Page 36 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
Evelina was still lightheaded with love when she stepped over the threshold into Lady Perry’s drawing room, giving a brief squeal of alarm when her mother rose unexpectedly from the shadows and remarked, “A good evening was had by all, it would appear?A music recital, I believe?”
“Mama, I didn’t know you’d be calling.”Evelina felt guilty that she was not as pleased to see her mother as she ought to be, considering she saw too rarely as it was.
“A mother does not have to make an appointment to see her own daughter.”Mrs.Tarot smiled but was clearly not delighted by her lukewarm reception.“And who invited you without telling me, pray tell?Lady Perry?”She glanced at the old companion who merely shrugged and said, “A gentleman whom any mama would be delighted to welcome into the family, Mrs.Tarot.I think you will not be disappointed to learn that Lord Bellingham appears to have developed quite an interest in your daughter.”
Evelina smiled at her mother.She couldn’t help it.Everything made her smile these days.But to her surprise, her mother was frowning.
“Lord Bellingham?”Her mother’s clear dismay did not indicate the delight with which Evelina imagined she would have received this news.“He is in politics, my dear, is he not?A vastly demanding and scrutinized position.”
“I do not know very much about that, but he has political ambitions, yes, Mama.”Evelina was puzzled by the disapproval in her mother’s voice as she followed her to a seat in the drawing room and sat down at right angles to her.Lady Perry took her usual seat in the corner and picked up her knitting.
The fire had been tended in their absence, casting a soft glow in the dim room, for the lamp had been turned down.Mrs.Tarot’s face was in shadow, but her tone conveyed a disapproval that made Evelina tremble.She’d so hoped to please her mama with her announcement of William’s interest.
“I understand Mr.John Farley took a great liking to you during Lady Gilray’s ball on Thursday?”
“He asked me to dance twice, Mama, but I do not like him as I like Lord Bellingham.”Evelina hesitated.“Lord Bellingham has a title and a fortune and an estate in Hampshire, Mama.I thought that was the kind of fine marriage that would please you.Mr.Farnley is little more than a gentleman farmer of modest means.”
“Mr.Farley is a solid young man who is dependable and will not lead you on, Evelina.”
Evelina gasped.“Are you suggesting Lord Bellingham is merely playing with my affections and has no intention of following through with a marriage offer?”
“I do hope it has not gone as far as that, Evelina.”
Evelina found it hard to suppress her trembling as she tried to remain calm.Tears sprang to her eyes.“I believe Lord Bellingham is going to ask me to be his wife,” she said quietly.“And I intend to say yes.”
Her mother shook her head.“Lord Dunstable is barely cold in the ground, Evelina.”
“And he was nothing to me!”Evelina burst out.“Besides, you said yourself that since he’d not publicly declared our engagement, I was free to engage in the activities that underpin my whole reason for being here.To make the most advantageous marriage possible.The fact that Lord Bellingham is so eminently eligible and I love him should have pleased you enormously, I’d have thought.”
Her mother put a hand to her lacquered hair.Her chest rose.“Mr.Farnley has invited us both to the London Museum on Thursday, Evelina.
Evelina shook her head.“That is the day of Lord Dunstable’s funeral.Lord Bellingham felt it was only right that we should pay our respects—”
“You were not married to Lord Dunstable, and you will not be marrying Lord Bellingham!”Her mother’s anger was like a lash.“No, Evelina, you will not be attending Lord Dunstable’s funeral on Thursday, and you will certainly not accompany Lord Bellingham there or even meet him there.”
For a long second, Evelina stared mutinously at her mother.It was the first time she could remember such an altercation, but suddenly the past returned, and she was the feisty six-year-old her mother had pushed into the hands of her governess, saying, “Take this wicked child from me.She is going to school across the sea to learn some manners!”It had been several years before Evelina had seen her mother again.And then she’d been so desperate to please her mama, she’d never spoken a word out of turn.
Until now.
“And what if I decide I want to go anyway, Mama?”she said in a low voice.“I love Lord Bellingham and if I want to go to Lord Dunstable’s funeral with him rather than attend the museum with dull Mr.Farnley, I will.You can’t stop me.”
There was a curious glint in her mother’s eye.
“Perhaps I can’t, Evelina.”Her large bosom rose, and she appeared to find it difficult to speak.“But you will find life very different when you suddenly don’t have fine, fashionable clothes to wear.And perhaps your Lord Bellingham won’t be quite so attentive when he learns your dowry is not as magnificent as he’d been led to believe.”
Evelina gasped.“You’re threatening me?”She leaned forward, conscious of the click-clack of Lady Perry’s knitting needles, the only sound made by the other old woman clearly listening from the corner.“You think Lord Bellingham wants me only for my dowry?”
“I can’t imagine why else he’d want you, my dear?”her mother sniffed.“London is stuffed right now with girls seeking glittering marriages, and Lord Bellingham is spoiled for choice.Granted, you have a pretty face, but so do many other debutantes who also have ten thousand to entice a potential husband.”
“Bellingham would marry me if I had nothing!”Evelina declared.And the fact she honestly believed this gave her the courage to go on.“I love him!We love each other!Perhaps you’ve never experienced what it feels like here—” she touched her heart—“to know that love is pure and honest and not…not based on money.You always make it about money, Mama!Is that why Papa left you?Is that why he keeps away from me?Because he suspects I’m too much like you?Venal and grasping?Why, if you had an ounce of kindness, you’d tell me how to find him so that at least I had the chance to know my own father… and let him decide for himself if he wants to know me.But you’ve always wanted to control everything, haven’t you, Mama?Even my heart!Well, you know what?”She rose, shaking, seeking the words for to match her mama’s.“You can’t control my mind.I will do what I want, and I will decide my own destiny.Good night, Mama!”
Chapter17
William was a man in love.The stars shimmered above him, casting a romantic glow over the bustling streets of the Haymarket.
Gas-lit lanterns illuminated the path, elegant women and smartly dressed men passed by, their conversations blending with the distant sounds of carriages and the clip-clop of horses’ hooves.
But as William made his way through the crowd, all he could think of was Evelina.
