“I do not feel it wise to deceive them regarding Mr Lomax’s absence. If they imagine that he will turn up on the doorstep at any moment—”
“They will plague me to death! Yes, they had better know the truth, then.”
“And what about Walter?” he said gently. “Perhaps you may feel that there is no need to reveal Walter’s rôle in Lomax’s departure? He meant no harm by it, after all, and—”
“Oh, do not defend him!” she cried. “What he did was unconscionable! To pass on rumour and hearsay, and of such a nature! It is bad enough that Mr Seymour, a man who wished to marry me, for heaven’s sake, should speak so of me, but for Walter to repeat such tales, and not once to ask me the truth of the matter… for him tobelieveit of me, when he has known me for so many years, and must know my character better than anyone outside my own family… Oh, it is beyond anything! You must not —cannotdefend such behaviour!”
The tears were falling again, so he patted her hand and murmured, “There, there, dear. Never mind, now,” in the vaguely embarrassed way of men faced with a weeping female. And since she had no wish to return home with the tear-stained appearance of a broken-hearted woman, she dried her eyes and watched the familiar fields and farms and cottages pass by, telling herself sternly that she was nearly home and the distress of Walter’s betrayal was behind her. She had now only the ordeal of telling her family of it, and dread settled in the pit of her stomach like a cannonball.
The sound of the carriages on the drive brought the whole family and half the servants out to greet them, but there were no smiles. Mama held a handkerchief to her eyes, and Lily, never able to restrain herself, rushed forward and flung her arms around Winnie, weeping copiously.
“Oh, Winnie! You poor, poor thing!”
It was clear that she was forestalled. Aunt Sofia, it must be supposed, had been busy with her pen and the rapidity of the Royal Mail had brought notice of Mr Lomax’s defection before her own arrival.
Uncle Alfred at once said, “Now, now, Lily, let your sister into the house before you drown her in your tears. Come, now, inside if you please.”
Mama stepped forward to hug Winnie fiercely and kiss her on the cheek, leading her up the steps and into the house, with Lily, still lachrymose, hanging on her other arm. Meanwhile, Harris and Lionel, not in the least interested in their older sister’s matrimonial prospects, competed to execute handstands on the wide top step and generally hamper the footmen unloading the luggage.
“Winnie, why do you not go upstairs and put on one of your pretty new gowns to show everyone, eh?” Uncle Alfred said. “When you have changed, you can join us in your father’s book room. Kitty, Hubert, Lily… shall we await her return in the book room? I could do with a glass of something. My throat is quite parched, for I never saw so much dust thrown up by the horses.”
Grateful for her uncle’s good sense, Winnie went, and before long her boxes arrived, followed by a rather breathless Martha, and there was the very mundane business of choosing a gown to wear, and then extracting it from the luggage, and getting washed and changed, and tidying her hair. By the time all was done, almost an hour had passed, and that was, she presumed, precisely as Uncle Alfred had intended.
When she finally descended to the book room, only Papa and Uncle Alfred were there, quietly sipping wine. Her father at once set down his glass and crossed the room to wrap her a tight embrace before the door had well closed behind her.
“My dear girl!” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “What a dreadful business! How distressed you must be! The scoundrel,to treat you so! What a knock you have taken, to have your hopes raised like that and then dashed to pieces. But you will recover. You must not let him destroy your happiness for ever. The heart is resilient, and you will learn to smile again and to enjoy life. We will help you to recover, and your mother already has plans in mind.”
“Plans? Oh dear,” Winnie said, unsure quite what to say, for it was not at all clear to her whether her father’s ire was for Mr Lomax or for Walter.
Uncle Alfred chuckled, and even Papa smiled wanly at this feeble sally, and released her.
“Ah, that is like you, to make a jest of it, but your spirits must be low indeed. Were you very much in love with Lomax?”
“No, Papa. I liked him well enough, but I was not at all in love with him.”
“Oh.” He looked taken aback. “Then why encourage his advances?”
“Because he was eligible and I should like to be married. I am twenty-four, after all, and it is not as if offers grow in every hedgerow, waiting to be plucked.”
“But to marry without love, Winnie! It is not at all what I should wish for you.”
“I think therewaslove, but it was all on his side. He certainly showed every sign of a strong attachment. If he were indifferent to me, then I should not contemplate matrimony with him, but he was extremely attentive… until he left town abruptly.”
“Hmm. Your Aunt Sofia thinks he has gone to put his estate in order for you, and will turn up here before too long, but I think we should not depend upon it, and from what your uncle tells me of Atherton’s involvement…” His expression was pained. “When I think how that boy has run tame in this house, treated almost as my own son, and always trusted implicitly, because of hisfather, and then to turn round and abuse you so wickedly! To scotch all your hopes, and so maliciously!”
Despite her own anger with Walter, despite all she had said to her uncle, Winnie could not help defending Walter from such an accusation. “I do not think it was malicious, Papa. Thoughtless, perhaps, and… and disloyal, but he truly thought he was acting in my best interests. He dislikes Mr Lomax himself, so he could not imagine that I might want to marry him.”
“That does not excuse it! To say such things of you— But that is all water under the bridge. What is done is done, and if your heart is not broken… well, perhaps it is not so bad as I feared. But still, I have told your mama and Lily that they are on no account to ply you with questions, or even mention the subject in your presence. Ifyoushould wish to speak of it, that is another matter, but I will not have you plagued by Lily’s excessive sensibility. They need not know of Atherton’s part in all this. Your mama already has a poor opinion of him on account of— well, no matter. He is still an earl’s son, and I should not care to set myself at odds with Rennington. But your Aunt Sofia has suggested that you might like to go to your Aunt Esme in Scarborough for a month or so, and your mother thinks it an excellent idea. These bathing resorts are very lively in the summer, and with these new gowns you have… and your hair has been cut, too… I must say, Winnie, you look very well, very well indeed.”
“Thank you, Papa. Aunt Sofia bought me some new gowns and bonnets and suchlike fripperies.”
“Well, she has done you proud, I must say. You have a little London polish, no? But you see, Winnie, after you turned down Seymour — a most eligible match, and all that a young lady would admire, or so Minna said — we supposed you were not much minded for matrimony. You stood aside for Hebe andMabel, and made a comfortable life for yourself here … well, we thought you were content to stay unwed. But this Lomax fellow has changed the landscape. It seems that you would care to marry after all, and since Sofia has rigged you out in prime style, it would be a pity not to take advantage of the situation. What do you say? A month or so at Scarborough, assemblies, evening parties, riding expeditions… you might meet someone of greater worth than this Lomax fellow, and more steadiness of character, too.”
“Thank you, Papa, but I am quite content to stay at home. I am not fond of dancing, you know, or of meeting new people. Mr Lomax was… fortuitous, but I cannot expect to meet another such so soon. It is six years since Mr Seymour offered for me, so perhaps in another six years, I may be lucky again.”
“But you will be thirty!” her father said, aghast.
Winnie laughed. “And Aunt Sofia was thirty-nine when she met Uncle Edmund. I have plenty of time yet. I can wait.”
