied and made the appropriate response. Alex could see Michael watching her closely but he had no cause for concern. She did not put a foot wrong and was clearly comfortable in with the company.

Alex had been surprised when his closest friend had declared his intention of marrying a girl so far below him socially, even if she was a beauty of the first order and her father a merchant rich enough to ease the Cleethorpes’ acute financial distress. Alex had tried to talk him out of taking such a rash step, convinced he would live to regret it. The friendship between the two of them had cooled for a while as a result, Michael taking offence at Alex’s well-intentioned interference.

It was only when Alex met Susanna for the first time that he began to understand his friend’s determination. She was not the scheming, social-climbing hussy he had been expecting but a naturally vivacious girl with an enchanting personality and obvious zest for life. She did not appear to take herself or others too seriously and delighted in laughing at the world’s foolishness. More importantly, though, Alex could see at a glance that there was genuine affection on both sides, so he worked with Michael then to convince his doubting family to permit the match to go ahead.

“Come and sit beside me, Mrs. Cleethorpe.” His mother motioned to a footman to bring a chair. “I wish to hear all about your travels.” She dismissed Alex and Michael with a wave of her gnarled hand, much to the chagrin of several young ladies who had been doing their best to attract Alex’s attention.

“You did the right thing,” conceded Alex as they wandered away to join the gentleman, “and she is a great credit to you.”

“I have no regrets on that score. Thank you for helping to make it happen.”

“My pleasure. But I am jealous. She has taken you away from me and I miss your society.”

“We are home again now.”

“Indeed.” But it would not be the same. “How long can you stay with us?”

“Just one night, I’m afraid.”

Alex raised a brow. “What is the rush?”

“Susanna is concerned about her friend Estelle. She married Bartholomew Travis a little over a year ago. He died just after we left England on our wedding journey.”

“The Travises of Hertford?” They turned together at the end of the terrace and set off across the lawn at a leisurely pace.

“Yes, are you acquainted with the family?”

“By reputation only. She must have been a great deal younger than her husband.”

“Less than half his age.”

“I dare say it was a good match for her. I do not believe the Winthrops frequent the
ton.
I have never encountered them there, or heard of them before.”

“Indeed, you are in the right of it.”

“But, unlike your own situation, I doubt that it was a love match.”

“Hardly.”

“Then why does Susanna feel the need to dash off and comfort the girl? She is probably glad to have her freedom restored.”

“Perhaps, but there is more. Estelle lost the baby she was carrying due to the shock, and now her sister has disappeared.”

“Heavens!” Susanna’s friend sounded like a rather careless individual. “And she has poured her troubles on your wife’s head and demanded her company as soon as she returned to England. Is that not rather thoughtless of her?”

“Quite the reverse. Susanna knew nothing of any of it until she heard of it by chance from a mutual acquaintance. And now she will not be happy until she has seen Estelle for herself and heard about her troubles firsthand. And no doubt, once she has done so, she will insist upon dragging her back to Fairlands until she has completely recovered.”

“They must be very close friends for Susanna to want her intruding so soon after your marriage. Still, with your lot around, I suppose one more makes little difference.”

“Quite! And yes, they are close—very. Like us, they met at school and took an immediate liking to one another.”

“I see. And did I meet this paragon at your nuptials? I do not recall being introduced.”

“No, her husband had arranged something that prevented her from attending.” Michael frowned. “Although Susanna would have it that Estelle’s father was the one who somehow contrived for her to be absent. He dislikes Susanna and disapproves of her close friendship with his daughter.”

“Good God, why?”

“Because he is a tyrant, by all accounts. However, her sister Marianne was there.”

“The one who has gone missing?”

“Yes. She is a pretty little thing with blond hair and large blue eyes.”

“Ah yes, I think I recall her.”

“I daresay you do.” Michael chuckled. “If she caught your eye, then I would recommend you not to pass up any opportunity to make her sister’s acquaintance.”

“I look forward to it.” He paused to acknowledge something that was being said to him by another gentleman. “What do you suppose has become of the sister?” he asked when he was able to return to his conversation with Michael.

“Hard to say until Susanna has interrogated Estelle and heard all the particulars. But I do know she was balking at the marriage her father had arranged for her.”

“If he was trying to force her to marry someone of Travis’s ilk then it is not to be wondered at. She probably took fright and eloped with her childhood sweetheart, or something equally predictable.”

“Let us hope that is all it is.”

“How did Travis die?”

“On the hunting field. He was trying out a spirited new stallion purchased with Estelle’s dowry, and fell at a fence.”

“Now that does surprise me. Travis was acknowledged to be a first-rate horseman.” Alex shrugged, losing interest in the subject. “Ah well, perhaps he had aged and no longer had the mettle to handle a lively stallion.”

“Very likely. But, tell me, how is your mother coping? She looks well enough but I suspect she still feels her loss greatly.”

“Indeed.” Alex frowned. “She is serene on the surface but I am not fooled by her performance. She is lonely without my father and does not know what to do with herself. It is touching the way she tries not to lean on me. But it is also another reason for her to wish me wed. She would then acquire the daughter she has always wanted.”

“I complain about being the oldest of eight, but being an only child must also have its disadvantages.”

“It does, believe me. I have business in London which urgently awaits my attention but I am loath to leave her here alone.”

“Have you thought about employing a companion to bear her company?”

“Frequently, but she will not hear of it.” Alex paused, clasping his hands tightly behind his back as he gave voice to his concerns. “You know how independent she can be. The only way it could be achieved, I think, would be if misfortune were to befall some young lady and the particulars were to reach her ears. She would be bound to want to do something to help her.”

“Doing the creature a kindness by taking her in, you mean?”

“Precisely. She is so soft-hearted that she can never help involving herself in other people’s misfortunes.” Alex shrugged in a gesture of defeat. “But it is of no consequence, since how do I go about locating distressed females of impeccable character? And even if I were to manage that, how would I persuade one of them to descend upon Crawley Hall? I should not know where to begin.”

“I daresay it could be managed.”