Page 6 of Weave me a Rope
It was an odd thing, but when she allowed her mind to consider the carnal activities His Grace of Richport spoke of with such authority, she found herself wondering how experienced and skillful Lord Spenhurst was.
Chapter Three
After that afternoon,Lord Spenhurst seemed to be everywhere Cordelia went. He took her walking at garden parties, visited her box at the theatre, and danced at least one set with her at each ball and assembly.
“Is Lord Spenhurst courting you?” Aunt Eliza wondered.
Cordelia was certain he was not. “Watch him, Aunt Eliza. He also spends similar amounts of time with Lady Daphne and three other young ladies. All we have in common is that none of us is a marriage prospect for the Earl of Spenhurst.” Which was a pity, for the more Cordelia saw of Lord Spenhurst, the more she liked him.
His attention had consequences, both good and bad. On the good side, most of the fortune hunters saw his interest and moved on to other heiresses. The rakes, too, drifted off, one after another, though Cordelia did not know whether that was because she could not be tempted, or because Lord Spenhurst glowered at any who came near, or because her uncle found a lever he could use to chase them away.
The Duke of Richport was the last to give up, but eventually, even he moved on to other prey.
However, Cordelia’s pool of partners did not reduce with the defection of those she was pleased to see disappear. Apparently, Lord Spenhurst had brought her into fashion, and not just her but three other young ladies, too. While none of them couldboast full dance cards and hordes of suitors, all of them had acquired a circle of interested gentlemen who were apparently eager to dance, make afternoon calls, and provide escorts for walks and carriage rides.
Further evidence showed that Lord Spenhurst was not courting Cordelia, for he did not visit again, nor did he ask her to walk or drive with him. What a pity he was the only one who sent the butterflies fluttering in her middle.
Then there were the negative consequences. At the top of Cordelia’s list was the disapproval of some of Society’s most eminent matrons. Lady Corven even visited one day to tell Cordelia bluntly that Lord Spenhurst would never marry her.
“Of course,” Cordelia agreed. She had been receiving glares from the august lady for the past week, and had half-expected her call, so she had prepared a speech that was consoling without being obsequious. “I am grateful to him for sparing me a little of his attention, as he has for several of the other wallflowers. By being kind enough to do so, he has drawn us to the attention of several other gentlemen who are not so far above us.”
Lady Corven made a considering noise. “Several others, you say?”
“Yes, my lady.”
The lady was obviously not convinced. She glared, her voice challenging, as she asked, “What are your expectations, Miss Milton?”
Cordelia had an answer for that, too. “I promised my uncle I would complete one Season in London before I looked for a husband among my own kind. In two months, my promise will be fulfilled. I expect to end the Season as I began, as a maiden and unmarried.”
“And your uncle will be satisfied with that?” asked Lady Corven, frowning in suspicion.
The lady had been blunt, so Cordelia would be blunt in return. “Lady Corven, in the end, my uncle wishes me to be happy. Marriage is for a lifetime, after all, whether happy or miserable. I know I will not be happy unless I find a husband who sees more to me than my dowry. One I can like and respect and who likes and respects me. One who is not ashamed of me because of my origins. Doyouthink I will find a husband to meet those conditions within the ton? Because I do not.”
Lady Corven pursed her lips. “In my world, young people are guided by their parents. However, if you are satisfied, I have no complaints. Very well. We understand one another, Miss Milton. I will wish you a pleasant time until the end of the Season and will not expect to see you again after it ends.”
She must have told her friends, for after her meeting with Lady Corven, the matrons thawed. It could not have been her aunt’s growing friendship with Miss Faversham. The two older ladies gravitated towards one another whenever they were at the same event, which meant that Cordelia and Lady Daphne also spent quite a bit of time together. But Lady Daphne, though the daughter of an earl, was ignored by most of those who governed Society, and the other three were of no account at all.
Another bad outcome of Spen’s attention was the increase in hostility from those ladies whom he had not so favored, particularly Miss Wharton and her two sycophants. That also led to something good, for they bailed Cordelia up in the ladies’ retiring room one day, having sent the attending maid on a wild goose chase. When their attack turned physical, another young lady intervened and routed them with a few well-placed threats. She turned out to be a viscount’s daughter, and much better connected than any of the three, even having a duchess for a godmother, so the harpies backed down and backed away.
After their introduction in the line of fire, as it were, Cordelia and her rescuer, Regina Kingsley, quickly became friends. So,her worst annoyances were gone or neutralized, and she had a friend at her side.
Cordelia set out to enjoy what remained of the Season, which would have been easier if she had not made the mistake of falling in love with Lord Spenhurst. She looked for him at every entertainment, waited for those moments he always spent with her, delighted in his presence, and floated through the rest of the event buoyed by the knowledge yet another memory had been stored away as a treasure to be examined at her leisure when the Season was over.
No other man came close to measuring up. She very much feared no man ever would. Her uncle would have to be satisfied with redeeming the promise he would not force her choice, for she was no longer willing to marry without love, and she could not have the man she loved.
As the summer warmed, people began to leave London. The pace of events increased as if those remaining were determined to wring every last drop of pleasure from Town society before they retired to the country. Many of those who had not made a match would enter another social round, perhaps at a regional center or a spa town, or perhaps at a succession of house parties.
For Cordelia, her time as a debutante was nearly over. She did not allow herself to think about the future. Somewhere hidden within her, a hollow void of grief waited to burst forth—a heart fractured, not by broken promises– for Lord Spenhurst had made none– but by the loss of a bright future that was never hers to grasp.
She threw herself into the last round of entertainments, for each was an opportunity to capture another memory for the lonely times ahead.
Perhaps her preoccupations made her careless, because one warm evening in early summer, she was walking in yet another garden with Aunt Eliza and a group of other young ladies andtheir chaperones. Regina was having an evening at home, and Lord Spenhurst had not yet arrived.
Cordelia was enjoying the scent of roses in the dusk when she realized she had let herself drop back behind the group. She could see the last two ladies ahead of her, just going out of sight around a turn in the path.
She hurried her steps but, just before she could follow them around the corner, someone reached out from the foliage and dragged her into its concealment. She struggled against the arm that held her tight against a large strong body, the hand that clasped her mouth so she could not scream. Her frantic efforts were to no avail. Her assailant ignored them, half-carrying and half-dragging her out of whatever tree he had hidden within, and down between two clipped hedges until the noises of the party became faint with distance.
“I am going to let go of your mouth,” said the clipped tones of the Duke of Richport, not at all slurred, although the sound was carried on a cloud of brandy fumes. “If you scream, you will be ruined. My reputation will not suffer, for I am a duke, and you are a nobody. But be silent, and I will let you go in thirty minutes or so, with no one the wiser about our little assignation.”
