The voice came from behind her, and Marietta turned with a cry of glad surprise. There stood Francesca, tall and slim, her cloud of dark hair barely restrained, her equally dark eyes full of pleasure. Marietta hesitated, thinking: Francesca, here in London?
Francesca laughed. “Yes, it really is me and not a wraith! I could not allow Mama to travel on her own, could I? Besides, I was desperate to see Vivianna’s son.”
The sisters embraced warmly, they had always had a special closeness, being the two nearest in age. Marietta wished she could tell Francesca everything that had happened to her, but she was wary. Her sister would probably not approve. Of all three girls it was Francesca who most resembled Aphrodite, and yet it was Francesca who most resented being a daughter of the famous courtesan. Was this the chance for mother and youngest daughter to get to know each other a little better?
“I cannot stay long.” Francesca immediately dashed her hopes. “I need to return to Greentree Manor as soon as Mama is settled and comfortable.”
Amy Greentree gave her youngest daughter a sympathetic look. “Do you already find London too much to bear? I admit, it is very noisy and some of it is very grubby, but Vivianna assures me one becomes accustomed.”
“I cannot imagine it,” Francesca said bleakly.
She did look paler than usual, Marietta admitted, and there was a wild look in her eyes, a little like a trapped animal. Of them all, Francesca was the one who loved her home in Yorkshire the most. She strode the moors as if she was a part of them, and her vivid, rather melancholy paintings reflected that.
“Well, I for one am very glad to see you, Francesca, and will be very sorry to see you go,” Marietta assured her. “In fact I would be extremely hurt if you were to leave before you had stayed at least a fortnight. Or more. There is much to do and see in London, and I want to show it all to you. Wait until you’ve been up in a balloon—”
She stopped, but too late. Amy was staring at her with narrowed and suspicious eyes. “A balloon, Marietta? I hope you have not partaken of this treat yourself, have you?”
“They are very safe, Mama,” she replied sweetly, making her eyes big and innocent, but not actually answering the question.
Francesca choked on laughter, but Amy wasn’t impressed.
“Very well, a fortnight,” Francesca said, before there was an argument. “But I am only agreeing to it because you have begged me, and you obviously can’t manage without me.”
“Psht!” Marietta replied to that, but she secretly wondered what her sister would think if she were to discover
what she was up to with Max. Learning about desire with a disinherited duke. Francesca would be appalled. Or would she? In some ways Francesca was even more unconventional than Vivianna and Marietta.
“What is the matter with Lil?” her sister asked her a little later, as they made their way upstairs. “She was quite strange, not at all her usual dour self. I think she even made a little joke. Of course we were all too surprised to laugh. Has she been ill?”
Marietta cast her a sideways glance. “Sick with love. She has met an aeronaught and spends all her free time flying with him in his balloon.”
Francesca was suitably astonished by this. “What of Jacob?” she asked. “I thought it was all arranged that they marry?”
Marietta had always known Lil had no intention of marrying their coachman. She considered herself far too superior, and her sights had been set higher.
“Mr. Keith is a very nice man, not at all the conventional sort, and he worships Lil. You will see.” She hesitated, and then launched into a subject she dearly wanted to broach with her sister. “Aphrodite has told me the name of my father, Francesca, and I am to meet him. Now that you are here, perhaps—”
Immediately Francesca stiffened, and her dark eyes grew even darker. “I’d rather remain in ignorance, thank you. I am not interested in my father. Or my mother.”
“Please, Francesca…”
“No, Marietta.”
There was no moving her younger sister when she was like this, and Marietta knew it well. With a sigh, she said no more, but she was sorry. Her own need to meet her father was growing stronger. In fact she could hardly wait…if only she were not so nervous that he would not like her, or that he had heard about her disgrace and would be disappointed in her.
It was just a pity that Francesca would not share this journey of exploration with her.
Uncle William, Aunt Helen, and Toby had been invited for dinner, and the dining table at Berkley Square was almost festive as the family exchanged memories and stories. Vivianna did her best to smile and enjoy herself, but it was clear Oliver’s continued absence was making her unhappy. Marietta herself, though very pleased to see Lady Greentree and Francesca, yet found her thoughts slipping away to Max.
There had been a note sent around to the house this afternoon. Lil had carried it up to Marietta, her head in the clouds as usual. When Marietta took the note and told her so, Lil giggled. Giggled! It was unnatural. “Ian…I mean, Mr. Keith, is makin’ a night flight at Vauxhall Gardens. There’s a masque ball, and there’ll be fireworks, miss. Mr. Keith’s goin’ to fly up high with them underneath the basket, and then set them off so as they’ll light up the sky over London. It’ll be a real spectacle.”
Marietta imagined it would be. “You don’t think it’s a little dangerous to do that, I mean lighting fireworks while you’re in a balloon, Lil?”
Lil pursed her lips. “Maybe, but Ian…Mr. Keith’s a very experienced aeronaught.” She had said it so sincerely that Marietta didn’t have the heart to smile. “And I’ll be with him to help.”
“Lil!”
“He’s asked me,” Lil said sharply, “and I’ve agreed, so there. No need to get yourself worried on my behalf, Miss Marietta. I like a bit of adventure, I do.”