Page 56 of A Marriage is Arranged

They arrived a little late at the Avondale mansion because the Earl had suddenly remembered something he had to do before they left. Louise was a bundle of nerves when they walked into the noble couple’s drawing room. It was completely full. A total hush fell on the assembled company and people stepped back as they advanced. When they reached the center of the room they stood alone, all eyes upon them.

The Earl took Louise’s hand. “Head up,” he whispered. “Let them see the necklace.”

Then he spoke in a carrying voice that must have been, Louise thought, the one he used to quell any objections in the House of Lords.

“Good evening, my friends. It is fortuitous that we find so many of you here tonight, as my wife and I have an announcement to make. You will all have seen the publication earlier this week of a number of unflattering images of some of you. As you know, I myself did not escape.”

There was a loud murmur at this.

“By now you are aware that my wife was the artist responsible. If you are like me, you will admire her talent while deploring her choice of subject matter. We deeply regret that you should have seen them.”

Another loud murmur .

“Let me say at once the portraits were not intended for publication. My wife did them for her own amusement when she first arrived in London and was practically without acquaintance. She barely knew any of the persons represented. Unfortunately, the images were removed without permission from my wife’s possession and published without her knowledge.”

Interested murmurs.

“That doesn’t, of course, make the shock of them any the less for those who came under her critical eye. It is never pleasant to see ourselves as others see us. But none of us whose image was thus displayed can deny that the characteristics they show were accurate. We are what we are, and as such we provide amusement for each other. The novelist Miss Austen put it best a couple of years ago: For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn? ”

A few nods, a shadow of laughter.

“I have taken steps to make sure the images do not reappear, but we will understand if you chose henceforth to eschew our company. We will regret the friendly communication with you we once had, and will be the poorer for the lack of it, but we will have to consider ourselves well served. Now, if you wish to turn away, that is your prerogative. We will wait for you to make the first step.”

Gareth squeezed her hand again as they stood together in the ensuing silence.

It did not last long. People began to come up to them; they bowed, curtseyed, shook his lordship’s hand, and a few of the ladies even whispered, “How do you do it, my dear? How clever you are! Do you have any more?” Louise smiled and shook her head. Very few of the company turned away.

After a while, the crowd separated them. Louise was glad to seek a quieter corner of the room but had only been there a moment when she was aware of a familiar figure making its way towards her.

“My lady,” Diane Courtland curtseyed. “I’m happy to have a brief opportunity to talk to you. I have to confess to entirely underestimating you. Now I wish we had known each other before… before all this. I think we could have been friends.”

“I’m sorry if I hurt you.” Louise decided to be equally frank. “I was just so jealous.”

“You had no need to be, you know. He never came near me after you were married.”

“I know that now. I didn’t then.”

“Men are such silly creatures. He told me marriage would make no difference to us, and I think he honestly believed it. But when it came to it, something prevented him. He said it was because of Youngbrough, and perhaps for a moment it was. But he knew I would drop Denis in an instant. No, he could have come to me, but he didn’t. It was honor probably. Or upbringing. You know, those nannies form more of their character than most people realize. His must have made him believe fidelity is more important than pleasure.”

“But he does have pleasure… with me.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I hope you do, too.”

“Oh, yes!”

“Then we are alike. I thought so.”

She smiled. “I don’t suppose we shall speak again. But I want you to know: you won and I admire you for it.”

Then Diane Courtland curtseyed and was gone.

She had won. Louise never thought of it like that before. She, plain, unremarkable Louise Grey. She had won. She went back to rejoin her husband with a spring in her step.

On the way home in the carriage, Louise took her husband’s hand. “You are wonderful, you know. I’ve just realized why you made sure we were a little late. You wanted everyone to be there. Why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do?”

“Husbands can have secrets too, you know.”

“Oh, let’s not have any more! Let’s tell each other everything!”

“I can’t guarantee that. There may be things you’re best not knowing.”

“If you’re thinking I wouldn’t know if you took a mistress, I should and it would be the worse for you. The incident of the bracelet….”

“And the caricatures,” added her husband,

“And the caricatures…,” agreed his wife, “would be nothing compared with what I should do.”

“I believe you. But you may be sure that whatever secret I keep, it won’t be that.”

Louise thought about what Diane had said and smiled to herself.

Then she asked, “But what was that you said about taking steps to make sure the images don’t reappear?”

“I went to see the publishers this morning and persuaded them.”

“How? Did you pay them a great deal of money?”

“Ah, that’s one of the secrets I’m keeping.”