Page 91 of Harpy of the Ton
Then Mrs. Chantry’s voice filtered through the door, and he froze.
If your husband’s carrying on with a doxy…
How dare the woman say such a thing!
Then Bella rose her voice in her defense of doxies, laying the blame at the feet of errant husbands.
He allowed himself a smile. Millie—who’d loathed Lady Arabella—would have liked Bella, even if Bella was the reason he’d rejected her advances.
As he reached the door, he heard Mrs. Chantry’s voice.
No wonder you can’t keep your husband…
Shaking with fury, he pushed open the door.
Bella and Mrs. Chantry stood facing each other. The teacher, a heavily built woman, dominated the space, but Bella held firm, her body rigid with determination.
“I’ll thank you not to insult my wife,” he said.
Bella stiffened and turned toward him, her face flushed. “L-Lawrence…”
He held out his hand. “Come here, Bella.”
She stared at it, then met his gaze, and his heart ached to see the sorrow in her eyes.
Where was the firebrand—the harpy?
“Mrs. Chantry, why did you refer to my wife as a…” He could hardly bring himself to utter the word.
“Are you blind?” the teacher replied. “We’ve heard the stories. Not that we blameyou.”
“What stories?”
“Lawrence, no,” Bella said. “Not here. The children—”
“Are outside and can’t hear us. What stories, Mrs. Chantry?”
“A-about your wife.”
“My wife?” He stepped toward the teacher, and she moved back.
“Perhaps I was mistaken,” Mrs. Chantry said. “I-I heard your wife had abandoned you—and you came to Brackens Hill with your children, but no mention of a wife. When they first came to school, they said they didn’t have a mother—that she was dead.”
Bella drew in a sharp breath.
Shit.Had the day of reckoning arrived?
“Then,” the teacher continued, “she turns up showing neither remorse nor repentance. What was any reasonable person supposed to believe? When a woman abandons her husband and children, there’s only one reason. She ran off with a lover.”
She turned her spiteful gaze to Bella. “She won’t even deny it. And to think, she’s living among respectable folk here—who knows what influence she’ll have on us? I’ve seen the influence she’s had over your children! It’s not virtuous. It’s not—”
“Will you stop, you damned harridan!” Lawrence roared.
“Well!” the teacher exclaimed. “I’ve never heard anything of the like.”
“Then it’s time you did, Mrs. Chantry,” he said. “My wife went missing through no fault of hers—not that it’s anyone’sbusiness but mine. She had an accident that took her memory and nearly took her life. We’re strangers to her, Mrs. Chantry—can you understand how frightening that must be? Yet she’s cared for me and our children without a single word of complaint.Thatis what it means to be virtuous, and I’ll thank you to show her the respect due to her, not just as my wife and the mother of my children, but because she’s a better woman than you—nay, a better woman than any in the whole damned village!”
He took Bella’s hand and lifted it to his lips.
