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“Then let us pray they are not. Where is Harriett?”
“Berkshire,” answered Dunhaven. “I cannot leave Catherine here alone or I would go with you, but I’ll send one of my men to take you there first thing in the morning.” He paused, his manner awkward. “Manchester, there is something you must know before you go after her.”
~ * ~
“Harriett!” exclaimed Arabella, propping herself up with difficulty. Her face shone with happiness. “I thought you were not to arrive until the end of the month?”
Smiling, Harriett deposited the breakfast tray on her sister’s lap, helped plump up the pillows behind her, and sat down next to her. “Russell proposed.”
“Did
he? How wonderful! And what of Cat?”
“She is engaged to Lord Winchilsea’s heir, and very happily so.”
“I’m glad for her. Glad for you both,” said her sister with a wistful smile. “I wish I could say the same for myself. Oh, Harriett—I was so stupid to believe he loved me! If only I’d not gone to visit Elizabeth, I might be in your enviable position now.”
Harriett declined to tell her just how unenviable her position really was. “If all goes according to plan, you may yet have that chance.”
Arabella laid a hand on her swollen belly. “How?”
“The babe will be taken to the Foundling Hospital, where I will see to it he or she is placed with a good family.” Though how she planned to do that in the event Roland remembered their last encounter was beyond her. She would find a way. “Everyone believes you ill. If we are careful, no one will ever know the truth. Papa says you may yet be able to marry in a few years’ time. It is something to consider. I will be happy to help you when you are ready.”
Her sister stared at the coverlet in silence.
“Are you comfortable?” Harriett ventured after a moment. “Is there anything you need?”
“Not at all, I have been well cared for,” said Arabella. Her smile returned, though it was only a shadow of the one she’d first worn. “And now that you are here, I am perfectly content.”
“Cat sends her love,” Harriett replied. “And yes, I am aware you told her the truth.”
Her sister’s guilty gaze slid away. “And Papa?”
“He sends his love as well. He does not know you revealed anything to Cat, by the bye. She and I have kept it strictly between us.”
“Thank the Lord for that,” breathed Arabella. “I could not bear to leave with Cat thinking me deathly ill. She was so worried.” Again, she looked down at her lap. “And...and what of Elizabeth?”
Harriett hesitated. There was no point in keeping it from her. “She wrote a few weeks ago from Holbrooke Manor. She is living there now separately from Oxenden, whom she refuses to have anything more to do with. She threatened to petition for a divorce, but was persuaded not to follow through with it for the sake of her children. She has taken Susan and Alexander with her and will be allowed to keep them, provided she remains silent. Oxenden even agreed to let Alexander stay with her until he is old enough to attend school in London.”
“Oh, Harriett—the misery I have caused! How can I ever bear to—”
“No!” Harriett said firmly. “You made a poor choice, to be sure, but the fault is ultimately his. He seduced a young girl who had never before experienced that sort of attention from a man. He manipulated and deceived you, Arabella. I am not saying you are blameless for what happened, but I understand the power of strong emotions.” She held her sister’s gaze. “I know just how dangerous they can be.”
Tears slid down Arabella’s cheeks. “I wasn’t thinking, Harriett. I should have seen the truth of him. I should have known!”
“You are human and prone to the same weaknesses as everyone else. Believe me, I know,” Harriett murmured. “When you are in love, it is as though you lose all ability to look ahead and see the possibility of your actions now having dire consequences later.” Her gaze dropped to Arabella’s midsection. I might very well be in her place in a few months. What would she do if Roland refused to marry her?
“Harriett, has something happened?” Arabella peered at her, her brow puckered with concern.
Forcing a smile to her lips, Harriett answered, “I was once engaged, you know.” She hoped it was enough to satisfy her sister’s curiosity. “Yes, you made a mistake. But it was a mistake anyone could have made.”
“Not anyone,” replied Arabella, grimacing. She brightened after a moment. “But now you are here and we shall have time to visit and talk. I want to hear everything. Every bit of gossip, no matter how insignificant. I feel as though the entire world has passed me by while I’ve moldered away out here, swelling up like a whale.”
With pleasure Harriett obliged, happy to speak of less weighty matters. They talked until Katie came for the breakfast dishes, followed by an unfamiliar woman in a white apron and Jeremy, who was loaded down with a large basket from the manor house.
Harriett greeted the woman with a smile. “I am Harriett, Arabella’s sister. You must be Mrs. Whipple.”
“Indeed, m’lady,” the midwife replied. “Just set it down over there,” she commanded Jeremy. “I’ll take everything out while you go back for the rest.”
