[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
that Winnie did and she was terrified that she might do or say
something to ruin Winnie's chances. So the ton saw her, when they saw
her at all, as a shy, retiring sort of girl, content to stay at home.
These days, home was as crowded as the average rout.
Sporting gentlemen came, ostensibly to call on Winnie, but more likely
to pass a few minutes with Willy or Wally when they opened the door and
took the visitors' hats and gloves. These gents did not much care which
twin greeted them they could not tell the difference anyway they just
wanted to be the first to know if another bout was scheduled. A coin
pressed into the footman's hand should guarantee inside knowledge, or a
bit of boxing wisdom.
The Tulip set came to Park Lane, at first just to be seen where the
fashion was. They came back when they realized what an adornment Miss
Lattimore would be on their arms, her golden beauty surely a reflection of
their good taste. They wrote odes to her eyebrows and filled the rooms
with bouquets, tipping the footman to make sure their offering took
precedence.
Military gentlemen arrived in droves to pay their respects to the
general's granddaughters. Or to hear a recounting of the match.
The Minch brothers were going to make their down payment one way
or another.
With such a wealth of easy pickings, the vultures soon came too: every
mama with a marriageable daughter found her way to the Lattimores'
teas. The mothers catalogued the gentlemen for future reference; the debs
blushed and giggled over the least glimpse of Willy or Wally.
The Dowager Countess Windham was the worst harpy of the lot, in
Sydney's estimation. Aunt Harriet made sure Trixie was on view in the
Lattimores' parlor every afternoon, displaying the family wealth in gems
and laces for all the eligibles, and just in case Lord Mayne came to call.
Everyone knew of his extraordinary affiliation with the footmen at
Islington; they were waiting to see if the elusive viscount expanded the
association here in London.
How should she know? Winifred asked in confusion when pumped for
information by Aunt Harriet. She never met the man. He was most likely
just another eccentric they were better off not knowing, Sydney added,
firmly believing her own words.
The viscount did not call, neither did his brother.
"I don't understand," Winnie fretted. "He said he would call the next
day."
Sydney understood perfectly. She'd ordered the general's man Griffith,
standing in for the footmen right after the fight, to deny Lord Mainwaring
the house. By the time Wally and Willy were back tending the door,
Sydney had turned her sister's mind against the good-looking makebait.
"He most likely heard about your tiny dowry. A man like that cannot
afford a poor wife, so he wouldn't waste his time."
"Do& do you mean he's a fortune hunter?" Winnie clutched a tiny scrap
of lace to her cheek. "I knew he was a second son, but& " Sarah Siddons
could not have portrayed Virtue Distressed better.
"I have it on the best of authorities" his own brother, though she
wouldn't tell Winnie "that his character is unsteady. I know for a fact
that his closest associates are of low morals. And," she intoned, "there is
gambling." As in leprosy. "Think of the hand-to-mouth existence his
unfortunate wife would lead, after he went through all of her money, of
course."
"Oh, the poor thing." Winnie wept. The next time Lord Brennan
Mainwaring did call, he was cheerfully admitted by Willy, who would have
done anything for Lord Mayne or his younger brother. Winnie turned her
back on him and let some fop in yellow Cossack trousers read a poem to
her rosebud lips. Brennan left, and did not come back.
There was one other worry furrowing Winnie's brow, to Sydney's horror.
"Stop that, you'll make wrinkles! Worrying is my job!"
"But Lord Scoville doesn't like all the attention we're getting, Sydney. He
doesn't think it's proper."
"Oh, pooh, he just wants you all to himself. Besides, there will be
something else to steal the public eye next week. Some debutante will run
off with a junior officer, or some basket-scrambler will lose his fortune at
the baize tables. As long as our names aren't mentioned in either
instance," she warned, not so subtly, "Scoville will get over his pet."
"He thinks we should dismiss the twins."
"Why, that prosy, top-lofty bore. How dare he that is, I'm sure he
didn't realize we consider the Minches as family."
"Oh, yes, he did. He doesn't think that's proper either. 'Ladies should
not become overfamiliar with the servants,' he says."
Sydney hoped the pompous windbag became overfamiliar with Willy's
fist one day, but for now he was their best paddle to row them out of River
Tick.
Everyone in London seemed to know the way to their door, including a
past visitor to Little Dedham. Mrs. Ott was not actually an acquaintance,
being more a relation to the vicar's wife's dead brother, who used to visit
there. The girls must have been too young then, but Mrs. Ott recalled
meeting the general once or twice. If the general recalled the rather plump
woman in darkest crepe, he did not say.
Mrs. Ott was calling, she told Sydney, because Mrs. Vicar Asquith had
written that her dear friends were coming to town, and could Bella help
make them feel more at home. So there she was, bringing a plum cake,
just like folks did in the country.
Sydney would have been suspicious of anyone trying to scrape up a
connection like that, but Mrs. Ott did not seem to want anything more
from the family than their friendship. She had no daughter to marry off,
no son to introduce. She did not wish introductions or invitations, for she
went out seldom, still being in mourning.
"Dear Lady Bedford keeps urging me to attend one of her dos, but I
cannot enjoy myself knowing my dear Major Ott is no longer with me."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]