Red Rose

Chapter 2

Sylvia and Rosalind were awed when they entered the Earl of Raymore's home. The hall was enormous, the marble floor echoing beneath their footsteps. White marble busts lined the walls, huge paintings hung above them, gleaming chandeliers were suspended from the high ceiling. A broad marble staircase ascended from the center of the hall, two branches leading to an upper gallery and the upstairs apartments.

A wooden-faced butler conducted the two young ladies past impressive liveried footmen and ushered them into a salon. He bowed himself out and closed the double doors behind him.

"Surely Carlton House cannot be grander than this," Sylvia whispered. Somehow it seemed inappropriate to speak aloud in such surroundings. "Our guardian must be enormously wealthy, Ros."

Rosalind was standing with her back to the room, her attention caught by the painting over the mantel. "It is surely a Rembrandt original," she said in awe.

"Oh, do you think so?" Sylvia asked, glancing briefly at the painting. "Ros, I feel decidedly nervous. How long will he keep us waiting here, do you suppose?"

Rosalind too glanced hastily in the direction of the doors and sat down abruptly in a nearby chair.

They were not kept waiting for long. A footman opened the doors only a couple of minutes later and stood aside while a lady rustled into the room. The girls had a swift impression of a large, big-bosomed lady, fashionably dressed in a day dress of silver-gray silk, her face rouged, her gray hair frizzed and piled high on her head beneath a white lace cap, a lace handkerchief waving from one heavily ringed hand.

"My dears," she said, "I knew you would arrive today. Did you have a dreadfully tedious journey? I hate being cooped up in a carriage myself, especially in fine weather like we have been having. But no matter. You are here now and will be rested in no time. Would you like some tea, or would you like to be shown to your rooms immediately? Of course, you must need refreshment. I am sure your coachman did not stop for any, once he knew that he was close to the end of his journey. Come up to the drawing room. Gracious, how I shall enjoy having your company, girls. I have not had the excuse to go into society a great deal since my dear Arnold died twelve years ago. Now I have the come-out of two charming young ladies to arrange, and I shall enjoy every moment of it. I always regretted that I had no daughters of my own. Now, which is which of you two? That is a silly question, of course. You must be Lady Sylvia Marsh, my dear. You have the family coloring And you, of course," she said, turning to Rosalind, "have inherited your dark hair from your Italian mother. Now, am I right? And how stupid of me. You must both be wondering who I am, since I am very obviously not the earl. I am Sylvia's papa's Cousin Hetty."

She paused for breath and smiled broadly.

Rosalind, still seated, felt overwhelmed. So this was the Cousin Hetty who had been going to stay with her while Uncle Lawrence accompanied Sylvia to London for her come-out.

"I am pleased to meet you, ma'am," Sylvia was saying, extending a hand. "Is his lordship not at home?"

He is expected for dinner," Cousin Hetty replied. "But there is plenty of time before that for you to drink tea and to retire to your rooms to change and freshen ?p.

She led the way from the room and up the marble staircase to the drawing room above. While Sylvia seated herself and Cousin Hetty rang the bell for tea, Rosalind forgot herself enough to cross the large room.

"What a beautiful pianoforte," she said, running a hand reverently over the highly polished wood. "Does the earl play?"

"No, my dear," Cousin Hetty replied, "but he is a well-known patron. He holds a concert in his home each year. But not in this room. If you think this a beautiful instrument, wait until you see the music room." She nodded her head.

Rosalind recrossed the room to take a seat beside Sylvia.

"Did you hurt yourself on the journey, my dear?" Cousin Hetty asked her with concern.

Rosalind blushed hotly. "No, ma'am," was all she could say. She knew that for politeness' sake she should have explained, but she did not, and the moment passed.

The Earl of Raymore did not return for dinner. Rosalind was both disappointed and relieved: disappointed because she wanted to get the ordeal over with, relieved because she was tired and was glad to postpone the meeting until another day.

All three ladies retired early to bed at Cousin Hetty's insistence. And indeed she was tired, Rosalind reflected. She hoped she would sleep. She had seen the music room during the evening and had been awed by the magnificence of the pianoforte there. It was a work of art just to the sight, but its tone when she ran her fingers over the keys was exquisite. She was excited, too, to discover a harpsichord. She had never seen one before and had thought them to be quite out of fashion. But she was delighted by the harsh and yet dignified sounds that it produced when she played a few bars of a Bach fugue.

Rosalind sat up in the four-poster bed and gazed around her at the elegant bedchamber that was to be hers during her stay in Grosvenor Square. She clasped her raised knees and laid her chin on them. Would he allow her to return home again? He would know immediately that she was no candidate for a marriage market. She would not be able to endure much of this. It had been ordeal enough today just to know that the butler and those footmen had witnessed her defect, in addition to Cousin Hetty. Surely he would never insist that she go out in public, though Cousin Hetty had talked constantly during dinner about all the social events that theywould attend after his lordship's ball the following meek had introduced them properly to the ton.

It was not that Rosalind was not interested in marriage. She had all the normal impulses and cravings of any other girl. She was two and twenty already. The last four or five years had been long and lonely ones, especially when Sylvia grew old enough to attract the admiration and attentions of almost every young man who set eyes on her. Rosalind was not jealous of Sylvia- she was too close to her cousin and the girl was too sweet-natured for that. But her cousin's constant presence in her life did serve to emphasize her own deficiencies as a woman.

Rosalind compensated for what was missing in her life in several ways. She rode a great deal when she was at home, using up energy and challenging herself by gallopingFlossie and jumping hedges and fences that could quite easily have been avoided. Indoors, she occupied herself with music, both playing and singing, and with painting and reading.

And Rosalind had a dream companion. He never could be a real man, she realized that. He was too perfect. He was tall, with broad shoulders and narrow hips and long legs. He had thick blond hair and deep-blue eyes. It was the eyes that she could imagine most clearly. Their expression could change from humor to deep concern, but they were always focused full on her, and there was always a smile lurking in their depths. He loved her. To him she was perfect. He loved her black hair and pale skin; he told her that her defect did not make a mockery of her shapely figure. It was a lovely woman's body, he said. And he would discuss for hours with her the books she read, the dreams she had. It was not a physical relationship. She never imagined him kissing her. She did sometimes rest her head on his comfortingly broad shoulder, though, as they talked. She called him Alistair. He had no last name.

He comforted her now as she slid down on the bed after blowing out the candle and tried to sleep. She was beautiful and she was a person who mattered a great deal to him. She was important. Rosalind almost believed him as she fell asleep.

The Earl of Raymore found out from his valet very late that night that his wards had indeed arrived. But he was in no hurry to meet them. It was Hetty's job to entertain them, take them shopping and sight-seeing. That was what he had brought her here for. His own task would not begin until the ball the following week. At least his wards would be well on display then, he thought with an unamused smile. His invitations had been accepted by almost everyone to whom they had been sent. It was no ordinary event to be invited to a ball given by the Earl of Raymore. Very few of the beau monde could even remember what the ballroom of his house looked like. Most of them had seen only the music room in recent years.

It was quite late the following afternoon when the earl finally presented himself in the drawing room, where his cousin and his wards were taking tea. Hetty dropped a miniature poodle to the carpet and came hurrying toward him to make the introductions. The earl largely ignored her. His eyes swept the two girls, who had risen to their feet and v/ere curtsying to him.

His eyes were drawn first to the little blonde. Pretty. Quite beautiful, in fact, once she had been got into more fashionable clothes and had something done to her hair. Thick clusters of ringlets had never appealed to his taste. She was blushing a becoming shade of pink and had large, innocent blue eyes fixed anxiously on his face. He immediately distrusted the eyes. He bowed eoolly and turned to the other girl.

A more tricky proposition, he decided immediately. Her coloring would not please easily. Dark hair was not fashionable, and hers was positively black. She was too tall also, and had nothing for a figure; though it was hard to tell what was beneath that ill-fitting sack of a gown that she wore. Her face was too pale, though the eyes were fine enough. He did not like the expression on her face. Although she watched him as wide-eyed as the other girl, there was a tightness about her jaw that suggested a stubborn will. Well, she had a good-enough dowry, he reflected. There would be some fool who would think her an acceptable-enough bargain. He bowed. his face as expressionless as when he had en-laved the room.

Rosalind was finding it impossible to relax. If she unclenched her teeth, her whole body would start trembling and she would crumble. Alistair had never looked at her like that: coldly, a sneer on his lips, as if she were a piece of unwanted merchandise. Yet he was Alistair! The same height, tall enough to make her feel petite, the same magnificent build, the same hair and eyes. Strangely, she had never pictured Alistair's mouth, but it must surely be the one feature that was different. She would never have created that sensuous mouth, certainly not with the distortion of a sneer. And the eyes. She could see through Alistair's eyes into his very soul, These were opaque. It would be impossible to know what went on in this man's mind. She shivered involuntarily.

The earl was seated now, making polite but stiff conversation with Sylvia, who was glowing, seemingly undisturbed by the sneer and the empty eyes.

Cousin Hetty was talking. "And Miss Dacey plays quite beautifully," she was saying. "You would be impressed. Cousin Edward."

"Indeed?" he said, not bothering to hide his skepticism. He was accustomed to having his sensibilities murdered by eager debutantes who thought they could play the pianoforte divinely. He frequently amused himself by imagining the expression on their faces if he did what instinct directed him to do and slammed the lid down onto the dabbling fingers. He had never put his fantasy to the test. He intended to quell the pretensions of his ward without delay. He had no wish to hear his precious instruments abused by a mediocre talent or no talent at all.

"Come, ma'am," he said coldly, rising to his feet and extending a hand in her direction, "I must hear you perform."

"Oh, no, pray, my lord," she protested. "You are a connoisseur of the arts, I am told. I play merely for my own pleasure."

"Let us have no false modesty," he said impatiently, looking steadily at her. "If you are good, I shall tell you so. If you are not, I shall also tell you."

Rosalind's heart was beating so erratically that she was having a difficult time breathing. The moment had come, then. The pianoforte was at the opposite end of a very large room. She had prepared herself for this, dreaded it. But now there was no postponing it. Already the earl's face was showing signs of growing impatience. She stood up and began to cross the room.

"Have you sprained your ankle, Miss Dacey?" he asked sharply from behind her.

She turned to face his frowning stare. "No, my lord," she answered coolly. "My limp is a permanent disability."

His eyes narrowed. "Explain, please," he ordered.

"I fell from a horse when I was five years old and broke my leg," she explained. "The physician who attended me set it poorly. When I recovered, it was to find that the injured leg was shorter than the other."

He stared at her blankly. "The doctor must have been drunk," he said.

"I have been told that he was," she replied calmly.

"Sit down, ma'am," Raymore said, the pianoforte forgotten. The only thought in his head was that he had been cheated. No one had ever hinted to him that one of his wards was a cripple. How was he ever to find her a husband? He would be forced to support her for the rest of his life, a permanent millstone around his neck. To say that the girl limped was to put the matter kindly.

The earl did not seat himself again. He made his excuses, bowed with stiff formality, and left the room.

Sylvia followed Rosalind upstairs a short while later. "Is my cousin not quite gorgeous, Ros?" she bubbled as they climbed the staircase together, Rosalind holding on to the rail. 1

"Quite devastatingly handsome," she agreed dryly.

Sylvia giggled. "Is it permitted to marry one's guardian, I wonder?" she said, opening the door into her cousin's room and following her inside.

"I imagine there is no law against it," Rosalind replied, "but he is your cousin, 'Sylvie."

Sylvia clasped her hands and smiled broadly. "But he not yours," she pointed out.' "You must set your cap at him, Ros. The Countess of Raymore!"

Rosalind smiled and sat on the bed. "If I had your looks, I might be tempted," she said with a lightness she did not feel, "but I think I shall settle for being an old maid. She held up a hand when her cousin made a face and would have spoken. "Besides," she added, "I don't like him, Sylvie."

"Why ever not?" that young lady replied. "I thought him excessively polite, Ros, and he did not insult you when he saw you limp. I thought him quite kind when he told you to sit down instead of making you walk quite across the room to the pianoforte."

"Did you not notice his eyes, Sylvie?" Rosalind asked. They are cold and unfeeling. And his mouth sneers. I felt that the man holds us in the utmost contempt. The we see of him, the happier I shall be."

"Pooh," Sylvia protested, "you are imagining things just because you were embarrassed to have him see you walk."

Rosalind shook her head. "You must go and dress," she said, changing the subject. "I somehow feel sure that his lordship would not take kindly to our being late for dinner-if he deigns to give us his company, of course."

Rosalind did not follow her own advice well. She changed rapidly enough into a blue silk gown that fit as loosely as her day dresses. But her hair gave her trouble. She pinned and unpinned, coaxed and teased, but to no avail. She was not concentrating, she concluded. Finally she threw the brush with a clatter onto the dressing table and stared despairingly at her image in the mirror. She felt terribly betrayed. She had accepted her own ugliness; she had accepted the fact that no man would ever look at her with anything but revulsion. She had not become bitter, had not allowed herself to become jealous of Sylvia or of any of the other young ladies of her acquaintance. All she had was her dream. And she had felt safe with Alistair. Because he was unreal, a creation of her own imagination, he would remain with her through life, soothing her through the lonely years, giving the illusion of love and acceptance.

And now, in one day, just when she needed him the most, he had been destroyed. By what uncanny coincidence of fate had she imagined a man who was physically identical to her guardian? She doubted that she would ever be able to resurrect Alistair with his kind eyes and his platonic love that was completely centered on her. The stiff manner, the sneer, and the disapproving air of the Earl of Raymore would always intrude.

She hated him. Perhaps that was unfair. He had, as Sylvia said, acted with politeness. He had said and done nothing discourteous or unkind. Even when he had noticed and questioned her limp, he had not said anything to disclose disgust. But because he resembled Alistair so closely, she was unusually sensitive to the hard core of dislike that she was quite sure he felt for both of them. And he had no reason to feel that way. He did not know them. They had not imposed their presence on him. He had summoned them. Yes, she hated him.

Tomorrow she would go to him and ask to be sent back home. He surely would not refuse. He was a physically perfect man and he obviously cultivated beauty around him. His house was furnished with tasteful objects and priceless works of art. He was known for the first-class musical talent that he engaged yearly to entertain his friends. He must agree that she could merely be an embarrassment to him. She must convince him that she would never impose upon him in the future. He could forget her very existence.

He had been right about the doctor, though. He had been drunk, just like everyone else who had gathered on her father's estate for the hunt. The hunt was an annual affair, her aunt had told her much later, but was more an excuse for an orgy of drinking and feasting than a sporting event. Rosalind had been at home with her parents. She lived mostly with her uncle and aunt, the Earl and Countess of Raymore, because her parents traveled almost constantly. But their times together were very intense. Her mother had taught her to sing, her father to ride. She remembered them as a vibrant couple, whom she had loved passionately, though she realized now that they had been very selfish people.

On that particular occasion, Rosalind's father had insisted that she ride, although she was far too young to join the hunt. He had urged her, laughing, toward a fence higher than any she had jumped before. She could almost remember the sound of her own laughter as she had spurred her pony toward it. She could not remember anything else except the tedium of days and weeks spent in the house and, later, the garden, while her leg healed beneath the splints.

Everyone had laughed and teased her when the splints were first removed and she had limped and hopped excitedly around the house. But Rosalind could remember her father's towering rage when it became obvious that the limp was involuntary and when someone-her mother?-had measured her legs. She was not now sure if her father really had gone and horsewhipped the doctor, or if she had just made up that detail to satisfy her child's imagination.

But her father had insisted, cruelly almost, that she overcome her terror of climbing back into the saddle again. Only later, after his death, would she thank him for his foresight.

"We will make of you the finest horsewoman in the damned county, my little Rosalinda," he had promised, "and everyone will see you as a creature of grace and beauty." He had fingered a shiny lock of black hair lovingly as his gaze strayed to his wife.

They had both died of the typhoid a year later while visiting her mother's relatives in Italy. Rosalind had not suffered outwardly. She had never seen a great deal of her parents. But inwardly something had been lost. The first of her dreams had died.

And now a second, she thought grimly, picking up her brush again and tackling her mane of black hair once more.

The Earl of Raymore was also not making any great effort to get ready for dinner. He had gone to the library after leaving the drawing room and still sat there.

He had a problem, there was no doubt about it. The cousin was all right, at least. She was lovely and appeared not to be unduly shy. Raymore had not taken too much notice of what she had to say during the few minutes he had sat talking to her, but he was sure that she would take well. She would probably have a large following of eager bucks within a few days of next week's ball. All that would be required of him would be to choose the most eligible without delay.

But the other! What was he to do with her? His first instinct had been to send her back where she had come from. But that would not answer. He was responsible for her until she was married. He would never be able to forget about her, never be free of her, if he admitted defeat at this point. He would have to think of some way of getting her married. Surely there was someone »ho would be willing to take her off his hands, someone who really needed a wife and did not much care what she looked like or how she walked. Not that the girl was exactly ugly. If she dressed more becomingly and did something with her hair, she would be presentable, at least. He did not like her, though. She had been almost willing to argue with him about playing the pianoforte, and he had not liked the way she had looked dorectly and defiantly into his eyes when she had told iim about her lameness. The girl did not know her place, he guessed. He would have to remind her, if neccessary, of who was the guardian and who the ward.

The earl thought with distaste of the ball that was planned for the following week. He frowned. That was too long to wait. He must begin the campaign before then, especially for Miss Dacey. She would certainly not show to advantage at a ball. He made a mental note to speak to Hetty the next morning and instruct her to take the girls to a modiste to have new wardrobes made and to a stylist to have more fashionable hairstyles. They must be ready with at least one outfit apiece by the following day. He would take them to the theater and let them be ogled from the other boxes. A limp was not apparent when one sat at a play.

Raymore rang the bell at his elbow. When the butler appeared, he was informed that his lordship would not dine at home. White's Club was a more congenial setting for this particular evening than his own home.