“I’m not telling you.”
The woman’s hands were again touching the soft flesh of her neck. Lizzy swotted them away and turned on her stool. “I will not. Now, here is Mabel to do my hair. Please leave me so that I can get dressed.”
With great heavy breathing through her nose, Mrs Hodge stepped back with obvious reluctance to allow the maid access to Lizzy’s long, undressed hair.
“You’re a little fool if you think I shan’t find out,” she whispered, putting her mouth to Lizzy’s ear and leaving her with a moist and uncomfortable leave-taking. “And if you won’t tell me, I shall force it out of Mabel or the girl shall lose her position, mark my words.”
Chapter 15
“Antoinette, a rather vexing conundrum has arisen.” Without elaborating, Fanny glided into the room and insinuated herself between her sister and Fenton.
"Look!” With a snap, she drew aside the curtains and pointed in the direction of the lake.
Antoinette squinted, then turned to Fanny with a blank look. “A couple taking a stroll?”
“Not just any couple,” Fanny returned. “Don’t you see, Antoinette? It’s your fortune hunter!”
“Yes, I can see it’s Mr McAlister,” said Antoinette, shading her eyes against the weak winter sun, “but that’s not Lizzy.” The poke bonnet effectively hid the young woman’s face, but her figure was short and dumpy and her gown a simple and homely grey. Not at all the dashing figure young Lizzy Scott liked to cut. “And since it’s not Lizzy, I don’t see what you’re concerned about. I did what you told me to do, last night, even though I disliked doing it very much. I had stern words with Mr McAlister. I effectively warned him off Lizzy.”
“You were supposed to warn him away from Miss Harcourt, too!”
“I did! And I shall have a cosy little chat with Lizzy and ensure that she does what is in her best interests, provided that’s not chasing after Mr McAlister.” Antoinette paused. “I do believe that you and I are doing our duty sufficiently to keep both our heiresses safe from Mr McAlister, Fanny. Mr McAlister did not dance with Miss Harcourt last night—”
“But now he’s escorting her down the hill to goodness know’s where.” Fanny nibbled at her fingernail. “And the girl’s companion is still indisposed and can keep no eye on her. Lord, Antoinette, I wouldn’t care two figs about it other than that I really don’t want to see Mr McAlister kidnap the second Harcourt heiress, from under our roof this time.”
To Fanny’s irritation, Antoinette’s eyes lit up as if the idea were marvellous. “Well, we can only do what we can but…two heiresses kidnapped in less than a year? My, my, that would be rum.”
“It would be bad, Antoinette. Very bad.
”
“Anyway,” said Antoinette, “like Miss Scott, I think Miss Harcourt should do what she likes with her fortune, and of course I’d hate to upset my darling Quamby, but really, if she likes Mr McAlister after what he did to her sister, doesn’t that all but prove he’s not the devil? She should choose her own husband. Like we did.”
“We didn’t have twenty-five thousand pounds to gild the lily.”
Fenton, who’d now returned from a short journey to the mantelpiece to replenish his snuff, laughed at this. “But what you had was of much greater worth. Though, I must say, dearest, I think you’re doing it too brown with your concerns over fortune hunters at large and heiresses in danger of being whisked to Gretna Green in the middle of the night.”
Fanny regarded him a moment, then sighed. “You would not be so cavalier in your attitude if your invitation to court hung in the balance.”
“Oh, so that’s the reason!” Antoinette responded gaily. “I had forgotten you’d insinuated yourself into the good offices of Countess Villeneuve with her wondrous royal connections. Well, if it’s only your pristine reputation you are worried about, and not Miss Harcourt or Miss Scott’s well-being, I say let the young ladies make up their own minds.”
Fanny tried to keep her exasperation in check. “Except that Quamby will be exceedingly vexed with you if Lord Leighton arrives to find his second niece kidnapped, and Mrs Hodge will make my life intolerable, and no doubt spread all kinds of falsehoods that will stymie any further invitations to court, if Lizzy marries someone other than Mr Dalgleish. Someone she met here,” she added meaningfully.
“I suppose you are referring to Mr McAlister.” Antoinette stated the obvious. She appeared to ponder this a moment before glancing up, a rather harried expression upon her lovely face. “Let me assure you, Fanny, that I’m being kept very busy trying to be a good hostess, especially to several poor, lonely gentlemen who seem to know no one. But if you are asking me to devise my own way of taking Mr McAlister’s mind off either young lady, then I shall happily—”
“No!” cried Fanny and Fenton in unison.
Fanny shook her head and tried to hide the extent of her alarm. “We don’t need any help from you, Antoinette.”
“But I like to help,” Antoinette protested and Fenton, who was so much better at handling Fanny’s flighty sister than she was, put a grateful hand on Antoinette’s shoulder and said in the practised, measured tone he’d perfected, “Your help is always appreciated, Antoinette, but in this instance, all you need to do is whatever is in your power to gently steer both young ladies away from Mr McAlister.”
“Do you suppose we’ve been observed?” Amelia slanted an anxious look up at Theo as they stood at the lakeside.
“I certainly have been.” Theo didn’t trouble to hide the annoyance in his tone. “In fact, I was told so in no uncertain terms last night by Lady Quamby that I was being watched.”
“She said that?” Amelia’s hand went to her mouth, but Theo quickly laid her fears to rest. “She thought I was after another worthy heiress.” He considered this, then amended his words. “You were mentioned also, of course. Do you know, I even overheard the term: the fox in the henhouse.” He gave a short laugh that didn’t disguise his rancour, and she put her hand on his wrist and shook her head. “My poor Theo. Don’t laugh. It’s horrible. And it is all because of me. Truly, I cannot bear to think what you’ve been through.”
“It wasn’t because of you, Amelia. It was an unfortunate series of events.” He had to be sanguine about the situation that had descended upon him like the slow, all-enveloping cloud that followed a massive eruption.