Most Rebellious Debutante (5 page)

‘Oh, thank you, Mama! It will be a most wonderful evening. May I send a note round to Eliza to tell her that we are to attend?’

That done, Lucy immediately repaired to her room to seek Susie’s help in choosing what she would wear. Over the next few days, the masquerade party at Vauxhall was the main topic of conversation among the young people,
especially
regarding their dress. Lucy eventually chose a pale-pink muslin gown with a dusky pink silk pelisse and matching domino.

Early in the evening, the party assembled at Lady Birchley’s town residence and drove in convoy to the landing stage opposite to Vauxhall Gardens, which stood on the south bank of the Thames near Lambeth. They crossed the Thames by boat and passed through the water entrance to be immediately entranced by the thousands of lanterns that hung in festoons from the branches of the trees that lined the promenades. The lights twinkled like stars and were reflected in the sparkling water of the magnificent fountains that danced and splashed around the grounds, set among artificial ruins and magnificent tableaux.

The party made a colourful sight, the hooded Venetian cloaks of the ladies offset by the darker hues worn by the gentlemen. The fact that everyone was masked added to the gaiety and excitement and many otherwise well-behaved
young ladies indulged in a degree of mild flirting that would have been unthought of without the anonymity of their dress, a ploy that Lucy immediately thought to be quite superfluous, as most disguises were rendered
ineffectual
when the wearers spoke. Why, anyone could tell that the Elizabethan courtier was Harry Crawthorne and that the elaborate, many caped silver costume covered no other than Robert Harrington! But, no matter, the young men were well-schooled by their mamas and tutors and
extravagant
compliments and clever ripostes were tossed about and received with good humour and varying degrees of delight, depending on who had made the compliment and to whom it was directed. It was all part of the courting game that was part of the Season.

Many of the revellers in other groups or parties were also wearing masked dominoes, which engendered much amusement, as wild guesses were made as to the identities thus concealed or disguised. ‘Even the Prince Regent and his cohorts come here,’ one knowledgeable young man informed the group. ‘Why, that masked Tudor courtier over there, no doubt intending to resemble King Henry VIII, might well be he!’

‘I doubt it,’ another remarked drily. ‘His Royal Highness would need three such costumes to cover his ample figure!’

An orchestra gave a two-part concert in the rotunda every evening at eight o’clock and, after listening to the performance, Lady Birchley’s party strolled in groups along the pathways, chattering and laughing and enjoying the fun and excitement of being in a group of exuberant young people.

There was so much to excite their senses. Famous
singers, actors and actresses performed in decorated booths and jugglers and illusionists performed their acts. The evening sped by and in no time at all, it seemed, they were gathering together for supper, held in a number of
supper-boxes
that Lady Birchley had hired for her party. Each one held six or eight people and waiters served delicious slivers of ham or chicken and exotic salads. The older revellers drank burnt-wine or sampled the famous arrack-punch, which was far too strong for the younger revellers, who were guided to the selections of ratafia and light punches.

Supper was just over when a burst of golden sparks lit the darkened sky.

‘Oh, the fireworks are starting!’ Lucy’s friend Eliza exclaimed. ‘Do come, Lucy!’ She grabbed hold of Lucy’s hand. ‘We’ll see them much better in the open.’

The two girls, followed by others, hurried down the steps and were soon caught up in a throng of people jostling for better positions to see the fireworks display. Every time a new cascade of shining stars illuminated the sky, gasps of ‘Ooh!’ and ‘Aah!’ were breathed into the night air. The atmosphere was magical.

A crush of people behind Lucy pushed her forward and she lost hold of Eliza’s hand. As soon as she could slip
sideways
out of the press she did so and looked around for the light-blue domino of her friend, but she couldn’t see her. People were still moving forward and she let them overtake her, hoping that Eliza would soon be back by her side.

The crowd was good-humoured and Lucy wasn’t worried about being separated from Eliza and the others whom she knew, but, suddenly, a hand grasped her arm and a male voice hissed, ‘Quick! Come this way!’

‘What? Who are you?’ Lucy tried to pull away and she turned to try to identify who was holding on to her.

It was a man in a black domino and only the lower part of his face was visible and that not very clear in the twilight.

Lucy couldn’t remember any men of their party dressed in such a way, but maybe she was mistaken in that. She laughed a little hesitantly, trying to pull her arm free of his hold. ‘Come, sir! Don’t tease. We are missing the firework display.’

But when he didn’t respond, pulling her instead further into the grove of trees, she began to feel alarmed. They had all been warned that pickpockets roamed the grounds looking for likely victims. Was that whom her attacker was? Was he hoping to rob her? If so, he was destined to be unlucky!

‘Let go of me!’ she demanded indignantly, trying to stop him pulling her deeper into the grove. ‘I have no money upon my person. How dare you treat me so! Unhand me at once!’

The noise of the revellers faded, and now in a small clearing, Lucy felt herself pulled into an embrace.

‘Ah,
cara mia
!’ the man spoke at last. ‘At last we can be together!’

Lucy froze. She remembered that voice and the Italian phrase. ‘Mario?’ she questioned, unable to quite believe what was happening. ‘What are you
doing?
I want nothing to do with you! Let go of me at once so that I may return to my friends!’

‘Ah, my leetle Lucy! How I have missed you since we were so cruelly torn apart! I have languished for you these past
months! Do you not remember how you used to melt into my arms? How you used to long for me to be able to kiss you and make you my own? And now we can!’

Lucy tried to pull away. ‘I remember how you demanded money from my father in return for your silence!’ she cried indignantly. ‘Not one word of love did you declare then!’

Mario shrugged. ‘I knew it would be of no use, my leetle love. Your father was intent on separating us. But now, we have the chance to elope. I have been watching you and waiting for this chance. We can be on our way immediately. Come, my darling! My chaise is ready by Westminster Bridge. Come!’

He tried to draw her with him but when Lucy stood her ground, his voice grew impatient. ‘You know it is what you have longed for. I have heard about the delightful Miss Templeton refusing all offers of marriage from some very eligible suitors.’ His voice softened again, as he added, ‘Ah, how I exulted to hear it. I knew you were waiting for me. What can all those young puppies hope to offer you, when you have tasted the excitement of real love?’

Lucy was speechless. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She drew herself erect. ‘Those
young puppies
, as you describe them, at least know the correct way to approach the lady of their choice! And, no, I haven’t refused the offers of marriage with you in mind. I am happy to say I realized how shallow you are many months ago and I have absolutely no feelings of love left for you!’ She remembered a word her father had used about this man. ‘You are a
charlatan
, sir! Now, release me and allow me to return to my friends and …’ – her heart suddenly quailed and she began to feel the first stirrings of fear – ‘… and we will forget this incident ever happened.’

She heard him suck in his breath, then, ‘Ah, no! That cannot be. You see, I need money and you, my little sweeting, are my means of getting it!’ All traces of an Italian accent were gone and the mouth below the black mask twisted unpleasantly.

Before Lucy could react, Mario pulled her roughly to him and brutally covered her mouth with his. This was no pleasant kiss. His lips were hard and he thrust his tongue into her mouth forcefully, harshly plundering the sweetness of it. Whilst Lucy’s senses were still reeling, he whirled her body around and pushed her hard against the trunk of a tree. Immediately, he thrust his knee between her legs, pinning her body between the tree and himself.

Lucy fought him. She tore the domino from his head and yanked hard at his hair. Mario responded by pulling back her hood, dislodging the pins that held her hair in place and grasping hold of her hair in both his hands. The pain brought tears to Lucy’s eyes and she tried to pull his hands away. ‘Help me! Someone, help me!’ she cried out.

Mario immediately slapped her face, knocking her head against the tree trunk. She almost passed out and feared she would be ravished by this unprincipled man.

Through the haze that seemed to have seeped into her mind she heard a voice call out from beyond the shrubbery, ‘Hello? Is anyone there?’

Mario covered her mouth with his hand but Lucy bit hard into it. As he pulled his hand away, she cried out, ‘Help me! I’m being attacked!’

She heard an oath, followed by the sounds of someone forcing their way through the shrubbery towards them. She felt weak with relief. As the tension slipped out of her body,
Mario viciously thrust her aside and she felt herself falling to the ground.

‘You’ll be sorry for this! I’ll see you ruined!’ Mario snarled, and, after a vicious kick at her crumpled body, he crashed away in the opposite direction from her rescuer.

I
F
L
UCY HAD
been tempted to think that her troubles were over because she had been rescued from her would-be abductor, she was soon disillusioned. Her rescuer was one of their own party who had been sent to look for her, and others were quickly upon the scene. They were shocked to find her lying crumpled on the ground with her domino torn, her gown dishevelled and dirty, and her hair tousled about her head.

Lucy tried to rise, but the pain from Mario’s kick made the movement too painful and it was Viscount Hugh Wymont who lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the path from where she had been dragged. Although he had made some attempt to tidy her gown around her, the sorry state of her person and attire was obvious to all and Lucy heard shocked gasps from some of the ladies present.

Indeed, some of the mamas in attendance hurriedly placed themselves between their daughters and the distressing sight Miss Templeton presented and ushered their daughters from the scene, but Lucy’s friend Eliza pushed herself forward to reach her friend, whose limp form still draped in Lord Wymont’s arms.

‘Lucy! Whatever happened? One minute you were by my side and the next you were gone! I couldn’t find you! Oh, my goodness!’ Her eyes widened as she took in Lucy’s
dishevelled
state. ‘W-What happened?’ she whispered in shocked tones.

‘I … I was attacked,’ Lucy said faintly, gulping back tears that threatened to erupt. At least she had the
presence
of mind not to name her attacker at this point. She felt too embarrassed to have been so taken in by him the year before and was shocked by his present callous
treatment
of her. She felt as though she were in the midst of a nightmare and all she wanted to do was to wake up and find it had indeed been a dream. No such escape was allowed her.

Lady Templeton, having been earlier alerted by Eliza to her daughter’s disappearance, arrived on the scene, her mind a mixture of anxiety at the reports of Lucy’s
disappearance
, relief at her return, and a foreboding of the damage the incident would do to Lucy’s reputation. She took immediate charge, sending one of the younger men to alert their coachman that their carriage was required
forthwith
and bade Viscount Wymont carry her daughter to the pick-up point. She postponed her recriminations until they were in the privacy of their home.

Lucy sobbed in her mother’s arms throughout the journey and, although she managed, with some assistance, to hobble up the steps and into the house, once she was inside, she collapsed on to the tiled floor and was carried upstairs to her room by two of the footmen, who lost no time in reporting below stairs that the young mistress had been brought home in a sorry state of distress and disarray.

With tight lips, Lady Templeton ordered hot water to be brought upstairs so that Lucy could be bathed and was shocked by the bruises that were already beginning to form on Lucy’s abdomen and hip.

‘Who was he?’ she demanded. ‘Did you manage to get a good look at him?’

Lucy gulped back her tears. ‘Yes,’ she whispered.

‘Good. We must alert the Runners. Do you think you could describe him to them?’

Lucy nodded her head faintly, knowing her answer would be of no comfort to her mother. ‘It was Mario Vitali,’ she whispered. ‘He pulled me into the shrubbery and tried to entice me to elope with him.’

‘Elope
with him? Lucy! Whatever have you done?’ Her mama’s voice rose to a wail. ‘How
could
you be so
disobedient
as to meet with that man?’

‘I didn’t, Mama! I didn’t! He said he had been watching me and had been waiting his chance to entice me away! He thought …’ Her voice choked on the words. ‘He thought I was still in love with him. But I’m not! You and Papa were right. He is a cheat and a deceiver. He isn’t even Italian! Even that was false! I hate him!’

Her mother looked at her carefully. ‘Lucy, you must tell me. Did he…? Did he hurt you? In a more intimate way, I mean?’

Blushing at her mama’s words, Lucy shook her head. ‘No … he meant to entice me into a carriage so that we could elope. He was angry when I refused and struggled against him. He threw me to the ground and kicked me out of sheer spite. Oh, Mama, it was horrible! I don’t think I shall ever trust a man again!’

Lady Templeton tightened her lips grimly. ‘After tonight’s episode, you may never be given the chance, Lucy. Word will get round, you know. And it will lose nothing in the telling. I’m afraid Society will shun you from now on.’

‘But it wasn’t my fault, Mama! I truly didn’t know he would be there. It was quite by chance that Eliza and I were separated in the crush to see the fireworks … and I fought against him. I did! Nothing
really
happened!’

‘In the eyes of Society it did. You have lost your
innocence
. You are tainted. Oh, if only you had accepted Edmund Standish’s offer, or one of the others, this would never have happened.’

Lady Templeton’s fears proved correct. Before the next day was over, gossip about the incident was already spreading. The true details were coloured with other
insidious
rumours, namely, that worse than was being admitted had befallen the unfortunate Miss Templeton. Others heard that it was an assignation gone wrong, that an elopement had been planned. Society delighted in the rumours. It was the scandal of the Season!

Lord Templeton tried to trace the originator of the rumours, but no one seemed to know for sure. ‘People had heard …’ ‘Someone had said …’ The source could only be guessed at – supported by the disappearance of Signor Vitali from the London scene – and no parent was willing to add their own suspicions of that particular young man!

Nothing of which made Lucy’s disgrace any less severe. Her mama’s dire prediction had been correct. The eager young bucks faded away and invitations were no longer received and, as the Season drew towards its close without Lucy being even remotely likely to become betrothed in the
near future, Lady Templeton withdrew her daughter from the glare of Society and the ignominy that surrounded her.

‘Much of it is your own fault, Lucy!’ she reminded her harshly. ‘You had your chances and wilfully refused them all. Well, since you are determined to remain a maiden aunt, you had better learn what its consequences are likely to be. You will return to your sister at Glenbury Lodge until Society has found something else to gossip about. Then, and only then, might your papa see fit to recall you to Town! I am sure Marissa will find plenty for you to do, since their nurse has her hands full now that little Georgie has arrived.
You
shall take Bertie and Arabella off her hands and, since you need to learn the realities of life, you will go without your maid. That might teach you to appreciate what a privileged life you lead and your obligations to me and your papa!’

‘Mama is very cross with you!’ Marissa scolded her younger sister soon after receiving her into her drawing room. ‘The wasted expense of it all. And think of those poor girls who had no offers made to them; they would give their eye-teeth to have been in your place.’

‘Then they are likely to be glad to have the chance to set their cap at my rejected suitors themselves, now that I am removed from Town,’ Lucy retorted. ‘And they are welcome to them! Not a single one tugged at
my
heart-strings! I tell you, I have lost nothing by refusing them.’

‘Nothing except the chance to be respectably married instead of becoming the talk of the Town! How
could
you, Lucy? Well, don’t imagine your life will be a bed of roses here. Mama is determined that you will mend your ways
and, hopefully, by next Season, Society will have forgotten your disgrace and
you
will be prepared to reconsider your actions – if any man is now rash enough to deem you a
suitable
wife.’

‘That
I shall never be!’ Lucy declared with passion.

One of Lucy’s first enquiries later that evening was about the health and well-being of Lady Montcliffe. ‘For I would like to visit her when her period of mourning for the dowager is over,’ she told her sister. ‘She was very kind to me when I stayed with her last autumn.’

Marissa was startled. ‘Oh! Did you not hear when you were in London? Both her sons were badly injured in the battle of Cuidad Rodrigo in January. As soon as Lady Montcliffe heard the dreadful news, she transferred herself and her household to Portsmouth to be near the military hospital where they were both fighting for their lives. For some reason, it was kept out of the newspapers, though I am not sure why. Someone must have pulled a few strings.’

‘Both
her sons?’ Lucy echoed, remembering her brief encounter with the elder. She had suspected many times that it was the memory of the effects of his kiss that had made her so dissatisfied with the formal, clumsy
lovemaking
of the young bucks in London.

‘Yes. Lord Rockhaven had rejoined his battalion just before Christmas and the two brothers fought alongside each other throughout the next few weeks. Lord Rockhaven was shot in the back whilst leaving the field of battle.’ Marissa added with tight lips, ‘Ugly rumours of cowardice and desertion bounced back and forth, though there has been no official confirmation of that.’

‘Oh, surely not!’

Lucy’s face paled. Whereas she hadn’t been impressed by Lord Rockhaven’s drunken behaviour, his embrace and kiss had made an indelible effect upon her. Her exciting time in London had dimmed the intensity of it, but she had no wish to hear such dire and shameful news. It contradicted all that she had previously heard about him. His grandmother would have been desolate had she lived to hear of it. And Lady Montcliffe – what must she be feeling?

‘And they are both recovering?’ she enquired, hopefully.

Marissa shook her head. ‘Sadly, Conrad died in April. We have had no further news of the earl, but Montcliffe Hall remains shut up and there is no present expectation of it being reopened.’

‘And it was Theo who was expected to die or be killed,’ Lucy mused sadly, inadvertently using his given name, since that was how the dowager always referred to him. ‘The Rockhaven curse has changed its course.’

‘So it seems,’ Marissa agreed sharply, ‘but I don’t want to hear any such nonsense talked about within the hearing of the children, or I shall regret agreeing to having you here again.’

Acting upon her mama’s instructions, Marissa gave
five-year
-old Arabella into Lucy’s sole charge, with seven-year-old Bertie being added in the afternoons after his return from the local rector’s morning tuition.

Lucy’s mornings were spent in the nursery schoolroom, teaching Arabella her numbers and letters, with very little interference from Nurse Harvey, who was more than happy to relinquish her care of the active girl into Miss Templeton’s care and concentrate
her
lavish attention upon
the new baby, whose demands were more basic and who thrived in the strict regime imposed upon him.

‘I like having my lessons with you, Aunt Lucy,’ Arabella confided after a few days in Lucy’s care. ‘You make
everything
so much fun.’

‘And so it should be,’ Lucy responded, giving her niece a hug. ‘And, when Bertie is with us this afternoon, we are going out into the meadow to see how many different wild flowers we can find.’

‘Can we take a picnic with us?’

‘Of course! No outing can be considered worthy of its name if it doesn’t include a picnic.’

Bertie wasn’t impressed with the notion of collecting wild flowers, but was happier to hear that they would paddle in the stream afterwards and that he could take his favourite stable dog with them, called Wellington after the famous duke.

‘I know where a big fat toad lives,’ he generously shared with Lucy. ‘Would you like to see it?’

‘Certainly,’ Lucy replied calmly, knowing he would rather she had screamed or fainted at the mere thought. ‘I know where a few fat toads live near my home, as well.’

‘Do you?’ he admired, wide-eyed. ‘I bet they’re not as fat as
my
toad.’

‘Probably not,’ Lucy conceded kindly. ‘Why don’t you dig up a few fat worms to feed him with?’

‘Shall I?’ His face brightened. ‘Right, I’ll do that!’

And so, in mid-afternoon, the trio, dressed in their oldest clothes, set off through the kitchen garden and orchard into the meadow that lay beyond, accompanied by the excited young dog. The air was filled with the sweet
fragrance of the mid-summer flowers that released their scent as they were brushed against. There were
buttercups
, daisies, cornflowers and clovers, and many more all growing amidst knee-high grasses that waved in the light breeze. A small woodland bordered the meadow and Lucy hung the picnic basket from a low branch of a tree out of Wellington’s reach.

‘It will be safe there,’ she informed her charges. ‘Now, you know that you are not to go beyond the fence that borders your papa’s land. Lord Rockhaven’s gamekeeper won’t want you running about on Montcliffe land frightening his pheasants.’

‘I
wouldn’t frighten them,’ Bertie informed her. ‘I like birds. And, anyway, Lord Rockhaven’s gamekeeper isn’t there. Another man lives there now. I think he’s a pirate. He sits in a chair on wheels and another man pushes him about sometimes, so he must be very old.’

Lucy raised an eyebrow at this impressive tale. ‘What makes you think he’s a pirate?’

‘’Cos he wears an eye-patch just like in my book!’ Bertie said scathingly. ‘And I bet he has a wooden leg too – only I’ve never seen it.’

‘How do you know all this?’ Lucy queried. ‘Your mama hasn’t said anything to me about it.’

Bertie shrugged. ‘Nurse Harvey has been so busy with Georgie, she often lets us go out to play by ourselves, so I decided to do some exploring. I didn’t take Bella, though. She’d be frightened of him.’ He contorted his face as he added with relish, ‘He looks very fierce and probably has a big cutlass to cut little girls into bits and pieces!’