The Devil's Bride by Lucy Gordon

Author:Lucy Gordon [Gordon, Lucy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2019-07-03T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Over the next few days Calvina discovered that all London seemed to know that she was ‘in an interesting condition’. She denied it, saying truthfully that she’d been overcome by the heat, but as she couldn’t say that she hadn’t made love with her husband she had to settle for being generally disbelieved. People smiled kindly, showing that they understood that she might not be ready to make an announcement. Doubtless Ninian had thought the same.

Lysandra Ullaston paid a morning call and uttered civilities for a quarter of an hour while her eyes raked her hostess’s slim figure up and down. Nor was it lost on her that the sedate young woman she’d despised so carelessly was now tricked out in the highest kick of fashion. Calvina’s gown of white jaconet embroidered with tiny leaves could only have come from a modiste of the first stare, and her glowing curls had clearly been turned out by an experienced dresser.

Calvina played her part in the conversation. Her inspiration was beginning to flag when she remembered that Lord Ullaston was not in the best of health. She commiserated with her guest on this fact, and Lysandra broke into an impassioned speech about her devotion to her lord. Calvina didn’t believe a word of it, but she was astounded by the look in Lysandra’s eyes. It was one of sheer terror.

*

Calvina was fast discovering that she had a frivolous side. She still found her real satisfaction in working at Trident House, and the friends she made there were each worth a hundred of the wealthy nonentities she met in society. Nor did she merely include Miss Davison and her assistants. Some of those on the receiving end of charity delighted her. Barnaby was her especial favourite. Now his strength was returning, he would greet her with a cheeky gleam in his eye, and engage her in chiff-chaff until she was obliged to shoo him away in order to get any work done.

Sometimes there were night expeditions to find the poor where they lay in the streets, collapsed with hunger, or huddled in doorways. Calvina would go out with the others, refusing to be chicken-hearted about the terrible things she would see. But Barnaby, who’d once been a gentleman’s gentleman, had all the notion of her consequence that she lacked, and would accompany her as her champion and protector.

But with all this, she still nurtured a childish desire to go to a Covent Garden masquerade. These were colourful, vulgar occasions, and to attend them wasn’t good ton. But since everyone wore masks she felt she could take the risk. The twins gallantly agreed to squire her. Their activities sometimes lay apart these days, since George was not only deep in a courtship of Miss Grandham, but actually showed signs of forming a genuine passion for her. Simon sensibly avoided the lady entirely, for fear that he should lose his heart in the same place as his brother’s, as in the past.

‘Devilish awkward that would be,’ he confided to Calvina.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.