ChapterTwenty-One
“Damn them all, the fusty beldames and their beloved Mrs. Grundy!” Jacob exclaimed when Edmund dropped by his house the following morning to apprise him of the latest developments regarding the upcoming Season and the attitudes forming against Diana and Kitty.
Edmund had been surprised to find the young Marquess of Wycliff already washed, dressed, and as freshly turned out as a choirboy on Sunday morning. Jacob usually made the most of his first nights back in London after visits to the country.
“I’m with you, my friend,” Jacob told him staunchly after hearing Edmund’s account of recent correspondence about invitations. “I will decline the lot and spend the entire Season at the races if I must rather than see those two young women slighted in this way after what they and their family have suffered.”
Within the hour, he had taken Edmund’s list and written to decline invitations from all hostesses discriminating against Diana and Kitty. By that afternoon, Jacob had gone even further, lunching at his club, and taking the lead in recruiting others amongst their friends to the same cause, citing the beauty and virtue of Lady Katherine Arnold as his reason.
The first ripples of impact were felt the following day as Edmund and Jacob took a table for luncheon at Brook’s to discuss further action.
They were beginning their soup when Lord Alton spotted them from the doorway. After twirling his grey mustache for a moment in thought, he approached their table.
“Lord Wycliff, Your Grace,” he said. “May I join you for a moment?”
“Of course, Lord Alton, although we do have private business to transact today,” Edmund answered politely but formally, not wanting to encourage the intrusion.
“The thing is, gentlemen, my wife was terribly upset that you’ve both declined the invitation to our ball. Especially since she received another five regrets this morning, all from young men. Lady Felicity is coming out this year, and we can’t have a ball without anyone to dance with, can we?”
“No, I don’t suppose you can, Sir,” Jacob agreed cheerfully, offering Lord Alton a glass of claret which was declined.
“Lady Alton was frantic when I left her an hour ago. Absolutely frantic. So you’ll understand that I want to ask you to reconsider and perhaps persuade the other young chaps to do the same?”
“Out of the question, unfortunately, Sir,” Jacob said regretfully, enjoying himself far too much in Edmund’s opinion. “Out of the question.”
“Is there a clash of some sort we don’t know about? Some sporting event perhaps?” the older man continued to press a little desperately.
“No, Lord Alton,” Edmund said before Jacob could draw out the conversation even further. “It is simply that Jacob and I prefer to spend this season at events where our good friends, the Arnold family, are present. You might have heard of the tragic events at Fernside already. My mother tells me that the news has already reached London.”
“Hmmph, yes, something of the sort. The daughter was engaged to that rogue Birks, wasn’t she? The one who’s now had to leave England.”
“That was a formality only, a childhood arrangement between the families which was terminated as soon as her parents became aware of his character. And his mother’s.”
Lord Alton looked confused.
“Really? I heard that the wedding was all arranged, and then he upped and left her when his mother went mad.”
“Nonsense,” Edmund said sharply. “I was at Fernside at the time, and I witnessed Lord Greene formally dissolving the betrothal agreement on his father’s behalf.”
“Ah, well then, you clearly know more than me,” Lord Alton conceded, unsure what he was now dealing with but conscious that it was a matter that the Duke took extremely seriously.
“Yes, I can tell you that Lady Diana Arnold and Lord Birks were never close and that the engagement was dissolved at her family’s instigation. She had no more to do with his behavior than Lady Katherine Arnold had to do with that of Lady Birks.”
“I see, I see,” Lord Alton twirled his mustache again. “Look, the fact of the matter is this… what should I tell my wife?”
“You may tell Lady Alton exactly what we’ve told you, Lord Alton. Jacob and I prefer to spend this season at events where our good friends, the Arnold family, are present.”
“An increasing number of our friends feel the same way,” Jacob added. “I suspect that number is only likely to grow.”
“I understand,” the older man said, his forehead creased in thought. “So, if the Arnolds were to be invited to my wife’s ball…”
“Then your daughter and her friends would have no shortage of eligible dance partners,” Jacob finished for him. “It might be that simple, although I can obviously only speak for myself.”
“Thank you, gentlemen. You’ve given me a great deal to think about. Do enjoy the rest of your lunch.”
After Lord Alton had left the dining room still working his mustache with anxious fingers, Jacob grinned at Edmund, his blue eyes determined and full of mirth.
“That was a stroke of luck, Edmund. The old buffer will head back to his spot in the smoking room now and spread the word to all the other worried society fathers who will then go home and speak to their sour old wives.”