* * *
“Meddling. You all are the aristocrats of meddling! I am shocked. What must be your collective opinion of me? I cannot rate very high in your esteem if you find it necessary to manage and order my life for me. What words do you use to describe me? ‘She’s a little ninnyhammer, silly widgeon, pea-goose, hen-witted, paper-skulled—‘"
"That’s enough, Vanessa. You’ve made your point,” interrupted Mrs. Mannion with more asperity than was her wont.
“Now see here, Vanessa, you don’t know all that’s involved,” put in her father.
“You’re right. I don’t. But whose fault is that, may I ask? If you would be a bit forthcoming, Father, instead of treating us like so many baubles to decorate your home, you might discover we have a modicum of brains and could be of assistance.”
“There have been reasons for that, too,” Mr. Mannion said heavily.
“And pray, what might they be?”
“Vanessa, you are becoming unseemly.”
“Pardon me, Mama, but I find I have lost all control over my baser self. Who knows what I might do in this temperament. Perhaps throw myself at Mr. Wilmot and shockingly drape myself over his broad figure.”
“Vanessa! That will be enough!”
Mr. Mannion sighed heavily. “If we are not to find ourselves in seriously straitened circumstances living off Vanessa’s beneficence, she may have to do just that.”
“Mr. Mannion,” his wife said, “I do wish you would speak plainly without roundaboutation.”
“I overextended myself this season and faced the necessity of taking out some loans to tide us over until harvest. I used half my business as collateral. Mr. Wilmot purchased my vowels and is now demanding payment by the end of the week. He will trade Vanessa’s hand in marriage for an extension.”
“Why? Why does he so desire my hand in marriage?”
“Because you are the true owner of the other half of my business.”
“What?” she whispered, sinking into a chair by the fireplace.
He quickly told them his machinations of the past four years, often casting entreaties for forgiveness in Vanessa’s direction. When he completed his tale, he looked old and drawn, and for a moment, no one in the room moved or spoke.
Vanessa’s mind whirled at the implications of all he had said and also left unsaid. She shook her head to clear her dazed mind, then rose and crossed to her father’s side, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Father,” she said softly. “You have given me much to think about. Why don’t you lie down and rest, or sit in the library and read one of your beloved histories while I wrestle with these realities. Do not worry. I shall see our ship come in.”
“Not at your own expense!”
“Father, consider this. If Mr. Wilmot were a truly evil man, he would not have even attempted to court me. My distaste for him is derived mainly, I think, from the liberties he took at the theater. I have since had cause to learn that my reaction under the circumstances was extreme. Perhaps I should now offer him an apology.”
“Never!”
“Calm yourself, Father, and allow me to think further on the matter. I’m sorry if I appeared unduly sarcastic earlier. But I don’t believe pairing me with a wastrel such as Mr. Talverton is an answer either.”
He sighed again and rose from his dejected position on the sofa. His blue-gray eyes, so like Vanessa’s, were glassy. Vanessa’s soul cried at seeing her stalwart father a mere shadow of his usual self. She put her arms around him in a hug. He was surprised, but a faint trace of a smile eased the harsh, sad planes of his face.
She let go and stood away. He walked slowly, almost in a semblance of Jonas’s old, bent shuffle, to the door. Amanda rose to follow him, hooking her arm in his and laying her head on his shoulder as they went out of the room.
With her parents’ exit, Adeline laid aside all pretense of working on the quilt. “So, sister, where do we go from here?”
“I suppose I marry Mr. Wilmot.”
“No, Vanessa, you can’t!”
“Don’t fear, I believe I have a few tricks I may play. When is Charles returning to town with Paulette?”
“I believe early Wednesday morning. I will admit, I am astonished to discover Mama corresponded with Louisa about Paulette’s infatuation with Mr. Talverton, and between them, they orchestrated last weekend just so Paulette could meet Count Baligny,” Adeline said. “Do you think two extra days in the country will solidify Paulette’s relationship with the count?”
“If it can be managed, she shall do it,” Vanessa said, leaning her head back against the sofa. “The young man lacks Mr. Talverton’s worldliness and ability to step out of the line of fire adroitly. Mama and Louisa signally failed to take that into account in their matchmaking. I was most surprised to learn Mama considers Mr. Talverton an appropriate suitor for me.”
