Page 16

Eliza looked at Corinna with some alarm.

In the circus she had not thought of her physical charms at all; she was costumed and masked, playing a part, and only her physical prowess in acrobatics and her skill with horses were of note.

She was afraid of drawing too much attention to herself as Eliza Gray, of unknown parentage and doubtful prospects, no longer the Winged Venus with supernatural powers.

However, Corinna met her panicked look with a reassuring smile and said, ‘What do you have in mind?’

Madame Delaunay became animated, excited by the prospect of creating a striking new gown for a beautiful young woman who would wear it well.

For one of her garments to be seen at the Bassett ball could only do her business good.

She arranged the lace over Eliza’s shoulder as she explained, ‘I think the blue tiffany should not fully line the bodice. Miss Gray’s shoulders and back to below her shoulder blades will be covered only in the lace.

I’ll have specially designed stays sewn into the bodice so as not to spoil the elegance of the transparency of the lace at the back. ’

Eliza glanced at her reflection and felt excitement rise at the unfamiliar idea that others might find her attractive, that her parents might approve of the woman she had become, that Lord Purfoy might think her no longer a disreputable girl but an elegant beauty fit for his arm.

That last thought transfixed her. How clothes might make her acceptable to someone as elegant and high-born as he.

Until she had ruined it by standing on his boots, he had danced with her in Corinna’s drawing room as if she were to be taken seriously as a worthy partner.

If such a transformation could be wrought, it was all due to Mrs Wolfe’s generosity.

Eliza grasped Corinna’s hand. ‘Thank you for the chance of having such a lovely gown to wear to the ball.’ Then she turned to Madame Delaunay.

‘And thank you, Madame, for your craft which makes this possible. The first dress ever made especially for me!’ Both older women could tell by the slight catch in Eliza’s voice how affected she was by her change in fortune.

Madame Delaunay clapped her hands again and Harriet emerged through the curtain at the back, a tape measure around her neck.

‘Please take Miss Gray’s measurements.’ She then glanced back to Corinna and smiled.

‘Mrs Wolfe, my seamstresses will finish this in two days as a special favour to you, but you do realise I’ll have to charge you more. ’

‘Of course. I think your plans for the dress are perfect. This is Miss Gray’s first entry to Society and such a gown will give her courage.

’ After the measuring was done, Corinna then took Eliza’s hand and they were soon on the street again, trying to keep their fine calfskin boots free of the worst of the dirty puddles.

Corinna laughed when she looked at Eliza’s anxious face.

‘Having had no siblings, I’m enjoying treating you as a younger sister.

You will look so rare and distinguished, I’m quite excited myself. ’

After the deluge, Bond Street was filling up again with strolling dandies and men driving their flashy phaetons and curricles, showing off their horses and driving skills and ogling the young women hurrying past with their chaperones.

Corinna and Eliza drew many an admiring glance.

Corinna was used to it and took no notice, but Eliza found herself colouring at some of the leering faces and fragments of lewd comments that made the young men’s companions guffaw.

Only by becoming diverted by the shop windows did she prevent her eyes from meeting theirs.

In the reflection of a milliner’s window, Eliza saw a gleam of light and glanced back into the road.

There in the distance were a team of two beautiful grey horses she knew well from her last encounter with them.

Her heart began to beat faster and she recognised the familiar, smart, navy blue curricle with the crest on the door.

It was Taz who caught sight of her first. He saluted and prodded the driver in the back and pointed.

Lord Purfoy held the reins in one hand as with the other he tipped his curl-brimmed beaver to his acquaintances.

Eliza thought with some amusement that it was like a royal progress, but then she knew he was considered quite the Corinthian, the best in London.

A shiver of excitement caught her unawares.

Standing on the pavement, seeing him almost as a stranger, made him particularly compelling.

He was so commanding in his good looks, wealth, his skill and competence.

Watching him drive his mettlesome steeds with such ease and authority made her heart leap.

Eliza hugged herself. Whatever lay in the future, just now it was enough for her romantic heart to know he lived and walked the same earth as her.

Corinna noticed their approach too. ‘Look, there’s Rav!’ she cried and waved. ‘He’s incorrigible. He’s driving too fast but he and Taz are laws unto themselves and make a stir wherever they go.’

The greys were suddenly alongside and were pulled up, stamping and whinnying.

In an instant Taz was at their heads and muttering endearments to quieten them.

In one athletic movement Lord Purfoy had leapt to the ground.

He swept off his hat to greet Corinna and Eliza on the pavement.

‘What a pleasure. My two favourite women,’ he drawled with an inexplicable gleam in his eyes.

Corinna slapped his proffered hand with a laugh. ‘Don’t try to gammon us, Rav. I know there are few women you rate and to be your favourite is less flattering than it might sound.’

He smiled in response. ‘You know me too well, my dear. I should be more careful of what I reveal to an inquisitive being like you.’ His eyes, more lively than usual, appraised Eliza’s face and outfit.

‘You’re looking most charming, Miss Gray.

That bonnet becomes you. But I must say, I do prefer my name for you: Miss Mysterious.

I’m a little sorry your memory has miraculously been restored to you.

’ His dark eyes sparkled with amusement.

There was cursing and consternation in the road as carriages were attempting to manoeuvre round the Purfoy curricle carelessly parked at an angle.

Taz was giving as good as he got with some salty words only he could summon up from his years living on the street.

Lord Purfoy turned to watch the show then addressed himself again to the women.

‘My apologies, ladies, for Taz’s language.

I fear I should not try the patience of the Bond Street dawdlers any longer.

May I offer you both a lift home? It’ll be a squeeze but we’ll manage. ’

Eliza was keen to see more of Lord Purfoy and Taz but Corinna said, ‘Thank you, Rav, but no. In my condition I’ll need the whole seat to myself. If Miss Gray is happy to walk? It isn’t far.’

Lord Purfoy bowed and replaced his hat on his head. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you both at the ball, dazzling all with your distinctive beauty?’

Corinna put out a hand. ‘So, you are going?’

He brushed her fingers with his lips. ‘I may. Indeed, I may even dance. It’ll be interesting to see what Mrs Wilson has managed in two short teaching sessions.

I hope we may do better than last time.’ He raised his eyebrow.

‘But then there are all kinds of miracles attached to the intriguing, mysterious Miss Gray.’ With that he sprang back into his curricle.

Taz saluted both women as he let the horses’ heads go and took his place on the platform behind the driver.

They headed off into the melee with Taz tossing a rude gesture at the irate horsemen and grooms who had been inconvenienced by the bottleneck the Purfoy vehicle had created.

‘Taz, you bring my name into disrepute.’ Lord Purfoy was mildly reproving.

‘They know not to mess with me, guv’nor,’ he said with some satisfaction as they bowled down the street towards Piccadilly.

* * *

The two women headed back up Bond Street.

Eliza was unsettled by Lord Purfoy’s teasing.

She had never experienced family life and although living amongst circus folk gave her an understanding of men like Taz, whose downright frankness and wit was familiar, she was quite unprepared when faced with a sophisticated and cynical member of the aristocracy.

Eliza took Corinna’s arm to ask, ‘Does Lord Purfoy choose always to converse in badinage?’

‘He does a lot of the time, ’tis true, but perhaps as a mask. For some reason he has to protect his deepest feelings.’

‘But you touched his heart, did you not?’

Corinna squeezed Eliza’s hand. ‘He likes to claim that he would have married me if Alick hadn’t stepped in first, but isn’t that easy to say?

It saves him from unlocking his heart and risking pain.

’ She looked into Eliza’s face. ‘He’s a tricky man to love.

There are many other men this Season you’ll find more reliable and rewarding, you know.

’ Then she chuckled. ‘What do you think of Mr Flynn? He’s a good man and a wealthy one, he’d be a far more sensible choice of a husband. ’

Eliza was taken aback. She had not thought of Zadoc Flynn in a romantic way. She laughed. ‘He’s more like a dray horse than a thoroughbred.’

‘That may be, but such beasts are useful, hard-working and trustworthy, even though they may not quicken your heart with their grace and speed.’

Eliza met Corinna’s amused eyes. ‘You obviously understand me well. The closest I’ve had to family have been the circus horses. I compare every man to them.’

‘I suspect the attraction of Lord Purfoy is his likeness to your beloved horse, Percy, but we can’t be fanciful when it comes to something as important as marriage. Zadoc Flynn is a steady character and very rich indeed.’

They were almost home and hurrying as the sky was growing dark again with another gathering storm. Eliza asked Corinna, ‘Why should Mr Flynn’s money interest me?’

Exasperated, Corinna stopped in the middle of the pavement to remonstrate with this young unworldly guest for whom she felt such responsibility.

‘Eliza! You can’t go on being all sensibility, you know.

Good sense has to come into it too; money is the road to freedom.

When you have none, it is not a luxury but a necessity.

Until my father bequeathed me his house in Brook Street, where we now live during the Season, I was lonely and afraid.

I had no home and no way of surviving, except if I was very lucky and obtained a position as a junior governess in a household somewhere.

But it would still have been a mean and precarious life. ’

Eliza was struck with the stark reality of her situation. ‘I’m not qualified to become a governess, I’m only book-learned from my own random reading. But I thought I could work in a shop?’

Corinna’s voice softened. ‘You could, or in the theatre, given your experience with performance, and your beauty. But I want first to see if you can find your family and be reconciled. Until then I am more than happy to offer you a home, as Ferdy did so kindly to me.’

Eliza met Corinna’s anxious face with eyes dancing with mischief. ‘If money’s so important in this world, Lord Purfoy is rich, isn’t he?’

This sly comment lightened Corinna’s mood. She laughed. ‘He is. Very rich indeed. Though at the rate he spends on his horses and gambling I don’t know how much longer he will be. Too many once-wealthy men are reduced to debtors’ prison or exile abroad through profligacy.’

‘But Lord Purfoy is not profligate!’ Eliza felt indignant on his behalf.

‘’Tis true. He’s a lucky gambler and astute with his horse trading.’

Eliza could not stop herself from wondering: if money mattered so much in the wider world and love and desire mattered so much to her, surely Lord Purfoy combined both handsomely? But she was wise enough not to labour the point to Corinna who seemed to have other concerns.

The rain had held off and they arrived home tired but pleased with their expedition. The dress would be lovely and Eliza knew that wearing it would bestow on her something of its magical power to transform.