The Magnificent Masquerade Part 9

Chapter Sixteen.

Kitty, excited by her success with both Miss Alicia and Miss Leac.o.c.k, scurried to Emily's room to tell her the news. She knocked at Emily's door and heard a m.u.f.fled sound within that might or might not have signified permission to enter. Puzzled, she opened the door carefully and stepped over the threshold. To her surprise, she found Emily rising hastily from the bed and making a feeble and completely unsuccessful attempt to staunch the flow of tears from her eyes. "Emily," she exclaimed, quickly closing the door, "whatever is amiss?"

"Everything," Emily stated flatly, taking a deep breath and dashing the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I've brought everything c-crashing down on our heads." Kitty crossed the room to her side. "It can't be as bad as that, even if they've found you out." With complete composure, she put an arm about Emily's waist and led her to the bed.

"They didn't find me out," Emily said, sinking down on the edge of the bed and expelling a trembling breath, "but it's the next worse thing."

Kitty sat down beside her. "If they didn't find you out, there is no next worse thing."

"Yes, there is. I've r-refused him, you see."

"Refused him? Refused whom?"

Emily turned to stare at Kitty in surprise. "Why, Toby, of course. Whom did you think?"

"Oh, him." She made a waving motion with her hand that consigned Toby to eternal limbo. "Who cares about him?" "Who cares? Good heavens, Miss Jessup, he fully expected to marry me ... er ... you!"

"I don't give a fig for his expectations. Don't tell me you were wasting your emotions weeping for the abominable Toby Wishart!" She looked at Emily curiously. "Were you weeping for him?"

Emily looked down at the hands locked together in her lap. "No, I wasn't. I was weeping for myself. He ... offended me, you see ... deeply offended me."

"What, again? I say, Emily, I hope you slapped him this time."

Emily threw a quick, guilty look at Kitty's face. "No, I . ." She shook her head and dropped her eyes again. "I'd rather not speak of it. But I must tell you that it was when he spoke of our ... your marriage that I lost my head. When he brought the matter up, I became utterly flummoxed. You hadn't instructed me in what to say if the subject came up, you see. I didn't know if you wanted me to pretend to accept him, to say that this wedding was being forced on me, or to reject him. But then, when ... when matters got out of hand, I ... I told him I wouldn't have him even if he..." She twisted her fingers together tightly to keep them from trembling. "... if he was the 1-last man on earth."

"Did you really say that?" Kitty asked, wide-eyed. "I didn't think anyone ever said those words in real life."

Emily covered her face in shame. "Well, I d-did." Kitty could see that her friend needed comfort, but it seemed to her that Emily was unduly upset. "Why are you taking on so?" she asked. "I think it's perfectly splendid to have told him that, for it's nothing but the truth." Emily slowly raised her head. "Is it the truth, Miss Jessup? Are you sure you don't want him?"

Kitty blinked. "Why on earth do you think we're enacting this masquerade in the first place?"

"I know why you began this enterprise, but that was before you met him. Now that you've seen him, don't you feel even a little less sure? After all, he is very handsome and d debonair ... and ch-charming, in his way..."

"I thought you said he's a rudesby," Kitty reminded her, watching her face through narrowed eyes.

"Well, yes, he behaves like a rudesby to me-horridly so! -but I ... I think it's because I don't know how to ... to handle him. Perhaps I bring out the worst in him."

"Are you suggesting that I might do better with him? That I might find him debonair and charming?"

"Yes, I think it very possible."

Kitty got to her feet, put her hands on her hips, and looked down at her friend with critical affection. "Do you want to know what I think, Miss Emily Pratt? I think you are in the gravest danger of falling in love with the fellow! I don't know why it is that the most innocent females always are attracted to the greatest bounders, but it seems to me that's just what's happened to you."

"Miss Jessup, no!" Emily cried, her eyes widening in horror. "I can't be!" And, throwing herself across the bed, Emily burst into sobs again.

Kitty, alarmed and contrite, sat down and leaned over her prostrate friend. "Don't take on so, Emily, please don't," she begged, patting the other girl's shoulder. "I wasn't really serious. You know how I make jokes about everything. Please don't cry."

Emily took a few deep breaths, brought her sobbing under control, and rolled over. "I'm a g-goose," she said, wiping her eyes again, "but it doesn't m-matter any more, in any case, because we'll be leaving now."

Kitty blinked. "Leaving?" sat up. "Yes, of course. Since I've refused him, "No, I suppose not," Kitty muttered, feeling suddenly de Emily sat up, her spirits buoyed by the prospect of the end of the pretense that she'd been living for the past few days. "It will really be a most satisfactory finish to this adventure," she pointed out. "You'll have accomplished your aims without ever having been unmasked."

But as Emily's mood rose, Kitty found hers plummeting. She'd been immensely enjoying her stay here at Edgerton and was looking forward to the remaining days of her adventurous fortnight. She didn't want the adventure to end so soon. "Don't you think we should remain until my mother and father come to take us back?" she asked feebly.

"No, I don't think so at all. Why should we?" "Well, we have no carriage, for one thing ..."

"I'm certain that Lord Edgerton would provide one if I asked him. I can go to him and say that since we've discovered that. Toby and I don't suit, there seems no purpose in our remaining together for the full fortnight. I can suggest that he provide us with a carriage at his earliest convenience."

"Yes," Kitty agreed reluctantly, "I suppose ..." It was now Emily's turn to stare at Kitty. "Good heavens, Miss Jessup, you sound as if you don't wish to leave. Don't tell me that you want to remain here until we're discovered! Can you really wish to endure the torture of being unmasked, of facing the accusations, the anger, the recriminations, the scolds, the punishments, the shame-!"

"Enough!" Kitty held up her hands in self-protection. "You've said enough to score your point. But we can't be hasty. First I must be certain that the Wisharts consider your refusal of Toby's offer to be final. Then I must decide where I'm to go from here. You can go back to school, but I can't, since Papa has withdrawn me. And I don't know what the effect will be on him if I appear unexpectedly on the Birkinshaw doorstep. Give me a day or so to think the matter through."

Kitty left Emily's room so distracted that she forgot to mention the success of the prettification of Miss Alicia. This latest turn of events had taken complete hold of her mind. It had all happened too abruptly for her to ascertain her best course of action. She needed to think, and the best place for that, in the circ.u.mstances, was her little room in the servants' quarters. There was barely an hour before she had to help Emily dress for tea, but she might get a little time to herself if she could make her way to her room before anyone discovered her. She had not been an abigail for long, but the few days had been long enough for her to learn that a servant was not given much time to herself. She knew that if Mrs. Prowne discovered her, she might very likely set her to polishing bra.s.s; if Mr. Naismith came upon her, he'd surely order her to set the tea table; or if Miss Leac.o.c.k found her idling, she might very well suggest that "idle hands make bare feet," and that she'd make better use of her time pressing out Miss Jessup's morning robe. Only with a great deal of luck would she manage to elude them all.

She hurried down the hall toward the back stairs, hoping desperately that no one would discover her, but a footstep behind her caused her to peep over her shoulder uneasily. Fortunately, it was only Jemmy, the footman. She acknowledged his presence with a quick nod and hurried on her way. But Jemmy would not be dismissed so easily. The new abigail had attracted his attention from the first, and this was the first time he'd encountered her alone. "Wait, little Em'ly." he said, running to catch up with her.

"I'm in a hurry," she said, not pausing.

"Whatever it is kin wait fer a bit," he said, grasping her arm. "I want't' talk to ye."

"Let go of me, Jemmy," she ordered curtly, "or you'll find yourself in trouble."

"Ye're worth a bit o' trouble," he grinned, pulling her close to him. And before she could utter a word, she felt a sharp nip on her posterior. She froze for a moment in astonishment. Why, the looby had pinched her! She'd felt it right through her bombazine, two stiff petticoats, and a thick pair of underdrawers!

She gasped. "Why, you ... you blasted bobbing-block' Who gave you leave to take such liberties?"

The footman leered. "It's a rare pleasin' backside ye 'ave, see," he explained, quite unabashed.

"Oh, is it indeed?" Kitty demanded furiously. "Well, then, let's see how pleasing you find this!" And despite the pain that still throbbed in the palm of her hand, she let him have a sharp crack across the cheek.

"Ow! Ye d.a.m.ned she-cat!" he bawled, stung. Mr. Naismith, emerging at that moment from her ladyship's room where he'd been receiving her instructions for the serving of a rather special tea this afternoon, could barely believe his eyes at the sight in the corridor. That two members of his staff could hold an altercation in this part of the house was unheard of! "What sort of goings-on are these?" he demanded in an irate whisper. "This would be bad enough belowstairs, but this, I remind you, is the front corridor! His lordship's own bedroom ain't a step away, and the main stairway's just ten yards behind. What do you think you're doing here?"

Jemmy rubbed a hand over his reddened cheek. "That little cat landed me a facer," he said sullenly.

"I might've known," the butler sighed, turning his eyes upward. "Trouble goes along with her like it was her perfume."

"Is that what you've got to say?" Kitty demanded, too enraged to lower her voice. "Aren't you going to ask that jackanapes why I landed him a facer?"

"Hush, girl!" Naismith ordered in an undervoice. "Do you want the whole family to hear? I ought to drag you downstairs to face his lordship. P'rhaps he'd know how to scare the devil out of you!"

"Perhaps he would," a voice remarked from behind them. The three turned around to find Lord Edgerton regarding them curiously. "What's the to-do here, Naismith? Is there-Ah! Good afternoon, girl. Emily, isn't it? Don't tell me you've seen another rat."

"You might say so, my lord," Kitty responded promptly, glaring at Jemmy pointedly.

"Do you know this girl, my lord?" Naismith inquired. "If so, it won't surprise you to learn that she causes a to-do wherever she goes."

His lordship tried not to smile. "No, it doesn't surprise me. Did she discover another rat?"

"I don't know anything about rats, my lord. She evidently was molesting the footman here-"

Kitty exploded. "l? Molesting him? Of all the-!" "Be still, girl!" Naismith hissed through clenched teeth.

"Wait 'til you're spoken to!"

Kitty forced herself into submission. Furious as she was, it wouldn't do, she warned herself, to forget that she was playing the role of a humble household employee. She bit her tongue and lowered her eyes, but not before she noticed that Lord Edgerton was watching her with amused interest. Lord Edgerton turned to the footman. "How, may I ask, Gerald, did this little slip of a girl molest you?"

"She slapped my face, m'lord. "Ere, ye can see the mark of 'er hand, I wager." And he removed his own hand to reveal a large, red welt on his cheek.

His lordship's brow rose. "The girl must be a great deal stronger than she looks," he murmured. "Well, Emily, what have you to say for yourself ?"

"He deserved it," she responded with alacrity. "I slapped him after he molested me."

Naismith snorted. "Gerald had been in our employ for seven years, my lord, and in all that time I've never known him to molest anyone."

His lordship studied each face in turn. "Tell me, Emily, just how did he molest you? Can you show us a red mark comparable to his?"

"No, I can't. I have one, I'll be bound, but in a place that's too private to reveal."

Edgerton almost laughed aloud. "Are you saying, you minx, that the idiot pinched your bottom?"

"I would not wish to express myself quite so vulgarly, my lord, but that is the gist of my accusation. And I don't find it nearly so amusing as you do."

Naismith turned quite red. "Watch your tongue, you disrespectful jade!" he hissed with apoplectic wrath. "I won't have you speaking to his lordship in that saucy way!"

"That's all right, Naismith," Lord Edgerton said, trying to be conciliatory. He was finding a good deal of enjoyment in this contretemps himself, and he didn't wish his butler to take the matter so seriously. "I've been the victim of Emily's disrespectful tongue before. She a.s.sures me that such sauciness, though not appropriate for an abigail, is very useful for a teacher, which she hopes one day to become. So perhaps we can excuse her."

"Excusing her is your privilege, my lord," Naismith said with icy disapproval, "but I would not advise it."

"No? What would you advise, then?"

"That you send 'er packing, my lord. Back to the Birkinshaws. Let them deal with her as they see fit. We can easily provide Miss Jessup with another abigail while she is here."

"But I don't see how we can do so before we've gotten to the bottom of this matter. We haven't even asked Gerald if he pinched the girl." His lordship turned to the frozen-faced footman. "Well, Gerald, are you guilty of this heinous crime?"

"No, m'lord," Jemmy answered, his expression turning innocent as a babe's. "I never touched 'er."

"Why, you lying dastard," Kitty cried, running at him with fists clenched, "I'll-!"

"Calmly, calmly, little firebrand," his lordship said, catching her up in his arms. "We can't let this matter degenerate into fisticuffs."

Kitty, squirming and wriggling in his hold, tried to kick herself free. "Just let me at him! Put me down, dash it all! The deuced liar... . I'd like to scratch his eyes out!"

"I won't put you down until you control your temper, my girl. And if you don't do so by the time I count to ten, I shall drop you down the chute into the coal hole, where I have no doubt you'll find rats aplenty! There, that's better. Now, do I have your word that you'll indulge in no more outbursts?" She only half believed that he would carry out his threat, but even half a conviction was enough to cool her ire. She nodded meekly. "Yes, my lord."

He set her on her feet and waited while she straightened her ap.r.o.n and adjusted her cap. Then he cleared his throat. "With two completely contradictory stories, we seem to be at an impa.s.se here. But I must agree with Naismith that the word of a fellow who's given seven years of exemplary service must be credited above that of a newly arrived wet goose with a saucy tongue."

"Well, of all the unfair-!" she blurted out, stung. "Silence!" he ordered. "You gave your word there would be no more outbursts."

She opened her mouth to remonstrate, but one look from his no-longer-amused eyes stilled her tongue.

"Thank you for your support, my lord," Naismith said. Then he gave the footman a surrept.i.tious poke in the ribs.

When there was no response, he added with a touch of annoyance, "And Gerald thanks you, too, I'm sure."

"Oh, yes, m' lord," Jemmy said hurriedly. "Thank ye, m' lord."

Naismith now fixed his reproachful eyes on Kitty. "Shall I send this baggage back to the Birkinshaws, my lord?" he asked.

"No, I think not. If you have no objection, Naismith, I'd like to give her another chance."

Naismith had no choice but to bow his acquiescence. "As you wish, my lord." He snapped his fingers at his underlings, signaling them that the interview was over and that they were to go about their business. Jemmy, after throwing a barely perceptible look of triumph at Kitty, quickly melted away down the hall.

But Edgerton had caught the look. "I would like Emily to remain here for a moment," he told the butler. "You may go, Naismith."

The butler bowed and soon disappeared down the stairs. Kitty, furious that his lordship had not supported her, put up her chin and eyed the master of the house with unflinching disdain. "I don't see that there's anything more to be said, my lord," she declared icily.

The look of amus.e.m.e.nt returned to his eyes. "I take it that in your opinion I did not show the wisdom of Solomon in my judgment," he remarked.

"Far from it," she retorted.

"Not so far from it, if you consider all sides. I knew perfectly well that you'd been pinched. But I could not under mine my butler's authority in front of his staff, could I?"

"Why not, if he's in the wrong?"

"He did not believe he was, and since the point couldn't be proved, it seemed best not to humiliate him."

Kitty pouted. "It was easier to humiliate me, is that what I'm to conclude?"

"You, my girl, are as utterly beyond humiliation as a d.u.c.h.ess. I have never in my life come across a servant with so little humility. That's why I asked you to remain behind. I want to warn-"

"You asked me to remain so that you could scold me?" she interrupted in chagrin. "I thought it was to apologize!" Edgerton's eyebrows rose. "Good G.o.d, girl, what a tongue you have! You should have been a d.u.c.h.ess. Why on earth should I apologize? I didn't pinch you."

"That's true, you didn't. Well, then, my lord, say what you have to say."

"Ali! Then I have your permission, ma'am, to proceed?" he asked with a derisive bow.

She gave an answering curtsey. "Yes, my lord, do go on."

"Very well, but this is serious, my girl. Naismith is obviously very annoyed with you, and I can well understand it. I know that you'll say that this afternoon's incident was not your fault, but evidently there have been others that were. I myself was a party to two of them. I'm afraid, Emily Pratt, that you have a way about you that is not appropriate for your position. You've been here only a few days, but already you've come to my notice more than the housemaids I've employed here for years. I've indulged you thus far because you're clever and quick, but Naismith has made me see that I may have encouraged you in your propensity for insubordination. If you are to remain employed in this household, I suggest that you try for a bit more docility."

She lowered her head and stared at her shoes like a chastised child. "Yes, my lord," she said with all the docility she could muster.

"Mmm," he mused, staring at her suspiciously. Everything about her at this moment-her stance, her lowered eyes, the chastened tone of her voice-bespoke obedience, but there still remained about her an aura of an untameable spirit. Docility was just not in her nature. "Oh, bother!" he muttered under his breath. How had he become embroiled in this business anyway? "All right then, Emily, run along. Just remember that if Naismith has any more difficulty with you, I won't have any choice but to-"