Rescuing Rosalind (Three Original Ladies and Their Gentlemen) (12 page)

Still, used to dealing with the surly pressed seamen on his ship, Buck was not completely easy about Rosalind’s safety. He was afraid her friendliness might be seen as condescension.

A natural protective instinct rose in him as he watched her graceful figure ladling the lamb stew and offering it to the ragged poor. An inopportune desire to embrace that slim wand of a torso and hold her close rose within him, and he forced himself to recall her sentiments of the night before—her outrage at press gangs, the patronesses of Almacks, and the restrictions of the “unworthy”
ton.
All had their valid points, but that is not why she had thrown them at him. After his night’s cogitation, he had come to believe that she was frightened of him. Why?

Buck did not think she was feeling any differently today. At least part of her friendliness was an act for him, and he could see that her enthusiasm was making the other volunteers a bit uncomfortable.

So, when the shift was over and Rosalind had not made her way to the hackney he had summoned, he experienced a spurt of alarm. Dodging the thick crowds around the market stalls, he saw her at last, an upright figure in her old dress the indistinct color of toast. He kept her in view. Where the devil was she going?

Soon her destination became horribly obvious as they drew closer to Covent Garden Theater. She disappeared through what must be the backstage door.

In Buck’s hurry to follow her, he jostled a cart of Brussels sprouts and the vegetables fell to the dirty ground, rolling in all directions.

“Oy! Look what you gone an’ done, guv. You’ll pay me for this bit. Can’t sell ‘em sprouts what’s been rollin’ in the filf, now can I?”

Buck paused in the act of trying to retrieve the rolling vegetables. Paying the man off would certainly be the quicker option. Withdrawing the purse that was secured to his person by a small chain, he took a guinea and tossed it to the man.

“I’m very sorry to be so clumsy. This should cover it and then some.”

He left the man applying his teeth to the gold coin. After rounding several more carts, Buck finally found his way to the door his Rosalind had entered.

In the dim light of the corridor, he heard a boisterous laugh. Moving towards it, he was chagrined to see Warmsby, a flashy bit of muslin on his arm. She was addressing Rosalind. “I’m that sorry, my lady, but the manager has promised the part of Rosalind to me. And I can’t see that you have any business at all to be here.”

Warmsby patted the actress on her arm, let her go, and moved over to Rosalind. “I can take the sting out of the situation,” he said, encircling her waist with an arm and drawing her to his chest. “I will marry you.”

“I would rather marry a snake,” Rosalind said, struggling to be free of his embrace.

“I am sorry to hear it,” the earl said. “However, what do you think Emily Cowper would do with such a choice bit of gossip: ‘Duchess of Ruisdell’s Sister Disappointed in her Audition for Starring Role at Covent Garden Theater?’”

He tightened his grasp and, lowering his lips to hers, gave her a bruising kiss.

Rosalind finally succeeded in wrestling herself away from him. “You devil!”

“Now I’ve thoroughly compromised you. Marry me, and Lady Cowper shall never hear of it. She is by way of being my friend, you know.”

Buck’s thoughts raced. He judged this to be the moment to intervene, knowing suddenly what he had to do. “Warmsby, leave my fiancée alone. She cannot marry you when she is engaged to me.”

Stepping up to his Rosalind, he drew her to him so she was tucked beneath his arm. She molded herself to him, saying, “Thank heavens you have come, darling. It seems my hopes are to be disappointed after all.”

“How do you intend to keep me from spreading this delicious gossip?” Warmsby asked.

“I could kill you in a duel,” Buck said, raising an eyebrow in studied negligence.

“But duels are so uncertain. Would it not be better to pay me off? You are a wealthy man. I am a bit short at the moment. How about five hundred guineas?” Warmsby asked with an ingratiating smile.

“You will not pay this snake!” Rosalind became rigid with rage.

Buck brought his hands to her shoulders, squeezing to communicate his desire to handle it.

He replied to Warmsby’s offer with far more coolness than he felt. “I will pay you half that. And there will be no further demands. I have cut down or shot more Frenchmen than you have ever seen in your life, so you do not want to engage me in a duel. If I hear any gossip at all, I will call you out. This is to be the end of the matter. Understood?”

The man’s teeth gleamed white in the dim light as he smiled. “How unfortunate that you turned up just as I was on the point of securing a fortune by marriage. However, I cannot begrudge you the prior claim. When may I collect?”

“In the morning.”

“See that you come by Boodles, then.”

Buck offered his fiancée his arm. “Come, my dear.”

He ushered Rosalind out of the theater, his thoughts far from peaceful. Had he really just thrown himself on the sacrificial platter of matrimony? It would seem he was engaged.

{ 16 }

A
STORM OF EMOTIONS
raced through Fanny. “Merciful heavens, my lord! Thank you for rescuing me from that coil, but I certainly cannot marry you!”

“You think I was a little presumptuous? It was the only way to stop Warmsby.”

“But, marriage?” The confusion of her thoughts was not helped at all by having to dodge carts of berries, cabbages, and plucked chickens dangling from a wire. “You are not thinking straight! We cannot marry!”

“I agree that present surroundings do not lend themselves to the romance of the matter. Pray, let us not mention it again until we return to Shearings.”

And so, as they made their way out of the market, hailed a hackney cab, and rode in silence to Mayfair and Shearings, Fanny tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts. The captain must have had a brainstorm. The gravity of the situation she was in had pushed him into declaring himself. She knew for a fact he thought her silly and naïve. He had said so, had he not? This imbroglio had certainly shown her to be reckless. Last night, he had had to rescue her from her own tongue, for mercy’s sake!

A few warm thoughts and heated glances were surely not enough to overcome his longtime aversion to marriage. He could not be offering her love, but only a marriage of convenience. No, she would stand firm. A marriage of convenience would not do at all!

But there was that devil Warmsby. Would he keep his word if no engagement appeared? How could she allow Deal to pay him such a great sum for his silence? And what if there was a duel? All the projected outcomes were disastrous. Why had the marquis had to walk in at precisely that moment?

By the time they reached Shearings, Fanny thought her head would burst from considering all the problems arising out of her irresponsible behavior. Why had she yielded to temptation? It was the decision of a moment, nothing more, and now it could dictate the rest of her life. Not just hers, but the life of a man who was far too gallant for his own good.

What am I to do?

After the captain paid the jarvey and handed her down, she preceded him into Elise’s house.

“Let us go into the downstairs parlor. We should have privacy there,” she said, leading him to the back of the house. The room was a cheerful yellow, looking out upon a dazzling display of sweet peas in Elise’s garden.

“I know that going to the theater expecting to audition was rebellious and silly,” she said once she seated herself. “You have my deepest gratitude for rescuing me, but it is I, not you, who should pay the consequences. I know you do not love me. You did not even have time to stop to think before you declared me your fiancée!”

“What makes you think I have not given it prior consideration?” he asked, his eyes laughing.

“Do be serious! You could not wish to be married to me! You think me nothing but a irritating baggage. And after today, I am convinced you are right!”

“Yes, I may have to put you back in leading strings.”

She raised her chin. “I do not want to marry anyone for convenience. Even if it is my convenience. Besides, how do we know Warmsby will keep his word? Speaking of which, I cannot allow you to pay him all that money! Or duel with him!” In her confusion, tears started to her eyes, and she dropped her head into her hands.

“If Warmsby should break his word, it would be even more important for you to be married.”

“But I know you do not love me! I cannot force that fate upon you!” The words were out before she could stop them.

She did not miss the sight of his knotted forehead, nor the confusion in his eyes.

Wiping her own eyes with her handkerchief, she said, “You cannot rush into this. It is not a mere matter of pulling me out of scandal broth. This is your life we are speaking of. I cannot believe that you would want me to partner you through life, to have your children . . .”

“Rosalind . . .”

“And if anyone is to pay off Warmsby, why should it be you?”

His face seemed to relax. Getting up, he walked over to her chair, knelt next to her, and took her busy hands into his. They felt warm and strong. The same feelings as the night before rose inside her. She kept her eyes lowered so he would not see the longing she felt to be in his arms.

“I see that I have thrown you into a confusion,” he said gently. “Relax a moment and listen to me. Look at me.”

Taking a deep breath, Fanny raised her chin and met his eyes. They were full of gentle entreaty.

At that moment, Elise entered the room. “Oh, pardon me!” her sister said, obviously stunned by the captain’s posture. “I did not mean to interrupt.”

Deal came to his feet.

“Come in, Elise,” Fanny said, not certain whether or not she was relieved. “Convince this poor man that he does not need to offer for me, or duel for me, or pay the Earl of Warmsby two hundred and fifty guineas!”

Her sister turned white with shock. Glancing from one of them to the other, she said at last, “What . . . what in the world have you done, Fan? Marriage? Duels? Two hundred fifty guineas?”

Fanny stood and, going to her sister, embraced her. “I am afraid I am swimming in deep scandal broth. Warmsby caught me and told me he would ruin me unless I married him. Just then, the captain arrived and told him we were engaged. Warmsby wanted a duel or five hundred guineas. . .”

Her face set in stern lines, Elise interrupted, holding Fanny at arm’s length. “Warmsby! What scandal broth, Fanny? Where were you? I thought you were at the soup kitchen.”

Fanny rushed on, anxious to unburden herself. “I was going to wear a black wig and false teeth to audition. Nobody would have known it was me. Then I had actually decided not to do it at all, but with the theater so close, and . . . well, I could not resist. It was just my bad luck that Warmsby was there with one of his lightskirts.”

“Audition? You were going to audition at Covent Garden?” Elise’s eyes were large.

Fanny said, “You have your writing, Elise. You know how essential it is to express yourself in that way. Well, I have this overwhelming need to act. It is my dream and always has been. But do not fret. In the end, the manager had already chosen Warmsby’s . . . woman to play Rosalind.”

“Fanny Catherine Edwards, your immature self-indulgence will ruin us all!” Elise turned to the marquis. “It looks as though we must thank you for your intervention. I assume you followed her from the soup kitchen?”

“Yes. I was concerned when she became lost in the market.”

“You offered her your hand?”

“It would have come to that eventually, I think, your grace.”

Fanny stared at him. What was this? He was smiling sheepishly. His words and manner only added to her confusion.

“This impulsive, careless girl?” Elise said. “You want to marry her? Do you not know she will lead you from one coil to another?”

“I would not have it any other way. She refreshes me. I must confess that I have as little regard for the strictures of the
ton
as she does, but I also understand why we must attempt to live within them. Rosalind will have far more freedom as a married lady.”

“
Rosalind!
I believe you have encouraged her, Lord Deal!”

“I may have. It was unintentional.”

“I think we must have the duke.” Elise pulled the bell tassel. “Sit down, everyone.”

Fanny looked at the marquis. He winked. She scowled.

When Ruisdell finally joined them and heard of Fanny’s latest scrape and the marquis’s offer, he said, “Deal, I do not expect you to sacrifice yourself on the altar of Fanny’s selfishness. This is not your problem.”

“It would be no sacrifice for me. Your sister-in-law may feel differently, however.”

Fanny felt as low as a worm. His gallantry seemed to know no bounds. There was no way he could truly want to marry her when she had behaved in such a thoughtless manner. At the moment, she doubted that she would ever be able to master her stubborn will. Suddenly, it was all too much to deal with.

Getting up, she held her handkerchief to her lips and started for the door. “Pardon me . . .”

The marquis and the duke stood. Ruisdell said, “Fanny, I must ask you to remain in the room.”

“I know what I did was selfish and irresponsible, but I cannot bear to hear myself discussed as though I were invisible!”

“Then I will settle this business about the two hundred fifty guineas with the marquis, and leave the two of you alone together,” the duke said.

Fanny quailed at the thought, but sat down once more. The men resumed their seats, the duke insisting that he write a draft on his bank to pay off Warmsby.

“We can only pray that there will be no duel,” Ruisdell said.

“I am not frightened of the earl,” said Deal. “Remember, I have been fighting Frenchmen most of my life.”

“Just so,” the duke said. “If you fight and kill the man, you will have to leave the country. That cannot be seen as a desirable outcome. After you and Fanny have spoken, she will show you to the library, where I shall have a bank draft awaiting you.”