Charity Girl (7 page)

   'Do you mean that he left you in your aunt's charge?' he asked, his brows drawing together. 'He can't have
abandoned
you!'

   'Well, he did,' she said. 'And it was horridly uncomfortable, I can tell you, sir! I was still at school, in Bath, you see – and I must own that Papa did pay the bills, when he was in funds, and Miss Fletching was very kind, and she never told me that he had stopped doing so until she was obliged to realize that he wasn't going to remember that he owed her for a whole year. She disclosed to me afterwards that for a long time she expected to get a letter from him, or even a visit, for he did sometimes come down to see me. And it seems he had never been very punctual in paying Miss Fletching, so that she was quite in the habit of waiting. And I fancy she had a tendre for him, because she was for ever saying what a handsome man he was, and how par ticularly affable, and what distinguished manners he had. She was fond of me, too: she said it was because I had lived with her for such a long time, which I had, for Papa placed me in the school when my mama died, and I was only eight years old then, and lived at school all the year round.'

   'You poor child!' he exclaimed.

   'Oh, no!' she assured him. 'In the holidays my friends amongst the day-boarders often invited me to their parties, or took me with them on expeditions, and Miss Fletching several times took me to the theatre. I was perfectly happy – indeed, I don't suppose I shall ever be so happy again. But naturally I couldn't remain there for ever, so Miss Fletching was obliged to write to my grandfather. But it so happens that he had disowned Papa years and years before, and he wrote very uncivilly to Miss Fletching, saying that he wanted to know nothing about his ramshackle son's brats, and recommending her to apply to my mama's relations. Which – is how I come to be here.'

   She ended on a forlorn note, which made Desford say gently: 'But you're not happy here, are you?'

   She shook her head, but said, with a valiant attempt to smile: 'Not very happy, sir. But I do try to be, because I know I am very much obliged to Aunt Bugle for – for giving me a home, when she held Papa in the utmost aversion, and had had a terrible quarrel with my mama when Mama eloped with him, and never forgave her. Which makes it my duty to be grateful to her, don't you think?'

   'Who is your father?' he demanded, not answering this question. 'What is his name? And what is your name?'

   'Steane,' she replied. 'Papa is Wilfred Steane, and I am Cherry Steane.'

   'Well, you have a very pretty name, Miss Steane!' he said, smiling down at her. 'But – Steane? Are you related to old – to Lord Nettlecombe?'

   'Yes, he's my grandfather,' she said. 'Are you acquainted with him, sir?'

   'No, I haven't that honour,' he replied rather dryly. 'I have, however, met your Uncle Jonas, and as I've been credibly in-formed that he closely resembles his father I am strongly of the opinion, my child, that you are better off with your aunt than you would be with your grandfather! But why should we waste our time talking about either of them? You have told me your name, but it occurs to me that you don't know mine! It is – '

   'Oh, I know who you are!' she said. 'You are Lord Desford! I knew that when I saw you waltzing with Lucasta. That's why I was looking through the bannisters: you can see this end of the drawing-room from here, you know. I saw you first when you came down the country dance, but I couldn't be positive it was you until I caught a glimpse of you waltzing with Lucasta.'

   'And then you were positive?' he said, in some amusement. 'Why?'

   'Oh, because I heard Aunt Bugle tell Lucasta she might waltz if
you invited her to!' she replied blithely. Then her expressio
n changed swiftly, as some faint sound in the shadows behind her came to her ears, and the wary, frightened look returned to her face. She whispered: 'I mustn't stay! That was a board creaking! Please, oh, please go away, and
pray take care no on
e sees you going down the stairs!'

   She was gone on the words, as noiseless as a ghost; and the Viscount, having assured himself that the coast was clear, walked calmly down the stairs, and went back into the ballroom.

Seizing on the excuse offered by her daughter's fear of being driven back to Hazelfield through a thunderstorm, Lady Emborough carried her party off immediately after supper. Lady Bugle was regretful, but since she was even more frightened of lightning than was Emma she fully sympathized with her alarms, and made no effort to delay the departure, prophesying, when she heard that a storm was brewing, that a great many others would also leave early: certainly all those faced with a drive of more than half-an-hour.

   The Redgraves took up Edward and Gilbert in their carriage, and Desford occupied the fourth seat in the Emborough lan daulet, sitting beside his uncle, and confronting Lady Emborough and Miss Montsale. For the first few minutes the ladies discussed the ball, but presently Miss Montsale said that although she had been prepared to find that Miss Bugle fell short of the en thusiastic descriptions furnished by Ned and Gil she had no sooner set eyes on her than she felt that they had underrated her beauty rather than exaggerated it. 'Such great, sparkling eyes!' she said. 'Such a lovely complexion, and such glorious hair! Oh, I thought she was one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen! Did not you, Lord Desford?'

   He was not, like his uncle, drowsing, but he was obviously abstracted, and she had to repeat her question to recall him from whatever thoughts were occupying his mind. He said: 'I beg pardon! I wasn't attending! Miss Bugle? Oh, yes, undoubtedly! A dazzling piece of nature!'

'And not just in the common style!'

'By no means!'

   'What do you think, Desford? Will she take?' asked Lady Emborough.

   'Lord, yes!'

   'Well, I hope she will. I don't like her mother above half, but I do sincerely pity her, for it's no laughing matter to have five daughters to establish creditably when one hasn't a large enough fortune to grease the wheels,' she said bluntly. 'There's one that ought to be brought out next Season, and so she would be if old Lady Bugle hadn't chosen to die at the most inconvenient time she could! Lucasta might have been engaged by now, which would have made it possible for the next one – I can't remember her name! they all have the most outlandish names! – to have been allowed to try her wings at that little affair tonight, and to have been brought out during the Little Season, this autumn. Not what one would choose, of course, but what's to be done, when the girl is turned seventeen already, and her elder sister has scarcely been seen yet, much less turned-off ? And before that unfortunate woman has time to make a recover she'll have the third girl ready for her come-out!'

   'Tell me, ma'am!' interposed Desford. 'What do you know about Lady Bugle's niece? Have you met her?'

   'Why, have
you
met her?' she asked, considerably surprised.

   'Yes, I met her tonight,' he answered. 'But pray don't divulge that to her aunt! She was peeping through the bannisters to watch as much as she could see of the dancing, and I happened to catch sight of her. I thought her one of the children at first, but discovered that she is – all but a few weeks! – as old as her cousin Lucasta. A pretty child, with big, scared eyes, a tangle of brown hair, and a deplorably outmoded and ill-fitting gown.'

   Lady Emborough tried hard to see his face, but it was too dark inside the carriage for her to distinguish more than its outlines. She said: 'Yes, I think I have seen her once. I must own, it astonishes me to learn that she is as old as Lucasta, for – like you! – I thought her a schoolroom miss! A poor little dab of a girl, isn't she? Well, she's the daughter of Lady Bugle's only sister, who ran off with that ne'er-do-well son of old Nettlecombe's. Before your time, but I remember what a scandal it was! Lady Bugle was obliged to take this girl under her roof – oh, a little over a year ago! I forget the rights of it, but I know that I thought it very charitable of her to have done so, when she told me about it.'

   'Oh, was that how it was?' he said, in an indifferent tone.

   'Charitable?' said Miss Montsale. 'Why, yes – if the charity was not used as a cloak to cover more mercenary aims!'

   'Good God, Mary, what in the world do you mean?' de manded Lady Emborough.

   'Oh, nothing, dear ma'am, against Lady Bugle! How could I, when I never met her before tonight? But I have so often seen – as I am persuaded you too must have seen! – the – the indigent female who has been received into the household of one of her more affluent relations, as an act of charity, and has been turned into a drudge!'

   'And has been expected to be grateful for it!' struck in the Viscount.

   'If,' said Lady Emborough awfully, 'these remarks refer to my cousin Cordelia's position at Hazelfield – '

   'Oh, no, no, no!' Miss Montsale assured her laughingly. 'Of course they don't! Lord Desford,
could
anyone suppose Miss Pembury to be a downtrodden drudge?'

   'Certainly not!' he responded promptly. 'No one, that is to say, who had been privileged to hear her giving handsome setdowns to my aunt! But you are very right, Miss Montsale: I too have seen just what you have described, and I suspect that the child I met tonight may be an example of that sort of charity.'

   No more was said, for by this time the carriage had drawn up before the imposing portals of Hazelfield House. The ladies were handed down from it; Lord Emborough was roused by his nephew from his gentle slumber; and his sons, springing down from the Redgrave carriage, which drew up a minute later, were indignantly calling upon their pusillanimous sister to own that the storm was still miles distant, and that it had been a great shame to have dragged them away from the ball when (according to them) it had scarcely begun.

   Lord Emborough, on entering his house, presented all the appearance of a gentleman no more than half awake, but when he walked into my lady's bedchamber, an hour later, he had emerged from his drowsy mists, and so obviously wished to engage her in private conversation that she dismissed her abigail, who was in the act of fitting a nightcap over her irongrey locks, and said, as this excellent female curtsied herself out of the room: 'Now we can be comfortable, and talk about the party – which I have for long thought to be the best thing about parties, even the finest of 'em! Which the lord knows this wasn't! An insipid evening, wasn't it?'

   'It was indeed,' he agreed, disposing himself in a cushioned chair, and yawning. 'I have never known, my love, why my old friend – as good a man as ever stepped when we were up at Oxford together! – should have chosen to marry – I won't say a smatterer, but a mere miss, which was what we all thought her!'

   'Well,' said Lady Emborough tolerantly, 'I do not say that she is a woman of the first consideration, but it must be ack nowledged that she has been a good wife to Sir Thomas, and is an excellent mother. And even you, Emborough, must also acknowledge that Sir Thomas's sense is not superior!'

   'No,' he agreed, with a melancholy sigh. He then fell silent, but said, after a few moments, somewhat acidly: 'I am excessively glad, my dear, that I have never been mortified by the spectacle of
my
wife throwing a daughter at the head of an eligible
parti
in what I can only describe as a positively shocking way!'

   'Certainly not!' responded his lady, with unruffled calm. 'I hope I have too much rumgumption to do anything so bird-witted. But it must be remembered, my lord, that I have not been cursed with an improvident husband, and five daughters! I promise you, I do most sincerely feel for Lady Bugle, little though I may like her, and perfectly sympathize with her anxiety to achieve a good match for Lucasta as soon as may be possible.'

   He directed a worried look at her. 'Did it seem to you that Desford was strongly attracted to that girl, my love?'

   'Not in the least,' she replied unhesitatingly.

   'Well, I hope you may be right,' he said. 'It seemed to me that he treated her with very flattering distinction! And it wouldn't do, you know!'

   'Of course it wouldn't do, and he knows that as well as we do! Lord, my dear sir, can you suppose that a personable man of birth and fortune who has been on the town for years, and has had I don't know how many girls on the catch for him, don't recognize a lure in no more than the shake of a lambstail? If the mother's odious toadying didn't disgust him, you may depend upon it the coming manners Lucasta assumed did!'

   'One would have thought so, but he appeared to me to be quite blatantly flirting with her!'

   'To be sure he was!' said her ladyship. 'But in my judgment he was very much more interested in Lucasta's little cousin!'

   'Good God!' ejaculated Emborough. 'Do you mean that scamp's child? –
Wilfred Steane's
daughter?'

   His wife burst out laughing, for the look of dismay on his face was comical. 'Yes, but there's no need for you to be on the fidgets, I promise you! Recollect that Desford leaves us to-morrow! It is in the highest degree unlikely that he will ever see the girl again; and for my part I wouldn't wager a groat on the chance that he won't have forgotten all about her by the time he reaches London!'

   If this was a somewhat exaggerated statement, it is probable that had not Chance intervened Miss Cherry Steane would not have lived for long in the Viscount's memory. But Chance did intervene, and on the very next day.