“That is all very well, but I have no wish to push Miss Nicholson into marriage just so that she can have control of her own fortune. There is much to be said for a woman controlling her own destiny. If she has her fortune in her own hands, then she can decide her own future. She is a spirited little thing, and I think her family neglected her somewhat. It is hardly surprising that she wants to be free of them, and it seems a pity thatshe should be thwarted in the end.” Luce said nothing, so he went on, “On the other hand, perhaps Lord Tarvin is the right person to deal with all this. He seems to want her, after all, unfathomable as that is, and she would be safe with him. What do you think? Advise me, Luce. Tell me what I should do, for I have not the least idea.”
“You should do what is right.”
“But what is that? What is the right thing to do?”
“Michael, you know the answer to that, in your heart. Are you ever going to get undressed? Or do you want me to help you?”
“You are just trying to distract me from the problem.”
“Is it working?”
“It might be. It just might be.”
***
Captain Edgerton was as good as his word, and went off straight after breakfast to find a goldsmith to value the gold bar. Tess was thrilled to discover that it was worth over five hundred pounds.
“Five hundred! So seventy-six of them… that would be…”
“Around forty thousand,” the captain said. He seemed subdued this morning, not his usual ebullient self.
“But some of the bars were bigger, so it could be more,” she said happily.
“And some were smaller,” he said sharply. “Miss Nicholson, what would you do with such a sum if it were yours absolutely?”
She deflated at once. “I had planned to marry Tom. The money would have paid for a decent house for me — servants, a carriage, clothes, that sort of thing. All the necessities of life that Tom’s earnings could not provide. He would not need to work, except for special projects. I thought we might start a little school for orphans or… or neglected children. He could teachthe boys woodwork and I could teach the girls a bit of sewing. But now… I cannot say. I could buy a small estate somewhere, I suppose.”
“As a single woman?” he said.
“Oh, I could find a companion.”
“It would still be scandalous,” he said. “And have you thought what would happen if it were seen that you have money of your own? Your trustees might well wonder how you came by it.”
“You are as bad as Lord Tarvin, trying to dissuade my from pursuing my dreams.”
“No,” he said evenly. “I am only trying to point out the possible pitfalls.”
“You think I should marry Lord Tarvin, I suppose.”
He shook his head. “I have no opinion on who you should marry, except that I hope you are as fortunate in your choice as I have been. Shall we walk around the town, ladies? Do a little shopping?”
Tess was never averse to shopping, although she bought little except a book, some new stockings and a small box of bonbons.
As it was the Sabbath the next day, Captain Edgerton and the servants went to the Minster to attend divine service. Tess was too restless for a sermon, so she stayed at the hotel, and Mrs Edgerton kindly kept her company. Tess quickly abandoned her book, a rather melodramatic novel, while Mrs Edgerton placidly wrote letters and then took up her needlework.
After a while, Mrs Edgerton said, “What is it that upsets you the most, Miss Nicholson — Tom Shapman’s treachery or Michael withholding your money?”
“Both!” Tess said with a sudden laugh. “And Lord Tarvin’s perfidy, too, and then there is the small matter of Papa’s will, not to mention Lord Rennington, who smiles and pats me on the head and tells me that he knows best. Every man thinks heknows best. Ha! Men are slippery, untrustworthy creatures, and I wish I need have nothing to do with them.”
Mrs Edgerton laid down her needle. “Yet you are betrothed to this man at Durham.”
“Poor Ulric! He deserves better than me. Yet who else can give me what I want?”
“Lord Tarvin?” Mrs Edgerton said archly. “I will not enumerate the advantages that would befall you as the wife of a peer, since you must be aware of them, but as a man, he is not so dire a prospect, is he?”
“He is autocratic, as all men are. When I first became friendly with Ulric, Lord Tarvin came tearing up from London as if his hair was on fire, telling me what I must and must not do. He was thoroughly obnoxious.”
“That does sound very bad, but perhaps he has softened since then? He seems very fond of you.”
