Page 60 of The Model Debutante
‘Why certainly, if one is concerned only with title, wealth, intelligence, looks and a ready address. I am foolish enough to wish only for a husband, be he ever so humble, who loves me and tells me so. I am most unlikely to find such a soul mate, and his lordship, to do him justice, does not perjure himself with false declarations of emotions he does not feel.’
‘Oh dear,’ Aunt Kate said dismally. Even in the fitful light cast by the flambeaux as they passed Tallie could see her shoulders droop. ‘This is not what Miss Gower and I dreamed about for you.’
‘You thought that I should marry Lord Arndale?’ The words were out before she could help herself. Surely the two ladies could never have dreamed that their protégée would attach the interest of the eligible Nicholas Stangate, Lord Arndale?
‘Well, you always seemed so...different, so independent.’ Lady Parry was obviously struggling to articulate what the two friends had plotted so deviously. ‘And Nicholas is inclined to be so cool and so much in command of everything. We thought,’ she broke off in confusion, ‘We thought you would do him good, shake him out of that control, make him enjoy himself.’
‘I would have thought,’ Tallie said dryly, ‘that Lord Arndale was more than capable of enjoying himself without any help from us.’
‘You mean his mistresses and so forth,’ Lady Parry remarked, apparently rendered indiscreet by the darkness. Tallie felt incapable of enquiring whatso forthmeant. ‘Well, of course, but there too he is in control. By all accounts he is perfectly fair, very generous, but he needs shaking up a little in my opinion.’
‘I doubt if being turned down by me will be an adequateshock,’ Tallie observed. It was a most peculiar sensation having this intimate discussion about Nick in the dark. It was almost like talking to herself and it most certainly did not feel real. ‘I must confess, Aunt Kate, I did overhear you both discussing his marriage plans. Being turned down by an eligible young lady would, I imagine, administer the appropriate salutary shock. Being spurned by a shockingly eccentric milliner is unlikely to do more than sting his pride.’
‘Oh dear,’ Aunt Kate sighed. ‘I appear to have made a mull of everything.’
‘Do not say so.’ Tallie impetuously moved to sit next to her patroness and hugged her. ‘I have had a lovely time, truly. And I could not have hoped for a warmer welcome than you and William have given me. It is an experience I will always treasure, but I am not cut out for this sort of life. If you will allow me, may I borrow the carriage to go down to Putney tomorrow to stay with Miss Scott? She thinks she has found the perfect house for her school and wants me to approve it.
‘If I stay perhaps a week, then Lord Arndale will forget all this nonsense about having to marry me and I can come back and finish the Season, if you will allow.’
‘Of course you may have the carriage.’ The vehicle drew up outside the house as Aunt Kate spoke and she continued as the groom helped her down. ‘And of course you must finish the Season. I cannot imagine how I am going to get along without you. I have had so much pleasure from your company.’
‘And I from yours, dearest adoptive Aunt.’ Tallie kissed Lady Parry on the cheek as they stood in the hall, blinking in the light of the many-branched candelabra which Rainbird had set on the side table. ‘Thank you so very much.’
Tallie managed to escape the next morning with her portmanteau without an encounter with Nicholas, who, as shehad predicted to Lady Parry, had kept to his room until noon.
She sank back against the squabs with a sigh which might have been either relief or regret and watched the bustling street scene as it passed. How long was it since she had counted every penny before considering whether to take a hackney carriage? Not so many weeks and here she was taking for granted the luxury of a private carriage with liveried servants at her beck and call.
Tallie took a firm grip on her imagination which was wistfully conjuring up images of a certain grey-eyed gentleman and thought fondly of dear Miss Gower whose kindness had led her to pluck an anonymous young lady out of her genteel poverty and establish her in comfort and elegance. The smile which curved Tallie’s lips at the memory of the doughty old lady faded as she wondered how many other young women the city held who were forced to make their own way in a hostile world, most of them without the benefits of upbringing and education she had received.
The germ of an idea began to form as the carriage drove into the country near Little Chelsea and by the time they had reached the village of Fulham she was excited.Yes.This is what I can do.Tallie knew next to nothing about the advanced theories of education which Zenna held so dear, but she did know what sort of start in life an impoverished young woman needed, and it was not just young ladies fallen on hard times who required help.
The pretty view of the Thames from Putney bridge passed unnoticed and when the coachman drew up in front of the tall double-fronted house just off the High Street in Putney Tallie was so lost in thought that the groom had to cough to draw her attention to the fact that he had been patiently holding the door open for her for some moments.
‘I am so sorry,’ Tallie apologised, stuffing her tablets and pencil into her reticule and jumping down. ‘I had an idea. Zenna,have you been watching for me? I am sorry not to have given you more notice.’ They embraced and Zenna showed her in to the house.
‘What do you think of it?’ she asked anxiously. ‘The country air is so pleasant, and it is not too far from Town, I thought…’
‘Is it big enough?’ Tallie demanded, staring around her with furrowed brow.
‘Big enough? But I was worried that you would think it too big.’ Zenna said. ‘There are two wings at the back which do not show from the road. I had thought perhaps a dozen young girls and a dozen older ones. There is ample room for that and for classrooms and rooms for the assistant mistresses, a dining hall, a suite of rooms for me and servants’ rooms. The kitchens are rather antiquated, but a new close range and a little work and they will be perfectly acceptable.’
‘No, it needs to be bigger.’ Tallie took her friend’s arm and began to march towards the stairs. ‘Can we manage to accommodate another dozen or so girls? Not fee-paying ones but poor girls who would benefit from a good education? And a suite for me as well.’
‘Well, thereisroom, we might have to do more work on the left-hand wing, I suppose.’ Zenna dug her heels in and they stopped abruptly at the foot of the stairs. ‘But who is going to pay for these girls? And why do you want a suite of rooms? Surely you are going to marry Lord Arndale?’
‘I am going to pay for them and no, I am not going to marry Nicholas or anyone else. I am ruined and I intend to devote myself to the education and advancement of deserving girls.’
Chapter Twenty One
‘Ruined?’ Zenna squeaked. ‘How? Who by?’
‘Really, Zenna,’ Tallie chided, starting to climb the stairs. ‘Don’t you mean “by whom”?’
‘You know perfectly well what I mean,’ Zenna said fiercely, running to catch up. ‘I suppose it was Lord Arndale and why are you not marrying him? You might be…I mean…’
‘Expecting a child?’ Tallie stopped on the landing and surveyed the doors opening off it. ‘This will need some redecoration, I think. No, I am not in any danger of that. It appears that one can be quite effectively ruined without any of the supposed pleasures one might expect in the process.’
‘Talitha Grey!’ Zenna stopped dead in front of her and wagged a finger. ‘Stop sounding flippant and as if you do not care. I know you better than that, remember. Why will you not marry Lord Arndale for goodness sake? You are in love with the man, after all.’
