Edenbrooke Page 2

  (Incidentally, as your sister, I can forgive you for writing things like, “I would rather have sunshine and wind and sky adorn my head than a handsome bonnet.” But, please, I beg of you, do not say such things to others. I fear they would find you quite shocking.)

  Knowing of your current state of misery, I shall not bother you with an account of all that I have done this past week. I will say only this: my first season in Town is as diverting as I had hoped it would be. But I will not try your patience today with saying more than that, lest you tear up this letter before reading the important news I am sending you.

  My dearest friend Louisa Wyndham has invited me to stay with her at her estate in the country. I understand it is very grand. It is called Edenbrooke and is situated in Kent. We leave for the country in a fortnight. But here is the important part: you are invited as well! Lady Caroline has extended the invitation to include you, as we are both daughters of the “dearest friend” of her childhood.

  Oh, say you will come, and we shall have the grandest time imaginable. I might even need your help in my quest to become “Lady Cecily” (doesn’t that sound grand?), for, of course, the brother will be there, and this is my chance to secure him. Besides, it will give you an opportunity to meet my future family.

  With devotion,

  Cecily

  Hope gripped me so hard it left me breathless. To be in the country again! To leave Bath and its horrid confines! To be with my sister after being apart for so long! It was too much to take in. I read the letter again, slowly this time, savoring each word. Of course Cecily did not really need my help to secure Sir Charles’s affections. I could offer her nothing that she could not do better herself when it came to courting. But this letter was proof that I was still important to her—that she hadn’t forgotten me. Oh, what a sister! This could be the solution to all of my problems. This could give me a reason to twirl again.

  “Well? What does your sister say?” Grandmother asked.

  I turned toward her eagerly. “She has invited me to go with her to the Wyndhams’ estate in Kent. She leaves from London in a fortnight.”

  Grandmother pursed her wrinkled lips, gazing at me with a speculative look, but said nothing. My heart dropped. She would not refuse to let me go, would she? Not when she knew what it would mean to me?

  I pressed the letter to my chest as my heart ached at the thought of being denied this unexpected blessing. “Will you give your permission?”

  She looked at the letter she still held—the one bearing the bad news about Mr. Kellet. Then she tossed the letter onto the table and sat up straight in her chair.

  “You may go, but only on one condition. You must alter your wild ways. No running about out of doors all day. You must learn to behave like an elegant young lady. Take lessons from your sister; she knows how to behave well in society. I cannot have my heir behaving like a wild child. I will not be embarrassed by you, as I have been by that nephew of mine.”

  I stared at her. Her heir? “What do you mean by that?”

  “Exactly what you think I mean. I am disinheriting Mr. Kellet and bestowing the bulk of my fortune on you. At this time, your portion amounts to roughly forty thousand pounds.”

  Chapter 2

  I knew my mouth was open, but I could not seem to find the strength to close it. Forty thousand pounds! I had no idea Grandmother was that wealthy.

  “Of course,” she continued, “there is no estate attached to it, but hopefully you will marry into one. The least you could do with my fortune is try to achieve a brilliant match.” She stood and walked to her writing desk. “I know the Wyndhams. I will write to Lady Caroline myself and accept the invitation on your behalf. A fortnight will leave us just enough time to have new gowns made for you. We must begin preparations immediately.”

  She sat at her desk and pulled a piece of paper toward her. I could not seem to move. The course of my life had just changed, with no warning and no pause.

  She glanced up. “Well? What do you have to say?”

  I swallowed. “I . . . I don’t know what to say.”

  “You might start with thank you.”

  I smiled weakly. “Of course I’m grateful, Grandmother. I am only . . . overwhelmed. I’m not sure I am suitable for this responsibility.”

  “That is the point of this visit to Edenbrooke—to make yourself suitable. The Wyndhams are a very respected family. You could learn much from being with them. In fact, that is my stipulation. I will have you become a proper young lady, Marianne. You will write to me while you are there and tell me what you are learning, or else I will call you back here and train you myself.”

  My thoughts were whirling, and I could hardly grasp onto one long enough to make sense of it.

  “You look pale,” Grandmother said. “Go upstairs and lie down. You will find your balance soon enough. But do not mention a word of this inheritance to that maid of yours! It is not the sort of information you want others to know about at this time. If you cannot discourage a simpleton like Mr. Whittles, you will be helpless against other, more cunning men who will be after your fortune. Let me decide when to make this news known. I still have to notify that nephew of mine.”

  I shook my head. “Of course I will not tell anyone.” I chewed on my lower lip. “But what about Aunt Amelia’s inheritance? And Cecily’s?”

  She waved a hand dismissively. “Amelia’s portion is independent of yours. Don’t worry about her. And Cecily does not need a fortune to make a brilliant match—you do.”

  This inheritance was born of pity? Because Grandmother did not think I could marry without it? I felt I should be embarrassed about this revelation, but I felt singularly unmoved, as if an important conduit between my mind and heart had been severed. I walked slowly toward the door. Perhaps I did need to lie down a while.

  I opened the door and was nearly bowled over by Mr. Whittles. He must have been leaning on the door, for he stumbled, off-balance, into the room.

  “Pardon me!” he exclaimed.

  “Mr. Whittles!” I stepped backward quickly so as to avoid contact with him.

  “I—I have returned for my poem. So that I might make the changes you suggested.”

  I looked beyond him to see Aunt Amelia waiting in the hall. At least that explained his presence in the house. I took his poem from my pocket and handed it to him, being careful not to touch his hand. He bowed and thanked me four times as he backed out of the room and down the hall to the front door. The man was utterly ridiculous.

  But at the sight of him, a feeling of excitement rushed through me, bridging the strange gap I had felt between my mind and heart. Never mind the inheritance—I would think on that later. I would soon be able to leave Bath, and hopefully never see Mr. Whittles again. I smiled and turned to run up the stairs. I had a letter to write.

  I wrote to Cecily to accept her invitation, but I did not mention the inheritance. Despite Grandmother’s assurances, I could not believe that Cecily would be as indifferent about not inheriting a fortune as Grandmother felt about not leaving her one. I certainly couldn’t keep forty thousand pounds to myself while my twin sister enjoyed only a small dowry. It did not sit comfortably with me to be at such an unfair advantage.

  But I decided, after a few days of worrying over it, that there would be plenty of time to work it out with Cecily in the future. After all, the fortune was not even mine at this point. And Grandmother was still spry. It could be years before the money came into my possession. For my part, I would tell no one of it until it actually became a reality.

  The following two weeks passed in a blur of frenzied visits to dressmakers and milliners’ shops. I should have enjoyed all of the shopping, but the thought of being on display at Edenbrooke turned my pleasure into anxiety. What if I embarrassed Cecily in front of her future family? Perhaps she would regret inviting me. And could I possibly behave myself with the decorum that my grandmother expected of me? I worried over these matters until it was time to leave Bath.

&
nbsp; On the morning of my departure, Grandmother took one look at me over breakfast and declared, “You look positively green, child. Whatever is the matter with you?”

  I forced a small smile and said, “I am well. Only a little jittery, I suppose.”

  “You had better not eat anything. You look like the type to become sick on long carriage rides.”

  I remembered well the ride to Bath. I had been ill three times during the journey, once all over my boots. I definitely did not want to arrive at a strange house in that state.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” I said, pushing away my plate. I had no appetite anyway.

  “Before you leave, I have something I want to give you,” Grandmother said. She reached a trembling hand under the lace shawl she wore and withdrew a locket, which she handed to me.

  I carefully opened the gold locket and caught my breath at what I saw inside. Framed within the delicate oval was a miniature painting of my mother. “Oh, Grandmother,” I breathed. “I’ve never seen this before! How old was she here?”

  “Eighteen. It was done right before she married your father.”

  So this was what my mother looked like when she was my age. I had no trouble imagining what excitement she must have caused in London, for she was a rare beauty. It was the only picture I had of my mother, as her other portraits still hung in the silent halls of my home in Surrey. I clasped the chain around my neck, feeling the locket settle against my skin with a comforting weight. Immediately my nervousness subsided, and I breathed more easily.

  A servant announced that the carriage was ready. I stood, and Grandmother looked me over critically from head to toe before finally nodding her approval.

  “Now, I want you to remember what you owe to your family name. Don’t do anything to disgrace me. Remember to wear your bonnet every time you go outside or you will freckle up. And one more thing—” She pointed one gnarled, heavy-knuckled finger at me and wagged it, her face set in a look of absolute seriousness. “Do not ever, ever . . . sing in front of an audience.”

  I pressed my lips together and glared at her. “I hardly needed that last bit of advice.”

  She chuckled. “No, I did not imagine you would. Who could forget the horror of the last time you performed?”

  I felt myself blush in remembered embarrassment. Even though four years had passed since the evening of my first public recital, I still felt mortified every time I thought of it.

  I bade good-bye to her and Aunt Amelia, eager to be on my way, but when I stepped outside, a familiar voice called my name. I cringed. Did I really have to endure Mr. Whittles one last time?

  He walked toward me quickly, waving a piece of paper in the air. “I have brought you your revised poem. You are not leaving right now, are you?”

  “I’m afraid I am. So this is good-bye, Mr. Whittles.”

  “But—but my nephew is arriving today and has expressed an interest in meeting you. In fact, he came to Bath for that very purpose.”

  I did not care to meet any of Mr. Whittles’s relations. I wanted to leave this place and never see him again.

  “I’m sorry.” I gestured at the carriage, where a footman stood, holding the door open for me. “I cannot wait.”

  His face fell, and for a moment something like deep disappointment flashed in his eyes. Then he grabbed my hand and lifted it to his mouth. The kiss he bestowed on my hand was so wet it actually left a mark on my glove. I turned away from him to hide my shudder of revulsion. An unfamiliar coachman nodded to me as I climbed inside the carriage, where Betsy awaited me with at least an hour’s worth of gossip, I was sure.

  “Where is Grandmother’s coachman?” I asked Betsy.

  “He has been laid up this past week with the gout, so your grandmother hired him.” She gestured with her chin toward the front of the carriage. “James is his name.”

  I was rather relieved, actually, to see that it was not going to be a frail old man driving the carriage for twelve hours. This coachman looked much more robust, and he would probably get us there faster too. But Betsy pressed her lips together in disapproval.

  “What is wrong?” I asked.

  “I don’t wish to speak ill of your relations, Miss Marianne, but your grandmother should not have been so tightfisted about this journey. In my opinion, she should have hired another coachman, in addition to this one.”

  I shrugged. There was nothing I could do about the arrangement, and as long as we reached our destination in safety, I would be content. After all, we would be traveling through the country, not on one of the main roads where we might anticipate danger.

  As the carriage rolled forward through the streets, I looked out the window for a last view of the city. Now that I was leaving, I could grudgingly admit that Bath did have some beauty about it, especially with all the buildings made out of the same golden stone quarried from the nearby hills. The carriage wheels rolled over the cobblestone streets as we passed the early morning bathers who were on their way to try the waters.

  Betsy suddenly leaned forward. “Is that Mr. Kellet?”

  It was indeed the Nefarious Nephew, strolling past the Pump Room with his languid, devil-may-care attitude. He happened to glance our way as we passed him, and although I drew my head back quickly, he had evidently seen me, for he lifted his hat and smirked in my direction, which was his usual method of greeting me.

  Thank heavens he had come today and not yesterday, when I would have had to witness his reaction to my grandmother’s news that she had cut him out of her will. I had escaped just in time. I could not escape Betsy’s conversation, though.

  “I can’t tell you how I am looking forward to visiting Edenbrooke! I have heard what a grand estate it is, and I vow I will be happy to leave Bath, for there is nobody worth talking about here, and I daresay we will have a tremendous time in Kent.”

  She continued talking in her nonstop fashion as we left Bath and rode through the hilly countryside. I was relieved to know that the secret of my inheritance was evidently still safe, for if Betsy had heard about it, she would have talked about nothing else.

  As she chattered about the latest gossip she had acquired and her expectations for this “wonderful adventure,” she occasionally looked at the squab on her right. She paused every time she did, which was such a rare thing for her to do that I idly wondered what it was about that part of the carriage that interested her. But I could not find the energy to question her, because my stomach was in a constant state of upset.

  We stopped at an inn around midday, but I still thought it unwise for me to eat. The next leg of our journey took us away from the main road, and as the afternoon progressed, my stomach continued to revolt. Grandmother’s carriage was old and not well-sprung, so I felt every bump and hole in the road.

  That afternoon, the weather changed from sunny to overcast, the sky gray like a lid on an iron pot. My mood changed to reflect the weather, and a sense of unease settled over me. I touched my locket, reminding myself not to feel nervous. This was an exciting adventure. And no matter what the Wyndhams were like, Cecily would be there, and so there was nothing to worry about. Betsy’s chatter turned to light snoring as she dozed on the seat across from me. I looked out the window and thought about seeing Cecily again.

  Before the accident that had claimed my mother, my life could have been a fairy tale. This is how it would have begun: Once upon a time there were twin girls born to a man and a woman who had longed for a child for years. These girls were the sun and the moon to them.

  Cecily was the sun, and I was the moon. Though twins, we only looked as much alike as sisters sometimes do. It was clear, early on, that Cecily had received more than her fair share of beauty, and so she received more than her fair share of attention. And while I sometimes wished for my own light to shine with, I was accustomed to the way things were—to reflecting Cecily’s light. I had grown up being dwarfed by her brightness. And if I did not always relish my role of being the lesser light, at least I knew how to do it we
ll. I knew how to let Cecily shine. I knew my place in my world.

  But everything I knew about myself and my place shifted and tilted in the great upheaval following my mother’s death. Cecily went to London after the funeral; she had always wanted to live in Town, and Edith welcomed her with open arms. I would never have left my father. Cecily’s departure felt like nothing less than desertion.

  Shortly thereafter, my father had abruptly announced that I would live in Bath with my grandmother. All of my protests were to no avail. He left the country for France and had been there ever since. Our family was broken into pieces. But I hoped that this trip to Edenbrooke might be an opportunity to set everything right. I would be with my sister again, and perhaps between the two of us we could persuade Papa to come home.

  I pressed the locket close to my heart and felt a greater surge of hope. Surely my mother’s portrait had magical powers over my heart. Perhaps over my stomach as well, for I soon felt it calm and settle. Soon after, I dozed off myself while the carriage rocked and swayed.

  I don’t know how long I slept, but I awoke with a jolt, disoriented for a moment in the dim light. I looked around, trying to discern what had awakened me. Betsy was snoring loudly, but she had been snoring before I fell asleep, so that could not have been what had awakened me. Then I realized the carriage had stopped. I peered out the window, wondering if we had arrived at Edenbrooke. I saw no lights, no grand house, not even an inn. I did notice, however, that the sky had cleared, and a bright full moon illuminated the scene.

  A loud shot erupted in the silence. I jumped, startled. A man cried out, and the carriage jerked forward, then stopped again.