Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan Page 3

  Robert Manwaring was a comely and engaging fellow whose attraction toward lively company had drawn him into Sir James’s circle. He was ruled by impulse and too readily led by sentiment rather than sense, and the most grievous effect of this was his marriage to a very dull wife. It was rumored that he would never have proposed if there had not been some opposition on the part of the lady’s guardian, which had inflamed Manwaring’s romantic nature. He had pled his case to the lady with energy, won his point, and now lived to regret it. He was not the first man to err in his choice of a partner, and he would not be the last, and in the meantime he sought relief in society where he played at cards with men more imprudent than he and flirted with women who were prettier and more pleasing than his wife.

  “How do you like Manwaring?” Mrs. Johnson persisted. “His manners are very handsome, are they not? You must be aware, for he will flirt with you if you are not on your guard, but he means nothing by it.”

  “If he means nothing by it, then I need not be on my guard,” Lady Vernon replied with a smile. “He was giving me an account of his estate in Somerset.”

  “Oh, it is a pretty little bit of property, but not as great as my bon mari wished.”

  “Does Mr. Johnson have an interest in Mr. Manwaring’s property?”

  “Oh, yes! My bon mari was Eliza Manwaring’s guardian and a very great friend of her father. Mr. Johnson was entrusted with the administration of Eliza’s fortune, and when she married Manwaring against his wishes, he withheld all but an allowance—fifteen hundred per annum. He was very angry that she married Manwaring, when she might have done so much better, but if Manwaring’s sister catches Sir James, perhaps there may be some ground for rapprochement. Of course, Maria Manwaring is only seventeen, but she has no older sisters to hold her back. I met my bon mari when I was seventeen and I caught him before he had the time to look elsewhere! What is Miss Vernon’s age?”

  “Frederica is not yet in her teens.”

  “Well, it is not too early to start looking,” Mrs. Johnson advised. “The best matches will often be set up well before a young lady is out, particularly since young men nowadays are so fickle and teasing. They will put young ladies of good family through the trial and expense of season upon season and then run to the altar with the governess!”

  Sir James approached the two with a smile and an outstretched hand. “Ladies, I come to separate you. I am obliged to begin the dancing and must have a partner.”

  “There is Maria Manwaring, sitting with her sister-in-law, and I am sure that you and she will open the dance very prettily,” Lady Vernon replied archly.

  “But she is such a figure of quiet and tranquillity, it would be quite a shame to animate her. You two, however, appear to be engaged in the sort of tête-à-tête that always bodes ill for my sex. No, I must put an end to it. Come, Susan, you are the guest of honor, after all.”

  Lady Vernon glanced across the room toward her husband, who wore the contented smile of a man who enjoys seeing his wife distinguished, and accepted her cousin’s hand. The pair took their place amid many expressions of surprise at his choice.

  “And how do you like Alicia Johnson?” inquired Sir James. “Are you not grateful to me for the introduction? She is just the sort of incorrigible busybody that makes for a diverting acquaintance and an indispensable correspondent. You will be very glad to know her. Only see how quickly she hurries over to Eliza Manwaring in order to gossip about us!”

  “Gossip cannot abide a delay,” agreed Lady Vernon. “It will risk being disproven and lose all of the delights of prejudice and error.”

  “And what can be the nature of their delightful conjecture?”

  “Mrs. Johnson will declare that you pronounced Maria Manwaring quiet and tranquil and Mrs. Manwaring will wonder whether you meant that you find her husband’s sister to be refined and gentle or tedious and dull—and from there they will wonder how soon Freddie can be out, and whether you have not married because you delay on her account.”

  “I honor your imagination!” Sir James laughed heartily. “If I could not suit you, Susan, I cannot hope to please Freddie!”

  “You suited me quite well when you were not in the way,” replied she. “But you invariably bothered me for conversation when I was in the middle of a book, and wanted to read your newspaper when I was of a mind to converse.”

  “That is the advantage of the dance, you see.” He smiled. “You must lay down the book and I put aside the newspaper. And, as we are out of everyone’s hearing, we may talk nonsense and give the appearance of engaging in conversation that is very artful and deep.”

  “I may not be as satisfied as you are, cousin, to suggest only a pretense of understanding.”

  “That is because you are not a man, Susan. A man is all the happier for having the world make him out to be more interesting than he knows himself to be, and his character will suffer rumor and offense more easily than a woman’s.”

  “Beware, James—you begin to sound artful and deep.”

  “I mean only to give you a word of caution.”

  “Against the rumors of Alicia Johnson and Eliza Manwaring?”

  “No—but against the offense taken by a brother, I would have you be on your guard.”

  “Is Charles still angry that we would not let him have Vernon Castle for next to nothing?”

  “Charles Vernon has not forgotten that you preferred Sir Frederick to him,” replied Sir James.

  “He evidently has, as he is to marry Miss deCourcy.”

  “Well, he could not wait forever to catch you as a widow.”

  “James! You will retract that, else I will wish with all my heart to see Maria Manwaring catch you as a husband.”

  “I do retract it,” he said with a laugh. “Perhaps the inconceivable will come to pass and marriage will make Vernon amiable and prudent.”

  “And does Miss deCourcy have the power to effect such a change? Is she of an amiable and prudent disposition?”

  “Miss Catherine deCourcy has got to three and twenty without finding a suitor she liked, or that Lady deCourcy liked, which is much the same thing, and so she decided to take the one who was most adept at flattering her vanity. Vernon can be very pleasing when he exerts himself, and Catherine deCourcy likes to be pleased.”

  “But is it a love match?”

  Sir James laughed. “Love does not rank high when choosing a wife. Marriage is always a business transaction. One invests in a partner with the expectation that the investment will produce a return.”

  “I do not think that Frederick would agree with you,” his cousin replied when the steps of the dance brought them together once more. “He might have contracted far more advantageously.”

  “Frederick has made the best bargain of any man that I know. If you had come with twenty thousand pounds he would not have loved you one whit less,” Sir James declared with mock earnestness. “At any rate, I understand that Miss deCourcy’s twenty thousand will settle some very pressing debts of honor, and many gentlemen rank the good opinion of their creditors above that of their wives.”

  “And does Miss deCourcy offer no better return than the reconciliation of debts and the goodwill of the wine dealer and the tailor?”

  “No more immediate return, but a little ill fortune could work greatly to his advantage, as the deCourcy entail is somewhat vulnerable.”

  “In what way? Is there not an heir? I have heard that Miss deCourcy has a brother.”

  “Yes, but he is not above seventeen or eighteen, so it will be some years before he can marry and produce an heir of his own. Other than this young man, there is Sir Reginald’s brother, Mr. Lewis deCourcy, who is a bachelor and past fifty. After that, the writ provides for the entail to pass through the female line, which would put a son of Charles Vernon in the way of considerable property.”

  “And yet something very dire would have to occur to remove both gentlemen from the succession.”

  “Well,” replied Sir James cheer
fully, “a bit of avarice often brings out the resourcefulness in all but the best of us.”

  “You see what comes of entailing fortunes entirely from the female line,” Lady Vernon observed. “You will begin to look upon your male relations as a necessity to your happiness—or an impediment to it.”

  “I hope that I shall never give you cause to think of me as an impediment to yours,” he replied with grave sincerity.

  chapter five

  Alicia Johnson and Eliza Manwaring were of the same age, for Eliza’s husband was some years her junior and Alicia had taken a husband many years her senior. A similarity in the narrowness of their minds, a love of society, and a penchant for disparaging the finery of others and exhibiting their own had persuaded them that their husbands’ differences ought not to prevent them from being better acquainted.

  “What an elegant couple!” exclaimed Mrs. Johnson, as she and Mrs. Manwaring observed Lady Vernon dancing with her cousin. “It is said that Lady Martin attempted a match between them, but her husband opposed it. It turned out well enough, for Sir Frederick Vernon seems a very amiable man.”

  “There is only one daughter, is there not?” inquired Mrs. Manwaring. “They ought to have had a son. Mr. Manwaring says that Sir Frederick has been very imprudent—a son would keep a roof over their heads, at least. But I daresay they look toward making an advantageous match for Miss Vernon.”

  “That cannot be for many years.”

  “And yet,” replied Mrs. Manwaring with a troubled look, “if Miss Vernon is as pretty as her mother, she will have her pick of beaux. Perhaps, having lost the mother to Sir Frederick, Sir James means to marry the daughter. How often have you heard of a gentleman who lives the bachelor life for many years and then settles upon a girl he had known as a child?”

  The conversation continued in this vein through supper until Mrs. Manwaring was consumed with a desire to have a look at the young girl she regarded as Maria Manwaring’s rival. The two ladies resolved to call on Lady Vernon the next day with the express purpose of getting a look at her daughter.

  To their very great disappointment, they were informed that Miss Vernon was not at home.

  “We do not bring Frederica to London as a rule,” said Lady Vernon. “She is much happier in the country, but Sir Frederick was able to gain admission to the apothecaries’ garden and brought her to town on purpose to spend an entire day there, for she has a keen interest in anything to do with plants and flowers.”

  “La, is she scientific?” inquired Mrs. Johnson. “I am not scientific in the least, though it is said to be quite the ton, so long as it is confined to leaves and petals, which may be pressed into a book. But surely Sir Frederick does not direct her education? Has she a governess?”

  “She has an excellent governess, but education is not confined to the nursery and the classroom.”

  “I must compliment you on your dancing,” said Mrs. Manwaring. “But I suppose that you and Sir James have had a great deal of practice. I daresay you grew up quite as close as brother and sister.”

  “Well, I can go so far as to say that James was such a companion as ensured that I would never want for a brother,” Lady Vernon agreed with a smile.

  “And how is Lady Martin? Does she never come to London?”

  “Not if it can be avoided. She much prefers the quiet of the country.”

  “And yet Ealing Park cannot always be quiet when Sir James is in residence,” remarked Mrs. Johnson. “Lady Martin must often be pressed into service as his hostess. It is a very convenient arrangement for both of them, and one that accounts for the fact that he is in no hurry to marry.”

  “I cannot answer for my cousin, but I think that Lady Martin would be very happy to see James married,” replied Lady Vernon. “I would venture to say that the event cannot occur too soon for her.”

  That brought a smile to the face of Mrs. Manwaring, who saw a better chance for Maria if Sir James was encouraged to marry soon. Before she could reply, however, Sir James Martin himself was ushered into the room.

  “My dear cousin!” Lady Vernon exclaimed. “I would have thought that you would still be in bed—it is not yet four o’clock.”

  Sir James bowed to the visitors. “I have got a present for Freddie.” He drew a pamphlet from his pocket and handed it around. “‘An Introduction to Botany.’ It is written by a gentlewoman who proposes that our leisure be given over to mental improvement! What do you say to that, ladies?”

  Lady Vernon’s visitors looked at each other. To promote the idea would be to declare oneself the most tiresome sort of bluestocking, but to reject it might be taken by Sir James as an affront to his generosity. At last, Mrs. Manwaring ventured to say, “I am sure that too much study can be as bad as too little.”

  “I am quite of the same opinion,” declared Mrs. Johnson. “Leisure hours are necessary to one’s tranquillity and temperament. Excessive study may put one out of sorts.”

  “I cannot disagree with you,” Sir James replied. “I do not think that you will find a more thorough idler than myself and I am never out of sorts. What is your opinion, cousin?”

  Lady Vernon was very near to laughing at her cousin’s show of sincerity and managed to say only, “I have never been an advocate of throwing time away,” to which her two visitors nodded in such emphatic agreement that she was forced to turn her face away to hide her mirth.

  Sir James observed his cousin’s predicament and hastened to make inquiries after Mr. and Miss Manwaring and Mr. Johnson until Lady Vernon was once again mistress of herself.

  After a few more minutes of conversation, the ladies rose to depart, and when they had settled in their carriage, Mrs. Johnson declared, “What very good luck for Maria! Miss Vernon—encouraged to be scientific! That will only teach her to be the sort of dull, bookish girl that men do not like at all.”

  Mrs. Manwaring was so delighted with this notion that she invited her guardian’s wife to drink tea with her and urged her to give Mr.

  Johnson her warmest regards and to beg his pardon yet again that she had married against his wishes.

  Lady Vernon repaid the call to Mrs. Johnson the following day and brought Frederica with her. The little girl made her curtsy and then sat quietly on an ottoman, turning the pages of the pamphlet that Sir James had given her.

  “What a delightful child,” Mrs. Johnson remarked to Lady Vernon. “What a keen interest she has in her book! La, you would not see me so transfixed by a book when I was her age! What a pity she was not a boy.”

  “Do you not think that science might be of interest to a girl?”

  “La, yes! Children will fill their heads with knowledge that does them no good whatsoever, but we all grow out of it in time. No, I meant that a son would secure your family property, for else it will go to your husband’s brother. And that does not often work to advantage, as a brother who has his own wife and family might overlook those occasions to be generous—unless his wife is of a particularly charitable nature.”

  “I must hope, then, that Miss deCourcy’s disposition is a generous one.”

  “Have you never met her?”

  “No, never. The news of Charles’s engagement took Sir Frederick and me quite by surprise. Charles has been a bachelor for so many years that we had concluded he was content to be so. He had never mentioned any acquaintance with Miss deCourcy at all until after the engagement had been formed.”

  The visit did not last long beyond this exchange, and when Mrs. Johnson next spoke to Eliza Manwaring, she repeated it with blithe inaccuracy, and Mrs. Manwaring did not hesitate to add embellishments of her own when she conveyed it, and soon it was all around London that Lady Vernon disapproved of her brother-in-law’s union with Miss deCourcy, that she had likely expected Charles Vernon to pine away for her forever, and that she was the worst sort of hardened coquette, who could bear for no one to be admired but herself.

  chapter six

  The marriage of Charles Vernon to Catherine deCourcy was cele
brated in so exclusive a fashion that among those excluded were the groom’s own brother and sister-in-law. Charles Vernon wrote to Sir Frederick, explaining that the ceremony was to be held very near the deCourcy estate and that the indifferent health of Sir Reginald would not allow for much company and commotion. Sir Frederick was sorry to miss the ceremony, as weddings were such happy gatherings, but he wrote to his brother offering kind congratulations, and Lady Vernon likewise dispatched her very best wishes to her new sister-in-law. The replies they received were civil and completely lacking in warmth, for Miss deCourcy had been informed by her mother, who had heard from her husband’s sister, Lady Hamilton, who had been told by Lady Millbanke, who had it on very good authority from Eliza Manwaring that Lady Vernon was said to have heard something so ill of Catherine deCourcy as to make her positively set against Charles Vernon’s marriage.

  As for Charles Vernon, he had got a handsome dowry, a position in a banking establishment, and a wife. Another man would have been contented, but Charles was of a temperament that dwelt less upon what he had attained than what he had been denied. An alliance with one of the oldest families in England did not do away with the knowledge that his first choice had preferred his brother, and a position with a respectable establishment only served to remind him that he was obliged to do something to keep himself, while Frederick had to do nothing at all. But what rankled most was the fact that Frederick would not sell Vernon Castle for what Charles was willing to pay, which left him unable to purchase an establishment of his own, as he had been compelled to apply the greater part of his wife’s dowry toward reconciling his debts. He and his bride, therefore, had no alternative but to settle in Parklands Cottage on the deCourcy estate.