Lord Sidley's Last Season (18 page)

“This is cozy,” he remarked softly. “Perhaps you
have already forgiven me?”

His smile infuriated her. She shifted as far away from
him as possible, though her skirts still brushed his boot.

“Lord Sidley has brought us some surprising news,
Marian!” Katie said. “Miss TinckneyDwight has accepted a proposal of marriage from Mr. Poole.” Katie
was beaming.

Marian had no doubt as to why. With both Becca and
Delia removed from contention for Sidley’s favors, Katie
must anticipate an offer at any moment. Marian could
not help but look to Sidley.

“‘Twas indeed a surprise, Miss Ware,” he conceded.
“Even last week I had thought Dicky’s interest fixed
on you.”

“Mr. Poole is a gentleman,” she countered sharply. “He
knew me to be engaged”

The small smile in answer to that incensed her.

“Sir Philip seems as happy about the match as Dicky
and Miss Delia,” he said. “After all, their temperaments are well suited. And as neither needs to marry,
one can assume them more than content”

“You are quite the matchmaker, my lord,” Marian
said shortly.

“D’you think so? My recent house party will certainly be renowned.”

“You must not feel you are to blame, Lord Sidley,”
Edith said. “Your aunt told me she had made up the guest
list.”

“Just so, ma’am.” Sidley nodded to her. “Lady Adeline confesses to playing Cupid. I certainly had no such
intention.”

“Far from it!” Lord Benjamin offered. “If anything-”

“You must tell us, Benny, of your decision,” Sidley
prompted quickly. “Lord Benjamin is joining the 10th
Regiment of Dragoons-the Hussars”

“Are you?” Edgar asked, with more interest and courtesy than he had ever shown Lord Benjamin during their
feud over Becca Harvey.

“It should put me out of the petticoat line for some time, I imagine, Formsby,” Benny conceded with a
laugh.

And while the purchase of a commission was the
center of discussion, Sidley rose to his feet.

“I hope you do not mind, Lady Formsby, Lady
Katherine-I should like a word with Miss Ware regarding the completion of her portrait. There are some
tedious artistic details to be gone over. May we excuse
ourselves for a few minutes?” He was indicating the terrace. Clutching her glass of lemonade, Marian glanced
at her aunt in alarm. But Edith looked complaisant. And
Katie, assured in her impending triumph, simply smiled
benignly.

Marian rose stiffly. Placing her drink aside, she preceded Sidley out the door. The terrace provided little
enough privacy, yet he seemed determined to make the
most of any available distance. He walked to the stone
balusters and rail along its farthest edge and stood with
his back to the drawing-room door.

“I know you are still very angry, Miss Ware,” he said
calmly. “And I know you believe yourself angry with
cause. But I should like you to listen to me” He looked
at the garden below as he spoke. “I ask for your fairness. If nothing else you owe it to your cousins, whose
house this is, and who are my hosts” His brief glance at
her was a challenge. Marian looked quickly back over her
shoulder toward the drawing room’s dim interior, but
Sidley soon commanded her attention.

“First, I must set your mind at ease. I have no inten tion of offering for Lady Katherine. She may believe
she wants an offer from me-in certain quarters an offer
may be expected. I know it is the dearest wish of my
aunt. Perhaps it is Lady Formsby’s as well-I do not
know. But much as I esteem your cousin, I also know we
should not suit. And it is abundantly clear that Lady
Katherine’s heart is not at risk. I shall endeavor to prove
this to her in the kindest way possible over the coming
week. I would never dishonor her; you need not defend
her from my dreaded ‘manipulations.”’ When she would
have spoken, the mere lift of his eyebrows stopped her.

“Second, of all of which you accused me last week,
Miss Ware, you charged me perhaps most profoundly
with deceiving my aunt. Let me assure you that Lady
Adeline has always known of the precise state of my
health, even when I myself was conscious of nothing.”
His blue gaze briefly flashed at her. “‘Tis true I ceased to
counter the widespread speculations regarding my illness. Exaggerations of the nature of my indisposition
were rife, Miss Ware. You, who have little knowledge of
the ton’s obsessions, may not fully appreciate how tenacious false rumors become. For many weeks I was unable even to attempt to deny them, and then once I was
able, my efforts proved not only ineffective but strangely
counter to my purpose. At times I thought many wished
me dead for the sheer entertainment of it. After some
weeks I elected to let the situation work to my advantage. You will consider such a decision beneath me” He
turned briefly again to look at her but quickly turned back. “I can only plead that everyone is due a holiday at
some time. I determined to take mine, gratis, when it
seemed unlikely to hurt anyone. That it has caused you
distress is a rebuke to me. I apologize for it.”

He sighed. “Perhaps, had you been wiser in the ways
of the ton, you would not have invested me with such
lofty qualities. You are a truthful person, a person of integrity. You accuse me of lying to you and to others. I
say only that I did not pose with any intention of harm.
Did I gain sympathy and attention I would not otherwise have had? Perhaps. But the sheer weight of speculation had already brought me such; I did not seek it.
And in your case”-again he looked at her-“in your
case, Miss Ware, I found I sought your company and
knew of no gentlemanly way to obtain it.”

Marian was having difficulty keeping her gaze from
his face. He was freshly shaven, free of powder. He still
looked pale without it, but he also looked superb. She
had always thought he looked so.

“You should not have sought my company,” she managed.

“That I could not control” He smiled. As they heard
Katie’s laughter from the room behind them, he propped
himself against the stone rail and faced Marian. “I am no
longer a youngster, Miss Ware. I told you at Aldersham
how I must wed shortly. And now, having failed with my
most likely prospects, I must begin anew.”

She tilted her chin. “That cannot be such a trial for
you, my lord.”

“Perhaps you yourself are so satisfactorily settled
that you cannot summon the least bit of sympathy” His
gaze held hers for a moment. Then he smiled. “I do not
mean to boast, when I tell you that I am apparently
considered a frighteningly eligible parti. If you cannot
sympathize, perhaps you might still spare some understanding? ‘Twas the thought of freeing myself from
the weight of so much expectation that furthered my
ruse. You shall no doubt hear, now that I am returned
to the living, how briefly my bachelor existence endures.”

“It is a shame that you lost Miss TinckneyDwight.
You seemed very-congenial.”

Again his fine eyebrows rose. “You are most presumptuous, Miss Ware. Miss Delia has chosen the better man.
I believe she found me too serious, much too somber.
My mind was often elsewhere”

She felt his attention to her face. She focused on the
garden, which she had observed closely on a regular
basis. She had painted it often; the thought prompted
her question.

“What of your-what of your portrait, Lord Sidley?
Did you truly wish to discuss it?” She thought he sighed.

“I should like you to finish it, if you can force yourself to do so. My aunt likes it exceedingly. And I believe it is turning out well enough.”

Well enough? She eyed him. “Where is it?” she
asked.

“I had it brought to town. I might send it on to you here if you are so inclined. And if you feel you might work
on it away from Aldersham. I had hoped to complete
the project this season”

“I needn’t work at Aldersham. But I might … need
you, my lord-”

“Why, Miss Ware! How charming”

“Very briefly,” she finished, with an impatient gesture of one hand. “My aunt should not mind if I work
here just once in the drawing room.”

“I shall be on my best behavior.”

“Was there anything else, Lord Sidley?” She could
tell he did not much care for her clipped tone, but she
was conscious of the time they had spent in private conversation. Such time alone was the last thing she had
wanted, and her anxiety mounted.

“Only that Miss Poole will be visiting with us when
my aunt returns to town. Clara asked to be remembered
to you and wondered if she might call on you”

“But, of course! I would be delighted. I enjoy her
company.”

“This is, naturally, dependent on your own schedule.
When does Lieutenant Reeves arrive?”

The question seemed abrupt. She did not think of
William’s arrival; she had quite pointedly not thought
of it.

“Within the week, I believe. Though he may not
come here to me in town. I expect he intends to travel
on to Brinford, where I shall … I shall join him.”

“Then we must take care not to waste your limited
time.” He straightened and turned to her. “You have
found my behavior wanting on more than one occasion.
I believe I have also failed to offer you proper felicitations on your betrothal. I hope you will forgive me for
the oversight. ‘Twas yet more evidence of what you
rightly termed my `outrageous conceit.”’ His smile was
rueful. “I do wish you happy”

“Thank you, my lord” She felt wretched. She struggled to find a distraction. “Where is Lord Vaughn?”

“Vaughn stopped at his estate in Surrey. The place
required his attention. But he will be back shortly”

“I thought him your shadow,” she said, and tried to
force a smile.

“Perhaps I am his.” At her silence he added, “We are
great friends. Which reminds me. There is one other matter that has concerned me. I believe I might be of aid-”

“Lord Sidley?” Katie called. She pouted as she stood
in the doorway. “Lord Benjamin has told us you have had
nothing whatever to eat today! Will you not take some
refreshment?”

“We come at once, my lady,” he said. He placed his
gloved hand lightly beneath Marian’s elbow to escort
her the short distance back across the flagstone; Marian
felt his clasp every step of the way.

He stayed only a few minutes longer, to sample a biscuit Katherine pressed upon him and to commend
Edgar’s purchase of a dappled gray saddle horse. And when he and Lord Benjamin departed, Marian was left
more restive than ever.

Lord Sidley had made a miraculous recovery. No
fewer than three respected physicians, none of whom
had examined his lordship, commented publicly on the
extraordinary nature of the case. Every aspect of Lord
Sidley’s routine-his diet, his exercise, his habits-was
scrutinized minutely for keys to his reversal. The slavish, pitying attention that had followed his projected
doom now seemed equally enthralled with his inexplicable improvement.

Such an energetic round of dances, dinners, and
romps had heralded Sidley’s return to the living that he
began during the week to feel himself in some danger
of a relapse. So it was that before accompanying his
aunt to the theater one fine June evening, he sat discussing his affairs with Vaughn.

“I have arranged to visit the Formsbys,” Sidley said,
“to let Miss Ware finish up my portrait. You would be
proud of me, my friend, for I have not seen Miss Ware
these past three days. I am leaving her to her sailor.”

Vaughn eyed him. “Shall I commend you for what
should not have taken effort?” he asked.

“Yes, devil it! Because it did take effort! And more,
besides. I have not been able to avoid Lady Katherine,
who still flings herself about, enjoying the last faint flutters of the season. The girl will drive me into an early
grave.”

“An irony there, certainly. But I hear you have introduced her to young Lord Carroll. There is some speculation that she is taken with the fellow.”

“A boyish, empty-headed Adonis! Yet even as a mere
baron, he must trump a lame and elderly earl. I believe
she is enchanted with his dancing and driving skills, as
well as his golden curls. I have tried hard to withhold
my distaste for Carroll, Vaughn, given that ‘twas he and
Mopes who came closest to actually killing me with
their mad curricle race” He grimaced. “I’m reminded
that whilst we toured Iberia, these young blades were
spending their families’ fortunes on gaming and horses.
Still, I suppose I must grant that they gained a certain
prowess.”

“You are not yet so aged, Sidley, that you could not
best them at the ribbons.”

“I’ve no wish to. Let them saddle themselves with
the Becca Harveys and Lady Katherines. I’ve no taste
for gambling with life when I needn’t.”

“Which leaves you with just whom for a countess,
my friend? You still mean to satisfy your aunt?”

Sidley gazed thoughtfully at his brandy. “I think I
must discuss with Lady Adeline the possibility of approaching a widow, or someone distinctly on the shelf.
I am in the mood to be treated with gratitude, as a bit of
a savior. ‘Twould be balm to the wounds to have someone appreciate my attentions. These young diamonds
have no sense of what is due me”

Vaughn laughed. “Meek gratitude would satisfy you all of ten minutes, Sidley. You do not understand yourself”

“That is not the case. I simply cannot have what I
wish.”

Vaughn looked contemplatively up at the painting
over the mantel. The Constable, purchased by Sidley’s
father just before his younger son’s departure for the
war, depicted a simple country scene-little more than
an English river, an English cottage, and several sturdy
English oaks. Yet Sidley knew it so intimately that he
had been able to describe it in detail, and frequently, to
Vaughn as they traversed the Peninsula.

“I heard that the lieutenant’s ship, the Perseus, docked
at Portsmouth yesterday,” Vaughn said.

“Did it?” Sidley checked the first wild leap of his
blood-the very desire to prove himself, to fight and to
win, that made such fools of the youngsters. “Then tomorrow is not soon enough to have my portrait finished.
Miss Ware shall not be Miss Ware much longer.”