Oddly enough, the idea rather appealed to him once he allowed himself to consider it. Though she could have no fortune, Cherry was exactly what would suit him in a wife: intelligent and kind, with none of the airs and graces that were so prevalent among fashionable debutantes. She was certainly not grasping or ambitious, as he had reason to believe his betrothed might be, and the better he came to know her, the lovelier she appeared to him.

Gavin turned back to his desk with an oath. What could it matter if Cherry were the perfect woman for him and if he should be madly in love with her?

He was legally and morally bound to marry Miss Frederiea Chesterton, and there was no way that he could, in honour, change that.

Though he rarely imbibed before dinner, Gavin decided that he needed a drink.

Crossing to the sideboard, he poured himself a generous measure of brandy.

G^vn~ w~s mmn~o considerably more mellow, though he was by no means bosky, when Sir Thomas Chesterton came to call on him an hour later. His guest's first words were sufficient to dispel the comfortable glow the spirits had induced.

"Glad I found you in, Sea brooke," he said, breezing in to seat himself in the chair before the desk.

"I got word from my sister today that she'll be coming to Town for the end of the Little Season after all. She should arrive in a week or so, and make her bow shortly after that. I'll be handling all the arrangements at this end, and have agreed to see a house over on Audley Square this afternoon, so I'll have to miss our session at Gentleman Jackson's. I believe she's eager to meet you."

"Is she indeed?" asked Gavin, trying to ignore a feeling of impending doom.

"Suppose she doesn't care for what she sees?"

"Not likely," said Sir Thomas with a laugh. "Anyway, she had her chance to cry off and didn't take it. Don't you worry, I shall't let her cut up stiff now."

Gavin had come to realize that Sir Thomas was going to be more than a little relieved to see his sister safely married. The girl must be a harpy as well as an antidote! Now she was to be his wife, and there was nothing he could do about it. Taking a gulp of brandy to fortify himself, he turned to Sir Thomas.

"Why don't we have bit of a celebration here tomorrow night to mark my betrothal to your sister? One last hurrah, as it were, before I don the mantle of sober respectability. You can meet some of my closest acquaintances, and it will give them a chance to offer their congratulations en ma.s.se." If Lord Sea brooke's smile held a hint of desperation, Sir Thomas did not appear to no rice

CHAPTER TWELVE.

FREDEll/CA SPENT the remainder of the day happily making some of the changes appropriate to Christabel's new status. Mrs. Abbott had informed her that the earl had allotted a considerable sum to be spent on the nursery and his niece, but there had been no opportunity before to spend it. As there was no longer any need for secrecy, Frederica was now' able to remedy that.

She and Christabel spent an enjoyable afternoon shopping for toys, books and clothes to fill the previous lack.

When they returned, well past Christabel's usual nap time, they were both laden with purchases, and Christabel was clad in a crisp new frock of sky blue that matched her eyes, with a snowy-white pinafore in place of the stained and patched one she had worn when they left. Out of habit, Frederica began to head around to the back entrance, then stopped with a laugh.

"We'll go in through the front door for a change, shall we, darlhig?"

Christabel agreed readily, not understanding the symbolic difference between the two entrances.

To Frederica, however, this was a declaration of Christabel's elevated status. Proudly she marched her charge up the broad marble steps and through the grand portico of Sea brooke House, as she now had every right to do. As they pa.s.sed the library, Frederica suddenly remembered that the earl had asked her to examine the estate records with his steward. She paused outside the door, wondering whether she should stop to apologize for her absence.

But before she could knock, she heard masculine voices, raised uproariously in song. One was the earl's, and the other, ~uite definitely, belonged to her brother.

Wondering that they should be foxed, as they evidently were, so early in the evening, she hurried Christabel on past the library to the stairs. It appeared that the books would not be attended to that day.

Back in the nursery, she and Christabel spent the remaining time until supper unwrapping their purchases and arranging them about the nursery and in the clothes-press. Frederica reflected that even if she were to leave tomorrow and never see Christabel or her uncle again, she had done far too much good here to regret her stay. The thought of leaving, however, came with a pang that no amount of self-recrimination would allay.

"Is it not grand, Cherry, that the sick lady next door has moved away?"

asked Christabel. That was the reason Frexierica had given her to account for the sudden changes taking place.

"Now I can go into the garden any time I like and not worry about the noise I make."

"You certainly may, dear," Frederica a.s.sured her.

"And I have another thought. Would you like to have a peac.o.c.k in the garden?

I have one that I can fetch, for your uncle said that I might bring you any pets I wished to."

"A peac.o.c.k?" Christabel was entranced at the thought.

"Will he spread his feathers for me?"

"I'm certain we can induce him to do so," replied Frederica with a laugh.

"Perhaps, if Lucy will come up to the nursery after your supper, I can go to get him this very evening."

"That would be wonderful, Cherry!" Christabel interrupted her own effusions with a yawn, reminding Frederica that the child had missed her customary nap.

"I'll run down to get your supper and ask her. I think you could use an early night, young lady? She returned Christabel's impulsive hug with misty eyes and hurried down to the kite hem trying not to think about the parting that must come so soon.

At her query, Mrs. Abbott informed her that Lord Sea brooke had gone out.

The disapproval on her face told Frederiea that his intoxication had not escaped her notice, either. Nevertheless, she had no fault to find with Frededea's plan, so long as she was back early. Promising to be gone no more than an hour or two, Frederica left.

Miss MIL LIKEN was pleased, if startled, to see Frederica again so soon.

"So you have taken my advice!" she exclaimed.

"Good. I could not be happy about your situation at Sea brooke House, with all the gossip flying about Town."

"The chatter is no longer of consequence, Milly," Frederiea informed her with a smile. "Lord Sea brooke rex~ived a letter today proving that Christabel's parents were legally wed. He can now openly claim her as his niece--hrs legitimate niece--without besmirching his sister's name.

Christabel can now have the life she deserves, rather than the one you predicted for her." She could not prevent a trace of smugness from creeping into her voice.

"I am very happy for the child, truly," Miss Milliken a.s.sured her, "but there is still the matter of your name being linked with Lord Sea brooke's. How long can you keep up this charade, Frederica?"

"The news about Christabel, once it becomes known, should effectively silence the other rum ours as well, I should think," she replied.

"As to your query, I cannot remain there as Miss Cherrystone much longer.

Thomas is in Town." She related the scene in the library the night before, as well as her subsequent conversation with her brother in the Park that morning. Miss Milliken listened attentively, torn between horror and laughter.

"What a shock that must have been for him? she finally said with a chuckle.

"Perhaps being on the r~ivifig end of a prank for a change will do him some good.

But he is right. " She sobered.

"You have had your chance to discredit Lord Sea brooke and have failed. A wise general knows when to signal retreat; it is only fair that you now honour the betrothal."

Frederica sighed.

"Fair of me, perhaps, but is it fair to Lord Sea brooke? He agreed to the betrothal out of necessity, but I believe he is far from happy about it. And now I suspect that he may be beginning to care for Miss Cherrystone, at least as a friend."

"If you are not careful, Frederic. a, you will end up being jealous of yourself," Miss Milliken chided her.