Page 101 of A Match Made On Duchess Square

But how did one cure madness?

He let out a pained breath. “Her mind snapped several years ago, and she has been living in a world of delusion ever since. Perhaps she has always been this way, but I don’t think so. She was never like this as a child. Or if she was, then she hid it so well that no one ever noticed. However, I truly think this illness came on later in life. Something changed in her. I have no idea how or why. I often question whether I could have prevented it had I noticed her condition sooner.”

“Oh, James. Even if you had, who is to say you could have done anything for her?”

“Well, I might have tried. But I was distracted coping with an ailing wife and young sons who required my attention. I had to worry about them in addition to dealing with the work required to maintain my estate and holdings.”

He was heartened to note Gwendolyn was still holding his hands as he spoke, although it probably meant nothing.

Still, he chose to take it as a good sign.

However, he remained troubled that Clement had found out about Cordelia. Not that it was a secret, for anyone attached to Milbury Hill or any of the neighboring estates would have known and told him. What bothered James most was that Clement had avoided reuniting with Gwendolyn and instead taken a day or two to investigate him.

A man in love should have gone to his beloved first, shouldn’t he? That Clement showed more concern over him instead of Gwendolyn was a troubling sign for her future happiness.

To James, it revealed several things about the man. First, that destroying an opponent mattered more to him than reuniting with his beloved. Second, that Gwendolyn would always come second in Clement’s heart.

How was he to convince her of this?

“My sister is not likely ever to come out of the sanitarium,” he continued. “I’ve asked the doctors, but they have no explanation for her mind’s deterioration. It does not stem from physical weakness or a known disease.”

Gwendolyn released a long breath. “Do the doctors have any indication when it started? You mentioned she was not like this as a child.”

“They have no idea. It is not like a normal illness, not like an ague or scarlet fever or cholera, when one can state with accuracy when it first occurred. In truth, she was never a happy person. I would best describe her as a sullen child. But she carried on with her life quite normally, engaged in activities she enjoyed. Joined the local ladies’ societies and often volunteered at church functions.”

“Sounds like quite a normal life.”

He shook his head. “Yes, it seemed so to me. However, in hindsight, there were probably hints.”

“Such as?”

“She never cared for Jessica. Isn’t that odd? Jessica went out of her way to be warm and welcoming to her, but Cordelia always found fault. No rants or rages, just subtle snipes. I never equated this as a warning sign. I just assumed she resented someone new stepping into my life and simply would not let go of it.”

“Well, I suppose if she ran your household…”

“But she never did, and never wanted the responsibility. I rarely entertained during my bachelor years, so it was never an issue about her serving as my hostess. I never asked her and never gave her cause to refuse. The few times I did entertain, it was with bachelor friends, and it would not have been proper to invite her into our midst.”

He paused a moment to reflect on the past, but quickly shook out of his thoughts. What mattered were the more recent incidents, the changes in her within the past five years. “I became aware something was wrong with her when first moving here. I was a widower by then and in need of help with my sons, so I invited Cordelia to move in with us at Milbury Hill. I had just acquired it.”

“Did she accept?”

“Yes, but she had been here no more than a week before I began to realize she would never be a help and could even be a danger to my sons.”

Gwendolyn gasped. “You thought she might have hurt your sons?”

He cast her a mirthless smile. “Yes, that was my fear when I learned she had been stealing from others.”

“Stealing?”

He nodded. “Usually trinkets, but occasionally she stole valuable items of jewelry. I was stunned, for I had provided her a generous allowance so that she would never want for anything.”

“Did she ever tell you why she began stealing?”

“No.”

“How did you find out she was a thief?”

“The Duke of Bromleigh and his wife, Cherish, held a house party the summer my sons and I moved to Milbury Hill. One of their guests, a rather sharp-eyed, clever young lady by the name of Florence Newton, suspected Cordelia had been the one taking jewelry at other house parties and quietly investigated on her own. I shudder to think what my sister might have done to Florence had she realized she was being watched.”