For The Sake of Her Family by Allen Diane

Author:Allen, Diane [Allen, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780230766105
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2012-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

13

‘You’ve certainly come off well with my forthcoming marriage, Sis. I’m still in shock myself. I can’t believe how much comes with our dear Nancy. Hard to believe no one else has picked her up with her being worth all that money.’ Will Bentham sat in his usual fireside seat, his shoes practically smoking from the warmth of the fire as he rested them on the trivet. ‘She’s worth a mint! We’ll never want for a penny.’

‘Everything comes at a price, our Will. Do you really know what you’ve taken on? I can’t help but think there’s something wrong. A woman of her standing should not be marrying one of us. I don’t want to see any one of us hurt – I’ve had enough hurt lately to last me a lifetime.’ Alice took her cloak off and sat in the chair next to her brother.

‘Give over – we’re made! You’re always looking at the downside, you are. Here you are living in the fancy house you’ve always dreamed of, and here’s me with my own business, a wife that’ll adore me and a nice income – what more can we wish for? All we need to do now is find you a fellow from the snooty circles you’ll be moving in and then we’ve cracked it.’ Will grinned at his sister as she played with her fur-trimmed gloves. ‘I see you’ve been spending their money already: new gloves, dress and cloak. That lot must have cost a pretty penny.’

‘Nancy said I’d to have them when we went to Kendal the other week. She had a fitting for her wedding dress and while we were there she insisted I should have a new dress and cloak. I don’t know how much they cost: it was all billed to the manor.’ Alice fumbled with the gloves, embarrassed. She had thought that she would enjoy having clothes bought for her and being treated like a lady, but in all honesty, she wasn’t comfortable in her new position. She was neither one thing nor the other, with no purpose in life other than being companion to Nancy. She had also felt extremely uncomfortable when the dressmaker measured her, eyeing her up and down, making her feel like something on the bottom of her shoe. Nancy had assured her that the woman was only doing her job and not to be so silly. But still she felt unworthy of the quality material that was being draped on her.

‘Well, we’ll have to find you somebody, ’cos I see you and Jack have fallen out, else he wouldn’t have had Amy Lawson on his arm in the Moon the other night. Can’t say I blame him, like. She is a bonny bit of a thing.’ He smiled, remembering Jack giving Amy a kiss outside the pub’s entrance.

‘I . . . I didn’t know Jack had found someone else. Is she all right, this Amy? I don’t think I know her.’ Alice was taken aback. She knew

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