Dear Annabelle,
she wrote.
I know youll be surprised to hear from your old schoolmate after three years, but I am in London, staying with Lady Cora Stamfield at Royce House. I was wondering how you are, and your family? Perhaps I might pay a morning call? Please tell me when is convenient.
Dear Caroline . . .
Dear Lady Elizabeth . . .
What the devil was the married name of that girl with the crossed eyes? If she could find a match, so could Corie.
Daniel appeared at the breakfast table only a little late and only a little bleary-eyed. Corie hardly noticed because she kept her own darkly shadowed eyes firmly on her sweet roll and chocolate so she did not have to face the man whod figured in her thoughts all night. If he winked at her or made any comment about anything personal whatsoever, shed go out and sell her diamonds today. He didnt. Daniel said good morning; then he went about filling his plate from the serving dishes.
Susanna hardly noticed either one of them, chirping about the plans for the day and the gowns she would order from the modiste.
Not so low in front or Im not paying for them, Daniel announced at large, addressing himself to his kippers and eggs. And ham and rashers and toast and steak.
Susanna stuck her tongue out at him, but her mother said theyd see what Madame Journet advised. She was the most highly recommended dressmaker in Mayfair, and dressed all the young debutantes.
And half the demimondaines, Daniel put in, around a swallow of coffee. I asked.
Surely she will know the difference, dear.
Hmm, he said, helping himself to half the crock of jam for his toast. Well see. That is, if we see too much, Im not letting you out of the house.
Mother! Susanna wailed, ready to toss her napkin at her brother.
By the way, dear, Lady Cora told Daniel, deflecting the siblings, Dobbson found you a valet. Lord Carruthers moved to the country and Monsieur Deauville refuses to go with him.
You hired me a fu He paused at his mothers throat-clearing cough. Fussy Frenchman? We went to war with those ba
She cleared her throat again, enough that Corie offered to pour some more tea.
Those basket-scramblers.
And we won, and now the war is over. Besides, I do believe Monsieur Deauville fled Napoleons France for the same reasons we fought them. He was on our side and seemed quite eager to serve one of our finest.
Until he hears what my position was.
He knows all about you. You are quite, ah, famous, dear. And he knows your, ah, style, also. You and Lord Carruthers stayed together one sennight for a horse meet. He looks upon you as a challenge.
Thats enough to make a man lose his appetite. Daniel pushed his plate aside.
Corie had to hide her smile, but Susanna laughed. Youve eaten everything on the table.
I believe Deauville is going through your wardrobe right now, to see what youll need from the tailor this morning. Your appointment at Westons is at ten.
I am not going to any blo-blowhard haberdasher.
Good, then you can accompany us and help Susanna decide on gowns you will approve.
What time was that appointment with the tailor?
The visit to the dressmaker was a joy for Corie, who seldom got to purchase more than one new gown a season, and that made up by the same village seamstress whod made her girlhood pinafores.
Madame Journet had bolts upon bolts of stunning fabrics, softest silks, lustrous satins, sheer laces. Corie had a whole palette of colors to choose from, not just the debutantes pastels. The fashions Madame recommended were more sophisticated than she showed Susanna and more suited to a taller woman. Theyd show off Cories graceful figure and elegant bearing without trying to make her look younger than her years. Miss Abbott had style, Madame Journet pronounced, and all her assistants taking measurements and fitting half-completed gowns nodded their agreement.
Lady Cora ordered twice as many gowns as Corie thought she needed, with the same number for Susanna and herself. She was tired of dressing like a church-committee woman, she said, or someones mother.
Madame Journet could not promise, but she would try her best to have them each one ball gown by next week, several day gowns sooner.
" * *
The visit to the tailor wasnt half bad. They served wine and biscuits. Two other acquaintances were there, so they wagered on how many pins the assistant fitter dropped. Once he was measured, Daniel gave Deauvilles list to the proprietor, said, Nothing tight, nothing stiff, nothing foppish, and paid in full.
Of course, Mr. Stamfield. Would you like these tomorrow?
The ladies took scraps of fabric to the shoemaker, to match scores of shoes, slippers, and boots to the gowns theyd ordered.
Daniel went to the boot maker, had his feet outlined for a pattern, and said he needed day shoes, night shoes, and boots. And if they pinched, hed throw them through the shop window. Again, he knew several of the other customers. One was on his way to the glover, so Daniel went with him, after a stop to ease their thirst.
Susanna needed six pairs of white gloves, some long, some short, some in between, some with buttons, some without. Corie found three pairs of the lace mitts she preferred, and one pair of gold satin to match the ball gown theyd ordered. Lady Cora decided she could use a full dozen in different colors, since she hadnt replenished her wardrobe since putting off her black gloves. The girls also needed leather riding gloves, in case some gentleman asked them to ride in the park.
Daniel let a pretty shopgirl trace his hands and coo over their size. Ooh, and I bet your feet are big, too.
Hed misplaced his list somewhere, so he told her to make up whatever a gent needed, and a few for getting lost.
The hatmaker was a different matter. He tried on several, decided he looked like a hackney driver or a chimney sweep, and bought one black evening top hat to carry under his arm when a chapeau was de rigueur.
The ladies visited four millinery establishments and tried on nearly every headpiece in all four shops. They bought toques and turbans and tiaras and some bonnets that matched nothing at all but looked so good they had to have them. They bought straw and satin hats, ones with wide brims, ruched brims, and coal-scuttle brims, military-style shakos and jockey caps to go with their new habits. That was a start, anyway.
Without his list, Daniel had no idea how many stockings, waistcoats, or shirts he needed from the haberdasher. So hed let his new valet select them.
Cravats? Be damned if hed waste his time feeling different lengths of linen to see which was smoothest. Let Deauville pick them, too, and if they irritated Daniels neck, then he could get rid of them and the Frenchman. Hed take a handful of spotted kerchiefs along with him, though. Red, yellow, whatever was handiest.
No, he was not going to order nightshirts. Bad enough hed be fettered during the day; he refused to be strangled in bed.
It was barely eleven. What else was he supposed to do? Daniel decided to think about his mothers instructions over a meal. He stopped into a coffee shop he knew that did up steak and kidney pie just the way he liked it. He sat with some friends who were going to engage in a fencing match, so he went along with them to Antonios.
Biggersley declared he was far the better fencer, and Daniel didnt get a single itch, so he bet on him. He won.
After a few celebratory drinks with Biggersley, a few of the chaps went over to Tattersalls to look at horses. None was up to Gideons size, so Daniel bought a pretty chestnut mare for his sister, even though he didnt think that was on his list.
I thought you said your sister had black hair and blue eyes, Clarence Haversmith said after overhearing Daniels conversation. Shed look better on a gray or a black.
The young man in his high shirt collar and wasp-waisted coat was at Tatts looking for a town hack, most likely something showy and beyond his capabilities, Daniel thought. Daniel mightnt know as much about horseflesh as Rex or Harry, but he knew a sound beast when he saw it, and the one the grooms were parading in front of the buffle-headed boy was not.
He also knew when the auctioneer was lying about the horses age, disposition, and stamina, so directed young Haversmith elsewhere.
They found a nice-looking bay that seemed a sweet goer. And a dainty black mare for Susanna. Hed keep the pretty chestnut in case Miss Abbott wanted to ride with them. That was only polite, wasnt it?
Clarence was so grateful for the advice and assistance that he invited Daniel to take the midday meal at his rooming house. His landlady was cooking a goose for Clarences birthday.
The goose was excellent, and so was the cake. And since it was the boys birthday and Lord Morgan and Jeremy Babcock were away at a bachelor house party, he invited Clarence to Astleys that evening. Clarence would meet Susanna sooner or later, anyway, Daniel reasoned, at one party or another. Better the two green-as-grass infants met now, under Daniels watchful eye. Hed make certain his sister knew Clarence for what he was, a likable lad with six sisters in Sussex, and a penchant for dairymaids. The would-be rake couldnt get up to any mischief with Susanna, not with Daniel seated between them. And if Miss Abbott changed her mind and came along, too, another gentleman would make the outing less awkward.
There, hed accomplished everything he ought. And he still had time before dinner for a trot around the park to see if any new ladybirds had taken roost. After that, he stopped in to visit Miss White at McCanns kitchens, and sample some of the cooks dishes. While he was at the club, Harrison needed help removing a drunken viscount, and Lord Chaverford needed a whist partner. Both raised a thirst, but Daniel ordered ale instead of something stronger, since hed need his wits about him to chaperone his sister and a boy who couldnt keep his trousers closed. And Miss Abbott.
Lord, the days were long when one woke up so early.
The ladies had time for a quick reviving cup of tea between milliners, for they still had to visit corsetieres, feather merchants, fan makers, and ribbon sellers. How could they forget ribbons? And the bargains at the Emporium were so excellent, they sent the carriage home to unload the days purchases so there would be room for the ladies. After a quick ride through the park, just to see what other women were wearing, they went back to the shops.
They barely had time for a much-needed rest before they had to change for dinner.
Heavens, the days were never long enough!
Chapter Ten
M
onsieur attends the circus this evening,
oui
? The new valet studied the clothing Daniel had laid out on the bed. So far the man had been quiet, carefully folding and putting away all of Daniels purchases. Daniel would have dumped them all on a chair, in their wrapped parcels, until he needed a new pair of stockings or such. Deauvilles system was definitely more efficient.
The gentlemans gentleman wasnt one of those effete man milliners or fussy sobersides. He was older than Daniel, nearly his height, but a bit heavier in weight, especially in the middle. He wore his hair long, in a queue, and had one gold tooth to replace one hed lost fleeing his homeland. He had ambitions of purchasing another gold tooth to fill a second gap, this one from a losing prizefight, which helped decide him to go into service.
Daniel thought theyd rub along well together. Then he came out of the bathing room in nothing but a towel to see the man pointing at his clothes for the evening as if they were a knot of vipers, about to strike.
Daniel looked at the offending apparel. He saw nothing wrong with his yellow Cossack trousers brought from McCanns or the brand-new yellow spotted handkerchief. They matched, didnt they?
Oui
. That is, yes, the circus.
Ah, but I thought Monsieur was escorting his sister to the circus, not performing in it as a clown.
Daniel wore the blue Bath superfine coat and biscuit-colored pantaloons the man handed him. And a cravat. He refused the diamond stickpin, the beaver hat he was certain he never ordered, and the gloves that, again, were not what he recalled buying.
The valet straightened Daniels sleeve and stood back, nodding his approval. Now everyone will see that Mademoiselle has a gentleman to protect her.
Daniel flexed his muscles, half to see if the coat seams would split, and half to show Deauville that he did not need to dress like a coxcomb to guard his sister.
A gentleman, not a coal hauler, Deauville said.
