‘A perfume is a very difficult thing,’ remarked Lady Damerham, ‘for it seems to change according to the wearer. I have always used lavender water, but Mary turns her nose up at it as fit only for keeping moths at bay, and dabs attar of roses upon her person.’
Sir Rowland, very wickedly, thought he would love to dab anything at all ‘upon her person’, but wisely said nothing. He knew she had smelt nice whenever he had been close enough to be aware of it. It was not often that he found Lady Damerham’s utterances of use, but he gave her silent thanks for revealing her daughter’s preference.
‘And Mama has a fondness for sugared almonds, Sir Rowland.’ Miss Lound did not know quite why she felt a blush rising, but she did.295
‘Sugared almonds. I will make a note and go to Gunter’s in Berkeley Square.’
‘Now even I have heard of Gunter’s, famed for its ices.’
‘But if I brought ices back, Miss Lound, you would not be at all pleased with a gelatinous pool.’ He smiled at her.
‘Indeed no. And I cannot think that travelling in a post-chaise with it would be very pleasant either. Confine yourself, dear sir, should you wish to purchase a gift, to something that will not melt.’ There was laughter in her voice, but what he caught was that she had called him ‘dear sir’, not simply ‘sir’. He wondered if she had even noticed.
‘Observe me obedient to your commands, Miss Lound,’ he said, with a flourish, and bowed over her hand, which gave him the chance to give the very faintest squeeze to it.
‘Well,’ declared Lady Damerham, when he had gone, ‘just to think of it, sweetmeats from Gunter’s. How our neighbours will be envious.’
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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Harry Penwood, knowing both Mary and of Sir Rowland’s intent, watched his oldest friend with a mixture of delight, amazement and a twinge of jealousy, for his own ‘matters of the heart’ could not be said to be progressing as well. Madeleine Banham always received him with a smile and soft words, but she was a girl whose smile came unbidden, and for whom soft words were normal. Had Lord Cradley not been ‘hovering’ in the vicinity, he might have thought himself in with a chance, but the man was, and whether intentionally or not, Miss Banham would frequently preface statements with ‘Lord Cradley thinks’, or ‘Lord Cradley says’, which was enough to get a fellow in the mood to throttle said peer on sight. Harry had done as Mary had advised, shown himself interested in more than Miss Banham’s looks,297and genuinely admiring of her other, less visible, charms. He had ridden in to Cheltenham and purchased a piece of music she mentioned hearing sung at a music evening she had attended in the town, and a new sable watercolour brush when she had been so foolish as to leave it on a chair, and her papa had sat upon it and snapped it in two. He was attentive without being toadying, and in fact, she was both flattered and charmed by his devotion.
The problem was that Lord Cradley had a certain something about him, vaguely dangerous, yet never going beyond that which a young and innocent lady might find pleasing. He sometimes praised and adored, and at others seemed vaguely uninterested, which was frustrating and intriguing at the same time. He came to Hazelwood often but ostensibly to see Lord Roxton, and he fell short of ‘haunting the place’, whatever Sir Harry Penwood felt. Had anyone asked Madeleine Banham if she was falling in love with Lord Cradley she would have said, quite definitely, no, but … It was the ‘but’ which kept her from considering that her youthful heart could happily reside with Harry Penwood.
Lady Roxton had some very private, and none too gentle, words with her spouse, suggesting that he drop Lord Cradley hints that he was knocking at their door too often, and that Madeleine was too young to entertain serious thoughts of marriage.
‘But, my love, is that not just what we are doing in the spring, launching her into Society to see her comfortably established? It is but a few months hence and, to be frank,298warning the fellow off now would look peculiar. Besides, you have not said I should warn young Penwood off, and he is about the place more than as a casual friend.’
‘That is a matter entirely different. There is something about Milor’ Cradley that I distrust. You must trust me upon this,absolument.’
‘Of course I trust you, my dear, but that does not mean I can tell the man to keep away.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because … oh, you do not understand.’
‘No, it is you who do not understand. Me, I understand very well that to let a wolf into one’s field is bad for the lambs.’
‘What? Ah, no, you cannot say he is a wolf.’
‘I’ave just done so.’ Lady Roxton could sometimes retreat very neatly behind taking the English language literally, and it was always the point at which her husband gave up trying to persuade her of anything. Despite this, he did not actually go as far as suggesting to Lord Cradley that he need not call as often.
Mary was resolute that she would not cross off the days of Sir Rowland’s absence, nor would she mope about the house and show her mama the depth of her regard for the owner of Tapley End. If her mama was still not quite sure if Sir Rowland would offer for her hand, there was also still just a shadow of doubt in her own mind, a shadow cast only by her feeling so certain that he would, yet distrusting that certainty. What did she299know of men that meant she could feel this sure that he loved her? Could she not be deceiving herself because he had touched a heart that had effectively lain dormant? When she was with him there was no doubt, could be no doubt, but when alone … She did not think he was less than genuine, only that she was misreading matters. Sometimes she told herself it was just that she dreaded being disappointed, for the dream was so wonderful. When he entered the room, it made her heart race; when he smiled at her, it took her breath; when they touched, however briefly, she tingled. Tantalising her was the thought that her life could be spent with him, a life in the only home that she had ever known, since the dower house felt like some hiring, and yet it would be a new life, more exciting and vibrant than the one she had known there in the past.
So she set about practical tasks, preparing for Christmastide, since this year, out of mourning, they would entertain a little, and also making preparations for bad weather. She watched the skies as avidly as Old Matthew, fearing that snow would come early and keep Sir Rowland Kempsey from returning as he had planned. After the gales came rain, but it was so cold that often there was sleet within it. Harry Penwood rode over to see them and arrived with a coat that steamed in the warmth of the hall, and a face that told before he spoke a word that all was not well.
‘What has happened, Harry?’ Mary frowned in concern.300
‘Madeleine Banham. All I did was warn her, as any decent man would and … she told me it was none of my concern.’ He looked both angry and dejected at the same time. ‘What can I do?’
‘You can explain just what happened, Harry, but first come and sit and get warm, and I will have coffee brought. Mama is in the small parlour and will be delighted to see you, as always.’
Once he had done as she suggested, and been persuaded into a chair by the fire, Mary asked him to start at the beginning.
‘I went over to Hazelwood yesterday afternoon. Cradley was there, as so often, and the moment I was engaged in conversation with Lady Roxton he was trying to whisper things in her ear, since her mama was distracted. Calculating, that was what it was. Madeleine did not say anything, but she blushed and smiled. She has no experience of a man of his sort, how could she, and no defences. I do not blame her, of course I do not, but …’
‘It would be a lot easier,’ declared Lady Damerham, ‘if a man’s character were clear from his looks. Thus, all libertines and seducers would be repellent of form, and unsuccessful.’
