I have no formal wear.
But the dressing room was filled. The neatly hung coats and trousers looked the right size, too. A crisp white shirt lay over a chair. How . . . ?
Lady Cora said she feared you might not have time to, ah, pack your Town wardrobe, so she brought a few things from home, I understand.
He didnt keep anything at Stamfield Manor but an old hunting jacket. So these must have belonged to his father, whod been as large as Daniel.
His guess was confirmed when Dobbson held up a dark frock coat and a nankeen waistcoat. These are a bit dated, but theyll do until you can visit your tailor.
What did he need with a tailor when he had this many changes of suits and shirts? Now he did not have to stand for fittings or bother with choosing colors and styles. He blessed his mothers thrifty ways. And her ways of knowing that her son was like a brick when it came to fashion. Which was to say oblivious and uncaring. So long as the clothes were comfortable, Daniel would have worn a toga. His father wouldnt have, though, so he was safe to pass societys inspection.
The bootboy will do his best with your, ah, shoes while you bathe. Dobbson could not bring himself to call Daniels battered footwear boots. I have unpacked a pair of pumps for now, in hopes they will fit.
He left, but returned in a moment with a glass of wine and a cigar instead of the shoes. Maybe the old stick wasnt half as rigid as he seemed. Maybe he realized that keeping Daniel content could save his own skin.
There was a lot to be said about luxury, but Aah seemed all Daniel could manage as he lowered himself into the bath. Opulence softened a man, but it also felt damned good. He lay back in the tub for once, not cramped and hunched over. The cigar cast a soft haze over his head; the wine spread a soft glow inside his head.
Aah, he said again. This dutiful-gentleman hogwash mightnt be so bad after all. He could tolerate living like a king for a few weeks, which was all it should take to get the three of them married off. He counted Susanna, despite what hed said about her being too young. With her talk of lovers and longing, shed be better off with a ring on her finger, before she went skipping merrily down the primrose path. Besides, if she stayed unwed, theyd only have to go through this same rigmarole next year, and the one after that. He sank lower in the hot water.
No, better to get the marriage business all done in one fell swoop. Susanna was a lively little thing, with a bosom to catch any mans eye and a dowry to please the fussiest family. Shed take, and have her pick of the bachelor crop. Her intended had to be someone who would appreciate her, of course. Hed treat her like the princess she was, or else. Daniel could see to that.
His mother posed a thornier problem, not that she wasnt a rose in her own right. She needed a chap still in his prime, but not one needing heirs, or a mother for his unmannered brats. And not one who needed her fortune to pull himself out of River Tick. Daniel wasnt having any loose screw batten on his mother, or on his own income, either. He could see her as a grand London hostess, helping further a politicians career or a financiers connections. The problem was, Daniel did not know any rulers of state or industry. The earl and his countess were bound to, though. Daniel would write to his aunt and uncle in the morning.
That left Corisande Abbott. He heartily wished theyd left her home.
Well, now that she was here, she was definitely beautiful enough to turn heads. If Susanna was right, that she wanted to escape her fathers household, she had the face to do it. Daniel couldnt blame her for wanting to try, now that he thought about it. And after he had a few more sips of Uncles excellent vintage to help mellow his notions.
The girl couldnt be comfortable at home knowing her own father was ashamed of her. Daniel could well understand that feeling of being the black sheep of the family.
Nor was the squire a pleasant sort to start with, just as Susanna had reminded him. Daniel recalled him thundering up to Stamfield Manor that fateful day, demanding Lady Cora Stamfield reveal the whereabouts of his wayward daughter and her neer-do-well soldier. Daniel was home on leave, by chance, and stopped Squire Abbott from rampaging through the house to search or threatening his mother and sister. Daniel knew his mother wasnt lying when she said she didnt know the girls plans. He suspected Susanna did by her playing least in sight, but was not about to let a raging parent, one brandishing his dueling pistol and a nasty-looking knife, frighten his little sister. Instead, Daniel offered to send riders out to the nearby inns and tollbooths, to see which road the eloping pair took north, to Gretna.
Daniel couldnt refuse the distraught mans plea for help when a messenger returned with the information they needed, and a description of Snellings hired coach. Abbott cursed and ranted the entire way about his familys disgrace, the dastards future as a eunuch, his daughters deceit. Daniel developed a headache, and a bit of pity for the girl, that her father never worried about her safety, or whether shed been misled or mistreated by a hardened rake. Then he saw her in the rogues bed, and all pity disappeared.
Still, if the squire had such an uncaring nature, and a nasty temper to boot, Daniel could understand Miss Abbotts grabbing at the opportunity Lady Cora offered. Fortunately for his own two-week plan, their neighbor couldnt be so picky about her chosen escape route now. Daniel supposed he should think of the unfortunate intended as her mate, not simply a victim. He did not care, only that the man had honorable intentions, and was respectable enough to pass muster with the girls father, even if that meant snaring a title.
No, if Miss Abbott was determined to find a husband, Daniel would not stand in her way. He wasnt the one who had to lie to the gullible fool about how shed ridden astride as a youngster, or suffered a fall, to explain why her virginity was not intact. Meanwhile, the more he thought about it, and the more wine he sipped, on top of the brandy hed had earlier, the more likely it seemed the female could find a fiancé before she fell from grace again. After all, keeping to the straight and narrow was in her own best interests. The least hint of scandal would destroy any chances of making a match or staying at Royce House. The thought relieved Daniels mind. Now he didnt have to worry about the wench leading Susanna astray.
He could do it, get them engaged if not wed before the end of the month. The women were all pretty, wellborn, and well funded, so why not? Matchmaking couldnt be all that hard; the highborn biddies at Almacks did it all the time. A few introductions, a few whispers in the right ears, and hed be back in his comfortable digs before Miss White could scratch behind her ears. It might even be fun to watch chaps try to avoid the clutches of three determined women. How he and Rex would laugh at the idea, if his cousin ever came to Town. Damn, he missed his old play-mate.
Hed miss a few of the elegancies of an earls house, too, though, like the warmed towels Dobbson brought, the offer to shave him. The staff at McCannswhich was three steps above the previous dive hed inhabitedwere usually efficient, but too busy. Their main occupation was serving the wealthy patrons in the dining room or the game rooms. That was where the club made its money and the servants made their gratuities. And since the manager was a foster brother of Harrys, Daniel was living there free. He couldnt complain or make demands.
Shall I tie your neckcloth for you, sir?
Damn. He couldnt wait to get out of here. Three yards of starched white linen at his throat? Three females at an earls dinner table? Three kinds of misery.
He shoved the offending article away. I dont wear the nuisances. Ill just tie my kerchief around my neck again.
Kerchief? That spotted item? I mistook it for a nose wipe and sent it to the poorhouse with the rest of your clothes.
My Cossack trousers? My favorite jacket?
Daniel had no choice but to act like a sniveling schoolboy or let Dobbson wrap and tuck and pull and brush until the butler deemed him ready. The man actually cracked a smile. Ah, now, thats more like it.
Now he looked more like his father, off to join his fathers women. Damn.
When he reached the drawing room, he saw that the women had changed their ensembles, also. Susanna was bursting out of a pink gown this time, but Miss Abbott had a bit of gauze stuck in her bodice top. A fichu, Daniel thought they called it. The effect quite ruined the view, but he was glad to see she was taking on the role of modest young lady. That was what a gentleman wanted in a wife, not in a mistress. Her gown had none of the ruffles and ribbons Susannas sportedlud, hed find a better dressmaker for the chit if it killed himbut suited her taller, willowy figure better. Miss Abbotts gown was the color of daffodils, emphasizing the sunny streaks in her hair. Custom permitted her to wear more vivid colors than an ingenue now that she was twenty years old and nearly on the shelf in some eyes. Blind eyes, he decided.
Lady Coras blue eyes glowed at her sons new appearance, making him feel churlish about his reluctance to don proper dress. His mother was too polite to mention the transformation from vagabond to gentleman, but Susanna did not hesitate.
Now we wont be ashamed to be seen with you. When a real valet takes you in hand, you might even be as handsome as Harooph!
Lady Cora kicked her and immediately led the way to the dining room. Once there, she made sure no awkward silences occurred, speaking of the neighborhood news, the Rexford infants, and the earls health. Then she launched into her proposed schedule for the coming Seasonat least three months of itand whom she should call on first to ensure their invitations to the most important functions. The depth of her planning made the War Office strategy look like childs play.
It made the roast beef taste like rotten cabbage to Daniel.
Susanna added to his indigestion by burbling about every guidebook recommendation she wanted to see. Luckily, the circus was high on her list. They could go tomorrow evening before all the shopping was done, she urged, because no one who mattered could see her there in her village-made clothes.
Daniel agreed. But only if you keep a shawl over your shoulders. I want to enjoy the show, not worry about your catching a chill.
He was proud he remembered his table etiquette, which fork to use, not to wipe his mouth on his sleeve, to speak to the guests on either side of him. So he tried to be polite. What about you, Miss Abbott? Do you enjoy fancy horsemanship? You are welcome to come with us, of course.
When she looked up from her plate, he saw that her eyes were green. Not grass green, but more like soft moss, with gold flecks. She seemed torn. He could almost hear her mind working, reasoning that a visit to the circus meant being his guest, being in his company. She refused. Thank you, but I have letters to write. I wish to see if any of my schoolmates are in Town.
Daniels toes started itching, damn the borrowed shoes, and damn the female for fibbing. And for dismissing him so handily. He was laughed at, on occasion. Tossed out of bedrooms, frequently. But treated so disdainfully, as if he was the one whod gone beyond the line during the aborted elopement? Never.
Surely, he thought, moving the peas around on his plate, the woman couldnt hold the rescue against him. That worm Snelling would have taken her money and left her to starve at the first chance, or crawl back to her family. Daniel had done her a favor, by George. And hed taken a lot of satisfaction rearranging Snellings nose, along with her life. He thought hed heard the slug had died in the war, but Miss Abbott wasnt blaming him for that, was she? Of course Snelling mightnt have reached the front lines so quickly without Daniel dragging him to the troopships and using his influence to see him reassigned.
She ought to thank him. Instead she pointedly spoke to his mother and Susanna, but not him. He thought shed go hungry rather than ask him to pass a dish. He passed them, anyway. The woman was too thin, especially next to Susanna. No man wanted to take a sickly looking woman to wife.
Later, Lady Cora suggested an early bedtime, since they had appointments from morning until late in the afternoon. Susanna needed to rest, her mother said, so she looked her best at the circus.
For the horses? Daniel just shook his head.
Both younger ladies agreed. They were weary from all the packing and traveling and noisy inns that could not compare with Royce House for comfort.
I think Ill toddle off to McCanns, then, Daniel told them. See if any mail has arrived, that kind of thing.
But you will return? His mother was a master of turning a question into a declaration.
I thought I might stay there except when you need me. The attention is excellent here, and I havent tasted such food in ages, but my friends
I need you here, now. I simply wont feel safe in London without you nearby.
This from the woman who lived on an estate an hours drive to the nearest neighbor. Daniel almost laughed, except he could sense another losing battle.
There is too much crime in the city, Lady Cora went on, too many robberies. Why, we could be murdered in our sleep.
And Daniel is going to rescue us? Susanna giggled. Only if he wakes up. You know what a sound sleeper he is, Mother. And he snores. That is why you put him down that guest corridor. But do not fret. Dobbson sleeps with a blunderbuss, he told me. And Corie and I can keep fireplace pokers next to our beds.
