Rivals of Fortune / The Impetuous Heiress

by Jane Ashford

  “Well, I shall take the gig. Don’t worry, I shall wear a heavy cloak.”

  “I suppose it’s all right then, though I can’t see why you did not simply tell Mama when she asked you.”

  Her brother looked mulish. “This is to be a private talk. No one else need know of it.”

  Joanna smiled; there was surely no need to worry if Frederick was with Jonathan Erland. “Very well. Mr. Erland is kind to ask you.”

  “Oh, kind! I daresay he wants me to tell him more about the intruder.” Frederick looked mysterious. “And perhaps other things as well.”

  “Perhaps. But he is kind.”

  Her brother shrugged.

  “Well, I must go and get ready to go out. Do you go soon?”

  “Right after you.” Her brother grinned.

  Joanna laughed and turned toward the stairs.

  Half an hour later the ladies of the family were preparing to leave the house. “I daresay we shall get wet,” said Mrs. Rowntree when they met in the front hall, “even taking the closed carriage. It is raining harder.”

  Joanna looked out through the narrow window beside the door. “Yes, it is a storm. But if we run to the carriage, we shall be all right.”

  Her mother smiled. “You are very happy about Gerald’s choice, aren’t you Joanna?”

  “Oh, yes. I have grown to like Constance so much, and she is interested in all the things Gerald loves.” She wrinkled her nose. “It is hard to understand, but she really is.”

  “Indeed,” laughed her mother. “There is no accounting for tastes.”

  Joanna laughed too. “No, but Constance is truly amazing, and they really care for each other. That’s the most important thing.”

  Her face softening, Mrs. Rowntree agreed.

  The carriage was brought round, and they hurried through the rain to climb in. On the short drive, they talked about the wedding and what it would be like. Joanna was still excited at the idea of being a bridesmaid.

  Their carriage was seen as it pulled up, and the vicarage door was flung open as they ran up the path. Mrs. Williston was there to greet them and help them off with their wet things.

  “How glad I am that you came despite the rain,” she said. “I was just saying to Arabella that I should call on you today.”

  Handing her bonnet to a maid, Mrs. Rowntree looked at the other woman. “We had to come, of course, to tell you how happy we all are.”

  Mrs. Williston smiled. “As are we.”

  The two women clasped hands a moment, exchanging a speaking glance, then Mrs. Williston swept the whole party off to the morning room, where they found Constance and her sisters sewing.

  “Joanna,” cried Constance when they came in. She rose to meet them. The two girls embraced briefly, then Joanna stood back. “You look just the same,” she said. “How very strange.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Joanna dimpled. “Well, I thought an engaged woman had quite a different look from us poor spinsters.”

  “Goose,” laughed Constance. She looked around. The two older women had gone to sit on the sofa, and they were deep in conversation. “Come, let us go upstairs.”

  Joanna agreed willingly, and they went up to Constance’s bedchamber.

  “I am so happy,” said Constance, plumping down on the bed as Joanna took the armchair. “I feel as if all my dreams had come true.”

  The other girl laughed. “It is hard for me to think of Gerald as anyone’s dream, but I am happy for you nonetheless.”

  Constance laughed, too, blushing a bit. “Well, he is. I have admired him since I was a little girl.”

  Joanna nodded. “Tell me about the wedding,” she added, and in a moment, the two girls were lost in the intricacies of gowns, flowers, and wedding breakfasts.

  It was nearly lunchtime before Joanna and her mother left the vicarage. They were asked to stay, but Mrs. Rowntree wanted to get home and see that her husband ate something. Their mood on the drive was one of quiet contentment. Everything seemed right with the world during that short space.

  When they went in, they discovered Jonathan Erland closeted with Mr. Rowntree. He had been summoned, he told them, to go over the charts of the ruins yet again.

  “Well, both of you must stop and come to the table,” said Mrs. Rowntree. “Luncheon will be served in five minutes, and I daresay, you need some refreshment after all your work.”

  Erland came gladly, and Mr. Rowntree somewhat less so, and they were soon seated around the table.

  “Where is Frederick?” asked Mrs. Rowntree. “That wretched boy has gone out in the rain even after I forbade him.”

  “I saw him earlier today,” said Erland. “I believe he was going on to the Townsends.”

  “Well, we shall not wait for him. He may go without lunch.” And Mrs. Rowntree signaled Mary to begin serving.

  Erland looked at Joanna. With a slight nod of his head, he signaled that he had taken action on the problem of Frederick.

  Joanna felt warmed by that idea.

  “Saw Finley today,” said Mr. Rowntree abruptly. “Oddest thing—young Peter is quite changed.”

  His wife frowned a little, glancing sideways at Joanna, but she replied, “What do you mean?” Mr. Rowntree so rarely noticed people that any comment he made was received with great interest.

  “He looked ten years older,” continued the host. “Quite grim about the mouth. I couldn’t understand it. Peter was always such a quiet amenable lad.”

  No one had anything to say to this, and after a moment, Mr. Rowntree went on. “Daresay, it’s that wife of his.”

  They all stared at him, stupefied. It was the accepted family and neighborhood wisdom that George Rowntree hardly knew one person from another, and that he never noticed anything outside his study. Yet, once in a great while, he would stun them all with a remark like this one, proving that he was capable of noticing a great deal when he had a mind to.

  He now noticed their stares. “Stands to reason,” he added. “A managing female. But I’ve got a notion young Peter is about to make a change in that.”

  The ladies continued to stare. Jonathan Erland’s lips twitched. “Do you, sir?” he asked. “What makes you think so?”

  “It was the look about his mouth,” finished Rowntree wisely, “that always tells.” And he returned to his lunch, blissfully ignorant of the sensation he had created in his family.

  “Well,” said Mrs. Rowntree finally.

  Erland smiled.

  “She sold his dog,” murmured Joanna dazedly.

  “What?” replied her mother.

  “Peter’s wife. She sold Lucy.”

  “No!”

  Joanna nodded solemnly, and Erland broke into laughter. The two women turned to gaze at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he gasped, putting his napkin to his mouth.

  After a moment, Mrs. Rowntree smiled also, and soon, they were all three laughing merrily, to Mr. Rowntree’s surprise.

  Their guest held up his glass. “Here’s to Peter,” he offered. “May he prosper in all he tries.” They all drank, smiling with varying degrees of amusement and understanding.

  Jonathan Erland went home soon after lunch. Mr. Rowntree retired to his study, and his wife busied herself with household duties. Thus, Joanna was left alone in the drawing room with her sewing and a new novel. She mended three flounces, then turned to the book, but she had barely read four pages before the drawing room door opened cautiously and Frederick peeked around it.

  “Frederick!” exclaimed the girl. “Where have you been? You missed your luncheon. Did you eat at the Townsends?”

  Seeing no one else in the room, Frederick came in and shut the door. “It don’t matter. Cook gave me something just now, but, oh, Joanna, I have found something!”

  “Where?” asked his sister, looking
him up and down. “In the ditches?” Frederick was indeed very dirty. His clothes were covered with streaks of dust, which the rain had turned to mud in places, and there was even dust in his hair. His nose and cheeks were liberally smudged, and his hands were simply black. As he walked toward her, he left marks on the drawing room carpet.

  “Not in the ditches, stupid. At the Abbey.”

  “The Abbey? I thought you were at the Townsends?”

  “I told you I was going to the Abbey.”

  “I know, but Mr. Erland said…”

  “Oh.” Frederick had the grace to look guilty. “Well, the truth is, I told him I was going there, but I didn’t. I went into the cellars.”

  “What do you mean? The Abbey cellars?”

  He nodded. “But Joanna, I have found something really important!”

  She felt she should scold him, but she could not resist asking, “What?”

  His blue eyes sparkled. “A passage,” he whispered, “a secret passage. It is behind the cellar wall where it looked as if someone had been working.”

  There was a moment of total silence, then Joanna drew in her breath. “A secret passage,” she murmured.

  Frederick grinned, pleased with the effect of his revelation. “It must lead to that hidden chamber Mr. Erland read of—and to the treasure. There’s some stuff to be cleared out yet, then I’ll see.”

  Joanna leaned forward. “Where is it exactly?”

  Frederick straightened and smiled derisively. “I shan’t tell you that, of course. I don’t want everyone getting to the treasure before me and taking all the credit. I shall find it first, then show them all.”

  “But you must tell Mr. Erland. It is his house, after all, and his treasure.”

  “Yes, I know that. No need to look so pasty-faced about it. I mean to tell him. He was very nice to me this morning. He’s not one to scoff at what a person sees, at least. But I shall be first to the treasure; it’s a matter of…of…honor.”

  Joanna frowned. “You should tell him now. He would give you credit for being clever.”

  “Not likely,” answered Frederick skeptically.

  “But Frederick, it could be dangerous. You might be hurt.”

  The boy looked at her sharply. “Thinking of that thief we chased off? He can’t get into the house as I can. You needn’t worry about him.”

  Joanna, who had been thinking something of that kind, said, “Well, but this passage, it could be dangerous. It might fall and bury you, and we should never find you again.”

  He grinned. “Not it. Sound as a bell.” He turned away toward the door. “I must go and wash before Mother sees me. I just wanted to let you know.”

  “But Frederick!”

  “Oh, do stop fussing!” was his only reply, and he left the room.

  Joanna sat still for some time, a worried frown on her face. It appeared that Mr. Erland’s “talk” had had little effect on her brother. And now she did not know what to do. To betray Frederick’s confidences about the secret passage seemed wrong, but if he was in danger, and she was afraid he was, she should tell someone immediately. Joanna felt a strong desire to lay this problem, too, on Mr. Erland’s shoulders. But should she? She could not decide.

  Twenty-one

  As it had promised, the rain continued for several days. Mr. Rowntree chafed, but there was no possibility of working in the ruins. Pools of water lay everywhere, and the drizzle was annoyingly steady. This lamentable situation had one good result as far as Joanna was concerned: Mr. Rowntree concluded that Frederick’s education had been shamefully neglected in the course of his explorations, and he kept his younger son beside him in his study for much of each day. Thus, Joanna was certain that he had not had the time to slip out to the Abbey and open up his secret passageway.

  At the week’s end, the Willistons announced a dinner in honor of Constance’s engagement to Gerald. And the following Wednesday evening, the four older Rowntrees climbed into the carriage and set off for the vicarage. Gerald’s manifest happiness did much to reconcile his father to a social evening among his neighbors.

  They arrived first, as arranged beforehand. Gerald went directly to sit beside Constance, and Mr. Rowntree sat down beside the vicar, launching a scholarly discussion almost before their greeting was over. The ladies, thus, were left to Mrs. Williston, and they chatted pleasantly until the other guests began to arrive. The Grants, the Townsends, the Finley party, and Mr. Erland made up the rest of their numbers. All the closest neighbors had been asked, and all came, with the exception of Sir Rollin Denby, whose excuses were rather stiffly given by his sister. Joanna, watching Adrienne as she spoke, thought she showed signs of strain. Peter was clearly not his usual easy-going self; there were new lines around his mouth.

  At dinner, Joanna was placed between Mr. Erland and Jack Townsend, a very satisfactory arrangement from her point of view. She discussed Jack’s new hunter during the first part of the meal; or rather, she listened to Jack discuss it, which was all he required in a dinner partner. Then, when the lady on his other side claimed his attention, she turned to Erland. He was looking warmly at her and smiling.

  Joanna had pondered the question of whether she ought to tell Erland of Frederick’s discovery for nearly a week now. More than once, she had nearly sent him a note. But the fact that Frederick was kept close to home, allowed her the time to waver back and forth on the question. Now, however, she had made up her mind. “I have been wanting to talk to you,” she told Erland.

  His smile did not waver, but his eyebrows went up at the intensity in her voice. “What is it?”

  “Frederick. I don’t know what to do.”

  “What has he been at this time?”

  Joanna looked around, but no one seemed to be listening to them. She bent a little toward him. “You remember that I told you he had found a place in your cellars that seemed disturbed?”

  “Yes. I asked him about it. He said there was nothing there.”

  “Well, I’m afraid that he…he was not telling the whole truth.”

  Erland smiled. “The whole truth?”

  Joanna lowered her voice even further. “He now says that the place concealed a secret passageway in the wall. He thinks he has found your uncle’s hiding place, the hidden chamber.”

  “The money is there?”

  “He hasn’t cleared out the place yet. I’m sure he hasn’t; I have been watching him, and he has not had time.”

  “But where is it? Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “I don’t know,” wailed Joanna, a little too loudly. She started and looked around again. No one had noticed. “He wouldn’t tell me where. And he insists upon finding the treasure first, by himself.”

  The man looked grave. “I don’t know that that is wise.”

  “Of course it isn’t wise! He might be hurt. The passage might fall down on him. Or, if there is indeed someone else searching around the Abbey…” Joanna stopped.

  “Yes. If there is. I wonder.”

  Shrugging, Joanna dismissed this unanswerable question. “We must stop him. I cannot always see when he leaves the house; he slips past all of us. He might be at the Abbey now!”

  Erland frowned, looked around the table, then met Joanna’s eyes again. “I agree that we must do something,” he said.

  “You must catch him at the Abbey and make him tell you where it is.”

  Erland smiled again. “A difficult task, or rather two. Finding him, and then persuading him to confide in me.”

  “You can do that.”

  “Your faith in me is flattering, but hardly justified. Frederick strikes me as a young man who very much knows his own mind.”

  “Yes, but he would tell you, if you showed him that you knew he had done it all on his own. That is what chafes him, you see. He hates to be treated like a child.”

  “I will make the
effort, certainly. I have been watching for Frederick, as I promised you, but I fear he always eludes me.”

  Joanna nodded, smiling. “He is really the cleverest boy, much cleverer than Gerald as I remember him. Perhaps he will be a great scholar, too.”

  Her companion laughed. “Why do I doubt you? Perhaps because Frederick has never shown any interest in books in my presence.”

  “No, it is the oddest thing. He hasn’t any.” She considered. “I wonder what he will do?”

  “That is easy: he will be a great explorer, spending his days investigating lands never trodden by civilized man.”

  Joanna laughed delightedly. “And getting horridly dirty. Yes.” Her smile faded. “That is all very well, but he is only a boy still. I am very worried about him.”

  “I know. I will speak to him tomorrow.”

  “Will you? Oh, that would be splendid.”

  “We must keep him out of mischief.”

  “And find the treasure!” added Joanna emphatically, rather to her own surprise.

  Erland raised his eyebrows. “Certainly. If there is one and we can. But you are very positive.”

  Joanna looked up into his level gray eyes, then looked down and swallowed. She couldn’t think what had come over her.

  He watched the top of her head for a moment, started to speak, and then turned back to his dinner. After a moment, he said, “This rain is annoying, is it not? And we were so close to getting through that pavement.”

  Gratefully, Joanna discussed their work in the ruins and the weather until Jack Townsend turned back to her once again, and Erland’s attention was politely given to the lady on his other side.

  After dinner, there was music and more conversation. Mr. Williston opened several bottles of champagne, a rare treat, and the engaged couple was toasted by the party. Joanna found her first taste of champagne a bit disappointing—she had somehow expected that it would taste like lemonade and instead it was quite astringent—but she sipped bravely at the pledges, Selina was even more amenable; she drank two full glasses, waiting until her mother looked elsewhere and then hurriedly asking for more.