Regency Innocents

by Annie Burrows

  Just as he wanted her to disappear from his life.

  She was only surprised he had bothered to come and rescue her at all. If he had left her, he would probably be without a wife at all now. The will only said he had to marry, after all, not that he had to stay married for any specific length of time. As a widower, he would have been free ….

  No, she could not pursue that line of thought. It was one thing to accept his nature for what it was, quite another to think he would connive at her death. Shakily she raised one hand to her brow, waving the other towards him in a dismissive gesture. She was not thinking clearly. She was still overwrought, that was what her mother would say.

  When she raised her head, to give him some kind of reply, she found she was alone in the room once more.

  Well, what had she expected?

  He had come to tell her what his plans were for her future. He had no reason to stay once he had delivered that message.

  No reason at all.

  Quite suddenly, it felt as though a black pit had opened up before her. She was falling, falling into it, and there was nobody to help her, nothing to cling to. She reached out and grabbed at the arms of the chair, reminding herself that she was in a pretty sitting room, on a comfortably upholstered chair, and soon she would be travelling into the country to stay at what was, by all accounts, a magnificent estate.

  Her world was not really coming to an end.

  So why did she start to weep? Why did the sobs rack her body, driving her to her knees on that soft, blue carpet? Why did she curl up into a tight ball, her fists clenched?

  She did not know.

  She did not love Robert any more, so it was foolish to cry because they were going their separate ways.

  She thanked God she had fallen out of love with him, she really did.

  Or being sent away from him would have broken her heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  They were going to travel to Wycke on Friday. She would be glad to go. She was beginning to feel as much a prisoner in this pretty suite of rooms in Walton House as she had been in that filthy cell. After the first couple of days, when she had felt too weak and battered to do more than eat and sleep by turns, she spent longer and longer pacing up and down like a caged tiger she had once seen in the Tower menagerie.

  At least at Wycke, she could take long walks in the grounds and burn off some of her anger in the exercise. Or ride. The Earl had come in, and spoken to her quite kindly one evening, telling her he would make sure there would be a suitable horse for her use in his stables.

  But Robert had not come with him.

  She’d had enough! Turning on her heel, she marched to the fireplace, and tugged on the bell pull.

  When Sukey came in answer to her summons, she said, ‘Can you please send one of the footmen to summon a cab for me?’ She wished she had taken that precaution the last time she had decided to go out. Those men, she had realised, a shiver sliding down her spine, must have been watching her movements for some time, looking for an opportunity to take her. She had frequently hailed cabs to take her to visit her mother. She would never be so careless again.

  If Lord Walton did not mind, she thought she might even take one of the footmen with her.

  She went to the armoire Lady Walton had given over to her use, and took out her blue merino spencer and the bonnet that went with it. It took a matter of seconds to attach a veil to its brim. For some reason, Robert did not want anyone to see her face, though she did not see why he was making such a fuss. Her bruises were fading now, and much of the swelling had gone down. Arnica was wonderfully soothing—much more effective than ale, she grimaced as she twitched the veil into position.

  A few minutes later, Sukey came to tell her a cab was waiting. She had got part way down the stairs, before noticing Robert bristling at the foot of them.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  She lifted her chin.

  ‘To visit my mother.’

  ‘That would be ill advised.’ The expression on his face was forbidding.

  But she had had enough of his high-handed edicts. ‘I am not going to leave town without bidding her farewell. She will think it most odd.’ Deborah descended the last stair and made as though she would have stalked past him. But he reached out, taking her arm, saying,

  ‘If you insist on going, I will go with you.’

  ‘There is no need.’

  ‘There is every need!’

  She locked glares with him for a few seconds, puzzled as to why he would want to go with her, when he had made it so plain that he was sick and tired of the very thought of her. It only took a few moments’ reflection to work it out. He would not want her to say anything that might upset his precious Susannah, who was still living with her mother. The only reason he was insisting on going with her was to make sure she behaved herself.

  She felt the insult keenly.

  ‘If you insist, I suppose I cannot stop you.’ She sighed, turning her head away from him, to gaze longingly at the open door.

  It took him only a minute or two to fetch his own hat and coat. Then they walked to the cab together, he handing her in as correctly as though they were any normal married couple, going visiting together.

  But his face was grim, and neither of them spoke for the duration of the short journey.

  Mrs Gillies was delighted to see them. She rose to embrace her daughter as the butler showed them into the sitting room, where she had been writing some letters. Though her face puckered with concern the moment Deborah lifted her veil to return her kiss.

  ‘Oh, my word! Whatever has happened to your face?’

  ‘I …’

  She had not thought of an excuse. She had not thought beyond getting out and seeing her mother. All she had wanted was to kneel at her feet, lay her head in her lap and sob her heart out.

  But at that moment, Susannah bounced into the room.

  ‘Debs!’ she cried, going to hug her. ‘I have missed you so much these last few days. I am so glad you are come, for I have such news! Oh, good morning, Captain Fawley,’ she checked herself, dropping a polite curtsy, before turning back to Deborah.

  Robert glowered at her before crossing the room to take a seat beside Mrs Gillies, who had subsided on to a sofa, anxiously plucking at the strings to her lace cap.

  It was then that Susannah looked at Deborah properly.

  ‘Whatever has happened?’ Impulsively, she reached out to touch the bruises that were leaking from Deborah’s eyebrow, down the left side of her face.

  ‘I fell out of a coach,’ Deborah said. It was almost the truth—the only part that she felt ready to share on this occasion. ‘So silly of me,’ she said, settling on to a chair by the fireplace and smoothing down her skirts. ‘I would really rather not speak of it.’ She raised her head to look directly at Susannah. ‘Let me hear your news, instead.’

  While Susannah went to her favourite chair by the window, Deborah caught her mother’s eye, and gave a tiny shake of her head. Then she shot a meaningful look towards Susannah, who was positioning her chair in the exact spot where the early morning sun would paint highlights in her hair.

  ‘I can quite see why you have claimed to be indisposed for the last few days,’ her mother said.

  She cleared her throat. ‘Naturally, I could not go out while the bruises were at their worst. And I was a little shaken up, to be honest. I would not have come today, were it not for the fact that I shall be travelling down to Wycke tomorrow, and wished to take my leave of you both. I will write, of course, from there.’

  Mrs Gillies relaxed immediately, understanding the silent message that her daughter would tell her everything in due course.

  ‘Well, I am glad you came in person. For I should not have liked you to find out my news by means of a letter. I am engaged to be married!’ Susannah beamed. ‘To Mr Percy Lampton!’

  Deborah felt the world tilt on its axis. She dared not look in her husband’s direction. What a blow it must be to him, just
when he had believed he was on the verge of winning his heart’s desire.

  ‘H-how came this about? I thought you had quite despaired of him.’

  ‘Yes, I had,’ she admitted, her eyes growing soulful. ‘And despair … yes, yes, that is exactly what I suffered. I did not know how I could bear it. But only yesterday he came here, begging leave to speak with me in private. I did not know that I should receive him, but in the end, your mother persuaded me to take a turn about the garden with him.’

  Deborah’s heart jolted. Could he have proposed, in the garden, in the very spot where Robert had proposed to her?

  ‘Firstly, he begged that I would forgive him for neglecting me for such a long time, after having paid me such particular attention. He explained that, at first, he had only meant to pass some time flirting with the prettiest débutante of the Season. But as time went on, his attraction to me grew so strong that he felt impelled to break off all contact with me, before things went too far. For his family would never agree to him marrying a woman from my background. He knew that he would have to choose between me and his family, should he propose marriage. But in the end, he could stay away no longer. He cannot live without me. There!’ she finished, her hands clasped together, her eyes bright with wonder. ‘Is that not wonderful?’

  ‘Amazing,’ said Deborah weakly, finally darting a concerned look in her husband’s direction. His face expressed all the contempt she had known he must feel on hearing such an ingenuous declaration. They both knew why Lampton had begun to flirt with Susannah. And could both guess what he was playing at now.

  Hincksey was a dangerous man to cross. He was obviously not going to rest until he recouped Lampton’s debts one way or another. He must have realised he had made a grave error in supposing Robert would be a soft target, and decided to lean on Lampton again.

  Desperate to find the money to pay the villain off, Lampton must have seen he had no choice but to take advantage of Susannah’s infatuation with him. It might mean breaking with his family, but, by the sound of it, the threats Hincksey had used on him had made him fear for his very life. He probably believed he would not live if he could not persuade Susannah to marry him, and thereby gain control of her dowry. It would have given his lying words the very ring of sincerity needed to convince Susannah he was in earnest, especially when he was telling her exactly what she most wanted to hear.

  ‘I do hope you will be happy,’ she managed to say, when she could not in all conscience offer very fulsome congratulations.

  ‘Oh, I shall be …’ she sighed, a faraway look in her eyes ‘… for I love Percy so much! We will be married as soon as the banns can be called,’ she went on, sitting forward. ‘I do hope you will be my maid of honour. Even though you never asked me to be yours,’ she added with a touch of reproof.

  ‘I am sure Deborah would be delighted,’ Robert put in, rather shocking her. ‘You must let us know when and where the wedding is to take place, and she will attend you.’

  The rest of the visit was taken up in discussing Susannah’s bride clothes, how delighted her parents would be that she had made such a satisfactory match in her very first Season, and whether she should marry in the fashionable St George’s Chapel, or in their own parish church at Lower Wakering.

  Robert, unsurprisingly, had made no contribution to the conversation. When the time came for them to leave, he could not disguise his relief.

  He sank into the seat opposite her in the cab that they hired to take them back to Walton House, looking drained.

  In spite of the fact that Deborah had decided she no longer loved him, he looked such a picture of abject misery that her tender heart went out to him.

  ‘I am so sorry,’ she said softly, barely restraining herself from reaching out to touch him comfortingly upon his sleeve.

  His eyes flew open, catching her in the very act of withdrawing her hand and curling it in her lap.

  ‘What have you to be sorry for?’

  ‘That Percy Lampton is going to marry Susannah after all.’

  He frowned at her for a few seconds before saying slowly, ‘I do not know why you should think I might be sorry Lampton is marrying her. It was at my suggestion, after all!’

  ‘Y-your suggestion? But you could not want him to … not any man to …’ She faltered to a close, completely bewildered by his statement.

  ‘Of course I wanted Lampton to marry Susannah. They deserve each other!’ he snapped. ‘She is a silly, selfish, shallow creature who only looks upon the outward man, and all he wants is enough money to live in style. He does not care how he acquires it, even to marrying a girl he feels is so far beneath him on the social scale that she is fit only to be his mistress.’

  Deborah shook her head. ‘I cannot believe …’ but suddenly, she saw what had happened. He had fallen out of love with Susannah, just as painfully as she had fallen out of love with him. It seemed that unrequited love was doomed to wither away. It certainly explained the bitterness of the words he had chosen to describe Susannah’s character. Had she not cursed him soundly, during her long, lonely, sleepless nights? And as she turned to look out of the window she noticed how many people’s faces, as they hurried along the streets, looked strained or downcast. Life, she decided, was a depressing business.

  ‘Can you not believe that I would do anything to keep you safe, Deborah?’ he said urgently, leaning towards her.

  She turned to him with a start. This was the very last thing she would have expected him to say. Her astonishment must have shown on her face, because he sat back, his own face taking on a sardonic cast.

  ‘No, you cannot believe anything good of me. I do not blame you, I suppose, but this I will tell you. I warned Lampton that if he did not marry Susannah, I would make him pay for putting your life in danger. I only had to discharge my pistol the once, to make him see that it was high time he swallowed his pride. He soon decided he could marry a girl whose money comes from trade, once he understood he had to pay Hincksey what he owed, else face my vengeance. Why should I care how miserable either of them are, so long as I know Hincksey will never have cause to go near you again?’

  ‘Y-you threatened him with a pistol?’ Her heart had begun to beat in a strange and irregular rhythm.

  ‘I took Linney with me, naturally,’ he sneered. ‘I am not up to doing much in the way of intimidation on my own. Even with a brace of pistols. But then, Lampton is not much of a match,’ he said bitterly. ‘He is only up to bullying and cheating women. Faced with a man, even half a man like myself, he soon showed his true colours.’

  ‘Why, Robert? Why did you insist he marry Susannah? When you could have … Oh!’ It would be easier to conduct an affair with a married woman. If they were discreet, Susannah’s reputation would not suffer.

  ‘Robert, I am sorry, but I do not think it will work out for you. Susannah loves Lampton. And she never … that is, she could not …’ She shook her head again, unable to tell him, even now, that her friend found him physically repulsive.

  Though she had turned to him that night by the fountain. Perhaps that one incident had given him hope that, once she had seen through Lampton, Susannah might be desperate enough to turn to him again.

  The cab drew up outside Walton House and a footman hurried to open the door and help her, and her husband, to alight.

  They went inside, side by side, to all appearances as though they were any married couple, returning from paying a morning call. Though he looked as though his world was coming to an end, and she felt as though she was bleeding inside.

  When they reached the foot of the stairs, he cleared his throat.

  ‘Would you spare me a few moments before you return to your rooms?’ he said in a clipped voice. ‘There is a matter we need to discuss.’

  Her heart sank. There could surely not be anything more to say, could there? Their marriage was over. Did he really think she could sit and discuss it, rationally? Yes, she thought, turning to him with a resigned expression on her face. He still t
hought this had been just a business arrangement on her part. He still had no idea how she had felt when she had agreed to be his convenient wife.

  ‘Please?’

  Her eyes came to rest on his face, flinching at the look that struck such a chord with her own misery. There was nobody who could understand, better than she, what he was suffering right now at the thought of his beloved giving her heart and her life to another. With a sigh, she nodded her acquiescence.

  She took her place on one of the sofas before the empty fireplace, mechanically removing her bonnet and veil, laying them on the cushions beside her, while Robert took the sofa opposite. For some while, he said nothing, though he never took his eyes off her. She had the peculiar impression that he was memorising every facet of her, from the tips of her pale blue kid half-boots to the crown of her head.

  When Linney came to ask if she would like some tea, Robert’s expression turned downright ferocious.

  ‘I have no wish to discuss the breakdown of my marriage over the teacups as though it was a mere formality!’ he roared. ‘Make yourself scarce!’

  Deborah clasped her hands in her lap, focusing on them through a film of tears as Linney beat a hasty retreat.

  Funny, but though she had known he wanted an end to their marriage for days, accepted that it was for the best, because she hated him anyway, she really did ….

  She sniffed, appalled to find the mist clearing as a single tear brimmed over and rolled down her cheek.

  Angrily, she wiped it away with her gloved hand. She was not going to cry in front of him! He was not worth it! If he could toss her aside, and still hanker after Susannah …

  To her shock, Robert got up and came to sit beside her. He pressed a handkerchief into her hand.

  ‘Please, do not cry, Deborah. You will be free of me soon, I swear.’

  He got up then, and moved away abruptly. ‘Forgive me. I know you would not wish to have me anywhere near you.’ He paused before the sideboard, pulling the stopper from one of the decanters and twirling it between his fingers, before turning to her with a grave expression on his face.