The Sherbrooke Bride - Catherine Coulter [94]
Juliette told of turning down Lord Downley’s proposal and how wounded he had been. Melissande laughed and said that Lord Downley had proposed to every woman who claimed to have more than a thousand pounds dowry. On and on it went.
At last Alexandra was able to rise and motion for the ladies to leave the dining room. She didn’t notice that her mother-in-law gave her a very annoyed look. She immediately went to the pianoforte and sat down. She played some French ballads, trying to ignore the verbal flotsam around her.
“My parents are very fond of me,” Juliette announced. “They gave me a beautiful name. Lord Blaystock told me they must have known I would be so beautiful.” She turned very gray eyes toward Alexandra, who began to play a bit more vigorously. She raised her voice. “You parents must not have wished for what they got with you. Your name is manly, don’t you agree, my lady?”
“Which lady?” Sinjun inquired. “There are so many here.”
“You are very young to still be allowed amongst the adults, are you not? I refer, of course, to Alex. Why it is a man’s nickname, to be sure.”
“I have a good friend whose horse is named Juliette.”
“Joan! Hush and apologize to Lady Juliette!”
“Yes, Mother. Excuse me, Lady Juliette. But it is a very nice horse, a mare actually, and she has the softest nose and the roundest belly and her tail, it is lush and thick, and twitches whenever there are flies or stallions around.”
Douglas overheard the last and he laughed, he couldn’t help it. His sister was the best weapon he’d ever had in his arsenal and he’d never before realized her wondrous capabilities. He was pleased that he had allowed her to remain downstairs this evening.
“Joan! Douglas, speak to your sister.”
“Hello, Sinjun. Pour me a cup of tea, if you please. Alexandra, continue your playing. You are quite accomplished. It pleases me.”
Tony went to sit beside his wife.
The dowager, seeing the evening spiraling downward, announced that whist was to be enjoyed. Douglas, grinning, asked Alexandra to be his partner.
Their opponents were Tony and Juliette.
Douglas wondered if his wife played as skillfully as she’d hinted. He wasn’t left long in doubt. She didn’t count all that well, but she played with verve and imagination, with a strategy remarkably similar to his own. That annoyed him as well as pleased him and he wondered, but just for an instant, how well Melissande would play if she wore a bag over her head. He and Alexandra won most hands. Tony groaned good-naturedly even when Juliette trumped a good lead or whined about a valueless hand.
Douglas had to hold his cards in front of his mouth so that no one would remark the unholy grin that overtook him when Alex did Juliette in, and the twit didn’t have the brains to keep quiet. Oh no, she squawked. She threw down her remaining cards, rose and actually stomped her foot.
“However could you have known that I held the king of spades? Why, it is impossible. Why would you lead the ace, a bad lead surely? It is luck, all of it. Or it is that mirror I have been remarking.”
That was quite beyond the line. Douglas rose himself and said in a very cold voice, “I believe you are fatigued, Lady Juliette. Surely such unmeasured words could not come from a well-rested mouth.”
Juliette sucked in her breath and held her tongue, a difficult proposition in any circumstance, and allowed a very solicitous Uncle Albert to lead her out of the drawing room.
“She is beautiful,” Sinjun said dispassionately, “but she is so very stupid. A pity.”
“Why a pity, brat?” Tony asked, grinning over at her.
“Some poor gentleman will wed her, all enthralled with her beauty, and then wake up to find he’s married to a stupid woman who hasn’t any kindness.”
Melissande came to stand beside her husband. Her hand rested lightly on his shoulder and his hand came up unconsciously to pat hers. “I pity you for playing against Alex. She is a killer. Papa taught her. Reginald tried to teach her to cheat, but she never did that particularly well. She always turned red whenever she tried.”
“She needs to learn to