Page 3 of The Marquess of Temptation
Hestia, who had never thought of marrying anyone, picked up the newspaper curiously. On the front page there was a large caricature of her father as she had remembered him as a child, tall, strong and handsome, beneath a headline which read: "Verdict of Suicide Declared in Case of Notorious Privateer."
Underneath the headline was an in-depth article, describing, in great detail, the earlier scandal of her parent's marriage, her birth and her father's illustrious career as a thief of the seven seas. She read with wonder of his escapades in the Mediterranean during the War, the Egyptian treasures he had allegedly stolen from a Navy ship and how he had nearly died on numerous occasions, in spectacular ways. Had her father really been a pirate? This was all news to her. It would make sense, however, what with his penchant for disappearing to sea for years before returning with a haul of treasures for her mother.
"You cannot stay Hestia," Lady Bedford continued, jolting her from her reverie. "We shall have to send you away, somewhere no one will recognise you. Oh, this is indeed a terrible scandal."
Lady Bedford sent Hestia out to the gardens, to walk six of the dogs whilst she stayed inside and thought of a plan. By the time Hestia returned, her skirts muddied to her knees, the next chapter of her life had been plotted out by the industrious Lady Bedford.
"Mrs Actrol reliably informed me on her last visit, that the new Lady Jarvis is seeking a companion for her sister-in-law, Miss Jane Deveraux." Lady Bedford stated from her seat at her mahogany writing bureau. "I shall write to this new Viscountess with a glowing character reference for you --and include a few subtle reminders of my good standing in the ton, of course."
"Of course," Hestia echoed, her arms wrapped around the body of a squirming Cavalier. "Will she not recognise my name from the papers though, my Lady?"
"Clever girl," Lady Bedford exclaimed, "We shall have to give you a different name, my dear. Tell me, do you have a middle name?"
"Belinda."
"Belinda it is - and we shall simply tinker with your surname a little..."
And so, a fortnight later, Belinda Bowstock, with Henry, one of Lady Bedford's Cavaliers in tow, came to be employed as a companion to Miss Jane Deveraux, younger sister of the Viscount Jarvis. Jane was a bookish girl of nine and twenty, with a kind heart and no actual need for a paid companion.
"I'm afraid my new sister-in-law was afraid that she would have to spend time with me, so she hired you instead," Jane informed Belinda cheerfully on the first day of her employment. "I'm sure we'll rub along nicely together, though. Don't you, Belinda?"
It took Hestia a few moments to reply, for the sound of her new moniker was still so unfamiliar. Unfortunately there were several servants there to witness her slow response and it was quickly decided amongst them that the new girl was a featherbrain. Which suited Hestia quite nicely, for her brain was still reeling from her father's sudden death and the revelations about his history. Late at night, in the small bedroom on the top floor of the house, Hestia would mull over her father's last words to her and the letter he had received that fateful day. There were so many unanswered questions. Who was the blonde man that her father had seen in the garden? What was it that he had taken that had upset the letter writer so? And who was the mysterious author of the threatening letter in the first place?
Hestia resolved that once the fuss of the scandal had blown over, that she would return to Cornwall and find out exactly what had happened. For she knew, in her heart, that her father had not killed himself.
"I just need to keep my head down, like Lady Bedford said," she thought grimly, "And try to keep out of trouble so I can clear my father's name."
Which would have worked a treat, if Jane hadn't decided to bring her to a historical lecture in Bloomsbury, where trouble, in the form of the Marquess of Falconbridge, decided that it quite liked the look of Hestia B. Stockbow.
