Page 72 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
“But I’m asking you, Lavinia. Don’t you know your own feelings?” Wilhelmina asked, and her tone was one of challenge.
It was as though she wanted Lavinia to agree with her, to tell her how she felt, even as Lavinia was not certain of it herself. Wilhelmina was not her intimate, she was not her confident, she was not her friend, and Lavinia had no intention of revealing her feelings to a woman whom she suspected of being in league with Lord Bath…
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to speculate… Archie and I… the baron and I are friends. Gwendolene’s death has brought him such grief. I want to help him discover the truth,” Lavinia replied.
Thiswasthe truth. She wanted to be there for Archie in his hour of need, and she had vowed to do all she could to help solve the mystery of Gwendolene’s death. But as for anything more…
“Oh, nonsense. You know your own feelings. You’ve been at Sarum Lacy House long enough to grow fond of him, but… as for his feelings toward you. Well, I suppose he knows your story well enough,” Wilhelmina replied.
Her masked had slipped. There was a vindictiveness in her words, one Lavinia found menacing. Wilhelmina was desperate to know what was going on, and for what. Her own ends?
“I don’t see what my story has to do with it, Wilhelmina. It’s a perfectly respectable one. I worked as a maid. I’m not ashamed of it. I didn’t know who I was. Not until my grandfather reunited with my mother. I was content in my former life.
And I’m content in this one, too. I don’t care what Archie thinks, and I don’t care what you think, either. But one thing I’m certain of is this: Archie doesn’t judge me for what I once was,” Lavinia replied.
In this, at least, she could hold her head high. Archie had never looked down on her, or belittled her, or made her feel small and insignificant. He was not like so many others of his rank and class, and it was for this reason Lavinia found herself attracted to him, though she was not about to admit as much to Wilhelmina.
“Is that so? Well, he always was… a gentleman. But men like that can all too easily fall victim to the designs of women who seek fortune…” Wilhelmina said.
Lavinia shook her head. She was beginning to grow tired of Wilhelmina and her questions. It was obvious what was happening. Wilhelmina was jealous. She believed she had a right to Archie, one Lavinia knew not to be the case.
Archie had no liking for Wilhelmina, and while Lavinia knew the question of their own future was uncertain, she felt sure Archie would never seek a courtship with Wilhelmina. But it seemed Wilhelmina would not take no for an answer, and now she glared at Lavinia, challenging her, it seemed, to argue back.
“I’m sure they can, if they’re unlucky enough to encounter such women,” Lavinia replied.
“And what’s that supposed to mean? Are the two of you courting, or not?” Wilhelmina demanded.
The mask had fallen. Her prim and proper, almost friendly, demeanor was gone, replaced by the jealous rage of a woman who now considered herself spurned by a rival.
“I really don’t think this is the proper thing to be asking me, Wilhelmina. It’s not right,” Lavinia said, for she felt embarrassed at the questioning, and was determined not to answer, even as Wilhelmina now seized her by the arm.
“Tell me, Lavinia. I have a right to know,” Wilhelmina exclaimed.
Lavinia pulled her arm away from her, increasing her pace, wanting only to get away from Wilhelmina, who seemed suddenly gripped by a jealous rage. A madness brought on by the simple question of Archie’s intentions. Lavinia had not realized the extent of Wilhelmina’s jealousy. She was possessive of Archie, obsessive, even…
“What right? You’re not courting him. He’s not courting you. What right do you claim to pry into his business in this manner?” Lavinia exclaimed.
She was not about to back down. There was nothing ladylike about Wilhelmina’s behavior, and despite trying to maintain her composure, Lavinia was growing increasingly angry.
Why should she tell Wilhelmina anything about her feelings for Archie? And why should she speculate on his feelings toward her—at least to someone else? It was astonishing behavior, and Lavinia was beginning to imagine Wilhelmina was gripped by a form of madness.
“I have every right to know. He and I are to be married,” Wilhelmina exclaimed, and Lavinia could not help but laugh.
“Married? What nonsense. You’re not betrothed to the baron. He hasn’t asked you to marry him. Don’t be so ridiculous, Wilhelmina,” she exclaimed.
The conversation continued as the two women walked along the drive toward Sarum Lacy House. They arrived at the bridge over the river, where steep banks fell away on either side, and the drive narrowed to only a carriage width, with trees hanging over on each side. The sun had disappeared behind the cloud, and despite it being the middle of the day, beneath the trees it was gloomy.
Lavinia wanted to be rid of Wilhelmina, and she could not imagine what would happen if her apparent rival, for that was what she had now set herself up to be, should follow her all the way to the house.
Would there be a scene? Her claims were grandiose—ridiculous in the extreme—and yet Lavinia had no doubt as to Wilhelmina’sabsolute belief in them. There was a madness there; the madness of love, spurned love, and Lavinia could only imagine how dangerous such a madness might prove.
“But I am. I know I am. He’s going to ask me. He’s just waiting for the right moment. That’s why I’ve brought him the marzipan. It’s his favorite. It was Gwendolene’s favorite, too, you know. Oh, yes… dear Gwendolene. But she said the same as you, Lavinia.
She told me Archie didn’t want to marry me. But I know better. And here you are, telling me the same. It’s a conspiracy, isn’t it? You’re trying to keep him from me… for yourself. You want to break us apart,” she exclaimed, her eyes flashing with anger as she spoke.
Lavinia shook her head. It was nonsense. There was no truth in it. Archie had no such feelings for Wilhelmina, whatever his feelings might be for Lavinia herself.
“There’s no conspiracy. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Wilhelmina. I don’t understand why you persist in this, and as for what Gwendolene has to do with it…” she began, but Wilhelmina now let out a cry of anger, seizing Lavinia by the wrist as she spoke,
