“Who the devil was she daring to meet here?”
“Charles Morden. Yes, I daresay that shocks you, and you can discuss it with her if she recovers. I remind you that she was gravely injured tonight.”
“Dear me, I should go to her,” Witherspoon said belatedly.
“You need not hurry. Miss Abby says she is sleeping now, and a doctor is with her. I might add that Catherine risked her life tonight to protect young Liza there when the brute who seduced her attempted to force himself upon the child.”
“I’m not a child,” Liza said indignantly, “and what’s more, he likes me—”
Her words ended when the admiral unceremoniously put his hand over her mouth. “That will do, my dear,” he murmured. “You must not speak now unless someone speaks to you first.”
She nodded, resting her head lovingly against his hand.
“I don’t understand this at all,” Witherspoon complained.
“I daresay you don’t,” Justin said. “All you need to understand just now, however, is the need to make all tidy. You have much to answer for, sir.”
“Now, see here,” Witherspoon began.
“That attitude will avail you nothing,” Justin said. “I understand your feelings for my mother, and hers for you. I know you’ve been good friends for years, and I have a sneaking suspicion that one reason she is the only one in my family who never asks me for money is that you provide for her when my father does not.”
“If I have done so, it is none of your damned business.”
“Perhaps not,” Justin said. “I am well aware that members of our circle have long turned a blind eye to such relationships as yours. I think, however, that you will find less sympathy for them in the coming years. We no longer have profligate kings running our country, sir, and our virginal young queen takes a dim view of such practices, as you must know by now. In any event, this affair must stop.”
“I agree, Teddy,” Lady Sellafield said, speaking for the first time. “You have a duty to Catherine. I have long felt that, as you know if poor Justin does not. Had I not been so desperately lonely, and you so wonderfully understanding …”
“I know, my dear,” he said with a tenderness Letty would not have expected to hear in his voice. “Very well, I will attend to my duty. Poor Catherine. You need not worry that I shall scold her, Lady Letitia. I am in no course to do that.”
“Nor she to hear it, sir,” Letty said. “But perhaps, before you go to her, we might just decide what tale we will tell of this night.”
Justin said, “I’ve got that worked out, I think. The best thing would be to keep as near the truth as possible, so that whatever that villain Morden says will sound like he’s just trying to put a good face on his own actions.”
“You need not worry about Morden, sir,” Leyton said from the doorway.
Everyone turned instantly to stare at him.
Justin said, “What the devil do you mean? If Morden says anything at all, it will stir up a hornets’ nest. That alone …” His voice trailed to silence when Leyton shook his head. “What is it?”
“The poor devil appears to have shot himself whilst in custody, sir.”
“Where did he get a gun? I’d swear he had none on him.”
“They say that Sir John Conroy visited him briefly just before he did the dreadful deed. God rest his soul,” Leyton added piously.
“Well, that does make things easier. Thank you, Leyton. Perhaps you will just go now and tell Lady Letitia’s woman that she will be ready to leave in half an hour or so. We will ring when we want you,” he added, smiling at his man.
“Thank you, my lord. I’ll be glad to tell her.” Leyton left quickly.
Justin said thoughtfully, “Morden’s death, however convenient we may think it, does not alter what I said before. The nearer we can stay to the truth, the easier it will be for all of us. Therefore, I suggest we say simply that Lady Witherspoon fell and struck her head whilst visiting my great-aunts. We need not say when or how, and if people ask questions, we can say that it happened today. She can decide how much more to reveal to her intimates. No one will ask the rest of us for details.”
“That’s all very well,” Witherspoon said, “but I don’t know that we ought to say she was here when it happened. I can take her home and simply put it about that she fell down the stairs, or some such thing.”
“You must do as you think best, of course,” Justin said, “but your servants will know that is not true. On the other side of that coin, we all know that the servants here are a discreet lot.”
“But that’s just it,” Witherspoon protested. “Too many people know what goes on here. I’m sorry, ladies,” he added, looking wretched. “I know I should be the last to complain. Nonetheless, won’t people guess why Catherine was here?”
“We do have friends who visit without taking advantage of our private chambers,” Miss Abby said indignantly.
“And no one will be taking such advantage of them in future,” Justin said firmly. “I have decided to provide my aunts with—”
“Just a moment, sir,” Letty interjected. “You are encroaching upon my business now, not yours. I will decide what is best to do with my tenants.”
“I think we should decide,” Miss Abby said miserably.
“You shall do so,” Letty said. Looking directly at Justin, she added, “You may choose between Justin’s plan and mine.”
His eyes began to twinkle.
Her dignity still very much intact, Mrs. Linford said, “What do you suggest?”
Witherspoon, who had been looking from one speaker to another, said in a querulous voice, “You don’t need me for this discussion. I am going to see my wife. You and I can talk later, Sally. I hope your son don’t think it necessary to spill the beans to Sellafield. That will cause a scandal!”
“He won’t, Teddy,” Lady Sellafield said, patting him on the shoulder. “You run along up to Catherine now. Go on, Letty dear. Pay no heed to us.”
“Very well, ma’am, thank you,” Letty said. Turning to the old ladies, she said, “It has occurred to me that although Mr. Benthall’s very odd will stipulated that you would forfeit your tenancy if anyone else paid your rent, and also that I cannot increase that rent, it said nothing about a lower one. I submit that if I lower your rent to one pound a year, you will be able to make ends meet quite nicely.”
Miss Abby said worriedly, “That is kind of you, my dear, but I don’t think we could, you know. The upkeep on this house is very expensive.”
“Then I will make you an allowance,” she said.
“Out of the question,” Mrs. Linford said. “Even if your papa would allow it, and even though we know you would not constantly want to order our lives for us, it would be worse to be beholden to you, who are not related to us, than to our grand-nephew. I don’t know why Augustus put us in this dreadful fix,” she added irritably. “It was most thoughtless of him not to have left us some money.”
“He wasn’t thinking of you, Miranda,” the admiral said.
Everyone looked at him.
“Do you know what he was thinking, sir?” Letty demanded. “Because, I promise you, sir, none of us has the least notion.”
“Augustus was one of my chief correspondents whilst I was at sea,” the admiral said. “Whenever we put into port, I would find letters awaiting me, telling me all the gossip of the beau monde. I had intended to speak to you,” he added, turning to Jervaulx. “It seemed to me that you were the proper person. I did not realize that your daughter had taken the reins into her own hands.”
“She has a habit of doing that,” Jervaulx said evenly.
Daintry said hastily, “What do you know of her inheritance, sir?”
The admiral smiled at her. “I don’t know for a fact, my lady, but I can guess. Augustus and the sixth marquess were well acquainted, you know.”
“We know he was kin to my grandmother,” Jervaulx said cautiously.
“They disliked each other cordially,�
�� the admiral said, “but he loathed Jervaulx with a passion. Said he had no sense of humor.”
Daintry smiled at her husband. “I can recall your saying much the same thing, sir,” she said.
He smiled at her.
“Augustus knew everything that went on in London,” the admiral said. “He certainly knew that Mrs. Linford and Miss Abby lacked sufficient funds to live here in the style they preferred without his support, and he knew almost to the day when they began their little enterprise here.”
“He did?” Both Mrs. Linford and Miss Abby spoke at once.
“Oh, yes, of course. He thought it was clever of them to take advantage of the great many members of the beau monde who so casually discounted their marriage vows. It was he who suggested that I place Liza here, saying you would be glad of the money. I did not tell you that, of course. It would have been most impolite. I merely expressed my gratitude when you agreed to take her off my hands.”
“But what has this to do with his bequest to my daughter?” Jervaulx asked.
“I suspect that Augustus thought it would be amusing to cast the whole business into your father’s lap. Recall that he deplored the sixth marquess’s lack of humor. He expressed a desire more than once to liven him up, so I think it amused him to think of Jervaulx’s discovering that his granddaughter had inherited what amounted to a house of ill repute. Forgive me, ladies, if I am speaking too bluntly.”
“Good God,” Jervaulx said with feeling. “But there is one small flaw in your reasoning. My father died before Benthall did.”
“Only by a week or so,” the admiral reminded him. “Augustus learned of Jervaulx’s death after he himself became ill. He wrote me that he had thought of changing his will, but decided it was proof of his belief in the hereafter that he did not. He believed Jervaulx would know exactly what he had done and why, and would be utterly unable to do anything about it.”
“I wish you had told me of this,” Jervaulx said grimly.
“I meant to do so, but I did not want to try to put my suspicions in a letter that would have seemed most inappropriate to someone who did not know me. Moreover, you and your daughter were fixed in Paris, the ladies had been managing well for years, and there was no reason to think that would change before you reached England. By the time I realized that your daughter was here and had become so nearly acquainted with them, I had no means to reach you.”
“I can see that my daughter and I still have much to discuss,” Jervaulx said, giving Letty another look.
The admiral said, “You will want to do that privately, however, so I’ll take my leave now. Don’t trouble yourself to ring for someone to show me out, Miranda. I’ll take my sleepy daughter up to her bedchamber and then be on my way.”
When he and Liza had gone, Letty braced herself for the storm.
“This is perhaps not the best time for a declaration,” Justin said casually.
After a pause during which one might have heard a pin drop, Jervaulx said, “Are you daring to choose just this moment to ask for my daughter’s hand, sir?”
“If she will have me,” Justin said.
“Why should I want you?” Letty asked, hoping he could not detect the tremors of exhilaration shooting through her body.
He said blandly, “It occurs to me that an engagement between one of the great Whig families and one of the great Tory families will provide enough grist for the rumor mills that it may take the light off of everything else. Also, I thought perhaps you and I might eventually move into this house. My great-aunts can remain here until we return from our wedding trip, at which time they might perhaps enjoy a holiday in a little house I own in Richmond until we have arranged things so that they can live comfortably here with us if they choose. I am not trying to order everyone’s lives, mind you, but that did seem like a plan that might prosper.”
“Horrid creature.”
Daintry chuckled. “I hope you have more reason for marrying my daughter than simply to smother the flames of rumor, young man.”
“Does the fact that I find myself tail over top in love with her count, ma’am? Because I am persuaded that exasperating as she can be, not to mention stubborn and outspoken, I shall not enjoy life nearly so much without her as I will with her.”
“It counts with me,” Daintry said. “I’m not sure that Letty believes in love.”
“I do now,” Letty said, looking into Justin’s eyes.
He stepped forward and took both her hands in his. “Do you think you can put up with me, sweetheart?”
“Gladly, sir.”
Daintry said, “I think perhaps we should leave, Gideon. Justin can see Letty safely home.”
“We’ll walk out with you,” Mrs. Linford said, getting up. “Come, Abigail.”
“But, Miranda, do you think we shall like Richmond?”
“I believe we’ll enjoy the change, Abigail, and if Letitia is to join our family, we need not worry about Justin telling us what to do. She is equal to anything.”
Letty found herself alone with Justin and felt annoyed to see that the twinkle in his eyes had deepened. “Do you doubt that I am equal to anything, sir?”
“Not a bit. It’s what I love best about you.”
The door opened, and Miss Abby put her head in to say, “Justin, it has occurred to me that people may think you married dearest Letitia just to get the house. You won’t like that, I daresay, so perhaps—”
“With fond respect, Aunt Abby, go away,” he said.
She shut the door again, and Letty said, “I hope they do think you married me for the house. It’s better than thinking I married you for your money.”
“Whatever they think, my love, it will keep them talking, and with luck it will keep them from speculating on the interesting things that went on in this house. Now, are you going to kiss me or not?” She did.
EPILOGUE
July 1839
LADY RAVENTHORPE’S FIRST ORDER of business that warm summer morning was to waken her lord and give him the news she had been hugging to herself for nearly two days. It was his own fault, of course, that she had been unable to tell him earlier, because although he had joined her in her bed upon his return to Raventhorpe from London late the previous night, he had failed to waken her.
He looked very peaceful, lying there asleep with one hand tucked behind his head and a little half-smile playing upon his lips. As she wondered what he was dreaming, a mischievous impulse stirred; and, moving slowly, ever so gently, she slid a hand beneath the covers to clear her way, then inched down beneath them until she could touch her lips to his warm, bare thigh.
He did not move, nor did the pattern of his breathing change straightaway, but as she pressed a line of kisses up and over his thigh, moving ever closer to the juncture of his legs, she felt him tense. Soon it became obvious that whether he still slept or not, his body was aware of her attention. She felt a surge of power, the same feeling she had enjoyed often in the weeks since their marriage. Knowing that she could stir him so gave her immense satisfaction.
He moved, and in nearly the same instant the quilt covering her rose, and she felt the caress of the light breeze from the open window.
He said with amusement in his voice, “So you missed me, did you?”
“You were gone three whole days, Justin.”
“I was indeed, and I fretted about my beautiful wife the entire time. Don’t stop what you are doing, sweetheart. You’ve hardly got started.”
“Did Her Majesty notice that you had left your wife at home?”
“She did, and she sent her kind wishes for a speedy recovery when I told her you had been taken ill. She did not even object when I declared that I intended to return at the earliest possible moment. I collect, by the way, that you have recovered from your unfortunate indisposition.”
“Yes, of course,” she said, hoping that she spoke truly. From what she had heard, most women in her condition became sick only in the mornings. She felt wonderful when she awoke, but for the
past fortnight, she had felt anything but well in the afternoon. Still, if this day followed the pattern of its predecessors, she would enjoy a fine morning with Justin first. She grinned at him. “Shall I go on with what I was doing, or would you like to hear about the surprise I’ve got for you first?”
“Surprise? You terrify me, Letty. Neither of my parents has been near Raventhorpe, so it can have nothing to do with them. Ned has behaved like a saint these past two months, the aunts are safely in Richmond for the summer, and everything here has been running smoothly. Or so I thought.” He frowned. “You cannot have come up with another threat to the queen here at home, so my imagination fails to conjure up anything you might have found to surprise me with now. Is it Jeremiah? Has that damned monkey of yours got into mischief again?”
“I don’t think I will tell you what it is,” she said, raising her chin. “Jeremiah has been an angel, and I think that for maligning him you deserve that I shall not continue seeing to your pleasure, sir. What do you say to that?”
In response, he grasped her nearest arm and pulled her up until she was looking into his eyes. She noted a distinct hint of laughter there when he said, “You have frequently said that you admire plain speaking, have you not?”
“I have,” she agreed, “and I tell you plainly, sir, that I will not allow you to tease me this morning.”
“Will you not? What if I were to tickle you instead?”
“I should very likely cast up my accounts, as my brothers would say.”
He frowned. “So you are not entirely well yet. Why did you tell me that you were, then?”
More to turn the subject than to satisfy curiosity, she said, “Did you find it as hot in London as we heard that it was?”
“Worse. I was glad to get away. When we rode in the park yesterday, the air was as hot as an oven. It was even worse at the opera last night.”
“Still, you must have news,” Letty said. “Has Melbourne got his new government in order? Have there been any more ructions from the queen?”
“Melbourne met with as much trouble as your father predicted, but things look well enough for him now. As to the queen, she is planning her cousin Albert’s visit in October, and she grows quite pink whenever anyone speaks his name.”
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