“I would not be able to face him if you did,” Maria implored.
“I understand,” Charlotte finally answered. It was not a promise to remain silent, though she knew Maria took it as such.
“We stopped here for another reason, besides meeting you.” Maria retrieved a handkerchief from her sleeve. “We could not afford an inn. The last one we were in, someone broke into our rooms and took all of our funds.”
“All of them?”
“Yes,” Maria cried. “We were asleep. They woke us, and of course Charles fought them, but they got away with our purses.”
“If you are in need of funds, why did you not ask?” She would gladly give the woman money just so she could be on her way, soon.
“Charles doesn’t want Victor to know. He is embarrassed because he should have been able to take better care of me.”
Charlotte nodded her head sympathetically.
“As it stands, we cannot afford to return home because we cannot afford to stay the night anywhere and we cannot push the horses for days on end.”
“I will be happy to give you the funds, Maria.” Can I also hope you are leaving, Charlotte thought to herself.
“Thank you so much, Charlotte. I am so anxious to return home, having been gone for months now. You are a dear. I will pay you back as soon as I have the opportunity.”
“No worry, Maria,” Charlotte stated as she rose. “I will bring the money to you later.”
Maria stood as well. “Why can you not give it to me now, before Victor returns?”
“I do not have it with me at the moment,” Charlotte answered. Though it would be easy enough to duck into the book room and take the money from the safe, she did not want Maria to know that it was there, especially after Victor had warned her not to trust his sister.
The story Maria had told wasn’t likely true either, but Charlotte didn’t care. She simply wanted her gone.
Victorwasreturningfromthe stables after speaking with Jinx when Kingsley caught up to him.
“Might I have a word with you, Blackmar?” Kingsley asked, looking a bit nervous.
“Is something wrong?” Victor stopped walking before he could reach the house.
“It is your sister,” Kingsley blurted out.
“I am afraid I cannot help you. You are the gentleman who married her after all.” For which he would always be grateful. If Maria had needed another Season, Victor wasn’t sure she would have survived, which would have resulted in his own imprisonment.
“At first I was indulgent,” Kingsley began to explain. “This is our wedding trip after all. But your sister seems to think there is a never-ending source of funds. When I began limiting her in the amount that we could spend, she would pout. Later, she would be happy again, so I assumed it was another quickly changing mood, common among females.”
“That was not the cause?” Victor asked, not really caring since Maria was no longer his problem.
“No, she was secretly taking funds from the various places I had hidden the money. I learned early on not to let Maria know the amount of money I possessed.”
Smart man.
“Unfortunately, I realized this too late.”
“How so?” Victor found himself asking, a feeling of unease coming over him.
“I didn’t realize until we were a day from here that we do not have enough funds to return to London.”
“And as my wife lived close, and is very rich, you decided to pay a visit,” Victor concluded for him, angry at his sister, and glad that he had been present when they arrived.
“I was going to appeal to your wife in private,” Kingsley quickly assured him. “I promise to pay back every shilling as soon as we are home.”
Victor really didn’t care. He would finance their trip home, as well as enough to enjoy luxurious comfort along the way if it meant they were leaving soon. “I will be happy to help,” he finally offered with a tight smile. “I will bring it to you after dinner.”
