“You are a good friend to me, Edward,” she murmured into the smooth wool of his coat.
“I have no wish to be yourfriend.”
She lifted her head to gaze up at him. “I may not need a husband, but I shall always need a friend. Will you not be a friend to me? Help me to keep Ulric happy, at least.”
“That much I can and will do.”
“And climb trees for me… and kiss me when I am upset.”
He laid his lips on hers for a moment, and with his free hand softly stroked her cheek. “Ah, Tess! I had my life just as I wanted it until you came along and upended everything. I do not want to be only your friend, but if that is all I can be, then I shall be the best and truest friend there ever was.”
And then his lips were on hers again, burning into her with a fervour that seemed to be more desperation than desire. She surrendered happily to the moment, content in his arms. Her life might be strange and unsettled just now, and the future uncertain, but none of that mattered when Edward was there to hold her tight and kiss her worries away.
Her friend… her best and truest friend.
***
The letter was so unexpected that Tess had no idea what to make of it.
‘To Miss T Nicholson, Corland Castle, North Riding. My dear Miss Nicholson, Forgive me for writing to you when we have not been introduced, but it seems to me that your betrothal to Mr Ulric Frith permits me to make the approach. My husband, Sir Ernest Peterson, and I are very fond of Ulric, regarding him almost as a son, and wish to do everything in our power to forward his happiness. To that end, we feel it would be helpful to both of you if you and Ulric were to pay a visit to Myercroft for a few days, so that Ulric might show you around your future home. There may be changes or improvements you will wish to undertake beforeyour marriage. The only other person we have invited is Lord Tarvin in his capacity as a trustee of Ulric’s estate. It will be helpful while you are here to discuss the winding up of the trust fund, your marriage settlements and the arrangements for us to depart from Myercroft. Although our lease runs until Lady Day, for Ulric’s sake we will vacate the house before that date, if that is what you wish. I shall also be writing to Lady Alice Nicholson to request her permission for you to come to Myercroft. Respectfully yours, Jane Peterson.’
The letter to her mother had clearly arrived at the same time, for Tess was summoned to her mother’s sitting room.
“Are you persisting in this foolish marriage, Tess? Lord Tarvin told me the truth about Mr Frith, you know, so you cannot pretend that this is a match of affection.”
“I have never pretended any such thing,” Tess said with dignity. “If you dislike it, you may blame Papa, who tied up my inheritance so that I have no alternative but to marry.”
“But not to a half-wit!”
“Ulric is not a half-wit, Mama. He is not a man of much brain, but so long as he has horses about him, he is perfectly content.”
“Why can you not marry a proper gentleman, as your father intended? Lord Tarvin, for instance.”
“Lord Tarvin, Lord Tarvin!” she cried, pacing angrily across the room. “What is so wonderful about Lord Tarvin?”
Her mother sat placidly, hands neatly folded in her lap, her sightless eyes following the swish of Tess’s skirts back and forth. “I am sure it does not matter to you that he is a baron, and very wealthy, and would make you mistress of a great house, and that attitude is very proper. Such details do not weigh with me either. So long as your husband can keep you in comfort, and support a family, rank and position do not matter very much. But Lord Tarvin is a pleasant young man. I like the sound of his voice, his manners are good, as far as I can judge, and I am told heis well-favoured. And he loves you, Tess. There can be no better husband for a woman than a man who adores her.”
“But I do not love him.”
“No. The only person you love is yourself, Tess. I live in hope that one day you will grow up and realise that there are other people in the world who care about you, and are hurt by your selfish ways.”
“No one cares about me! You and Papa have never cared about me, or whether I am happy or not. You only ever wanted me to creep away and not bother you, to be silent and behave like a little mouse and do whatevergoodgirls are supposed to do. And now you want me to go away and marry Lord Tarvin so that you will not have to think about me ever again! Well, I will not creep away or be silent, nor will I marry a dull old stick like Edward, so you need not think it! Pleasant young men bore me to tears, Mama, and if you knew anything about me, you would understand that. So I am going to manage my own life, in a way that brings me the most happiness, and you may as well accept that.”
Irritatingly, her mother only smiled. Did nothing dent her composure?
“I cannot blame you for that, Tess, since it was precisely what I did myself. You think me a helpless creature, I dare say, and physically I am, but just because I am blind does not mean I must… how did you put it? Creep away and be silent. No, when my father wished me to marry the late Lord Tarvin and I did not, I made arrangements to see that matters turned out just how I wished. I had a little help, but it all resolved most satisfactorily, and no one suspected a thing. Except your father, of course.” Her smile softened. “No one ever pulled the wool overhiseyes.”
“No, the shoe was very much on the other foot,” Tess said savagely. “Papa was a wicked, deceitful man.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Alice said robustly.
“How do you think he compiled this fortune that I inherited? Not legitimately, that much is certain.”
“This house that the late earl left him—”
“—is but a small proportion of it!” Tess cried. “The largest portion of that money came from embezzlement of the earl’s rentals from his tenants. A farmer would hand over twenty-five pounds and Papa wrote down twenty in the earl’s books and pocketed the difference. And that house in Pickering… Mrs Mayberry was not a respectable woman, and nor were her nieces. They were not her nieces at all, I expect.”
“No,” Lady Alice said firmly. “You are mistaken, Tess. You have misheard something, or misunderstood it, I am sure. Your father was a good man.”
