Chapter 18
A Stranger in His House
Arthur looked down from his perch in his chamber’s balcony. The compound was full, and there was a bevy of beautiful women downstairs. His sister had really gone all out to throw this garden party. The guests had spilled from the garden into the rest of the estate, and even though the party hadn’t gone on an hour, Arthur could see that it was very enjoyable.
For them.
He had thought what Mr Victor had told him would help calm him down, but he discovered he had only been sadder since then.
Why would his mother allow him hurt by keeping information away from him?
Arthur saw his sister talking to a man with grey hair peeking out from beneath his grey hat. The man was holding a young woman by the arm. She had to be his daughter. Arthur saw his sister look up twice to him as she spoke. He was certain they were talking about him. His sister had not given up on matchmaking him.
Well, I am not interested.
Arthur hadn’t been able to get any information from his mother. He had spent the first two days plotting out a plan on how to effectively get her to speak. At last he decided on a direct affront. If he claimed she knew more than she was saying and was only satisfied in his sadness, she would respond to his sentimental claim and try to absolve herself from any blame. She would speak. Arthur was disappointed to find his mother in bed throughout that day. She was feeling light-headed, and the physician had to come and administer some drugs to her. She was still recuperating and not yet as active as she had been in the past few weeks. Arthur decided not to broach such a fiery topic to her just yet. He didn’t want her breaking down.
His lack of action on the advice Mr Victor gave him only made him more melancholic and withdrawn. He hadn’t gone back to see Rebecca since that sweet night. She hadn’t seemed interested in discussing the last time he went. She hadn’t seemed interested in discussing ever since he came back. Arthur wanted to go when he was armed with information. So he could at least defend himself if she made claims that he didn’t know about.
Lady Teresa had left the man and was talking to one of their stewards. She looked up to him, the steward raised his eyes too, seeing Arthur then facing down and nodding.
She is sending him to ask me to come down.
Arthur was planning to go down. He wasn’t going to miss this sort of party, held in his house. But he had grown tired of the forced conversations and continued attempts to keep up appearances that took place in public events like this. He missed the freedom that he had when Rebecca used to attend them with him. When they were with each other, they were free, free to do anything. The boy ran into the house. Arthur remained at the balustrade of the balcony, looking down into the mass of people.
When he heard the knock on his door, he didn’t respond. He knew it was the boy. The boy knocked for a few more minutes before the knocking stopped. Arthur didn’t feel like leaving his room. He smiled when he saw the boy run out from the house and look up. He looked dismayed to see him at the balcony. The boy then turned and went to his sister. Lady Teresa’s smile disappeared, and she looked up to Arthur then walked into the house. She walked into his room a short while after, not even bothering to knock.
“What are you doing, Arthur?” she asked him.
Arthur saw his sister properly for the first time that day. She looked delectable in the purple dress with a plunging neckline. He could see the creamy rise of her bust and its famous divide. The gown was off-shoulder and short sleeved. She wore a golden bracelet with small lockets attached to each chain lock. There was a tinkling from banging locks as she shook her hand while speaking.
“Arthur, what are you doing?” she repeated.
“I am coming, taking my time. It’s your party, not mine,” Arthur responded.
“It is a house party, Arthur. A house party taking place in the house of the Earl, and a timely reminder, you are the Earl.” she said.
She wasn’t forceful, almost beseeching in her manner of speaking. Arthur guessed she was scared of annoying him and causing him not to attend.
“I am coming, Teresa. The party has hardly started.”
“There are already enough people I want you to meet,” Teresa said.
Arthur lowered his eyelids and peered at her from the shade of his extended lashes.
“More women,” you mean.
Lady Teresa smiled, reminding Arthur how beautiful his sister could look sometimes.
“What does it matter?” she answered.
She walked back to the door.
“I need you to come right now, Arthur,” she said.
“I am right behind you,” Arthur replied.
She went out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. Arthur went to his mirror to check how he looked. He picked up his brush and brushed his hair again to make every strand in line. Arthur, satisfied that he looked immaculate, turned away from the mirror and walked to the door. He opened the door to an empty landing upstairs. All the servants were busy down in the party. Arthur walked down the stairs gradually. He walked into the sitting room and saw a young man and woman standing very close to each other. The boy had his arm around her waist, and they were speaking in muted tones. The girl, who had a view of her friend’s back, saw him.
“Lord Bexley,” she said, jumping away from her male friend.
She curtseyed as the young man turned around swiftly. His bow was rushed and had guilt written all over it. Arthur wasn’t concerned. He had been in that situation many times too, with Rebecca. Arthur nodded back and walked out of the parlour into the porch outside. Once he closed the door behind him and turned, he saw so many sets of eyes staring at him. Taking a deep breath to push away the twisting feeling that was developing in his stomach, Arthur walked down the stairs. Everyone seemed to have stopped what they were doing or watched him but pretended to continue what they were doing as he greeted each visitor after the other.
Arthur could not count the number of “Lord Bexleys” he heard. He was saved from the awkwardness when his sister appeared from around the house. She smiled when she saw him and rushed over to his side. Arthur was instantly grateful. He wasn’t yet used to the particularities of the Earldom. Lady Teresa took him to greet the invited guests, starting from the most important. He shook hands and nodded to wealthy traders and travellers. He soon noticed that almost all of them were accompanied by young, gushing daughters. Arthur was not in the mood to entertain small talk with a female so he stuck close to his sister, giving short monosyllabic remarks to the questions or comments the ladies made. He figured his sister noticed because she left his side and came back with a young girl who was rather fat.
“Lord Bexley, forgive my insistence, but it would be a crime for me not to introduce Miss Augustina to you; she’s the niece of the Prelate of the Methodist Church in England. Isn’t she delectable?” his sister asked.
Yes, she really is. What are you up to now, Teresa?
Arthur saw the girl curtsey as best as she could. It wasn’t much because Arthur suspected that she would fall over if she bent too low. He could see folds of skin around her neck, skin covering thick slabs of fat. Her gown was made to be flowing, an attempt to cover the bulge of her belly, not quite succeeding. She wasn’t a short woman, almost reaching up to Arthur in height, but her sheer mass seemed to abbreviate her height. Her arms looked short, the upper arms resembling thick rolls of sausages with smaller appendages connected. Arthur was disgusted.
Is this what you meant Teres when you claimed you knew exactly the kind of woman I need?
“This is a wonderfully arranged party, Lord Bexley,” Miss Augustina spoke.
Maybe Arthur might have given her a chance, but he was put off by her incredibly deep voice, almost masculine.
“My sister planned it all. She would be able to explain better,” Arthur said, attempting to deflect the attention to his sister.
Lady Teresa was quicker than him, though, and with a wave of her hand, was off again to sort out some problem in the house.
A non-existent problem.
Arthur turned and feigned a smile. Now, he was left with the problem of getting away from Miss Augustina here.
“I am sorry for the loss of your father, My Lord. Please accept my belated condolences,” the chit said.
Arthur nodded. He didn’t reply and kept his eyes away from her. He wasn’t willing to talk even before he had met her, and she hadn’t increased his eagerness. Propriety prevented her from starting too many discussions to Arthur’s delight, and he soon saw a fellow Earl who deserved to be properly greeted. Arthur almost ran off, leaving the chit staring at him in embarrassment.
Arthur eased around the crowd after another round of repeated greetings. He slinked into the garden and went to sit on the bench. Miraculously, there was no other person around to disturb Arthur’s thoughts. Grateful for the moment of solitude, Arthur calmed down. His mind went to his mother who was still in bed when he had seen her last that morning. He would visit her after the party; maybe she would be strong enough to answer his enquiry. Arthur crossed his legs and wished for a good book to take his thought some other place when he heard the leaves rustle in front of him.
He saw the gown first, the stoned hem of the gown, and he almost cursed out.
Another woman?
“Oh, Lord Bexley, I am sorry,” she said.
She was a smallish young lady with very red cheeks. Arthur couldn’t tell if that was how she looked normally or if she had used too much rouge. He favoured the former as her lips were also incredibly pink. She was beautiful and had the same full lips that Rebecca had. She wore a jacket and a round brimmed hat that sat slanting on her head. Arthur could see a few strands of red hair extend from the part of her head still exposed.
“No, you’re no bother,” Arthur answered just for courtesy reasons.
In reality, he wanted her to leave even more quietly than she had come. Surprisingly she walked to him, standing just in front of him.
“Can I sit, Lord Bexley?” she asked.
Arthur shifted a bit to the left to make more space for her. There was space enough for her to sit without him making the fuss, but Arthur wanted a big berth between him and her. She wasn’t thinking like him because she sat just beside him, the lacy material of her gown rubbing against the stiffness of his black tailcoat.
They sat for quite a while without saying anything. Arthur saw her in the corner of his eyes. She would glance at him as if willing him to speak, but Arthur wasn’t in the mood. Her sigh almost had Arthur laughing. She was bored. He could see it.
“So what’s your name, fair lady?” Arthur asked to remove a bit of the quiet.
“I’m Lady Elizabeth, the sixth daughter of the Duke of Devonshire,” she said.
Arthur nodded. He knew the Duke of Devonshire. He was the oldest living Duke, some years over 80, the old man. He was also popular because he had a lot of children. It was said that he had over twenty progeny; some claimed he had far more, and then some with concubines. Arthur smiled as he looked at the young lady, and she smiled back. It was funny because he found the potential situation of her inheritance very amusing.
Who would own what?
Arthur didn’t say anything after that and soon grew bored with listening to the buzzing of small insects in the garden. He stood up and turned to the young woman.
“Please excuse me,” he said.
“Of course, My Lord,” she replied, even managing a smile.
Arthur walked out of the garden and almost ran into his sister, standing at the front.
“Where are you going, Arthur?” she asked, in low tones so no one else heard her.
“To my chambers, I have grown very bored and need to rest,” Arthur said.
“You don’t need any rest, Arthur. Stop being this way and look for a woman that would interest you. There are too many here for you to claim a lack of interest in any,” she said.
Arthur shook his head. He wasn’t interested in the discussion.
“Where is Lady Elizabeth?” his sister asked.
Arthur realised his sister had, yet again, sent the young lady to meet him in the garden. The girl was a great actress, he would give her that.
“She’s in the garden. And I am tired of your continuous attempts at matchmaking, Teresa. When will you learn that it will never work?” Arthur asked her.
“It will,” she replied calmly.
Arthur walked away from her and back into the chattering crowd in front of the garden. He wondered if Rebecca was here in the party.
“Teresa had said she sent invites to all gentry,” Arthur told himself.
It was very unlikely that Rebecca would be here, but Arthur decided not to go back to his chambers just yet. What if he suddenly saw Rebecca? His sister met him a while later, still standing and scanning the crowd.
“Who do you seek?” she asked.
Arthur didn’t respond. He kept looking at shapes and forms, trying to see if he could mark out Rebecca.
“She isn’t here. I would never invite her,” his sister said, reading his mind.
Arthur shook his head and started to walk away. His sister gripped his hand instead and started walking back into the inner parts of the garden. Arthur was unwilling to make a scene so he followed her in. Lady Elizabeth was gone now, and the bench space was empty.
“What is wrong with you, Arthur? Why do you choose to hold on to the past?” Lady Teresa asked him.
Arthur looked away. Rebecca wasn’t the past. She was the present. She was the trigger that made his member bulge and his blood hot.
Teresa would never understand. Teresa has never been in love.
“You choose to hold on to this childish infatuation with a woman that didn’t give you a moment’s thought, a widow with a young daughter. You do not know the essence of your position,” his sister said.
“I am tired of having this same argument with you, Teresa,” Arthur said, feeling anger build inside him.
He saw someone holding a young girl pass, but it wasn’t Rebecca. His sister traced his eyes and laughed when she saw what had taken his attention.
“Rebecca can never be here, Arthur. I made sure she never got the invitation. And I took precautions,” Lady Teresa said, looking very pleased with herself.
“Precautions? What precautions?” Arthur asked his sister.
“Fear not, little brother. I only gave a standing order that she be turned away at the gate if she managed to appear,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur ground his teeth. Why did his sister invest so much in separating Rebecca from him? Arthur gripped her by her wrists, struggling to hold in his rage.
“What did she ever do to you? What do you have against her?” Arthur asked her.
Lady Teresa broke into a delighted smile.
“Nothing at all. I do not have anything against her, Arthur. In fact, I wish she was here right now,” she said.
Arthur was confused.
“You made sure she wasn’t, Teresa,” he reminded her.
“Now I wish I hadn’t. Come and see why,” his sister said, breaking his grip on her wrist and taking his fingers.
Arthur followed his sister back into the crowd. She went straight to the steps in front of their house.
“Mr Poodle,” she said, raising her hand and waving to a burly looking, middle aged man with a huge belly.
“Lady Teresa, Lord Bexley,” the man replied.
His sister went up the stairs, and Arthur followed her. He extended his hand for a shake with the man. His hand felt small, getting lost in the thickness of the man’s huge digits.
“Mr Poodle is a wealthy adventurer with a penchant for finding civilizations outside of ours,” she said.
Arthur nodded. He was impressed. This was a man who had a dream and chased his dreams.
“He was just telling me about his desire to find a wife before he leaves again in a few months. I told him I knew a beautiful widow with a small girl child. I told him she would be delighted to marry him if she found him attractive enough,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur was shocked. She couldn’t be talking about Rebecca.
“Yes, My Lord,” Mr Poodle said, continuing where Lady Teresa stopped.
“I have made quite a life of travelling to English colonies, documenting and studying their lives there. You would be amazed to meet cultures totally different from ours, My Lord. And some of them have very beautiful women too, but I couldn’t be comfortable marrying someone who doesn’t have the same origins as I do. Lady Teresa was telling me this woman is very close to the family, so I presume that you also know this woman, My Lord.”
Arthur couldn’t speak.
Is Teresa going senile?
“My brother is surprised that you would even be considering marrying a woman who has once married,” Lady Teresa said, sparing Arthur’s blushes due to his inability to speak.
“Oh!” the man exclaimed, “My Lord has no need to be surprised. A man committed to a life like mine cannot be choosy. Most women would outright reject a life that isn’t settled. This young woman’s eeh –” the man stammered, “special situation would remove such reservations as she would be lacking for potential suitors in the first place.”
Arthur realised his mouth was agape and shut it. His face must have been entirely reflective of his emotions because the man reacted.
“My Lord, it seems this sort of arrangement is new to you. You still appear perturbed by my planned arrangement. It is surely going to be easier for me now as Lady Teresa has promised to help me. She mentioned you could also put in a good word for me, that would be seriously appreciated My Lord. It would go a long way.”
“Don’t worry, Mr Poodle. The widow in question is a friend of the family. She could be easily convinced,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur took hold of his consciousness and turned to his sister. He grabbed her hand tightly and signalled an excuse to Mr Poodle.
“Please excuse me, Mr Poodle, I remembered something that requires my immediate attention,” Arthur said.
He drew his sister roughly into the house, slamming the door behind them. Arthur turned to her.
“Are you crazy, Teresa? What do you think you are doing?” Arthur asked her.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I am getting her out of the way. You seem to have your britches in a bunch when Rebecca is around. When she’s gone, surely you will settle down and pick an appropriate bride.”
“You cannot marry her off to an adventurer. She would never accept him,” Arthur shouted.
Lady Teresa chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand.
“You amuse me, Arthur. This is a woman who jumped at the chance to marry an ageing clergyman while still a young, untouched chit. If you think she would not immediately agree to marry a wealthy adventurer now that she’s older and already with a daughter, then you have been completely blinded by love,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur took a step back and rested on the wall. He closed his eyes and waited out the screaming coming from inside his head. His sister was very right. He had to stop her from doing this.
“Leave the woman alone, Teresa. You have an issue with me and my refusal to pick a bride, not Rebecca,” he said.
“Rebecca is the issue,” she replied.
Arthur lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender. He was drained. He turned and started climbing the stairs.
“Where are you going, Arthur?”
“I am going to rest, Teresa. Do whatever you like,” Arthur said.
“Come down here, Arthur,” she screamed.
Arthur didn’t respond. He climbed to the top and was opening his door when he heard her feet stomping on the stairs. She was coming after him. Arthur went into his room. His door flew open after him.
“The party isn’t even nearly at its end, Arthur,” Lady Teresa shouted after him.
Arthur felt a haze threaten to cover his eyes. It was anger.
Teresa is pushing me to the wall.
“I do not care about your stupid party, Teresa. And I would like if you left my room,” Arthur said, forcing his voice into a trembling softness.
“This isn’t my party, Arthur. This is yours,” she said.
“I don’t give a hoot. You cannot control everything, Teresa. I allow you do many things because I understand you and sympathise with your situation,” Arthur said.
“What situation? And you must really be blind if you think I do not control everything in this house,” she replied, shouting outright now.
Arthur remembered that the stewards were all downstairs, attending to the guests so he didn’t tell her to stop screaming.
No one can hear her.
“I understand you, as I earlier said. You’ve always had this chip on your shoulder since we were little. You have always wanted to dominate and force people to do your bidding. That is why you never liked Rebecca. She couldn’t be shackled, couldn’t be controlled.”
Lady Teresa hissed.
“And where is Rebecca now? She’s in a poor church at the other side of Derby County, with her fatherless daughter while I’m still here,” she said as proudly as possible.
Arthur laughed. His sister was such a fool.
“You are only here because you couldn’t get married, Teresa. That’s not a success story. It’s the hallmark of failure as an Englishwoman,” Arthur said.
Arthur heard a gasp behind him. He turned to see his mother, standing feebly behind him. Arthur looked back at his sister and saw that her eyes had reddened. Tears started streaming down her eyes, and she didn’t even try to hide it. She nodded her head.
“I knew you always thought that about me. There’s no hiding it now,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur turned to his mother for help, but she had gone to Lady Teresa and had her in a caring hug.
“I am sorry. You made me very angry,” Arthur said.
“Stop talking Arthur,” his mother said.
“You aren’t sorry yet, Arthur,” Teresa said, lifting her head from her mother’s shoulders and breaking the hug.
Her eyes were still red but now combative. Arthur could see it in her stance. She had been hurt and was going to strike back.
“There is so much you don’t know, Arthur. You claim you have allowed me because of my situation. I will tell you how the case has actually been the reverse. You have been a pawn in my court for a long time now,” Lady Teresa said.
“Teresa, stop talking,” the Countess said.
“No, let her speak, Mother,” Arthur screamed.
He was desperate to know. The family had too many secrets and now he was starting to feel like a stranger in his own house.
“You have never wondered why Father woke up one day and decided you needed to go off to London, have you? No, you have been too busy being in love. Well, here’s the reason, in the flesh,” Lady Teresa said, mockingly curtseying to her brother.
The Countess walked slowly to the bed and sat down. She sank into it and held her head between her hands. Arthur was speechless. He found his tongue after a short while.
“Is this true Mother?” he said, staring at his mother, pleading without speaking that it be false.
His mother didn’t raise her head.
“It was me. You are right. I never liked Rebecca and her silly sister, especially Rebecca. She was too opinionated, too forward. And you were just a muse. She controlled you. I couldn’t take that. You were to be the next Earl. I wasn’t going to allow a woman like Rebecca to control the county through you. So I kept telling Father about how you needed to leave Derby so you could get a more complete world view. Father, as he always was, was stubborn at first and rejected my suggestion. But I was persistent, and he agreed that night. You left the next day, but I tracked you and ordered that the steward cleaning your room steal the letter you left for Rebecca,” Lady Teresa said.
Arthur bent down. His chest ached. This couldn’t be true.
“No, no, no, this can’t be true,” Arthur heard himself say.
He was on his knees, and his eyes felt hot.
“I am not done, lover boy. Hear the rest of it. You will remember that I followed you to London. I made sure I properly informed your room servant over there. He didn’t go to post your letters when you sent him,” she said, shaking her head.
“No, he didn’t do that. He sent them through a different courier, straight to me. I destroyed them as you would expect but only after laughing heartily at your foolishness. So you might have been wondering. Rebecca didn’t get my letters. Or did she? Wonder no more my dear brother, she didn’t. I didn’t stop there. I made sure all news coming out of this house about her was negative. She was my brother’s whore, found tumbling in the field with him. She was the thief and pilferer. I turned your leaving without a moment’s notice into hell for her. So when I heard she was getting married to an old clergyman, I wasn’t surprised. She needed God because the god in the Bexley house was making her life hell,” Lady Teresa said.
She turned and started to walk out of the room. Arthur placed his hand on his cheeks, surprised to find them wet with tears.
My sister had been the enemy within.
When she got to the door, she didn’t turn the knob and go out. Instead, she turned back and walked to face Arthur.
“You said something about allowing me. Never repeat such a stupid comment in your life. Even while father was alive, I was the architect. I placed everyone in the position they were meant to be at. I told everyone the right place to be. I was the administrative kingpin in the Bexley house, despite what that senile old man might think,” she said, pointing outside the door.
“Just as I made you leave, I have made many others go and come. So you could never have been more stupid. And don’t be angry at Mother, she knew. I don’t know how,” Teresa said, sparing a wide-eyed look for their mother, “She woke up from her illness and figured it out. But I needed her to keep it a secret, and she did.”
“That wasn’t what happened, Teresa,” Countess Eleano said.
Arthur looked at his mother. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but it was something he had never felt in his life. He stared at his image in the mirror and pitied himself. He was a mess. His eyes were red and wet. His cheeks had rivulets of tears. His hands had gone through his hair, roughing it up and scattering the fine brushing he had done.
“What happened, Mother?” Arthur asked her in a cracked voice.
“I will not stay here while you console him with your own version of things. I have other things to do,” Lady Teresa said, storming out of the room.
Arthur moved slowly to his mother who was also in tears. Her hands were outstretched, and Arthur crawled into them. Savoring the scent and safety of his mother’s kind embrace, Arthur wrapped his hands around her waist.
“Tell me the truth, Mother, what happened?” Arthur asked.
“I was ill when you were sent to London. I finally became better about a week after you had gone. I was surprised at your father’s action, and it led to one of the biggest fights we ever had. He apologised but was still of the mind that it was the right decision. I agreed with him. You needed a more complete education, but I knew you had something with Rebecca. I never mentioned it to him because I knew your father; he would never acknowledge it. As far as it wasn’t an official engagement, it didn’t exist.
When I found out months later that Rebecca was getting married to a pastor, I knew something was amiss. I asked your father why he sent you away again, poking and prodding until he mentioned Teresa. I knew Teresa would never tell me, so I asked Mr Victor to find out what was up. Mr Victor said he studied her for a while and found a letter being delivered to her. One day when she went for a walk, he went into her room and searched for the letter. Mr Victor brought it to me before returning it.”
Arthur thought about the pain he had gone through, just because of his sister’s twisted demands. Then the pain he had gone through because his mother wouldn’t speak.
“But you didn’t speak, Mother. You helped her in her scheme,” Arthur managed to say.
“I visited Rebecca two days before her wedding, but she wouldn’t budge. She went ahead with it,” the Countess said.
Arthur was shocked.
Why, why wouldn’t she budge?
“Why didn’t she accept your plea?” Arthur asked her.
“That is a discussion that can only be fairly shared between the two of you, Arthur. Remember I said you should listen to her, speak to her, and hear her side of the story. This is the reason,” Countess Eleano said.
“I am sorry, son. She married him and soon had a daughter. There was nothing left to save. If I had told you, then I was just planting a wedge between you and your sister. No mother would intentionally do that. Things changed when the pastor died. But by then she wasn’t the best possible bride for you, Arthur. I wished for you to settle your issues with her, but it wasn’t my preference that you married her. If you choose to do that now, I cannot stand against it,” the Countess said.
Arthur was heartbroken. All these years he had thought Rebecca had refused to reply to his letters, that she had turned away immediately he turned his back. He had thought her cheap and not worth loving. He had been so wrong. Rebecca hadn’t received his letters. In fact to her, he had left without as much as a wave. He had dumped her.