Love, Lords, and Lady-Birds Read online

  As he says she were astaying at Staverton House, I thinks I were safe in allowing him to take th'

  fireworks away with him."

  "And what was the date?" the Earl asked.

  There was something ominous in his tone which made Petrina feel as if she were watching herself fall over a cliff to destruction, and yet she could do nothing about it.

  "T'were the sixth of June, Sir," the shop-keeper replied.

  The Earl took the account from the man's hand and drew two sovereigns from his waist-coat pocket.

  He handed them to the shop-keeper, who was immediately profuse in his thanks, but without waiting to hear what he had to say the Earl turned towards the house, giving Petrina one fleeting glance.

  She knew, without his having to say so, that he expected her to follow him, and she walked behind him across the Hall, feeling as if she were on her way to the scaffold.

  A footman opened the door of the Library and as Petrina entered she heard the door close behind her.

  The Earl put the account down on his desk to stand for a moment looking at it.

  Petrina's heart was beating so violently that she felt he must have heard it in the perceptible pause before he said abruptly:

  "I want an explanation!"

  Petrina drew in her breath.

  "It was ... to save . . . you," she said in a voice that was almost inaudible.

  "To save me?" the Earl enquired. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Lady Isolda had . . . paid a newspaper reporter to write something . . . unpleasant about you."

  The Earl looked at her in genuine astonishment.

  "What are you saying?" he enquired. "It is entirely incomprehensible to me."

  "It ... is true," Petrina said miserably. "I found Mr. Nicholas Thornton in the garden on the night the Prince Regent dined here."

  "Nicholas Thornton? Who is this man?"

  "A reporter on the Courier."

  'You say he was in the garden? Why did you not call the servants to have him thrown out?"

  "Because he told me that Lady Isolda had paid him ten sovereigns to report the . . . time she left Staverton House . . . which she . . . intended to be . . .a long time after your . . . other guests had . . . left."

  "Can you be telling me the truth?" the Earl enquired.

  "Why should I lie?" Petrina asked.

  "Why should you be interested in what this man had been paid to write?"

  There was a little pause before Petrina said:

  "Lady Isolda believed it would . . . force you into . . . offering marriage to her . . . and . . . that is what he . . . thought too."

  The Earl gave an exclamation which sounded like a muffled oath. Then he said, and his voice was scathing:

  "Why did you and this man need fireworks to use in a very different locality?"

  "I ... I paid him double what Lady Isolda was . . . giving him," Petrina stammered, "because he wanted a . . . story. In fact he . . . intended to have . . . one."

  The Earl looked down at the bill for the fireworks as if he could hardly believe his eyes, then he said slowly:

  "Then you knew that the Duke of Ranelagh would be with Mademoiselle Vouvray. How could you have known such a thing?"

  There was an uncomfortable silence before at last Petrina said in a very low voice:

  "I . . . overheard something the Duke said at . . . V-Vauxhall Gardens."

  "Vauxhall Gardens?"

  The Earl almost shouted the words.

  "When were you at Vauxhall Gardens?"

  "C-Claire . . . took me one . . . night."

  "Why?"

  The question was like a pistol-shot, and somehow there was nothing Petrina could do but tell the truth.

  "She knew I wanted to . . . hear Mademoiselle V-Vouvray."

  "So you were aware she had some connection with me?"

  "Y-yes."

  The Earl's lips tightened and Petrina knew that he was seeing quite clearly what had happened.

  Knowing where the Duke would be the night the Earl was at Windsor Casde, she had with Nicholas Thornton concocted the whole plot which would make, as she had promised him, "a good story."

  There was a long silence and again Petrina was conscious of the beating of her heart and the fact that her lips were dry.

  Then suddenly, so suddenly that she jumped, the Earl brought his fist down with all his force on the desk.

  "Dammit!" he said. "It is inconceivable that I should be subjected to your curiosity and your interference in my private life!"

  He looked at Petrina and his eyes were black with anger.

  "How dare you behave in this manner!" he stormed. "How dare you intrigue with some common reporter."

  "I ... I did it to . . . save you."

  "When I want you to save me, when I want your help in any way, I will ask for it!" the Earl almost shouted. "In the meantime, keep out of my life and my private affairs."

  Petrina did not speak and after a moment he went on:

  "It is intolerable, absolutely intolerable, that I should have to submit to this sort of behaviour from a young woman living under my roof, who should have the decency and the modesty not even to think of a world into which she should never intrude."

  His voice rose and it was obvious that he had lost his temper as he went on:

  "Ever since I have known you, you have had an unhealthy and unpleasant preoccupation with subjects which are no concern of yours and would be distasteful to anyone with the least sensibility."

  He paused to add forcefully:

  "All I can say is that I am appalled by your behaviour and I assure you I shall take stringent steps immediately to see that I am not again subjected to your impertinence."

  His voice seemed to reverberate round the room. Then in little more than a whisper Petrina said:

  "I am . . . sorry if I made you . . . angry."

  "Angry?" the Earl echoed. "I am not merely angry, I am disgusted! Get out of my sight."

  He spoke so violently that Petrina gave a little cry and turning ran from the room.

  She pulled open the door, sped across the Hall, and ran down the steps to where the horse and groom were waiting for her.

  She was helped into the saddle, then rode down the drive, across Park Lane, and into Hyde Park.

  She had no idea where she was going, she just wanted to escape from the Earl's anger and the fury in his voice, which made her feel as if he had struck her.

  She turned her horse's head towards the unfashionable part of the Park and rode looking straight ahead of her, unaware even that the groom was following her.

  She felt as if her whole world had collapsed about her ears and there was nothing but ruin.

  As she rode on, she told herself that the Earl had been unjust and unfair.

  He had not taken into consideration that everything she had done had been for his sake, to save him from having to marry Lady Isolda and from being cheated by his mistress.

  "He should really be grateful to me," Petrina told herself.

  Now her own temper asserted itself and she no longer felt crushed and humiliated, but defiant.

  She could understand the Earl being annoyed that she had, as he said, intrigued with Nicholas Thornton.

  The consequences if she had not done so must be very obvious to him.

  But the way he had spoken to her made her feel extremely resentful. As she rode over the bridge of the Serpentine towards Rotten Row, she told herself that he was definitely both unjust and ungrateful.

  Petrina was deep in her thoughts and it therefore made her start when she heard a voice beside her saying:

  "You are looking very serious, lovely Miss Lyndon. Am I still in your bad graces?"

  Petrina turned her head to find that Lord Rowlock was riding beside her.

  He swept his tall hat from his head as he spoke, looking so handsome as he did so that she felt that here was the chance to show what she thought of the Earl's behaviour.

  "Good-morning, Lord Ro
wlock!" she said sweetly.

  "You have been very cruel to me," he said, "but I hope that for whatever crime I have committed, I am now forgiven."

  "It is not exactly a . . . crime," Petrina replied, feeling a little embarrassed. "It is just that my Guardian . . ."

  "I understand," he interposed quickly. "Of course I understand. I know that the Earl told you I am a fortune-hunter, but what I feel for you, Petrina, is something very different."

  Petrina knew she ought to ride away and prevent Lord Rowlock from talking in such an intimate manner, and yet because she was smarting under a sense of injustice she found it impossible not to listen.

  "I know all the things that are said against me," Lord Rowlock said in a low voice, "but I would have fallen in love with you, Petrina, if you had not had a penny in the world. God, do you realise how beautiful you are?"

  There was a note of sincerity in his voice which Petrina, almost despite herself, found very moving.

  "I am sorry," she said softly.

  'You have made me very miserable!"

  'There is nothing I can do about it."

  "There is something you could do for me, if you would."

  "What is that?" she asked nervously.

  "You know I have very little money," Lord Rowlock said. "I have made no bones about that, but I made a bet the other night—and I suppose it was a very stupid one—that I would find a woman who could race a curricle with two horses against Lady Lawley, and win!"

  "Race against Lady Lawley?" Petrina asked.

  She knew that the lady in question was one of the most noted Whips in the Beau Monde.

  It was fashionable for the more affluent Beaux to supply their mistresses with curricles and even Phaetons which they could drive themselves.

  They either had their protector or a groom in attendance and the majority were capable only of driving up and down the Row to flaunt their clothes and their jewels before the less fortunate members of their profession.

  In consequence, few ladies drove in public, but Lady Lawley was noted as being outstanding in handling her horses.

  Petrina looked at Lord Rowlock with surprised eyes.

  "Are you suggesting," she asked after a moment, "that I should drive against Lady Lawley?"

  "Why not?" he questioned. "I have seen you driving in the Park and I thought how exceptionally well you handled the reins. Quite a number of my friends have said the same thing."

  It was a compliment such as Petrina had never imagined receiving.

  As she had told the Earl this morning, Abby was pleased with her and made her feel as if she personally had won the Gold Cup at Ascot.

  That Lord Rowlock should consider she had a chance against Lady Lawley was more flattering than if he had compared her to the goddess Aphrodite or to the Venus di Milo.

  "I might ... let you . . . down," she said after a moment.

  "I believe you could beat her," Lord Rowlock insisted. "She has been boasting that there is no woman except herself in the whole Beau Monde who has any idea of handling horse-flesh."

  'That sounds very conceited," Petrina said.

  "I want you to prove her wrong," Lord Rowlock said.

  It was tempting, too tempting for Petrina to refuse.

  "When is the race?" she asked.

  "Anytime you wish," Lord Rowlock replied. "Today, if you say the word."

  Petrina recalled swiftly that the Earl would not be returning until late.

  'He will not know,' she thought.

  She would not feel so crushed and humiliated by him if she won the race against Lady Lawley.

  "What time do we start and where?" she asked Lord Rowlock.

  "I knew you would not fail me," he cried. "Could any woman be so sporting or so brave?"

  Petrina found it impossible not to respond to the admiration in his eyes.

  "I only hope I will not fail you."

  "You could never do that," he answered, and she knew he was speaking not only of the race.

  He arranged that he would collect her from Staverton House at one o'clock.

  Petrina rode home hoping that the Dowager Duchess would decide not to rise for luncheon.

  She found on her return that her wish had been granted, for the Dowager Duchess had left a message to say that she hoped she would excuse her but she was in such pain that she had taken a sleeping-tablet and did not wish to be disturbed.

  Nothing could have worked out better, Petrina thought, as she went upstairs to change her clothes.

  She put on a very elegant gown, one of her prettiest, feeling as she did so that she was defying the Earl not only in driving with Lord Rowlock but also by looking attractive.

  The bonnet which matched her gown was not large enough to blow away in the wind and the ribbons which tied under her chin kept her hair neat and tidy beneath it.

  She knew she was looking her best when, having eaten a light meal, she went into the Hall to await the arrival of His Lordship.

  He drove up to the front door in a curricle that was drawn by two well- matched chestnuts which, if not the equal of the Earl's superlative animals, were nevertheless well-bred and spirited.

  Petrina's eyes were sparkling as Lord Rowlock helped her into the driving seat and she took the reins in her hands. She knew that she could handle the horses and was not in the least afraid of them.

  They drove away from Staverton House and into the Park.

  'Where do we meet Lady Lawley?" she asked.

  "She is leaving at exactly the same time as we are," Lord Rowlock said, drawing a watch from his waist-coat pocket, "which is five minutes past one."

  "Where from?"

  'From Portman Square," he replied, "while we are leaving from Tyburn. We are on our honour not to leave a second before each other."

  "Why from different places?" Petrina asked.

  "Because the race is to all intents and purposes a test not only of horsemanship but also of ingenuity," he explained. "The first curricle to reach the Plume of Feathers, an Inn just off the Great North Road, is the winner, but there are no restrictions as to what route is followed."

  He smiled at Petrina as he said:

  "I have worked out an extremely ingenious way, which I think will defeat Lady Lawley from the onset."

  Petrina gave a little sigh.

  It was a relief to know that the race did not depend only upon her.

  While dressing she had thought of Lady Lawley's reputation as a Whip and had been afraid that however well she drove she could not equal a woman who was at least fifteen years older than she was and had a vast experience of driving.

  She was quite prepared to believe that if the stakes were high Lord Rowlock would make every effort to be the winner, and when a moment later he said: "We can start!" she felt an irresistible excitement at the thought of the contest.

  They drove off, Lord Rowlock directing her in a manner which told Petrina he knew all the different ways out of London.

  He was clever enough, she noticed, to take her down quiet residential streets that were not filled with traffic, and soon they were free of the houses and moving out into the countryside.

  It was a hot day, but there was a faint wind to relieve the heat. Petrina could soon give her horses their heads and feel the wind whip little tendrils of her hair round her flushed cheeks.

  "This is exciting!" she said to Lord Rowlock. "I wonder if Her Ladyship is far ahead of us?"

  "I am hoping she does not know the North of London as well as I do," he answered. "In fact, as the Lawleys have a house in Sussex, I think I was lucky in winning the toss."

  "Is that how you decided which way we would go?" Petrina asked.

  He nodded.

  "The whole thing has been exceedingly fair," he explained, "and because I chose to go North I agreed to the slight handicap of our starting in the Park while Her Ladyship was a few streets nearer our goal."

  Petrina looked serious.

  "That means she could be well ahead of us."


  "It is a possibility," he answered, "but I do not think you need worry."

  "I am not going to," she answered, "and I like your horses."

  "I wish they were mine," he said wistfully. "Actually they belong to a friend who lent them to me."

  Petrina had a sudden suspicion that the friend was the Duke of Ranelagh, but she had no intention of asking too many questions.

  She had no wish for Lord Rowlock to know she had been at Vauxhall Gardens the night she had overheard him and the Duke talking together.

  They drove on and after an hour Petrina was looking anxiously ahead for a glimpse of Lady Lawley.

  Although they passed a great number of curricles they were all driven by gentlemen and there was no sign of Her Ladyship.

  An hour later, when Petrina learnt that they were getting nearer to their objective, she asked:

  "Supposing that when we get to the Plume of Feathers we find Lady Lawley already there—will you have lost a great deal of money?"

  "More than I can afford," Lord Rowlock replied.

  "How worrying," Petrina murmured.

  "No-one could drive better than you are doing," he said, "and I do not need to tell you how grateful I am for your help and understanding."

  "You can say that when we have won," Petrina answered, "but I cannot help feeling that Lady Lawley is ahead."

  "She may quite easily be behind," Lord Rowlock said, and smiled.

  "It is a fifty-fifty chance either way," Petrina replied.

  Because she was so anxious to help him by winning, she whipped up the horses, and for the next half an hour they travelled faster than she had ever driven before.

  'I do not believe the Earl himself could go faster driving a pair,' she thought.

  The thought of the Earl brought an ache to her heart that she could not deny.

  She tried not to think of him raging at her, the darkness of his eyes, the things he had said.

  She thought at first that she had been almost numbed by the violence with which he had attacked her.

  It had made her ready to defy him, but now she wished miserably that she had been able to explain how she had really tried to do what was best for him and had not thought of anything but saving him from having to marry Lady Isolda.