There was silence until Gil exhaled on a long sigh of relief. ‘I appreciate your understanding, Henry. Although there was never an official betrothal, I felt it only right to set things straight with both you and Caroline at the earliest
opportunity
. And, if possible, I don’t want this to spoil our friendship.’
‘It won’t, my boy. Oh, Caroline won’t like it – she has a fancy to be Lady Maxton just now – but she’ll recover because she doesn’t love you. Better this way than you both be unhappy for the rest of your lives. She’s a handsome girl in many ways and if she’d smile more, she would be prettier still. There’s a
sizeable
portion of money settled on her when she marries and some fellow will come along who finds that appealing, and who’s more suited to her character. You’ve acted very properly towards her throughout and I thank you for that.’ He raised his brows quizzically and said, ‘So – have you found a lady you are about to offer marriage to?’
‘I have,’ he said, smiling.
‘Miss Paradise, I’ll warrant?’ ventured the squire, with another grin.
Gil laughed. ‘How did you guess?’
‘You had a certain glow in your eye whenever you spoke of her. I’m sure she’s delightful and I look forward to meeting her tomorrow.’
‘You can’t still think it advisable Alyssa and I attend?’ cried Gil, leaning forward. ‘I intend to speak to Caroline shortly and she will not want either of us at Frampton Manor afterwards.’
‘Lord, yes! You must,’ said Henry, nodding vigorously. ‘It would be disastrous if you
and
Miss Paradise did not come. Everyone would discover the reason behind your joint absence and it is best for all involved if this news leaks out slowly. My daughter has enough sense not to make a scene in front of half the county; she has her pride and will want to keep up appearances, and I can’t blame her for that. No, it’s my belief you must attend. Ask Caroline if she is of the same opinion, but I shall be surprised if she isn’t. I only ask one thing of you – and Miss Paradise.’
‘What is it?’
For the first time during their discussion, the squire looked uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and said, ‘I know what it is to be young and in love, but would you both mind being circumspect, just for tomorrow evening? It will make things easier for Caroline while in full view of her friends.’
‘I understand, Henry. The situation is an awkward one and naturally, Alyssa and I will do whatever we can to ensure the evening runs smoothly. We will appear friendly and nothing more. Afterwards, however, I’m afraid I have no intention of hiding my love for Alyssa – even if that proves difficult for Caroline living nearby,’ he said, a trace of defiance in his voice.
‘No! No! Wouldn’t ask you to do that, by God!’ acknowledged the squire, ‘Caroline must learn to accept the situation with good grace – her heart will not be broken. And I will not tolerate any discourteous behaviour from her
tomorrow
.’ He pursed his lips in consideration and mused, ‘In fact, following this
conversation
, I’ve a mind to agree to something Caroline has wanted for some time. She always had a desire spend the season with her aunt in Bath, but wouldn’t
countenance
it unless I funded her visit sufficiently. In turn, I refused to open my pocket book completely, thinking she could enjoy a visit just as well on a reasonable sum as on an exorbitant one. Then, as becoming Lady Maxton looked more likely in her eyes, she did not press the issue. I believe she secretly intended you and she to spend the winter ensconced in the Royal Crescent, entertaining on a grand scale.’
At Gil’s grimace, the squire chuckled and added, ‘I didn’t think it would be to your taste but there is no end to Caroline’s ambitions. However, in view of your forthcoming marriage, I think it would indeed be best if Caroline went to her aunt’s house. I shall dig deep into my pockets to dress her in the latest style, just as she wishes. She will enjoy it, and she’ll be put in the way of meeting other young men too.’
‘Whatever you think it best – neither Alyssa nor I desires to drive Caroline from her home.’
‘Nonsense, Gil! Take my word for it, Caroline will be eager to go.’ He
chuckled
suddenly. ‘I might even hire a yellow high-perch phaeton for her to cut a dash in around Bath.’
Some ten minutes later, Gil left the study. Having shared a glass of wine and a handshake with the squire, they had parted on the best of terms. However, as he was shown to the drawing-room, Gil considered his next interview was unlikely to be so amicable. He entered and saw Caroline seated on the sofa, bent over some embroidery, and, as he waited for her to speak, his face was a grim mask of determination.
‘Giles,’ said Caroline, snipping off her silk thread before she looked up, ‘I heard you had come to see my father.’
‘Yes – now I must speak to you.’
‘I see.’ She eyed him with an assessing glance. ‘Then will you sit down?’
‘Thank you, no: I prefer to stand.’
‘As you wish. I gather from your demeanour you have something of import to say.’ Caroline smiled like a cat that had unearthed a dish of cream after a long search, and put aside her embroidery. ‘Now the moment has arrived, you must feel apprehensive, but there is no need when our acquaintance is long-standing. Let me congratulate you on your timing; it could not be bettered, with everyone of consequence at our evening party tomorrow to hear any announcements.’
A muscle flickered in his jaw. ‘As ever, you presume to read my thoughts,’ he replied.
‘I do not presume to guess your thoughts
at this moment
– indeed, I expect you are suffering an excess of sensibility – but it would be foolish for me to appear coy when I can guess the subject of your conversation with my father.’ She rearranged the skirt of her gown as she added confidently, ‘No doubt you were asking his permission to pay your addresses.’
‘No, I was not.’
Her gaze flew back to his face, her smile dissipating. ‘
No
?’
‘No.’
‘Oh, don’t be absurd, Giles,’ she said, rising to her feet and giving a
high-pitched
titter. ‘You
must
have – I have been waiting an age for you to declare yourself!’
‘On the contrary, my conversation with your father was to explain I will not be declaring myself, and I have come to say any unspoken understanding between us is at an end. You will receive no offer of marriage from me – now, or in the future.
Caroline’s habitually haughty expression slipped and she turned a little pale, her brows snapping together in a frown. ‘But – but you must offer for me:
everyone
expects you to.’
‘If they did, they are mistaken, for it will never happen.’
Caroline stared in disbelief. ‘This is outrageous!’
‘It is eminently sensible, and I am at fault for not bringing this charade to an end sooner,’ he replied, with quiet authority.
‘Charade
! How dare you!’
‘Oh, I dare,’ said Gil, grimly, striding towards her. ‘It is high time we had a frank discussion, Caroline. Charade is an accurate description when you consider the facts: we are not formally engaged; I have never hinted or suggested I was about to offer marriage; nor have I ever spoken to your father on the subject—’
‘But we discussed marriage in general terms,’ she interjected.
‘No, it was always
you
who talked so while I remained silent. Stupidly, I allowed myself to be manipulated instead of making it clear I did not love you.’
‘Love?’ snorted Caroline, regarding him as she might a particularly repellent insect. ‘Love and passion are emotions indulged in by people with little breeding. I did not expect you to … to slaver over me, Giles, and would have found it distasteful if you had.’
He gave a sardonic half-smile. ‘I always knew you did not care for me.’
‘It is true I do not feel affection for you in a romantic sense, but I admire and respect you and believe those sentiments are a good enough basis for marriage.’
‘Are they?’ he said, with a hard look.
‘For those in our social position, yes.’
His lip curled. ‘Well, they are not enough for me. I want more than a
cold-hearted
, efficient wife who admires me only for my title and my money.’
‘You are being insulting!’
‘I am being honest.’
‘Oh, it is insupportable to be jilted like this!’
‘But how can I jilt you when we have never been engaged?’ asked Gil
reasonably
. Caroline made a sound of disgust and turned away, but he continued, ‘Even so, I still felt honour bound to explain to you in person, and to your father also.’
‘I never imagined you would prove such a callous brute,’ she said, facing him once more.
‘Call me callous if you wish – there was no easy way to tell you – but I am determined there will be no further misunderstandings. I do not love you and you admit you do not care for me either. It was wrong of me not to confess my true feelings until now, but you have taken full advantage of my silence. Through gossip and whispers, you encouraged your acquaintances to think our marriage is inevitable, and now the consequences of your indiscretion must be dealt with, to which end I shall play my part and dissemble no longer.’
‘Oh, how noble!’ she sneered. Incensed, she began to pace to and fro across the room. ‘Have you no consideration for the position you place me in?’
‘I bitterly regret both of us are in this situation, but to be blunt, it is mostly of your making. If you had kept your counsel instead of spreading rumours, there would be no need to feel uncomfortable now when you go amongst your friends.’
‘You have the audacity to blame me?’ she said, coming to a halt to fix him with the glare of a patrician basilisk.
‘Pray tell me who else should I blame for the general acceptance we were to marry?’ asked Gil. ‘As I have explained, I readily accept my shortcomings, but at least I have never spoken on the subject of marriage to anyone. You are shortly to become a victim of your own gossip and I hope the experience proves a
salutary
lesson for you not to let your tongue run so freely in future.’
She blinked and drew in an indignant breath. ‘I cannot believe what I am
hearing
. Good God, I shall be a laughing stock! What has happened to cause this change—?’ She stopped and cried, ‘Wait – there is more to this than you have yet told me.’ Her eyes narrowed as she continued, ‘Ah! Perhaps I should have guessed immediately – that woman is in some way responsible for your decision.’
‘Are you referring to Miss Paradise?’
‘Yes!’ she hissed.
‘Then I would be obliged if you would do so in a civil tone,’ he said, gritting his teeth. ‘Miss Paradise
is
involved, but I should have ended this before she ever came into Dorset. However, you shall hear exactly how matters stand because I want no more misconceptions: I have fallen in love with Alyssa and intend to ask for her hand in marriage as soon as possible—’
Caroline gasped.
‘—indeed, I only delayed doing so because I thought it honourable to speak with you, and your father, first.’
Trembling with outrage, she managed to utter, ‘
What
? You intend to offer for
her
instead of me?’ Caroline came perilously near to stamping her foot. ‘Insufferable!’ She drew herself up to her full height and added tersely, ‘Have you no thought for my feelings? How am I to bear the ignominy of being passed over for a woman of her ilk?’
‘Since you have just admitted you do not love me, I think you will bear it well enough. Only your pride will suffer,’ he said, drily.
Caroline offered no direct reply to this: it was indeed her pride and reputation that concerned her most. Instead, she declared, ‘Oh, I
knew
the moment I met her she was the most conniving, unsuitable young woman—’
‘Have a care, Caroline,’ he warned ominously, throwing his driving gloves down on to a nearby table, ‘I’ll not tolerate vicious slurs against someone dear to me.’
‘You have run mad! You have been thrown into her company by the demands of that preposterous will which you compounded with ill-advised further help, and now you imagine yourself in love with her.’
‘I don’t
imagine
myself in love: I
know
I am – more than I can show Alyssa in one lifetime.’
Caroline uttered a hollow laugh. ‘Where is the brisk, unemotional man of business I once knew?’ she jeered, ‘She’s turned you into a romantic fool!’
He only grinned in response to this, which infuriated her further. ‘I believe she has and I adore her even more for doing so.’
‘As your wife, I would complement your wealth and position, and you could achieve a seat in Parliament, or even a peerage with me at your side,’ said Caroline in throbbing tones, ‘whereas she –
she
is a common, scheming harridan who will bring you
nothing
.’
His grin died away and he muttered an oath. ‘Enough!’ he snapped
peremptorily
. ‘God knows I have tried to be honourable! I have also tried to show you civility and respect this afternoon but it seems you are unwilling to do likewise. I care nothing for your opinion of me, but I will not allow you to speak of Alyssa in that way without reply. So be it. You force my hand and I will give my opinion plainly: you are an ambitious, arrogant woman, Caroline, but I am no Macbeth figure, to be manipulated by an ambitious wife to the exclusion of all other considerations. I am and will continue to be successful for the benefit of my future wife and any children we have, not to obtain a peerage—’
‘But—’
‘I have not yet finished and you
will
hear me out! While I enjoy the trappings of wealth, I will not be a slave to them, uncomfortable as that may be to
someone
with your ambition. And Alyssa has shown me something else, a matter of principle I should have addressed sooner, and that is that I have a moral duty where possible to pay those who work for me an adequate wage to live on. It would be repugnant to grow rich while the children of those I employ are
half-starved
.’ His gaze, full of antipathy, ran over her. ‘I love Alyssa – she will bring me
everything
I need – and I’ll thank you not to insult her further in my
hearing
.’
She blinked at the icy disdain dripping from every syllable of this speech. From his expression and the tense set of his shoulders, Caroline realized it would be unwise to antagonize him further and she fell silent, walking to the window to look out at the gardens.
When she turned back, two spots of colour burned in her cheeks, but she had collected herself and temporarily regained her
sang-froid
. ‘You have made your feelings perfectly plain, sir. It is beyond my comprehension why you wish to marry Miss Paradise – I hope you do not live to regret it, but that is your affair. Indeed,’ she continued, ‘having witnessed your unfortunate manner this
afternoon
, perhaps it is for the best that our understanding is over. No gentleman worthy of the name would behave in this boorish way. I see now I have been sadly mistaken in you, and I refuse to repine at length. After all, I have my
reputation
to consider, and have no wish to be associated with a man sadly
overwhelmed
with moral virtue towards the lower classes, and with no desire to make his mark in the world!’
‘I am pleased the situation is clear,’ he said, executing a brief bow. ‘Let us hope our future contact can be polite, if not warm, as we are destined to be near neighbours and your father is my friend as well as business associate. There is only one issue that remains to be resolved, and I discussed it briefly with your father: it is his opinion that Miss Paradise and I should still attend your evening party. Is that your wish also? I will perfectly understand if you feel to the contrary.’
‘Good God, do you seek to embarrass me completely in society’s eyes?’ she cried. ‘My father is right; much as I might wish otherwise, you must attend – if you do not, everyone will wonder why which will lead to questions and
speculation
. Oh, have no fear your presence will invoke tearful displays from me! I will waste no further time considering you, or Miss Paradise – after what I have just heard, you are deserving of each other.’
‘I believe we are,’ he murmured, his lips curving in a smile. ‘There is nothing more to be said. Good day to you, Caroline. Notwithstanding what has passed between us this afternoon, please accept my best wishes for your future health, and my earnest wish that you find the kind of happiness you seek.’ He bowed again perfunctorily, collected his driving gloves and marched to the door. He halted and, looking back, added in a withering tone, ‘I will make my mark in the world but with a loving wife at my side, not someone infatuated with social advancement and wealth.’
With this Parthian shot, he left. Moments later, Caroline’s pent-up fury found expression, first through an unladylike shriek, and then by throwing her
embroidery
against the door which had closed in his wake.
It was not to be expected that Caroline’s temper would improve on reflection. Indeed, during the hours that followed, her anger hardened into cold fury. She was female enough to resent the man she had marked down for her husband offering for another woman, but rather than suffering the effects of a broken heart as a result, Caroline felt only incandescent rage at being thwarted.
While she deplored Giles’s trenchant treatment of her and did not seek to excuse his conduct, Caroline decided the greater blame lay with Alyssa. It was, she reasoned, the wretched creature’s influence which had brought about his change of heart. She had cast out her lures like a siren and he had been unable to resist. These were the circumstances behind his vulgar protestations that he was in love, and Caroline itched to take revenge.
A discussion with her father later that afternoon did little to improve her state of mind. He tried, with tact and kindness, to point out the differences which would have made her marriage to Sir Giles ill-advised.
‘A union where neither cares for the other at the start is doomed to
unhappiness
,’ he declared roundly. ‘I do not wish that fate to befall you. You are upset, but it will pass because your affections were not engaged.’ He smiled
encouragingly
. ‘Come, Caroline! What say you to an extended visit to your aunt and uncle in Bath, with all necessary expenses covered by me?’
‘That would, of course, be welcome, Father,’ said she, ‘but I am still convinced Giles and I would have enjoyed a compliant if not ardently
affectionate
marriage, were it not for that woman’s intervention.’