Taffeta & Hotspur (12 page)

She put up her brow, “When I danced
with Fenmore, he did the leading, and it was most enjoyable.” With
this, she read out loud, “Ah, the Royal Exchange!”

Chapter Seven

Two days had passed since Lady
Taffeta’s excursion with Tarrant, and she had not seen or heard
from him since.

Moping about wasn’t her style, and
yet, she felt a fit of the ‘blue devils’ start to overtake her
mood. It was time to own up to what she felt, and what she felt,
she conceded, was a great deal more than infatuation.

She loved everything about him. His
great big, hulking good looks. His dark, mysteriously lit eyes she
could never quite read and kept her guessing all the time. She
loved the way he moved, like a stalking wild beast, graceful and
yet powerful. And she loved his kisses, his touching, and wanted
more.

What was she going to do? He was a
rogue and had a slew of women all vying for his affection and his
bed. He didn’t want her; not really, for he hadn’t even called in
her marker, and it didn’t appear as though he meant to do
so.

He probably thought she was nothing
more than a silly schoolgirl. Maybe her kisses had done nothing for
him? Maybe he thought she would be inadequate in bed, and on that
score, he might be right. What did she know about the art of making
love? She shook her head over the problem. Naught—except what she
and her friends had whispered about and giggled over in the dark of
night when she had been at school.

However, her aunt constantly clapped
her hands together and declared she was in heaven. Sissy told her
the rakehell Hotspur had gotten her coined the ‘incomparable’
amongst the haute ton. How absurd. But apparently Tarrant had never
before given a marriageable chit so much public attention, and had
everyone jabbering with excitement and speculation.

The last two mornings had been
overloaded with callers, and she was heartily weary of the entire
social scene. Each time Jarvis would appear, she would look
hopefully, only to find it wasn’t Hotspur…

And her dear Cathy! That was another
problem she was going to have to solve. Something awful had
happened to Cathy, for although she had tried, she could not get
her to speak about it. All she knew was it had something to do with
Bruton, and Bruton was ever lurking about making her friend
uncomfortable.

Taffeta wasn’t sure what to make of
him, but flirted with him in an effort to get to the bottom of
Cathy’s distress, hoping he might let something slip during their
conversations.

Third on her list of matters to
dissect and solve was the gentleman Lord James Fenmore. He was
besotted with Cathy, but Cathy kept him at a distance, and he had
adopted Taffy as his confident. He was forever seeking her out and
then mooning over Catherine and asking her what next he should do
to win dear Catherine’s approval.

Then, if those things weren’t enough
of a trial for any one young woman in her first London season,
there was Nigel and Seth.

Her brother Seth had come of age and
now had sole guardianship of her, and he had been playing the
superior card all morning, coming on strong, and she was heartily
sick of it.

She sighed; for she would just have to
let it all slide for the moment as her aunt had already raised a
glass of champagne—to her brother.

“’
Tis only eleven o’clock…”
Her voice, even to herself, sounded as though she was whining, and
she sighed again. She picked up a glass, rolled her eyes, and
joined in the birthday toast to her brother.

A sip later, she wrinkled her nose but
said, “Hmm, lovely…”

Seth laughed, and Nigel said, “Another
toast from me, nephew. Here’s to you, Seth. Thank Jupiter, the brat
is now yours to order about.”

“
No one can order me about.”
Taffy rounded on them. “The very idea,” she said, teasing back and
then turned to Nigel. “Look who is going all fashionable—that is an
oriental knot you have sporting your tie.

“
Well, one must keep up if
one wants to be taken seriously, and I do think our arguments in
Parliament have not been for naught,” retorted Nigel.

“
What are you talking
about?” Seth looked scornfully at him. “After you gave your speech,
they called you a radical.”

“
Yes, but then Lord Byron
got up, and his speech silenced everyone. It was quite
beautiful.”

“
Read the last paragraph,”
entreated Seth. “Where he speaks about the bill…”

“
What bill?” asked Lady
Marble, showing some interest.

“
A death penalty has been
proposed for all Luddites caught smashing frames and looms,”
explained Nigel.

“
You cannot mean it?” cried
Taffeta.

“
Indeed, a death penalty is
severe, but something must be done to stop the destruction of
property.”

“
Yes, something must be
done—pay them a decent wage so they don’t starve,” argued Taffeta
hotly.

“
Aunt Sissy, Taffy, listen
to Byron for he is so very eloquent on the subject,” he said and
then began reading: “Suppose it passed. Suppose one of these men,
as I have seen them—meager with famine, sullen with despair,
careless of life which your lordships are perhaps about to value at
something less than the price of a stocking-frame—suppose this man,
and there are a thousand such from whom you may select your
victims, is dragged into court to be tried for this new offense by
this new law. Still there are two things wanting to convict and
condemn him, and these are, in my opinion, twelve butchers for a
jury and a Jeffreys for a judge.”

Taffy clapped her hands and
pronounced, “There you are. Lord Byron is a much better man than I
was led to believe. I shall most certainly seek him out and applaud
him…”

“
No, you shall not,”
admonished her aunt. “He is not the sort of man you should be
interested in…” She added. “Nor is the Marquis of
Bruton.”

“
What had Lord Tarrant to
say about the bill?” Taffeta asked as casually as she
could.

“
He was absent,” answered
her brother.

“
You mean he did not take a
seat for such an important meeting?”

“
No, but it wasn’t going for
a vote yet, but it does look as though the Tories will have their
day, and the death penalty will pass.”

“
No … oh no…” Taffy cried.
“I can not believe Tarrant did not stand up against the
bill…”

“
What is all this interest
in the Hotspur?” asked Nigel.

She colored up. “I have no interest in
him as such, only in the fact that I have learned he carries a bit
of weight among his peers. He is not, by his own words, a
Tory…”

“
No, he is not a Tory,” Her
aunt Sissy stuck in. “But I have never known him to take an active
part in politics.”

“
Besides, I suspect he is
out of town,” said her brother.

At that point, Valiant appeared in the
open doorway and wagged his tail. She regarded him with interest as
he eyed the people he had surely grown to love and started to make
his way toward her. She knew he must have made some effort to
escape the kitchen and sniff his way to her. Apparently exhausted,
he plopped down only a few feet from the doorway.

Taffy laughed and ran to pick him up
and snuggle him, took him back with her to the sofa, and allowed
him to sleep in her lap. “Is he not beautiful, Aunt
Sissy?”

Her aunt regarded him approvingly, “I
must say for a mongrel … his black and white markings are quite
outstanding. He looks as though he might have Border Collie in him.
Yes, he is quite a nice little thing.”

Jarvis appeared and announced, “The
Marquis of Bruton.”

“
Drat!” said
Nigel.

“
Loose fish,” whispered
Seth. “Don’t like the blasted fellow.”

“
You may show him in Jarvis,
thank you,” said their aunt Sissy.

Seth looked surprised, “Didn’t think
you liked him either.”

“
Don’t … but he runs with
prince regent, and one does not wish to make enemies in that
quarter unnecessarily.”

Taffy had very definite views about
Bruton, but she wasn’t letting on just yet. She rather thought she
might need to further a friendship if she was to solve her dear
friend’s problem, so she kept her thoughts on Bruton to
herself.

At least with her, he had never
overstepped, and he had never bored her—there was that, and
probably only that, in his favor for as he walked into the room,
she once again concluded he thought too much of himself.

After placing a perfunctory kiss upon
her aunt’s hand, he bent over hers and said, “I have gone through
the agony of sitting in hell waiting for this moment.”

He brought himself up from her hand
and nodded to her brother and uncle who had no qualms displaying
their open displeasure with him. They were polite, but just
barely.

He took up the back of a Windsor chair
and pulled it near to where she sat. “May I?”

“
Of course,” she answered.
“Or did you think I meant to keep you standing? I am not so
heartless, especially to a man who has gone through hell … just for
me.” She was tickled with inner laughter.

“
Precious beauty, what I
suffered before is nothing to what I suffer now,” he answered
adroitly.

“
How so? I allowed you to
sit, my lord.” Taffy was enjoying herself immensely. She had this
man’s measure.

“
Because your beauty always
slays me, and yet I find myself coming back for more.”

“
And if I were out of
looks—pale with fatigue, of ill mood and manner—what then, my
lord?”

“
Were you sick with fever,
pale with weariness, still would I find you the most ravishing
woman in all the world.”

“
Don’t you believe the
blackguard…” said James Fenmore with an accompanying laugh, but it
was obvious to Taffy, he quite meant his words. On his arm was her
dear friend, Catherine. Jarvis had no doubt thought it unnecessary
to announce them first as they were such frequent
visitors.

Cathy’s face went white, and Taffy
realized Bruton was looking at her through his quizzing glass,
deuce take the fellow, for she was sure he meant to make her
nervous. Why?

“
Cath … James … what a
delightful surprise…” she said and got to her feet with her arms
open to receive her friend.

“
Indeed, I met Lord Fenmore
on the way here, and we walked together,” said Catherine as she
bent and kissed Taffy’s cheek and squeezed her hand. “It is a
lovely day…”

Pleasantries were exchanged and
refreshments served before Taffeta was able find a moment in a
quiet spot near the window and touch Cathy’s hand, “Dear, this
won’t do. You must tell me what the marquis has done to offset you
so.”

“
I can not speak of
it…”

“
And still you will.”
Taffeta regarded her friend intently. “Cathy … you and I have never
kept secrets from each other.”

Catherine laughed shakily, “That is
not quite correct, Taffy dear. I didn’t keep secrets from you, but
you … oh … the secrets you have kept from me.”

Taffy pulled a face at her, but they
were being called back into the conversation that had taken over
the room about the upcoming soiree for the evening. Taffy
whispered, “This is not done.”

Catherine sighed, “I know, Taffy… I
know.”

~*~

The rakehell Hotspur tried desperately
to keep Taffeta out of his thoughts, but the harder he tried, the
more she would sneak up on him and laugh, and the sound—a sound he
had grown to enjoy—made him long for her company.

He stood in the Home Office with
Sidmouth and found he actually had to concentrate on the matter at
hand.

“
Look Tarrant, if you don’t
want to get involved this time,” said the Viscount of Sidmouth,
Home Secretary, “I can release you from your
obligations.”

Tarrant stopped his pacing and rounded
on the home secretary. “Certes! I did not ride to Dover and handle
our little problem because I want out, and well you know it, so
don’t talk nonsense to me, Henry. You damn well know
better.”

Sidmouth laughed. “Calm down, lad.
Egad, but that temper of yours needs letting. All I was … well, you
seem preoccupied … especially when I mentioned the Rogues Three in
Nottingham.”

“
What I am is not
preoccupied, but at a loss to understand why the Home Office would
be interested in such a minor apparition of the Luddite
movement.”

“
Let us review the
situation,” said Sidmouth frowning.

“
Fine.” He would review and
dismiss it, for no matter what happened, no one was going to know
the identity of the Rogues Three. “But what you should be reviewing
is the fact we have a leak in the Honor Guards unit.”

“
Then our problem is
twofold. We must plug the leak, and we must stop the Rogues
Three.”

“
They have stopped their
aggression against the mill owners, and from the information I
received, have packed their bags, and left the county.” said
Tarrant.