27. Chapter 27
On their return to Rufus House, Kitty took Mrs Jenkin straight to her son’s room. The older woman wrapped her daughter-in-law in a warm embrace.
“There, there, my sweet. We must pray he’ll wake up soon.”
Laura sniffed hard, but when she raised her face from her mother-in-law’s shoulder, she was smiling. “He already did. Just for a few moments. The doctor said the signs are hopeful that he’ll make a full recovery.”
“That’s wonderful news,” said Kitty. “I’ll inform Lord Droxford. He will be so relieved. Once your husband is fully awake, we’ll be able to find out what happened.”
Laura grasped her husband’s hand. “As soon as he is well enough, I’m going to insist that we leave. I don’t feel safe here. Papa was so angry—”
Kitty understood, but realised she would need to plan her own future—where she would go after her friend’s departure.
Mr Jenkin’s recovery meant that William was free, but the news that should have brought her hope left her weighed down with grief.
The change in his behaviour was too pronounced to ignore.
He’d hardly said a word to her since they’d examined the records at St Mary’s and had ignored what they’d discovered—that her father was probably illegitimate. Had he relied on a different outcome?
She could not blame him, but it hurt. He was a viscount—far above her in rank.
Even if her birth had been respectable, he would have been marrying beneath him.
Unless, of course, they could prove her grandmother had married Lord Edward, but there seemed little chance of that.
Then she would be a suitable match for William.
But as things stood, their union was out of the question.
Staying here with Hugh was not an option. She could not marry him after the way he’d behaved toward William. Should she beg Laura to take her with her? Ask her to recommend her for a position?
Or should she hold out for the impossible? She realised she’d answered her own question. It was impossible. She believed William cared for her, but that it could ever come to anything more had been a foolish dream. One that she should never have allowed herself to start dreaming.
Painting normally soothed William’s spirits, but not this afternoon. His heart was not in it. He stared at the portrait of Mrs Jenkin and then at the copy he was making. After dipping his brush into the brown paint he had mixed, he moved it across the canvas, but it became harder with every stroke.
Why was he even bothering? He didn’t know if Mr Barrington would let him display the original at the Royal Academy, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to if he could.
It might be the best portrait he had ever painted, but it reminded him of his foolishness.
How he had narrowly escaped being forced into marriage to the wrong woman.
Now he had to figure out a way to marry the right woman. Kitty. Why did it have to be so complicated? Charlotte’s voice still rang in his ears. I doubt Grandmama will give her blessing to such a union.
The brush stilled in his hand. So what? He would just have to do without it. He didn’t need his grandmother’s consent to wed Kitty, only his father’s. William would write to him at once. Ask for his permission to marry her.
Would he give them his consent? That was the problem.
He didn’t know. The recollection of their last conversation did not instil him with confidence.
Father had told him he wasn’t ready for marriage.
But he would change his mind when he met Kitty and realised what a wonderful woman she was—wouldn’t he?
If the worst happened and he refused? William would have to be patient. He could rely on his sisters to look after Kitty until he came of age. They had been willing enough to help her before. It would only be for six months.
The door opened, and he looked up, hoping it was the woman he longed to make his bride, come to keep him company. It was not. It was the last person he wished to see—Mr Barrington.
“I hate to interrupt your work, your lordship, but I believe it would be wisest if you abandoned the second portrait. It seems out of place, whilst Laura’s husband lies on his sickbed.”
William could hear the rancour in his tone. The man was still furious with his daughter for marrying Mr Jenkin and upending his plans. Perhaps that anger had spilled over onto him for not preventing it.
The underlying message was obvious. Mr Barrington would not let him exhibit his daughter’s portrait. Part of him was relieved he didn’t have to make the choice himself. “As you wish, sir.”
“I understand you fetched Mrs Jenkin from Weymouth to visit her son. A kind gesture, but thoughtless of my daughter to put you to the trouble. If Laura had asked me, I could have sent a carriage for her mother-in-law.”
William bowed his head. “I was happy to be of service. Miss Lacey had some business to attend to in town, which she was able to complete in the same trip.”
Mr Barrington’s mouth tightened. “It is a sad thing indeed if you are forced to entertain my daughter’s companion. Such company is quite beneath someone of your rank.”
How dare he make such a disparaging remark about Kitty? Had he changed his mind about wanting to marry her, or was he seeking to eliminate the competition?
The older man shot him a thin smile. “We have kept you from your other engagements long enough.”
That was unexpected. Was Mr Barrington trying to get rid of him? William had no intention of leaving unless he was forced. How hard would he push a viscount? “I have no pressing calls on my time.”
“Nevertheless, there is a certain awkwardness in your remaining. Things have not worked out as either of us would have wished.”
“Think nothing of it. I will not desert you now.”
“I fear the strain is too much for me, my lord.”
Mr Barrington was determined to see him gone, but William did not want to abandon Kitty. How could he change the man’s mind?
“If smugglers were responsible for Mr Jenkin’s accident, they must be stopped.”
“We’ll know soon enough who is to blame. Laura’s husband regained consciousness for a few moments while you were in Weymouth, and the doctor says he’ll live.”
So that’s what this was all about, was it? Mr Barrington was admitting defeat. The riding officer was not going to die. There would be no possibility of William marrying his widow.
“I have always maintained my innocence, and Mr Jenkin will soon be able to confirm it. I struggle to see why you would doubt that smugglers were responsible. The man’s work is to stop their illicit trade.
It is natural they would want to protect their investments by eliminating their greatest threat, would you not agree? ”
“All the more reason you should leave. The preventive service has the situation under control. Mr Jenkin is not the only officer patrolling the island. If, as you fear, his supposed accident was the work of smugglers, it would be most unwise to get involved. Don’t think your rank will protect you from such men.
Their livelihood and their freedom depend on their success, and they don’t take kindly to anyone who interferes.
Your best course of action is to return to Weymouth and forget about us.
The shame of having encouraged your attentions toward my daughter when she was already— But enough has been said on that subject. ”
Given his marching orders, William had little choice but to depart, but that didn’t mean he had to leave alone. He refused to abandon Kitty to Mr Barrington’s mercy. He feared the man would continue to pressure her to marry him once he’d gone.
After gathering his painting supplies and instructing a servant to pack his trunk, William sent word to Keating at Pennsylvania Castle to bring his carriage around.
In the meantime, he went in search of Kitty.
He needed to speak to her. To persuade her to leave with him.
He was sure his sisters would help her—but would she let them?
If not, he would have to depart alone—but his heart would remain here with the courageous woman who had stolen it away from him.
Kitty hugged her arms around herself and stared out to sea. The wind brushed against her skin, and she could taste the salt in the air. How she would miss this view when she left—and leave she must. At the same time as Laura, if not before.
What was she going to do? She prayed God would guide her next move. That he would bring her brother back home in one piece. That he would heal the ache in her heart. Because accepting that William could never be hers didn’t stop the pain.
The sound of footsteps alerted her to his presence, and she braced herself for the encounter.
She expected no explanation of his aloof behaviour since they’d visited St Mary’s.
He had been too optimistic about what they would find, and it was clear he did not love her enough to overcome the inevitable disapproval he would face if he chose her as his bride.
As she turned to greet him, he shot her such a gentle smile that her heart gave a familiar jolt. Why did he have to look as if he cared? It made letting go a thousand times more difficult.
“I have to leave.”
She had known it was coming, but so soon? Though perhaps it was better to get the parting over and done with. Despite her best intentions, tears welled up in her eyes, but the words would not come.
“Mr Barrington wants me gone. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.
Now Mr Jenkin is recovering, the man regards me as a stumbling block.
He was not pleased to hear we’d visited Weymouth together.
I believe he still cherishes the hope of making you his bride and considers me a distraction. ”
“How absurd.” She had no intention of marrying Hugh.
William shot her a beguiling pout. “Maybe I want to be a distraction.”
Her heart fluttered again. Why was he doing this to her?
“Kitty, I can’t marry—”
The stark truth pierced her like a dagger. “I understand. When are you going?”
“Will you please let me finish?”