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Authors: Lady Larkspur Declines (v5.0) (epub)
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occurrences,” Lark complained for the hundredth time, pulling at the flowers on her bonnet.
Miss Janet Tavish braced herself against the leather cushions of their small prison while the carriage took a sharp turn. The ride already exceeded the endurance of her patience, and she thought anything preferable to once again reiterating their awkward circumstances.
“I thought the worst circumstance was to be married to Lord Raeborn,” she murmured wearily. “Or that you would die.”
Lark loosened a silk flower and sent it flying against the window. “There was never any danger of it, as well you know! But who can say what vapors I shall breathe in this cursed sanatorium! I may well die from exposure to others!”
“If you do, you will at least be rewarded in your last moment by knowing it was all for the evasion of a hateful marriage. I have not anything near your excuse, Lark.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“As your companion, I will be exposed to the same illnesses. If I take ill and die, I will gain nothing.”
Lark pursed her lips, in the way she did when she tried to be coaxing. It was a look Janet knew too well. “Is not our friendship worth anything? I shall put up a monument to your memory and cherish you always.”
“It is a great consolation,” Janet grumbled.
“And does not this journey provide others?” Lark continued. “If not for the fact I am supposed to be dying, it might be a delightful holiday.”
“My dear girl, I think you fail to consider the severity of our purpose.”
Lark fell back against the cushions and looked unhappily out the window. She could already see the sea and sniff the salt in the cool air. Within an hour they should arrive at Mr. Knighton’s sanatorium.
“I do not,” she said sadly. “If only fortune had smiled on me and persuaded Lord Raeborn to look elsewhere for a wife. If only my father had relented and allowed me to recover myself in due course. If only that insufferable doctor had minded his own business—”
“Mr. Queensman? I do not think anyone else considers him offensive. In fact—”
“I do not wish to hear it, Janet! Why he is universally adored by my traitorous family is beyond my comprehension. And why they should trust him over anyone else is absurd. He does nothing to warrant it.”
“Perhaps not, though his attendance to Lord Southard in America must warrant some respect. And have you not considered his purpose in bringing you to Brighton?”
“His purpose? It can only be to torment me further.”
“Unless it is to grant you time during which Raeborn might reconsider his suit or offer his admiration elsewhere.”
“You forget he is aligned with that odious gentleman and seeks to further his cause.”
“But he has no reason to do so, since the success of Raeborn’s marriage might deprive him of an inheritance.”
Lark sighed, having worked herself into this corner before. And yet she could think of no other reason for Mr. Queensman’s insistence on bringing her to Brighton but to allow her an escape from a marriage to his cousin.
“I might manage to drown in the sea,” she mused aloud.
“You are so able a swimmer, no one would believe it,” Janet reminded her.
“But the sea is hardly the pond at Leicester Park! There are waves and currents and all sorts of beastly creatures lurking about.”
“I am sure there are, but we will have the protection of a bathing machine and a dipper if we venture out to swim. Lily told me Martha Gunn herself is employed at Knighton’s, having been recently persuaded to leave her position at Margate. She is reported to be very diligent.”
“And dips her customers only in the safest waves? I think I should resent her intrusion.”
“Most certainly, if you wish to drown. Mrs. Gunn will surely not allow it.”
Lark was preparing a suitable retort when a shaft of bright light broke through the glass of their window. She squinted at the view and promptly forgot her discontent.
“Oh,
Miss Janet Tavish braced herself against the leather cushions of their small prison while the carriage took a sharp turn. The ride already exceeded the endurance of her patience, and she thought anything preferable to once again reiterating their awkward circumstances.
“I thought the worst circumstance was to be married to Lord Raeborn,” she murmured wearily. “Or that you would die.”
Lark loosened a silk flower and sent it flying against the window. “There was never any danger of it, as well you know! But who can say what vapors I shall breathe in this cursed sanatorium! I may well die from exposure to others!”
“If you do, you will at least be rewarded in your last moment by knowing it was all for the evasion of a hateful marriage. I have not anything near your excuse, Lark.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“As your companion, I will be exposed to the same illnesses. If I take ill and die, I will gain nothing.”
Lark pursed her lips, in the way she did when she tried to be coaxing. It was a look Janet knew too well. “Is not our friendship worth anything? I shall put up a monument to your memory and cherish you always.”
“It is a great consolation,” Janet grumbled.
“And does not this journey provide others?” Lark continued. “If not for the fact I am supposed to be dying, it might be a delightful holiday.”
“My dear girl, I think you fail to consider the severity of our purpose.”
Lark fell back against the cushions and looked unhappily out the window. She could already see the sea and sniff the salt in the cool air. Within an hour they should arrive at Mr. Knighton’s sanatorium.
“I do not,” she said sadly. “If only fortune had smiled on me and persuaded Lord Raeborn to look elsewhere for a wife. If only my father had relented and allowed me to recover myself in due course. If only that insufferable doctor had minded his own business—”
“Mr. Queensman? I do not think anyone else considers him offensive. In fact—”
“I do not wish to hear it, Janet! Why he is universally adored by my traitorous family is beyond my comprehension. And why they should trust him over anyone else is absurd. He does nothing to warrant it.”
“Perhaps not, though his attendance to Lord Southard in America must warrant some respect. And have you not considered his purpose in bringing you to Brighton?”
“His purpose? It can only be to torment me further.”
“Unless it is to grant you time during which Raeborn might reconsider his suit or offer his admiration elsewhere.”
“You forget he is aligned with that odious gentleman and seeks to further his cause.”
“But he has no reason to do so, since the success of Raeborn’s marriage might deprive him of an inheritance.”
Lark sighed, having worked herself into this corner before. And yet she could think of no other reason for Mr. Queensman’s insistence on bringing her to Brighton but to allow her an escape from a marriage to his cousin.
“I might manage to drown in the sea,” she mused aloud.
“You are so able a swimmer, no one would believe it,” Janet reminded her.
“But the sea is hardly the pond at Leicester Park! There are waves and currents and all sorts of beastly creatures lurking about.”
“I am sure there are, but we will have the protection of a bathing machine and a dipper if we venture out to swim. Lily told me Martha Gunn herself is employed at Knighton’s, having been recently persuaded to leave her position at Margate. She is reported to be very diligent.”
“And dips her customers only in the safest waves? I think I should resent her intrusion.”
“Most certainly, if you wish to drown. Mrs. Gunn will surely not allow it.”
Lark was preparing a suitable retort when a shaft of bright light broke through the glass of their window. She squinted at the view and promptly forgot her discontent.
“Oh,
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