Wentworth's Baron

Wentworth's Baron - Chapter Seven - Plans Come Together

CHAPTER SEVEN

Plans Come Together

 

            After spending the morning rejuvenating Henrietta sent word to Victoria of their arrival.  Victoria called at their house within the hour of having received it.  She was so excited at having Henrietta join them in Bath.  

            “Oh, my dear Henny, you must come to the sea with us as soon as you may be free.  It is so wonderful!”  Henrietta smiled at her friend remembering the pet names they had for each other. 

            “Vicky, it has been too long.  Oh how I have missed you.  Where have you been about and what have you been doing?  It seems an age since I have seen you.  You look radiant!”  Henrietta was genuinely glad to see her friend after so long apart these months she was in Brighton with her Aunt Cecily.  Victoria was not short on stories to tell her good friend of her adventures in Brighton.  From what Henrietta could discern, Vicky may not even make it to London for a season.

            After pausing for a moment for tea Victoria continued “So, Henny, what is going on with you.  I know something is amiss.”

            Henrietta started by saying “Father’s gone off and arranged for me to be married to some future Earl of Warwick”  Victoria gasped.  “Henny, how is that possible?  He was always so indulgent on the subject of marriage.  You always said he would never persuade you to marry someone you didn’t love.”  Henrietta could feel the anxiety build. 

            “I don’t know.  It is all very sudden.  I haven’t even met the gentleman and it is all arranged.  Papa is quite determined.  There is no changing his mind.  I will have one thing to say in it though and that is if I have to end up marrying this Viscount, I will not have him set eyes upon me until our wedding day in front of the vicar!”  Victoria, puzzled, asked “what do you mean?  You don’t plan on meeting him before you are married?” 

            “No, if I have to marry him anyway, what difference does it make if I see him first or not?  It won’t change anything so I refuse to meet him until that day.”  Henrietta paused.  “Well, that is to say that if my plan doesn’t work.”  Victoria’s eyes lit up.  “Your plan?”  Henrietta moved closer to Victoria as she continued.  “Well, I was thinking that if I could create a ‘scandal’ of a sort one that could be kept quiet but one that would most definitely cause him to refuse to marry me, well, that would solve the problem.”  Victoria sat thoughtful for a moment.

            “Wait a minute, you mean Alexander Durham Barrington is the one you are engaged to be married to?”  Henrietta shook her head in acknowledgment as Victoria’s eyes grew wide.  “Henny, he is here in Bath.  He is part of the group staying with our family.  Lady Barrington and mother have been friends since childhood.  I can’t believe you would not wish to marry such as Alexander Barrington.  He is set to inherit the Earldom.  He is quite the catch Henny and he is very handsome.”

            Henrietta sat for a moment contemplating what her friend just told her.  She was not focused on what many of the ladies in her position would be contemplating.  Instead of reconsidering this opportunity she was in deep contemplation of what this could mean for her plans with the Baron.

            “Oh, Vicky I just cannot do it.  I will not be made to marry someone I do not love.  Even if he is handsome.  He probably is a rake and will treat me like a possession.  So, will you help me come up with a scheme to pull this off?”  Victoria reluctantly told her friend she would help however much against her better judgment.  So the two girls began their attempts to work out the details.  Henrietta told her friend about her discussion with the Baron and how he has accepted her offer to take part in their scheme.

            After throwing around different ideas Victoria jumps up from her seat  “I know!  I’ll get father to have a masquerade ball and we will invite so many people that it will be easy to slip away without being noticed and we’ll have the masks which can hide who you are when you need to.  You’ll have to be careful though that you avoid those members of the ton who could pick up on our little ‘scandal’ and ruin you for good.  I certainly wouldn’t want you forced to marry the Baron instead.”  Henrietta eyed her friend cautiously.

            “I like the idea.  It has potential but do I sense hostility in that last sentence?”  Victoria flushed slightly.  “Oh, Henny, I may as well tell you.  Baron Raby and I have sort of an attachment.  He is so magnificent!  From the moment I laid eyes on him I felt my heart start to race and he is so accommodating and agreeable.  I cannot believe it to be true.” 

            Henrietta smiled as she listened to her friend go on about Baron Raby.  The Baron this and Baron Raby that.  She found it difficult to listen to although she didn’t quite understand why.  She was happy for her friend but she thought about the way she had felt when she first met him in the meadow of her father’s estate.  Her thoughts continued to the time when she fell face first at his feet and how they laughed together.  She thought of him as he walked with her that first day at Wentworth Hall.  Then all of a sudden the thought of the conversation she overheard in the hall at the Inn occurred to her.  Was this to be an arranged marriage also?  Does Victoria even know?  From what she recalled from the conversation it seemed the Baron was not interested in this arranged marriage and that he was not interested in someone he didn’t love.  Should she tell Victoria about what she heard and decided to question her some more.

            “Vicky, are you sure he feels the same about you?  I mean, has he declared himself to you?”  Victoria’s face fell as if stricken by a sudden apoplexy.  “Well, he hasn’t exactly declared himself, no, but I feel very certain that he will soon.  Even Mama says he must be interested and she is very keen on how to know these things, Henny.” 

            Henrietta sighed relief the moment she heard ‘no, he hasn’t exactly declared himself’ and then felt guilty for feeling the way she did.  She certainly did not want to get married so why should she care if Vicky and the Baron were to marry?  She has grown very fond of Baron Raby and she loves Vicky as a sister.  She must keep the Baron as her friend who has promised to help her with her ‘scandal’ and that would be that.

            Victoria continued to sit silently and Henrietta feeling sorry about destroying her friend’s hopes tried to encourage her by saying “Come now, I’m sure you’re right.  If Baron Raby has fixed his interest on you, I am sure he will ask your father to pay his addresses very soon.”  Victoria’s face lightened and they continued with their plans of getting discovered with the Baron.