A Family Affair (21 page)

“Mother!” Fanny’s exclamation held shock at her mother’s coldness.

“Fanny, your friend has been beaten, and I can’t and won’t take it lightly. I’m not acting this way because I want to hurt Penelope. I do it because I care about her.”

“It’s okay,” Penelope whispered to Fanny before looking up into Caroline’s distressed eyes. “Not now, please. I haven’t got any strength left. I’ll speak to you in private tomorrow, if you don’t mind.”

Caroline went to her, gave her a warm hug, and kissed her white, cold cheek before opening the door for Nell and the tray of tea. When the maid had gone, Caroline followed her and closed the door softly behind her.

Fanny poured a cup of tea and gave it to Penelope, who accepted it with a weak smile. They sat silent, enjoying the tea and the fire while thousands of thoughts rushed through their heads.

“I’m so sorry, Fanny,” Penelope said, finally breaking the silence. “I had nowhere else to go.”

Fanny gave her a reassuring smile.

“You know you are always welcome at our home, and I am most grateful you came here in your hour of need, but we do prefer you use the front door.”

Penelope giggled, not being able to withstand Fanny’s friendly banter. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend the Almack’s assembly this evening. We had another invitation, which my father insisted we should accept, and nothing I said could make him change his mind.”

“I missed you dearly.” Fanny smiled. “Something wonderful happened, and you weren’t there to share it.”

This caught Penelope’s attention.

“Oh, dear, what happened?”

“Devlin kissed me.”

“What!” Penelope squealed, forgetting all about her own situation, as was Fanny’s intention. “How was it?”

“It was wonderful.” Fanny sighed. “I can hardly explain how wonderful it was.”

Penelope frowned, thinking. “But where did he kiss you? There is no privacy at Almack’s.”

“In the patronesses’ meeting room. He surprised me when I had been to the restroom, and he dragged me into their meeting room, and he kissed me.”

Fanny sighed again, dreamy-eyed, and something envious flared over Penelope’s face before it vanished again.

“Did he just kiss you?” Penelope asked curiously, as she had never been in this kind of situation herself. Fanny blushed, and Penelope had her answer.

“Did he…” Her voice trailed off, as she knew not how to continue.

“Oh, Lord, no!” Fanny laughed, embarrassed. “But by his choice, not mine. Penelope, it was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it. He overwhelmed me completely, and if he hadn’t been such a gentleman, I think we would have had to be married anyway, but a little sooner than we expected.”

“Marry?” Penelope said, shocked.

Fanny nodded.

“Oh, Fanny,” Penelope breathed happily, and gave her friend a tight hug. “This is indeed the most wonderful news!”

Fanny beamed, too happy to know how to respond. Her happiness was obvious, and at first Penelope beamed with her, until apparently something ugly grew in her mind, forcing her to remember what had happened to her and pushing all the happiness away. Fanny immediately noticed her friend’s distress and got down on her knees in front of Penelope, taking her small cold hands into her own.

“Please, Penelope, tell me.”

Penelope leaned back, resting her head against the back of the armchair. She closed her eyes tightly, and Fanny watched sadness and pain cross her face. She was silent for such a long time that Fanny jumped when she finally said something.

“My father has this friend he has known since he was a young man. They have never been close friends, to my father’s despair, as the other man, Lord Bolton, is very rich and well connected in Essex, where he resides. This noble gentleman has been married three times, and all three times his wives have died suddenly after a few years of marriage, and without giving him any children. Now he is searching for wife number four, and of course he remembered my father has two daughters, one of whom is claimed to be the most beautiful woman ever. So he invited us to his townhouse for dinner. Father would never say no to Lord Bolton, so yesterday we joined him for dinner. Fanny, he was such a repulsive man! He is just as old as father but looks more like he is old enough to be my grandfather, or even my great-grandfather. Father smirked and smirked, but Lord Bolton hardly looked at him. Our host was too busy drooling all over Charmaine. She was admirably nice to him and didn’t even mind as he tried to look down her bodice.”

She sat quiet for a while, and Fanny knew she must be bracing herself for the next part of her story, the one where it all happened.

“If you don’t want to tell me more now, we can continue tomorrow.” Fanny said softly, not wanting to put her friend through too much anguish.

Penelope’s smile was full of love. “It is okay, my dear. I’d rather say it now and have it done. I don’t think I can sleep without getting some of it off my chest.”

“Whatever you wish is my command,” Fanny said reassuringly, and Penelope hugged her warmly and thanked her for being such a good friend. Again she sat back, and this time she stared into the fire unseeingly.

“After dinner, Mother, Charmaine, and I were ushered into the salon, as the men were staying behind for their usual port. We didn’t have to wait a long time, though, before father came and told us we were leaving. As we got up to go to the front door, he stopped me and told me he wanted to talk to me in private, and we were left alone by the others.”

Penelope’s voice became hoarse with emotion, and she drank some of the now-cold tea before she took a deep breath and continued despite a cracked voice.

“He told me I was to stay, as he and Lord Bolton had an agreement. Lord Bolton wanted Charmaine for his next wife, but my father had surprisingly told him no, as Charmaine was meant for another man. As I understood by my father’s explanation, Lord Bolton got very angry and threatened to lock me and my parents in and have his way with Charmaine anyway, and thus force a marriage. My father...”

Penelope took a deep shaky breath.

“My father,” she continued, with an impressive show of strength, “made a bargain in order to keep Charmaine and her virginity intact, and Lord Bolton reluctantly agreed to it, still upset but at least still my father’s friend. Father told me I was to stay behind while my family went home. I was told to do anything the man wanted me to do, and when he was done with me I was to send my father a message, so he could have a servant fetch me and drive me to a small estate in Wales, where I could stay for the rest of my life.”

Fanny didn’t know what to say. What Penelope told was incomprehensible. It was too much for a mere eighteen-year-old overprotected girl to take in. She put her head on Penelope’s shoulder, closing her eyes as tears of compassion fell on her friend’s nightgown.

“I cried and begged, but nothing I said seemed to affect my father. He turned his back to me and told me this was the least I could do to keep my sister chaste. When I tried to grab him, to force him to stay and listen to me, or preferably take me with him, he shoved me so hard I fell backwards and hit my head on something. I must have fainted, because when I woke up again I found myself lying on a bed in an unknown bedroom.”

She started to cry, and Fanny could only hold her friend, to help her through her pain.

“I was so scared, Fanny! I didn’t know what to do, and then Lord Bolton came by with his snickering footman and told me to stay put, as he had other appointments planned. You should have seen his evil face when he told me what he would do with me when he came back—it was terrifying. And they left me there alone, waiting for a fate worse than death.”

“Oh Penny,” Fanny moaned, filled with dread for what her friend gone through.

“I was desperate to get away from there,” Penelope continued bravely. “When I found an unlocked window in an adjoining bedroom, I could hardly believe my luck. I climbed out through it and made it down to the street, where I ran as fast as I could until I reached my father’s house here at Berkeley Square.

“But, as I grabbed the knob of the front door, I realized I couldn’t go home. My father had given me away to Lord Bolton. I know what a stubborn man my father is, always bound by the honor of his word, and I knew he would send me back. So I came here, but when I was about to knock on your door, I saw a ladder someone nicely enough had forgotten, so I moved it to where your room is, and the rest you know.”

“Oh, Penelope,” Fanny cried, devastated for her friend’s sake.

“I have nowhere to go. I can’t go home again, for I am not wanted there. I have no other relatives I can live with. I might be able to work as a governess, but who would hire me? If this comes out, I will be destroyed in the eyes of society.”

“Oh, come on,” Fanny said angrily. “Now you are just being stupid. You can stay here, and so you shall. I don’t care what anyone says about you, or if your reputation is damaged forever. You are my friend, and you will always be.”

Penelope gave her a small smile, and although Fanny could see she didn’t believe her, she decided not to continue to argue the point. Penelope was clearly fatigued and on the verge of falling asleep, so Fanny kept quiet, and a few minutes later Penelope was sound asleep in the comfortable armchair.

Fanny grabbed a thick blanket and tucked Penelope in neatly before she climbed into bed, thinking about what Penelope had told her. She could hardly believe something like this could happen in these modern times. It was unbearable.

She sighed deeply, feeling drowsy, and then she too fell asleep.

Chapter 19

Lord
and
Lady
Newbury
sat
silently
in
the
marchioness’s
salon,
staring
at
their
daughter
with
disbelief
written
on
their
proud
faces.

Fanny,
who
had
been
just
as
shocked
when
she
heard
Penelope’s
story
the
night
before,
stayed
quiet following her recital of the details she’d learned. Her parents obviously
needed
a
chance
to
digest
the
whole
ugly
truth.

Earlier,
when
she
awoke
from
a
night
filled
with
nightmares,
Penelope
had
still
been
sleeping
soundly, and
Fanny
had
dressed
herself
quickly
before
sneaking out from her bedroom without disturbing her exhausted friend. To spare Penelope the pain of telling her horrible story again, she
had
sent a maid to collect her parents, so that she instead could tell them.

Her
parents
never
said
a
word. They
didn’t
interrupt
her
once,
which
told
her
more
than
anything
how
much
it
affected
them. Finally George
woke
from
his
numbed state
and
took
his
wife’s
cold
hand. “I’ll
kill
him.”

Caroline
shook
her
head. “No,
you
won’t.
He
is
not
worth
it.”

“No,
he
isn’t,
but
Penny
is.”

“Please,
Papa,”
Fanny
begged,
as
she
leaned
forward
and
put
a
hand
on
his
knee.
“Don’t
do
anything
stupid.
This
is
so
hard
for
Penny,
and
she
would
never
be
able
to
live
with
it
if
more
evil
came
out
of
it.”

George
looked
at
his
only
daughter. “What if it had been you in such a
situation?” He
shuddered, then
nodded.

“I’m
going
to
talk
to
her,”
Caroline
said
as
she
arose
and
headed
toward
the
door.
“Don’t
do
anything
without
telling
me,
and
don’t
tell
anyone
else.
Especially
not
Rake.”