A Scandalous Publication by Sandra Heath

Author:Sandra Heath [Heath, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1986-10-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Before noon on Waterloo Day, the eighteenth of June, huge crowds had gathered on the banks of the Thames for the opening of the new bridge. Every possible vantage place had been taken, and the murmur and laughter of so many people seemed to fill the air like the drone of a colossal beehive. There was a fair on one shore, with swingboats, wheels of fortune, booths of all description, and many other amusements and diversions associated with such events. On the river itself bobbed an armada of barges, wherries, pleasure boats, and countless other small craft, their bunting flapping gaily in the summer breeze. The new bridge was decked with flags and streamers, and a military band was playing, the brisk martial music vying with the noise of the crowds and the fair.

Admiral Parkstone’s private barge was a very elegant vessel, its high prow graced by a figurehead of mermaid with long flowing hair. There were cushioned seats amidships, shaded by a very fine blue-and-white-striped canopy; very few craft could claim to be superior, although many were larger. As became so distinguished a naval officer, the admiral took command himself, taking up his position at the stern and maneuvering her to an excellent place close to the bridge. From here his small party of guests would be able to view the entire proceedings, from the very first moment the royal barge appeared from the direction of Whitehall.

Richard stood beside the admiral, having earned that gentleman’s praise by proving a more than adequate sailor himself after learning a great deal during his years in America. Wearing a gray coat and white trousers, the unstarched folds of his large neckcloth lifting now and then in the breeze sweeping upriver from the distant sea, he glanced frequently at the seats beneath the canopy, where Sylvia and Mrs. Wyndham sat talking together.

Mrs. Wyndham had been much gratified by the number of people who now acknowledged her once more, news of her wealthy brother’s return having quickly spread throughout society. She was delighted to have already received several noteworthy invitations, especially one from the Duke of Devonshire. So pleased was she with the way the day had gone so far that she had quite forgotten her much-dreaded inclination toward mal de mer; indeed, it hadn’t even crossed her mind. Wearing sky blue, which became her plump rosiness very well, she was enjoying her interesting conversation with Sylvia, who was dressed in pure white and looked very beautiful indeed. They were discussing the forthcoming ball, a subject that was causing Sylvia a great deal of difficulty because it seemed that every arrangement she made was destined to fall through in one way or another. Gunter’s, the fashionable caterers of Berkeley Square, had that very morning informed her that they couldn’t provide precisely the menu she had requested, and barely an hour after that she had learned that the orchestra she wished to engage was not available on that particular day.

It really was too much, she declared with great feeling to a sympathetic Mrs.

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