Amberley Chronicles Boxset I: The Impostor Debutante My Last Marchioness the Sister Quest (Amberley Chronicles Boxsets Book 1)
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“I should hope not.” James captured her lips for a burning kiss. “This time it’s for real.”
Chapter 29
The newly wedded Mr. and Mrs. James Ellsworthy made their way to Yorkshire in leisurely fashion, rising late each day and breaking their journey well before evening. The coachman and outriders obeyed James willingly enough. They were his brother’s retainers, and only through George’s courtesy placed at his mother’s beck and call. If Marianne was wise, she’d soon have her mother-in-law ousted and new lines of command established, though how that was to be accomplished exceeded James’ imagination. He gave thanks inwardly that he and Charlotte were in no danger of having to share a household with the dowager. He had written to inform her about the marriage the very next day, but preferred not to picture her reaction. No doubt he’d hear all about it soon enough.
As they approached Burchfield Charlotte grew tense. James was learning to interpret the small signs betraying her agitation.
He took her hand in his. “Aren’t you happy to be home again?”
“Yes, of course. But I have not been able to resolve the inheritance, which was why I left in the first place. I still cannot pay our servants what they are owed. They will be disappointed.”
James decided to help with that if necessary, but said only, “We must hope that Beecham will have made some progress on that matter.”
“Yes, indeed. I am also worried how I’ll find matters at the estate, after being absent so long.”
“Perhaps Doctor Seymour has risen to the occasion, while you were not around to relieve him of the responsibility.”
“I have little hope of that. Richard is single-mindedly devoted to his medical pursuits. But my main concern is for Belinda, whether she is well. When I left she suspected she was increasing.”
There was a wistful tone in Charlotte’s voice. Progeny was not a subject on which James had dwelled much in the past, but he suspected that would soon change. “Belinda is married to a physician, so she is in good hands. You may soon be an aunt.”
“Aunt Charlotte … I was looking forward to that,” Charlotte said dreamily. “Now I can hope for children of my own. Our own, I mean. You have no idea how excited I feel at the mere idea.”
“You’ll make an excellent mother.” James was less certain if he was ready for fatherhood. But he would have several months’ notice before the event. As long as Charlotte and the babe survived the birth, the rest had to be comparatively easy sailing.
“There is the church tower visible now, look!”
James dutifully looked out of the carriage window, to admire a perfectly ordinary steeple. The whole area seemed grey and dour to him, but that impression might be due by the weather, which had turned grim and wet over the past two days. Just then a fine drizzle was threatening to turn into a regular downpour any moment, to judge by the dark clouds hanging overhead. If it got any worse he must invite his valet to join them in the closed carriage. “Is this weather typical of Yorkshire?”
“Not typical maybe, but fairly frequent. We receive a good amount of rain here, but the cool climate is bracing and healthy.”
“Let’s hope it proves so.” James resettled himself in the seat, heartily tired of his brother’s travelling chaise.
“Yardley Manor is up that way, to the right, but we should go straight to Belinda’s house, and see how she’s doing. We’ll have to sleep at the Manor, of course, – Belinda wouldn’t have space for all of us.”
“No, I suppose not.” The chaise was followed by his curricle, with the valet, coachman, and tiger from his own household, bringing their entourage up to six people. He had offered to hire a maid for Charlotte on the road, but she had declined, arguing that there were enough people in want of a position in her own parish.
“There, that yellow-painted house. Oh, I missed the flowering of the apple tree …”
James looked at the ancient tree, bending under the brisk wind, and wondered at such strong sentiment attaching to its unremarkable branches.
The coach stopped in front of a medium-sized house. One of their outriders descended to use the wrought-iron knocker on the green door. Before there could be any response, Charlotte wrenched open the door of the chaise and jumped out. To James’ relief she nimbly found her footing on the wet ground. He descended more sedately after her. Following his wife he caught a glimpse of another, similar carriage waiting a little further down the road.
Presently their servants were led the kitchen, except for the coachmen, and they conducted into Mrs. Seymour’s parlour by a pert young maid.
James looked around curiously. Doctor and Mrs. Seymour’s house was comfortable, but by no means elegant. He noted an almost complete lack of carpets on the wooden floors, presumably to make them easier to navigate for the blind mistress of the house.
The parlour was a generously sized room, rather more crowded than James had expected.
“Belinda!” Charlotte cried, and rushed towards a slim blonde reclining on a settee.
“Charlie! At last!” Belinda jumped up and they hugged each other with energy. “I am so happy you are back. Are you all right?”
“Never better,” Charlotte replied with a wobbly grin. “There is so much to tell you –“
The other occupants of the room were looking from Charlotte to James with great interest.
“Hello, Marianne, George,” James said, striving to hide his surprise. “Dr. Seymour, I presume? I’m James Ellsworthy, Charlotte’s husband.”
A stunned silence greeted this announcement.
“Congratulations, James,” his brother George said at last, lips twitching. “Although, I was under the impression she already has another husband?”
James shrugged. “So Charlotte thought, but it turned out that her earlier marriage was invalid. We were married on the way from London. All perfectly regular and above-board, I assure you.”
“No need to tell me that. You are an Ellsworthy, after all.” George meditatively looked at his new sister in-law, who was talking to Belinda in a low voice. “She is beautiful and capable, from what we’ve observed here. No wonder you couldn’t let her go.”
“Best wishes from me as well.” Marianne smiled warmly. “I shall do what I can to make matters easier for your wife.”
“You two look happy, too – I am glad to see you, though it is unexpected. I hope it’s not that your wedding journey was too boring?”
“Not at all.” George shared an intimate look with Marianne. “But we both love a mystery and a challenge.”
“So do I, I found.” James felt his stiff shoulders ease. With Amberley and his lady in their corner, things would be smoothed much more easily. “There’s still a devilish coil to unravel, and mother to placate. I’ll be grateful for any assistance you two can render.”
Dr. Seymour looked at James sternly. “Charlotte has not been lucky in her first marriage. She deserves happiness after all she’s been through.”
He did not offer any threats in case James treated her badly – after all, what could he do? But the warning was clearly implied.
“Don’t worry, I love her. Charlotte’s happiness is my greatest concern.” Maybe he’d been wrong in his estimation of the doctor. The man did display some sense of responsibility, even if he left too much on Charlotte’s shoulders. Mindful of that grievance, James went on, “She won’t be able to manage Belinda’s estate year-round, as she used to do.”
“That is already taken care of,” Lord Amberley said. “We’ve been here for four days. On the second one I sent for Ben Travis, to take the estate in hand as Belinda’s factor. He should be arriving the coming week.”
The son and assistant of Amberley’s own steward, young Travis was eminently qualified and known to James all his life. He nodded in approval.
Charlotte raised her head from her conferral with Belinda. “A good factor would make an enormous difference. But we still need access to working capital. He’ll need to be paid, in addition to the current staff.”
“Long story,” James said shortly. “The original solicitor had died and the successor was mad and ignored the whole case. We had to trick the deed box out of him.”
“You didn’t burgle the premises, as I had imagined?” George sounded almost disappointed.
“Certainly not. That would have been illegal.” James did not add that he’d seriously considered doing just that.
“You have changed.” Amberley looked full at James. “Were you always so resourceful?”
“There was no occasion - you never needed anything from me. Nobody did, until Charlotte, so I didn’t know myself that I could be resourceful. But then so are you, apparently. How did you resolve the estate’s cash-flow problem?”
“Yes, how?” Charlotte was regarding George with fascination.
“The deed-box contained a deed for an estate in Cornwall. Sir Rudolph apparently won it in a card game after the will was already drawn up. The deed clearly belonged to his heiress Belinda, but as she and her husband are fixed here in Yorkshire they are not best placed to take another estate in hand. Who knows its condition after all this time, with no resident owner? The tenants may not even know it has changed hands. I have bought the deed from Cousin Belinda for the sum it was wagered for, five thousand pounds.”
“That should tide us over until things get better,” Charlotte said, in relief. “Oh, thank you, Lord Amberley!”
“Call me George, now we are so nearly related. And don’t thank me yet. I’m giving the estate in Cornwall to James and you as a wedding present. You’ll be able to apply your talents for estate management to this new place, right after your own wedding journey.”
“We could go there instead,” Charlotte suggested, eyes sparkling. So his wife loved a challenge, did she? James himself looked forward to this new adventure.
“You can’t mean to travel again so soon,” Belinda protested. “You have to stay at least for a while, to rest from your long journey and tell me every little detail that you omitted from your letters.”
“Well, not every detail,” Charlotte said, smiling. “But yes, there is quite a bit that I could not mention in our correspondence.”
Belinda went on blithely. “Isn’t it odd that you’ll be part of fashionable society, when you have always despised it so?”
There was an awkward silence for a moment.
“Have you, then?” George asked Charlotte, lips quirking.
She blushed but kept her chin high. “Yes, and is it any wonder? The only examples we personally knew were our father, not the steadiest of men, and your mother, who completely ignored her goddaughter for her whole life. I had no reason to think well of those who would only despise me for my birth.”
“And how do you feel about us now?” Marianne asked. “Did closer acquaintance change your mind?”
Charlotte considered for some moments. “Not really. Most of the people I met were overly concerned with gossip and drunk on self-importance. Fashionable society is like a small village convinced that nothing outside its borders truly matters. But I did find some individuals who make up for the shortcomings of all the rest.” She smiled at James.
“Good, that’s sorted, then,” he said. “You are not wrong in your estimate, but pettiness and vanity can be found in all classes. Ours just has more time to indulge in it openly.”
“James!” Marianne said reproachfully. “You sound like a revolutionary!”
”Or a cynic.” George shook his head in mock severity. “But that’s neither here nor there. We should retire to the Manor now, and allow the sisters some time together.”
”Oh, of course you’re staying at the Manor,” Charlotte realised. “Then we’ll see you there for dinner.”
“Indeed. This house, while charming, would not hold us and our servants. Until later,” George said, nodding to the remaining four family members, and ushered his countess out. She waved back at Charlotte.
“They are lovely,” Charlotte said to James, sounding surprised. “I had no idea. Why is none of you like your mother?”
“Perhaps one of her is enough for any family?” James was not interested in discussing his mother just then.
“Come, you should meet Belinda properly, now that your brother and sister are gone.” Charlotte pulled him towards the chair next to her sister’s settee.
He smiled at the young woman, even knowing she could not see his expression. Now he was so close to her, James almost doubted what Charlotte had said about Belinda; it seemed incredible that those lovely blue eyes, similar to Charlotte’s, were not as normal as his own. As she was silent, he said, “I have heard so much about you, sister-in-law, that I feel I already know you. I am sorry I never knew until recently that I had a charming first cousin living in Yorkshire.”
She nodded slightly. “I know about you from the Earl and Countess, and from Charlotte’s letters, Cousin James. From the first, when she wrote about you, I could tell that she was not indifferent.”
“Really? There was not time for many letters,” Charlotte said. “Ii would be very hard to remain indifferent to James, Bel. He is beautiful.”
James started. “Please, darling! Handsome, if you like, attractive, manly – but beautiful?”
“Yes, you are,” Charlotte maintained.
Richard Seymour and Belinda grinned at James’ discomfiture.
“I must thank you, James,” Belinda said, turning serious once more, “for bringing Charlie back to me, and for helping her when she was in trouble in London. It was my fault.” She was trying, not quite successfully, to sound penitent. “I made her pretend to be me, but Charlie was uneasy from the first. It was very wrong of me, and I’m sorry.”
“No need, Cousin Belinda. I’m not sorry. I would not have met Charlotte, or fallen in love with her, if you had not persuaded her to come to London.” James took Belinda’s white hand, even more delicate and slim than Charlotte’s, and patted it consolingly. “In the end no harm was done, and it has led to much good. A little girl is reunited with her anxious grandparents, an idle man-about-town has realised that he needs to be more active and has given up gambling. That estate in Cornwall will soon be set to rights, and above all, your sister has been freed from the burden of a sham marriage to a vicious scoundrel.”
“I’m glad about that part, but I don’t understand. How could it be a sham? I was there when they wed, as a bridesmaid, you know. My eyesight had only just begun to fail.”
“Conway had a previous wife still living,” James told Belinda. “She has since died. When we met him in London, he had married yet again, a cit’s daughter with a rich dowry. It is a whole way of living with the man – preying on well-dowered women.”
“I never liked him, but that still shocks me,” Belinda said.
“It would be best not to talk of this outside the family,” Charlotte warned. “To have been married to a bigamist, no matter how innocently, will not make my situation in society any easier.”
“No, indeed.” Richard looked at her with compassion.
“You must have been so angry when you found out!” Belinda said. “I would like to kill Peter myself.”
“Yes, but part of my anger was directed at Father, and even myself. Do you remember how Father made me go through with the marriage, despite my growing misgivings? When James and his friend Alphonse explained to me that I was free, it felt as though a millstone I’d worn around my back for years and years was suddenly gone. The relief, and the joy that I could now marry James, were much stronger than my fury towards Peter. I felt buoyant.”
“Peter still needs to be punished,” Belinda declared. “Where is he now?”
Charlotte looked at James questioningly. “Do you know?”
“Not exactly, but he not escape punishment. Having failed to pay a gaming de
bt, he is no longer welcome in polite circles or the hells that are his chief passion. The income from his daughter’s grandparents is also cut off, I must suppose, and he is estranged from his current wife.” James frowned as he tried to imagine Conway’s reaction to these setbacks. “He will find it harder to spread malicious gossip about us, but he’s not harmless yet. I shall have to do something about him once we return to town. If I find him there. Conway would be a fool if he stayed in London, especially if he owes more gambling debts, as I believe is the case. Some of these hells employ thugs who would not hesitate to break legs.”
“Well, I hope they break both of his legs and his nose too.” Belinda sounded bloodthirsty. Coming from such a lovely, delicate woman, the sentiment made James smile.
“You said you were giving up gambling,” Charlotte remarked. “Have you been doing a lot of that?”
“It’s expected, really, but I’m getting bored with it. Since I have a good head for numbers, I tend to win almost regularly. Thus giving it up is not particularly virtuous for me, more like renouncing an extra income that was just there for the taking.”
Belinda smiled in approval. “Even so, I’m glad you’re stopping. You sound smart enough for my sister. She never could abide fools.”
“And you could?” Charlotte dropped a casual hand on Belinda’s shoulder, smiling down at her. James had never before seen her so happy and relaxed in company. It made Charlotte even more appealing and beautiful in his eyes.
Chapter 30
Dinner that evening in the Manor was en famille, just the two brothers and their brides. The cook, put on her mettle by these noble visitors, had excelled herself. Nobody could find fault with the multitude of simple but well-prepared dishes she sent up.
“So you two married on the way north, with no witnesses but Alphonse and your valet?” George repeated incredulously. “When I think how I had to wait for six months because the preparations for our wedding could not possibly be completed any faster, and the endless negotiations about settlements! Marianne’s father invented new conditions every other week.”