“What about one of the others?” she went on. “Charlotte is a good manager — always in the kitchen, that one. Augusta would be too expensive, for she would not be happy without a horse and we cannot afford so much as a pony and gig, never mind a string of hunters. Maria… she is bookish, so she might—”
“For heaven’s sake, Juliet!” he burst out. “I wish you would leave off this idea of me marrying.”
“Oh.” Her lip quivered. “Then what is to become of us, brother? Are we to starve?”
“We will find a way,” he said. “I have written to Mr Thwaite, so he might yet commission me properly, even if the duke dislikes my orangery.”
“Mr Thwaite!” she said savagely. “After two years? He is sporting with us, brother. No doubt it amuses him to keep us on a string, but it is not very amusing tome.Not at all amusing. Simon… truly we must do something. If you will not marry, then we must find another way.”
Dinner was announced just then, and Simon followed the throng into the dining room. Dinner was generally the high point of the day for him, for the duke’s table was always groaning with the finest delicacies that the expensive man-cook could produce, washed down with an excellent claret.
As an additional boon, the excessive number of ladies meant that he was rarely called upon to involve himself in anything resembling conversation. One or two of the Merrington girls liked to sit beside him, but since they were perfectly capable of carrying any conversation single-handed, he had no objection. Tonight, he was relieved of even that slight disadvantage, since Lord Daniel was the focus of all their female enthusiasm, and Simon found himself seated between Godley and Pyott, and thereby not required to speak at all.
It would have been quite blissful if it were not for the fact that he was positioned opposite Sophia and her beau, and therefore was obliged to watch the courtship progressing on its inexorable way. He could not deny that they appeared very well suited, for all was ease and openness between them. Whatever they talked about, they discussed the subjects with equal interest, neither of them being overly talkative or unduly reticent. They laughed together, too, at some shared joke, and that was almost more than he could bear. He was not much of a jokesmith himself, but the facility with which Torbuck was able to make Sophia laugh burned him inside. Oh, to be witty or droll or merely to know a few amusing anecdotes with which to beguile a beautiful woman! But he had no aptitude for it, and the thought left him quite dejected.
When the ladies had withdrawn, and the remaining company had rearranged itself around the port decanter, the duke turned at once to Lord Daniel.
“Well, Torbuck, so you have an interest in one of Richard’s sisters, eh?”
“Well…”
“Excellent, excellent! I shall be glad to see them settled. Very pretty behaved girls, all of them. Which one do you have in your eye?”
Torbuck cleared his throat and adjusted his neckcloth by a minute amount. “Miss… Miss Sophia Merrington, Duke.”
“Ah! She the pretty one, eh? I cannot tell one from another — these girls all look the same to me.”
“The Miss Merringtons are all very pretty,” Godley said, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“Well, of course they are, foolish man! All the Merringtons are good looking, it runs in the family. How much will she have, Richard?”
“Two and a half thousand, sir.”
“Two and a half? What sort of paltry dowry is that for a girl who will be sister to a duke in the fullness of time?”
“The girls get an equal share of their mother’s ten thousand,” Richard said tersely, clearly uncomfortable discussing his financial affairs in company around the dinner table, and Simon could hardly blame him. The duke was outrageous, sometimes.
“Good heavens, boy, have you not put in a penny piece of your own? I cannot abide such cheeseparing ways. You can do better than that, now that you have a decent allowance. If you make it five thousand, I will put in another five, and the same for the other girls when their time comes. What do you say to that, eh?”
“No one could ever accuse your grace of cheeseparing,” Richard murmured, to a ripple of laughter. “I am not sure that I approve of you frittering away my inheritance, even on so worthy a cause.”
“Indeed it is a worthy cause,” the duke said. “I am very fond of those sisters of yours who have brought a smile back to my dear duchess’s lovely face, so I am prepared to indulge them a little, and surely by now you know that I am not going to leave you purse-pinched, boy? The Duke of Brinshire short of the readies? I hardly think so! Torbuck, how is your father going on these days. I have not seen him for an age.”
“He is well, apart from the gout,” Torbuck said.
“And your mama? And your Aunt Lavinia? My goodness, but she was a lively one, in her youth. A dreadful flirt.” He chuckled, a deep rumble in his throat. “Ah, but she was such fun. I never understood why she married Crosby — such a dry old stick. He was no fun at all, keeping her secluded in the country as he did. And what about that wild uncle of yours — Herbert or Hubert or some such. Now,hewas trouble, if I remember rightly.”
After that, there was no shifting the duke from his reminiscent mood until Froggett came in to say that the duchess wished to know if the gentlemen would be joining them soon, for the ladies were ready for their tea, and then there was a general exodus. Simon drifted through in the wake of the crowd, and was immediately scooped into a game of whist with the duke, Hammond and Godley. It was an awkward combination, for Hammond and Godley were crafty players and the duke, although less crafty, nevertheless expected to win, and Simon could not afford to lose. It did not help that he had the other table, where Sophia and Torbuck were clearly well pleased with each other, in his view the whole time, an unsettling distraction. He went to bed happy to be only a few pounds down, and made a mental note to manoeuvre himself to a more fruitful table next time.
He was in bed not long after midnight, to lie restlessly in the dark, haunted by a pretty face surrounded by brown curls, eyes alight with excitement and entrancing red lips that smiled for another man.
14: Courtship
Sophia slept surprisingly well. Her sisters had been inclined to linger in her room to discuss the interesting development, but she had chased them out and climbed into bed, expecting to lie awake for hours thinking about Lord Daniel. But the next thing she knew was the girl quietly remaking the fire the next morning.
She knew instinctively that she must wear another of her newest gowns today, and had one already laid out when Kitty arrived with her washing water, earlier than expected.
“You’re to be done first today, miss, and then Miss Souter’s to do your hair.”
