Miss Darby's Debut, page 12
“I told Jeffrey I would slip away from the ball and come to him. I am certain my parents will never consent to our marrying. I mean to persuade Jeffrey to elope with me tonight.”
“Oh, Deirdre!” Tessa sucked in her breath.
“I did not expect finding a carriage to take me to Jeffrey’s such a daunting task. The drive and grounds are completely ranged-in with coaches. Not a one of Father’s carriages can be got from the mews. I need your help, Tessa,” she begged.
“But what can I do?”
“Please ask Lord Penwyck to drive me into the city. I am convinced he knows about Jeffrey and me, and as he had not yet betrayed us, I thought it safe to trust him tonight.”
“Oh, Deirdre,” Tessa began dubiously, “I cannot think that wise. Lord Penwyck is—” At precisely that moment, Tessa’s eyes met Mr. Lowell Ashburn’s smiling blue ones. An idea seized her. “Wait for me in the foyer, Deirdre. I know someone who can be trusted.”
Driving home from the ball that night. Lord Penwyck was again caught up in what he feared was becoming an obsessive fascination with the intriguing Miss Darby.
As usual, she was not behaving as expected. Most every young lady who had just made her debut in as spectacular a fashion as Miss Darby would be as atremble with excitement as the evening drew to a close as she had been for the weeks preceding it
But Miss Darby was huddled in one comer of the dimly lit coach, her somewhat crumpled satin cloak drawn tightly about her shoulders as she stared—one might even say sullenly stared—from the coach window into the night.
It was Penwyck’s mother who was nattering mindlessly on and on and on about the thrilling events of the evening.
“I declare I never expected Gracie to actually have the servants’ heads shaved! But how better to display the brightly coloured feather headdresses? And where do you suppose she got all those exquisite feathers? I don’t doubt she had them imported. We shall simply have to throw a lovely dinner party, or several dinner parties, for Gracie and Charles. I declare, this evening was a stupendous success. Tessa darling, you were splendid! Both the Princess Esterhazy and the Countess Lieven were in raptures over your gown. In fact, everyone demanded to know who made it! You were quite right to refuse the insipid white most young ladies wear. You looked simply stunning. Did she not look stunning, Penny?”
By way of answer, Penwyck merely cleared his throat, his dark eyes cutting again to the shadowy figure of Miss Darby seated on the coach bench opposite him. Were it not for the fact her head was still erect, he would think her fast asleep.
Suddenly, he was seized by an almost overpowering urge to take her by the shoulders and shake her. Why did she not behave as other young ladies her age did? And why did her stubborn refusal to conform irritate him so? It was as if she had some strange hold on him—a grip so powerful it compelled him to watch her, to note her every move, to censure her when her actions did not please him and yet, at the same time, he found her lovely and fascinating, and did not wish to change the least thing about her.
It was most confusing and most irritating. What was worse, his inability to drive the confounded young lady from his thoughts was keeping him awake nights and thoroughly disrupting his days.
As Tessa hurried up the stairs to her bedchamber that night, she couldn’t help wondering how very angry Lord Penwyck would be with her once he learned she had helped Deirdre Montgomery run away to be married.
Chapter Twelve
Tessa hardly slept at all that night. She had hoped now her debut was behind her and she was officially out, she’d be accorded more of the freedom she so desperately craved. Instead, by assisting Deirdre to run away tonight, she feared she had further imprisoned herself.
It was almost morning before she finally drifted off to sleep and barely a quarter hour later when she was quite rudely awakened.
“Miss Darby!”
The sound of a deep male voice calling to her penetrated her consciousness. Tessa at once recognized it to be Lord Penwyck. That he sounded inordinately angry sent a sharp pang of fear racing through her.
“Miss Darby!” The insistent summons was punctuated by a loud rapping at her bedchamber door.
Flinging back the coverlet, Tessa drove her toes into her slippers and snatched up her wrapper, which she shrugged into as she scampered across the room.
Opening the door a crack, she aimed a wide-eyed gaze upward.
“W-what is it?” she asked innocently.
“Deirdre’s father is below stairs,” Lord Penwyck replied curtly. “He wishes to speak with you.”
“Oh.” It was more of a squeak really. “I-I’ll just be a—”
“At once, Miss Darby!” the irate earl commanded.
Tessa attempted to gulp down the large lump of anxiety in her throat as she flung open the door and fell in beside the outraged earl. Clutching at the loose edges of her cotton wrapper, she nervously fumbled with the ties in an attempt to secure the garment across her nearly bare breasts.
“Montgomery declares his daughter has taken flight,” Lord Penwyck informed Tessa as the two hurried to the stairs. “He fears she and her . . . ahem . . . young man have run away to get married. He is convinced you know who the fellow is and something of the couple’s whereabouts.”
Tessa’s breath was coming in fits and starts. From the corner of one eye, she saw Lord Penwyck cast a sidelong look at her half-exposed bosom. The effrontery of the man only added to her upset. No doubt he would now chastise her for appearing abroad in so shameless a state.
“I would have dressed had you accorded me the time!” she snapped, in answer to his imagined rebuke.
A dark brow quirked. “We are all of us in a state of undress, Miss Darby. I doubt anyone will especially remark upon your . . . choice of apparel.” The gentleman sniffed piously. “Miss Montgomery’s disappearance is quite a serious matter. The girl has succeeded in ruining herself. The scandal will not only follow her the rest other days, it will also adversely affect her family. She has behaved in quite a foolhardy manner.”
Tessa had no time to defend her friend, for the very second Mr. Montgomery and Lady Penwyck heard the earl’s deep voice in the corridor, the angry man, with an anxious Lady Penwyck close on his heels, rushed into the foyer to meet them.
Tessa blanched at the sight of Mr. Montgomery’s face. He was quite a large man with piercing black eyes. When he spoke, his brusque manner put Tessa in mind of her fearsome stepfather.
“What do you know of my daughter’s whereabouts?” Mr. Montgomery demanded furiously.
Tessa flung a helpless look up at Lord Penwyck.
“You will tell the gentleman what you know. Miss Darby,” the earl commanded, his tone very nearly as harsh as Mr. Montgomery’s.
Lady Penwyck at once cut in, in a far gentler tone. “You and Deirdre are bosom bows, Tessa dear.”
Tessa’s blue eyes grew frightened as the assembled company waited for her to speak. She truly did not wish to be the one to divulge Deirdre’s secret to her father, but it appeared she had no choice.
“I demand you tell me at once where my daughter is!” Mr. Montgomery insisted.
“I-I . . . she ... I do not know where she is, sir,” Tessa replied haltingly.
“I refuse to believe you know nothing, young lady! Tell me at once what you know of Deirdre’s disappearance!”
“I do not know where she is, sir. Truly, 1 do not.” It was not a lie. Deirdre had not said where she and Jeffrey were headed. And because, thus far, neither Mr. Montgomery nor Lord Penwyck had inquired with whom Deirdre had taken flight, Tessa felt no obligation to divulge that vital piece of information. If asked, she would, of course, not lie, but she would also say no more than was absolutely necessary.
With a huff of exasperation, Mr. Montgomery bellowed, “The two of your were seen huddled together at the ball, Miss Darby. I refuse to believe that you know nothing!”
“Charles, our Miss Darby would not tell a falsehood,” Lady Penwyck put in patiently.
“Do you deny that you assisted in my daughter’s disappearance?” the overset man demanded.
Tessa thrust her chin up. “I deny nothing, sir. I am merely attempting to answer your questions as truthfully as I can.”
“So I am to drag it out of you, am I? Well then, I shall begin again!”
“Charles, you really mustn’t—” Lady Penwyck began. She was also clothed in her nightrail and wrapper, her greying hair concealed beneath a very pretty lacy nightcap. She turned a sympathetic look on Tessa. “Everyone knows Deirdre has formed a tendre with someone, Tessa darling. You must tell us if you are acquainted with her young man.”
“I-I have never met him,” Tessa replied, shaking her head. Her long auburn curls dangled loosely about her thinly clad shoulders.
“Randall,” suddenly announced Lord Penwyck. Standing with both arms folded across his chest, he tapped his chin thoughtfully with one forefinger. “Caught the pair of them together in his office only last week. Thought then it seemed a trifle odd.”
Mr. Montgomery’s brows snapped together angrily. “Are you saying Deirdre and my land agent are—”
“Is this true, Tessa?” Lady Penwyck asked calmly. Of Tessa’s interrogators, Alice was, by far, the most collected, which was a bit odd, considering the woman was generally a bona fide skitter-wit.
Tessa nervously chewed on her lower lip.
“Well?” bellowed Montgomery. “Has Deirdre gone off with Jeffrey Randall?”
Her blue eyes shuttered, Tessa slowly, very slowly, nodded assent.
“I’ll kill the reprobate! I’ll kill him!” Fuming, Mr. Montgomery pushed past a frightened Tessa on his way to the front door.
Lord Penwyck fell into step behind him. “Perhaps you should calm yourself a bit first, man. If you’d allow me a moment to dress, I shall be happy to accompany you. They may still be in London. We shall try Randall’s flat first and then—”
Suddenly, in a firm voice, Tessa announced, “I am coming along.”
Scowling, Lord Penwyck wheeled to face her. “You will do nothing of the sort, Miss Darby.”
Tessa’s blue eyes snapped fire as she glared at the uppity earl. “You are not my father and you will not tell me what to do! I said I am coming along and that means I am coming along. Deirdre will need a friend to comfort her, and I intend to be there.”
In the moment of strained silence that followed Tessa’s outburst, she added, “You will please wait for me while I change into more appropriate clothing.”
That said, she imperially brushed past a somewhat subdued Lord Penwyck and marched regally up the stairs.
From the foyer, she heard the earl instruct his mother to see that Mr. Montgomery received either a cup of coffee or a brandy, and then he, too, ascended the stairs some distance behind Tessa.
Beginning to feel the effects of the sleepless night she’d just endured, Tessa nonetheless hurriedly dressed and scurried back downstairs. Not until she and her gentlemen companions, a tight-lipped Lord Penwyck and a still fuming Mr. Montgomery, stepped outside and headed for the Montgomery coach did she realize a storm of another sort was brewing outdoors.
Although it was close on seven of the clock, the sky was still quite dark. Large blue-gray clouds hung low over the city. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and when a sudden crack of lightning startled the handsome bays harnessed before the Montgomery coach, Tessa, too, jumped with alarm.
“Appears to be cutting up nasty,” Mr. Montgomery muttered irritably “We’d best make haste.”
Tessa swallowed her fear and turned to address the man. “I expect we shall find Deirdre safe and sound at Mr. Randall’s flat, sir.”
“So!” Deirdre’s father sputtered angrily. “You do know where she is!”
Tessa thrust her head up and said nothing further.
Wearing a deep scowl, a silent Lord Penwyck handed her into the carriage.
“Spring ‘em!” Montgomery called to the driver as he, too, clambered inside.
Tessa scooted as far from Lord Penwyck on the carriage bench as she could and pretended an absorbing interest in watching huge droplets of rain begin to slide down the coach window. In truth, she’d never been abroad in London this early before, and she did find the sight arresting. What with the fog swirling about the lampposts and cold rain splattering onto the cobblestones, the sleeping city had an eerie feel about it. She prayed wherever Deirdre and Jeffrey were, they were safe and warm.
As the high-sprung coach rumbled over the slick cobblestones, Tessa noted what appeared to be phantoms, shadows moving in slow motion on one or another street comer. Ignoring the rain, the vendors were busily arranging their daily wares— flowers, fruit, cabbages, and potatoes—atop rickety carts. Tessa grimaced when she saw numerous ill-clad children huddled together on various rain-soaked stoops as the luxurious carriage wheeled past.
Some minutes later, the shiny black coach turned onto a narrow lane and drew up before a not ill-kept town house squeezed in amongst a row of similar tall red brick structures.
Before the carriage had shuddered to a complete standstill, Mr. Montgomery scrambled to the ground and, in a rush to avoid a drenching and to extricate his daughter as quickly as possible from her abductor’s clutches, rushed up the flagway. He pounded loudly on the door. Lord Penwyck followed at a somewhat slower pace, one gloved hand holding his black beaver hat in place as rain-laden wind threatened to whip it off.
Her heart in her throat, Tessa anxiously watched the proceedings from the coach window. She barely had time to wonder if Deirdre were, indeed, inside when the door to the flat burst open and Mr. Montgomery and Lord Penwyck rushed inside.
Mere seconds later, a scarlet-faced Montgomery reappeared, one arm protectively encircling the slim shoulders of a sobbing Deirdre.
“Oh!” Tessa sucked in her breath as she watched the threesome—Deirdre, her father, and Lord Penwyck—brave an angry downpour of rain on their way back to the carriage. As each climbed into the coach, a shower of raindrops dampened Tessa’s pelisse and boots.
“Oh, Tessa!” Deirdre cried. Upon catching sight of her friend, she at once fell onto the bench and buried her head in Tessa’s shoulder, her sobs increasing in volume.
Once the two gentlemen had taken their seats and the coach again lurched forward, Montgomery blurted out, “I’m not the least bit sorry I called the reprobate out! The man does not deserve to live!”
“Oh-h-h, Papa!” Deirdre cried.
“There, there.” Tessa tightened her arms about her friend’s shoulders. “Everything will be all right.”
“You will stand as my second, Penwyck,” Montgomery commanded, furious, his black eyes mere slits in his face.
After a pause, Penwyck said, “No, sir. In all fairness, I find I cannot take part in—”
“What are you saying?” Montgomery demanded. “The blackguard has ruined my daughter and I will not—”
“I am not ruined, Papa!” Deirdre cried.
Penwyck added, “Randall swore that he did not touch her, sir.” He cast a guarded glance at Tessa. “And I believe him. Jeffrey Randall is a truthful man.”
“I will never forgive you if you kill him. Papa! Jeffrey and I love one another. I will marry him. I don’t care what you say, I will!”
“I will deal with you later, girl!” Deirdre’s father sputtered angrily.
“Papa . . . please; Jeffrey did nothing! I swear it!” Deirdre turned a pleading look on Lord Penwyck. “Help me, sir, please!”
The earl solemnly addressed the overwrought Mr. Montgomery again. “To say truth, sir, Randall seemed quite unruffled. It was almost as if he were relieved to see us.”
“He was!” Deirdre cried. “Jeffrey wouldn’t listen to me last night. It was I who wished to run away. Jeffrey said he refused to begin our married life by ... by dishonouring me. I am being truthful. Papa, truly I am!”
“Then why did he not send you home?” her father demanded suspiciously. “You spent the night with hi—”
“I am pure, Papa. I am pure!”
A moment of strained silence followed Deirdre’s heartfelt confession. Tessa’s eyes were quite large and round as she took in the drama unfolding before her.
At length. Lord Penwyck said, “With your permission, sir, I would be happy to deliver a note of apology to Mr. Randall.”
Montgomery huffed his exasperation.
“Please do not kill him. Papa! Please!”
Montgomery turned a stern look on his only daughter. “You will never leave the house unchaperoned again; and if you ever lay eyes on that reprobate again, I swear I will run him through!”
Deirdre’s bedraggled curls shook. “I will never see him again, Papa; I promise.” Her bosom rose and fell as with fright she drew in quick gasps of air. Her cold fingers tightened around Tessa’s.
“Very well,” Montgomery muttered reluctantly. “I will spare his life. This time.”
Deirdre’s father insisted on taking his daughter home at once. A half hour later, the Montgomery coach rumbled back into London carrying a silent Lord Penwyck and a now rather sleepy Miss Darby back to Portman Square.
Hard sheets of rain slowed the horses progress as they slogged through debris-filled rivers of running water on the outskirts of the city.
Inside the noisy coach, Tessa and Lord Penwyck were seated opposite one another on the bench. Despite the storm raging outdoors, which made hearing one another all but impossible, Tessa felt compelled to thank Lord Penwyck for his intervention on Mr. Randall’s behalf that morning.
“It was good of you to calm Mr. Montgomery,” she began.
Penwyck aimed a distracted gaze out the coach window. “Montgomery was a deal too overset to see Randall was being truthful.”
“Deirdre was also being truthful.”
Penwyck directed a caustic look at Tessa. “Indeed.”
“She loves him very much,” Tessa added firmly.
Penwyck turned again to the window. “Loves her father, or Randall?”
“Both, I expect. But she is in love with Jeffrey.” She paused. “They are desperate to be married.”
