Edward nodded to her and the three of them made there way reluctantly through the drawing room door.
Almost immediately upon sight of her, Tom's wife was standing directly in front of Alessandra, her face contorted in anger.
"You! I knew it was you that they were talking about - the way you threw yourself at my husband in Bath. I didn't realise the length then that you would go to, to ruin things for me and Tom."
Alessandra looked at her, surprised and shocked at the words being thrown at her, but held Edward back forcefully by his hand when she felt him start to move forward out of protection.
"Edward, all is well," she said quietly to her husband, her eyes never leaving those of the woman in front of her. "Mrs Missinger and I need to talk alone."
She was not sure how the woman would react to this reaction, but Alessandra saw something of a slight melting in her eyes as Edward and his father both started to object.
"Please, Edward, go with your parents and wait outside of this door so you are close enough if I need you, but do leave us alone for a few minutes please."
Edward looked at both of his parents and they all left the room quietly, silenced by the power of Alessandra's request.
When the room was vacant except for the two young women, Alessandra gathered her strength and moved to a sofa near the fireplace.
"Please, sit with me and tell me what it is that has driven you to come here and confront me."
Slowly Katherine approached and sat, the anger draining further from her face and demeanour, as she seemed to find the words to speak. When she looked up and directly at Alessandra, there was a blend of sadness and frustration in her eyes.
"You were the one he wanted," she said simply, to which Alessandra did not immediately reply, hoping that the woman before her would continue.
"If that were true, I would have been the one he married, do you not think?" she asked and could see the woman considering that in her head, but she did not say anything in response. "Why are you here? Please tell me directly so I know what you are angered about."
"He left everything to you," Katherine said finally, the words flowing out of her like air deflating.
The thought that immediately passed through Alessandra's mind caused confusion in her, making her believe she must be misinterpreting what had just been said.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are saying."
"I think you do, Mrs Chisholm. My husband loved you - and only you - and his direction for when he died was that every he owned - his land and fortune - would all be left to you."
Alessandra sat in shock, not wanting this news to be real.
"No! That cannot be true. You are his wife."
"Did you love him?" Katherine asked, a sad tone underlying in her voice.
Alessandra looked at her, this poor woman who had gone through so much.
"At one time, yes, I thought I was in love with him. But it was only a childish crush and it was before I met my husband, and before you and Tom married…"
"But he always loved you."
"No, I don't think he did - not ever. At any time when we were getting to know each other, he could have told me he was betrothed to you, and he could have told his parents that he wanted to marry me. But he did not do either, and the only reasons that could be was because he did not feel that way about me … and he wanted to marry you."
"When he introduced me to you in Bath, I could see how you were with your husband and I believe he - Tom - wished for that. We were never like that. He always had such a wall up around him, and I believed when I saw you in Bath, and the way that Tom looked at you, that you were the reason for that."
Alessandra looked closely at Tom's wife, sitting before her. The first impression Alessandra had had of her in Bath was that she was lacking empathy or true feeling for anyone but herself, but something about her countenance now made Alessandra believe that perhaps she had really loved Tom after all. And what good would it do to confirm this widow's beliefs by telling her about the love letters Tom had written to her, or the actions he had taken to see her?
"I cannot say how your husband felt about me, but he married you, and you are his wife…"
"Was!" Katherine exclaimed passionately. "I was his wife. Now he is dead, I am his widow, and because of his love for you I have nothing."
"Why do you think this?"
"His will states it," she said simply, as if that was the end of the matter.
"But when was the will made up? Surely after he married you…"
Alessandra saw frustration on the woman's face.
"He changed his will after he saw you in Bath!"
Both women sat silently as their minds flowed over memories of their respective interactions with Tom Missinger.
"Katherine," Alessandra said quietly, trying to calm the woman before her. "I do not know why Tom did such a thing with his will but I promise you that I have no desire to receive anything that was his - that now should be yours. I know nothing of the law but I am sure that with good advice we can together put this right so that you have all that was his."
Katherine looked up at Alessandra - her adversary - with surprise. She had not expected this reaction to such news at all.
"You would do that? Even if it goes against what Tom wanted?"
"If Tom wanted to leave everything to me instead of you, then perhaps he was not thinking properly at that time, because for him to do so, makes no sound sense. Let me bring in my father-in-law. He will know who we can talk to about this, and what can be done," Alessandra said, seeing Tom's widow relax more as she nodded.
Alessandra brought Edward's father in, followed by Edward and his mother, who sat quietly off to the side, curious about what had been happening.
"Mrs Missinger and I require some legal advice and I am hoping that you might be able to at least provide us with an idea of where to start," Alessandra said to Edward's father directly.
"Of course, Alessandra. But what is this about?"
Alessandra took a deep breath before continuing, knowing that she was about to cause her husband pain in her revelation.
"Mrs Missinger has been informed that everything that her husband owned, he left in a will … not to her … but instead to … me."
She took her time getting through the sentence and at the end of it saw Edward stand up in hurt and anger, but cut him off with a stern and pleading look in his direction before he could say anything that she knew could hurt the widow in the room.
"I obviously do not welcome this news and would like to work with her in any way I can, to make sure that everything in question rightfully gets transferred to her, and not to me."
Edward's father sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying desperately to separate out feelings about how the dead man had acted in his final weeks, from how he must project his feelings as being, in front of the dead man's wife.
"Mrs Missinger, this does seem a complex issue that is indeed unfair to you. Please give me all details you have about the lawyer who is processing the will, and I will instruct my legal man to make contact and get this sorted."
Katherine looked from one person to the next, overcome with emotions that she had not expected to have in this household, and felt the tears start to flow.
"Thank you. I did not expect…"
"Katherine, you must return to your home and talk again to the lawyer, and ask them to write to me directly here. You have nothing to worry about from me - I will help to put this right. Please believe me," Alessandra said and Katherine nodded, now feeling drained.
"Very well," she said, standing up. "I will take my leave of you now. I am sorry for coming here unannounced."
"I will walk you out," Alessandra said, to distance them from the other family members.
As she approached her carriage, Katherine turned to Alessandra once more.
"I know that he did love you, and that when he died he was in this area, hoping to find you … but I also believe that you did not know the dept
h of his feeling or intention toward you."
And then she was in the carriage and moving away from the manor, leaving Alessandra at the front entrance with much on her mind.
She felt hands move around her from behind, and she leaned back against Edward for support. He said nothing, just held her like that, pushing aside his ongoing infuriation at Tom Missinger yet again invading their marriage - even now, from his grave.
* * * * *
That night in bed alone together, Alessandra felt Edward holding her particularly tightly to him.
"It will all get sorted, Edward. Stop thinking about him," she said and he sighed.
"It just felt like he was delivering yet another attempt to drive us apart from one another, even though he is no longer in this world."
"And perhaps that is why he did it," she replied, making his head come up and look at her deeply, as one thing he had not considered was this being simply another attempt to cause friction between Alessandra and Edward. "And that is exactly why we are not going to let it affect us, Edward. You do not wish me to lay claim to the land and fortune he has left, do you?"
"No! For him to not leave everything - anything - to his wife or any other family members, is despicable. No, you are right, Alessandra, it must be put right for her sake."
She pushed him back so he was lying on his back and kissed him deeply.
"Good. Now stop thinking about such unpleasurable things," she said before kissing her way down his body.
Chapter Fifty Four
Alessandra sat in the lawyer's office, angry at what was being said to her, and silently she wished she had not told Edward he had to wait outside.
"I do not understand," she said once more to the short, balding man in front of her. "You seem to be saying there is no alternative but for me to accept all of the land that has been in Mr Missinger's family for generations. And the dowry he obtained from his wife's family!"
Mr Hogelby maintained his patience in determination to not upset the wife and daughter-in-law of one of his most prestigious client families.
"That is correct, Mrs Chisholm. The will is iron clad and there is no deviating from it. Mr Missinger's last remaining family member, his mother, passed away shortly after she received news of her son's death, and there is no other living relative that has been found. I will also point out to you that it was Mr Missinger's specific instruction that you - and only you - will be recipient to this fortune. By that I mean that he has made sure that your husband and his family can have no access to it. You - and you alone - will inherit a considerable amount of land and money."
"But his wife?" Alessandra asked, not believing what was being told to her.
"He left very specific instructions not only that you should get everything, but that she should get nothing. You cannot contest that, I am afraid, as that aspect of the will does not concern you. She can contest it, however as yet she has not."
Now Alessandra's confusion reached a new level.
"Katherine has not tried to claim … anything?"
She saw the lawyer shake his head.
"No, so far she has not appeared to be bothered by the will at all."
"Then why did she come to see me? What was the purpose of her visit?" she wondered quietly.
"Mrs Chisholm, you have to understand that Mrs Missinger was already very wealthy before she married her husband. Her family is one of the wealthiest in the region, and she will still inherit a great deal of land and fortune from her parents, so it is possible that she simply does not need to claim for her husband's wealth."
He watched the young woman before him and certainly understood her dilemma. For him, although he had been a lawyer all of his working life, this was the first time he had met someone who not only was not demanding a higher inheritance than had been left them, but in fact would prefer to not receive it at all.
"Very well, Mr Hogelby, what do I need to do now?" Alessandra asked, resigned to what she could only accept and not change.
For the remainder of their meeting papers were read through and signed, and Alessandra walked out with the realisation that now she was a very wealthy woman in her own right, without any input or expense from her parents, her husband or his parents. Edward was waiting for her, and stood and held her as soon as he saw her.
"I cannot talk about this immediately, Edward. We will discuss all of this at a later time, when I have had time to think," she said quietly and Edward nodded and walked her out, his curiosity persistent in his thoughts.
* * * * *
When they arrived back at the manor, Alessandra immediately ran up to the nursery to visit Elizabeth. Walking in, she was greeted by Margaret with her usual cheerful manner, who stood back as Alessandra lifted her daughter and held her tight against her.
Margaret watched the interaction, feeling pride in how the young mistress had grown since her initial awkward arrival at the manor a year ago.
"Margaret, I think my milk is drying up. What shall I do?" she asked shyly but was only greeted with a smile.
"Miss, I believe the young lady is old enough now to go onto cow milk."
Alessandra showed her surprise, but was also relieved that perhaps a wet nurse would not be required - something she did not want to do willingly, as she could not enjoy the thought of someone else sharing such intimacy with her child.
"She is?"
"Yes, Miss, it is quite normal by this time for the change to be in place. While you are still producing some milk, it is a good time to introduce a small amount of cow milk each day, so she goes through the changeover slowly, but it surely is able to be done."
Alessandra considered the information she was being given, and nodded.
"Very well, let us work toward that."
"I will give her a little tomorrow morning after you have given her a little of your milk. That will give us the whole day to monitor her and make sure there are no problems."
Alessandra nodded and settled herself into the nursing chair in the nursery, willing her milk to last another few days. As she watched her daughter suckle, mother and daughter looked at each other quietly.
The door to the nursery opened and Edward walked in quietly, smiling at Margaret and taking in the view before him.
"What a beautiful sight," he said quietly, leaning over and kissing his wife. Looking down at his daughter, he saw her pull away from her milk source and look up at him, making his heart melt. As was a usual routine by now, he reached down and scooped up Elizabeth into a close cuddle to allow Alessandra to discretely restore her gown tidily.
Edward walked around the room, never letting his eyes leave his daughter's face, until he saw her eyes close as she drifted into her post-feed sleep. Gently he placed her in her bassinet and tucked her in, before turning back to his wife and leading her out the door as they headed together down to lunch.
"I need to go with Father to visit some tenants after we eat, so I may not see you until supper time," he said, looking at her with the curiosity of the morning's visit to the lawyer still in his mind, but not wanting to invade his wife's privacy, or pressure her to speak.
Alessandra stopped short of the dining room door and turned to him, moving forward and providing him with a full standing hug, before kissing him lovingly. She did not say anything, and Edward felt the fullness of the depth of love exuding from her, before he kissed her back.
Chapter Fifty Five
"What do you mean, she has not told you what is happening with that man's will, Edward?" Edward's father demanded as the two of them rode on horseback around the estate.
Edward felt himself conflicted, torn between respect for his father and respect for his wife.
"She has not mentioned it, Father, and I will not pressure her to do so. If she wishes to speak to me about it, she will."
"But if she has been left anything, it is lawfully yours…"
Edward took a deep breath, wondering if he should speak his thoughts about the very subject they were embarking on, whic
h he did believe might upset or anger his father. Finally he found the courage to express his views.
"No, Father, if she has accepted Missinger's fortune, it can remain her own."
"What?! What is this madness, Edward? What has made you think that that is an acceptable…"
"What has made me rethink this 'system' of everything going to a woman's husband, is the fact that my child is a daughter, not a son. Father, take a moment to think - as Elizabeth grows and eventually marries, would you really want all of this to be taken from her and placed in the hands of her husband? No! It shall not be! This land has been passed down through your family for generations and I intend to make sure that it stays in our family, not whoever my daughter marries."
Edward looked at his father and saw his face changing from that of horror, to relaxing into understanding of what his son was saying. It was different for him as he had been an oldest son. And then Edward had been an oldest son - eventually the only son. But now things were different and Edward was father to a daughter.
"You may yet have a son," his father said quietly, not wanting to argue too hard with his son, given how much little Elizabeth had begun to charm him also.
"Perhaps we shall. And Alessandra and I will discuss what is to happen in that event. But for now, Father, please respect whatever is happening with Missinger's will, as far as my wife is concerned. The estate is fine for now, is it not?"
"Yes, my son. With the money that was injected from Alessandra's dowry, the estate is in good condition, and will be so for some time yet. You are right, for now we do not need to worry about any other income. I will not say another word about it."
"Thank you," Edward said softly to his father, knowing that the way that he and his wife were doing things was different from the way his father had done things - even down to Alessandra and Edward spending so much time with their daughter was different to how Edward's parents had raised him.
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