Page 7 of Ambition (The Chaplain’s Legacy #6)
O livia was most unwilling to wait until the spring before seeing the marquess again, but she could not see how an earlier meeting could be contrived. A conference with Lady Esther reassured her that there would be more opportunities later in the autumn.
“He flits about here and there, but when he moves to his own hunting lodge in Leicestershire, there are possibilities. My cousin lives in the area, and there will be no difficulty in obtaining an invitation. Pretty girls with a good dowry are always in demand. How much is your dowry?”
“Five thousand pounds, although Papa says he could manage ten thousand at a pinch, if necessary. He got Josie and Izzy married off at five thousand apiece, and he always said I would do just as well as them,” she said, a little defiantly, for she was aware that five thousand pounds was not a great sum for an earl’s daughter.
“Hmm. Of course, Lady Josephine and Lady Isabel married men of great wealth, who hardly needed their dowries.”
“And I intend to marry a man of great wealth, too,” Olivia said, lifting her chin.
“Indeed, but he will have to love you to distraction, as well,” Lady Esther mused.
“A great many men will marry a pretty girl from a good family with a large dowry without feeling more than a modest affection for her, knowing that it will be enough, but without the dowry… it is more difficult. And there is the unfortunate matter of your change in status.”
“You mean my illegitimacy,” Olivia said in a small voice.
“Precisely. Many a man would be put off by such a blemish in the family, even though it was entirely unavoidable. With thirty thousand, he might be persuaded to overlook it, or even twenty thousand… something could be done with that. But five thousand? I am surprised that Lord Rennington has not contrived to put something more aside for you.”
“There was something amiss with the money. Uncle Arthur had the management of it in Grandpapa’s day, and some of it has… gone missing. Mr Willerton-Forbes is looking into it, to see if anything can be recovered.”
Lady Esther raised her eyebrows a fraction. “Is that how it was? In my experience, once money has been taken out of an estate, it vanishes, never to be seen again.”
“But Uncle Arthur left Tess a fortune in his will, so perhaps he hid it all away somewhere.”
“Even if so, it is of no use to you in your predicament. We will just have to make sure Lord Embleton falls desperately in love with you, that is all.”
This was all very dispiriting, and Olivia shed a few disconsolate tears into her pillow each night.
Her dreams of being a duchess, so recently given succour by Lady Esther’s enthusiastic support, were fast dissipating.
Not only could she not find a way to meet the marquess again for weeks and weeks, but now she needed a larger dowry as well.
She had always known that being illegitimate would be problematic, but for a brief time, Lady Esther had given her hope. Now that hope was all but gone.
But then hope flared again, for Lord Harraby called once more. He returned her newspaper cutting, which he reported had entranced Lady Harraby with this view into her brother’s life.
“I am sorry to say that we have been obliged to increase our subscriptions vastly, to be sure not to miss any further description of Embleton’s prowess,” he said, with a light laugh.
“But that is not my only reason for coming today. My dear wife is dreadfully bored with the limited society afforded by her immediate family, and is set on filling the house with guests for the next month, at least. She wondered whether you might care to be of the party, Lady Olivia. If one of your brothers can escort you to Harraby Hall, Lady Harraby will act as chaperon, since your mama is away at present.”
Olivia was almost too excited to speak. “Lady Esther Franklyn — she might be able to—”
“Excellent, excellent! Here is a letter from Lady Harraby,” he said, handing it to the earl, “making the invitation in formal terms, but I wished to call to tell you how welcome you will be. Another young lady… and we can offer you some good sport, Rennington, if you are of a mind to leave home at this present.”
Papa made some non-committal noises, but as soon as Lord Harraby had left, he said, “Now do not get your hopes up, for we must take your Aunt Alice’s advice on the matter, you know. She stands in place of your mama just now. She will know what is best to be done.”
Aunt Alice was not encouraging. “My dear niece, do you truly wish to go away on a pleasure trip, as if nothing had changed? If you want a change of scene, then you might go to Josie or Izzy, or to Lady Tarvin at Harfield, for they understand your situation.”
“What precisely is my situation?” Olivia said with some heat. “Because if this is about my illegitimacy, I do not see why that should concern anyone. If Lord and Lady Harraby do not regard it, why should anyone else?”
“That is the very best attitude to take,” Aunt Alice said, nodding her head.
“You must never be ashamed of what you are, for it is not your fault. Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored or swept aside, either, and just at the moment, as news of your father’s situation is spreading and we are all subjected to unpleasant gossip — even more unpleasant gossip, after the recent tragedy — it might be best to… well, to…”
“Keep my head below the parapet?” Olivia said.
“Exactly,” Aunt Alice said, smiling, her sightless eyes fixed on a point close to Olivia’s ear. “Live quietly at home or with relations, and do nothing to attract more comment. Then, in the spring—”
Olivia gave an exclamation of disgust and jumped to her feet. “Spring!” She paced restlessly across her father’s study and back again. “By the spring I will be nineteen and practically an old maid.”
“In the spring,” her aunt said firmly, “under the wing of a new stepmother, if that should happen, or your Aunt Tarvin, perhaps, you can be introduced into a suitable level of society for your new position. You need not fear that you will be unable to marry. Your connections will still ensure you make an excellent match, in time, but you must be very careful not to do anything to invite disapprobation. It is… an awkward situation, to be sure.”
It was her father who came to her rescue.
“I do not think that Olivia could come to any great harm with the Harrabys, Alice. She wants to move in society a little before her come out and this is as good an opportunity as any. If Lady Esther is willing to chaperon her, new company might cheer her up, instead of moping about Corland with nothing very much to do. I have seen how low her spirits have been these last few months, and I do not want to selfishly keep her by my side if she can be off enjoying herself.”
“Her place is by her father, until she marries,” Aunt Alice said sharply. “You are too soft with the girls, Charles.”
“I want them to be happy,” he said, spreading his hands helplessly. “I have Kent to bear me company, and Eustace, now and then. And you, of course, and George and Jane are looking after me.”
“Then I may go?” Olivia said excitedly.
He nodded, although he looked a little sad. “I shall miss you, daughter.”
“Then come with me. New company might cheer you up, too.”
He shook his head. “Your Aunt Jane has another friend coming to stay… someone I might like to marry. I must do my best to find another wife, you know. Your mama insists on it.”
“Oh, Papa!” Olivia said, flinging her arms around him and squeezing him tight. “I wish Mama had not gone away.”
“So do I, daughter. So do I.”
Aunt Alice’s well-modulated tones interrupted this moment of family accord. “Olivia, if you will scribe for me, I shall dictate a letter to Lady Esther, to see if she is willing to undertake this venture. If not, it will have to be given up, I fear.”
This was a dispiriting thought, especially as Aunt Alice felt it necessary to lay out in the letter in stark terms her own disapproval of the idea, and all the pitfalls awaiting an unwary and inexperienced girl in a strange house.
But Lady Esther did not let Olivia down.
Within an hour, the note had been delivered to Lady Esther Franklyn, and a positive reply received.
Two days later, she set off for Harraby Hall, accompanied by Lady Esther and her rather starchy maid, a coachman and groom, two footmen and a pair of outriders.
And before she left Corland, a little miracle happened. Papa called her into his study, beaming from ear to ear. Mr Willerton-Forbes was also there in his fashionable clothes, looking nothing like a lawyer.
“Well, daughter, I have some excellent news. The money that was removed from the estate over many years has been found, and I shall be a great deal better off. Is it not so, Willerton-Forbes?”
“Indeed, my lord. Very much better off.”
“It means I shall be able to do something more for you — twenty-five or perhaps thirty thousand pounds, in total. That will make all the difference to you… your aunt was so concerned… well, so pretty as you are, you will have no difficulty in finding a husband, but we want it to be the right sort of husband… someone worthy of you. With such a dowry, you are assured of making a splendid match, even with—”
“Even with the illegitimacy?” she said.
He had the grace to look abashed. “It does make a difference, daughter.”
She was very well aware of that, but she was too happy to care. She was going to Harraby Hall and she would have thirty thousand pounds with which to entice a potential husband. Lord Embleton, perhaps? A girl could hope, could she not?
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