Family Scandals

by Denise Patrick

  “Wonderful,” Eliza responded, linking her arm through Corinna’s as they started up the stairs. “You must tell me how you and Marcus met and married. I’m sure I will get nothing out of him.”

  “I’m afraid, Eliza, that you will overwhelm Corinna,” Felicia spoke from the top of the stairs as the twins raced down before her. Corinna turned just in time to see them go out the front door.

  “Goodness!” Eliza exclaimed. “Was that Michael and Caroline?”

  Felicia laughed. “I’m afraid so. We are without a governess for the moment, so I am doing double duty.” She glanced at Corinna. “I love my children dearly, but sometimes I forget how much energy they actually have.”

  Corinna smiled mischievously. “I could catch them for you.”

  “You and their father are the only ones who can,” she returned, “but it won’t be necessary. They will be back momentarily with their cousins in tow. How about if I see to the settling of the children and you see to Eliza, and we will meet in the cliff room shortly?”

  Corinna agreed. “I have already told Mrs. Barker we would have tea there once everyone is settled.”

  Marcus and Trent reached the landing as Felicia started down. Turning to his sister, Marcus said, “Do not badger Corinna about us. We can talk over tea and I will explain then.”

  Corinna smothered a giggle at the look of resignation on Eliza’s face.

  “Very well,” Eliza reluctantly agreed. Turning to Corinna, she said with a laugh, “You have a reprieve until after tea.”

  Corinna nearly laughed out loud as she caught a glimpse of Marcus’s face before the two men turned away.

  Steering Eliza down the hall, they entered a suite decorated in blues and greens facing the channel. “I hope you will be comfortable here.”

  Eliza glanced around the sitting room. The furniture was a bit old fashioned, but polished to a shine, the heavy, deep-green velvet drapes matching the chair and sofa coverings and thick carpet. A door to the left stood open, and Corinna knew Eliza’s maid would be there directing the placing of trunks and boxes.

  “I’m sure we will,” she answered Corinna’s anxious glance. “If you will just give me a few minutes to freshen up, should I meet you downstairs?”

  Corinna nodded. “Yes, of course. If you ring when you’re ready, one of the housemaids will show you the way.”

  Once out in the hall, Corinna took a deep breath to steady her racing heart. Not too bad. Marcus’s sister seemed genuinely glad to meet her. She certainly hoped so. Despite the way he spoke of her sometimes, she knew Marcus held his sister in great esteem.

  Downstairs, she checked to see that tea was being prepared for service in the cliff parlor then headed back to the room herself. She briefly wondered if the men would join them, then remembered Marcus had told his sister he would tell her their story over tea.

  Standing before one of the large windows, she stared out over the expanse of the channel, wondering how much of the story Marcus would tell her.

  Felicia entered the room, shaking her from her thoughts.

  “All settled,” she announced. “I think Nicky is beginning to be a little old for the nursery when he is home from school, but there is no place else to house him for now.” She joined Corinna at the window. “I think he still resides in the nursery at home, but I’m not sure. I shall have to ask Eliza.”

  “Will you be sending Michael off to school?” Corinna asked her.

  Felicia sighed. “Eventually, I’m sure,” she replied. “I know many boys are sent off when they are as young as seven, but that just seems too young to me. Brand never went at all because he was kidnapped. My sister and I have been debating it back and forth for a while now. We will probably send Michael and Andrew together, but we have a few years yet to think about it.” She grinned. “I think by the time they are ten or eleven, he and Caroline will need time away from each other.”

  Turning, Corinna moved back into the center of the room and seated herself on a sofa upholstered in a blue and green swirling pattern. “And will you eventually send Caroline off to school as well?”

  Corinna wondered, as she watched Felicia follow and sit on a matching sofa, what her and Marcus’s children would be like. Would they be as lively and curious as the twins? They would probably be dark haired, but would they have Marcus’s dark eyes, or her gray ones?

  “Possibly, but I haven’t allowed myself to think of it yet. I know it’s not uncommon. After all, at Miss Ridley’s there were girls as young as twelve, but I think girls are better off waiting. I didn’t go until I was sixteen.”

  “I didn’t go until I was fifteen, but it was because Mama didn’t want to send me to school while Diana was there, and then I wasn’t sure I wanted to go so we put it off. In the end, I didn’t go until a year after Douglas and Marcus left for India.”

  “Did you make many friends?”

  “A few, but I was a bit shy about doing so. Many of the girls my age had already been there for a few years, so I made friends with some of the younger girls who were as new as I was. And, of course, there were the girls who were younger siblings of Diana’s friends.”

  “That must have been horrible.”

  “Actually,” Corinna confided, “after the prank I pulled on Annabelle Malton, they left me alone.”

  Felicia’s curiosity was almost tangible, and Corinna wished she hadn’t mentioned it. “The Duke of Wolverton’s daughter?”

  Corinna nodded. “It was amusing when I did it, but looking back, I wish I had ignored her instead. Unfortunately I was still used to being picked on at home, striking back whenever someone hurt me.”

  “It couldn’t have been so bad,” Felicia said. “Or Miss Ridley would never have sent me a letter on your behalf.”

  “It wasn’t then, but I heard later that Annabelle is now deathly afraid of squirrels.”

  “Squirrels?”

  Corinna nodded. “I left a handful of nuts and acorns under her bed when she was out once, then caught a squirrel and let it loose in her room.”

  Felicia giggled. “I’ll bet the poor squirrel had an apoplexy with all the screaming.”

  Corinna laughed. “It probably would have, but luckily, it escaped. I left the window open. Annabelle was so distraught she refused to sleep in the room again, so Miss Ridley made me switch rooms with her.”

  “As punishments go, that was fairly benign.”

  Corinna nodded as the door opened to admit Eliza.

  “What a beautiful house,” she said, joining Felicia on the sofa. “You will have to give me a tour, perhaps tomorrow?” she asked Corinna.

  “I would be delighted, although, I’m still so new at it we might get lost.”

  “I hope you don’t mind, I prevailed upon Miss Byrnes to keep an eye on the twins too,” Felicia said to Eliza. “I expect Miss Kendall any day now, but she hasn’t arrived yet.”

  “What happened to the young woman Amanda brought back when she went to pick up Cassie? Cassie insisted we should take her in when you no longer needed her.”

  Corinna managed to smother a giggle as Felicia burst into laughter. Trying to maintain her composure, she watched Eliza look from Felicia to her and back.

  “Amanda told me Cassie tried to marry Miss Camden off before they reached London,” Felicia said between bouts of laughter. “She even picked the right groom.”

  It was Corinna who finally answered Eliza’s immediate question. “That was me,” she informed her astonished sister-in-law.

  “You? But…”

  “I know,” Corinna said as she regained her balance and smiled. “It’s a bit complicated. I don’t know where to start.”

  Eliza sat back against the cushions and regarded Corinna evenly, but still smiling. “I will wait to hear from Marcus, but I hope all the suspense is worth it,” was all she said after a few moments silence. Then she laughed. “Leave it to Marcus to show us all up. I thought we were the ones with all the surprises because he didn’t know about the title.” She
shook her head again. “I should have known that he would have something up his sleeve. I’ll bet he would have preferred to wait until we all converged on London in the fall to even introduce you. Silly boy.”

  She was not kept waiting much longer, as the men entered moments later, right on the heels of Pulliam and a maid pushing the tea trolley.

  “You remember my friend, Douglas?” Marcus asked Eliza.

  “Yes, of course,” she replied.“You brought him home quite a bit. Mama was not very fond of him, as I recall. She was definitely not happy to see the two of you together at my wedding.” The look on her face as she spoke conveyed volumes about what it must have been like with two teenage boys underfoot on holidays.

  “Corinna is Douglas’s sister,” he said as if it explained everything.

  Eliza frowned.“Did I know he had a sister?”

  Marcus shook his head.“Probably not, although you probably knew of his stepfamily. I didn’t meet her for the first time until right after your wedding.”

  “Stepfamily?”

  “His stepfather was Baron Houghton,” Marcus told her. “Now that I think on it, you probably came out about the same time as Corinna’s oldest sister, Anna.”

  Eliza’s eyes lit up. “As a matter of fact, I did come out with Anna Houghton. She was such a nice girl. Her aunt and uncle, I believe, sponsored her. I had forgotten she was related to Gregory and Ellen. It was such a long time ago.” Eliza’s forehead puckered in a thoughtful frown. “She married a lord from up north somewhere, didn’t she?”

  Corinna nodded. “Lord Trotterdam. His estate is on this side of the Scottish border near Gretna Green.”

  “How is she doing?” Eliza asked.

  Corinna shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m afraid we are all estranged. I last saw her at our father’s funeral. She seemed fine then.”

  “Hmmm,” was Eliza’s only comment, but she seemed to take a closer look at Corinna all the same.

  The children joined them a short time later and all adult conversation ceased as the children and their antics took center stage.

  The Barringtons had three children. Nicky, the oldest at 12, was tall and slender with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. Corinna was sure she could see the handsome young man he would be in a few years. George was eight. Not quite as slender as his brother, he could have been Corinna’s child as easily as Eliza’s for he had the same color eyes and his hair looked to be the same reddish-brown color, minus the gold highlighting. Lizzy, at five, was a cherub. With her mother’s violet eyes and dark gold curls, it was easy to see she would be a beauty someday.

  Michael and Caroline, along with their three cousins, would provide most of the entertainment over the next two weeks. Even the appearance of their governess two days later did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm.

  As the Barringtons settled in, the days gradually took on a pattern that lasted for the entire two-week duration of their visit.

  The mornings usually found Corinna, Felicia and Eliza in the nursery with the two governesses, Miss Kendall and Miss Byrnes, doing lessons with the children. Five adults and five children all in one large room combined to produce little more than chaos with the occasional burst of order. Even John and his nurse occasionally joined in the lively activity permeating the rooms at that time of day.

  The afternoons belonged to the men, who often took the children sailing, riding or exploring. Michael had taken it upon himself to try to spot as many animals and birds described in the books he had found in the library as he could, and reported his new finds each day to Corinna.

  It was during the afternoons Corinna found herself gradually becoming more comfortable within her new family. Felicia and Eliza put her at ease, accepting her unconditionally, dispensing advice, and providing invaluable insight and support. That they did so without being overbearing or condescending gave Corinna a confidence in herself she knew she’d lacked before. For Corinna, it was what she had always dreamed it would be like to have sisters.

  The evenings were peaceful. With the children in bed, the adults spent the time discussing their days, accomplishments, the children, politics and any number of things.

  It was during one of these evening discussions Corinna broached the subject of her mother’s family.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aunt Marian will be ecstatic! I cannot wait to see her expression when she meets Corinna. Now I know why you thought she looked familiar.

  Eliza, Countess of Barrington, to her stepdaughter, Amanda, Countess of Wynton

  Seated in the lavender drawing room after dinner, Corinna, Felicia and Eliza were discussing the gossip that had swept through the ton following Gregory and Ellen’s marriage, when Eliza mentioned having met her parents at Anna’s wedding.

  “Although everyone was aware of the rift in your family, no one expected what happened when Gregory and Ellen married,” Eliza told Corinna. “Needless to say, people were scandalized, and it backfired on them.”

  “On who?” Corinna asked.“Gregory and Ellen?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “I think people saw it as vindictive without reason,” Eliza answered, then explained. “Step-marriages are often viewed dubiously, but rarely with the hostility your mother seemed to experience from her stepchildren. Often, the reasons are obvious for such a family rift, but in your mother’s case there didn’t seem to be any. Except for the fact that no one knew her background, there was nothing exceptional about her. I remember meeting her briefly at Anna’s wedding, but I don’t remember her very well. You weren’t there, though. I think I would have remembered a small child.”

  “No, I wasn’t,” Corinna explained. “I would have been there, but two days before, Diana pushed me into the lake and I caught a chill. So I spent the day in bed with only my governess for company. I was disappointed because I had a new dress just for the occasion and didn’t get to wear it.”

  “Why did Diana push you into the lake?” Felicia asked.“You couldn’t have been very old.”

  “I was six,” Corinna replied with a shrug. “And Diana didn’t need a reason. That’s why my mother never allowed her to be alone with me. Mama said she was jealous because before I came along she was the youngest.”

  “I suppose that could have explained it, but it doesn’t explain why the rest of the family disliked your mother so much,” Eliza replied.

  “Viscount Dryden called her an adventuress and said she trapped Papa into marrying her,” Corinna elaborated. “He was just annoyed because Mama told him her grandfather was an earl, but she didn’t know him.”

  Felicia laughed at that. “I’m sure he was. He and Lady Dryden are among the worst at claiming connections. If your mother couldn’t name her grandfather, he wouldn’t have had any use for her.”

  “You don’t happen to know which earl it was?” Eliza asked.

  Corinna shook her head. “No, but I would love to find out. There has to be someone who has heard the story. It’s unusual.”

  “Tell us,” Felicia invited. “Between the two of us, we can probably find out.”

  Corinna looked from one to the other. “Do you really think so?” she asked cautiously. “I’ve always wondered. But I’m sure he’s dead by now. I’ve wondered if it was possible to meet the current earl. I wouldn’t presume on any connection. I just want to know the story I’ve been told was true.”

  “That is, if we don’t already know,” Eliza agreed with Felicia.

  Her hopes rising, Corinna told them the story. “My grandmother ran away to marry my grandfather because her father refused to grant permission. He was considered too far beneath her, you see, so her father tried to keep them apart.”

  Felicia smiled. “He obviously didn’t succeed.”

  “No, but she had to die in order to protect my grandfather.”

  “Die?” Eliza asked. “But, if she died, how…?”

  “Oh, she didn’t really die,” Corinna interrupted. “She just made it look as if s
he did. She didn’t want her father to come after them, you see. I don’t know what she did, though, but her mother helped her.”

  “Her mother helped?” Eliza asked, wonder in her voice. “So the rest of the family didn’t know she wasn’t really dead?” When Corinna nodded, Eliza clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening suddenly. The excitement that sprang into her eyes was unmistakable. “My word!” she exclaimed. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Don’t believe what?” Felicia asked. “If you’ve already figured it out, let us in on the secret.”

  Eliza looked at Felicia. “Do you remember what Aunt Marian’s favorite topic of conversation is?”

  Felicia nodded and smiled broadly. “Of course. Anyone who spends more than five minutes in her company learns all there is to know about her sister—” She stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Corinna, recognition dawning in her eyes. “Connie,” she finished. Turning back to Eliza, she asked, “Connie wasn’t by any chance short for Constance, was it?”

  “It was, why?” Eliza asked.

  “Because that’s one of Corinna’s names—after her grandmother.”

  “And Trent’s grandmother’s name was Corinna.” A smile blossomed across Eliza’s expressive features. “After all these years,” she said softly. “Aunt Marian will be elated and Cassie will be impossible to live with once she realizes she was right.”

  “About what?” Corinna asked.

  “You,” Eliza answered. “Cassie said we should give you a season because you looked like a Cookeson and we could pass you off as a long-lost cousin,” Eliza answered.

  “Cookeson?”

  “Cookeson is the family name of the Earls of Barrington. Trent’s father’s youngest sister, Constance, disappeared when she was only nineteen. She supposedly drowned in a boating accident, but her body was never found. Years later after Trent’s grandmother, Corinna, died, the family discovered letters from Constance exposing the subterfuge,” Eliza explained.

  “Oh.” Corinna was dumbfounded.

  Sitting back on the sofa in a bit of a fog, she couldn’t believe how easy it had been to find out the information she had craved all her life. She had always known her grandmother’s story was unusual, but she had never thought finding out what she wanted to know would be this simple.