Page 127 of A Winter By the Sea
She looked at him in surprise. “He returned to May Park?”
“Only to gather the rest of his belongings and his footman.”
Emily leaned closer. “Tell me everything, from the start.”
Charles sighed. “I can never think of it without regret. I saw Bertram flirting with Claire during the party. Dancing with her too often and holding her too close. I should have said something, but at the time my thoughts were of you. Of us. Even so, I never thought he would do anything so dishonorable.
“The morning after the party, I learned Bertram had left in the night, took his traveling chaise and a valise but left his trunk and footman. I remembered he had asked me about Claire’s dowry and was instantly alarmed.
“Your father came to May Park soon after, clearly anxious.He told me Claire was gone and demanded to know Lord Bertram’s whereabouts. I spoke to him privately—told him what I knew or guessed. Furious, your father stalked out to go after them, to try to catch them on the road and make certain they wed. I offered to go along, but he said it would cause less talk if I stayed home and pretended nothing was amiss. Knowing Bertram had been there at my invitation left me sick with remorse. Yet I thought he would at least marry her, and the manner of their wedding might be covered up somehow.
“When Bertram returned to May Park alone, I learned the situation was even worse than I’d feared. He had not married Claire. Instead he’d abandoned her at an inn along the road to Scotland. I was livid, insisted his duty was to marry her, to repair her reputation, and to spare her family deep disgrace. He merely scoffed.”
“Did he never intend to marry her?”
“He said he meant to but changed his mind.” Charles winced. “In fact, he blamed me. Said I had led him to believe Claire’s dowry was larger than it was. Bertram has gaming debts and needs to marry an heiress. He thought she had fifteen thousand pounds.”
“Fifteen! That’s the amount settled on all five of us together.”
“I know. He misunderstood, or I failed to clarify—I don’t know. Perhaps I was guilty of letting him believe you all had greater dowries so he would approve of my interest in you.IfI exaggerated, it was you I had in mind, not Claire. I had no thought of promoting his interest in any of your sisters. My thoughts were only of you.”
It should have been a lovely thing to hear, but Emily was too indignant to enjoy it.
“And for that he abandoned her? After ruining her reputation? You know Claire would never have agreed to run away with him except with marriage in mind.”
Charles nodded. “True. Although she should not have done so under any circumstances.”
Again lifting her chin, Emily said, “We all make mistakes.”
“Not of that magnitude.” He looked at her sadly, imploringly. “Like it or not, your sister’s behavior reflects poorly on your entire family. You may judge me harshly, but if you think I am the only gentleman who would abhor such scandal, then you would be mistaken and do me an injustice. Many gentlemen would not even consider connecting themselves with a family who had been thus disgraced. Or would be, should it become generally known.”
It was just as Sarah had said last summer, Emily realized, when she had pressed her for the truth.“I love her,”Sarah had said.“Yet I cannot deny how materially thecredit of the rest of us must be hurt by her false step.”
At the time, Emily had groaned at the news. Now she felt defensive on Claire’s behalf. On her entire family’s behalf. It all seemed so unfair.
“I saw him, you know,” Emily said. “Last summer. Lord Bertram came to Sidmouth with friends. Mr. Craven and his sisters?”
Charles’s expression hardened.
Emily went on, “Mr. Craven flirted with me shamelessly. His hands lingered and his words dripped with innuendo. I could not account for his behavior. He made me quite uneasy.”
“I can account for it. The man’s a vile libertine.” Charles shook his head in disgust.
“Lord Bertram was more polite,” Emily continued. “He asked if my sisters were all in good health. His stilted questions and veiled looks surprised me. I remembered he had been attentive to Claire during the house party, and she had obviously been smitten with him. But nothing ever came of it, as far as I knew. Of course, at the time, I did not know thewhole. You probably don’t remember, but immediately after your house party, I left with Miss Smith, who had invited me to spend a fortnight with her in Cheltenham.”
“I do remember. I was sorry to see you go.”
Emily absorbed that small consolation. “By the time I returned to Finderlay, Claire was gone. I was told she’d moved to Scotland to serve as companion to Papa’s ailing aunt. I was stunned. And that was not the only unhappy change awaiting me.” She looked him full in the face. “You showed me such marked attention at the party. Your kind words, our many dances. I foolishly thought you were about to propose.” She chuckled bleakly. “There, I’ve said it. Mortifying, I know, but it is what I thought. And I was not alone in thinking it. Your behavior led my entire family to think so. To expect ...”
“I intended to propose when you returned.”
Emily’s breath caught. “Did you?” A lump of hope and regret rose in her throat, a tasty morsel shot through with gristle.
She swallowed hard and pressed on. “Instead you became a distant stranger, one who would barely meet my eye. Do you remember what you said to me before we left May Hill? ‘If I have led you to believe my intentions were more than they are, I apologize. We are friends—that is all.’”
He stared at the floor. “I know.”
She spoke with effort, her throat tight. “When you began treating us with cold formality, I was left to cast about for answers. I am ashamed to say I thought you broke things off because of Viola. That it had been one thing to befriend us, but you had decided you didn’t want to marry someone whose twin had been born with a defect.”
