I’m fairly set on Lord Kasper, now, as her husband. Yes, he is a bit of a reprobate, but it keeps her close.
Candelstone
Lord Kasper! He is the worst of the worst! How dare he assume he could so easily pull all our strings!
She sighed, her anger simmering. He dared because the truth was, he could.
There was one more letter.
Sir Harry,
Congratulations on a job well done, and on your upcoming nuptials. I’m pleased you could see the benefits of marrying Miss Melville. She will be a tremendous asset to us on the Continent with you. More so than if she remained in England.
Yes, I agree. You will need to live the life associated with wealth. You will be provided the means to do so. It is worth it to have Miss Melville in our camp.
When is the wedding, and how soon can you sail for Portugal?
Candelstone
She set the last letter on the table with the others. She stared at them. Poor Harry. She sighed. She wasn’t angry at him. Well, not totally. She understood him, so it was hard to pull up the kind of anger that she should feel. He was a Candelstone soldier, and he followed his commander. If anything, she was angrier at herself for taking delight in solving coded messages. It wasn’t ladylike. Not that she could ever truly be ladylike, but still. And then to believe Harry’s lies about the bet in Whites! Of course, he’d arranged to have her brother see it and report to her it was there and in Nowlton’s hand.
She lowered her head into her hands as gentle tears flowed for all she’d lost, for all that might have been. Yes, Harry treated her well, but she’d never loved him. She’d married him in wounded pride and he led her to a life far different that she’d ever imagined. Changed her. She was no longer the girl Aidan fell in love with, nor the girl who fell in love with him. So much time and so many circumstances had passed. Yes, she ached in her heart for Aidan, but the past was the past. She could not go back. Their opportunity for happiness lay behind them.
She cried until there were no more tears. She leaned her head back against the chair’s cushions and stared blindly up at the ceiling. Oh, for life to have been different! But it wasn’t. She had to go on from here. But how? Did she tell Aidan anything? She compressed her lips together tightly, her face puffy and hot from spent tears.Oh Harry, she whispered.
Sometime later, there was a knock on the study door. Bella roused herself. She must have fallen asleep. The room was dim now.
“Yes?” she called out.
The door opened slowly to Gwinnie and Lady Malmsby.
She smiled wanly at them. “I survived, as you can see. It was rough, as Harry warned, but I have survived and am ready to move forward with my life.”
“Do you wish to talk about it?” Lady Malmsby asked.
“I would, but not now. I need to ponder all I’ve learned a bit more,” she replied. She pointed to the letters on the table. “These were most insightful and explain much.”
She laughed grimly. “At least I found out why Mr. Nowlton hates me,” she said as she walked past Gwinnie and Lady Malmsby. “Everyone says Harry was an excellent actor and storyteller. I believe he outdid himself regarding Mr. Nowlton and me. Now I find myself exhausted and famished.”
“Would you like a light repast sent to your room?”
Bella smiled. “That would be lovely.”
Gwinnie looked at her anxiously. “Will you feel up to going to Lady Amblethorpe’s Musicale this evening?”
“Where you will be playing?”
“Yes. I should like you to come. We have added a new member and a new instrument to our ensemble. A flute! It’s amazing how the flute has added to what we are doing. Joaquín also plays the guitar.”
“Joaquín. Is he Spanish? It seems all the Spanish play the guitar,” Bella said.
Gwinnie grinned. “Yes, he is Spanish. I believe it is a popular instrument in that country, unlike the flute. But I tell you, Joaquín makes the flute sing. And to fall in love with his music is to fall in love with Joaquín.”
“Was he that gentleman who walks with a limp who was here with the group last week to practice?” Lady Malmsby asked.
“Yes. The limp is from a Peninsular War injury. He was lucky not to lose his leg.”
“From what I could overhear coming from that room, he is good,” Lady Malmsby said.
