The two men finished their coffee and then left the parlour.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Thanks to their parents’ belief that knowledge is power, Jane, Lizzy, and Mary were informed about the fraudulent application soon after their father returned from the meeting at White’s.
“We do not want you to be afraid, and at least until the woman comes for her interview, keep to your normal routines. The guards are aware of the situation and are always vigilant in protecting you girls and, when he was younger, Jamey.” Holder looked at his son affectionately. “They will be even more careful now. For the same reason we met at the club, in case we are being watched, we do not want to scare away the one or ones behind whatever this plot is before the woman comes to meet with your mother and me.”
“Why was I not present at the meeting?” Jamey demanded, a little peevishly.
“Because it was at the time that you walk or ride with your sisters in the morning,” Edith responded. “You heard your father say that we do not want to give any potential watcher the idea we know what they are about. We want the woman to feel confident when she arrives.”
“You will be with us in the meeting,” Holder assured his son. He turned to his daughters. “You must know we would never gamble with your safety.”
“And we never suspected you would, Papa,” Jane said as Lizzy and Mary nodded their agreement. “We appreciate that you have shared the truth with us and not treated us like some delicate flowers who will wilt at knowing there is danger in the world.”
“If anyone misbehaves around me, I will use what John and Brian have taught us on them,” Elizabeth insisted.
Not long after the two huge men and others came to work for the Carringtons as guards, Elizabeth had seen them practising fighting skills in a barn at Holder Heights. She had demanded to learn how to fight as well.
A compromise had been reached; Jane, Lizzy, and Mary would be taught enough to be able to defend themselves if it was ever needed. After about a year of self-defence training, the girls had been instructed on how to care for, load, reload, and shoot a Queen Anne pistol. Like everything else they learnt, the girls attained a high degree of proficiency, which had calmed their parents who had agreed that when out of the house, their daughters could have a weapon on their person.
Thanks to her memory abilities, Elizabeth had learnt the quickest and happened to be the best shot of the three sisters.
“I doubt that will ever be necessary with the footman-guards always near one of you,” Edith stated. She was aware that of all her daughters, Lizzy was more than likely the one who would ever employ what she had learnt to defend herself. “That being said, it is comforting to know that you all know what to do if it is needed.”
“As soon as we have some answers, you ladies will be informed. I will not keep the truth from you,” Holder vowed. He did not mention Matlock’s hypothesis about who could be behind this. He would know more on the morrow.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Wickham was supremely confident that Karen Younge would be employed as a companion on the morrow, and then in a few months, the spring at the latest, he would be able to gain his revenge.
Unlike what he told his accomplice, he would not just hold her for ransom as he had originally planned. No, he would spirit her away to Gretna Green. After days of travel in his company, sharing rooms at inns along the way, all without a chaperone, she would be utterly ruined and would have no choice but to agree to marry him over the anvil.
Married toLadyElizabeth, he would not need to leave England; he would have her dowry, and in return for not beating his precious so-called daughter daily, he would demand an estate from Lord Holder. That one he had purchased in Hertfordshire would do nicely.
An estate would make him a member of the gentry and supply him with an ongoing income to ensure he would always have money even if the cards went against him now and again. Being the son-in-law of an earl would be far greater than godson to a landed gentleman. With this brilliant plan, in one fell swoop, he would revenge himself upon all of those who had wronged him.
He had ceased watching Holder House and those walking or riding in the park since Karen wrote and posted her letter of application. The last thing Wickham needed was to be caught following the residents of the house when he was so close to having his dupe join the household.
Now that it was less than a day, Wickham was counting the hours until Karen went to Holder House.
He would be close by on the morrow; how close would depend on the placement of the footmen in the front of the house. There were times two men stood in front of the doors, but other times, in addition to them, one or two men were close to the end of the semi-circular drive reaching Park Lane.
George Wickham could not remember the last time he had felt so happy. The morrow would be a great day!
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Caroline Bingley could not have been more dissatisfied with her life if she tried. Her disobliging brother had sentenced her to live with her tradesman Uncle John, Aunt Hildebrand; and their four children—three sons and a daughter.
At first, her cousin Angela, two years younger than Caroline and the oldest of the four, had tried to befriend Caroline, but she had no interest in getting close to another daughter of trade. She had remained aloof and ignored her cousin, and thankfully Angela had understood not to bother her betters, so she had left Caroline alone.
Having to eat every meal with the family was another punishment for Caroline. Unless she were ill, and her aunt would verify the truth if Caroline claimed illness, there were no trays in her room. How plebeian of her family to keep country hours. How she hated getting herself out of bed every day before midday.
Writing to Louisa to beg that she intercede with their cruel brother had not borne any fruit either. Her older sister had written back, only once, telling her to take the opportunity to become a better person. As if she, Caroline Maleficent Bingley, needed to be better! She was the best person she knew! She decided Louisa was jealous of her, which was why her older sister refused to assist her.
The worst part of living in this purgatory was the fact that she had no control over her money. Her quarterly allowance was sent directly to Uncle John, and she received no coin for herself. If she claimed she needed some funds to make a purchase, one of them would go purchase the item and give it to Caroline. They would only do so if her aunt or uncle agreed it was needed. Thanks to them doing this, she was left with nothing to sell to get funds. Her jewellery was confiscated because she had tried to bribe one of the footmen with a ring to return her to London during the journey to Scarborough.
Because of her aunt’s and uncle’s draconian rules, even had she something to sell on the rare occasions she was allowed out of the house, Caroline was always escorted by a maid and a footman. If she needed to be measured or fitted for a dress, which hardly ever occurred, the maid would accompany her at all times.
