An Artful Deception (16 page)

His anger rose at how unfairly she had acted. He had half a mind to leave her to suffer the distress of her ill-conceived plan. Yet he knew he could not leave her to suffer. He would do all in his power to restore her position.

He heard Lady Charlesworth asking for him when he entered the house. Seeing him, she swept down the hall, frowning as she came.

Philip set the portrait in the drawing room and turned to greet her. “How have you been, Mother? Well, I hope.”

“
Oh, yes, I am quite well,” she answered impatiently. “But what about that unfortunate business with the girl? Did you find her? And what is in that package that I saw you carrying?”

Philip nodded toward the portrait, which was still draped. “In a manner of speaking, I found her.”

Lady Charlesworth raised a perfectly formed brow. “What do you mean, sir?”

“
Ginny told me that Lady Katharine sat for a childhood portrait. I have found that portrait and purchased it.”

Lady Charlesworth looked perplexed. “That was kind of you to do so for her uncle. However, I do not see how that solves our problem.”

“
You will understand when you see the portrait, though I fear it may disturb you. Pray, take a deep breath before I lift the covering.”

Lady Charlesworth sat forward on her settee and stared as Philip unveiled the work. “Why that is Ginny, only younger. What can this mean?”

“
It can mean only one thing. Lady Katharine deceived us and served as your lady’s maid, and did ill at it, I imagine.”

Lady Charlesworth clasped her hand over her mouth, her face pale. For one of the few times in his life, Philip’s mother was speechless.

After a moment she spluttered, “No wonder she was terrible at arranging hair and not very good at mending or any other skill required of a maid, save reading to me.”

She shuddered. “This is most intolerable. I feel as though I have offended my dear friend. I am glad her mother is not alive to see it. What was the girl thinking?”

“
Apparently she objected strongly to her choices of marriage.”

Lady Charlesworth’s shock showed plainly on her face. She worked herself up, so insulted on Philip’s behalf, that she finally agreed that he ring for Lizzy to put her to bed.

Lizzy’s eyes went wide when she entered the parlor and saw the portrait. “Ginny or…Lady Katharine?” she whispered.

Philip gave her a sharp look. “You knew that Lady Katharine was posing as my mother’s maid?”

The girl bit her lip, nervous now that two pairs of eyes were fixed upon her. “Then it is true? I did not really believe her.”

“
It is true. Did she tell you where she was going?” Philip asked.

Lizzy stood, wringing her hands in mute misery.

“
Speak girl. She is not in trouble. I believe her and desire only to help,” he said.

She met his eyes and searched them. Deciding that he was in earnest, she replied, “I sent her to my aunt, Mrs. Baker on Cheapside. I do not know if she took her in.”

Philip shuddered. If Mrs. Baker had refused to shelter her, where could she have gone? He shook off the thought, not wanting to dwell on the awful possibilities.

He left Lizzy to care for his mother and ordered the carriage brought round. In less than a quarter hour he was bound for Cheapside.

CHAPTER NINE

Katharine held out a hem for Mrs. Baker to inspect. At first, she had been frightened of her propensity to scowl and her blustery ways. Yet when Katharine had told her that she was fleeing a forced marriage to a cousin and that Lizzy had told her to come, the woman bade her enter. She had proved kind and had found Katharine a small room in the back of her house. It was crowded with sewing supplies, but Katharine managed to stay warm upon a rather saggy cot.

Since Katharine had few coins for rent, Mrs. Baker had agreed to give her food and lodging in exchange for help with the sewing. She was a popular, if poorly paid, seamstress and needed help, though she clucked and frowned over Katharine’s stitches and made her pull them out until they were neat and proper.

Katharine stabbed her fingers with her needle and got knots in her thread. Yet, little by little, her stitches were improving. She wondered, now that she had been dismissed, if she would finally become proficient enough to serve as a proper lady’s maid.

The tea kettle began to sing and Mrs. Baker nodded her approval at the hem. “Ye are learnin’. Ye couldn’t do a single stitch worth saving when ye came.”

Katharine smiled. “I am glad you approve.”

“
Put down yer work and come to tea.”

Over the few days that Katharine had been there, they had begun the habit of taking daily tea together. Mrs. Baker lived alone and seemed to enjoy having another woman in the house to talk to over tea or during their simple meals.

Today, Mrs. Baker glanced out the window to say, “My, but look at the fancy carriage that has stopped right near me house.”

She laughed and added, “I do not suppose they could be coming ‘ere to see me.”

Katharine moved to peak out the window. What she saw caused her heart to rise to her throat. Lord Philip was alighting from the carriage and heading straight to their door. The scoundrel must have found a way to make poor Lizzy talk, for she knew the girl would never willingly give her away.

She clutched at Mrs. Baker’s sleeve. “Please, I know that man and it will not do for him to find me. I beg you, do not give me away.”

One look at the girl’s pale face convinced Mrs. Baker of the seriousness of her plight. She patted Katharine’s hand. “Yer not to worry. Take yerself to the back room while I rid us of the bloke.”

Philip’s driver had asked along the row of houses until he found the residence of the seamstress. It was a shabby house with an ancient door that set crooked upon its hinges. Philip shuddered as he remembered the manner in which he had turned away the woman who was meant to become his fiancé. He had thought to remove her as far away as possible to ease the pain she had caused him. Yet, as he sprang from the carriage, he was thankful that he had not succeeded. By now, she would have arrived at her uncle’s estate to be married to her cousin. His stomach soured as he thought of how close he had come to losing her forever.

He rapped on the door. A middle-aged woman in a white cap and homespun dress answered. She looked at him suspiciously as he doffed his hat and asked, “Good afternoon, madam. May I inquire as to whether you have a niece by the name of Lizzy? And if so, I believe she sent a young woman here to stay with you.”

The woman fixed him reprovingly. “If I was to have a niece, why should I tell you?”

“
I have come to apologize for a misunderstanding. I wish to try and right a wrong that I have done the young woman that Lizzy sent.”

The woman continued her sturdy sentry at the door. “What did you do to Lizzy that make ‘er give ye my name?”

“
Nothing. Lizzy confessed out of a desire to help her friend. And I have come with the same motive.”

Philip caught sight of a figure moving toward him from the far shadows of the room. To his delight, Katharine appeared at Mrs. Baker’s elbow. She studied Philip a moment and said, “It is all right, Mrs. Baker. I do not believe he has come to cart me to jail, at least not at this moment.”

Scowling, Mrs. Baker moved away from the door. “I will take up me sewing. But I will not be far if ye need me.”

Philip could not fault the suspicion that he saw in Katharine’s eyes as she invited him inside. “Please sit and be so kind as to tell me what brought about the honor of this visit? If you came to assure yourself that I have been to no more balls, I can pledge to you that I have not, for you are still in possession of my trunk.”

She sat upon a worn settee and bade him take the chair that faced her.

He ignored the glare of Mrs. Baker as she sat by the window, bent upon her work. He had not come this far to be intimidated by anyone’s inhospitality. He had come to find Katharine and nothing would change the relief that he felt to find her safe and well.

“
I have come to beg your pardon for doubting you. I wanted to believe you. And I wish that I could say that I came to my senses. Yet I did not believe you until I found the artist who painted your portrait when you were a child. There is no mistaking that the young girl in that portrait is you.”

Katharine’s eyes widened in surprise. “You found the artist? How?”

“
I asked the man painting my portrait if he knew of any French artists who might have been here a score of years ago.”

“
And he knew of the man?”

“
He did. And I have purchased your portrait as a gift for you, if you will have it.”

Katharine did not know whether to smile or cry. So instead she said, “It was kind, I am sure. Yet you cannot believe that buying the portrait will make up for ordering me from your home with the intent of forcing me to marry a man I despised.”

“
But I did not believe you would be forced to marry anyone. Then, when you ran away, I thought that you might have gone back to my estate. You knew we would not return for some time and you could have stayed there without our knowledge. Mrs. Parker would not have known what had transpired in London.”

Katharine frowned. “So you naturally thought me capable of this deceit also.”

“
Please do not be severe upon me. When I did not find you, I suffered innumerable tortures imagining you alone and in need.”

“
And now that you have found me, what do you purpose to do?”

The tremble of her lips did not escape his attention as he said, “I wish you to come home with me. I long to begin again and see if we can recapture the interest that we had in one another. I hope that we may forget the past and fulfill the wish of our parents, and indeed my own wish, to know one anther better.”

Katharine turned away. She felt the anger that had protected her and given her courage begin to crumble. She had coveted his good opinion and had suffered sorely when she had lost it. She could hardly believe that he was so humble in wishing to restore it when, in all fairness, she knew that she was as much to blame for the muddle as was Philip.

Yet she could not resist asking, “And what of Miss Buckley? Will she not be disappointed if I return?”

“
I do not care for either Miss Buckley or her disappointment. I shall be contented if only you will agree to come away to Park Street, this time as our guest.”

Katharine caught her lip between her teeth. Philip’s change of heart was too sudden for her to comfortably adjust. How could she simply walk back into his house and expect Lady Charlesworth and all the servants to change their opinion of her? It would be awkward at best. And yet, if she turned him away would she not be denying both her own happiness and Philip’s for the sake of her pride?

She was aware of Philip’s eyes upon her as she thought over the matter. She became firmly resolved not to live in his house. Instead, she would discover whether he was sorry enough to help her with her original plan.

She gave him a level look as she said, “I do not think it best that I return to your house. I came to London with the intent of setting up my own residence with the pension left me by my father. However when the solicitor looked into my claim of inheritance, he heard that I had died in the accident and denied me my pension. You could assist me in proving my identity and securing a small residence. Then, perhaps we could see if our feelings for one another are what we believed them to be.”

Philip gave her an incredulous stare. “Surely you jest. A young lady in residence alone? Surely you cannot believe that to be a prudent plan?”

“
I shall ask you to send Lizzy to be my maid. I am sure that she would come. And I shall hire a butler and cook. So, you see, I would not really be alone.”

“
What of your reputation?”