Mrs Wingate came forward to announce the start of the recital and the chatterers were obliged to hush. The music was very good and once or twice the pathos of the arias brought a lump to Jane’s throat and made the tears tickle behind her eyes. In contrast, Simon disgraced himself by falling asleep and had to be nudged by Jane when he snored in the quiet parts.
‘The Duke and Lady Dennery look very intimate, do they not,’ Sophia murmured in Jane’s ear as the interval was announced and the gossip and chit chat broke out again. ‘But, oh, Jane, did you ever see anything like that dress! I am sure she has damped it, and for a small musical soirée!’
‘Very bad ton!’ Lady Verey said, overhearing. ‘I am glad Lady Eleanor is not here tonight! I cannot believe that she would wish for such a connection for the Delahayes!’
Lord Philip was also missing that evening and Sophia was noticeably less cheerful as a result. Jane, with her downcast friend on one side and her morose brother on the other, began to feel trapped under her own small rain cloud. Worse, Lady Dennery was directly in view and, having despatched the Duke to fetch her some syllabub from the refreshment room, was engrossed in flirtation with another gentleman.
Jane got up, excused herself to the others, and made a beeline for the food. The thought that it was her only solace restored her spirits a little. It was better than resorting to drink, as Simon had done!
‘Good evening, Miss Verey. Are you enjoying the music?’
Jane had been hesitating between the ice cream and the fruit pudding when the Duke of Delahaye paused by her side. His query seemed no more than mere politeness-indeed, she could see his gaze straying over her head to where Lady Dennery sparkled as brightly as her diamonds. Jane castigated herself for spending even a moment thinking about him when it was clear that the Duke had barely given her one moment’s attention.
‘Good evening, your Grace,’ she said coldly. ‘The music is very pretty, is it not? Or perhaps you have not noticed?’
Alex’s gaze came back from Lady Dennery and focussed on Jane’s face with sudden intentness. He gave her a glimmer of a smile that set her heartbeat awry despite her intention to resist his charm.
‘Oh, I have noticed several things, Miss Verey! More, perhaps, than you might think! I have observed that your brother is not himself tonight, that Miss Marchment appears to have lost some of her sparkle and that you are cross about something-would you care to enlighten me?’
‘No, thank you!’ Jane said smartly, secretly taken aback at his perspicacity. She allowed her own gaze to drift back to Lady Dennery, who was laughing as she allowed one of her admirers to feed her with grapes. ‘Would that we were as perceptive of our own circumstances as you are of other people’s, your Grace!’
‘Ah, true!’ Alex smiled whimsically, not one whit put out. ‘It is always so difficult to see the beam in one’s own eye, is it not, Miss Verey! Now, lest I forget, I believe that Lady Eleanor will be calling on you tomorrow to deliver an invitation to my home at Malladon. We had a sudden urge to escape the pleasures of Town and seek some country quiet!’
Jane eyed him suspiciously. This sudden invitation seemed most questionable. She had a horrid misgiving that the net was closing in around her; that Alex had tired of her resistance to the match with Philip and was now planning to put an end to her games. He had allowed her some latitude, had even played along to a certain extent, but now he had lost patience. She looked at him through her lashes. He was smiling blandly, but there was a hint of challenge in his gaze that only confirmed her doubts. Clearly there was some plan that hinged on Malladon.
‘I am not certain that Mama would wish to leave Town whilst the Season is in progress,’ she said cautiously, testing the water. Despite her words, she knew that it was very unlikely that Lady Verey would refuse. She would be too flattered, too grateful for such a sign of Lady Eleanor’s regard.
Alex’s smile grew. ‘Oh, I am persuaded that she will accept the invitation!’ he said easily. ‘And it will only be for a short while! The benefits outweigh the drawbacks, you know, for I am sure your mama’s main purpose in bringing you to Town is to see you suitably settled by the end of the Season! In that she and I are as one!’
Jane’s feeling of entrapment pressed closer about her. He had summed up Lady Verey’s reactions so accurately! Jane knew that her mama had never made any secret that she wished to revive the Delahaye match and such a sign of encouragement and approval from the Duke and Lady Eleanor could not be rejected. The three of them were united in the attempt to wear down Jane and Lord Philip until they capitulated.
‘I am sorry that you are not more enthusiastic, Miss Verey,’ the Duke said mockingly. His gaze had not left her face once and now Jane felt so frustrated she was sure that it must show. Vexed, she bit her lip.
‘Checkmate, Miss Verey?’ Alex added softly. ‘You know that you must concede soon! We are all ranged against you!’
Jane’s stormy hazel eyes locked with his.
‘Check, perhaps, but not checkmate, sir! Beware that your complacency does not catch you out!’
Alex laughed. ‘How stimulating it is to cross swords with you, Miss Verey! I never knew an opponent who could look defeat in the face and yet persist in opposing me!’
He bowed and sauntered back to Lady Dennery, insinuating himself at her side and displacing several of his rivals with what seemed the greatest of ease. It made Jane feel even more annoyed. He obviously did not care that he had to share Lady Dennery’s affections with so many others! It was all a little too sophisticated for Jane to either understand or appreciate.
The music was starting again. She slipped back into her seat beside Sophia and observed the droop of her friend’s mouth as she contemplated the rest of the evening without Lord Philip. With a further spasm of despair Jane realised that the success of the Duke’s plan would mean the death of all Sophia’s hopes. She set her chin. She needed some allies now and she was already starting to plan her next strategy.
Jane had intended to plan her next move once she was in bed that night, but in the event she fell asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. She awoke again, suddenly, and for no apparent reason, and lay in the dark, wondering what it was that had disturbed her.
Then there was the sound of gravel spattering against the window and a whisper, ‘Jane? Jane, are you there?’
Jane slipped from the bed and leaned out, the curtains billowing behind her.
‘Who’s there? Harry? What on earth-’
Lord Henry Marchnight was in the street below, supporting another figure whom Jane recognised with deep foreboding as Simon.
‘Harry? Is Simon hurt?’
‘Of course not,’ Henry said tersely. ‘Come down and open the door, there’s a good girl! I don’t want to wake the whole house!’
Obscurely reassured, Jane dragged on a robe and sped downstairs. A single light burned in the hall, and from behind the door leading down to the servants’ hall she could hear the low murmur of voices. She slid the bolts back softly.
‘Thank God!’
Henry was already outside the door and strode in to deposit his burden in the hall with scant concern for Simon’s welfare. Jane recoiled from the smell of drink as her brother lurched towards the stairs, missing the handrail and slumping on to the bottom step. She had thought that Simon had recovered his sobriety during the soirée that evening, but evidently he had made up for it immediately afterwards with a trip to his club.
‘Good heavens! He’s three parts disguised!’
‘Just be grateful you didn’t have to bring him all the way home as we did,’ Henry said bitterly.