Anna Jacobs (12 page)

Chapter 6

In London Justin Serle was not the only gentleman showing an interest in Beatrice. She might underrate her own attractions and insist she was here only to find a husband for Eleanor, but she was both charming and pretty, as well as having a substantial dowry.

Only the previous evening, Lady Clayrie had commented on this to Johanna. “That cousin of yours has got good manners, better than most young folk nowadays. When she got cornered by St John Hardinge at Amelia’s rout, I tried to rescue her. Felt guilty, him bein’ a connection of mine. You know what a bore he is.”

Johanna raised expressive eyebrows. They had all been cornered by St John Hardinge at one time or another.

“Well, I couldn’t get across the room in that crush, so I watched your cousin listening to him and you’d have sworn from her expression that he was a wit, instead of a half-wit.”

Lady Clayrie guffawed so loudly at her own joke that she choked and by the time she’d recovered, she’d found another subject to pursue. But what she’d said left Johanna thoughtful. She, too, was finding Bea full of surprises and in more ways than one. She would never have expected her shy cousin to become quite so popular.

Lady Jersey said much the same thing about Beatrice, and Johanna had a hard time keeping her face straight as the garrulous woman known as “Silence” to her own generation absolutely lavished praise on the newcomer.

“One gets so tired of dealing with the caprices and fussations of the more dashing type of person,” Lady Jersey declared. “Your cousin is the easiest guest imaginable, with impeccable manners and an elegant simplicity in her dress that has taken very well with the other patronesses. You must be sure to bring her to Almack’s regularly.” She raised one eyebrow. “Dowry?”

Johanna seized the opportunity to spread the news. “I believe my mother has settled twenty thousand on her.”

“Indeed. Then it shouldn’t be hard to find her a suitable parti.”

“I hope not.” But she wasn’t sure Beatrice would agree about what made a gentleman suitable.

The following day Justin, arriving late as usual for a musical evening, paused in the doorway to listen to a pleasant contralto, the sort of voice it was a pleasure to listen to, especially as it was singing something in English instead of one of those damned incomprehensible German lieder that always sounded like funeral dirges to him. He blinked in surprise when he saw that the singer was Beatrice Dencey, for he would have thought her too shy to perform in public.

When the song was over, she settled down at the piano, face slightly flushed at the applause, to accompany first one then another young lady. The Dowager had insisted on both her charges being able to entertain company - something the old lady considered a social imperative - but although Beatrice had learned to sing when requested, she would rather not have done so. She much preferred acting as accompanist, her skill at the pianoforte being such that the other young ladies present were able to show off their vocal prowess to the very best advantage.

From across the room Justin watched her encourage a rather bashful young lady, who was fluttering about with her music and who looked ready to burst into tears in her terror of singing for the first time before the London ton.

The terrified young lady drew in a deep breath and turned to face her audience, while from behind her Beatrice murmured encouragement. He smiled at the scene, nodding approval of Miss Dencey’s kindness. No wonder she was popular with her own sex, for all her quietness and her self-effacing manners. And that made him wonder what there was about her that people took to so readily? He found himself trying to analyze this and forgetting to move on, so that another new arrival had to ask him twice to stand aside and allow others to enter the salon.

The other guests found Justin Serle very unlike his usual self that evening, so quiet and thoughtful. And it was noticed that he made a particular effort to speak to the young Harnston chit, who had overcome her nervousness to sing so prettily to them. Was he really looking for a bride from this season’s hopefuls or did he have some other reason to be kind to the girl? He spent quite a bit of time chatting to Miss Dencey, too, but there was no sign of him flirting with her.

* * * *

After that evening Beatrice found that several of the very young ladies took to confiding their hopes and fears to her, as they could not do to their own mamas. With them treating her like an elder sister or cousin and eagerly awaiting her arrival at parties, she no longer felt a stranger and enjoyed helping them settle into society. They reminded her very much of dear Eleanor - though they were not as pretty or lively, of course.

As Johanna expected, Lady Jersey let it be known that Miss Dencey had a very respectable dowry and was in the market for a husband. This set the seal upon Beatrice’s success, though she would have been horrified if she had known about it.

Johanna took care that she didn’t find out. It was the way things were done in their world and it was foolish of poor Bea to get upset about the money. You had to know your own worth and make the most of it. Why, Johanna would as soon have let one of her own daughters marry a penniless younger son as she would have shaved her head.

During the weeks which followed, brothers, younger sons and nephews were summoned up to London by various steely-eyed matrons and displayed to Miss Dencey in all their masculine glory. Beatrice studied everyone to whom she was introduced for Eleanor’s sake, not her own, and didn’t realize for a while how much interest there was in herself. The marks and notes against the names on the Dowager’s list multiplied rapidly and the paper became quite worn from her anxious perusals of it.

The first proposal of marriage Beatrice received shocked her to the core, coming as it did from a gentleman whom she had only met three times and that briefly. When he drew her into an anteroom after a dance, she protested, “Mr Tarrow, I don’t think we should...” She fell silent in horror as he fell to his knees before her, blocking her way out.

“My dear Miss Dencey,” he began, seizing her hand and covering it with wet kisses. “My dearest lady - “

“Oh, please. Mr Tarrow, please do not!” She was scarlet with embarrassment by now.

“Miss Dencey, I must speak! I cannot wait any longer. Since the moment I first saw you I have longed to call you my own. Only say that you will marry me and I shall be the happiest man in town!”

He tried to kiss her again and in desperation, she pushed at his chest with both hands. Since he was on one knee at the time, this made him lose his balance and by the time he had scrambled to his feet, he was as red-faced as she was. He placed one hand on his chest and opened his mouth to speak.

Beatrice rushed to prevent him. “Please don’t say anything else, sir! I have no wish to marry.”

For a moment, his expression was anything but conciliatory. “Dash it all,” he began, “what else are you here for but to find a husband? The word’s out all over town about your dowry.”

“What?” She took a deep breath, anger kindling her eyes into brilliance, then repeated firmly, “I have no desire to marry you, or anyone else.” She retreated strategically behind a pot plant. “And I shall not change my mind. Please leave me now, Mr Tarrow!”

Seeing the implacable expression on her face, he could do nothing but bow stiffly, his movements constrained by the size and height of his now rather crumpled neckcloth, before striding out of the room.

She stayed where she was for a moment, hands pressed to her burning cheeks, then said aloud, “How did he find out about that dreadful dowry?” As she was waiting for the flush to subside, she caught sight of two legs behind another potted palm tree and gasped. “Oh, no! Who - who’s there?”

Justin sighed and moved forward. He would have preferred to remain unnoticed, for he knew she’d be embarrassed that he’d overheard the incident. “I cry pardon, Miss Dencey! I had no wish to eavesdrop, believe me, but the gentleman was so eager I had no time to reveal my presence before he launched into his speech.” He took the fan from her trembling fingers and began to waft it gently to and fro in front of her flushed face.

“He was only eager to gain access to my fortune! Even I have heard about his debts,” she said bitterly. “As if I’d accept such a person!”

“He’s a fool, and always has been,” Justin said with rather more warmth than he had intended. Actually, he felt like pursuing Tarrow and knocking him to the floor for upsetting Beatrice like this.

She looked at him shyly. “He’s - he’s what I accused you of, Mr Serle, is he not? A dandy? So I’m more sorry than ever for my error. It was because you always look so elegant that I, well, I mistook matters.”

He smiled, a smile as genuine as her compliment. “Tarrow is indeed one of the dandy set,” he murmured. “All the crack, or so some people say, but to me he looks more like a fowl stuffed for the oven.”

“Yes. And that ridiculous neckcloth! It must be at least a foot high! He can’t even turn his head, but must move his whole body to look sideways!” She laughed suddenly. “If some of our older villagers could see him, they’d be convulsed and he’d hear a few home truths!”

“Can we not arrange it? I have a few older tenants who have a similar frankness of speech.”

“Oh, don’t tempt me!” Her colour had faded to near normal and her expression still showed genuine amusement.

He returned the fan and offered her his arm. “Perhaps we should return to Lady Ostdene now? Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. And I do thank you for being so understanding.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Johanna was merely amused when Beatrice told her about the offer she’d received.

“Oh, Tarrow won’t do for you!” she said, dismissing the man with a wave of her hand.

“But it was so humiliating!” Beatrice protested. “How can you talk about it so casually? He wasn’t offering for me, but for my dowry! How did he even know of it?”

“Oh, these things get around. I may have mentioned it to one or two of my friends.” She saw the anger in Beatrice’s eyes and shrugged. “That’s the way of the world, my dear, and you won’t change it. And you are here to find a husband, are you not? I must say I thought even Tarrow would have had more address than to rush things. He must be badly dipped again. He’s a known gamester.”

Such frank talk disgusted Beatrice, but she could hardly complain to her kind hostess, who was going to inordinate trouble to take her around and introduce her to people.

* * * *

The attentiveness of certain gentlemen continued to increase, to Beatrice’s great embarrassment, and several times the watchful Justin Serle rescued her in the nick of time from what she considered to be an unpleasant situation. She began to feel so comfortable with him that she treated him like a cousin or a brother.

However, her blatant lack of interest in him as a man began to pique him. He wasn’t at all sure he enjoyed the role of “safe relative”, which was one he’d never played before.

Fortunately, not all the gentlemen were as blatant in their pursuit as Mr Tarrow, and Beatrice managed to enjoy herself some of the time, especially when they went to the theatre or the opera, or when they could attend a salon where the guests were expected to talk of literature or poetry in a more intelligent way.

Johanna pulled a face sometimes at the nature of the entertainments Beatrice preferred, but realized that she wouldn’t be able to keep her cousin happy if they only attended the more frivolous functions which she and her daughter enjoyed most.

After a while, Johanna realized that Justin was watching the attention Beatrice received, often with a frown of disapproval on his face. And that frown became a scowl if he saw her several times talking to the same gentlemen.

He did not yet realize the reason for his own interest, Johanna thought, watching them both with growing amusement. But it could be only one thing. He was attracted to Bea. It was so diverting to watch him and so important to let things take their natural course that she threatened to murder her daughter if Jennice dropped so much as a hint to anyone else about the possibility of serious interest between Bea and Serle.

“If you do that, Beatrice will freeze and Justin will retreat,” she insisted.

Jennice pulled a face, but for once held her tongue. She was quite fond of Justin and would be glad to see him married into the family.

Beatrice, more intent upon working through the Dowager’s list of eligible suitors for Eleanor, treated all the gentlemen who did not displease her with a distant kindness that piqued others besides Justin.

Johanna watched this in puzzlement and decided after a while that it was not going to be as easy as she had expected to bring Bea to accept anyone, even Justin Serle. Her cousin was genuinely not looking for a husband for herself. Johanna could only be thankful that neither of her daughters had been so hard to marry off. They had both worked enthusiastically with her to find themselves husbands and had discussed the candidates at great length before settling on one.

She became so concerned about the situation that she discussed it with Jennice. “I really can’t understand Bea. She makes no push to fix anyone’s interest upon herself. I’m not even sure that she’s really interested in Serle. Sometimes they seem very cozy together, but at other times, she doesn’t even seem to notice him.”

“Then she’s a fool not to make a push to capture his interest, for he’s very eligible.” Jennice chose another sugar plum and popped it in her mouth. “Perhaps,” she began, her mouth full and her words almost inaudible, “a clergyman would be more the thing for Bea? I mean, she’s always so serious.”

“Yes.” Johanna looked thoughtful. “Who can we introduce her to?” She gave a knowing smile. “If we can set up another serious contender, maybe that will push Justin into action. I could swear he likes her. He certainly seeks her company often enough.”

“And she his,” agreed Jennice, licking the sugar from her fingers. “I thought when they were waltzing the other night how well they looked together. She never looks as relaxed in anyone else’s arms. And did you see her face when he was flirting with Gwendoline Firsby?”