Scandal at Greystone Manor

by Mary Nichols

  ‘We meet again, my dear Miss Cavenhurst.’

  She looked round to find Lord Bolsover doffing his hat to her. ‘My lord.’

  ‘All alone? No stalwart knight to defend you?’

  ‘Lord Wyndham is with me.’

  ‘I do not see him.’

  ‘He has gone back inside for a moment, but I am glad we have met.’

  ‘How flattering!’

  ‘I did not intend to flatter, my lord. I wish to speak to you about the rumour being spread about my father being bankrupt.’

  ‘Rumours? Dear, dear, that is unkind.’

  ‘I believe you perpetrated them to discredit me and prevent me raising money for my orphans.’

  ‘Now, why would I do that, Miss Cavendish? I am as sympathetic as the next man to the orphans’ plight, but I doubt you will be able to do anything about it.’

  ‘Why not? Someone has to if the children are not to grow up thieves and beggars. All I want is to give them a chance.’

  ‘The reason is obvious, Miss Cavenhurst—you are a woman trying to get along in a man’s world and you will meet resistance at every turn. Women are not built to fight with reason. They fight with their emotions.’

  ‘And what is wrong with that?’

  ‘It inclines then to make wrong decisions. You will find out the truth of that in due course.’

  ‘My lord, that sounds like a threat. I wonder why you have taken such an aversion to me. We have only recently met and until a few weeks ago I had never heard of you.’

  ‘Had you not? That is surprising.’

  ‘If my brother had not been so foolish as to play cards with you, I should still be in ignorance of the kind of man you are.’

  ‘I venture to suggest you are still in ignorance. There are two sides to every argument and you have heard only one.’

  ‘Perhaps, but if you value truth and justice you will let it be known that you were mistaken, my father is not bankrupt and you have no reason to believe I will not conduct the affairs of the Hadlea Children’s Home honestly.’

  ‘You are assuming that it was I who started the rumour. You have no proof of it.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘But if the rumour is true, then I would be a fool to deny it.’

  ‘Of course it is not true.’

  ‘I should ask your father when you get home, Miss Cavendish, or you could go back inside that building and ask Mr Halliday senior, who is the Cavenhurst lawyer, I believe.’

  ‘I will do no such thing!’

  ‘You know,’ he said, still smiling, ‘you are quite beautiful when you are angry and your eyes flash defiance. I find myself strangely in sympathy with you and that is a weakness I cannot allow myself to indulge in.’ He bowed to her, replaced his hat and strolled away.

  She watched his departing back in fury and was fighting back angry tears when Mark rejoined her. ‘I hope I have not been too long,’ he said, climbing in beside her. ‘Shall we have an ice cream at Gunter’s? It is a warm day and... Jane, are you crying?’

  ‘I am angry.’

  ‘Why, because I left you? I am sorry for that, but I was gone only a few minutes.’

  ‘No, it is not that. I have had an argument with Lord Bolsover. He is an odious man and refuses to admit it was he who spread the rumours about my father and he said my project can never succeed because I am a woman ruled by emotion.’ She gave a cracked laugh. ‘And here I am, proving it.’

  ‘Oh, Jane, why did speak to him at all? You should have cut him.’

  ‘I wanted to plead with him to stop the rumours.’

  ‘You do not plead with men like Bolsover, Jane. They would see it as weakness. Now let us go and have that ice cream and forget about him.’

  But she found it difficult to do that. The man’s words ate into her brain and would not go away. She longed to go home, to the peace of Greystone Manor and the comforting presence of her parents. More than anything she wanted reassurance.

  * * *

  The ice cream was refreshing on a very warm day, but they did not linger long at Gunter’s. ‘My sister and Aunt Emmeline will be wondering what has happened to us,’ she said.

  Far from wondering what had happened, the ladies had gone for a carriage ride, they were told by a servant. ‘Mr Ashton came and they went with him.’

  ‘Then I will not stay,’ Mark said. He drew the pearls from his pocket and put them into her hand. ‘These are yours, I believe.’

  She stared at them. ‘How did you come by them? I left them with everything else to be auctioned.’

  ‘I know you did, but I think it would hurt your father to know you had given them away. Keep them safe, Jane.’

  ‘Other people were giving their jewels.’

  ‘Perhaps, but not those they treasured. Your self-sacrifice does you credit, Jane, but the trust can do without them.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said simply and reached up to kiss his cheek. It was an impulsive gesture of gratitude, no more.

  ‘I will bring the travelling carriage here at nine o’clock tomorrow morning, if that is convenient, Jane, and if you think Isabel is strong enough for a long ride. Otherwise we could start later and go slower. It would mean spending two nights on the road instead of one, but I do not mind that.’

  ‘I shall ask her, of course, but I think Isabel is strong enough and we will not need to prolong the journey. I am anxious to be home again as I am sure you are. We will be ready.’

  He left and she went to join Bessie, who had gone up to her room to begin packing. Jane had not brought a great many clothes with her and it was soon folded neatly into the trunk she and Isabel shared. ‘I will do Miss Isabel’s this afternoon,’ Bessie said. ‘But I do not know how we shall get it all in, she has bought a great many new clothes.’

  ‘I expect Lady Cartrose will lend her another trunk.’

  * * *

  Lady Cartrose, Isabel and Drew returned soon after this. Drew did not stop, saying he was sorry he had missed Mark because he needed to speak to him before they all left for Hadlea. ‘I will go and seek him out,’ he said. He bowed to her ladyship, then to Jane and finally Isabel, who looked woebegone. ‘Goodbye, Miss Isabel,’ he said. ‘Have a safe journey and my felicitations on your forthcoming nuptials.’ Then he was gone.

  ‘That was a strange thing to say,’ Jane said. ‘It sounded as if he were not going to be at the wedding.’

  ‘He isn’t.’ Isabel was openly crying. ‘He is going away. I am never to see him again. He said it was for the best.’

  Jane was inclined to agree with that, but refrained from saying so in view of Isabel’s distress, but she realised her fears had been justified: Isabel imagined herself in love with Andrew Ashton. How deep and how lasting it was, she did not know. The sooner they were home the better. ‘Mark is coming for us at nine in the morning,’ she said, turning to more practical matters. ‘I have done my packing. Bessie is planning to do yours this afternoon, Issie. Aunt, do you think you can lend Isabel a trunk? She has bought so many new clothes they will not all go into the small trunk we brought with us.’

  ‘I am sure there is one in the attic,’ her aunt said and went off to ask a footman to fetch it down.

  ‘I don’t want to go home,’ Isabel burst out, amid her tears.

  ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Because everyone will be talking about the wedding and I cannot bear it.’

  ‘How can that be? Less than a month ago you were talking of nothing else and looking forward to your big day.’

  ‘Yes, and I collect you saying that a wedding was not the be-all and end-all of a marriage and you were right. I see that now. I just wanted to be a bride and Mark is so handsome and rich, but it was a mistake to say I would marry him.’

  ‘But you did and I am very sorry if anything I said made you have
second thoughts. I only meant that the wedding itself was only the beginning and played only a small part in a marriage.’

  ‘I know what you meant, but it set me thinking about being bound to Mark for the rest of our lives and I simply cannot see it. And please do not say it is nerves, for I know it is not. I cannot marry Mark. He is not the love of my life.’

  Her sister’s words were hurting Jane more than she could bear. Her sister could not envisage a life with Mark whereas she could hardly envisage life without him. ‘Issie,’ she said slowly. ‘Is there anyone else?’

  Isabel lifted eyes full of misery to Jane’s. ‘You have guessed?’

  ‘Is it Mr Ashton?’

  ‘Yes. I have fallen in love with him, Jane. I think about him all the time. My heart lifts when he enters the room and drops again when he leaves it. The touch of his hand sets my body on fire and I want to cling to him and never let him go.’

  Jane knew that feeling and felt herself sympathising with her sister, but for Isabel to fling off one suitor in favour of another when the announcement had already been made would cause the most terrible scandal. ‘Does Mr Ashton share your feelings, Issie? Has he spoken of them?’

  ‘Not directly, but I know he does. I know by the way he looks at me, the way he speaks. But he is too careful of his friendship with Mark to betray him, he told me that. That is why he is going away. I am so miserable, Jane. If I have to marry Mark, there will be three very unhappy people because I could never make him happy.’

  Jane reflected there would be four, but that was her secret. ‘I do not know what to say, Issie. Perhaps once we are home again and back into our usual routine, you will forget Mr Ashton and remember why you accepted Mark in the first place.’

  ‘You do not understand.’

  ‘Oh, I do. Believe me, I do.’ She stood up. ‘Go and help Bessie with your packing and then we will have an early supper and go to bed. We have an early start in the morning.’

  Lady Cartrose returned as Jane was staring out on to the terrace, her mind in a whirl. ‘I have had a trunk sent to Isabel’s room,’ she said. ‘Bessie is packing, but Isabel is sitting on her bed weeping.’

  ‘She does not want to go home.’

  ‘I know, but I do not flatter myself it is because she wants to stay with me.’

  ‘You know?’

  ‘I am deaf, Jane, but I am not blind. It has been obvious to anyone with eyes to see what was happening.’

  ‘It is very worrying, especially for Mark.’

  ‘He seems to be bearing up very well.’ She paused. ‘I do not think you should force her to go ahead with the marriage, Jane. It would be a disaster.’

  ‘It is not up to me, Aunt. I am hoping when we are home again and our parents take a hand in the matter, Issie will come to see that her tendre for Mr Ashton is mere infatuation, a fleeting thing she can put behind her.’

  ‘I wonder you can advocate that, Jane, considering your own feelings.’

  Jane was startled. ‘My own feelings do not come into it, Aunt Emmeline.’

  ‘Then they should. You are making a martyr of yourself by ignoring them.’

  Jane did not answer. She had spent more time than usual with Mark of late, which had done nothing but strengthen her feelings for him. Had it become that obvious?

  * * *

  Mark was busy giving orders about preparing the carriage, packing and shutting the house when Drew found him.

  ‘How did it go with the lawyers this morning?’ he asked.

  ‘Very well. The trust has been set up and the jewels will be auctioned.’ He paused. ‘After our business was concluded, I left Jane in the carriage to go back inside. I wanted to rescue her pearls from the auction. Her father gave her those for her twenty-first birthday and she ought not to have sacrificed them. I bought them back.’ He smiled at the memory of that peck on the cheek. ‘While I was away, Bolsover turned up and he and Jane had an altercation about the rumours, which had her in tears. Even Jane is persuaded it is more than Teddy’s debts with him.’

  ‘Yes, it is. It cost me the forfeit of a thousand pounds and a top-of-the-trees stallion in winnings, but according to our friend Toby Moore, it is a long-standing grievance, something to do with the fact that his forebears once owned Greystone Manor and were cheated out of it by an ancestor of Sir Edward. He has vowed to get his revenge and establish himself once again as Lord of the Manor of Hadlea. He has not only bought up all Teddy’s debts, but is doing the same with Sir Edward’s. He is almost ready to make his move.’

  ‘It is worse than I thought.’

  ‘I wonder if Sir Edward knows what is happening.’

  ‘I do not think so. I am sure neither Jane nor Isabel know the story or I am sure Jane would have told me. It is going to cause the most dreadful scandal if it gets out...’

  ‘Which it cannot fail to do.’

  ‘Poor Jane, I do not know how her orphan home will survive it.’

  ‘And there is your wedding.’

  ‘Yes. We must endeavour to resolve the situation before then. I am wealthy, but I do not think I can rise to such a vast sum without endangering my own estate. We must think of something else.’

  ‘If it is money you want, then you shall have it, but it is my opinion Bolsover will refuse it. He is prodigious wealthy and is determined on having the Manor.’

  ‘How did he come by his wealth? He seems not to have a large estate.’

  ‘Gambling for the most part, though whether he cheats is a matter for conjecture—no one has ever caught him at it.’

  ‘Perhaps, if we could prove that...’

  ‘By “we”, were you including me?’

  ‘Only if you want to be included.’

  ‘I am off on my travels again, Mark. There is nothing for me in this country after all. I came to bid you goodbye.’

  ‘Is it because of Jane?’

  ‘Jane?’

  ‘Yes. It was Jane who drove you away last time, wasn’t it?’

  ‘Did she tell you that?’

  ‘No, I guessed. Did you come back to try again?’

  ‘I wasn’t sure, but I was intent on letting Sir Edward know I had made good and that he had made a wrong decision in refusing his permission for us to marry.’

  ‘Did Jane share your feelings?’

  ‘I believe she did at the time, but it is certainly no longer true.’

  ‘So you are going away disappointed again.’

  ‘Not over Jane.’

  ‘Who, then?’

  ‘It does not matter because nothing can come of it. I go away for her sake and yours.’

  ‘Isabel!’

  ‘Look after her, Mark, and be happy.’ And he turned on his heel and left.

  Mark stood for a minute so confused he could not think coherently. When he pulled himself together to go after his friend, the street was empty.

  * * *

  Somehow the day was got through, with Isabel white-faced and their aunt flitting about trying to be helpful. Jane was glad when all the preparations were complete and she could go to bed. She undressed and crept between the sheets, but sleep eluded her. She was committed to persuading her sister to go ahead with the marriage because not to do so would be unkind to the man she loved and cause him distress. And it would upset her parents. On top of his money worries, it might very well kill her father. Money worries. What was Lord Bolsover playing at? If only Teddy had not gambled so heavily, if only her sister had not flirted with Andrew Ashton, if only she herself did not love Mark quite so much. Dear Mark. He did not deserve to be embroiled in scandal from any direction. How was it all going to end?

  Chapter Seven

  Throughout that long journey home, Isabel was quiet and withdrawn, Jane was thoughtful and Mark was unusually taciturn. I
t was evident they all had a great deal on their minds and hardly conversed at all, except to order food and drink at some of the inns where they pulled up for the horses to be changed and to approve the accommodation when they stopped for the night at the White Hart in Scole. The inn was a very old one, which had once provided lodgings for Charles II and Lord Nelson, not to mention sundry highwaymen, standing as it did on the crossroads between Norwich and Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and the Norfolk coast.

  They were offered exceptionally good food while they waited for their rooms to be prepared, but no one was hungry and the conversation was limited to comments about the magnificent fireplaces and the grand staircase, the food and wine, and the time they meant to be on the road the following morning. Jane and Isabel, who shared a room, were too tired to talk and, in any case, had nothing to add to what had already been said. Even so they slept fitfully.

  * * *

  The second day was spent in much the same manner as the first and thanks to Mark’s foresight in arranging frequent stops for fresh horses to be harnessed, they made good time and arrived at Greystone Manor in the early evening. They were home, much to Jane’s relief; the responsibility for her sister would now devolve on her parents.

  Mark stayed only long enough to oversee the unloading of their trunks and pay his respects to Sir Edward and Lady Cavenhurst before carrying on to Broadacres.

  ‘Oh, it is so good to have you home,’ their mother said, hugging them both. ‘I have delayed supper and you shall tell us all that you have been up to while we eat. Isabel, are you fully recovered from your fall?’

  ‘Yes, Mama, and no harm done.’ She turned as Sophie came hurrying along the hall to greet them.

  ‘Oh, I have missed you,’ she said. ‘It has been quite boring here by myself. I am longing to hear all your news.’

  ‘Go up to your rooms and change out of those travelling clothes,’ her ladyship said to the two older girls. ‘Supper will be served as soon as you come down again.’