Gamble With Hearts (4 page)

The Marquis had not yet made an appearance by the time the ladies left but Mrs Wrexham left a polite note with Mr Cratchett, assuring him that he was welcome to call upon them and giving their direction. She was just a little sorry that she was unable to say farewell in person; but she quickly scolded herself for such foolishness, and was able to set off without betraying the smallest lack of spirits to the sharp eye of her daughter.

The remainder of their journey was quite uneventful, indeed tediously so. Both ladies were quite sick of travelling by the time the carriage drew up in
Hill Street
, for they had been, altogether, nine days upon the road. The house seemed immensely tall and imposing to Charlotte, fresh from the country, nor was she reassured when the door was opened to them by a butler of awe-inspiring dignity. They were ushered into a charmingly decorated salon and had time only to admire the exquisite taste of their hostess before she sailed into the room, her arms outstretched to welcome them.

Twenty years earlier, when the beautiful Cunningham sisters had arrived in London to take the ton by storm, there had been little to choose between them, either in looks or in spirit. Letitia, two years the elder at nineteen, was perhaps a little more dashing. Fanny had by far the sweeter nature. It was pretty generally agreed that they were the loveliest debutantes of the season by far. They were by no means heiresses, but their portions were respectable and therefore no one was the least surprised when Letitia gratified her well-wishers by becoming betrothed to the eminently suitable Lord Northwood. This gentleman, now unfortunately deceased, had doted upon his young bride and would no doubt have been happy to give her sister Fanny a home indefinitely had not she astounded the polite world by refusing the advances of a duke in order to elope with an impecunious young scholar. How or where she had met this young man was never discovered; but as they were married before her shocked relatives had discovered them, and as Mr Wrexham was of an old and unexceptionable family, she was not utterly cast off.

Intercourse between the two families had been discouraged but the sisters had kept up an affectionate, if infrequent, correspondence, and Lady Northwood had several times visited her sister while staying with the Devonshires at Chatsworth.

Both ladies were very much affected by their reunion. Mrs Wrexham shed tears as she clasped her sister to her and Lady Northwood could not be dry-eyed.

‘Dearest, dearest Fanny!’ she cried, smiling through her tears. ‘How happy this makes me! Now you must take off your bonnets and tell me all your news.’ Releasing Mrs Wrexham, she proceeded to embrace her niece affectionately and then held her at arms' length, surveying her with the eye of an expert. ‘Very well, my dear, very well indeed. You are improved out of all recognition. Such a dreadful tomboy you were when last I saw you. All arms and legs. I declare, it will be a positive pleasure to take you about for you will do me so much credit!’

Charlotte
smiled and kissed her Aunt's scented cheek. She had not seen Lady Northwood in several years and she was relieved to find that her aunt was just as kind and warm-hearted as she remembered.

Recovering from the first joy of welcome, Lady Northwood scolded herself for keeping her visitors standing in such a thoughtless way and quickly bustled them upstairs to their respective chambers. She left
Charlotte
with strict instructions to lie down upon her bed and rest, which advice
Charlotte
, who was sadly fatigued, was only too happy to follow. An abigail was waiting to attend her and she was very soon divested of her soiled travelling garments and wrapped in a pretty dressing gown. She fell asleep, marvelling at the luxury of the room and the very real comfort to be derived from a huge coal fire in the bedchamber, an extravagance unknown in her former home.

Meanwhile, Lady Northwood and Mrs Wrexham were indulging in a long and comfortable gossip. The elder lady told her sister how impressed she was with
Charlotte
and Mrs Wrexham preened herself as she drank in this praise of her beloved daughter.

‘I have seldom seen such a beautiful girl, Fanny, and I have seen the pick of the debutantes for the last twenty years. To be sure, it is unfortunate that she has no portion, but with looks like hers I cannot think that it will prove a serious drawback.’

‘I hope you are right, my love, for I tell you quite frankly, that every penny I have has gone upon Charlotte's back, and although I should never want her to marry for purely mercenary reasons, I do not know what is to become of us if we are unsuccessful.’

Lady Northwood looked a little conscious. She was a kind-hearted woman and she would have liked to offer her sister assistance. However, the jointure upon which she lived was only just adequate to her own needs and, although she lived in a charming house, she was frequently obliged to apply to her son for assistance. This, to do him justice, the present Lord Northwood never refused to give, but he was inclined to lecture his mama upon the virtues of economy. She did not feel that he would appreciate her extending an indefinite invitation to her sister and niece.

‘I cannot believe that you have anything to worry about, my dear.
Charlotte
should go off very easily,’ she assured her sister. ‘I prophesy that we will be planning the nuptials by the end of the season.’

Mrs Wrexham smiled gratefully at her sister. ‘Tell me, Letty, who is in town that I might remember? It feels so strange to be here once more. I barely recognised this street, for it is vastly changed.’

‘'Tis certainly less exclusive,’ conceded Lady Northwood. ‘Why, I am surrounded by a lot of Cits. However, we need not notice them. As for the rest, you will remember Arabella Weston? She was so pleased to hear that you were coming to me. Then there are the Seftons, the Wellesleys, of course, you know the scandal? My dear Lady Jersey had but this week returned to town—’

As Lady Northwood chatted on, recalling to her sister's mind this or that old friend, Mrs Wrexham allowed herself to be drawn into a happy daydream in which she was once more able to take her place in Society, the place she had cast away so recklessly in her youth.

She was recalled abruptly to herself when the name Ruthin suddenly cropped up in her sister's rambling discourse.

‘Such a distinguished, elegant man, my dear Fanny,’ she was saying. ‘Though he is a little old for dear
Charlotte
. However, we need not despair for he is but forty after all.’

‘I am a little acquainted with Ruthin myself,’ admitted Mrs Wrexham tentatively. ‘I do not think he would suit
Charlotte
at all!’

‘Acquainted with the Marquis! Why, how is this?’ demanded Lady Northwood, much astonished.

Mrs Wrexham briefly recounted the history of the meeting, but she seemed unwilling to discuss the matter with her sister and quickly changed the subject. She diverted her hostess by demanding to know what plans she had made to introduce
Charlotte
to the Ton. Nothing loath, Lady Northwood plunged into the details of the entertainment she had in store for them. As these included a grand ball, a rout party, several dinners and, when the weather became more clement, a picnic, Mrs Wrexham was able to relax in the knowledge that nothing was being left undone in order to introduce the lovely Miss Wrexham to the cream of London society.

The three ladies spent a quiet evening at home, an unusual event in Lady Northwood's busy life. The two elder ladies plunged into an orgy of reminiscences, while
Charlotte
passed the time in delightful daydreams in which a fabulously wealthy suitor presented himself to her in the guise of a handsome and dashing hero

Any qualms that Mrs Wrexham might have felt upon
Charlotte
's behalf were very quickly put to rest. The Ton might be blasé, but even their jaded eyes seldom met with a sight to equal Miss Wrexham in a fern-green velvet spencer trimmed with swansdown and worn with a dashing bonnet lavishly quilted and tied under one ear in a fetching bow. Lady Northwood had prophesied that Charlotte would take London by storm, and as she seldom ceased to point out, she was absolutely right. From her first appearance in the Park the very morning after their arrival, Charlotte was besieged by a score of admirers. The knocker was never still, bouquets appeared in their dozens. It soon seemed that their investment would pay off lavishly.

One of their earliest visitors was the bashful Mr Edridge accompanying a stylish lady with a well-bred sensible manner, who introduced herself as Mrs Carstairs, sister to her young escort.
Charlotte
was unaffectedly glad to see Mr Edridge again and very pleased indeed to add his companion to her circle of acquaintances. The two young women were strongly drawn to each other. Both were characterised by a certain elegance of mind as much as of person, and before long Miss Wrexham had begged that her new friend would call her Charlotte and was privileged to call her Helen in return.

‘That makes me feel very comfortable,’
Charlotte
confided. ‘I have no friends in
London
and to be called Miss Wrexham the whole time makes me feel such a stranger.’

‘I hope you will count me very much your friend,’ responded Helen with a warm smile.

‘I should be very happy.’

‘Then perhaps you would care to accompany me upon a little jaunt we are making to
Richmond
Park
tomorrow. Just my brother here, my husband and one other couple. We are to drive in two barouches and will have luncheon there. Do come.’

As Mrs Wrexham raised no objection to this unexceptionable excursion,
Charlotte
gladly assented and it was arranged that her friends would collect her at ten the following morning.

The next day was bright and clear although cold enough for
Charlotte
to be grateful for the loan of her aunt's furs. The party arrived in
Hill Street
in excellent time, being no more than half an hour late. They were prevailed upon to enter the house in order to partake of chocolate and ratafia biscuits and, in the end, left for
Richmond
only a little more than an hour and a half later than intended.

Charlotte had naturally heard much of this charming little town and was particularly delighted with the great park. Early in the year though it was, the crocus and the snowdrops had been encouraged by the unseasonable sunshine to appear and this circumstance, combined with the fine crisp weather, made the expedition an unqualified success.

Upon closer acquaintance, Helen Carstairs seemed to
Charlotte
to be the epitome of the happy young matron. She was obviously devoted to her spouse, a quiet, gentlemanly man, and looked forward to a happy event in the autumn. Miss Wrexham could not suppress a pang of envy quickly smothered. However, she did not allow her enjoyment of the day to be spoiled, and so great was this that it was not until
three o'clock
that the barouches set out for the
London
road.

It was not so many years in the past that travellers would have gone to any lengths to avoid being benighted upon this lonely stretch of road, but in modern times only the most timorous would have felt any qualms. Therefore, when upon approaching a clump of trees a group of horsemen suddenly appeared and ranged themselves across the highway, the occupants of the carriages were as much astonished as apprehensive. Unfortunately, none of the men of the party had thought it necessary to arm themselves and although their courage was unquestioned there seemed little they could do against six or seven armed ruffians.

The carriages were quickly surrounded and the occupants adjured to step down and to hand over their valuables on pain of all kinds of horrors.

It occurred to Charlotte, who was regarding one of the villains closest to her with a contemptuous eye, that he seemed to be experiencing some difficulty in suppressing his hilarity. Moreover, the horse he held so easily was a beautiful animal, highly bred and extremely expensive. Charlotte lifted her eyes from contemplation of the horse to discover that the rider was watching her, and behind his mask his eyes were dancing. No one was attending to them as she demanded quietly: ‘Who are you?’

‘A gentleman of the road, ma'am. At your service,’ he replied in a cultured voice, doffing his hat and bowing over the horse's withers with an exaggerated flourish.

‘I hope you will not be offended if I say that you do not look like a highwayman,’ returned Miss Wrexham with deceptive sweetness.

‘My dear, no one as lovely as you could possibly offend,’ he answered lightly and, bending swiftly, he planted a kiss upon her indignant mouth.

‘As I said, you do not look like a highwayman,’ said Miss Wrexham through gritted teeth. ‘You do look very like an ill-mannered demi-beau however, and you behave like an attorney's clerk on a spree!’

‘Why, you little—!’ He was interrupted, perhaps fortunately, at this point by one of his confederates, who having cantered to his side, captured his attention by the simple expedient of grabbing his coat tail.

‘I
 
say old fellow, it’s
 
no g-go. They're the wrong p-party!’