Bad Miss Bennet Read online

  There remained the problem of the staff at Laura Place. Disgruntled by the sudden appearance of three strangers who were taking up residence and disturbing their comfortable existence, they were aghast at the notion of entertainment and cards at the house. The manservant assured us that Miss Worthington disapproved of gambling and rarely entertained. We were forced to assure him that Lord Finchbrook had given permission. A generous gratuity settled the matter. Our meagre finances were spent on the preparations for the evening’s entertainment. Recovering our outlay was essential, if only to keep Miles in blue ruin.

  He had been greatly cast down at not receiving a financial reward for his part in rescuing the royal emeralds. A messenger had brought a small oil painting of the prince and a signed letter of commendation before we left Brighton. Selena and I had expected nothing else, given the state of the royal finances.

  We placed the portrait in a prominent position in the room at Laura Place where our neighbours would play a staid hand of whist. In the main salon the table was arranged for gaming and the servants were instructed to bring plenty of food and drink. Miles was given the task of preventing the two sets of guests from mingling or even meeting, if possible.

  ‘He should be good for that if he keeps a clear head,’ Selena said without much conviction. I was looking forward to the evening with impatience, not only for the chance to repair my finances, but to relieve the genteel monotony of this place. There was only the elegant stupidity of dinner parties and trips to the pleasure gardens. Lady Dorothea told us that it would be unseemly to visit the theatre, and the balls seldom attracted anyone of note.

  Sydney Gardens remained the height of gaiety – all very well if one had a beau to dally with in the grottos and flirt with among the arbours. I remembered Jerry with a pang at such moments.

  ‘If we raise sufficient funds tonight we must return to London,’ I told Selena, thinking of my Austrian admirer. ‘I cannot achieve my ambition to reach Paris, or indeed dance at Almack’s, while we remain in this deathly watering hole. You are in a similar position,’ I reminded her. Selena looked thoughtful.

  ‘Might it not be wiser to avoid London altogether and take a house in Paris? The Duke of Wellington is leaving soon to become the French Ambassador. Many influential people will accompany him, and the rents are lower in Paris.’

  ‘What about Almack’s?’ I cried. ‘When will I dance there?’ Selena withered me with a look. ‘Sometimes, Lydia, I fear you have a remarkably shallow nature.’ She swept out of the room and I called for Adelaide to place the royal necklace around my neck. I wore a gown of the palest grey lace over pink silk. All pretence of mourning had vanished since the soirée at the Royal Pavilion. In Bath I told everyone that I had been widowed for some years.

  My friends managed to assemble a reasonable crowd of people for the gaming. A few members of the ton needed a little persuasion to part with their money with the degree of abandon common in the capital, but Lord Finchbrook and his party encouraged them and the brandy and wine began to flow.

  I urged everyone to wash away the taste of spa water, and casually lowered my bodice. Things began to liven up immediately and large amounts of money changed hands. Selena and I agreed to take turns to visit our other guests. Thank heaven for sturdy doors that kept in the noise from the gambling room. The fact that most of our neighbours were elderly and in various stages of decrepitude worked to our advantage; their hearing was none too sharp.

  My eye fixed on a Mr Charles Lennox who was reputed to have an income of ten thousand pounds per year, as much as my dear brother-in-law. Selena and I tried our womanly wiles upon him without success. I wondered if he might prefer Miles’s attentions. Society is full of depravity and Mr Lennox’s arrogance needed puncturing.

  I circled the room, leaning over shoulders, cooing encouragingly and trying to glimpse the cards. Mr Lennox was not fooled. He carefully blocked my view. I had to admit that he was a handsome fellow – dark haired, straight of nose and broad of shoulder. It was unseemly to be so wealthy, so attractive, yet impervious to womanly charms.

  ‘Offer him some game pie,’ Selena whispered, ‘it might distract him.’

  I procured a plate of pie and surreptitiously laced it well with black pepper. Mr Lennox took a large mouthful and fell into a paroxysm of coughing and spluttering. Coins, notes, food and drink scattered across the table as Selena and Miles ran to offer assistance. In the confusion I was able to rearrange some cards to our advantage. I slipped from the room as Miles poured champagne down the throat of the unfortunate man.

  I fortified myself with a little more champagne and remembered to hitch up my bodice before opening the door of the other salon. A discreet hum of voices abruptly stopped and several pairs of eyes regarded me with alarm. I looked down and realised that I had pulled up my bodice on one side only, revealing even more on the other.

  ‘Oh, Mrs Wickham,’ cried Sir Winthrop Meyers, ‘you must join us for a hand of whist!’ His wife shot him a poisonous look.

  ‘Forgive me, sir,’ I cried, ‘but I am a fiend at cards and I would not want to incommode you.’ This speech was greeted with a puzzled silence broken only by a loud hiccough – mine.

  ‘We heard some commotion earlier,’ said Lady Dorothea suspiciously. We did not realise you had other guests.’

  ‘Oh, that? Just Captain Caruthers meeting with a few old regimental friends. They can be a little unruly at times.’ An expression of alarm crossed her ladyship’s face.

  ‘Perhaps in the circumstances, dear husband, we should leave.’

  ‘Not until I have persuaded our fair hostess to play a hand with us.’

  ‘How can I refuse?’ I found I was leaning against the door at this point. I must have taken more champagne than I thought.

  The door opened a crack behind me and Selena whispered urgently. ‘Come at once, Lydia. There is chaos in the gaming room.’ I backed out of the room waving my fan distractedly at the guests and promising to send in some refreshments. I rushed back to the gaming room, lowering my bodice once again and hoicking up a stray lock of hair. Adelaide rolled her eyes at me as she passed by. I found Lennox prone on the floor gasping like a fish.

  ‘I think he’s dying,’ declared Miles who was purple in the face from his attempts at resuscitation.

  ‘Nonsense! Give him sal volatile and take him out into the fresh air.’

  Several people raised Lennox and began to drag him away. Overcome with heat and annoyance I took a few more sips of champagne realising that I had scarcely found an opportunity to play at the tables. I had turned my attention, a trifle unsteadily, to the remaining players when scuffling noises and raised voices reached my ears.

  Selena and I rushed into the entrance hall just as our whist-playing neighbours emerged from the small salon ready to take their leave.

  ‘Will you not stay for supper?’ Selena begged.

  ‘That was our intention,’ replied Lady Dorothea icily. ‘But supper was not forthcoming.’ We had been sabotaged by the servants. That same manservant threw open the front door triumphantly revealing the figure of Mr Lennox vomiting over the railings outside, assisted by Miles and Lord Finchbrook. Curled up on the bottom step was a figure I recognised with horror as Mr Getheridge.

  The guests picked their way neatly through this scenario and I retreated back to the gaming room where I collapsed into a chair and finished off the champagne. I leaned my arms on the table and bowed my head in momentary despair. When I looked up a large cheese reproached me from its china dish in a way that cheese often does, especially the kind with holes.

  Eventually Getheridge staggered into the room and sank to his knees in front of me.

  ‘For the love of God, madam, allow me to stay,’ he begged. I stared at him in amazement. His clothes were dusty and covered with white smears. Even his face and hair had a curiously moth-eaten appearance.

  ‘You appear to have been savaged by demented pigeons, sir!’ I remarked, giggling at my champagne wit. When que
stioned he would admit only that he had been set upon by footpads – an unlikely event in this quiet area. I asked him where he was staying but he evaded the question.

  We gave him food and drink and he revived a little and begged to join the gaming. I was surprised because he had told me he disliked gambling. Selena and I exchanged worried looks as Getheridge played with feverish intensity. He had no money but as a banker he was considered good for any amount. After a few early wins, he lost heavily and was forced to withdraw. He collapsed in an inconsolable heap in a corner and we found him there after everyone had left and we were counting our winnings.

  Miles wanted to throw him out but I was curious to hear the real story from our uninvited guest. Selena discreetly left the room and I sat beside him.

  ‘My dear, my dear, things are not going well for me,’ he moaned.

  ‘Is this a matter connected to the prince’s affairs?’ I enquired. He nodded miserably. ‘That is but one thread in this complex tapestry of misfortunes. There is the matter of the bank. Its affairs are not in order. There will be … repercussions.’

  ‘And you will be held to account for them?’ He nodded again and put his head in his hands.

  ‘What is the connection with Von Mecks?’ I asked innocently. He started at the name and looked up. ‘I was the prince’s banker and I tried to be of service in other ways.’

  ‘The emeralds?’ He nodded again. ‘Unfortunately, criminal elements became involved and I was vulnerable to blackmail.’

  ‘Was Von Mecks murdered as a warning to you or to the prince?’ This was an inspired guess on my part. Getheridge’s eyes filled with tears.

  ‘Yes, I will have that man’s death on my conscience always. I must pay the price. We will not meet again, my dear. It is best if you are not associated with me in any way.’

  ‘Surely the prince will not see you cast down?’

  He shook his head. ‘His Royal Highness cannot afford to be involved in any more financial scandals. He will disown me rather than incur the wrath of Parliament.’

  I could not help reflecting on my bad luck once more. The only banker I had managed to snare had turned out to be a fraudster.

  We took pity on Getheridge, allowing him to stay the night. His clothes were righted and he was offered breakfast. Miles called for a chair to convey him to the London Mail and I surreptitiously placed a few coins in his pocket. He did not ask for the return of the diamond and amethyst bangle, which I thought very sporting of him in the circumstances. We all retired to bed muzzle-headed and exhausted.

  As if the lamentable scenes at Laura Place had not been enough to try us, the next morning, as I nursed a champagne headache of Napoleonic proportions, Miles brought more bad news. Having supervised Getheridge’s departure he told us that we could not take breakfast in Sydney Gardens because a ruffian was at large in the grounds. Selena waved this excuse aside; she was furious with the servants and tried to prod her husband into action.

  ‘You must remonstrate with them, Miles. Their behaviour was disgraceful and we will be shunned by our neighbours from now on. If you cannot do that then we will immediately leave to breakfast in the gardens regardless. I will not eat another meal in this house!’ Miles looked wretched; he disliked confrontation except on the battlefield.

  ‘Now, now, my love. As they are not our servants and this is not our house I can scarcely dismiss them.’

  ‘We paid them well,’ Selena insisted, ‘and we deserve good service at the very least.’ I tried to pacify my friend by pointing out that if the house was not ours then the neighbours were not our neighbours. Impasse resulted and we all departed for the gardens.

  Chapter Twelve

  We arrived at the gardens in tolerable weather although the general hubbub did little to restore my low spirits or assuage my pounding headache. Nevertheless, the spirit of the place catches at everyone as they enter, gazing at the mural of the god Apollo in the loggia.

  Miles had purchased a season ticket for one guinea against Selena’s wishes. My friend has become very unpredictable of late. First she wished to remain in Bath, her favourite city, and then she urged me to return to London – or even Paris as soon as possible. I wondered if Lord Finchbrook’s attentions were unsettling her or whether she was anxious to curtail Miles’s visits to a certain Miss Coleman, a lady chiropodist at No. 5 Abbey Churchyard. He swears that his corns need expert attention but Selena is not convinced.

  We sat in a thatched booth sipping chocolate and trying not to think about last night’s disasters. A thin, watery sun struggled through the treetops before expiring into the general greyness. Summer has decided to avoid the British Isles this year. Miles read his newspaper and we listened contentedly to the music playing even at this hour. A small boy appeared with a handbill advertising the appearance of Madame Naqui, an acrobat and tightrope walker, direct from Vauxhall. She was depicted perched confidently on the rope like St Simeon on his pillar.

  Selena could not be persuaded to take a walk and so I set off in the direction of the labyrinth. I encountered few visitors as I wandered along. Most people were in the booths or gathered to hear the musicians at the hotel.

  My melancholic thoughts about my situation in life, my feelings for Jerry and other missed opportunities oppressed me so much as I walked that I was forced to brush away a few tears. If only I could be indifferent to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. I have observed that those who care least for the outcome, whether in love, in cards or in life itself, are the most successful. It is a curse to be needy, but I am too passionate by nature to be indifferent to anyone or anything. I needed to meet the Count as soon as possible. Perhaps then my life would change for the better.

  As I was immersed in these thoughts I heard a low whistle from the bushes on my right. Taking it for a simple bird call I continued on my way, but the whistle was repeated and was followed by my name called out in a low, throaty voice. I jumped several inches and felt my heart leaping about my chest. I walked slowly towards the bush, looking right and left to check that I was alone before peering into the boughs.

  ‘You took your time, madam.’ A low voice was followed by the head and shoulders of Jerry Sartain. I gave a shriek and my legs turned to jelly. I clung to a willow branch for support as he urged me to keep quiet.

  ‘But you are dead!’ I choked.

  ‘And I intend to remain that way as far as the world is concerned, my dear. With your able assistance, of course.’

  ‘I think I am about to faint.’

  ‘Don’t be a goose, Lydia. I am alive, you are not being visited by a spook. Let us go into the labyrinth where we can wander undisturbed.’ He emerged from the undergrowth enveloped in a dramatic cape and hood. I noticed that he looked pale and thinner than before and he had grown a small beard – or affixed a false one.

  He took my arm and we entered the labyrinth as the sound of pan pipes floated over the garden. The band had been replaced by the Pandean Minstrels.

  I was overwhelmed at being reunited with my highwayman lover although I knew my value to him was purely a monetary one. Taking a deep breath I blurted, ‘I want to help you but I have no money at present. I have not been lucky at cards of late.’

  ‘Never mind that, for the moment. There is the little matter of how your friends knew where we were, how they managed to apprehend us in the forest. Did you betray me, my dear?’ His voice was still low but full of menace. He tightened his grip on my arm until I almost squealed with pain.

  ‘They forced me to tell them,’ I cried. ‘I had no idea they would try to kill you. They were concerned for my reputation.’

  ‘How touching. And you left me for dead. I was forced to crawl through the forest, wounded, until I reached a hovel where a poor creature took me in until I was healed.’ My eyes filled with tears. ‘I am so sorry, Jerry, they told me you were dead.’

  ‘Did you not hear that no body was found?’

  ‘No, we left almost at once for Bath.’

  He
moved closer to me, his eyes still shadowed by his hood so that I could not read their expression. His voice assumed a pathetic timbre that I wanted to believe was genuine. ‘You do not know how much your desertion pained me, Lydia. I thought of you constantly during my long hours of convalescence. When I remembered the ecstasy of our moments together in that bedchamber, I—’

  ‘Stop!’ I moaned. ‘I cannot bear it. Forgive me.’ His mood changed abruptly. He seized my arm again and asked sharply, ‘What of the jewels … did your friends keep them?’

  ‘Of course they did not. How can you think that? They were returned to the prince. Miles hoped for a reward, a financial one, but it was not forthcoming.’ I decided not to mention the royal gift to me. Jerry would surely force me to hand it over.

  ‘It was a wild and witless scheme that could never succeed,’ I continued. ‘Only a mad man would have attempted such a thing.’ He suddenly released me and gave a growling laugh. ‘You are right, of course, sweet Lydia. It was a crazed scheme but it just might have succeeded – and had it, it would have been the crime of the century. Would you not have wanted to be part of that, my dear?’

  I licked my dry lips and whispered, ‘I do not know. I have not … I am not as daring as you.’ A small voice in my head was telling me that Jerry had little to lose. He was already an outcast from society while I was still clinging on by the skin of my teeth. He began to walk quickly, dragging me along with him. We had not paid any attention to the pathways since we entered the labyrinth and now we were lost. We darted to and fro unsuccessfully while Jerry said he would send me a message later. ‘But first we must get out of this confounded maze before we are seen together.’

  ‘Where are you staying?’ I asked.

  ‘In a low rookery on Avon Street, where else?’ He named a place in a district of the city notorious for every kind of vice.

  At that moment we turned a corner and found an exit just as a crowd of people walked towards us. Jerry said that I should meet him tomorrow in the gardens. ‘And bring some money.’ These were his last words before he slipped away into the shadows.