She was going to be late, Carina thought as she hurried downstairs the next morning. Harry Carstairs had sent a note saying he would call at noon and she dozed off after breakfast so they had to rush. Rose was flustered and kept dropping hairpins. Then Carina couldn’t decide what to wear. She dithered, picking one outfit after another and finally settled on a tarlatan promenade dress. Its hem was high enough to show off her new Moroccan boots and the crinoline so wide her skirts brushed both sides of the staircase as she went down.
The tall-case clock in the hall was chiming twelve as she walked into the morning room and went to stand by the fire. She loved this room with its red wallpaper and brocade curtains. She would miss it while she was away, she thought. She would miss Alice and Harry too and she wondered how she could have been so confident the night before.
Sir Anthony Farne was just leaving when she went down and, once he had gone, she told Alice about the meeting with Oliver.
‘Oh dear, oh dear!’ Her aunt’s hands fluttered like two white birds in her lap. ‘I’ll call on him first thing tomorrow and persuade him to change his mind.’
‘It won’t do any good. You know Oliver! He would hang rather than incur Her Majesty’s displeasure.’
‘I can but try—’
‘Please don’t! I’ve quite made up my mind to go.’
Sitting across the hearth, Carina was sharper than she intended. Alice was twelve years older than her and as refined as her brother was coarse. She looked pretty in a plush velvet dress with a wide collar that complemented her china-blue eyes. Her auburn hair was pinned under a trimmed tulle cap and, for all her concern, there was colour in her cheeks. Carina felt comforted in her presence. She hadn’t meant to snap at her.
‘I’m sorry you’re obliged to travel with me. I promise to make sure you return to England just as soon as I’m settled.’
‘Hush now, dearest. I’m delighted to accompany you. I was very fond of your mother. It will be good to see something of her home.’ Alice smiled and smoothed the scalloped trim of her cuffs. ‘By chance, Anthony and I were talking about Sicily earlier. He reminded me that Miss Parsons is cousin to the British Consul in Palermo and intends to visit him in January. Do you think we might travel out with her?’
Recalling the small, energetic spinster who was Alice’s friend, Carina’s heart sank. There was nothing to dislike about Miss Parsons except that she talked a good deal and mostly about politics. Last month she persuaded them to spend a whole morning in a draughty hall in Kensington, tasked with sorting clothes for veterans of the Crimea. Carina had longed to be out riding in Rotten Row. The smell of camphor clung to her for days afterwards and when Harry suggested she continue the good work, she told him smartly he could go in her place.
There was a knock at the door and Thomas, the footman, showed Harry into the room. Carina held her hands out to the blond young man who came towards her.
‘Harry, what a pleasure.’
Carina led Harry to the sofa and patted the seat next to her. She studied him as he sat down, noting the smart cut of his coat and buff trousers. Every detail of his dress, from his embroidered waistcoat to the ruby solitaire nestling in the folds of his cravat, was up to the mark. Harry had become quite the man about town and was good-looking with his thick moustache and hazel eyes. Although he denied it, she knew of several young ladies in London who were in love with him.
‘As well as can be expected under the circumstances.’ Harry rubbed his hands on his knees. ‘It’s all over London this morning, you know.’
‘What’s all over London, the Great Stink of last summer?’
‘Don’t be frivolous, Carrie. It ain’t one of your railway novels. This is real life, where actions have consequences.’
Real life? Oh yes, she knew what that meant for women – staying at home with a brood of children while your husband was free as air. Well, it wasn’t the life she wanted. She had tried to explain this to Harry so often. Why couldn’t he understand? He was forever pulling her up and Carina hoped he hadn’t come to give her a lecture for she wasn’t sure she had the patience to endure it.
‘How many times did I tell you Lord Danby was untrustworthy?’ Harry asked.
‘So many that I don’t recall a time when we spoke of anything else. You said I would lose my reputation and now I have. Are you satisfied?’
‘Of course I’m not satisfied! I bumped into Sir Oliver in White’s last night and he told me he’d spoken to you. Is it true that you’re banished to Sicily?’
Carina stood up and walked to the centre of the room. Picking up a newspaper, she opened it to hide her face. The idea of Harry talking to Oliver behind her back made her furious. He professed himself her champion but, when it came to it, members of the gentlemen’s clubs of St James’s stuck together like clams. And to think she had almost asked him to appeal to Robert Danby!
A stinging retort was on her lips, but Carina caught herself. There had been too many arguments lately and, afraid of saying something she might regret, she skimmed through the paper instead. A leading article caught her eye. She glanced over it and then read aloud: ‘Our correspondent writes from Sicily that revolution is in the air and Palermo is a hotbed of intrigue and conspiracy.’
Carina lowered the broadsheet and looked across the room at Harry. ‘Do you hear that? Palermo sounds almost as bad as London.’
Before she had finished, Harry rose to his feet and walked over to the hearth. His brow was furrowed and his shoulders hunched. There was a bruised look in his eyes and Carina’s irritation left her.
‘I’m only teasing, Harry! I don’t mean it.’
‘Don’t you? Difficult to know what you mean these days. You’re like a stranger most of the time.’
‘I should have taken your advice and I’m sorry I did not. Now, please will you stop being cross?’
Carina went to stand beside Harry as he flicked through the invitation cards stacked on the mantelpiece. She had said she was sorry. What more did he want? Harry was still frowning and when he took the fob watch from his waistcoat and snapped it open, she laid a hand on his arm.
‘I’ve finished with Robert Danby. It’s over and done with.’
‘But the scandal’s not over. It’s the talk of the town.’
‘Next week someone else will behave outrageously. Then you’ll talk about them instead.’
Harry covered her hand with his. He was beginning to weaken, Carina thought, but his grip tightened.
‘It’s no good, Carrie. Can you imagine, my father’s forbidden me to call on you? I shouldn’t be here now, in truth.’
The Carstairs had been her family’s closest neighbours in Yorkshire and Carina was shocked. Mr Carstairs had been her father’s best man. How could he take Robert Danby’s side against her? The betrayal cut deep and she withdrew her hand as Harry ploughed on.
‘Too many people heard Danby talking to your uncle. You can’t imagine some of the things he said. They were beyond the pale—’
‘Are you here to tell me you’re no longer my friend?’ Carina cut in.
‘Of course I’m your friend.’
‘Then you should trust me! I never encouraged Lord Danby. He lied to my uncle—’
‘So why are you being sent away?’
Oliver had been at work and the damage was done. What a time they must have had of it, Carina thought – all those so-called gentlemen listening to the salacious gossip! She waited until coolness came back and then lifted her shoulders in a dismissive shrug.
‘You can tell your friends that the trip to Palermo is entirely my own idea. I’ve always wanted to visit my mother’s family.’
‘But you don’t know your maternal relations!’ Harry stated as if it was good reason never to do so. ‘Sicily’s a wild and uncivilised place. I don’t like the sound of it. Don’t like it at all.’
‘My grandmother’s lived in Palermo all her life. It’s not the least uncivilised …’ Carina trailed off, uncertain of what Harry was thinking. He ran his hand through his hair and there was a taut look on his face.
‘Listen to me, Carrie. It’s crucial that you regain your good name. You must promise me your conduct will be irreproachable while you’re away!’
‘I thought you said my reputation was damaged beyond repair—’
‘People will forget once you’ve gone. If you behave impeccably, Sir Oliver will relent. Then I’ll be damned if I don’t come to Sicily and fetch you home myself!’
Harry’s tone was vibrant, his expression so full of hope that goose bumps pricked the back of Carina’s neck. She enjoyed other men’s admiration, but Harry was her oldest friend. He had switched from disapproval to passionate intensity so fast and she didn’t know how to answer. If it had been anyone else, she might almost have mistaken the pleading look in his eyes for something quite different. The world had turned topsy-turvy in the last twenty-four hours and she was desperate to return to normality.
‘That is most gallant of you, sir. Pray tell me, what would your father say then?’
Carina spoke lightly but Harry’s head went down. He slipped the fob back into his waistcoat as the door opened and Alice walked in. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were visiting, Mr Carstairs. What a pity, for I am just on my way out.’
Carina did not hear Harry’s reply. She was wondering why Alice was dressed in funeral clothes. How she hated those scratchy dresses and heavy veils! Her weeds had been burnt months ago and she thought Alice had done the same.
‘I’m due at a service of remembrance at one o’clock.’ Alice answered her unspoken question. ‘I would offer you a ride, Mr Carstairs, but I’m already late. No doubt you’ll be glad of a breath of fresh air.’
‘Indeed, Miss Alice. I am going to White’s. The walk will do me good.’
‘And what do you have planned for this afternoon, dearest?’ Alice turned to Carina.
‘I’ll finish my shopping and then write to my grandmother. I know she will take my word for the truth – unlike some other people I know.’
When Alice left the room and Harry followed without saying goodbye, Carina could have bitten off her tongue. Harry brings out the worst in me, she thought. What does he mean I’m like a stranger? He’s the one who has changed, not me. One minute he’s scolding me and the next … And the next … he’s looking at me like a lovesick schoolboy.
The workings of a man’s mind were an enigma to Carina. Too often they said one thing when they meant another. How could anyone know what they were really thinking? She had spent so much of her childhood alone, there were times she felt ill equipped in her dealings with people and her confidence wavered. Could she have everything the wrong way around? Was it possible she had unwittingly given Robert Danby a false impression? No, it wasn’t so! Danby had made all the running. She had never led him on – not to the slightest degree!
Carina dismissed the idea and went over to the window, looking down to the street as Harry helped Alice into the brougham. She tapped on the glass pane, but Harry strode off without a backward glance. His cane made a spotted pattern in the snow on the pavement and she watched until he disappeared round the corner.
As she turned back into the room, a chill touched her. Harry and Alice were the bedrock of her life. She would never intentionally hurt either of them. The strain of yesterday was playing on her mind and she had read too much into Harry’s words. He was only trying to cheer her up and she must write at once and apologise for her asperity. Thomas could take her letter this afternoon so he had it when he came home and by tomorrow they would be friends again. There was no need to be afraid.