Arabella (2 page)

             
Sir Edmund's knock at the imposing front door of Lady Mary's house was answered by a footman dressed in colours of dark green and gold, who bowed low and ushered them into the house before going out to direct the baggage to the back of the house.

             
'We had begun to wonder what had happened to you, sir,' a woman dressed in a neat grey gown came forward to welcome them into the front hall.  She relieved Sir Edmund of his hat, and turned her attention to his daughters, who had begun to take off their hats and gloves.  'I am Mrs Boswell, m'dears, and right pleased I am to see you.  Milady awaits you in her private parlour, and I am to conduct you to her at once.'

             
'That is very kind of you, madam,' Nan replied.  'But ought we not to tidy ourselves first?  We are stained from the journey.'

             
'Milady is impatient to see you,' Mrs Boswell replied.  'She won't care that your gown is creased, miss.  And by the time you've taken tea with her, your trunks will have been unpacked for you.'

             
Nan frowned for she would have preferred time to freshen herself before meeting their cousin, but Arabella was as impatient to meet their cousin as she apparently was to meet them.

             
'That will be much better,' she declared.  'Come, Nan, we must not keep Lady Mary waiting.' She smiled at the buxom housekeeper.  'Pray take us up immediately, madam.'

             
'This way, m'dears,' Mrs Boswell said, and turned to precede them up the stairs and along the landing.

             
Arabella looked about her as she followed the housekeeper up the wide marble staircase and along a landing covered with rich carpets, noting the heavy mahogany chairs that stood against the walls at intervals and the fine paintings and mirrors.  Her home was a crumbling manor house, filled with worm-ridden oak that was in danger of disintegrating and falling about their ears.  Only a few threadbare rugs covered the worn boards of her father's house, any fine carpets having disappeared along with the silver and pictures to pay part of her father's debts. 

She had half expected that her cousin's home would be in the same order and was excited by evidence of wealth.  If Lady Mary was pleased with her cousins, she might take them into the society of rich men, and they would be able to find husbands.  It was imperative that they did and quickly for Sir Edmund's sake, as the burden of his debts was fast becoming insupportable.

As they entered Lady Mary's boudoir, Arabella caught the scent of a musky perfume more suited to a gentleman than a lady.  If she was not much mistaken her cousin had had a recent visitor!

It was a pretty room, she thought as she glanced round, furnished in shades of cream and rose with painted furnishings and a tall dressing screen over which some of milady's petticoats had been flung.  Arabella's eyes dwelt on the screen for a moment until her attention was drawn to the lady herself.

Lady Mary was clad in a wrapping gown of green striped linen and wore her own dark hair loosely about her shoulders.  She was an attractive woman, though past the first flush of her youth.

She got up from her dressing table, where she had been sitting contemplating a new head that had been delivered to her earlier, and came to greet her cousins with a smile.

'So, you are here at last,' she said and held out her hands to them.  'Welcome, my dears – Arabella and Nan.  You must introduce yourselves so that I know who you are.'

'I am Arabella,' Miss Impatience said and laughed.  'But you will know that already, cousin, for I described us both in my letters.'

'And you are both just as you wrote, except that you were too modest concerning your looks, Arabella.  You are beautiful, and we should have little trouble in finding you a husband.  Nan is pretty too, but not quite as eye catching.'  She smiled to take the sting from her words.  'You must forgive my plain speaking, Nan.  This business of getting husbands is a serious one, and not something to be approached lightly.'

'I was not offended,' Nan assured her.  'I know that Arabella is beautiful, ma'am.  She might have married any of three gentlemen at home, but did not care for them.'

'Is this so?'  Lady Mary's brows rose.  'Were they not gentlemen of sufficient fortune, Arabella?  Did Sir Edmund not approve their suit?

'Squire Rowley had deep pockets so they say,' Arabella replied.  She had taken off her hat now, allowing her hair to escape.  It tumbled over her shoulders in a cascade of dark red curls that seemed almost to have a life of their own.  'But he was past forty and his breath stank.  I told Father I could not take him and he said I should not be forced to it.'

'Such considerations should not weigh too heavily if the gentleman has rank and fortune,' Lady Mary said with a slight frown at her.  'Beggars cannot always be choosers, Arabella.  Neither of you has a fortune, which means that you must marry money.  Remember that wealth and position remain long after lust has faded – and a wife may often look elsewhere for a lover once she has provided her husband with his heir.'

'Mama always said the same,' Nan agreed.  'She would have brought us to London herself this summer, cousin, but as you know she died suddenly.'

'Yes, and I was sorry for it.  I met your mother when I was a child about to be married to a man I hardly knew.  I was but fifteen and frightened of all the duties I had been told I must perform for this man.  Your mother took me aside and explained that there was nothing to fear; she showed me how to make things easier for myself, and I have always been grateful to her.  It was for Beth's sake that I asked you both to come to me.  We shall see what can be done to help you.  Unfortunately, I am not a rich woman.  I cannot provide a dowry for either of you, but I can help with clothes, and I can certainly introduce you to suitable gentlemen.'

'You are very kind,' said Nan and curtsied.

'This is such a lovely house,' Arabella said and looked about her once more.  'How can you live here if you have no money, cousin?'  She thought she heard a muffled laugh from behind the painted screen, which confirmed her earlier suspicions, but although her eyes flicked to the screen she said nothing.

Lady Mary saw the glance and laughed huskily.  'The house is mine.  I suppose I might sell it and live comfortably in obscurity, but I own that I detest the country.  So I cling on here as best I can…' She gave a delightful little gurgle of mirth.  'There are ways if one has some beauty and a sprinkling of wit…'

Arabella smiled as she saw the naughty look in her cousin's eyes.

'I thought I detected a gentleman's perfume when we came in?'

'We are caught!'  Lady Mary laughed again.  'You had better come out, Harry.  My cousin is too clever for you.'

'Damn it, milady,' a very handsome dark-haired man said as he walked out from behind the screen.  He was dressed in pale grey breeches and a white lawn shirt, but his waistcoat was undone and his neckcloth was awry.  His blue eyes sparkled with mischief as he said, 'I vow I was vastly amused listening to the three of you.  It was better than a play at the Haymarket.'

Arabella thought he had dressed hastily, and she realised that their arrival must have taken her cousin by surprise.  They had obviously interrupted an intimate encounter of some kind.

'And learning more than was good for you, no doubt,' Lady Mary replied but her manner belied her words.  'Cousins, may I introduce you to a rogue.  This gentleman is Lord Sylvester, and not to be regarded as a suitable husband by either of you.  He is usually in debt, must marry a fortune – and is a wicked fellow indeed.'

'But you adore me.'  Harry Sylvester bowed over the hand she extended to him, then turned to let his gaze wander over the two sisters, very quickly coming to rest on Arabella.  'Lady Mary's cousins… Miss Tucker and Miss Arabella…' His burning look made no secret of which sister had aroused his interest.  'I am very pleased to make the acquaintance of two such lovely ladies.'

'None of that, Harry!'  Lady Mary smacked his arm.  'I shall not allow you to seduce either of my cousins.  It is my intention to make good marriages for them both.'

'And I am sure you will achieve your desires, ma'am.  You usually manage to get your own way in most things I have observed.'

'As you do,' she retorted, giving him an arch look.  'Pray leave us, sir.  I vow we have had enough of your company for one day.'

'Alas, it is a sad thing to be dismissed from the company of beauty,' Harry murmured wickedly.  His eyes roved over Arabella, lingering for a moment on the décolletage of her gown and the pearly sheen of her skin where her breasts were exposed.  'But I shall hope to see you at Vauxhall another night – and your delightful cousins with you.'

With that he bowed to Nan and Arabella, a slight flourish in his manner as he retreated behind the screen to retrieve his coat before departing.  A small silence followed before Arabella asked the question hovering on her lips.

'Is Lord Sylvester your lover, ma'am?'

'Arabella!  You should not ask something so personal,' Nan scolded at once.

Lady Mary laughed and was not offended. 'Certainly Arabella may ask,' she said.  'Harry is my
indulgence
, cousin.  He has scarcely a guinea to his name, and I sometimes indulge myself for an hour or so in his company.  He is not my protector.  Sir John Fortescue is neither as young nor as handsome as Harry, but he has a vast fortune.  He says he feels comfortable with me, and is exceedingly generous.  I dare say he would not be pleased if he knew of my little interludes with other gentlemen, but I shall never tell him for I am fond of him and have no wish to offend his pride.'

Nan stared at her in silence, clearly uncertain of how to respond to this information, but Arabella clapped her hands and laughed.

'How clever you are, cousin.  I wondered how you could live in such a fine house for its upkeep must be vastly expensive – but now I begin to see how it may be done.'

'Would you not prefer to marry Sir John?' Nan asked frowning.  'If you suit one another so well…'

'Unfortunately, Sir John must get an heir fairly soon if he is to protect his name and fortune,' Lady Mary replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.  'I have had three husbands and no children.  I believe that I am barren, and I would not rob my friend of the chance of his heir.  I shall help him to find a suitable wife, and he will give me a handsome present when he marries.'  She shrugged her shoulders.  'I can find another protector…'

'Does every lady conduct herself in this manner in London?' Arabella asked curiously.  'I have thought I should like to marry a man I could love.'

'Save your romantic ideals for your lover,' her cousin replied and looked at Nan.  'What are your thoughts on marriage, my dear?'

'I believe I shall marry for wealth and position,' Nan said looking thoughtful.  'I have heard that the intimate side of marriage is almost always disappointing.'

'Where did you hear that?'  Arabella was surprised.   Lady Mary's openness about such things was not a shock to her, for London manners were more sophisticated in these matters – but it surprised her that her sister should speak so boldly. 'You have never said a word of this to me.'

Nan flushed.  'It was just something I overheard Mistress Featherstone saying to Mama once -– and Mama agreed.'

'It is not always so,' Lady Mary said, seeming amused.  'But the pleasures of the bedchamber are more likely to be found with a lover than a husband.'

Arabella thought that it would depend on the husband, her mind picturing the handsome face of the man she had detected hiding behind the painted screen.  The expression in Lord Sylvester's eyes as he looked at her had set up a tingling at the base of her neck.  She believed that pleasure would be found in the bed of such a man, but was wise enough to keep her opinions to herself.

Lady Mary was regarding her with speculation, almost as if she could read her mind.  'I dare say you are both weary from your journey,' she said.  'I shall let you retire to your chamber, where you may rest and refresh yourselves.  We dine en famille this evening, for you must both have new gowns before you go into company.  I have arranged for a seamstress to wait on us tomorrow.'

'You are generous, ma'am,' Arabella said and went impulsively to kiss her cheek.  'I am glad we came to you, and I hope we shall both be a credit to you.'

'La, child, that was a pretty speech,' Lady Mary said and flicked her cheek with her fingertips.  She reached for a bell on the table beside her and rang it.  Mrs Boswell appeared promptly.  'Be guided by me, my dears, and you will soon find yourselves being driven everywhere in your own carriages.'

The sisters thanked her again, and then followed Mrs Boswell from the room.  Nan was silent as the housekeeper took them down the landing and up a short flight of stairs, though Arabella chattered to Mrs Boswell as they walked.

'Well, here we are, m'dears,' the housekeeper said, opening a door for them.  'Everything has been done for your comfort – but should you need anything you have only to ring.'

'Oh, this is lovely,' Arabella cried, unable to contain herself as she saw the richness of the brocade furnishings.  'I am sure we shall be very comfortable here.'

'Then I shall leave you to rest.'