“Not a whit!” said Miss Sedgewick cheerfully.
“And…you do not mind?” She couldn’t help the incredulous note that crept into her voice.
“No! It would be awkward if he did, given that I don’t love him, and, moreover, haven’t the slightest inclination to marry any man, even a conveniently rich and handsome one like Lord Orton.”
She laughed at the expression on Lucy’s face. “Ah, your loyalty does you credit. But there’s no need to look so horrified. I dolikethe man. He’s a dear friend, and I have no wish to hurt his feelings. The problem, as I’ve said before, is that he’s not very clever. Or rather, hemightbe clever, if he ever gave it a try, but life has never demanded it of him, and so he’s never taken the trouble to stop andthink.” Musingly, she tilted her head.“Unless it’s to exert his intellect over choosing the perfect coat or boots, of course, butthatis a feat of far less importance to a lady than most gentlemen presume.” With a chuckle and a brisk pat of Lucy’s knee, she added, “Forgive me prattling on. I’ve known Jack for two years, and his oddly deployed intellect has long been a source of fascination to me. But suffice to say, where Jack is concerned, hints and subtlety don’t work, and I haven’t the heart to be blunt. Never fear, however, because I believe the awkwardness will soon be cleared up.”
“H-how?”
Miss Sedgewick smiled. “Chemistry! My plan is in motion. Indeed, I can hardly call itmyplan at all. It is more…a natural law in action, to which I’m a mere observer, providing a little nudge here and there. And, I confess, it’s turning out to be far more entertaining than I could ever have imagined.”
This was all a bit abstract for Lucy, who already had plenty to digest.
Miss Sedgewick regarded her for a moment. “Do you really dislike Jack’s scheme so very much? It’s mad, of course, but it might serve very nicely. Indeed, it might be the answer to a great many of the things that currently trouble you.”
“How can you ask? I can think of nothing worse than to have to…topretend. To make a mockery of it all. And have Jack pretend that he…when in reality he… No. I’ll not do it. I cannot.”
Miss Sedgewick nodded sympathetically. “Yes. I can see the awkwardness of attempting to maintain a deception when you yourself cannot be deceived.”
Lucy gave her a startled look, but Miss Sedgewick was already in motion. She stood up, fetching a damp cloth from the washstand and passing it to Lucy to wipe her cheeks. “Come now, I can’t let you weep your heart out in bed, no matter how charmingly you do it. We have company.”
“Jack…?”
“No. Though he did arrive hot on your heels to ensure you’d arrived home safely, of which I reassured him before sending him on his way. Don’t worry, my visitor is someone far more soothing to the nerves—the last of the three callers I’ve had today. George Simmons.”
“Mr Simmons! But Caroline…I don’t feel at all fit for company. And my face…” She lifted the washcloth in a helpless gesture. “It is always so obvious when I have been crying.”
“He’ll not mind it. And having heard you fly up the stairs—and seen Jack’s face—he’ll not even be surprised.”
“Jack was upset?”
“Is upset the word? He’s certainly justsuffered an upset. If I understand things correctly, you’ve just told him no for the first time in his life. And I strongly believe it’ll do the two of you a great deal of good.”
Mr Simmons stood as the ladies entered the parlour, bowing as graciously as though they’d met on her court presentation and she wasn’t rumpled and tear stained, with slightly shaky knees.
“I feared you were ill, Miss Fanshaw, when we heard you come in just now. I pray that is not the case.”
Embarrassed, she couldn’t quite think what to say, but Miss Sedgewick replied, “As I’ve already explained to you, she’d just been for a drive with Jack, and that’s enough to make anyone feel unwell.”
Mr Simmons laughed, but it was with a faint blush that he met Lucy’s eyes with a smile. “Commiserations, Miss Fanshaw. But if you’re unwise enough to submit to it again, I can assure you that by the eighth or ninth time, you hardly fear for your life at all.”
It surprised a breath of laughter from her, and Miss Sedgewick turned to her with a conspiratorial grin as they all sat down.“You see, Lucy, you’re among friends here. We’re all of us fellow sufferers at Lord Orton’s careless hands. Mr Simmons and I have long commiserated each other on our unfortunate fondness for such a thoughtless fellow. We meet to lick our wounds, share our grievances, and give the succour to our exasperated souls which can only be found by voicing one’s complaints aloud to a sympathetic ear.”
Mr Simmons’s smile disappeared under a more violent blush. “It is…it is not really true!” Then, ruefully, “You’ll think us disloyal wretches, Miss Fanshaw.”
“No.” She found herself suddenly laughing, and how impossible that had seemed only fifteen minutes before! “No. I understand it. I think I really do.”
“Shereallydoes,” Miss Sedgewick confirmed to Mr Simmons. “And I’ve called this meeting to initiate her into our club. She has very good reason to join.” Then, to Lucy’s horror, she began to tell Mr Simmons exactly what Jack had proposed in Hyde Park.
When it was done, Mr Simmons, now redder than Lucy felt even herself to be, nevertheless turned grave eyes on her with a quiet sympathy that seemed to lay all her secrets bare. “I am very sorry.”
She stammered some reply, hardly knowing where to look.
“So you see why we must do something, George,” Miss Sedgewick said. “You know how Jack gets when he has the bit between his teeth. And he’s far too hardheaded to respond to gentle handling.”
“If only hewerea horse,” Mr Simmons mused, “but it isn’t legal to whip him, alas.”
Lucy was shocked into another laugh, and Mr Simmons met her eyes with a smile before continuing more seriously. “I can talk to him. I’ve been trying to explain for five years that he doesn’t need to protectme.”
