Mesalliance (37 page)

‘I think you’d
better start at the beginning. And, before you refuse, allow me to
remind you that I’ve some right to know. I’m about to become part
of the family myself, remember?’

Adeline stared
at him and gave a tiny, sobbing laugh.

‘Oh God.
Althea. You’re marrying Althea.’

‘Yes. I am. And
if her uncle is the ugly customer I’m beginning to think he is, I’d
rather like to know about it,’ he returned flatly. ‘So tell me. And
then we’ll see what can be done.’

Her defences
were broken and she was at her wits’ end. Also, there was
undeniable justice in what he’d said. Clinically and without
elaboration, she told him.

There was a
long silence when she had finished speaking and at length she
steeled herself to look into his face. He was frowning a little but
more with concentration than shock. Then he said calmly, ‘Yes. I
can see why all this has frightened you into playing your uncle’s
game … but I doubt it’s as bad as you think.’ He gave her a faint,
encouraging smile. ‘And two things are crystal clear. You must stop
paying Horton to keep quiet … and you’ve got to tell Rock. You
should have done so in the first place you know.’

‘Yes. I do
know.’ Her voice was low and bitter. ‘But when it first started I
never guessed that Richard would come back again and again. As for
Tracy, I had the wild idea that I could protect him … and then
later, when I realised I couldn’t, I didn’t know how to explain it
all to him – or to prevent the kind of scandal he didn’t deserve to
be part of. Also … to be truthful … I suppose I was afraid it would
kill any – any affection he might have for me.’

‘My dear – you
underestimate him.’

‘No. Never
that. But you don’t understand, Jack. Tracy’s reasons for marrying
me were not … not what you might suppose. And, as a result, our
marriage is … precarious.’ She looked at him out of stark
aquamarine eyes. ‘So many secrets spinning out of each other until
one is trapped. But I never meant it to happen. I just thought
that, since
one
of us must silence Richard, it had better be
me.’

‘Yes. I believe
I can understand that. But it was a mistake, Adeline. If you’d told
Rock in the first place, it would never have got to this stage. He
may give the impression of indolence but I assure you that it’s
only skin-deep … and he’d have annihilated Horton between breakfast
and lunch.’ Jack took her hands in a comforting clasp. ‘So this is
where it stops. You must see that. Tell Rock the truth; now –
tonight.’

‘I can’t. Not
just yet. We’re … we’re barely speaking to each other as it is and
I don’t think either of us could cope with this as well.’ She
hesitated and then said, doggedly, ‘I have to buy time – and make
one last attempt to make Richard let go.’

‘You’ll never
do it. Once a leech, always a leech,’ he said flatly. And then,
sighing, ‘All right. I must be mad – because I think you’re making
a colossal error of judgement - but, if you’re truly set on this,
you’d better let me handle it.’

This shook her.
‘
You
?’

‘Yes. But only
on one condition,’ came the firm reply. ‘That, on the morning after
the Queensberry ball and no matter
what
the circumstances,
you tell Rock everything. Agreed?’

‘Yes.’ She
managed a crooked smile. ‘I promise. And thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me
– just do what I ask. Because if you don’t,
I
will. I can’t
say I’m comfortable going behind his back in this way and -- ’

‘Do you think I
am?’

‘No.’ He
grinned ruefully. ‘But he’ll forgive you quicker than he’ll forgive
me.’

‘Not
necessarily,’ murmured Adeline miserably.

‘Of course he
will. Once he knows how frightened and upset you’ve been, how can
he not?’ said Jack, rising. ‘I’ll see your uncle as soon as I’m
able and do what I can. In the meantime, stop worrying and try to
mend matters with Rock. I don’t know what the two of you have
quarrelled about and I don’t
want
to know – but the sooner
you make it up, the better for all of us.’ He grinned suddenly.
‘You may not have realised it, but you’re not the only sufferer.
It’s making him extremely touchy and putting a nasty edge on his
tongue.’

‘Dear me,’
drawled a soft, mocking voice, ‘Who
can
you mean, I
wonder?’

The pit of
Adeline’s stomach fell away and she flushed hotly. Framed in the
doorway, one white hand holding back the heavy curtain, Rockliffe
regarded her with lethal urbanity.

‘You,’ replied
Mr Ingram calmly. ‘You know perfectly well we’re all tired of
walking on broken glass – and I thought Adeline might be able to
help. The only trouble is, she’s as stubborn as you are.’

‘I see.’ The
Duke let fall the curtain and advanced slowly. ‘How busy you all
are about my concerns. It is beginning to weary me. And you must,
surely, have other interests?’

‘We have. But
--’

‘Then pray
attend to them. I find I object … rather strongly … to both
curiosity and interference. And – much though I may regret it – I
am quite willing to press the point, if necessary.’ He paused,
meeting Jack’s gaze with cold amusement. ‘I’m sure you understand
me.’

‘Oh for God’s
sake, stop being so damned ridiculous,’ came the irritable and
largely unexcited retort. ‘I’ve told you before – it’ll be a cold
day in hell before I let you provoke me into crossing swords with
you. And particularly over something like this.’

Against all
expectation, a glimmer of humour dawned in the veiled gaze.

‘Still craven,
Jack?’

‘No. Still
sensible.’

‘Ah. And do you
consider it sensible to closet yourself away with my wife for a
full fifteen minutes?’ asked his Grace sweetly. ‘For, if so, I
believe I must acquaint you with your mistake.’

*

In another
quiet corner, Harry Caversham was reprehensibly instructing Nell in
the art of throwing dice.

‘Beginner’s
luck!’ he taunted when she won for the third time. ‘No doubt you’re
sorry now that you wouldn’t name a stake.’

Flushed with
pleasure, Nell nodded and said, ‘That’s easily mended, though. What
do you want to play for?’

‘Anything you
like. A flower from your corsage?’

‘Done!’ She
cast the dice enthusiastically, causing one of the small ivory
cubes to bounce towards the edge of the table. ‘
Oh
!’

Seeing it about
to fall, she dived forward to catch it … only to find herself
almost nose to nose with Harry as he did the same. And then,
without warning, the inevitable happened. The laughter faded from
the blue eyes, leaving an expression that set her nerves tingling;
and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, they moved
slowly into each other’s arms.

Aeons of time
later, Harry said hazily, ‘Are you going to marry me, you
witch?’

And Nell, with
a tiny gurgle of delicious laughter said, ‘Yes. I suppose I’d
better, hadn’t I?’

‘Minx.’ He
indulged in the absorbing pastime of feathering her neck with
kisses. Then, ‘Of course, you know what this means, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ said
Nell, finding it difficult to speak. ‘What?’

‘I’m going to
have to call on Rock. Again.’ His shoulders shook a little. ‘Only
this
time he’ll be so glad to see me, he’ll probably fall on
my neck.’

*

If, on the
following morning, Rockliffe did not actually fulfil this prophecy,
he was at least pleased enough to send down for a bottle of the
best Chambertin. And when Nell – who, since seeing Harry arrive,
had been prowling excitedly around Adeline upstairs – decided she
could wait no longer and put her head round the library door, he
did not even object to the damage her raptures inflicted on his
coat.

Once Adeline
had also joined them and toasts had been drunk, his Grace said
blandly, ‘It seems, my dear, that you will have to revise your
plans a little.’

‘What plans?’
asked Adeline. And then, ‘Oh. You mean our party.’

‘Just so. I
think your small reception had better become a dress-ball in honour
of the betrothal. Will that suit you, Nell?’

‘Yes, please!’
she beamed, one hand tucked into Harry’s. ‘Only … do we have to
wait till then before letting it be known?’

‘Do you think
you can?’

‘No,’ grinned
his lordship.

‘No. I thought
not.’ Rockliffe smiled faintly. ‘I shall therefore have a notice
inserted in the
Morning Chronicle
… the day after tomorrow,
I think.’

‘The
Queensberry ball,’ said Nell promptly. ‘Wonderful!’

‘Quite. You
shouldn’t have too much difficulty keeping your secret till then …
and I see no reason why we should not steal some of the duchess’s
thunder.’

Adeline’s mind
wandered again. It began to seem that there was nothing left which
did
not
hinge upon the Queensberry ball – and she was
getting sick of the very sound of it. Nervily, she wondered how
soon she could expect to hear from Jack or whether it would be more
sensible to just send him a message telling him to stay out of it.
During the course of a sleepless night and with her wits
functioning properly again, it had become abundantly clear that, in
involving Jack rather than her husband, she was making exactly the
same mistake she’d made with Harry and Nell. And if Tracy had been
angry before, this time he was likely to be incandescent.

She became
aware that Harry was taking his leave, escorted by a radiant Nell.
Suddenly and alarmingly alone with Rockliffe, Adeline kept her eyes
fixed on her hands – half-expecting some sarcastic remark about the
previous evening.

It did not
come. Instead, sounding rather tired, he said, ‘This can’t go on,
Adeline. We need to get past it … but I don’t know what I can do.
I’m not blaming you – I’m aware of just how many of the faults are
mine – but you don’t leave me with many options.’

‘I know.’
Slowly, she looked up at him, for once not bothering to veil her
expression. ‘I know … and I’m sorry. But, like you, I don’t know
how to mend it.’

He absorbed the
unhappiness in her eyes and thought,
I could mend it. I could
mend it
right now… but you won’t let me. And if you push me
away again, we’ll be worse off than
we
are now
because I don’t think I could stand it
. He said, ‘Then perhaps
you should take a little time to think about what you want. And
then, when you are ready, we can talk.’

She nodded and
then, as if the words were being torn from her, ‘But it isn’t your
fault. None of it is. You never did anything to deserve ….’ She
stopped, trying to steady her voice. ‘I hate this as much as you
do.’

‘Well, that’s a
start, I suppose.’ Rockliffe’s mouth curled in something not quite
a smile. ‘Perhaps we can build on that. And, in the meantime, I’ll
try to be less … difficult.’ He walked to the door and then,
turning back, said so softly that she almost did not hear it, ‘I
miss you.’

And left her
grimly holding back the tears she wouldn’t shed – along with the
terrible urge to run after him and tell him everything. Instead,
she fled up to her room and started writing a note to Jack, only to
realise that – after paying Phanie for that extravagant gown, she
had no way of finding five hundred guineas before tomorrow.

*

It was not
until the following afternoon that Mr Ingram finally found Mr
Horton at home – and, by then, he had paid no less than three calls
in South Street, where he’d been forced to make laborious
conversation with Althea’s mother and sister. Consequently, when he
was at last alone with his quarry, he was too intent on
accomplishing his task to notice that one of the doors of the
parlour had been left very slightly ajar.

‘I’ll come
straight to the point,’ he said crisply. ‘I’m here on behalf of the
Duchess of Rockliffe. I imagine you know why?’

Mr Horton’s
eyes narrowed a fraction and then he said smoothly, ‘I am not at
all sure that I do. Suppose you tell me.’

‘As you wish.
You told Adeline that her mother did not die but, in fact, eloped
with her lover. You showed her a letter confirming this and further
suggested that her own birth was … questionable. You then demanded
money from her under the threat of making these things known –
first to the Duke and then to the world.’ Jack paused, smiling
grimly. ‘I have come to inform you that the game is over.’

There was a
long silence. Then Richard said, ‘And just what leads you to
suppose that you can stop it?’

‘The draft I
have in my pocket for five hundred guineas – which you won’t get
without first handing me your sister’s letter and also writing a
few lines of your own, indicating your family’s solid belief in her
Grace’s legitimacy,’ came the cool reply. ‘It all depends on how
much you need the money. But I think we both know the answer to
that, don’t we? I imagine you’ve had some difficulty finding
suitable partners at the card table recently.’

‘Damnable
lies.’ Mr Horton lost a little of his polish and his smile
vanished. ‘However, you can’t be surprised that - thanks to whoever
began them - the price of what you want is far in excess of a
paltry five hundred.’

‘You may think
so. But the buyer sets the price.’

‘I doubt if the
Duke would agree with you. I’m sure he would consider the purity of
the Wynstanton name to be worth … shall we say two thousand?’

‘You can say
it, by all means,’ Jack retorted easily. ‘But the truth is he’s
more likely to spit you on the end of his sword. And if it wasn’t
for Adeline and Thea, I’d be more than happy to let him.’

‘If Rockliffe
knew,’ said Richard, ‘you wouldn’t be here. So it seems I still
hold an ace or two.’

‘Not for long.
You have roughly thirty-six hours in which to either accept my
offer or risk being filleted.’ Jack smiled again and added
conversationally, ‘He’s quite good, you know.’