Nicola Cornick (6 page)

Annabella leant forward impulsively. ‘Oh, Lady Kilgaren, I would so like to do so! But I do not know how to explain matters to her—there’s the rub! Would you…could I tell you the story, and ask you to advise me?’

Caroline smiled. ‘Of course—if you truly wish it!’ She stood up. ‘Have you finished your tea? Then you must come for a stroll in the gardens with me. The rose borders are accounted particularly fine, and should not be missed!’

Sir William had been watching them with a particularly intent look in those deceptively calm blue eyes. Now he turned and engaged Miss Hurst in conversation at the precise moment that she was about to invite herself to join the party. Caroline slipped her arm through Annabella’s, and steered her away across the lawn.

The gardens at Mundell were indeed very fine, Annabella thought, for the rich green lawns were dotted with tall, shady trees and ornamental shrubs, whilst the flower borders were a riot of colour on this summer afternoon. They chose a bench in the shade of a huge oak tree, and Caroline turned to Annabella with a smile.

‘So how can I help you, my dear? How did this sad estrangement come about?’

Annabella sighed. ‘I never knew Alicia very well,’
she said. ‘You are no doubt aware that she is seven years older than I, and when I was a child she was away at school, and then she went to London for her Season and…’ her eyes dropped from Caroline’s kind blue ones ‘…our father forced that hateful match with George Carberry! I know that she wrote to me several times after Carberry died, but our father would never let me see the letters. I believe he threw them away unanswered, or returned them. I once saw one on the hall table when one of the maids had accidentally left it lying there. I was about to open it when he snatched it from my hand and sent me away to my room. I would have written to her myself if I could, but I could not find her direction!’

‘Alicia wondered if that was the case,’ Caroline said calmly. ‘I think she realised that that was none of your doing. But then you met again, did you not, a couple of years ago? I understood that your father indicated to Alicia that you would like a London Season under her aegis?’

‘Yes, but it was not at all as Alicia might have imagined!’ Annabella’s anguished green eyes met Caroline’s. ‘I discovered that our father had used me to bring her to Greyrigg, spinning the tale about a Season as bait! In truth, what he really wanted was to entrap her in his business dealings again, or force her into a second marriage! But I swear that I did not know that until the very day of her visit!’ She shook her head. ‘He never confided in me, you see, barely spoke to me at all from one week to the next, if the truth be told! Oh, he thought he knew me, thought that I was like him because I kept quiet and always agreed with him on the rare occasions he did tell me
a little of his plans! But I knew nothing of his designs for Alicia, I swear it!’

Caroline was frowning. ‘I believe you, but—’ She broke off and started again. ‘Forgive me, but I think Alicia believed you were party to his plans because you seemed so at ease with him, so complaisant.’ Caroline looked uncomfortable. ‘The way she described your behaviour—’

‘Oh, I can well imagine what she said!’ But Annabella’s bitterness was directed against herself, not her sister. ‘I played a marvellous part, you see, Lady Kilgaren. I was so mercenary, so insincere! I modelled myself on Lady Grey, my future sister-in-law, and she is the most affected creature I know!’ Despite herself she gave a little giggle. ‘Oh, I was dreadful! My conversation was larded with ‘la’ and ‘lud’ and I am sure I gave my sister a complete disgust for me! It fooled our father, who knew me too little to realise it was all pretence! He just thought that I was jealous of her.’

She looked up and met Caroline’s look directly. ‘And so I was, in truth! Alicia is so elegant, so assured, so much as I would wish to be! But that’s nothing to the purpose! All the time I was waiting for my chance to warn Alicia without alerting our father’s suspicions, but it was hopeless! He would not leave me alone with her and he had already threatened that if I did not aid his plans he would punish me—’ She broke off, closing her eyes briefly for a moment. ‘In any event, Alicia did not need my help! But, of course, she left Greyrigg believing me to have connived at his plotting.’

There was a silence. A dove began to coo in the branches above their heads. It was cool in the leafy
shade. ‘I am so sorry,’ Caroline said softly. ‘It must have been intolerably frustrating for you. And at your wedding,’ she prompted gently, ‘no doubt you had little chance to talk to her then…’

Annabella shook her head dolefully. ‘Oh, no, I could not!’ This was difficult, for it entailed telling something of her reasons for marrying Francis, and after her outburst to Sir William she was disinclined to discuss the painful details again.

‘There are very few opportunities for real discussion at a wedding,’ she said truthfully, ‘particularly one’s own! Besides…’ she smiled a little, remembering how James Mullineaux had made such a determined attempt to monopolise Alicia that day ‘…Alicia had matters of her own to divert her! James was very particular in his attentions!’

Caroline was surprised that Annabella had noticed that, for Alicia’s description of her sister’s behaviour at the wedding had not suggested that Annabella was anything other than a self-absorbed flirt. She eyed her more closely. As she had suspected, there was far more to this than was at first apparent, although she could understand Annabella’s reluctance to tell her the whole and awaken unhappy memories.

‘And when Alicia came to see you after your father had died,’ Caroline said, again gently persistent, ‘you still could not tell her the truth about your relationship with him? I realise that Alicia was deeply unhappy at the time because she thought that she had lost James, so that may have influenced her feelings, but she told me that…’ she paused unhappily ‘…oh dear, this is so difficult, for I see that there must have been a grave misunderstanding here! Alicia thought that you
were…that you had an interest—’ It was unusual to see Caroline Kilgaren lost for words, and Annabella came to her aid.

‘She thought me mercenary and vulgar, and only interested in her fortune!’ she finished for her.

Caroline was so startled that she forgot to be embarrassed. ‘My word! You have much of both your grandmother and Alicia in you!’

Annabella laughed. ‘I do apologise if my plain speaking offends you, Lady Kilgaren, but there is no point in beating about the bush!’

But Caroline was laughing too. ‘No, indeed! My dear Annabella—I may call you Annabella, may I not?—pray do not apologise! As you say, it is so much easier to sort matters out if one is frank! I was only taken aback because you sounded like old Lady Stansfield! But—’ she sobered ‘—since a description of you as vulgar and mercenary is fair and far out, you must tell me how such a misunderstanding occurred!’

Annabella’s smile faded. ‘Oh, it was not so inaccurate,’ she said with constraint. ‘You should know, Lady Kilgaren, that Francis—my husband—married me for my money, and when my father left me virtually penniless he was not best pleased. Then Alicia came to visit us and I think he could not bear to look at her and think of all her fortune. His insulting questions about her wealth and his obvious resentment that she had so much when I had inherited so little must have given her a disgust of us both—I tried to smooth matters over, but then I only angered him.’ She bit her lip. No need to tell Caroline of the unpleasant scene where Francis had threatened to beat her if she
did not do as he said. ‘He said that I should have a thought to secure our future so, of course, I asked Alicia a little about her plans, which made it look as though I had an eye on inheriting her money. It was all profoundly uncomfortable and I was so mortified that, when Francis died, I did not dare approach Alicia for very shame!’ She shrugged her slim shoulders. ‘And there it is—a sorry tale indeed!’ She gave a watery smile. ‘I thank you for bearing with my confessions!’

Caroline patted her hand. ‘Thank you for confiding the tale in me.’ Her blue eyes were very kind. ‘I had no notion that your marriage was anything other than a love-match. May I be even more impertinent and ask how that came about?’

Annabella fixed her gaze on a fat bumble bee buzzing drunkenly in the rose border. Even now, it was distressing to describe the events leading up to her marriage and their painful consequences.

‘My father had a suitor in mind for me, in much the same way as he had done for Alicia,’ she said haltingly. ‘I imagine that you, more than most, know a little of how that might be, Lady Kilgaren. I…found I could not accept his choice, so I looked around for a means of escape and Francis came to mind. I knew that he needed to marry money.’ The colour had come into her cheeks and she could no longer meet Caroline’s eyes. ‘So I made my bargain and then pretended that it was what I had always wanted.’ She shook her head. ‘I was a fool. I never thought that I would live happily ever after, but I had no real notion of what marriage entailed, least of all to a man I could not respect—’ She broke off.

Caroline took her hand. The knowledge of what had happened to Alicia made it easier to understand her sister’s tale. ‘You poor child! I had no idea! Oh, if only Alicia had known, I’m sure she would have helped you!’

Annabella’s green eyes were bright with unshed tears. ‘Please may we talk on other matters now, ma’am? I have no wish to succumb to a fit of the megrims!’

‘Of course!’ Caroline acquiesced gracefully, unwilling to press Annabella for details when she was clearly upset. ‘But you asked my advice, and I can only suggest that you tell Alicia all that you have told me. She will be very sympathetic, you know, for she wants to be reconciled to you above all things!’ Caroline jumped to her feet. ‘Let us rejoin the rest of the party and hope for some entertaining company. One may not include Miss Hurst in that, I know, but the rest are tolerable or—’ a twinkle entered her blue eyes ‘—more than tolerable, perhaps!’

‘Miss Hurst is very beautiful, is she not?’ Annabella said, a little sadly, remembering the way the haughty young woman had summoned Sir William to her side earlier.

Caroline Kilgaren smiled encouragingly. ‘Oh, she has all the beauty that money can buy, certainly! But you should not repine—you are very pretty, you know, and have far more character! Miss Hurst, I am afraid, has been told from an early age that her opinions are worth more than other people’s, on account of her being in possession of a fortune of eighty thousand pounds! I am a cat to say so, I know, but nevertheless it is true!’

Eighty thousand pounds sounded like a vast fortune to Annabella. She felt even more despondent. Money had a habit of attracting money, and Sir William Weston was not poor. True, he was a less eligible
parti
than a Viscount, but if Miss Hurst could not bring Mundell up to scratch, he would prove a very acceptable alternative…

Caroline’s next words echoed her thoughts. ‘Do not imagine that Miss Hurst dislikes you for yourself, Annabella! The truth is that she came here to catch herself a husband and is becoming annoyed by her lack of success. Mundell, her first target, is surprisingly old-fashioned and has some nice notions about being married for his title! He does not need money enough to fall for the lure. So Sir William Weston was her next thought, but—’ Caroline smiled a little ‘—she did not know him well and understands even less what attracts him! All her overtures have met with the same bland indifference—and then, of course, you came along last night and he paid you more attention in one evening than he has given Miss Hurst in an entire fortnight! I’m afraid it has piqued her pride!’

Annabella blushed slightly at the implication that Sir William was interested in her. ‘Sir William has been very kind to me,’ she said guardedly, ‘but I fear I cannot understand him any better than Miss Hurst does! You see,’ she added naively, ‘I have very little experience of the world and have never met anyone quite like him!’

‘I doubt there is anyone quite like Will Weston,’ Caroline said drily. ‘You should know, my dear, that Will’s father was very rich, but Will chose to enter the navy through inclination and rose to prominence
by his own merits rather than through preferment! He has only sold out now because his estates require more attention than he felt able to give whilst away at sea so much, and I think perhaps that he is looking for a more settled life. But as a man he has a lot of attractive qualities…’ she smiled at Annabella ‘…though I doubt you need me to tell you that! To Marcus and myself he is the best of loyal friends, and we would do a great deal for him. There now, I sound quite sentimental! But loyalty and integrity are qualities which are not always found in abundance in the superficial world of the
haut ton
!’

Annabella was not entirely sure that it was for these characteristics that Miss Hurst wished to attach Sir William’s interest. There was something self-contained and a little distant about him which gave him an added mystery and must add to his attraction. And if one also considered his physical attributes…Annabella remembered the warm admiration in those bright, blue eyes and felt a little breathless. Perhaps it was not a good thing to dwell on Sir William’s attractions too much. ‘But surely there are plenty of titled gentlemen who would be happy to marry Miss Hurst?’ she said, turning the conversation on to safer ground.

Caroline smiled with gentle malice. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said, with mock-sorrow, ‘but she wanted a handsome one!’

They were still laughing as they crossed the lawn and heard Miss Hurst’s fluting tones holding forth once more:

‘La, Sir William, I insist that you join me in a game of croquet! I shall brook no refusal, sir!’