Nicola Cornick (12 page)

James smiled sardonically. ‘We have already mentioned her name. Five days ago, I offered my hand in marriage to Alicia Carberry!’

Caroline’s eyes were the size of saucers. She stared, but could utter no sound. Marcus, showing no further visible sign of disturbance, carefully removed the cup from his wife’s hand and put it down gently on the table. She did not even notice.

‘Well, James,’ Marcus said ruefully as the silence stretched out, ‘you have achieved your object of silencing us both! Now you owe us an explanation! It is stretching credulity too far to expect us to believe that you have been nurturing a secret passion for seven years and have now come back to fulfil it—not after the terms of your parting from Alicia!’

James gave a reluctant laugh, lying back in his armchair and stretching his long legs towards the fire. ‘True enough! But you are vastly behindhand in your knowledge of my reacquaintance with Lady Carberry!’ A wicked twinkle came into his eyes. ‘In the space of one week I have been involved in a carriage accident with her, spent a night in a lonely inn in her company, indulged in several heated arguments with her and had my proposal of marriage put to scorn!’

‘James! Enough of this provocation!’ Caroline held up a hand in mock surrender. ‘If you do not instantly indulge my curiosity I will burst!’

James laughed aloud at that. ‘Acquit me, Caro! I will try to make amends!’ He paused to sort out his thoughts. ‘Where shall I start?’

‘The beginning would seem appropriate,’ Caroline said, with asperity.

‘Very well,’ James agreed obligingly. He picked up the soft, sleepy puppy and settled him on his lap.

‘On my way up from Cardace, my curricle was in collision with Lady Carberry’s coach. No one was seriously hurt,’ he added hastily, seeing Caroline’s look of sudden alarm. ‘I helped the ladies to the shelter of the inn at Ottery. It was a godforsaken place, but I had given up hope of being able to convey them to a better establishment as we had no useable vehicle. Then, fortuitously, Squire and Mrs Henley stopped, having seen Lady Carberry’s carriage in the ditch. They offered hospitality at the Manor.’ The hint of amusement left him and his tone took on a heavy irony. ‘The Henleys had guests and could not take up both ladies at once, so Lady Carberry, for reasons best known to herself, sent Miss Frensham on ahead.’

‘Oh, dear,’ Caroline said faintly, sensing disaster.

James gave her a rueful grimace. ‘The road was flooded,’ he said, with weary patience, ‘the carriage could not return for her ladyship and thus we were marooned together overnight at the inn!’

‘How uncomfortable for you both!’ Marcus commented, with a twitch of the lips. ‘Dare I ask how you felt about this meeting? And how you passed the time?’

James shot him a darkling look. ‘My feelings could best be described as mixed! As for the rest, we spent most of our time together in argument! I accused Lady Carberry of a reckless disregard for the conventions and the conversation degenerated from there! She retired to her room and I did not see her for the rest of the evening. The following morning I mistakenly conceived it to be my duty as a gentleman to offer her the protection of my name. I was rejected.’

Marcus looked perplexed by this foreshortened tale. He frowned.

‘Hold on a minute, James, you’re not making sense here! By your own admission you have no very good opinion of Alicia Carberry, yet you could have come out of this encounter an affianced man! Doing it a bit too brown, old chap!’

James smiled reluctantly. ‘I know! Misplaced chivalry…’ He shrugged with an attempt at lightness. ‘No doubt I should be grateful that Lady Carberry had the sense to refuse me!’

There was an inflection in James’s voice that caused Marcus to look at him curiously. After all this time one might have expected there to be nothing but indifference between James Mullineaux and Alicia Carberry, but this was evidently not so. James had spoken lightly, but
Marcus knew his old friend and sensed that James’s feelings were neither detached nor clear-cut. His interest sharpened.

‘So how did you find Alicia after all these years?’ Marcus enquired, the casual nature of the question belied by the acute interest in his eyes.

A black frown descended on James’s brow. ‘I found her wilful, proud, selfish, spoiled and arrogant,’ he said shortly. ‘Perhaps she was always all of those things and I was simply too infatuated to notice!’

He saw the expression on Caroline’s face change and felt instantly contrite. ‘I am sorry, Caro. I realise that you have remained Alicia Carberry’s friend.’

There was an awkward pause. Mullineaux picked up the poker and moodily stirred the fire up into a blaze again. Caroline was watching him with a thoughtful look in her blue eyes. She felt no need to justify her friendship with Alicia, but she did feel an obligation to her friend. For once she thought very carefully before rushing into speech. She met her husband’s steady gaze in a look of complete understanding. He did not say a word.

‘No doubt you find it odd that I should still be a friend to Alicia after all that happened,’ Caroline began carefully, ‘and if it is your wish, James, we shall not mention the matter again. However, I should like to explain.’ She saw his discouraging look, hesitated, then ploughed doggedly on when he did not speak.

‘I am still close to Alicia because I do not believe that she was ever a…’ she searched for the right words ‘…a scheming adventuress who was out to marry for money or a title. Alicia did not change—she is still the same person we all knew, and we knew that she was not like that! She has never told me the circumstances of her marriage, but I
know
Bertram Broseley forced the match and I am willing to believe that he exerted a lot of pressure to do so. I cannot blame Alicia for a situation of which I feel she was as much a victim as you were!’

There was silence. James looked totally unconvinced by this undeniably heartfelt plea. After he had clearly thought about and discarded several potential replies, he merely said, ‘I’m sorry, Caro. I know you are sincere and I admire your loyalty even whilst I think it misplaced, but I cannot feel the same way as you do.’

Something closed in Caroline’s face. ‘No, of course not.’ She put her teacup down gently and rose to her feet. ‘Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I think I shall have an early night.’

Her gaze met Marcus’s and a powerful message passed between them. Both men rose politely to their feet as she went out, closing the
door softly behind her. James hesitated, put the pup down then walked over to the desk, reaching for the brandy decanter this time. Nod raised his head from his paws and gave a sleepy snore.

There was the companionable quiet that often existed between old friends and Marcus yawned, stretching in the warmth of the fire. He had not been remotely disturbed by the conversation between Caroline and James Mullineaux. He had great respect for Caroline’s judgement and for his own part he had always liked Alicia Carberry. Like Caroline and a great many of their immediate friends, Marcus was certain that Bertram Broseley had compelled Alicia to marry George Carberry by some very questionable means. The fact that Alicia had never spoken of this even to her closest friends suggested to Marcus that it must still be very painful for her to recall.

However, he felt it would be naive to expect James to hold the same opinion. Whatever the truth had been, the relationship between James and Alicia was smashed beyond repair.

‘So what happened after Lady Carberry dented your self-esteem with her rejection?’ Marcus enquired lazily, looking up as James passed him one of the balloon glasses of brandy. ‘You mentioned arguments in the plural—have you met since Ottery, then?’

James looked rueful. ‘You don’t miss much, do you, Marcus? I have met Lady Carberry on two subsequent occasions and our antagonism has not waned! The rest of the time I have been obliged to hear all and sundry sing her praises! It’s enough to try the patience of a saint!’

Marcus grinned. ‘So you don’t list yourself with her admirers, then, old chap!’ He stole a quick look at James’s face and added guilelessly, ‘It seems you still hold her in complete dislike!’

Surprisingly, James did not immediately agree with this. He turned his empty port glass over absent-mindedly between his fingers a few times, then he looked up and smiled.

‘Cut line, Marcus—you know you don’t really believe that! I never could fool you, could I, not even when we were in short coats? Damn it, my feelings really don’t bear examination at the moment, but, despite that, I think you had better tell me whatever it is both you and Caroline feel I should know about Alicia.’

Their eyes met in a split second of tension, then Marcus gave a nod of acknowledgement.

‘Well, you don’t miss much either, do you, James? I suppose it’s only fair…I cannot speak for Caro, but for myself it’s simply that I dislike injustice and I think Alicia has been misjudged. Like Caro, I
believe that she was forced into marriage with Carberry. I can’t prove it, of course,’ he added quickly. ‘Alicia is the only one who could tell you the truth, but it grates on me that she should be condemned without a hearing.’

James’s gaze rested on him with acute intelligence. ‘There’s more to this than that, though. You both remain convinced of her innocence when all the evidence points to the contrary. You must have some basis for your belief in her integrity.’

Marcus shifted a little uncomfortably in his chair. ‘Yes, there is something…But it’s hardly my secret to tell. Can you not take my word for it?’

There was a silence, then James shook his head slightly. ‘On anything else I would say yes without reservation, Marcus. But you are asking me to agree to something without letting me judge the evidence myself—something which has profoundly affected my own life! I can’t do it.’

Marcus sighed resignedly. ‘I take your point. Well, this is Caroline’s tale rather than mine, but I do not suppose that she would grudge my telling you.’ He paused, aware of the sudden tension in the room.

‘Caroline was one of the few people who saw Alicia immediately after George Carberry had died. She had heard that Alicia was back at Stansfield House and went to see how she was. That was typical of Caro,’ Marcus said, his pride showing in his voice. ‘Everyone else was talking scandal, but all she was concerned about was Alicia’s welfare.’

He looked up to see James’s gaze fixed on him with grave intent.

‘Anyway, at first Lady Stansfield refused point-blank to let Caro in, but you know how persistent she is! In the end Lady S. agreed that it might help Alicia to see a friend, but she warned Caroline that Alicia was very unwell.’ Marcus looked sombre. ‘I called to see Caroline later in the day and she was still very upset by the experience. She poured it all out to me—how Alicia was covered in disfiguring bruises and cuts and was so disorientated that she barely had any idea where she was—even who she was!’ Marcus shrugged uncomfortably. ‘It was profoundly distressing.’

James’s eyes had narrowed in disbelief at the story he was hearing. ‘What are you saying, Marcus? That Carberry—or Broseley—did this to her?’

Marcus met his eyes directly. ‘Precisely, James.’

There was a silence whilst James struggled with what he had been
told. Then, suddenly, the enormity of it struck him. He looked aghast. ‘Marcus, I cannot believe…Why would Broseley do such a thing?’

Marcus looked grim. ‘Who can say for sure? It was in his interests to achieve a marriage between two mercantile empires and this was a good way to seal such an arrangement. If Alicia cut up rough at his plans, he would have to change her mind for her, somehow. After all, persuading unwilling offspring into marriage is hardly a new concept!’

‘Last century, perhaps, but in this day and age…?’ James ran his hand through his hair. ‘I’m sorry, Marcus, but I really can’t believe this…’

Marcus shrugged. ‘That is your privilege, of course, and I would not seek to change your mind. All I know is that Caro would not lie.’

‘No, of course not…’ James was struggling to equate his own view of events with this new evidence. ‘But perhaps she misunderstood? Damn it, Broseley told me Alicia had chosen Carberry of her own free will!’ He slammed his fist down on the arm of the chair as his feelings caught alight. ‘Marcus, Alicia’s letter damned her more eloquently than I ever could! It was the most blatant piece of self-seeking greed that I have ever come across!’

Marcus drained his glass. ‘She never
told
you to your face, did she, James?’

‘No.’ James was looking impatient. ‘But—’ He broke off. ‘What exactly are you suggesting? That Broseley contrived it all? That he made her write something against her will?’

‘Precisely,’ Marcus said again. He waited for this to sink in and watched the conflict of thought that was clearly displayed on James’s face.

‘But—’ James was really struggling now ‘—there were all those stories circulating in the clubs that Alicia had always been up to the highest bidder, that she had married Carberry for his money…’

Marcus looked at him a little pityingly. ‘Come on, James! Anyone can put a tale about—you should know that! Who do you think started those rumours?’

James looked incapable of commenting. He was scowling into the heart of the fire, but it was not the flames that he was seeing. His imagination was quite capable of summoning up all kinds of demons prompted by Marcus Kilgaren’s words. It all sounded so horribly plausible and yet he had never even imagined it. Wrapped up in his own pride and disillusion, he had never questioned his interpretation of events. He had swung from the extreme of love to hatred and disen
chantment, and had joined the chorus of those who had condemned Alicia to social damnation.