Page 34 of Lady Controversial
‘You have yet to explain why that hovel’s location is of such strategic importance to you.’ Her narrow-eyed look was starting to severely test Marcus’s patience. ‘Has this to do with your long-standing dispute with Finchdean by any chance?’
‘The cottage stands between me and a lucrative business opportunity,’ Marcus replied smoothly. ‘That is all you need to know.’
‘And still will after Christmas when Isolda returns to live there; always assuming she can’t be persuaded to quit it, should I agree to invite her here for the festivities. She could teach a mule a thing or two about stubbornness and will not give up her independence without a fight. Not even if her sister makes a good marriage. They do not get along well, which is hardly surprising. Isolda is exceedingly difficult to like and has an aversion to compromises. Everything must be on her terms, the frightful child! She has no respect, and no gratitude to show towards those who attempt to help her.’
‘Even so, madam, youwilloblige me by issuing the invitation for Christmas.’
Lady Bellingham folded her hands in her scrawny lap and sniffed. ‘Very well, since you insist, but I depend upon you to call frequently and help me to entertain the girls. They can be very tiring.’
‘I shall be most attentive, you may depend upon it.’ Having succeeded in getting his way, Marcus stood, anxious to distance himself from Lady Bellingham’s toxic company. ‘Have the goodness to inform me when the invitation has been issued.’
‘Christmas is still some weeks away. I shall not write quite yet but I will perhaps call and see the girls in person. You have made me curious about their living arrangements and I want to know what it is that you expect to gain by possessing that cottage.’
‘In which case I feel persuaded that you will see the sense in my argument. Good day to you, madam.’
Lady Bellingham’s butler materialised with Marcus’s hat and coat. He donned both and left the elegant mansion without a backward glance. His first thought was to retreat to White’s, but he didn’t have the courage to face his detractors in that bastion of male solidarity. The fact that they were right about his underhand dealings was neither here nor there. Marcus was absolutely convinced that they had no actual proof. If his sleight of hand had been noticed at any point, he would have been called on it at the time. No, once his writs had been issued, public apologies would flood in and his reputation, if not fully restored, would again be sufficiently robust for him to return to his old haunts.
In the meantime, he needed a treat to counter the unpleasant time he’d been forced to spend in Lady Bellingham’s company. He turned in the direction of a high-class whore house, where an enthusiastic and creative welcome was always guaranteed and the services on offer were second to none.
Isolda’s mouth fell open. ‘You think it was my aunt’s doing? That she persuaded Lord Brooke to defraud Papa?’
Ellery nodded. ‘The possibility has crossed my mind. Given what you just told me about Lady Bellingham’s vindictive nature, it makes sense.’
‘Because he rescued Mama, I take it you mean.’
‘Precisely.’
‘Do you really believe that my aunt resented her sister quite that much, all these years on?’
‘I have no way of knowing, but you did overhear their argument shortly after your uncle’s death. Perhaps your aunt held your father indirectly responsible for the demise of the man she loved.’
Isolda nodded. ‘There is little that I would not think her capable of, but even so…’ She paced back and forth, looking endearingly shapely and provocative in her boy’s clothing as she folded her arms across her waist and worried away at the problem. Brutus snapped at her heels, but she ignored the puppy and he grew weary of the game and scampered off into the trees in search of distractions. ‘I cannot help wondering why she is so keen to sponsor Jane’s coming-out, given that she holds my family responsible for all of her travails.’
‘Perhaps she resents the fact that she is childless.’
‘Or is favouring Jane in the futile hope of invoking my jealousy.’ Isolda shook her head. ‘As I say, there is no limit to her vindictiveness.’ She looked up at Ellery. ‘Bearing grudges for so long must be exhausting.’
‘Brooke is ideally placed to stoke the flames of her resentment.’
‘Very likely, but unless we can decide what it is that he wants to do with the land in this area—other than to annoy you, of course—we are no further forward. There is little that I would put past my aunt but she is independently wealthy and does not need to involve herself with Lord Brooke’s grubby schemes.’
‘Not with a view to increasing her fortune in mind, perhaps.’
‘She does not like me.’ Isolda glanced up and sent Ellery an impish look. ‘For reasons that escape me, she appears to think that I am insubordinate.’
‘You?’ Ellery widened his eyes in faux shock, enjoying himself enormously. ‘What could possibly have given her that idea?’
‘I know,’ Isolda smiled and shook her head, ‘it’s baffling. Even so,’ she added, her expression sobering, ‘I find it incredibly difficult to believe that she is still thirsting for revenge all these years on.’
‘Were she and your father on good terms?’
‘They tolerated one another.’ Isolda waggled a hand from side to side and gave a considering nod. ‘I could sense tension when they were in the same room, but that was also true of my mother and aunt. I did not know why at the time, of course, but have a much better understanding of their grievances now.’
‘I wonder why your aunt bothered to keep up the connection if there was so much friction.’
‘Perhaps because my uncle insisted upon it. He could be very dogmatic and was the only person I ever observed capable of keeping my aunt in check by tempering her sometimes spiteful outbursts. She adored him, I’ll give her that, and spent her life attempting to impress him. She never could, of course, because his heart belonged to Mama, and I suppose that fact must have hardened both her heart and her determination to consider herself ill-used. Believe me,’ Isolda added, rolling her eyes, ‘there is nothing she enjoys more than being put upon, or imagining herself to be.’
‘Your uncle wanted to be close to your mother, even if he couldn’t be anything more than that to her?’
