‘Her weakness will be her sister’s reputation,’ he said, regretting the words the moment they slipped past his lips.
‘Will it indeed?’ Felicity eyes glistened as she pounced on the remark. ‘Perhaps my own sister will have come across her in local society and will be able to tell me something to help us gain the advantage. Not that you should need one, my love. I simply don’t understand Miss Pearson’s behaviour. I don’t understand it at all. Doesn’t she realise how fortunate she is? She ought to be falling over herself to accept your proposal. You are one of the catches of the season. Everyone says as much. She is very lucky to have been noticed by you.’
Darius wasn’t so sure about that. He was still invited everywhere as a single gentleman to make up the numbers and amuse the ladies. But his reputation preceded him and most chaperones didn’t let him anywhere near their charges. A few husbands were equally wary of him and kept a closer than usual watch over their wives at social occasions that Darius attended.
He had only managed to get anywhere near Louise because Felicity had suggested approaching her aunt first. Felicity did her research and knew the aunt was dependent upon the girl, who was shortly to come of age, and that their relationship was fraught with tension. The aunt, Felicity assured him, would be thinking about her own future. And that had proved to be the case. For a healthy consideration once the marriage went ahead, she was more than willing to encourage Louise’s interest in Darius.
It was the sort of situation at which Darius excelled. He adored women, enjoyed a challenge and set about charming Louise with every expectation of succeeding. He enjoyed this chase more than most. She was surprisingly well read and talked about more than balls and the latest fashions. He decided that marriage to Louise, with the inventive Felicity waiting on the sidelines to satisfy his wilder appetites, would not be so very bad.
Then she turned her back on him. Darius had been furious and blamed Felicity for his subsequent actions. She had told him what needed to be done and his pride was so damaged that he had heeded her advice. Reduced to being told what to do by a woman. He let out an angry hiss, averting his head so that Felicity wouldn’t notice and ask what was wrong with him. How had he fallen so low? Despite blaming Felicity’s hold over him, the small and seldom heeded voice of his conscience reminded him that he didn’t have to follow her instructions.
‘Either way, I think you should call upon the grandmother and pay your respects to Miss Pearson, just to let her know that you are in the district,’ Felicity said briskly. ‘Make the silly girl realise that there really is no escape. Not if she wants to protect her sister’s reputation.’
‘We are coming into Swindon,’ Darius said absently, dislodging her head from his shoulder.
A porter followed them out of the station, where Felicity’s uncle’s coachman awaited her.
‘I wish you could stay with us, but my uncle is a bit of a stickler for the proprieties. He would give you a room but we wouldn’t be guaranteed any time alone. His servants would report our every move back to him.’
‘You have already explained. I shall see you later, as arranged.’
Darius tipped his hat to her, watched her carriage move away and then took a cab into the village, glad to be alone. He found it hard to think with Felicity’s constant chatter distracting him. He asked the cabbie to take him to the local inn, at which Felicity had assured him he would find a room. A step down from his usual living arrangements, but needs must. A small part of him wanted to catch the next train back to London and put all this business behind him. Perhaps his brother would give him one last chance if he faithfully promised to toe the family line. Problem was, he’d made that promise before.
Many times.
He had got himself into a hell of a pickle and was now obliged to dance to a scheming woman’s tune. He almost laughed at the irony, except there was nothing remotely amusing about his current circumstances. All these years he had been taking what he wanted from willing females then casting them aside.
Now the tables had been turned on him and he only had himself to blame. Sighing, he climbed from the cab when it stopped outside the White Hart Inn in Ashton Keynes, paid his fare and made his way into the tavern. He procured a room without difficulty, left a lad to lug his bags up the stairs and collapsed on the bed, disgruntled, wondering what results the next few days would bring.
Wondering if there was any way he could possibly make things up to Miss Pearson and persuade her to marry him simply because she wanted to. He blew air through his lips and stared up at a stain on the ceiling.
‘Don’t be such a bloody fool,’ he said aloud, aware that he had well and truly burned his bridges with the one woman who might just have made him happy.
⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎
Flora left Luke’s library, still deeply disturbed by what Louise had told her about Cleethorp’s behaviour. She returned to her room to indulge in a few minute’s reflection before returning to her duties with the countess.
‘Cleethorp ought to be publicly shamed for what he did,’ she muttered aloud.
Society would still turn its back on Louise.
‘Oh, Remus, there you are. I presume you were eavesdropping earlier, although I didn’t sense your presence. Well of course you were. You are the most inquisitive spirit guide I have ever encountered.’
How many are you acquainted with?
‘Good point.’
Anyway, your gratitude is sadly lacking for the interest I take in your affairs. I have better things to do, you know, than to look out for you the entire time.
‘On this occasion it is not my own interests that are under threat.’ Flora fixed Remus’s shimmering image with a serious look. ‘Is it? All I did was give Louise advice and reassurance.’
And offered to involve your earl, which means you yourself are now involved.
‘Only peripherally. What was I supposed to do? Turn my back on the girl and tell her I was unable to help? It took a lot for her to confide in me. The poor girl is desperate. I cannot begin to imagine what she must be going through and it is beyond my capabilities to withhold my assistance. I know what it was like for me, stuck in a house where I was neither valued nor appreciated but still expected to marry a man I didn’t much care for simply because he could be useful to my father’s career.’ Flora twitched her nose in disgust. ‘I wouldn’t wish a similar fate on anyone.’
You have a soft heart, which makes my life much harder.
‘I hate to point out that you are not actually alive.’
Then why are you talking to me?
‘Perhaps you’re a figment of my imagination and I’m simply losing my mind.’
Remus gave an other-worldly chuckle. We all of us live more than once. You still have so much to learn.
‘Evidently.’
Cleethorp is on his way to Swindon. Your path is destined to cross with his. Be careful. He’s dangerous.
A trickle of fear ran down Flora’s spine. Remus didn’t take his second life too seriously and she had seldom heard him sounding worried. ‘What can he possibly do to me?’
I’m not psychic.
Flora laughed in spite of herself. ‘Yes you are, otherwise how would you know that he’s on his way?’
It’s too complicated for your simple mind to comprehend. Remus sounded lofty, as he often did when he couldn’t explain something or chose not to. I can tell you he’s coming, that’s all.’
‘He doesn’t know me, nor does he have any reason to associate with me.’
And nor will he if you avoid Miss Pearson.
‘I can’t do that! What sort of friend would that make me?’
A sensible one who knows how to mind her own business. He flapped a translucent hand. All right, even I can see that would be asking a lot of you. Just remember what this man did to your friend. He has no morals whatsoever and you are not that unattractive. Not that I understand what all the fuss is about. Virginity is considered an inconvenience to be done away with as soon a
s possible where I come from. You English, with your limited vision and rigid standards. No wonder you don’t know how to enjoy yourselves.
‘If by enjoyment you refer to those gladiator fights you are so fond of, or your sexual liberation, then I think I prefer our civilization.’
Remus shook his lustrous head. There’s no accounting for taste. Anyway, I must go. If you will insist upon involving yourself, try to avoid getting yourself in trouble next Tuesday. I have plans and I would not be best pleased if I had to change them for your sake.
‘Heaven forbid!’
His image faded. Flora sat staring at the window ledge, the place where he had materialised and then evaporated like dissipating mist, thinking about his warning. He was never wrong, and she had learned to heed his advice. But her hands were tied. She could not, would not, abandon Louise in her hour of need. Flora knew how it felt to be abandoned. Then the Beranger family had generously embraced her, and she would do the same for Louise. Her Christian faith had never been as strong as her father’s but she did live according to her conscience, and deserting a person so badly in need of her support would most certainly cause her sleepless nights.
If a single female who had lost her virginity out of wedlock went to her father for help, he would brand her a fallen woman and advise prolonged periods of prayer and reflection upon her wayward behaviour. There would be no understanding or compassion. So much for the forgiving nature of Christianity, Flora thought, twitching her nose. Louise was blameless. If anyone should be cast out of the church it was Cleethorp. Better yet, he should be publicly branded as a scoundrel and have what was left of his reputation destroyed in the eyes of the people who mattered to him the most. But how could she achieve that aim without also destroying Louise, Flora wondered.
There had to be a way.
Flora glanced at the clock. Time was getting away from her. She tidied her hair and returned to the countess’s room. The old lady was out of bed and back in her chair, still wearing a robe and looking worryingly frail.
‘Are you feeling any better?’ Flora asked, resuming her seat on the footstool and nodding to Sandwell to indicate that she could leave them. ‘I’m sorry to have been gone for so long. Louise Pearson called. We talked for longer than I realised.’
‘I was not feeling unwell in the first place, child, so stop fussing. What did Louise have to say for herself?’
‘She is being pursued by a gentleman whose affections she does not return.’
‘In which case he is no gentleman.’
‘That’s what I tried to tell her. He’s making a bit of a nuisance of himself. His name is Cleethorp. Do you know him? His brother is the Marquess of Somerset.’
‘I knew Somerset’s father. Now he was a scoundrel, but had better manners than to inflict his company upon an unmarried gel. Which of the brothers is causing the trouble? There are several but I think they are all married.’ She cackled. ‘Not that that situation ever stopped the old marquess.’
‘This is the youngest, Darius. A bit of a black sheep by all accounts.’
The old lady gave a sapient nod. ‘And in need of a wealthy wife, I dare say.’
‘Quite. Louise realises that and won’t be taken in by him. Best not mention anything to Louise’s grandmother though, ma’am. She doesn’t know anything about it and Louise is worried that if she tells her, her grandmother will blame her from encouraging him—which she admits that she did, to begin with.’
‘None of those Cleethorps know the meaning of constancy. That’s fine if the wife knows what she’s getting herself into. But if she has romantic notions, like my silly granddaughters do, and expect their husbands to be faithful, then she would be disappointed with Cleethorp, charm notwithstanding. She’s right to have backed off.’
‘I am glad to have his character confirmed by you. I don’t like the sound of him either, but it occurred to me that Louise’s account might have been clouded by the reversal of her feelings for him.’
‘The current marquess ain’t a bad lot, but the rest of ’em are a smug bunch, if you want my opinion. Not that I’ve seen any of them for years. Don’t think I’ve met Darius at all.’
‘I don’t suppose you have. He’s a good fifteen years younger than the marquess. I had a word with the earl. He knows him. They were at school together and Darius had a bad reputation then, even amongst his peers.’ She grinned. ‘And I’m told that they weren’t exactly the souls of discretion.’
The countess rippled her shoulders as she settled into a more comfortable position. ‘Well then, Louise is well shot of the man.’
‘She is aware of that, but she is worried that he will follow her to Wiltshire. He’s very determined, apparently. And she won’t be well protected at her grandmother’s home, which is why she thinks that she should perhaps return to London. But there again, it was her aunt who encouraged Cleethorp to pursue her, and until she comes of age she can’t evict her aunt from her house or prevent the woman from receiving him.’
‘The poor girl.’ The countess shook her head. ‘There’s something obviously not right in that family, but I’m sure you won’t be able to stop yourself from meddling until you get to the bottom of things.’
Flora gave a small cry of protest. ‘Why does everyone suppose me incapable of minding my own business?’ she asked hotly. ‘Louise came to me. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her need for someone to confide in? Besides, your ladyship, you asked me to help her.’
‘Yes well, some people are beyond help.’
Flora smiled, sensing that the countess would say nothing more on the subject. She suspected that the old woman understood a great deal more than she was letting on. ‘Shall I read to you?’ she asked.
‘Just so long as it’s not from the Bible.’
Flora shook her head as she reached for the novel that they’d been enjoying. ‘That lament is getting repetitive, ma’am. I have not once attempted to read to you from the scriptures.’
‘Ah, but you would the moment I let my guard down.’
Chapter Nine
As soon as the library door closed behind the squire, Luke and Paul took a moment to consider his disclosures.
‘Do you think that Miss Gregory is somehow in league with her sister and has been sent here to gain Louise Pearson’s trust?’ Paul asked.
‘I doubt it. I didn’t observe her once speaking to Miss Pearson last night.’
Paul’s grim expression gave way to a chuckle. ‘That’s because she lavished all her attention on you.’
Luke rolled his eyes. ‘I have a feeling that Miss Gregory will be receiving a visit from her sister in the not too distant future.’
Paul nodded. ‘Which means that Cleethorp will be in the district too.’
‘Louise Pearson needs to be put on her guard, and Flora’s the only one who can warn her.’ Luke stood to pull the bell rope and asked Woodley to have Flora join him the moment her duties permitted it.
‘Perhaps we shouldn’t get involved,’ Paul said. ‘I don’t like the idea of inaction any more than you, but short of warning Cleethorp off there’s nothing we can really do, other than to make matters worse by forcing his hand.’
‘I agree that it’s not our fight.’ Luke absently stroked the slumbering Romulus with the toe of his boot as he contemplated the problem. ‘But I can’t sit aside when my grandmother’s friend’s family is being exploited. Especially by a man of Cleethorp’s ilk. We know what he is capable of, so doing nothing to prevent him would make us complicit.’ He shot an enquiring look Paul’s way. ‘Besides, I should have thought you’d be thirsting for revenge.’
Paul shrugged. ‘Bearing grudges can make a man bitter if he allows himself to dwell on what can’t be undone.’
‘The sacrifice you made for Archie probably altered your perspective, to say nothing of the course of your life.’ Luke seldom referred to the fact that Paul had taken the blame for one of Archie’s indiscretions and been sent down from Oxford as a consequence.
; ‘Things have a way of working themselves out.’ Paul stretched his legs out in front of him. ‘Flora would say that it’s fate. That everything happens for a reason.’
‘Her sixth sense?’ Luke let out a slow breath. ‘Don’t tell me she has you believing in all that nonsense. I thought you had more sense.’
‘Don’t dismiss it out of hand, Luke. Just because you can’t explain her abilities, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.’ Paul flapped a negligent hand. ‘Given that she saved you from Lily Carlton’s machinations, I’d have thought you’d be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.’
‘I know she believes in the supernatural, but there must be a more rational explanation. She went to extreme lengths to help me because she knew Lily planned to corner me in my bedchamber, but she could have overheard snippets of conversations that put her on the right track.’ Luke paused, wondering if he was being fair, never having given her supposed gift of second sight serious consideration. ‘I suspect it’s her way of rebelling against her strict religious upbringing. She’s desperate to prove to herself that there’s an alternative to the accepted forms of Christianity.’
‘So do the thousands of ordinary people who flock to seances nowadays, anxious to speak to the dearly departed. Who’s to say they don’t manage it?’ Luke shook his head, refusing to be swayed. ‘What are you afraid of?’
Before Luke could respond, a tap at the door preceded Flora opening it.
‘You asked to see me?’
Romulus decided she was worth the effort it would take to rouse himself. He trotted across the room and pushed his big head beneath her hand. She laughed and duly made a fuss of him.
‘Do sit down.’
Flora joined Luke and Paul at the chairs in front of the fire, from which they had both risen when she walked in. She sat, sending them an enquiring look.
A Sense of Injustice (Perceptions Book 4) Page 13