Page 33 of Scandalous Nights With the Earl
‘You must visit us in Richmond. I am married now and we have two small children.’
Life had moved on for everyone, not just for Oliver.
‘Perhaps you could come as well, Mrs St Claire. Sarah, my wife, has often spoken of you, though she was unable to be here tonight.’
‘Sarah Harcourt?’ Wilhelmina sounded intrigued. ‘Oh, I would like that, for your wife has visited my house a few times to join in the discussions and she was always interesting.’
‘She does have a mind of her own but I’ve encouraged that.’
Phillip saw Wilhelmina beaming at Benjamin, a man who wore his heart on his sleeve without any hesitation.
Why had he lost touch? he thought next, and knew the answer as soon as he had finished thinking it. Because Gretel had liked neither Benjamin nor his wife, finding them toooutspoken and Bohemian. She preferred people like her, quiet and refined, which had narrowed down their social outings dramatically. Towards the end there’d hardly been any at all.
‘If you would like to it would be our pleasure to host you both at Summerley. The gardens are very beautiful at this time of the year.’
When Wilhelmina nodded, Benjamin looked more than happy, and Phillip was grateful for the invitation.
Others joined them now and they formed a large group on the side of the ballroom, many of the disguises lifted away to reveal the identity of the person beneath. Lord and Lady Duggan were a part of it, an interesting couple who were gracious and welcoming. Phillip couldn’t remember being in Society ever being this simple before, and as Wilhelmina stayed in place beside him he decided a large part of the ease was because of her.
After two o’clock he escorted her to her carriage on the circular driveway before the imposing Duggan town house. He had removed his mask completely now and she had too in readiness to say goodbye.
But an awkwardness settled between them which had not been there at all in the evening. He wondered what she might think if he took the back of her hand and kissed it but she had both hands deeply embedded in the large pockets of her cloak, so he did not step forward.
Seeing the footman waiting a few yards away to help her in, he bowed his head and moved back.
‘Goodnight.’ She smiled and moved away as he watched her alight the small steps and disappear into the carriage.
Her face through the glass was momentarily caught in the light and then she was gone. Phillip did not return to the ball but made his way to his own carriage further down the street.
He’d been in London for nearly two whole weeks and was not desperate to be back in Hampshire. That thought amazed him.
Chapter Seven
Mr Thomas Sampson from Gates and Wilcox, the legal firm that Lionel had always used, came to see Wilhelmina the afternoon after the Duggans’ masquerade ball.
He was a tall and serious man and she felt that from the first moment of meeting him she was on the back foot.
‘The estate you wish to sell, Mrs St Claire, is unfortunately tied up in a caveat from your late husband’s cousin. Mr Simon St Claire has asked for a stay while he goes through his brother’s papers just to make certain that Belton Park is indeed legally yours to sell.’
‘The house was not entailed and I was Lionel’s wife for eleven years. The will I saw after his death was unencumbered.’
‘Mr Simon St Claire isn’t…how shall I say it…an easy man? We have had dealings with him over the past year and a half and he is a difficult client who likes to get his own way.’
‘And if he doesn’t?’
‘I for one should not wish to cross him personally and you are alone here and a woman…’ He left it at that.
‘Tell him to present his evidence, Mr Sampson, within a month. Otherwise I shall sell the house to anybody I want to.’
‘I will make sure to relate that to him, Mrs St Claire. Oh, and I almost forgot, one of my colleagues, Mr Elliott MacDonald, also asked me to send you his regards.’
Willa bit down on an answer. Did Mr Sampson know anything of their history? Was this another roundabout threat? But it seemed the man had completed all he had come to say as he stood and bade her farewell.
‘I will return in a month and let you know the outcome of all of this. I sincerely hope that this matter shall be resolved in your favour and if there is any movement on the matter I shall also send word.’
‘Thank you.’
Willa waited as he left and then sat on the chair by the window, watching the leaves of the trees in the garden shifting in the wind. She had delayed on the sale of Belton Park for just this very reason. She knew Lionel’s family was not happy at all with her inheritance of the house, for she had had various legal correspondence outlining all their grievances. But this was the first time they had sent one of their lawyers to visit her and, from what Mr Sampson said, their anger constituted a threat.