Secrets Of A Wallflower

He nodded solicitously. ‘Of course. I know how delicate you ladies can be after such a busy evening as this.’

‘How understanding you are, Lord Thursby,’ her mother chirped, practically pushing Diana out the door towards their waiting carriage. ‘We shall look forward to seeing you tomorrow.’

Just as they were leaving, a procession of carriages arrived behind them. From the grandest stepped a man unmistakable in his healthy girth and greying blond beard, a beautiful lady in an ivory satin and ostrich feather cloak on his arm. The Prince and Princess of Wales. Diana just hoped her mother did not see them and make them go back.

* * *

On the journey home, Diana knew her mother was chattering about Lord Thursby and his ‘gentlemanly behaviour’, and the splendours of the ball. But Diana only paid enough attention to nod and smile at the right moments. Her real thoughts were far away—with tomorrow’s interview, with plans to persuade her parents to let her go to Paris if she got the job. It would be a very delicate task.

And, she had to admit, her thoughts wouldn’t seem to leave William Blakely. How wonderful it had been in those few moments alone with him in the dimly lit library, so far away from everyone and everything else. How she wished she could have stayed there longer, listening to him talk! Those dark eyes watching her...

* * *

Once they were home, she managed to plead her headache and escape to her room. There she took out the portfolio she had managed to compile: sample essays about fashion, etiquette and bits of society gossip. Losing her notebook at such a moment was a consternation, but hopefully not a disaster. She could remember enough to reconstruct the evening’s observations and hopefully Alexandra would find the notebook itself.

She found another folder, stuffed full of old drawings and notes, and beneath a stack of flower studies was her old sketch of William Blakely at the lake behind Miss Grantley’s. His smile still glowed from the faded paper, the lines of his face still elegant, classical. He hadn’t changed so much after all, yet so many other things seemed to.

She took out another copy of the job listing and carefully read over the words.

Writer wanted. Paris assignment. Must be fashionable and have a way with words. Portfolio preferred. Please apply to the Ladies’ Weekly offices.

She closed her eyes and whispered, ‘Please let it happen,’ as she envisaged in her mind what it could all be like. Walking by the Seine, sipping wine at a café on the famous new tower, visiting Monsieur Worth’s studio itself.

But now, much to her shock, when she imagined dancing at the Moulin Galette, her partner wasn’t some faceless, dashing Frenchman. It was William Blakely, smiling down at her in the red and gold lights of the lanterns, spinning her through the night.

Which was most strange, for Sir William didn’t seem at all like a spinning sort of gentleman...

Chapter Three

Diana hurried down the pavement, clutching at the leather valise containing her sketches and the portfolio of ‘articles’ she had cobbled together to try to impress the magazine editor. She could barely hear the commotion of the London streets around her, the clatter of carriage and omnibus wheels, the shouts and cries and laughter, the shriek of the bobby’s whistle. All she could focus on was getting to her interview on time and what she would say when she got there.

She waited on a corner to cross the street, caught a glimpse of herself in a shopfront window and straightened her hat. She had dressed in the most stylish yet simple thing she owned, a tailored russet-red suit with leg-o’-mutton sleeves and narrow lapels, with a patent-leather yellow belt that matched the colour of her shirtwaist. Her felt hat was a matching red with a yellow-checked ribbon. She felt terribly crisp and efficient, which she hoped covered up her giddiness from not being able to sleep a wink after the ball.

If only she hadn’t lost her new notes about the fashions at the Waverton ball! She had stayed up until dawn writing new descriptions, but she worried they weren’t quite as vivid as they should be.

She also worried that William Blakely seemed to slip too much into her memories of the ball, always getting in the way of everything else! The dratted man. How had he come to be so—so distracting?

The crowd surged forward and Diana went with them as they flowed towards Trafalgar Square. The Ladies’ Weekly offices were there, and she felt her excitement flutter even higher as she glimpsed the stone tower of its office building. Everyone around her seemed intent on their own errands, all black suits and tailored dresses, leather cases and intent expressions.

The difference between that workaday crowd and the people at the Waverton ball was amazing. Diana felt at the same moment out of place and exactly where she belonged. It was most strange.

She rushed around the corner and nearly bumped into a man hurrying in the opposite direction. His bowler hat tumbled to the pavement.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ she cried and bent to retrieve the hat before it could roll into the street. He reached for it at the same time and they almost knocked each other to the ground. Diana’s own hat tilted over her eyes.

Flustered and embarrassed, she pushed it back and glanced up at the man, who was laughing. To her shock, she saw it was William Blakely, looking not at all dignified and solemn now. His hair, rumpled by the loss of his hat, waved over his brow in an unruly dark comma and she glimpsed a dimple—a dimple!—in his cheek as he laughed even harder.

‘Sir William,’ she gasped. ‘What a surprise. I do beg your pardon. Again.’

‘Good day, Miss Martin,’ he said, his laughter fading to a wry smile. ‘You are looking quite well this morning.’ He took her arm and helped her up, gently brushing the dust from her sleeve. She felt her cheeks turn warm under his gaze, his touch.

‘It was quite a lovely party last night,’ she said, feeling rather silly. A lovely party? After she had run into this man in the most ridiculous circumstances now—twice? ‘In the end.’

‘You’re up quite early. I see dancing ’til dawn couldn’t tire you.’ He gave her a teasing smile and there was that dimple again.

Diana laughed. She just couldn’t help it. ‘Well, I admit I do have an early appointment. I really should be on my way.’

‘Let me escort you, then.’

Escort her? Then she really never would think clearly at her interview! ‘That is kind, but I’m sure you must be getting to your own work.’ Then a terrible thought suddenly struck her, making some of the smiling glow fade. Maybe he was not on his way to work. Maybe he had a meeting, an assignation, with someone like Lady Smythe-Tomas.

His smile turned quizzical, as if he sensed her thoughts. ‘Indeed I should, but I’m glad to be delayed in such a delightful way. It gives me a chance to return this.’ He reached into his coat pocket and took out a small book.

‘My notebook!’ Diana cried. So that was where it had been. Had he found it when she dropped her reticule in the library? Had he read it? Even the silly gossipy bits? How ridiculous he must think her, then.

‘You seemed to have misplaced it last night. I meant to give it to Alexandra, but I’m afraid she was rather distracted by the Prince and Princess’s arrival. I’m glad I could return it to its rightful owner so quickly.’

‘That’s kind of you,’ she said again. Diana quickly replaced it in her valise. ‘I did wonder where it went.’

‘I shouldn’t keep you any longer. If you won’t let me escort you, perhaps I could give you a cup of tea after your errand? There’s a rather nice little teashop around the corner from here. To make up in small part for knocking you to the ground.’

Diana peeked up at him from beneath the brim of her hat, curious and excited and unsure all at the same time. She knew she shouldn’t, that her confused feelings towards him made him rather dangerous at such a moment in her life. But she found herself smiling and saying, ‘That sounds most pleasant. Thank you.’

After all, it was a day to be daring, to leap before she looked. What was a cup of tea after a job interview? A cup of tea with Sir William Blakely. After a job interview. Two things she would never have thought she could ever do.

He smiled, though there was no dimple that time. Diana felt a pang of disappointment. ‘Excellent, Miss Martin. Here is my card. My office is just on the next street, you can see it from here,’ he said, indicating a quiet, discreet Georgian mansion, all elegant red brick and white stone, plain except for the bright flag above the doorway. ‘Just call on the receptionist in the hall when you’ve finished your errand.’

‘I will.’

His gaze flickered behind her, a small frown creasing his brow. ‘Is your maid with you?’

‘I...’ Diana made herself laugh. A maid would have been in the way at the magazine—and would run right back to her parents with the tale before she could decide how to frame it all. She hadn’t been thinking of what would happen if she met an acquaintance, especially not Sir William. ‘No, not today. It is nearly the twentieth century, Sir William! We must step into the modern era some time.’

He smiled wryly and placed his hat back on his head. Diana rather missed his glossy dark hair, that wonderful air of informality. ‘Indeed. Good luck on your errand, Miss Martin. I do hope to see you later.’

She nodded and he tipped his hat as he took his leave. She watched him walk towards his office, his stride strong and confident though not at all showy.

What a strange man, she thought. So hard to read. Strange, and—and quite wonderful, too. A puzzle. And she did like puzzles.

But she couldn’t worry about Sir William at the moment. She had a task to complete, one she had been waiting to do for ever, it seemed. She squared her shoulders and marched ahead, clutching her valise in both hands, trying not to knock anyone else down in her path.

She did wonder, though, if he had read the notebook. If so, what had he thought? She wavered between wanting his advice on her work and being rather blush-faced to think he had seen her scribbles. Did he think her frivolous for such detailed descriptions of gowns and party arrangements? Maybe he wouldn’t, if he knew what she was really doing with them.

The offices of Ladies’ Weekly was on the third floor of a rather nondescript but solid building, in a corner tower. She made her way past rows of young women at typewriters and stacks of papers and photos waiting to be made into articles. The click of the typewriters blended with shouts and cries, and the warm air smelled of newsprint and coffee. It was unlike anything Diana had ever seen before, entirely different from the flower-scented hush of her parents’ house, and it was utterly thrilling.

She was led to a small corner office, where a bewhiskered, harried-looking man sat behind a cluttered desk, dictating to an equally harried-looking lady in spectacles and a pink-striped shirtwaist.

‘Ah, so this is the Paris girl!’ the man shouted. ‘Not before time, I’ll say. Come in, come in.’

‘I...’ Confused, Diana glanced at the clock on the wall. ‘I thought my appointment was at ten?’

The woman chuckled. ‘You are quite punctual, Miss Martin. He means on time for Paris. Our last correspondent there decided to get married instead of going to the Exposition and has rather left us in the lurch. We need a replacement right away.’

‘You’re not engaged, are you?’ he barked.

‘I—no,’ Diana murmured, thinking of Lord Thursby. And of Sir William.

‘It would mean you would be in charge of the coverage rather than assisting,’ the woman said. ‘We do have such a small staff. I hope that would not be a problem?’

Diana swallowed hard. She had never written professionally before, but she had wanted this so much for so long. Surely she could do it. ‘Of course not.’

‘The Lady and the Mail are already there, curse them,’ the man said, shoving a stack of papers on to the floor. ‘We need to scoop them and soon! You look like a young lady who knows the fashions of Paris.’

‘I do have lots of ideas for articles,’ Diana said quickly, digging out her portfolio from her valise. ‘The new sporting clothes, for tennis and bicycling. Worth and Doucet...’

‘But do you have connections?’ he demanded. ‘That’s the question. Can you get into all those fancy parties in Paris? Give our readers the inside look?’

‘I...’ she began. Of course she could. Couldn’t she? After all, as her mother said, she had gone to the best school, made the best friends. Surely she knew how to get what she wanted, no matter what her parents said.

‘What he means is—can you tell our readers things no one else can know? Describe gowns no one else has yet seen, things like that?’ the woman said.

‘I do have an invitation to the opening of the new Gordston’s Department Store on the Champs-Élysées,’ Diana said. It was actually Alexandra’s invitation, but her friend had passed it on, too shy to face it. Malcolm Gordston was a dashing celebrity, handsome beyond words they said, a man who had risen from poverty in Scotland to the height of elegant riches because he knew how to give the stylish world what it craved. ‘And I know how to get to the very top level of Monsieur Eiffel’s tower for a moment all alone. Only a very select few are allowed there, you know.’

The man and woman exchanged a long glance. ‘Excellent,’ he said. ‘You’re hired, Miss Martin. Can you start next week?’

Diana quickly accepted and floated out of the building on such a glittering cloud she hardly knew how her feet carried her down the street. The crowd on the pavement swirled past, buffeting her on all sides, yet she barely noticed them.

She was going to Paris. She was going to write. Never mind that she now had to persuade her parents. She had a job.

She walked a few more steps and glanced around. The crowd was the same as it had been earlier, a hurrying, sombre group in dark suits, not paying her any more attention than the stone lions on the square. She wanted to dance, to twirl, to shout out her excitement. But everyone else had their own work to get to and it was still too early to call on Emily or Alexandra, even though she would have dearly loved their advice. She needed someone to tell, someone to give her sensible words about her situation.

She suddenly remembered William Blakely. He had asked her to tea! When they first met, his seriousness, his quiet watchfulness, had made her feel uncertain, too girlish, too giggly. But then she had seen that other side to him, that flash of humour, those hidden depths. Maybe someone like that was just what she needed right now?

And she would get to see him again.

She turned the corner towards that elegant Georgian mansion, and hurried up the stone steps before she could change her mind and run away. It did seem like a day for bold moves. She had a job now! Surely a cup of tea with William Blakely would be only one more daring step?

She pushed open the door and found herself in another new world. This one was completely different from the crowded, ever-moving river of the street, or the bustle and dust of the magazine. The hall was all cool marble and hush, portraits of stern old men staring down at her from the azure-painted walls, potted palms looming tall in the corners.

What was it exactly William did in that place? she wondered. She knew he had something to do with diplomacy and that he had just returned from India. Maybe the building was an outpost of the India Office her father had once worked for?

She glanced back over her shoulder, uncertain. But he had invited her. And she found she really did want to see him again, tell him her news and hear what he thought about it all. How very odd; he was really a stranger to her, yet she was quite eager to see that smile of his again.

She nodded resolutely and marched up to the only living being in that silent hall, a young man with pomaded hair and spectacles in an old-fashioned black suit, who sat behind a dark oak desk. He glanced up from the papers he was sorting, a frown on his face.

‘May I help you, Miss...?’

‘Miss Martin,’ she answered with a smile and far more confidence than she felt. After all, she would have to learn to march in and take what she needed now, or she would never get the articles she wanted for the magazine.

‘I am here to see Sir William Blakely,’ she said calmly, adjusting her gloves as if she did this sort of thing every day. ‘He is expecting me for tea.’

The young man stared at her for a long moment, his face growing redder, but she just kept smiling. Finally, he gulped and nodded. ‘If you will just wait here, Miss—Miss Martin,’ he said and hurried away up a curving staircase.

Well, Diana thought, that seemed to do the trick. She studied the hall a little closer and saw that between the portraits were decorations that looked like framed medals. Above her head were banners and swords. She wondered what it all meant.

After her flush of new confidence, she suddenly felt nervous again. What if he had just been being polite to invite her to tea? What if she was interrupting him in something terribly important?

But she had no time to leave. As she made to move away, she heard William call, ‘Miss Martin. I’m so glad you decided to call on us.’

She turned to see him coming down the stairs. He had tidied up after their meeting on the street, his dark hair smooth and shining again, his tie straight, all cool and businesslike. Yet there was that tiny flash of a dimple.

‘Sir William,’ she answered with a bright smile. ‘So am I!’

Chapter Four

‘I’m afraid we are in something of a quandary, Sir William,’ said Lord Ellersmere, the head of William’s division of the Foreign Office, an hour before he expected Diana Martin to reappear. Lord Ellersmere placed his fingertips against his flowing white moustache and nodded solemnly. ‘Indeed we are.’

William turned his attention away from the window and the brightening day outside, abashed to realise he was thinking of Diana, of how flustered she looked on the pavement, and not on the task at hand. ‘I thought the Paris arrangements were all in place.’

‘So did we,’ Lord Ellersmere said with a gruff laugh. ‘But you know the Prince. Always changing his mind, dashing off to some spa town or another. He gives this office a headache like no other. But we must do as we must.’

‘Because he will one day be our King?’

Lord Ellersmere sighed. ‘May that day be a long one away.’

‘And he has changed the Paris arrangements again?’

‘So it seems. We thought the Queen had persuaded him not to go until the autumn, but he has heard too much about all the excitement and has decided that he must see it for himself directly after the opening.’

‘But that’s only in a week’s time! We would need to arrange for some reconnaissance first.’

‘No time for that. H.R.H. says he and the Princess are only going unofficially, for two or three days at the most. They want to go up on the tower and he says the Princess has a yearning to see the Indian jewels. Yet, of course, unofficial only means we must find a way to be invisible and still make sure all the royal niceties are attended to. You are the very best at that sort of thing. Our Bertie likes you. And you know exactly what to watch out for.’

William nodded solemnly. That had indeed been his job in India. Who would have known he would find himself in the same spot at home so soon? If only it all ended in a better state. That was his most important task now. ‘I saw in the papers that Maharajah Singh Lep is also on his way to Paris. Does that have something to do with the need to see the Indian jewels?’

Lord Ellersmere’s gaze sharpened. ‘Yes, I have heard that, as well. We could hope his ship is delayed and he misses the Wales party—and the Wavertons. I understand they will be there, too.’

‘Does the Duke still want to display the Star at the Indian Pavilion?’

‘The Duke says he is merely the steward of the jewel and it must be shown to the world. But I hear whispers the Wavertons aren’t as flush as they would seem.’

William frowned. He had not heard that about his aunt and her husband, who had always been one of the wealthiest ducal couples, always entertaining lavishly. Was that no longer true? Where had Chris heard about that ridiculous Indian investment scheme of Thursby’s? Could it be something their uncle was trying, as well? Waverton had always been fascinated by India. If he could couple that with a way to make money quickly...

‘And is Singh still unhappy at the sale of the jewel?’ William said.

Lord Ellersmere shrugged. ‘Who can say? The man is certainly still wealthy enough. But who wouldn’t be unhappy about it all?’

‘I heard something to the effect that there was an Indian investment scheme floating about in the clubs.’

‘A scheme?’

‘I don’t know the details yet. Probably mining or something of the sort. Silks and gold always seem to be in vogue.’

‘Do you think the Prince has heard of it all? Could that be behind the mania to get to Paris soon?’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised. Bertie seems to enjoy these little schemes as well as the next man.’

‘Indeed. It wouldn’t be the first time. Her Majesty wouldn’t be happy to hear it.’ Lord Ellersmere sat back in his chair, looking suddenly weary. William understood the feeling. The job of ‘keeping an eye’ on the Prince was a constant one. ‘Then an even closer eye must be kept on the Prince for now. He is always susceptible to such romantic ideas.’

There was a knock at the office door and a secretary peeked inside past gleaming spectacles. ‘I do beg your pardon, Lord Ellersmere, but Sir William has a caller.’

‘A caller?’ William asked. He was not aware of any appointments. But—could it possibly be Diana? His weariness suddenly faded.

The secretary gave a pinched frown. ‘Yes. It’s—it’s a lady. A rather well-dressed one. She says you invited her to tea.’

Yes, it must be Diana. ‘Tell her I will join her in a moment.’

As he left, Lord Ellersmere looked on with bright interest. Anything new or different in their office was a cause of great curiosity, which Will suddenly realised he should have remembered. So much for diplomacy. All his caution seemed to fly out the door when faced with red hair and lively, chocolate-coloured eyes.

‘A lady?’ Lord Ellersmere said.

‘Miss Martin. An old school friend of my cousin Lady Alexandra. I saw her this morning and asked her to tea.’ The funniest thing that had ever hit him on the street at such an early hour, surely.

‘Martin? A good family. Her father was on the India station once. A good wife, you know, Sir William, can be priceless in our work.’

‘I have no thought of marrying soon, Lord Ellersmere,’ he said quickly, trying to cut off any gossip in the bud. Not that Ellersmere, or his priceless wife, were gossips. No one would last long in their office if they were. But he had found that men as well as ladies could be great matchmakers. He couldn’t tell them he intended never to repeat his own parents’ mistakes. Never to burden a woman with his work. ‘Our task is an urgent one, after all, and surely secret.’

Lord Ellersmere laughed. ‘Too true, my good fellow. But you will need a proper house soon if you want to move ahead and a wife to run it for you.’

William nodded. He knew that was true. But surely Diana Martin had plans of her own. She didn’t seem the sort to run a house and sit around waiting for a husband to get back from his ‘club’. She was too bumbling, too plunge-ahead-no-matter-the-cost. She needed looking after.

Though, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy her intriguing company for a cup of tea.

He made his way downstairs and found Diana studying the paintings on the hall wall. She really had grown up since they had met at Miss Grantley’s school, he thought, turned into an elegant lady, all glowing happiness. A few of the young secretaries had gathered to gawk at her over the banisters, but she didn’t appear to take any notice. Her thoughts were unreadable as she looked at the paintings.