CHAPTER TEN

 

Was Lord Silverton glimpsed in loose company late the other night? Unreliable witnesses swear the upright earl was cavorting on horseback through the streets of Mayfair, accompanied by a dubious female companion. The Tattler can scarcely credit such a tale!

-Tilly’s Mayfair Tattler, July 8

 

 

Two days later, over their thin porridge, Mr. Burke announced they would have a visitor later that day.

“Make sure you’re dressed nicely,” he said, then pointed his spoon at Louisa. “Especially her.”

“May I inquire who is coming to call?” Jessa asked, apprehension tightening her ribs. If it involved Louisa, she truly feared what their guardian intended.

“An acquaintance of mine, who might be able to help us out of our predicament.” Mr. Burke smiled, showing too many teeth.

Oh, no. She glanced at Louisa, whose innocent expression only heightened Jessa’s worry. Could her sister even comprehend what might befall her? The possible scenarios made Jessa shiver.

The rest of the morning crawled by. As instructed, Jessa helped Louisa dress in one of her two nice gowns—a pale blue silk that complimented her complexion. Despite the dread circling Jessa, she curled her sister’s hair and helped her pin it up.

“Who is coming to visit us?” Louisa asked.

“I don’t know.” The words caught in Jessa’s throat.

“I like this gown.” Louisa smoothed the skirts with her palm. “It feels like water.”

Jessa could not voice her usual promises about how one day she would buy Louisa a pretty dress in every color, and bonnets to match. Tales of a bright future were too quickly fading under the shadow of the present.

For a short while, she practiced her violin, but even the solace of music could not distract her. The notes were angular, the tone thin, and after an unsatisfying half an hour, she put her instrument away.

She and Louisa ended up waiting in the parlor, where Jessa pretended to read a novel, and her sister drew. Louisa had no talent for it, but her childish scrawls of flowers and oddly formed animals pleased her well enough, and kept her from asking Jessa any more unanswerable questions.

At last the sharp clack of the knocker resounded through the house. Jessa jumped up and set her novel aside, then helped her sister tidy away her drawing supplies.

“Remember,” Jessa said, tucking up a stray curl of her sister’s hair, “no matter what happens, I will protect you.”

Her heart burned fiercely as she regarded her sister’s sweet and trusting smile. Jessa did not know how she would shield Louisa from harm, only that she would.

But first, she must understand what danger approached. She led her sister to the settee and they perched there on the slightly prickly cushions, hands clasped.

Footsteps resounded down the hall, and Jessa could hear Mr. Burke’s voice. He was using that oily tone he assumed when he was trying to ingratiate himself with the listener.

For one wild moment, Jessa imagined that perhaps it was Lord Silverton, come to offer his assistance. She shook the ridiculous notion from her head. He’d already said he would hire her for a garden party, and that was the full extent of his aid. Her and Louisa’s plight meant nothing to him.

When the door opened, the man standing beside Mr. Burke bore no resemblance whatsoever to the earl. He was thin and stooped, and though he wore well-made clothes in fine fabrics, the colors did not suit him, making his skin appear sallow. His few strands of black hair lay combed across the top of his pink scalp, and his dark eyes were deep-sunk behind a long, thin nose.

“Here they are,” Mr. Burke said. “The Misses Lovell, Jessamyn and Louisa, my wards. Girls, this is Sir Maurice Dabbage.”

Jessa let go of Louisa’s hand and gave the man a curtsy, which her sister emulated. “Pleased to meet you,” she said.

Sir Dabbage peered down his nose at Louisa, and his nostrils flared. “I thought she would be younger.”

Jessa took a half-step forward. “May I inquire, what is your interest in my sister?”

She did not like the look in the man’s eyes as he watched Louisa, assessing her as though she were a horse he was considering purchasing.

“Let’s not be hasty,” Mr. Burke said. “Sit down, so we might all become better acquainted. Sir Dabbage, you’ll find that, although a grown woman in appearance, Miss Louisa has still a very childlike mind.”

Their guest frowned, but deigned to take a seat once Jessa and Louisa had perched again on the settee.

An awkward silence encased them. Jessa opened her mouth, but her guardian gave her a dark look and she closed it again.

“That’s a pretty dress, Miss Louisa,” Sir Dabbage said at last.

“Oh, it is,” she said. “I think it’s like wearing a bit of the sky after it rains. Except it is dry.”

“Would you like more gowns, and jewelry to wear about that soft neck of yours?”

Louisa turned to Jessa, a question in her eyes.

“And why would you bestow such things upon my sister, sir?” Jessa asked, though the crawling sensation in her gut told her well enough.

“Now, now,” Mr. Burke said. “Sir Dabbage is a banker, of some note.” He laughed at his poor joke, and their guest managed a pinched smile. “Sadly, he is a widower, and is looking to remedy that situation.”

Jessa shot her guardian an appalled look. “You can’t mean to give Louisa to him!”

Mr. Burke stood and grasped Jessa’s arm.

“Excuse us a moment,” he said, then towed her to the far end of the room.

“You cannot wed her to that man. Or any man.” Jessa wrenched herself from his grip. “My sister is completely innocent of the things that pass between a husband and wife.”

“That is her appeal,” Mr. Burke said. “Sir Dabbage has… particular tastes.”

“I forbid it.”

At this her guardian laughed, his stale breath washing over her. “You have no say in the matter. Unless you’d rather I gave him your sister without the benefit of matrimony?”

Jessa curled her fingers tightly into her palms. Oh, she wished she were a man so she might punch that amused smile off his face.

“I won’t play for you any longer,” she said. “I’ll refuse all offers to perform.”

“Since those have been in short supply lately, you may do as you wish. But your sister will marry Sir Dabbage.”

“Why?” Jessa shot a glance to the other end of the parlor, where their guest leaned toward Louisa as a spider leans toward an unsuspecting fly.

“As I said, he’s a banker. One whom I, unfortunately, owe a rather large sum of money. Luckily, he wants a young wife even more than the interest on his loans. We are hoping to reach a mutual agreement.”

It was unsupportable, but she could not hope to dissuade her guardian from this course of action. Once he made up his mind, he never veered.

“Then I will go with her,” Jessa said. She would find some way to protect Louisa. Even if it meant taking her sister’s place in the marriage bed. She shivered at the notion.

“Oh, you’re not to his taste,” Mr. Burke said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’m looking for a man with more seasoned appetites to take you on.”

“What?” She swayed, and whiteness flashed through her, rendering her incapable of thought. With one hand, she reached and steadied herself against the parlor wall. The flocked wallpaper was bumpy beneath her fingers.

“I can’t afford to keep you both on any longer,” he said. “I’ve gotten what I need from your performances, and I’m afraid your usefulness to me is nearly at an end. I’m only doing what any guardian would. It is my duty and responsibility to see you advantageously married.”

Advantageous to himself, of course. What she and her sister thought of it mattered not.

They must flee.

She wanted to rage and scream. She wanted to empty the contents of her stomach over Mr. Burke’s shoes. She wanted to run Mr. Dabbage through with a dagger.

But for now, she must appear resigned to this horrible plot. Clenching her teeth, Jessa bent her head.

“I understand,” she said.

“Good. I knew you would. You’ve a sensible streak.” Mr. Burke patted her shoulder, and she forced herself not to shudder away from his touch. “It won’t be bad, if you cooperate. We’ll find you a tall, blond fellow—you appear to be drawn to that sort.”

He laughed, then strode over to rejoin Sir Dabbage and Louisa. Jessa hurried to follow, her stomach clenching.

“Well,” Mr. Burke said, glancing at Louisa’s pale hand caught in their guest’s grasp. “You two seem to be getting on splendidly.”

“Indeed. I think your niece will do quite well.” Sir Dabbage looked Louisa up and down, then smiled, an expression that made his sunken eyes glitter unappealingly.

Louisa glanced up at Jessa. “He says I’m to come live with him and have all the lovely gowns and sweets that I desire. But you will be there, won’t you?”

“Don’t worry.” Jessa laid her hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“Excellent!” Mr. Burke rubbed his hands together. “Girls, you may go now. Sir Dabbage and I have a few details to finalize.”

Their guest rose and, finally, released Louisa’s hand.

“I look forward to our happy day,” he said.

Louisa nodded, but Jessa was certain her sister had no notion of what the man actually meant. Head throbbing with panicked thoughts, Jessa led her sister from the room. She felt as though they were on a sinking ship, the frigid water rising about their ankles, and no land in sight.