Charles picked up a pillow and took off after young Henry. When he caught his brother, he began to pummel him. “That was a rat-faced thing to do to your sister. An apology is in order.”
Henry held up his arms to protect his head. “I’m sorry, Lu. I won’t put salt in the sugar again.”
Louisa stood transfixed. “Charles, you are actually sticking up for me. Will you forgive me for drenching you with wine?”
“In the past I’ve played too many loutish tricks on you. It’s childish to pit the boys against the girls. From now on we should all be friends and look out for one another. That’s what families are for.”
A pillow hit him square in the head and Charles charged after his brother Jack. It wasn’t long before the rest of the siblings and their friends joined in the melee. Games tables were overturned to act as barriers against flying cushions, cards, and candles.
James, thoroughly enjoying himself, pulled Louisa behind a card table to shield her from the onslaught. “Lady Louisa, will you—”
“You mocking swine. No, I will not marry you!” She balled up her fists and thumped him in the chest. “I gave you my answer at Carlton House and I certainly haven’t changed my mind since.”
His dark eyes filled with amusement. “I was merely proposing that you keep your head down, not proposing marriage.” His mouth curved into a grin. “You said you didn’t remember me.”
“I lied. And what’s more, you know I lied, you arrogant devil.” She blushed. When he threw back his head and laughed, her sense of humor deserted her. She felt humiliated and furious at both him and herself.
Georgy, armed with a sofa pillow, flung herself at Abercorn and began to hit him across the shoulders. Instead of snatching it away and overpowering her, as she was hoping he would, James rolled to the carpet in submission. She went down on her knees before him and whispered, “Damn, I’m the one who wants to roll on the rug.”
Louisa jumped to her feet and held up her arms. “A truce! A little more decorum, ladies and gentlemen, if you please. Why don’t we settle this with a race tomorrow?”
James got to his feet and towered above her. “I know Woburn has its own racecourse. Will your father allow us to use it?”
“Yes, if we ride our own mounts. We cannot use the Russell racehorses.”
They set the event for eleven the following morning and then went about restoring the gallery so they could play cards. Lu felt disturbed by Abercorn’s presence and distanced herself from him. She played fiercely against her brothers, determined to win money from them, which she could use to wager in the horse race.
Georgy, on the other hand, was playing for higher stakes. She gambled recklessly with her brother’s friends, Teddy Fox, George Grey, and James Hamilton. She flirted outrageously and hinted that she might be persuaded to play for certain favors.
Georgy followed her sister into her bedchamber. “It is no wonder James Hamilton has an athletic build if he is a champion oarsman. Muscles maketh the man!”
Louisa did not dare to even think of the Irish charmer, let alone discuss his muscles. She quickly changed the subject. “It was wicked of Bessy to bring up Mother’s sister Susan. She knows the divorce caused a terrible scandal.”
“From all I’ve heard the Duke of Manchester was an Adonis like Abercorn. He kept a string of mistresses. Women simply threw themselves at him. Poor Susan had one affair and the vindictive devil divorced her and took away her children.”
“Men can be so selfish and cruel . . . especially those who are good-looking. And, unlike women, they never have to pay for their sins.” With difficulty, she banished the image of Abercorn from her mind. “The wicked shall flourish as the green bay tree. The Crown appointed Manchester governor of Jamaica.”
“I warrant he planted a fine crop of bastards in the islands.” Georgy yawned and opened the adjoining door to her own bedchamber. “Goodnight, Lu. I wish you sweet dreams filled with lusty bachelors.”
As Louisa lay abed she pondered the wager she’d made with her sister about the kiss. Her birthday wasn’t that far away and she had few options open to her. I shall have to approach one of my brothers’ friends and explain about my bet with Georgy. Surely one of them will take pity on me. I’ve known Teddy the longest—I’m sure he will oblige me. She thought of Abercorn and stiffened. Under no circumstances could she ever ask the handsome, arrogant Irishman for anything. His mocking dark eyes strip me of my confidence and turn me into a seven-year-old.
When Louisa fell asleep, she dreamed that she was in the Highlands on a recruiting mission with her mother and sister. They offered a guinea and a kiss to any male who would join the Gordon regiment. The line of braw Scots stretched out for a mile, but as she offered each one a kiss, he refused and passed her on to the next man in line. To add to her humiliation, they were clamoring to fuse their mouths with Georgy and the alluring Duchess of Bedford.
After a restless night, Louisa arose early and soon forgot her mortifying dream. Before breakfast she intended to go to the stables and take a look at the mounts of her brothers’ friends prior to the race. She donned a riding dress, pulled on her boots, and made her way outside.
As she passed by the west wing she glanced up at the bedchamber windows and saw a couple of young men gazing down at her. She lowered her eyes immediately, afraid that one of them might be Abercorn. She felt shy about what they might be saying about her and hurried on by. It was fortunate she could not hear their words.
“Lady Lu and Georgy are a study in contrasts,” James Hamilton observed.
Teddy laughed. “One is winsome, and one is willing. One is fair, and one is game.”
George Grey chimed in, “One’s for wedding, and one’s for bedding. Which would you choose?”
Abercorn wished he’d kept his mouth shut. He returned to his own chamber, put on a jacket, and went down for breakfast.
Teddy continued the word game. “One is innocent, and one exceedingly guilty.”
George Grey said wisely, “Plain girls try harder.”
Teddy laughed. “A dilemma. One pretty, one plain—well actually one’s pretty plain!”
In the stables, Louisa assessed her brothers’ mounts and then carefully looked over the three horses that belonged to their friends. One animal stood out from the rest and she ran her hand down its sleek neck. It was smaller than the two geldings and it was a mare. The shape of its head was elegant. “It’s an Arabian,” she murmured with awe.
Louisa sought out Woburn’s head groom. “After breakfast, we are all going to race our mounts. Will you take charge of the bets for us, Toby?”
“That I will, my lady. There’ll be no cheating allowed today.”
“You’ll have to watch the devils carefully,” she warned with a grin. On her way back to the house for breakfast, she counted her betting money and weighed her odds.
Her brothers and their friends were there already when she arrived in the breakfast room. She took a seat beside her sister, took one look at Georgy’s plate, and whispered, “You won’t win if you eat all that.”
“Men don’t like girls who outdo them. By losing, I shall be far ahead in the game. Surely you are not going to place bets on yourself?”
Lu raised her chin. “I may not outdo them, but I intend to give it a damn good try!” She passed over the gammon ham, eggs, and sausage, and chose brown bread and honey. She drank a glass of milk and picked up an apple. When she glanced over at her brothers and their friends, their plates were piled high, as if they were having an eating contest. Louisa didn’t think she could win against her brother Edward, until she saw him washing down his breakfast with champagne. That made her change her mind.
When everyone had finished breakfast, they all walked to the stables together. The males engaged in much laughing, pushing, and bragging, and Lu kept a wise silence. When Abercorn saddled the Arabian, she was not surprised.
Teddy Fox and George Grey saddled their geldings and led them from the stables.
Cosmo and Henry dashed in and began to saddle their ponies. Their older brother Edward challenged them. “Who the devil said you two could be in the race?”
They immediately turned to Louisa for her support.
“They have mounts . . . they have money . . . and their name is Russell. They qualify in every way. What are you afraid of, Edward?” she challenged.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind taking their money.”
Louisa winked at Cosmo and Henry. “You’ll have to beat them first, Edward. Toby is looking after the bets. You have to put in an extra guinea to pick the overall winner.”
When all the horses were saddled, they led them into the courtyard so they could place their bets. They assessed each other’s mounts and Georgy, using size as her gauge, placed only two wagers. She bet that Teddy would be the overall winner, and that George Grey would beat James Hamilton.
Cosmo and Henry each bet that they could beat their sisters, and agreed with Georgy that Teddy would be the overall winner, riding his big gelding.
The three older Russell brothers each bet against every other challenger in the race, and, oozing confidence, each one bet that he would be the overall winner.
George Grey, seeing their self-assurance, wagered that he would beat the girls and the younger Russells, and bet that Edward Russell would be the overall winner.
Teddy wagered against every challenger and bet on himself as overall winner.
Louisa secretly watched Abercorn. Perhaps gallantry kept him from betting against the ladies or the two youngest Russell boys, but he wagered that he would beat all his friends from Oxford and that he would be the overall winner.
“Your turn, Lu. Hurry up,” her brother Edward urged, impatient for the race.
To everyone’s surprise she wagered that she would beat all except Abercorn, who would be the overall winner. “I’ve changed my mind, Toby. I’m not betting against Edward. He won’t even finish the race!”
Edward hooted in derision as the eleven riders mounted and trotted their horses out to the racetrack. Georgy placed herself between Teddy Fox and George Grey, dividing her inviting smiles equally between them.
They lined up at the starting gate and when Toby dropped the flag, the dust flew from the galloping hooves. For the first quarter they were all neck and neck. Then Georgy fell behind, and at the halfway point the two huge geldings began to pull ahead. To overtake them, Edward urged his horse to the outside, swerved, lost his balance, and tumbled to the track. The rest of the Russell brothers tried to avoid him and lost valuable time. At the three-quarter mark, Abercorn’s mare made her move and pulled into the lead. Louisa knew she couldn’t catch him, but she kept her head low and sailed past Teddy and George, whose big horses were winded.
As Toby calculated the winnings and prepared to pay the bets, the Russell brothers flung insults at Edward and blamed him for their losses. “Lady Louisa takes the lion’s share of the winnings,” Toby said with a grin.
“How the devil did you come in second?” Jack demanded.
“Because my horse carried the least weight.”
“What on earth made you think Abercorn would be the overall winner?”
She glanced at James Hamilton as he accepted his winnings and when their eyes met, she quickly looked away. “I bet on his horse. Arabians are bred for speed and grace. It had absolutely nothing to do with him.” That’s not true. He has a will of iron. Determination is bred into his bones. Despite his beautiful smile and charming manners, if he sets his mind on a goal, I’m willing to bet he will move heaven and hell to achieve it. Louisa shuddered.
Georgy followed Louisa into her bedchamber. “Help me out of this damn riding dress. It’s much too tight.”
Lu unbuttoned the back of the dress, then proceeded to remove her own.
“The very worst thing you can ever do is win a bet against a man. It humiliates him. But if you lose, it makes him feel superior. Don’t you know anything, Lu?”
“I know that I refuse to play games in order to attract a man.”
Georgy sat on the bed. “Catching a husband isn’t a game, Lu. It is a deadly serious business. Hasn’t it sunk in that without a husband you’ll have no status and no home?”
Lu shivered as she recalled her disturbing dream about being homeless. “Mother often complains about her own mother’s obsessive matchmaking. She insists that titles are unimportant and encourages all of us to marry for love.”
“Lu, for God’s sake, don’t be so obtuse. She says these things but she doesn’t mean them. Look at the facts! You know the history of the Gordon sisters. They all married titled, wealthy, powerful men. Mother was the youngest and her ambition knew no bounds. She managed to get herself engaged to the Duke of Bedford, the premier duke of the realm. But when Francis Russell suddenly died, she lost no time whatsoever in making sure she would still be the Duchess of Bedford. By marrying his brother, she got the status, the wealth, Woburn Abbey, and most important of all, she got the title.”
Louisa was horrified at her sister’s words. “She married Father for love!”
“How utterly convenient that she loved him.”
Chapter Four
“You’re looking most elegant this morning.” Lu was surprised to see her sister had donned one of her best gowns.
“The Hollands and the Greys will be here soon. I’m determined to make a favorable impression upon the parents of both Teddy and George.”
After breakfast, Lord and Lady Holland arrived and an hour later, Earl and Countess Grey showed up. The Duchess of Bedford gathered her guests in the blue drawing room, so the doting parents could be reunited with their sons.
Louisa observed with a jaundiced eye how Earl Grey and Lord Holland fawned upon her mother, each outdoing the other’s blatant compliments and outrageous flattery. They act as if they are courting her, she thought with disgust. When her brothers Edward and Charles joined the company, Lu saw her chance to escape and slipped out unseen.
She wandered down to the kennels where her brother Jack was visiting his hunting dogs. The moment they saw him, the hounds’ baying became deafening. “They have clearly missed you.”
“And I’ve missed them.” As he opened the kennel gate, half a dozen hounds and Gordon setters bounded through it and encircled Jack, prancing and leaping ecstatically. “They want to play fetch. Help me find some sticks, Lu.”
She joined in the fun, delighted to see her brother enjoying himself. Though he was twenty-one, she realized happily that he was still a boy at heart. She watched as he threw himself wholeheartedly into the game, chasing the dogs and letting them chase him.
Jack’s face turned red with exertion and he began to perspire. “They’ve caught a scent! There they go, off through the woods. We won’t see them again until they run it to ground.”
“That’s good.” She threw him a worried glance. “It will give you a chance to catch your breath.”
Jack turned around in a slow circle, as if he were disoriented. Then he fell to the ground.
Lu rushed to his side and knelt down. She knew immediately that he was having one of his fits. “Jack! Jack!” With her heart in her mouth, she moved a sharp stone from beneath his head. She heard someone coming through the trees. When she saw that it was James Hamilton, she jumped up instantly, her heart pounding. “It’s my brother . . . please leave us . . . he won’t want you to see him like this.”
Abercorn took hold of her elbow. Her eyes were pleading for him to leave. “It’s all right, Louisa. I’ve seen him have a fit before at school.”
Hamilton grabbed a stick and put it between Jack’s teeth so he wouldn’t swallow his tongue.
Louisa watched helplessly as her brother’s heels drummed on the ground, then heaved a sigh of relief as his feet stilled and he lay quietly. Hamilton lifted Jack to a sitting position and her brother opened his eyes. He took the stick from his mouth and said sheepishly, “Sorry about that.”
“How do you feel?” Abercorn asked.
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“Foolish.”
James helped him to his feet. “No need to be self-conscious with me, Jack.”
Lu took her brother’s arm. She was mortified that Jack’s failing had been exposed to Abercorn, but she politely offered her gratitude. “Thank you for helping him.”
“Have you ever taken betony for your condition, Jack?”
“No, I usually have a stiff drink afterward.”
“Is betony supposed to help?” Louisa asked. “How do you know that?”
“One of our gamekeepers in Ireland suffers from the same complaint, but regular doses of the herb keep it under control.”
She knew Jack would feel embarrassed if she fussed over him. “The Greys and the Hollands are here. I should go and visit with them. Good luck in getting the hounds back in the kennel.” Louisa intended to look up the properties of betony in her father’s collection of botany books rather than visit with their guests.
She made her way to the library and climbed the spiral ladder to the upper level where the prized books were shelved. She perused many of the tomes and became absorbed in the colorful illustrations of the magical herbs and plants. She came across an antique copy of Culpeper’s Complete Herbal. Louisa marveled at the wealth of information that Culpeper had compiled more than two hundred years before. She sat down on the floor and searched the pages for betony. She examined the illustration with its purple flowers and read through the long, detailed description. She smiled at the quaint language:
Place—It groweth frequently in woods, and delighteth in shady places.
Time—It flowereth in May, after which the seed is quickly ripe, yet in its prime in July.
Louisa ran her finger down the page that listed wood betony’s government and virtues. Here it is: Either the herb or root or flowers taken in ale helpeth the falling sickness or convulsions. It is also good to take away bruises from the fall. The root is bitter, but the leaves and flowers are sweet and spicy and pleasing to the taste.