“That’s why Mrs. Martin is here, is it not?” Lady Carpsley said. She looked to Thea. “With Sophie taking sick at such an inopportune time, we may need your help. Sophie was gaining ground over the others. We could all see that.” She folded her hands in front of her. “You wish for your son to attend Westminster School, do you not?”
“I do,” Thea said, surprised that she knew and suddenly cautious. “He has an interview there in a few weeks.”
“It’s a very exclusive school. They don’t allow just anyone to walk through their doors. My husband’s cousin is the headmaster. Your son’s interview will be with him. And, of course, recommendations from well-placed persons can be very important. The right word from my husband and your son will be admitted.” She paused andthen added, “The wrong word and your son willnevergrace Westminster’s halls.”
Thea looked over at Mirabel, whose eyes had widened in outrage, an outrage Thea shared.
“Lady Carpsley, that is blackmail,” Thea demurred.
“Yes, well, one does what one can for one’s child. Lyon is the catch of any four seasons. The more we are around him, the more Lord Carpsley and I are convinced he is the perfect husband for our daughter. I shall expect your full assistance, that is if you wish your son to attend Westminster. There are so many bright lads from good, but modest, families. Westminster can’t take them all, so they must be very selective.” She smiled, the expression almost friendly, and left the room.
Thea sank down on the divan. Mirabel sat down beside her. “What are we going to do?” Mirabel asked.
“I’m disgusted that she would use my son as a bartering tool in this,” Thea said, her temper taking hold.
“I am as well, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is. How close do you think Lyon is to making up his mind?”
“I don’t know. He’s being very close-lipped.This morning when I talked to him, he seemed distant.”
“Hehasshowed marked attention to Lady Sophie.”
Thea shrugged, a tightness settling in her shoulders. “He didn’t appear overly concerned about her this morning.”
“But isn’t that what he wants?” Mirabel pointed out. “A woman that he can’t possibly like? Once Lyon hears of this, I assume from what I’ve observed of his character, he will be disgusted.” She shook her head. “Frankly, Thea, I sat at the breakfast table this morning, watching faces as you said Lady Sophie wasn’t feeling well, andno oneseemed concerned. In fact, a few acted quite pleased with the information. I found it unsettling.”
“Mirabel, this can’t be the first time you’ve realized how petty and selfish people can be.”
“I don’t live my life that way. Why should I notice?”
A new suspicion was brewing in Thea’s mind. “It is a bit too fortunate that Lady Sophie would take ill. She appeared the picture of health yesterday.”
“No,”Mirabel said, drawing out the word asif to deny it. “Do you suspect someone made her sick? How could someone do that?”
“I don’t know. It does sound far-fetched. Poison?”
“But these people are the cream of theton.Thea, they are respectable people.”
“Entitled? Yes. Respectable? Mirabel, don’t be naive. Marrying Lyon would be a boon to any of these families. You can never tell where a person is in life just by the surface. They could be in debt or wanting Lyon’s connections for their own use. His money will fill their coffers, his prestige will burnish their stars. You should have met some of the men my father wanted to marry me off to—codgers and his cronies—and he was galloping out the gate to do so. He had a number of schemes to draw me to the attention of the men he’d chosen. Of course, the thought of seeing any of them naked was enough to make me run into Boyd’s arms.”
“Lyon wouldn’t hurt the eyes naked.”
Mirabel’s droll observation brought an image to Thea’s mind that almost sizzled her brain and brought a flush to her cheeks. It had been a long time since she’d had a lustful thought. She’d been too busy trying to keep her small family fed and safe. Now, it was as if a part of her tamped downand kept dormant suddenly sprang to life. She rose from the divan and took a step away. “Stop this.”
“What?” Mirabel asked, her eyes rounding in innocence.
“Attempting to put us together. It won’t work.” Thea didn’t know if she was saying this for Mirabel’s benefit or her own.
“It could. You must let yourself believe.”
“There is nothing to believe,” Thea protested. And yet a part deep inside her wistfully wondered whether Mirabel’s claim was true.
“I think he likes you too much. He always stays an arm’s distance away from you.”
“And that means what?”
“That he is afraid to go closer,” Mirabel explained, as if it should have been obvious. “Truly, Thea, you can’t see the signs? Or are you so busy trying to stay away from him you don’t notice?”
“He treats me with polite respect. Nothing more; nothing less.”
