Page 44 of Needs Must
‘I have had enough of him, and of your interfering ways, Celia. I have told Daventry that I want you both out within the month and I shall not change my mind.’
‘How can you be so wicked, Cal?’ His mother held a handkerchief to her face and dabbed at dry eyes. ‘I cannot manage without Celia.’
‘Then go with her.’
‘Caleb Russell! How dare you talk to me so disrespectfully. Think of my nerves.’
‘I dare, Mother, because the things I have just said are long overdue.’
‘You are so cruel!’ Celia cried, crouching down to comfort their mother when Cal knew that no real comforting was necessary. She had always pretended weakness on the rare occasions when Cal had bothered to confront her.
Ordinarily he didn’t take the trouble. Anything for a quiet life, he thought, aware that his words were likely to go in one ear and out the other, and that his mother would continue bullying her way through life, just as she always had. But by being impolite to Donna, which he now knew for a certainty had been the case or they would have denied it more vehemently, they had pushed him beyond his limits.
‘The end of the month, Celia. And I shall not change my mind.’ He glanced at the clock. ‘But now, if you will excuse me, I have to be somewhere.’
Donna mulled over the events of the evening as she was driven briskly back to the Shipby Cal’s coachman. She wondered about the difference in character between the male members of Cal’s family and his female relatives. She had heartily disliked his mother and sister ? they were rude, condescending and totally lacking in any evidence of true breeding.
Cal had used her to make some sort of obscure point. Perhaps plying her with attention was his way of showing Lady Melanie that she was wasting her time pursuing him. There were easier ways, she thought, irritated. Why did men so often prevaricate rather than confronting difficult situations head on?
Despite her hostile reception, she had enjoyed her time with the handsome earl. She would be less than human if she hadn’t felt the full force of the compliment that his attentions implied, even if he had an ulterior motive for bestowing them.
That could have been my life, if I had not married the first man who showed an interest in me.
But Donna found she did not regret having been excluded from the company of her peers. If they were all so self-aware and aloof there was every possibility that her character would have developed in a similar way. She shuddered, glad to have escaped that particular fate despite her impoverished state.
Enough speculation, she thought. She would not be entertained by the earl again. In the unlikely event that she was invited for a second time she would decline, no matter what Miriam had to say on the matter. Instead, she ought to be considering the meeting with Bagshott the following day. She wondered what ideas Cal had in mind, convinced that he would have come up with something, even if he had chosen not to share his thoughts on the matter with her.
We’ll see about that!
The carriage rattled to a halt in the Ship’smews. It was late, after midnight, and the place was in darkness, but for one light seeping around the frame of the back door to the tavern. She felt afraid suddenly, aware that Aykroyd could be lurking anywhere in the shadows, waiting to accost her. She had nothing about her to use as a weapon; no means of defending herself. But she couldn’t remain in the carriage indefinitely either.
When the footman opened the door and lowered the steps, she alighted from the conveyance with head held high and thanked him.
‘I will escort you inside, ma’am,’ he said. ‘There may be scoundrels abroad at this time of night.’
She could have hugged the man but preserved her dignity and made do with thanking him politely. Not only did he escort her into the building. He also insisted upon climbing the stairs behind her and conducting her to her door. Only when Miriam had opened it and ushered her inside did the loyal footman bid her goodnight and retreat.
‘How did it go, lamb?’ Miriam asked as she helped Donna out of her finery.
‘Much as I expected.’
She made Miriam shudder when she described the ostentatious wealth on display. Her expression turned downright hostile when she went on to tell her maid how unwelcome she had been made to feel by the female members of the earl’s family.
‘You look as though you want to kill someone, Miriam, but there’s really no need. It made them feel important to look down at me and who am I to spoil their petty little games?’
‘You are ten times better than any of them, that’s who you are,’ Miriam insisted. ‘Wealth and position don’t make a person. Compassion and breeding do. And if one has it, one doesn’t feel the need to flaunt it.’
‘Forget about them. We are to meet with the earl and Bagshott tomorrow at the earl’s gatehouse. The earl has not told Bagshott that the letters he received were not written by my husband.’
‘Why not?’ Miriam paused. ‘Ah, I suppose he wasn’t sure himself. Perhaps he thought you were part of the deception.’ Miriam puffed out her cheeks. ‘Well, I hope he knows better now.’
‘I presume so, or I would not have been invited to the meeting. The earl wants me to explain the situation to Bagshott myself so that the man can decide whether or not I am being truthful.’
‘I never did hear of such an insult.’ Miriam looked fit to burst with anger. ‘As though you could be untruthful. You’re a lady.’
Donna smiled. ‘And ladies are never deceitful?’
‘Well some ladies might be, but not you. You’re incapable of deception.’
