Sally James (5 page)

'Only those two down beside the river which do not really belong to the rest of the land,' Sir Roderick said sharply, his affability slipping momentarily. 'Are you afraid that I shall not leave you anything?' he snapped at William. 'You'll have your godmother's fortune as well!'

'And be independent of you,' William muttered, but not loudly enough for Sir Roderick to hear him. He was more interested in what else he had to say.

'I may have to provide for Georgiana sooner than I expected,' Sir Roderick said jocularly, his good humour restored.

Georgiana flashed an indignant glance at him.

'It isn't-I didn't! Indeed Mr Reece had no such notion, Papa!'

'Mr Reece? That young puppy? Why, he'll not be capable of supporting a wife for years! He's only a few hundred a year apart from his army pay, and there's no likelihood of promotion now Boney's safely out of the way. It was not Mr Reece I was thinking of.'

But he had considered him sufficiently to discover what his circumstances were, Isabella thought to herself, and wondered, as Georgiana was doing, what other possible suitor Sir Roderick had in mind.

'Lord Fordington will be coming here,' Sir Roderick went on with heavy nonchalance, and avoiding looking at either Georgiana or Isabella. 'A most delightful fellow, I'm sorry I knew him so little before. I'm in hopes he may persuade his stepmother to call, for she'll be at Priory Dene from what he tells me. Do you know that young brother of his?' he suddenly shot at William.

'Ninian Bembridge?' William asked, astonished. 'I've met him a couple of times in London since he sold out, and he seems a friendly fellow. Why do you ask?'

'He'll be with his mother. Cultivate his acquaintance,' Sir Roderick ordered and, apparently feeling he had said enough, went on to talk of the doings of the Carlton House set while Georgiana, bewildered, cast agonised looks at Isabella.

* * * *

Isabella was thoughtful. Lord Fordington had indeed been attentive in the short time since he had met Georgiana. He had obviously been greatly stuck with her beauty, and made enquiries for her whenever he had met Isabella. At five and thirty he must be ready to settle down, and men of that age often took a fancy to young girls. From all she had seen Georgiana would be safe with him, and he would be perfectly capable of controlling her starts. He would make a most estimable husband and, if what Sir Roderick hoped for did happen, Georgiana would be an exceedingly fortunate girl.

She attempted to convince Georgiana of this later when Sir Roderick had retired to his estate room with William, demanding an account of what had been happening while he had been in London, and, Lady Sharman having retired to bed, they were left alone in the drawing room.

'But he is old!' Georgiana protested. 'Besides, he saw me but the once and I cannot believe he has formed an attachment as Papa seems to think! It is nonsensical!'

'Not entirely. It is not surprising men look for beauty in the women they marry, and if Lord Fordington is ever going to marry he must be looking about him for a suitable bride.'

'He may have admired me. Most men do,' Georgiana said consideringly, 'but he cannot have fallen in
love
with me! He knows almost nothing about me except what is to my discredit,' she added with a giggle.

'Men do not have to be in love to offer marriage,' Isabella said a trifle sharply. 'Indeed, if he has not yet fallen in love it is unlikely he will do so at his age. Besides, love is not the only thing to be considered when marriage is in question, as my parents discovered!' she added warningly.

'What do you mean?' Georgiana asked.

Isabella sighed. 'I have never told you much about my life before your parents offered me a home, have I? My parents married for love, defying the world to do so. My grandfather refused ever to speak to my father again, and apart from the small property that was entailed left everything else to his nephew.'

'But why? Your mother was of just as good a family, not the daughter of a cit, or anything disreputable like that,' Georgiana exclaimed.

'No, but her father and my grandfather had some stupid quarrel and neither could accept a marriage between their children. My mother received nothing and she was too proud even to take away the jewels that belonged to her when she ran away from home. They were happy for a time, and once my mother told me those few years had been worth everything else. But then, after a very difficult birth when my brother died, she became ill and all the money we had went on paying doctors who could not cure her, only help relieve the pain. My father's cousin was the heir to the entailed property and he would not agree to breaking the entail so that the money from selling it could be used for my mother to be taken abroad to visit the Spas.'

'Oh, how monstrous!'

Isabella shrugged. 'I do not think she would have been cured, for she died a year or so after that final quarrel. My father still loved her dearly but could not bear to see her suffer, and she blamed herself for his unhappiness. He began to drink heavily so that Minnie, his old nurse who had always been with him, would not permit him to see my mother. She knew, however, what was happening, and blamed herself the more. When he did see her he spent the time apologising and vowing it would not happen again, and she kept saying she ought not to have ruined his life by marrying him. He came to think she did not love him and regretted everything, and they quarrelled bitterly so that he left the house and went to London. He was drunk, I heard, for three whole days, and no one could find him to tell him my mother was dying. He arrived home too late.'

'Poor Isabella!'

'Poor father! He never forgave himself, and though he never drank again he did not care what he did, and I will always have the suspicion he deliberately overturned his phaeton, and the horses did not bolt as everyone said they did!'

'You have never told me this before. It must have been dreadful for you!'

'I was seventeen, as old as you are now. I have tried to forget the worst parts, and tell you now only because you are in the same danger as all young females of thinking love is all that matters. It cannot supply the lack of other things!'

'Of course it would be ineligible to marry only for love,' Georgiana said slowly, 'if a man had nothing else to recommend him. But you dismiss the very idea of Sir Frederick because you do not like him, so how can you expect me to marry without love?'

'Love and liking are very different things. I would never ask anyone to marry where they did not even like, but it cannot be necessary for there always to be love! Surely you must like Lord Fordington?'

'You have seen far more of him than I have,' Georgiana pointed out. 'He is still eighteen years older than I am – I suspect the difference between you and Sir Frederick is less!' she added mischievously.

'Sir Frederick is not in question,' Isabella said hurriedly. She had not shared with Georgiana the story of the visit when Sir Frederick had been on the verge of making an offer, and devoutly hoped that his declared intention of visiting Sussex would prove to be no more than words. Fortunately Georgiana was easily distracted by the suggestion she visit her friends the Misses Westerson at the Rectory on the following morning, and she was induced to retire early, happily planning how she would tell them of her adventures in the Metropolis.

* * * *

Isabella slept badly that night. She had managed for a long while now to push to the back of her mind the unhappy years of her girlhood, but the conversation she had had with Georgiana brought it flooding vividly back into her mind. She recalled the agonising weeks after her mother's death until her father followed her to the grave, with the unresolved puzzle of whether he had been careless through misfortune or premeditation.

What had followed had been a nightmare. Dozens of creditors had descended on her, and been abusive when they discovered she had no money with which to settle their claims. Her father's cousin had arrived, quickly arranged for everything of value to be sold to pay some of the debts and written several letters to distant relatives enquiring whether any of them knew of a suitable position as either governess or companion that Isabella, possessed of a few hundred pounds only, could take. Presented with the alternatives of going to a distant cousin nearing eighty who lived in the wilds of Northumberland, and joining Sir Roderick's household as a governess companion to his young daughter and semi-invalid wife Fanny, who was her own second cousin, Isabella had chosen to go to Sussex. She willingly accepted the role of indigent relative and was unfailingly cheerful when with the family. During the night though, in the first few years, she had frequently wondered what her life would have been like if her mother had lived or her father been more provident.

Sir Roderick had seen no need to present Isabella at Court and Fanny, though sometimes feeling guilty at not making more of an effort to introduce Isabella to suitable young men, consoled herself with the reflection that her cousin appeared perfectly content, and neither she nor Georgiana would know how to go on if Isabella was not there to supervise the household and provide for their comfort and entertainment. No one else could control the difficult, wayward Georgiana as Isabella could, and Fanny had quietened her conscience with the notion that once Georgiana was married she would contrive some suitable alliance, possibly with a steady, comfortably-off widower, for Isabella.

When Isabella and Georgiana, accompanied by a morose, rather silent William, arrived at the Rectory, they found a dashing perch-phaeton waiting near the gates, the pair of restless matched bays in the charge of a gloomy-faced individual who was walking them up and down the lane with a pronounced air of resignation.

'It appears that the Westersons have other company,' William remarked, handing Isabella down from the very homely gig which was their conveyance. 'I wonder who it is. I don't recognise those cattle. Prime 'uns, I'll warrant they cost a pretty penny!'

They discovered the owner when they were shown into the somewhat old fashioned drawing room, cluttered with the possessions of a large family squeezed into too small a house. An elegantly dressed young man, with long shapely limbs encased in close-fitting breeches, reclined, very much at his ease, in a chair beside the fireplace. He rose politely as Mrs Westerson warmly greeted her new guests and her two eldest daughters exclaimed in delighted surprise at Georgiana's unexpected appearance. Isabella watched with wry amusement as his dark eyebrows, thick and straight, rose slightly as he surveyed Georgiana, and his mobile lips curved into a welcoming smile. He was handsome, with an arrogant high-bridged nose, a narrow face and broad shoulders. His olive-green coat was of the best quality superfine and tailored exquisitely, and he wore a large emerald pin in his intricately tied cravat. Another emerald, even larger, gleamed on his long slender fingers.

'You have not met Mr Ninian Bembridge, I think,' Mrs Westerson performed the introductions and after a few moments of general conversation drew Isabella aside to enquire after Lady Sharman's health while the younger members of the party chattered amongst themselves.

When Ninian Bembridge rose to take his leave, Isabella thought he gave Lydia, the eldest Westerson girl, a significant glance when he politely hoped to see them all again soon. He bowed low over Mrs Westerson's hand and, with a last admiring look at Georgiana and a polite nod to Isabella, departed. Lydia had coloured slightly when he had spoken to her, but she immediately turned to her mother when the door closed behind him and asked whether Georgiana might spend the rest of the day with her.

'For she has so much to tell us about London!'

'Of course, my love, you know dear Georgiana is always welcome,' Mrs Westerson said easily, for she was extremely goodnatured. 'Lady Sharman will not object, will she, Isabella? And we will send Georgiana home after dinner, she will be perfectly safe with Mark.'

Isabella willingly acquiesced in this arrangement, a fairly common one. Mark Westerson, the studious eldest son of the vicar, had frequently in the past escorted Georgiana between the two houses. He had recently been appointed as curate of a nearby parish, but since the house he was to occupy was not yet ready for him he was living temporarily with his parents. Being with her friends would be better for Georgiana than moping at home, resenting her father's treatment, Isabella decided. Soon afterwards she and William took their leave and drove off on the short journey home.

* * * *

They had almost reached Woodings when William stopped the gig, permitting the ancient pony pulling it to move towards the verge and crop the long grass.

'What is it?' Isabella asked. William had been very quiet all day, rousing himself only when politeness demanded it.

'Father!' he burst out. 'He
says
that it is only the two farms he proposes to sell to Lord Fordington, but how long will the money from them last? From the way he fussed last night about the cost of the repairs to one of the cottages, and the household accounts, saying we were all too extravagant, I take it he's deep in debt. I'll wager he means to use the cash for further gaming rather than pay off his debts, hoping to recover what he has lost. Yet that never answers, as you'd have thought he would have discovered by now! Then he will have to sell more of the land and none of it is entailed. I shall be left with nothing at the end.'

'I know he plays deep,' Isabella said sympathetically, 'but I don't think he is at point non plus yet! And you will soon have your own legacy, you will not for long be dependent on him.'

'It is enough for me to scrape by on, Isabella, but I can hardly expect you to marry me when it is all the expectation I am likely to have!'

Isabella sighed. 'William, I do wish you would cease plaguing me with this notion you have. I have told you so many times that I will not marry you-'

'I've said I don't blame you in the present circumstances, but I wish things were different!'

'It is in no way the fault of the circumstances!' Isabella said sharply. 'Be sensible, William! I am several years older than you, and I have nothing, and I do not love you! You need to look for a girl with some fortune, and no doubt your father could be persuaded to make some settlement then. He would never approve of me even if I were to accept you, which I do not intend to do!'