"But, my dear girl. The newspapers were full of it. It would have been hard not to. They said you had disappeared entirely, and then they said you might have—you know." She made a gesture with her hand.
"Killed myself? That might have been my sad fate had not the Robinsons so kindly taken me in.”
"Tell me your story," Honoria requested.
Ellen did. And because Honoria was such a good listener, Ellen told her everything else.
Drake.
The unsuitable proposal.
The hasty marriage.
Afterwards, Honoria clasped her hands together in prayer and bowed her head. Then suddenly she looked up. "Why are you so sure that the marriage is not legal?"
The question startled Ellen. "Well. Because I suppose we agreed it would not be real ... because we agreed to separate when it no longer served its purpose."
"It doesn't matter what you think. What matters is how the marriage was conducted. In church, with a recognised priest, you said your vows in front of two witnesses, a contract was signed, and the announcement was made in the papers ... . In the eyes of society, everything is right and proper, my dear." Ellen met Honoria's dark eyes, so like her son's. "So, from what you have told me, it appears that your marriage to my son is legal in the eyes of the law."
A cold stone settled in Ellen's stomach. "But that would be ... " She could not find the word.
"Would that be so terrible? To be truly married to my son? To be a true wife to him?" She looked at Ellen with searching eyes. "Ellen, dear. I would not want any other woman to be his wife. I have seen how good you are to him. When he is with you, he seems more balanced. Self-assured. You and the child could be the family he has been looking for all this time. Since we so dismally failed at it." She hung her head.
"He wanted a family?" Ellen stammered.
"How can there be any doubt?"
Suddenly it was all too much for Ellen. She stood up. "Thank you so much for this conversation. I hope that you are right. But we will have to leave now that Noni is better."
Lady Tewkbury nodded sadly. "Yes." She looked into the distance, then again at Ellen. "I would very much like to visit you in London."
"Of course." Ellen nodded. But who knew if Ellen would still be there when she came?
The carriage was ready,and Noni was wrapped in warm blankets. As Ellen said goodbye to Edmund's mother, Edward turned to Edmund and took him aside. Apart from their first conversation, they had spoken little during their stay at Penwick Hall, and when they had, it had always been in the company of others. Both had done their best to stay out of the other's way.
Edmund looked warily at his brother.
“There is something I wanted you to know." Edward stepped awkwardly from one foot to the other.
"Yes?"
"The other day. I was doing the accounts, and I found a mistake."
"I say, brother. It must have shaken the ground beneath you." Edmund curled his lips into a sneer.
Edward raised a hand. "Listen. It wasn't the first time, or even the second. But the third. I just want you to know that the steward mistakenly attributed the wrong amount to the wrong name. Matkin instead of Watkins. The other day, the same thing happened to me. The names are so deucedly similar. I just want you to know that this kind of mix-up can happen to anyone. Even to our steward, who is eminently trustworthy. And even to me." He hesitated. "Do you understand?"
Edmund stared at the toes of his boots and did not answer.
"And I want you to know that your land and your estate are in good hands. I shall look after them for as long as you wish. If you decide to take matters into your own hands, just say the word. But if you prefer to go to London and not have to worry about any of this, know that everything will be taken care of to the best of my ability."
Edmund found he had a strange lump in his throat.
He nodded. "I know. I wouldn't want anyone else to look after the estate." As he said the words, he knew he meant them.
Then he cleared his throat. "You will visit us in London, yes? And you must bring your wife as well."
Edward took his hand and squeezed it. "With pleasure."
