Mesalliance (14 page)

They returned
to St James’ Square in the late afternoon, heavily laden with
spoils. Nell, who had spent a very tedious day and felt decidedly
hard done by, greeted them reproachfully. His Grace replied with
provocative levity and Adeline, seeing a storm approaching,
retreated to her room on the excuse of exploring her new wardrobe
and stayed there until it was time for dinner.

When, with
unaccustomed self-consciousness because of her new gown, she took
her seat at the table, there did not seem to have been any
appreciable improvement in the atmosphere. Rockliffe complimented
her on the embroidered blue taffeta he himself had chosen and
maintained his deliberately light manner, while Nell continued to
address both of them with chilly politeness and as rarely as
possible. Adeline talked composedly of generalities, swallowed her
food without enjoyment and wondered how long it was going to last.
And then, when the sweetmeats had been brought in and the servants
withdrew for the last time, his Grace brought matters to a
head.

‘I have to tell
you, Nell, that Adeline and I are to be married on Wednesday – with
or without your blessing. It would be better for us all, therefore,
if you could accept the fact with some semblance of grace. If, on
the other hand, you wish to continue sulking, I shall be forced to
arrange for you to do so beneath Lucilla’s roof rather than
mine.’

Nell’s cheeks
grew very pink.

‘Lucilla,’ she
said crossly, ‘won’t approve of this any more than I do.’

‘In which case,
the two of you should deal extremely together,’ came the gentle
reply. ‘Please sit down, Adeline. If Nell has something to say, you
have as much right as anyone to hear it.’ He waited while she sank
reluctantly back into her seat and then turned back to his sister.
‘You have our undivided attention. Speak now or not at all.’

‘All right!’
said Nell. ‘I can’t understand how it can have happened and I can’t
bear the thought of what everyone will say. Also, I think I’ve a
right to hear the truth.’

‘Well there,’
remarked Adeline, ‘I have to agree with you.’

Nell looked
faintly nonplussed.

‘Thank you.’
And to her brother, ‘Well?’

Rockliffe
sighed and made a gesture of surrender.

‘It seems that
I am out-voted, doesn’t it? Tell her, Adeline. She won’t believe
it, of course … but there’s no harm in trying.’

The narrow
brows rose but she turned calmly to Nell and, in as few words as
possible, told her exactly what had occurred in the book-room on
the night of the Franklin ball.

When she had
finished, Nell said hotly, ‘I – I don’t believe it! Di
couldn’t
!’

‘Unfortunately,
she both could and did,’ replied Adeline. ‘I’m afraid you don’t
know Diana nearly as well as you think.’

‘A fact,’
drawled his Grace, ‘on which you are to be congratulated.’

‘You’re
horrid!’ cried Nell, surging to her feet. ‘I think you’ve just made
it all up.’

‘Why?’
Adeline’s voice was suddenly stripped of all tolerance. ‘Because
it’s easier to believe your brother a clumsy and unprincipled
lecher than your friend a selfish and monumentally spiteful
cat?’

Nell stared at
her and lost most of her rosy glow. Then she made a small strangled
sound and fled.

Completely
unperturbed, the Duke rested a companionable gaze on Adeline.

‘Far be it from
me to say I told you so.’

She met his
eyes irritably. ‘I suppose you realise that there are times when
you’re not an enormous help?’

Laughter
stirred.

‘Naturally. But
I strongly suspect that, of all women, you are the one least likely
to be defeated by it.’

*

With the best
will in the world, it was impossible to simply dismiss this remark
and Adeline was still considering its implications on the following
morning whilst under the ministering hands of the hairdresser. Then
there was a tap on the door and Nell’s face appeared anxiously
around it.

‘May I come
in?’

‘Please do,’
invited Adeline. ‘You may be able to help me convince Signor
Leonardo here that I don’t want my hair standing on end as though
I’ve had a fright.’

Nell surprised
herself by giggling. The signor sniffed and brandished his
scissors.

‘Eet eez zee
moda
,’ he said severely. ‘I am harteest! ‘Ow I create eef
youno leesten what I say? You wanna look like meelkmide, hah?’

There was a
pregnant pause.

‘Meelkmide?’
Adeline asked of Nell.

‘
Si
–
meelkmide!
Meelkmide
!’ He was almost hopping with
excitement. ‘I, Leonardo, no do eet! Eet ruin me! I do for you nice
‘edge’og, no?’

‘No,’ responded
Adeline, cheerfully but with finality. ‘You do for me exactly what
I asked. And, if I look like a milkmaid, I’ll promise not to tell
anyone who did it. And now,’ she said, turning to Nell, ‘tell me
what I may do for you.’

‘Nothing.’ Nell
advanced and the laughter faded from her eyes. ‘I came to apologise
for behaving so stupidly. I don’t know why – but I seem to have
done nothing but make a fool of myself recently.’

‘Diana,’ said
Adeline carefully, ‘has a variety of ways of bringing out the worst
in people. I should know. She’s been doing it to me for years.’

Dark eyes, so
like Rockliffe’s, searched her face.

‘Thank you.
It’s very confusing. I – I liked her so much, you see.’

‘Actually, I
don’t
see. But that’s because I’ve had several years of
watching and sometimes experiencing a side of her nature that she
seems to have managed to conceal from you.’ There was a pause, and
then, ‘What made you change your mind?’

‘It was what
you said about Rock. I hadn’t really thought … but of course he
couldn’t ever have done what Diana said. He isn’t unprincipled or
clumsy or… or that other thing.’

‘No. He isn’t.’
A tiny tremor flickered through her as she remembered the kiss –
which had been far from clumsy and for which he had apologised.
‘Not at all.’

‘So, if you
really
are
to marry him – though that still seems very
strange – I hope that we can become friends. It would be dreadful
if we couldn’t – for he is my very favourite brother, you
know.’

‘Yes.’ Adeline
smiled a little. ‘I can see that he would be. And I too would wish
us to be friends.’

‘Considering
how awful I’ve been, that’s generous of you,’ acknowledged Nell.
And then, ‘For someone who’s to be married tomorrow, you’re
extremely calm, aren’t you?’

‘I
look
extremely calm,’ came the dry response. ‘Underneath, I’m panicking.
What seems strange to you, is to me entirely incomprehensible.’

Nell thought
about this.

‘Yes. I suppose
it must be. Do you -- ?’ She checked herself, realising that not
only was it too soon for personal questions but that Signor
Leonardo was probably absorbing every word. ‘You were quite right
not to have the Hedgehog, you know. It’s become fearfully
common-place. Oh – is that a carriage?’ She ran to the window. ‘I
wonder who … why, it’s Lord Amberley! How nice!’

‘Lord
Amberley?’ Adeline rose and allowed the signor to remove the cape
she had donned to protect her gown.

‘The most
attractive man in London – next to Rock, perhaps – and the one with
the nicest wife. He’s Rock’s closest friend. They’ve known each
other forever and --’ She turned back to Adeline and stopped. ‘But
that’s charming! And not in the least like a milkmaid. Do you not
think so, Signor Leonardo?’

‘Eez elegant,’
he admitted, critically surveying Adeline’s loosely-piled curls and
the three thick ringlets lying against one shoulder. ‘On
you
eez elegant. On other lady, no.’

‘Thank you,’
murmured Adeline. ‘It sounds like a compliment of no mean
order.’

‘
Si
.’ He
laid the tools of his trade neatly away and prepared to depart.
‘Eef you ask, I come again to you. But I ‘ope you no set
moda
– or I be making many, many meelkmide.
Arriverderci,
madonna
.’ And, with a quick, flourishing bow, he was gone.

Nell shook her
head laughingly.

‘What an odd
little man he is, to be sure. But he’s quite right – you
do
look elegant. It’s just the moment to come and meet Amberley.’

Adeline looked
dubious.

‘You don’t
think we should just wait for a little while? After all, he and
your brother must have things to discuss.’

‘Well, of
course. He’ll have come to stand up for Rock at the wedding – and
he’s probably dying to meet the bride.’ Nell seized her hand,
impulsively. ‘Oh,
do
come. You’ll have to meet him some
time, you know.’

Which, though
it was true, thought Adeline as she accompanied Nell down the
stairs, did nothing to reduce the amount of courage she needed to
meet the man who was her betrothed’s best friend.

In the parlour,
Rockliffe poured wine for his guest and, before the conversation
could be monopolised by his own affairs, asked after Rosalind.

‘She’s in
perfect health and glowing, I thank you.’

‘And you?’

The Marquis
shrugged. ‘Less frayed than when we last met. It’s a strange thing,
Rock – but there’s a tranquillity to her these days. Even that
bloody bird seems to sense it. He sits on the back of her chair,
almost cooing and leans his head against her cheek. It’s bizarre –
not to mention downright unnerving.’

‘Yes. It must
be. I take it he doesn’t … coo … at you?’

‘Not so far. He
doesn’t sit on my chair either. I wouldn’t trust him not to take a
piece out of my ear. Or, worse still, leave a -- ’

He stopped as
the door opened and Nell came in followed by a slender,
brown-haired lady in palest turquoise. His first thought was that
she was not at all what he would have expected; his second,
something more puzzling still.

As for Adeline
herself, it quickly became apparent that she need not have been
nervous about meeting the Marquis. Apart from a slightly thoughtful
expression in his grey-green eyes, he greeted her with complete
equanimity and charm. He delivered the good wishes of his lady wife
along with the small, heart-shaped gold brooch that Rosalind had
sent as a bridal gift … and gave no sign of any inner concern.

But the truth
was that Adeline’s cool detachment bothered him – as did
Rockliffe’s more than usually enigmatic gaze. And there was that
other thing that nagged at the back of his mind but would not quite
come into focus.

Dinner passed
more pleasantly than on the previous evening, with Rockliffe and
Amberley indulging in their usual sporadic banter and Nell asking
endless questions about Rosalind and the coming baby and Broody.
Since, with regard to the last of these, Adeline had no idea what
they were talking about, Broody had then to be explained, as
politely as was possible, given his usual propensities … and thus
leaving Adeline still partially in the dark until Nell leaned
across and whispered something in her ear which startled her into
laughter. At this point, Lord Amberley noticed that she had a
surprisingly lovely smile. His Grace of Rockliffe noticed something
else altogether and, as soon as they rose from the table, he drew
Adeline to one side and said, ‘You appear to have won Nell over.
How did that come about?’

‘She thought
about it properly and realised she was doing you a serious
injustice,’ she replied evasively. ‘She’s very sorry. And I think
you’ll find she’ll tell you so, if you just give her time.’

‘Instead of
locking her in her room on bread and water? I think I might manage
that. And, for what you said last night, I thank you.’

Adeline flushed
a little. ‘She would have worked it out on her own,
eventually.’

‘Perhaps. But
in the meantime, she would have sulked and argued. Her present
demeanour is a great deal more pleasant and means I can let her
attend our wedding without having to worry if she’ll try to enforce
the ‘just cause and impediment’ clause.’

It was not
until much later that night that Lord Amberley was finally granted
the opportunity of exchanging a private word with the Duke. And
even then, he took his time about coming to what he personally
regarded as the crux of the matter.

‘It’s not a
criticism … but I can’t help noticing that she’s not your usual
style, Rock.’

‘No. She isn’t,
is she?’

‘And this is
all very sudden.’

‘Very.’
Sighing, Rockliffe paused in the act of pouring two glasses of port
and said, ‘I suppose you want chapter and verse.’

‘Since I’m
going to stand up for you tomorrow at your wedding, I’d certainly
like to hear more than that you accompanied Nell to what turned out
to be the house-party from hell and came back with a bride.’

‘Actually, I
came back with more than a bride.’ He placed a glass before
Amberley and sat down on the other side of the hearth. ‘I’ve also
acquired a particularly fine horse.’

‘Stable the
horse for the time being. Just tell me about Adeline.’

‘Very well. If
I must.’

Since he’d
never spoken of it before and, in any case, felt that its relevance
could be misconstrued, Rockliffe neglected to mention
Northumberland. In fact, he neglected to mention a number of things
– choosing to concentrate on Diana’s unrelenting pursuit of
himself, her unfortunate influence on Nell and the fact that
Adeline’s presence had been virtually the only saving grace in the
whole sorry week. He did, however, describe the night of the ball
in some detail and with a dry humour that made the Marquis laugh …
until, that was, he arrived at the point in the tale where he had
announced his intention to marry Adeline.

No longer
remotely amused, Amberley stared at him and said, ‘Had you been
drinking?’