Mistress of London by Evelyn Richardson

Author:Evelyn Richardson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Epicenter Press Inc.
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

It did not take long for Charlotte to gather herself together and climb sullenly into the carriage after Basil had stormed off in a rage, and, the horses having been fed and watered during the confrontation, they were soon on their way back to London.

For quite some time silence reigned as they rolled past green fields and blossoming fruit trees, but finally Julian took the conversational plunge. “I do believe, despite the needless uncomfortable drama, that I am doing what is best for you.”

“But he loves me, and he will be the next Earl of Harcourt,” Charlotte sniffed, rubbing her eyes.

“I already told you that he proposed because he is in desperate financial straits and needed your dowry to stave off his creditors. It was love of his own skin, not love of you that drove him to this.” Julian saw that she remained unconvinced. “Think of your mother and father. Do you wish to live the way they did? What is the point of being the wife of an earl if you are trapped on an estate in the country that is falling into disrepair with no funds to improve it? If that does not give you pause, then listen to what Mrs. Gerrard has to say about the sort of person he is.”

Helen drew a deep breath. This was not going to be easy. The girl had a mulish look on features that were so unremarkable she had need of a generous dowry. “You would not want to live with a man who hurt you, I trust? Ah, I see you do not think Viscount Wormleigh capable of such a thing. I might not have either except that I saw him strangling my friend Dora with such fury that it took a battle-hardened soldier to pull him off, and she bore the marks of his hands around her neck for weeks. Now,” she held up a hand, “you will say that she must have provoked him, but they had not been together long enough to do much to make him turn so violent; therefore, I say, he has a dangerously quick temper, not a good thing in a husband.”

“But he would not lose it with me. I am a lady. I am respectable. You and . . .”

“Mrs. Gerrard is every bit as much a lady as you are!” Julian’s voice cut through the pregnant silence like a whip. “She too is the granddaughter of an earl.”

So I am. How odd, I had forgotten that after all these years. Helen could not help remarking to herself. “It does not take much for a lady to fall on hard times, to find herself without protection and at the mercy of the world. The daughter of one of the noblest soldiers and one of the most ancient titles in France, a daughter whose well-born mother threw her out when her stepfather became infatuated with her. I do not say such a thing could happen to you, I simply say

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