Page 13 of A Lady's Guide to Scandal

‘Oh, pish,’ she dismissed this swiftly. Pattson, over her shoulder, looked mildly pained. ‘You know I am never knocked down for long.’

This was true. It occasionally bordered on the miraculous the way Lady Radcliffe’s maladies vanished just in time for the social occasions she was most looking forward to.

‘But why are you here, James? I thought you had determined to stay at Radcliffe Hall for the foreseeable.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘I had – but your letters have been quite compelling reading. You must tell me the whole of Miss Talbot and Archie.’

If he had expected a live rendition of her dramatic letter, he was to be disappointed.

‘Oh, please, James, you don’t need to say a thing,’ she exclaimed, putting her hands to her cheeks in good-humoured faux embarrassment. ‘I know I’ve been a goose!’

‘A goose …’ he repeated. It was mildly irritating, he could own, to have travelled so swiftly so far a distance, but it certainly made matters less taxing.

‘Yes, I own I thought Miss Talbot to be a fortune-hunter – and most unsuitable for Archie besides – but we really have nothing to be worried for.’

‘That is a relief,’ he said, wondering how quickly he could be ready to depart again for Devonshire.

‘I know, I know. I can’t believe I had misjudged her so utterly. She’s the most wonderful creature.’

‘Mmm,’ he said absently. His greys would need to rest, which might delay him – then his mind caught up with his mother’s words.

‘Mama – do you mean to tell me that Archie and this Miss Talbot are still acquainted?’

‘Of course they are! Why, she and her sister are now quite frequent visitors to the house. Miss Cecily and Amelia both attended the Bath Seminary, you know, and they are closely acquainted with the Dorsetshire Linfields. I own, I had utterly misjudged them – you know how I worry about all my children, that you might be victim to a bad sort due to our wealth.’

Radcliffe did know. In her letters, his mother had used the more damning phrase ‘havey-cavey jade’.

‘I was most wrong; Miss Talbot is in fact the kindest young lady. Why, she was most solicitous when I had my fainting spells last week and, indeed, quite cured them with a remedy from Dorsetshire.’

‘Did she?’ he murmured thoughtfully, reclining into his chair.

‘Yes, and I really do feel a person’s attitude to the health of others is most revealing of their character, don’t you agree?’

‘I find myself in complete agreement. It is very revealing,’ he replied.

His tone was even, but there must have been something in it to give his mother pause because she went on, slightly anxious. ‘I would prefer Archie to have friends with greater consequence, of course. But I think, in the event that their attachment proves enduring, that he would be happy. And as his mother, that is what I care for above all else.’

His mother’s own marriage having been one of convenience, arranged by her parents to one much older than herself, Radcliffe could believe this – and he could not disagree with the sentiment out of hand. But …

‘I thought we had agreed that both Archie and Amelia are far too young to be considering long-term attachments?’ he said mildly.

‘We did,’ she admitted. ‘And they are. But I see no danger in allowing them to pursue their acquaintance. Ten to one they will both grow out of it. Why should they not enjoy each other’s company for a little while? Why, they share all the same interests!’

He hummed again.

‘James, please don’t be disagreeable,’ she said reprovingly. ‘If you have time to linger, I am expecting them any moment. They are such good influences, inviting Archie and Amelia on their daily walks, I fancy it is the most outdoor air Amelia has had in years. Fresh air is, of course, so good for the constitution. Once you meet Miss Talbot, I’m sure you’ll adore her,’ Lady Radcliffe said reassuringly. ‘We all do – even Dottie.’

‘I’m sure I would like very much to meet her,’ he said quite affably, though inside, the flames of suspicion had been fanned.

And after all, though Dottie was a discerning judge of character and admittedly difficult to impress, Dottie was also a cat.

8

Miss Kitty Talbot followed Mr de Lacy and Lady Amelia up the stairs to their grand Grosvenor Square house, feeling very pleased with herself. It was a state she had found herself in semi-permanently for the past week, now that the Dowager Countess’s affections had been won as well as her son’s. Kitty’s solicitous and hugely sympathetic treatment of the lady’s health had charmed her thoroughly and, once Kitty’s Dorsetshire remedy (elixir of restoration, Kitty had called it, though it was simply water flavoured with elderflower stems and dried sprigs of thyme) had cured Lady Radcliffe’s fainting spells, she quite considered Kitty an angel.

Kitty calculated – from the warmth in Mr de Lacy’s voice when he spoke to her, the length of his admiring stares when they were together, the enthusiasm with which he begged to see her – that their impending engagement could not be more than a week away. She was just considering this happy state of affairs as they walked into the drawing room, when she was jolted from it by a shout of ‘James!’ from her side. Mr de Lacy and Lady Amelia both dashed forward to greet a tall figure unfolding himself from a high-backed chair, and Kitty was left by the door, blinking. She felt not a little perturbed. By the greeting and the name, this could only be Lord Radcliffe, but she had been given to understand that this gentleman was not often seen in London.

The younger de Lacys were swarming their brother like over-eager puppies. From Lord Radcliffe’s very irregular contact with his family, she had assumed he held no great love for them, yet she could see his affection quite clearly – in the warmth of his eyes as Archie wrung his hand for far too long, the indulgence of his smile as he tilted his head in Amelia’s direction as she tugged on his elbow. The distraction offered her the opportunity to observe him openly, and she was glad of it. Radcliffe was tall, with a lean build that suggested a sporting lifestyle, and admittedly handsome, with thick dark hair, kind grey eyes, and an easy, confident bearing. Though this did not endear him to Kitty. In her experience, the more handsome the man, the less character he possessed, and that was before one added in wealth and a title to the mix. Kitty moved forward slowly, Cecily trailing behind her, to curtsey before Lady Radcliffe.