Secret Heiress (20 page)

He had done all he could to protect her. Yes, he was angry, but he had put his anger to one side in his determination to find Marianne and save her from ruin.

Eliza knew that she could not expect him to care for her in the same way. He had never known her, because she had been taken away when she was but a few hours old. Lady Sarah had never given up hope that she would one day find her child again, but the marquis had married and found solace in other ways.

At least he had believed her innocent of malice in the end and that was something.

As she was dressing for the evening, Eliza's thoughts turned to Daniel. If she accepted his offer of marriage, perhaps Lady Sarah could be persuaded to keep their relationship secret. She must see that it would be so much better if Eliza went away and they met as often as possible out of the public eye.

Eliza knew that she loved Daniel. She wanted very much to be his wife. She also wanted to care for her mother. Why could she not have both? In other circumstances they might have taken Lady Sarah to live with them.

Eliza sighed. It was all so very difficult and the choice was too hard to make lightly.

She had just finished dressing her hair when the door opened and her mother walked in.

‘I wanted to give you this to wear this evening.' Lady
Sarah handed her the diamond-and-aquamarine pendant that Eliza had once admired. ‘I think it will look well on you. I always thought that I would give it to my daughter one day. Please wear it and enjoy it, my dearest. If I had them, I would give you more precious jewels.'

‘I should not want them,' Eliza assured her. ‘This is perfect for me. I shall treasure it always. Are you sure I ought to wear it this evening?'

‘I am at liberty to give what I please to my daughter,' Lady Sarah said and kissed her. ‘Do not worry, Eliza. My son is not his father. I do not believe he would turn me out.'

Eliza felt doubtful. Lord Manners had seemed quite determined to her, but perhaps he was less harsh with his mother. Of course, it must be so. His threats were against Eliza and meant to scare her away.

Eliza removed the string of seed pearls and replaced it with the necklace. It looked well with her gown. ‘This is beautiful, ma'am. Thank you so much.'

‘I shall not ask you to call me Mama this evening, but in future you must do so, Eliza. You are my daughter and I am proud of you.'

‘We must talk about it again tomorrow,' Eliza said. ‘I think we ought to go or we shall be late…'

 

The carriage was waiting to convey them the short distance to the main house. Every window of the large, magnificent building was ablaze with light, spilling out on to the gracious forecourt and across the lawns into the shadows at the far end. The wind was a little chilly that evening for the autumn was now truly upon them and the nights had shortened.

Eliza followed Lady Sarah as she led the way. She was greeted with warmth and respect by the servants,
which told her daughter a great deal. Her husband might have treated her cruelly, but his servants liked their old mistress very well.

They passed through an echoing hall with an imposing staircase into a grand drawing room. The colours of crimson, dark blue and gold were rich, but a little too formal for Eliza's taste. She much preferred the softer colours at the Dower House, which she imagined her mother had chosen.

Several people were in the room and they turned to look as they entered. One or two came forwards to greet Lady Sarah, the ladies kissing her cheek and the gentlemen taking her hand. They seemed genuinely glad to see her, but not one of them so much as glanced at Eliza. Even at the start in Bath, before the rumours, Eliza had at least been treated politely. Here she might have been invisible, receiving no more than a frosty nod when Lady Sarah introduced her as her companion.

Eliza held her head high, choosing to ignore the incivility of Lord Manners and his guests. She had no doubt that he had warned his friends to cut the upstart who had dared to prey on his mother.

Since no one spoke to her directly, Eliza did not join in the general conversation at dinner, which was all about people in London society, none of whom she had ever met. Whenever she chanced to look at her mother, she smiled at her, but it was not until the ladies followed Lady Manners into the drawing room at the end of the meal that anyone spoke to her.

‘You may help me with the tea, Miss Bancroft,' Lady Manners spoke coldly, her pale blue eyes like chips of ice. She was a pretty woman, no more than three and twenty at the most, but her expression was sour, her
dress severe. ‘That is, after all, what you are, a paid servant—are you not?'

‘Serena, please, my dear,' Lady Sarah protested. ‘Eliza is a friend to me. I rely on her completely, as I told my son when he visited in Bath.'

Eliza shook her head and smiled at her mother, making her own reply.

‘I am Lady Sarah's companion, and, yes, she does pay me.'

Eliza went forwards to take the cups where she was directed. She did her duty with grace and calm civility, and one of the younger ladies gave her a sympathetic smile.

Eliza made no response to anyone. After receiving her own dish of tea, she took it to the far side of the room and looked out of the window, trying to ignore the conversation.

‘Eliza my dear, are you ready? I am tired and I think we should leave.'

Hearing her mother's gentle tones, Eliza nodded and stood up. A servant was dispatched to fetch their cloaks and then they were outside, climbing into the waiting carriage despite their hostess's appeal to wait for the gentlemen to join them.

‘I have never been so angry in my life,' Lady Sarah said as she reached for her hand. ‘Forgive me, Eliza. Had I guessed what Howard meant to do, I would never have attended his wretched dinner. It was a deliberate insult to you. He knows you are my daughter and is determined to make things awkward for you. Promise me that you will not allow him to distress you.'

‘I am not distressed, except for your sake,' Eliza assured her. ‘Please do not be upset, dearest Mama.
You told me he prefers London. I doubt he will stay long.'

‘If he continues in this way, we shall repair to Bath—or find a small house in the country where we can be quiet together.'

‘Perhaps it would be better if I left,' Eliza suggested. ‘You could employ another companion and we could meet sometimes in private. I do not suggest this for my sake but yours. I should hate to think that you were driven out of your home, because of me.'

‘You must promise me not to leave,' Lady Sarah said. ‘If you were to marry, I should wish you happy and visit you as much as I could—but I will not have you reduced to working for someone else. You are my daughter, whether Howard likes it or not—and he will just have to accept you.'

‘I would never leave without telling you the reason,' Eliza promised.

The carriage was slowing. When the coachman came to let down the steps, Eliza got out first and helped her mother to descend. They went indoors together and Lady Sarah went straight up to her bedchamber. Eliza saw that she was being cared for by her maid and then went to her own room. However, she was not in the least tired and the moonlight called to her.

She put on a dark cloak and went out. She would just take a little turn about the gardens to clear her head, and then go in.

As she moved towards the shrubbery a dark figure came out of the shadows to meet her. Eliza gave a little cry of alarm, her heart racing. Then she saw it was Daniel and her heartbeat slowed to a sensible pace.

‘I wondered who it could be,' she said and smiled, holding out her hand to him. ‘I am glad to see you,
sir. Please forgive me for rushing off so abruptly this morning.'

‘You were concerned for your mother. How is Lady Sarah?'

‘She seems quite well, if a little tired. We were summoned to dinner at the house this evening, and I fear my reception there has made her angry.'

‘I heard that Manners was very like his father,' Daniel said. He took her hands in his carrying them to his lips to kiss the fingers. ‘Was it very awful, my dearest one?'

‘It was not pleasant,' Eliza admitted. ‘Lord Manners is angry that I did not respond to the threat he made in Bath.'

‘He threatened you?'

‘He said that I would find myself in prison as an impostor and a cheat if I did not leave Lady Sarah's employ. Hardly a word was spoken to me all evening, and then it was merely a reminder that I am only a companion.'

‘The wretched snobs!' Daniel said. ‘They do not deserve your consideration, Eliza. You are worth ten of any of them—and Lady Sarah knows it.'

‘She loves me,' Eliza said and sighed. ‘I did not give you an answer, Daniel, for I feel that she needs me. Would it be too much to ask you to wait for a little longer? I do love you…'

‘You love me?' Daniel swept her into his arms, gazing down at her in the moonlight. ‘I feared you could not love a rogue like me. I do not deserve you, my love—but my heart has been yours almost from the first.'

‘I love you very much,' Eliza replied and there was no shyness or hesitation in her. ‘I would go with you this very night, except that I promised my mother I would
not go without telling her the reason…' She hesitated, then, ‘The cottage that you spoke of, Daniel…would it be possible to buy such a house where my mother could visit us in private? It would be a refuge for her if her son is insensitive enough to turn her from her home.'

‘Yes, I am certain I can save enough for that,' Daniel replied, downgrading the regiment he could afford in his mind as the house for Eliza and her mother grew larger. ‘If you tell me you love me, I am content to wait.'

‘Kiss me,' Eliza urged, pressing herself against his body. She trembled with the need to be loved and touched, to know the joys of loving. ‘We have this night and I want to spend it with you.'

‘Yes, we shall have tonight,' Daniel agreed. ‘I think, tomorrow, I should call on your mother and tell her of my plans for the future. Meet me in the woods as we agreed, and we will go to her together.'

‘Yes, I believe she would like to talk to you. I know she likes you well, and she wishes me to be happy.'

‘It is also my wish. If the estate were still my own, I would offer your mother a home with us, Eliza. Unfortunately, my father's foolishness at the tables has left us with merely enough to live a decent honest life as an officer and his wife, though we shall have the cottage I promised.'

‘It is more than enough for me. I have never expected more. To know my mother is comfortable and to be your wife is complete happiness for me.'

‘Then I shall speak to her in the morning.' Daniel smiled as he drew her into his arms. ‘For now, I think you mentioned kisses?'

‘I want to be yours completely,' Eliza said as he took her hand. ‘The summerhouse beyond those trees. We can be alone there.'

‘I have thought of you so often, wanted you so much,' Daniel said, his arm about her waist. She leaned her head against his shoulder. ‘I never dreamed to find such happiness.'

 

Eliza lay dreaming, snuggled in her bed, which she had not sought until past five that morning. She had spent the night in the summerhouse with Daniel, wrapped in his arms, blissfully happy and content. He had kissed her, touched her, held her, loved her, but he had not taken her maidenhead, though she would have given it willingly.

‘I love you too much,' Daniel said. ‘I have seen girls ruined, because their lover was too impatient. If anything should come between us—if I should die—I would not have you suffer for it, my love. You have given me so much this night. I shall save the happiness you offer so sweetly for our wedding night.'

Eliza had been too content to argue. It was enough for her to sit with her back against his warmth, held in his strong embrace for hours as they talked and kissed. Daniel had been so gentle, so loving and generous that if she had not been convinced of her own feelings before, she knew them now. Soon she would get up and go to meet him, and then they would visit her mother together.

A knock at her door brought her from her reverie. She called out that the maid might enter and Maisie came in, looking distressed.

‘I am sorry to disturb you, miss, but her ladyships is in a state and asks that you come to her immediately.'

‘Yes, of course.' Eliza's heart jerked with fear. ‘Is she unwell?'

‘No, miss. It is terrible. I've never known anything like this to happen before.'

‘Why? What has happened?'

‘You'd best go to her ladyship yourself, miss.' Maisie was close to tears. ‘I'm too upset to speak of it.'

Eliza pulled on her dressing gown. She left Maisie to go about her business and walked down the hall to her mother's room. Lady Sarah was standing by her dressing chest and her jewel case was open on the top. She turned as Eliza entered, giving a cry of distress.

‘Eliza, my love. Something terrible has happened. The rubies have gone. I locked them in my jewel case last evening and put the key in my reticule, as always. This morning I was determined to send them back as soon as I was awake. I did not want to wear the wretched things and now they are gone.'

‘You are certain you put them there?'

‘Yes, quite certain. You reminded me not to leave valuables lying about, even though we both trust the servants—but, as you said, anyone might come in.' She shuddered and looked distressed. ‘To think that someone was in my room while I slept. I might have been murdered in my bed. We could all have been murdered.'

‘Please, do not disturb yourself, Mama. Had the thief intended you harm it would already have happened. Was anything else taken?'

‘No, but as I told you, my trinkets are of little monetary value. My husband always insisted on locking the heirlooms away in his strongroom each night. Oh, why did I not wait and give them back to Howard last night, as I intended?'