A Sisterly Regard (16 page)

"I hope so," said Phaedra, doubtfully.

* * * *

She became very tired, that afternoon, of telling gentlemen of
her sister's ill health. Prevarication did not set well with her, and she was
distressed to have to elaborate upon Chloe's symptoms. Lord Everingham
was particularly distressed. He bemoaned the fact he would not see her for
at least a fortnight and confided to Phaedra that he did not know if he
could survive the deprivation.

Lord Wilderlake was among the callers that afternoon. He
expressed dismay at Chloe's illness, and requested that Phaedra relay his
greetings and concern. Phaedra imagined he showed more than a friendly
interest. She wished Chloe had met him before Lord Everingham, for he
seemed far more responsible and mature.

Mr. Farwell arrived shortly after Wilderlake. Today he wore a
purple satin waistcoat richly embroidered with flowers and small birds, a
golden-tan coat with exaggerated shoulder pads and wide, pointed lapels.
His inexpressibles were the palest lavender, and molded to his legs almost
indecently. She caught herself admiring the long, well-defined muscles
under the knit fabric and quickly looked away as her face grew hot. He
expressed sorrow at Chloe's becoming ill in the middle of the Season. She
thought she saw the hint of a smile in his eyes, and suspected he was aware
of the deception.

She had little chance to speak to anyone for more than a few
moments that afternoon, so full was the parlor with Chloe's admirers.
When they had finally all departed, with promises to send books or
flowers to cheer up the invalid, she dropped into a chair.

"I am exhausted. Do you realize I have managed to be charming
for quite three hours. It was a chore, let me tell you. Oh, how I wish I
could remain at home this evening, rather than attend Mrs. Stanfield's
musicale."

"I know, my dear. But your mother expressly wishes you to be
seen in public for the next while, so everyone will believe your sister is
truly ill."

"If you could only know how I wish she was. No, I do not mean
that. It is just that I hate having to lie."

Cousin Louisa patted her hand in sympathy. "It is in a good
cause. No one is being harmed by it."

"You are right," Phaedra said. "But if I have to be on my best
behavior all evening, I shall probably scream the moment we arrive
home."

" I pray you will wait until then, my dear. There are those who
will be watching you very closely tonight, to see if you are behaving
correctly. You are, unfortunately, going to suffer somewhat for your
sister's sins."

* * * *

Phaedra managed to behave the perfect lady that evening, but
only by a tremendous effort of will. Many times she had to bite her tongue
when someone made a disparaging remark about her sister. Several ladies
cut her dead.

Even Mrs. Graham made a point of commenting on Chloe's
absence. "My dear Miss Hazelbourne, I do hope your sister's, ah, excessive
high spirits last evening were not a cause of her unexpected illness," the
languid lady remarked.

"What do you mean?" Phaedra asked, doing her best not to
bristle.
I do not like this woman. I believe she thrives on others'
misfortunes.

"I just wondered if perhaps she was being kept in her bed to
recover from the strenuous exercise she had at the ball. Why, I distinctly
saw her dance the waltz."

"Yes, Mrs. Graham, she did. I also danced the waltz, but am not
exhausted."

"I did not see her waltz at Almack's last Wednesday, so I thought
that perhaps she had some physical impairment that prevented it," the lady
purred.

Phaedra opened her mouth, but her angry response was halted
by Cousin Louisa.

"Why Mrs. Graham, I do believe I saw your daughter looking
for you in the refreshment room. If you will excuse us, I wish to introduce
Miss Phaedra to an old friend of mine."

She pulled Phaedra away with an iron grip upon her wrist. "You
must not let her cause you to say something indiscreet, my dear. She
would repeat it all over Town. Come, I wish you to meet Colonel
Peterson, who was a friend of my father's." She led the girl across the
room to where an elderly gentleman with bushy white hair sat scowling
upon the company.

To her surprise, the scowling face of Colonel Peterson hid a jolly
spirit. She took him in immediate liking and they sat talking until the
music began again. After the last pianist had performed, she sought out her
hostess and took her leave, pleading sleepiness.

"I quite understand, Miss Hazelbourne," Mrs. Stanfield told her,
shaking her hand. "I hear that the Duchess' ball did not end until three this
morning, so you must be at the point of exhaustion. Please give my
regards to your mother and tell your sister I hope she will recover quickly.
Mrs. Arbuckle, so glad you could join us."

In the carriage, Phaedra and Cousin Louisa both breathed sighs
of relief. "Well, we made it through one evening without catastrophe,"
the older woman said. "Only thirteen more to go."

Phaedra chuckled, albeit a bit wryly. "So we did. I thank you for
preventing me from insulting Mrs. Graham. I vow, I wanted to slap her
silly face. Why could she not just say right out that she had heard my sister
had misbehaved?"

"That is not the way of the
ton
, my dear. All must be
polite and gently spoken. A frontal attack would be unmannerly. You will
no doubt be faced with much worse than Mrs. Graham before the
fortnight is out. I overheard Lady Detweiler telling someone that Lady
Everingham had called Chloe fast."

"How dare she!"

"Lady Everingham dares anything. And she has taken your sister
in intense dislike, it seems."

"And I her. The old bat!"

"My dear, you will be hard pushed to keep your temper in the
next two weeks. The Duchess has heard that Lady Everingham has vowed
to her bosom bows that she will destroy Chloe's reputation. Your mother
was vastly overset and threatened to return to the country tomorrow. It
was only by convincing her that to do so would be to give up all hopes of
either of you making good marriages that the Duchess was able to calm
her."

"Poor Mama. So that is why she had the headache and did not
come to dinner."

"Yes, and your father is out of sorts because she is. But that may
be all to the good, for I think that if he sees how Chloe's behavior truly
distresses your mother, he will be less forgiving with her."

"I hope so. She needs to learn a lesson." She bit her lip. "It is
just so unfair! How can people be so unkind, when all my sister did was go
against a few unwritten rules."

"Unfair it may be, but those unwritten rules have their uses.
Society's strictures on behavior are intended to ensure that no nobleman
marries someone unsuitable to be his wife and that there is no question
about the paternity of his heirs. Once an heir is produced, many
gentlemen actually encourage their wives to take lovers, you
know."

"But those cannot be love matches!"

"Of course they are not. You, I am sure, will never find yourself
in such a situation, because I think that when you marry, it will be for
love. But do you really expect your sister to require love in addition to a
title and a fortune? She seems almost desperate to marry soon."

"She is, for she found the delay in her come out difficult. She
perceives that only married women have any sort of freedom of behavior."
Phaedra could not refrain from giving vent to a heartfelt sigh. "I would
prefer to believe otherwise, or at least hope so. Poor Chloe. To have her
life ruined because she is impatient with convention and eager for all life
has to offer. How can anyone really believe she has done anything
immoral?"

"By the time Lady Everingham is finished spreading her lies and
innuendos, some will have no doubt she is both fast and loose, I am afraid.
There are always those who are ready to believe the worst of anyone.
Even those who do not entirely believe the rumors will wonder if there
was not, perhaps, some basis for them. Unfortunately, the gentlemen who
will avoid Chloe are not the ones with whom we should be concerned,"
Cousin Louisa continued. "It is those who will be drawn to her by the hint
of scandal who worry me."

"What do you mean?"

"There are gentlemen who would take advantage of a young
girl, who would use her badly and then cast her aside. They do not seek
wives, but conquests. Chloe will almost certainly become the target of
some of these. She may already have come to their attention, in fact. She
informed me today that she had engaged to drive with Mr. Dervigne on
Monday, and asked me to send him her regrets."

"But Mama forbade her."

"Your mother forbade her to ride with him unchaperoned. I
believe Chloe had convinced him to take her up in his landau, for the
weather promises to be fair. Betty was to accompany her."

"I'll wager Mama knew nothing of this."

"Perhaps. Chloe may have intentionally misled both your
mother and Mr. Dervigne. However, all is moot, for she will not be riding
with him."

Phaedra screwed up her face, as she would when biting into
something unpleasant. "I do not like Mr. Dervigne. His manner is not
pleasing--one could almost say oily."

"Neither do I care for him. I suspect, though with little basis for
my suspicions, that Mr. Dervigne's intentions toward your sister are less
than honorable. I have heard whispers about his misconduct with a young
woman last Season. Unfortunately, the blame for the situation was laid
entirely at her door, so that she was forced to retire to the country, her
reputation in tatters."

"How terrible! We must not let that happen. How can we
protect Chloe?"

"Your mother and I are prepared to select very carefully all who
approach her once she is allowed to go about again. She will be forbidden
to go anywhere with Mr. Dervigne, in particular, even chaperoned.
Unfortunately, it will take Chloe's cooperation."

"I wish we had never come to London."

The carriage pulled up in front of their house just then. Once
inside and divested of their cloaks, Phaedra sagged.

Cousin Louisa must have noticed, for she gave Phaedra a gentle
nudge toward the stairs. "Do not let yourself lose sleep worrying. We will
come through this, I am sure. Good night, my dear."

"Good night, Cousin Louisa. Oh, how good my bed will feel
tonight. I will sleep soundly, I am sure, for I am so tired." She mounted
the stairs slowly, stopping at the top of the first flight to lean over the
banister. "What will we do if Chloe will not heed us?"

"Let your mother and father worry about that. You are not
Chloe's keeper, you know. Go to bed."

"No, but sometimes I think I am her conscience," Phaedra
whispered to herself as she entered her bedroom. "And I wish I were
not."

Chloe, locked in her bedchamber and deprived of her sister's
company, spent the first two days of her incarceration alternately weeping
and pacing the floor in rage. She had broken all the vases in the room the
first day, throwing them one by one against the door that kept her
confined.

Mama, seeing the shards, merely said, "How unfortunate. Now
you have nothing to hold your admirers' bouquets," in a bored voice and
commanded Betty to bring a broom. She had not required the maid to
clean up the mess, however, nor had she caused the vases to be replaced.
Chloe therefore received none of the many bouquets which were sent to
her. Mama described them in great detail, thus providing her with another
source of anger and resentment.

Papa attempted on several occasions to jolly her with teasing,
promises of many parties to come, and affectionate pats and hugs.
Believing her father an unwilling accomplice in her imprisonment, she was
somewhat more responsive to him. She could not entirely forgive him,
though. If he truly loved her, he would order Mama to release her from
imprisonment.

After two days of simmering resentment, Chloe's mood had
calmed enough so she could accept that her mother truly did believe she
was acting in her best interests.
But Mama does not understand. She has
forgotten, if ever she knew, how miserable it is to be an unmarried girl and have to
watch one's every move.
She thought of several ways to convince her
parents to release her, but discarded each after admitting that Mama
would not be fooled for an instant.

By the fourth day, Chloe was desperate. Time was slipping
away. Time she could have been using to fix some gentleman's interest.
Time that postponed the day when she would have the freedom of being a
married woman.

She had not yet received an offer, a fact that worried her only a
little. She was confident either Mr. Martin or Lord Everingham could be
brought up to scratch whenever she desired. Perhaps even Lord
Wilderlake, of lesser rank than Jeremy, but so much more handsome. He
had shown interest at her ball. As she fretted about the time she was
losing, Chloe finally had an idea.

* * * *

Phaedra daily did her best to ignore the snubs she encountered
wherever she went. When asked about her sister's health, she painted a
doleful picture of Chloe's illness. Having suffered the influenza the
previous winter but one, she was able to describe such symptoms as Chloe
was supposed to be undergoing. Lord Everingham offered to send his
mother's personal physician. Lord Wilderlake sent books and music to
cheer her up and always inquired closely about the progress of her
illness.

Mr. Farwell also frequently inquired about Chloe. His inquiries
were more a matter of form than sincerity, she decided, not liking the hint
of mockery she fancied she heard in his tone.

Chloe's incarceration had been in force for five days when the
Hazelbournes again attended Almack's, for their vouchers had not been
rescinded as Lady Gifford had feared. Phaedra faced the evening with
reluctance, fearing that Lady Everingham would be present. She and her
chaperones wore their most ravishing gowns, as if armored for
battle.