‘I do, don’t I.’ Mary grinned at him, and it was then that Lord and Lady Roxton were announced, with Miss Banham, and he turned from informal friend into ponderous gallant. To be fair to him, Mary could quite understand why his wits were addled by Madeleine Banham. She entered the room and seemed to shine. She wore no jewellery except a gold locket about her elegant throat, and a filet of pomona green ribbon, the colour Mary favoured so much, was threaded through her hair. If the colour looked good on Mary it suited Madeleine to perfection. Her gown was of white muslin delicately embroidered with sprigs of flowers, and simply cut. Miss Banham needed no fancy gown to make her draw all eyes. The red gold in her hair made Mary feel her own134locks were instantly even more insipid. Life was not fair.
Lady Roxton looked regal, and her spouse proud, as well he might be. The degree of familiarity between the persons present meant that formalities were perfunctory, and Mary, not wishing to be an unwelcome third in a conversation, dutifully took it upon herself to entertain Lord Roxton until dinner, since the two mamas were happy to chat, and Harry Penwood was struggling to loosen the knots in his tongue to speak with Miss Banham.
Mary was quite able to talk about things that Lord Roxton found interesting, from the harvest to the prospects of the French being driven back over the Pyrenees, whilst observing Miss Banham putting her skills to work. What Mary found amazing was that it was so very natural. When she looked shyly at Harry Penwood it did not seem cloyingly coy, and even the way she had seated herself at an angle to him, showing off her profile, which Mary was certain would be termed ‘enchanting’, appeared mere chance. She had then turned her face to him and gave every indication of hanging upon his every word. Listening, even half listening, to their conversation was, of course, very rude, but Mary did so, to be educated rather than pry.
‘… but it must seem so very dull back here in Gloucestershire, after all the dangers and excitement of campaigning, Sir Harry.’ Miss Banham’s eyes opened a fraction wider. Her mama’s warning about captivating him was forgotten because he sounded so ‘safe’ and135was not talking to her in the bashful voice her younger admirers used. Little did she know he was just as enthralled, but able to conceal it a little better, at least from one who did not know the grown man too well.
‘Oh no, really, I would not say that at all. It is … different, you see, a different world.’ There was just the tiniest hint of regret in Harry Penwood’s voice. Mary picked it up from long years of close acquaintance, but so did Miss Banham, which surprised her.
‘You see, you do miss it,’ she smiled at him in a way which showed her pleasure at being right, and a ready sympathy. ‘I … I am not quite sure why, of course, for it must be something that only gentlemen feel, that degree of companionship. I had friends at school, naturally, but I do not miss being a part of that life.’ It was the nearest she could imagine, but it made his mouth twist in a wry smile.
‘I think that is because whatever “privations” exist in a young ladies’ seminary, they are not the sort experienced in the field, and there is, I hope, little risk in the classroom.’
‘Ah yes, for we had nothing more dangerous than a sharp pencil, or an embroidery needle.’ She gave a small, soft laugh and then became more serious again. ‘Danger must bond men very much. You must be terribly brave.’ There was nothing but youthful admiration in her voice, and he coloured and demurred. Mary thought that if she had said the same words, and privately she did think Harry a brave fellow, he would have believed she was136mocking him. Had she become such a cynical ‘old tabby’ that everything she uttered sounded barbed? It made her think, and not happy thoughts.
‘I think that back here, at home, it is easy to ascribe the actions of soldiers as brave, but much of the time it is simply getting on with things as best one can, though I have seen some very brave deeds, and some very foolhardy ones, over the years.’ Harry Penwood’s gaze, even when embarrassed, seemed fixed upon Madeleine Banham’s. Had he said this to Mary, she would have pushed to hear the details, but Miss Banham put her kid-gloved hand to her cheek and said in a ‘fluttery’ voice that she was, alas, a poor weak creature, not up to tales of gore. This lowered her in Mary’s estimation, but did her no harm in Harry Penwood’s eyes. After all, the fair sex were not meant to be bloodthirsty. Fragility was, it appeared, appealing. Mary was not sure how to be fragile.
It was at this juncture that Atlow entered and announced dinner. Lady Damerham went in upon the arm of Lord Roxton, and Mary, seeing Harry about to offer his arm to Lady Roxton, took pity upon him and pre-empted him. She was not entirely sure if it was protocol, but she dismissed too much protocol as stuff and nonsense with families who knew each other well. Lady Roxton gave a slight smile that was brighter in her eyes. She had often wondered why Miss Mary Lound had never tried to attach Harry Penwood, and her conclusion was that she was one of those odd females who did not137wish to marry. She did commend her generosity on this occasion. Whilst her ladyship might lie in her bed at night and dream of her beautiful daughter taking the Ton by storm and securing an earl or a marquess, she was also very close to her Madeleine, and the thought of her living in some distant part of the country did not fill her with delight. She had already discounted the new Lord Cradley as a suitable match, though Madeleine had been impressed by him, and she thought Harry Penwood was the sort of boy who would make a dependable husband if Madeleine developed a genuinetendrefor him. Herself in a very happy and loving marriage, Lady Roxton wished that Madeleine might be as blessed. Marrying a man who was very nearly a neighbour, and one who lacked exalted rank or immense wealth, was not the stuff of dreams but … well, it was early days. Most probably his admiration would not develop, and Madeleine would simply gain a little experience of handling men before her come out.
Seating six persons about the dining table when the gentlemen were outnumbered two to one was made easier when one applied the impromptu rule that husband and wife should not sit together, nor mother and daughter, but father and daughter might do so. It meant that Harry was placed at one end of the thankfully modest length of mahogany, with Madeleine to his left and Mary to his right. At the other end, Lady Damerham had the Roxtons to either side, with Lady Roxton next to Mary. Harry was not so fixated upon Madeleine Banham that138he ignored his friend, and indeed tried to make the conversation one in which he attended to both young ladies equally, though his eyes sparkled the more when he was speaking with Miss Banham.
What was it that Madeleine Banham did, besides look beautiful? That of course would provide the immediate attraction, but there was more. It dawned upon Mary that she made a man feel … valued? Respected? She certainly encouraged Harry to talk about himself, without saying anything so blatant. Mary had always got on with men by talking about the things they were interested in, such as horses, hunting, fishing, and the land, and in return she had been treated like a brother, or an honorary man. She put a man at ease, and Madeleine did not, but that was because she seemed to … well, in Harry Penwood’s case at least, make him a trifle excited. There was no other word she could think of that fitted.
This did not bode well for the fishing lesson, for the last thing a fisherman needed was to be excited, but if she was teaching Sir Rowland to fish, then she was most definitely in ‘honorary man’ mode. It was most depressing.
It had to be said that Mary was quite pleasantly surprised by Madeleine Banham. She had assumed, because she was so pretty and innocent, that she was also fairly vapid, despite Harry Penwood’s belief that she had more sense than most pretty girls. However, when they were sat together in the drawing room before the gentlemen139joined them, Mary discovered that whilst she was not interested in the same sort of things as herself, and she had little knowledge of the world, she did have views, even upon gentlemen.
‘You have added Harry Penwood to your list of conquests, I see.’ Mary gave a wry smile.
‘Oh, do you think so?’ Madeleine looked unsure. ‘You know him better than I do, of course.’ She sighed and Mary gave her a puzzled look.
‘Do you not want him to admire you? He is a very sweet-tempered and honest young man, and rather dashing, surely?’ Mary was not sure he would like that description, but it was true enough.
‘Oh, he is, I am sure of that, but …’
‘But …? Forgive me, I had thought a large number of admirers must be pleasing to a young lady.’
‘They are and yet … Sometimes, Miss Lound, I wish some of them did not gaze at me as they do. When it happens every time, it feels as if … as if none of them are interested in me, just the way I look.’
‘Goodness me, I had never considered that.’ Mary thought rapidly. ‘Do call me Mary, by the way. I know I am positively ancient compared to yourself, but we live close enough for us to be upon friendly terms. I think only your presence in the schoolroom prevented it before.’ This was not entirely true, but not an utter falsehood. ‘I have never had admirers, and never thought that if universal it might feel a lack of deeper thought than physical attraction. However, I am sure many140marriages in Society are based upon just that.’
‘But would they be happy? In the longer term, I wonder. A person’s character, their attributes other than beauty or being handsome, are long-lasting. Beauty fades.’ Madeleine sighed again. ‘At least Lord Cradley did not treat me the way all the local young gentlemen do. I daresay that is because he is used to all the prettiest young ladies in London.’
Mary thought it was because he was far more experienced and had gauged that the beautiful Miss Banham would find it far more fascinating if he did not fall instantly at her feet and pay homage. She gave a non-committal answer, and then enquired as to what Madeleine might wish a young man to find appealing about her. After all, since she had made sure Harry Penwood had been invited to provide her with the chance to study Madeleine Banham’s ‘technique’, she thought she owed it to him to find out a little intelligence that might advance his suit.
‘I am not perhaps the right person to answer that question, Mi … Mary, for it might make me sound puffed up in my own esteem.’
‘Not if it is honestly thought.’
‘Well, I love music. I like to sing, even when I go about the house doing little things for my mama, and I play upon my pianoforte every day for at least a half hour, without fail. I was accounted the best singer in my school. That of itself does not mean very much, I know, and having a good voice is not as important as a good141temper or … being kind, but … I used to have a poor temper when I was much younger, but Miss St Germans, my headmistress, taught me to curb it, and not to take a pet when I did not get my own way. I try hard to see the best in people, and I do not shout or stamp or throw things. And do you know, I have a love of arithmetic.’ She giggled. ‘I cannot expect a gentleman to admire me for that, but it does show that I am not just a doll.’
‘You like arithmetic? Really enjoy it?’ Mary was competent at it, far more so than her mama, but to her it was time spent in a task that needed to be addressed. She also found Madeleine’s eclectic list of things she was good at, and personal qualities, very schoolgirlish.
‘Oh yes. There is something so very pleasing in a complicated sum that is worked out correctly. I think it is one of the things I most look forward to about being a married lady, overseeing the accounts of the household.’
Mary could think of nothing to say, being both stunned at the thought of it being a highlight of the married state, and suffering what might just be a pang at the confidence, well placed, which told Madeleine that she definitely would be married. She had no doubts of it. Like her flirting, it was without intent or self-pride. She was beautiful and she would marry; it was quite simple.
Male voices announced that the gentlemen had finished their port and were about to join them. When they did so, the small party divided naturally into youth and maturity, and both mothers covertly observed their progeny, with very different thoughts. Harry Penwood142was friendly towards both young ladies, but Lady Damerham was under no illusions; he was like a brother to Mary and always would be, whereas there was nothing fraternal in the quietly offered admiration he showed Madeleine Banham. Lady Roxton, sparing Lady Damerham a pitying thought, watched her daughter far more than Madeleine realised, and was generally approving. She was much more her natural self with Sir Harry this evening, less formal and cautious, but she had not behaved in a manner that might mark her as forward, and could not be said to have thrown out patent lures which might give the gentleman cause to think she favoured him to a particular degree.
