Read An Honest Deception Online

Authors: Alicia Quigley

Tags: #Nov. Rom

An Honest Deception (23 page)

Chapter 40

Two hours later
Letitia, Isobel, and the Marquess of Eynsford re-entered Letitia’s rooms, where
they found Bainstall, the bishop, and Lord Exencour still closeted in the
sitting room. The baron had a look of extreme annoyance on his face, the bishop
had the appearance of a man greatly alarmed, and Lord Exencour sat casually on
the sofa, one arm extended across the back, his quizzing glass raised to survey
his wife and friends.

They presented an
interesting sight. Isobel was flushed, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. Phillip
looked as happy as any gentleman could as he held in his hand one of Lady
Morgan’s. Letitia, in turn, was the picture of a delighted lady, her eyes
bright, her lips parted in a charming smile, while a frivolous, clearly new,
chip bonnet trimmed with lavender ribbons and lace peeking out from under its
brim covered her hair.

“Letitia!” said
Bainstall reprovingly. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Only fancy,”
responded Isobel. “We encountered Lord Eynsford in the town; I vow I was never
more surprised in my life. We had a delightful stroll about the shops and he
helped us to choose this bonnet for Letitia. Is it not all the crack?”

The bishop turned
stricken eyes on the bonnet, but Lord Exencour surveyed it intently through his
glass.

“Quite delightful,
for the work of a provincial milliner,” he pronounced. “You shall, of course,
find much better in London.”

“No doubt,” said
Isobel merrily. “But I thought it had a certain charm which could not be
denied. When we get to London, Letty, we shall visit my milliner. You will be
out of mourning soon and will need to shop for your trousseau!”

Dr. Wolfe made a
strangled noise. Bainstall, made of sterner stuff, stepped forward.

“What are you doing
with the Marquess of Eynsford, Letitia?” he demanded. “Your behavior is vastly
improper.”

“What harm can
there be in his bearing us company?” asked Isobel.

“He is holding her
hand,” observed Bainstall in outraged accents. “May I ask what is going on?”

Letitia dropped
Eynsford’s hand and blushed, but then stepped bravely forward. “I am very
sorry, Dr. Wolfe,” she said firmly, “but I am afraid we shall not suit.”

The bishop raised
his head, a gleam of hope in his eyes, but Bainstall did not allow him the
opportunity to speak.

“Nonsense! You
shall marry Dr. Wolfe as you promised.”

“I regret any pain
my actions may cause Dr. Wolfe, but I cannot marry him,” said Letitia. “It
would not be honest to do so when my heart is engaged by another.”

“I presume you mean
Eynsford,” said the baron with a snort. “A pretty marriage you shall have! This
gentleman has already played fast and loose with your affections and now you
mean to give him the opportunity to do so again?”

Lord Exencour
looked at Bainstall with a raised eyebrow and turned to the marquess.

“That sounded
uncommonly like an insult, Phillip,” he said plaintively.

“To be sure, it
did,” agreed Lord Eynsford. “And yet I would be loath to find myself asking a
man to name his seconds who is so soon to be my relation. Perhaps you
overstated your case due to your concern for your cousin, Bainstall?”

“I am naturally
concerned for Letitia's welfare,” said the baron. “And she has given her word
to my very good friend, Dr. Wolfe. I think it is very wrong of her to terminate
the engagement.”

Lord Exencour
smiled sweetly. “We have not yet heard from Dr. Wolfe, however. Perhaps the
bishop would like to give his opinion on the matter, as he is most closely
concerned.”

The whole party
turned to gaze at the bishop, who sat on the couch gaping at them.

“Dr. Wolfe?”
persisted Lord Exencour. “What say you to this matter?”

The bishop stood
and adjusted his coat. “If Lady Morgan feels she will be happier with another,”
he said, “I must of course release her from her promise to me.”

“Poppycock!” said
Bainstall. “The match between Letitia and Eynsford is totally inappropriate.”

“That is not my
business to say,” said the Bishop, his frame swelling with the nobility of his
sacrifice. “But I must allow Lady Morgan to choose as she will. I will say,
however, that for some little time I have had my doubts as to the compatibility
of our temperaments, and now I see my fears were justified.”

“Doubts?” said
Letitia, rather offended. “You have never voiced any doubts. You proposed to me
almost as soon as we met.”

“I was led astray
by your cousin’s assurances of your accommodating disposition,” replied Dr.
Wolfe. “I see now that he did not read your temperament accurately. I consider
myself to be well out of this affair.”

An angry look came
over Letitia’s face and she seemed about to protest, when the marquess, with an
amused look at his betrothed, stepped in.

“I appreciate your
generosity, Dr. Wolfe,” he said. “I hope if we meet again it will be on
friendly terms.”

The bishop bobbed
up and down in a pleased manner. “I would be delighted to have cordial
relations with the Masham family. I wish you the very best, sir.” He bowed to Letitia
and Isobel and hurried out of the room. Lord Exencour looked after him with an
amused expression.

“And so the bishop
exits,” he observed. “I’m sure he hopes that between us, we see that he is
advanced in the church in due course. Bainstall, will you stay to celebrate
Lady Morgan’s engagement to Lord Eynsford?”

“I should say not,”
snapped the baron. “Letitia, I must tell you that I am excessively disappointed
in you. I have shown you much kindness and you have seen fit to reject my
advice. I only hope that you will not come to grief for your hasty decision.”

“I think that we
shall be very happy,” said Lord Eynsford before Letitia could respond.

“Then I shall be
leaving as well,” said Bainstall sternly. He bowed rigidly and departed,
leaving Isobel to break into peals of laughter.

“Goodness, did you
ever see two such ridiculous people?” she asked. “Bainstall is furious, of
course, but your Bishop seemed strangely relieved, Letitia. Perhaps he was
simply trying to preserve his dignity.”

“I must say I am
absurdly angry,” said Letitia. “The man did nothing but pursue me for weeks
while I told him repeatedly we should not suit. And now he announces that he
does not feel we are compatible!”

“I shall be quite
jealous, my dear, if you continue to speak so,” said Phillip. “My betrothed
should not be thinking of any man but me.”

“How vain you are,”
said Letitia, but she turned to him with a smiling countenance and he took her
in his arms.

“I believe I might
be able to shed some light on Dr. Wolfe's behavior,” offered Lord Exencour
apologetically. “While my wife and Lady Morgan were absent I fear I may have
let slip some of Lady Morgan’s...er, eccentricities.”

“My eccentricities?”
asked Letitia.

“Yes. I think I may
have mentioned your fondness for champagne and your use of laudanum to
sleep...oh, and your great extravagance when it came to matters of dress. I
regret that I let my tongue run away so; I can only excuse myself by pleading
my immense boredom.”

“So that is why he
looked so frightened when we entered the room,” said Letitia. “I must say,
Exencour, that although I might in the ordinary way object to your
misrepresentation of my character, on this occasion I can only express my
gratitude.”

“I am delighted to
have been of service,” murmured Lord Exencour. “I fancy that I was quite
inspired. My tales terrified even myself. I do not blame Dr. Wolfe for wishing
to be rid of such an irresponsible woman. But now I must congratulate you,
Phillip. You will be a very happy man, I believe.”

Lord Eynsford gazed
fondly at his intended. “I do not think I can wait until Letitia is out of
mourning. If she agrees, we can go abroad and be married without comment. When
we return next spring as the Marquess and Marchioness of Eynsford society will
long since have forgotten our scandalous behavior.”

“A very good
notion,” said Isobel. “I see no reason why you two should be separated any
longer. I quite congratulate myself on my perspicacity. Did I not tell you,
Letitia, that Lord Eynsford would make a good match for you? And now, do you
have anything about with which we might toast your union?”

“Some champagne,
perhaps?” asked Lord Exencour with a smile.

“Of course I do
not,” said Letitia. “I am but a poor widow, with no money for such
extravagances.”

“Then I must take
us all to the George, where we can celebrate in style,” said Phillip. “And
never again, my dear, will you say you have no money for extravagances.”

They prepared to
depart in a babble of talk and merriment, but in the door Letitia suddenly
stopped abruptly.

“Oh, Isobel,” she
said. “Now I shall never be a fatal widow and wear a red silk dress with an
invisible petticoat!”

Eynsford stopped as
well, and stared rather avidly at Letitia, somewhat resembling a pointer that
had flushed a grouse. “You may have as many red silk dresses and invisible
petticoats as you please,” he said to her. “As long as you wear them only for
me.”

Epilogue

A few weeks later,
a chaise rolled through the sunny Tuscan countryside, the hills dotted with
olive groves and serried rows of tall cypress trees standing sentry. Although
its shining black lacquer and the crest painted on the door were somewhat
obscured by road dust, it was clearly an elegant equipage, so it was
unsurprising when the coachman slowed and stopped before a set of elaborately wrought
gates and opened them wide. As he turned the coach into a long drive lined with
trees, Phillip glanced up.

“We must have
reached the Villa Pirani at last,” he said. “How much I am looking forward to a
week alone with you, my dear wife.”

Letitia Masham, the
newlywed Marchioness of Eynsford gave him a promise-laden smile, and then
peered out the window.

“How beautiful it
is,” she exclaimed as she gazed at the grape vines, heavy with ripe fruit, that
spread across the fields and looked down towards the valley, where a large
villa occupied abundant gardens. She turned back to Phillip, and impulsively
kissed him.

“I own that I miss
my children dreadfully, but it is delightful to think that we can be alone
together for a time.”

“James and Emily
will arrive with Boothby and Violet soon enough,” Phillip murmured, taking
advantage of the kiss to pull her closer to him. “This is our first chance to
do exactly as we please. Just enjoy it.”

They were
approaching the house, and Letty eagerly looked out the window once again.

“The villa is
perfectly delightful,” she said.

There was no
arguing with this; the limestone of the Palladian facade glowed in the
afternoon sun, a fountain played before the front door, and to one side a
loggia created a shady place to sit, overlooking a little ornamental pool. The
scent of rosemary and bay trees drifted on the breeze as the carriage pulled
up.

The front door
opened, and a manservant, followed by several additional servants emerged. While
the others waited to greet them, the footman let down the steps and opened the
door of the carriage. Phillip emerged and handed Letty out, and the newlyweds
followed the
majordomo
into the villa, where Letitia was immediately
enthralled by the glorious frescoes decorating the entry.

She received a
jumbled impression of ornate salons, luxurious furnishings and magnificent
works of art as the
majordomo
led them through the house, and then they
mounted a sinuous curved marble stair case with ornately wrought metal
balusters supporting a gleaming mahogany banister. At the top, the
majordomo
flung open the doors to a suite of rooms and bowed them in.

Letty gasped as she
entered, for the elaborate frescoes and moldings that ornamented the walls and
ceilings were remarkable for their beauty, detail, and color. A maid curtseyed
to her, and led her to a bedroom off the main salon, with a spacious dressing
room attached.

Anxious to be rid
of the dusty garments she had travelled in, Letty allowed the maid to undress
her, and hand her a dressing gown. Warm water was waiting for her in a basin
and she washed carefully before searching for the valise full of clothing
suited to the warmer temperatures of Italy that Isobel had pressed on her
before their departure from England.

Letty found it in
the dressing room and, tired of the gowns she had brought for their travels,
opened it for the first time, looking for something light and simple to wear in
the garden behind the sunny villa. She reached into the bag and her fingers
encountered the sumptuous texture of silk. Surprised, she pulled a daring red
dress that was utterly unfamiliar to her from the bag. A slow smile broke
across her face, and she held it up against herself, admiring the simple lines
and elegant construction of the garment in the dressing room mirror. She laid
it aside on the bed, and reached into the valise once again. The second garment
she found was also a red silk dress, cut even more daringly than the first. She
giggled a bit, and when she pulled out a third red silk dress, she put her hand
to her mouth, before bursting into gales of laughter.

Holding one of the
gowns in her hand, she opened the door of her dressing room, to see Phillip
lying on her bed, arms behind his head. Letty walked over to the bed, and
looked down at him severely, attempting to hold a stern expression, but she
could not stifle her laughter for long.

“You wretch!” she
exclaimed. “Did you know that Isobel put absolutely nothing inside my valise
except red silk dresses? Oh, and of course, the ‘invisible petticoats,’ which
in this case are invisible due to their absence!”

Eynsford smirked at
her. “She explained to me your great wish to wear red silk dresses and
invisible petticoats, so I very thoughtfully asked her to oblige you. I had
several cases of champagne brought with us from France as well,” he added
helpfully.

“Am I to go about
the villa dressed in nearly nothing for an entire week?” Letty inquired.

Eynsford reached up
and took her hand. “Well, I expect to spend a great deal it in this bed with
you wearing nothing at all, but I see no reason why red silk won’t do for the
rest of the time,” he replied. And he pulled her down onto the bed with him,
and kissed her deeply, which seemed to banish all concerns about her wardrobe
from Letitia’s mind.

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