Regency Sting (12 page)

Her friend was seated on the sofa, twisting her hands worriedly in her lap. “Is there anything amiss, Anne dear?” she asked as soon as Anne had entered and closed the door.

“Amiss? Of course not. Why do you ask?” Anne queried cheerfully, taking a chair opposite Cherry and looking at her with eyebrows raised.

“Then why didn't you come to Half-Moon Street this morning?” Cherry asked in perplexity.

“This morning? Why should I have come this morning? I thought we had arranged to drive out tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes, we had. But did you not tell Lord Claybridge to meet you this morn—?”

“Good God!
Arthur
!” Anne pressed her hands to her mouth in dismay. “I forgot all about him!”

Cherry gasped. “Oh, Anne, you
couldn't
have! I assured him repeatedly that some urgent matter must have prevented you—”

Anne jumped from her chair and paced the room in distress. “How could I have
forgotten
? It slipped my mind completely! Oh, Cherry, was he very angry with me?”

“He was quite upset, but only because he was sure that something dreadful had happened to keep you. Or that you had decided not to marry him and were too tenderhearted to face him with the truth.”

“But that's ridiculous. I told him the other day that I had
good
news for him.”

Cherry stared at her friend as disapprovingly as her sympathetic eyes permitted. “I don't understand you, Anne. How could you do something so unkind? He had been
counting the days
!”

Anne was conscience-stricken. “I don't know how I could have done such a thing. It's only that my responsibilities to Lord Mainwaring have occupied so much of my mind and my time—”

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and Lord Mainwaring looked in. “Excuse me, ma'am,” he said to Anne apologetically, “but Aunt Harriet wants to know how long you intend to keep me hoppin' about?”

“You see?” Anne muttered to Cherry in an undervoice. “I can't leave him for a minute. Come in, my lord. I'd like you to meet my friend, Miss Charity Laverstoke. Cherry, this is Jason Hughes, the new Lord Mainwaring.”

Cherry was awed. Staring, she shyly extended her hand. “H-how do you d-do, my lord?” she murmured breathlessly.

Jason advanced and took her hand. Just as he was about to shake it, Anne shook her head vigorously at him and cleared her throat. With a quick glance at his mentor's forbidding frown, he grinned and lifted Cherry's hand to his lips. “Charmed,” he said politely, as he released it.

Anne nodded at him approvingly and returned to her chair. “Do sit down, Lord Mainwaring, and join us. Perhaps you can tell Miss Laverstoke something about America. Wouldn't you love to hear about life in the wilderness, Cherry?”

“Oh, yes!” Cherry said with shy eagerness.

“As much as I'd enjoy regalin' you with wilderness tales, Miss Laverstoke, I'm afraid I must decline. I've been instructed to practice my dancin,' you see. I need all the practice I can get, for, naturally, a man who's spent all his life in the wilderness could not have grown adept at such a
civilized
activity. With your permission, ma'am, I shall leave you to your conversation.” With a wicked glint, he nodded to Anne, bowed to Cherry and left the room.

Cherry blinked at the door, speechless.

Anne laughed. “Don't sit there open-mouthed, Cherry. Say something.”

“Oh,
my
!” Cherry breathed at last.

“I know what you mean,” Anne nodded. “Overpowering, isn't he?”

“Yes, he is. I must admit, Anne, that the Viscount is certainly … er …” Cherry searched for a word. “… an original, isn't he?”

“That is
just
what he is,” Anne agreed.

“Are you truly giving him instruction in dancing?” Cherry asked, wide-eyed. “I would be terrified to—”

“Nonsense. What is there to be terrified of?”

“I don't know, exactly. He's so …
large
! And so … self-assured. And those eyes of his—they seem to penetrate right through one.”

“Yes, they do, don't they?” Anne's smile faded into a thoughtful frown. “I always feel as if he is reading my thoughts and laughing at them.”

“Yet he doesn't frighten you?” Cherry asked admiringly.

“No, of course not. He's really rather agreeable, you know. In fact, Cherry, I've been thinking … he'll be making his bow in society in a very short time, and he's bound to make a mark, even if he doesn't master all the proper social graces. He'll be considered an enormously splendid match for some girl. Why shouldn't it be
you
?”

“
Me
? You must be joking!”

“Of course I'm not joking. Why
shouldn't
it be you?”

“Why, I'd be terror-stricken just to be asked to
stand up
with him at Almack's!” Cherry declared.

Anne frowned at her. “Really, Cherry, you can be such a wet-goose! Just because Jason is somewhat
tall
is no reason to be afraid of him. He is truly an easygoing, amicable sort. Peter thinks the world of him.”

Cherry wavered. “But even if I could find the courage to … to … Anyway, he didn't seem to take particular notice of me a moment ago,” she pointed out frankly.

“Never mind that. He's given me the task of finding a wife for him, and
you
, Cherry, are my first choice. And the sooner I arrange to bring the two of you together, the better.”

Cherry stared at her friend in fascinated horror. “But, Anne, I … I wouldn't know what to
say
to such a man! And I'm not the sort who could attract … I'm sure we wouldn't suit.”

But Anne would not be deterred. “Leave it all to me, Cherry. Tomorrow, we shall all go driving in the park together. Will you ask Arthur to come along with us? It will be the perfect opportunity for me to apologize to him, and for you and Lord Mainwaring to become acquainted.”

Cherry found a number of objections to the plan. What if Arthur did not like being part of a foursome? What if Lord Mainwaring should object? What if he should become bored? Cherry had nothing suitable to wear. What if her mother should ask questions? What would people say if they were observed?

To all these points, Anne made scornful replies. Her mind was made up. With a long list of instructions for her friend on the arrangements with Arthur, on the time of day which would most suit the situation, and on the outfit Cherry was to wear, Anne walked with her friend to the door. “Oh, Anne,” Cherry said with a fearful sigh, “I hope you know what you're doing.”

“Leave everything to me, dearest, and don't fret. Lord Mainwaring will be charmed, I promise. And if he is not, then … well, perhaps then you'll let me cut your braids. If all else fails, that may be the very thing to do the trick.”

Cherry's hand flew to her hair. “Only if all else fails,” she pleaded. Then, before Anne could think of anything else to cause her to quail, she hastily took her leave.

Nine

The many elements which were needed to insure a successful outing seemed to fall into place for Anne. First, Lord Mainwaring good-humoredly accepted Anne's sudden invitation to ride in the park without questioning her motives. Then Cherry sent word that 1) her mother had given permission for her to go, and 2) Arthur had agreed to join them. Lastly, the weather seemed to bestow its blessing upon the excursion; the sun was surprisingly warm and the wind obligingly mild for a day in March.

At the appointed hour, Anne came down the stairway to find Lord Mainwaring already in the foyer awaiting her arrival. She observed with pleased surprise his very creditable appearance. He was wearing the new coat which Weston had delivered the day before. It was of dark green superfine, superbly cut to fit smoothly over his broad shoulders and to emphasize his narrow waist. His buckled, Manchester-brown breeches clung without a wrinkle to legs which she hadn't realized were so shapely, and his new topboots gleamed. “Why, Lord Mainwaring,” she exclaimed approvingly, “you look positively British!”

“I reckon you mean that as a compliment, ma'am,” he said sardonically, “so I thank you.”

“You
suppose
I meant it as a compliment, my lord,” she said in her most obnoxiously schoolteacherish tone. “
Suppose
, not
reckon
.” And she swept past him and out the door.

Together they went to the waiting phaeton. Jason, glancing at the well-sprung phaeton and the lively grays, requested permission to take the reins. “Of course, my lord,” Anne told him. “After all, the horses and carriage are yours.” Nevertheless, she felt a twinge of misgiving as Jason climbed up beside the coachman, for the grays that had been harnessed to the carriage were an exceptionally high-spirited pair. She sat back in her seat nervously as they started out, but it took only a few minutes during the short ride to Half-Moon Street through the heavily trafficked streets for her to realize, with relief, that Jason showed remarkable skill with the ribbons.

When they arrived at Half-Moon Street, and Cherry and Arthur came out to meet them, Anne did not have to hint to Jason that his company would be desired inside the phaeton. With surprising graciousness, he surrendered the reins to the coachman and joined the group.

The introductions were made, and Anne signaled Jason to help Cherry into the front seat. While he was complying with this unspoken request, Anne beckoned Arthur to climb up beside her. Jason, therefore, had no choice but to sit next to Cherry. Since both seats of the phaeton faced forward, Jason found himself faced with the problem of making conversation with a tongue-tied, blushing girl who had not enough courage to turn her eyes to him. After a few attempts to draw her out on such subjects as the weather, the number of carriages clogging the streets, and her very fetching bonnet, he gave up and relapsed into silence.

On the seat behind, Anne tried to whisper apologies to Arthur for having forgotten to meet him the day before. He responded politely, but he was obviously very offended, and his manner was stiff and cool. The possibility that their conversation might be overheard by the occupants of the seat in front of them hampered further discussion, and their ride to the park was passed in a silence as awkward as the one being endured by Cherry and Jason.

Fortunately, the ride was not long. When they arrived, Anne suggested that they walk through the park to exercise their legs, a suggestion that was approved eagerly by the others. They climbed down, and the coachman turned the carriage out of the road to a place where he could wait for them to return. For a moment, they stood looking about, unable to decide which of the many charming walking paths they should take. It was at that moment that a high-pitched laugh echoed from the lane to their right. Instinctively, all their heads turned. There, too far away to greet but close enough to be seen clearly, stood a gentleman in the uniform of a cavalry officer, helping a ravishing young lady to dismount from a horse. The lady was wearing a close-fitting riding costume in dark red and a very dashing riding hat which was cocked to one side of her head and sported a captivating white plume. “Now
that
is someone I'd like to meet,” Jason muttered to Anne without taking his admiring eyes from the lady in question.

Anne, quite aware of the identity of the horsewoman, glared at Jason in irritation. Why did that odious Lexie de Guis choose this particular time to make an appearance? Alexandra de Guis, daughter of a French emigré and an English lady, was the one girl in all of London whom Anne wanted to keep from Jason. Lexie, the reigning beauty of the season, and of several seasons past, and called “La Belle” by all the bucks of the
ton
, could capture a man's heart by the mere flick of an eyelid. Not only beautiful, she was clever, poised, stylishly elegant and tantalizingly unreadable. Men adored her and women detested her.

Anne was determined to keep Lexie from making Jason another victim of her long list of conquests. She therefore promptly took Jason's arm and turned him into the lane to their left. “
This
way looks more inviting, does it not, Cherry?” she said gaily, and hurried them away from a possible encounter with the riders. If she was aware of the raised eyebrows and amused expression on Jason's face, she took no notice of them.

As the strollers walked deeper into the park, the lane narrowed, leaving room only for two abreast. Anne linked her arm in Cherry's, and the two ladies preceded the gentlemen down the path. “You look just as you ought,” Anne whispered to Cherry with approval. “I
told
you that the feathered bonnet would be charming with your spencer.”

Cherry, still feeling shy and uncomfortable, nodded without conviction. “Yes, Lord Mainwaring was kind enough to comment on it.”

“Did he?” Anne asked gleefully. “I
knew
he'd take notice of you!”

Cherry looked at her friend lugubriously. “He was only being polite. After all, he had to say
something
, especially since I couldn't think of a thing to say to him.”

Anne cast a quick look over her shoulder. Arthur and Jason seemed to be conversing comfortably enough. “Cherry, I don't know why you must behave in this missish way. There are
dozens
of things you and Lord Mainwaring could say to each other.”

“What things?”

“Oh, for goodness sake, Cherry, look about you! Everything you
see
can be commented upon. Isn't the prospect of the park itself, with its tiny buds of green about to burst into life, worth remarking upon? How about the trees? You could ask if they are like the trees in America. Asking about America could very well supply conversational material for
weeks
! And then, you could ask him how he does with his dancing—after all, he
did
tell you about it yesterday. And there's his new coat. Weston delivered it yesterday. Doesn't he look complete to a shade? I never quite believed that clothes could effect such a change in a man, but there he is, quite up to snuff.”