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Wednesday afternoon, 15 August 1821
Before I had the opportunity to learn who might have penned the threatening note, I had two unexpected visitors that afternoon as I worked in the library. The first being Hannah. Judging from the troubled expression on her face, I knew at once that something was amiss.
“What is it, Hannah? Do sit down and tell me what is troubling you.”
The slim young girl eased onto an empty chair before the library table where I sat, going over the lengthy lists of book titles I had compiled. I was very nearly finished with my work in the library but wished to be certain I had left nothing out before I turned over my findings to Lord Medley. I set aside my papers now and turned my full attention upon Miss Hannah. From the look of her red-rimmed eyes I could tell she had been weeping and quite possibly for several hours. I had wondered why neither she nor Isabella had been present at breakfast, or at luncheon, but as no member of the family remarked upon the girls’ absence, I said nothing either.
“I cannot bear it, Miss Abbott!” The sweet child pulled a damp handkerchief from her pocket and began to dab at her eyes. “I do not understand why I must go away. I do not wish to leave Medley Park! I do not understand why I must go away!” she cried again.
I started. “Have your parents declared you are to . . .?”
“Mother means to send the boys, both Harry and Spencer, away to school . . . and she says I must also go! I do not want to go away to school, Miss Abbott!” Her head fell forward onto her arms and she commenced to sob. “I do not want to leave Medley Park!”
I reached a comforting hand to touch her shoulder.
“Is Isabella to go with you?”
Raising her head, Hannah sniffed back her tears. “You have not heard? Isabella has disappeared.”
“Oh! Why, only last evening she and Ned were . . .”
“I do not know why or when she left, perhaps during the night. All I know is that she was not in her room this morning and . . . and I have not seen her all day.”
A sudden thought struck as I regarded my overset guest. “Did Isabella perhaps leave a note apprising you of her plans?” If she did it would be easy to compare the penmanship on Hannah’s note to the one found on the floor beneath my bedchamber door this morning.
Still, sniffing, Hannah nodded and soon produced a rather soggy slip of paper she’d stuffed into her pocket. “She did not even mention where she was going, or why she chose to leave in such a rush. I thought we were friends.” Hannah’s chin trembled.
Unfolding the note, I fell at once to studying it. My heart lodged in my throat when in no time I determined that the handwriting, and the paper upon which the message was scrawled, was exactly the same as that of the note left for me. Isabella had, indeed, penned both notes.
To Hannah she had merely nattered on about how grateful she was to her ‘cousin’ for her friendship, and added that she looked forward to seeing her again one day. In my note, the girl had delivered a rather veiled threat, telling me that if I valued my life I would leave Medley Park at once and never return! She added that no matter how much I wished it, I would never become lady of the manor.
Even now, I dismissed the threats as the ramblings of a desperate young girl since I, of course, entertained no aspirations whatever toward becoming the future Lady Medley. Furthermore, it appeared to me that Isabella was more than a good deal misinformed on a number of fronts, namely that since Cecil, not being the first-born son, was therefore not set to inherit his father’s title, consequently his wife, whomever he settled upon, would never be styled a ‘lady’. Perhaps Isabella harboured the false notion that the first of the Medley Park twins to take a wife would be the one to inherit Lord Medley’s estate, and his title and accompanying seat in the House of Lords, not a bit of which had anything to do with me.
Obviously the misguided girl thought I also had ambitions to wed one of the twin brothers, namely Cecil, and by threatening me, meant to instill enough fear in my breast that I would take myself out of the running altogether for either of the twin’s hearts. Because I definitely saw no need now to raise an alarm, I also saw no need to disclose the contents of my note to anyone in the household. I would soon be leaving Medley Park, and until then I had no fear that my life was in peril. Most especially now that Isabella was gone.
“Well, this all seems quite curious indeed,” I remarked to Hannah in an even tone. “Do you believe Isabella and Ned have gone off together?”
Hannah’s dark head shook. “I have already asked Ned what he knows of Bella’s whereabouts and he claims to know nothing. Oh, Miss Abbott, what is to become of me?” She wailed, apparently not too terribly concerned over her friend’s sudden departure. “I do not want to go away! Even if Miss Hutchens were to return to Medley Park, it would be better than me being obliged to leave! I will not be in the schoolroom forever.” Fixing an imploring gaze on me, she said, “Oh, Miss Abbott, if you were to wed Cecil, I would not have to go anywhere. I could stay right here with you and my brother. Cecil would never force me to leave my home. I love Medley Park and I never wish to leave!”
“But, sweeting, I . . .”
“Please say you will consider it!”
“But, honey, your brother and I are not . . . he has not . . .”
“But, he will! I know he will! He confided to Mother only this morning that he means to ask you! He did! Mama told me. She said if you and Cecil were to wed that I could remain here forever. She said with your connections in London you could help me find a suitable husband and then, we could all live here together at Medley Park. Oh, Miss Abbott, please say you will marry Cecil. Please!”
Too taken aback over this new turn to say anything, I merely sat back, blinking with both surprise and astonishment. Adding to my consternation was the realization that Lady Medley was also more than a trifle misled by my so-called connections in Town. I would be of no help whatever in finding Hannah a suitable husband!
A moment later, the sound of the library door opening reached our ears and the very gentleman we had been discussing came striding in.
“I thought I might find you here, pet.” Handsome young Mr. Cecil Ruston drew up a chair and sat down beside his sister, who had begun again to softly weep. Cecil gallantly produced a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Mustn’t take on so, sweeting. Everything will be sorted out soon enough. I promise.”
Dabbing at her eyes, Hannah balled the fine linen up in her hand, and sat gazing eagerly from one to the other of us.
At length, Cecil said, “I . . . believe Mother wishes to speak with you, pet. And . . . there is something I need to discuss with Miss Abbott.”
“Oh!” A smile flickered across Hannah’s flushed face. Scooting back her chair, she said, “I shall just leave you to it then. But, you must promise to seek me out the minute you have . . . you will seek me out, will you not, Cecil?” Before taking her leave, the child favored me with a sweet smile. “I already love you like a sister, Miss Abbott! Or, rather, Juliette. Might I call you Juliette now, please?”
The smile I turned on her was a trifle halting. “I-I love you, too, Hannah.” Then, fearing what was to come, I added, “No matter what happens, I do love you, sweeting. You mustn’t forget that.”
She sucked in an excited breath. “Oh, I shan’t! I shan’t!” With that, she scampered across the room. “I shall close the door to afford you a bit of privacy!” Then, before we heard the door latch click into place, she called out, “I love you both!”
At last hearing the door close, I turned a somewhat uncomfortable look upon Cecil. “I do hope you have come to tell me that you spoke with your brother Ned last evening, and that he was able to . . .” my question trailed off.
When Cecil made no immediate reply, I could not help noticing that he seemed somewhat . . . anxious. Sucking in a laboured breath, he at last said, “I-I have come to say something of vast import to you, Miss Abbott. But it does not concern my brother or . . . or anyone, beyond the pair of us.” He shifted his weight on the hard seat of the ladder-backed chair.
When I noted beads of perspiration pop out across his brow and also form upon his upper lip, I squirmed. Was the young man about to . . . Oh, Dear God, no; I did not want him to continue on. Please, please, no!
My head began to shake. “Mr. Ruston, before you say anything further, I must tell you that I, that I-I cannot . . .”
He held up a hand. “Do, allow me to speak, Miss Abbott. I have come this far; please, allow me to continue.” He gulped down another fitful breath before pressing on. “I . . . I own this is not a particularly romantical setting, but, as you know, it is still a bit drizzly out of doors. Which means the courtyard is also not a terribly romantical setting, at least not today.” A nervous grin flickered across his face.
Then, after sucking in yet another fitful breath, he began afresh, “I . . . I . . . the truth is, Miss Abbott, I have not slept at all well for the past fortnight, not since you arrived at Medley Park. I confess I am a bit embarrassed to say that I have spent an inordinate amount of time . . . thinking about you. To say truth, Miss Abbott, I believe I began to care for you the very day I clapped eyes on you, on your knees in the courtyard, attempting to . . . cuddle a kitten.
“I knew in that instant, Miss Abbott, that you are a woman after my own heart; one who appreciates the simpler things in life. Like me, you are unswayed by the false glamour that is so prevalent in London. At once, I began to think of you as . . . dash it! What I am trying to say, Miss Abbott, is that . . . well, you see, of late, I have done all in my power to prove to Father that I am ready and able to take on the management of the estate, and if I do say so myself, I daresay I have persuaded him that I truly am competent enough to . . . to take the reins, as it were.”
He was still not done.
“Therefore, in light of the disturbing events that have recently occurred at Medley Park, and which you and I quite amicably joined forces to unravel, although we have . . . not yet done so, at any rate,” he paused to clear his throat, “in light of several other things that actually came about only today, namely that my parents are eager to send the little ones away, and also to send Hannah away, which, as I am sure you know, she quite ardently objects to; well, you see, what I am making a frightful muddle of conveying to you, Miss Abbott, is that I-I believe the time has come in which I must . . . apprise you of my true feelings.”
Gazing deeply into my eyes as he leaned forward, it became frightfully apparent to me that the handsome young man was . . . still not finished.
“The truth is, Miss Abbott, y-you are a very special young lady. I have never met anyone quite like you and I . . . I find myself quite enamored of you. More than anything, I . . .” He inhaled yet one more fitful breath. “The thing is, I-I wish to make you my bride, Miss Abbott. Will you, can you, that is, will you have me . . . Juliette?”
Exceedingly relieved that he had, indeed, got it all out, I exhaled the tight breath I had been holding whilst he muddled his way through the quite lengthy proposal.
“Mr. Ruston . . .”
“Cecil,” he corrected me. “From this point forward, you must address me as Cecil. If I am to be your husband, it is entirely permissible for you to address me by my . . .”
“Cecil,” I whispered, weakly; knowing full well that as soon as I delivered my reply, he would likely commence to protest. The truth was, to overset Hannah by refusing her brother’s proposal of marriage was far more distasteful to me than to overset Cecil by refusing him, but, of course, I could not agree to marry him on the basis of not wishing to overset his sister. Before I could speak a single other word, the love-struck young man reached for my hand and clasped it warmly in both of his.
“I can see that you are as overcome with emotion as I am, my dear. Which does warm my heart. I have no doubt you will be happy here, Miss Abbott. You and I get on famously together. I am certain we can make a go of it. What say you? Will you become my bride, my very dearest Juliette?”
I looked down. I did not wish to disappoint the ardent young man, but . . . the truth is, I did not love him and I do not believe I could ever love him. Suddenly, thoughts of Mr. Sheridan flashed through my mind, and on the heels of that, thoughts of Mr. Talbot. I harbored far and away stronger feelings for either of them, for both of them, than I did for Cecil Ruston.
I inhaled sharply.
I had to tell him.
Looking directly into his guileless blue eyes, I began, “Sir, we . . . we scarcely know one another, and to say truth, I . . .”
“Oh-h-h.” He smiled, one hand flying to cover his heart. “Is that all? I feared you were about to tell me you were promised to another, which, I daresay, is the only excuse I will accept. But, if it is merely a matter of . . . becoming better acquainted, then I am most willing to agree to as lengthy a betrothal as you need in order to feel certain that you do know me well enough to become my bride. You have made me very happy, my dear. Very happy, indeed!”
I rushed to protest. “But sir, I-I have not yet concluded my . . . I was about to say that, I-I am betrothed, or at the very least, I have promised to consider another’s . . . proposal of marriage.”
Oh, dear me, now I was fabricating! But, given the circumstances, to forward the veriest hint of a falsehood was entirely justifiable. Wasn’t it?
“Oh!” He dropped my hand as if it were suddenly aflame. Sitting back, he exhaled, “I am crushed, Miss Abbott.” His eyes squeezed shut and I feared he might be about to burst into tears as his younger sister had done only moments ago. And, he without a handkerchief.
“I am so very sorry, Mr. Ruston. I-I do . . . care for you. And, I truly do care a very great deal for Hannah. I am certain we would all be quite happy here at Medley Park, but for now I-I . . . must refuse your offer of marriage.”
“For now?” He glanced back up. “By saying you must refuse me now, are you saying that . . . hope remains? Is that what you are saying, Miss Abbott, that a shred of hope lingers and that I might cling to it?”
My eyes squeezed shut as once again, my heart sank. I cringed when I heard myself say, “It is . . . the most I can offer, sir.” Oh, why could I not simply stand up and shout No! I cannot marry you, sir, not now, not ever! And, please do not ask me again!
Once more, he snatched up my hand and this time, brought it to his lips. “Thank you, Miss Abbott. Thank you! I promise I will not rush you. You are correct in pointing out that we have only known one another for a short while, in truth, a mere fortnight. I quite understand your feelings on that score; truly I do. I would expect nothing less of you. You are a very intelligent young lady. In this matter, as in all others, you are being quite circumspect, and I cannot help but admire you for that, as I am certain will Mother. You are, indeed, a clever young lady, Miss Abbott; quite clever, indeed.”
Try as I might, I could think of nothing more to say. A part of me feared that if I all-out refused him, that I would be obliged to leave Medley Park straightaway, which would, of course, please Isabella, were she to somehow learn of it, but it would also mean that I would be unable to successfully unravel the mysterious goings-on here at Medley Park. Which, I believe I had only just got a good grasp upon. I truly did wish to see the matter through to a proper end. I owed it to Miss Martha.
Still gazing deeply into my eyes, Cecil drew in yet another relieved breath. “Truth to say, it is possible I merely became caught up in thoughts of rushing to the altar after thinking on Ned and Isabella. You were right in your assessment, my dear. The girl did agree to marry him only last evening.” He leant back. “I waited up late last night in order to speak with Ned, just as you asked me to. He confided to me that he had, indeed, offered for the girl, or rather that she suggested to him that they be wed straightaway, and, given the rather . . . unconventional basis of her offer, he readily accepted.”
“Oh?” My interest was instantly aroused. “Did Ned reveal to you exactly what the basis of her . . . unconventional offer was?”
Cecil’s brow furrowed as one hand reached to scratch his dark head. “I confess I did not listen too terribly close to all Ned was saying.” He grinned. “I was far too occupied with pleasant thoughts of you, however, I do recall him saying that Isabella had confided to him that she was close on to coming into a great deal of wealth, and wished to share her good fortune with him.”
“Oh!” My eyes widened. “Well, that is news. I take it neither Hannah, nor your mother, are aware of all the girl disclosed to Ned? Do you think it possible that she and Ned are now on their way to Gretna Green?”
A derisive laugh escaped Cecil. “I scarcely think so. Ned hasn’t a feather to fly with! He could not afford to take the girl anywhere! I rather expect if Isabella has, indeed, come into some sort of inheritance, she has merely gone off to . . . perhaps, Birmingham, to sort things out with her family. They are . . .” he paused as his eyes cut round.
I nodded. “Hannah apprised me of her family’s . . . misfortune.”
“Ah.” He smiled. “We are already far better acquainted than you think, my dear. Plus, I daresay, you are as cognizant of Ned’s deplorable lack of character as I am. My brother is, indeed, a feckless wastrel. Why any girl would agree to marry him is beyond all reason.” He paused, and gazing once again at me, his features softened. “When we are alone together, might I please have your permission to address you by your given name? I mean, now that we have an . . . understanding. It would so please me to address you as Juliette. Juliette is a beautiful name. So very French-sounding. I’ve an idea!” He leaned forward again. “What say we journey to Paris for our wedding trip? I would quite like that. What say you, my dear? Shall we go to Paris following our wedding?”
Before I could recover from the shock of that question, the door to the library flew open and the Medley Park butler Wink advanced into the room. “Mr. Ruston, sir. An accident has occurred upon the grounds and Lord Medley requests that you look into the matter at once, sir.”