Grace nodded and reached for her sister’s hand. ‘I knew then that our lives would never be the same. I worried what would happen to us if Papa’s health worsened. I begged him to make provisions for us, but Charles—ingratiating little weasel that heis—convinced Papa he would take care of us. And Papa believed him. He was certain we would marry or that Charles would see to our welfare.’
Mrs Merriweather sighed. ‘Yes, I remember how upset he would get whenever you tried to convince him otherwise.’
Grace gave a small, sad smile. ‘Mama always told me, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” So I budgeted the household accounts, saved every bit of pin money each month, and instead of spending it on clothes and fripperies, I put it all aside. Travers—God rest his soul—not only taught me about the management of the Estate, but he also helped me invest those savings.’
Heather interjected, ‘So that is why you always wore plain, unflattering gowns!’
Grace shot her a withering look. ‘Humph! Do not interrupt, you odious creature!’
Unfazed, Heather grinned unabashedly.
Grace pressed on. ‘Now, where was I? Ah, yes. When I turned five-and-twenty, I gained full access to my dowry. If you do not marry, Heather, yours will be released for you to use when you reach the same age. I invested that too.’
Mrs Merriweather and Johnson exchanged glances, clearly impressed by her foresight.
‘When Papa became almost bedridden, Travers and I took charge of the Estate, which allowed me to experiment with farming techniques. We managed to make the land far more profitable.’ Grace hesitated, then cleared her throat before continuing, looking slightly guilty. ‘At this point, I did something ... perhaps a little cunning.’
Heather frowned, trying to piece it together. ‘I never understood why you invited Charles over so often back then. It always felt like you were inflicting his company upon us on purpose.’
‘I know you both disliked it, but I have no regrets.’
Mrs Merriweather tutted. ‘That boy always became irritable when you mentioned your mother. His prejudice against her was disgraceful.’
Grace nodded solemnly. ‘And that was exactly what I needed him to expose. I had to make Papa see Charles’s true nature, and thankfully, he played the pompous buffoon perfectly during that visit. This time, Papa saw it for himself.
‘I worked hard to make the Estate more profitable, but once it was entailed away, we would never have seen the fruits of it. After that visit, Papa began to acknowledge my fears. He agreed to increase our allowance money. Perhaps the allowance was his way of making provisions for us without admitting he had changed his mind about Charles. Papa was just so proud ...’
Heather looked at her sister with surprise and a newfound sense of awe and respect. She raised her eyebrows and asked curiously, ‘How much did you manage to save over all these years?’
‘The profits from the investments should yield us five hundred pounds a year, which may not be what we are used to, but we will be comfortable.’
They all exclaimed, surprised by the amount Grace had managed to amass through years of scrimping.
Though overjoyed, Heather was also annoyed. ‘How come you never told me about all these plans?’ She folded her arms crossly.
‘You were so young. I did not want to worry you about our finances, squirrel,’ replied Grace, which seemed to soothe her ruffled feathers.
‘I must admit, I knew you were saving money, but I had no idea you had managed to save so much. Well done, Miss Grace,’ Mrs Merriweather said.
Grace quickly waved off their delight. ‘I did something else too.’ Again, looking a touch shifty, she admitted, ‘During Charles’s last visit ... I may have pushed him too far.’
Heather exclaimed in delight, slapping her thigh. ‘By Jove! I must admit, I did not think it would work as well as it did. It was rather amusing to see how he fled from the house like the hounds of hell were chasing him.’
Johnson chuckled from the corner. ‘He tripped and fell on his way to the carriage in his rush to get away.’
Mrs Merriweather chuckled reluctantly.
Grace continued, ‘Well, his parting look promised revenge. After that meeting, I felt uneasy and worried about what he would do. So, I reluctantly sold the jewellery Mama left me. Do not worry, squirrel, the jewellery she left you is safe.’
This brought out a cry from Heather. ‘Oh no, Grace, how did you bring yourself to sell them? She brought them from India. They were all so beautiful ...’
‘It broke my heart, but I knew Charles would want retribution for how I embarrassed him in front of Lord Bainbridge. I had to do something, just in case. So, with the proceeds of the sale, I bought a small cottage not five miles from here. It is situated just outside the Skye Estate. Charlotte’s father was selling it, so we should still be able to live nearby and, hopefully, will not need to say goodbye to our friends and acquaintances.’
They were stunned.
‘I did not intend to move into it so soon. I was planning to retire there after your marriage, Heather. It is not in the best state and will need a lot of work, but I thought I still had time to put it in order. Now, it seems we will have to move there and make the repairs whilst we live in it. However, once it is up to scratch and, coupled with the quarterly profits I will receivefrom the investments, we may not live as we are used to—but we can live comfortably.’
Again, she was greeted with silence. She prompted them, ‘Well? What do you think?’
