Amanda Scott - [Dangerous 04] (12 page)

“That will do, Abigail,” Mrs. Linford interjected sharply. “You must not name names, if you please. Suffice it to say, dear Letitia, that a number of people now depend upon us for the service we provide. I do not think there can be so many as twenty, but we will not argue the point.”

“Twenty,” Letty repeated. Even to her ears, her voice sounded weak.

“At least twenty,” Miss Abby said earnestly. “I am quite certain.”

“But how can you?”

“Why, I counted them!”

“I don’t mean—”

“I understood you, I believe,” Mrs. Linford said. “You desire to know how it is that we are able to accommodate them.”

“Yes … at least …” Letty fell silent, unsure that she had made herself clear but not at all certain how to phrase her questions to the two very odd old ladies.

Mrs. Linford went on, “It is quite simple, really. The women call upon us, as they would, in any event. Then the gentlemen arrive more discreetly through our mews and back garden. We are most fortunately placed here, you see. Since numerous houses share a central mews, one can approach this house from Green Street, Park Street, and South Audley Street, as well as from Upper Brook Street.”

“I meant …” Letty strove to retain her self-control, then began again. “If you will forgive my saying so, ma’am, neither you nor Miss Abby seems the sort to condone such activities, let alone to encourage them. Still, if so many people are finding accommodation here, you certainly must be encouraging them.”

“Well, goodness me, of course we encourage them,” Miss Abby said, her eyes wide. “We have our image to support, after all.”

“But that’s what I mean,” Letty said, trying to ignore the feeling that she had blinked and somehow ended up consorting with the inmates in Bedlam. “To protect your image, not to mention your reputations, I should think you would do all in your power to avoid associating with people who so casually break their marriage vows.”

Mrs. Linford stiffened. “We allow no married woman here who has not produced a proper heir for her husband, and we allow no unmarried women at all.”

“I … I see.” Taking care to avoid Jenifry’s gaze, Letty drew a deep breath and said, “Perhaps you might just explain the whole thing quite slowly to me, Mrs. Linford. Clearly, I do not understand all of what you are trying to say.”

“It is quite simple, really,” Miss Abby said.

“Hush, Abigail. I will explain, if you please.”

“Of course, Miranda. I would most likely make a mull of it, in any case.”

After a brief pause, during which Letty forced herself to remain silent, Mrs. Linford said, “It is most unfortunate that we should be reduced to such a course, naturally. And certainly we would be exceedingly distressed if our services were to become widely known. At present, the only people who know are persons with an even stronger motivation than we have to maintain silence. We do realize, however, that one day someone might speak too freely, in which event, we hope that our reputations will protect us and that no one will believe it. If by some mischance everyone did believe it, we would be ruined, of course, but when the whole thing began, we never expected it to come to this.”

“At the time, there was nothing else we could do,” Miss Abby said.

“How did it begin, then?” Letty asked.

“Oh, it was dreadful,” Miss Abby said. “Our dear friend, Lady Fram—”

“Abigail! No names,” Mrs. Linford snapped. In a gentler tone, she added, “You really must let me tell the tale, my dear.”

“Yes, of course, Miranda. My tongue just keeps rattling, I’m afraid.”

“It is true that our situation was frightful, Letitia,” Mrs. Linford said. “We were in sad straits when our brother, Sir Horace Frome, died. Everyone thought we were quite well to pass, however, because Papa had left us so and Horace had made no bones about telling everyone we were rich. After his death, however, we had that image to maintain, and although it was a struggle, we did our best.”

“You did, Miranda,” Miss Abby said. “You managed things with a truly magical touch. Had you managed everyone’s money from the outset, instead of allowing poor dear Horace to do so—though you had no choice, of course—we should all have grown quite as rich as he said we were, I’m sure.”

“Thank you, dear, but as you say, I could do nothing about Horace, and my efforts to look after the two of us would have failed had Fate not intervened. We had a dear friend some years ago, Letitia. She married well, but I am afraid that her husband proved unworthy of her. Worse, he was quite brutally abusive. Many was the time she fled to us in tears, bruised and battered from his beatings.”

“Oh, yes,” Miss Abby murmured. “He was a horrid man.”

“My Mr. Linford was no saint,” Mrs. Linford said. “I would be the last to say that he was, but he was kind to me. Moreover, he proved quite willing to provide a home for my dear sister after our parents died, which was more than his heir was willing to do when Mr. Linford passed on. Had it not been for Cousin Augustus letting us live here, Abigail and I might have ended in the poorhouse.”

“Oh, Miranda, you cannot believe that,” Miss Abby exclaimed. “Dearest Sally would never have allowed it. You know she would not.”

“Don’t be foolish, Abigail. If you can tell me what she could have done when she had been married no more than a week at the time, I should like to hear it.”

“Oh.” Miss Abby looked daunted. “Why, that is perfectly true. Sally was still in leading strings when Papa passed on, and Horace … Horace was her papa, you see, Letitia, and our brother, of course—Miranda said that, did she not? Poor Horace never had a feather to fly with except what Papa allowed him. Nor was he at all discriminating in his financial habits, and to our great misfortune, he controlled our trust for fifteen years before his death. The only good thing he did for us was to arrange for Miranda to control our trust afterward, so no one else ever learned what a fix he left us in when he died. He was only forty-four then, so most folks thought it a most untimely demise, but I can tell you, we were utterly—”

“You need say no more on that head, Abigail,” Mrs. Linford said. “Pray, let me get on with explaining the facts to Letitia, if you please.”

“Oh, yes, Miranda. I am exceedingly sorry to keep interrupting.”

“I believe I had got to when our friend begged us for assistance.”

Letty nodded. “Yes, ma’am, someone with an abusive husband.”

“Yes, quite horrid, but as good fortune would have it, she met someone more suitable and in the end managed to leave the brute and begin a new life in France.”

“I am happy for her, ma’am, but pray, what has this to do with the scene I interrupted upstairs just now?”

“Everything,” Miss Abby said fervently. “Just everything!”

Quelling her this time with a stern look, Mrs. Linford said, “We felt sorry for her, you see, and as you must realize, her deliverance did not occur overnight.”

“No, it took years,” Miss Abby said. Encountering another look, she ducked her head, pressed her lips together, and folded her hands in her lap.

“She confided in us,” Mrs. Linford said reminiscently. “We could do nothing to help her against her husband, of course. He had every power over her by law. But when she came to us and said she wished she had some peaceful, innocent-looking place where she could meet her friend for just a few minutes of happiness once a week or so, Abigail and I instantly invited her to do so under our roof.”

“Cousin Augustus’s roof by then,” Miss Abby added irrepressibly.

“Just so,” said her sister. Then she hesitated, shooting Letty a speculative look before she added with a sigh, “The next bit is difficult to explain, because it is not sufficient simply to say that it happened. We saw it coming. We should have had to be fools not to see it.”

“They fell in love,” Letty said.

“Yes, but they wanted more than mere love, you see. Their behavior had been quite circumspect. We frequently left them alone, but never above this floor, and they always left the door to the room ajar. Then, one day, they confided to us that they desired more privacy. I daresay we might have refused, and perhaps you will say that we should have, but our friend was the one person who knew our true circumstances, and that gave her an unfair advantage. She offered us money.”

“Quite a lot of money,” Miss Abby said. “A quite staggering amount.”

Letty said dryly, “Not her husband’s money, one trusts.”

“No, no, her friend was … is … quite wealthy. At first, he said only that he wanted to help pay our servants, and perhaps for the food he and she ate here, but then he began giving us a quite generous sum whenever they came here. He said it was worth every penny, because the most difficult thing about such liaisons is finding a place where a couple can be truly private.”

Miss Abby nodded. “And
that
is when Miranda had her quite blindingly brilliant idea. You see, my dear, many members of the beau monde, having married for reasons of property or other convenience, look for true love outside marriage. Their primary problem is to find an appropriate meeting place, and we had all those extra rooms upstairs, just going to waste.”

“Yes,” Letty said, recalling the exchange she had overheard at court, and wondering if they had been talking about Catherine. “I do see. I shall have to give this some thought, ma’am. I don’t suppose you could simply tell Raventhorpe about your financial problems. He is quite wealthy, I believe—”

“Oh, yes,” Miss Abby said. “Justin is quite the wealthiest man in London, but we couldn’t tell
him.
Why, that would cut up all our peace. We couldn’t entertain the notion for a second, could we, Miranda?”

“It is not to be thought of, my dear,” Mrs. Linford agreed. “You see, Letitia, we have become quite accustomed to looking after ourselves, and Justin cannot be trusted simply to give us what we require without also forcing us to accept his advice and counsel. I don’t know if you quite understand what I am saying—”

“Oh yes, ma’am,” Letty said sincerely. “That I do understand. I had not known him for two minutes before he began giving me the benefit of his counsel. He is, if you will forgive my saying so, quite the most arrogant man I know.” And the most stimulating, murmured a little voice in the back of her mind.

Mrs. Linford said with a sympathetic smile, “I don’t know if I would go so far as to say
arrogant,
but I do know that his … um … protective attitude would soon give others to wonder what sort of hold he had over us. We have managed to maintain an image of wealth and independence for more than twenty years—”

“Mercy,” Letty breathed. “I have heard all you’ve told me, ma’am, but I had not realized it had been such a great length of time. Is it truly so many years?”

“Oh, yes indeed,” Miss Abby said brightly. “Nearly twenty-two, in fact, because Justin just turned twenty-five, don’t you know, so we have lived in this house nearly twenty-six years.”

“So you can see, Letitia, why we would be loath to beg help from anyone. Moreover, as you must know if you have read Cousin Augustus’s will, if anyone else pays our rent, we should have to forfeit our tenancy here.”

“My dear ma’am,” Letty said, truly distressed, “I hope you know that I would never allow anyone to throw you into the street.”

“You are kind, my dear, but that is not the point. We do not wish to hang on your sleeve or anyone else’s. We are quite discreet, I promise you.”

“Still, ma’am, it is most improper.”

“Dear me, no,” Miss Abby said. “The people we help come from the highest ranks of the nobility. Really, they do.”

“Yes,” Mrs. Linford said. “Moreover, some of our gentlemen occupy the highest places in government circles and the military, so you need not worry that anyone will speak out of turn. They dare not.”

“Only think what a scandal they face if discovered,” Miss Abby exclaimed.

Letty said, “But that’s just it. Think of the scandal!”

“They
need
our services,” Miss Abby insisted.

Calmly Mrs. Linford said, “No one has yet spoken out, after all. Until now we have gone on quite comfortably.” She sighed. “It is such a pity that you had to discover our little secret.”

“Yes, ma’am, I begin to agree,” Letty agreed, wondering what on earth she was going to do.

She continued to ponder the question after she had had her tour and returned to Jervaulx House. At first, she thought of her dilemma merely as an absorbing puzzle requiring a delicate touch. That, however, was before Tuesday morning, when she received a letter that lent urgency to finding a satisfactory resolution.

When Jenifry entered the breakfast room a few minutes after Letty had put down the letter, she found her mistress in an uncharacteristically pensive mood.

“Is something wrong, Miss Letty?”

Letty smiled ruefully. “Under ordinary circumstances you would find me in transports, but you will understand why I have mixed emotions when I tell you that Papa and Mama have put forward their arrival date to the first week of May.”

“So soon?”

“Yes,” Letty said. “Papa writes that Wellington and Sir Robert Peel believe that the Whig position on Jamaica will soon lead to their downfall. Therefore, he has decided that he and Mama will depart as soon as possible after the farewell celebration the ambassador insists upon holding for them. That gives me little more than a fortnight, Jen, to decide what to do about my house of ill repute.”

Newmarket Heath

T
HE FAIR-HAIRED YOUNG GENTLEMAN
standing near the enclosure, waiting for the Queen’s Plate to begin, said enthusiastically to his companion, “I tell you, Jerry, I never crossed a better tit in my life. If her eyes stand, as I daresay they will, she’ll turn out as tight a little thing as any in England.”

“If you think that, Ned, you’re tight yourself,” his friend retorted. “That mare of yours is too long in the fore.”

“She’s not, I tell you. She’s as fleet as the wind. Why, I raced with Dicky and Will all the way from Cambridge to Newmarket. Dicky rode his roan, and Will his chestnut mare—and you know both have speed—but I beat them all hollow.”

With true sportsman’s taste, the one called Ned wore the single-breasted dark green riding coat known as a Newmarket, over buff smallclothes, with cordovan boots and a top hat with a narrow, turned-up brim. His friend wore similar attire, giving both the look of fashionable sporting men. Neither, however, had yet found cause to suppress youthful enthusiasm in favor of the more fashionable air of ennui.