‘She didn’t actually fall into the pond,’ argued Reverend Shackleford indignantly.
‘If she had, I suspect my sisters would be planning my come out in the wilds of Scotland,’ retorted Patience with a grimace. ‘As Percy rightly said, we wish the whole scandal quietly buried and me to disappear off to obscurity. If we do this properly, my name will be entirely forgotten within six months.’ She took a deep breath and added, ‘In actual fact, I do have someone I believe will help us.’
Recognising it would be a mistake to tell her father the truth about her unorthodox friendship with John Smith, she’d described him as the older brother of one of her village acquaintances.
‘I wasn’t aware you had any acquaintances in the village or elsewhere,’ was the Reverend’s suspicious response. Indeed, it took all of her acting skills to continue with her charade in the face of his narrow-eyed stare.
‘Oh la,’ (When the deuce had she ever used la?)she chuckled, ‘I’ve known him since I was knee high, father. Surely you know the Williams family. Their father helps at the apothecary. This, she reasoned was almost true since John’s father frequently sold his potions to the apothecary in the village.
However, there was no Williams family as Patience was well aware, but she also knew that her father would never admit to not knowing any of his parishioners.
‘Of course,’ the Reverend hmphed after a few seconds. ‘I trust you’ve never been alone with this … this … person?’ he added with a frown.
‘Of course not father,’ Patience’s indignant response was possibly done a bit too brown, but fortunately, both the Reverend and Percy were by this time getting entirely desperate since it was becoming increasingly obvious that thetea housethey were sitting in doubled up as a brothel.
‘Right then,’ the clergyman stated hastily as he suddenly spied some suspicious goings on taking place in the far corner. ‘That’s settled.’ He stood up hurriedly and began ushering his daughter towards the door whilst doing his best to shield her from the increasingly frenetic activity in the corner. Tare an’ hounds, thank the Lord they hadn’t been spotted in such an unsavoury place. If they had, the Queen’s near miss with the duckpond would have been the least of their worries. Truly, he’d have to have a word with Percy about exactly what constituted unfashionable…
Chapter Six
‘Well, I think you look beautiful, Patience,’ declared Temperance loyally as she considered her sister’s ice blue ball gown which in reality did nothing to introduce any colour to Patience’s already pale features. Fortunately, their youngest sister Prudence was not present to make any comments involving corpses or worse.
Grace bit her lip. ‘In truth, I had thought the colour would emphasise her grey eyes more,’ the Duchess sighed.
‘Mayhap some rouge?’ questioned Temperance.
‘Indeed, that would do the trick, I think,’ Grace agreed hastily, ‘but I think we must eschew the hair powder on this occasion.’
‘What, so I don’t look as if I’ve just risen from the dead?’ offered Patience drily in Prudence’s stead.
‘Don’t be silly,’ answered Grace, taking the small pot of rouge from Temperance and dotting it across Patience’s cheeks. ‘There,’ both sisters declared in unison, stepping back to admire their handywork.
Patience shook her head at their determination. Of her sisters’ affection and loyalty, she was in no doubt. But clearly either love had blinded them, or they were simply shamming it. And Patience had a suspicion it was very much the latter. Grimacing, she walked over to pick up her gloves, pulling them on none too gently. Her head ached already from the hundreds of pins holding it high on her crown, and she was certain she had more than one burn on her scalp from the heating irons the maid had used to curl it.
‘Perhaps a shawl?’ Temperance was saying as the maid opened the door. ‘I don’t need a deuced shawl,’ Patience gritted between her teeth, ‘and if we don’t leave shortly, the ball will be over.’ She stalked towards the door leaving her two sisters exchanging anxious glances behind her. ‘Nonsense,’ Grace responded, following Patience to the stairs. ‘It’s always better to be fashionably late if one wishes to be noticed.’
Patience bit back her urge to scream. ‘At the very best, I look as though I’ve seen a ghost,’ she commented waspishly, ‘and at worst, I may well be mistaken for one. Truly, I am grateful for your efforts, but I do not think my making a grand entrance is going to have quite the impact you were both hoping.’
‘I do wish Felicity was here,’ Temperance murmured anxiously as they started down the stairs.
‘She should be back on the morrow,’ responded Grace with a sigh. ‘And at this moment, I’m of the mind that mayhap we should have waited until her return before making Patience’s debut.’ Temperance bit her lip and slipped her arm through Grace’s. ‘Everything will be perfectly fine, I’m sure,’ she soothed, patting her sister’s arm.
Nicholas and Adam were waiting in the hall, both men magnificently attired in their evening wear.
‘You all look beautiful, ladies,’ commented the Earl as the butler opened the front door. Unfortunately, his compliment did not get the response he’d anticipated, merely a wan smile from Grace, a worried look from his wife and a scowl from his sister-in-law.
A few minutes later, they were climbing into the carriage and on their way to Bath’s famous Assembly Rooms. Nobody spoke, and at length, Nicholas raised his eyebrows at the strained silence permeating the carriage. ‘Has somebody died?’ he questioned.
∞∞∞
Max stared at himself in the full-length mirror while his valet Chivers fussed at some non-existent fluff on his shoulder. The Marquess’s evening attire fitted him like a glove, and his hair shone almost blue in the candlelight. Though he had no notion of it, Max’s decision to attend tonight’s ball at Bath’s Assembly Rooms would provoke a rare excitement. Indeed, the ladies attending the ball would be unable to believe their luck at actually being in the same room as theunmarriedMarquess of Guildford. The presence of such a prime catch had never happened in Bath before and would no doubt be talked about for the rest of the Season.
Max was also unaware of just how magnificent he looked. He merely grunted as Chivers continued to brush him as he would a poodle, until in final exasperation, he dismissed the valet and called the butler to request his carriage be brought round.
He’d been in two minds about attending tonight’s ball. It wasn’t as if he would be expected, and he certainly had no appetite to begin wife-hunting with his brother’s body still warm.
There was also no guarantee that Bamford would be present, especially as the bastard was undoubtedly well aware thatSepideh’srightful owner was currently lodging on his doorstep.
Since Brummell’s sly innuendos at White’s, Max had made some discreet enquiries about the Earl, and while the information he gathered was mostly rumour, the gossip did not make for pretty reading.
