Seven

The next morning, Gwendeline sought out Lady Merryn as soon as she came downstairs, determined to put several questions to her. She waited until Allison had served the countess’s breakfast, then she leaned across the table toward her and said commandingly, “Lady Merryn.”

The older woman looked up from the paper she was scribbling on, surprised. “Yes, dear?”

“I want to have a serious talk with you. It’s important.”

“Really?” She put aside her papers. “You have my full attention then, Gwendeline.” She looked at her expectantly.

Gwendeline took a deep breath. When it came to the point, she was uncertain exactly where to begin. “Well,” she said, “since I came to London, I’ve heard a great deal of talk.” She paused.

The countess nodded wisely. “One does in town, dear. Most of it utter nonsense, of course. Has someone said something rude to you?”

“No, not rude, but I have heard disturbing things about my parents and—and others.” Gwendeline found she could not bring herself to mention the earl outright.

Lady Merryn nodded again. “I daresay. I’m afraid I must tell you, Gwendeline, that your parents have been the subject of a good deal of gossip. They were a heedless couple, care-for-nobodies as the young men say, and they sometimes set people’s backs up with their behavior.”

It was Gwendeline’s turn to nod. “I’ve heard that. But frankly, I’m less concerned about my parents’ reputation than about my own situation. It may sound callous to you, but they never cared about me, so I don’t particularly care what people may say about them.”

“Understandable,” agreed Lady Merryn. “Though unfortunately gossip sometimes carries over. Has something specific happened to upset you, Gwendeline?”

“No, but it would be a great help to me if I understood more. The thing that concerns me most is the income I’ve been given. I’ve never been comfortable spending it, and now I feel it even more. I must learn who my benefactors are, Lady Merryn. Will you help me?”

The countess appeared confused. “Well, but Gwendeline, surely you should discuss this with Alex?”

“I’ve tried, but he fobbed me off.” She looked steadily at Lady Merryn, making it clear that she wouldn’t be evaded again.

The countess dithered. “Yes, but my dear, I really have no notion… Alex has not taken me into his confidence… really, I can’t…” She trailed off.

“I understand that you don’t know precisely who joined to help me,” replied Gwendeline. “But you must have some idea of who my father’s friends were. Who would have been likely to aid me?”

The older woman looked hunted. “Your father’s friends! Oh, my dear. An extremely ramshackle set.”

Gwendeline gazed at her. “The only friend of my father that I have so far met is Mr. Blane. He knows nothing of any income for me. I ask you, Lady Merryn, what am I to think? I begin to fear that there are no benefactors except Lord Merryn, and you must see that I couldn’t accept support from an unmarried man in no way related to me. It would be quite improper.”

Lady Merryn seemed much struck by this point. “Oh, quite,” she said quickly. “Only think of the scandal it would raise! But Gwendeline, you can’t think that Alex would put you in the embarrassing position of living on his bounty.” She looked very worried, then her face brightened. “Besides, it’s not just Alex. I’m helping you too, you know, so all is well.”

Gwendeline was momentarily silenced by this telling point. It was true that a scandal was unlikely while she lived under the protection of the earl’s mother, even if it turned out that he was supporting her. But even granting that, she didn’t wish to be beholden to Lord Merryn. She struggled for a moment to think why. It was a humiliating position, she decided, and not one she wished to occupy where he was involved. She looked up at the countess again. “What you say is true,” she admitted, “but I was told that a group of people helped me, and I insist upon thanking them. If the earl won’t take me to them, I must find them myself. Please tell me who my father’s particular friends were.” And she directed an uncompromising stare at the older woman.

“Oh dear,” said Lady Merryn again. “I don’t know what I should do. I can’t think.” She seemed to consider a number of possibilities, then her expression lightened. “There was Sir Humphrey Owsley. He was forever in your parents’ house, Gwendeline. He is not likely to… That is, you might speak to him, if you meet him.”

“Will you not introduce me, ma’am?”

“I? Oh, I am scarcely acquainted with him myself. I’m not certain I could…”

“Very well,” answered Gwendeline impatiently. “And who else?”

Lady Merryn shook her head regretfully. “Dear me, I can’t think. You know, I never was well acquainted with your mother’s set, my dear. I can’t for the life of me think of any others.”

Gwendeline sighed and returned the countess’s innocent gaze rather angrily, but try as she would, she could get no more names from her. She had to content herself with the one. She resolved not to wait for a chance meeting but to seek out Sir Humphrey herself, no matter what that might involve. She started to ask Lady Merryn for his address, then hesitated. The countess would certainly try to stop her if she knew what she planned. Excusing herself, Gwendeline left the breakfast room, leaving a worried and rather relieved Lady Merryn staring anxiously after her.

Gwendeline found out the address by asking Allison to get it for her, and since she was sure that Lady Merryn would tell her son of their conversation at the first opportunity, she set out to call on Sir Humphrey the very next morning. By nine she was smartly attired in a dove gray walking dress, fastened at the sleeve and up to the demure neckline with tiny amber buttons. As Ellen did her hair and got out the dainty high-crowned bonnet which completed this dashing toilette, Gwendeline said, “I’ll need you to accompany me this morning, Ellen.”

“Yes, miss,” responded the maid, “but I thought you told Mr. Reeves you wouldn’t be by the house today.”

“No, I am not going to the house. We’re going to make a call.”

Ellen looked gratified. “Well, that’s fine, Miss Gwendeline. I declare we haven’t gone calling together above once or twice since we came to London. Is her ladyship busy?”

“She will not have left her bedchamber as yet. Come, are you ready?”

“Just give me one minute to fetch my hat, miss.” And Ellen fairly ran out of the room and up the stairs.

Gwendeline went down to the front hall to wait. She stood before the door pulling on her gloves when she heard a sound that made her freeze in dismay. Lady Merryn’s voice was issuing from the library just opposite. On this morning of all mornings she had chosen to break with her custom and come downstairs early. Gwendeline looked up the stairs anxiously, but there was no sign of Ellen. She shrank back beside the hall table; there was no place to conceal herself, and Lady Merryn seemed to be approaching. The girl sighed in annoyance. Now she would be forced to explain where she was going. Or to lie, she thought guiltily. She had so hoped to leave the house unobserved.

Just as Ellen appeared and began to descend the stairs, when Gwendeline dared hope she could get away after all, the door to the library opened and Lady Merryn emerged. She saw Gwendeline immediately, as indeed she could not help but do, and wished her a cheerful good morning. She observed her walking dress with some surprise. “Are you going out so early, Gwendeline?” she asked. “Why, it can’t be much past nine. Have you breakfasted? Where are you going?”

Gwendeline smiled nervously and twisted her remaining glove between her fingers. “Only walking, ma’am,” she replied. “It’s such a fine day, I thought I would get some air.”

“Is it?” answered Lady Merryn vaguely. “I haven’t had a moment to observe. Only fancy, Gwendeline, Mary threw out ten pages of my manuscript. Can you credit it? I searched for quite two hours last night, but they’re gone. And the worst of it is, I can’t remember precisely what they contained. I know it was very important, vital to the plot in fact, but I can’t quite recall… And ten pages! It will take me all morning to make it up. It is all very well to say that I left them crumpled on the floor; I daresay I may have, though I distinctly remember putting the pages in my drawer as I went up to bed the night before. However, when I got them out last night, it was the laundry list, you know, so I suppose… But that’s beside the point. I have told all the servants never to disturb the papers around my desk. You would think Mary would have better sense than to throw them out, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes ma’am,” replied Gwendeline, as Lady Merryn interrupted her flow of talk to look at her. The countess seemed to have forgotten their conversation of the previous day.

“Of course,” she continued. “And so I rose very early today, almost at the crack of dawn, my dear, to inquire. I thought to catch the servants before the dustbin was emptied. But I was too late. They take it away by six, Gwendeline! Can you imagine? What dreadful lives the dustmen must live.” Lady Merryn shook her head. “And so, now I must try to recall the story and rewrite it all.” She sighed heavily as she set her foot on the first stair. “It is excessively annoying.”

“I am sorry,” said Gwendeline. “I hope it’s not too difficult.”

“Yes, so do I, my dear,” replied the countess doubtfully. She seemed to recall herself. “So you’re going walking? What odd habits you have, to be sure. Are you certain you wish to go out so very early? No one will be abroad at this hour. And have you eaten?”

“Yes ma’am. I had tea and toast with a boiled egg over an hour ago.”

Lady Merryn seemed to shudder. “How you can eat a meal so early I do not understand. I can face no more than a cup of chocolate. Well, but your maid is to accompany you?” She looked around and saw Ellen. “Oh yes. Don’t tire yourself out, my dear.” And with this admonition, she continued up the stairs.

Gwendeline breathed a sigh of relief and turned to go out. She’d been saved explanations after all. Silently, she thanked Mary for her misguided diligence.

It was indeed a lovely spring morning. The air was a little sharp, but the sun shone brightly, and the breeze carried a hint of growing things even here in the city. Gwendeline walked briskly along the pavement to the busier thoroughfare at the end of the row. “We must get a hack,” she said to Ellen. “It is a little distance.”

“Yes, miss.” Ellen was frowning. “We do be going for a walk then?”

Gwendeline flushed slightly. “Well, yes, after we make our call, we’ll walk a bit.” She saw a hack passing by and signaled the jarvey, who pulled up beside them. “Come along.”

Ellen joined her in the carriage without demur, but as it started up, she asked, “Who are you visiting, Miss Gwendeline? Not Miss Lillian, I guess.”

“No. Someone else,” replied the girl shortly. She had no wish to argue with her maid, as she surely would be forced to do if Ellen knew they were bound for a gentleman’s residence.

But the other girl was not to be fobbed off so easily. She observed her young mistress narrowly for a time, then said, “You’re up to some mischief, I’ll be bound, Miss Gwendeline. One as knows you well can tell it, though her ladyship had no notion.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” responded Gwendeline, trying to sound haughty and aloof.

Ellen sniffed. “Don’t you now? Well, you needn’t tell me anything about it, but I know what I know.” And Ellen folded her arms and subsided into silence.

Gwendeline was thinking nervously of what she would say when she arrived at Sir Humphrey’s house. She knew that it wasn’t proper to call at a gentleman’s home, particularly when she hadn’t even been introduced to the man, but in her impatience and eagerness to solve the mystery of her rescue she didn’t care. When she’d stated her business, surely Sir Humphrey would see the necessity of her flouting of convention. But even as she comforted herself with this assurance, she doubted it.

Too soon, the hack pulled up before Sir Humphrey’s impressive town house. The girls climbed down, and Gwendeline paid off the driver. She’d never handled such details herself, and she felt a bit clumsy doing so. The fare the man requested seemed absurdly high to her, but she didn’t dare dispute it. She’d heard cabdrivers arguing with one another or with their patrons in the street, and she had a strong sense of their pugnaciousness.

Finally, all was concluded, and they stood on the top step before the massive oaken door. Resolutely, Gwendeline reached up and plied the brass knocker. It wouldn’t do to hang back now.

After a moment, the door was opened by a tall footman in scarlet livery. Though his countenance was rigidly impassive, an eyelid flickered when he saw who had knocked and when Gwendeline asked to see his master. He stood back, however, and admitted them to the hall. “If you will wait one moment?” he said, gesturing politely to a pair of gilt chairs by the wall.

Gwendeline led the way to them and sat down. The footman disappeared. Ellen gazed at the shining parquet floors, the marble walls, the curving staircase which seemed to extend to the upper regions without supports, and the magnificent crystal chandelier. “La, miss,” she said finally. “What a fine house this is. Even finer than her ladyship’s, and I did think her house the most elegant thing in the world when we arrived. But why did you go and ask for a gentleman, Miss Gwendeline?”

Gwendeline swallowed. “Because I have come to call on a gentleman,” she replied brusquely.

Ellen gasped. “But miss,” she began. She got out no more than that, however, before the footman returned, bringing with him the haughtiest and most high-nosed butler Gwendeline had ever seen. Instinctively, both girls rose.

“Good day, Miss, ah, Gregory,” said this awesome individual. He surveyed Gwendeline with a practiced eye, but as he did so, something of his disapproval and aplomb seemed to leave him. The tiniest of frowns showed on his wooden visage. “I regret to tell you, miss, that Sir Humphrey has not yet descended from his bedchamber. Can I be of assistance to you, perhaps?”

“Oh dear,” said Gwendeline. “Has he not? How stupid of me not to think of that. What shall I do now?”

“Perhaps, if I might suggest,” answered the butler. “If you were to return later in the day, say about twelve, you might catch Sir Humphrey before he left the house.” It was a measure of the favorable impression Gwendeline had created that the man unbent enough to tell her this.

“Twelve?” echoed Gwendeline. “Oh, I don’t see how…”

“Nor do I, Miss Gwendeline,” put in Ellen, upon whom the patent disapproval of the two servants had worked strongly. “I don’t see at all. But what I do see is that this is what comes of calling on gentlemen and such carryings-on. I say we should go on home and forget all about it.”

The butler’s expression softened noticeably at this, and as Gwendeline came near to wringing her hands, he said, “If it is important, miss, I might just inform Sir Humphrey that you have called. I cannot guarantee that he will see you, as he never receives guests in the morning, but I will take it upon myself to ask, if you wish.”

Gwendeline looked up at him gratefully. “Oh, would you?” She felt a great relief. She had been odiously uncomfortable since she entered this house, and she knew that if she gave up now, she would never return. Having screwed up her courage once, and having found the task more unpleasant than she’d expected, she longed to carry through. If Sir Humphrey wouldn’t see her now, she would never find out if he’d helped her, and she didn’t know whom else to ask.

The butler bowed. “If you would care to wait in the library?” He opened a door on the left and ushered her into a book-lined room. “I shall be a moment.” And shutting the door again, he left her alone.

Gwendeline didn’t sit down. Rather, she paced the room, heedless of the rich carpeting, fine paintings, and comfortable furniture. She was wondering what she would do if Sir Humphrey refused to receive her. But in a few minutes, the butler returned to tell her that he would be down directly. He smiled benevolently and added, “No need to take on if he is a little mifty, miss. He’s always so in the morning.” And with these daunting words, he left Gwendeline alone once more.

Sir Humphrey’s idea of “directly” seemed more flexible than his guest’s, for it was quite half an hour before the library door opened again and he walked in. Gwendeline never knew what his butler had told him about her, but judging from the apprehensive expression on his face when he entered, it must have been a round tale. She could say nothing to dispel his mistake at first, however; she was struck speechless by the unusual appearance of her host.

Sir Humphrey Owsley was the fattest man Gwendeline had ever seen. His multiple chins seemed to merge with hardly a break into his enormous paunch, his arms were as large as her legs, and his legs were like tree stumps. Even his fingers were fat; the rings he wore were imbedded in and nearly hidden by overlapping skin. The tight pantaloons and cutaway coat of current fashions did nothing for this figure. In fact, these articles of dress, particularly the bright yellow pantaloons he affected, showed alarming signs of strain at the seams. And Sir Humphrey’s exaggerated shirt points and elaborate neckcloth looked as if they pressed too tightly on his chins. His eyes seemed to bulge with the pressure, and all in all, he looked most like a turkey cock ready for roasting.

As Gwendeline stared at him, wide-eyed, he surveyed her through the quizzing glass that hung round his neck. He seemed both appreciative and uneasy as he took in her blond curls and neat figure. Under this scrutiny, she recovered herself enough to drop a small curtsy and say, “Good day, Sir Humphrey. It’s very good of you to see me so early.”

At this, the man harrumphed. “Not at all, not at all,” he said. His voice was low and gravelly. “Only too happy, charming young lady, glad to…” His disjointed remarks gradually trailed off.

“Yes, but your butler told me that you never receive guests so early. I apologize for calling at an unreasonable hour. But I wanted to speak to you on business of some urgency, you see, and I haven’t met you at any of the parties I’ve attended.”

“Ah. Just so. Business.” Sir Humphrey appeared more mystified by Gwendeline’s explanation. His jowls quivered. “Don’t get about much anymore,” he offered. “See m’friends here or at the club, you know. Not as active as I once was.” He patted his large stomach.

“Oh, I daresay that explains it.”

He goggled at her, then frowned. “Here. Let us sit down. What am I thinking of? Would you care for some refreshment? Perhaps, what, tea?”

“No, no. You’re very kind, but I can’t stay long.”

“Ah.” Sir Humphrey seemed at a loss.

She shifted in her chair. “I must explain why I’ve come. Or perhaps you’ve guessed?” She looked at her host hopefully, wondering if he might ease this awkward moment. It was difficult, she found, to look at a stranger and ask him if he was supporting her.

But this request only made Sir Humphrey’s eyes bulge further. “Guessed?” He gulped. He gazed at her. “Afraid not.” He seemed to come to a decision. “In fact, I’m dam…dashed if I can recall where we met, Miss, uh. Was it at Vauxhall? Or one of the Opera masquerades? You must pardon me; memory’s not what it was, you know.”

“Oh, we haven’t met before,” responded Gwendeline in surprise. “Did I not say so? I’m sorry.”

A great weight seemed to lift from Sir Humphrey’s mind. “Haven’t met,” he echoed. “Ah. Well, then.” His expression lightened. “Then what, may I ask, are you doing here, young lady? It’s not at all the thing to come calling on gentlemen you’ve never met, you know. Or even on gentlemen you have,” he added.

Gwendeline flushed. “I know. You will think me quite brass-faced, I fear. But I couldn’t think what else to do. I so wanted to ask you about…about my father, you see.”

Sir Humphrey’s eyes started alarmingly once again; his color rose to purple, and all his apprehensions seemed to return. “Your father?” he managed. “What would I know about your father? Nothing to do with it, I assure you.”

Gwendeline stared at him. “But they told me you were a friend of my father’s, indeed a close friend. Is it not true then?”

He sat back again, looking more perplexed than fearful now. “Can’t tell you that until I know who you are, can I? Who the devil is your father?”

“Why, Roger Gregory, sir,” answered Gwendeline in astonishment. “Didn’t the butler tell you my name?”

“Roger? Well, bless my soul. Are you Roger and Annabella’s girl? Of course, now that I look at you, you’re the image of Annabella. I’ll be…” He slapped his massive thigh and laughed. “That fool Gilling said some name or other, but I didn’t catch it. We’ve been talking at cross purposes, my dear. Good joke on me, what?”

Gwendeline didn’t understand the joke, but she was relieved to be recognized. “Yes,” she replied. “So you were a friend of my parents?”

“Absolutely. Spent many a pleasant evening at the house. Annabella gave the most splendid parties.”

“Did she, sir? I wish I might have attended them.”

Sir Humphrey coughed. “Ah, well, as to that. Not sure you would have liked them, you know. Not just, that is… Well, and so you’ve come to call on an old friend of your parents’. Very kind. I should have come to see you. Would have, but I don’t go out much, as I told you. Too much effort, hauling myself about. And so, you’ve come to London?”

“Yes,” said Gwendeline. She looked at him eagerly. “Thanks to my kind benefactors.”

He nodded knowingly. “Benefactors. Well, that’s good then. Heard that Roger was all to pieces when he was killed. Sad accident. Accept my sincere sympathy, my dear. Terrible thing.”

“Thank you. Indeed, it is only due to the help of friends of my father that I can live now. I’m so very grateful to them; I wish to thank them all.”

Sir Humphrey frowned at her. “Friends? Ah yes, heard something. Who was it said…?”

“Yes,” Gwendeline went on eagerly. “It was the kindest thing imaginable. Only think, a group of my parents’ friends combined to help me after they died. I have a little house of my own in London and an income. But it’s vexing; I can’t discover who is behind it all. I so wish to express my gratitude properly, but until I know the names of the people involved… I thought perhaps you could help me, since you were a friend. Do you know of this scheme, Sir Humphrey? Were you even in it, perhaps?”

Sir Humphrey was muttering to himself. “Splendid idea. Can’t think why I wasn’t… What? What’s that, my dear? Yes, a bang-up idea. I approve wholeheartedly. Give my mite gladly, too. Ain’t as if I’d feel it.”

Gwendeline jumped to her feet. “Then you did help me.” Overcome by her feelings of gratitude and relief, she leaned over and hugged her massive companion. “Oh, I’m so grateful to you. You cannot know. If it weren’t for you and the others, I’d be quite destitute. Thank you, thank you.”

She stood back, smiling brilliantly. Her elation came as much from relief as from gratitude. Sir Humphrey dithered a moment, recovering from his surprise and straightening his neckcloth, then he looked up at her radiant face doubtfully. “Well, but my dear girl, there is no need…”

“Oh, you mustn’t be modest. You saved my life. Or the next thing to it. Please accept my earnest thanks.”

Sir Humphrey couldn’t meet her sparkling gaze. “Well, well.” He sighed and muttered again. “Would have, of course. Glad to. Can’t think why…” He frowned. “Who told you of my interest in this thing?” he asked finally.

“Oh, no one told me,” answered Gwendeline. “Lord Merryn would say nothing; I was quite out of charity with him over it. Did you wish it kept a secret? Oh, do not say so. I had to thank you.”

“Just so. Merryn, you say? Hmmm.”

“He didn’t betray you, no. It was his mother who told me that you were a close friend of my parents, and I drew my own conclusions.”

“Ah.”

“And so, I do thank you over and over. I’m sorry if you didn’t wish it, but I couldn’t be easy, you see, until I’d done so. Tell me, do you know the names of any of the others?”

“Others?”

“Yes, the others who helped me.”

“Oh. No, no, I’m afraid not.”

Gwendeline’s face fell. “Perhaps, though, you can direct me to other of my parents’ close friends. Then I can call upon them as I did you.”

Sir Humphrey’s eyes bulged again. “Good God,” he exclaimed. “That is, no, no, I shouldn’t do that if I were you. People, ah, dislike being thanked, you know. Dashed embarrassing. Better to let it be. Nice of you to wish it, but better not.”

“You’re so kind,” said Gwendeline, her eyes filling with tears. “All of you.”

“No, I say, no,” replied her companion, aghast at this sign of feminine vapors. “Nothing, you know. Nothing at all.”

“It’s not nothing to me,” answered Gwendeline emphatically.

“Yes, well, glad it all came out right.” Sir Humphrey began to pull himself laboriously out of the armchair. “Don’t wish to be impolite, but engagements, you know. Haven’t breakfasted.”

“Of course. How heedless of me to keep you.” She made as if to assist him in rising, but he waved her off and slowly got to his feet. “I’ll go,” she continued, offering him her hand, “but I’m so happy we had this talk.”

He took her hand in his giant paw and gallantly kissed it. “My pleasure,” he murmured politely.

“I do hope we meet again soon.”

“Ah, well, as to that. Can’t say, you know.”

“Perhaps you can come to dinner one night and tell me about my parents. I know so little about them.”

This suggestion seemed to make Sir Humphrey uneasy again. He muttered something indistinct.

“So. Goodbye, then.”

“Goodbye, my dear.” He escorted her to the door and left her in the hands of his butler, who was hovering in the hall awaiting the outcome of this interesting visit. When she was gone, Sir Humphrey frowned. “Merryn,” he said to himself. “Strange. Have to speak to the fellow.”

Gwendeline, riding along in another hackney coach, had no regrets or feeling of puzzlement. She was convinced that she had partly solved the mystery of her income, and she was very pleased with herself. Lord Merryn was not her only benefactor, as she had begun to fear, but only the agent and spokesman for men who were reluctant to appear in the matter. She need no longer worry about her ambiguous situation. Though it still held some undeniable awkwardness, it was not as bad as she’d feared. More important, Lord Merryn had told her the truth. As she climbed happily down from the hack and entered Lady Merryn’s town house, she was more at ease than she’d been for some weeks. She even thought that her father couldn’t have been quite as black as many painted him if he’d had such truly loyal and generous friends.