afternoon and agreed that invitations to the first assembly at the Castle Inn would be delivered into their hands no later than Monday afternoon.
He stayed no longer than the requisite twenty minutes, of course, but his rival from the Old Ship, Mr. Hicks, was announced by Pavingham before Mr. Wade’s footsteps had faded out of hearing. Rory thought them both quaint little men, if a bit more puffed up in their own esteem than they had any call to be.
“Very true, in these days of relaxed manners, my dear,” observed her grandmother, who had been present during both interviews. “But Mr. Wade—or Captain Wade, as he was known to us then—once held quite an important position here. “’Tis the same position he holds now, of course,” she added vaguely, “but ’twas of vast importance then.”
She went on to explain that Mr. Wade had been a fixture in Brighton for nearly thirty years. “At first he officiated in Bath, too, alternating his time between the two towns. Only there was a dreadful scandal in Bath, so his services came to an abrupt end there.”
“Mama told me about that,” Rory admitted. “He read aloud some love letters a lady wrote to him. Mama said the whole town was angry with him. She had that from Cousin Selina in Bath after she wrote to tell her I’d be making my come-out here.”
“No doubt. I had the tale from Selina myself some years ago. We were both quite young at the time it all happened, of course.”
“They say the housemaids in Bath were too indignant even to make his bed,” Nell put in with a smile. “And I must confess, Mama, I have always thought him a disgusting little man myself.”
Lady Agnes agreed that Mr. Wade had never been what one might call truly popular in Brighton. “Your papa was used to say he neglected his duties for the gaming tables. I know nothing of such matters myself, however.”
“Well, he still enjoyed a good deal of power the year I came out,” Nell said. “Why, even theatrical performances were allowed only on evenings convenient to his plans. They were certainly never allowed on Monday or Thursday evenings as they are now.”
“There have been other changes, too, however,” Lady Agnes said with a sigh. “To be sure, there are a good many more private parties now, but Mrs. Calvert was telling me only the other day that the public ball at the Old Ship on Thursday last—the first of the Season, don’t you know—was quite deplorable. She would have it that all the rabble was there. City beaux and cits’ wives, she said, dared to mingle with true gentry and the nobility. I make no doubt the assemblies there will soon become mauvais ton , and I am not at all certain, Nell, that you would be well advised to take Aurora. I have heard nothing against the assemblies at the Castle, for of course, Monday’s is the first. But in these modern times, with so many foreign elements about, one never knows what to expect next.”
“Never mind, Mama. I shall endeavor to take good care of her.” It was an opportunity for that conversation, Nell thought then. But she could not bring herself to take Rory away to the privacy of her own bedchamber. Lady Agnes would surely demand to know the reason, which would prove awkward to explain, and it was possible that more people would come to call upon them, too.
Indeed, Lord Huntley was shown into the drawing room not ten minutes later. Rory greeted him politely but seemed to have little to say to him, so it fell to Nell and Lady Agnes to maintain the flow of conversation. This task proved simple enough, however, once Lady Agnes thought to ask his lordship how he had been occupying the years since she had last clapped eyes upon him.
“For as I recall it, my lord, you went out of town not three days before my poor husband’s collapse, did you not?”
“As to that, my lady, I cannot say, as I was unaware of your tragedy until some months later. I was, however, called away very suddenly.”
“Not a death in
He stayed no longer than the requisite twenty minutes, of course, but his rival from the Old Ship, Mr. Hicks, was announced by Pavingham before Mr. Wade’s footsteps had faded out of hearing. Rory thought them both quaint little men, if a bit more puffed up in their own esteem than they had any call to be.
“Very true, in these days of relaxed manners, my dear,” observed her grandmother, who had been present during both interviews. “But Mr. Wade—or Captain Wade, as he was known to us then—once held quite an important position here. “’Tis the same position he holds now, of course,” she added vaguely, “but ’twas of vast importance then.”
She went on to explain that Mr. Wade had been a fixture in Brighton for nearly thirty years. “At first he officiated in Bath, too, alternating his time between the two towns. Only there was a dreadful scandal in Bath, so his services came to an abrupt end there.”
“Mama told me about that,” Rory admitted. “He read aloud some love letters a lady wrote to him. Mama said the whole town was angry with him. She had that from Cousin Selina in Bath after she wrote to tell her I’d be making my come-out here.”
“No doubt. I had the tale from Selina myself some years ago. We were both quite young at the time it all happened, of course.”
“They say the housemaids in Bath were too indignant even to make his bed,” Nell put in with a smile. “And I must confess, Mama, I have always thought him a disgusting little man myself.”
Lady Agnes agreed that Mr. Wade had never been what one might call truly popular in Brighton. “Your papa was used to say he neglected his duties for the gaming tables. I know nothing of such matters myself, however.”
“Well, he still enjoyed a good deal of power the year I came out,” Nell said. “Why, even theatrical performances were allowed only on evenings convenient to his plans. They were certainly never allowed on Monday or Thursday evenings as they are now.”
“There have been other changes, too, however,” Lady Agnes said with a sigh. “To be sure, there are a good many more private parties now, but Mrs. Calvert was telling me only the other day that the public ball at the Old Ship on Thursday last—the first of the Season, don’t you know—was quite deplorable. She would have it that all the rabble was there. City beaux and cits’ wives, she said, dared to mingle with true gentry and the nobility. I make no doubt the assemblies there will soon become mauvais ton , and I am not at all certain, Nell, that you would be well advised to take Aurora. I have heard nothing against the assemblies at the Castle, for of course, Monday’s is the first. But in these modern times, with so many foreign elements about, one never knows what to expect next.”
“Never mind, Mama. I shall endeavor to take good care of her.” It was an opportunity for that conversation, Nell thought then. But she could not bring herself to take Rory away to the privacy of her own bedchamber. Lady Agnes would surely demand to know the reason, which would prove awkward to explain, and it was possible that more people would come to call upon them, too.
Indeed, Lord Huntley was shown into the drawing room not ten minutes later. Rory greeted him politely but seemed to have little to say to him, so it fell to Nell and Lady Agnes to maintain the flow of conversation. This task proved simple enough, however, once Lady Agnes thought to ask his lordship how he had been occupying the years since she had last clapped eyes upon him.
“For as I recall it, my lord, you went out of town not three days before my poor husband’s collapse, did you not?”
“As to that, my lady, I cannot say, as I was unaware of your tragedy until some months later. I was, however, called away very suddenly.”
“Not a death in
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