Page 64 of Nothing But a Rakehell
“I was breathless with anticipation, and when my turn upon the stage came, I was full of hope and shaky confidence.”
She stopped. He waited.
“It was a friend of my brother’s. Mr. James Judson.” Residual bitterness still accompanied his name. “He was a bully when we were children and he is a wastrel now, in my opinion. But he has money and a decent bloodline and so he goes unchecked.”
“What did he do?”
“He was already the worse for drink before the entertainments began. He moved restlessly in the audience and occasionally whispered too loudly during a performance, but his behavior was ignored. He’d slumped in his chair by the time my turn came, so I had hope he’d sleep through the rest of it.”
“He didn’t,” Keswick said flatly.
“No. He sat up when I came out and said ‘Not the cripple!’”
“The wicked arse,” he breathed.
“It wasn’t the first time he called me thusly. I’m sure I turned beet red, but I persevered. I wasn’t going to let him chase me off of the stage. Not after I had worked so hard. So, I continued on. I put my heart and soul into it, too. When I finished, I held my position and waited with bated breath, praying it would be well received.”
He noticed that his fingers had ceased stroking and he had gripped her wrist tightly. Wordlessly, he loosened his hold and waited.
“The audience began to applaud. My breath came out in a whoosh and I stood. I’m sure I was grinning like an utter idiot. I made my bow and turned to step off of the stage—but Judson leapt to his feet.”
“He said . . .” Her voice had begun to shake a little. Stopping, she swallowed and cleared her throat. “He said that it wasn’t right that I should have been allowed to perform before an audience. I was a disgrace and he never understood why I wasn’t kept at home and out of sight. I should never have been allowed to conduct myself as equal with the other young ladies.” Her breath caught. “He said I ruined Shakespeare’s idea of an impish sprite, free and light and airy. He said . . . that just watching me walk was an offense to the senses and ruined his picture of the ideal of womanhood.”
By the end, her voice sounded tight and strained.
“I hope your brother killed him,” he said savagely. If not, he would seek his own vengeance. He could happily imagine horsewhipping the bastard until he found himself with permanent wounds that could then be mocked by other bastards.
“It was all an uproar. The girls were crying. My brother was shouting. Judson and a group of other young men stormed out. My mother fainted, and that put an end to it. We were bundled out and the girls blamed me for the ruin of the evening.” She sighed. “Except for Hope, of course.”
“What happened afterwards? Did your brother duel with the drunken sot?”
“They quarreled, but there was no duel. I received far fewer invitations. Mother grew ill and that restricted our social lives for quite a while. Later, after her death, my brother made up his quarrel with Judson. In fact, he married the man’s sister.”
His jaw dropped. “Do you mean to say that that arse wipe is your brother-in-law?”
“Yes. And he runs tame in the house.”
“And your brother allows it?”
“The three of them are thick as thieves.” Her tone turned wry. “You can see the appeal of hiding away here with Hope, in Gloucestershire.”
“Hell, yes, I can.” Wild rage was coursing through him—as was the earnest desire to make hersee. “But you must not hide away, not under any circumstances.”
Chapter 14
Glory jumped a little, in surprise, as Keswick leapt to his feet. He paced back and forth along the water’s edge in front of her.
“Your mother had a long illness, did she not?”
“She did.” Bewildered, she watched him pivot and continue, back and forth.
“And that night was the start of it?”
“No. It began after my father’s death, I honestly believe. But her decline became more obvious about that time.” She stiffened suddenly. “I didn’t cause it, if that’s what you mean to insinuate.”
“No! Not at all. I’m just painting the picture in my mind. Two mourning periods. A long illness between them.” He stopped. “I don’t imagine that your new sister-in-law included you in her social activities.”
She laughed. “No. Not often.”
