Lady Dearing's Masquerade (23 page)

She nodded, a tear leaking down her cheek.

“Will you marry me, Livvy?”

She looked from the ring to him.

“If it is what you truly wish,” she said solemnly.

“I do. I love you.”

“I love you, Jeremy. God help me, I do.”

And she smiled as he slid the ring onto her finger.

Chapter 17

Livvy smiled wistfully as Jane embraced her later that night. If only everyone else would be as happy about the news.

“Mind you don’t let anyone else know yet, especially the children. I would not wish them to be disappointed if—if anything went wrong.”

“He is so in love with you,” Jane retorted. “What could possibly go wrong?”

“He might not even be able to win over his relations and the Bromhursts to the match, for one.”

“But he is quite a
persuasive
gentleman.”

Livvy smothered a smile. “Yes, Jane. Quite persuasive.”

Later that night, Livvy rested in her bed, listening to the song of a nightingale drifting across the lawns from the woods. Another charmer who made beautiful sounds to enchant his mate.

Was she enchanted?

But even as her mind warned her to prepare herself for disappointment, it drifted off into pleasanter images. She snuggled her head into her pillow, picturing Jeremy’s dark curly head on the adjacent one, his arms pulling her toward him, lips, hands, his entire being ready to cherish her as he had in the folly. And the rest . . . it was going to be wonderful, too. Blushing in the dark, she hesitantly touched her breast, then the opening to her womb. He had brought her to such a peak of ecstasy in the folly, yet now, paradoxically, a space inside her ached to be filled.

He
had
enchanted her.

She was no longer a frightened, hiding creature. She was a woman determined to have the man she loved.

* * *

Jeremy watched Aunt Louisa, Tom and Charlotte as they gaped at him from their respective seats in drawing room. Their stunned expressions were pretty much what he had expected after announcing his engagement to Livvy. At least two entire minutes passed before his aunt broke the silence.

“If you are teasing us, Jeremy, I must say it is a most unpleasant joke.”

“I am not joking.”

Aunt Louisa’s face hardened, but her eyes were bright with restrained tears. “But why, Jeremy? It is so sudden. It must be an infatuation. You should reconsider, take some time to think about it before you tie yourself up with such a—a lady,” she ended nervously, having caught his thunderous expression.

“I know this seems sudden, but I promise you I am certain of my feelings.”

“You may think you are in love, but remember that your parents were supposed to have made a love match.”

He bit back a sharp reply.

Now Tom was avoiding his gaze; this was going to difficult.

Unexpectedly, Charlotte came to his aid. “Lady Dearing has been most kind to those poor children. That shows a motherly spirit, does it not?”

“Yes, that is a part of my love for her,” he said, looking gratefully in her direction. “If you could see how gently she deals with them, Aunt, you would know she is a woman of character. You will like her so much once you know her.”

“But—but she is Arlingdale’s
mistress
.”

Charlotte looked startled; Tom slunk down in his chair.

“Do you think I’m fool enough to court another man’s mistress?” Jeremy demanded. “Arlingdale is her friend; the rest is gossip.”

Aunt Louisa opened her mouth, then shut it again. Her eyes were troubled.

“Perhaps if I tell you everything you will understand,” he suggested.

Reluctantly, she nodded. But by the time he’d finished telling them about Livvy’s first marriage and the masquerade and its aftermath, omitting only the more intimate details, Aunt Louisa’s expression had softened. Jeremy caught Charlotte dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. Tom looked troubled.

“All I ask now is that you invite her here to dine, so you may all meet her and judge for yourselves,” he finished.

Aunt Louisa tried to scowl. “Perhaps it is all as you have recounted. But considering her reputation, all I can say is it is going to be very, very difficult.”

“But if Jeremy loves her, I think we should do all we can to help her,” said Charlotte.

“Mama, I think Charlotte is right,” Tom echoed. “It’s going to be dashed difficult, but . . . well, perhaps this is what Jeremy needs.”

His aunt looked suspiciously at the other two, then cleared her throat. “Very well, I shall give her my support.
If
, when she comes to visit us, I find she is worthy of Jeremy.”

It took him a moment to take in her words.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said meekly.

“I said
if.
”

“I know,” he replied. “And I love you for it.”

* * *

“Have you gone mad?” Bromhurst glared from across the drawing room at Grosvenor Square.

Jeremy returned his gaze steadily.

Lady Bromhurst glanced from him to her husband and back again, a frown marring her patrician features.

“I do not wish to be rude,” she said, with a majestic calm in direct contrast to her husband’s bristling expression. “But what a shocking announcement! And so sudden, too.”

“Not as sudden as you think. I have loved Olivia Dearing for at least three years.”

The Bromhursts stared at him, eyebrows raised. Good. Keeping them off balance would keep them listening.

“
I
was the one who kissed her at the masquerade that destroyed her reputation. We suspect that a drunken boor who was pursuing her sold the story to
The Morning Intelligencer
.”

“If she went to a public masquerade, she must have known the risks,” Bromhurst blustered. “You can’t marry the woman just because you were involved in that old scandal!”

“Only think of the talk it will cause,” exclaimed Lady Bromhurst.

“Damn it, Jeremy, think of the children,” her husband added.

“Have you forgotten what she has done for four of them?”

“Sorry, lad. I don’t forget. Lady Dearing is an admirable woman, in many ways.” He paused, aware of his wife glaring at him. “That is why I have discreetly allowed her to care for those children. But to condone your marriage is entirely a different matter. Your reputation and your fortune make you a most eligible catch in the eyes of every hopeful young lady of the
ton
and her parents. If you marry Lady Dearing, it will be seen as a shocking misalliance. Jealous persons will say that she has corrupted not only your morals but your judgment. We will lose all support for the branch hospital.”

“It is by no means a foregone conclusion.”

“And how can we get over the fact that she is Arlingdale’s mistress?” asked Lady Bromhurst. “His
mistress
, for heaven’s sake. You saw her yourself, at the opera.”

“
The Morning Intelligencer
mistakenly linked their names, but I know for certain she is
not
his mistress.”

Bromhurst began to rub his nose, a clear sign he felt distressed.

“Might it not be possible to set it about that she has reformed her ways to marry me?” Jeremy suggested.

“Nonsense. I cannot support such a mad tale.” Lady Bromhurst raised her chin.

Jeremy massaged an aching forehead, reminding himself he hadn’t expected this to be easy.

He turned a beseeching gaze toward Lady Bromhurst and poured his heart into his next speech. “Please, all I ask of you now is that you meet her and speak to her. Once you know her, I think you will see for yourselves how she has been wronged.”

Her ladyship’s face softened. “Well, perhaps it might be possible to arrange some sort of meeting.”

“No!” Bromhurst interrupted. “It is completely out of the question. There will be no meeting.”

Jeremy stared for a moment, surprised by his friend’s vehemence. Then rage welled up in him.

“I understand perfectly,” he said, rising to his feet. “All my personal merits, all my efforts are as nothing to you. My usefulness to the Hospital lies only in how I am perceived: the romantically inconsolable widower devoted to the cause of helpless infants. And in order to maintain the established order of things, I must remain inconsolable.”

“Please sit down,” pleaded Lady Bromhurst, eyes darting between him and her husband. “You know we only wish for your happiness.”

“Yes, but only with another like Cecilia,” he snapped, staying on his feet. “Not with a woman who by her independent nature threatens that same established order.”

“Jeremy, don’t you understand what will be said?” said Bromhurst, his face contorted with pity.

“What the hell do you mean?”

“If you marry her, people will begin to watch you both, expecting your marriage to be just like your parents’.”

Shock immobilized him for a moment.

“You don’t think our detractors won’t pounce on the chance to revive that old scandal?” Bromhurst added grimly.

“Yes, Jeremy. Cannot you see how impossible it is?” his wife added.

“No.” He looked them each in the eye. “I will not bow to malicious gossip. And I won’t accept the entire burden of a society that allows children to be abandoned, where they are made to suffer for the sins of their fathers.”

Lady Bromhurst made a small sound of distress, but her husband sat like a statue.

“You know I would do anything for the Hospital. If you’ll let me, I’ll keep working on its behalf and make every effort to find a way to preserve its good name. But I won’t abandon Livvy.”

For a moment, Jeremy hoped Bromhurst would relent. But he shook his head, the denial in his face striking Jeremy like a blow.

“You leave me no choice,” Bromhurst said with a coldness belied by the unaccustomed shaking of his hands. “If you persist in your obsession with this woman, I will have no recourse but to ask you to resign from the Board of Governors.”

Jeremy stared at his friend for a nightmarish moment. He’d not thought it would come to this, but he could hesitate no longer.

“Goodbye then.” He bowed deeply to her ladyship and strode out of the room.

Lady Bromhurst cried out after him. “Sir Jeremy! Please don’t go!”

A rustling sound indicated she was following him through the corridor down to the entrance hall.

“Jeremy!” she begged.

Jeremy accepted his hat from an astonished footman.

“Jeremy, wait.”

Bromhurst’s voice boomed through the hall.

Jeremy thrust the hat on his head while the footman hastily retreated.

“You don’t know what you’re getting into, lad.” Bromhurst’s voice broke. “But if this is so important to you, then—then we’ll see what may be done.”

Jeremy raised his eyes from the head of his walking stick. He had never seen such a bereft look on his friend’s face, but he sensed Bromhurst still hoped that further developments would weaken his resolve to marry Livvy. It didn’t matter, he told himself fiercely. This was a start.

* * *

A breeze brought the scent of the gardens through the drawing room’s open French doors. Livvy stared down at the pianoforte, having lost count of the times she’d begun the rondo she was attempting to learn. She smiled, chiding herself for a lovesick idiot, and looked down at the ring winking on her finger. She’d worn it only in secret until yesterday, when she’d forgotten to remove it before going to church. She’d explained to the children that it was a gift from Sir Jeremy, which they’d accepted without question.

Sophronia had looked quite sick at seeing it.

Perhaps there was no need to hide it anymore. Things were going well.

Deciding to give up on the pianoforte, she crossed the room to the small table beside the sofa. She picked up the folded letter she’d carried around like a fool since it had been brought several hours ago.

Dearest Livvy
, was written in a large, confident masculine hand. For a moment she merely basked in the greeting, imagining his voice saying the words.

I have good news. Aunt Louisa wishes you to come dine at Russell Square on Wednesday. Charlotte and Tom are most anxious to meet you.

Most anxious! She suppressed nervous laughter over his wording. She could read between the lines. Still, he had convinced them to give her a trial. No mean accomplishment, she was sure.

I have also prevailed upon Lord and Lady Bromhurst to attend, so that you may become better acquainted with her ladyship. While it was not easy to persuade them, I believe they will stand our friends.

At least he knew enough not to pretend Lord Bromhurst was pleased. She could imagine the poor man’s dilemma.

She skimmed over details of time and travel: he was going to spend a few days on estate matters at Fairhill Abbey before returning to London for his weekly meeting and the dinner party on Wednesday.

I long to see you again, and bid you remain brave and cheerful. Happiness will be ours. Your devoted Jeremy.

She folded the letter again and set it down. There was nothing more to do now but wait for Wednesday and prepare herself to face his relations and the Bromhursts with confidence and dignity.

On impulse, she strode over to the harp, a tune by Dibdin tugging at her memory. As she began to play, the words came back to her.

Go, and on my truth relying,

Comfort to your cares applying,

Bid each doubt and sorrow flying,

Leave to peace and love your breast.

Comforted, she improvised on the refrain before moving on to the second verse.

Go, and may the pow’rs that hear us

Still as kind protectors near us

Through our troubles safely steer us

To a port of joy and rest.

As she plucked the final chords, she could not help smiling at the thought of seeing Jeremy again soon. Perhaps they could even steal some time alone . . .

A loud clapping from the French doors made her start.