Legendary Lover (31 page)

Legendary
    
Lover
             
271

"And say what, darling? He's not a man who makes a habit of falling in love."

"But Venus is so miserable,"
Trixi
murmured with a small sigh. "I just feel as though we should do something."

"Have you talked to her?"

"I've tried, but she always changes the subject. Did you notice how little interest she had in the races? And afterward, I had to search her out to have her come and join us." She ran her bracelet back and forth between her fingers. "It just breaks my heart to see her like this."

"Why don't we ask her if she'd like to travel with us when we go to
Morocco.
Vincent will be coming along."

"She's always liked him, hasn't she? You're so clever, darling." Her expression cheered. "Morocco might be just what she needs."

"The trip will be a distraction, at least."

"And perhaps by the time we return, she'll have forgotten
Redvers
."

^
Jenus
, however, wasn't so easily convinced
the next day, when her parents suggested she accompany them on their trip.

"I'm too busy at the hospital," she said.

"We won't be gone for more than two weeks. You've always liked Tangier."

"
Merimee
needs my company now."

"She and Gaspard are going to be in the country until July."

"I've promised
Felicie
that I'd go to
Trouville
next week "for a few days."

"We just don't want you to be unhappy, dear," her

272

mother
replied. "Would you like Papa to talk to Lord
Redvers
?"

"Dear God, no!
Mama, don't you dare even think it! I'd be embarrassed beyond words. Papa, promise me you won't," Venus firmly declared.

"Your mother's concerned with your low spirits. We both are."

"Promise, Papa," she insisted, her gaze unflinching.
"Right this minute!"

"Of course I won't, if you don't wish it."

"I most assuredly don't wish it!" she exclaimed and then, recovering her composure, added, "I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm perfectly fine. And I
will
go to
Trouville
for a few days and sit in the sun and sea breezes so you needn't worry that I've become a social misfit.
Felicie
always has a houseful of guests, and I promise I'll mingle."

Trixi
anxiously regarded her husband. "Why don't we wait and go to Morocco later? Your business will wait, won't it, dear?"

"Mama, don't delay your trip because of me. Papa, go, I'm telling you. Check with
Felicie
if you don't believe me. I'm leaving with her on Thursday."

"This Thursday?"

"In four days, Mama."

Trixi
smiled her approval. If Venus was actually going to attend
Felicie's
house party, perhaps her broken heart was on the mend. And
Felicie
always had the most interesting array of guests. Venus was sure to have a good time. "Forgive us, dear," her mother murmured. "Your papa and I just worry."

"I appreciate your concern," she reiterated. "But
ev
-

273

erything's
going well. Did you hear—the new wing at the hospital will break ground next month?"

"Congratulations," her father offered. "Did some new donations come in?"

"A sizable one, from the president of the Bourse.
He's a friend of Countess
Fleury
, one of our benefactors."

And a personal friend of Pasha's as well, but her father said only, "That's good news.
Ribot
has chosen a useful charity."

(9
HE
  
FOLLOWING
  
DAY
  
PASHA
  
AND
  
TRIXI
  
LEFT

for
Morocco with a small entourage, and three days later, Venus and
Felicie
made the journey to
Trouville
. The city, a fashionable seaside destination on the Atlantic, had recently become the summer
mecca
for the wealthy. Palatial homes lined the shore, their terraces overlooking magnificent ocean views, the
balustraded
garden parterres open-air settings for the beau monde to see and be seen, to socialize and exchange gossip.

The seashore, too, was filled with fashionable society promenading along the sand, the natural splendors of nature augmented by colorfully garbed ladies in wide skirts and frilled parasols, the men in their straw hats and pale linen suits neutral foil to the feminine birds of paradise. Unlike the English, who actually swam in the cold Atlantic, the French generally viewed it from a safe distance.

Society had moved en masse to a new locale, escaping the heat of the city, intent on amusing itself with summer pastimes. And Venus was determined to enjoy herself.

274
                           
Susan
 
]
ohnson

Q/tack's retreat at castlereagh had given
him the seclusion he wanted, but not the peace of mind nor the relief from his powerful memories. Venus pervasively filled his thoughts and dreams. No matter how he tried to distract himself with an unending array of activities, he couldn't dislodge the potent images from his mind. He had resorted to going on long walks deep into his forests, as though he might ease the plaguing memories if he walked far enough or was tired enough. But distance or weariness didn't prove an antidote, and his restless agitation persisted. Even drinking no longer offered him solace; Maurice had given up bringing him his nightly bottle of cognac.

Too long inured to love, Jack never suspected the tumult he was experiencing might be that tender passion. So long had he been without love in his life, his capacity to recognize it had atrophied. And he continued in his fitful disquietude, not knowing how to comfort himself or how to blot Venus from his thoughts.

As he entered the house one evening, weary in body and spirit, he saw a pile of red leather luggage with a ducal seal in the entrance hall, and inwardly groaned. Even someone he cared about as much as Peggy wasn't welcome now. He found it difficult to be polite; he found it impossible to chat about inconsequential events. All conversation seemed meaningless at the moment.

But he knew his godmother's determination, and he also knew she disliked travel. She was here on some mission important enough to warrant a trip from London.

Legendary
    
Lover
             
275

Glancing up at a sound on the stairs, Jack saw Maurice descending to the entrance hall. "Tell me she isn't staying long," Jack commanded.

Maurice came to rest at the base of the staircase. "The duchess didn't say, sir."

"She brought enough
luggage
for a month."

"The duchess always travels in state. The amount of luggage doesn't necessarily indicate the length of her stay." Maurice motioned for the footmen and gestured toward the pile of luggage. "I just showed her to the Queen's chamber," he explained. "She always enjoys sleeping in Queen Elizabeth's bed. I mentioned you were out and would see her at dinner."

"I've still time then to muster my defenses."

"The duchess often does have an agenda."

"Always,
Maurice," Jack muttered. "I suppose the railroads were dismal as usual."

"She'll no doubt entertain you at dinner with her complaints. The list was lengthy even during our brief progress upstairs. I took the liberty to set dinner back a half hour, since I wasn't sure when you'd return."

"Thank you, Maurice. You take excellent care of me."

"We try, sir."

<3ZIT
DINNER
,
 
PEGGY
 
WAS
 
IN
 
GOOD
 
SPIRITS,
 
AND

more
polite than usual as demonstrated by her unusual reserve in discussing the rail service. Her complaints were moderate and tactfully expressed. The weather had been adequate; her maid, Molly, hadn't forgotten anything; and they'd arrived on schedule. "What a lovely new station you have at
Castlereagh
," Peggy pleasantly finished, increasing Jack's sense of alarm.

276

"Thank you," he warily replied.

"You're very welcome." Her tone was bland and
amv
ble
as though their polite exchange was perfectly nor-mal. "I brought you good news. Sarah Palmer
eloped,
it seems, with her dancing master." She paused at the lack of response. "You know."

"I know. I'm paying for it." His gaze narrowed. "You didn't travel all this distance to tell me some bit of gossip." Jack waved away the footmen about to serve them. His appetite would be ruined if he was forced to wait throughout dinner for the guillotine blade to fall. "Tell me why you're here, Peggy," he said, "and then we can eat in peace."

"Maurice tells me you've been taking long walks."

"Is that a problem?"

"It's so unlike you, dear."

"I can't see that it matters if I walk."

"And you're no longer drinking." Her tone was
ap-prehensive
.

"That worries you?"

"It's hardly like you. Apparently, you're monkish, too. I'll admit
,
that worries me more than anything."

"I'm sorry my deviation from vice has alarmed you," he sardonically murmured.

"Some say you're ill."

"Then
some
are wrong. I'm perfectly healthy."

"You miss her, don't you?"

"Am I not allowed those feelings?"

"Not with such brooding despondency and such a lack of insight. I swear, Jack," she tartly said, no longer able to contain her exasperation, "do I have to do everything?"

"I think you've done more than enough already," he

277

coolly
replied. "My life is miserable because of your interference."

Ignoring his chastisement, the duchess declared, "Venus is in
Trouville
."

"How do you know?" His brows turned down in a scowl. "Don't tell me you're writing to her?"

"No, I have friends in Paris. She left for the seashore a week ago."

He pursed his lips, annoyed at her intrusiveness. "I hope she's enjoying herself," he grimly said.

"She's not, according to acquaintances in
Trouville
."

"If you have detectives following her, Peggy, I'll disown you for good."

"Don't be silly, darling. Why do I need detectives when I have so many friends and the telegraph works perfectly well? By the way, I sent word to have your yacht readied."

"
Damnit
, you've gone too far this time! I don't
want
you meddling in my life!" He pushed his chair back and came to his feet in a furious surge. A curt nod to the servants sent them scurrying from the room, and when he swung back to face her, his eyes were dark with rage. "You've really overstepped your bounds this time,
damnit
! Don't you think if I wanted her, I'd go there myself? Don't—"

"Then go," Peggy impatiently snapped. "It's as plain as the tail on a dog why you're moping like a damned schoolboy. And if no one else will tell you the reason why, I will."

"And you know why," he said, his voice utterly cold.

"You love her, you dolt! Why do you think you're more despondent after a month? Why do you shun society and your acquaintances and never even look at a

278

woman
anymore? Good God, Jack, only melancholy poets take long walks every day."

"You know that, too." Each word was icy.

"At my age, dear, I've seen it all," she patiently said. "Venus is unhappy at
Trouville
. You're unhappy here. Why not go to France and at least talk to her? What are you protecting?"

"My freedom."

"Are you enjoying it?"

He walked away, his footsteps echoing in the large room, his moody withdrawal taking him to the windows overlooking the river valley. The moon was full
tonight,
the nocturnal scene washed in silver, the river a gleaming ribbon meandering through the landscape. As far as the eye could see was his, he thought, and farther still— ten thousand acres on this estate alone.

What good will it
do
you, a small voice asked, if you're alone? And his loneliness struck him like a blow. The silence of the room surrounded him, his isolation chilling, as his childhood had been—in houses like this, that were never home.

When he turned around, Peggy appeared diminutive at the end of the long mahogany table halfway down the room. She'd always been the only support in his life, the only person he could count on, and for all her meddling, he knew her love for him was unconditional.

An irrepressible hope began rising in his consciousness as he walked back, a tentative smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "I suppose you'll be insufferable if I take your advice and sail to
Trouville
?"

"Gratified, at least," she calmly replied. "I want you to be happy, and you were with her."

"I'm not guaranteeing anything," he said. "She might