The Accidental Marriage Read online

  Lord Castlereagh had not yet arrived, but was expected within days. Sir Carey left Tanner unpacking his gear and strolled out to get his bearings, and perhaps meet some acquaintances.

  Vienna, he discovered, was a maze of narrow streets, a jumble of aristocratic mansions side by side with the lesser houses of the merchants, many of whom appeared to live above their shops or restaurants, and the buildings which housed the poorer citizens. Constrained by the ramparts of the old city walls, the people of Vienna had built upwards. Though this, and the narrowness of the streets, kept the sunlight out for much of the time, there were many squares and open spaces, most of them filled with trees, so the city did not feel claustrophobic.

  Returning to his apartment, having seen no one he knew, he paused for a glass of wine in a café near the Hofburg Palace. Sir Carey thought he had never seen so many cafés, restaurants and shops in such a small space. All were doing excellent business, for the city was crammed with thousands of visitors from all over Europe and Russia, and this was before the main delegations had arrived. The Viennese would be having a profitable time, he mused, and maybe it was necessary. The Emperor Francis would need to increase taxation to pay for the lavish entertainments Sir Carey had heard were being planned.

  He returned to his room and sat down to write to Angelica, a tender smile on his face. Though her family lived only a dozen miles from Courtlands, they moved in different circles in the country, and he hadn’t seen her since she was a child. When she had accepted him, instead of some far more eligible men who had been paying her serious attentions, he had been overwhelmed with an amazed gratitude. She was the prettiest debutante of the Season, had sufficient fortune not to have to marry for money, and she had a gentle disposition. She had seemed to cling to him from the start, probably finding comfort in the fact they came from the same county. He thought himself the happiest of men, and spared a few moments pitying the wealthier or higher born men she had rejected.

  It had been a severe wrench to insist their wedding be delayed until after his return from the Congress. Angelica did not care for a great show, she’d insisted, and would have willingly accompanied him to Vienna. He had been afraid that if she did not have the sort of wedding most girls wished for, she would in later years regret it. And much as he would have relished her company on this mission, he knew her presence would have prevented him from doing a competent job.

  *

  Fanny bit her lip, and glanced from under her eyelashes at Julia, who was regarding the hands clasped together in her lap with fixed attention. She could have sworn her sister was desperately suppressing a laugh.

  Frau Gunter was of the old school, still rigidly upright and tightly corseted. She wore the elaborate embroidered and panniered dresses of the last century, a powdered wig, and used a great deal of cosmetics on her wizened face.

  They had arrived before noon, having spent the previous night at an inn outside the city, but Frau Gunter had kept to her own room until just before the dinner hour, and they met her only when sipping inferior sherry before the meal.

  Her first words had been disapproving comments about the light muslins Fanny and Julia wore, and she expressed the pious hope that their behaviour would not be as slight or indecorous as their appearances promised. Then she had turned to the children, who were looking terrified, and noted with approval on their resemblance to Frederick.

  ‘I thought they resembled my mother,’ Fanny said quietly, emboldened to this mild rebellion by the presence of Julia. Her sister, though occasionally causing her perturbation, was usually a welcome support.

  Frau Alice Gunter snorted. ‘They may be insipid blondes,’ she said in guttural French, ‘but they have the Gunter nose, just as Frederick’s mother did. It’s a pity he did not inherit it. It looks better on a man.’

  Julia uttered a choking sound, disguised as a cough, and Frau Gunter turned to her.

  ‘Do you have a cold?’ she asked. ‘If so, I would be pleased if you keep yourself away from me. I cannot afford to take risks at my age.’

  ‘No, ma’am, I am perfectly well,’ Julia replied cheerfully. ‘But I will certainly keep out of your way as much as possible. I mean to teach the children all I can about Vienna and history while we are fortunate to be living here, so I will be taking them out to see the city whenever the weather is clement enough.’

  Frau Gunter looked hard at her, then sniffed, and Fanny bit her lip again. She was tempted to ask if the old lady had a cold, but knew she would have to keep silence if their stay was to be bearable.

  It would be difficult, Fanny thought. She and Frederick had been allocated the smallest bedroom in the apartment, while Julia, her maid, Maggie, Frau Gunter’s maid, Ilse, and the two girls shared a slightly larger one. There was just one salon, where it would be impossible to give dinner parties, as it was large enough to hold a dozen people at most. Frederick’s valet, Silvers, and the coachman, Evans, had been relegated to a tiny room off the even tinier kitchen, which was normally used as a storeroom for preserves and an accumulation of old furniture, trunks, and several piles of books and old copies of the Weiner Zeitung. There had just been room, Frederick had grumpily reported, after piling things to one side, for a narrow palliasse the men would have to share.

  ‘Silvers will give notice,’ he’d predicted. ‘I’ll find us somewhere more suitable tomorrow.’

  Fanny wished he had been able to. But after several hours he had returned to say there was just no suitable accommodation available, there were so many visitors to the city. They would have to endure the crowding, and the disagreeable attitude of his grandmother.

  They escaped as soon as dinner was over, saying that after the journey they needed an early night.

  ‘What an unpleasant woman!’ Julia whispered.

  Fanny nodded. ‘Let’s hope the Congress is soon over. I don’t think I can endure much of this. Frederick said Lord Castlereagh arrived yesterday. It’s two weeks to the official opening, and perhaps four weeks for the negotiations. I’m already counting the days.’

  ‘We must get out as much as possible. Let’s take the girls exploring tomorrow morning. I saw several parks as we drove in, and Ilse says they are all open to everyone.’

  Chapter Two

  JULIA SMILED AS the children ran on ahead, Paula screaming to her sister to wait for her. After three weeks cooped up in the travelling carriage, with their father frowning whenever they made a noise, Alice and Paula were only too willing to explore Vienna’s many parks. Frau Gunter had been more amenable this morning, possibly because she partook of breakfast in bed, and only encountered the children when they were on their way out.

  ‘She was almost friendly,’ Fanny said, as they strolled along the chestnut-bordered paths in the Prater. ‘It may not be so bad after all. I suspect it was the shock of all of us descending on her yesterday.’

  ‘She’d invited you to stay,’ Julia said. ‘She must have known how many of us there are, unless she didn’t think you’d bring any servants.’

  ‘I don’t suppose she bothered to count. But she told Frederick last night that a friend of hers with a larger apartment was thinking of leaving Vienna and going to Salzburg to stay with her son while the Congress is here. We might be able to rent that. He’s grumbling at the expense, but he’s willing to pay in order to have more space and our own rooms for entertaining. He’s already been invited to several receptions and balls, and he says there will be even more once the other delegations arrive.’

  ‘I thought the Congress was for talking,’ Julia began, but was interrupted by a howl from Paula, who had tripped over her feet as she looked backwards at some soldiers exercising their horses. A group of horses ridden by ladies was trotting towards her, only yards away and, as she rolled over, she was directly in their path.

  By the time Fanny and Julia reached the little girl she had been scooped out of danger and set on her feet by a man passing by.

  ‘I don’t think she’s hurt, ma’am,’ he said, smiling
at Fanny, as Paula clung to her skirts, sobbing.

  ‘Paula, dear, let me look at your knees,’ Fanny said. ‘Did you scrape them?’

  Alice came running back, and grasped Julia’s hand. She reassured the little girl that Paula wasn’t badly hurt, and turned to the man, smiling ruefully. ‘Thank you, sir. I shouldn’t have been letting them run about, but they are so pleased to be out of the coach.’

  He was, she noted, very personable and impeccably, even expensively dressed. Tall, with dark wavy hair, and piercing blue eyes, he was a man who would have attracted attention in any gathering. And he had a devastating smile.

  ‘You have come out from England?’ he asked now. ‘I arrived a few days ago, and I am still aching from the jolting. Let me introduce myself. Sir Carey Evelegh, at your service.’

  ‘I’m Julia Marsh, and this is my sister, Lady Cunningham. And her daughters, Alice and Paula.’

  Alice shyly held out her hand, and Paula, prompted by Fanny, did the same. She gulped, and with a watery smile said a quiet ‘thank you.’

  ‘We’re in your debt, Sir Carey,’ Fanny said. ‘I was expecting her to be trampled on.’

  ‘No, there was plenty of room, the horses would have avoided her. Is your husband Sir Frederick Cunningham? I have met him occasionally in London, and he mentioned he was coming here.’

  ‘Do come and call,’ Fanny invited. ‘He will be happy to see a friend. We may not be at this address for more than a few days, though, we hope to move into a larger apartment.’

  ‘I would be delighted. Enjoy the rest of your walk, ladies. Goodbye, Alice and Paula, I hope to see you again soon.’

  He raised his hat and walked away.

  Julia looked after him. ‘What do you hazard he’ll forget all about us?’ she asked. ‘He didn’t say Frederick was his friend. Has Frederick ever mentioned him?’

  ‘No, but he doesn’t tell me about his London cronies. Wasn’t he handsome? I wonder whether he is married?’

  Julia laughed. ‘Fanny, I beg you, don’t start matchmaking here. I’m your children’s governess, remember!’

  ‘Stuff and nonsense. You’re my sister. I hope he does call.’

  *

  To Fanny’s delight Frau Schwartz, Frau Gunter’s friend, agreed to let them rent her apartment, which was in the next building, as well as her cook and housemaid to look after them.

  ‘It has six whole rooms!’ she told Julia. ‘There are two salons, connected by double doors, so we can entertain properly.’

  Julia thought of Greystones, the rambling, many-roomed Jacobean manor house that was Fanny’s home, and the London house they rented when they spent the Season there. Two salons seemed quite inadequate, unless they were spacious. She suspected they would not, in the end, do a great deal of entertaining. From rumours they had heard the official receptions, balls, military reviews, shooting and hunting parties, together with the theatrical performances, concerts and ballets, would fully occupy the time. She could not imagine when the ministers would find time for negotiations, unless they did it over the card and supper tables.

  By the following day they were installed, and when Sir Carey called two days afterwards, having been given their new direction by Frau Gunter, Fanny was able to welcome him in a large, ornately furnished drawing-room.

  ‘We hear the ministers are already talking,’ Fanny said. ‘Are they not waiting for the other delegations to arrive?’

  ‘They are discussing how to go about it, which we hope will save time once the Congress opens officially. Have you received invitations to the reception at the Hofburg, on the thirtieth?’

  ‘Frederick hasn’t said.’

  ‘There is also a masked ball two days later, after the regimental parade. Everyone will be going to that. Even a palace as huge as the Hofburg will be crowded. It’s a vast place, like a city. It’s been added to over the centuries as the Hapsburgs gained more power. The oldest part is thirteenth century, but for the rest, all sorts of styles, rather like my own home but on a far grander scale. I will hope to see you there, but in such a crush who knows whether we’ll meet?’

  ‘Oh, we didn’t bring dominoes and masks,’ Fanny said.

  ‘Then we had better go shopping tomorrow,’ Julia said briskly. ‘What other entertainments are planned, Sir Carey? Surely they won’t all be huge affairs?’

  He grinned, and she felt a slight fluttering sensation in the region of her heart. He really was enormously attractive.

  ‘All the ministers will be entertaining. I hear Metternich has something very grand arranged.’

  ‘We heard that the Princess Bagration is giving a ball the day after the reception, but Frederick said that is a small affair. We saw her yesterday, out driving in the Prater. She is amazingly pretty. She’s Russian, is she not?’

  ‘She’s related to the Tsar. Tell me, were you in London during the celebrations in the summer when he visited? I saw Sir Frederick there once or twice, but we did not meet, Lady Cunningham.’

  As Fanny began to describe what she had seen, and deplore the massive crowds that had been everywhere, hoping for glimpses of the Tsar and the other important visitors, Julia frowned slightly. Why had he changed the subject so abruptly?

  ‘What’s the matter with Princess Bagration?’ she demanded, after he had left.

  Fanny shook her head. ‘I haven’t a notion. But he did not want to talk about her, did he? Perhaps he’s in love with her. After all, he did say he’d spent some time in Russia, so he probably met her there.’

  ‘We’ll no doubt discover it soon enough. Maggie says the servants spend half their time gossiping, when they are supposed to be marketing. I imagine their employers do too! Do we go and shop for your domino this afternoon, or wait until morning?’

  ‘Yours, too. You’ll have to come with me. Frederick won’t want to have to stay beside me all night, and I’d be terribly nervous on my own.’

  Julia did not protest. As well as recognizing the truth of Fanny’s words, she was eager to see Emperor Francis’s Hofburg Palace from the inside. They had seen the outside the previous day when they had been exploring the old quarter of the city. And she admitted to herself the hope that she might achieve a waltz with Sir Carey. This dance, which so many in England considered shocking, was much more popular on the Continent, and she had secretly learned how to dance it from a friend she had made in Bath, a niece of her late employer who had wanted a partner to practise with before she went to London for her first Season.

  *

  Sir Carey was writing a letter to Angelica, but found his attention distracted by thoughts of the problems he could foresee arising in Vienna. Prince Talleyrand had arrived, accompanied by Dorothée de Corlande, wife of his nephew, who acted as his official hostess, and objected vehemently to what he saw as an attempt by the four powers of Austria, Britain, Prussia and Russia to settle matters between themselves. Eventually the letter was very brief, describing his doings in the two days since he had last written to her. It was time to prepare for the masked ball.

  The Hofburg Palace, when he arrived, was sumptuously decorated in red and gold. Such was the crowd of people arriving he was late, and entered the Redoutensalle to see the Tsar, that unpredictable man who had created such offence in London by his rudeness, leading the Austrian Empress in a stately polonaise. He joined the throng which went up the grand staircase, through various rooms, and came finally to the Audience Chamber.

  He hadn’t been here before, and gazed round in awe. It was huge, with golden pillars and hangings of red velvet. Most of the guests appeared to be equally impressed, whether they were minor German royalty or plebeian merchants who rarely had the opportunity of mingling with so many aristocrats.

  After a while he began to wander through the maze of rooms, sampling the food from the many buffets, but looking for the English family he had encountered. He told himself they would be overwhelmed. They were not of the level of society which attended the Prince Regent’s lavish entertainments at Carlton Hou
se. Indeed, when he had mentioned them, Fanny had shuddered and declared she never wished to be invited. It had been a sufficient ordeal when she was presented during her first Season.

  The dominoes, disguising figures to some extent, apart from when the wearers were whirling in the dances, made it difficult to recognize people, though the masks were small enough to allow people who knew each other well to find their friends. He was estimating his chances of finding Lady Cunningham and her party as exceedingly remote when he heard Julia’s voice. It was clear, musical, and distinctive.

  He swung round, smiling. She was standing a few yards away, talking animatedly to a man he knew was a minor official at the Foreign Office, one of the clerks who had accompanied Lord Castlereagh. Fanny and Sir Frederick and an unknown couple were also in the group. Sir Frederick was looking grim.

  ‘Good evening,’ he said, moving towards them. ‘Lady Cunningham, I hope you will do me the honour of dancing with me?’

  She looked nervous, and glanced at her husband. Frederick forced a smile to his lips.

  ‘My wife has promised me this dance,’ he said abruptly.

  ‘Then Miss Marsh, perhaps?’ Sir Carey said smoothly. He could not suppress the feeling that she would be a much livelier companion than her sister, who appeared to be a rather timid, unconfident woman.

  They looked alike, superficially, but Julia was taller, more slender, and had slightly darker, honey-coloured hair, and deeper blue, almost violet, eyes. She was more vivid in every way, in both looks and deportment.

  Julia smiled and took his hand, and he led her towards the nearest ballroom, where the musicians were playing a waltz.

  ‘Oh dear,’ she said, and laughed. ‘Frederick will disapprove for days. He thinks the waltz is depraved. I doubt he’ll dance it even with his wife. It was to prevent you from dancing with her that he claimed her hand.’