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Across the room another member who had entered unnoticed jumped perceptibly and returned a cool nod when Jack made a gesture of apology. Someone else who disapproved of him, apparently.
He was an earl and it was about time he started behaving like one and forced society to accept him. His Countess would conduct herself in a manner befitting her rank or she could retire to her fairy-tale castle. His houses would reflect his taste and if he wanted to make love to his wife on his drawing-room carpet—or the billiard table for that matter—he would do so. With the lady’s consent, naturally. He was not a barbarian.
Jack failed to suppress a sudden snort of laughter at the thought of dressing up in one of Castle Beaupierre’s numerous suits of armour and ordering his maiden to submit in a manner that would doubtless have won the approval of their assorted medieval ancestors. No, a modern gentleman was bound by different rules of conduct altogether.
Across the room its other occupant cleared his throat ominously and Jack got to his feet. He had work to do and there were the family lawyers, the College of Heralds, his bankers and the numerous other sombre gentlemen waiting on his pleasure for decisions and signatures.
* * *
Lady Fairfield called at eleven the next morning. ‘My dear Miss Aylmer, such a pleasure to meet you at last. I apologise for calling so early in the day, but I felt it best to establish your requirements as soon as possible.’
Early? Madelyn had been up since dawn making lists and exploring the stored furniture. Restoring the downstairs rooms to their former state was the absolute priority although, now she had managed to inspect the old curtains and other fabrics, she was beginning to have qualms about how possible that was going to be.
‘Thank you. I am very glad you agreed to help me.’ She offered her new mentor a seat and waved a hand to the footman to pour the tea, a beverage her father had banned on the grounds that it was anachronistic. A faint gasp from Lady Fairfield was enough to alert her that she had already committed some error.
‘My dear, a lady always pours tea for her guests,’ she said as soon as the door closed behind the man.
‘I have never done so.’ Madelyn took a sip and tried not to grimace. ‘It is something else I must learn.’
‘Oh, really? I thought perhaps Mr Ransome—Lord Dersington, I mean—was exaggerating about your previous way of life, but perhaps not. You have truly been living a medieval existence in that castle?’
‘I have been living in the fifteenth century, Lady Fairfield. I think if you assume that I have just arrived from the Moon it would be best.’ She smiled, hoping to make light of the matter.
‘I see.’ Lady Fairfield looked daunted, then rallied. ‘Good heavens. In that case perhaps my first question is answered. I had wondered whether you had brought a chaperon with you, but I can see it would be best if I take up residence here, if you find that acceptable. I think my advice is going to be required from morning to night.’
‘Thank you,’ Madelyn said with real feeling. ‘That would be very helpful because I have so many questions and there is so much to learn.’ She had no idea whether she was going to take to Lady Fairfield, but one did not have to like the rope thrown to you when you were drowning, only to clutch it firmly. ‘I will have a suite prepared for you, which should be ready tomorrow, if you have no objection to it not being freshly decorated.’ It would mean moving some of the stored furniture, but they would manage. ‘I think we should start with advice about my jewels and some thoughts on where I can match as exactly as possible some old curtain fabrics.’
‘And we must consider your wardrobe as a matter of urgency. Those few gowns I sent you are only the beginning.’
‘Something warmer, perhaps?’ Madelyn suggested hopefully. ‘I find these cotton and silk gowns feel as flimsy as a shift—not that the undergarments are any more substantial—and they are so short. And pale,’ she added, looking down at the white muslin. ‘And low.’
‘But my dear Miss Aylmer, you are an unmarried lady and only pale colours and white will do. The cut of the neckline and the length of the skirts are precisely in the mode. And it is the height of the summer, so cottons and muslins and fine silks are most suitable. It would not do to become overheated and flushed.’
‘Yes. I mean, no,’ Madelyn agreed dubiously. Pale colours did not suit her and although she had to agree that a modern house in London was much warmer than the castle, she still felt as though she was walking around in her night shift. ‘But I will be married soon,’ she consoled herself aloud. ‘I may wear stronger colours then, can I not?’
‘Certainly, but you can hardly go into hiding until then,’ Lady Fairfield said briskly. ‘Now, I would like another cup of tea. Shall we practise the rituals of the tea tray?’
‘Yes, of course. It can hardly be more difficult than learning to spin, after all,’ Madelyn said, hoping to lighten the mood.
‘Spinning? Oh, my goodness, I do hope you will not mention doing an
ything so eccentric in company!’
‘But I do a great deal of embroidery and I need the yarn.’
‘Embroidery is quite unexceptional,’ Lady Fairfield approved. ‘But you will purchase your wools and silks. There is no shortage of excellent shops for that kind of thing.’
It seemed frivolous not to be carding and dyeing and spinning the wool herself, but it would certainly save a great deal of time and that, Madelyn suspected, was going to be in short supply.
‘Now, let us pretend that I have just arrived to make a morning call. Morning calls take place in the afternoon, of course...’
‘Of course,’ Madelyn echoed faintly, taking the empty teacup.
* * *
‘Rundell, Bridge & Rundell are goldsmiths and jewellers to the Crown,’ Lady Fairfield explained as the carriage made its slow way past Temple Bar and down Fleet Street the next morning. ‘They are the very best. The shop is in the City, of course, which is not somewhere a lady would go unaccompanied, naturally—’
‘Why not, Louisa?’ They had progressed rapidly to first names over the intricacies of the tea table the day before.
