Chastity’s hand went to the silky fuzz where so recently there had been lustrous curls.
“Oh, Chastity,” said Verity, rising to come to her. “I’m sorry for mentioning it. And it will grow, dearest.”
“It’s already growing,” said Chastity, “but I can’t forget how it
felt when Father shaved it off. And the things he said…” She shuddered,
then shook off the memories. “But see. Father’s done me a favor. I look
ridiculous as a woman, but I make a fine boy and no one suspects. Who
would think a woman would cut her hair this short?”
“Father will come around—”
“No,” said Chastity sharply. “Don’t mention his name. He’s as good as cast me off, and I have renounced him.”
Verity sighed. “I’m sure he meant it for the best.”
“I’m not. I’m sure he wanted his own way, as always.”
“But he is our father, dearest…”
“Then why haven’t you rushed into his loving arms?”
Verity picked up a pair of stockings and rolled them.
“I confess, I cannot feel as I should toward him after the way he treated you.”
Chastity hugged her, knowing how hard this unfilial behavior was for
conventional Verity. It had taken a great deal for her own trust in the
mighty Earl of Walgrave to be destroyed. “You are doing the right
thing. Believe me, Father is not infallible, nor is he the
Incorruptible he is called.”
Verity surprised her. “I fear you may be right. I have been thinking
about what you said yesterday. My marriage to Sir William does make
little sense, and when matched with Father’s attempt to marry you to
Henry, the absurdity is made clear. Do you think perhaps he is becoming
feeble-witted with age?”
Chastity cracked a laugh.“‘Struth, I do not! Father is as shrewd as
ever, and doubtless had his reasons—as always, linked to his thirst for
power. You know how obsessed he’s been since Prince Frederick died ten
years back.”
She smiled grimly at the thought. The Earl of Walgrave had been of
an age with Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his close friend. He had
pinned all his ambitions to him, just waiting for the old king to die
and Frederick to assume the throne. However, Frederick had
inconsiderately died before his father, leaving his young son the heir.
That young son, now King George III, was firmly under the influence of
his mother, the Princess Augusta, and the handsome Scot, Lord Bute.
The Earl of Walgrave was out of power.
“Poor Father,” said Chastity with spurious sympathy. “He really should have paid more attention to Augusta, shouldn’t he?”
“Instead of making her his enemy by taking so much of her husband’s time. But then, Father has always tended to discount women.”
Chastity frowned over the matter. “With all his plans in the dust, I
suppose it is not strange that Father has become… extreme in his
manner. But that doesn’t explain an alliance with the Vernhams. I
suppose Sir William must have had influence to barter.”
Verity tucked the stockings into the box. “With whom? Influence with
Augusta would not help. Her enmity runs too deep, and she is sincerely
attached to Bute.”
Chastity raised her brows and grinned. “Some would say immorally attached.”
“Chastity!”
“Don’t you think so? You’re alone in the fashionable world, then.
And Bute is a fine figure of a man, even if he does have the spirit and
brains of a rabbit.”
Verity fought a betraying giggle and lost. “Really, Chastity. But I
have to confess that Father’s outrage that such a man is adviser to the
king is understandable. Bute could be disastrous for the country and
yet seems to have the young king and his mother in his control.”
“Which situation Father would do anything to shatter…”
“But Chastity, how could Sir William or Henry possibly help him with that?”
“Not likely, is it?” said Chastity. “I did once hear Father say he
was looking for evidence that Bute had Jacobite sympathies, that he had
supported Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. It is said a great many people
flirted with the Jacobites when it looked as if they might succeed in
returning the Stuarts to the throne.”
Verity curled her lip. “And then became staunch Hanoverian
supporters when the rising collapsed. I detest such self-serving
hypocrisy.”
“Wasn’t Sir William one of the Special Investigators set to ferreting out those hidden English Jacobites?”
“Yes,” said Verity with a shudder. “He used to tell gloating stories
which made me pity even those wretches. He positively enjoyed wielding
power and terrorizing people, and I suspect he made a pretty penny from
turning an occasional blind eye. He certainly rose from a petty squire
to a rich local lion at about that time.”
“Loathsome man,” said Chastity, her mind on other matters. “Perhaps
that’s it! Perhaps he had evidence against Bute, and Father used us as
bribes to obtain it. Bute is a Scot, after all.”
Verity stopped her work to consider it, then shook her head.
“Really, Chas, I doubt it. Bute is rather stupid, but very loyal. He is
a Scot, but not all Scots are Jacobites, no matter what people say.”
Chastity sighed. “I fear you may be right.” She passed Verity a pile
of nappies. Something firm crackled within. She pulled out a heavily
sealed document. “What on earth is this?”
Verity looked a picture of guilt. “Oh, that.”
Chastity inspected the document. It appeared to be just a couple of
sheets of paper, folded and sealed four times. She looked at her sister.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Verity explained nervously. “Some time
ago, Sir William showed me that, and where he kept it, and made me
swear a solemn oath that when he died I would take it straight to Judge
Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice. William made me swear on the Bible…”
“Verity,” said Chastity firmly, knowing her conscientious sister
well, “you are not going to London until you are safely wed to
Nathaniel.”
“Of course not,” said Verity, but uneasily. “I tell myself I am going
toward
London after all.”
“Exactly.” Chastity looked at the document. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. But as Sir William did not seem to want his brother
to have it, I have wondered if it might be an amendment to his will…”
“Cutting out Henry as guardian?” asked Chastity sharply. “Let’s see—”
Verity snatched it. “We mustn’t! Oh, Chastity. I’m sure it will invalidate it if the seals are broken.”
“But…” Chastity broke off. “I don’t suppose it makes much
difference. The main thing is to get you to Nathaniel. Then we can
decide what to do about this.”
“Perhaps we should ask Lord Cyn.”
“Lud, no,” said Chastity. “Who knows what this document is? We don’t
want to put ammunition into the hands of a Malloren. Keep it well
hidden. Now, I’m going upstairs to change.”
When Chastity had gone, Verity tucked the paper away safely and
sighed over her sister’s predicament. Verity had hopes that her own
situation would turn out right, but nothing on earth could mend
Chastity’s life.
That the Earl of Walgrave should order Chastity to marry Henry
Vernham was peculiar; that he should be willing to ruin such a valuable
pawn as his daughter in the attempt defied belief.
Verity had been in the country, in the last weeks of her pregnancy,
when the scandal had occurred. She had heard the story from her
husband, however, spiced with rage and foul humor. Sir William had been
furious that Chastity had scorned his brother, and had painted the
worst possible picture. Now Verity had heard the story from Chastity.
Henry Vernham was ten years younger than his brother. Where William
was coarse and greedy, Henry was smooth and calculating. He was not
ill-looking, but had only a small competence and a minor court post. He
was, in effect, a nonentity who could hardly have expected even to
encounter Lady Chastity Ware except for his family connection.
He had, however, not just met her but been so bold as to offer for
her hand. And the mighty Earl of Walgrave, far from laughing in his
face, had ordered Chastity to accept.
She had refused, scarcely taking the matter seriously at first. The
earl’s rage had corrected that impression, but Chastity had still
refused. She had stoically accepted petty restrictions and lectures on
duty, not even bending when he forbade her to attend the Wares’ annual
grand rout if she would not do so as Vernham’s partner.
Chastity had remarked that she had been more relieved than anything
to be locked in her room if the alternative was to have Henry Vernham
pawing at her all evening.
She had gone peacefully to sleep, but had woken near midnight when
her father burst in on her with half a dozen guests in tow. She had sat
up in alarm, and only then realized that Henry Vernham was lying in the
bed beside her, stark naked. She had realized immediately that the trap
could only have been accomplished with her father’s full compliance.
Her door had been locked on the outside.
He had doubtless expected her to give up all resistance to the
match. What else could a young lady do? Chastity, however, had loudly
protested her innocence and continued to refuse. The matter had then
become highly unpleasant, with the whole world believing the worst, and
the earl losing all control of his temper. Even whippings and
starvation, however, had not changed Chastity’s mind.
In the end the earl had given up. He had washed his hands of his
daughter and banished her here to this cottage. He had made sure she
would stay in her exile by providing no money, only the coarsest
clothing, and by shaving off all Chastity’s beautiful hair.
It had hardly been necessary, for where else could the Notorious
Chastity Ware go? The Earl of Walgrave’s daughters were not trained for
employment, and no respectable man would offer her his name. And that
was a shame, thought Verity, for Chastity had always been a joyous
girl, made to be a wife and mother.
Chastity reappeared, transformed. She’d cinched the loose frieze
breeches with a belt, and they added bulk to her legs. The moleskin
shirt also disguised her shape, while the spotted neckerchief hid her
slender neck, her most betraying feature. She wore the mouse-brown
bag-wig, covered by a battered flat-brimmed hat.
“It’s marvelous!” exclaimed Verity. “A much better disguise than more elegant clothing. Lord Cyn was right.”
“You
would
think that,” grumbled Chastity, but with a smile.
A new problem fretted Verity. “Chas, do you think Father knows I’m missing?”
Chastity looked at her sister sharply. “He’s bound to, unless Henry Vernham has hushed it up for his own nefarious reasons.”
“Oh, lud. What reason would Henry have to do that? All he wants is
William so he can control the estate. Or perhaps worse…” Verity
shuddered. “Horrible Henry! That sums him up so beautifully. I like
Lord Cyn.”
“You like everyone,” said Chastity grimly. “Here, is there space for my suit in that portmanteau?”
Verity took it. “I do not like everyone. I dislike Henry intensely.
But I like Lord Cyn, and I feel very secure knowing he’s an officer.
Our plan is full of hazards, dearest, but I’m sure he can carry it
through if anyone can.”
“He’s in it for amusement, Verity!”
Verity shook her head. “You must learn to look beneath the surface a
little. Remember he’s a military man, like Nathaniel.” She paused in
her work of pushing the brown suit into the full bag. “But Father
worries me, Chas. He knows about Nathaniel and will have no trouble
discovering where he is stationed…”
“And with his connections,” said Chastity quietly, “he could virtually raise the country.”
“Chas, we
have
to tell Lord Cyn who we are, and what he’s embroiled in. Father could ruin him with a word.”
Chastity’s eyes widened in alarm. “But that would mean he would know who I am! Oh, what does that matter next to your safety—”
“No,” said Verity quickly. “What would it gain us?” She knew how Chastity dreaded facing anyone as the Notorious Chastity Ware.
They looked at each other. “It shouldn’t matter,” said Chastity.
“I’m sure we can reach Maidenhead without tangling with Father…”
“I’m sure we can,” Verity said firmly, then bit her lip.
“But what of Nathaniel? If Father is a danger to Lord Cynric
Malloren, he’s even more so to Nathaniel. His career could be ruined.
Officers have been thrown out of the army for merely voting against the
government in an election…” Verity’s hands clenched on Chastity’s. “And
what of the baby? Do you think they
could
take William? I’d die first!”
“I’m sure they couldn’t,” Chastity soothed. “Nathaniel would never
allow it. And you’ve forgotten his true nature if you think he would
not sacrifice his career entirely for your happiness. But it will never
come to that,” she added hurriedly, knowing Verity would immolate
herself before hurting her beloved. “Nathaniel is a highly regarded
officer, and this is a time of war. Once the knot is tied, no one will
be able to make a case for taking away your child.”
In truth, she wasn’t as certain as her words implied, and her own
knees were turning to jelly at the prospect of challenging the Earl of
Walgrave’s will again. But what choice did they have?
What they needed was an advocate as powerful as Walgrave. They might as well wish for the moon.
Chastity rode into Shaftesbury with Lord Cyn, alert for any sly move
he might make. Despite his professed eagerness to help them, she didn’t
trust him one iota. He had too frivolous an attitude to life, and a way
of making the most outrageous things sound reasonable.
Such as them coming into town in the first place.
And her giving him back some of his money.
After all, he’d said, he did intend to buy clothes, and it would
look strange for the groom to be paying the shopkeepers. It had sounded
too reasonable to deny, but Chastity was fretted again by the feeling
that matters were being cleverly slid out of her hands.