Page 14 of To Catch a Husband
CHAPTER FIVE
It had been said upon the spur of the moment, a thought that had sprung out of nowhere. She had voiced it from defiance, and a desire to shock, but as she climbed the stairs Mary halted. It was not, if one were rational, a bad idea. What was it that Harry Penwood had said? She could attract a man if she wanted to, but she had not wanted to do so. He was right. There had been no deep need in her to be married, to have a house of her own to run, since she had, effectively, run Tapley End, with a father often absent and then in poor health, and a mother who was not assertive. Of course, she ought to have considered that the day would come when her brother inherited and installed his wife as châtelaine, but it had seemed far off when she was eighteen and nineteen, and thereafter she had73simply ignored the idea of matrimony. If Sir Rowland had been fifty and loose-jowled she would not have considered it now, but Sir Rowland was … She continued up the stairs to her room, thinking upon the man who really was Sir Rowland Kempsey. He had not, unlike the presumed Sir Rowland, repelled her, even if he had annoyed her by making her feel at fault.
‘I must be practical,’ she apostrophised herself. ‘He is tall. I am a little over five and a half feet and he was much taller than I am, and taller than Harry, whom nobody calls short. That is not displeasing. He has eyes that smile, which shows he has a sense of humour, but then he was laughing at me, which is not pleasing. His features are regular, and he looks to be a gentleman who takes a reasonable degree of exercise, for he is not fat. His voice is quite deep, and pleasant.’ There, that was very sensible. It did not take into account the smile on her lips when she thought of his smile, nor the slight increase in her pulse when she remembered his voice and manner, but she ignored those, very determinedly. This was a rational decision. If she was Lady Kempsey, assuming he decided to live in Tapley End, and she would take no irreversible step until that was known, she would once again have the running of her ancestral home. She would, it was true, belong to him, but if what he wanted her to do was what she wanted anyway, did that matter so much? ‘What is the point of being free to be impoverished and count every penny, when being a man’s property gives one comfort, security and dear74Tapley End? There is no point at all. Therefore, I must set about catching myself Sir Rowland Kempsey,’ she said to her image in the looking glass.
She was not entirely sure how this was to be achieved, but upon consideration thought that she ought to cultivate the company of Miss Banham, and learn from her, however galling that might be.
In pursuance of her plan, she resolved to ride over to visit Lady Roxton, upon the slightly flimsy excuse that her mama wished a note delivered to her ladyship. Lady Damerham wondered why Mary was so keen that she send an invitation for the family to come over and dine, and even more so why she wished to deliver the note in person, but accepted that her daughter liked to be outdoors upon every possible occasion, and so complied. Riding over, rather than paying a call in the carriage, enabled Mary to feel more at ease, and made it an informal call. The butler, smiling benignly upon Miss Lound, assured her that the ladies of the house were at home and showed her into the morning room, announcing her as he did so.
Lady Roxton and her daughter were not alone, for Lord Roxton rose from a chair to greet her, and another gentleman also stood. Miss Lound stared at him.
‘You!’ She forgot the polite phrases of greeting.
‘Oh, you will surely not have met.’ Lord Roxton was not quite sure what her exclamation meant. ‘Miss Lound, may I present Lord Cradley. Lord Cradley, Miss Lound.’75
Lady Roxton gave a cautious smile. Mary Lound was, she felt, ratherfarouche, so socially awkward, and certainly far too inclined to speak her mind.
Lord Cradley made an excellent bow, with a smile upon his lips. Miss Lound made the smallest curtsey that was possible and glared at him.
‘I am honoured, Miss Lound. Obviously.’ The last word was added in a drawl, and his eyes dared her to retort. With a supreme effort she resisted, though her anger was clear, which he noted with a degree of pleasure.
‘Obviously, my lord.’
‘I regret, my lord,’ Lord Cradley kept his eyes upon Miss Lound but addressed his host, ‘that I have to confess Miss Lound and I, whilst not introduced, met upon the road some days ago, when I was so very careless as to splash her with muddy water from head to toe.’ His expression was wry, and Mary seethed, for in revealing his ‘crime’ he had created an image of her in a ridiculous situation, and open to either mirth or pity, neither of which she wanted. ‘I fear she may never forgive me.’ He did not sound very fearful. In fact, he sounded rather amused. He also left her in a predicament, forcing her either to forgive him upon the spot, which she would not do, or sounding churlish if she agreed with his conjecture. Thinking quickly, she instead gave him a bright smile whilst her eyes were lit, not with mirth, but loathing, which he clearly found even more entertaining.
Madeleine, watching Lord Cradley rather than Miss Lound, found the twinkle in his eyes both a trifle wicked,76and yet charming. Mary Lound would have told her the charm was that of a snake. His voice had a purr to it more than a drawl, a purr that was quite captivating. He was very clearly a man of the world, a little dangerous, perhaps the sort of man her mama would truly warn her against, but there was a frisson to the danger of him, and he was so very smart and fashionable.
‘Such reprehensible behaviour, my lord, should certainly be atoned for,’ she murmured, her eyes not quite meeting his.
‘I did attempt to do so, Miss Banham, I assure you. I offered to take her up in my curricle and drive her home.’ He sounded very reasonable.
‘But having nearly ended up in the ditch once, my lord, I would have been foolish in the extreme to have risked it a second time.’ This time Miss Lound’s smile was broader, and her voice, if not as honeyed as Miss Banham’s, was low and calm. She looked him full in the face.
‘You doubt my driving ability, Miss Lound?’ His eyes narrowed for a moment. That barb had found its mark.
‘Upon what I have seen so far, sir, very definitely, but I admit that I could be in error. After all, you may have driven through that puddle through carelessness, poor handling of the ribbons, or a desire to be a little naughty.’ She sounded almost patronising, and her choice of adjective implied he had behaved like a child. That stung.
‘I think you should know, ma’am, that I am rarely77careless, accounted a very good whip, and if, though I deny it in this case, I chose to be “naughty”, I would be very naughty not just “a little”.’ The purr was silkier, and very slightly menacing. He wanted her to know that showing him disdain was unwise. She did not flinch. He decided she was either very brave or very foolish, and he was not sure which. For his own part, he was not foolish, and he knew when to withdraw. Miss Banham, who was an enchantingly pretty innocent, might well be put off if he showed too much steel, and he did not want her put off at all. He therefore looked to Lady Roxton and gave her a smile of charm and apology.
‘I think, ma’am, that my visit of courtesy is at risk of becoming very slightly less courteous. I shall withdraw, if you permit, delighted to have made your acquaintance and with an open invitation for you, and you too, my lord, to come to Brook House, though I warn you it will take another few weeks before I consider the place worthy of being visited. It has not had a woman’s touch, or indeed that of a duster, for far too long.’
He swept her a bow, and glanced also at Miss Banham as he did so, silently indicating that his obeisance was at least equally to her, shook Lord Roxton’s hand firmly, and departed, with a final flourishing bow to Miss Lound, who was standing as still as a statue.
As the door shut behind him, Miss Lound let out her breath, looked at her hostess and grimaced.
‘My apologies, ma’am. I ought to have been more78emollient, but the gentleman wished to cross swords with me, and I cannot step back from a challenge. It is one of my many faults.’
‘’E is a man who finds ’imselffort amusant.’ Lady Roxton gave a small Gallic shrug.
‘But he is very smart, Mama. I do not suppose he will find our local society entertaining.’ Madeleine Banham sighed.
‘We are not complete rustics, Miss Banham, and if he does not like honest, unassuming society, then best he returns to wherever he came from without lingering,’ said Miss Lound, trying to be positive about the locality.
Lady Roxton might deplore Miss Lound’s forthrightness, but she silently agreed with her sentiment.
‘But is it not exciting to have someone new and so fashionable in the district?’ It was clear that Miss Banham was a little overwhelmed by the gentleman.
‘Oh, for interest, perhaps yes, but I can offer you more than Lord Cradley. Sir Rowland Kempsey, and also his younger brother, have taken up residence at Tapley End, though I cannot tell for how long. Sir Rowland, from what little I could tell, looks to be a gentleman with enough “town bronze” to be guaranteed worthy of discussion.’
