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not be forced to consort with politicians who had not
the slightest notion of style or elegance, or their
equally dull wives who were, more often than not, the
most ferocious bluestockings.
She gulped again and then raised her chin defiantly.
No. She would not endure such a fate. Chalfont would
just have to relinquish these ridiculous notions.
169
Somehow she would convince him to leave such things
to men with ugly wives. At the moment, Alicia was not
precisely certain as to how she was going to
accomplish this, but she felt confident of succeeding in
the end. After all, she had never met a person,
especially a member of the male sex, who could resist
her when she truly wanted something. It was merely a
matter of persuading someone to give her what she
wanted, and Alicia De Villiers was mistress of the art
of getting what she wanted.
Chapter 28
But Alicia had reckoned without the interference of
another equally determined young woman. Lady
Harriet Fareham was not one to let the grass grow
under her feet once she had reached a conclusion and,
having decided that Lord Aylward and Alicia were as
perfect for each other as Lord Chalfont and Alicia were
disastrous, she began her campaign to enlighten them
all that very evening at the opera when in response to
Lord Aylward s simple inquiry after her enjoyment of
the entertainment she allowed herself to wax more
eloquent than usual on the beauties and complexities
of Mozart s operatic form. Harriet noted with a good
deal of satisfaction the bewildered expression on the
Earl of Woodbridge s face as she expounded on some
of the more technical aspects of the composer s works.
Lord Aylward did his best to nod politely as though
he completely followed her line of reasoning, but she
could see that her superior knowledge and the
intensity of her enthusiasm were making her
companion distinctly uncomfortable. I beg your
pardon, Harriet apologized contritely. I see I am
boring you. You must forgive me, but I am someone
who likes to delve deeply into whatever strikes my
fancy. This superficial acquaintance with things that
satisfies the rest of the world is entirely too insufficient
for my taste. She could have hugged herself as she
saw his eyes widen with alarm. However, Lord
Aylward s beautiful manners quickly reasserted
themselves as, recovering from his dismay, he
responded politely, A most commendable sentiment, I
am sure.
Having thus alluded to her bluestocking tendencies,
Harriet moved rapidly on to the next part of her
170
scheme, which was to provide his lordship with a
charming antidote to her eccentric views. She allowed
her gaze to travel around the room and light casually
on the De Villiers box where Alicia was doing her best
to engage Lord Chalfont in conversation. Oh, I vow
that is Alicia De Villiers. I have not seen her this age.
We were in school together and it would be most
remiss of me not to speak to her.
If her artless tone rang thoroughly false to Harriet s
ears, it did not appear to do so to Lord Aylward s.
Always happy to oblige a lady, he leaped up from his
chair. Pray, allow me to escort you to her box.
It had been too easy, Harriet thought as they made
their way through the glittering throng promenading
outside the boxes between acts. No wonder Alicia was
so bent on making men dance to her tune: it did give
one a dangerously heady sense of power. Harriet
quickly squelched her misgivings. She was doing this
for the benefit of others, and not for herself. And she
was immediately rewarded when she saw the salutary
effect their visit had on both gentlemen concerned.
Lord Chalfont s smile of welcome would have been
more than enough to ease her conscience, but Lord
Aylward s audible gasp of admiration was most
gratifying.
Indeed, Alicia was in her best looks this evening in a
white lace dress over a white satin slip. The only
ornamentation was a bow of white satin in the center
of her bodice which drew attention to the creamy white
skin and gentle curves revealed by her décolletage.
This was matched by smaller bows on the short puffed
sleeves. The very simplicity of it all called attention to
the divine complexion of its wearer and provided a
contrast to the dark glossy curls and the brilliant blue
eyes set under delicately arched brows. The rosy lips
that had drooped somewhat petulantly at Lord
Chalfont s obvious lack of interest now parted in a
delicious smile of welcome that revealed pearly teeth
and two bewitching dimples at either corner of her
mouth.
It took less than an instant for Alicia to see that she
had completely captivated Lord Aylward. That the Earl
of Woodbridge had been a noticeably regular escort of
another woman, even if that woman was only her
former schoolmate Harriet Fareham, added to the
piquancy of the moment.
171
Darting a quick glance out of the corner of her eye
at the marquess, who appeared to remain totally
unaware of the profound effect she was having on
such an eligible man, Alicia greeted the earl with
charming enthusiasm. Harriet, I am so delighted you
have made Lord Aylward known to me she
responded graciously to Harriet s introduction for I
know he is much admired wherever he goes and I have
long wished to make his acquaintance.
For her part, Harriet, who was well aware of Alicia s
propensity for putting herself in the situation to meet
every possible admirer, was hard put not to laugh at
such a bouncer. As it was, she was forced to turn what
threatened to be a serious giggle into a cough. Worse
yet, she happened to catch the marquess s eye as she
did so, and his skeptically raised eyebrows and wicked
grin very nearly overset her. Lord Chalfont had been
trying to make her lose her countenance from the very
instant they had met and by now she was more than a
match for him. Besides, Harriet had her own plans to
put forward, which involved asking him if he had had
the opportunity to peruse Mr. Robert Wilson s article
in The Edinburgh Review addressing the high price of
corn and labor and their effects on the farming
interests.
No, I have not read the article, though I have not
been as idle as you might think. I spent a good deal of
time this morning with Brougham himself who is
preparing a speech to deliver to Parliament on that
very subject. Of course he had a great deal to say to
the purpose, but it strikes me that the best way for me
to understand the problem is to visit my own estates
in Oxfordshire and find out for myself. I have an excel-
lent agent in Tomlinson, but he does his best to keep
problems from me rather than burden me with them
so I am unlikely to learn anything from that corner. I
fear I have been remiss in not doing this long ago.
But you were away fighting so much of the time,
how could you concern yourself with such things? And
now, though it is most commendable for you to seek
firsthand knowledge of the state of affairs, it is far
more important for you to exert yourself in London
where you can influence those who are making the
laws. Harriet came to his defense.
Alicia, who could not bear being without the
undivided attention of both the men in the party and
172
therefore had been listening in on the conversation,
now seized the opportunity to direct it along more
appropriate lines and broke in to the discussion. I
agree with Harriet, Chalfont. You really have no need
of a visit to the country, especially at the height of the
Season. People will think it most odd.
But we should not be talking politics at the
theater, Alicia chided her fiancé gently. It is
excessively tedious, do you not find it so, my lord?
She smiled most beguilingly at Lord Aylward.
Put on the spot by such a beautiful lady, his
lordship could do nothing but agree before deftly
turning the conversation to the far less inflammatory
topic of the Countess of Margrave s upcoming rout.
Alicia seized on the subject gratefully. I do look
forward to it. They say she always offers the most
unusual entertainment to be found anywhere. It is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]