Marguerite Kaye - Regency Surrender - Scandal And Deception

Lady Louisa gave her a sad smile. ‘It is simple. He is not ashamed of you, Lady Fanworth. He is ashamed of us.’

‘Of you?’

‘Well not me, perhaps,’ Louisa admitted. ‘We really do get along brilliantly. But I could not come without Mother. Mother would have insisted that Father be invited, before she was willing to attend. She still hopes there is a way to mend this breach between the duke and his heir.’ Louisa shook her head as though contemplating the impossible.

‘My husband does not get on with his father? If anything, society seems to think they are two of a kind.’

‘Heavens, no. They are both proud, of course. But that is because of Father’s continual reminders that the Larchmont title is one of the oldest and most respectable in Britain. Nothing must be done to embarrass the family.’ Louisa frowned. ‘Although he claims to want the best for his heir, he actually wants the best from him as well. Nothing less than perfection will do.’

‘And Stephen is not perfect,’ Margot said, hating even to mention a thing which did not really matter.

‘When Father is disappointed...’ Louisa gave her a tight, little smile ‘...it is best to just avoid him. Since he is frequently disappointed in Stephen, my brother refuses to have anything to do with him.’ She whispered the next, as though it were part of some shameful secret. ‘The stammering is really so much better than he used to be, now that they do not talk. When Stephen was at home, if he made even the smallest mistake, Father would badger him until he could not talk at all.’

It was a horrible story. But it explained why the church had stood empty on their wedding day. ‘So there could be no duchess without a duke, and no you without the duchess.’ She thought for a moment. ‘But I understand you have a second brother, as well?’

Louisa nodded. ‘At the moment, there is a disagreement of some kind between my brothers. Fanworth was adamant that he did not want to see Arthur at his wedding. And Arthur does not want to be seen by anyone until the bruises have fully healed.’

‘Bruises,’ Margot repeated, still confused.

‘Stephen struck him,’ Louisa said with a little giggle. ‘I think his nose is broken. And both eyes...’ She gulped back a full laugh and took a ladylike sip of her drink to clear her throat. ‘I do not know exactly why. But I am sure that there was a good reason for it. Fanworth likes to pretend that he is gruff and imposing. But he is not usually moved to violence. And Arthur?’ Louisa sighed. ‘Arthur frequently deserves to be hit. At one time or another, we are all disappointed in him. Yet, Father seems to like him best of all. There is no pleasing some people and that is that.’

‘You seem to have a most unusual family,’ Margot said, as politely as possible.

‘Perhaps that is true. Some say the upper classes are prone to eccentricity. If so, there are few houses that can compete with Larchmont.’

‘If your father is so set on perfection, I suspect it makes your brother’s choice of wife all the more unacceptable,’ Margot said, resigned to her role.

‘Perhaps you did not understand my meaning,’ Louisa said with another little sigh. ‘There is no woman likely to find acceptance in a family led by my father. The fact that she was chosen by Stephen would be reason enough for him to find fault.’ Then she smiled. ‘For my part, I love my brother very much. If he loves you, that is reason enough for me to love you, as well.’

Now Margot should explain that it was not a love match at all. Despite what Louisa had told her of their conversation, she suspected her husband barely tolerated her when she was not in his bed. But when she was? Her skin grew hot at the thought of the previous night’s sport.

Perhaps that was a solid basis for a marriage and the rest did not matter. And to see this lovely young woman smiling before her and holding out the family olive branch was too tempting. ‘If you welcome me, of course we will be friends,’ Margot said cautiously.

‘Or sisters, if you wish,’ Louisa said, with a hopeful smile.

‘I already have a sister,’ Margot responded, then noticed the other woman’s smile falter. ‘But that is no reason that I cannot have another one.’

Louisa smiled again. ‘I have never had one. And few friends because...Father,’ she said as if that explained it all. ‘Mother is a dear, of course. But there are times it would be nice to have someone nearer my own age.’ She glanced around her. ‘Even if you are so often here.’

‘I work here,’ Margot said, testing her reaction to the word. ‘But since I am the owner, I could be a bit more free with my time.’ Hadn’t Jasper suggested such a thing just yesterday? Perhaps the world would not end if she was not here from dawn to dusk. ‘When your brother used to visit here, I spent many happy hours talking with him.’

‘Talking. With. Fanworth.’ Louisa’s first expression was one of incredulity. Then it settled into a warm smile. ‘Of course. I think this makes everything much clearer. When Mother heard how beautiful you were, she was rather worried.’ She stood, ready to take her leave. ‘But I will tell Mother that you have talked with Fanworth, for hours at a time. It will set her mind at rest.’

Margot stood as well and returned a smile to this rather cryptic remark, not wanting to think too hard on what the duchess had assumed about her character. ‘Thank you for your visit. And your kind words.’

‘And thank you, for the sake of my brother.’ Louisa smiled again. ‘I will come again, soon. If that is all right.’

‘Of course.’ Margot escorted her to the door. As she waved goodbye and watched Louisa and her maid stroll down the street, she felt more hopeful about her future than before, but no less confused.

Chapter Fifteen

Stephen spread the afternoon mail out on the writing desk in the salon and sighed. The packet of letters was not as large as he would have hoped. After his recent marriage, there should be invitations to balls, routs, or at least a dinner or two. Most importantly, there should be something addressed to Lady Fanworth.

Hopefully, Margot would not notice the degree to which she’d been snubbed. So far, the only event they would be attending was the hastily arranged reception Justine was hosting to celebrate the wedding and to welcome her brother-in-law, the Duke of Bellston, to Bath.

His parents would be in town by then. If they attended, it would give him a chance to introduce the family on neutral ground. Mother would be charming wherever they met her. But Larchmont was more likely to be civil if another peer was present. Much to his father’s annoyance, the Bellston title was the older and respect for tradition would force him to be on his best behaviour.

If the rest of the town did not see this party as a reason to welcome them, then they could all be damned. Since the majority of the ton followed the Regent to Brighton, it hardly mattered what people thought here. They would manage well enough until it was time to retire to Derbyshire and by the London Season, it would be old news.

But while he could ignore the snubs of strangers, he would not abide dissension in the staff. When he had come on holiday, he’d brought Mrs Simms, and the cook along with him. He liked his comforts and, in Derbyshire, those two women fussed over him like two hens with a single chick.

But it appeared that his marrying a woman of a lower class did not meet with their approval. Worse yet, he had entertained her in his home before marriage and they knew for a fact that she was not as virginal as her snowy-white gowns.

The insults to his wife were subtle, but frequent. Mrs Sims had been able to keep her own counsel while he’d entertained Margot as a mistress in the house she managed. But her patience had come to an end the moment he announced he would be marrying her. At any mention of the wedding or the bride, Mrs Simms had taken to sniffing in disapproval. She had done it so often that he had enquired of her whether she had a cold, or some chronic condition that affected her breathing.