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Anna looked up, embarrassed to have been caught staring. ‘Yes. Forgive me, but it is so beautiful.’
‘My late husband gave it to me for my twenty-first birthday.’ The baroness’s face glowed. ‘Ulrich spent a lot of time travelling and often came home with little trinkets like this. He had exceptional taste.’
‘Baroness—’
‘Please, won’t you call me Julia?’ she interrupted gently. ‘I have no wish to be so formal with you.’
‘Then you must call me Anna. And I was about to say that your husband must have loved you very much to have given you such an exquisite gift.’
As soon as the words left her lips, Anna regretted having uttered them. She had no wish to invoke unhappy memories for Julia and she feared that mentioning her late husband in such a way might be all that was required to bring them on. But apart from a delicate flush, Julia remained admirably in control of her emotions. ‘He did love me. Ours was a true love match. Not common in our world, I suppose, but I was more fortunate than most.’
‘So it wasn’t an arranged marriage.’
‘Oh, yes, but Ulrich and I fell in love shortly after we were introduced. That probably sounds ridiculous, but it is the truth.’
‘I think you were indeed incredibly fortunate,’ Anna said. ‘I know of so many marriages that are arranged for the benefit of the parties involved and end up being the most dismal of relationships. That is why I always prefer to see marriages based on love. Have you any children, Bar—Julia?’
Where the mention of her husband had not brought tears to her eyes, the mention of children did. ‘Sadly, no. Ulrich and I were not able to conceive a child together. Perhaps if we’d had more time—’
When Julia broke off, Anna leaned over to place her hand over the other woman’s. ‘I am so sorry for your loss, Julia,’ she said gently, ‘but you are young enough to marry again and to bear many healthy children.’
Julia nodded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. ‘I would like to think so, but if the difficulty in conceiving lies with me, it will not matter who I marry. I know that will serve as a deterrent to certain gentlemen.’
‘Only those looking to set up a nursery,’ Anna said, seeing no point in not stating the obvious. ‘If we are being practical, there are many older gentlemen who would be happy to offer you marriage without children being a condition.’
‘You are kind to say so, Anna, but, in truth, I do not long for a husband. The memory of Ulrich is enough.’
‘But memories won’t keep you warm at night and you are far too beautiful to spend the rest of your life alone,’ Anna pointed out. ‘You must get out in society and start mingling again.’
‘I would like that,’ Julia admitted, ‘but in the three weeks I’ve been here, I have not received a single invitation.’
‘Then we must start the ball rolling.’ Anna smiled, convinced more than ever that she had done the right thing in coming to visit the baroness. She pulled an invitation from her reticule and handed it to Julia. ‘This is from the Countess of Bessmel. It is an invitation to a soirée at her home the evening after next.’
‘An invitation!’ Barely managing to conceal her delight, Julia broke the seal and unfolded the invitation. ‘But we have never met.’
‘I know, but I chanced to be at a breakfast with the countess the other morning and told her I intended paying a call on you. She said she was planning to do the same, but that the pain in her legs was preventing her from getting around. That’s when she asked if I would be good enough to deliver the invitation to you and to say how much she hopes you will attend.’
Julia read the invitation again and her smile brightened immeasurably. ‘This is … so very good of you, Anna. And of Lady Bessmel, of course. I will write at once to accept.’
‘Excellent, because she is looking forward to meeting you,’ Anna said. ‘Lady Lydia will also be there, and with three such highly placed ladies at your side, you can be assured that the rest of society will take notice.’
Julia’s smile was as radiant as the diamonds pinned to her breast. ‘Thank you, Anna. I feel better simply for having met you. And perhaps before you leave, you would like to see some of my other jewellery? I can assure you that a few of the pieces make this brooch look quite plain.’
Chapter Five (#ulink_3907e005-97d0-5a1a-8c51-23b8aab2d880)
Though Barrington did not make a habit of attending all of the society functions to which he was invited, he recognised the wisdom of dropping in on certain, select events. Dark alleys and gentlemen’s clubs were all very well, but he had learned long ago that most of the truly useful gossip was to be overheard in the drawings rooms and ballrooms of society. And given that Lady Bessmel was acknowledged to be one of the finest gossips in London, the thought of missing an event at her magnificent Park Lane mansion was tantamount to professional suicide. Now, as Barrington stood opposite the entrance to the grand ballroom, watching the parade of swirling dancers make their way around the room, he wondered how many darkly held secrets would be exposed tonight.
A quick sweep of the room revealed the usual attendees: blue-blooded aristocrats with their equally blue-blooded wives, a smattering of officers and politicians, some in the present government, some casualties of the last, as well as the miscellaneous collection of ladies and gentlemen who, though not titled, were well born enough to receive the much-coveted invitations. Colonel Tanner was standing at the far side of the room with his pale little wife, but, other than a brief nod in Barrington’s direction, betrayed no sign of having seen him.
Barrington allowed his gaze to move on. He was used to being ignored by those for whom he worked, if one wished to call it that. It was a hazard—or a blessing—of the job, depending on how one looked at it.
Then, suddenly, there was a commotion as three ladies entered together. Lady Annabelle Durst, magnificent in lilac silk, Lady Lydia Winston, lovely in shimmering green, and a third, slightly older but equally striking woman with whom Barrington was not acquainted. She wore an elegant silver-grey gown, long white gloves and a diamond necklace that could have fed London’s poor for a year. And when he heard whispers in the crowd and realised that most of Lady Bessmel’s guests didn’t know who the lady was, he put the pieces together. This must surely be the mysterious Baroness Julia von Brohm.
More importantly, however, it was also the first time he had seen Anna since the arrival of her note acknowledging Peregrine’s guilt. How would she receive him? With haughty indifference or grudging acceptance?
Knowing that the question had to be asked, he crossed the room to where she stood and bowed in front of the three ladies. ‘Good evening, Lady Lydia. Lady Annabelle.’
‘Why, good evening, Sir Barrington,’ Lady Lydia said with unaffected pleasure. ‘How nice to see you again. I thought perhaps you had been in hiding, we have seen so little of you.’
‘Alas, I have been kept busy with work,’ Barrington said, conscious of Anna’s eyes on him.
‘Yes, so I understand,’ Lady Lydia’s eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘I happened to bump into your sister at Hatchard’s the other day. She said you haven’t been round for a visit since the occasion of her last dinner party.’
Barrington’s mouth twisted, remembering his less-than-memorable meeting with Lady Alice Stokes, a pleasant woman with whom he’d had absolutely nothing in common. ‘I will go round and see Jenny this week. And apologise,’ he added with a rueful smile. Then, bowing towards Anna, said, ‘I trust all is well at home, Lady Annabelle?’
‘Yes, thank you, Sir Barrington.’ Her expression was tranquil, but Barrington thought he detected a quiver in her voice. Surely she wasn’t nervous about seeing him again?
‘And Mr Rand?’ he asked.
‘He is doing as well as can be expected, under the circumstances,’ she said quietly. Her hair was drawn softly off her face and caught up with a cluster of deep pink roses. Barrington thought she had never looked lovelier. ‘Are you acquainted with Baroness von Brohm?’ she asked, adroitly changing the subject.
‘I am not,’ Barrington said, turning towards the third lady, who was watching him with undisguised interest. ‘I was hoping I might prevail upon one of you to make the introduction?’
‘With pleasure. Baroness, may I present Sir Barrington Parker,’ Anna said smoothly. ‘Sir Barrington—Baroness Julia von Brohm.’
The lady regally inclined her head. ‘Sir Barrington.’
‘Baroness.’ Barrington bowed over her hand. ‘I’m surprised it has taken this long for us to meet, given that word of your arrival has been swirling for weeks.’
‘There has been a great deal to do and I have kept much to myself,’ the baroness admitted. ‘But Lady Annabelle felt it was time to make my appearance in society and I am grateful to her and Lady Bessmel for their kindness in making it happen.’
‘We decided to take Julia under our wing,’ Anna explained. ‘I’m sure you won’t find that surprising, given what you know of me.’
Barrington wasn’t sure if she was taking him to task, but when he saw the twinkle in her eye, he allowed himself to hope that the remark intended nothing of the sort. ‘Yet another convoluted life exercise?’ he ventured.
He was relieved to see her smile, and for the first time since the arrival of her note, he felt himself breathe properly again.
‘Ah, Parker, good evening,’ Lord Cambermere said, joining them. ‘Might have known I’d find you hoarding the three most beautiful women in the room.’
‘On the contrary, having only just made the baroness’s acquaintance, I cannot be accused of hoarding. Especially since the other two ladies are as well known to you as they are to me.’
‘Julia, allow me to introduce my father, Lord Cambermere,’ Anna said with a smile. ‘Papa, Baroness von Brohm.’
The earl’s gaze sharpened, a man appreciating the beauty of a woman. ‘I had heard of your arrival, Baroness, and am compelled to say that Vienna’s loss is our gain. I trust you are enjoying life in London?’
‘To be honest, I have experienced very little of it, Lord Cambermere,’ the baroness replied. ‘As I told your daughter, I have been busy setting up my household. There has not been much time for sightseeing or socialising.’
‘But now that Julia is finished with all that, I have assured her that we shall be seeing a great deal more of her in society,’ Anna said. ‘Tonight is her début, if you will.’
‘And a splendid début it is,’ the earl said quietly. ‘Would you allow me to introduce you to a few of my friends, Baroness? Having seen me in conversation with you, they will not forgive me if I neglect to do so.’
Barrington saw the look of pleasure that warmed the baroness’s face, but also noticed the look of startled surprise on Anna’s. Obviously she wasn’t used to her widowed father paying court to a beautiful woman, especially one who was also so recently widowed. But, true to form, she recovered with swiftness and grace. ‘Yes, do go, Julia. Papa knows everyone and he is perfectly respectable. Just don’t start him talking about horses.’
‘Oh, but I love horses!’ the Baroness was quick to say. ‘My late husband’s stable was one of the finest in Vienna.’
‘Good Lord,’ the earl said, leaning forwards. ‘Never tell me that your late husband was Captain Baron Ulrich von Brohm?’
A soft gasp escaped the baroness. ‘Yes. Did you know him?’
‘I most certainly knew of him. I read several of his papers on early equine development and thought his ideas were nothing short of brilliant.’ The earl offered the lady his arm. ‘I would be honoured to have a chance to speak to you about him.’
As an opening gambit, it couldn’t have been better. Barrington watched the baroness place her gloved hand on Cambermere’s sleeve, aware that her eyes were bright with interest as they rested on his face. They were already talking about horses as he led her away, prompting Barrington to wonder how many of the earl’s friends were likely to be introduced to the beautiful baroness that evening.
‘I think you have a success on your hands, Anna,’ Lady Lydia whispered. ‘If everyone else is as taken with the baroness as your father, we will surely see her married before the end of the Season!’
Barrington tended to echo Lady Lydia’s assessment, though he wondered how Anna felt at having her father’s affection for the woman so bluntly stated. It wasn’t always easy for daughters to accept a new woman into their father’s life, especially daughters who still lived at home. The arrival of a stepmother could make their lives hellish. Still, given the friendship that seemed to exist between Anna and the baroness, Barrington doubted that would be the case here.
‘Sir Barrington,’ she said suddenly, breaking into his thoughts, ‘I wonder if I might have a word with you? In private.’
He turned to find her sapphire gaze fixed on him. ‘By all means.’
‘Then I shall go and speak to Lady Bessmel,’ Lady Lydia said promptly. ‘She mentioned having received news of her son in Scotland and I have been longing to hear how Thomas goes on. I shall catch up with you later, Anna. Good evening, Sir Barrington.’
Barrington inclined his head, but he noticed that Anna waited until her friend was far enough away so as not to hear their conversation before turning to him and saying, ‘I hoped I would have a chance to speak to you this evening, Sir Barrington. I’m sure we both recognise that I owe you an apology with regard to Peregrine.’
Barrington studied the face upturned to his, aware that it exposed far more than she realised. ‘You owe me nothing, Lady Annabelle. I took no pleasure in being the bearer of bad news.’
‘Nevertheless, I accused you of dealing in false information and that was a criticism of your professional conduct. For that, an apology must be offered.’
‘Must be?’ he repeated. ‘Am I to conclude that you do not wish to apologise?’
Her gaze clouded over, a tiny frown appearing between her brows. ‘Please don’t misunderstand. If I appear reluctant to admit my error, it is only because it has caused me to question things about myself that I’ve not had reason to question before. I thought I knew Peregrine better than anyone. Certainly better than you. And I believed I was right in defending him when you first charged him with the affair. But, as it turns out, I really didn’t know him at all. I was convinced he would never do something so foolish as to engage in an affair, yet that’s exactly what he did.’
‘But you and I both know that Mr Rand is not the first man to catch Lady Yew’s eye, nor will he be the last,’ Barrington said. ‘She is the type of a woman who needs constant attention. Sadly, he is just the latest on a very long list of conquests.’
‘I know, but that doesn’t make it any better,’ Anna said ruefully. ‘And it certainly doesn’t excuse what he did.’
‘Love makes its own excuses. It has ever been thus.’
‘Perhaps, but what disturbs me the most is that he truly believed she loved him.’
‘He will get over it,’ Barrington said with a smile. ‘He is a young man and all young men must fall in love with at least one unsuitable woman in their life. It is a rite of passage. Useful in teaching us what to watch out for when we do finally go looking for a wife.’
Her smile was a reluctant twisting of her lips. ‘I wish I could be as convinced of that as you, but when I see him suffering …’
‘Women pine for love not found while men suffer from love already lost. It is our Achilles’ heel, if you will. And for what it’s worth, I suspect Rand was more in love with the idea of being in love than he was with the actual act of loving,’ Barrington said, hoping to ease her guilt. ‘By all accounts, he liked to read to her and she enjoyed listening to him.’
He saw a tiny smile lift the corners of her mouth. ‘Peregrine has a lovely speaking voice. Not as mellifluous as yours, of course, but I expect he would have done well on the stage.’
She liked his voice. There was really no reason the compliment should have meant anything to him, but it did. Strange the things a man clung to. ‘Regardless, I think it little more than a case of boyish infatuation. Lady Yew is a beautiful woman. She was probably flattered that a good-looking man so much younger than she would find her attractive and offered more encouragement than she should.’
‘For all the good it did either of them,’ Anna said with an edge to her voice. ‘But I am sorry, Sir Barrington. You told me that collecting information was what you did and you obviously do it very well. I will not be so foolish as to doubt you again.’
Barrington inclined his head, wondering why he felt as though she was saying goodbye. ‘With luck, there will be no occasion for us to find ourselves in a situation like this again.’
Then she smiled and, with her very next words, confirmed his suspicions. ‘I suppose not. In fact, given what we know of each other, I doubt our paths will have any reason to cross again.’
As expected, the baroness’s introduction to London society was a complete success and doors that had been closed to her in the past were suddenly thrown open with abandon. Society embraced her with the fervour of a shepherd welcoming home a long-lost lamb and gentlemen flocked to her side, eager to secure favour.
Because she was seen to be such good friends with Lady Bessmel and the daughters of the Earl of Cambermere and the Marquess of Bailley, her name constantly appeared high on the list of society events, both intimate and grand. Not surprisingly, Anna’s brother and father were frequent visitors to Julia’s afternoon salons, though the earl was very careful not to do anything that might result in scandal being attached to her name. He never stayed longer than was appropriate, or tried to take up too much of her time. But it was noted and remarked upon, after several society gatherings where both were in attendance, that the widowed Earl of Cambermere was evidencing a marked partiality for the company of the beautiful Baroness von Brohm.
Naturally, Julia was delighted with all the attention, but Anna noticed that she, too, was careful not to indicate a preference for any one gentleman over another, perhaps because she was still clinging to the memory of her late husband. But she was a gracious and entertaining guest, and though her list of contacts grew by the day, she never forgot that it was Anna’s kindness that had originally launched her into society.
As such, she decided to hold a dinner party in Anna’s honour, inviting, along with the rest of her family, twenty other guests including Lord and Lady Bessmel and Lady Lydia Winston. Knowing the company would be very smart, Anna decided to wear one of her newest gowns, an elegant creation in pale gold silk, a colour that was exceedingly flattering to her fair complexion. Her hair was arranged in a loose cluster of curls with a few wisps hanging free to frame her face. Elbow-length gloves, her mother’s pearls and a light sweep of colour across her cheeks were all that were required to complete the ensemble.
Half an hour later, she stepped out of the carriage in front of Julia’s house, with her father and Edward close behind. Both looked very elegant in their black-and-white evening attire, her father especially so. Peregrine, who was still reluctant to show his face in society, had decided to remain at home.
‘Good thing, too,’ Edward said in the disparaging tone he always used when Peregrine’s name came up. ‘No point the boy thinking he’s entitled to move in good society when it’s obvious he belongs in the country.’ He plucked a strand of hair from the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Besides, he’d likely just embarrass us in front of the baroness. He does, after all, have an eye for older women.’
‘That was unkind,’ Anna said flatly. ‘You are as much to blame for Peregrine’s fall from grace as he is.’
‘I don’t see how. I wasn’t the one who jumped into bed with Lady Yew.’
‘Don’t be coarse, Edward, and please keep your voice down,’ Anna said in a fierce whisper. ‘You shouldn’t have told him about the state of their marriage.’
‘My dear Anna, there isn’t a soul in London who doesn’t know the state of the Yews’ marriage,’ Edward said blandly. ‘Why should I have left Rand in ignorance? He would have found out sooner or later. And just because I told him Lady Yew was open to lovers didn’t mean he had to go sniffing after her as though she were a bitch in season. And you needn’t look at me like that,’ he said when she turned a chilling glance on him. ‘You’re too old to pretend an ignorance of what goes on between a man and a woman. I know how besotted you were over Anthony Colder.’
Anna winced, the mere sound of the man’s name causing her pain. ‘I would thank you not to mention him in my presence again.’
‘Why not? Surely you’re not still pining over the fellow. He wasn’t worth it, you know. The stories I could tell—’
‘This conversation is over,’ Anna said coldly. ‘Please keep your opinions to yourself and refrain from making damaging comments about Peregrine in public, lest you find yourself defending rumours about your own less than sterling behaviour.’
‘My behaviour?’ Her brother’s eyes widened in a credible imitation of innocence. ‘What possible concern could you have about that?’
‘I see no need to explain myself. We are both aware of your reputation with women.’
He slowly began to smile, clearly enjoying himself. ‘And what have you heard about my reputation, pray tell?’
‘Amongst other things, that you are fickle and heartless,’ Anna said, boldly meeting his gaze. ‘We’ve gone through three maids in the last year and I suspect your unwelcome attentions towards them had much to do with the reasons they all left. If you must indulge yourself, kindly do so in a manner that does not disrupt the household or result in frightened young girls being sent back to the country in tears.’
His eyes narrowed and for a long moment he stared at her in silence. ‘Well, well, so the pretty bird has sharp talons,’ he murmured finally. ‘Who would have guessed?’
‘Guessed what?’ their father asked, joining them.
‘Nothing.’ Anna turned her back on Edward, shutting out his obnoxious comments and his condescending gaze. She knew he enjoyed goading her and most of the time she was able to rise above his petty teasing, to treat his remarks with the chilly disdain they deserved. But tonight he’d touched a nerve and, despite her best intentions, she had lashed out at him, a reaction she would no doubt come to regret. ‘We should go in. I have no desire to keep the Baroness waiting.’
They were escorted by the butler into an elegant drawing room where most of the guests had already assembled. Anna saw Lydia talking to Lord and Lady Bessmel and smiled in acknowledgement of her friend’s wave. She left her father and brother and went to join them.
