Chapter Fourteen
Robert insisted onwriting the letters. One was sent to Bath with a footman and another delivered to Lord and Lady Charlesworth at their London address to alert them to Merry’s whereabouts.
As Merry had brought few clothes with her, Kate attempted to find her something suitable until her trunk arrived, which Robert requested in his letter.
Merry immediately pounced on a gold brocade with a plunging neckline. She held it up in the mirror. “I might wear this.”
“When you are a young matron, I shall give it to you,” Kate said. “But for now, your gowns must be modest as befitting your age.”
Merry fingered a skirt of bright coral silk damask, with a heavy sigh. “If you’re sure.”
“My dear,” Kate said, feeling every minute of her twenty-one years, “I hope you will put your trust in me.”
Merry rushed over to throw her arms around Kate. “Of course, I will. I believe you to be very, very wise.”
“Perhaps a little wiser than at your age,” Kate said with a rueful smile. She tidied her hair after the fierce onslaught. “We go to a supper party tonight at Lord Gloucester’s home in Richmond.” She held up a gown of India muslin with a modest neckline. “It’s as well that we are of a similar size. This will be perfect. You can wear my pearls.”
Merry looked doubtful. She turned it and gave a crow of delight at the fetching black bow which perched above the derriere.
“Just the right touch of sophistication,” Kate said with a smile.
*
Robert scanned theletter from his stepfather. The scratchy writing looked like a bird had stalked across the page, and perhaps reflected the awkward position Lord Charlesworth found himself in, forced to converse with Robert again. The note was brief and to the point. He would expect Merry to be closely chaperoned while in London, and if Robert did not feel up to the task, she was to be sent to Portman Square to stay with her cousins. Lady Charlesworth was more than keen to have her.
That this might be the best course of action had occurred to Robert. But he still smarted at Kate’s treacherous visit to his mother behind his back which no doubt delighted Lord Charlesworth and made him even more self-righteous. His dictatorial prose angered Robert, and he decided against such an action. He set pen to paper and replied in equally frigid tones that Lady St. Malin was also more than keen to keep Merry. She had great plans for her. It appeared to be true. Kate and Merry were fast becoming bosom-bows.
It became Kate to have company, she was looking well these days, he noticed, as she departed for the final sitting for the portrait. He glanced up at the one of him hanging on the wall of the library. He looked remarkably boyish and rather miserable. He didn’t much like it. He would commission another when he reached forty. By then, age would have written some interesting lines on his face, especially the way in which his life was heading.
The door opened and Merry peeked in.
Robert put down his whiskey glass. “Come in, Merry.”
Merry wandered the book shelves while curling a lock of her hair around her finger. Tired of waiting for her to offer a reason for being there, Robert continued with his correspondence. The clunk of the grandfather clock and the scratch of his pen broke the silence.
She came to stand in front of him, hands clasped together.
“Robert?”
“Mm?”
“Have you heard from Father?”
He grinned at her. “A letter has arrived with your trunk. He’s agreed to your stay with us.” A note had returned with his footman. Merry’s father appeared to be of a more conciliatory nature than his brother, Lord Charlesworth. He expressed the opinion that his contrary daughter could only gain a level of maturity from a short stay in London. He had heard much that was good from his sister-in-law about Lady St. Malin and looked forward to meeting her at a later date. He hoped Merry would not cause them too much concern. But please do not believe everything she tells you, he warned. It was not that Merry deliberately told falsehoods, but rather that she was of a fanciful nature.
Robert was slightly unnerved that Merry’s father sounded relieved to be free of her for a time. He was glad that Kate seemed to cope so well. Women understood one another in a way most men couldn’t fathom. He frowned as the thought occurred to him that having Merry here removed some of the strained silences between him and Kate and lightened the atmosphere. He rather enjoyed watching the two women laughing with their heads together.
Robert was suddenly aware that Merry had spoken. “Sorry, Merry. What did you say?”
“Would it be all right if I walked in the park? I’ll take a servant with me.”
He looked up from the piles of papers on his desk and was struck by the heavy weight of responsibility. He rubbed his jaw. “Can’t you wait for Kate to return?”
Merry pouted. “She won’t be back for hours and I’m rather confined.”
He moved a pile of papers aside and prepared to rise. “I’ll accompany you.”
“Oh no. Please don’t. I’ll feel guilty taking you away from your correspondence.”
