A Wealthy Widow

‘Perhaps she cannot,’ Charles said. ‘You said that she seemed confused—’ He broke off to order more ale for them both as the landlord approached. ‘It might be that she has lost her memory.’ Or more likely that she was afraid to contact her family because she felt that she had shamed them.

‘Thank you, sir.’ Fred accepted the ale, though he had refused payment in money. ‘I’ll get my Mary to send that letter off today to my aunt. I can’t write more than my name, sir, but Mary is a clever girl. If we hear anything, she will write to you if you give me an address.’

‘You may write to my house in London,’ Charles said. ‘I am grateful for your help, Mr Lightfoot, and would willingly pay for your trouble.’

‘I don’t want money for that, sir. I feel bad enough about what happened as it is. It would be a relief to me to know that she had been found safe and sound, sir—and to her poor mother, I dare say.’

‘I dare not tell my mother anything yet,’ Charles said. ‘She has been ill since Sarah’s disappearance, and if I should disappoint her it might kill her. No, I shall keep all this close to my chest, Mr Lightfoot. If we find Sarah, only her true friends will know what has happened to her. We have not talked of it outside our family and the people I trust.’

Fred nodded his understanding. Until the girl was found, the circumstances of that terrible night and the months succeeding it could not be known. It might be that she was ruined and would never be able to take her proper place in society.

‘You can trust me not to let my aunt know your sister’s name, sir. I shall just ask if she has heard of a young lady turning up out of the blue. If she is anywhere near St Tydyll, Madge will know of it.’

‘I pray God she does,’ Charles said, though he had little hope. Were it that easy to find Sarah, his agents would have done it before now. ‘As for me, I shall return to London tomorrow and set my agents in the right direction…’

‘May I speak with you, Cousin Arabella?’ Ralph asked when she returned from an outing one morning later that week. She had been in town for four days now and had done her best to avoid him as much as possible. ‘I have something particular I wish to say to you—in private, if you please?’

Arabella hesitated. It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse and make some excuse, but she knew that he would continue to pester her unless she acceded to his request. It might be as well to have it out now.

‘Very well, Ralph,’ she said in a crisp, cold tone that she hoped would deter him. ‘If you wish, we shall go into the parlour—but I must not delay long. I have to change for tea.’

He nodded, his eyes narrowing as she preceded him into the front parlour. Arabella took up a position near the pretty marble mantelpiece, turning to greet him, her head high. She looked proud and unapproachable, which made him frown.

‘Will you not be seated, cousin?’ he asked. They were of a similar height and yet he felt at a loss while she remained standing.

‘I prefer to stand,’ Arabella said, her dark eyes flashing silver. ‘Please say what you must, Ralph. I do not wish to not keep Aunt Hester waiting.’

‘You can surely spare a few minutes,’ Ralph said, looking sulky. ‘You have been here four days and I have hardly seen you. You are always out when I call. I waited purposely today to see you.’

‘I did not come to London to sit in the house, Ralph. I have been walking in the park with friends this morning and yesterday I went shopping.’

‘As you did the previous day—but we digress. I know that Mama feels it is time you remarried, Arabella. She is very fond of you, as I am. It seems to me very sensible that we should grant her wish to see you happily settled as my wife.’

‘Does it indeed?’ If Arabella’s manner had been cool before, it was positively frosty now. ‘I am afraid that I have no plans to marry again, but if I did it would be for my own sake and not to please Aunt Hester—much as I love her.’

He frowned, looking annoyed. ‘You know I did not mean it that way. I have always had a high regard for you, Arabella. I am sure we should suit very well. Besides, you have not had any other offers, have you? You can’t wish to live out your life as an old maid.’

‘It is very kind of you to concern yourself on my behalf, but I do not believe it would suit me to marry you,’ Arabella replied with dignity. How dare he say such things to her? She would have liked to be sharper, but struggled to control her anger at his insensitive behaviour for the sake of her aunt. She could see the gleam of resentment in his eyes, but was determined to continue. ‘It is hardly your business whether I have had offers of marriage or not, sir. You are my cousin, Ralph, and I wish you well for my aunt’s sake, but we have never truly been friends. Please put the idea of a marriage between us from your mind at once. The answer is and always will be no.’

‘Mama thought you might want to make her happy in her last years, but I told her you were too selfish.’ His mouth pulled back in a snarl. ‘I suppose you do not care what becomes of her if we are ruined?’

‘Aunt Hester would always have a home with me if she needed it,’ Arabella replied calmly. ‘You cannot blame me for your misfortunes, Ralph. My aunt has told me that she has helped you time and again. I have no intention of allowing you to run through my fortune at the card tables.’

‘Damn you!’ Ralph glared at her. ‘No wonder they call you the ice queen. You always were above yourself! Well, you will live to regret this, cousin.’

‘I do not understand you.’ She raised her brows at him. ‘Why should I regret something that would give me no pleasure?’

‘You leave me no choice,’ Ralph muttered. ‘I did as Mama wanted, but I would as lief go to the devil as marry a shrew!’

Arabella made no answer as he stormed from the room. She felt a little sick inside—for the look on his face had been one of hatred and she knew that she had made an enemy. Perhaps she ought not to have said as much, but she had wanted to make it clear that she would never accept an offer from him.

Going upstairs to change out of her green-striped walking gown into a pretty peach muslin, Arabella was reflective. She did not believe that her aunt had put Ralph up to it. She might wish to see her niece married, but Lady Tate could not hold out much hope of a match between Arabella and her son. She must be aware that they had never truly liked each other.

What had Ralph meant when he’d said she would live to repent turning him down? He was sometimes of a surly nature, but she did not think him capable of violence towards her. Yet he had said that her rejection had left him no choice—as if the course he now intended to follow would be her fault.

Arabella was aware of a feeling of unease as she went down to the back parlour to join her aunt for tea. Just what was her cousin hinting at?

Aunt Hester was reading a letter when Arabella entered the sunny room. She looked up and smiled, laying her letter to one side.

‘Here you are, my dear. Ralph called on us earlier—did you see him before he left?’

‘Yes…’ Arabella hesitated and then made up her mind. ‘He asked me to marry him. I refused. I am sorry if that upsets you, Aunt.’

‘I was afraid he meant to do it,’ Lady Tate said. ‘I am sorry, Arabella. I told him not to make a fool of himself. I knew you would see through him, my dear. He is more deeply in debt than I guessed. I have promised to sell a diamond necklace that my grandmother left me, but I have told him that I can do no more. He will simply have to sell what assets he has left.’

Arabella hesitated, then, ‘Perhaps I could spare a thousand or two, Aunt. For your sake I would help him this once.’

‘Oh, no, my dear,’ her aunt said, looking distressed at the idea. ‘Please do not offer. It would be a big mistake. He would only abuse your generosity and you would never be free of him. No, no, Ralph must learn to live within his means. He should look for some form of employment. I suggested that he go into the army or the church, but he was angry. He thinks that I shall sell this house for him, but I shall not.’

‘I do not see my cousin in the army, Aunt.’ Arabella could not picture Ralph as a vicar either, but refrained from saying so. Her cousin had been indulged too much as a boy and had never learned self-discipline. Selfish and thoughtless, he would not heed anyone’s advice. ‘But perhaps if he is driven to it, the church may serve.’

‘It is not to his liking,’ Lady Tate said, ‘but if he has ruined himself he must save what he can. While he continues to live in London and run with those friends of his…Mind you, Sir Montague Forsythe met with a fatal accident recently. I do not know the details but I think his sins had found him out, though Ralph will not say much concerning him. I believe they gambled together and Ralph was hoping that his friend would make him a loan to tide him over, but now it is out of the question.’

Arabella nodded. She had never met Sir Montague Forsythe and did not know what kind of a man he might be, but perhaps he might have been of help to Ralph.

‘Yes, well, perhaps he has other friends that might help him.’

‘I doubt it,’ Lady Tate said. ‘Another of his friends killed himself just before Sir Montague’s accident—possibly he had debt problems too. It has all been kept very quiet so I cannot say.’ She frowned and looked thoughtful. ‘I cannot pretend I am sorry they are gone, for they were a bad influence on Ralph. He had only been involved with them for a few months and I blame them for his excessive gambling. I think there is another—Sir Courtney Welch—but I do not think Ralph truly likes him. He does not speak of him, though I have seen them together.’

‘Well, I dare say my cousin may sell a part of the estate and recover,’ Arabella said. She reached out to touch her aunt’s hand. ‘Do not worry about it for the moment, dearest. I shall tell you what I have already told Ralph—if you should need it, there is always a home with me.’

‘You are such a sweet generous girl,’ her aunt said. ‘But I am determined not to give in to him, Arabella. This house and my jewels are all I have besides my jointure—and I do not intend to let Ralph’s foolishness ruin me completely.’

Arabella nodded, but she could not help recalling the ugly look on her cousin’s face when he’d told her that she had left him no choice…Just what had he meant by that?

Chapter Three

‘Haven’t seen you here for a while,’ Captain Hernshaw said as Charles Hunter walked into White’s that afternoon. ‘Good grief, man, you look awful—what happened to you?’

‘I had a slight accident,’ Charles admitted wryly. His injury had left him with a persistent headache. ‘I ought perhaps to have rested longer, but I had things to do. To be honest, I can’t stand being an invalid. Besides, Mama has decided that she will come up to town for a short visit next week and I have promised to be on hand to escort her to evening affairs.’

‘How is your mama?’ Captain Hernshaw frowned. He knew that Mrs Hunter had been ill for some months but was uncertain as to the cause, though he thought it might be something to do with her daughter, who was, he had heard, staying with cousins somewhere in Scotland.

‘She says she feels a little better,’ Charles said. ‘I think she might have been more sensible to take the air at Brighton or even Bath, but she wants to visit a friend of hers and also her seamstress.’

‘Ah, well, I dare say she knows best. The ladies usually do,’ Captain Hernshaw said and smiled. ‘Harry and Melinda are in town, you know.’

‘I remember your brother’s wife,’ Charles said, his stern features relaxing into a smile. ‘A sweet pretty girl…’ Very like his own sister! The thought struck like the blade of a knife. Melinda reminded him of Sarah, as she had been when he last saw her.