by Abigail Agar
Victoria held in a groan; she knew that. Thomas’s integrity was not something that she felt like she had to worry about. It was just the concept of marriage and the way that she might have to behave that bothered her. Maybe what she and Thomas shared would not turn stale like her parents’ marriage, and maybe she would not be desperately unhappy like her sisters ... but maybe it would. At the moment, it felt unlikely, but who knew what the future would hold ...
Victoria shook her head, trying not to get too carried away with fears for the future. She knew that there were positive possibilities as well; maybe she would end up incredibly happy. Maybe the spark that they had would last forevermore. For now, she felt like she needed to write, to at least live out the ‘happy ever after’ idea in her story if not in real life.
“I am going up to my bedroom now,” she said, changing the subject completely. “Thank you for today. I shall see you later on.”
“Whatever you want, Victoria, I will see you at dinner.”
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as the Duchess entered Victoria’s bedroom at an early hour of the morning, she knew that something was wrong. Victoria could see it written all over her mother’s face. She looked paler than normal, and her eyes kept darting all around the room. Even her shoulders slumped forward as if the weight of the world was upon them. She usually had such wonderful posture so Victoria could not stop the immediate panic from rising inside her chest.
“W ... what has happened?” she asked her mother desperately, abandoning her dress on her bed. She could continue getting dressed later on; this seemed more important. “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, Victoria.” The Duchess shook as she took her daughter’s hand. She had agonised all night long over telling Victoria this, but she knew deep down that this was information that she could not keep to herself. Even if it ruined all of her plans, she did not want her daughter to get hurt. “I am so sorry to have to tell you this. I wish that I had much better news for you.”
Almost instantly, Victoria’s mind filled with images so awful she could not bear them. She had been lucky in her life so far; she had not been forced to face illness and death. She hoped that moment was not finally upon her now, not when she had enough on her mind. She clutched onto her mother’s hand tightly, clinging to her for dear life while she braced herself for what was about to come.
“It is Mr Jones.” Victoria sat up even straighter; she was not expecting that at all. “I have heard ... well, people have been gossiping and ...”
Oh no, Victoria felt all cold and mushy inside like she could collapse and fall apart at any given moment. From overhearing her mother’s conversations, especially since her sisters had left home and the house was a whole lot quieter, she knew that the ladies of London liked to gossip a lot, and she had also noticed that while a lot of it was exaggerated, it was based on truth. Gossip about Thomas, just as she was coming around to the idea of possibly falling for him, was terrible news.
“What have people been saying?” she asked in a hollow sounding voice. She could not contain her fear and sadness as she spoke. “You can tell me what the gossip is, Mother. I would like to know.”
The Duchess sucked in a deep breath of air before she spoke again. She hated that she had to say any of this; it was not fair. She had spent so many years worrying about her youngest daughter, especially since she seemed unable to find a man to marry. It hurt her deeply that she had finally found someone, just to have him taken away again in such a cruel manner.
“Some of the ladies that I have lunch with have met an American woman who believes that she is with Thomas.” The Duchess’s heart sunk at the same time Victoria’s did. Both of them felt the acute sting of Mr Jones’s actions. “She has been telling people that he came to England to find a woman to marry for her fortune, but that he always intends to return to her.”
Victoria’s hands instantly flew up to her necklace. “But he has brought me so many gifts,” she gushed in shock. “How could he do that if he only wanted me for my fortune?”
The Duchess reached out to rub Victoria’s arm reassuringly, but before she got the chance to connect with her, her daughter moved to pace up and down the room. She watched her for a moment with concern in her expression before realising that she was waiting for an answer.
“I do not wish to think of it in this way, but maybe you are an investment. You do come from a wealthy family, so maybe it is worth Mr Jones spending his last money on you.”
That made an uncomfortable amount of sense to Victoria. The way that he targeted her at the masquerade ball, the way that he continually complimented her and told her that she was fascinating when she clearly was not ... even all the kind remarks about her writing. Maybe it was all part of a game, and she was being taken for a fool. Anger and humiliation burned brightly in her body while she considered the fact that absolutely none of it was real; her great romantic love all meant nothing.
“Do you think that the rumours are true?” Victoria gasped, needing her mother’s opinion on the matter. “You know these ladies ... what do you think?”
The Duchess spoke carefully. “I believe that there is an American woman here, yes. And I also believe that she has been saying these things about Thomas.”
“But do you think that she is speaking the truth?” Victoria tugged at the ends of her unbrushed hair. “Do you think that Thomas has negative intentions?”
The idea that she could give up her quiet life in the country, just to be humiliated in front of all the people that she needed to act a certain way in front of was horrifying. Her father would probably never speak to her again. The humiliation, the ruined reputation, all of it would be too much. Not that she would want to, but she would never marry again!
“I do not think that a woman would travel across the world for nothing ...”
“Oh, my goodness!” Victoria was stunned to hear her father’s voice booming into her bedroom. “I thought we were going to ignore those silly rumours? What are you doing here? Why are you filling Victoria’s head with such silliness?” His face turned a worrying shade of red as he grew angrier with every single word. “I am very upset that you have gone behind my back ...”
“I need to know,” Victoria interjected before her father could get too upset at her mother. “If Mr Jones has someone from America that he has promised himself to, then I would much prefer to know this now before I get married.”
As Victoria watched her father’s face contort in shock, she was taken aback. Part of the reason she felt so troubled about it was because of the effect that would have on her father. She could not believe he did not seem to be angry at Thomas, but at her mother instead.
“You need to learn not to listen to the silly gossiping of bored women, that is all.” The Duke shook his head as if this was something that really bothered him. “Most of the time, the things that they discuss are not even truthful. I do not believe for one second that there is an American woman in England saying such things ...”
“Lady Hathaway met her,” the Duchess jumped in. She could not stand to see her husband being so stubborn about this. She did not like it either, but that did not make it any less true. “She had a conversation with this American woman and heard her account first-hand. I am sorry, Victoria. I did not tell you this part because I wanted to soften the blow, but I know that Lady Hathaway was telling me the truth. She did not tell me those things to be unkind; no one wants to see you getting hurt. No one wants to see you being made a fool of.”
“I cannot believe this ...” Duke Turner almost started on yet another rant, but his wife jumped in before he got the chance to do so. He did not look impressed, but he did let her speak.
“I cannot believe that you are so willing to overlook this.” The Duchess rose off the bed to meet her husband’s eyes as she challenged what he was doing. She felt horrified at his behaviour, his lack of consideration. “This is your daughter, your name, and your money at stake here.”
“Th
at must show you how little I believe these rumours because yes, I am willing to go ahead with this.” The Duke nodded firmly. “I do not think that anything you are discussing is the truth, Mr. Jones has behaved impeccably since he has been here ...”
“But why do you think he left America?” The Duchess demanded. “Do you not think that maybe he was running away from something? Has he given you a reason? I have been trying to think of sensible reasons that it might have been, but this seems to be the only thing that makes sense.”
“People move all the time,” Duke Turner bluffed since he did not know anyone else who had made such a dramatic move in their life before. “There does not need to be a reason. You are reading too much into something that has probably been said out of jealousy. Everyone showed an interest in Mr Jones. The fact that he has ...”
“Stop!” Victoria demanded hoarsely, needing the arguing to end. Her head thumped with the knowledge that Thomas had potentially betrayed her again, and she did not need to listen to yelling on the top of that. “Please, just stop it. I cannot stand it.”
“I am sorry, Victoria, I do not think ...”
“No, Father,” she spoke to him firmly, imitating her mother for a moment. “I do not want to discuss this any further. I am going to be honest; I was not certain about Mr Jones anyway, so this is simply the push that I needed in the right direction.” Her breaths fell out of her mouth in a sharp and ragged manner. “I do not wish to marry him, especially not if he has a history like this.”
It was sad to think of, but the one thing that she liked about Thomas was about to be their downfall. She had enjoyed that he was not like English gentlemen, that he did not seem to understand the rules, but now that had gone a step too far. He had a girlfriend who loved him so much she had followed him all the way from America. Even if her words were not correct, and what they shared was not all a part of a plan, that was still far too painful for her to overcome.
“I am set in my decision now. Once Eleanor has visited, I would like to leave. I would like to move to the countryside, and I do not wish for anything else to get in the way of that plan. I have tried to do things in a way that would make you happy, and it did not work out well. Now I would like to stick to the one plan that might actually make me happy.”
Neither of her parents looked pleased by her outburst, but they did not disagree with her either. Despite the fact that Victoria knew that they were only biding their time until they could attempt to change her mind once more, she felt satisfied with their nods.
“I would like to be alone now,” she requested in a calm voice. “I must finish getting dressed for the day.”
“Are you sure you would not like me to stay so we can talk about this more?”
“No, thank you, Mother. I would simply like to move on with my life.”
As her parents left the room, Victoria made no progress towards getting herself dressed at all. Instead, she perched on the edge of her bed while a single tear slid out of her eye. The love story that she did not want was over before it had truly gotten started, and now she felt utterly lost without it. Her romance belonged to an American girl who had travelled halfway around the world to rekindle things with her man ... even her story was better; it was utterly humiliating! Well, Victoria would not be fooled again. From now on, she would avoid men completely. Just as she had always planned to do.
Chapter Sixteen
Thomas’s heart dipped as he swung the door to his home open to answer a constant, slightly rude in his opinion, knocking, and he saw the sight that he dreaded the most. He blinked his eyes a few times to try and regain his sanity since there was no way what he was seeing could be the truth, but nothing made the vision vanish however hard he tried. His limbs froze stiff; he could not move despite the fact that he desperately wanted to. It was as if he found himself trapped in a nightmare.
“Minnie?” he uttered, running his eyes up and down the body of the woman who was once so familiar to him. In America, she slotted into his life completely, but now in England, she looked strange. Very out of place. He wondered if he stood out quite as much. “What on Earth are you doing here?”
“Are you not going to invite me in?” Minnie smirked and flung her hand onto her hip while batting her eyelashes in a flirty manner. Her behaviour was even more intense than some of the ladies that he met at his masquerade ball, and it unnerved him. What he once enjoyed, he now did not like one bit. “The home that you have here is very large. I can see why you decided to move here.”
Thomas did not want to invite Minnie inside, but he stepped aside and let her in regardless. Shock had rendered him almost speechless, which allowed Minnie to trample over him. Then again, she was very good at that anyway, even when he was at his best.
“Well, I have to say it is terribly cold here.” Minnie made a dramatic show of shivering as if the English weather did not suit her at all. Thomas wondered why she had even bothered to come; he knew that she would never like it. “Does it not make you miss the sunshine?”
Thomas followed Minnie through his home until she found somewhere to sit. Just like she always did, he felt her encroach on and overtake every aspect of his life. It was a sensation that he did not like at all. She took a seat, and he did too, but he perched uncomfortably on the edge as if he was ready to leap up at any given moment. He stared at Minnie, still feeling extremely confused.
“What are you doing here?” he reiterated, ignoring Minnie’s comments about the weather. “Why have you come all the way to England, Minnie?”
“I have come here for you,” she replied as if it were obvious. “Why else?”
“Do you not recall what happened before I left?” he asked her cautiously. “We did not end things on good terms, has that escaped your memory now?”
Millie huffed dramatically as if the idea of recalling the not so distant past irritated her. “Why do you continue to bring all the bad things up when we are in a completely different country? Can you not let things go?” When Thomas did not immediately answer her, she grew increasingly irritated. “This has always been your problem, Thomas. You cannot let things go.”
Thomas did not want to have this conversation; he assumed that he had left all of this behind when he got on that boat to come all the way to England. He thought that he would never have to deal with any of it again. He had spent the entire journey reorganising his brain so that he was in a much more suitable place to look for love when he arrived in England. Now that he had met Victoria, he felt eternally grateful that he had done so. What he felt for her put everything that had happened before to shame. Maybe once upon a time he thought that he could love Millie, but no longer.
“I have let it go; I think that you are very much mistaken, Millie. If me leaving the country was not enough of a clue for you, then I will tell you clearly. Again. Millie, we are done. I do not ever wish to see you again. I think that the best thing you can do is to get back on a boat and to head to America. You have a life there, do you not?”
“But so do you.” Millie furrowed her eyebrows in sheer confusion. “You cannot seriously intend to live here in this big, empty, cold house all alone. You cannot turn your back on your family and friends to stay here where you do not know anyone. It is utter madness.”
“My family?” Thomas scoffed at the madness of this sentence. “You cannot be serious. You cannot honestly be sitting here in my home in England, talking to me about my family.”
“I am talking to you about your family because I know that they miss you.”
“Even Michael?” Thomas asked coldly. “Does he miss me very much, or is it only you?”
Minnie’s face fell; she could not keep up the façade at the mere mention of Michael’s name. Thomas’s older brother that had ultimately caused the destruction of their relationship was someone that she did not want to discuss at all, but she supposed that she would have to if she ever wanted to repair things. Watching Thomas leave her life forevermore had ruined her and made her realise every mi
stake that she had ever made. It was just unfortunate that she had to travel so far to make it right.
“I am sorry about Michael,” she practically whispered as a reply. Her eyes flickered to the ground as shame consumed her. “I did not mean for any of that to happen.”
“You did not mean to have an affair with my brother?” No matter what, Thomas would not be fooled by her sad face He had been tricked by Minnie far too many times and had wised up to her now.
“It was not like that.” Minnie’s head fell into her hands. “It was not like that at all. I thought ...”
“I know what you thought.” Thomas felt weary. He did not want to delve into this again, not now that he had moved so far past it. “You told me many times before I left. You thought that you were in love with Michael, and you were too afraid to speak to me about it. You thought that it would break my heart, so you spent time with him and kissed him behind my back. If I had not caught you, you never would have told me, and it probably would have carried on like that forever.”
“I was wrong.” Thomas could hear the tears in Millie’s voice, but they did not affect him any longer. He had seen it all before, and it never meant anything. Once upon a time, he found her long black hair and her heart-shaped face stunning. He loved her piercing blue eyes, and her wide smile ... but now, he could tell that there were always secrets behind that face of hers, and he did not think he would ever get to truly know the real Minnie. “I was wrong. What I shared with Michael was nothing.”
“That is not my problem, Minnie. That is why I came to England, so I could get a fresh start. I have the family properties here anyway which my father signed over to me, so it made a lot of sense in that respect, and I am happier here. Much happier.”
Minnie dragged her eyes up and forced herself to look at Thomas. The man that she saw staring back at her was not the same person that had left America. She did not want to face it, but maybe he had changed. He certainly did not look like he loved her anymore, which made her feel so foolish. Michael did not love her either; she simply got swept up in his kind words and sweet attitude. She was probably just a game to him, nothing more, and she was the one left alone.
