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“He is such a good man!” Margaret protested. “Why is he not the right person for me to see? He is giving me courage and strength.”
“Courage and strength to escape the situation that you are in, but that is not the right course of action, either.” Jane looked at Margaret with fear in her eyes. “My brother cannot support you. He cannot take care of you. You will find yourself in the same predicament you are in now—without funds and desperate for something or someone to amend the situation.”
Margaret seated herself upon her bed, clasping her hands in her lap and gazing at the floor. If Jane only understood that Margaret did not care about all of that! She would delight in being poor if it meant that she could escape from Pelham Downs and the machinations of her father.
Oh, but it seemed hopeless in that moment. Margaret slumped her shoulders and gazed out the window, hearing a carriage pull up out front. She walked to the window and discovered her father alighting from the hackney coach. He swayed back and forth, and the temporary footman was quick to come outside and assist in keeping the viscount on his feet.
Margaret frowned. It was just as she suspected. Her father had gone somewhere to get drunk and spend what little money he had left. With any luck, he would be too drunk to come to tea, and Margaret could take tea with Jane or alone. What she desperately wanted was to be alone at that moment, or… in John’s company.
“He has returned,” Margaret said, sighing.
Jane joined her at the window. She placed her hand around Margaret’s shoulder. “By marrying Lord Darkmoor, you can escape from all of this, Margaret. Your father will benefit, as well. Who knows? Maybe receiving funds from Lord Darkmoor will help the viscount to amend his habits.”
“Jane, nothing will help him to amend his habits. My father is… far gone.”
Margaret turned away from the window, not being able to look any longer. Yes, it broke her heart to see her father in that state, but it also made her considerably angry! It was as though, for so many years now, she was being abandoned because of his unhealthy habits. If only her father understood the pain that it caused her… and the pain that it would have caused her mother to witness.
Could the loss of love truly cause someone to go down such a perilous path? The viscount was so different when Margaret’s mother was alive. How would things have been different if she hadn’t died? Would Pelham Downs be the beautiful estate that it once was? Would her father still have money, allowing Margaret to marry for love?
These questions were far too painful to explore, and Margaret fell into silence as Jane dressed her. Once it was done, she was clothed in green and gazed at herself in the mirror. Oh, it was as though she was wasting away! Already this dress was too large. Jane brought her hands around Margaret’s waist. “I will need to alter this gown.”
“And all the rest.”
Jane laughed. “Do you know, Margaret, sometimes I fear that I am eating for the both of us!”
The two of them continued to laugh, and Margaret considered that she needed that bit of humor to help her through the day ahead. It was one of the things that she loved most about Jane. Of course, she could be very protective and stern, but at the end of the day, Jane did have a marvelous sense of humor.
“I am jealous of your form,” Margaret said.
Jane looked down at herself and placed her hands upon her hips. “I have become rather womanly. But it makes exercise considerably more difficult!”
They laughed yet again, and this dissolved into silence. Margaret heartened herself. “I should go downstairs. With any luck, father will be napping.”
“The day is long. Perhaps you are right.”
When Margaret reached the tearoom, her shoulders slumped as she saw her father seated there, leaning over as though he were about to fall asleep whilst sitting! When Margaret seated herself at the table, the viscount looked up through bloodshot eyes. Margaret turned away. She could not bear to see any of it anymore.
