Knaves' Wager (7 page)

"You have obviously confused me with some Incomparable. It is your lamentable eyesight, I daresay."

"I hope not. You have no idea the
inconvenience
I was put to in order to get you in my arms so that I should be compelled to flirt with you."

He saw the shadow of uneasiness flit across otherwise immobile features.

"You must not be alarmed for my health, Mrs. Davenant," he said comfortingly. "I promise to make up for the exertion by lying abed very late tomorrow."

Had Lilith suspected just how much the marquess learned about her during their one waltz, she would have been considerably more shaken than she was — and that was already too much.

She had wanted every iota of her rigid training to main-tain a semblance of composure. A semblance only. Good grief — she had practically announced she did not wear stays! Not, she reflected bitterly as she sought a quiet corner of the ballroom, that there had been any need to inform him.

Before she could even begin to regain her equanimity, Lady Enders pounced upon her, canary ruffles jerking in agitation.

"Everyone is talking," Rachel said.

"It is a social event. People are obliged to converse."

"They are talking about you and Brandon. If I had been you, I should have been put completely out of countenance, with everyone staring so. To dance with the man — and of all dances, a waltz. I really do not understand, Lilith."

What she meant was that she did not approve, though Rachel had not the audacity to tell her future sister-in-law
that
.

"I am not a green girl, Rachel. I do not require the sanction of Almack's patronesses to waltz. In any event, it was one of them obliged me to. I suppose you would prefer I had offended Dorothea?"

"In your place, I should have pleaded a turned ankle."

"In that case, I should not have been able to dance with Thomas later."

"I am sure my brother would have been happy to support a necessary falsehood. A man in his position cannot wish his intended bride to be an object of speculation."

"If that is so, perhaps he might spare a moment to his intended, instead of hiding away in the library talking politics with his colleagues," Lilith snapped. "I was left to deal with an awkward situation quite on my own, and chose
not
to insult the Russian ambassador's wife."

This was so unlike her cool, immovable self that Rachel stepped back a pace. "My dear Lilith," she said placatingly, "I did not mean to question your judgement."

There was a brief pause.

"I am sure you did not," Lilith answered with something more like her customary chilly politeness. "Our friends' eagerness to make gossip of the most trivial matters distresses you, as it does me. All the same, I think we were wisest to disregard it."

Though a large circle of masculine admirers had already begun to make great demands upon Cecily's attention, she had sufficient of that article remaining to cultivate several feminine friends as well. Among these, the most agreeable was Anne Cleveson, whose mama, Lady Rockridge, happened to be Lord Robert's first cousin on his papa's side.

Lady Rockridge was a sensible, good-natured woman who presented daughters almost as continuously as Mrs. Davenant presented nieces. The two women were well-acquainted. They both respected and liked each other and had more than once traded chaperon duty. This was what Lady Rockridge was proposing on the day following Countess Lieven's informal gathering, for Cecily was invited to join a small group of young people Lord and Lady Rockridge planned to escort to Astley's.

In any other case, Lilith would have instantly agreed. This time, however, there were problems. For one, she was out of sorts, having slept poorly. For another, Lord Robert was to be one of the party, and Lilith much doubted he was . suitable company for Cecily.

His connexion with Lady Rockridge was a point in his favour. His mistress and his connexion with Lord Brandon were points against. Cecily's behaviour the night of the opera must be considered as well — though Lilith was not entirely certain in what light to consider it, because the girl had offered no indication of infatuation since.

While Lilith did not list aloud these points for and against, Lady Rockridge must have guessed some of them, because she promptly ordered Cecily and Anne to take a turn in the garden.

"My dear Lilith," she said when the girls were safely out of the way, "I know exactly what is in your mind, and of course I cannot blame you for thinking ill of him." Lilith gave the tiniest start — so minute as to appear a flicker of shadow upon marble.

"You are too well-bred to mention it," her guest went on, "but we both know Robin has made an utter fool of himself over that French demi-rep."

"I am sure, Glenda, I should never disparage your rela-tions."

"And I am sure you may do so all you like. You cannot abuse him — or his immediate family — any more heartily than I have myself. What a great lot of fools they are! When spoiled child demands bon-bons, which will make him sick, does it serve to tell him, No, he must not? Indeed, it does
not
serve," said her ladyship, shaking her head vigour-ously. "As a child, Robin was wont to hold his breath until he turned blue in the face. At present, I believe he is doing precisely that."

"I am not certain I take your meaning," said Lilith, though a vision of the rakish Lord Robert Downs in a childish tantrum drew a hint of a smile.

"Everyone has been ranting at him to leave her. If they had simply ignored the entire matter, I'm sure he would have tired of her very soon, but every new 'No' only makes him dig in his heels the more."

"That scarcely recommends his maturity, Glenda."

"But don't you see? He is not so worldly and jaded as he likes to think. I only wish you could have heard him urging Astley's as a treat for the girls. Rather like an older brother who wants the treat for himself as well. I should like him to have it. I believe the experience will be good for him. At any rate, it is innocent entertainment for a change."

"I hope it may be," said Lilith slowly. "The question is whether it would be good for Cecily. She is inexperienced, young, and impressionable, and he is exceedingly handsome — and, as you said, worldly."

"Yes, of course, but we are going to the circus, my dear, not the Cyprians' Ball," was the brisk reply. "Rockridge and

I will be there, and I daresay we may keep a handful of lively young people in order."

This Lilith could not deny. Glenda's common sense was always to be relied upon. Furthermore, for all her open warmth, Lady Rockridge was a thoroughly reliable dragon.

The following Tuesday was quickly agreed upon, Lilith being engaged to dine that evening with Lord Liverpool. The invitees were mainly of political persuasion, and Cecily, had already expressed a disinclination to accompany her aunt.

"She told me she would feel like the village idiot in such company," Lilith said with a smile.

"Meaning, I take it, she expected to be bored to pieces. Well, we shall spare her that, shall we?"

5

The Tuesday evening found the eminently sophisticated man of the world, Lord Robert Downs, at Astley's. He had dextrously managed matters so that he sat next Miss Glen-wood — only, he told himself, for the amusement of watching her childlike excitement. This infantile enthusiasm manifesting itself in sparkling blue eyes, half-parted moist, pink lips, and a propensity to clutch at his sleeve during moments of high suspense, he might have been accounted tolerably amused.

From time to time the lips came disconcertingly close to his ear, as Miss Glenwood was inclined to whisper eager comments on the proceedings.

"How do they do it?" she asked during a display of equestrian feats. "It takes forever to learn how to keep your seat without a saddle — but to stand — and turn — and leap in the air — I could never do that. The last time I tried to stand — "

Lord Robert's head whipped towards her. "You what?"

Captivated once more by the performance, she did not appear to hear him.

"They make it seem so easy," she said after a moment. "Yet it wants tremendous concentration."

"Miss Glenwood, did you just say you have tried to stand upon a horse?" Lord Robert asked, appalled.

"Once only. I can ride without a saddle, but no more. I shall never be an acrobat," was the modest reply.

"You do not ride saddleless," he insisted.

"But of course I do. Why, I have done it several times already in Hyde Park." She must have remarked his look of horror finally, because she hastened to explain that she had done so very early in the morning, and naturally she had her own groom from home with her, and of course she wore her brother's old clothes. One could scarcely ride bareback in a woman's riding habit, she pointed out patiently.

"Miss Glenwood — "

He got no further. Lady Rockridge's dragon eye having noted the two golden heads bent close together, she promptly ordered her husband to change places with Robert.

While the innocent Cecily was throwing Lord Robert into a dither, her aunt was experiencing her own brand of disquiet.

Sir Thomas had as usual forgotten her existence in his absorption with a political issue, but this was habitual with him. At any rate, Lilith had never expected or wished him to live in her pocket, even after their betrothal.

Tonight's issue was again the Grand Duchess Catherine's blatant hostility towards Prinny, her efforts to humiliate him at every turn, and her skill in making everyone detest her. The Czar's sister seemed to devote all her waking hours to making mischief. Since she had considerable influence over her brother, and wrote him constantly, it was feared Alexander's proposed visit to England would not be an auspicious one.

Thomas, who had any number of ideas regarding what might be done to appease the harridan, took every opportunity to express these views. He would not be averse to a diplomatic post, and this was a good way to start. Consequently, he devoted all his energy this night to business — and therefore, the most powerful men in the group.

The disquiet of the nation must, after all, take precedence over the disquiet of one woman, Lilith well knew. Her problem was not with Thomas.

The source of her uneasiness sat the length of the dinner table away. Amid the buzz of dinner conversation, one low, drawling murmur — inevitably followed by peals of femi-nine laughter — pierced her concentration as loudly as if there had been no other sound.

In the same way, she saw Lord Brandon without looking directly at him, because he was always there, in the periphery of her vision when she turned to respond to her dining companion. The black coat moulded to broad shoulders… the immaculately arranged neck-cloth in whose snowy depths an emerald winked from time to time, a counterpoint to the flickering green glance which lit here and there with equal lack of interest. Once, Lilith had felt that glance settle hard upon her, but she would not raise her eyes to acknowledge it, and the sensation soon vanished.

Her discomfort did not. He had done no more than greet her and Thomas politely at the start of the evening. At least, the words had been unexceptionable. But as they were moving past him, Lord Brandon had shifted his balance slightly, and his coat sleeve had brushed her gloved forearm. She had felt a tiny shock, and ever since, she had been unable to shake off her awareness of him, even when he stood a crowded room's length away.