Chapter Eleven

If Mr. Ludwig had ample funds, he would hire a legion of spies to gather information on Lady Constance Condower.

He did not, though.

What he did have was a working and rather clever mind. When he was in Town, he'd long made it a habit to frequent The Brazil, the best coffee house in London.

It had several things to recommend it. It was nearby White's and that club's coffee was considered middling with too much water. The result was that many of White's members stopped at The Brazil for a cup, either coming or going to the club.

The Brazil's booths were conveniently back-to-back, so it was near impossible to not overhear what was said in the next booth. He had, over the years, gathered much valuable information. The owner of the place did not mind him taking up a booth for as long as he liked—the fellow was paid monthly to not mind it. Ludwig would settle in with a newspaper obscuring his face and pretend to read. But all the while, he was listening.

Was there some new business venture being discussed? Was there a new way to bring in money? Was a particular gentleman new to the town an atrociously bad gambler that might be had for everything he'd brought?

Along with those conversations, there was always talk of the ladies. Especially the ladies who had just turned up for their first season. And most especially the ladies who turned up with their pockets full of coin.

The ton might congratulate itself on its delicacy of feeling, but that delicacy was just the froth on a syllabub of cold hard calculations of pounds and pence.

Over the seasons, he had kept a keen ear out for ladies turning up with heavily laden dowries. He'd even made a run at Lady Margaret Mulroy two years prior. That lady had come with eight thousand, which would have been very respectable. Unfortunately, Viscount Kiltonery had swept the lady from his grasp.

Mr. Ludwig had stewed on that for a while. However, he'd since shaken it off. He was after a far bigger fish at the moment.

He had settled himself into an empty booth and had his ears wide open. He was certain he would hear of Lady Juniper and Miss Semper at some point this day. Those two ladies' dowries were the talk of the town. But would he hear of Lady Constance Condower? Did anyone else know of the inheritance from Mr. Harold Canbury of New York?

It was the first time he was not seeking out information, but rather seeking out the lack of it. He hoped he heard nothing at all about Lady Constance. The secret of her inheritance must stay a secret.

For the past hour, he'd been forced to overhear the juvenile ramblings of two young comrades who communicated by attempting to top one another. If one said he'd ridden to Brighton in record time, then the other would claim to have flown there with wings. They no doubt considered themselves dashing young bucks, but as far as Mr. Ludwig was concerned, they were awkward fawns stumbling round on unsteady feet and making too much noise in the process.

Finally, the two imbeciles left, loudly proclaiming they were off to fence at Angelos. Very predictably, they assured one another of the idea that the institution in question had never encountered two such talented young gentlemen. Mr. Ludwig sent up a prayer that they would both mortally stab each other, thereby ridding the world of two pointless individuals.

Another group took the booth, and this group was far more interesting.

He recognized one of the voices and quickly identified the other two by how they were addressed.

The lords Bramley and Janney, and Sir Jonathan.

"I suppose the old soldier is still pushing for Lady Juniper or Miss Semper," Lord Janney said. "I know mine is."

"Mine would be too," Sir Jonathan said, "if he were still alive."

"My earl has still not given up hope," Lord Bramley said. "I'm going to have to sit him down and lay down the law about it."

"Lay down the law?" Lord Janney said with a guffaw. "Why? Why not just do as I do—pretend I am chasing those two ladies but they do not regard me with favor. My mother keeps saying she does not know why, I seem handsome enough, but perhaps she is just blinded by maternal affection."

"You can pull that over on your parents," Lord Bramley said, "but mine are following me all over Town, maneuvering those two ladies in my direction. Worse, Lady Juniper does not seem to despise me as much as she had done and my father has threatened to have both her and Miss Semper to dine."

"Gad," Lord Janney said. "Well, if you have to choose between the two, who will it be?"

"It will be neither of them."

"I say," Sir Jonathan said, "Miss Semper seems a pleasant and lively creature, once one can see past the enormous bows and ruffles."

"She's changed all that, somehow," Lord Bramley said. "She's dressed very usually these days."

"Is she?" Sir Jonathan said, sounding intrigued. "I will admit I found her charming, despite the abundance of bows."

"I am going to have to be straight with my father," Lord Bramley said. "It is Lady Constance, or it is nobody."

Mr. Ludwig dropped his newspaper and coffee overspread its pages. He hurriedly dried it off with a napkin and hid his face again.

Bramley knew of the money. How did he find it out?

"I saw her in the park yesterday," Lord Bramley said. "She was sketching at a location I told her about. I've arranged to have a mahogany paint box and some quality watercolors delivered from Ackerman's this afternoon. Anonymously, of course. She's to be at Lord Nankin's card party this evening and after this I'm off to White's to track down Nankin and wrangle an invitation."

"You? At a card party?" Sir Jonathan said. "Everybody knows you are the worst whist partner in the world. Even the queen knows it."

"Never mind the card party," Lord Janney said. "Where is all this going? Your earl has spelled out the estate's difficulties and Lady Constance does not come with enough."

Yes, Mr. Ludwig thought. That was the question of the hour.

There was a silence and Mr. Ludwig wondered if Bramley would tell his friends of Lady Constance's true worth.

"Yes, I know," Lord Bramley said. "That is, I don't know, but I'll think of something."

"What something?" Lord Janney asked, his tone full of skepticism.

"I don't know yet."

"Bramley," Sir Jonathan said, "there are only two somethings to consider. If an estate is not pulling its weight, then either it must be made to or it must be propped up with a dowry. There is no other something."

"I've asked my father about getting the estate to make more than it does," Lord Bramley said. "He says he and Crickenly, that's the steward, have looked at it backwards and forwards."

"Have you looked at it backwards and forwards?" Sir Jonathan asked.

"Have I? Well, no. The earl likes to keep all that rather close. He keeps saying he'll walk me through all the books at some time or other, but he never has. In any case, I would hardly know what I was looking at."

"I would," Sir Jonathan said. "My father passed on when I was seventeen—I've learned quite a bit since then."

"I see," Lord Bramley said. "Would you be willing to explain to me what I'm looking at? I know where everything is—it's in a large armoire in the estate's library. We could set off day after tomorrow. Who knows? Maybe the estate can be made to pay more than it has. Then, Lady Constance's dowry amount won't matter."

"It's worth a try, I suppose," Sir Jonathan said. "Sometimes the old guard gets too comfortable and things get overlooked."

"That's right," Bramley said, "we'll just discover what's been overlooked."

The three friends went on to work out the details of the trip. Mr. Ludwig did not care what they were. There was too much else to consider.

Did Bramley know or not know about Lady Constance's dowry? Mr. Ludwig thought he very well might, and all the rest of it was a show of disinterest in money for his friends. After all, it seemed absurd that he and Sir Jonathan would pour over Bramley's father's books. It was not Bramley's estate yet, he had no right to be sniffing through the books. Ludwig's own father would go mad if he tried it.

It would be very convenient for Bramley to supposedly marry for love, and then be supposedly surprised that there was money in it. It would maintain the veneer of delicate feelings the ton was always so interested in. If Bramley would not let on that he knew of the money, then he must come up with some sort of cover for how it was reasonable that he engage himself to Lady Constance.

Whatever the truth of it, Bramley certainly had the intention of proposing, which must be stopped.

The fellow would conveniently take himself out of Town for some days, which might give him some time to stop it. And Bramley had kindly presented an idea on how to begin stopping it.

Bramley would send a mahogany box and watercolors to Lady Constance anonymously. There was no reason another gentleman, such as himself, might not take credit for it.

In fact, there was no reason a note signed anonymously might not be switched to one that included his name. The delivery from Ackerman's was to be this afternoon. Certainly, he could waylay the delivery boy and make the switch.

Of course he could. He would just claim that he'd wished to send it anonymously but had since found his courage and would have the lady know from whence it came.

A place like Ackerman's would be well-used to idiotic gentlemen making cakes of themselves over women. The delivery boy would find it amusing, and he would have no reason to find it suspicious.

That was quite a bit of information to pick up in one sitting. Now, he must just do something about it and he had a direction.

All hail The Brazil coffee shop.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Constance hurried into Lady Juniper's back garden for a meeting of The Stalwarts. She was very glad they'd had a meeting arranged for this day, as she might well see Lord Bramley this evening and there were matters to discuss.

Miss Semper and Lady Juniper were already seated at the charming marble table. Lady Juniper's endless amount of dogs were all ranged round the garden, seeming as pleased with their circumstances as they had been the last time she'd come.

"Dear Lady Constance," Lady Juniper said by way of greeting.

"Lady Constance," Miss Semper said, "you are looking very well."

"As are you, Miss Semper," Constance said, admiring the dress she wore.

Lady Juniper had been as good as her word and Madame Lisette had been downright ruthless in stripping down the fripperies of Miss Semper's wardrobe. She was just now dressed in a lovely muslin that did not scream for attention.

"You note the improvement in Miss Semper's attire, Lady Constance," Lady Juniper said matter-of-factly."

"I must admit," Miss Semper said, "I feel more myself in clothes such as these. I am afraid my father told the seamstress I was to become a very great lady and she became frightened of it and thought everything must be complicated."

"The good news, according to Madame Lisette," Lady Juniper said as she poured out the tea, "is that Miss Semper's seamstress was rather good with a stitch. The poor girl just did not know when to stop."

"Lord Bramley came to find me in the park," Constance blurted out. "And Mr. Ludwig has sent me a mahogany art box with watercolor paints inside, which I find very disconcerting. And I may see Lord Bramley tonight, at a card party."

"Gracious," Lady Juniper said. "I had not been certain what we were to discuss at this meeting of The Stalwarts. Now I am rather more clear. Perhaps we go one thing at a time."

Constance nodded. And really, she was very relieved to have these two ladies to pour out all her chaotic thoughts to.

"How did Lord Bramley find you in the park, Lady Constance?" Miss Semper asked. "I never see anybody I am hoping to see."

"Oh, well, he did recommend to me a place near the Serpentine that would be pleasant to sketch. And then a time the light would be favorable."

"I see," Lady Juniper said. "So it was nearly like an invitation, rather than a happenstance meeting."

"Yes, I suppose it was," Constance admitted.

"Was that wise, though?" Lady Juniper asked. "As we do not yet know his real intentions."

"Probably not wise," Constance said.

"But thrilling all the same?" Miss Semper said.

Constance nodded, as it had indeed been thrilling.

"Did he give anything away about his intentions?" Lady Juniper asked.

"Not about having any mercenary ideas," Constance said. "Though he did inquire about my calendar and my mother told him we would be at Lord Nankin's card party this evening."

"Poor you, Lady Constance!" Miss Semper said. "You do not even like cards."

"No, and neither does Lord Bramley."

"So if he does turn up it will be further evidence of interest," Lady Juniper said.

"Yes, I suppose it will be. I just wish I knew for certain what is really in his mind and heart." She paused, then said, "When I first opened the mahogany art box, I did assume it was him that sent it."

"It would make perfect sense," Miss Semper said. "He found you drawing in the park, and then sent you watercolors."

"Very odd that it is from Mr. Ludwig," Lady Juniper said.

"As I thought too! I have hardly spoken to that gentleman, as the Duchess of Ralston threw him out of his seat at the poetical tableau."

"When you did speak to him," Lady Juniper asked, "did you happen to mention you were partial to watercolors?

"I hardly know," Constance said. "I do not recall it, in any event."

"I often do not recall the full details of a conversation myself," Miss Semper said. "It is nervousness, you see. Gracious, I dined next to Sir Jonathan at Lady Meredith's house last evening and it is a blank void in my mind. All I recall is him saying something about his horse."

"What was Mr. Ludwig's manner when he spoke to you, Lady Constance?" Lady Juniper asked, presumably leaving Sir Jonathan and his horse behind.

"His manner…" Constance trailed off. She did not know how to describe his manner. He'd said some things that had discomposed her about gentlemen out hunting for large dowries.

"Well, I suppose it is neither here nor there, as you do not like Mr. Ludwig."

"My mother threw the note into the grate, but I retrieved it as there was no fire." She handed the note to Lady Juniper.

"Well, it does not say anything shocking, in any case. He just sends his compliments."

Constance took back the note and tucked it into her reticule. "My mother is sending the box and paints back to Ackerman's," Constance said, "and I am glad of it. She says it was far too forward and she cannot like it."

"Oh I see," Miss Semper said. "Sending a gift is too forward a thing. I hadn't thought of it."

"My mother says that it would only have been acceptable if there had been a growing attachment or if it had been sent anonymously. If the note had not been signed, there would be no problem in keeping it because the keeping would not indicate partiality to any particular person."

"Perhaps it is fortunate that it was signed, though," Lady Juniper said thoughtfully. "Had it arrived unsigned, you would have assumed it came from Lord Bramley."

That idea hit Constance rather hard. "I would have done. And then I would have thanked him when I saw him. I would have been humiliated."

"Happily, you have avoided that misstep," Lady Juniper said.

"If I ever did such a thing," Miss Semper said, "I would fall off my chair and die of embarrassment."

"You certainly would not, Miss Semper. You are made of sterner stuff than that," Lady Juniper said.

"Am I?" Miss Semper said, as if this was the first she'd heard of being made of stern stuff.

Constance thought that, of the three of them, it was Lady Juniper who was made of stern stuff. She had taken to examining how Lady Juniper approached a situation as she thought she might learn something from it.

"Let us think about this card party you will attend tonight," Lady Juniper said.

"Oh yes, let us think about it," Miss Semper said, examining an almond biscuit as if answers might be found there.

Constance had of course already spent vast amounts of time thinking about it. "I was wondering, is there any way to try to get Lord Bramley to reveal himself? If there is anything to reveal. Is there a way to prompt him to reveal his thoughts about…money?"

Miss Semper chewed on her biscuit; Lady Juniper tapped her chin.

Miss Semper put down her biscuit. "I suppose you might say something like, money is very pleasant, do not you think, and then see what he says to it."

Constance was not sure of the efficacy of a question like that. After all, nobody was likely to claim that they found money unpleasant.

"As always, Miss Semper," Lady Juniper said, "you are charmingly direct. I am afraid, though, that what we need to do is to trip up Lord Bramley, assuming he is hiding his motives."

"Which I, for one," Miss Semper said, "really hope he is not."

"I, too," Constance said. "But I must know the truth." Constance paused, then she said, "How, precisely, does one trip up a gentleman?"

"You might inquire into his estate," Lady Juniper said. "Attempt to get some details on future plans. After all, if Lord Bramley is hunting for a large dowry, then certainly there will be plans. There are always plans for an incoming lump sum."

"I see," Miss Semper said, "it will trip him up because Lady Constance will not have even mentioned money. He will not be guarded in his answer."

"That is the hope," Lady Juniper said. "And then you might mention that I have spoken very glowingly of him. If he is after the largest pile of money going, his ears will perk up at that. Maybe Lord Bramley will send me flowers, then we will have an answer. Heaven knows, the fellow can barely stand the sight of me, so if he will initiate any sort of contact, that will say volumes regarding his motivations."

Miss Semper fanned herself. "It feels as if we are engaged in such a fraught plot!"

Constance felt compelled to challenge the idea that anybody, not Lord Bramley nor any other gentleman, could barely stand the sight of Lady Juniper. Though, for her own selfish reasons she did hope that was the case. As for Miss Semper's idea that it was a fraught plot…well it was, rather.

The footman who had led Constance into the garden had been called away ages ago. Now he returned with a platter of cake slices.

"Ah, our butler would have arranged for Cook to send up his famous lemon pound cake," Lady Juniper said.

The footman nodded that was indeed the case.

"Mr. Michaelson is very good about those sorts of gestures. Well! I believe we have settled on a direction for Lady Constance's evening encounter with Lord Bramley. Let Operation Trip-up commence."

Constance did not know how skilled she would be at attempting to trip up a gentleman, but she had to try. She also did not know what Lord Bramley would say about his plans for his estate, but she would listen carefully. She hoped and prayed with everything she had that Lord Bramley had no plans whatsoever.