Chapter 21

The Strange Behaviour of Lord Stokeford

For Caroline nothing was unusual at the assembly last night, except for the Earl’s somewhat erratic behaviour. He had been uncharacteristically engaging during their dance, an occasion which stirred mild interest on a few pairs of eyes whose attentions happened to stray upon them; but when they rejoined their friends, (another occasion which did not also fail to have attracted a few of their acquaintances’ notice across the ballroom — much to Mr Beaumont’s inward chagrin) his manner underwent a subtle change — or perhaps had merely riveted to its typical state. It was as if he’d retired behind a formidable barrier, detaching himself from the rest of the world. Caroline could have almost thought that the Lord Stokeford whom she’d danced with had only been a figment of her imagination, but this notion had quickly been dismissed when she’d met his gaze once, or twice, and saw the warmth there. She wondered why her heart skipped a beat.

Miss Moore, who was fast becoming Caroline’s confidante, replied to her charge’s remark about the Earl’s behaviour at the breakfast table the following day. “Why, but you danced so delightfully last night! Indeed, I did not see anything amiss in Lord Stokeford’s demeanour. I’d say you were both enjoying yourselves hugely, which was only right.” When Caroline did not respond, she added sensibly: “Silent gentlemen are often temperamental, my dear. There’s no telling what they think, or feel towards something, and unless they are impelled to divulge their inner thoughts they most likely prefer to dwell on it in silence. Well, I shan’t wonder at it if Lord Stokeford had many thoughts in his head; in fact, it is just as well, for I find it unfavourablethat other young gentlemen of this age do not even think at all, except about all sorts of fripperies which they thought are very much indispensable to their every day living!”

Disregarding the irrelevance of the latter part of this speech, Caroline promptly agreed to this, shoved a strip of buttered bread on her mouth, and washed it down with a copious sip of hot chocolate. For a moment she studied Miss Moore in open curiosity, and asked, in a manner of one who was discovering a mystery, if she’d been attached before to a gentleman of Lord Stokeford’s disposition. There was a faint flush on the withered cheeks, but the jaunty old lady gave a depreciating laugh and said: “Oh, Miss Caro! What things you ask!”

“I beg your pardon! My tongue is running away with me again! Pray, do not heed it,” she replied sheepishly, but there was already a distant look descended on her companions’s countenance. In a rapt voice, she said: “Well, but there was indeed one gentleman in my youth I could never forget. He was a most superior creature — not in rank, of course, but in so many ways that I always thought of him as the epitome of a gentleman!”

“So you’ve been in love before?” Miss Davis marveled, her green eyes staring wide at her.

“Naturally! Heavens, do you know a female who has not been in love in her entire life?”

“I am,” Caroline returned unhesitatingly. Miss Moore smiled indulgently at her. “Well, but you are still young, and with so many eligible men around London, why, there’s no telling at all! Ah, and that puts me in mind of something! How about our dear Mr Beaumont? Don’t you like him? So amiable and engaging — ! And I must say, very handsome as well.”

“Oh, Miss Moore, how can you be so absurd? Of course I like Mr Beaumont, but because his such a dear friend!” gurgled Miss Davis, unheedful of her companion’s incredulity. It occurred to Miss Moore that her charge was either impervious to the charms of her suitor, or that she scarcely knew her own young, volatile heart. She decided that it must be both, for that was often the case in most young ladies who were freshly out of schoolroom. She was certain, however, of the fact that Mr Beaumont’s own heart was certainly lost to the naive Miss Caroline, and if his attentions were not quite as demonstrative as those of a man inclined to proclaim his feelings, in the very least it spoke volumes.

Their conversation took a different turn and the topic was dropped. After they had finished their breakfast they strode into the drawing room and waited for the Suthertons’ arrival. It was not very long when their barouche pulled in front of the house and a few minutes later Miss Moore and Caroline were ensconced inside it, and the four of them were conveyed to Bond Street to do some shopping. Several linen warehouses, dressmakers, milliners and draper shops were visited. In the course of this excursion Miss Davis and Miss Sutherton had acquired some new confections that caught their fancies, while Mrs Sutherton and Miss Moore were towing happily behind them, only intervening when a hat did not become one, or if the shade of a cloth did not compliment one’s complexion, and some such remarks that saved the two young damsels from imprudently purchasing articles which would proved to be sadly unflattering. These objections were mostly carried out by Mrs Sutherton who, for all her air of dignified simplicity, had an excellent taste in fashion.

Their next destination was the Pantheon Bazaar, which stored more delights for the enthusiastic shoppers. It was here when Miss Davis, scrutinizing a selection of wares with an interested eye in a particular shop, suddenly heard a distressing ‘Oh!’, followed by a short muttering of French words from the counter. Her eyes then alighted on Miss Carstairs, who was rummaging her reticule, and was next looking about her desperately. Caroline swiftly came to her side, and upon perceiving her, Miss Carstairs let out a soft squeal of joy and relief. “Oh, thank goodness it’s you, Miss Davis! I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my life! The stupidest thing has happened, and I’m such in a dreadful fix!”

“Why, what’s the matter?”

“It seems that I’ve lost my purse, and I haven’t a shilling in my pocket to pay some of these,” she waved a hand towards the impressive stack of parcels perched on the counter. “It is so distressing when I’ve just had the luckto get hold of their last primrose silk which I’ve been wanting to buy, and the laces I’ve adored the instant I set eyes on them, and — oh, many more beside, you see,” said Miss Carstairs and clasped Caroline’s hand, her pansy brown eyes pleading. “Miss Davis, I know I am being too forward to beg you of this, but if you would be so kind as to lend me some shillings? But of course,” she added, slightly mortified, “if it is too much, I won’t press you. Only that—”

“No, not at all!” replied Miss Davis cheerfully and turned to the grumbling man behind the counter. “How much, if you please?”

“£1 10s, miss.” Inwardly thankful to discover a few guineas left on her purse, she produced the required sum and handed it to him. Miss Carstairs received her parcels with eager hands, but not before she saw the slightly reproachful glance of the man. “Odious creature,” she whispered to Caroline, and gratefully smiled at her. “Oh, dear, dear Miss Davis! You’ve saved me, and I am very much obliged to you! Indeed, I cannot imagine how I could be so careless as to lose my purse! Perhaps it was when I bought something from the haberdashery earlier — or was it at the milliner’s? Well, it doesn’t signify now. I’m sure I do not know what else I could have done if you had not arrived, for it would be a pity to let go of these when one’s heart was set on having them, wouldn’t it?”

“Please, it is but a trifling service, Miss Carstairs,” Miss Davis assured her, eyeing the parcels with faint interest.

“And one I shall never forget! Who is with you, by the bye? Surely you’re not alone?”

“Oh, no! My companion and friends are in the next shop, and I came only here to have a peek at their wares, and then I saw you — or rather, heard you muttering French at first.”

Miss Carstairs laughed. “How funny! That’s exactly what I told Stefan when I begged him to pull up in front of the Bazaar. We were going to visit the library, you see, and for all his grouching I’ve prevailed upon him to let me have a peek here, but — oh, it must have been nearly an hour!”

At the sound of his name Caroline look quickly at her, and stammered: “L-Lord Stokeford — he — here?”

“Why, yes! Outside, kicking his heels impatiently, I’m sure! Oh, but this is very dreadful of me, when he’s been so kind as to offer me a seat on his curricle! I must make haste, for it won’t do to keep him waiting, you know,” she confided gravely, but her eyes were dancing with amusement.

At exactly that same moment when they were leaving the shop the impatient Lord Stokeford, after an apparently futile search for his errant cousin, was just emerging from another nearby. He eventually perceived Miss Carstairs from the distance and took purposeful strides towards her, his lips set in a pugnacious line. At the sight of Miss Davis however, he was checked, his jaw slowly relaxed, and the tirade hovering on his tongue swallowed. But although he had reined his temper, he retained a stony countenance.

Miss Carstairs was not quite penitent. She exclaimed triumphantly: “So you see, Miss Davis! He’s very impatient! I know Stefan, and indeed, I am very sorry to have kept you waiting! Were you looking for me?”

“Naturally. If it were left to my hard, unconscientious heart, as you so often expressed, I would have gone on without you,” replied Stefan frostily. “But no, I still have the prudence to spare my ears of one of your acrimonious speeches condemning my deplorable manners.” He encountered Caroline’s smiling eyes, but his voice was oddly colourless as he said, “Well met, Miss Davis.”

“Now don’t eat me in front of Miss Davis, I beg of you!” his cousin interposed. “Oh, Stefan, something dreadful has happened, and it was Miss Davis who fished me out of the fix!”

“Indeed?”

“I’ve lost my purse!” Miss Carstairs declared somewhat dramatically, but the Earl was unmoved.

“Yes? And how, may I ask, did you contrive to procure such heap of parcels without the means?”

“Well, but don’t you see? Miss Davis lent me a trifle sum to cover for all of it. Isn’t it kind of her? I declare she is God-sent! I was very much mortified, because that odious man at the counter was already looking daggers at me, and I had to vent my sentiments against him in French so as he wouldn’t understand a thing I say.”

“Then I can’t see how your speaking French could have possibly had affected the man, and therefore was altogether useless, believe me,” he said tartly. “But to put Miss Davis into the trouble of — ”

“But no, it is nothing, really!” Caroline protested feebly, and was vaguely aware of a sinking feeling. The Lord Stokeford last night was a far cry from the man that stood before her. There was no trace of warmth in either his look or his manner towards her today. In fact he was utterly civil that he might as well have been talking to a stranger. She quickly searched her memory for something she’d done to offend him, but instead, her treacherous mind only brought back a flash of last night’s happenings— of their dance, of their talk; of the way Lord Stokeford had gazed down at her when she had been almost sure he was ready to ignore her.

She peeped at him under her lashes again. He was reaching for Miss Carstairs’ parcels and stacked them up under his arm. How stoic he looked, how formidably handsome — oh, goodness, but she sounded like an utterly silly young lady!

“…Very grateful I am, and I hope I may call upon you tomorrow?” asked Miss Carstairs, breaking into her thoughts.

“W-Why, of course, I shall be very delighted, Miss Carstairs,” she said, pinning a bright smile but was aware of a rising colour on her cheeks.

Miss Carstairs threw a sly look at her cousin and said sweetly, “And you will accompany me, dear Stefan, hein?”

The Earl frowned at her, murmured something about an engagement with a friend, but that he was sure Miss Davis would be glad of company since her cousin had not yet returned from Bath, all the while avoiding Caroline’s gaze.

“Dear me, how unfortunate for you then, mon cousin. I understand the reluctance!” Before he could open his mouth for a retort, his cousin had already turned and grasped Caroline’s hands in a friendly way. “Well I shall see you tomorrow, dear Miss Davis,” she smiled, and, to the other girl’s surprise, gave her cheek a buss.

Lord Stokeford made a perfunctory bow, and bore his cousin off. Caroline stared blindingly at the pair, but all of a sudden wrenched away her gaze, unhappily aware that at that exact moment the Earl had finally dared to look back at her.

* * * *

Caroline was rather abstracted for the rest of the morning, but by the afternoon, upon unexpectedly running across Mr Milborne in the Park, her thoughts were entirely diverted to a new direction. Miss Moore having been prevailed upon, without little effort, to take a siesta despite her protests that she was not in the least fagged by the morning’s shopping, Caroline brought her maid with her instead to take a turn around the Park for awhile. She encountered him when strolling down the Serpentine, and exclaimed impulsively: “Why, Cedric! For one moment I thought it wasn’t you, for how very unlikely it is to find you all by yourself walking here!”

“Hullo, Caro! Is it? Well, I’m out just to clear my head, you know. How d’you do?”

“I am very well, and you?” she asked, shaking hands with him, and glanced significantly at her maid. With a sniff, Lucy fell behind them. “Do you know that my Aunt and Sophie were gone to Bath?”

“No, did they? Good God, what can they want to do in such a flat place, I wonder? And how come you didn’t join them there?”

“My aunt wouldn’t want me to go with them, and I own I was thankful to have been spared with so mundane a sojourn, because you know, I dislike it excessively and so too does Sophie!” she said, and explained the circumstances which precipitated their visit to the city, and her acquisition of a duenna. Mr Milborne then remembered that Sophie had a grandmother living there, and said he was sorry to hear it, regretting also that he had not seen them off.

“I expect them to return next week, if my Aunt’s mama-in-law is nursed back to health. But you haven’t visited us for days, Cedric!”

Mr Milbourne grinned sheepishly, and for the first time as she scrutinized his face, Caroline was aware of lackluster eyes, and the dark half-moons under them. “I hope you missed me a trifle! I was rather occupied of late.”

“And had very little rest, I suppose,” supplied Caroline shrewdly.

“Oh, well — yes, very little.”

Something was troubling Cedric, that was quite evident to her. Her charitable self was instantly stirred,and since the resentment she felt towards him in the past few weeks were reduced to occasional pettishness, she enquired solicitously if there was anything she could help him with. He threw her a blank look, but after a slight pause told her flatly: “No, there’s nothing you can help me with. Besides, what a chit like you can do in a fix I’m in, I cannot begin to imagine.”

“Well, if you tell me what it is perhaps we might contrive a little to rectify that,” Caroline replied tartly. When he let out an audible sigh, she thought she had not seen him looking so worry-worn. Feeling somewhat contrite, she hastily added: “But I suppose it is so bad of me to tease you about it! We won’t talk about it if you wouldn’t like it at all.”

He seemed to be hesitating, but the burden was too much that he’d welcome the small relief derived from having his troubles heard. He finally said: “The truth is, Caro, I — well, I am quite on the rocks right now!”

Assimilating this utterance shortly, she responded in a low voice, her eyes full of understanding: “You mean, you are in debt.”

“Yes,” he replied, his face gloomy. “But mind, no telling to Sophie!”

“Indeed, I won’t! Only tell me, gaming debts?”

Mr Milborne nodded depressingly. “I thought as much!” She looked as if she would ask more, but bit her lips lest something imprudent would escape from them again. Knowing her too well, he flashed her a wry smile and said: “Next you will ask how much did I lost! Forget it, Caro. I don’t want to shock your sensibilities!”

“You must know that I have very little, so there’s no need to fear of you shocking it.”

“Oh, dash it! If you must know I lost a thousand pounds!” he blurted out bluntly.

“A thousand pounds!” she gasped.

He shot her a wry look. “So much for very little sensibilities!”

“Well, how could I know that you owe that much?”

“I’m dashed if I knew either! Infernal luck, I suppose! If only I hadn’t allowed myself to such deep playings — well, no use of crying over spilt milk now! But you know how it is when one is being carried away in the game!”

“I don’t, because I do not gamble at all,” replied Miss Davis reasonably. “But Cedric, that is too bad! Surely you could have prevented yourself from — from plunging deeper into the game! Goodness, were you foxed?”

“You know Caro, if you do not guard your tongue one of these days you’ll come by your just deserts!” he retorted. “And no, I was sober as a priest, I tell you! I’m not such a gudgeon as to make myself bosky — I mean, intoxicated while playing with staggering sums!”

Caroline curbed herself from pointing out that it was utterly foolish of him to play in very high stakes in the first place, but she only begged pardon, and said placatingly: “No, indeed, it would be very imprudent! But I marvel at how men could be so tiresome as to spend a fortune in a mere gaming table!”

“You wouldn’t say that to your precious Mr Beaumont!”

“What has any of this to do with him, pray?”

“Oh, nothing, I assure you! Only that what he frittered away a few weeks ago was a pretty penny, I should say! A matter of five thousand, or thereabouts. Rightly cleaned out, is what I say.”

Miss Davis was momentarily staggered by this news. She exclaimed, “But that is terrible! Where did you hear this?”

“Heard? I was there! Saw it with my two eyes! The poor fellow’s in mighty dire straits for weeks now, but it seems that gaming runs in his blood! Why, I saw him again at — well, you don’t need to know where — and lost a few hundred guineas at dice two days ago! No wonder he’s at odds with that starchy cousin of his. I’ll say this for Stokeford though, he’s no gamester.”

“Do you mean to tell me that that is the reason of their disagreement?”