The Duke And His Four Wards

Chapter 8.3 (Part 1)

   It was at Lady Adamson's ball that Sir Jack Finley first appeared as a cold in the Fleming's horizon. Or, more correctly, on the Misses Norwood's horizon, although by that stage, it was much the same thing. Sir Jack, with a tidy estate in Gloucestershire, was in London t look for a wig. His taste, it appeared, ran to sweet young things if the type personified by the Norwood sisters, Antonia Norwood in particular. Unfortunately for him, Sir Jack was possessed of an overwhelming self-conceit combined with an unprepossessing appearance. He was thus vetoed on sight as beneath consideration by the Misses Norwood and their mentors.

   However, Sir Jack was rather more wily than he appeared. Finding his attentions to Antonia Norwood compromised by the competing attractions of the large number of more personable young men who formed the combined Fleming-Norwood court, he retired from the lists and devoted his energies to cultivating Mr. and Mrs. Norwood. In this, he achieved such notable success that he was invited to attend Lady Adamson's ball with the Norwoods. Despite the tearful protestations of both Antonia and Amy at his inclusion in their party, when they crossed the threshold of Lady Adamson's ballroom, Antonia, looking distinctly seedy, had her hand on Sir Jack's arm.

   At her parents' stern instruction, she was forced to endure two waltzes with Sir Jack. As Maribella acidly observed, if it had been at all permissible, doubtless Antonia would have been forced to remain at his side for the entire ball. As it was, she dared not join her friend's for supper but, dropping with dejection, joined Sir Jack and her parents.

   To the three Flemings, the success of Sir Jack was like waving a red rag to a bull. Without exception, they took it as interference in their, up until then, successful development of their protégées. Even Emma was, metaphorically speaking, hopping mad. But the amenities offered by a ball were hardly conducive to a council of war, so, with admirable restraint, the three younger Flemings devoted themselves assiduously to their own pursuits and left the problem of Sir Jack until they had leisure to deal with it appropriately.

   Sophia was now well down the road to being acknowledged as having suffered an unrequited love. She bore up nobly under the strain but it was somehow common knowledge that she held little hope of recovery. Her brace face, it was understood, was on account of her sisters, as she did not wish to ruin their Season by retiring into seclusion, despite this being her most ardent wish. Her large brown eye, always fathomless, and her naturally pale and serious face were welcome aids in the projection of her new persona. She danced and chatted, yet the vitality that had burned with her earlier in the Season had been dampened. That, at least, was no more than the truth.

   Maribella, all were agreed, was settling down to the sensible prospect of choosing a suitable connection. As Henry Byron had contrived to be considerably more careful in his attentions to Maribella than Daniel Hammington had been with Sophia, the gossips has never connected the to. Consequently, the fact that Lord Byron's name was clearly absent from Maribella's list did not in itself cause comment. But, as the Fleming sisters had been such a hit, the question of who precisely Maribella would choose was a popular topic for discussion. Speculation was rife and, as was often the case in such matters, a number of wagers had already been entered into the betting books held by the gentlemen's clubs. According to rumour, both Mr. Overend and Sir Jerome Needham featured as possible candidates. Yet not the most avid watcher could discern which of these gentlemen Miss Maribella favoured.

   Amidst all this drama, Emma Fleming continued as she always had, accepting the respectful attentions of the sober young men who sought her out while reserving her most brilliant smiles for Francis Cambridge. As she was so young and as Francis wisely refrained from any overly amorous or possessive act in public, most observers assumed her was merely helping his brother with what must, all were agreed, constitute a definite handful. Francis, finding her increasingly difficult to lead astray, was forced to live with his growing frustrations and their steadily diminishing prospects for release.