Page 79 of Fortune Favors the Frivolous
Caroline gripped her pearls, frowning to make sense of the scene.
Was the vibrant, determined Venetia of earlier days suddenly back?
“Ladies and gentlemen!” Henry clapped his hands for silence and immediately it was granted. The whole crowd wanted to understand what Henry’s former fiancée—who had now been restored to him—would wish him to convey.
“It is my great pleasure to inform you all that I have just received blessings from London’s most notable heiress to take my future wife, Miss Caroline Weston, up in Lady Townsend’s balloon tonight.” With a deep bow towards his hostess, he raised his eyebrows and enquired, “Provided the new pairing meets with her approval.”
“Good Lord!” came Caroline’s mother’s outraged tones as Caroline stepped forward, joy spreading through her body as she took in the first smile from her friend Venetia that she had seen in many a long month.
Venetia’s voice wavered but the truth was clear to all as silence descended upon the crowd and she said from her elevated position, “Caroline is the one who deserves to be withHenry. For so long I have been caught up in the misery of trying to avoid the plan my aunt had hatched with Lord Windermere to force me to marry him that I did not see what was under my very nose: that Caroline and Henry have always loved each other. Please, Lady Townsend, may I rescind this very great honor and would you allow my dearest, dearest friend Caroline enjoy the trip of a lifetime, floating in a balloon with, as we must all surely call him, one of tonight’s real heroes—Henry?” She glanced at Mr. Rothbury, before adding, “While I convey my thanks to Mr. Rothbury.”
Caroline didn’t know she was holding her breath until Lady Townsend, with a rather dazed look, first at Henry, then at Lord Thornton beside her, slowly smiled, then nodded.
“I organized this evening to play matchmaker,” she said quietly but clearly, looking, Caroline noticed, at Lord Thornton. “After all, it was due to my success in matching Caroline’s brother with his lovely wife, Miss Amelia Fairchild, that I was emboldened to try my hand again. No two brighter, deserving, and well-matched souls could I imagine uniting in matrimony than the delightful Miss Playford, whom I was charmed to meet several years ago at Lady Pendleton’s Ghostly Gathering, and Mr. Henry Ashworth.” She paused, her gaze sweeping the crowd with the confidence of a natural performer commanding her audience’s attention.
“But matchmaking is not a frivolous undertaking. And it is certainly not for the faint-hearted,” she went on. “I take the responsibility extremely seriously, for though I have never married, I believe that the greatest joy two people of like minds can share is to be united in the bonds of holy matrimony.”
Caroline was by the basket now. Lady Townsend had all but given her approbation, but her words were important. They were important for the crowd to understand that true love was a serious business. It was important for her mother to understandthat while society had its rules, matters of the heart were not frivolous matters.
The gathered company had fallen into a respectful silence, sensing the gravity beneath Lady Townsend’s light tone. Even the most hardened cynics among them seemed moved by the unexpected turn of events, by the triumph of truth and love over deception and greed. In the fading light, with the even brighter stars appearing in the sky, there was a sense of rightness, of balance restored.
“And so it gives me great pleasure to announce that the two winners of tonight’s celestial comet viewing are Mr. Henry Ashworth and Miss Caroline Weston, with naturally a chaperone. Lady Weston, please step forward,” finished Lady Townsend to loud applause.
“No, no, I wouldn’t go near that contraption if you paid me!” objected Lady Weston, fanning herself and beckoning to her son. She seemed too dazed to comment any further, and certainly not on the public declaration of Henry’s reciprocal love for Caroline.
Sir Frederick stepped forward with a smile, but just as he reached the basket, Henry gave the rope a sudden, decisive tug. The heavy hemp slipped through the aeronaut’s startled fingers, and with a gentle lurch, the balloon began to rise, already beyond the reach of anyone on the ground. The basket swayed gracefully as it ascended, bearing only Henry and Caroline aloft—and the dazed aeronaut—into the deepening twilight, while a collective gasp rose from the crowd, followed by laughter and cheers as the young couple’s daring escape—no, elopement, perhaps—registered.
“I believe we’ve been outmaneuvered,” Sir Frederick called up good-naturedly as the balloon continued its stately ascent.
Caroline leaned over the edge of the basket, her face illuminated by joy as she waved to the diminishing figures below. Henry’s arm circled her waist, drawing her close as theyrose higher, the lights of London spreading out beneath them like stars fallen to earth. In the eastern sky, the promised comet had appeared, its silver trail blazing across the heavens—a celestial blessing on new beginnings, on truth revealed, and love triumphant.
“I scarcely dared believe such joy would come to pass,” Caroline whispered, as she tilted her head to smile up at Henry, whose hand upon the small of her back gave her all the grounding she needed—for now and the future. “All my life I’ve been chided for being a hoyden, a frivolous child who’d never grow up. But I’ve never felt more grown up, Henry.”
“Don’t grow up too much, Caroline, because I like you just the way you are,” murmured Henry. “When you’re my wife, promise me you won’t change and become serious? Because—” touching his lips gently to hers, he added, “—didn’t I once tell you that fortune favors the frivolous?”
Caroline drew in a quavering breath. “Oh, Henry,” she whispered, on a half laugh. “That horse just bolted. You could have had your fortune, but you let Bedfordshire’s most notable heiress slip through your fingers.” She closed her eyes and put her cheek to his, sighing in pure pleasure as he held her tighter. “So, since I can’t offer you a fortune,” she went on, “as compensation, I promise you a lifetime of frivolity.”
Chapter Forty-One
Lady Eugenia Townsendsipped her tea slowly, savoring the delicate Darjeeling as she gazed out over her garden. From her favorite spot in the morning room, she could see the rosebushes beginning to bloom, their vibrant colors a stark contrast to the pale blue of the spring sky beyond.
“I must say, Eugenia, you appear remarkably composed for a woman who is about to lose a valuable painting,” Lady Pendleton remarked, settling her spindly frame more comfortably in the armchair opposite.
“Do I?” Eugenia responded with a smile. “I suppose I find it difficult to be entirely displeased when the outcome has brought such happiness to Miss Playford.”
Lady Pendleton looked thoughtful. “Quite a transformation from the penniless girl we once knew to one of the wealthiest heiresses in the county!”
Eugenia allowed herself a small smile. “Fortune is indeed a capricious mistress. Who could have imagined that quiet little Venetia would emerge not only wealthy beyond measure but as the heroine of the most dramatic scene ever to grace a comet viewing party?”
“Not I,” admitted Lady Pendleton, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a lace-trimmed napkin. “And certainly not Mrs. Pike, who I understand has retreated to Bath to escape thescandal. Though how one escapes such notoriety when Bath is the very epicenter of gossip is beyond my comprehension.”
The butler appeared at the doorway to announce, “Lord Thornton, my lady.”
Eugenia felt that familiar flutter beneath her bodice—the one she had battled for more than thirty years whenever Thornton entered a room. She watched him stride in, resplendent in a bottle-green coat that accentuated his broad shoulders. The silver in his hair caught the morning light, and Eugenia found herself quite unable to look away.
“Ladies,” he said with a bow, his eyes lingering on Eugenia’s face. “I trust I find you well?”
“Very well, thank you, Thornton.” Lady Pendleton gestured to the settee. “We were just discussing the most extraordinary developments regarding Miss Playford.”
