Workhouse Waif by Elizabeth Keysian

Author:Elizabeth Keysian
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Elizabeth Keysian Books
Published: 2020-06-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 41

Harriet fussed about her skirts for a moment, but there was a look in her brother’s eye that told her she should just obey. She sat and folded her hands in her lap, aware that her own particular problem was going to have to wait.

“I won’t bore you with the ins and outs of it, but I tracked down a man called Finchdean, who once came to the Union in search of Bella, but never came back for her. I found him in a similar institution himself, where he had ended up after all his savings were gone—spent on physician’s fees, as he wasn’t a well man. The poor chap had nearly died from consumption—that’s why he was unable to return for Bella. Anyway, many years ago, this Finchdean was a butler in the employ of Lord Sutcliffe, Earl of Linden. He lived in Derbyshire on a great estate, I understand. There was a bit of a scandal up there with the son of the house, and two children resulted from it, one of whom was Bella—”

“Oh, don’t spare me the details, Jack. I know enough about the world not to be shocked. You must tell me everything.”

“Very well, but don’t blame me if you don’t like what you hear. Charles, the son and heir, the only son and heir, mark you, to the great estate and the vast fortune, fell in love with one Sarah Hart, the daughter of a local butcher. God only knows how they met, and I struggle to understand how a romance could have developed amongst the ox tongues and the cold cuts, but there it is. Love is a strange thing.”

Harriet stared at her hands. It was indeed. But this news about Bella was a welcome distraction.

Jack had paused and seemed to be staring at nothing. Then he recovered himself. “Of course, there was no way the match could ever be condoned because of the difference in class, so it was kept secret. Unfortunately, Sarah Hart became pregnant, and the young man begged to be allowed to marry her but was absolutely refused by his parents. They threatened to cut him off without a penny.”

“Why should parents have so much power over their offspring? It just isn’t fair for them to use that sort of blackmail.” She hadn’t forgiven Papa, nor was she likely to. Not for a while.

“In this case, I have to sympathise with them. But to continue. The girl braved it out and stayed in the area, and the rich son was so pleased with the handsome boy she bore, he started visiting again in secret. The inevitable happened, and she got pregnant again—a girl this time. However, the parents, Lord and Lady Sutcliffe, had found a suitable filly to produce heirs for their son by this point, and of course, they pushed him to marry this new woman.”

Jack paused again and walked up and down a couple of paces. The story had clearly affected him quite deeply. He wasn’t even looking at Harriet.

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