Talk of the Ton

She remembered the sailors and shuddered. On the other hand, just because this man was well dressed, did it mean he was to be trusted? ‘I have already thanked you for that. If you really are a gentleman, then you would convey me to the nearest coaching inn where I might take a stage back home.’

‘Can’t do that, I am afraid.’ The last thing he wanted was to act the unwilling escort to a spoiled young miss not long out of the schoolroom. He liked his women mature and experienced, so that they both knew where they stood. They could enjoy each other without the complication of broken hearts and dreams of weddings. It was how he had survived since leaving England seven years before. Silently he cursed young Kendall for landing him with this one. He had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Half an hour’s difference and he would have come and gone, or she would have gone on board and spoken to Kendall herself. The young man would have had to leave the ship to look after her. Now here he was acting the knight errant and the young man she had pursued was sailing away.

‘I beg you to look after her,’ he had said. ‘Take her to her uncle, the Duke of Belfont, and try to smooth her way, for I fear his Grace will be very angry.’ An irresponsible stripling, a self-willed young madam and an angry Duke—what had he done to deserve being saddled with their problems?

He turned a little in his seat so that he could see her properly. She had taken off that monstrous hat and was trying unsuccessfully to put her hair up with combs. It was beautiful hair, thick and dark and gleaming with good health. Her eyes, beneath winged brows, were a deep amber and her mouth was full and generous with a chin that was jutting proudly. Considering her dishevelled state and the strange garb she wore, that was quite a feat.

‘Shall we start again?’ he queried. He had a lop-sided kind of smile, she noticed, which made her want to smile back, but she was determined not to do so. It would make him think she approved of his high-handed abduction of her. ‘Let me introduce myself. My name is Andrew Melhurst. I have lately returned to England after some years abroad.’

Oh, so he was a nabob, a nobody grown rich in the subcontinent and come home to flaunt his wealth. The chests and boxes she had seen being loaded on to the wagon, the sumptuous coach and the expensive diamond that glittered in his cravat, bore that out. ‘Mr Kendall told you my name, but what else did he tell you?’

‘Very little, Miss Harley, there was no time. But he did make it clear he had not asked you to come and he would deem it a favour if I would see you safely home.’

‘You think I ran away to go with him, don’t you?’

‘It matters little what I think. Perhaps you should be more concerned by what the rest of the world thinks. If this little escapade becomes known, you would find your reputation in tatters. Mine too, I fear.’

‘Oh.’ She knew she had made a dreadful mess of everything. What had made her think her disguise was good enough to deceive? Oh, Toby was always laughing and saying she was more boy than girl and her mother had said how startled she had been when she first saw her in her father’s breeches, but that was not enough to pass muster with the man who sat opposite her, regarding her with his bright intelligent eyes. And not only him, the passengers in the coach from Sudbury had looked at her strangely and she was sure those rough sailors had realised she was not a boy. She was lucky to have come this far without being molested and the prospect of returning home in the same way was more than a little frightening. The fact that this stranger had seen fit to point it out to her did not help. ‘It is your own fault, you did not need to intervene at all.’

‘You know, you are right, I wonder why I did.’

‘Because Toby asked you to, I suppose.’

‘There is that, but I am not accustomed to doing the bidding of strangers, so it must be that I am a gentleman and gentlemen do not leave ladies in dangerous predicaments when it is their power to help. Now, what about my suggestion that we start again in a more civilised fashion? I know your name, I know you are the niece of the Duke of Belfont, but nothing more.’ He smiled suddenly and, in spite of herself, she found herself breathing a sigh of relief and smiling back. ‘Suppose you tell me why you set out on this adventure. I cannot believe you meant to worry your family to death.’

‘No, I did not. And I was not running away or trying to elope or anything foolish like that. I simply wanted to say goodbye to Toby, to find out—’ She stopped suddenly, knowing her reasons would sound foolish.

‘To find out what?’

‘Oh, it is too complicated…’

‘We have plenty of time. I am not letting you out of this coach until we reach Belfont House.’

‘Oh, you are never taking me to Uncle James, he will be furious.’

‘With good cause, I imagine. But where else should I take you? Is that not your home?’

‘No. I live with my mother and sister just outside Sudbury.’

‘Sudbury! How did you get from there to here?’

‘By stagecoach and cab, how else?’

She was not lacking in courage, he decided. ‘I think you had better tell me everything from the beginning.’

She sighed. ‘I suppose I had or you will dump me on his Grace’s doorstep and leave me to his wrath.’

He did not bother to tell her he would not ‘dump’ her anywhere, but as for taking her as far as Sudbury, he hadn’t bargained on doing that, even though it was not far out of his way. ‘Go on,’ he said quietly.

So she told him everything: her love of botany, instilled in her by Joshua, and Toby who had been her friend and playmate since childhood, her longing to go plant hunting, to have adventures, though after today she was not so sure she was as intrepid as she had thought she was. And the unfeeling way that Toby had been sent away, simply because her uncle wanted to stop her dreaming and turn her into a conventional débutante.

He smiled. ‘I do not think you will ever be that,’ he said, doing his best not to laugh. He looked at her, wondering if she was too proud to laugh at herself, and was relieved when her efforts to remain stern failed and a broad smile creased her face and showed him perfect white teeth. In a moment they were both laughing aloud.

‘It is not funny,’ she said, fishing for a handkerchief in her coat pocket to dab her streaming eyes.

‘Then why are you laughing?’

‘I do not know. To stop myself crying, perhaps.’

‘Do you want to cry?’

‘I think I was very near to it.’

‘Oh, how thankful I am that you desisted. I cannot abide weeping women.’

Suddenly embarrassed, she turned from him and looked out of the window. It was beginning to grow dusk and she could not see more than dark buildings lining the road and the light shining from some of their windows. This part of the great metropolis had no street lighting. Once again she became aware of her predicament. She did not like being beholden to him, but there was no doubt that, if she had been left on the docks, she would have had to make her way back to town through these unlit streets. ‘Much as I would like to deny it, I am in your hands, so what do you propose to do with me?’

‘Take you to your uncle, the Duke.’

‘Oh, no! He will give me a roasting.’

‘And do you not think you deserve it?’

‘Perhaps.’

‘There is no perhaps about it. But I cannot take you all the way to Sudbury. That would mean being in each other’s company throughout the night and even you must agree that would not be the thing. It would only need someone to see you, someone to ask questions about your absence from home, someone to recognise the Melhurst carriage, for the tattlers to start work on your reputation and my good name.’

‘You could put me on a coach.’

‘I have told you no.’ His answer was almost snapped. He would be every sort of bounder if he did that. His conscience would not allow it.

‘Supposing I insist?’

‘Insist away. I shall not allow you to leave this vehicle until we are safely at Belfont House.’

She fell silent, thinking of her uncle. He had been cross enough when he had seen her in her male clothes in the garden at home—he would be furious knowing she had ventured abroad thus dressed. ‘If it must be Belfont House,’ she said, ‘could you contrive to speak to my Aunt Sophie and not the Duke? She will help me, I know. I have heard she was once a little unconventional herself, before she married my uncle, that is.’

‘Because I do not think I should like to see you roasted, I will endeavour to do as you ask, but I make no promises and, if her Grace should deem it necessary to send for the Duke, I shall have nothing to say on the matter. After all, I do not know whether you make a habit of disappearing dressed as a male and if your family are out of patience with you.’

‘I don’t. I have never done it before.’ She paused and added softly, ‘Thank you, sir.’

They spent the remainder of the short journey talking about travel, about where he had been and the sights he had seen, the heat and smells of India. When she asked about plant hunting, he told her that it was far from a stroll in the garden; it needed meticulous planning and provisioning, with hired guides and porters and, if one was sensible, a medical man because bites, scratches, falls and bad food were commonplace. And that did not take into account the voyage, which might be beset by storms or being becalmed. If he thought that might put her off the idea, he was wrong, but she did admit that if she travelled it would have to be in a properly conducted party with a knowledgeable escort. ‘Though how that can be arranged I do not know,’ she said. ‘Toby said I should marry a rich man—’ She stopped suddenly, realising what she had said.

‘That would indeed be the solution,’ he said, noting her discomfort, but pretending he did not. ‘All the more reason to go ahead with your come-out, don’t you think?’

She sighed, knowing he was right, but determined that her dreams of travel would not influence her choice of husband. If there was a choice, of course. She might be considered too much of a hoyden to attract the sort of man who inhabited the drawing rooms of the ton. That was why she was so fond of Toby; he took her as she was.

It was completely dark when the carriage drew to a halt outside a large mansion in South Audley Street, but here there were street lights and lanterns alight at each side of the imposing front door. ‘Stay out of sight,’ he commanded her. ‘While I see how the land lies.’

He jumped down and strode to the door and knocked. The duty footman must have heard the carriage because the door was opened almost immediately. ‘I wish to speak to the Duchess,’ Andrew said. ‘On a matter of some importance.’

The footman looked him up and down, as if wondering if he ought to admit a lone caller so late at night. ‘Your name, sir?’

‘Melhurst. Mr Andrew Melhurst.’

‘I will see if her Grace is at home, Mr Melhurst, but without an appointment…’ He allowed his voice to fade to nothing.

‘It is of the utmost importance.’

The man ushered him in, then turned and slowly and deliberately climbed the cantilevered staircase with its ornate cast-iron balustrade to the first floor, while Andrew stood and fumed. He hoped Miss Harley would not take it into her head to leave the carriage. The house was one of a row and she could be been seen by neighbours if they should happen to glance out of a window. And there were people in the street going about their business. He had no idea how well known she was in the neighbourhood.

A few minutes later, the servant returned. ‘Please follow me, Mr Melhurst.’

The Duchess received him in a first-floor drawing room of elegant proportions. He bowed, surprised to see how young she was, twenty-seven or eight at the most, he decided. ‘Mr Melhurst, has something happened to the Duke?’ she asked, her voice betraying her anxiety. ‘Do tell me quickly, for I cannot bear the suspense.’

‘No, your Grace, I have never met the Duke. It is concerning your niece, Miss Harley.’

Her obvious relief was followed by concern. ‘Beth? If you have come to make an offer for her, Mr Melhurst, then I suggest you apply to the Duke in the morning. It is late—’

‘You mistake me, your Grace. I have not come to offer for her. I have her in my carriage outside this house. She has, I regret to say, fallen into a bumblebath, from which I am endeavouring to rescue her. She needs a safe haven—’

‘She has never run away from home. Oh, dear, the foolish girl…’

‘She assures me that was not her intention.’

‘Why did you leave her outside? Fetch her in at once.’

‘She is anxious not to encounter the Duke, but I collect he is from home.’

‘Yes, but that is not to say he will not be told.’

He bowed. ‘That, your Grace, is for you to decide. I am merely bringing her home. Could I ask for a cloak? It would not be sensible for her to be seen entering the house as she is.’

‘Mr Melhurst, you alarm me. What is the matter with her?’

‘Nothing, but she is dressed as a young man.’

To his surprise she started to laugh. ‘Oh, dear, I know she likes to do that at home in her garden and very fetching she looks too, but if you are bringing her home you must have found her somewhere else. Unless she inveigled you into her mischief?’

‘I am relieved you do not think it was the other way about, your Grace. And she did not inveigle me. On the contrary, she fought to get away. I could not allow that. The docks are hardly the place for well brought-up young ladies, especially at night.’

‘Did you say docks, Mr Melhurst?’

‘Yes, the East India docks. That was where I found her, looking for a young man called Toby Kendall.’

‘Oh, now I begin to see. The Duke financed Mr Kendall’s ambition to become a plant hunter. Surely she did not think she could go too? Oh, the foolish, foolish girl. But we must not leave her sitting outside. Please wait here, while I fetch her.’

Before he could find a suitable reply to tell her he would leave as soon as Miss Harley was safely indoors, she had sailed from the room in a froth of silk and lace. He paced the room, looking at the ornaments and pictures. The pictures were mostly by modern artists like Turner, Girtin, Constable and Lawrence, though there was a Gainsborough, which he assumed was of an earlier Duke and his family. A couple of classical vases on a shelf he recognised as Wedgwood. Miss Harley definitely came from a well-breeched family. She was undoubtedly spoiled, though if he were honest he would have to admit that she had a lively mind and an articulate way of expressing herself. In the short ride from the docks he had been more entertained than he had been for some time.

He heard the front door shut and voices in the hall, and then the Duchess, smiling broadly, put her head round the door. ‘I am going to take Miss Harley upstairs and hand her over to my maid. Please don’t go away. I haven’t thanked you properly.’ And, for a second time, she disappeared before he could politely take his leave.

Sophie conducted Beth up to the second floor and into her small private boudoir, where her maid appeared from an adjoining room. ‘Rose, we must find my niece something to wear.’ She pulled off the burnous in which Beth was shrouded, which evinced a gasp of shock from the servant and made Sophie smile, though Beth was far from smiling. Sitting alone in the coach, waiting for Mr Melhurst to come back, she had had time to think and thinking had not made her feel any easier about her little adventure. It was not so much an adventure as an escapade of the sort that schoolboys indulged in and if she got away with no more than a scolding she would count herself fortunate.

While the maid bustled about opening cupboard doors and searching for clothes, Sophie sat Beth down. ‘Now, tell me what possessed you to run away from home like that? Did you not think of your poor Mama, and Livvy, worrying about you? And not only your safety, which would certainly worry them, but the scandal. What do you suppose it would do to James if the King ever heard of it?’

‘I was not running away,’ Beth said. ‘I simply went to say goodbye to Toby; if Uncle James had not sent him away so suddenly that he could not tell me he was going, I never would have done it.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘I wish I had not. I did not see Toby. He told Mr Melhurst he did not want to see me, though I only have Mr Melhurst’s word for that…’

‘Surely you are not suggesting Mr Melhurst would tell you an untruth? Goodness, Beth, he did not have to take you up and bring you home, he was not obliged to do anything for you. But he did, no matter the inconvenience to himself.’

‘I know and I am thankful. I told him so, but he did not have to be so insufferably top-lofty about it…’ She paused as Rose came towards her bearing a green silk gown trimmed with pale green lace and cream-coloured ribbon.

‘I think this will fit you, Miss Harley.’

‘Very suitable,’ Sophie said. ‘Now, change quickly before anyone else sees you.’

‘What are you going to tell Uncle James?’

Sophie looked at her with her head on one side, smiling a little. ‘What should you like me to tell him?’

‘I wish he need not know I am here. Then, perhaps tomorrow, you can arrange for someone to escort me home. I will keep out of sight, I promise. No one need know I have ever been here.’ She was stripping off the sadly crumpled suit as she spoke.

‘And your punishment?’

‘Anything but a jobation from Uncle James. I will be the dutiful niece and daughter for the whole Season, I promise.’

Sophie laughed. ‘I should not make promises you cannot keep, Beth.’ She watched as Rose helped her into the dress. ‘Goodness, I have left Mr Melhurst all alone. I must go down and thank him and offer him refreshment. Come down when you are ready and let him see you are really a lady, and thank him yourself for taking such good care of you.’

Beth did not want to face him again, she would die with mortification. Perhaps if she dawdled over her toilette he would tire of waiting and take his leave, no doubt glad to be rid of her.

Andrew was examining a portrait of the Duchess by Frances Corringham, an artist he did not know, which he found particularly pleasing for its delicate attention to detail, when he heard the door open behind him. Assuming it was the Duchess returning, he turned to find himself facing a small boy in a nightshirt. His feet were bare and his hair was tousled, as if he had just woken.

‘Hello,’ the young one said. ‘Who are you?’

‘My name is Andrew Melhurst. And whom do I have the honour of addressing?’

‘I am Viscount James Dersingham. The Duke of Belfont is my father.’ It was said proudly but not, Andrew noted, arrogantly. ‘I am six.’

Andrew, to humour him, gave him an elaborate bow. ‘At your service, my lord.’

Jamie giggled. ‘You may call me Jamie, if you like.’

‘Thank you. Does your mama know you are out of bed?’

‘I could not sleep. I heard the door knocker and voices. I came to see who had called.’

‘And now you have satisfied your curiosity, do you not think you should return to your bed?’

Jamie ignored that suggestion. ‘Why are you here? It is the middle of the night.’

‘Not quite,’ Andrew said, glancing at the ornate clock on the mantelpiece which told him it was half past nine.

‘Where is my mama?’

‘Yes, where is she?’ a masculine voice enquired.

Andrew turned to confront a gentleman in impeccable evening attire who could only be the Duke of Belfont. Before he could do more than bow, young Jamie had flung himself at his father, who picked him up. ‘Jamie, why are you not in bed?’

‘I heard the door knocker and cousin Beth’s voice, so I came to see her. Why is she dressed in those funny clothes, Papa?’

‘I think you must be mistaken, son, she is not arriving until next week. I told you that, did I not?’

‘Yes, but she must have come early.’

James strode to the door and called the footman who hovered in the hall. ‘Take Master Jamie to his nurse, Foster. Tell her to put him back to bed.’ As soon as the boy had been led away James turned to Andrew, who had been listening in acute discomfort. ‘Now, sir, who are you and what are you doing here?’

‘My name is Andrew Melhurst, my lord Duke, lately back from India. I arrived on the Princess Charlotte…’ He paused, wondering how to go on.

‘Melhurst,’ the Duke put in. ‘Relation to Baron Melhurst of Heathlands near Newmarket, are you?’

‘Yes, his grandson.’

‘I know him. He was a friend of my father’s. How is he?’

‘He has been ill, which was why I returned to England, but he is recovering.’ He paused. ‘I met a young man on board, a Mr Toby Kendall.’

‘Ah, I begin to see. He was going as you were coming.’

‘Exactly.’

‘And you have a commission from him to me.’

‘Yes, your Grace.’

‘What did the young bounder want? I have dealt very generously with him and cannot think what else he may require…’

Andrew was nonplussed. ‘Your Grace,’ he began and then stopped, before taking a breath and continuing, ‘He desired me to thank you.’

James laughed. ‘Be blowed to that for a tale. Come on, man, the truth, if you please.’ He stopped and then added, ‘What was my son saying about his cousin Beth being here? Is Miss Harley here?’

‘Oh, James, do not blame Mr Melhurst. He has been the epitome of good sense and discretion.’

James swung round at the sound of his wife’s voice. ‘My dear, I was not blaming him—how could I when I have no idea what I have to blame him for? But, now you are here, perhaps you will put the poor man out of his unease and explain what has happened.’

Sophie went to her husband and took his hand. ‘Sit down, James, and you too, Mr Melhurst, we cannot converse properly if everyone is standing. I have ordered refreshments. Poor Mr Melhurst has been too busy on our behalf to eat.’

‘Sophie, do not prevaricate,’ he admonished, though he did as she suggested and sat down beside her, motioning to Andrew to take a chair opposite them. ‘Tell me what has happened.’

‘It’s Beth…’

‘So she is here?’

‘Yes, but do not interrupt, or I shall lose the thread of what I am saying.’

‘Go on.’ It was said quietly, but Andrew could tell that the Duke was not used to being thwarted and would have the truth. He wished devoutly that he could excuse himself and half-rose, but her Grace, seeing this, waved him down again. Perhaps she needed moral support, though she seemed perfectly at ease with her husband.

‘James, you sent that boy off on his travels without telling Beth and—’

‘That was the whole point, to separate them, you know that. Their association was becoming unhealthy.’

‘Fustian! They are friends, more like brother and sister, and she wanted to be part of his adventures—’

‘Good God! She did not think she could go too, did she?’

‘No, of course not. She wanted to be part of the planning, to say goodbye to him and see him off. She was afraid he might think she had connived at sending him away so abruptly and she wished to reassure him…’

‘So, what did she do?’

She took a deep breath. ‘She dressed as a boy and took the stage to London and a cab to the docks.’

‘Harriet would never so far forget herself as to allow that—’ He stopped speaking suddenly. ‘Oh, I see, Harriet did not know. So, what was Miss Andover doing?’

‘She didn’t know of it either. Beth travelled alone.’

‘Good God!’ he said again. He turned to Andrew. ‘And how came you to be involved, sir?’

‘I saw her endeavouring to board the ship, your Grace, and undertook to acquaint Mr Kendall of her presence. He told me he thought she had followed him in order to share his adventure and of course he knew that was not to be thought of and asked me to bring her here.’

‘You knew she was not a boy?’

‘Almost immediately.’ He smiled at the memory. ‘She looked very fetching, but I do not think anyone could be deceived.’