A Fallen Woman (14 page)

Nash nodded and
tried to school his face into an expression of interest. No doubt
the woman would relate all manner of details about her offspring
that he really did not want to hear, but one must be polite.

‘I am
sure you miss them.’

She
appeared surprised by the comment. ‘Not at all. They are just
children, after all.’

It wasn’t
the response he had been expecting and he didn’t quite know what to
say. Instead, he changed the subject. ‘I daresay you are looking
forward to the wedding tomorrow?’ The topic of weddings, he had
discovered, was usually a sure fire way of disarming – and
distracting – any female.

Charity
glanced towards Charlotte who was animatedly discussing something
with Adam. The two had their heads close together and were clearly
engrossed. ‘She has done very well for herself,’ Mrs. Sheridan
allowed, almost grudgingly. ‘The family has good reason to be
delighted.’

This, too, was not the
response Nash had been anticipating. He had
expected something a little more fulsome, but then, perhaps Charity
did not do fulsome. ‘They look very happy together,’ he
suggested.

‘
Indeed. She is fortunate that Lord Casterton has been able to
bring himself to overlook the blemish that lies on this
family.’

Nash blinked. He wondered where he was going wrong. This
was not
the
light luncheon conversation he had been aiming for. Could the woman
really be referring to Rachel’s scandal? Would she really be so
insensitive?

‘I a
m
not sure -’

‘My dear Sir, I believed I have divined the reason behind
your preoccupation. You have no need to pretend with
me
.’

His preoccupation
? Had she assumed his enjoyment of the beef had
been introspection? Nash eyed the woman a little warily, wondering
what they were talking about. ‘I am not sure what you mean? Indeed,
I did not mean to give the impression that I am surprised by Adam’s
choice of bride. Miss Sheridan seems to be a delightful young woman
and I know Adam is very happy,’ he said, dropping his voice a
little. ‘I doubt that whatever troubles the Sheridans have had to
endure would have entered his head. It certainly would not have
influenced his decision to align himself with the
family.’

‘Your friend is an exceptional man
. Even though I am
aligned
with them, I feel
their shame most keenly, although they certainly give no indication
that
they
do. Lord Casterton’s forbearance is a fortunate
circumstance. I had thought that Charlotte would be shunned when
she was presented in London.’

‘
Shunned?’ Nash repeated, startled. ‘Surely not.’

Charity Sheridan’s icy blue eyes examined him with pity and
just a touch of contempt at his obtuseness. ‘My dear Sir, the
eldest Miss Sheridan was
ruined
.’

‘So I
have heard, but surely Charlotte Sheridan – or Liza, for that
matter – is not. If Society shunned everybody’s families after one
of their number had erred, there would be nobody left to associate
with.’

Charity
was silent for a moment, staring at him. Then she produced a sliver
of a smile. ‘Oh I see! You are having a jest. Well let me assure
you Sir, it is no laughing matter.’ She shot a look of pure poison
down the table towards Rachel, who was engaged in a lively
conversation of her own with her sister Liza and was therefore
oblivious. ‘I think we both know that Society is not so tolerant.
Only look at how the local families have shunned Thorncroft. Heaven
only knows how I am to establish us when James and I come to
Northumberland.’

‘No doubt
you will not have to concern yourself with that for some time,’
Nash said drily. ‘Lord Sheridan looks to be in good
health.’

‘
Yes,’ Charity agreed, giving her father-in-law a speculative
glance. ‘But one never knows, does one? Life can be quite
precarious, especially for the elderly.’

‘Surely
Lord Sheridan is only in his fifties? Hardly an ancient. And I
believe his own father lived until a ripe old age,’ Nash added, a
little maliciously. He had quickly concluded that he did not like
Charity, who obviously did not feel obliged to live up to her name.
‘Longevity is a happy feature of the Sheridan males, I seem to
recall.’

‘Yes,’
Charity agreed, a little sourly. ‘It is very fortunate.’

‘By the
time you and your husband are ready to assume the mantle of master
and mistress of Thorncroft, I am sure any scandals will have long
since been forgotten,’ Nash pursued. ‘So you will have no trouble
establishing yourself.’

‘If my
parents-in-law had sent Rachel away, that might be true. But her
continued presence is a constant reminder of her past errors. I
advised them from the start that they should not allow her to
remain beneath their roof. There is some kind of relation in Wales,
I believe. She should have been sent there.’

Nash had a
sudden vision of Rachel’s life, tucked away with some remote
connection in the wilds of Wales, shut off from her family and all
that was familiar and a pang of protest resonated through him. What
a life that would be. No doubt, the distant relative would not be
any more lenient than Society itself.

For an intelligent, articulate woman, it would be a living
death
…

He took a
moment to frame his answer, surprised by the vehemence with which
he wished to defend Rachel. Apparently his repeated talks to
himself about how she meant nothing to him were not having the
desired effect. It was becoming quickly apparent that Charity hated
Rachel Sheridan and he wondered if it were something more than
righteous outrage at past scandals. His tone, when he spoke, was
carefully neutral. ‘Lord and Lady Sheridan are obviously very kind
people. Their sense of duty towards their children must be
commended.’

He knew he sounded priggish, but dear Lord, compared to
what he
wished
to say his response was mild. He might agree with the woman
– although he wasn’t entirely sure that he did, his certainty
seemed to be eroding with every passing minute – but he felt
indignant on behalf of his hosts. Charity was a member of the
Sheridan family and she was surely being indiscreet, saying such
things to a stranger. Did she always speak in such a way about
Rachel? Such talk could only stir up negative sentiment and it
would certainly do nothing to put the past to bed.

Nash
admired the way Rachel’s family rallied around her. There
was no silent condemnation or admonitory glances to be found
here
.
Whatever they had gone through in the past, Rachel was truly
forgiven for her transgressions within the bosom of her family.
Except, it seemed, by The Hon. Mrs. James Sheridan who was, not to
put too fine a point on it, a bitch.

Charity, obviously irked at finding that she did not have
the sympathetic audience she had
anticipated, was inclined to retreat into
incredulous indignation. ‘One can put a good face on it I suppose
but the fact remains that Rachel is a disgrace to this family and
should be sent away. I am sure you share my dismay at having to
reside beneath the same roof as… as that woman.’

She
managed to imbue the last word with such extraordinary vitriol that
Nash wanted to give the woman as uncompromising a set down as he
had ever bestowed. He clamped his teeth together and fought for
calm. Much as he might dislike either her sentiments or, if he were
perfectly frank, the woman herself, she was a member of the house
party and he was a guest. Even though he aimed for moderation, he
knew he sounded terse when he spoke. ‘While I am sure your
sensibilities no doubt do you credit, such an attitude can hardly
help the Sheridans move on from such… unfortunate circumstances. I
am sure everybody’s support is necessary if they are to rise above
the events of the past. They do, after all, have one final daughter
to launch.’

‘That is precisely my point!’ Charity’s voice rose on the
last two words. Realizing that she was
in danger of being inappropriate at
the luncheon table, she dropped her voice immediately. When she
continued on, her tone was lower but still forceful. ‘If they had
sent her away, there would have been no difficulties in launching
Charlotte. Liza,’ she added acerbically, ‘is doubtless going to be
another matter entirely. As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, she wants
for discipline.
My
children shall remain in the schoolroom where they belong.
I do not approve of giving a child pretentions.’

Nash was sure she did not
. Charity’s children were probably far too
browbeaten to consider escaping the nursery. He had no real idea of
how households handled their youngest members but he hadn’t noticed
anything untoward in Liza’s behavior and had thought that the
youngest Miss Sheridan was rather refreshing in her forthright
approach to life. It seemed he had very little in common with
Charity Sheridan’s views. For that, he was profoundly
grateful.

‘Are many people of your opinion
, Mrs. Sheridan?’

The cold
blue eyes blinked at him. ‘I am afraid I do not know what do you
mean, Sir?’

‘
I mean, do many people think Rachel should have been sent
away? Even after all this time?’

‘
People who have a modicum of sensibility certainly do so.
Rachel’s behavior must necessarily outrage anybody with any sense
of moral certitude.’

‘
Do you not think she has been judged enough?’

‘Judged
enough?’ Charity was clearly incensed by the very idea. ‘My dear
Sir, thanks to her absurdly indulgent parents she has not felt the
sting of social approbation at all! Oh yes, some of the neighbors
have snubbed her but what matters that when she can hide away at
Thorncroft, ruining the good name of her family? Believe me when I
say, Rachel has not suffered in the least. She has just let others
suffer for her which, I can assure you, is entirely
typical.’

Harsh words indeed. Nash, sensing that much more
conversation with the unpleasant Charity would merely inspire even
greater outpourings of vitriol, had determinedly led the
conversation in another direction, despite Charity’s obvious desire
to continue venting her fury on what she must consider to be a new
pair of ears. No doubt she had good reason to think he would
reciprocate if she was aware of his previous
tendre
for Rachel. All of London must know
that he had offered for her and had summarily been rejected.
Charity Sheridan must have thought that she would find a soulmate
when it came to dissecting Rachel’s lamentable
character.

The reality of Rachel’s existence, shunned by neighbors who
had no doubt been her friends and carrying the burden of guilt that
her family was similarly affected, was making itself known to him
in no uncertain terms. It was useless to pretend he was not
affected. He had gone through so many emotions since arriving at
Thorncroft that he no longer knew
what
he felt for Rachel Sheridan. It was all very well
condemning Charity for her harsh judgement of her sister-in-law but
hadn’t he done exactly the same thing? Not only had he judged her
on her sorry lapse of good sense in running away with Salinger, but
had found her guilty of crimes even she did not know she committed,
most notably, of having committed the unforgivable sin of spurning
his affections.

Charity
was no doubt affronted by his blunt refusal to discuss Rachel’s
shortcomings any further and he had sensed the frustration that lay
just beneath the surface. Her aversion to Rachel seemed to border
on the obsessive but there had been little she could do but follow
his conversational lead. He was Worsley, after all and she had
reluctantly let the subject of Rachel drop. When he had begun to
make observations about the weather, she fixed a poor imitation of
a smile on her lips and allowed herself to be led up a different
conversational path. It had given him a good deal of satisfaction
to thwart her. After only a brief time in her company he knew it
was not moral outrage that the woman felt for Rachel, but something
far more old-fashioned. Jealousy would have colored Charity’s
interaction with her sister-in-law for years. Rachel’s fall from
grace must have been a gift, giving Charity the moral imperative to
throw stones.

It was a relief
to get away from her.

After lunch he had spent time with James and George, who
were as amiable as their parents and siblings
before he wandered into the
library to browse the books for a much welcome, peaceful hour. He
wanted time alone and the space to think.

About how to go
forward.

The previous evening he had be
en all too eager to attack her. Not two
hours later they had been engaging in verbal skirmishes that had
delighted his intellect. Not only that but he had enjoyed
describing the places that were familiar to him from his travels
abroad; the theatres in Florence and Milan, the interior of the
Pantheon and the Coliseum, his trip to the excavations of doomed
Pompeii and Herculaneum. He had not needed to tell her as much
detail as he had, he supposed, but she had been so intrigued
(apparently forgetting for a time that she was determined to punish
him for ignoring her) and her questions so intelligent that he had
been a good deal more forthcoming than he had meant to be. He
had
wished
to remain aloof, uncaring and indifferent. But time spent
in Rachel’s company still had the power to intoxicate and he had
forgotten himself.