“Sir Charles spends morning to night in perpetual motion. I would bet that while in town, he goes from breakfast table to gaming table, to coffee house to dinner and the bottle, and then to a brothel.” Philip wondered if, so long as Sir Charles avoided the justice, he would think the day a successful one.
“That is harsh, and unlike you to be disingenuous to a man you scarcely know,” Vaughan admonished. “You know the real reason you loathe him.” He then leant back and crossed his legs. “Besides, I am not sure he needs to go to a brothel. It seems he finds willing servants, or finds the means to persuade them, wherever he goes.”
Philip threw himself into a chair. “Vaughan, he is dreadful, and because I was not bold enough to contradict General Tilney, I must escort Miss Tilney on a project where she has been all but sanctioned by her own father to flirt with him.”
“Do not be hard on yourself. When could anyone be at ease in General Tilney’s presence, let alone defy him?”
They sat silent for a few minutes while Philip tried to calm himself. What would Eleanor’s brothers say if they knew of her plan? Would they attempt to stop her? Frederick flirted like it was his hobbyhorse and seemed to think no woman was good enough to be loved by him. He would probably befriend Sir Charles. Henry would revolt at the idea of what Eleanor was doing, but his only advice would be to tell her to endure her father for a little longer.
And Eleanor has reached her breaking point, and she has nowhere else to go.
“You know, that living can still be yours, if you want it,” Vaughan said, “as soon as it becomes vacant. It is worth five hundred a year, and by the time you get ordained, maybe the incumbent...”
Philip shook his head. “I have no inclination, and would have no talent in that field.” His cousin had often offered to use his patronage to help further a career in the church. But Philip’s shyness and his complete disinterest would make him a terrible clergyman. The only natural talent he seemed to possess was in advanced mathematics—not that it was a gentlemanly career—and if he entered the church, he would not have the time to put that skill to use.
And I would be miserably unhappy. Like Eleanor is.If he was this irritated with General Tilney’s dictatorial manner, what must it be like for her at the Abbey? As much as it cut out his heart, he understood her choice. He hated the powerless feeling settling in his chest, but Eleanor had probably felt helpless and captive every day of her life since her mother died.
“I suppose five hundred a year, plus your own income, would still not be enough for the general,” Vaughan said gently.
“A thousand pounds a year is not even close to what General Tilney wants for any of his children.”
Henry had the means, as a man and with a profession and a fortune from his mother, to defy his father and marry where he wished. Dear Eleanor had nothing of her own at all, not even the pearls her mother had set aside for her.
“Did you ever even ask Miss Tilney to marry you?” Vaughan asked.
“No, I did not presume so far.” He had been half-ready to offer his hand along with his heart a dozen times over the last five years. “What is the point, when her father would refuse?”
“You would not be the first couple to flee to Scotland and come back married. And social outcasts from some circles,” he added.
Philip shook his head. “Eleanor would never receive the fortune due to her, and her father would see her shunned by their mutual friends. Who would defy him and support her?” General Tilney would see both of them hated, their reputations ruined.
“As far as fortune, though, you could live on your income. I doubt Miss Tilney would not be content on five hundred a year.”
He had had this conversation with himself over and over. “Vaughan, what kind of man would I be if I took a young lady from her father and ran off with her to Scotland? First, everyone would assume that she had to marry me in haste. Second, they would think her a fool because the general would be within his rights to keep her settlements if she marries without his approval. The gossips would not care that I could provide for her, that we had known each other all our lives.” His own father was the younger son of a viscount; he might not have the fortune or the title, but he had the honour of a noble man. “Besides, he would never welcome me into their family—”
“Do you want to be liked by him?” Vaughan cried.
“Only for her sake,” Philip said.“If I approach General Tilney, he will say no, will throw me out of the house, and will forbid me from seeing her. And if we eloped, her good name is forfeit, he would hate her, hate me, and keep her money from her, and turn our friends against us, calling into question the respectability of both of us.”
“Sir Charles is liable to do the same if he realises you are in love with his wife.”
“Which is why I shall slowly draw back from her.” Philip sighed dejectedly, leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Well, on other matters, you are determined to go to Kent?”
Vaughan gave a bark of laughter. “Of course I am!”
“But Lady Longtown’s friend—”
“Friend’s sister.”
“—left Tunbridge Wells with influenza and went to Westerham and died there. Lady Metcalfe lives in that neighbourhood; it could be the centre of an infection. With your asthma, it might be wise to wait.”
The viscount shook his head and said, “I refuse to miss my—Lady Metcalfe’s daughter’s birthday.” In a calmer voice he added, “I am sure it is nothing like the autumn of ’94 outbreak.”
“You are staying with Sir Lewis!” Philip cried in disbelief. “Lady Longtown’s friend’s sister died in that house. Vaughan, please, show some sense. Think of your asthma. Wait a fortnight at the most.”
“To ease your mind, I can stay with Lady Metcalfe even before her husband leaves in June.” Philip opened his mouth to protest, but Vaughan held up a hand. “It is not ideal, but Iamgoing tomorrow.”
Philip felt a heaviness in his stomach, but knew he was defeated. He put on a small smile and said, “Well, you had best take care of yourself because I have no interest in being a viscount.”
