Authors: Clare Jayne
AMELIA SMILED with pleasure at the sight of Mr Alexander
Fenbridge
’s
estate, which would soon officially be
Lottie’s too, happy to finally get here and be on the verge of seeing her
friend again.
The rest of the journey had passed much
like the first day with slight variations of who travelled in which carriage
and where they stopped to rest each night, Mrs Gallerton’s non-stop chatter and
hints about Amelia marrying constantly in her ears. After three days of this
torture they finally reached their destination.
The countryside was beautiful, some of it
farmland with men working in fields of wheat and vegetables, but closer to the
estate was a large wooded area then a large fenced-off field with a few horses
in and a long road leading up to the house. In front of the building was a
circular garden with flowers and a waterfall. As Amelia got out of her carriage
and tried to stretch her aching back in a surreptitious manner she saw that
Lottie and Mr Alexander Fenbridge were on the doorstep to greet the group,
behind them an impressively large medieval building three storeys high with
turrets on either end.
Greetings and introductions were made and,
as the others talked and headed in, Lottie and Amelia hugged each other.
“It is so good to finally see you,” Amelia
said, almost overwhelmed at having her friend back again when she had felt
Lottie’s absence so keenly over the last few weeks.
“And you. I was so sorry to hear about
your father,” Lottie responded as she pulled back and held Amelia’s hands. “You
must miss him very much.”
“It has been difficult. I did not know at
first how we would bear it.”
“He was the best of men.”
“I know I will always miss him but I hope
it will grow easier in time to not have him here. Now it is a constant ache.”
“I am sure it will get better.” Lottie let
go of her hands but put an arm round her as she led Amelia inside, the rest of
the party having already progressed to a room downstairs, presumably the
drawing room. “Let me show you your room so you can unpack and rest.” She
glanced back over her shoulder to the room holding the others, where a loud
female voice could be heard. “I did now know you had an aunt.”
Mrs Gallerton had insisted on introductions
to the couple almost before she was out of the carriage and was no doubt now
telling Mr Alexander Fenbridge her life story.
“My father, very sensibly as it turns out,
would not speak to her. You will quickly understand why.” She looked around as
they ascended a long elegant staircase. “This estate is beautiful.”
“I will give you the full tour later, I
promise. The gardens behind the house are lovely too.”
Amelia paused then said hesitantly, “And is
everything as you expected with Mr Alexander Fenbridge?”
“You mean, have I changed my mind about the
marriage? No, I am more happy about it than ever. Alex is a wonderful man.”
Amelia could see the truth of this in her
face and manner. Lottie was more relaxed than she had been in months and had a
glow of contentment about her. “I am glad.”
“You do not intend to try and talk me out
of it?”
“That is the last thing I wish to do. That
you are happy is my sole concern and I have had more than enough trouble with
people interfering in my life.” She thought of Mr Brightford but had not for
some time felt her previous dislike of him. Indeed, she had increasingly enjoyed
his company on the journey here.
“What do you mean?” Lottie asked her.
Amelia shook her head, the story too long
and complicated to go into now. Besides, she found she did now want Lottie to
think badly of Mr Brightford, which was ridiculous since Lottie had always had
to defend him from Amelia’s criticisms. Their lives had certainly changed these
last few months.
* * *
“What plans has everyone made for the
afternoon?” Mrs Gallerton asked.
Benjamin, who had had to put up with her
company in the carriage this morning, thought that he would happily volunteer
to do anything that she would hate and, therefore, not join in with.
“I was thinking of riding out to visit my
old friend, Mr Wrackley,” Nathan said. “Harrington, I hoped you might accompany
me so I could show you more of the estate on the way?”
“Delighted, sir.” Benjamin could have
kissed him and, now he thought of it, that would certainly put Mrs Gallerton
off his company. If things got too desperate, it was worth considering.
He paid little attention to the remainder
of the conversation - which would have been a great deal more interesting if Mrs
Gallerton had said far less - but rose at once when Nathan did so. In all
honesty, it was less Mrs Gallerton than his parents he was happy to escape. They
had not had an opportunity to speak to him in private yet and he knew there was
an unpleasant scene ahead - probably just the first of many - when they
discovered he was not engaged.
He changed into riding clothes then met Nathan
at the stables outside where a groom was saddling two horses for them. He and Nathan
exchanged grins then he petted the horses, getting acquainted with them, until
they were ready to leave.
“It is pleasant to be out in the fresh
air,” Nathan said as their horses trotted side by side over the grass.
“It is pleasant to be away from Mrs
Gallerton,” Benjamin countered with feeling.
Nathan’s tone became more intimate. “It is
pleasant to be alone together.”
Benjamin shivered at the suggestive tone,
recalling their previous night together. “It is indeed.”
It took them less than half an hour to
reach Wrackley’s estate, which was an even more impressive size than that of Mr
Alexander Fenbridge.
“He is the wealthiest man in the county,” Nathan
revealed, “although he does not boast of it nor put on grand airs.”
They handed over their horses to the groom
of a large stable. Apparently Wrackley bred horses as a hobby and included
several thoroughbreds among them, which Benjamin looked forward to discussing
with him. It turned out not to be possible during this meeting, however.
“Did Miss Daventry come with you? Do you
think I should go and speak to her at once?” Wrackley said the moment they had
greeted each other, his handsome face animated and his mood restless.
“You had a change of heart over spurning
her?” Nathan guessed.
“Mr Brightford wrote to tell me he had been
utterly wrong about her character and that he was sure she had been in love
with me.”
That fool.
Benjamin
listened in disbelief. Brightford and Amelia could have been engaged before Mr
Alexander Fenbridge and Lottie were even married and now look at the mess Brightford
had made of everything.
* * *
“There is something I must confess to you,”
Lottie said as they wandered through the estate’s formal back garden which was
full of a myriad of scents and colours. “Mr Wrackley has visited us since we
have been back.”
Amelia waited for a burst of unhappiness at
the reminder of him and when it failed to appear she said, “That is hardly
surprising since he and Mr Alexander Fenbridge are friends.”
“No, but I thought of asking him why he had
treated you the way he did and Alex convinced me not to. He had good reasons,”
she added hastily as if she expected a furious reaction from Amelia. “He
thought that it might make things worse for you if we interfered and, in any
case, Mr Wrackley will be at the wedding so he thought that that would be a
better time to re-introduce you as a good friend of both of ours. What do you
think?”
“There is something you do not know about.”
Amelia told her what Mr Brightford had said to Mr Wrackley and Lottie gave a
gasp of outraged shock. “How could he be so cruel and unfair?”
“To be fair he had overheard me say in the
past that I wanted a wealthy husband.” Amelia drank in the smell and sight of
roses as they walked by a column of them.
“And what did the matter have to do with
him?”
“Mr Wrackley is his friend.”
Lottie gave her a perceptive look. “You are
being unexpectedly forgiving. Does this mean your feelings towards Mr Wrackley
have lessened or you have lately warmed to Mr Brightford?”
“Both.” Amelia shook her head. “Neither. I
do not know.”
Lottie sat down on a stone bench set in
between two flowerbeds and indicated that Amelia should join her. “Then I think
you should tell me absolutely everything that has occurred between you and Mr
Brightford since I left.”
Lottie’s eyes widened when Amelia told her
about the slap but she offered no criticism and Amelia explained about the
mutual apologies and repeated several amusing comments Mr Brightford had made
since then.
“You are falling for him,” Lottie
pronounced at once, looking pleased at the idea.
Amelia frowned, trying to reconcile all the
contradictory feelings she had towards Mr Brightford. “Do you think so?”
“Certainly. A month ago you would have dismissed
such comments as ill-mannered and now you find them endearing. You love him.”
It was true that she thought well of him
now and looked forward to time in his company. “But I have been introduced to
him for over a year and known him in passing before that and I never felt
anything but irritation towards him. How could I fall in love with him now? The
timing is terrible.”
“Not necessarily. Seeing my wedding to Alex
might give him some ideas.”
She smiled at the thought, letting herself
imagine for the first time what a future would be like with Mr Brightford, but
she only said, “Now you sound like Mrs Gallerton, only she would say it to Mr
Brightford’s face.”
They both shuddered then got to their feet
to stroll back to the manor house. Amelia picked a small piece of lavender,
rolling it between her fingers and inhaling its scent, considering Mr
Brightford’s behaviour and hoping his opinion of her had greatly improved in
the last week.
Lottie brushed a leaf from her dress and
said, “I am glad now that I did not say anything to Mr Wrackley about you.”
“Yes, indeed.” It would have been awkward
if he had decided to court her again but there was certainly no likelihood of
that.
* * *
“Why on earth did you write to Wrackley?” Nathan
demanded.
Mr Brightford rolled his eyes. He had been
relaxing in the library and having a quiet conversation with Alex when Nathan
burst in, saying he needed to speak to him alone. The fire was not even lit in
the billiards room where they now stood and the evenings were cool. At least
Brightford had had the foresight to bring his glass of brandy with him – emotional
conversations always made him thirsty. “First you are angry with me for
speaking against Miss Daventry to Wrackley and now you are angry when I have
tried to put things right.”
“But you are in love with her!”
“That is ridiculous.” Brightford tried to
come up with all the reasons he knew it to be ridiculous as he took a swallow
from his brandy. Worryingly, none came to mind. “I like her better than I did
but…”
“You love her,” Nathan repeated.
“Well, I might feel some… Oh, hell!” Brightford
sat down abruptly in a convenient chair as it hit him that his cousin was
correct. What a ludicrous turn of events. “In any case, she loves Wrackley and
now she can have him.”
“She was warming nicely to you before
this.”
“Nonsense.” Brightford took another swig of
brandy and choked slightly. Nathan pounded him on the back then patted his
shoulder, expression growing sympathetic.
“Well, you will just have to fight him for
her.”
“You want me to fight a duel?” If this was
his idea of a solution then his cousin had been spending far too much time with
Harrington.
“No, of course not. I meant that you will
have to show her you are the better man for her.”
“That would not be fair on Wrackley. They
would be engaged by now if not for my interference.” Besides, he was not at all
sure he was the better man in any way: he was too cynical and bad-tempered. No
wonder she preferred someone as charming and handsome as Wrackley. Damn him.
“You do not know that,” Fenbridge insisted,
“and anyway she did not know you so well then. Could you really bear to see her
married to someone else?”
He was not certain he could. He knew that
he ought to leave the way clear for Wrackley but could not convince himself to
do so. Brightford was a wealthy bachelor; half of Edinburgh’s mothers wanted
their daughters to catch him. Why then was his romantic life suddenly so
infernally complicated?
“MR WRACKLEY called while you were out riding,” Mr
Alexander Fenbridge told Amelia when she and Lottie returned from a ride round
the estate. “I said he should not wait but he wanted me to convey how sorry he
was to have missed you.”
Amelia held back a snort with difficulty. She
could not imagine why Mr Wrackley would suddenly renew his interest in her -
perhaps he was simply bored and in need of a diversion - but she would no
longer trust his whims. Besides, she did not want Mr Brightford to think she
had feelings for anyone else, not that she was certain of his regard, something
that increasingly worried her now she was sure of her own affection. Why could
she not have known how she would feel a year ago when she might have avoided
all those months of being rude to him?
When Amelia did not immediately respond to
his words, Mr Fenbridge smiled at Lottie, full of affection, and asked them
both, “How was your ride?”
“Lovely,” Amelia said. “You have such a
beautiful estate that I will quite envy Lottie living here.”
“Then I am sure we both wish that you will
be a very frequent visitor,” he said, cementing her excellent opinion of him. Mr
Fenbridge was not only kind and good-natured but also generous and thoughtful. Amelia
might have had doubts at the time but she was beginning to think that Lottie
could not have made a wiser choice.
“Nothing could please me more,” she said. “And
do you have many more guests who will be staying here for your wedding?”
“I have several relatives who are currently
in London, who come up to join us in about a week.”
As always, the word of that particular city
drew her like magic. “Then I hope they are talkative: I would love to hear all
that is going on in London at the moment.”
“I am sure they will be glad to tell you. Personally,
now that Lottie is here with me, I could not be happier anywhere else in the
world.”
He spoke with quiet sincerity and Lottie
gave him a radiant smile. Amelia watched them, a little embarrassed to see such
private emotions but more certain than ever that they would be happy together. They
suited each other in ways she had never before realised and it occurred to her
that this was what real love was like; not the dizzying emotions both she and
Lottie had felt in the past.
She hoped with all her heart that they
might have both found it for real this time.
* * *
“I expected to hear a report from you when
you arrived that you were engaged,” Mr Harrington said, frowning, having sent
for Benjamin to come to his room for a discussion. Benjamin had known this was
coming and the only good thing about it was that he could now get it out of the
way. “I presume you do have news on the subject?”
Benjamin met his father’s disapproving gaze
steadily. “I do indeed. I am not engaged, sir, nor will I ever be. On the
contrary, I have formed an attachment with Mr Nathaniel Fenbridge that
precludes any other.”
“This is scandalous!” Mr Harrington
exclaimed, face flushing with anger.
“Only if society in general finds out about
it. I presume you are not planning on making it known?”
“Certainly not. You will break off this
disgusting liaison immediately or I will disinherit you and throw you out of my
house.”
“I love Nathan and he has already said that
if you disinherited me I could live here.”
“You think Mr Alexander Fenbridge would
allow such a thing if he knew the real nature of your relationship with his
brother.”
“He does know,” Benjamin said, strangely
calm in the face of his father’s fury. “He wishes us happiness together.”
His father glowered impotently at him,
clearly at a loss now that his greatest threat had not brought Benjamin to
heel. “Get out of my sight. I wish I might never see you again.”
Benjamin left the room, giving a shaky sigh
once he was in the corridor. He went to find Nathan who had been watching a
billiards game between his brother and Brightford. Nathan had been there when
Benjamin received his summons and left the room to talk to Benjamin in the
empty hall.
“I believe I have just been disinherited
and disowned,” he said.
Nathan put an arm round his shoulder. “Both
your parents?”
“Just my father so far. I am sure my mother
will soon make her feelings known.”
“Perhaps she will be more understanding
than you expect.”
“I hope so but I doubt it. She has always
gone along with whatever he said.”
He was acutely aware that he had put his
life in Nathan’s hands. There was nothing else left for him.
* * *
“If Mr Wrackley returns do you want to
speak to him?” Lottie asked as Amelia admired her wedding dress.
Amelia ran her hand gently over silk
covered in finely embroidered lace. “I do not know. Probably not. There seems
nothing left to say.”
“You thought you loved him before. If he
has decided he really does love you in spite of what Mr Brightford said, do you
not want to see him so you can test how you feel now?”
“It might be sensible,” Amelia conceded
with reluctance. She had made a fool of herself before, assuming the mutual
interest between her and Mr Wrackley would lead to marriage. Also, her new
feelings for Mr Brightford complicated everything and she believed them to be
stronger than anything she felt for Mr Wrackley, but unless she saw Mr Wrackley
again she could not be certain her feelings for him were gone. Of course, he
might not even want to court her - he might just want to apologise for his
behaviour before or ask to be friends. “You are so lucky that you are about to
marry. It is all far more difficult and less pleasant than I expected it to be.
Oh, forgive me,” she said as she recalled the early part of the year. “You
endured far worse treatment than I from Mr Saverney.”
“But that is long over,” Lottie said with a
serene smile, “and does not cause me any pain. I am where I want to be with the
man I want to marry. You are right that I am lucky. More than I have any right
to be.”
“Now, that is nonsense,” Amelia said. “Mr
Alexander Fenbridge is luckier than he has any right to be since he will be
marrying the kindest, most honourable lady in the world. A life of happiness is
exactly what you deserve.”
“I could not have been completely happy
without my best friend here.”
“And I feel far better now I have you to
talk to than I have since my father’s funeral. I fully intend to hold Mr
Alexander Fenbridge to his offer and visit here often until you are both sick
of the sight of me.”
Lottie laughed. “That is not a thought that
worries me.”
* * *
“Your father has told me of your peculiar
announcement to him regarding yourself and Mr Nathaniel Fenbridge.”
Benjamin regarded his mother as she sat
embroidering in her room. “I thought he might.”
She threw a sharp look at him, the kind
that had cowed him as a child. “Do not take that tone with me.”
“My apologies, Mother.”
“It would be better for you if you gave up
this unpleasant behaviour now and returned to our town house.”
“I will not.”
“If not now, then in time I believe you
will change your mind rather than be disinherited and cast out of the family. When
that happens I will speak to your father on your behalf.”
She said this as if doing him a great
favour but it was impossible. He was done with pretence. “I cannot marry. I do
not have the necessary feelings towards women.”
“I do not know where you and your sister
get such romantic ideas about relationships. There are plenty of acceptable
marriages where the husband and wife feel nothing more than civility towards
each other.”
Now that he knew how it felt to be loved
the idea of such a heartless marriage repulsed him more than ever. “You would
wish that on me rather than accept my current happiness?”
“It is what society accepts, so it is the
only option open to you.”
“I am committed to Nathan Fenbridge. I will
not give him up.”
“We will see.”
Benjamin left the interview with his mother
feeling more shaken than he had after talking to his father. It hurt that
neither of his parents cared enough to accept his relationship with Nathan.
Nathan was waiting for him in Benjamin’s
bedroom and embraced him. “Did she react any better than your father?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “Hardly.” He
frowned, abruptly nervous that he had a place in this house. “Are you certain
your brother accepts our relationship?”
“Yes, of course.” Nathan rubbed his back. “What
is wrong?”
“After the way my parents have reacted it
seems impossible that other people could possibly allow us to live as we wish.”
“Alex has always accepted my feelings about
men, Brightford too. Miss Harrington is on your side, is she not?”
Benjamin nodded. “Miss Daventry as well.”
“I know it must be difficult not having the
support of your parents.”
“They never have been,” Benjamin realised. They
were never able to accept the person he really was. To both of them it would be
better if he was living a lie, married and miserable, than happy with a man he
loved. “You are all I need, Alex.”
He kissed Nathan. The rest of the world
could do as it liked as long as he had this man.
* * *
“Mr Wrackley,” the butler announced,
showing the gentleman into the drawing room.
Mr Brightford instinctively glanced at Miss
Daventry, waiting to see what her reaction would be. In this, he had no
immediate answer as, after exchanging looks with Miss Harrington, her
expression was unreadable.
Alex had got to his feet and greeted
Wrackley, who bowed to the ladies and nodded to the men in a friendly fashion,
including Brightford. If he blamed Brightford for what had happened in
Edinburgh he gave no sign of it.
“It is a pleasure to see you all again,”
Wrackley said with a smile at Miss Daventry, who glanced down at her tea. Brightford
wished he knew what she was thinking. He could not help believing he had acted
stupidly, as Nathan had said, in writing to Wrackley, but what else could he
honourably have done? Both Wrackley and Miss Daventry deserved happiness. He
just wished fervently that they would not find it with each other.
“You do not know all our guests,” Alex said
to Wrackley. “Allow me to introduce Mrs Gallerton.”
This, of course, took some time then the
conversation turned to the kind of meaningless small-talk Brightford loathed. He
surreptitiously watched Wrackley and Miss Daventry. Wrackley kept glancing at
her, trying to catch her eye, while she did not once look at him. Brightford
tried not to derive too much hope from that. Certainly Miss Daventry would not
give Wrackley an easy time after his desertion but he might still be able to
win her over. Particularly if he reminded her that it was all Brightford’s
fault that he had ever left.
“Would you take a walk with me outside?” Wrackley
asked Miss Daventry. He added to her mother, “We will remain within sight of
the house, of course.”
She hesitated and Brightford could not help
hoping she would refuse. Instead, after receiving a nod from her mother, she
smiled at Mr Wrackley and said, “Very well.”