What Happens in Piccadilly - Chasity Bowlin Page 0,47
in this life, to judge people more by their actions and character than any title that might be attached to them. He thinks you’re pretty and he thinks you’re nice… and he is correct on both counts. To his mind, and indeed to the mind of most men, that would make you an exceptional choice as a bride.”
“But not for you,” she surmised.
“I did not say that. I’ve never considered myself the marrying sort. I knew Wills had provided the requisite heir and expected that more children, still, would be forthcoming from my brother’s union. I was free to live in my bachelor state as long as I desired.” And until three miscreant children and one utterly enticing governess had turned his world upside down, he’d thought that would be forever.
“I see. So you don’t object to marrying me, you just object to marriage in general,” she summed up.
Winn had the distinct impression that she was somehow insulted. “Let us just say, Miss St. James, that were I to ever enter into the state of holy matrimony, I should hope that I had thought out my actions well, chosen my bride carefully, and that I should be lucky enough for her to possess even a portion of your beauty, intelligence and kindness. Where is Miss Darrow?”
“I’m here, Lord Montgomery,” Euphemia Darrow said as she opened the door to the office and stepped inside. “Whatever could have been so urgent this morning?”
“Good morning, Effie,” Callie said. “His lordship seems to have potentially identified, albeit inadvertently, who my parents were. And now he thinks I may be in danger because of it.”
Effie’s face paled. “What? In danger? In danger from who? That is a great deal to impart without actually telling me anything at all, Calliope!”
“I believe that Miss St. James is the daughter of the former Duke of Averston and his late mistress. According to Averston, his very own grandmother had his uncle’s mistress murdered to prevent the former duke form marrying her and bringing scandal down upon the family… the child she bore him, a daughter, has been missing since,” Winn answered.
Effie nodded. “I’m going to require more details than that.”
Winn shook his head. Of course, she would. Women, all of them, were maddening. “Averston is the coldest of fish and the dowager duchess… well, she is as ruthless as they come. Because of Veronique Delaine’s occupation, she was deemed unworthy of the former duke’s affections. The intent, based upon what Averston relayed to me, was to eliminate her and the child. Mademoiselle Delaine perished in a terrible accident, but the child was unaccounted for. And all these years on, this child, a daughter, has been rumored to have survived… and I believe, with all my heart, that Calliope St. James is the lost heir to the former Duke of Averston.”
“What has led you to this belief? There must be something!”
“Another gentleman and I who were both in attendance at the current duke’s residence saw the portrait of Mademoiselle Delaine. Shortly, thereafter, Miss St. James, the children and I bumped into this gentleman, Charles Burney, while shopping. He has since noted the remarkable resemblance between Miss St. James and the woman whom I now believe was her mother.”
Both Callie and Effie Darrow blinked at him in surprise at that very succinct retelling of the events.
“Mademoiselle Veronique Delaine?” Effie asked, shaking her head as if to clear it of cobwebs. “I saw her once when I was very, very young. In a play on Drury Lane. But we were, of course, seated so far away that I could not even begin to describe her face other than to say that I had the impression she was rather beautiful.”
“And if the portrait is an accurate representation of how she appeared in life, then I daresay your impression was quite correct,” Winn said.
“Drury Lane,” Callie said, her voice distant and seeming lost in thought. “I recall now that the dressmaker I took Claudia and Charlotte to, Madame de Beauchamps—she asked me if anyone in my family had ever worked in the theater because she said I looked terribly familiar to her. She mentioned Drury Lane.”
“Then we should go to see Madame de Beauchamps,” Winn stated.
“No,” Effie said. “You should take Callie to your home. She should instruct the children as planned and, above all, stay indoors with them the entire time. No trips to the park. Not today. Not any day until this is sorted out. I will go see Madame de Beauchamps