“Given the choice, so would I,” Rollo replied. “But after last season I felt it incumbent on me to keep a closer watch on my errant brother and his friends.”
Diana was fully aware that he was referring to her situation with Cotson last season. “Well, I am thankful for your presence.”
They made small talk when the dancing allowed. Onlookers were taken aback that the previously shy little mouse, Miss Wells, was able to converse confidently and apparently cheerfully with the intimidating Earl of Ice.
When the quadrille came to an end, Rollo escorted Diana to the tea room for refreshments. Despite the crush, they managed to find two chairs at the end of a trestle table tucked away under the orchestra gallery. A waiter promptly appeared.
“A lemonade, please.” Diana was too warm to consider tea or coffee, and she had learnt her lesson with regards to alcoholic beverages.
“I will have tea, please,” Rollo ordered. “And a selection of cakes.”
They sat in silence for a short time, but it was not uncomfortable. When the refreshments arrived, Rollo served Diana. “Try these,” he said, and to tempt her, placed two exquisite miniature cakes onto her plate.
Diana smiled and bit daintily into the tiny confection. Rollo was mesmerized, watching as her small white teeth bit gently into the cake; when her tongue then darted across her lips to remove a crumb, he drew in a breath sharply. The urge to cross the small distance that separated them and taste her lips with his own tongue nearly overwhelmed him.
Oblivious to this, Diana, her hand ungloved, innocently offered him the rest of the cake to taste. “This is delicious. Here, try it.”
As Rollo opened his mouth to refuse the offer, Diana, mistaking the gesture, popped the tiny morsel into his mouth. She quickly snatched her hand away when Rollo, surprised, closed his mouth around her thumb and forefinger before she had time to remove them. His warm lips around her fingers sent a bolt of heat straight to her abdomen. Diana blushed and her heart began racing. She did not know how to handle these strange yet exciting feelings.
The encounter left both Diana and Rollo a little shaken. Rollo was the first to recover.
“I must apologize for biting your fingers. You took me by surprise.”
Diana, now realizing his misunderstanding and seeing the funny side of the incident, smiled and gave a shaky laugh. She could not reveal to Rollo the effect it had had on her. “For a moment I thought you were having a taste for sponge-fingers, my lord!” she joked, referring to the finger-shaped sponge cake treats.
Rollo chuckled, too, relieved she did not feel as disconcerted as he had by the incident. “Well, when next I do, I now know where to find the most delicious ones!” he said teasingly.
After their refreshments, Rollo escorted Diana back to the ballroom. Leaving her with her cousin, he moved a safe distance away from this young lady, who had, once again, unsettled his composure.
After the break, a number of gentlemen came forward and asked Diana to dance. She danced a set with Straw and knowing that his attentions were still clearly focused on Caroline, she did not feel too nervous. She also danced a cotillion with Oliver Stannington, safe in the knowledge that his brother was watching him closely.
“I am so pleased that you joined the dancing tonight,” said Caroline earnestly as they journeyed home at the end of the evening. “How you find the courage to dance with Lord Brockwood I do not know. He makes me quake just looking at him; I am glad so he did not ask me to dance. I imagine that you dared not refuse him.”
“I did not
want
to refuse him,” Diana explained. “He is a very good dancer and he was very kind to me, to both of us, last season.”
“I know that, but he is so intimidating.” Caroline shivered. Seeing this, Diana smiled.
Not to me, he isn’t
, she thought. She understood the reason for the Earl of Ice’s cold facade, the knowledge she would never share. She changed the subject to one she knew would distract her friend.
“You danced twice with Mr. Straw. Does this mean you are ready to forgive him for his involvement in the wager last season?”
Caroline blushed. “I am not sure that I have completely forgiven him, but he is so contrite it is hard not to. I have said he may call on me. Do you think that was wrong of me?”
Diana was aware of how strong her cousin’s attachment to Henry Straw had been before the trouble last season and did not want to see her upset again. “I think you were right to give permission for him to call on you. It was not he who took forward the wager, and perhaps by losing your good regard at the time, he has been punished enough.”
The next few weeks passed without incident and quite pleasantly for Diana. Henry Straw was a regular caller at the house much to Caroline’s delight, and he often had Woody or Stannington with him to provide company for Diana as they strolled the parks and streets of Bath. Although Rollo would have liked to join them on these occasions, he did not. He felt he had paid her quite a bit of attention and did not want to raise any expectations in Diana or her mother. At least that was the reason he gave himself.
Lord Brockwood’s presence at the balls she attended twice a week at the Assembly Rooms gave Diana the security she needed to be able to enjoy herself. Her mother and Caroline were pleased to see that she was now allowing her dance card to be filled. Not all the people in Bath had been witness to Diana’s disgrace in London. Many of those who had, upon seeing that Lord Brockwood had acknowledged her, felt they could do likewise.
Rollo remained circumspect and danced only once each evening with Miss Wells. He watched as, over the next couple of weeks, she grew in confidence and the sparkle returned to her eyes. He saw that she would periodically seek him out with her eyes to make sure he was still present. In response he would nod, almost imperceptibly, and she would then smile and stay happy in the knowledge he was there. This gave him more pleasure than he liked to admit even to himself. That he was enduring attending the balls at the Assembly Rooms twice weekly in order to make sure Miss Wells was happy was turning out not to be as unpleasant as he feared.
By mid-November Bath was teeming with people, and there was such a crush at the Assembly Rooms on the evening of a formal ball that Caroline and Diana were unable to secure seats. Caroline was soon whisked off to dance a reel with Henry Straw, and Diana was to dance the next set, the first cotillion, with Rollo as had become their custom.
“Good evening,” Diana greeted him cheerfully, smiling up at him in spite of his severe expression and extending her hand. “I fear we may be trampled this evening, such is the crowd on the dance floor.” She cherished her one nightly dance with this tall austere yet strangely thrilling gentleman.
Rollo had already noted with some displeasure that the room was even more crowded than usual. He was a good dancer and could steer her clear of others, but he did not know how skilled the other dancers in the set were. “I will do my utmost to ensure we return unscathed,” he said as he led her through the throng to take their place.
Rollo was only partially concentrating on the dance, which had almost come to an end, when out of the corner of his eye he saw a fair-haired gentleman, something of a dandy, who looked like Lord Cotson. He almost stumbled and had to force himself to continue moving as he looked again. Surely it was not he. The crowd was so dense that he could no longer see the fellow, but he was glad the dance had at last finished and he could escort Diana back to her mother.
As he moved off to find a quiet corner, he looked round and he not only saw that Lord Cotson was indeed in attendance, but it appeared he was heading directly for Miss Wells.
Good God! What was the man thinking?
Rollo doubled back quickly to try to intercept him.
Too late, Rollo saw the moment Diana caught sight of Cotson.
Diana froze. She could not breathe. He could not be here. But he was and coming ever closer to her. Her blood pounding in her ears, she looked frantically about for an escape route, but could see no way through the dense crowd. Panic assailed her and then, mercifully, for the first time in her life, she fainted.
Muttering a curse under his breath, Rollo caught her just in time and kept hold of her until her mother, who had been in deep conversation with her sister, was made aware of the situation. Then, Lady Westbury, with the help of some nearby ladies, took her from him and seated her on a chair. Fortunately, one of the ladies had some smelling salts on hand and made them available for Diana. The salts did their work, and Rollo, thus freed, marched straight over to Cotson.
“What the hell do you think you are doing here?” he demanded, his voice tight with rage. His towering presence was enough to intimidate a much stronger man than Cotson would ever be. “You will leave here immediately and you will explain yourself to me.” He grasped Cotson’s narrow shoulder firmly, giving him no option but to move to the door and continue to exit the building.
Rollo called for his carriage, and when it arrived he roughly pushed Cotson inside and swiftly followed.
“I…I say …,” Cotson began.
“Shut up,” Rollo snapped. He would let Cotson have his say, but not until they were in the privacy of the house. It took a great deal of willpower to retain his composure and not allow the anger coursing through him to result in a fist to Cotson’s face.
When they arrived back at the house on Royal Crescent, he almost threw the young man into the library before following him in and pouring himself a large brandy.
“I think you had better explain yourself to me,” Rollo thundered. “You were lucky you weren’t tracked down and brought to account when you left the country last year after your disgraceful behaviour toward Miss Wells. Do you have any idea how she has suffered and been made to pay the price for your thoughtless actions?”
Cotson took a seat before his trembling legs gave way. He doubtless had never before seen Brockwood without his impassive mask. Tonight the mask was gone and it was obvious that Brockwood was furious.
“I was intending to apologize to Miss Wells and, if need be, offer to wed her,” Cotson explained quickly.
“Are you not at least a year too late for that action?” asked Rollo with contempt. “And ‘if need be’? What kind of proposal is that? You insult the lady.”
“I did not mean to, my lord. I have had time to think about what I did and I am desperate to make amends. The wager last year was extremely foolish; my actions were even more so, and I deeply regret them. I wanted Miss Wells to know that.”
Rollo struggled to keep his temper. “You remain foolish. Did you not think that the sight of you would distress the lady? Did you not think that she has suffered enough from your actions? My God! Do you not have a sensible thought in your head?”
“I am quite prepared to ask for her hand, if she will have me,” Cotson repeated, obviously wanting Brockwood to know that he was in earnest about making things right. “I will pay her a visit tomorrow and ask her.”
“I cannot imagine you would be allowed entry to see her.” Rollo could not believe how naive this young man was. “She and her family have suffered much hurt by your foolish actions, and her family would not let you near her.
I
would not let you near her.”
“Then what am I to do? What would you advise?” asked Cotson, apparently eager now to do whatever it took to get him out Brockwood’s house.
“You will remain here at these lodgings tonight, and tomorrow I will visit Miss Wells and explain your presence in Bath. I will tell her that you offer marriage. Then I will bring you her answer, and if it is a refusal, you will leave Bath immediately. If you do not, you will have to answer to me.”
Cotson quickly agreed, though was perhaps a little puzzled as to why Brockwood was so concerned about the lady in question. He left the library, relieved that the confrontation was over. Brockwood’s valet showed him to the spare bedroom.
Rollo sat and finished his brandy. Would Diana accept Cotson’s proposal? He was of an age with her and being the eldest son, he would inherit his father’s estate in Derbyshire one day. Cotson was not the cleverest of men and probably would not understand Diana’s quick wit and sense of humour, but did that really matter?
* * *
The next morning Rollo ate a leisurely breakfast. His brother and friends would not be out of their beds for some time yet, so all was peaceful. To take his mind off his imminent visit to Diana at a more acceptable hour, he began reading the
Spectator,
a local newspaper that gave all the news pertaining to the cities of Bath and Wells and the surrounding area. As he turned the pages, his eyes landed on a cleverly drawn cartoon. “Good God!” he exclaimed out loud.
The cartoon was a cruel lampoon. It was a caricature of a young lady with large eyes who bore a striking resemblance to Miss Wells. In her hand was a fishing rod, and dangling at the end of it was a big fish with facial features similar to his own encased in a block of ice. Underneath was the caption “After failing to hook a fish in London, the lady has now cast in the frozen waters for a prize catch here in Bath.”
Rollo could not believe what he was seeing. This would certainly be the end for Diana. How could the cartoonist be so cruel? How could the editor allow this to be printed? And indirectly he again was the unwitting cause of her downfall. Had he not instinctively reached out to catch her when she had fainted last night, this would never have happened. If she had been caught by a female or left to drop to the floor, there would not have been anything to report.
In light of this cartoon, it would be sensible for her to accept Lord Cotson’s proposal of marriage, for her reputation could not survive this additional slur. He would have to advise her in this direction, though he regretted it. She deserved better than a marriage forced upon her by circumstances. The cartoon portrayed him as the victim of her scheming, and so he was under no obligation to offer for her. The thought suddenly saddened him. Of course he couldn’t offer for her. He had no intention of marrying. Anyone. Cotson was her best, if not the only, hope for a marriage, which would go a long way to restoring her good name.
Deciding not to leave the visit until the afternoon, he retrieved his hat and greatcoat and set off on foot to Gay Street, knowing that he would arrive unfashionably early but wanting to see Diana before she saw the newspaper. He hoped that hearing that she had an offer from Cotson would lessen the impact of the cartoon. Upon arriving at the house, he gave his card to the butler and asked for an audience with the ladies of the house. He was shown into a spacious drawing room where Diana and her mother were seated. One look at their faces told him that they had already seen the cartoon. Both ladies had obviously been crying and Diana was still tearful.
“Thank you for receiving me,” Rollo said quietly as Lady Westbury stood to greet him. “Please stay seated,” he said to Diana, as she looked in no condition to stand. “Am I to understand that you have seen today’s newspaper?”
“Yes, we have both seen that terrible cartoon,” Lady Westbury said. “I am sorry that you have been so badly used when all you did was help Diana. How could the newspaper print such things? It is so unfair. Diana does not deserve this—
you
do not deserve this.” Lady Westbury lamented, her large grey eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “And how dare Lord Cotson turn up in Bath?”
“Although I am extremely annoyed by the cartoon, I will survive the slight,” he said. “I do come, however, with a message from Lord Cotson, which may improve your daughter’s situation.”
“Please be seated,” offered Lady Westbury, belatedly remembering her manners.
Diana could not think of anything Rollo could say that would improve her situation. She would now, once again, be scorned and ridiculed by society, and the fact that he had been drawn into this situation made her feel even more wretched. How he must regret their friendship! And although, ever since their stolen kiss, she had secretly hoped that something more would come of their liaison, she now knew that that was impossible.
“Lord Cotson attended the ball last night because he wanted to apologize to you, Diana,” Rollo explained. “Had I known he was in Bath I would have prevented him from trying to do this in such a public arena. He gave no thought to how his arrival would affect you. I have spoken with him and come here this morning on his behalf to relay his apology and tell you that he now realizes how foolish he was last year. He wants to make things right, and so—” the earl hesitated “—he is offering you marriage.”
Lady Westbury clapped her hands and smiled. “This is excellent news. Diana, did you hear? Lord Cotson will wed you. Your reputation will be restored. It is the only solution!”
Diana felt ill. She did not want that man in the same room as her, never mind in the marriage bed. “No, no,
no
. I will
not
marry him. I will not be made to. I
hate
him for what he did to me,” she half screamed and half sobbed.
Her reaction wrenched Rollo’s heart. He hated to see her so upset, and had to fight back the urge to put his arms around her and comfort her. He had promised to protect her and had failed her. This weighed heavily on his conscience.
“Diana, I realize you are upset, but I think you need to seriously consider Lord Cotson’s offer,” he said gently. “He will provide for you and is heir to a large estate in Derbyshire.” Rollo struggled to ignore the leaden feeling in his chest. The mere thought of that swine’s hands on Diana’s soft skin was enough to make him want to do violence. Preferably something involving his hands around Cotson’s neck.
“I will not marry anyone,” stated Diana, her heart sinking. She would never marry Cotson and now, with her reputation in tatters, she was unlikely to get any other offers, especially the one she secretly longed for. The cartoon, although not actually naming Rollo, ridiculed him, as well as her; and after today Rollo would never want to speak to her again.
“Please think about this today and overnight,” Rollo said, “and I will call again tomorrow afternoon. Cotson can remain housed with me in Bath another day to await your answer.” Rollo believed that when she had time to properly consider the situation, Diana might look more favourably on Cotson’s proposal.
“I will speak to her,” Lady Westbury said quietly as she showed Rollo out of the room.
Diana did give the matter a great deal of thought and knew that the sensible thing to do was to accept Cotson’s offer, but when she imagined that man touching her or even near her, bile rose to her throat. She could still recall the painful pawing he had subjected her to. How could she marry someone she could not bear near her? How could she marry someone who had won a wager by ruining her reputation? How could she respect such a man and how could she marry someone she could not respect? She could not.