by Abigail Agar
Mary widened her eyes in surprise. She had been made to feel uncomfortable by Lord Jones before, but she had never heard such venom in his voice. Judging by the way Charlotte’s shoulders hunched over and her face paled even more, this was not good news. She wished that there was something she could do to help out her sister, but of course, she could not. This was not her house, and Lord Jones was in charge.
“I … I am just coming,” Charlotte replied with a shaky voice. “One second please.”
Her chair scraped back, and she automatically ran her hands down her skirts. The nerves rolled off of her in waves, making Mary feel sick to her stomach. That sensation only grew worse when Charlotte scurried from the room and raised voices immediately followed.
Mary’s eyes bounced from staff member to staff member until she found Jennifer. The girl was not her friend, but she was the only person she had spoken to. Jennifer did not look surprised by the shouting, which suggested it was something that happened all the time.
Does Lord Jones know that Charlotte is having a baby? Mary asked herself, noting that Charlotte had never mentioned her husband’s reaction to the news. Would he yell at her like this if he knew?
Pressure built up in Mary. It started in her toes and worked its way up her body. She felt icy cold, but her boiling hot blood was racing through her veins, making her shiver violently. She hated sitting in her seat; it felt unnatural. She wanted to take action, to do something, but she could not think of anything that would not make it worse. It seemed to be a very delicate situation that she simply did not understand.
Just as she felt herself rising from her seat, Charlotte came back around the corner with red rims around her eyes. “Let us take a walk in the gardens,” she commanded her sister. “I feel like I would like some fresh air.”
“Oh … yes, of course.” Mary pushed herself into a standing position. “Whatever you like.”
Mary slid her arm through Charlotte’s, and she allowed herself to be pulled into the grounds of the Jones’ household. Her brain span desperately, and she dug deep into it to find the right words, but there was nothing there. It was not until the cool, fresh air washed over her that she felt her tongue loosen.
“I think we should get away from here,” she whispered, almost silently. “Me and you. We should escape.”
Charlotte twisted her neck to give her sister a surprised look. She was not expecting Mary to address the argument at all; it was normal for others to ignore things like that, but as she saw her sister’s face, she realised that Mary was trying to give her a moment of escapism. A hope that she might actually be able to get away from her horrible life.
It would not happen; both girls knew that, but it was nice to imagine it all the same.
“Oh yes,” Charlotte replied with a smile. “I think we should. You and I should take off; we should get a home of our own, and we should raise this baby, the two of us.”
“We could go to the countryside, maybe even live by the ocean,” Mary continued with the fantasy. “We could even live on a farm and be totally self-sufficient. Who says that you need a man in your life to survive?” Actually, the idea of never having a husband was more appealing than she thought it would be. “I believe that we could do just fine on our own.”
It started off as a joke, but the more that Charlotte thought about it, the more she liked the idea. If she did leave, she knew she would have to go very far so that Lord Jones would never find her, which would make things very challenging, but if she somehow found a way, it would be absolutely wonderful. Of course, Lord Jones was not the sort of man to let things go easily, especially not his young wife, so it was almost impossible … but now that the idea was there in her mind, she did not think that she would be able to let it go.
“So,” she said with a gulp, trying to take her mind off things. “There is no chance for you and the Duke?”
Mary’s expression instantly hardened. “No. I do not believe so. I do not want a man who thinks it is alright to ruin another Lady’s reputation.”
“Are you sure that you are settled on that?” Charlotte was not fully convinced. She knew more about Lady Victoria Hartmon than Mary did, and she knew what she was like, and how terrible she treated people. But the end choice lay with Mary, and she would not take that away from her. “You think your decision is right?”
Mary nodded determinedly, and she kept her expression steely. “I believe so. I feel much better now knowing that he is not in my life.”
That part was a lie, but Charlotte did not need to know that. She did not want her sister worrying about her when she had so much of her own stress to deal with. With her horrible husband and a child growing in her stomach, the last thing she needed was to lay her problems on her shoulders too. This was something she needed to do on her own. She needed to reassure Charlotte that she was just fine.
“I am simply moving forward … or at least I am trying to. He is not even in my mind anymore.”
Chapter 18
The following morning as Mary woke up, her attitude was completely different. She knew exactly where she was, and thanks to a night of extremely useful dreams, she also knew exactly what she needed to do. She could not believe that she had not thought of it the day before when she and Charlotte were discussing their silly childish plans to leave all of this behind. She got so lost in the fantasy of it that she did not think of the reality.
It might be really possible, she thought excitedly as she leapt to her feet. I cannot wait to see what Charlotte says about it.
Before she could reach the door, she heard that soft knock again. She knew who it was now, and she was glad to see her face. “Good morning, Jennifer,” she called out. “Please come inside.”
The door flew open, and Jennifer stepped inside. Her body language remained as stiff and closed off as it was the night before, but Mary chose to ignore that. She felt that with a little bit of perseverance, that distance would eventually close … if she was around for long enough to make that happen, of course.
“Jennifer, I need a favour,” she gushed, her cheeks flushing pink with excitement. Mary balled her fists by her side to try and remain composed. “Do you mind going to get my sister, Lady Jones, to have a word with me in my room?”
Jennifer felt stunned into silence. She did not know how to react to that. It was not common for Ladies to have guests in their bedrooms when they were not dressed, but the girls were sisters which was probably different.
“Before you get dressed?” she checked. “Are you certain?”
“I am.” Mary did not have time to think of clothes right now. “Now would be perfect. Thank you very much.”
Jennifer curtsied and exited the room, leaving Mary alone to pace up and down. Her brain whizzed at a million miles an hour as she thought over the details of her plan. Maybe her happiness was overshadowing her rationality, but Mary could not see anything wrong with her plan. If everything went as she wanted it to, then it would solve so many problems.
“Are you alright?” Charlotte gushed as she raced into the bedroom. “Are you hurt?”
“Did Jennifer tell you that I was hurt?” Mary chuckled while shaking her head in bemusement.
“Who is Jennifer?” Charlotte genuinely did not know who Jennifer was. She did not know the names of any of the people who worked in her home. “Sorry, that is not important. What is going on?”
“Take a seat.” Mary patted on the sheets of her bed. “I need to talk with you.”
“You do?” Charlotte started to feel afraid; Mary was acting manic. It was not like her at all. “Should I be worried?”
“I have an idea.” Mary slid next to Charlotte and grabbed onto one of her sister’s hands. “A great idea to help us both. I know a way we can escape.”
Charlotte snatched her hands away. She did not need to hear this; it was not right. Much as she wanted it, and it was the only thing that had helped her get through the previous day after that terrible row with her husband, she could not get
her hopes up for something that was never going to happen. The girls did not live in a world where they had options. They had to do what was expected of them.
“What are you talking about, Mary? This is not something that we were discussing seriously.”
“I know that.” Mary waved her hand dismissively before her face as she jumped back up again. She could not be still; it was as if her entire body had an intense itch racing over it. “But I have been thinking. The house, the inheritance, I know what I can do with it.”
“You will not inherit it if you do not marry the Duke.” Charlotte did not mean for her words to be so harsh and cold, but they fell out of her mouth that way regardless. “That was the agreement, what our father laid out in his will.”
“I know, I know, but do you think Father would want me to marry a man who ruined the reputation of another Lady?” Charlotte said nothing, encouraging Mary to continue. “He would not; I feel certain of it. What I shall do is finally go and meet Mr Thompson – he has been trying to meet with me for a while now – and I shall make a new plan with him. I will tell him that I cannot marry the Duke because of what he has done. Then I will assure him that I understand I cannot inherit the house because of that. What I shall ask instead is for him to sell the house …” Charlotte gasped loudly; she could not help it. The thought of the family home going to someone else was too much to bear. “And from the sale, for him to give me enough money for me to start again … for us to start again.”
“What?” Charlotte’s mind span; she could hardly believe the words that were coming out of Mary’s mouth. On the surface of it, her words were logical, but that could not be the case. There had to be more to it, something that Mary had not thought about.
“It is perfect,” Mary exclaimed gleefully. “I am not breaking Father’s wishes. Walter knows that Father will not want to leave me with nothing, then I do not have to marry the Duke …” Admittedly that bit still stuck in her throat, but she would get over that. “And you and I can go and live somewhere else.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Charlotte whispered as her head fell into her hands. “This is madness. It is utter madness.”
Mary felt bad. She did not mean to throw all of this at her sister to upset her. She just got carried away in her excitement. She sucked in a few deep breaths to try and reel herself in for a moment. Charlotte was the married one here, the one about to have a baby. Of course she would take a moment to come to terms with things.
“What are you thinking?” she asked Charlotte softly.
“I do not know,” Charlotte shot back. “I do not know what to think about this.”
Mary chewed on her bottom lip while she tried to figure out what to do next. She needed to start on with this plan while it was fresh in her mind – before she could talk herself out of it. But she had to do it sensitively. “I think I shall go to see Walter today,” she said. “Just to see if this plan is possible. I do not want to worry about it too much, and I do not want you to either. Not while we are unsure if this is even possible. I just think if it is possible, then it is something we need to think about.”
Charlotte nodded slowly. Going with Mary to see the man who had control over their father’s will to help her sort her life out would not be too troublesome. Her husband would probably like it; he was not as keen as Charlotte to have Mary in the house. She did not have to commit to anything. Even if Mary’s mad plan followed through, then she still did not have to do anything.
The future was in her hands … for the first time in her life, she might actually have a choice. Maybe it was not freedom, not in the way that she would like, but it was better than nothing.
“Right, that is fine,” she finally said with a gasp. “I will come with you.” She met Mary’s eyes and got sucked into the bubble of happiness for just a moment. “What is the harm in finding out what is possible?”
Mary threw her hands around Charlotte, and she embraced her for a moment. She just had a feeling in her gut that she could make this work, and she could not wait to get it started. She could feel the braveness that she had always been told that her mother had coursing through her, edging her forward, leading her towards the right path.
“I shall just get dressed,” she said with a smile. “Can you sort us out a carriage? Then we can go.”
Charlotte nodded and gulped, hoping desperately that she was doing the right thing. Mary was determined; she did not want her to get knocked off her kilter and left unhappy … but if they did not try, then they would not know. This was the only option they had.
***
Walter was stunned to see Mary standing outside his home office with a determined expression. “I have been trying to communicate with you for a while,” he told her in a steely manner. There was irritation inside of him because things had not gone according to his plan. “I did not even know that you had gone to your sister’s home at first. It has been very challenging for me to speak with you … and now you have turned up out of the blue, with no prior warning. What if I have meetings all day long? I might not have time to see you today.”
“I shall wait,” Mary replied, refusing to be intimidated. “However long you need, I shall wait for you.”
Charlotte was shocked to see Mary speaking to a man of authority with such confidence. The girl she had left behind before she got married was shy and very quiet. She did not ever step out of line or say things that people would not like. Something had changed her, brought her out of her shell. Maybe it was all of this.
Walter shook his head, defeated. This new version of Mary was something that he did not feel comfortable with either. She was so challenging to work with; she made his life very hard.
“Fine,” he finally replied. “I shall speak with you now.”
He extended his arm behind him and invited the girls inside. Mary strutted in with her head held high, the need to help her sister driving her forward, with Charlotte shuffling behind her. Walter sighed loudly and entered too. He hoped that this annoyance would be over soon enough, but it seemed to be a never-ending nightmare.
“Right, Lady Roberts,” he said as he took his seat in his office. “What is it that I can do for you? What is happening with you and His Grace?”
“I am not marrying His Grace,” she told him in a tone that suggested there was no room for argument. “I do not know if you have heard the rumours by now or not, but he tried to ruin the reputation of Lady Victoria Hartmon. I refuse to marry a man who believes it is alright to do that.”
“Right,” Walter replied wearily. “So I suppose it is time to work out what to do next …”
“Yes, and I have some ideas for that.”
“Of course you do.” Why could she not just be one of those Ladies who did as they were told? Why did he have to get stuck with the one who was determined to make his life a living hell? “Please, enlighten me.”
He slumped back in his seat and tapped his fingers together as he waited for Mary to speak. She felt a strange sense of déjà vu at the moment, but this time she was in the driver’s seat of the meeting … which was a place she never thought she would be.
“I wish you to sell the house.” Surprisingly she managed to say that without any emotion in her voice. “And I understand that means I do not get the inheritance at all … but I also believe that my father would not want me to end up homeless. I wish you to give me enough money from the sale of the home to allow me to start again. None of us will be disobeying my father; we will just be doing things differently.”
Walter shook his head in surprise; he was not expecting this at all. “Right, I see. The thing is that is not written down in the will …”
“It seems that nothing is written down in the will,” Mary replied with an eye roll. “My father did not plan for any other outcome for me.”
“That is true, but still …”
“Mr Thompson,” Mary adopted a very serious tone so that she could get through to Walter in any way possible. “I believe that if you really lis
ten to my plan, and you hear my words, then you will see that this is the best outcome for all of us.”
“You are supposed to marry His Grace…”
“I am not marrying him.” Mary would not be pushed down. She would not let this man walk all over her. This stressful situation had allowed Mary to see who she really was and what she actually wanted from her life. This was not it. “That is never going to be an option.”
“Right, I see.” Walter gulped, wishing that he had more information to help him out. He did not know how to make this work now. “I shall think about it.”
“Pardon?”
“I will think about it. That is all I can agree to at the moment. There is a lot to work out with this plan; it is not the sort of thing that shall just happen.” Walter rose from his chair and pointed towards the door. “I appreciate you coming, and I really will think about what you are saying. I will try and concoct a plan from that.”
Maybe Mary did not realise that the conversation was over, but Charlotte did. She could see that saying any more would only leave them in a worse situation. “Thank you,” she said pushing her chair back. “It has been wonderful meeting you, Mr Thompson. We appreciate everything that you have done for us.”
Maybe if the circumstances were different, then Walter would have appreciated Charlotte’s compliance, but he was just too annoyed with Mary to care. “Yes, thank you,” he replied distractedly. “Sure.”
“We will see you soon; thank you for your time.”
“Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.”
As the girls left, Mary was not sure how to feel. The meeting went better than she thought it would do, but she still did not have a definitive answer. She did not know what Walter would do. She hated her future being back in the hands of someone else, but what other choice did she have? Her part was done. Now she just had to wait.
Chapter 19
“I cannot believe it,” Mary gasped in shock. Her free hand, the one that was not gripped onto the piece of paper in front of her, clapped against her mouth as she tried to process what was in front of her. “This is … it is so unexpected.”
