For the first time his expression slipped into a tiny frown. “Well… I paid for it, of course. We got it from the archbishop’soffice in York. Shapman would not have known how to obtain such a thing.”
She pushed him away angrily. “Soyoudid this! You arranged for him to be married to that… thatfemale. A poultry maid! When he could have married me!”
“He would never have married you, Tess,” he said in a low voice. “Believe me, he did not want it. All I did was to make it possible for him to marry the woman to whom he was already devoted.”
“He was devoted to me!” she cried. “He lovedme, not some stupid poultry maid.”
“No. He never loved you, although you dazzled him so much that he would do anything you asked. He even jeopardised his own life to please you. Believe me, everything I have done is for the best, for Shapman and his wife, and also for you, Tess, and one day you will understand that.”
“You are an arrogant, overbearing, interfering man. I wish you would just stop meddling in my life!”
“If you give up this foolish idea of marrying Ulric, then perhaps I will.”
“How else am I to get my hands on my own fortune?”
He gave a quick laugh. “You could always marry me.”
“Never! Never, never, never! I hate you so much, I would sooner die a penniless spinster than marry you.”
Pushing past him, she ran on up the track towards Corland. Oddly, she was crying again, and this time, it was not for Tom.
18: Money Considerations
Edward stood frozen, watching Tess’s retreating back. Well, he had made a mull of that! There she had been, in his arms, allowing him to kiss her and everything comfortable between them, and he had gone and ruined the whole thing — again. Every time he thought he was making a little progress with her, he found himself on the wrong side of her temper.
For once, his eternal optimism entirely deserted him. He would have to watch her marry Ulric, thereby ruining who knows how many lives, and it seemed there was nothing at all he could do about it. Such an amazing girl, to be thrown away on a man who could never appreciate her, and would never even see her except as someone to ride with occasionally. If she never went near the stables, Ulric would undoubtedly forget her very existence.
Yet Edward would have loved her forever and cherished her as she deserved to be. No one in her life had truly cared about Tess, or protected her as a girl should be protected. She had been left to find her own way in life, her mother restricted byher blindness, and her aunt, who might have taken an interest in the girl, occupied with her own brood. Tess had grown secretive and devious because of that neglect, and Edward was perhaps the only man of her class who did not mind that. Did not mind? He adored that aspect of her nature, for he was secretive and devious himself, if truth be told.
Eventually, voices approaching on the track from Birchall drove him to turn and walk back to the castle. He wondered forlornly where Tess had gone and whether, if he looked for her and apologised abjectly, she might be less hostile. Perhaps she might even let him kiss her again.
As he strode over the bridge to the castle’s main entrance, the butler rushed out to greet him.
“Oh, my lord, there you are! We wondered… when you dashed away so precipitately after Miss Nicholson… but she is here now. She returned a few moments ago.”
“I have seen Miss Nicholson.”
“Ah. Excellent. Captain Edgerton was enquiring for you, my lord.”
“Tell him to go and boil his head,” Edward said savagely.
“My lord?” the butler said, startled.
Edward sighed. It was hard to set aside the roiling emotions inside him and bring his mind back to more mundane matters. “Oh… tell him I will see him in a few minutes. Where is he?”
“The old schoolroom, my lord. Bedroom floor, south-eastern corner.”
“And remind me where my room is?”
“The south-western corner, my lord.” He flicked a finger and a footman jumped forward. “William will show you the way, my lord.”
Edward was grateful. Most great houses were modelled on a central block with wings to each side, and it was easy enough to navigate to one side or the other, but Corland was asolidly square house. He remembered, as he followed the silent footman up the stairs, that he needed only to turn to the left on the half landing and his door was directly opposite the top of the stair, but in his disordered state of mind, he was certain to have taken a wrong turn somewhere.
“Shall I send your man up?” the footman asked.
“No need.”
In the sanctuary of his room, he tore off his greatcoat, hat and gloves and sat on the bed in despair. It was a moment of unrelieved gloom. Just a few weeks ago, he had pridefully congratulated himself on having ordered his life perfectly to his own wishes. He had removed his mother and aunt from his orbit and established a delightful bachelor existence in town, and although he had to show himself at the occasional ball or musical evening or the wretched Almack’s to appease his mother, he could otherwise do as he pleased. It had amused him greatly to have a secret life that she knew nothing about and therefore could not scold him for. And how she would scold, if she knew what he did when she was not there to keep him in check!
