After that he sought out Grace and said, “I am taking leave.” Grace looked at him with confused annoyance. She replied, “Fine. I will find a coach home with my friends.” Thaddeus was too incensed to argue. He simply found his coachman and footman and made to leave. He spoke briefly with Lord and Lady Talbot. As he made to go, he encountered Teresa. Apparently the expression on his face was quite frightening, for she took a step back once she had seen it. He simply said, “Good day to you. Please give your father my apologies and regards.”
Before she could say anything further he had moved off. His coachman saddled up the horses and Thaddeus climbed into his coach. He thought perhaps the journey home would cool his temper, yet he pulled around the drive to Wellington Manor still in a state. He had decided that he would be confronting Evie upon her return. She owed him some answers and he would be getting them.
Chapter 32
In spite of the fact that Isabella had been so morose, Evie found the ceremony very enjoyable. That had a great deal to do with the time in which she spent with Lord Boyd. It had proven to be quite pleasurable and he had proven to be every bit of the gentleman in such she originally believed.
Evie felt as if she could have floated back to Wellington Manor. When she spoke to Isabella last, she had softened a bit. It seems she was coming around to her newly minted marriage. Evie had been glad to see it.
Evie traveled back with Lady Lydia, the two going over the ceremony once more. Lydia intimated, “I do believe my time shall soon come. I have been in a bit of a courtship with a fine Marquess who seems to be quite taken with me. You may just be attending my nuptials soon.”
Evie replied, “I certainly hope so.”
“It certainly seems that you may also soon be intended. Lord Boyd has expressed a great fondness for you.”
“Oh, I do not know.”
“Mark my words! We shall soon all be brides.”
Evie smiled to herself. She did not want to believe it, but it just might be true. Evie was still in good humor when the coach stopped before Wellington Manor. She carried her skirts up the steps and walked into the manor, believing that she was headed to her room. She was startled to find Thaddeus in the foyer. He appeared to be in a rage. She wondered what the matter could be. That was until he turned on her.
Thaddeus said, barely able to maintain himself, “Miss Seymour, it is time that we talk.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“Oh, there is. When were you going to inform me that you were intended? On the invitation to your wedding?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Do not apologize. It hardly makes up for the distress you now cause me.”
“Your Grace, please excuse me, but I have no idea to what you are referring.”
“Are you not intended for Lord Boyd?”
“Lord Boyd? No. He is a mere acquaintance.”
“I saw the two of you together at the party. Do not compound your sins with lies.”
Evie took a step back. She did not understand what was happening. Even if she were in courtship with Lord Boyd, why should that cause Thaddeus such anger? It made no sense. She had been clear that she would like to be married soon. She did not understand why he was treating her in such a way. She replied, tearfully, “But it simply is not true. Lord Boyd and I are not to be intended. I have seen quite a bit of him this season and we have simply become better acquainted.”
“I will not have this in my home! When I hired you for this position it was because I thought that you were a lady. It seems that I misjudged you.”
“Your Grace, please sir! I do not understand.”
“Allow me to clarify myself. If you wish to carry on in such a way, you will not do so under my employ. You may gather your things, Miss Seymour, and return back to your family home. Your services will no longer be required.”
Evie stared at him in horror. She wished only to understand what had so changed. When she had taken leave of him before the wedding he had been particularly pleasant. All of a sudden, he had become cruel. She wished to explain herself, but she know not what to explain. She did not feel as if she had done anything improper. Yet, he was in such a rage.
Thaddeus stalked off toward his study. Miss Dean and Miss Pratt had heard the commotion and peaked their heads out to see the trouble. They were each standing off to the side in shock. Evie felt as if she could not move. She did not know what to do. Should she seek out Thaddeus to explain herself or should she simply pack her things and go.
Being as she had no idea what to explain and felt him quite past the point of reason, she did as she was told. Evie packed up her trunk and had it taken down to the coach by the valet. She took a moment to quietly say goodbye to the other staff, who appeared to be much aggrieved. Evie attempted to maintain her emotion. She was very saddened that she would not be able to say a proper goodbye to Grace.
She slowly walked down the steps and climbed into the coach. It was a very long ride home as she went over the events of the wedding and tried to recall any moment that would have so disturbed Thaddeus. She could think of none. She had only walked around the path with Lord Boyd. They had talked and nothing more.
She had thought that perhaps Thaddeus was a fine gentleman, but she had clearly been wrong. She could not understand such treatment from him. She thought of what she would say to her parents as she made her way back to their home. She still felt ill-equipped to explain what had transpired, as she herself did not understand. She simply rode on, tears streaming down her cheeks.
When the coach pulled up outside of her family home, the coachman helped her down. He then gave her a bow and said, “I shall be sorry to quit you, Misses.”
“And I you.”
The coachman brought Evie’s trunk up to the house. She knocked at the door. It was opened by Miss Daw, who was quite shocked to see her. She stepped aside to allow the coachman through. Evie turned to Miss Daw and said, “Are my parents home?”
Miss Daw replied, “Yes, dear. They are in the sitting room.”
Evie walked sadly into the sitting room. When her mother looked up and saw her she jumped from the chaise with a start. She said, “My dear Evie, whatever are you doing here? What has happened?”
Evie replied, with heavy voice, “I shall no longer be at my position in Wellington Manor. If it is quite alright, I should like to regain my room here.”
Her father climbed to his feet with a look of concern. He said, “Of course you are always quite welcome to stay here. Only, what has happened, dear girl?”
Evie began to cry then. She said, barely audible through her tears, “I do not know! I did nothing wrong, I swear it! When I returned from Lady Isabella’s wedding, His Grace was waiting for me in a rage. He accused me of impropriety and lies. He seems to believe that I withheld my status of engagement. He told me to be gone from the manor.”
Miss Seymour said, “Oh dear! What could have brought this on?”
Evie explained, “It seems that he saw me about a walk with Lord Boyd. I tried to explain to him that it was only a walk and that he and I were not intended, but he would not hear it. He suggested that I was not the lady that he believed.”
At this Mr. Seymour became enraged. He said, “How dare he! With his recent scandals he is in no position to question the breeding of another. What sort of gentleman would thus treat a lady? I shall see about this.”
Evie warned, “Father, no! He is a Duke. He will cause you great trouble.”
Her father fired back, “I am no stranger to trouble. I will not have some scoundrel treat my daughter in such a way. He shall answer for this.”
It took a great deal to calm Mr. Seymour down. It was only after a nip that Miss Seymour was able to calm his raging. She settled him down in his chair and begged him to remain put. Mr. Seymour seemed to agree for the time being. Evie had taken to her bed, sobbing despairingly. Her mother entered in her room and took her head in her hands.
Evie gasped, “Mother, I do not know what
I should have done.”
Her mother replied, “Oh dear, nothing at all. This is the sort of thing you get up to when dealing with nobility. They fly into these rages where no rational argument can change their mind. Because of their position, people simply must suffer, even at the cost of their own position.”
“But I so thought that we were on good terms. How could things have turned so suddenly?”
“We shall never know, unfortunately. Do not distress yourself, dear. It was quite time for you to be gone anyhow. You shall soon be a wife with your own home to maintain.”
“What if I don’t, mother? What shall I do?”
“You will be wed soon, darling. Do not fret. Do you not remember that not so long ago, your sisters were here in the same state? Now look. Both of them are married. You soon will be too.”
“I simply cannot believe this.”
“You will adjust soon. On a more pleasant front, it does seem as if Lord Boyd may have a particular interest in you. Who knows, any day now he could be calling upon your father for your hand.”
“I hope so, Mother.”
“Aw, dear! I am sorry that you were casted out in such a despicable way. But be glad that you are no longer subject to that man. He shall find himself at an unfortunate end if he persists.”
Miss Seymour stayed and held Evie’s head until she had fallen asleep. When Evie awoke she thought for a moment it had all been, but a terrible dream. One look around her room told her that it was very real. She threatened to dissolve into tears once more. It was nearly too terrible to bear. What if it were that her reputation reached ruin at the suggestion of impropriety with Lord Boyd. Then she would never be married, perhaps not even to him. She felt again as if she was becoming ill. She knew that she was sick at heart. She had foreseen that her future would be coming upon her soon. She hoped that she was not facing it at the moment.
Chapter 33
The following day, Thaddeus persisted in a most dreadful state. He recalled in his mind the look of absolute horror upon Evie’s face. It had been quite grotesque. He had been so consumed by anger that he had lost complete control of himself. He could hardly recall what he had said. Only what he had done.
Wellington Manor was a place of heavy silence. It seemed to him that the staff was avoiding him. Perhaps they feared that they would be the next to be casted out. He could hardly blame them. He was now faced with having to tell Grace what he had done. He did not know how she would react.
Thaddeus placed himself out on the grounds in anticipation of Grace’s return. She had sent word that she would be returning that afternoon. Sure enough, just past midday, a coach pulled around the drive of Wellington Manor. Grace disembarked and made to enter the manor. Thaddeus came forward and stopped her, saying, “Good afternoon, Grace.”
She replied, “Good afternoon, brother.”
Thaddeus went on, “If you would please, I should like to talk to you before you enter.”
She looked at him dubiously. She clearly recalled the queer manner in which he had departed the wedding. She turned to meet him and they began to walk up the path. For some moments, Thaddeus did not speak, he simply walked along beside her. After a while, Grace said, “I’m sorry, Brother, but I am in no fit state for a leisurely stroll. I am quite tired. If I could please be excused.”
Thaddeus slowed to a stop and turned to face her. He took a deep breath and said, “Evie is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
“I mean that she is no longer here. Nor will she be returning.”
“What do you mean? What has happened? Was there some accident? Did she die?”
“No, she is not dead. She will simply no longer be your lady in waiting. I shall begin the search for a replacement.”
“What is going on? Why is Evie not here? I know she would not just leave without discussing it with me.”
“In truth, I decided that it would be best if Evie no longer worked here.”
“You decided? But why?”
“I just think she is better suited elsewhere. She is a young woman. She is bound to become engaged soon and then she will be leaving anyway. It is better that we not wait.”
“So you made her go?”
“You will see that it is quite, necessary and…”
Thaddeus stopped in mid-sentence as he saw his sister's face. He had rarely ever seen her so angry. Her face had worked up into scarlet and her fists were tightened into fists. She was shaking as if on the point of explosion. With tears in her eyes she shouted, “How could you! How could you send her away!? She was my friend. She cared for me. She helped me after Abigail was gone. How could you just throw her away?”
“Grace, I am your guardian and it is my duty to see after your well-being.”
“This is not about my well-being. This is about you.”
“Pardon me?”
“I saw the way you looked at her. It was obvious that you had feelings for her. Did she reject you? Is that why you turned her away?”
“That is enough! You will not speak to me in such a manner.”
“I shall not speak to you at all. I am going to live with Cornelius. You can stay here in your manor of misery on your own. There, Evie will be able to call upon me, well away from you.”
Before Thaddeus could say anything more, Grace had run inside crying. Thaddeus stopped at a bench and took a seat. He had not felt so low since Abigail had passed and no other time in his life. He realized that he had made a ghastly mistake.
Grace was not wrong, he had to admit it to himself. Evie had done nothing wrong. It had been his own jealousy which drove him to push Evie away. In the process, he would now be losing his sister. He thought of what Abigail would think of him. He knew that she would be ashamed. As was he.
He felt powerless. There was nothing he could do. The damage had already been done and could not be fixed. He knew he would not be able to simply go and retrieve Evie. There was no chance of her coming back. She would be gone, Grace would be gone, and he would have nobody. He knew that the staff would be particularly tense around him. It was quite a terrible state in which to be.
If only he could go back and undo it all. If he could have handled his emotions or, better yet, kept them bottled up as he usually had. It was clear to him now that his attachment to Evie had driven him into a manic state. The very thing he had feared would happen, he had made happen. He had been afraid to lose her and thereby had done that very thing. Except it was all his fault.
Thaddeus thought of Stephen’s proposal and thought that perhaps he did not deserve his position. Time and time again, he misused his status. He asked himself if he were any better than his father, but he already knew the answer. He was not. He was a miserable man, imposing misery to those around him. He thought it might be best to grant Stephen stewardship and go off to some place far away.
The next few days were very painful. Grace had gone off to one of her friend’s homes to await the arrival of Cornelius, who would be sending for the remainder of her things. Cornelius had sent a letter asking about whether Thaddeus was truly allowing Grace to go. Thaddeus did not feel as if he had a right to stop her. She had every reason to be angry with him. Every reason not to want to speak to him again.
Grace had lost her parents and then she lost Abigail. Now she had lost Evie as well. Thaddeus should have thought better of taking another person from her who meant so much. But he had not thought and as a result had caused her great pain. It was almost too much to bear.
Thaddeus tried to reassure the other staff that their positions were secure, but he was sure that was not the sole cause of tension. They too had become attached to Evie and he had casted her out so cruelly. He felt as if everyone around him were disgusted with him. Deservedly, so. No one was more disgusted with him than he was with himself.
Chapter 34
Following the incident with Thaddeus, Evie had been very low. She was humiliated and deeply saddened. She had received a letter from Grace, which had b
een very distressed and angry. It seemed that she would be moving with Lord Cornelius. Evie could not say that she blamed her.
It was very surreal being back in her family home. Not only had she been gone for some months and gotten used to the manor, but her sister’s were no longer there to fill the home either. It was only her mother, father, and Miss Daw. In the mornings, her father went off to work. Throughout the day, her mother fussed over this and that. She knew that her mother had been socializing during her days, but was remaining in the home in order to be there for Evie. Evie tried to tell her she could go, but she insisted that she had no desire.
Regency Diaries of Seduction Collection: A Regency Historical Romance Box Set Page 24
