The Wily Wastrel Page 5

  Miss Galsworth struggled. She knew how improper such conduct was! How dare he handle her so? Particularly with Mama and Papa looking on?

  And yet, without her quite knowing how it happened, Juliet ceased to struggle. Instead of pushing him away, her hands crept up to encircle his neck. And when his arms pulled her close against his body, she did not protest or pull away.

  It was the most amazing thing that had ever happened to her, but Juliet found herself enjoying Mr. Langford’s kiss. Was this why propriety forbade such things? Because it felt so… so delicious?

  Juliet could think of no other word for the sensation. She felt a tingling all through herself and a strong desire for the kiss never to end. She liked, she discovered, Mr. Langford kissing her!

  And then, as abruptly as he had pulled her to him, he let her go. At which point all of her sense and sensibility returned and Juliet turned a bright red, felt a flare of anger in her breast, and had to clench her fists to keep from slapping him.

  He had such an air of smug self-satisfaction that she fairly itched to remove it from his face. How dare he? How dare he embarrass her in such a way before her family? And his brother?

  Whatever would they think of her?

  Just as Juliet opened her mouth to tell him how angry she was, her parents forestalled her. Was that approval she heard in their voices? It sounded suspiciously like approval, even if they were scolding Mr. Langford.

  “Sir! That is most inappropriate behavior! I shall expect the notice to be sent to the papers at once and you are not to be alone with my daughter again before the wedding! Now about the settlements…”

  “My Juliet! To be married!”

  “Er, you had best let our solicitor speak with Mr. Galsworth’s solicitor about the settlements, James. And I shall send the notice to the papers, if you like,” Lord Darton hastily interjected.

  “No, George, I shall send it,” Mr. Langford said in a gentle but implacable voice. “As for settlements, why don’t you and I go into your study, Mr. Galsworth, and decide them now?”

  Juliet watched as Mr. Langford and her father retired from the room. With a curt bow in her direction, Lord Darton hesitated as though wondering whether he should follow, then took his leave. Feeling a trifle as though she had just been run down by a carriage, Juliet sank into the nearest chair. Her mother immediately sat beside her and took her daughter’s hand in hers.

  “Oh, my dear! Such an excellent marriage! That is to say, I am not entirely certain of Mr. Langford’s prospects but he is the brother of Lord Darton and he has such a distinguished air about him! You will be the envy of all your friends! I never thought to see you captivate such a handsome man!”

  “You mean, Mama, that you will be the envy of all your friends,” Juliet said dryly. “And you never thought that would be the case. I know I have always been a disappointment to you.”

  Mrs. Galsworth avoided her daughter’s eyes. “Not a disappointment, precisely,” she said. “I will allow that I wish you had taken more interest in needlepoint and your music and less in things mechanical, but none of that is to the point anymore! You are to be married. And to the brother of Lord Darton.”

  She paused then said, with almost comic dismay, “I ought, of course, to scold you for spending the night with him. But as he is going to be a gentleman and marry you, I suppose it doesn’t signify. So long as neither of you tells anyone, of course.”

  Juliet leaned forward. “Mama, the truth is that he was showing me one of his inventions and I was helping him work on it and we lost track of time,” she said.

  Now Mrs. Galsworth gave a shriek of dismay. “Don’t ever say so!” she protested. “Far, far better, if the story of your disappearance overnight should be discovered, to let people believe you and Mr. Langford were indiscreet than to have anyone know how eccentric you are. How eccentric you both are! Oh, dear, I had no notion he wasn’t a true gentleman. What your father is going to say, when he finds out, is beyond me.”

  Juliet sighed and put a hand over her mother’s. “Papa is not going to find out because neither you nor I will tell him. Nor will Mr. Langford. It is all nonsense! I like Mr. Langford far better, now that I know he is not a hopeless fribble, than I did before.”

  Mrs. Galsworth clung to her daughter with pitiable desperation. “You do want to marry him, don’t you, dear?” she asked.

  “It cannot signify,” Juliet retorted, with pardonable exasperation. “You and Papa and Lord Darton have all said we have no choice. To what point should I object? Mr. Langford and I shall simply have to make the best of it, regardless of what we feel.”

  Mrs. Galsworth could not help herself. She pulled her hand free and embraced her daughter. “You are so brave!” she exclaimed. Then, letting go of Juliet, she cleared her throat and her voice was once more the firm, somewhat martial tool it had always been. “We have no time to waste. There is a wedding to arrange. I wonder how soon it can be managed?”

  Chapter 6

  One might have thought matters could not get any worse. Juliet and James soon discovered they would have been mistaken in believing such a thing.

  James was appalled to discover just how many of his friends thought it the most wonderful thing in the world that he had been caught in the parson’s mousetrap.

  “Not that anyone really thinks you a confirmed rake,” Farnsworth explained, “but dash it all, you can’t deny that you’ve been acting a trifle eccentric of late. It’s a relief, you see, to find you taking so natural a step as marriage. At least that’s what m’mother says.”

  “You’re drunk,” James told his friend bluntly.

  “Am not! A trifle bosky, p’rhaps, but nothing more,” Farnsworth protested indignantly.

  “Maybe not,” James said, “but you’re talking instead of playing cards.”

  Most of Langford’s other friends were more discreet but it was patent Farnsworth had spoken for the majority of them. The only blessing was that if any of them wondered at his choice of bride, none were rude enough to say so.

  Except Sir Thomas Levenger. The same day that the notice appeared in the papers, James received a summons to appear before the venerable King’s Counsel. For a summons it was, however politely couched as an invitation to dine at the home of Sir Thomas and Lady Levenger.

  It ought not to have been an ordeal. Sir Thomas had stood godfather and then surrogate father to all the Langford brothers, George, Philip, James, and Harry. He had guided them gently for years, ever since the death of the late Lord Darton, James’s father. And his wife, Lady Levenger, aunt to Philip’s wife, was a quiet creature who could not frighten a flea. And yet James found himself shuddering as he stood on the bottom step in front of their town house.

  Sir Thomas was the one person who might see through the deception. The one person who might guess what was behind it all. And what he would say was beyond James’s ability to predict.

  As always, the Levengers expressed delight to see him. Sir Thomas eyed him shrewdly, however, and even Lady Levenger was inclined to regard him with greater perception than was usual.

  Still, they talked lightly of other matters during dinner and even after, when they were alone without the ears of servants to overhear. Sir Thomas began by asking about James’s family.

  “How is your brother Harry? Do you hear from him often?” Sir Thomas asked.

  James frowned. “Not for some time. When last he wrote, he said there was some difficulty he was being asked to untangle. He didn’t explain anything more and I knew better than to ask. But he did write to Philip, at about the same time, and tell him that the fighting is expected to be severe in the Peninsula and preparations were being made even as he penned his missive.”

  Lady Levenger sighed. “I do so wish your brother was safe at home!”

  Now James smiled. “Do you, ma’am? Harry would not thank you for it! He says he is enjoying himself immensely. That he is needed.”

  “I’ve no doubt he is,” Sir Thomas said thoughtfully. “Still
, I should not be surprised to see him home soon. For a brief visit, that is.”

  “Why?” James asked.

  There was a certain twinkle in the elder barrister’s face as he replied, “Do you not recall? When your brother Philip became betrothed, Harry came home. Do you not think he will do the same for you?”

  James shuddered at the thought. Harry would quiz him unmercifully! And remind him of the pact the three had made, he and Harry and Philip, never to marry. To be sure, Philip had been the first to break the pact; nonetheless, Harry would twit him for doing so as well.

  Not that Harry had really come home because of Philip’s betrothal. There had been other reasons, reasons unlikely to apply now. Still, he could say none of this aloud.

  “I should be happy to see Harry, of course,” James said, with a carelessness he did not feel, “but I think it most unlikely he would be granted leave for that.”

  Sir Thomas merely shrugged. “We shall see. But you must allow, the news of your betrothal is a most fascinating subject, for all and sundry, particularly those who know you well.”

  James, feeling a trifle desperate to turn the subject, said to Lady Levenger, “I’ve no doubt you’ve seen my brother Philip and his wife more recently than I. Has she undertaken any new crusades?”

  Now a twinkle appeared in Lady Levenger’s eyes and there was a note of innocence in her voice that deceived none of them. “Emily? Surely you have seen her latest article in the paper? About Bedlam? I should think there will be some changes there soon.”

  Sir Thomas snorted. “Don’t believe it, Agatha! Nothing will change. They will tread lightly for a while, and perhaps even stop certain practices. But only for a little while. Then everything will be as before.”

  “You are a cynic, sir,” James could not help but say.

  “I am a realist,” countered the barrister, a grim look about his eyes and mouth. “I wish it were otherwise. I have dedicated my career to making it otherwise. But I am a realist. Change will come slowly, if it comes at all.”

  “Then why do you still try?” James asked.

  “Why did your father?” Sir Thomas countered. “He was far more of a firebrand than ever I could be.”

  Now an odd look appeared on James’s face, a mixture of pride and pain. In even tones he said, “You know that my brothers and I have never understood our father. Or how he could cast away his good name on the sorts of crusades he undertook. It cost my mother, it cost all of us, dearly. If one cannot change things, why pay such a price for failing?”

  “I did not say one cannot change things,” Sir Thomas countered mildly. “I merely said that change comes slowly. And you must know I admired your father greatly. I have often wished I had his courage.”

  “Courage?” James echoed softly. “Perhaps, though George would say it was folly. He is forever pointing out that Father could not even drive his curricle at a sensible speed. That if he had, perhaps Father would still be alive today.”

  “Perhaps, perhaps not,” Sir Thomas said, meeting James’s eyes squarely. “Or perhaps there would simply have been another way for him to die.”

  “What the devil do you mean by that?”

  “Yes, Thomas, what do you mean by that?” Lady Levenger echoed James with a puzzled note in her voice.

  Sir Thomas hesitated, then shook his head. “It is not important. No doubt I am simply subject to the megrims whenever I think about your father. I have no reason to suppose anything untoward happened to him. At least not enough to give me the right to say so aloud. It is just that I thought him the last man in the world to be so careless. But come, let us talk of other things. How bad are your gambling debts?”

  “Sir?” James asked, much taken aback.

  “How bad are your gambling debts?” Sir Thomas repeated.

  In a voice that was stiff with outrage, James replied, “I have none, sir.”

  “Perhaps I should ask: How bad were they before your betrothal?” the elder man countered.

  Instantly James was on his feet. It took all his self-control to keep his voice even as he asked, “Is that what they are saying?” When Sir Thomas nodded, James said with the same outrage as before, “It is a calumny. I did not ask Miss Galsworth to marry me for her money.”

  “Well, why did you, then?” Lady Levenger demanded.

  “And why the devil didn’t you come to me, come to both of us, when you landed yourself in the briars?” Sir Thomas added impatiently.

  “What makes you think I landed myself in the briars?” James demanded.

  Sir Thomas gave him a derisive glance. “It will be much easier,” he said, “if you sit down and simply tell us the truth of what occurred.”

  “We only wish to help,” Lady Levenger added gently.

  James sighed and sat. After a moment’s contemplation, he told them everything. He told them about taking her to see his engine. He told them about showing her his sketches of the factory machines he had designed, and of her approval that he cared. He told them how it was dawn before either thought to take notice of the time.

  When he was done, Sir Thomas shook his head. “Why the devil didn’t you come to me?” he asked once again, this time with a wry gentleness. “Agatha and I might have helped you. If we said the pair of you were with us, no one could have caviled at it.”

  “I did not think of doing so,” James answered candidly. “And in any event, it is too late to alter matters.”

  Sir Thomas was silent for a long moment. Then he looked at James and said, “Do you wish to marry the girl?”

  James surprised even himself when he said, “Do you know, I think I do. Miss Galsworth is a sensible woman and shares my interest in things mechanical. And it has occurred to me that once I am married no one will be trying to foist their daughters on me anymore. Even George is likely to keep a less close eye on what I am doing.”

  Sir Thomas and Lady Levenger looked at one another, then she asked, cautiously, “But how do you feel about Miss Galsworth? Do you feel any affection for her?”

  James blinked. “What has that to say to the matter? We must be married and we are both sensible people. We shall manage tolerably well and what more can one ask?”

  Again the older two looked at one another and this time they both blushed. With a certain gruffness in his voice Sir Thomas replied, “There can be, er, a great deal more. Perhaps one day you and Miss Galsworth will discover something of that sort as well. Meanwhile, if we can be of any service to the pair of you, please let us know.”

  “I shall,” James said, and he did not need to feign the gratitude he felt.

  ———

  Juliet was having no easier a time of it. She suddenly found herself to be the most interesting young lady in London. Or so it seemed from the steady stream of callers who now flocked to the Galsworths’ town house. And from the number of gentlemen who solicited her hand for dancing or the number of ladies who suddenly recollected that they had forgotten to send her invitations to some social event.

  It had not taken long for Juliet to realize that everyone wanted to know how she, such a plain girl, had managed to captivate one of London’s most elusive bachelors! And she, frustrating as it was, could not tell them. Not even though she knew some were wondering aloud just how large a dowry her father had settled on her and whether it had been gambling debts that forced Mr. Langford to offer for her.

  It would not have been so bad if she and James could have had time alone. If they could have had the chance to talk about this marriage. Or even, and Juliet blushed at her own thoughts, if they could have been alone so that Mr. Langford could repeat his kiss.

  It might have helped if they could have worked on his engine again. Or even just talked about that or his other projects. Somehow knowing that her betrothed cared enough about workers to try to design machines that would be safer for them warmed her heart. Whatever the world thought, she knew he was not a useless dandy and wastrel. If only she could have told him so, if only he could have reminded he
r of all the reasons she had found him such an enjoyable companion on that momentous night.

  But it was not to be. Mr. Galsworth was as good as his word. He made certain there was no possibility of even the slightest tete-a-tete between his daughter and Mr. Langford. They were the focus of all eyes during any encounter whatsoever and interested ears hovered to hear what captivating conversation might ensue. For no one, it seemed, could believe Miss Galsworth had drawn Mr. Langford’s interest with her looks.

  Juliet’s greatest trial, however, was Lady Darton. She came to call at an unusually early hour one day and explained herself by saying, “I know you will forgive me. I wished to be certain to have a chance to speak with Miss Galsworth without the whole world present to overhear.”

  “Naturally,” Mrs. Galsworth said.

  Juliet eyed Lady Darton warily. Indeed, she found herself so overawed by the woman that she could think of nothing to say.

  “Lord Darton has told me, of course, of the circumstances of this betrothal between Miss Galsworth and Mr. Langford,” Lady Darton continued austerely. “I cannot say that I approve of what took place; however, I do concede the necessity that matters be remedied as quickly as possible. And I should never suggest that Mr. Langford shirk his duty.”

  She did not mention their encounter at the lending library, a small mercy for which Juliet was grateful. Still, she could not think of a word to say in reply other than to murmur, “You are very kind.”

  Lady Darton permitted herself a small, thin smile. “I try to be,” she agreed. “That is why I am here. To assure you that once you and Mr. Langford are wed, I shall make it my responsibility to show you how to go on, for it is clear you lack town bronze.”

  Her ladyship then turned to Mrs. Galsworth and spoke with her for a short while concerning details of the wedding itself. Finally she rose to her feet.

  “I have stayed long enough, I am expected elsewhere. I am pleased to see that you are not a chatterbox, Miss Galsworth. While I cannot approve of the conduct which brought you to this pass, I shall concede that matters could have been much worse. Much worse indeed.”