“Now.” She leaned back and put her tea on the table. “Will you tell me how you came to be here, Miss Selkirk? Ridlington Vale isn’t the kind of place that people just decided to visit while on holiday…in fact, it’s awfully quiet most of the time.”
Harriet nodded, and for the first time a quick smile curved her lips. “That is perfect. I am seeking quiet.”
“A place to hide, perhaps?” Letitia tossed out the question to see what the response would be.
Silence fell for a few moments, as Harriet sipped tea. A play for time, if ever Letitia had seen one. But she was patient, and waited.
“You are close to being right, Miss Ridlington. I am looking for a place where I might find some peace. And this seems the ideal spot. Out of the way of the…the…”
“Rest of the world?”
“Well, not exactly.” Harriet risked a glance at Letitia from beneath her eyelashes. “You do have an illustrious resident. If I recall correctly, there is a Baron Edmund Ridlington?”
“My brother.” Letitia nodded. “We live a mile or so up the road from here, Ridlington Chase. You can’t miss it. Some of it is falling down, so you have to be careful in case the Chase doesn’t miss you.”
Smiling at the little jest, Harriet nodded. “’Tis the way of many an older home, sadly. Repairs become so costly they’re postponed. And once postponed…”
“The damage is done,” agreed Letitia. “Was it so for you and your family?”
“Yes.” Harriet’s smile vanished. She sighed. “May I confide in you, Miss Ridlington? I don’t know you, but I sense that you are a person who would understand my request for privacy in this conversation.”
Letitia leaned forward a little. “Of course, Miss Selkirk. Whatever you choose to tell me will be kept in utmost confidence. Word of a lady. I would be honoured should you decide to share your thoughts.”
“Very well.” Harriet took a deep breath. “I am escaping an intolerable future, Miss Ridlington. I refused to marry an elderly, debauched gentleman who wished for a brood mare. Having done so, I was informed that I had no other choice but to become another man’s whore, instead.”
*~~*~~*
Letitia blinked. “Good God.”
“Exactly.” Harriet smoothed the folds of her skirt. “Now you may fully understand my quest for quiet and a place off the beaten path.”
“Indeed. What an intolerable situation.”
“It is.” She looked up, her eyes worried. “I have a few pounds. Not much but enough to get me here and perhaps obtain lodging for a month or so if I’m cautious. But then what? I have no idea how to plan, what to do, where to go after my funds are exhausted. I have to become invisible, Miss Ridlington. It’s the only way to escape them.”
“Them?”
“My aunt and uncle.” Harriet’s mouth turned down. “My parents died two years ago. The ague. And my aunt and uncle arrived to announce they were going to be my parents from then on. I had not yet turned twenty-one, so I had no choice in the matter. All my family’s assets were left to me, to be released when I turn twenty-five.”
“Ah,” said Letitia. “The ugly spectre of money rears its head.”
“Exactly. I do not know when or how my uncle convinced the bankers that he was the legal administrator of his sister’s estate, until I came of age, but he did. I found out six months ago, when they introduced me to Sir Daughtry Mansfield and said I was to become his wife. The settlements, I learned shortly thereafter, were sizable. Guaranteed by Sir Daughtry, who demanded a virgin within whom he could plant his precious seed.” She looked disgusted. “He attempted to do so, in advance, just to make sure I was a virgin.”
“Oh no.” Horrified, Letitia leaned over and took Harriet’s hand. “Did he?”
The young woman met her gaze with a troubled look. “He had me on the floor, practically naked and was on top of me. But thankfully my maid appeared, screamed, and at last my aunt deigned to intervene.” She gave a short humourless laugh. “She chided Sir Daughtry as if he were a naughty boy. I was told to get up and cover myself and not act like a woman of loose virtue.”
“But…but...”
“Quite.” Harriet’s lips firmed. “That night I made it quite plain that I would never consent to marriage with that beast. Since I had attained my majority just prior to this event, they knew they could not force me to wed, but during the ensuing argument, my aunt let slip that my money had gone. They depended on me to make a financially acceptable match to replenish their coffers.”
Letitia knew this was not unheard of. Money ruled far too many decisions within the aristocracy, as far as she was concerned. She’d watched Edmund and his wife, Rosaline, as they struggled to rebuild an all-but-bankrupt estate, and it was not an easy task.
“And the whore part?” She had to ask.
“Well, perhaps that was a little dramatic of me. We attended a ball at the Montrose House three weeks ago. There, I was introduced to a Mr. Seton-Mowbray.” She paused. “I will admit he was a handsome man, with sharply defined features and an elegant countenance. But his eyes…they were the coldest blue I’ve ever seen. He looked me over as one would a horse at auction.”
“Oh how horrid.” Letitia listened intently.
