A Damnable Rogue by Anne Herries

Author:Anne Herries
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

‘It is unfortunate that Mrs Flynn should take up with such a man,’ Mary Thorn said as Emma unfolded her tale some hours after her arrival at the vicarage. It had taken two days on the Mail coach, but she could not afford the luxury of travelling by post chaise and had been worn out by the time she had finally walked the last few miles to her friend’s home. Most of her luggage had been left behind at the depot, and she had had to arrange for it to be sent on by carrier. Mary had taken her in instantly, insisting that explanations could wait, and now it was after supper and they were comfortably settled in Mary’s small but pretty parlour in front of a warming fire. ‘If I may say so, I think you have been treated shamefully, Emma dearest. And I am very glad you came to us.’

‘It is only for a short while,’ Emma assured her. ‘I shall write to various agencies and see if they can advise me of any vacancies for a lady’s companion, and I shall read the advertisements. I dare say it will not take too long to find something.’

Emma sounded more confident than she felt, for she knew that many prospective employers would expect a reference from her last employer and she was not sure that Bridget would give her one should she apply to her.

Emma had not spoken to her former friend after that unpleasant scene in the parlour, feeling that she did not wish to be accused of throwing herself at a man she had always disliked. If Bridget could think that of her then their friendship was clearly at an end, and the only sensible thing left for Emma was to put the whole sorry episode from her mind.

She had left a note for Bridget before she left, telling her the truth of what had happened, and assuring her that she wished her only happiness in the future, and then she had sent for the porter to fetch her trunk to the coach station. She had taken only one or two of the gowns Bridget had bought for her, leaving the most expensive behind. She would, after all, have no use for elegant ballgowns in future, and Bridget might be able to have them altered for herself—or more likely give them to one of the maids as a gift. Emma had no wish to keep them after the way her former friend had behaved. She was not bitter, but she knew that if they were ever to meet in the future, she would not be able to feel towards Bridget exactly as she had previously. Bridget ought to have taken her word, the fact that she had not had been both hurtful and humiliating.

During the uncomfortable journey on the Mail coach, which had involved a stay overnight at an inn and contrasted vividly with the one in Lytham’s carriage a few weeks earlier, Emma had had a great deal of time to think.

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