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‘That he is in love with Sissy?’ Mariette wrinkled her nose up. ‘I had hoped that it was an infatuation, but it appears that it is considerably more than that.’ She sidled closer to her mother. ‘Do you think I should pay her a visit?’
There was something in her daughter’s eyes that made Alicia flinch in horror. ‘To do what, exactly?’ As she waited for Mariette to reply, Morgan’s words tumbled around in the back of her mind.
‘To warn her that Morgan is out of her reach. Did you see the way that Felicity was looking at him?’ Mariette slid a calculating look at the house. ‘I have invited her to dine on Thursday.’
Horrified, but reluctantly conceding that Morgan might have a very valid point about the calculating ways of Mariette and her friends, Alicia shook her head. She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down but, deep inside, she knew her beloved husband would be chastising her just as much as Morgan had.
‘Well, you shouldn’t have,’ Alicia snapped. ‘You are not close friends with Felicity and I don’t know the chit. Why should she dine with us?’
Mariette blinked at her. ‘But, I thought-’
‘No. You didn’t think, did you, Mariette? And no, I would not like you to take it upon yourself to try to warn Sissy away from your brother. Sissy has done nothing to encourage him in the first place. You are not to meddle, Mariette,’ Alicia warned. ‘Besides, there are bigger problems we need to concern ourselves with and they require your attention from now on. Do not, and I repeat, not, get yourself involved in anything to do with Morgan and Sissy.’
Alicia slid an arm through her daughter’s and tugged her down the driveway that led to the Dowager House.
‘But aren’t we having luncheon?’ Mariette protested with a longing look back at the much larger and more resplendent house Morgan lived in.
‘Yes, at home where we belong,’ Alicia declared firmly. ‘That is Morgan’s house, Mariette, not yours, or mine for that matter.’
‘He has got to you, hasn’t he?’ Mariette cried. ‘Morgan has worried you into leaving him alone so he can sit in morose splendour in his study and drink brandy.’
‘If that is what Morgan wishes to do with his life then he is perfectly capable of doing it.’ Alicia knew from the defiant tilt of Mariette’s chin that her daughter was likely to continue with whatever plans she had for trying to get Morgan and Felicity together. ‘He has made it clear that he will sell the estate and move away if we meddle. Make no mistake, Mariette, he is serious. If he shuns society because they deprive him of what he wants, he is likely to turn his back on us as well. He can sell this estate. There is no reason why he couldn’t and then go and purchase a small house for us to live in while he lives somewhere else.’
‘He wouldn’t do that,’ Mariette scoffed. ‘This is his heritage.’
‘Wouldn’t he? Don’t underestimate just how deeply affected he has been by things like your ball. It is his life that has been upended, his house we have taken over, his life we have put on hold. It is only right that he should want it back. For now, we must give him some space and hope that once his temper eases, he will start to see things a little more clearly.’
‘If he doesn’t?’ Mariette asked sliding another worried look at the house.
‘Then we are likely to end up just like Sissy, so I wouldn’t scorn her if I were you. Right now, she is the only person who is stopping you from facing the same future as her. If you don’t wish to, you are free to find yourself a husband, you know. I mean, you are of age, and need to have a house of your own to run.’
‘Why should I change?’ Mariette demanded looking horrified at the notion.
‘Because it looks odd that at three and twenty you want to run your brother’s house for him rather than find your own husband and home to run,’ Alicia snapped. She mentally thanked God for Mariette’s scowl of consternation. Mariette might not like what Alicia had just said but at least she had taken it seriously. Strangely, Alicia knew that her son had meant what he had said as well. But whether he would go through with it or not depended on just how much he loved Miss Sissy Finchley.
‘Do you think we should invite Sissy and her aunt to dine on Thursday?’
‘Mariette, I have just told you to stay out of it,’ Alicia warned. ‘Look, just remember that if you do decide to be reckless that it isn’t just your lifestyle you are destroying, it is mine too. I am not going to allow you to ruin my life just because you wish to meddle. Concentrate on sorting your own life out first and leave Morgan to sort his.’
‘What do you intend to do if he marries Sissy?’ Mariette mused. ‘You know that people will gossip. All eyes will be turned upon us. Having her married to Morgan will be embarrassing.’
Alicia was appalled at the calculation in Mariette’s voice. ‘Do you know something? I am truly starting to worry about what kind of monster I have raised in you.’
‘Why am I to blame suddenly?’ Mariette snapped.
‘You truly do think that having Sissy as your sister-in-law will embarrass you,’ Alicia sighed.
‘Hopefully, he will calm down and think twice before he does something stupid,’ Mariette huffed.
‘I am not talking about him,’ Alicia snapped. ‘I am talking about you. How can you be so manipulative that you would even think about stopping your brother finding true happiness just to benefit yourself?’ She stared in horror at her daughter. ‘It is horrifying, do you know that? Just what have you turned yourself into?’
Mariette stared at her with wide eyes, but Alicia was too appalled by what she had just witnessed to care about Mariette.
‘Regardless of what you want, Mariette, the dinner next Thursday is going to be cancelled. If those invitations have not been sent yet they are going into the fire. If they have gone, we are going to send our apologies and cancel it.’
‘But, mother-’
‘No, Mariette. We have just had a ball with two hundred and fifty guests. You have had more than enough entertainment for one month. No more. We are both going to concern ourselves with spending a little time at home. Hopefully, by the time we do return to society, you won’t be the creature you are now.’ With that, Alicia positively propelled Mariette toward the Dowager House and forced herself to leave Morgan to resolve his own problems in his own good time.
