The Magnificent Masquerade Part 18

They were approaching the door. "I know I'll never be able to prove to you that I'll never love anyone else, but couldn't you take a chance on it? Isn't it worth a little risk to-?"

"No!" he exploded, throwing up his arms in exasperation, perfectly aware of but completely disregarding all the watching eyes. "Kitty Jessup, if you don't stop, I'll wring your neck!"

He stormed off ahead of her, but she would not be deterred. She hurried her step to almost a run and caught up with him. "There's nothing really worthwhile in life that can be achieved without risk, isn't that so?" she demanded, trotting alongside him.

He burst into the Rotunda. "Birkinshaw," he shouted at the top of his voice, "come down here! I've brought your d.a.m.ned daughter home! Come and take her off my hands, I beg you, before I lose what's left of my dignity, my disposition, and my sanity!"

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

Everyone converged on the Rotunda to give Kitty the noisiest and most enthusiastic greeting she'd ever received. Her mother cried and laughed, berating her for her "naughty tricks" while embracing her with unusual affection. Her father clapped her on the back and called her his "shameful little puss." Alicia, fully dressed and as rosy-cheeked and healthy as Kitty had ever seen her, kissed both her cheeks and presented her to her "betrothed," the beaming Dr. Randolph. And Lady Edith flitted about from one to the other of the a.s.semblage, attempting to close the clasp of her necklace while urging everyone to go to the Blue Saloon for refreshments. The last to greet her was Toby Wishart.

"So you're the chit I was supposed to wed," he said, appraising her with a brazen leer. "I would have been quite pleased with the prospect a fortnight ago. But, now, alas ..." He sighed with mock disappointment as he drew her arm through his and pulled her to the stairs.

"Alas? Why alas? And where are you taking me, sir?"

"To see someone who was too shy to greet you before all the others. And alas, because, alas, it is now too late for us."

"Is it really?" Kitty asked archly. "Why is that, sir?"

"She is why." He pointed to a young woman standing shyly at the foot of the stairs.

"Miss Jessup, I'd like you to meet my betrothed and beloved Miss Pratt."

"Emily!" Kitty exclaimed in astonishment. This was the one bit of news Greg had neglected to tell her. "Is this true?"

Emily nodded wordlessly.

Kitty could see at once, in the sparkle of those large dark eyes, that Emily Pratt was happier than she'd ever been. "I'm so glad for you!" she said, choked. "If you didn't have your arm in that sling, I'd hug you for joy!"

"My shoulder can stand it," Emily said, laughing in relief as they embraced. "I was a little fearful that you wouldn't approve," she whispered in Kitty's ear.

Kitty stepped back and eyed her friend suspiciously. "Approve? Why shouldn't I approve?"

"I think she's afraid you might still change your mind and wish to marry me," Toby explained smugly.

"Hah!" Kitty snorted, slipping an affectionate arm around each of them and starting toward the Blue Saloon. "Let me a.s.sure you, Toby, old fellow, that I never even liked you. In truth, it's only now that I discover you had the good judgment to shackle yourself to Emily instead of me that I'm willing to credit you with some sense."

Later, on instructions from her mother that she was to change from the hideous bombazine she'd been wearing to some clothes of her own, Kitty found herself following Naismith down the hallway to one of the guest bedchambers. The butler was still treating her as if he'd never seen her before, and Kitty was determined to break through his reserve.

"I don't suppose you've missed me a bit, have you, Mr. Naismith?" she asked, catching up with him.

He allowed himself to meet her eye. "It is only the staff that must address me as Mr. Naismith," he said coldly. "To family and guests, a simple Naismith will do."

"But some part of me will always be staff," she said, "so I'm afraid you'll always be Mr. Naismith to me."

He emitted a tiny sigh. "As you wish, miss."

"You don't approve, do you?" she giggled. "I can tell. You're going to turn away and look to the skies and ask the heavens why you've been saddled with such a tormenting guest as I. Am I right?"

A tiny twitch showed itself in a corner of his mouth. "Quite right, miss. Here is your room, miss. I hope it will be satisfactory."

"Thank you, Mr. Naismith. It seems to be a great deal more satisfactory than the other one I occupied in this house." She looked about the room for a moment and then turned back to the butler, who stood waiting in the doorway to be dismissed.

"Dash it all, Mr. Naismith, admit it. You do miss me belowstairs, don't you?"

He relented and showed a real smile. "You were a terrible abigail, miss. Really dreadful. But you tried. And, to tell the truth, I do miss you. We all do. Will that be all, miss?"

"I don't suppose I can convince you to stop calling me miss. Couldn't you call me Kitty?"

He rolled his eyes heavenward. "Certainly not, miss."

She giggled. "Well, I suppose that would be going too far. But thank you, Mr. Naismith, for going as far as you did."

"You're welcome, miss. Will that be all?"

"Yes, thank you. If you'll please send Miss Leac.o.c.k to me, that will be all that I require." And with a brazen, triumphant wink, she let him go.

Miss Leac.o.c.k entered a few minutes later, shy and very uneasy. "Ye wished to see me, Miss Jessup?" she asked, a nervous tremor in her voice.

"Yes, I did. I want to apologize, Miss Leac.o.c.k, for not keeping my part of the bargain we made."

"Bargain?"

"You know what I mean. You told me your secret, but I never told you mine."

The abigail began to relax. "You needn't apologize, Miss Jessup," she said in a more normal way. "At least you never revealed my secret to anyone."

"Goodness, you didn't think I would, did you?"

Miss Leac.o.c.k smiled. "I wouldn't have confided in you if I did."

"Thank you for that. But I am sorry that I wasn't the one to tell you my true ident.i.ty. I really owed you that."

"It's all right, Miss Jessup."

"It's not all right. I really meant to tell you. I even tried to find you the day I ran off. But I was afraid someone might see me, so I gave up. But I hope this gift will in some measure make up for it." She took Miss Leac.o.c.k's hand and dropped the strand of pearls her grandmother had given her into the palm.

Miss Leac.o.c.k gaped down at the necklace in awe. "Oh, Emily! I mean, Miss Jessup, I couldn't-! They're too beautiful! There's no need ... I don't deserve-"

"You do deserve them. You were the only one who stood my friend when I really needed one. You helped me, and you guided me, and you trusted me. Please take the pearls, Miss Leac.o.c.k. It would give me much pleasure if you accepted them."

Miss Leac.o.c.k, although sincerely moved, hesitated. "Oh, dear. I don't ... I never ... ! Oh, my! Oh, I will ... if you really wish me to. It is the most wonderful gift I've ever in my life received." It took a moment before she was able to look up from the necklace. "But you know, Miss Jessup," she confided, "I was not your only friend belowstairs. There were many who liked and respected you."

"Thank you for saying that," Kitty sighed, "but they won't feel that way when they hear that his lords.h.i.+p is sacking Jemmy and Reeves because of me."

"No, you're wrong there. Lily was telling me all about it when ye sent for me. His lords.h.i.+p didn't sack Reeves. It seems that Jemmy never gave Reeves any money. He kept the money you gave him for Reeves all to himself and told Reeves that Miss Jessup had ordered the carriage. Reeves never knew he'd done anything wrong, so his lords.h.i.+p saw no reason to sack him. His lords.h.i.+p is always very fair, you know."

"Is he?"

"Yes. Always. Everyone says so." She peered at Kitty interestedly. "Don't you agree?"

Kitty shrugged. "I suppose so. But Jemmy may not feel that way."

"I wouldn't worry about Jemmy. None of us'll miss him. Nasty and underhanded, Jemmy was. And with your twenty guineas in his pocket, he'll be a great deal better off than he deserves."

"You even know how much I gave him? Amazing!" Miss Leac.o.c.k giggled. "There isn't much we don't know downstairs. There's even a wager among the footmen that you'll be ... but perhaps I shouldn't say..

"No, please. I love gossip. Tell me."

"Well ... the wager is-for and against, you know that'll ye'll be marrying his lords.h.i.+p soon."

Kitty hooted. "However did they come to wager on a tale like that? More likely the snow outside will turn to sugar! Take my advice, Miss Leac.o.c.k, and put your money on the other side."

Miss Leac.o.c.k smiled as she went to the door. "I won't bet against it. Sometimes we see things clearer downstairs than you up here. Thank you again for the beautiful pearls. I shall wear them always."

"You're welcome, Miss Leac.o.c.k."

At the door, the abigail hesitated. "Ye know, Miss Jessup, I don't mind if ye call me the ... the name. Only..."

Kitty hugged her. "I know, Thisbe. Only in private."

Kitty had barely b.u.t.toned up her dress when Mr. Naismith came again to her door with a message from her father to go down to the drawing room at once. When she entered she discovered both her parents sitting on a sofa near the fire, facing Toby and Lord Edgerton who were ensconced on matching easy chairs opposite them. An air of tension seemed to permeate the room, which was not dissipated even when the men rose at her entrance.

"Is something amiss?" she asked.

"I should say so!" Lord Birkinshaw said with a touch of asperity. "Something's very amiss, and only you can settle it. Edgerton and I had a bargain. It was made in all good faith. We shook hands on it. And now I find it has been breached. Seems to me that something must be done."

"You're making a fuss over nothing," his wife snapped. "But if you're going to persist in this, at least let the child sit down."

Toby drew a chair to the side of the sofa and helped Kitty into it as the other gentlemen took their seats. "I'd like to know what on earth you expect me to do," Greg said calmly.

"Forge ahead with a marriage n.o.body wants?"

"That's just what we're here to determine," Birkinshaw said stubbornly. He felt that he'd somehow been swindled, and he craved satisfaction. "We don't know if n.o.body wants it."

"Well, I certainly don't want it," Lady Birkinshaw muttered. "Never really did."

"I ain't asking you!" her husband barked.

"And I don't want it," Toby said promptly, "but I suppose n.o.body's asking me, either."

"No, we ain't," Birkinshaw agreed. "When your brother and I shook hands, your acceptance was implied. It isn't my fault that you went and entangled yourself with another female."

"Well, if it comes to that," Toby pointed out, "I met the other female through your daughter's machinations. If she'd played by the rules, I might be quite happily betrothed to her at this moment. Since she chose to subst.i.tute another female for herself, I would say that she herself invalidated the contract."

"Oh, you would, would you? Well, since you ain't one of the makers of the contract, and since n.o.body's hired you as an advocate, your interpretation ain't worth the paper it ain't written on."

"Let's stop this brangling," Greg suggested, "and get to the point. Since Toby has betrothed himself to someone else, a wedding between him and your daughter is out of the question. The only thing remaining is to determine if your daughter feels herself injured. If she does, then I as the co-signer, so to speak, of the contract will have to make some sort of rest.i.tution. Agreed, Birkinshaw?"

"Very well. Agreed." Birkinshaw turned to Kitty.

"Well, my love, tell us. Do you feel yourself injured?" Kitty, glancing at Greg, was struck with an idea. It was one of those wonderful, bubbly ideas that always set off an explo sion of mischief. "Are you asking," she inquired of her father, "if I feel myself injured by Lord Edgerton?"

Greg, having become familiar with certain inflections in her voice, leaned forward and peered at her suspiciously.

"I suppose, legally speaking, you can put it that way," her father said importantly.

She sat erect and faced Greg with a tiny smile. "Then I say yes. Yes, I feel injured by Lord Edgerton."

"Ha!" her father chortled, slapping his knee in glee and turning in triumph to his wife. "What did I tell you?"

"This is ridiculous!" Toby said in irritation. "She told me in so many words that she didn't even like me." "No, the girl is right, Toby," Greg said. Kitty, watching him closely, immediately recognized the familiar gleam of amus.e.m.e.nt flash into his eyes. "She's been deprived of a husband. She has a right to rest.i.tution."

"She certainly has," Birkinshaw agreed cheerfully. "Now all we have to do is determine the amount."

"I think that we should let Kitty do that, don't you?" Greg suggested, fixing his eyes on her.

Birkinshaw looked dubious. "Well, I don't know. She's only a child, after all, and can't be expected to know the value of-"

"Please, Papa, let me decide. It is my injury, after all."

"Very well, then," her father agreed. "But don't be too modest."

"Well, miss," Greg prodded, eyes alight, "go ahead and tell us what rest.i.tution I should make. I suspect it will not be modest at all."

Kitty threw a gloating glance at him. "I think, Papa, that his lords.h.i.+p already knows what I would like as rest.i.tution."

"He does? Well, Edgerton, what is it?"

Greg got to his feet. "If I haven't mistaken. your vixenish daughter's mind, Birkinshaw-and I warn you, I don't think you'll like this one bit!-she wants me to offer her a carte blanche. "

"Good G.o.d!" muttered Toby, his eyes popping.

"Kitty!" squealed her mother.

"That's a d.a.m.nable lie!" Birkinshaw shouted, leaping up. "I ought to call you out for that! Kitty, don't just sit there! Set the blackguard straight!"

"Sorry, Papa," Kitty said calmly, keeping her eyes locked on Greg's, "but his lords.h.i.+p is exactly right."

"Kitty Jessup, stop this!" her mother demanded. "It is not amusing. Birkinshaw, I blame you for this. Such vulgarity cannot have come from my side of the family."

"Confound it, Kitty," her father roared, "must you always stir up a to-do? Admit that you're up to your usual tricks and have done."