‘It is indeed,’ she replied. ‘And just think, if Lord Rayne had been with my sisters as they expected him to be, he would have missed such high-class entertainment. But one must choose, I suppose, between hearing Miss Melborough sing and thereby pleasing two prospective parents-in-law on the one hand, or escorting two Miss Boyces and pleasing only one parent. It must have been a very difficult decision to make, my lord. I hope the concert is worth the sacrifice. Shall I let my sisters know who took their place, or shall you be the one to explain the problem?’
Rayne’s eyes, heavy-lidded and patently bored with the subject, looked beyond her. ‘There was no problem, Miss Boyce, although if you wish to make a drama of it, please don’t let a detail like that prevent you. I realise how dull life must be for you without some kind of diversion, however small.’
‘Yes, my lord.You can have no idea how tedious it is to put on concerts of this kind and to be making visits almost every day. Compared to the excitement of routine cavalry drill and the polishing of tack, we live very sedate lives. What is it to be on Monday? Ah, yes, our theatre evening. Oh, what a bore.’
‘Lettie, I think Lord Rayne means that—’
‘Bart dear, I know what he means.’
‘If I may interrupt,’ said Rayne, tonelessly, ‘I believe we may have covered this ground only recently. We’re getting to the “I know what you’re thinking” part, if I’m not mistaken. Bart, would you be a good fellow and…?’ He touched Mr Waverley’s lace cuff with the tip of his fingers.
‘Yes, of course. Will you excuse me, Lettie? I’ll catch up later.’
Letitia stared at the prompt departure. ‘What was that about?’ she snapped. ‘Why did you—?’
‘Because, my sharp-tongued beauty, I have some advice for you.’
‘Then I don’t think I want to hear it, thank you.’
‘Yes, you do. It’s about what you saw earlier. With Mr Jeffery.’
‘Oh. Were you giving him a set-down?’
‘Not at all. It was a fudge between them, and Bart was embarrassed. Nothing was taken from his pocket. It was just a bit of nonsense. It would please Bart if you were not to mention it.’
‘Oh, boy’s pranks, you mean.’
‘Exactly. There are certain things a woman is innocent of when she has no brothers.’
Letitia blinked, not knowing how to reply to that. Without knowing it, he had pinpointed a basic truth that lay behind her writing problem, not simply by being brotherless, but being without the kind of understanding that comes from years of observing what young males do, how they behave together, what they look like under the formal attire and what they say to each other. It was a private jest between friends. She ought to have guessed.
Caught unawares, she foolishly pursued the other matter instead of granting him the last word. ‘So what am I to tell my sisters, my lord? I would not want them to think it was I who invited you here this evening.’
‘Miss Boyce,’ he said, visibly stifling a sigh, ‘you appear to be rather obsessed by what other people think, despite your efforts to make it seem otherwise. If I were you, I’d leave me to deal with my own affairs as I think best and try minding my own business.’
‘It will be very much my business, Lord Rayne, if my sisters were to suspect me of keeping you here at Richmond. In fact, they have already asked me if you have visited me. How foolish is that, I ask you?’
‘Extremely foolish, Miss Boyce. I cannot think of a single reason why I should want to call on you at Paradise Road. Can you?’
‘Not unless it was to take a look at the alterations I’ve made since you looked it over. Enjoy the music, my lord.’
The tiff gave her nothing like the satisfaction she had hoped for and, if it had not been for her pupils’ efforts to please, and her own part in that, she would have felt even more irritated than she did. As it was, the parents were well satisfied that they had made the right choice of school for their daughters and that their money was being well spent on all the right accomplishments. In that respect, the exercise had been well worth the effort.
Sir Francis and Lady Melborough went even further by letting it be known that Lord Rayne had agreed to give their daughter some riding tuition and to find her a better mount than the one that had been Mr Jeffery Melborough’s hack. Then, it was only a matter of minutes before first one father and then another approached Lord Rayne with similar requests, effectively appointing him as personal tutor to their daughters and charging him with the purchase of suitable horses to replace the present ones, to Letitia’s quietly seething anger. The only saving grace in her eyes was that the extra lessons would be outside school hours and it would be the parents rather than she who paid him. The only one to miss out on this new arrangement was Miss Edina Strachan, whose relatives had not attended.
‘You did that on purpose, didn’t you?’ Letitia said to him.
‘I didn’t actually have to do anything, Miss Boyce. It was Miss Melborough herself who broached the subject to her father and he who asked me what I thought. What I thought is what I’d already said to you. Simple as that.’
‘You have a knack of getting your own way, that’s all I can say.’
‘I wish it was all you could say, ma’am. Unfortunately, I do not hold out any hopes on that score until you’re taken in hand and held on a tight rein.’
‘Which will not be your business, my lord.’
‘Not yet. You’ll have to be caught first. Goodnight, Miss Boyce.’
This was not, however, the last she heard from him that night, for as she stood listening to the quietly spoken vicar’s wife, mother of Verity Nolan, the deeper voices of Lord Rayne and Lord Elyot came to her ears from the other side of a wide marble column, weaving around Mrs Nolan’s opinions of the piano duets.
‘Attracted?’ said one, in answer to some question. ‘Intrigued, certainly. I can’t say I’ve ever come across such a combination of looks, intelligence and prickliness.’
‘So well balanced,’ Mrs Nolan was saying, eagerly. ‘Of course…’
‘You’ve had it too much your own way, Sete. That’s the problem.’
‘…there were times when the bass line was a little strong, but…’
‘Yes, I know I have. She seems to think so, too.’
‘What about the sisters? Not so much fun?’
‘….but that’s only to be expected. A little more practice, and…’
‘Getting tedious, Nick. Too predictable. The elder one is a cracker, and I fancy the challenge. You can see why she and the mother don’t see eye to eye.’
‘So, you fancy taking on a blue-stocking.’ There was low laughter and some words about no stockings at all that made Letitia blush. ‘Well, give it a try and see how it goes. She may prove to be worth the trouble, if looks are anything to go by. D’ye think she’s interested?’
‘She’s very green, for all her ways. And I think she may be interested, but she’d not admit it. I may need some help, Nick. Are you willing?’
‘Of course. You helped me with Amelie. Just let me know.’
‘Thanks, I will.’
‘Miss Boyce?’ said Mrs Nolan. ‘Are you all right? You’re very flushed, my dear. I was saying—’
‘Yes, quite right, Mrs Nolan. More practice, I’m sure. Now, I must go and say farewell to Lady Melborough and gather my brood together.’ Slipping away into the crowd, Letitia made her way in a daze between the chattering bodies, her mind reeling from the kind of talk