A Change of Fortune (2 page)

* * *

As Leonie defied the rules upstairs, downstairs in the headmistress’s private parlor the small staff of resident lady teachers, including Miss Hart herself, was taking a breakfast of hot buttered toast and fine pekoe tea. The parlor was a pleasant room, warmed by a large fire which cast a flickering light over the crimson-and-white-striped wallpaper, the festoons of Christmas greenery, and the exceedingly handsome and expensive furniture. The furniture was far too opulent for a mere headmistress, but it expressed to the full Emmeline Hart’s high opinion of herself. There were two items which in particular gave her much conceited pleasure; one was the splendid golden sofa upon which she sat in regal splendor, and the other was the portrait of Dorothea, Countess Lieven, which gazed severely down from the chimney breast.

Emmeline Hart was forty now and very plump, but twenty years earlier her looks had procured her all that she now possessed. Coming to London as a penniless but very shrewd adventuress, she had trapped a very married lord into an unwise liaison, and had then threatened to tell his jealous terror of a wife all about it unless he paid a certain price—the then vacant property in Park Lane. He had paid with some alacrity, and Emmeline Hart had donned the cloak of respectability, turning the house into an exclusive seminary for young ladies and conducting herself at all times in a most exemplary and decorous manner. Success had been assured from the outset because of the establishment’s desirable and exclusive address. Each day the
beau monde
drove past its door, and as they took a turn in Hyde Park they could always see the elegant balconied windows gazing discreetly at them through the trees.

For almost twenty years now society had been sending its daughters to the seminary, to be taught English, French, German, arithmetic, history, geography, botany, embroidery, needlework, painting, etiquette, deportment, and manners, and those daughters had emerged as poised young ladies, ready to take their place among their peers. Recently, however, the arrival on the scene of Countess Lieven, and her immense influence, had made the seminary more exclusive than ever, setting it far ahead of its rivals, for Dorothea, in London for little more than a year, was not only a very important lady, she was also a patroness of Almack’s, the most fashionable assembly rooms in London. Every Wednesday night the
haut ton
flocked to the subscription balls at this temple of high fashion, regarding it as a social advantage second to none to receive a voucher to attend, and Dorothea had let it be discreetly known that she would consider with great favor any application made by a young lady who had been educated at the premises in Park Lane. The moment this whisper had got about, the seminary had been inundated with applications from parents eager to secure this singular advantage for their daughters, and Miss Hart’s rivals had been able to do nothing but watch in furious envy.

The headmistress sat proudly on her golden sofa, her lips pursed primly as she sipped her tea and contemplated the very satisfactory way things were going on. She had a face of startling sweetness, round and rosy, but the real Emmeline Hart was very different, being hard, ambitious, and unfeeling. This morning she wore a blue wool dress, a white shawl crisscrossed over her ample bosom, and a large frilled biggin on her graying hair. She felt very contented indeed, glancing up with a smile at Dorothea’s portrait. Things, she thought to herself, just could not have been better.

As far as her companions, Miss Ross and Mlle. Clary, were concerned, however, things could not have been worse, for they were now without the services of the much-put-upon assistant teacher, Miss Mathers, who had left the day before due to ill health, and who was not going to be replaced. Over the years they had managed to delegate many of their duties to her, and now they were faced with the prospect of having once again to carry out those duties themselves. It was not a prospect they viewed with pleasure, and as a consequence breakfast today was a very quiet affair, with only Miss Hart herself finding anything to smile about.

As she reached for another slice of toast, however, she could not have known that events were about to take a very difficult turn which would make life somewhat awkward for her, and all because Leonie Conyngham had taken a fateful walk in Hyde Park and had caught the eye of a very determined, very unscrupulous gentleman. Indeed, he had already set about achieving his goal, and before that very day was out, he would have gained entry to the seminary.

The teachers’ silent breakfast had almost finished when there was a tap at the parlor door and a maid came in with Leonie’s early-morning tray for the headmistress to inspect before it was taken up. The maid was the same one who had accompanied Leonie on her walk in the park. Her name was Katy Briggs. and she was a timid girl with a fuzz of dark hair and a liberal sprinkling of freckles on her round face. She went in awe of Miss Hart, and was therefore exceedingly nervous as she conveyed the tray to a table and tried to set it down without making a sound, but the cup and saucer rattled, earning her a very disapproving frown from the headmistress.

Katy swallowed and bobbed a hasty curtsy. “I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Without a word, Miss Hart rose majestically from her golden sofa and came to examine the tray. On it stood a gleaming silver coffeepot, a blue-and-white porcelain cup and saucer, and a small dish of freshly baked Shrewsbury cakes. The headmistress gave a grudging nod of approval. “It will do.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Then, with a darting movement Miss Hart snatched the girl’s wrist and held her hand accusingly aloft to reveal the fingerless mittens which had been absolutely forbidden. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded in a quivering voice.

“Ma’am?” Katy’s eyes were huge.

“You are wearing mittens.”

“But, ma’am, it’s so very cold and—”

“Countess Lieven has expressly forbidden the wearing of mittens in the house, as you are perfectly well aware, Briggs.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t think.”

“Think?
Think?
You aren’t here to think, girl, you’re here to do as you’re told!”

“Yes, ma’am.” The maid’s voice was scarcely audible.

Miss Hart slowly released her wrist. “Remove them immediately.”

Katy hastened to obey, pushing the offending articles into her apron pocket.

“Disobey any rule in the future, or question anything, anything at all, and you will be dismissed immediately, is that quite clear?” This last was said with a sly sideways glance at Miss Ross and Mlle. Clary, upon whom the barb was not lost.

Katy was striving to hide her tears. “Yes, ma’am,” she whispered.

“Very well, you may now take Miss Conyngham’s tray to her. And, Briggs?”

“Ma’am?”

“Tell her that I would be most grateful if she would kindly assist at tea this afternoon. Countess Lieven will be here, with her cousin Miss Benckendorff and a gentleman guest.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And, Briggs?”

The maid’s heart sank again. “Ma’am?”

“Be less clumsy with the tray as you leave. I dislike hearing teacups clattering.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Thankfully Katy picked the tray up again, balancing it on one hand and biting her lip with concentration as she opened the heavy door and stepped out into the chilly passage beyond. The tray did not make even the slightest sound.

As she went up the staircase, Katy paused on the half-landing at the back of the house, looking out of the frosty window at the long, narrow garden which extended to the gardens of the houses in parallel South Audley Street. It was a pleasant garden, with plane trees, poplars, and a weeping willow which draped its graceful fronds over a frozen ornamental pond. Directly below, beneath the ground-floor windows of the visitors’ room, stood two stone sphinxes, white with ice now as they gazed solidly at the wintry scene. Down one side of the garden extended the wing of the seminary which contained the schoolrooms, while the opposite side was marked only by the high brick wall which separated the property from the one next to it.

Katy stared out at the eastern sky, beyond the houses of South Audley Street. There was a certain luminosity about that sky as the sun rose behind the pall of fog. She knew by that luminosity that today the fog would at last lift. She smiled with anticipation. Perhaps she and Miss Leonie would be able to go for another walk in the park, and perhaps too they would see the mysterious gentleman who had so nearly spoken the last time. Humming a little, the maid hurried on up the stairs.

Leonie gave a guilty start and hid the book as the door opened. “Oh, it’s only you, Katy. I thought I’d been caught doing the forbidden!”

Katy grinned, but all the same glanced a little nervously back into the passage, as if she expected to see Miss Hart standing there. “You mustn’t call me that, Miss Leonie, Miss Hart’d have the vapors if she found out!”

“If I know Miss Hart, she’s safely ensconced in her warm parlor and has no intention of leaving it for the time being, not when it’s as cold as this.”

Katy set the tray carefully on Leonie’s lap and then hesitated, reluctant to leave straightaway. “May I stay for a while, Miss Leonie?”

“You know that you can—unless you have some other duties. You haven’t, have you?”

“No, Mrs. Durham said I could talk with you if you did not mind.”

Leonie smiled, sniffing the still-warm Shrewsbury cakes. “I see that Mrs. Durham has been busy in the kitchens already this morning.”

“Yes, Miss Leonie.”

“Would you like one?” Leonie held out the dish.

Shyly Katy took one. She loved these moments with Leonie, whom she adored because she was so kind and natural, and without the unkindness which seemed so often to be the mark of young ladies at the seminary. Suddenly she remembered the head mistress’s instructions. “Oh, Miss Leonie, I almost forgot! Miss Hart said would you help at tea this afternoon.”

Leonie groaned. “Not our beloved benefactress again!”

“Yes. And her cousin Miss Benckendorff and a gentleman.”

Leonie pulled a face. “It sounds awful. Still, I suppose I will have to do as I’m asked. I’m glad I’m leaving this place. That wretched Russian woman has made it quite horrible here.”

“Yes,” agreed Katy with immense feeling.

Leonie looked quickly at her. “Has something else happened?”

“I forgot to take off my mittens and Miss Hart caught me, I’m to be dismissed if anything like that happens again.”

Leonie smiled and leaned over to squeeze the maid’s cold little hand. ‘Well, you’ll be leaving soon anyway, and then you can thumb your nose at all of them.”

Katy smiled hesitantly. “I still can’t really believe you want me to be your maid. Miss Leonie.”

“I wouldn’t go away and leave you here.”

“Yes, but to be your personal maid! I mean, I don’t know all the things I’ll need to know, and—”

“And you’ll soon pick them up.” Leonie smiled at her again. “You’ll make an excellent lady’s maid, Katy, I know that you will.” She glanced toward the window then. “It looks as horrid as ever out there, which I suppose means being cooped up inside again.”

“I think the sun will break through soon. It looked as if it would when I looked out of the landing window.” Katy went to the window and peeped out.

To the west, over Hyde Park, there was little sign of the hoped-for sun. It was still very cold and white, almost as if snow had fallen. The herd of cows from the dairy in Queen Street was being driven in through the park gates, their breath even whiter than the fog and frost. There was a little traffic in the street now; a private carriage was making its slow way north toward Tyburn, its team picking their way carefully over the icy surface, and a donkey cart laden with holly and mistletoe was proceeding in the opposite direction toward Piccadilly, where normally the congestion was so great at the narrow junction that tempers were always frayed.

“Well?” said Leonie. “Do you think it will be fine?”

“It’s hard to tell from this side of the house, but I do think it’s getting brighter,” Katy glanced back at the bed, “Miss Leonie?”

“Yes?”

“Do you…do you think he’ll be there again?” she asked hesitantly, for she knew Leonie’s low opinion of the mysterious gentleman.

“I sincerely hope not, for there was something about him for which I didn’t care in the slightest.”

Katy was puzzled. “I know, because you said so at the time, but I don’t understand why. I mean, he was so very handsome—”

“And was conceitedly aware of the fact. He wasn’t at all nice, Katy, I could tell it by the look in his eyes. His interest in me was anything but gallant and honorable, and nothing on earth would have allowed me to acknowledge him had he indeed had the audacity to speak. I took considerable delight in cutting him, and I shall do so again if we see him.”

“Even if he speaks to you?”

“Especially then.”

Later in the morning the pale winter sun at last broke through, and Miss Hart grudgingly gave her permission for Katy to accompany Leonie on her walk. They set off shortly before midday, Leonie once again in her cream mantle and pink-ribboned bonnet, Katy in her neat gray cloak. The improvement in the weather lured many to the park. There was more skating on the frozen Serpentine, and as on their last walk, they stopped to watch.

Katy glanced hopefully around for Leonie’s unwanted admirer, but to her disappointment there was no sign of him. Leonie felt no such disappointment at his absence, for she had meant every word she said about him and had no desire at all to be confronted by a man she instinctively distrusted and disliked.

Walking back toward the park gates afterward, Leonie found herself gazing at the seminary, which had been her home for so long now. Soon she would be leaving it forever, going through the little ritual farewell ceremony which she had seen so many others go through in the past. She would be invited to the visitors’ room, where the entire school would be gathered and where she would take a glass of wine with Miss Hart. Then she would be presented with a bouquet of flowers and two handsome leather-bound volumes of prayers, each one embossed in gold with her initials. Inside, on blank pages provided specifically for the purpose, Miss Hart would have written: “Miss Conyngham, with every kind and affectionate wish.” The headmistress would then give a carefully prepared speech, and after that Leonie Conyngham would step out of the house and into her father’s waiting carriage, to be driven away to her dazzling new life.