Page 73 of Sunday's Child

Nancy had to drag Aurelia away from the gate. ‘It’s too cold to stand about here, Aurelia. Come indoors.’

‘What will we do? We’re ruined and Martin is dead. If I hadn’t left him, maybe I could have stopped this before things got out of hand. I loved him once.’

‘It’s no use thinking about what might have been. We have got to do something now.’

Aurelia nodded mutely and allowed Nancy to help her back to the house.

Nancy took her to the dining room where she knew a fire would have been lit. Patricia was already there, seated at the table with a slice of toast in her hand.

‘Where have you been?’ Patricia dropped the toast onto her plate and rose to her feet. ‘What’s happened? What the matter, Aurelia?’

‘The Corinthian is lost at sea,’ Nancy said briefly. ‘Daniel Comer came to tell us, and there’s been a disturbance at the mine.’

‘Martin is dead.’ Aurelia collapsed onto the nearest chair. ‘He’s dead. Killed in a brawl and it’s all my fault.’ She began to sob convulsively.

‘Nonsense.’ Patricia took her by the shoulders and shook her. ‘Stop that, Aurelia. All your tears won’t bring him or the crew of the Corinthian back.’

‘That’s harsh, Patsy,’ Nancy said sharply. ‘She’s upset. All the money went down with the ship.’ She lowered her voice. ‘We don’t know for certain if Alex and Leo were on board.’

‘Don’t say that,’ Patricia sank back onto her seat. ‘Nothing bad has happened to Leo. I’d know it in my heart if he was in danger.’

‘We don’t know any details.’ Nancy eyed Patricia warily. ‘The ship foundered off the Azores. There might have been survivors.’

‘This happened before.’ Patricia sighed heavily. ‘Only last time it was Alex and Piers who were almost drowned. I was at home waiting for Alex to return for our wedding, and I thought he was dead. The irony of it was that he was secretly in love with my sister.’

‘That’s all in the past, Patsy. We have to hope that they weren’t on board, but it’s a tragedy for the families of the crew.’ Nancy filled a cup with coffee and handed it to Aurelia. ‘Sip this and you’ll feel better.’

‘You don’t understand,’ Aurelia said tearfully. ‘If I hadn’t left Martin I could probably have prevented this. He might have managed the business better.’

‘I doubt it.’ Patricia shook her head. ‘From what I’ve heard it was the drink that made him incapable of running the mine.’

‘I don’t know what to do.’ Aurelia hiccupped on a sob. ‘If the Corinthian is lost we won’t be able to pay the miners, and the whole village will suffer.’

‘I think you need to worry more about yourself and Lady Pentelow. Things are likely to turn nasty.’ Patricia bit into her piece of toast, frowning. ‘We need to decide what to do next.’

‘We should return to Rockwood,’ Nancy said firmly. ‘Aurelia and Lady Pentelow must come with us for their own safety.’

Aurelia lifted her head, raising a tear-stained face to stare at Nancy in astonishment. ‘We can’t abandon Trevenor.’

‘You heard what Daniel Comer said about the miners, Aurelia. They are desperate men and the mine still belongs to Trevenor. What do you think they will do?’

‘They will try to take the house and everything in it,’ Patricia said grimly. ‘Nancy is right, you and your grandmama must come to Rockwood with us. We should leave immediately, before anyone gets wind of what’s happening.’

‘But the house … Grandmama loves this place.’

‘Then let her stay and defend it from the mob,’ Patricia said icily. ‘You are coming with us, Aurelia. You can start by going to your grandmama and explaining the situation. I will explain the situation to Mrs Witham and Cook. They can decide whether or not to stay.’

‘I’ll send to the stables for your coachman to make the carriage ready,’ Nancy added hastily. ‘With luck we will get away before anyone in the village realises what’s happening.’

Patricia rose from the table. ‘Pack only what you need, Aurelia, but bring all your jewellery and any small valuables.’

Aurelia staggered to her feet, mopping her eyes with a crumpled hanky. ‘I’ll speak to Grandmama, but I can’t believe this is happening.’

Nancy watched her walk slowly from the room. ‘This is terrible, Patsy. You don’t think that Alex and Leo were on that ship, do you?’

‘I refuse to believe it, Nancy. Someone brought the news of the Corinthian. Perhaps they would have more information.’

‘But how will we find out?’