Page 45 of Loving a Noble Gentleman
“We need to go to our house,” Charlotte said determinedly. “We need to see what is going on with our family home. That is the only way we will get our answers. There is still a chance that this is all innocent at the moment. There is no point in getting upset over something we do not fully understand.”
Mary pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away a stray tear. “Yes.” She nodded. “You are right, Charlotte. That is what we should do.”
Mary followed her sister away from Walter’s house, hating everything that was going on around her. She needed somehow for this to all be alright, but there was still that feeling in her gut that it was not ... and her instincts had been right too many times.
***
As the girls walked back into Lord Jones’ home, it was with very heavy hearts. They were shell-shocked; they could hardly believe it. There was no scope for hope anymore; every shred of it had been slashed. There was truly nothing left.
“It is all gone,” Mary whispered. “I have nothing. I am destitute. The house has been sold; it now belongs to another family, and Walter is nowhere to be found. He has stolen the family fortune and left me with nothing. I thought ...”
She stopped herself there because she did not know what she thought. She certainly did not think that she and Walter were friends; he had never shown her any like. But she never thought he was the sort of person who would do anything like this.
Charlotte felt it too, but not as acutely. She did not vocalise it at any rate. Shehadher husband and her home. Much as she did not like it, she still had that support network around her. Mary no longer had anything. It was her that would suffer. Right now, they both needed to focus all of their attention on her.
“No one will want to marry me now,” Mary continued, spiralling into sadness. “Not even His Grace, Duke Smith. Everyone will know that I have been foolish, that I have been robbed. Word about this will get around very quickly. I would not be surprised if everyone already knew. They will know that I have been foolish, that I have lost the family fortune.” She glanced up at Charlotte apologetically. “This will affect you too. It might make things worse ... for you.”
“Do not worry about me,” Charlotte insisted, now taking on the role of trying to be strong. “I know it does not seem alright at the moment, but we shall find a way to make it work. Somehow, we will make all of this not so terrible.”
Charlotte reached out to embrace her sister, but Mary did not want anyone to hold her. She was trying her hardest to hold herself together, and any sympathy would send her right over the edge.
“No, I think I shall go to bed,” Mary said sadly. “I think I just need some time alone in my room if that is alright. I just need some time and space to think.”
As Charlotte watched her sister walking away, determination swirled inside of her. She was not sure how, but she wanted to help Mary. She thought that she was the one who needed help, but as it turned out, she was the one who was needed to help.
What can I do?she thought desperately as she walked through the house.How can I help Mary? Who can I turn to?
There was one person, but Charlotte could not tell whether or not it was a good idea. There were many arguments in her head for and against the plan. On the one hand, the girls could not deal with this alone, and without any direct family surviving, there was not anyone else ... but he had also hurt their family, and Mary might never want to see him again.
It was a dilemma, but Charlotte needed to figure something out.
With a burst of determination, she decided to head to her husband’s writing desk to pen out a letter. Maybe she would send it; maybe she would decide against it, but doing something felt much better than doing nothing. She had spent the last six years of her life doing nothing, and it had not gotten her anywhere. She would not let the same happen to her sister.
Mary felt numb as she collapsed onto her bed sheets; she was utterly stunned by the events of the day. One moment, she was having a normal conversation with Charlotte, and the next she was having the foundation of her life pulled out from underneath her. Everything that she had depended on was gone, and now she had absolutely nothing to look forward to.
Could there be some other explanation?She still searched desperately within for something other than a shattered life.Could Walter be up to something much more innocent?
But deep down, she knew. Things like that did not happen. Now, she would be the centre of gossip, and everyone would be talking about her. Everyone would know about her terrible situation.
For some reason, the person whose opinion about all of that which bothered her most was Edmund’s. It should not have been; he certainly did not care what she thought when he kissed another Lady, but she could not help herself. She just did not want him to find out ever. She could not stand his pity, maybe his bemusement since she had been so dismissive of him; she did not want him to learn of this.
And now I cannot escape London, at least not without great difficulty. It seems that I am stuck here, with all of my mistakes around me, for a very long time.
