Dorothy Elbury – A Marriageable Miss (страница 7)
‘And, if you imagine that being told that you have left without signing his precious document does not qualify as excitation, ’ she finished scornfully, ‘then I must tell you that you are fair and far out!’
Somewhat taken aback by the unexpected onslaught, Richard’s eyes travelled slowly from the scarlet-faced female in front of him over to Helena’s frozen expression. The rigid set of her shoulders told him how deeply mortified she was by her cousin’s interference.
‘You really should have told me how serious your father’s condition is,’ he said gently.
She gave a little shrug. ‘Would it have made any difference, my lord? It is clear that you had already made up your mind to refuse his offer before you arrived.’
‘That much is true,’ he was obliged to acknowledge, as he stepped towards her and reached out to take her by the hands. ‘Nevertheless, Miss Wheatley, I must point out that being in receipt of such important information might well have caused me to give more serious consideration to your own request—I would not be altogether happy to find that your father’s recovery had suffered any sort of setback as a result of any action of mine.’
At the gentle pressure of his fingers on her wrists, Helena seemed to feel her heart skipping several beats and, colouring faintly, she stammered, ‘It was not my intention to make you feel under any sort of obligation, sir.’
Raising one eyebrow, Richard gave a rueful grin. ‘That may not have been your intention, Miss Wheatley,’ he said softly, ‘but that is exactly how I do feel and—if you believe that it will help your father’s case—you have my promise that I shall do my best to advance your little scheme!’
‘Good heavens, Rick! Please tell me that you are joking!’
Carefully placing his glass on to the table in front of him, Charles Standish leaned forwards and stared at his cousin in astonishment.
‘You can’t mean to tell us that you’re actually prepared to go ahead with this chit’s bizarre proposition?’
Wincing at the other man’s somewhat discourteous reference to the far from chit-like Miss Wheatley, Richard took a deep breath and began, once again, to explain to his three companions the reason for his unexpected change of heart.
Standish and the earl, along with Sir Peter Braithwaite and the Honourable Geoffrey Fairfax, both ex-army colleagues of Markfield’s, were seated in the smoking room of Brooks’s, currently their preferred choice of venue.
‘Do pay attention, old man!’ groaned Braithwaite, as he signalled to the barman to bring another bottle. ‘Rick has already told you twice that the caper is merely for a couple of weeks and, it does seem to me that, as his friends, it is up to us to rally round him. Putting the word around that he could be about to shackle himself to this Wheatley girl might well stave off the bulk of his creditors while he regroups his resources.’
Then, turning to Richard, he asked sympathetically, ‘What would you have us do, old chap? I take it that you mean to have a stab at getting this Miss Wheatley accepted by the
Richard sighed. ‘I realise that it is going to be far from easy, but I aim to give it my best shot. Grandmama has asked if I could bring Miss Wheatley to meet her this afternoon…’ He paused for a moment, then continued manfully. ‘However, since I accompanied her ladyship up to town in her barouche, I appear to have a slight problem regarding a decent conveyance. Would it be too much to ask if you could spare me the loan of one of your carriages, Peter?’
‘Take your pick, old friend,’ returned Braithwaite immediately. ‘There is no one I would rather trust with my cattle than yourself. We can cut across to the mews right now, if you are of a mind?’
Not to be outdone, Fairfax, taking out his pocket book, added, ‘If you give me the young lady’s address, I shall get the mater to send an invite to her to attend her next soirée—Cadogan Place, you say? Pretty respectable part of town, at any event.’
‘You really are the best of fellows,’ said Richard, much moved by his friends’ generosity and greatly relieved to know that they were prepared to give him their wholehearted support in this outrageous venture. And if, in addition to salving his guilty conscience to some degree, the undertaking also had the effect of staving off some of his creditors temporarily, then that could be no bad thing. As things stood at the moment, even two weeks’ grace would bring about a brief but welcome respite, given that the estate’s next quarter-day was just around the corner, heralding a much-needed input from its tenant farmers.
The earl’s arrival at the front doorstep of Cadogan Place that afternoon was more than enough to cause Charlotte who, despite Helena’s pleas, had taken up her usual position of ‘look-out’ at the window of the first-floor morning room, to jump up and down in absolute glee the minute her eyes fell upon the spanking pair of matching bays and the shiny maroon equipage to which they were harnessed.
‘Oh, Nell!’ she squealed, quite overcome, as she took in Markfield’s appearance. Clad in a superbly cut jacket of blue superfine and pale grey pantaloons, his tasselled black Hessians polished to perfection, he leapt lightly down from the driving seat, tossed the reins to the waiting groom, mounted the short flight of steps two at a time and knocked briskly on the front door. ‘He really is just too divine!’
‘I trust that you do not intend to swoon at his feet as soon as he comes in,’ sighed Helena who, truth to tell, had herself been itching to peep out of the window. ‘What sort of carriage has he arrived in this time?’
‘I believe it is what is known as a phaeton—oh!’ Deeply disappointed, Charlotte spun round and confronted her cousin. ‘But it only seats two, Nell—I understood that I was going to accompany you to visit her ladyship?’
‘That was my intention,’ admitted Helena, somewhat crestfallen. ‘I must confess that I had not expected to have to beard the dragon on my own.’
She was now in something of a quandary, having rather taken it for granted that the dowager’s summons must, as a matter of course, include her companion. More to the point, she could not help feeling that, in view of the recent Barrington incident, her father would not be altogether pleased to hear that his daughter had gone off in a carriage to an unknown destination with a relative stranger. However, she had little time to dwell on this perplexing matter, since Hayward was, at this very moment, ushering Markfield into the room.
As she rose to her feet to greet him, the swift appraisal she managed to give him before he bent over her hand caused her to experience a not dissimilar sensation to her cousin’s but, striving to maintain the ladylike detachment that her mother had spent a good many years instilling into her, she merely inclined her head and bade the earl ‘good afternoon.’
He, in turn, was equally gratified as he took in Helena’s appearance. In an elegantly cut walking-dress of vivid turquoise that enhanced the blueness of her eyes, its fine, soft wool seeming to mould itself to her undeniably shapely form, it was clear that, if this outfit was an example of those she had in her wardrobe, she would have little difficulty holding her own in any company to which he might introduce her. Its fit and finish were clearly stamped with the unmistakable mark of one of Bond Street’s very high-class modistes.
‘I trust that I am not too early?’ he enquired. ‘If you are ready, I think that we should be on our way before the traffic gets too heavy—as you are no doubt aware, a good many people are inclined to make for the Row at about this time and I would prefer to skirt the park well in advance of the crush that usually forms at the gates.’
‘I have but to collect my bonnet and pelisse,’ replied Helena, uncomfortably aware of Charlotte’s eyes boring into her. ‘However, I understand that the carriage you have brought seats only two people, and I am not altogether sure that my father would find it acceptable for me to accompany with you without my female companion.’
Richard blinked back his astonishment but then, having registered her obvious discomfiture, he raised his hands in resignation. ‘Well, I fear that it will be rather a tight squeeze for three of us on the driving seat, but if it is what you would prefer, then, of course Miss Daniels is very welcome to ride bodkin.’
Helena hesitated for just the briefest of moments before replying, then, ‘No, really, my lord,’ she said firmly, ‘I am sure that will not be necessary. My father is, after all, very well acquainted with her ladyship. He could not object to my travelling alone with you.’
A tight smile appeared on Richard’s face. ‘A simple journey from Cadogan Place to Curzon Street in broad daylight can scarcely be considered as clandestine,’ he felt constrained to point out. ‘Especially given that we will be in an open carriage with a groom in attendance at all times. I would hardly have suggested it otherwise, I assure you!’