Kitty and her aunt were the first guests to arrive in Lady Deane’s elegant drawing-room that afternoon. Kitty rose from her curtsy to find that she was being examined with a keen eye. She knew her appearance was smart but again she felt indignant that clothes and ornaments were of such importance.
Her hostess was a neat, upright lady, who must have been a great beauty in her youth. She nodded and smiled as her eyes met Kitty’s.
‘I warrant you have made life more lively in your aunt’s house, my dear.’ She turned towards Lady Picton. ‘It must be very agreeable to have such a delightful young lady to take about. I must confess, I long for the chance to do the same.’ She looked back to Kitty. ‘I had four sons, so I was never able to bring out a daughter. And my sons all had sons. In fact, I believe you know one of them.’
Kitty looked a question.
Lady Deane laughed. ‘Do sit down, my dear. We older ladies survive on gossip, you know. My grandson is hopelessly infatuated with your little blonde friend. The most exquisite creature he has ever seen, he told me.’
Kitty darted a glance towards her aunt but received only a bland smile. She was not sure how to reply. Either Lady Deane was indeed a sad gossip, or she was trying to promote Greg’s cause.
‘Miss Warrington is a very modest person,’ she said at last, ‘and would not wish to be the object of undue admiration.’
‘Well, Gregory is a level-headed young man. But on this occasion, he appears to be completely bowled over.’ At this moment another guest arrived. Lady Deane moved away to greet her. Kitty sat down by her aunt, hiding her dismay behind a polite smile. Both she and Millie were in a tangle and Kitty could see no way out of it.
It was not pleasant to suffer a heartache when there was no chance of a happy outcome, she was thinking. The knot of pain in her chest seemed tighter than before. She could not forgive Theo for suspecting her. He must have been alerted by the man who had spied on her and he had come deliberately to check up on her. There was a bitter taste in her mouth.
Her aunt laid a hand on her arm. ‘Lady Deane is speaking to you, my dear.’
Kitty looked up and tried to smile. She accepted the cup of tea and took a sip. The warm liquid slipped down and, as she drank, Kitty felt her determination harden. Her misery was a private affair. She would present a calm and dignified appearance to all these ladies. After all, she had only to sit quietly as they chatted. She focused her attention on the group listening to their hostess.
‘So unlike his great friend Theodore,’ Lady Deane was saying. ‘Why, he told me how Theodore was always brave to the point of recklessness in battle. And of course, it was Theodore who led a desperate charge at the French cavalry and got cut down – and Gregory who rescued him. Lord Wellington mentioned his gallant behaviour in a despatch,’ she finished, her pride in her grandson’s bravery plain to see.
This was bittersweet news to Kitty, doing her best to appear unconcerned. She was aware that her great-aunt was watching her with a gimlet eye. She made a show of sipping her tea, keeping her eyes lowered to hide her admiration of Theo’s gallant courage. No wonder he hated his lame leg so much. But then she quickly looked up as the conversation took another turn.
‘Well, with that badly injured leg, his army days are over,’ another lady remarked. ‘He is back on the town, but not such a rake as he used to be. He is quite a catch, after all – heir to a very handsome viscountcy.’ Her eyes gleamed as she added, ‘I see that Augusta Payne has brought her daughter up to town – she is desperate to marry the girl to young Weston.’
There was a general scream of laughter at this point. Kitty looked at her aunt in bewilderment, which made the other ladies laugh even more.
‘Poor Letitia,’ Lady Deane said mildly, ‘if only she had a little beauty.’
‘Or taste!’ said another dowager scornfully. ‘Young Theo Weston’s mother was such an exquisite creature. I cannot believe he would look twice at Letitia Payne.’
‘Maybe not but the Paynes are often guests at Weston Parcombe. Lady Payne is a great friend of his stepmama.’
Kitty tried not to feel jealous of this unknown girl whose family were determined to turn her into Theo’s bride. But I will never be anything to him, she thought miserably. Why did it all go so wrong between us?
‘Are you going to call on your grandmother?’ Theo teased Greg, as they drove past her house in Mount Street on their way to Hyde Park.
‘When she is holding one of her tea parties?’ Greg’s voice trembled with horror. ‘I would rather face a whole French division than those dragons.’
‘Faintheart,’ mocked Theo. ‘There may be some rewards – pretty young ladies to talk to. And maybe you should be talking to them, just to reassure yourself about their loyalty to King and country,’ he added, in a sarcastic tone.
Greg heaved a sigh. ‘We have already discussed this. I accept she might be just an innocent party but there are two questions to answer. One, what was she doing in the backstreets? That is the sort of place any kind of agent would lurk. And two, why is she suddenly so friendly with Saint-Aubin?’
‘Perhaps it is more the case that he is attracted to her.’ Theo directed a withering look at his friend. ‘We do not all go weak at the knees at the sight of golden ringlets. As for the back-streets’ – he shrugged – ‘I would guess she was helping the maid’s family. It should be easy enough for your Jem to check that.’
They drove on in moody silence and turned into Hyde Park. As they proceeded slowly along the main avenue, Theo added, ‘Now I come to think of it, every time I have seen Miss Towers at any social event, Saint-Aubin has always been hovering close by.’
‘By Gad, I do believe you are right, old fellow. Perhaps he thinks she is to inherit her great-aunt’s fortune and is trying to court her. It is certainly a reasonable explanation for his attentions.’
‘And means that she has nothing to do with these absurd suspicions of yours.’
Greg looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Point taken, old fellow. Consider the matter closed.’
Theo stared ahead grimly. ‘Wish I could!’
Knowing his friend’s state of mind, Greg simply gave a tactful cough and concentrated on guiding his pair of horses through the cluster of carriages ahead of them. The wind was still strong and the crowd was thinner than normal. One young lady in a phaeton was struggling to keep her horses from breaking into a canter. Greg pulled up to let her through. Suddenly, he heard Theo utter a curse.
‘Get moving, man, quickly!’ he urged. Just as Greg was gathering up the reins to urge his pair along, a strident female voice hailed them.
‘Too late!’ groaned Theo.
A barouche drew alongside. It contained a large middle-aged lady and a younger version of herself. Both were fussily dressed in strong colours that did not set off their high-coloured complexions to any advantage. Theo looked at them with a frustrated resignation.
‘Lady Payne,’ he inclined his head, ‘and Miss Payne.’ He indicated Greg. ‘My friend, Mr Thatcham.’
The countess barely gave Greg a glance. ‘Dearest Theodore. What an age since we saw you. We were so disappointed to miss you when we stayed with your parents last month. But never mind, I shall expect you to call tomorrow.’ She indicated her daughter. ‘Letitia is quite impatient for a chance to show you her progress on the harp: you must remember how delightfully she entertained us the last time we were all together with your dear father and stepmama at Weston Parcombe. I recall that your papa was most impressed.’ She gave him a toothy smile and waved as the coaches drew apart.
Greg was helpless with laughter. ‘What a dragon!’ he gasped at last.
Theo’s brows were one straight line over the bridge of his nose. ‘I am going out of town,’ he announced through his teeth, ‘now!’
‘Steady on, old fellow. What about protecting me?’
Theo gave a snort. ‘This time, the boot is on the other foot.’ He glared around moodily. ‘Did my father send her?’
‘Is that the – er – suitable match he was proposing to you?’
Theo nodded. ‘And it seems he had discussed it with her mother.’ He raked a hand through his hair and scowled at Greg. ‘Why are you laughing at me?’
‘It – it was your face when she mentioned the harp!’ choked Greg, putting a hand to his ribs. He wiped his eyes and gave a wicked grin. ‘Lay you odds the countess will nobble you at Caroline’s ball.’
‘Oh, Lord! As if I did not already have enough to do there.…’ He heaved a sigh. ‘Do me a favour, Greg, dance every dance with Miss Payne.’
‘Sorry, old fellow,’ his unsympathetic friend seemed about to give way to another fit of laughter, ‘I could not face that prospect. She may have every quality, but beside Miss Warrington, the contrast is too awful.’
‘As I said before, you are a faintheart,’ growled Theo. ‘Well, at least whip your cattle up and let us enjoy a decent drive.’ He looked around and uttered a curse. ‘As fast as you can, man. Just go!’
‘Now what is wrong?’ Greg obediently urged the bays to a canter.
Beside him Theo let out a long sigh of relief. ‘That was Miss Harling trying to accost us.’
Greg burst out laughing again. ‘You used to like the ladies, dash it! Couldn’t get enough of them, in fact. What has come over you?’
Theo grimaced. ‘These days I need something more than empty comments about the weather and the next party.’ Which was true, as far as it went, he thought, bracing his feet as Greg took a corner a mite too fast. The image of Kitty with her honest brown eyes and sweet expression came into his mind. He compressed his lips. He did not like the role he had played that morning in intercepting her. He remembered her angry look. It was going to be a hard task to win back her confidence.