Page 24 of A Sense of Injustice
‘I was angry, upset, furious with myself for being taken in by him, as you can probably imagine.’
‘Easily.’
‘I returned home and had a footman deliver Antonia’s purse back to her.’
‘Was she a-party to her brother’s plans for you?’
‘I’m not sure.’ Louise canted her head as she considered the question, staring at the rippling surface of the lake, probably without seeing it. ‘But she is very fond of her rogue of a brother.’
‘And since you came out together and she was aware of your circumstances, it’s not unreasonable to suppose that she suggested you as a prospective bride.’
‘Yes, but I decided to cut the connection after what I had overheard. I stopped riding and refused to receive either Antonia or Darius when they called at the house. But I didn’t give Darius’s desperation, to say nothing of his cunning, sufficient credit. My aunt received him one day, despite the fact that I had given instructions for him not to be admitted to the house. Aunt Bess thought I was out but I returned home unexpectedly, realised whom she was with and put my newfound eavesdropping skills to renewed use. I heard Darius demanding to know why I had gone cold on him and what my aunt planned to do to rectify that situation.’
Flora covered a gasp with the back of her hand. ‘She had actually colluded with Cleethorp? She would have seen you wed to such a man when she knew what he actually was? Now you have finally shocked me, Louise, but not because of anything you have done.’
‘Yes, my aunt was in league with Darius. There’s no question of it. I have since discovered that he had offered her a substantial sum to encourage the match. A sum, I might add, that he planned to provide her with frommyfortune.’ She folded her arms and scowled at the nearest tree. ‘Odious man!’
‘Odious aunt, more to the point.’ Flora shuddered. ‘He would not have made nearly so much progress with you if she had not supported his endeavours. You do not have the experience to recognise a fortune-hunter when you see one. As your guardian, she had a duty to point them out so that you could avoid them.’
‘As you can imagine, I had no idea what to do after that. I could have confronted my aunt, but she would have denied it, or told me I was imagining things. I couldn’t throw her out of the house,myhouse, because she is named in my father’s will as my legal guardian. Besides, you can be sure that she wouldn’t have gone even if I had confronted her and insisted upon it. She is far too comfortably ensconced and would have expected a handsome pay off before even considering the idea of departing. However, in the light of my discoveries, I have already decided that she won’t get a penny out of me. Not now. I cannot abide the thought of her benefiting from her betrayal of my trust.’
‘No more could I.’
‘I decided I needed to get away and think, but my options were limited, given that I was still in half-mourning. I ought to have come to Grandmamma then, of course, but I wasn’t thinking rationally.’ She gave a wistful sigh. ‘Would that I had been. Another girl whom I came out with had a residence in Highbury, so I went to stay with her for a few days on some pretext. I did not, of course, tell her the truth about Darius. I was too embarrassed. If I had, perhaps things would have turned out differently. Anyway, Belinda’s mama held a small soiree one evening. Good manners dictated that I attend given that I was a guest in the house.’ She ran a hand repeatedly up and down her thigh, disconcerted, her vision blurred by fresh tears. ‘If I had known that Darius was on the guest list, nothing on this earth would have persuaded me to go down.’
‘You were not aware that your friend was acquainted with him?’
‘No, I was not. It seems her papa and Darius were vague acquaintances and Darius, having learned from my aunt where I had gone, wangled an invitation.’ The tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘I did my very best to avoid him, but the party was crowded. He eventually tracked me down to the morning room, where I had hidden myself away, and demanded to know why I was avoiding him. I told him that I had decided against marrying him and didn’t want to see him again.’ She puffed out her chest, highly incensed. ‘He had the temerity to laugh at me. Actually laugh. He didn’t believe me and said he thought my efforts to increase his feelings by keeping him in suspense were charming.’
‘Temerity is not the word I would use for such outrageously arrogant behaviour,’ Flora said hotly. ‘Since entering the countess’s service, I have learned far more expressive terms.’
Both ladies smiled.
‘Oh, you do not know the half of his arrogance yet. He told me I was fortunate to have been noticed by him and should show my gratitude. I’m afraid I lost my temper and told him to save himself for someone who would appreciate him more.’
‘You made it clear you knew there was someone he preferred.’
‘I suppose I did. Either that or I damaged his pride by rejecting him. Either way, I could see at once that I had made a huge error of judgement. He went chalk white, then began trembling with rage. I was frankly terrified and tried to leave the room. But he blocked the door and I couldn’t get past him. He caught hold of my shoulders and pinned me to the wall. I cried out but there was so much noise coming from the party that no one heard me. I tell you true, Flora, the change in him was highly disturbing. He was like a wild animal, raving on about how no one rejected him. I tried to gouge his eyes. I even tried to bring my knee up and crush his…well, you know, but his anger gave him superhuman strength. He knocked me down and I must have lost consciousness. When I regained my wits, he was on top of me. My skirts were up around my waist and…’
‘Oh, my dear, I am so very sorry. What a wicked beast!’
Louise gulped back wretched sobs. Flora cried with her as she held her in her arms, waiting for the worst of the flood to subside.
‘I am so ashamed,’ Louise hiccupped.
Chapter Six
‘You have nothing to be ashamed about,’ Flora insisted. ‘Your aunt, and more particularly Darius Cleethorp are jointly responsible for your difficulties. What a monster Cleethorp must be! I could strangle him myself with my bare hands for what he put you through. And your aunt is no better. In fact, she is worse. She was supposed to protect you from men like him, not encourage them to take such shocking liberties.’
‘It was vile, what little I can recall of the ordeal, which is fortunately not too much.’ Louise looked mortified, ashamed and repulsed. ‘I shall never marry if that is what one has to look forward to night after interminable night, so I suppose he has done me a favour in that regard.’
‘Don’t you dare make excuses for his conduct!’
‘Oh, I am not, believe me. He told me calmly when he had finished that I would have to marry him now because I might be carrying his child. And if I still did not then he would tell everyone how free I had been with my favours. He even had the audacity to remind me that I had a sister’s reputation to consider.’
‘How long ago was this?’ Flora asked briskly.
‘A week.’
