He turned to Forbes. “Mother said she already sought the opinion of doctors in London. Were you aware of this?”
“I did, my lord,” the butler replied. “It was her wish…”
“And you did not tell me?” Nathaniel demanded. “I could have searched out other doctors! You should have broken whatever vow you made to her and informed me so I could do whatever I could to see she received proper treatment! I would not have spared any expense to see her well again.”
Forbes gave him a steady gaze. “I would never break my word, my lord. You should know that already.”
Nathaniel pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at the butler. “Then you are a fool, and my mother’s death will be on your head!”
“Nathaniel!” Harmony gasped. “She did not want you informed because she knows the burdens you carry with all that is happening with the barony. She cares that much for you. It is why she kept it hidden for so long.”
He turned his glare on his wife. “You knew, as well?” he asked askance. He threw his arms up in the air. “I am in a home filled with betrayers!”
“There is no betrayal, my lord,” Forbes said. “You must understand that the wealth you have cannot buy everything you want.”
“Do not speak to me as if you know what I can and cannot do,” Nathaniel snapped at the man. “I am the lord of this house, and as long as I am, I will not be spoken to in that way.”
With that, he turned on his heel and made his way to his bedroom, his mind, just as his life, spinning out of control.
Chapter Twenty
Harmony lay in the strange bed staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. What had been attempts to save her husband’s title had turned into a nightmare. Although she was angry at Isaac for what he had done, she could not bring herself to blame the man entirely. He had been intoxicated, had called her Mary on several occasions, and had spent the evening reminiscing about the woman. No wonder he had thought she was Mary.
Yet, that no longer mattered. What did matter was that her husband was angry at her and rightfully so. After all, he had walked in just as she was being kissed by another man, and by his brother, no less.
Wanting nothing more than to remain in bed and never rise, she sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. What would she do to keep her marriage from falling apart completely?
A gentle knock on the door made her look up. Before she could respond, Nathaniel entered.
“Oh, Nathaniel,” she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. “I have so much to explain concerning last night.”
His face remained solemn as he sat on the edge of the bed. When he turned toward her, she nearly wept at the pain etched on his features. “Isabel will be arriving tomorrow, and the others, except Juliet I imagine, will follow soon after. It is important that we do not worry them with our problems; they have enough with which to concern themselves with Mother. You should return to my room while they are here, but do not take it as an act of forgiveness on my part.”
“I understand,” she replied. “But please, allow me a moment to explain what you saw. Once you know the facts, I am certain you will see everything so much more clearly.”
He let out a small laugh. “That is all I have wanted as of late,” he said. “To see things more clearly. To know what to do to save my family home. To save my family.” She reached out to grasp his hand, but he pulled it away. “You may speak to Isaac as you have while my sisters are here, but I believe I have made a decision concerning him.”
“What do you mean?”
He stood and heaved a heavy sigh. “I will make him an offer he will be unable to refuse. Land, money, shares in my investments, whatever it will take to retain the title.”
“But he wrote to his solicitors,” she said. “He showed me the letter. In it he has expressed his desire to refuse his inheritance. They will draw up the documents as soon as they receive word.”
“It does not matter,” Nathaniel replied flatly. “I shall do it my way.”
“And if he refuses your offer?” she asked, wishing he would see reason. “Or if he chooses not to send his letter?”
“Then there are other ways I must consider, ways to rid myself of this…problem.”
Harmony gaped at her husband. Surely he did not mean…? “Will you listen to yourself?” she demanded. “You speak of things I dare not repeat! This is not the Nathaniel I know and love.”
“You are right,” he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. “For I no longer know myself.”
Her soul wished to cry out as he stood and left her alone once again. She had once thought kindness could overcome any obstacle, but now she was unsure. Over the past few months, Nathaniel had grown bitter and their marriage was all but destroyed.
Yet, what she feared most was that even if Nathaniel held on to everything, somehow their love would be lost.
***
The following morning, Harmony awoke and forced herself from the bed just as the sun broke over the horizon. After seeing to her morning ablutions, she made her way to the gardens where a chill in the early morning air pebbled her skin.
She pulled her wrap tighter around her. Today she would meet her sister-in-law Isabel, the eldest daughter of the family. It would be nice to have another family member in residence, and she could not wait to make the woman’s acquaintance.
Stopping and glancing around her, Harmony recalled a time not long ago when she stood in this very spot with her parents. They had witnessed Eleanor engaged in a kiss with Forbes, which had caused so many problems afterward. That memory brought forth the kiss Isaac had given her. That act had not been done in spite but rather as a drunken mistake. Yet the result was the same regardless — a widening of the already great chasm that ran between her and Nathaniel.
She turned to see the very man who had caused that chasm walking toward her, his dark coat carefully brushed and his hair neatly combed to the side. Although Nathaniel had told her to continue speaking to Isaac, she found she had very little desire to do so.
Before allowing him to greet her, she said, “We must discuss what happened the night of the party.”
His eyes bore into hers. “I am listening.”
She planted her feet firmly in place. “Do you recall what happened?”
He pursed his lips. “I do not, but my brother informed me. I assume you are waiting for me to express my deepest apologies, that I should say how wrong it was of me to act as I did. How what I did was so terrible that it has sent you to sleeping in a bed separate from your husband?”
Harmony shook her head in disbelief. “Are you saying that what happened is somehow my fault?”
“No, the fault does not lie with you, but I am like the servant the lord child blames when he has done something wrong.” He took a step toward her, and Harmony swallowed to return her heart to her chest. “For what I did in drunkenness, I apologize. But do not blame me for your marital problems.”
“Marital problems?” she asked, although she knew her voice could not hide the truth. “I do not seek to place any blame on you for any problems we may have, which I assure you are few.”
Isaac belted a laugh. “Few? Your husband has a violent temper; you have seen him take it out on me firsthand. He leaves his wife alone to meet with solicitors and then sends you to a separate bedroom for something I did.” He drew in a deep breath. “If you wish to blame me, I cannot stop you.”
Harmony attempted to sort through her rivaling thoughts. Isaac had been improper, that much was true, yet he had not been in his right mind at the time. Other than that single kiss, she could see no other wrongs. “In the future, we cannot spend time together as we have. I cannot risk another drunken mistake by you.”
“So, our friendship ends because of a simple mistake?” he asked with clear amusement. “How interesting. I have extended a hand of friendship to Nathaniel many times, and yet he ignores it, but I have one moment with of lack of judgment and I am banished from your friendship.”
“D
o you not understand what you did was wrong? I am a married woman; my lips and heart are for my husband only.”
A brief flicker of anger shone in Isaac’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly, she was uncertain if she had seen it. “You have guests coming, and I must consider whether or not I will send the letter I promised.”
Harmony’s heart raced. Surely he was not reconsidering his decision to relinquish the title! She had to do something to convince him to do so. “Your sisters will be arriving soon,” she said. “Will you not be here to meet them?”
He bent nearly in half as he laughed. “For what reason?” he asked. “To say, ‘I am Isaac, your brother, whom Nathaniel despises and upon whom his wife places her faults?” He shook his head and leaned in close to her ear. “No, I shall leave, but you will see that I am not the source of your problems. Consider what I am willing to do for you and your husband, and what you are willing to pay for it.”
“Do you mean money?”
He raised his brows. “I mean exactly what I say. Payment.”
What does he mean by payment if he does not mean money? she wondered. However, she could not ask him to clarify further, for he turned and walked away with long strides.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Harmony stood dumbfounded, attempting to solve the riddle Isaac had placed before her, if a riddle it was. Was it true that she and Nathaniel were the cause of their problems? Yet, their troubles had not risen until Isaac’s arrival at Scarlett Hall.
Or was it all a lie? Had their problems not begun the day she and her parents witnessed Eleanor and Forbes’ intimate moment? Did that one incident not send Nathaniel to threaten her father into allowing them to marry?
As she looked up toward her bedroom window, she was greeted by her husband peering outside. She could sense his pain, and his rage, even from this distance.
He disappeared, and she wondered if Isaac was right. Perhaps it was she, and not he, who had made her husband unhappy. That thought tore at her soul, for she could never have imagined harming him in any way.
Chapter Twenty-One
One by one they came, and for the first time since Harmony had returned from Cornwall, the sounds of laughter and love, and a few tears, filled Scarlett Hall. Not only had Nathaniel’s sisters arrived, but also their cousin Lady Amelia Beaumont, Countess of Chanster, and a close family friend Lady Rose Bradshaw, Baroness of Blightsworth. Apparently, Eleanor had asked for their attendance as well, and Harmony wondered about the stories that connected them to Scarlett Hall.
As Harmony sipped her tea, her eyes fell to Nathaniel, who like his sisters wore a handsome and precious smile. Oh, how she missed that smile and wished it would remain there forever!
Harmony said a litany as she looked at each woman present in an attempt to attach names to faces. Lady Isabel Redbrook, the eldest of Nathaniel’s sisters, resembled Eleanor the most. The woman was a duchess and was strikingly beautiful. All the sisters were great beauties in their own way, and Harmony felt frumpish beside them.
Beside Isabel sat Lady Hannah Stanford, a marchioness, who also took after Eleanor, and was not afraid to speak on subjects such as philosophy and the sciences. She was soft-spoken and Harmony took an instant liking to her. What was strange was her ink-stained fingers. It seemed the woman was a writer, which Harmony thought absolutely wonderful. That a woman could enter what was typically a man’s world was to be celebrated.
Then there was Lady Annabel Wolcott, a sweet, quiet woman who had grown up believing she was a cousin rather than a sister. What Harmony had heard about that woman’s story tore at her heart, for it was a reminder of what she had endured with her parents. At least they had not hired a man to kidnap her!
Each had spent time with Eleanor upon her arrival, Rose the last to come as she lived the furthest, and had sat at her side for hours on end, sharing in stories about life growing up at Scarlett Hall and then moving to what their lives were like now.
Unfortunately, they would be leaving tomorrow after all were in residence a full week — a request from Eleanor every woman wished to defy. However, Eleanor was firm in her decision and would not hear one word of argument.
“You have family to whom you must return,” she had told them each time they argued with her. “There is no need for you to be at my bedside. I have no desire for you to remember me as weak and cadaverous!”
Despite the joy of seeing one another, there was a sadness whenever one member of the family was mentioned — Mrs. Juliet Haskins.
“You must understand concerning Juliet,” Hannah said. “To say she is headstrong does not do her justice.”
“Stubborn, perhaps?” Isabel offered.
Annabel frowned. “No, that does not describe her, either. I do not believe there is a word that aptly describes her, is there? Juliet is simply…Juliet.” She said the last with a shrug.
This made everyone laugh, and then Nathaniel said, “One of my earliest memories is when she offered me a sweet. I told her Mother had forbidden me from having any before dinner, but of course, Juliet reasoned that if she was giving it to me, it was a gift, and a gift should never be refused. Otherwise it is rude.”
Harmony joined in their laughter. How wonderful it was being with Nathaniel’s family as they reminisced on times long past. It was as if they had not a care in the world and that life at Scarlett Hall was nothing but grand.
True to his word, Isaac had kept away, which Harmony found rather odd. After years of longing for a family, when they arrived, he was gone. Yet, that was no longer her concern. Her focus was now on her husband and mending the rift between them.
No sooner had she thought these things than Nathaniel stood and everyone became quiet.
“I know you will all be leaving tomorrow, and I wish your visit were under better circumstances. I told Harmony that I had no intention of telling you what I am about to do, but you are my family and must know.”
Hannah frowned. “What do you mean?” she demanded. “Are we not here for Mother?”
Nathaniel cleared his throat. “Indeed, that is the main reason for Mother summoning you.” He took a deep breath. “I learned something that affects us all.” He paused with a deep frown. “How do I say this properly?”
“Simply say it,” Isabel said in her commanding tone. “We are not children in need of coddling.”
He sighed. “It appears Father was married to another woman before he married Mother. And he was still married when he and Mother said their vows.”
A collective gasp resounded through the room, and Harmony’s heart ached for this family who cared greatly for one another.
When they began asking questions all at once, he lifted his hand and said, “It is a very long story, but I will do my best to keep it as short as possible.”
He went on to explain what had transpired since their return from Cornwall and all he had learned. The stunned expression his sisters wore was eventually replaced by anger.
“And now, I fight to save our beloved Scarlett Hall. But rest assured, I will not lose!”
Although Harmony admired his determination, she feared the cost of his victory — if indeed there was a victory. He did not name it, but she despaired over the lengths to which he might go to see his plan to fruition.
“Let me see if I understand this correctly,” Annabel said. “Their marriage, Mother and Father’s, was invalid?”
Isabel bolted from her seat. “Absolutely not! Their marriage was legitimate no matter what this Isaac Thorne contends. Never for a moment believe we are unworthy to be called children of Lady Eleanor Lambert, for she has been the baroness since her arrival at Scarlett Hall. This other woman has never even been here!”
How strange that she referred not to her father but rather her mother. Yet, that thought left as each woman gave their opinion, each heated and filled with emotion, but Harmony would not have expected anything less. If she had been in the same situation, it was certain she would be just as angry and hurt by such news.
&nb
sp; By the time everyone said their piece and tempers calmed, the hour was late, and soon all would be retiring for the night. Harmony, indeed, was exhausted and stifled yet another yawn.
Yet, before she could excuse herself, the door opened. The expression Forbes wore as he entered the room said the night was far from over.
“My apologies for interrupting, but your mother requests your attendance, all of you, at her bedside.”
Harmony reached for her husband’s hand. Oh, how she missed his touch and the comfort and peace it provided!
Nathaniel stood. “Then let us go,” he said, his voice cracking. “It is time to say goodbye.”
***
Lady Eleanor Lambert, mother to many children of her own blood and some who were not, sat propped up on numerous pillows. Several candles flickered, casting ominous shadows on those gathered around her bed, setting a fitting mood for the occasion. Her body was weak and her mind was tired, yet she knew her final day upon this earth was drawing nigh.
As she looked upon the faces of those around her, her heart beat with love for them. Each held a special place in her heart, for their stories were very much like her own. All had come – save Juliet, but she had not expected her youngest daughter to come – and Eleanor felt at peace for the first time in a very long time.
“My children,” she croaked, “tomorrow you leave to return to your homes, to the children you have and the husbands who adore you. I am so pleased that you have taken what I have taught you and implemented it in your lives, for the love in your heart is the one thing you have that can never be taken from you. I must admit that I am the proudest woman in all of England.”
She smiled at each of those she adored and then turned her attention to Isabel. “You, as the eldest, took on much responsibility, a task that none should bear. Yet, through it all, your strength remained, and I have every confidence that it will be with you for always.”
Cry of the Baroness: Secrets of Scarlett Hall Book 9 Page 13