Page 76 of Her Heart's Rightful Earl
‘Mother, I am so sorry about Marcus …’ Alexander began, as though he were in some way accountable.
‘One son condemned,’ mused Margaret, ‘but another son freed …’ She squeezed Alexander’s hand and attempted to smile at him reassuringly.
Arabella looked down at her hands, which were shaking furiously even though she felt warm. ‘He would have killed us both, Lady Wellwood. I regret to tell you this, and I know it is terribly difficult for you to hear, but I believe it is important for you to know the truth of the matter and that Alexander did all he could do.’
Margaret looked up at Arabella, her eyes heavily laden with tears. She nodded mournfully.
‘We have lost him to the madness, I know,’ Margaret sobbed.
Arabella leant forward to embrace Margaret, and Alexander completed the embrace by placing his arms around both of them, returned to the bosom of his family, where he belonged.
Chapter 29
Sally poured tea for all the family members in the drawing room, and Alexander purposely took his seat next to Arabella, smiling at her as he did so.
‘I can hardly believe it’s been two weeks already!’ Charlotte declared from across the room.
Arabella ran her hands down her face. ‘It seems like a year ago, and yet it also feels as though it happened just yesterday.’
‘That’s the upset of it,’ Thomas explained. ‘You were traumatized by what happened, and it all feels slightly strange as a result. But tell us, Wellwood,’ he directed towards Alexander, ‘what did the constable tell you when he visited this morning?’
Alexander adjusted his position in his seat and flashed a look over at his mother to check that his talking on the subject was acceptable. A healthy, radiant-looking Margaret nodded her approval.
‘They told us of Marcus–’ Alexander looked again to Margaret, who dropped her eyes to her lap. ‘He is being held imprisoned at Newgate, awaiting trial. They are confident of his guilt, and he admits all that he did, securing my complete exoneration.’
Several gasps filled the air as those gathered expressed their relief, but in muted tones so as not to be disrespectful to Lady Wellwood, who was losing a son through this process.
‘I am so relieved and happy that you can be free now, Alexander,’ Arabella asserted, gently.
‘No more James Macleod for you!’ Thomas joked. Arabella noticed that Charlotte laughed a little too boisterously at this and blushed.
‘The rightful Earl of Wellwood, at last!’ Charlotte declared, and Arabella noticed how Thomas looked over at Charlotte with such a warm fondness, and they held each other’s gaze a little longer than necessary.
‘Lady Wellwood,’ Arabella drew the attention sensitively back to the matriarch, who was conflicted in her emotions. ‘Will you visit Marcus at Newgate?’
‘Oh, no, dear. I think not,’ Margaret clarified.
‘We would not judge you, Mother, should you choose to visit him. We appreciate that he is your son and the situation is not as clear-cut for you as it is for us,’ Alexander generously offered.
‘No, Alexander. I do not wish to see him. He destroyed our family, and despite his admission of guilt, the constable advised me that Marcus shows no remorse. He killed his father and his cousin and attempted to kill you, Alexander, and you, Arabella. There is no benefit to anybody for me to visit him.’
The atmosphere in the drawing room took on a sombre tone as they all nodded in stoic understanding.
Arabella observed how graciously poor Margaret navigated the stormy sea of grief and melancholy in the face of reunion and emotional relief. When she spoke of Marcus now, her voice was laced with sadness, but the fear and trepidation of recent months had evaporated.
Her body had filled out a little as she had begun to eat more, and the pale worry etched upon her face was less apparent as she relaxed and enjoyed the company of people who made her happy. She had pottered in the garden more these last couple of weeks and no longer feigned the illness that she had pretended to bring her cherished son home.
‘We need some happy news to lift our spirits!’ Margaret suddenly brightened and looked first to Arabella and Alexander and then to Thomas and Charlotte.
Thomas shifted in his seat and inhaled proudly.
‘I think we may be able to assist there, Lady Wellwood!’ Thomas announced and reached over to take Charlotte’s hand. ‘Yesterday, I asked Miss Charlotte for her hand in marriage–’
‘And I accepted!’ Charlotte gushed with excitement.
Arabella stood and went to her sister, her arms outstretched in celebration, and Alexander did the same, approaching his friend with a congratulatory pat on the back. Lady Wellwood stood, clasping her hands at her chest with joy.
‘Congratulations!’ Margaret declared. ‘Sally!’ She called to the maid who stood present for serving tea. ‘Please take this tea away and bring us a bottle of champagne and some glasses to celebrate!’
