Although Reginald did not hesitate in his praise of Lady Vernon’s respectability, an incident had occurred, while he passed through London, which gave him some concern for her reputation.
Mr. deCourcy to Lady Vernon
Parklands Manor, Kent
Dear Madam,
Forgive any indelicacy of writing to you in this manner and allow me to assure you that the portrait that you entrusted to me has been safely delivered to Portland Place. There I had the very great pleasure of being introduced to Lady Martin.
I wish, madam, that I could express an equal pleasure with my experience at Edward Street. When I was admitted and ushered into the drawing room, a dispute between a lady and a gentleman was clearly audible from the other side of the door, and the name “Manwaring” was unmistakable.
Mrs. Johnson hurried into the room and I presented her your letter. She welcomed me in a civil fashion, though she was very much embarrassed by what was overheard. “You must forgive the state in which you find us,” she said to me. “My husband’s ward has called upon him very unexpectedly.”
She then bade me sit down and asked a great many questions about your coming to town. She had learned that Lady Martin had taken residence at Portland Place and seemed to take this as evidence that a marriage between Sir James and Miss Vernon was imminent. I did not think that it was my place to undeceive her, and before the subject might be continued, the library door was thrown open and a lady and gentleman entered the room. The gentleman was Mr. Johnson and the lady was introduced as Mrs. Manwaring, and as it was evident that she wished to speak privately with Mrs. Johnson, I was invited by Mr. Johnson into his library, so that the ladies might have their tête-à-tête.
I found Mr. Johnson, though abrupt in his manner, to be a very gentlemanlike man. He asked most particularly after Miss Vernon. I made some mention of her friendship with Miss Manwaring and my recent introduction to her and her brother, and Mr. Johnson replied, “It is no secret that I was not pleased with Eliza’s choice of a husband, but I am not so pitiless as to rejoice that I had been right. She seeks my aid in effecting a separation, and if you have any influence with Lady Vernon, I would advise you to caution her of the imprudence of admitting Manwaring to her household when she comes to London. Toward her, I will not think as ill as I once did—she cannot have produced as excellent a daughter as Miss Vernon if she had been truly bad. But an ill-chosen acquaintance may give one the appearance of impropriety, which, for the sake of Miss Vernon, I hope her mother will avoid.”
I assured Mr. Johnson that I would heed his advice, and as Mrs. Manwaring and I left together, I offered to escort her to her lodgings in town.
We had no sooner settled in my carriage than Mrs. Manwaring began to importune me on the subject of your time in Sussex and whether Mr. Manwaring had frequently been a visitor to Churchill Manor. I was struck with the impropriety of such forwardness to a stranger and replied that though I had been many weeks at Churchill Manor, I had seen her husband only once, when he had dined with the party from Billingshurst. However Mrs. Manwaring’s jealousy must mislead her in regard to you, madam, it was very clear from her expressions that she and Manwaring are to part and that her visit to Edward Street was an attempt—one of many, I infer—to secure the interest of her former guardian.
I write this so that when you come to London, you will know how things stand. I hope that Mr. Manwaring will not use his sister’s intimacy with Miss Vernon to gain admittance to Portland Place.
I remain,
Reginald deCourcy
chapter forty-five
As Charles Vernon and his groom drove along Portland Place in Reginald’s curricle (which Charles had agreed to convey to town), he looked at the elegant residences as if for the first time and noted the number of crests upon the passing vehicles and wondered how his sister could keep such a fine address on her modest income. In his mind, he rehearsed a few remarks about how much must be attended to in a house that Lady Vernon had not occupied for nearly two years and how far the presence of a male relation and his family might hold off the gossip that would be stirred up when a lady was living alone.
His hopes lasted only until the front door was opened. Two liveried footmen hurried down to the carriages, and in the doorway stood Lady Martin. Charles was very surprised, for he had heard that Lady Martin liked town even less than Lady deCourcy. She would not have come so far unless there was a very particular reason, and that reason must be the desire of the mothers to see the daughter of one married to the son of the other.
The evening was just long enough for everyone to dine and talk about nothing; for the children to run up and down the staircases and exclaim over the variety of curious vehicles that passed by the front-facing windows; and for Catherine to wonder whether she was obliged to buy her mother a present, and how (as Miss Manwaring and Miss Vernon had come to town with her uncle and would continue to Parklands with her) their party might be crammed into a single carriage, or whether the two nursery maids, who each had sat from Sussex to London with a child on her lap, might be sent by stage.
On the following morning, however, she found that Lady Martin had arranged for the young ladies to travel by postchaise, assigning a footman to accompany them, and paying the fare herself. Catherine was happy to have this settled at no trouble or expense to herself, and Charles resolved that, though his expectations of residing at Portland Place must be over, the goodwill of a woman who could send two young ladies to Kent by postchaise was worth retaining.
The passengers were off, and the girls settled comfortably together with no one to interrupt an unreserved conversation. Maria Manwaring was reserved, however, and made only the briefest of replies to her friend’s remarks until at last Frederica asked Maria if she was unwell.
“No, quite the reverse. I am well—very well—but very far from being myself. I hardly know where to begin.”
“In science, we always begin at the very root of the matter, which ensures that nothing will be overlooked.”
“That will not do. I do not know where it did begin, so I must begin at the end instead. But you must not say anything until my brother is applied to for his consent—which he will not fail to give. I am to be married to Mr. Lewis deCourcy.”
Frederica could not conceal her surprise, nor prevent herself from exclaiming, “Mr. Lewis deCourcy! I cannot believe it!”
“Then I have no hope that anyone else shall, until we are married,” Maria replied with a blush. “My fortune is so little and the disparity in our ages so great that everyone will dismiss it as gossip. And when they are persuaded it is true, everyone will think that his suit is foolish and my consent is grossly mercenary.”
“I do not think so; I know you too well. When I look back, I do recall signs of his preference—he was certainly very attentive to you when we were all together after my father’s passing. But it was not an occasion where any of us were disposed to be curious. You must tell me alclass="underline" How did it come about?”
“It came upon me very gradually. I have always known Mr. deCourcy through my brother and have always thought very highly of his abilities and character. In the past year, many situations have thrown us together a great deal and he declares that he came to Billingshurst on purpose to determine whether I could ever regard him as a suitor. He tells me that only a conviction that my brother and Eliza wished me to marry much higher prevented him from declaring himself sooner. But what do you think? Am I very foolish for abiding by my heart?”