The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley

Author:Stella Riley [Riley, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-07-22T23:00:00+00:00

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TEN

It was really no surprise to anyone that, as a result of Lady Crewe’s assembly, Rosalind became a nine-day-wonder; but what was surprising was that her spectacularly public defiance of convention did not appear to have done any harm. Lord Philip found this very hard to accept and, for a whole week, lived in the horrid expectation of seeing his sister ignored or snubbed – or, worse still, hearing her name coupled with that of Amberley. But none of these disasters occurred and, instead, flowers, invitations cards and a constant stream of callers poured into the house in Jermyn Street; and not one voice openly alluded to the possibility of a relationship – past, present or future – between Mistress Vernon and the Marquis. Philip relaxed.

Gradually, he came to realise that this happy state of affairs was owed to the exertions of three people; quietly reliable Isabel, mischievous but influential Rockliffe and, of course, Amberley – who had what Philip was fast coming to regard as an excessively irritating knack of always appearing to be right. Between them, these three had each told a handful of people - ‘in the strictest confidence!’ - that Rosalind was blind, and thus made sure that everyone knew it. Also, substantially contributing to the general reluctance to link Mistress Vernon’s name with that of the Marquis, was the fact that Rockliffe’s interest in her appeared demonstrably greater … for, in the days that followed, it was he and not Amberley who was usually to be found at her side. It was just confusing enough to silence the doubters and, when added to the palliative that Rosalind was known – though by what means Philip could not tell – to be well-dowered, it meant that she could not lightly be dismissed.

The only negative aspect of the affair was the deepening of Lord Philip’s hostility towards the Marquis and this manifested itself immediately Amberley restored Rosalind to her brother’s side at the end of their dance. Philip was unable to resist addressing a low-voiced tirade at the guilty pair and his temper was not improved when Rosalind received with misplaced levity the intelligence that everyone else had left the floor to watch. The Marquis said very little and Philip attributed this to an arrogant dislike of having his conduct criticised. It did not occur to him that Amberley was in perfect agreement with him – up to a point – but was restraining himself from replying with a pithy denunciation of Philip’s care of his sister. With heated indignation on one side but only cool reticence on the other, it cannot be said that they quarrelled; but the atmosphere between them was most definitely strained and misunderstanding became mutual.

Although she knew what the trouble was, Rosalind wisely refrained from discussing it with her brother – aware that any attempt to persuade him that the Marquis was neither devious nor arbitrary would only make matters worse. Philip was never deliberately contrary but he had a stubborn streak that inevitably made him dig in his heels if pressed too hard.

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