Rivals of Fortune / The Impetuous Heiress (17 page)

Joanna began to feel very young and inexperienced. She had hardly realized how complicated life could be when one was forced to make one's own decisions. She could not run to her mother this time, as she had with so many other problems. Her mother would never understand. She would say that Jonathan Erland had been irresponsible, to have spoken so in his circumstances, and Joanna had the feeling that her mother disliked Sir Rollin enough to try to discourage her daughter's growing interest in him. All was left to her, and Joanna felt increasingly burdened by the situation.

It was for this reason that she stayed at home and kept to herself. Some decision seemed to be required of her. But as the days passed, none came.

The day of the Finleys' gala arrived, before Joanna had satisfactorily resolved these problems. As she prepared for the event, she frowned, both Sir Rollin and Erland would of course be present. What would she say to Erland? And what would Denby say to her? It was both exciting and daunting to wonder such things.

The party was set for eleven. They were fortunate in the weather: the clouds and rain of the last several days had departed, and the day was sunny but not too hot. When Joanna came down to the drawing room, looking brightly pretty in white muslin sprinkled with tiny yellow flowers and a straw hat, only her mother awaited her. Mrs. Rowntree smiled approvingly when she saw her daughter. “Your father has absolutely refused to attend the party, Joanna. I fear there have been too many invitations this summer. We shall have to go alone. You look lovely, dear.”

“Should we stay home?” asked Joanna doubtfully. The idea was not entirely unpleasant. If she did not see the gentlemen, she would not have to worry about what to say to them.

“Oh, no. It is a neighborhood party. And after all, there is no reason why we should not go out without your father. We shall do so continually in London next season. And Gerald is coming up from Oxford; we shall meet him there.”

They said little in the carriage on the way. Joanna was deep in thought, and her mother appeared to be enjoying the scenery, though she looked sharply at her daughter more than once. The changes Adrienne had made in the Finley estate were apparent even before they reached the house. The avenue leading up to it, which had been lined with ancient oaks, was now completely bare. Though Joanna had more than once complained about these trees, saying that their overhanging branches made the lane gloomy and dark, she was horrified. The open vista up to the house looked appallingly bleak to her. And when they had pulled up before the door and been ushered in by a haughty London butler, her feelings were even more intense. The entrance hall had been freshly painted peach, and she recognized none of the furniture. The old front parlor was gone; walls had been removed to turn it into a billiard room, and the green table looked like an alien intruder. Even the library on the other side of the hall seemed different, though Joanna could not say just how.

They were escorted through the house, and Adrienne greeted them effusively on the back terrace. Joanna let her mother answer for them both as she stared incredulously at the gardens. This formerly familiar place was utterly different now. She recognized nothing. The old arbor, so cool and secret in summer and full of hanging grapes later in the year, was gone, as were the homely beds of daisies and lavender. In their place was a rose garden, a wilderness, and near the back of the property, the famous grotto. It was all quite fashionable, but somehow Joanna could not like it.

“You are admiring the gardens, I see,” cooed Adrienne. Peter had come up to greet them, and she took his arm possessively. “It was a great work, but I admit I am prodigiously pleased. Did you see the billiard room? We hope to try it today, though my brother has already christened it, so to speak.” She tittered.

Mrs. Rowntree murmured something vaguely complimentary, and they moved off to allow another guest to be welcomed. Joanna stared about like a sleepwalker. “It certainly is changed,” said her mother. “The roses are lovely.” She sounded unconvinced.

“Changed?” exclaimed Joanna. “I should say so. It is ruined.”

“Quietly, my dear. It is natural that they should wish to refurbish the place, to make it their own.”

“I suppose so. But I do not like it.”

“Well,” responded Mrs. Rowntree good-naturedly, “I am not certain I do either, but it is hardly necessary that we do, is it? Ah, there are the Grants.”

They walked across the lawn to where Mrs. Grant and Selina stood talking to some other neighbors. Selina immediately took Joanna's arm and pulled her away. “Isn't it hideous?” she whispered. “To think we played in this garden so often. And now I declare I do not know one corner of it. And the house! The new hangings in the drawing room are ugly, and I heard Mr. Townsend say that the billiard room is nothing but pretension.”

This echoing of her own thoughts gave Joanna pause. Selina sounded very ill-natured. “I suppose they want their own things around them,” she replied.

“I cannot imagine why,” tittered Selina. “Their own things seem to be quite horrid.”

“Selina!”

“It is the truth.”

“People like different things,” offered Joanna. “Do you mean to say that you like this garden now?” Selina was outraged. “And the house?”

“No,” replied Joanna slowly.

“Well, there you are then.” Selina looked smugly pleased. She eyed the terrace and the crowd complacently. “Oh look, there is Jack Townsend. I am so glad to see him. They didn't know whether he would come today; he must be better. Let us go and say hello.”

They walked across to the group of young people around Jack and were soon immersed in the conversation. Adrienne had invited every family within ten miles, and they saw neighbors that they encountered only once or twice a year. A general effort to catch up on the news and become reacquainted occupied the group for some time.

Because of it, Joanna did not even see Jonathan Erland arrive, and she hadn't a moment to wonder where Sir Rollin might be. It had seemed a little odd that he was not there to greet them along with his sister, but now this was forgotten in the general chatter.

By noon, everyone had arrived, and soon after the hour, Adrienne stood up on the terrace and called out, “Everyone. Please listen, everyone!”

It took a moment for her to get the crowd's attention; they were enjoying their talk too much. But finally silence fell, and she spoke again.

“I have a surprise. Everyone please follow Peter and me, and you shall see it.” Adrienne took Peter's arm and walked down the terrace steps onto the lawn. The two of them started out across the grass toward the wilderness at the back of the garden.

“What can it be?” wondered Selina as the rest of them followed. But no one answered her.

The whole crowd strolled down to the copse, finding a path there which wound through it. Adrienne and Peter stayed a little ahead. “Isn't it amazing,” said Constance Williston, who had joined Joanna and Selina a moment before, “that they could make all this in so short a time? Where can they have found these trees?”

Joanna opened her mouth to agree, but at that moment they emerged from the thick growth, and instead of speaking, she merely gaped. The center of the wilderness was a clearing, planted with the smoothest grass. And in the middle stood a tiny greek temple, complete with dome and pillars, and as fresh and new as could be. Tables had been set out around it. Clearly, lunch was to be served out here. And Sir Rollin Denby stood on one of its steps, smiling sardonically at the party and looking darkly handsome.

“Oh my!” said Constance.

There were murmurs of astonishment all around. Some of the guests were surprised and impressed, and others appeared to be amused. Glimpsing her brother's face, Joanna knew that at least one was outraged.

“Here is our surprise,” called Adrienne gaily. “And now Mr. Erland must admit that even though he got in before me with his picnic, I have triumphed.”

From the other side of the group, Erland replied, “I admit myself utterly outdone.” Craning her neck a little, Joanna saw him. He was smiling good-naturedly and looked immensely amused.

Adrienne made a grandiose gesture. “Let there be music and revelry,” she cried. And to everyone's further astonishment, music began. Heads turned in concert to see a four-piece orchestra seated in the trees not far away. Adrienne laughed. “We are to be just like the Greeks,” she added. “We shall feast in the glade.”

Constance made a stifled noise, and Joanna saw Gerald frown fiercely. She caught his eye, and he came swiftly over to them. “That woman knows no more of Greece than an insect,” he hissed. “It is outrageous.”

Constance was restraining a smile. “It is,” she agreed. “But a little funny, too. Where can she have got the idea?”

Gerald looked at her. “Do you think it funny?” He frowned thoughtfully.

“Come, Joanna,” said Selina, pulling at the other girl's arm. “Let us go look at the temple.”

Joanna let herself be taken away, leaving Constance and Gerald together. She and Selina went up to the little building. It was raised three steps off the ground and oval-shaped. As Selina ran her hand along one of the pillars, Sir Rollin came down the steps. It seemed at first as if he might walk right past them, so Joanna said, “Hello.”

He turned his head, raised one eyebrow, and nodded a careless greeting. Joanna was puzzled. “You waited here?” she added inanely.

“I could not resist watching everyone's reaction to my sister's folly.”

“Folly?” echoed Joanna involuntarily. This seemed harsh.

“That is what they are called, my little innocent.” He looked around. “If you will excuse me now…”

Joanna's cheeks reddened. He seemed completely uninterested in talking with her. Had she done something to offend him? But how? She had not seen him in days.

“Look, Joanna,” called Selina, “there is a mosaic in the floor.”

With some relief, Joanna turned to examine the temple. There was indeed a mosaic, made of chips of different colored stones.

“What is it, Sir Rollin?” called Selina.

The man, who had been turning to go, came over to them with obvious impatience. “It is Daphne, being turned into a tree to escape the attentions of Apollo. My sister chose the subject.” The mockery in his voice was cutting, and it made Joanna intensely uncomfortable. She could not tell if it was directed only at his sister, or if he was mocking them as well.

“A tree?” answered Selina. “How very odd.”

“You are not a student of the classics, I see,” responded Sir Rollin.

Selina gaped at him, but before she could speak, her mother was heard calling her to be introduced to a distant neighbor. The girl hesitated, then with one uneasy look at Joanna, scurried away.

A silence fell. Adrienne Finley was guiding most of the guests around the edge of the glade, showing off her creation. The rest stood near the orchestra, chatting and commenting on the music. For the moment, Joanna and Sir Rollin were alone, partially screened from the others by the pillars of the little temple.

He moved slightly, as if to walk away, and Joanna took her courage in both hands and said, “Sir Rollin?”

“Yes?” he replied without interest, turning back to her.

“May I speak to you?”

He raised his eyebrows. “You are speaking to me.”

“Oh, what is the matter?” she blurted out. “Have I done something to offend you?”

These questions came out more loudly than she intended. Denby glanced around to see if they had been overheard, while Joanna blushed scarlet. But no one was paying them any heed. Adrienne had her audience on the far side of the space now, showing them a hidden path. And the others had moved to join her. Sir Rollin strode up the three steps and stood very close to Joanna. She gazed up at him nervously; he was surveying her much as her father did one of his abstruse scientific problems, a slight frown wrinkling his brow.

“Offended me?” he said finally. “How should you offend me, Miss Rowntree?”

“I…I don't know.”

He glanced around them again and moved a bit further into the shadow of one of the pillars, drawing Joanna with him. They stood even closer now, and Joanna felt very awkward. She gazed at his tie pin, which was only three inches from her eyes, and wondered what to do.

“Beauty never offends me,” continued the man, bending his head. She felt his breath on her cheek and trembled a little. His voice sounded odd, almost as if he were amused by something, but she could not meet his eye.

Suddenly, she felt his arm slide around her waist, and she was pulled against his chest. For a moment, she was so startled she couldn't move. Sir Rollin put a finger under her chin, raised her face to his, and kissed her expertly.

Recovering her wits, Joanna pulled away. “Sir Rollin!” She backed up a few steps. “Someone will see!”

He smiled. “Ah, you would prefer to continue when they can't perhaps?”

She stared at him, wide-eyed. Her emotions were in such tumult that she could scarcely frame a reply. Did he really mean what he had said? Was this some sort of unconventional proposal? Meeting his dancing hazel eyes, she knew that it was not. Sir Rollin was not thinking of marriage at this moment. The red in her cheeks deepened. “No, I do not,” she said.

“Turning missish all at once? What a pity. When you know you enjoyed it as much as I.”

Putting her hands to her flaming cheeks, Joanna stared at him. Her mind was chaos. But one thing stood out clearly—he was wrong. She had
not
enjoyed the kiss, not at all. And this fact was as confusing to her as any of the rest. She had thought that she wanted Sir Rollin to fall in love with her. She had excitedly imagined how it would be to be his wife. But now it appeared that she had been mistaken again. When he had held her, she had felt only worry that someone would see them, and a strong desire to escape.

She started to tell him so, but just then, Adrienne announced lunch and Selina began calling Joanna to join her group. “We must find seats together, Joanna,” she cried. “Come along.” The younger girl moved quickly to secure a table for six.

“Oh no,” murmured Joanna. She did not see how she could face the others just now.

“Courage,” said Sir Rollin, and the mockery was clear in his voice once again. “May I?” He offered his arm.

Though she didn't wish to, after a moment Joanna took it. She was too shaken to walk proudly off across the grass, as she wished with all her heart to do. And the important thing now was to get control of her emotions; there were hours to get through before she could go home.