Gayle Buck (26 page)

Chapter Twenty-seven

Lady Caroline woke late the next mornng, heavy-eyed and with a sore throat. She rose listlessly and suffered her maid to attend her before she went downstairs to the breakfast room.

Mrs. Burlington, breakfasting in company with Lord and Lady Eddington, said, “Well! It appears that you do not always rise with the cock’s-crow, Lady Caronlin. But far be it from me to point out the disregard you have shown toward his lordship and Lady Eddington on their first morning home,” Mrs. Burlington said waspishly.

Lady Caroline sighed wearily. “I can only assume that you suffered an indifferent night, Amaris. It is the only f
i
tting explanation I can imagine for your spleen.
’’
She ignored her aunt’s angry intake of breath. “Good morning, Ned, Lady Eddington. I trust that you at least spent a restful night.”

Lord Eddington glanced up briefly from his plate to nod at his sister. “A vastly better night than you did, from all signs. You look ghastly, Caroline.”

Lady Caroline gave the ghost of a laugh. “Why, thank you! I did not expect such gallantry so early in the day, I must say. Yes, Simpson. Tea will be all, thank you.”

Lord Eddington looked up, startled. “What is toward, Caroline? Why, I cannot recall the last time you turned down breakfast. Surely you must wish to have a few of these excellent kidneys and biscuits, or perhaps some toast and marmalade. Here, I shall spread it for you myself.”

Lady Caroline suppressed a slight shudder. “No, nothing else, truly.”

“Perhaps our dear Lady Caroline has resolved to cultivate a daintier appetite,” Mrs. Burlington said acidly.

Lady Eddington had quietly observed the interchange, and now she reached over to place a hand on her sister-in-law’s wrist. “My dear Lady Caroline, I hesitate to intrude on your privacy, but you do not appear at all well. Are you certain that you would not prefer taking your tea in your room and resting for a short time? I am sure that none of us would think the less of your courtesy.
”
Her glance flickered in Mrs. Burlington’s direction, and that lady, on the point of making another acid observation, felt unusually constrained to hold her tongue.

To her surprise
,
Lady Caroline felt relief at the gentle suggestion. It was true that she did not feel the least like being in company. The headache had persisted to nag her even after she had awoken, and she felt inordinately tired and melancholy.

She contributed it to the fretful sleep that she had endured, interrupted, as it was, several times as she tossed on her pillow, quite unable to still her unhappy reflections. She could not imagine how she would ever be able to greet her friends again without wondering what thoughts might be going through their heads about her scandalous behavior.

“Perhaps I should do exactly that, Lady Eddington. I am feeling rather pulled this morning,” Lady Caroline said.

“Then you must not give us another thought. We shall do very well without you, you know. I have it in mind to trespass upon Mrs. Burlington’s good nature and request her to show me about Berwicke this morning,” Lady Eddington said.

“Of course, Lady Eddington! I would be most pleased to do so,” Mrs. Burlington exclaimed, delighted.

Lord Eddington appeared startled at the proposed itinerary. He cleared his throat diffidently. “If you should not mind it, my love, I think that I shall spend a little time with my bailiff. My sister has urged me to acquaint myself with the workings of the estate, and I may as well make a start of it, do you not think?”

While Lady Caroline stared, astonished, at her brother, Lady Eddington bestowed a warm smile on his lordship. “I know you will do just as you ought, my lord.
’’

Lord Eddington straightened his shoulders, basking in his wife’s approval. “Well, I do think it just the thing to while away a few hours.”

As it turned out, Lady Caroline’s slight indisposition developed into a light bout of influenza that kept her abed for several days. She therefore missed the morning calls paid by Lord Trilby and the grandduchess. Lord Hathaway came faithfully each day to ask after her, and when Lady Caroline heard it, she could not but be grateful that she had a valid excuse not to be compelled to endure his company.

The second day after Lady Caroline returned downstairs, Fraulein Gutenberg came to tea at Berwicke. She made the grandduchess’s excuses, saying that her grace had declined Lady Eddington’s kind invitation because she had taken a chill and did not wish to expose herself to the cold.

“I know I must not expect any of the gentlemen, for Lord Eddington informed me this morning that he had been invited to go hunting at Walmesley,” Lady Eddington said on a laugh.

“Viscount Weemswood may yet surprise us with his presence, my lady, for I understood that he meant to consult with a wheelwright about the repairs of his phaeton instead. Surely that will not take the remainder of the afternoon,” Fraulein Gutenberg said.

“I would not be too certain,” Lady Caroline said humorously. “The viscount is a perfectionist when it comes to his sporting vehicles. He will not be easily satisf
i
ed.”

“Then it will be a cozy tea indeed, with just the four of us,” Lady Eddington said.

Tea was poured and the biscuits had been passed around before Fraulein Gutenberg referred again to the gentlemen. “I find the manners of the English a little different from what I was used to in St. Petersburg, and in particular those of English gentlemen,” she said.

“Oh? In what way, Fraulein?” Lady Caroline asked.

Fraulein Gutenberg shrugged slightly. “The Russian princes are very boastful. They will tell you about everything they own, their accomplishments, their physical prowess.”

“Yes, I suppose our English gentlemen are more reticent. However, I do think that you shall hear a great deal of boasting of physical prowess this evening when the results of the day’s hunting are served up for dinner,” Lady Caroline said.

“My lord Eddington will certainly entertain me with a minutely detailed description of his outing today,” Lady Eddington agreed.

 “I suspect that gentlemen are much alike everywhere, dear Fraulein. They like to tell us what they wish us to hear, which may or may not be the whole truth, and leave it to us to make what we will of it all,” Mrs. Burlington said. She threw a malicious glance at her niece. “That is why young ladies should allow themselves to be guided by the counsel of those wiser and perhaps better informed than themselves, for that is how the best possible matches are contracted.”

“True enough, Amaris, but I believe the young lady in question should have some opinion in the matter,” Lady Caroline said amiably, not to be drawn into a discussion of her personal history. “Would you not agree, Lady Eddington?”

“Oh, yes. But it is not always possible, as it is dependent upon one’s circumstances. I was very fortunate. I developed a decided partiality for Lord Eddington quite apart from the advantages of his lordship’s birth or material possessions,” Lady Eddington said. “There were other suitors, of course, but none I liked quite so well or who proved quite so eligible in my father’s eyes.”

“That is what has me in a puzzle, Lady Eddington. How does one discern the wheat from the chaff, for very nearly any gentleman may represent himself well,” Fraulein Gutenberg said. “For instance, if I had not met the Earl of Walmsley or his friends under the Grandduchess of Schaffenzeits’ patronage, I should not have been so completely certain of their characters.” She raised her shoulders in an eloquent shrug.

“Oh,
well!
Even when one meets a gentleman under the auspices of a trusted acquaintance, one cannot always be certain of that gentleman’s personal circumstances,” Mrs. Burlington said. “Of course, I do not speak specifically of the earl’s friends, you must understand, but even they have their crosses. Viscount Weemswood is the perfect example. He was heir apparent to a dukedom and quite squandered on his expectations, from what I have heard. Now the old duke is remarried and his younger wife is in expectation of producing a new heir. Quite shocking, of course.”

“Amaris, I daresay that the viscount would not care to have his private affairs quite so well-aired,” Lady Caroline said quietly, though with pointed authority.

Mrs. Burlington was offended at the rebuke, but she attempted to cover it with a titter. “Lord, my dear, I do not forget that you count the viscount one of your bosom bows, just as you do Mr. Underwood and Lord Heatherton. Though how one may be friends with a libertine is beyond me, I am sure!”

“Lord Heatherton is a libertine?” Fraulein Gutenberg asked with such palpable amazement that the other ladies laughed.

“Oh, no,
not
Lord Heatherton.” Lady Eddington tactfully left unvoiced the obvious conclusion to be drawn about Mr. Underwood. “I have the acquaintance of his lordship’s mother, who is a very good friend of my stepmother’s. I doubt very much that Lord Heatherton would dare go counter to anything
she
may frown upon.”

“Lord Heatherton is a dear, but perhaps he does stand a trifle too in awe of his mother,” Lady Caroline conceded.

“A regular cat’s-paw!” Mrs. Burlington exclaimed scornfully. “I doubt that his lordship will ever pluck up the necessary courage to take proper control of his own interests. Not but what that gorgon is quite enough to cow the stoutest of hearts!”

“Why, Amaris, one would suppose that you do not yourself care overmuch for the lady,” Lady Caroline said, putting up her brows.

“I had the misfortune to share the same coming-put Season with that female. I have always suspected that once she latched on to the earlier Lord Heatherton she positively bullied him to the altar,” Mrs. Burlington said.

Lady Eddington glanced at her guest’s polite expression. “I fear none of this can be of much interest to Fraulein Gutenberg. Nothing is more boring than to be obliged to listen courteously to old gossip, isn’t that so? Do let us talk of something else. Perhaps we may put our heads together and agree on a date for another dinner party, this time to be hosted by Berwicke. I did so enjoy the last.”

Lady Caroline, taking note of the almost indiscernible flicker of disappointment in Fraulein Gutenberg’s eyes, was certain that the lady had been far more interested than Lady Eddington had assumed. However, she herself was more than willing to follow the countess’s lead, for she had not felt comfortable while Mrs. Burlington gossiped so disparagingly of the gentlemen.

Soon afterward, Fraulein Gutenberg rose to take her leave. She remarked that it had been a most entertaining tea and she promised to carry word back to Walmesley of the informal soiree that was to be held at Berwicke Keep.

Lady Caroline chose to ride over to Walmesley the following day.

When she arrived she was astonished to see a familiar highbred team being backed into the traces of a sporting phaeton. She deduced instantly that the phaeton was being readied for travel. Accepting the assistance of a groom to descend from her mount, she tossed the man the reins and entered Walmesley’s open door.

She discovered Lord Heatherton in the entry hall, engaged in pulling on his gloves. “Nana, never tell me that you are leaving!”

Lord Heatherton greeted her with one of his usual open smiles. “Lady Caroline! I had hoped to see you before we left. I was meaning to have Sinjin drive over to Berwicke before we returned to town, for I wished to convey my apologies. I have been fretting this age that I offended you over that little matter we talked of the other evening.”

Lady Caroline laughed and shook her head. She felt a rush of glad relief. Tucking her gloved hand into his elbow, she said, “I do not regard it in the least, I assure you. Now, you must tell me why you and my two other friends have decided to abandon the neighborhood so suddenly, for I must have a plausible excuse to convey to Lady Eddington.”

“The soiree, of course!” Lord Heatherton frowned, as though weighing something in his mind. “Come into the drawing room a moment, my lady. I think it best if we are not overheard.”

Lady Caroline accompanied his lordship, wondering and curious. When Lord Heatherton closed the door, she said lightly, “Now I am certain that you have a secret to tell, my lord.”

“As it chances, I have. But it is not altogether mine, so you must not tout it about,” Lord Heatherton said.

Lady Caroline instantly sobered. “Why, Nana, what is it about?”

“The thing of it is, you shall have to contrive an excuse for us to Lady Eddington, for the truth would never do,” Lord Heatherton said. “We are returning to town because Carey has suffered a severe reverse. None of us quite realized how besotted he had become with Fraulein Gutenberg, more’s the pity. Well, you know yourself how Carey is forever sighing over a pretty face.
’’

“Indeed I do. He tumbles in and out of love as many times as some gentlemen put on their boots,” Lady Caroline quipped.

Lord Heatherton nodded, taking the joke in a serious vein. “Aye, but this time he proposed to the lady in question.”

Lady Caroline’s mouth dropped open. “I do not believe it!”

“I do not wonder at your astonishment, my lady, for I felt the same. In any event, poor Carey was fairly certain that he had begun to fix his interest with the Fraulein. Well, anyone could see that she was beginning to thaw toward him after the dinner party,” Lord Heatherton said. He shook his head. “It was deuced odd. Yesterday, when Carey offered for the Fraulein’s hand, she told him that she would never consider his suit. Yet not four hours previously he had hinted to me that the Fraulein had freely bestowed upon him a kiss.”

Lady Caroline did not reveal to Lord Heatherton her own unpleasant conclusion. She remembered quite clearly that during the afternoon tea Fraulein Gutenberg had steered the conversation onto the subject of English gentlemen. She had wondered at the time that the Fraulein seemed inordinately interested in Mrs. Burlington’s somewhat malicious recounting of gossip regarding Lord Trilby’s friends, but she had never expected this result.

“It is a pity, indeed. One must feel for poor Carey,”she said quietly.