Chapter 41
Beatrice had lit a few candles, and sat looking sombrely at her sisters and Miss Macintyre, all of them wrapped in dressing gowns with their hair braided for the night. Now that she had brought them here, she seemed not to know quite how to begin.
Cecilia said gently, ‘Is it something so very dreadful, Beebee?’ She feared she had an inkling of what her sister’s trouble might be, though she believed that Bianca and their old governess could know nothing.
Bea told them haltingly of her conversation with Vivienne at the assembly, and they all murmured in shock and revulsion at the revelations of her brother’s bullying and abuse.
‘That’s why I did not think it safe for her to go home tonight.
But there is more, and though it is painful for me, I must tell you, or it would not be fair.
I expect you are all thinking that we are none of us in danger of any kind from Lord Pallant now, unless indeed he is a lunatic and means to harm us for sheer spite, which is after all a Gothic notion we can easily dismiss.
But I’m afraid that that is not true; we are not by any means so secure.
’ In an expressionless voice, she recounted the story of her clandestine involvement with Miss Pallant, and of His Lordship’s blackmail plan.
She did not meet their eyes as she spoke, but Cecilia and Bianca came and sat closer by her, and put their arms about her.
It was Miss Macintyre who broke the silence.
‘The man is a monster,’ she said flatly.
‘Even worse than we had already been told. Such creatures should not be allowed to live. And, difficult as it is, we must all have some sympathy for Miss Pallant, who at least has told you the truth now when it would have been far easier for her to say nothing and let matters take their course. But my dear Beatrice, how deeply unpleasant for you. I am honoured that you felt able to tell me, just as if I were one of the family.’
‘Well, you are, of course you are. I’m sure it was far easier to tell you than it would ever have been to confess to Mama.
God, what a hideous thought. But Miss Macintyre, everyone, I am so sorry.
I was a na?ve fool to trust her so readily,’ Bea responded, her voice thick with tears now that she had been met with sympathy rather than censure.
‘I knew that you both needed to be wary of fortune hunters now our circumstances have changed, but it never occurred to me that I did too. Not really. And by my reckless folly, I have placed you all in danger. It’s not just what I have done, but the secrets I have told her, things I’ve never revealed to anyone else…
Surely, Vivienne is right when she says that her brother will turn to blackmail when all else fails him.
And through her, I have handed him the perfect weapon against us all. ’
‘If you are thinking that he will try to force Cecilia and me into marriage by threatening to tell the world that you have seduced his sister, just let him try,’ Bianca said.
‘We are prepared, and we’ll tell him to do his worst. There is no fate in the world that isn’t preferable to marrying into that dreadful family. ’
‘But think of the damage such a tale would do, to your prospects of marriage and to Cecilia’s.
Of course I know you won’t let yourselves be compelled to accept them to protect my reputation; I couldn’t possibly expect it of you – nobody could.
But it does seem likely then that he will spread this dreadful rumour as widely as possible when we turn him away, and inevitably, we will all be badly hurt by it. Even our nephews and nieces.’
‘If you think Sabrina, Viola, Allegra or any of their husbands will care a jot for that, you gravely wrong them all,’ Cecilia told her stoutly.
‘Let him spread his poison. We will rise above it. I don’t give a damn for my marriage prospects, and I’m sure Bianca doesn’t either.
I can quite see why you had to tell us, and why you are so distressed at what you know of Vivienne’s motives now, and I am very sorry for you, but there’s nothing more to be said on the subject except in support of you.
We will stand together, and tell Lord Pallant to go and drown himself. The sea’s right there.’
Miss Macintyre and Bianca expressed their complete agreement with this position, and both rose to kiss Bea before making their weary way to their beds. But Cecilia stayed behind for a little while.
‘Do you regret meeting her?’ she asked.
‘I know I should. I think it must show some weakness in me, that I do not. I must remind myself that even if I had not responded to her overtures, the damage was done as soon as she had told her brother what she sensed about me. It was a gift to him. I wish she had not done it, of course… but she is terrified of him. None of us, apart possibly from Viola with Edward, have ever known such misery in daily life. We cannot imagine what we would say or do in her situation. Nobody has ever tried to break our spirits as women or girls, least of all poor Papa. Does that make us lucky? I think it must. That’s a terrible thought. ’
‘Bea, there’s also this: as far as anyone knows, Lord Pallant could be lying.
In fact, he could have told that precise lie the minute his sister spoke to him of you, or even if she had not.
It isn’t possible to prove you have not done a thing such as this, whether you have or you haven’t.
“She is a wicked woman who has seduced my sister,” he might say, and you will say indignantly, “Of course I have not!” and it is purely a matter of your word against his.
Which is a good thing. He has a terrible reputation as a libertine, as we all know, and you are a respectable spinster.
I know you don’t like the term, and no wonder.
But there has never been a breath of scandal touching your name.
God knows he cannot say the same. People will surely say that he is attacking our family out of wicked spite because I have rejected him so publicly. ’
Bea shook her head. ‘I fear he knows too much about my past for that to be true. But I am too tired to think straight. All I can say is, even though I am terrified at the thought of exposure, I still do not like the prospect of defending myself from it by telling an untruth. Even more than that, I hate the idea of bare-facedly denying what I am, if it comes to that. It seems a step further than merely keeping it hidden. But I know I must lie for my own sake and yours, given the world we live in. Anything short of defaming Vivienne – saying she tried to seduce me, even if in truth, she did – I will do to keep us all safe. But it won’t be pleasant, whatever happens. ’
Cecilia rose and kissed her. ‘Let’s sleep; I’m sure things will look brighter tomorrow.
Just as long as you know you are not alone, Bea.
I could be excessively angry with Miss Pallant on your behalf, indeed I am, but then I realise that she has nobody in the world she can depend on, whereas we all have each other, and always will, no matter what else happens. ’