Pascale Duguay (17 page)

“What did you put in the wine, Miss Arlington?” asked Patience as Miss Arlington started to bathe Philip’s forehead with a shaking hand.

“Laudanum. But quite a lot of it, I’m afraid.” She took a deep breath before enquiring, “How much did he drink?”

“Nearly half the bottle.”

Miss Arlington blanched. “Trust him to get carried away! The man is like a bull, always rushing head first at the least provocation!” A tear ran down her cheek, and she swiped at it angrily. “I will strangle him as soon as he wakes up.”

“That may take a while. His pulse is still very weak. It might help if he were to be walked around the room.”

Julius and Charles hoisted Philip onto his feet, each securing an arm around their shoulder. The task was easier said than done, however. Philip was a big man and an uncooperative one at that. His feet dragged heavily and had a tendency to get caught in the numerous rugs spread out on the floor. After a few turns about the room, the men paused for a rest while Miss Arlington bathed Philip’s face.

“I think he is regaining a bit of colour!”

Patience came forward. “You may be right. You should resume your pacing.”

The men started forward once more. After a few more turns, Philip’s feet started to move of their own volition and his head lifted slightly off his chest. When his eyes opened Miss Arlington rushed to him, holding his face between her hands.

“Mr. Rutherford! Look at me! Can you hear me?”

Philip blinked at her. He smiled dazedly before emptying the contents of his stomach all over her white ball gown.

“You abominable creature!” cried Miss Arlington, quickly stepping backward. She turned and fled from the room.

Charles chuckled. “You need to work on your manners with the ladies, old boy! Come, let’s get you back on the bed. My arms have had quite enough.”

When Philip was settled on the bed, Patience came forward with a basin. She was just in time as Philip was violently ill again. Julius helped support him until the last of the tremors left his body. They leaned him back against the pillows while Patience cleaned his face and cooled his flushed brow.

“There, I think he will be fine now. His pulse has returned to normal and his colour is much better.”

Julius caught the hand that was resting on Philip’s brow and held it gently between his own. Patience looked up to find a strange look in Julius’ eyes, one she had never seen before and caused her heart to skip a beat.

“Thank you for all you have done for my cousin.” He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss upon her lips.

The sound of Charles clearing his throat brought them back to the present. “I do not think my presence here is necessary anymore. I think I will bring this bottle of wine with me and see that it is thrown away.”

“That is a grand idea.” Julius got off the bed to shake his friend’s hand. “I will refrain from kissing you also, but thank you for your assistance. Please have a maid come up. This room will need a bit of cleaning and airing.”

When Charles was gone, Julius turned back to Patience. “It seems a lot has been going on here tonight. Would you care to explain how all this came about?”

“I do not really know myself.”

Patience felt suddenly at a loss for words. Should she give away the fact that Miss Arlington had been in league with her father? Had she wanted her out of the way because of Julius or Philip? Patience was not so sure of that lady’s motives anymore. And how could she divulge her father’s part in all this without bringing up the dowry? Now was not the best moment to go into the whole. Patience decided on divulging only as much of the story as might satisfy Julius for now without implicating her father.

“I was told that you were waiting for me in the gazebo. As you had mentioned that you had hopes of being alone with me tonight, I thought that was where you intended to, umm, surprise me.”

“I expect you got quite a different surprise.”

“That I certainly did! Your cousin was drunk, you see, and did not know what he was about. You must not hold tonight’s work against him.”

“That does not explain why Miss Arlington put laudanum in the wine.”

“That, I believe, was meant to cool Mr. Rutherford’s ardour should he get carried away.”

A knock sounded at the door. Patience was relieved to see the maid come in. She was finding that lying to Julius was becoming increasingly difficult. How did one lie to the person one loved?

Miss Arlington also returned. She had changed out of her soiled ball gown and put on a different one, just as lovely as the first.

“I left my father in charge of the party and gave him a vague explanation for Mr. Rutherford’s condition. How is that dreadful boy doing?”

“The danger has passed,” said Patience. “He is sleeping for now. I am afraid you will be stuck with him for the night as the laudanum will take some time to wear off completely.”

“Thank you, Miss Bingham. I do not know what we would have done without your help.”

“May I remind you,” Julius said coolly, “that Miss Bingham’s assistance would not have been necessary had you not put laudanum in the wine?”

Miss Arlington shot a hard look at Julius. “I am very aware of it. You may believe that I have learned my lesson well and will not meddle in others’ affairs from now on. And,” she added more gently, “I would be grateful to you both if the truth of tonight’s work did not get out.”

“Of course,” Patience assured her.

“I believe I can speak for both Lord Wilbury and I when I say that you can rely on our discretion also. We will put it about that Mr. Rutherford suffered from a bad case of indigestion.”

“Thank you to you both.”

Patience was surprised to find herself clutched in a warm embrace by Miss Arlington. “I believe you and Lord Rutherford will deal splendidly together.”

They left Philip to Miss Arlington’s care and exited the room. As soon as the door had shut behind them, Julius grabbed Patience around the waist and pulled her to him.

“Do not think I am finished with you.” He bent his head and ran kisses along her collarbone, her neck, and all the way up to her lips, capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

“My lord!” Patience managed to say when his mouth moved from her lips to her ear. “What will people say should they happen to come into this hall?”

Julius released her earlobe to look at their surroundings. “You are perfectly right, my dear.” He led her down the hallway and choosing a door at random, opened it. He stuck his head inside, let out a grunt of satisfaction and tugged on her hand to bring her into the room. Shutting the door firmly behind them, he took Patience into his arms to resume their heated kiss.

When his mouth finally left hers, Patience slowly came back to the present, aware of her surroundings once more. She noticed her hands were still clutching his hair. He looked down at her as she attempted to comb his mussed locks with her fingers and smiled wickedly.

“I am glad you did not scream like before or we would have the whole household gaping at us right now. But I look forward to making you scream with pleasure on our wedding night.”

Aware that they must soon return to the others, he said, “I think we should go find your aunt and return you home. You have that flushed look that might make the other guests wonder what you were up to.”

“Yes, please. I have had quite enough excitement for one night!”

Julius walked over to a cheval mirror standing in a corner and did what he could to restore his hair to a semblance of propriety.

Once finished he said, “I do not think our appearance will be much wondered at as it will be known by all that we have been tending the sick.”

Lady Westbury was soon found. She had much to say on the subject of Philip’s indisposition and the rumours that had been circulating about its probable cause.

“What an adventure my darling! Everyone is saying as how you saved poor Mr. Rutherford’s life! What in the world happened to him?”

“We believe that something he ingested did not agree with him, Aunt.”

“Yes, he probably overindulged with the lobster patties,” Julius added. “He cannot seem to control himself in their presence. That is why I never serve them at my own parties.”

Patience had to stifle a laugh. If her aunt were to set this blatant lie about, hostesses would have to choose between the difficult task of either serving lobster patties or inviting Philip to their soirées.

When they reached Lady Westbury’s home, Julius escorted them inside. Before Patience could escape to her room, he steered her aside for a moment.

“I wished to tell you that I will not press you about tonight’s events. I am aware that you have not told me the whole, but I hope you know that you can trust me. Should you ever find the need to confide your troubles, I will be more than happy to act as your confidante.”

Patience felt unbidden tears rise to her eyes. His words combined with the tender look he gave her spoke volumes.

She nodded then fled up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and leaned against it. Could Julius really be feeling the same way she felt about him? Could she dare tell him the truth about the dowry now and marry him knowing that he wanted her for her sake and not only for the money she would bring him? She would not delay the matter any longer but speak to him the next time they saw each other, she vowed.

The next morning, the Earl strolled down St. James Street with Jessup a few paces back. The boy, having spotted a fancy bakery ahead, trotted to the shop window to inspect the cakes on display. By the look on the boy’s face, Julius predicted he would soon be persuaded to enter that establishment. A growing lad, he had come to learn, was nearly always on the brink of starvation, especially if sweets were concerned. When Julius caught up to him, Jessup lifted his face in expectation. However, the look was swiftly replaced by a frown when the boy seemed to spot something unpleasant behind his shoulder.

“What has gotten you off your appetite?” Julius asked.

“It’s that shifty fellow,” replied Jessup.

The answer became clearer when he turned to follow the boy’s glare. Lord Bingham was walking toward them deep in conversation with an older gentleman. The latter looked vaguely familiar somehow.

“Morning, Bingham!”

Lord Bingham stopped in mid-sentence and looked up startled. “Rutherford! Taking the air I see.”

“How do you do?” Julius nodded at both men. “Yes, it is a perfect morning for a stroll is it not?”

As Lord Bingham did not seem inclined to introduce his companion, Julius said, “I do not believe I have the honour, sir.”

Lord Bingham appeared to hesitate. “Oh, this is Sir Rupert Carlton. I suppose you two would not have met before. Carlton here almost never leaves the country.”

The name did not mean anything to him, but Julius was still convinced he had seen him before. Carlton gave a slight nod before offering a forced smile and the Earl suddenly remembered where he had seen him. It was in Ventley outside the Blue Boar just before Patience had asked him to chase after the stagecoach. The portly, grizzled man with the lecherous beady eyes had not appealed to him then and he found the feeling had not improved any since. A suspicion suddenly crossed his mind. Could this be the man Patience had been running away from? If that were the case, then he really could not find it in himself to blame her.

“And what brings you to town?” Julius enquired.

Both men looked nonplussed.

“Family matters,” managed Carlton.

“Yes, urgent ones, too!” added Bingham. “If you will excuse us, we must be on our way.”

Both men moved on, but not before Julius clearly heard Carlton utter, “So, he’s the one? Thought I saw him at — ”

“Not now, you fool!”

Julius watched them leave. If he was right and that was indeed Patience’s suitor, then what was the man doing here now? He certainly had not come to attend his wedding ceremony and wish him happy, especially since it would not take place for a fortnight still. Having witnessed Bingham’s deceitfulness firsthand, he did not trust those two at all.

A tug on his coat sleeve reminded him of Jessup’s presence.

“I don’t like that other man, even less so than Lord Bingham.”

“Do you know him?”

“No, but I still don’t like him.”

“Neither do I. I find the encounter has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Perhaps now would be a good time to visit that bakery.”

Jessup did not need further prompting. He was inside the shop before Julius had time to blink. He did not follow immediately, but watched the men’s retreating backs until they rounded a corner and disappeared out of sight. Only then did he follow Jessup into the shop.

Bingham showed Carlton into the small parlour of his lodgings. Going straight for the decanter resting on a spindly table he poured out two full measures of brandy. He handed one to his friend before promptly downing his, then refilled his glass and flopped down on one of the two couches.

“Damn that Arlington woman!” Lord Bingham suddenly burst out, unable to contain himself any longer. “Did I not warn her that my Patience had the devil of a voice? Not to worry she said, she’ll be fast asleep and won’t utter more than a gentle snore. Ha!”

Lord Carlton slammed down his glass on the armrest of his couch.

“You’re getting to be a regular jaw-me-dead! Going over that again isn’t going to make a mite of difference, as well you know. I say we just grab the chit and be done with it. Now that we have the licence, there is nothing to stop us.”

Lord Bingham sneered. “I suppose you think either of us can approach her after all this, and she will follow us willingly? Trust me, she will be on her guard and will not come within our reach if she knows we are in the vicinity. And we can forget about grabbing her off the street in front of everyone. Rutherford would be onto us before we could get to the church door. You saw how he looked at us today. He suspects we are up to something. If we make a mull of it this time, I doubt we will get another chance. No, we must do this properly.”

“What do you suggest then?”

Lord Bingham twirled the remaining liquid in his glass and stared at it in silence as he gathered his thoughts. After a moment he said, “I propose to meet with my sister and find out what outings Patience intends to attend. What we need is some kind of outdoor activity, somewhere where we can sneak her away unnoticed, preferably without Rutherford nearby.”

“Better act soon. We don’t have much time left.”

“I know that better than anyone,” snapped Lord Bingham before drowning his glass. “I will pay my sister a visit immediately. You may wait for me here. I shall be back shortly.”

Lord Bingham was fortunate enough to find his sister at home and alone. Patience, he was informed, had gone on a visit to the museum with a group of young people.

“I am glad to see she is settling so well into Society. I must say, I had not thought it would be so. With her temperament, one never quite knows what to expect.”

“I, for one, had no worry on that head,” Lady Westbury said. “She is such a charming girl. Everyone she meets takes an instant liking to her. We are positively inundated with invitations. Why, we cannot possibly attend half the functions to which we are being invited.”

“I hope,” Lord Bingham said in what he hoped to be a fatherly voice, “she is not getting worn out with all the excitement.”

“Certainly not! I would never let her become so. Although, I have never seen a girl with such a constitution. I swear she could stay out all night seven days a week and not be the worse for wear!”

“Yes, but appearances can be deceiving. You must remember that Patience is above all a country girl and as such needs plenty of fresh air. This city air cannot be good for her.”

“Oh, not to worry. There are plenty of outdoor outings planned for her entertainment. Why, just tomorrow we will be attending a luncheon picnic in Richmond Park. I believe the air is much better there.”

“Will it be a large party?”

“As to that, there will be a number of young people present.” Lady Westbury went on to enumerate a long list of names, many of which were unknown to him. But one name in particular caught his attention. Once he felt he had gathered as much information as would be useful, he made his excuses.

Lord Bingham hurried back to his lodgings. By the time he got there, he had already formulated a plan, and a brilliant one, if he dared say so himself.

Lord Bingham found Sir Rupert exactly where he had left him. The only change he could detect was in the much-depleted brandy. He did not begrudge him the fact, however. They would soon be rich enough to afford their own distillery.

“Well, how did it go?” Carlton asked as soon as his friend had crossed the threshold.

“Better than I had anticipated!”

“Stop gloating, man, and spit it out!”

“Patience is due to attend a luncheon picnic in Richmond Park tomorrow. My sister let drop that a certain young man by the name of Williams would also be attending.”

“And?”

“Williams is a foolish under-aged fellow with an oversensitive disposition. He also happens to owe me a sizeable sum of money, which he is not able to pay back at the moment. I am sure that if I were to remove the necessity of his being obliged to apply to a strict father who does not regard gambling at cards with a kind eye, he would be quite happy to assist us. The nice thing is that Patience will have no reason to suspect Williams to be in league with us.”

Lord Carlton sat up straighter. “And how is he to help us exactly?”

“His role will be to separate Patience from the group by inviting her for a stroll and bring her to our waiting carriage. All to be performed in a most discreet fashion.”

“She is bound to be missed soon enough. What is to stop Rutherford from coming after us?”

“Nothing, in fact I wish he may try!” Bingham burst out laughing at Carlton’s confused look. “You see we will endeavour to set him off in quite the wrong direction. By the time he realizes his mistake, you and Patience will be long married.”

“And much richer!”

“Quite!”

In honour of their new plan, they drank what little remained of the brandy before finalizing the outstanding details and settling on an appropriate meeting place and time for the morrow. Lord Bingham saw his friend off then sat at his desk to compose a letter. When he had completed the task, he sealed it carefully and set off once more to arrange for its delivery before going to meet with the Honourable Richard Williams followed by two much less honourable characters.

“Looks like you’ll be having a perfect day for your outing Miss. Why, there’s not a cloud in sight!” The maid pushed back the blinds to let in the morning sun.

Patience got out of bed and went to see for herself. As her bedchamber was at the back of the house, she had a nice view of the small garden below. She was glad it was not raining. She was looking forward to spending the day outdoors. Having been raised in the country, she was starting to miss large open spaces. Even though London was very exciting, and as much as she had looked forward to her first season, she now longed to go back home to Peters and his wife and even old Mrs. Gibbs. A depressing thought crossed her mind as she realized that she would not be going back. She could not picture herself living under the same roof as her father with all that had happened in the last few weeks. Of course once she was married she could always go for a visit. Not that she expected Peters and his wife to remain in her father’s country house for long once she was able to provide them with a pension. And Julius had a beautiful home in the country. Hopefully he spent part of the year there. She would have to ask him. Assuming they ever got married.

She still had to bring up the subject of the will but she was confident she would be able to do so today. She also intended to enjoy this outing fully in his company. Would he attempt to steer her to a secluded spot away from the party, she wondered?

“If you intend to be ready on time, Miss Patty, I suggest you get away from that window and start getting dressed.”

Patience gladly obeyed and was soon arrayed in a pale green dress. She hurried downstairs to the breakfast parlour and found her aunt already there.

“Good morning, dear! What a wonderful day to be having a picnic outing. We could not have asked for better weather.”

Patience agreed as she poured them each a cup of coffee.

“I hope you will not be disappointed, but I received a note from the Earl barely half an hour ago saying that he had to excuse himself from the party.”

The joy and anticipation that had filled Patience but a moment ago evaporated into thin air. “I hope he is not unwell?”

“No, nothing of the sort. He says he has received a missive from his steward and must go at once to Hawkridge Manor to attend to some urgent matter. Happily, Lady Rutherford will still accompany us. Oh, he said we might also expect a surprise!”

“Really? I wonder what he can mean,” Patience said, her mood lifting a little.

This was soon revealed when Lady Westbury’s open barouche stopped in front of the Earl’s townhouse to pick up Lady Rutherford. Upon their arrival, Lady Rutherford exited the house on the arm of a well-groomed and freshly-scrubbed Jessup.

“This is a surprise indeed!” exclaimed Patience. “How come you to accompany us? I thought you would have gone with Lord Rutherford to visit your family.”

“The Earl said he would not take me back until he was sure I could refrain from getting into mischief. He also said I am to make sure you have everything you need.”