Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London (13 page)

“A bird in the hand is always worth two in the bush.”

Linnet decided that if her mother uttered that phrase one more time, she was going to smash her head through a window. “I can’t see that it matters to you whom I marry as long as he’s a peer.”

“I’m delighted you are reconsidering a peer, Linnet. But,” she added, her voice suddenly tart, “I can’t be expected to feel delight at the reason behind it. And a peer in the family is by no means certain. It won’t take long for word of what happened to spread to London. How that information will be received by the British gentlemen here, I have no idea.”

“Which is why we are going to Lady Trubridge. If she can’t find me a husband, I don’t know who can. Her reputation for introducing American girls to British peers is well established. She’s quite successful.”

“Yes, but still . . .” Helen paused and sighed. “Going to a matchmaker? It’s all very well for the New Money girls, I suppose. But for a Knickerbocker? It seems a bit demeaning.”

“I find the practicality of a marriage broker the most agreeable aspect of the transatlantic marriage. A girl can have potential mates vetted by an unbiased third party and not allow herself to be carried away by romantic notions about British lords and living in castles. And Lady Trubridge can negotiate a marriage settlement that gives me control of the money.”

Her mother groaned. “You sound like your father. As if we’re talking of a Wall Street business deal, not a marriage.”

“Marriage has become a business deal,” she reminded her mother. “At least for me. It’s not what I wanted, but it’s what I’ve got. And though I have to marry in haste, I am doing my best to ensure I don’t repent at leisure. Lady Trubridge can help me.”

“Looking about for other candidates seems quite risky to me, but as your father and I agreed, it’s your decision.”

“Thank you.”

“Either way,” her mother went on, ignoring her daughter’s inflection of sarcasm, “I put my foot down about staying at Thomas’s while we’re in town. If you’re to be looking for a husband, the Savoy is much more suitable.”

Linnet knew her mother was right about that. Just a year old, it was already known as the hotel where the wealthy Americans stayed, and in its lavish tearoom, Yankee heiresses showed themselves to perfect advantage for the viewing pleasure of interested peers, even though it was obvious to anyone with a brain that those peers were trolling for heiresses like anglers on a stream trolled for fat trout.

To Linnet’s mind, it was all highly embarrassing, each girl like a display of goods arranged in a shop window, but she could hardly condemn the show. She herself was goods now, damaged ones at that, and she feared that even if she obtained Lady Trubridge’s help, her search for a husband would soon force her to preen before available peers in much the same way.

She felt a wave of resentment toward the men who had sent her down this path though she knew her own disregard for propriety had played a part. If she hadn’t met Frederick in the pagoda, none of this would have happened.

Frederick. Thinking of him now brought with it an odd detachment, as if she were thinking of a stranger. But then, in a sense, Frederick was a stranger. The man she thought she knew was nothing like the man she’d seen that night in the library at The Tides. The latter, she knew now, was the real Frederick.

The rapidity of his transformation from charming to malevolent had been nothing less than stunning. She’d pondered it through many a sleepless night on the voyage here and during the five days they’d been in London, and she still couldn’t quite believe she’d been so blind to his true character.

Suicide, Prescott Dewey had said, and though Linnet had been shocked and saddened by the news, she was well aware she’d had a lucky escape. And though she was prepared to acknowledge Featherstone had been the reason for that escape, she had little desire to thank him for the favor, much less marry him in Frederick’s stead.

The carriage jerked to a halt, and Linnet again glanced out the window to discover they had arrived at their destination.

Sixteen Berkeley Street was a narrow three-story residence of whitewashed brick, with black iron railings, window boxes of geraniums, and a red front door. When Linnet pressed the electric bell, they waited only a few moments before the door was opened by a very proper butler, who upon learning their names, led them up a flight of stairs and along a hallway to a pretty drawing room of pale green brocade and flowered chintz.

After announcing them, the butler stepped aside to reveal a slender, dark-haired woman in blue silk, and as she came forward to greet them, Linnet couldn’t help being surprised. Lady Trubridge did not look at all like a matchmaker, at least not the sort of matchmaker Linnet had envisioned as she’d composed her letter a few days ago asking for an appointment.

For one thing, the woman looked quite young. Not at all matronly, she had a pretty, heart-shaped face and a slim figure that made her seem more like nineteen than just under thirty.

“Mrs. Holland, Miss Holland,” she was saying, “how delightful to meet you both. And I’m sorry we didn’t have the opportunity to meet when you were in town before, but I had only recently given birth to my son, and I preferred to spend most of my time with him in the country.”

A pair of sky blue eyes glanced over her, and though Lady Trubridge’s smile remained warm and amiable, Linnet felt a hint of nervousness, perhaps because the stakes of this meeting were so high, or perhaps because of the shrewdness of that glance, but either way, Linnet knew she was being carefully assessed.

“Lady Trubridge,” she said, giving the appropriate curtsy. “Thank you for agreeing to come up from the country to meet with us. I hope my request has not caused you any inconvenience?”

“Not at all. I often jaunt up to town. Kent is only two hours by train.” She laughed. “That statement betrays my nationality, I fear. To Americans like us, a two-hour train trip is nothing, but no Englishwoman would deem it a jaunt.”

At the other woman’s laugh, Linnet’s nervousness eased somewhat. “Still, we would have come to you in Kent.”

“No, no, as I said, I often come to town, especially when my husband is away. He’s in America, as a matter of fact.” She glanced past them to the doorway. “You may go, Jervis.”

“Very good, my lady.” The butler bowed and left the drawing room, and Lady Trubridge returned her attention to her guests.

“Please, do sit down,” she said, and indicated the green settee where she’d been sitting upon their arrival. When they had taken seats there, she moved to the chintz chair opposite. “Your letter intrigued me, Miss Holland, I must say.”

To Linnet’s recollection, it had been a mere request for an appointment. “I can’t imagine what was so intriguing about it.”

“For one thing, you wrote to me yourself. A girl doesn’t often take these matters into her own hands. She usually leaves such arrangements in the hands of her mother.”

“Had it been up to me, we would be in New York, planning the wedding,” Helen said, but waved a hand at once, before Linnet could say anything. “My daughter has other ideas.”

Lady Trubridge glanced from Linnet to her mother and back again. “Do tell me how I can be of assistance to you.”

Linnet took a deep breath, steeling herself to pour out the whole sordid story. “I’m in terrible trouble, Lady Trubridge, and I believe you are the only person who can help me.”

“I see.” She paused, tilting her dark head to one side and subjecting Linnet once again to that perceptive study. When her gaze lowered and paused at her lap, Linnet realized what implication her own words had carried.

“Oh, no, not that kind of trouble,” she said at once, mortified by the idea that was clearly running through the other woman’s head. “It’s not that at all.”

“I’m relieved to hear it, my dear. That would have made everything so much more difficult.”

“It’s going to be difficult anyway,” Linnet assured her, still hotly embarrassed. “Once you know the whole story.”

“This is a situation that calls for tea, I think.” Lady Trubridge rose, walked to the bell pull against the wall, and gave it a brisk tug, then returned to her chair, and a few moments later, the butler appeared. “A full tea, Jervis,” she said. “It’s early, I know. Can Mrs. Willoughby manage it?”

“Of course, my lady. I shall bring it straightaway.”

“Thank you, Jervis.” As the butler departed, she returned her attention to her guests. “I find that in difficult situations, tea and cake can be a great comfort.”

Lady Trubridge talked of other topics, but Linnet, anxious to have things decided, was quite relieved when tea had been brought and the marchioness at last broached the subject Linnet wanted to discuss. “Now, tell me all about your trouble, and we shall put our heads together and decide what’s best.”

“There’s only one thing that can be done, Lady Trubridge. I must find a husband, and the sooner the better.”

The marchioness’s dark brows drew together in puzzlement. “From what I heard of your season here, you did not seem all that eager to marry a British peer. You had multiple offers, I understand, but you accepted none. And while that fact is another reason your recent letter intrigued me, I must understand what has changed your mind. If you are not in a family way—”

“Lady Trubridge,” Helen interrupted, “is it necessary to discuss such indelicacies? Can we not accept that my daughter has had a change of heart and leave it at that?”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” the marchioness said, and beneath the apologetic tone, there was a determination that could not be ignored. “When I take a girl on, I require all the facts of her situation. I cannot be of assistance to her otherwise.”

There was no point in prevaricating, and Linnet could not allow her mother to antagonize the other woman. “My reputation has been compromised,” she said before Helen could reply.

“And the man won’t do right by you?” Lady Trubridge seemed surprised, though Linnet couldn’t see why she should be. Surely a matchmaker must be accustomed to situations of this kind.

“He offered,” she said, “but I refuse to reward his shameful behavior with my hand in marriage.”

“I see. And you have come to me because . . . ?”

“I am now forced to marry, but time dictates a marriage of material considerations. I am hoping you can help me with that.”

“I do not assist with marriages of that sort.”

There was distaste in her tone, and Linnet felt a pang of fear that she might have come all this way for nothing. “I hope that in my case you can overcome your scruples,” she said, her voice shaking a little. “Because if you don’t find me a husband, I will have no choice but to marry your brother-in-law.”

The marchioness displayed no surprise at this news, and Linnet could only conclude his relations must be accustomed to his rakish tendencies. “Oh, my dear girl,” she said with a sigh. “What sort of imbroglio has Jack gotten you into?”

Linnet proceeded to explain. She left nothing out, and though her face was flaming when she reached the part where Featherstone and hauled her into his arms and kissed her, she was quite bolstered by the outraged, “Oh!” Lady Trubridge uttered on her behalf at that point in her narrative.

When she finished, she waited, hoping her story had altered the matchmaker’s stance on assisting with material marriages.

“This is quite shocking,” Lady Trubridge said after a moment. “I knew something serious was in the wind when I received Jack’s cable, but I had no idea it was as bad as this.”

“He cabled you?” Linnet was dismayed. “What did he say?”

“A cable allows very little detail, of course, but he said you had been compromised, it was his fault, you were coming to see me, and I shouldn’t marry you off before he explained.”

“Explained?” Linnet echoed with indignation. “What is there to explain? He did what he did for money, of course.”

Again, the marchioness frowned as if puzzled. “You think he compromised you on purpose?”

“He denied it, of course, but he also admitted he can’t support a wife unless he has a dowry, so what other explanation can there be? He doesn’t know me at all. We’d never even been introduced. I cannot believe one gaze across a ballroom floor caused a man to be so swept away that he would do such a thing.”

“He wouldn’t be the first man to be so captivated,” her mother pointed out. “Your father declared his love for me two hours after we met.”

“Mother, Lord Featherstone’s actions were not motivated by love, I assure you.”

Lady Trubridge smiled. “Those of us who know Jack are never sure what he’s going to take it into his head to do. But compromising a girl—whether for romantic feeling or money—does not sound at all like him. By your account, this Van Hausen was quite a villain. Could Jack have been motivated by chivalry?”

“He tried to justify his action that way,” Linnet said, “but he admitted chivalry wasn’t his reason for doing it.”

“But, my dear girl, what explanation did he offer you?”

“He didn’t. When I demanded to know his true motives, he said, ‘I cannot say.’ He insisted it was a matter of honor. I ask you, how can honor be the reason for ruining a woman’s reputation? The two concepts are completely contradictory.”

“I agree. And even if you were to take him at his word, I see why you refused him. No woman wants a man forced on her by circumstance. And to not even offer you an apology afterward? It’s appalling, my dear, and I shall do all I can to help you.”

At those words, Linnet was overcome by a wave of relief and gratitude. Since Featherstone was her brother-in-law, Lady Trubridge could have sided with him in this, leaving Linnet no choice but to fend for herself. “Thank you,” she choked.

“Still, your options now are limited.” Lady Trubridge’s expression was grave. “There’s no question you must marry, and I might be able to steer a few worthy gentlemen your way, but the rumors of what happened in Newport will come here. Many gentlemen will hesitate to consider you as a wife.”

“I know, which is why I have rather a different idea in mind.” Linnet swallowed hard and tried to smile. “As you know, there were several gentlemen who wished to marry me when I was here before. I refused them, for I did not want to marry a peer and live in England. But now . . .” She paused, her pride stinging at the idea of going back to men she had already refused.