Sin had, without going into too much detail, explained to her the difference between a wife and a mistress. He’d said that most married gentlemen had other women on the side, because men’s needs were much stronger than a gently bred lady could fulfill. It hadn’t sounded like something bad, even though she had promised herself never to marry a man with a mistress.
But the thought of Devlin kissing another woman was like a fist in her gut, and the hatred that filled her heart against this other woman, whoever she might be, scared her.
What if Devlin would refuse to get rid of his possible mistress? Would she be able to live with it? She guessed it was something she would have to endure as his wife, as anyone’s wife, but she didn’t like the thought at all. She knew she wanted Devlin as husband, to share the rest of her life with him. So maybe she would be able to endure another woman, as long as she had Devlin in her life.
She frowned in the darkness, not as happy anymore.
A sound disturbed her thoughts. Was it a tap on her window? She lay quiet, perfectly still, listening for it to repeat, but could hear only the pouring rain outside.
Just as she came to the relieved conclusion it had been merely her imagination, another tap was heard, and this time there was no mistake about it. Fanny sat up, her heart beating faster than a galloping horse’s hoofs, and tried to see the window through the thick curtains that surrounded her bed.
Her fear of darkness immediately made her think of monsters, and for a second she considered putting a pillow over her head, but the thought of someone entering her room when she couldn’t hear or see made her cast the idea away.
The next tap was harder, as if someone was desperately trying to get her attention. With shaky breaths she got out of bed, slowly heading toward the window.
As she passed the fireplace, she grabbed the poker and, with it in her hand, felt more secure.
The next tap wasn’t just one tap but more like thunder. She guessed there was no danger lurking, as it was so noisy her brother Sebastian, who had the bedroom next to hers, probably would have heard it if he were home.
Without losing her grip on the poker, she pulled the curtain aside as fast as she could, to surprise the intruder, and then she screamed.
Outside her window, on the thin windowsill, sat Penelope, drenched by the rain. Fanny tried to open the window, but to her despair it was caught, and she had to pry it open with the poker. With a terrible crash it flew open, and Fanny tumbled backwards as Penelope fell into the room.
Before either of them could speak, Fanny’s father came storming into the room, closely followed by most of her other relatives. They stopped short as they spotted the soaked Penelope on the floor beneath the open window.
“What on earth are you doing here?” George bawled. “Are you out of your bloody mind? This is the third floor you’ve entered. The third floor! What of all stupid things in the world could make you do such a bloody idiotic thing?”
Caroline put her hand soothingly on her husband’s arm. “How are you, sweetie?” she asked with a voice full of motherly care, and Penelope sobbed in response.
Caroline kneeled in front of Penelope and opened her arms, and the weeping young woman threw herself into them. Over Penelope’s shaking shoulder, Caroline gave the men a look that clearly told them to get the hell out of there, and after muttered comments they left with little protest. Tears were best left to a woman to handle.
Rake stayed on, though, ignoring his sister-in-law’s forceful stares, and helped Fanny up from the floor.
“Is Lord Newbury angry with me?” Penelope sobbed, and Caroline shook her head.
“No, sweetie. He was just upset because he got a little scared. First, all the noise from Fanny’s bedroom was frightening, and finding you had climbed to the third floor... You could have fallen and been killed!”
“What were you doing out there?” Fanny asked, and Penelope looked up at her friend with tear-filled eyes. When she spotted Rake still in the room, she started to tremble, and this time Caroline obviously didn’t want to let her disobedient brother-in-law have his way.
“Get out. Now!” was all she said, but Rake didn’t obey. Instead, he took a step closer to her, letting go of Fanny.
“No.”
Penelope started to sob again, and Fanny rushed to her friend to comfort her. When Penelope fell into her friend’s waiting arms, Caroline relinquished her and rose slowly to confront Rake. He glared back, his face hard and obstinate.
“Now,” Caroline said.
This time he didn’t answer at all, and his gaze never left Penelope.
“I said now!” she snarled between closed teeth.
And with more force than anyone could have imagined in her small body, she shoved Rake hard on the chest, so hard he lost balance and tumbled backwards through the doorway. Before he could recover from his astonishment, Caroline closed the door in his face, and locked it.
Mother and daughter helped Penelope out of her soaked clothes and into one of Fanny’s thicker nightgowns, and made her sit down in the armchair next to the fire. As Fanny put more wood into the fire, Caroline rang for Nell, who immediately was sent for a tray of tea and something to eat.
Caroline placed herself in the armchair facing the young woman she had known for so many years and whom she loved dearly, almost as much as her own daughter.
Penelope was a mess. Her wet hair was tousled all around her white face, where a large bruise covered her left eye and cheek. She sat with her legs under her, looking more like a small girl than a full-grown woman.
“First I want to tell you how climbing up to Fanny’s bedroom was incredibly stupid and dangerous,” Caroline admonished. “And I want you to promise me that you will never do something like it again.”
Penelope nodded forlornly, as she too was well aware of how her actions were beyond rational comprehension.
“That said,” Caroline continued, “I urge you to tell us what you have been through. You have a bruise on the side of your face that clearly has the shape of a large hand.”
“Please,” Penelope cried. “Don’t make me tell you. I don’t want to go through it again. Please let me just forget all about it.”
“Penelope de Vere, there is no way I will let this be. I love you dearly, as you have always been like a sister to Fanny, closer than a friend. I will not let you leave this house until I know what happened to you. I will give you the choice of telling me alone, if that would make it easier than having to tell me and Fanny. But I tell you this, my girl—if you don’t tell me now, you will have to answer to me and my husband tomorrow.”
“Mother!” Fanny’s exclamation held shock at her mother’s coldness.
“Fanny, your friend has been beaten, and I can’t and won’t take it lightly. I’m not acting this way because I want to hurt Penelope. I do it because I care about her.”
“It’s okay,” Penelope whispered to Fanny before looking up into Caroline’s distressed eyes. “Not now, please. I haven’t got any strength left. I’ll speak to you in private tomorrow, if you don’t mind.”
Caroline went to her, gave her a warm hug, and kissed her white, cold cheek before opening the door for Nell and the tray of tea. When the maid had gone, Caroline followed her and closed the door softly behind her.
Fanny poured a cup of tea and gave it to Penelope, who accepted it with a weak smile. They sat silent, enjoying the tea and the fire while thousands of thoughts rushed through their heads.
“I’m so sorry, Fanny,” Penelope said, finally breaking the silence. “I had nowhere else to go.”
Fanny gave her a reassuring smile.
“You know you are always welcome at our home, and I am most grateful you came here in your hour of need, but we do prefer you use the front door.”
Penelope giggled, not being able to withstand Fanny’s friendly banter. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the Almack’s assembly this evening. We had another invitation, which my father insisted we should accept, and
nothing I said could make him change his mind.”
“I missed you dearly.” Fanny smiled. “Something wonderful happened, and you weren’t there to share it.”
This caught Penelope’s attention.
“Oh, dear, what happened?”
“Devlin kissed me.”
“What!” Penelope squealed, forgetting all about her own situation, as was Fanny’s intention. “How was it?”
“It was wonderful.” Fanny sighed. “I can hardly explain how wonderful it was.”
Penelope frowned, thinking. “But where did he kiss you? There is no privacy at Almack’s.”
“In the patronesses’ meeting room. He surprised me when I had been to the restroom, and he dragged me into their meeting room, and he kissed me.”
Fanny sighed again, dreamy-eyed, and something envious flared over Penelope’s face before it vanished again.
“Did he just kiss you?” Penelope asked curiously, as she had never been in this kind of situation herself. Fanny blushed, and Penelope had her answer.
“Did he…” Her voice trailed off, as she knew not how to continue.
“Oh, Lord, no!” Fanny laughed, embarrassed. “But by his choice, not mine. Penelope, it was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it. He overwhelmed me completely, and if he hadn’t been such a gentleman, I think we would have had to be married anyway, but a little sooner than we expected.”
“Marry?” Penelope said, shocked.
Fanny nodded.
“Oh, Fanny,” Penelope breathed happily, and gave her friend a tight hug. “This is indeed the most wonderful news!”
Fanny beamed, too happy to know how to respond. Her happiness was obvious, and at first Penelope beamed with her, until apparently something ugly grew in her mind, forcing her to remember what had happened to her and pushing all the happiness away. Fanny immediately noticed her friend’s distress and got down on her knees in front of Penelope, taking her small cold hands into her own.
“Please, Penelope, tell me.”
Penelope leaned back, resting her head against the back of the armchair. She closed her eyes tightly, and Fanny watched sadness and pain cross her face. She was silent for such a long time that Fanny jumped when she finally said something.
“My father has this friend he has known since he was a young man. They have never been close friends, to my father’s despair, as the other man, Lord Bolton, is very rich and well connected in Essex, where he resides. This noble gentleman has been married three times, and all three times his wives have died suddenly after a few years of marriage, and without giving him any children. Now he is searching for wife number four, and of course he remembered my father has two daughters, one of whom is claimed to be the most beautiful woman ever. So he invited us to his townhouse for dinner. Father would never say no to Lord Bolton, so yesterday we joined him for dinner. Fanny, he was such a repulsive man! He is just as old as father but looks more like he is old enough to be my grandfather, or even my great-grandfather. Father smirked and smirked, but Lord Bolton hardly looked at him. Our host was too busy drooling all over Charmaine. She was admirably nice to him and didn’t even mind as he tried to look down her bodice.”
She sat quiet for a while, and Fanny knew she must be bracing herself for the next part of her story, the one where it all happened.
“If you don’t want to tell me more now, we can continue tomorrow.” Fanny said softly, not wanting to put her friend through too much anguish.
Penelope’s smile was full of love. “It is okay, my dear. I’d rather say it now and have it done. I don’t think I can sleep without getting some of it off my chest.”
“Whatever you wish is my command,” Fanny said reassuringly, and Penelope hugged her warmly and thanked her for being such a good friend. Again she sat back, and this time she stared into the fire unseeingly.
“After dinner, Mother, Charmaine, and I were ushered into the salon, as the men were staying behind for their usual port. We didn’t have to wait a long time, though, before father came and told us we were leaving. As we got up to go to the front door, he stopped me and told me he wanted to talk to me in private, and we were left alone by the others.”
Penelope’s voice became hoarse with emotion, and she drank some of the now-cold tea before she took a deep breath and continued despite a cracked voice.
“He told me I was to stay, as he and Lord Bolton had an agreement. Lord Bolton wanted Charmaine for his next wife, but my father had surprisingly told him no, as Charmaine was meant for another man. As I understood by my father’s explanation, Lord Bolton got very angry and threatened to lock me and my parents in and have his way with Charmaine anyway, and thus force a marriage. My father...”
Penelope took a deep shaky breath.
“My father,” she continued, with an impressive show of strength, “made a bargain in order to keep Charmaine and her virginity intact, and Lord Bolton reluctantly agreed to it, still upset but at least still my father’s friend. Father told me I was to stay behind while my family went home. I was told to do anything the man wanted me to do, and when he was done with me I was to send my father a message, so he could have a servant fetch me and drive me to a small estate in Wales, where I could stay for the rest of my life.”
Fanny didn’t know what to say. What Penelope told was incomprehensible. It was too much for a mere eighteen-year-old overprotected girl to take in. She put her head on Penelope’s shoulder, closing her eyes as tears of compassion fell on her friend’s nightgown.
“I cried and begged, but nothing I said seemed to affect my father. He turned his back to me and told me this was the least I could do to keep my sister chaste. When I tried to grab him, to force him to stay and listen to me, or preferably take me with him, he shoved me so hard I fell backwards and hit my head on something. I must have fainted, because when I woke up again I found myself lying on a bed in an unknown bedroom.”
She started to cry, and Fanny could only hold her friend, to help her through her pain.
“I was so scared, Fanny! I didn’t know what to do, and then Lord Bolton came by with his snickering footman and told me to stay put, as he had other appointments planned. You should have seen his evil face when he told me what he would do with me when he came back—it was terrifying. And they left me there alone, waiting for a fate worse than death.”
“Oh Penny,” Fanny moaned, filled with dread for what her friend gone through.
“I was desperate to get away from there,” Penelope continued bravely. “When I found an unlocked window in an adjoining bedroom, I could hardly believe my luck. I climbed out through it and made it down to the street, where I ran as fast as I could until I reached my father’s house here at Berkeley Square.
“But, as I grabbed the knob of the front door, I realized I couldn’t go home. My father had given me away to Lord Bolton. I know what a stubborn man my father is, always bound by the honor of his word, and I knew he would send me back. So I came here, but when I was about to knock on your door, I saw a ladder someone nicely enough had forgotten, so I moved it to where your room is, and the rest you know.”
“Oh, Penelope,” Fanny cried, devastated for her friend’s sake.
“I have nowhere to go. I can’t go home again, for I am not wanted there. I have no other relatives I can live with. I might be able to work as a governess, but who would hire me? If this comes out, I will be destroyed in the eyes of society.”
“Oh, come on,” Fanny said angrily. “Now you are just being stupid. You can stay here, and so you shall. I don’t care what anyone says about you, or if your reputation is damaged forever. You are my friend, and you will always be.”
Penelope gave her a small smile, and although Fanny could see she didn’t believe her, she decided not to continue to argue the point. Penelope was clearly fatigued and on the verge of falling asleep, so Fanny kept quiet, and a few minutes later Penelope was sound asleep in the comfortable armchair.
Fanny grabbed a thick blanket and tucked
Penelope in neatly before she climbed into bed, thinking about what Penelope had told her. She could hardly believe something like this could happen in these modern times. It was unbearable.
She sighed deeply, feeling drowsy, and then she too fell asleep.
Chapter 19
Lord and Lady Newbury sat silently in the marchioness’s salon, staring at their daughter with disbelief written on their proud faces.
Fanny, who had been just as shocked when she heard Penelope’s story the night before, stayed quiet following her recital of the details she’d learned. Her parents obviously needed a chance to digest the whole ugly truth.
Earlier, when she awoke from a night filled with nightmares, Penelope had still been sleeping soundly, and Fanny had dressed herself quickly before sneaking out from her bedroom without disturbing her exhausted friend. To spare Penelope the pain of telling her horrible story again, she had sent a maid to collect her parents, so that she instead could tell them.
Her parents never said a word. They didn’t interrupt her once, which told her more than anything how much it affected them. Finally George woke from his numbed state and took his wife’s cold hand. “I’ll kill him.”
Caroline shook her head. “No, you won’t. He is not worth it.”
“No, he isn’t, but Penny is.”
“Please, Papa,” Fanny begged, as she leaned forward and put a hand on his knee. “Don’t do anything stupid. This is so hard for Penny, and she would never be able to live with it if more evil came out of it.”
George looked at his only daughter. “What if it had been you in such a situation?” He shuddered, then nodded.
“I’m going to talk to her,” Caroline said as she arose and headed toward the door. “Don’t do anything without telling me, and don’t tell anyone else. Especially not Rake.”
George turned toward his daughter with a frown. “Why not Rake?”
“Oh, come on, Papa,” Fanny said, not believing her ears. “You know why.”
A Family Affair Page 15