would resist with my last breath,’ Arabella said. ‘I do not believe either he or my aunt can hope for it. I have made it clear that I do not wish to marry again.’
‘Oh, but you should,’ Melinda said, objecting to this instantly. ‘There are lots of nice gentlemen you could choose, Belle. You don’t have to marry Ralph.’
‘I certainly shall not,’ Arabella said and laughed. ‘Enough of me, Mel. Tell me, why are you in town? Is it just to buy some new clothes? I have decided to visit my seamstress while I am here. I do not need so very much, but I think I shall buy some new gowns for the winter.’
‘Oh…’ Melinda looked at her, a faint blush in her cheeks. She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘I came to see a doctor…a special one. I miscarried in the summer, you see, and my dear Harry wants to make sure I am quite well again.’
‘I am so sorry,’ Arabella said, instantly sympathetic. She too spoke in hushed tones—it was not something to be discussed too openly in public. ‘What a disappointment for you. I fear it does happen and it may be best to consult a really good doctor. He will be able to advise you concerning the future.’
‘Yes, well, I have, and he says there is no reason I shouldn’t go ahead and try again, so I shall.’ Melinda dimpled mischievously, a note of laughter in her voice now. ‘I wrote to Harry to tell him the news. He is quite pleased with the doctor’s advice, as you may imagine.’
‘Yes, I dare say.’
Melinda hesitated, glancing at her friend curiously. ‘If you do not marry, you will not have children, Belle. Have you thought about that?’
‘Yes. It is a sorrow to me that I did not conceive Ben’s child.’ Her eyes darkened with emotion, her voice low and throbbing.
‘Oh, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’
‘Do not apologise, Mel. I have decided that I must speak about these things. It is true that it still hurts me, but I do not want Ben’s memory to die and sometimes—’ She broke off, shaking her head. There were times now when she could not recall Ben’s face and that frightened her. She had lost him once; she did not want to lose her precious memories.
Their hostess was asking everyone to take their seats. Small sofas and elegant elbow chairs had been arranged about the room to give a clear view of the dais that had been set up for the convenience of the musicians. The evening was to begin with the soprano Madame Casciano’s recital and would continue with pieces from Handel’s Water Music and then everyone’s favourite, Mozart.
Arabella and Melinda settled down on a small sofa, quickly becoming engrossed in the music. Because she seldom attended an evening such as this in the country, Arabella was particularly enjoying herself and it was not until the interval that she sensed someone was staring at her. Looking up, she saw it was her cousin and he was staring in a way that made her feel decidedly uncomfortable. She turned away. She did not care for the calculating expression in his eyes. He had been behaving in an irritating manner from the moment he arrived to escort them here this evening.
‘Shall we go in to supper?’ she asked of her companion as they stood up.
‘Yes, of course.’ Melinda glanced at Sir Ralph and frowned. ‘Oh yes, I see. Poor Belle! If you are not careful, he will spoil your visit. Odious man!’
‘I shall not allow him to spoil anything,’ Arabella said, lifting her head proudly. She linked arms elegantly with her friend and they walked towards the dining room, where a cold supper awaited the guests. ‘I believe I am hungry.’ She gave Ralph a cool nod in passing, determined not to let his presence throw a cloud over her. ‘What shall we do tomorrow, Mel? I have no engagements yet.’
‘Harry is coming up to join me, but he will not arrive until the evening,’ Melinda said and looked happy. ‘I think I should like to go shopping.’
‘Yes, that would be most enjoyable,’ Arabella agreed and gave her arm a squeeze. ‘Oh, look, here is Captain Hernshaw coming to join us.’
He greeted them both warmly and offered to help choose their supper from amongst the array of delicious foods on offer. When he had selected the choicest titbits, he asked one of the circling waiters to carry it all to the table they had found by a window overlooking the gardens. It was a pretty view—small lanterns twinkled amongst the trees, giving them a magical atmosphere.
Arabella was relieved that her cousin made no attempt to join them at supper and even more so when her aunt came to sit with them, telling her that Ralph had taken himself off to meet some friends. She thought that perhaps he had realised that she did not care for his company and would have more pride than to persist with his pursuit of her. She had discovered in the past that a certain reserve of manner was usually enough to deter any but the most thick-skinned fortune hunter.
The remainder of the evening had passed very pleasantly and Arabella was smiling as she prepared for bed that night. She had enjoyed herself a great deal; though she suspected that Melinda would try to promote the interests of her brother-in-law when she could, it did not matter. She found him excellent company, but was not in the least interested in becoming his wife. However, Captain Hernshaw was not the kind of man to push himself forward without encouragement, and, although prepared to be friendly, she had given him no cause to hope.
Getting into bed, Arabella snuffed out her candle. She was tired and thought that she would soon sleep, but as she closed her eyes she found herself thinking of Charles Hunter. It was odd the way he had shut her out so suddenly that morning at the inn. Perhaps there was a secret heartache that made him wish to keep his distance from others—something that had caused those dark shadows beneath his eyes.
‘Well sir, I dunno as there’s much more I can tell you,’ Fred Lightfoot said and looked into his half-empty tankard thoughtfully. ‘As I said to his lordship, I knew there was summat going on in the woods that night. It had happened afore, see—but there were summat different about it that time. Sir Montague were a rum cove, if you ask me. A lot of them girls what they had up there were whores and it were just a bit of a lark, no real harm done—but the girl I found wandering mazed was gentlefolk. I knew it as soon as I saw her and that’s why I took her to a safe place I knew of. She didn’t seem to understand what was happening to her and I couldn’t look after a girl like that, sir. Like a frightened child she was, whimpering and shrinking from my touch, even though I told her I would not hurt her. So I went off to fetch my Mary and—’
‘When you returned she had disappeared.’ Charles frowned at him. He seemed honest and clearly Daniel trusted him. ‘Could Forsythe have come and taken her away?’
‘I doubt it, sir,’ Fred said and shook his head. ‘That cottage belongs to me now my grandfather’s dead and Sir Montague knew nothing of it. I intended to do it up for me and Mary when I got the time, but I’m going to sell it now we’ve got this place with the Earl of Cavendish.’ He scratched his head. ‘I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. It ain’t much, I know—but that girl what drowned herself, she were a village lass. And that’s all I know, sir.’
‘I was hoping for more,’ Charles said and frowned. ‘Can you recall what she looked like—the girl you helped?’
‘Yes, sir. Lingered in my mind she has, because I felt I should have done more. A pretty girl, sir, with soft fair hair hanging halfway down her back and eyes that were more green than blue…and I noticed a little
