The Second Lady Southvale (5 page)

‘You seem very sure.’

‘I can’t see that there’s any alternative. America is determined to protect her freedom and right to trade as she chooses, which includes trading with France, but Britain is fighting for her very life against Bonaparte, and thus cannot possibly stand by and allow that French trade to continue. Don’t misunderstand me, for I’m not attempting to sanctify the British. I know we’re at fault, we treat the high seas as if we own them, we stop your shipping, impress your seamen, blockade your shores, and generally behave as if you’re still our colony. But you’re
not
still our colony, you’re an independent nation now, and the last thing you’re going to do is bow to arrogant British demands. The last thing Britain is going to do is let you get on with it at present, and so, yes, I fear war is inevitable, with the only
benefactor
being Bonaparte, who must be hugging himself with joy at the way things are going.

She lowered her eyes. ‘War will separate us, Philip.’

‘Rosalind, I told John that my intentions toward you were honorable, that they couldn’t be more honorable, and that’s exactly what they are. I want you to be my wife, to become the second Lady Southvale, and to come back to England with me.’

She stared at him. ‘Your wife?’ she whispered.

‘Do you imagine I could be satisfied with anything less? I love you, Rosalind, and have done so from the very first moment I saw you. Events have moved so swiftly that I can scarce believe they’ve happened, but of one thing there can be no doubt at all. You mean everything to me, and I can’t
envisage
returning to England without you.’ He drew her fingertips to his lips again. ‘I know I’m asking a great deal of you, not only to marry me so quickly, but also to leave your home and come halfway across the world, but I still ask you. Will you be my wife?’

‘Philip….’

‘Marry me, Rosalind,’ he pressed softly.

His voice caressed her, and caution slipped away into the
warm air. She smiled. ‘Yes, Philip, I’ll marry you.’

It was another warm, humid evening two days later when Mr Carberry reluctantly prepared to receive Philip in the library at the mansion. From the window he could see the rose garden, where Rosalind and her mother waited anxiously in the summerhouse for the outcome of what was bound to be a
difficult
meeting.

Mr Carberry sighed, for his wife was resigned to the match, having perceived the way things were going from the moment Rosalind had declared that nothing less than a love match would do. John wasn’t in favor of Philip de Grey as a
brother-in-law
, he’d made that clear enough, and his reason was the same as his worried father’s: Philip’s recent and well-known grief over his first wife was just that, too recent and
well-known
. It would be far, far better if things could be postponed, so that the first Lady Southvale had indeed ceased to matter, and that was how Mr Carberry intended to conduct the
interview
.

He waited by the window, gazing across the marsh toward Washington. He’d be civil enough, but if he had his way, Philip de Grey would depart after agreeing to indefinitely postpone any thought of a formal betrothal, and certainly any thought of an early wedding. He sighed heavily, for Rosalind had always been a dutiful daughter, but the advent of this damned Englishman had changed all that. For the first time she’d made
it plain that for Philip de Grey, she was prepared to defy her father.

Steps approached the library door, and Mr Carberry turned, automatically straightening his cravat and charcoal-and-
white-striped
coat.

Philip was announced, and came in, bowing respectfully. Mr Carberry’s critical glance raked him from head to toe, taking in the stylish fawn coat, brown brocade waistcoat, cream breeches, and frilled shirt. The fellow knew a thing or two about
sartorial
matters, that was for sure, and had the sort of looks that attracted the female sex like pins to a magnet.

A rather embarrassed silence hung for a moment, and then Philip spoke. ‘Thank you for receiving me, sir.’

‘When my daughter’s happiness is at stake, I don’t have much choice.’

‘Rosalind’s happiness is my only concern as well, sir,’ replied Philip quietly.

‘Is it? If you’ll forgive me for saying so, Lord Southvale, the speed with which you’ve moved so far can’t have given you much time to consider anything with any depth.’ Mr Carberry pressed his lips together, not wanting to allow his natural
antagonism
toward this man get the better of him. He’d promised Rosalind and her mother that he’d be courteous, and courteous was what he’d damned well be. ‘May I offer you a glass of cognac, sir?’

‘Thank you.’

The decanter clinked against the glasses, and then Mr Carberry gave one to Philip, before indicating a chair by the fireplace. ‘Please be seated, sir, for I see no reason why we should not be comfortable while we speak.’

Philip did as he was bade, and Mr Carberry sat opposite him.

‘Lord Southvale, I cannot pretend to welcome what’s happened.’

‘I didn’t expect that you would, sir.’

‘Indeed?’ Mr Carberry raised an eyebrow.

If I were in your place, sir, I’d be displeased as well. I’m hardly likely to be your notion of an ideal choice, am I?’ A faint smile touched Philip’s lips.

‘No, sir, you’re not, but if I’m completely honest, your unsuitability arises from your feelings toward your first wife, and not from anything else. Forgive me for speaking plainly upon a matter that is private to you, but you must understand my anxiety.’

‘It’s clear that John has repeated to you what he overheard at the Hardiston house.’

‘Yes.’

‘I don’t pretend I didn’t say those things, but I do deny that they are of any significance now.’

‘Because you glanced out of a window and saw my daughter drive past?’

‘Yes.’

Mr Carberry gave a slight laugh. ‘I’m sorry, Lord Southvale, but I find that very hard to believe. Perhaps it’s because I’m not of a romantic disposition.’ He swirled his cognac, sniffing the bouquet. ‘Love matches are an unknown quantity to me, sir, since my marriage was arranged before my wife and I had ever met.’

‘But you’ve nevertheless been very happy?’

Mr Carberry nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Can you envisage life without Mrs Carberry?’ Philip asked quietly.

Rosalind’s father paused. ‘No, I don’t think I can.’

‘Nor can I envisage life without Rosalind.’

Mr Carberry surveyed him for a long moment and then sipped the cognac. ‘I understand from Rosalind that there are two ladies who reside in your household, your sister and your aunt?’

‘Great-aunt. Yes, sir, my sister, Katherine, is unmarried and lives with me, and my widowed great-aunt, Lady Eleanor Laird, acts in the capacity of chaperone.’

‘I’ve no doubt that they will be as shocked by your whirlwind romance as I’ve been.’

Philip smiled a little. ‘It will startle them, yes, but they will make Rosalind very welcome.’

‘If she leaves here,’ qualified Mr Carberry.

‘Of course.’

‘What if they don’t welcome her?’

‘Then they are the ones whose position will be difficult, because Rosalind will be Lady Southvale, mistress of the house, and I will uphold her in every way. But the problem is
hypothetical
, for I know them both very well and am quite content that they will be glad about her.’

‘Glad about an American Lady Southvale when war is in the air?’

‘Mr Carberry, London society hasn’t set its face against America; indeed, I think you’ll find a little more hostility against the British here in Washington than you’ll find vice versa in London.’

Mr Carberry drew a long breath. ‘You’re probably right. We’re still a young nation, sir, and fiercely proud of our
hardwon
independence.’

‘Independence from the British yoke,’ murmured Philip dryly.

Mr Carberry smiled. ‘Precisely, sir.’

‘I don’t intend to impose my will upon Rosalind. What I propose is an alliance of the very highest order. I love her, and I want to cherish her, always.’

‘Pretty words, Lord Southvale.’

‘Truthful words, Mr Carberry.’

Rosalind’s father nodded. ‘Yes, sir, I think they probably are.’

‘I’m relieved to have convinced you of that.’

Mr Carberry rose to his feet. ‘What you haven’t convinced me, however, is that there’s any need for the haste you both seem set upon.’

‘I may be sent back to London at any moment.’

‘Yes, I know. I also know that in the new year you expect to go to St Petersburg, which means that Rosalind will be left alone in London.’

‘Hardly alone, sir, she’ll be with my sister and great-aunt. And besides, I’ll be away only for a few months.’

Mr Carberry chose his words carefully. ‘It seems to me that it would be better all around if you waited until after St Petersburg, and then came back here to marry, if you and Rosalind are still so inclined.’

Philip’s blue eyes rested closely upon him. ‘Are you
counseling
a delay because you feel it would be sensible and more becoming, or because you hope in your heart that in the
meantime
Rosalind will change her mind about me?’

Mr Carberry turned. ‘If you want the truth, I have to admit that at the outset of the interview the latter was indeed the case. I was extremely cynical about an affair of such short duration, and I didn’t want Rosalind to enter a marriage that would take her so far away from her home, family, and friends. But you’ve impressed me, Lord Southvale, and I accept that I must bow to the inevitable, or lose my daughter.’

The light of relief passed through Philip’s eyes. Permission was going to be given.

‘However,’ went on Rosalind’s father, ‘I am determined to protect her reputation, and so must insist that matters proceed from now on in a very proper way. I’m not suggesting that impropriety of any kind has already taken place,’ he added quickly, ‘it’s just that such a hasty betrothal and marriage is bound to cause talk that will tarnish Rosalind’s name.’

‘I respect your point, sir, but there is something else that has to be considered.’

‘And that is?’

‘That if we wait until after my return from St Petersburg, war will in all probability have broken out between our two
countries
, and that will mean an indefinite postponement.’

‘War may yet be diverted.’

‘I fear it won’t be, for both sides appear to be intransigent.’

Mr Carberry drew a long breath and then nodded regretfully. ‘There is a certain inevitability about it, I have to admit,’ he said quietly. ‘Very well, I concede that such a long wait is out of the question, but I’m still concerned that unwelcome comment will arise if the wedding takes place too quickly. I understand from Rosalind that you both wish the marriage to take place as quickly as possible, maybe even before July is out.’

‘Yes, because I could suddenly have to go back to London.’

‘But it’s true, is it not, that you could be here for many months yet?’

‘Whether or not there are any developments in the talks, I’ll still have to be in England again by Christmas, because I have to receive detailed instructions prior to leaving for Russia in the new year.’

‘I understand your feeling of urgency, but I’m afraid July is unacceptably soon when it’s very doubtful that you will have to leave so quickly. Politicians always have a great deal of hot air to expel before they resort to broadsides, and so I suggest a compromise.’

‘A compromise?’

‘Rosalind’s twenty-third birthday is at the end of August, and that would seem to me to be a suitable date to choose. Eight weeks or so, that’s all I ask, and at the end of it there will be a wedding that Washington will talk of with admiration for years to come. Will you agree to that?’

Philip wished he could feel as confident that the talks
wouldn’t
yield anything within the next eight weeks, but he could see that Mr Carberry had made his mind up on the matter. It was important to Rosalind that she have her parents’ blessing, although she was prepared to defy them if necessary, but was the possibility of an early return to London worth the risk of a family rift that would undoubtedly cause her unhappiness in the future? No, it wasn’t. Putting his glass down, he smiled and rose to his feet, his hand extended.

‘You have my agreement, sir,’ he said.

The handshake was warm, for both men liked and respected each other far more than either of them had expected at the commencement of the meeting.

Mr Carberry then glanced out of the window. ‘I think it’s time to tell the ladies, don’t you?’

They left the library, going quickly through the house to the terrace, but as Mr Carberry walked on down the wide stone steps and along the rose-garden path, Philip was suddenly accosted by John, who emerged from the French windows of the ballroom.

‘A word with you, Southvale.’

Philip paused, his blue eyes cool as he turned to face Rosalind’s brother. John had remained hostile ever since they’d had the confrontation in the wood, and his manner now did not suggest a change of heart.

John halted before him. ‘The cordiality between you and my father suggests that you’ve won him around.’

‘He’s given his consent, yes.’

‘Well, you haven’t won me around.’

‘I’m well aware of that,’ replied Philip levelly.

‘I don’t believe you’re over your first wife, and I know you’re going to make my sister unhappy. When that happens, I’ll tear you limb from limb, do you hear?’

‘I hear.’

‘Don’t ever forget.’ John turned on his heel, walking quickly away.

Philip watched him for a moment and then went on down the steps to the rose garden.

Mr Carberry had already reached the summerhouse and had broken the news. Rosalind was running joyfully along the path, the white satin ribbons in her hair fluttering prettily. She wore a pale-yellow lawn gown, flounced and frilled, and there were pearls at her throat. Immeasurable happiness shone in her green eyes as she flung herself into Philip’s arms. She was too
overcome 
come to speak, and he held her close, his fingers curling in the warm hair at the nape of her neck. Her body was lithe and
slender
, and he could feel her heart beating close to his. Her perfume filled his nostrils, essence of the roses after which she was called.

He buried his face against her golden hair, closing his eyes as he whispered her name.