Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Isabel sat at her desk penning a letter in reply to Lady Ainslie. Her friend had written that suitable premises had been found for the school and Harriet was keen to sign the lease.
‘May I disturb you?’
She looked up as Sebastian entered the parlour, sliding the letter beneath the blotter.
She rose to her feet and gestured at one of the chairs.
He sat down heavily on one of the elegant gilt seats and she heard an ominous creak from the protesting furniture.
Sebastian flushed and, to cover his embarrassment, Isabel picked up a second cup from the tray that had just been brought in to her.
‘Would you care for some tea?’ she enquired.
‘Thank you, Lady Somerton.’
As she handed him the cup, his hand shook slopping tea in the saucer. He upended the contents of the saucer into the cup. Her mouth fell open but, before Isabel could compose herself, he looked up at her with a rueful smile.
‘The bad habits of a lifetime are hard to break, Lady Somerton,’ he said.
‘Unfortunately, it is those little habits that you are going to have to break,’ she observed.
She took a dainty sip from her cup and and set it down, folding her hands neatly in her lap. The fingers of Sebastian’s right hand drummed the delicate arms of the chair.
‘Is there something troubling you?’ she enquired.
He brought his clear, strong gaze up to meet hers.
‘I have spent the day with Bragge,’ he began. ‘We’re not quite in the workhouse, but I’m going to have to make some serious economies. Were you aware of the position of the estate?’
She shifted uncomfortably and gave a small shrug, wondering what this conversation was leading to.
‘I had my suspicions. Like his father before him, Somerton was a profligate spender, and I knew the money didn’t all come from his success at the races.’
‘No, it didn’t,’ Sebastian said. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together on his knees. ‘Lady Somerton, I have some bad news to impart to you.’ He took a deep breath. ‘It is about your jointure. Your late husband...’
She stared at him, the implication of what he was saying beginning to dawn on her. Surely not her jointure. She put a hand to her mouth as her life shattered at her feet.
‘It’s gone?” she said.
He nodded. ‘He forged your signature on the papers.’
That knowledge twisted like a knife in her heart. He had forged her signature. What else had he done?
‘What did he spend it on?’ Every word came out with an effort.
Sebastian shrugged. ‘Apart from his gambling debts at Whites, it seems a large portion went on a gold mine venture in Guinea.’
She let out a heavy breath, fighting tears.
‘And what charlatan got him to invest in such a venture?’
Sebastian shook his head. ‘I don’t know. It was called the Golden Adventurers Club but who its members were, I have no idea. I have asked Bragge to look into it further.’
She looked away, her hand to her mouth and her heart hammering as she battled her emotions. It had all gone and with it her freedom, her dreams... the school... What would she tell Harriet?
With difficulty, she brought her attention back to Sebastian, seeing the concern in his eyes.
A good man, she thought, but how could he possibly even begin to understand?
‘I want to assure you, Lady Somerton, that it will be my responsibility to ensure you want for nothing. The dower house is yours, and I will provide a monthly allowance—’
‘The dower house?’ She heard her voice catch, and she rose to her feet. Swallowing, she managed to say, ‘It is not the dower house, Lord Somerton... it is my life. Please excuse me.’
Without looking backwards, she left him and barely made the sanctuary of her own bedchamber before the flood burst. She fell face down on the covers of her bed, curling into a small ball as her heart broke.
Just when she thought Anthony could hurt her no more, he had reached from the grave and stolen the last of her dreams from her.