Melinda Hammond (2 page)

‘My dear, do you know that gentleman?’

‘No, Aunt. He was here yesterday, but I never saw him before that.’

Lady Fryer shook her head. ‘Well, how odd of him to acknowledge you. However, he is a very elegant gentleman, do you not think? I expect he is newly arrived from London. I wonder who the lady might be.’

‘Some rich noblewoman, I have no doubt,’ responded her niece, ‘and certainly no one we are likely to meet in our circle. Aunt.’

“Very true. Doubtless he mistook you for some slight acquaintance.’

However, there was no mistake the next day when a woman in a much-beribboned polonaise bore down upon them, followed by the same gentleman.

‘Lady Fryer!’

‘Lady Sophia, such a surprise. I made sure you were in Town until the autumn.’

‘And so we had planned, my dear,’ - the lady smoothed her hands over her gown - ‘until Abermore bethought himself of an invitation he had received to a snug little hunting party. Well, I told him, if he thought I would bury myself in the country while he was out of town he was very much mistaken! So I packed my bags and brought myself here to Bath, to stay with my sister. And who should I meet here but the Earl of Aldringham, who tells me he is quite
desperate
to make your acquaintance!’

‘He is? I mean, I am honoured, I’m sure—’ Lady Fryer’s confusion was evident.

My lord said smoothly, ‘I was acquainted with your brother, ma’am. Reginald Langham.’

‘Oh.’ Enlightenment dawned. Lady Fryer smiled and drew Melissa forward. ‘Then I must present to you his daughter, Melissa.’

Miss Langham dropped a curtsy, and raised her eyes to his face. She felt her cheeks grow hot under his scrutiny: it was as if his glance had stripped her naked.

‘You have very much the look of your father, Miss Langham.’

She forced herself not to look away.

‘Have I? I do not know. I saw very little of him, you see, since he was so much in Town, gambling away his fortune.’

She heard Lady Fryer gasp at her bold reply. The earl merely smiled, but there was now a spark of interest in his blue eyes.

‘You disapprove of the sport, Miss Langham?’

Her lip curled. ‘There is no sport in losing everything at the turn of a card. That is mere chance.’

‘Oh, fie, Miss Langham!’ Lady Sophia tapped her arm playfully with her fan. ‘I understand there is great skill in such games.’

‘And the opportunity to make or lose a fortune,’ remarked Melissa.

‘True,’ drawled the earl, ‘but I can assure you that in all matters of play your father was scrupulous. A most honourable man. He was the model for those of us who followed him.’

Melissa silently inclined her head.

‘Do - do you stay long in Bath, my lord?’ Lady Fryer enquired hastily, hoping the earl would not take offence at her niece’s cold manner.

 ‘A few weeks, ma’am. I am staying with my grandmother, the Duchess of Steepledean.’

‘The
dowager
duchess?’ Lady Fryer liked to display her knowledge of society. ‘I am not acquainted with her Grace . . . .’

‘She has a house in Queen Square, but her health is not good, and she rarely goes abroad, except here to the Pump Room some mornings to take the waters.’

‘Ah, yes. I believe I saw you escorting her here the other day.’ Lady Fryer smiled up at him. ‘It must be a comfort to her Grace to have you stay.’

Melissa noted the mischievous gleam in the earl’s eyes as he inclined his head, and wondered if the Dowager Duchess of Steepledean was indeed so pleased to see her grandson.

Melissa’s suspicions were very close to the truth. The dowager duchess had greeted the earl’s arrival with a sharp demand to know why he had come to Bath.

‘To see you, ma’am, of course.’

‘Fiddlesticks!’ she retorted. ‘You’re either in debt or in a scrape.’

The earl laughed. ‘How you malign me, ma’am. My affairs are in very good order, all of them - both business and those of the heart! No, I am on my way to Russetts. I have business there that needs my attention, and I thought to call in and see how you go on.’

‘Mighty good of you, Jason, when I don’t hear from you from one year’s end to the next.’

‘Unkind, madam. You know I make it my business to visit you whenever I am in the county, and at other times that mealy-mouthed companion of yours keeps me informed of your progress.’

‘If you mean Cynthia Hopwood, I’d have you show a little more respect for her! She may be hen-witted but she has a good heart, and she serves me with a great deal of patience.’

‘And gets paid handsomely for her trouble.’

The duchess’s frail hand gestured him to be silent. ‘Money will not buy affection, Jason, and Cynthia is truly fond of me.
That
is a gift beyond price. Nevertheless, it will be a relief to have someone else to take me to the Pump Room for a while, someone who does
not
agree with every word I utter!’

‘You may depend on that, ma’am!’ he smiled at her.

‘But a word of warning, Jason. You will keep out of trouble while you are in Bath. This is my home now, and I will not be made uncomfortable by your ability to create a scandal. And it is no use showing me that pained expression, for you know very well you can never be in any place for longer than a day without setting up a flirtation or a quarrel!’

‘You seem singularly well informed of my actions, considering you never leave Bath.’

‘Just as Cynthia sends her reports to you, there are correspondents amongst your staff who keep me abreast of your latest misdeeds.’

The earl frowned. ‘I keep no disloyal servants.’

‘Don’t be a fool, Jason. My informants are amongst your most loyal retainers. They have the family’s best interests at heart, even if you do not!’

‘What a poor opinion you have of me, your Grace. But you have my word that I will be a model of propriety during my visit here.’

‘Ha! Impossible, sir. I’d wager it won’t take long for someone to rouse that cursed temper of yours. It comes from your mother’s side, of course, that Italian blood. I should never have given permission for your father to marry her, but there you are, blood will out, and he had his deserts when she ran off with a foreigner!’

The earl’s face was a stony mask.

‘Since I was a child at the time, ma’am, I remember nothing of this.’

‘But don’t tell me it didn’t touch you, Jason, with your father enacting a Cheltenham tragedy for years after. I’ve often wondered if it wasn’t your mother’s flight that gave you your dislike for women.’

The earl looked startled. ‘My dear madam, I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of disliking the fairer sex!’

‘Oh you flirt with them, take them to your bed and flaunt your
affaires
quite openly before the world, but you have never
cared
for any woman, have you, Jason? Has there ever been one that you would wish to have as a lifelong companion?’

‘If you mean is there any woman I would like to marry, your Grace, then no. No doubt I shall have to become leg-shackled at some stage soon …’

The duchess stretched out her claw-like fingers over his hand. ‘Then make sure you love her, Jason!’

He smiled. ‘Your Grace, I have promised to avoid a scandal while I am in Bath. Let that suffice for now.’

* * * *

 ‘To think that your father was friends with such a nobleman! Aldringham!’

Walking in Sydney Gardens later that day, Lady Fryer was still exclaiming over their new acquaintance.

‘One of the oldest families in England, and one of the richest, if Sophia Abermore is to be believed. Well, he must have thought very highly of your father to seek us out so.’

‘If he had thought that highly of my father, he should have come forward when Papa died.’

‘Oh Melissa you are so suspicious of the world. Well, I for one will be very happy to acknowledge him, but perhaps we will not mention it to your uncle, since it may all come to nothing.’

Melissa thought that would be the case, but her hopes were dashed a few days later when they next met Lord Aldringham. They were visiting the abbey, and a short spell of staring at the fan vaulting and flying buttresses was sufficient for Lady Fryer. She left her niece to study the architecture of the abbey while she took a seat in the shade of the great building and spent a pleasurable hour watching the parade of fashions across the square. When Melissa joined her aunt some time later, she found her deep in conversation with Lord Aldringham. There was no escape; Lady Fryer beckoned her forward and, as the earl turned to greet her, Melissa was reminded of a predatory bird, and had to shake off the fanciful notion that he was regarding her as his prey.

‘Miss Langham.’

‘Melissa, Lord Aldringham has offered to escort us back to Rivers Street.’

‘Oh - Aunt, I really cannot think we should inconvenience his lordship—’

‘It is no inconvenience, I assure you, Miss Langham.’

Melissa thought she detected a note of hauteur beneath his suave tone, and she gave him a long, considering look. He returned it blandly and held out his arm to her.

She shook her head. ‘My lord, you are most kind, but ‘twould be best to give your assistance to my aunt, who is wearied with waiting for me for such a long time. Besides, the path becomes very narrow in places, and I can easily step behind.’ She thought he was not quite pleased with her refusal, but since Lady Fryer was more than willing to take his arm, he acquiesced with a good grace.

When the path was wide enough for them to walk together he addressed her.

‘Tell me, Miss Langham, how do you enjoy Bath?’

‘Very much, sir. After a winter in the country it is refreshing to be able to enjoy a little society.’

‘And do you attend the assemblies?’

‘No, we—’

‘As yet we have not done so,’ Lady Fryer interrupted her. ‘However, I do think that I feel well enough now for Sir Joseph to purchase vouchers.’

‘Then I hope to secure Miss Langham’s hand for at least one dance.’

‘With so few of our acquaintances in Bath you may be certain of more than
that!”
declared Lady Fryer with disastrous frankness. Melissa felt a blush of mortification spreading over her cheeks.

‘Perhaps Miss Langham does not care for such pleasures.’

‘On the contrary, I love to dance.’ Only after she had uttered the words did Melissa realize that it would now be impossible
not
to dance with the earl. There was no mistaking the gleam of satisfaction in his cold eyes, and Melissa bit her lip hard to disguise her irritation. Well, it need only be one dance, and common sense told her that no harm could come to her in a crowded ballroom.

‘Melissa, are you ready? Oh my love, you look beautiful! I am so pleased I suggested you wear the
robe a l’anglaise.
It is ideal for such an occasion.’ Lady Fryer clapped her hands in delight as she surveyed her niece. Melissa herself would have preferred a more sober gown, but she had to agree with her aunt that the burgundy damask suited her dark colouring, while the cream quilted petticoat and cream lace at her elbows added a lighter touch to the whole. Melissa’s maid had even coaxed her dark hair to fall in shining ringlets about her shoulders. Melissa smiled at her reflection.

‘It does look quite well, does it not, Aunt?’

‘Yes, but just one little thing . . .’ She twitched the fine lace fichu away from Melissa’s shoulders, shaking her head at her niece’s cry of dismay. ‘You have a flawless skin, Melissa, and this gown shows it to advantage.’

‘But I feel so ... undressed, Aunt!’

Lady Fryer laughed, and hugged her.

‘If you had ever been to London, my dear, you would know that your attire is extremely modest. Now, if you would only let me apply a little rouge to your cheeks ...’

But Melissa was adamant that she would wear no powder, and her aunt had to content herself with clasping a single string of fine pearls around Melissa’s slender throat.

‘We will go in and say goodbye to your uncle before we leave - I want him to see how well you look tonight.’ My lady led the way to the little study, where her husband’s reaction was everything she had hoped.

‘Very handsome, both of you!’ declared Sir Joseph, smiling broadly. ‘I have half a mind to come with you tonight, just to see the beaux falling over themselves to dance with my pretty little niece!’

Melissa laughed and blushed at the same time, and begged him not to put himself out.

‘Well, I am engaged to join a little supper party later this evening, but perhaps I might just look in on my way. See how you go on. You will turn heads, this evening, Melissa, mark my words.’

This was not quite what Melissa wanted to hear, and it was in a mood of great unease that she accompanied her aunt into the large ballroom at the Assembly Rooms.

It was hot, noisy and crowded in the ballroom where the dancing had already commenced. Benches had been placed along the walls and Melissa sat with her aunt amongst the other matrons and their hopeful young charges. Melissa began to think that even dancing with the Earl of Aldringham would be preferable to being so obviously without a partner, yet when she saw his familiar figure, she found herself hoping he would not approach her. Even with his hair powdered, there could be no mistaking the tall elegant figure in the frock-coat of black velvet, with gold lace frothing at his throat and wrists. Melissa whispered to her aunt that she did not wish to dance, but her aunt did not hear her and greeted the earl with a welcoming smile. He bowed over her hand, and turned to Melissa.

‘Well, Miss Langham, you promised me this dance, I think?’

The orchestra was striking up for a courante. Melissa rose, forcing a smile to her dry lips.

‘I promised you
one
dance, my lord.’

The earl inclined his head and led her on to the dance floor. She was aware of the interested stares of the spectators, and she lifted her chin, finding she was human enough to enjoy the sensation of having a partner when so many languished on the benches.

‘You are attracting no little attention, Miss Langham,’ her partner murmured.

She chuckled. ‘They are looking to see the country nobody you have chosen to honour.’