An Affair of the Heart (17 page)

As shrewd as she could hold together, his mama. He wished he had taken her advice and put the money into Consols, but there had been a shipping company that promised greater returns in a shorter time, and not delivered. “No, the money is not in Consols,” he said. “You have been more fortunate than I. About the emerald ring, Mama...”

“N
O
!”

“Wear it on the other hand?” he asked sardonically.

“She will not like that gothic old emerald. Buy her a diamond.”

“Mama, I am not about to
buy
an expensive ring when I have half a dozen sitting in the vault. And you don’t wear any of them, so don’t try to gull me you do.”

“So that is how it is to be! Taking every bit of stone or jewel your dear papa gave me, to shower on that Wanderley chit who hasn’t even a decent dress to her name!”

“Mama, where do you get these stories? I must give her a ring. You know I must. Look, keep the emerald and the diamond for the time being: I’ll give Ellie the star sapphire.”

“No, it is my very favorite of them all! I could not bear to part with it.”

“Dammit, Mama, you’re not a magpie! You can’t wear all those rings.
You
decide which one I am to give her.”

“Give her the pearl I was speaking about.”

“I can’t give her a
pearl,
it would be too shabby. Wanda has a diamond, and she is only marrying a squire’s son.”

“Oh ho,
Wanda,
is it? You just want your Ellie to have a bigger stone than Wanda, that you may let her see what a bad bargain she struck in turning you down.”

“I never made Wanda an offer!”

“No, because some squire’s son beat you to it!”

“No, I dislike her excessively.”

“Yes, and you dislike your mother, too, that you will take all my poor bits of jewelry and heap them on that girl.”

“I must give her a ring, Mama. Don’t be so unreasonable.”

“Give her the pearl. I won’t say a word against it, even though it is my own, given as a birthday present, and in no way coming to you. I had meant to give it to your sister....”

“Do so, by all means, for I don’t want it, but I
will
require one of my other rings for an engagement present.” He turned his back on her and ignored her, till he heard the angry whisking of her gown as she turned to the door, followed shortly by the door rattling on its hinges as she slammed it behind her.

That night the Dowager wore the star sapphire on her right hand, and the diamond on the left, and hid the rest of them under her mattress, along with other necklaces and broaches that rightfully belonged to her son. Giles repeated his request on two other occasions, but both times she ranted and raved and refused to give them up, calling him an
unnatural
son to want to take away her few reminders of his papa, so in the end he put it off till some time when she was in a good mood.

Perhaps he could buy some sort of a smallish diamond for Ellie, though where he was to get the money he had no idea, and he had wanted to send the ring to London immediately so that Ellie might wear it. He found the damned pearl ring on his dresser one night, and threw it into the drawer in disgust. It would be an insult to offer it to Ellie as an engagement ring.

He worked hard all day with his bailiff, figuring what repairs and renovations on his tenant farms could be delayed so that he might get his hands on as much cash as possible for the settlement. In the evening he usually had a set-to of some sort with his mama. To add to his ill humor, she, who was practically a hermit, invited a motley crew of neighbors into the house for dinner on the pretext of entertaining
Rex, who paid not the least heed to any of them.

Night after night they came, and his mother donned her various purloined jewels to show her son how impossible it would be for her to rub along without them. In private, she continued with her barbed comments about Ellie’s being unfashionable, about his former preference for the Rose and Wanda, and anything else she could lay her tongue to annoy him. It was not till he was in bed with the candles extinguished that he had any peace to consider his bride-to-be.

He found the image of her face popping into his head a hundred times a day, but he could only have privacy to cherish it at night. He was coming to believe she really was prettier than Wanda, for she had such a sweet, shy smile, while Wanda’s was bold and cunning. She was young, bashful, not only of him but of all men, he supposed, and he found suddenly that that was the only sort of girl he could really love. The others were fine for flirts, but when a man was getting married, he wanted a modest girl. He remembered her in the garden at the assembly, telling him how she disliked him (all a result of her shyness, of course), then he smiled softly, for that picture was soon followed by the remembrance of the night he left, in the study, when he had held her, rigid with fear, in his arms, and later when he had grabbed her onto his knee and tried to kiss her. A dozen times he imagined that kiss reaching its conclusion, when she would forget her fright and respond to his ardor.

In fact, it was not till he’d been away from her for two weeks that he realized how much he loved her, and how he longed to be with her again. He had thought to be in London at the end of two weeks, but there was so much to do that he feared it would be three before he could be there, with his wedding only one week away by then. He wrote her a few letters—stiff little things that were completely unsatisfactory to both sender and receiver, but then he was no Byron, and there were so many practical items to be discussed that he deferred his lovemaking till he could see her in person. The short missives he received from Ellie were similarly lacking in emotion.

At the end of the second week Clay’s sister, Alice, had a miscarriage at her home in Dorset, and his mama had to go to her, so that she would be unable to attend the wedding. She sent Ellie a note explaining, and Ellie sent back a letter to Dorset expressing her commiseration at the sad event. Claymore made a thorough search of his mother’s room after she had left, and discovered to his chagrin that she had taken every iota of his jewelry with her. He was left with the cheap pearl ring, and not enough money to buy a decent diamond. He didn’t think Ellie would mind so much, but it angered him. He had been looking forward to seeing her face when he gave her the ring—the large family diamond engagement ring he had decided to have, come hell or high water. It rankled that Wanda would be lording it over Ellie, as he made no doubt she was.

Chapter Eleven

Claymore was out in his fear. It was not easy for a young lady engaged to a squire’s son to lord it over one betrothed to a peer of the Realm. What remained in town of Metropolitan society was all agog to see the latest Wanderley beauty. Several departures from town were delayed that a call might be made on Lady Siderow, in hopes of seeing Claymore’s new bride. Ellie’s splendid catch, made so quickly and quietly in the country, lent her an aura of romance, and the fact that she was virtually unknown only added to her cachet.

 Her mama, with the help and advice of Joan and Caroline, had taken her to the most expensive modistes for her gowns, had the reigning coiffeuriste called in to style her hair, and Joan had taken upon herself to train her in what was expected of a society hostess. When ladies of fashion called, they bestowed only a fleeting glance on Wanda—oh yes, the one that had made her come-out this Season just past. But at Miss Elinor they looked, ready to be impressed by whatever had impressed Lord Claymore.

It was soon decided that she had great countenance, a nice modest style that so exactly suited a young lady, and, of course, she possessed the Wanderley beauty in full measure. Did not put herself forward in the least, but when spoken to, she responded in a sensible, well-bred manner, with no missish giggling or awkwardness. It was easy enough to see what had attracted Claymore. Not a brash, forthcoming beauty like the Rose to be sure, and what a relief it was for feminine society to have at last someone to take the shine out of Miss Golden, now Duchess of Everleigh, and more insupportable than ever. The Rose had had her Season of glory, had enacted the full fairy story of rise from obscurity to marrying the Duke, and idle minds were now ready for a new divertissement.

Wanda chafed under the attention showered on her sister, and did in private what she dared not do in front of company. The two sisters were never alone that Wanda was not at Ellie, needling her. “Dear me, only two weeks till your wedding, and
still
no engagement ring. I declare, Ellie, I think he has forgotten all about you.” Her own diamond would be waved under whatever illumination was present, to catch the light and sparkle blue and orange for the owner’s satisfaction.

“I had a letter this morning.”

“Ah, that was that flat little envelope from Clay. I made sure it was a bill, for it was the tiniest thing. Only see the
volumes
I have had from George. Three crossed pages, full of the most romantical nonsense. Does Clay write such stuff to you? Only hear what my George has to say: ‘Life is empty without you. If you don’t come back to me I shall go into a decline and die. My death will be in your hands, as my heart is too.’ Whoever would have thought George would wax so lyrical? What had Clay to say to you?”

“He is very busy. It is merely a note.”

“A
love
note?” the soft voice taunted.

“A
private
note,” Ellie replied dampingly, but her heart sank. Clay never wrote such things to her. Only a brief recital of his activities, signed “Your faithful servant”! Surely he could at least sign it “Love.” She could not feel it becoming for her to express such sentiments herself when her lover was so reticent.

“Oh, what a tease you are! I bet he says an sorts of romantic things. Only it is the oddest thing that he never sent the ring. Does he mention it?”

“No, I expect he will bring it with him. It would not be wise to be sending a valuable diamond through the post.”

“And naturally the Marquis of Claymore could not afford to send it by a private messenger!”

“It is a valuable family heirloom. Joan says it is an emerald-cut diamond,
bigger than yours.
Very likely he is having it cleaned or reset.”

“I wonder he didn’t take care of that when he offered it to Miss Golden. Wouldn’t it be the
drollest
thing if he has given it to her? Don’t look so worried, Ellie. The Duke will make her give it back if that is the case. Oh, how I shall tease Claymore when he comes.
If
he comes, ha ha. Really, one begins to wonder. He was to be here by now, was he not?”

These harrowing interludes left Ellie shaken. Her courtship had been so brief as to be practically nonexistent. It was only too easy to fall into thinking Claymore had changed his mind. His occasional letters did nothing to restore one’s self-confidence either. And why didn’t he come?

Wanda never tackled Ellie in front of her mother or sisters, so she received no strictures on her behavior. She did, though, recall her mother’s admonition that if she were wise she would “keep in” with Ellie, so she interlarded her sarcastic conversations with others of an uplifting sort, which were even more depressing. It was lowering indeed to be told that in a marriage of convenience one must not expect slavish devotion and
billets doux,
and no doubt Claymore would manage his love life very discreetly, so she need not worry about
that.

Throughout this trying time Ellie had one other thought in her mind besides her husband-to-be. It had become a burning ambition of hers to see the Duchess of Everleigh, before she should be carried off by her husband to whichever of his country seats he decided to visit for the summer. When riding in the park or shopping on Bond Street, she always kept an eye out for a beautiful blonde, and would make a casual reference to every one that passed, in the hope that the young lady’s identity would be mentioned. Her vigilance was finally rewarded, though she didn’t have to be told. She knew, sensed somehow, that she was in the presence of her predecessor before anyone told her.

A young lady of exquisite beauty was seen once being driven past in a dashing high-perch phaeton. She wore a blue suit and a very charming hat with a golden rose adorning its side. Ellie stopped dead in her tracks and stared.

“What is it, my dear?” Joan had said. Ellie was with Lady Siderow at the time, strolling down Bond Street. Joan followed the line of her sister’s glance and said, “Oh, it’s the Golden Rose. This is your first glimpse of her, I collect? Grand, isn’t she?”

The phaeton shot past, and Ellie gathered her wits to reply. “Yes, she is lovely.” It was a foolishly inadequate answer, for the lady’s beauty far surpassed any words that occurred to Elinor. Her heart sank in her bosom. Anyone who had loved that vision of loveliness, as Claymore had, could not possibly find
herself
the least bit attractive.

“It is nothing to fret about now. She is safely married, and there is no point worrying she will be dangling after Clay, for Everleigh won’t allow any such a thing, you know. He is strict as may be with her. They say he is a demon of jealousy. I bet Miss Golden—the Duchess, I should say—rues the day she ever accepted him. Though in honesty, I must say she gives every appearance of liking him. Well, she was a child, and needed a firm hand.”

“I bet Clay rues the day she accepted him, too,” Elinor was shocked into admitting.

“No, Ellie, what are you thinking of to say such a thing? That is all done and past. Everyone was dangling after the Rose last Season, and you must not take it amiss that Clay did what every other eligible gentleman was doing.”

“But they didn’t all offer for her.”

“True, but I’ll wager she received upwards of a dozen offers. A diamond of the first water, of course.”

It was, however, only one of those offers that concerned the worried bride-elect. “Now that I have seen her, I am more curious than ever why Clay offered for
me.”

“He would not have done so had he not wished to marry you, and he would not have wished to marry you if he hadn’t been mightily pleased with you, goose, so do set your mind at rest.”