The Secret of the Lost Pearls by Darcie Wilde

Author:Darcie Wilde [Wilde, Darcie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2022-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

At Last, Enough

Who should suffer but myself? It has been my own doing, and I ought to feel it.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

In the end, the question of whether Rosalind should tell Bethany what had happened became a moot point. Unfortunately, the carriage ride did not last long enough for Penelope to recover fully from her faint. The fact of the party returning from the concert would have been enough to create a stir in the Portsmouth Square house, but Penelope coming home supported on Mariah’s arm must necessarily cause an uproar. And, of course, someone went running at once to fetch Bethany.

Rosalind was helping to get Penelope settled on the sofa in her sitting room when Bethany burst in.

“What on earth’s happened!” she cried.

Nora had vanished into her own rooms. Mariah was laying a series of shawls over Penelope where she lay. Betsy slipped into the room behind Bethany, carrying a basin of steaming water.

Rosalind tried to catch the maid’s eye and failed.

“Nothing happened, Bethany.” Penelope pushed herself upright on the sofa. “I had a faint. That’s all. Miss Thorne thought it better that we return home.”

It was a smooth lie, and earnestly told. Bethany appeared ready to believe it.

Mariah laid down the last shawl. “Cantrell was at the concert.”

“Mariah!” shrieked Penelope. “How could you!”

Betsy scuttled out of the room. Bethany gripped the back of the sofa. “Rosalind?”

“I am so sorry, Bethany,” said Rosalind. “I did not realize how deeply he had already laid his plans.”

“Don’t tell my brother!” Penelope begged. “Please, please, he’ll never let me out of the house again. You know he won’t!”

“Perhaps he shouldn’t,” said Bethany. She pressed her hands against her cheeks. “But how! How could he know! It was all so last minute, we didn’t even know Nora would be in attendance!”

“What’s all this?”

Mrs. Hodgeson bustled through the open door, her handkerchief clutched in her bony hand. “Who is ‘he’? What did ‘he’ know? Bethany?” She faced her eldest daughter.

Penelope buried her face in her hands. “I’m lost! Everything’s lost!”

“Then you might show some resolution,” muttered Mariah.

“But what has happened?” demanded Mrs. Hodgeson.

Bethany sighed. “It seems Cantrell somehow followed the girls to the concert.”

“What!” cried Mrs. Hodgeson. “Miss Thorne? How can this be! What have you done!”

“He did not follow us,” said Rosalind. “Not directly. He arrived with a Mrs. Asherton, who said he offered to escort her when her own son cried off—”

“And exactly who is this Mrs. Asherton?” demanded Mrs. Hodgeson, interrupting. “What kind of woman is she, to be walking about with such a man?” Mrs. Hodgeson drew herself upright, her entire stance becoming one of righteous indignation. “No good herself, I’ll be bound! Probably dangling after him. Some young widow seduced by a pair of green eyes!”

“She said that Cantrell is a friend of her son’s and agreed to escort her to the concert,” replied Rosalind as calmly as she could. “There is no reason to believe that part of it is anything other than what it seems. But I have no doubt that Cantrell did so because somehow he knew Nora and Penelope would be there.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.