Lady Foxworth waved her hand in an almost absentminded way. “You are my first priority. Shall we depart immediately after breakfast?”
Agreeing to do so, Mary returned upstairs only briefly in order to retrieve her bonnet and write a quick message to Richard. But when she entered her bedchamber, she found Amy waiting with a letter. “This just came for you, my lady,” she said, handing the missive to Mary.
Recognizing her brother’s penmanship, Mary sank down onto a chair with a sigh and tore open the seal, her hand flying to her mouth the moment she finished reading what it said. “Dear God, he has lost everything,” she croaked, the words not sounding like her own. It was almost as if she’d stepped outside of her own body to watch a tragic play unfold.
Amy went completely still, her eyes meeting Mary’s “Surely not.”
“His house, the money I recently gave him... it is all gone.”
“How is that even possible?”
Mary shook her head as fierce anger stirred to life inside her. “According to this,” she said, crumpling the paper and tossing it aside, “he was taken advantage of. In fact, he claims he has no memory of how it happened but that there are witnesses who say he lost it all in a wager while he was too deep in his cups to think straight.”
“Then he should be able to argue momentary irrationality or something of that nature, should he not?”
“Not when he has already signed away the deed to Carthright House,” Mary gritted out. Honestly, she could murder her brother right now. How could he have allowed this to happen when he’d assured her that the money would be wisely invested? He’d been so enthusiastic about his ideas!
Staring at the letter, Mary tried to calm herself. As angry as she was with her brother right now, it did not compare with the livid fury that she felt for the people who’d swindled him. “As soon as I get back to London, I am going to find out who did this, even if it means hiring every Bow Street runner there is!” For now, however, there was little she could do other than help her brother in the only way she knew how. Heavy-hearted, she penned another letter to her bank before writing the note that was meant for Richard.
“If what you say is true,” Lady Foxworth said as she and Mary trundled along in the carriage a short while later, “then there is even more incentive for you to marry quickly.”
After telling her aunt about the letter she’d just received, it had taken a moment for the older lady to gather her wits in the wake of her initial shock. “My husband would not be obligated to help Andrew,” Mary said. “And I would never expect him to.”
“I should hope not!” Lady Foxworth’s mouth pinched around the edges while her eyes bored into Mary. “That brother of yours may have won the King’s favor by proving himself a hero during the war, but he clearly lacks common sense. In fact, I daresay it is a miracle that he even knew how to tell the front of a musket from the back of one and did not get himself killed instead. How he managed to save as many lives as he did, is absolutely baffling.”
Mary couldn’t help but frown. “I think that is a bit harsh.”
Lady Foxworth responded with a snort. And then, “He has been of no help to you whatsoever, Mary. In truth, he ought to have played a greater role in your coming out. As a baron, he has connections now. King George himself loves Andrew, for heaven’s sake. If he had cared, he would have introduced you to a slew of eligible young gentlemen. He would have danced with you at the balls you attended in order to draw attention to you. Why, even your dowry could have been larger if he had put the money that the king awarded him to good use.”
Although Mary knew that her aunt had a point, she loved her brother and could not help but defend him. “Clearly the cost of running Carthright House was greater than Andrew anticipated, not to mention the money that has been spent on repairs and the new furnishings that were required. These were all necessary expenses, Aunt. The trouble is that he has had some bad luck recently.”
“I do wish that you would stop making excuses for him, Mary.Youmay not be aware of how much it costs to run an estate the size of Carthright House, butIam.” She gave a pert look. “And I can assure you that the £50,000 that he was awarded would have kept Carthright House in good order for at least ten years. In other words, he is either overpaying the staff or has spent the remainder of his money on something else.”
“I cannot believe that,” Mary said.
“What I cannot believe is that you fail to see him for the fool he truly is. He gambled away his entire estate, Mary!”
“True,” Mary said, mourning her own losses. “But only because he was taken advantage of.”
Lady Foxworth shook her head with a sigh. “Either way, it is clear to me that you cannot count on him for financial support. And since your parents are not as well off as one might have hoped that an earl and countess would be, your options are limited. You could of course consider becoming a governess or a companion, but if I am to be completely honest with you, Mary, I think it would be a pity for you to throw away your life like that.”
Biting her lip, Mary had to agree. Especially now that she’d met Richard. Oh Lord, how on earth was she ever going to get herself out of the muddle she was presently in? Her brother was bleeding her dry, she was in love with a man whom everyone thought to be dead, and the villain who threatened her happiness had mysteriously vanished without explanation.
In addition to this, there was her future with the opera to consider. Richard had made no promises that he would allow her to continue singing in public if they eventually decided to get married. In fact, marriage had not even been properly discussed. She knew that she was probably to blame for that—that he was biding his time until she gave him some indication of being prepared to accept an eventual proposal.
“You are right,” she found herself saying. “I promise you that as soon as we return to Thorncliff I will set my mind to planning my future.”
“And since the Duke of Lamont will probably have arrived by then, I suggest you start by seeking him out.” Lady Foxworth beamed. “Can you imagine? I can think of nothing better than telling your parents that you are going to be a duchess.”
Mary could think of at least one, but refrained from mentioning him. Instead she said, “I believe we might be getting ahead of ourselves, Aunt. As it is, I have spoken to the duke on only a few occasions, and sparingly at that. Chances are that he will not even remember me.”
“Then it is time for us to make him more aware of your fine attributes. You would make an excellent wife, Mary, there is no doubt about that.”
Holding back a sigh, Mary leaned against the side of the carriage and looked out. She would speak with the duke if it would placate her aunt, perhaps even go for a stroll with him if he felt inclined to invite her. Later, however, while Thorncliff slept, she would seek out Richard, determined as she was to discover whether or not her future might include him, as she was increasingly inclined to believe that it would.
“There he is now,” Lady Foxworth said when they returned to Thorncliff later in the day. Having just turned onto the Thorncliff driveway, her aunt’s face was practically pressed up against the windowpane with the same degree of enthusiasm that a child might exhibit when passing a toy shop.
Following her line of vision, Mary’s gaze fell on a tall, broad-shouldered gentleman wearing a smart navy blue jacket, brown breeches, and tasseled Hessian boots. Dismounting from one of the largest horses that Mary had ever seen, he handed the reins to an awaiting groom and stepped aside, his face turning toward Mary and Lady Foxworth as their carriage pulled up in front of him. The Duke of Lamont looked just as imposing as when Mary had last seen him, his posture bearing the rigidity of a man in possession of great wealth and power.
