Unexpected Friends & Relations Read online

  “I know,” Charles burst, pounding his fist on the table. “She deceived me!”

  “I always knew you would be taken in by a pretty face, and ruin us all,” Caroline snapped. “I never imagined you would sink us this low, but I did try to warn you.”

  “Well, and I suppose I ought to have warned you not to attempt to compromise a bloody viscount!”

  Caroline sighed again, turning her body away from her brother. After a moment of angry silence she replied, “As it happens, I regret that very much. I should not have done it.”

  “Good.” Charles finished his drink and gestured with irritation for Caroline to do the same; she took another tentative sip and grimaced at her brother. “So,” he continued, “what will you do in London, married to a man dying of syphilis?”

  “I will do what I must. In fact, I have taken care of Seymour.”

  “Caroline! You didn’t....”

  “No! I have installed him in a facility – an establishment that caters to gentlemen in his situation.”

  “And he consented to this?”

  Caroline hesitated. “You truly do not know? No, I suppose you would not, hidden away up here. There was an incident, on Tuesday. These last two weeks, Seymour has been increasingly… agitated. Mad. I did not know what to do, and you would not see me. There were instances of him speaking to people that were not there, acting strangely to servants. He struck me once. He struck the butler, thinking it was his father, and beat the man very badly. Our housekeeper called the magistrate. Dr. Mercer was there, attending Seymour; he and the magistrate discussed my husband’s condition, and saw fit to remove him to an asylum, where he will be properly looked after. My dowry could easily afford the fee, though I daresay I shall not have to pay it for long.”

  “And so you mean to return to London and wait until you are a wealthy widow?”

  “That is my plan, yes. Being a widow has a certain degree of respectability to it, and independence. I need no longer be dependent upon your protection, as it seems I shall not have it.”

  Charles shook his head sadly. “I cannot do it, Caroline. I cannot go back to London. It would only remind me of my mistakes there.”

  “I wish you had never met her.”

  “She was the wrong sister,” Charles sighed. “My first mistake was in letting you persuade me to abandon her when we left London for Bath last year. She told me, when she refused me, that she knew you had a hand in it, that your treatment of her made her fear a life with me. I have you to thank for her rejection, but now you have paid for it, for you have driven her away from me, into the arms of the man you wanted yourself.”

  Charles regarded her with a smug smile that did not reach his eyes, and Caroline leaned forward across the table, resting her face in her hands. “It is true. Take satisfaction in that, if you will. I have learned from my own folly, believe me.”

  “All the better for you, I suppose, for you shall be the only one to walk away from this vile country with the rest of your life to look forward to. I am resigned to my fate. I shall wander, see as much of the world as I can, while I can. And you will go to London and set yourself up in the kind of establishment you have always fancied for yourself, so I suppose you will be happy.”

  “I cannot believe you are going to leave England. Charles, I know I am… difficult, but I love you, Brother. Truly, I will miss you.”

  Charles’s eyes were suddenly filled with sadness. “This place has changed us.”

  Caroline nodded, her eyes misting with tears. “It certainly has. It feels as though the world has turned its back on us, but I will not give up without a fight. I fear that is what you mean to do.”

  Charles made a strangled sound that nearly resembled a laugh. “I suppose I merely do not want the same kind of life that you do.”

  “And I shall have to learn to respect that. Say you will come visit, at least, in the summer perhaps, when it is not cold. I do not wish to never see you again.”

  Charles sighed shakily. “We shall see. It is good of you, to say all that. I am leaving everything to you and Louisa, you know. I think I may perhaps give you your share in advance, as Seymour’s gambling has no doubt put a significant dent into your dowry. I am sure such a windfall will open many doors for you in London. I shall not need much to live on in my travels, and Louisa shall have whatever is left when I am dead.”

  Caroline took a deep breath. Adding half of Charles’s fortune to what was left of her own would make her exceedingly wealthy, and once she was a widow, she would be one of the most eligible prospects in London. She could have anyone she wanted, or no one at all. She would never want for friends. She would never want for anything. “I do not know what to say, Brother.”

  “Say you accept and have done with it. You have always cared for money more than I, and there is no shame in it. Such is the world we live in, only you will be in this world far longer than me. Take my money and be happy. I do not want it. I never cared for it, and it has never bought me anything good. May it do better for you.”

  Caroline nodded. “When will you leave?” Charles only shrugged, his emotion seeming now spent. “You could sail from London. Come down to Town with me, let us have a few more weeks together, for I do not really believe you will ever come back.”

  “I thought to sail from Edinburgh.”

  “It will be cold.”

  “It will be cold if I sail from London. It will be cold until I reach the Mediterranean.”

  Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes. “You are terribly vexing. Just come to London with me. Say you will.”

  “Very well, I will do as you say. You are really leaving tomorrow, then?”

  “Yes. I have packed my things already. Charles,” Caroline hesitated, and placed her hand on his. “There is one other thing.... Have you informed the Bennets of Jane’s passing?”

  “Which of them should I write? The one who married my best friend? The one who married the viscount’s brother? The shrieking mother?”

  “The Gardiners, then. You have always been friends with them.”

  “Perhaps. I’ve not had any communication with Edward since I ran off with his niece, which I am sure did not best please him. Jane made great claims of his horrible mistreatment of her, but I suppose that was all lies. Edward must think the worst of me now.”

  “They have a right to know, Charles. But you are leaving England, remember? What does it matter what he thinks of you, when you are unlikely to ever see him again?”

  “He shall still be alive in the world, and thinking ill of me, though I suppose he likely does already. Very well, you are right. Well, I suppose I must make ready to depart. I shall not stay long in London with you, you understand. I will leave as soon as I can find a vessel sailing for Naples, or Greece perhaps. You should take a companion,” he mused. “That would keep you occupied.”

  Caroline smiled at the idea. She had not thought too far into the future, beyond her desire to get out of Scotland forever. A companion was a fine idea. There was, of course, one other plan she had in mind for when she returned to London….

  1

  London, February

  Elizabeth broke into an unabashed smile and practically leapt into Marianne’s arms as her friend was announced in the drawing room of Darcy House. “Lady Hartley,” she crooned.

  “Oh, stop it, Lizzy,” Marianne laughed.

  “Have no fear, I’ve no intention of curtseying to you,” Elizabeth chided, stepping back to take in the sight of her friend after an arduous six weeks of separation. Her cousin by marriage was more splendidly attired than Elizabeth had ever seen her before, from her ornately arranged red curls to the expensive fabrics of her decidedly a la mode gown, a bold shade of purple that was tremendously flattering, accented by amethysts the size of grapes dangling from a thick silver band about her neck. She looked every bit a young viscountess just returned from a honeymoon on the continent.

  “I am sorry to say, you find me all alone this morning. All the better f
or me, though, for I shall have your company all to myself. Tell me, how was Switzerland?”

  Marianne grinned. “Lovely – perfect – foreign. Oh, how I have missed you, my dearest friend!”

  “I should hope not,” Elizabeth replied, leading her friend toward a sofa by the fireplace. “It is I who have missed you, for I have not had such ample delights to keep me distracted.”

  “I daresay you have. Darcy House looks much changed since the autumn.”

  “Pah! What is redecorating a house compared to a tour of Europe?”

  “Oh Lizzy, it was utterly sublime! We arrived in Brussels in time for a lavish Twelfth Night celebration, and it was everything I had hoped. And then we saw Geneva and Lake Lucerne, and a great many picturesque little hamlets. We were only a day or two in each place before we moved onto the next, for there is so much to see! How much I have to tell you, but I promised Richard I would wait. I shall have to leave you in suspense until dinner this evening.”

  Elizabeth called for tea, and then turned back to her friend. “Where is Richard this morning?”

  “We were expecting to find you all at home, but the footman told us everyone else had gone to Lady Catherine’s house. Richard was eager to see his sister, and dear Georgiana, and so he headed over there directly to surprise them all. Why did you not go yourself? Did you quarrel with Lady Catherine?”

  “No. In fact, she and I have been getting on remarkably well since our reconciliation. William and the girls even took little Julia on their visit this morning. It is good to see Lady Catherine dote on her. I have been otherwise employed this morning, with preparations for Mary’s birthday celebration. That is why I needed the house to myself. Rebecca, Georgiana and I have been planning a surprise party for her, though I think the festivities tonight will have to share the distinction of welcoming you and Richard home.”

  “A surprise party, what fun! I am sorry if I have detained you from your preparations, but I should be delighted to help. I have spent six entirely decadent weeks abroad – it shall do me good to get back to normal and make myself useful.”

  Elizabeth eyed Marianne incredulously for a moment, but led her friend into the larger parlor across the hall. It opened up into the music room, and would serve well enough as a small ballroom for Mary’s party, allowing enough space for half a dozen couples to dance, with a card table to be set up at the back, a space for a quartet of musicians to play for them, and several chaises placed along the side for those who did not wish to dance. The servants were already working on the arrangements, though Elizabeth preferred to handle the more minute decorative details herself.

  There was still a great deal to be done, and as Marianne took in the current shambles that would need to be transformed before their guests arrived, she burst out laughing. Gesturing at the garlands and decorations, she cried, “Good Heavens, Lizzy, I daresay you are lucky I am here!”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “Mary will say it is too much, I know, but to me it is no less than she deserves. I am going with an enchanted woodland theme, for she was quite enamored of the landscape in Derbyshire. I hope she will like it.” The two friends set about their work, stringing up garlands and draperies, and arranging silk-woven branches to create the ethereal effect of a forest in the room.

  Marianne was determined to wait for her husband to tell any stories about their trip through Europe, so Elizabeth instead took it upon herself to fill her friend in on all that she had missed in London, for the Darcys had been there for over a month already. “Your sister Mrs. Dashwood had the cheek to call upon me when we first arrived. It was very awkward, and she asked a great many impertinent questions about you and Richard.”

  “I am not surprised,” Marianne grumbled. “She called upon me as well, but I have no desire to see her. Grasping, tedious woman!”

  “What, she has called on you already? Did you not just return to Town?”

  “We arrived four days ago,” Marianne replied sheepishly. “Do not be angry with me, Lizzy; it was quite a tiring journey, and Richard and I only wanted a few days to ourselves. But since we have been back, Fanny has called nearly every day, though I turned her away each time. I would have done that anyway; honestly, we had no wish to see anybody quite yet, and I would certainly not wish hers to be the first face I see after such a happy journey.”

  “I cannot say I blame you. I do not know why she would wish to call on me, though. Heaven knows what dreadful slander about me Jane has filled her head with. I suppose it was only morbid curiosity that brought her here, no doubt hoping to find some fault with me that she might report back to Jane.”

  “Is she still in Scotland?”

  “I suppose. In truth, I do not know. None of us has had a word from her since she went away, unless she has written Mamma at Longbourn.”

  “Did your mother go back to Longbourn? Poor Mr. Martin!”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Yes, well, he did extend the invitation when he and his sisters came to us at Christmas. I think he was angling for more time with Mary, but Mamma has perversely chosen Lydia to accompany her instead.”

  Marianne snorted with amusement. “I cannot think of anyone less suitable to be mistress of Longbourn than your youngest sister. I know it is wicked of me to say, but, truly, what was she thinking?”

  “Oh, she was very angry with us,” Elizabeth replied, teetering on the footstool as she draped a swath of thin green crêpe over a sconce.

  “I cannot imagine why your mother should be mad at anybody, with two daughters so well married, and Mary growing so accomplished at Pemberley. I am prodigiously proud of her, dear girl.”

  “You and Rebecca have that in common. Rebecca and Mary are quite thick as thieves these days, and I am so happy for her. She has made remarkable progress on the pianoforte and the harp since we have been in Town, we have convinced her to give up singing entirely, and she no longer mentions Mr. Fordyce’s sermons! If only Lydia had the same willingness to improve herself.”

  “Is that why you quarreled?”

  “Predictable, is it not?” Elizabeth stepped down to sprinkle some artificial leaves in the corners of the room. “Yes, Mamma was not pleased to learn that Lydia would not be making her debut this season alongside Mary and Georgiana, though Lydia has done little to earn the privilege. We brought her with us to the Twelfth Night ball, and she made such a spectacle of herself that I daresay it may be quite some time before the Banfields invite us back again.”

  “It must have been very bad indeed,” Marianne whispered with bemusement. “I daresay the Banfields are so amiable they could forgive just about anything.”

  “Anything but walking in on Lydia seated on Lady Banfield’s brother’s lap,” Elizabeth whispered, drawing near her friend so that the servants might not overhear.

  Marianne giggled. “Poor cousin William! I imagine it must have been most uncomfortable for him to discipline her.”

  “Unfortunately, he has grown quite accustomed to being required to do so. Still, he was willing to give her every opportunity to show some manner of contrition, but you know Lydia. And so Mamma decided that if Lydia was not out in London, they would return to Meryton, where Lydia may be considered out; hence they have been once again unleashed on our unsuspecting former neighbors this last month.”

  “And you are happier for their absence, I think?”

  “And now that you are back, my happiness is complete,” Elizabeth said, beaming at her friend as she hung a bough of silk flowers above the doorway to the music room. She stepped down to admire her handiwork, and had just given a sigh of contentment when the sound of voices carried down the hall.

  “What, back already,” Elizabeth cried, rushing toward the doorway to conceal what she intended to be a surprise for her younger sister. Elizabeth halted in her steps as Georgiana bolted past her, sobbing wildly as she threw herself on to the nearest sofa. Richard, Rebecca, and Mary spilled into the room after her, forming a protective circle around the weeping girl as Darcy handed little Julia off to
her nurse and approached his wife with a thunderous look.

  Elizabeth took in the shocking scene with no little alarm. She had only seen William looking so severe once before, when Jane and Wickham had threatened to expose Georgiana’s dreadful secret. Elizabeth felt a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  ***

  Marianne looked on in frozen horror; this was hardly the blissful family reunion she had imagined when she had set out that morning. Rushing toward her husband, she cried, “Richard, whatever is the matter?”

  Richard reflexively slipped his arm around her waist and drew her near as he stared helplessly at his young cousin, who wept into the cradle of arms and shoulders Rebecca and Mary had formed around her. It was William who answered her, his voice cold and stony. “It is everything I feared, everything I have tried so hard to avoid.”

  Elizabeth stared at him, aghast. “No,” she breathed.

  Richard nodded solemnly. “Apparently Georgiana’s secret is now being spoken of, in certain circles.”

  “Certainly not in Lady Catherine’s own home,” Elizabeth cried, wringing her hands as she took a tentative step towards Georgiana.

  Richard sank down into a chair across from Georgiana, pulling Marianne down into his lap and clenching her hand in his, his voice pained. “The weather being so fine, we all decided to walk out with our aunt and her houseguests. Robert and Kate are there, and for some reason Sir Gerald Sutton and one of his daughters. We were by the serpentine in Hyde Park when Georgiana decided to take a turn pushing little Julia in her perambulator. Apparently Miss Sutton approached her and made some untoward comments.”

  He paused for a moment as Georgiana’s weeping intensified, and then the girl broke away from her companions to sit up, her voice trembling as she spoke. “She knew about us. I do not know how, but she knew. She smiled at me and said that it is such a shame my daughter does not favor me more, for I have such lovely golden tresses. Hateful woman!”