Gail Whitiker (21 page)

‘Not yet, but I fear something is about to. James Stanford came to see me yesterday.’

‘And?’

‘And it seems he is of a mind to pay his addresses to you.’

Hannah pressed her hand to her heart. ‘But he must not. I cannot accept him. You know that, Robert.’

‘Of course I know it, but
he
doesn’t.’ Robert glanced towards the open door, his senses alert for the sound of anyone approaching as he reached for her hands. ‘He has no idea I love you so desperately.’

Hannah blushed. ‘Nor must he learn of it. And you must stop saying these things. You know that nothing can come of it.’

‘Only because
you
say it cannot. But I love you, Hannah. And I don’t intend to stop telling you.’

‘Please, Robert, do not put me through this again. I will not change my mind. But tell me quickly what has happened with Mr Stanford.’

He let go of her hands then, frustrated at being forced to put aside his feelings. ‘I told James, when he came to see me, that you were enamoured of someone else.’

Her eyes went wide with shock. ‘You didn’t say—’

‘Of course not! I could hardly tell him you were in love with me when he still believes you to be my sister.’

‘Then what do you tell him?’

‘That you were harbouring a
tendre
for…Philip Twickenham.’

‘Philip!’ Hannah gasped. ‘Oh, Robert, how
could
you?’

‘It was the only name that came to mind.’

‘But Philip is engaged!’

‘Yes, but only you and I know that. And the only reason I’m telling you this now is because James will be coming to see you. I wanted to give you time to prepare yourself. I was afraid that if he caught you off guard, you wouldn’t know what to say.’

‘I dare say you’d also prefer that I didn’t make a liar out of
you
by admitting I have no feelings for Philip,’ she said ruefully.

His smile appeared briefly. ‘Truly?’

‘Of course not. How could you even be so foolish as to think I had?’

‘Because a man is always foolish when it comes to the woman he loves. Surely I have no need to tell you that?’

‘I’m not sure what I need to be told any more,’ Hannah said weakly. ‘This is all…so confusing. I’d convinced myself I was the most stupid of creatures for allowing myself to fall in love with you. I told myself I had to leave Gillingdon because nothing could ever come of it, and because I couldn’t bear to see you fall in love with someone else. But when you told me how you felt…’ She looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. ‘I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t believe this was really happening to me. I never thought it could be like this. Never thought I could feel something so incredibly strong and pure.’

‘Nor did I, sweetness,’ Robert whispered. ‘Nor did I.’ He drew her into his arms and pressed his lips to the softness of her hair. The stirring in his loins was familiar to him, but he hadn’t expected the yearnings of his heart to be so much stronger. He wanted to love Hannah in every sense of the word. To tell her, with the most beautiful words he knew, how deeply he felt about her. Yes, he yearned to take her to his bed, but his desire to ex
plore the magic between them went far deeper than the physical. He kissed her forehead, drowning in her sweetness, and then, tilting her face up to his, bent his mouth to hers. ‘Never in my wildest dreams did I think it was possible to feel like this. To love like—’

‘I say, Winthrop!’ came the shocked exclamation from the doorway. ‘What the
hell
do you think you’re doing?’

The voice was one she knew well, yet at the moment Hannah barely recognised it. Ringing with anger and condemnation, it was a far cry from the bantering, easygoing tones of the James Stanford she’d come to know. Unfortunately, Mr Stanford wasn’t the only witness to their embrace. Alice, dear Alice, was standing in the doorway, her face twisted in a mask of horror and disbelief.

Hannah’s heart plummeted. ‘Alice!’

She might as well have called out to the moon. Alice covered her mouth and fled, running down the hall as though the devil were on her heels. Unfortunately, Stanford did not. He stood exactly where he was, glaring at Robert as if he was some kind of fiend.

‘Aren’t you getting a little familiar with your sister, Lord Winthrop?’ he enquired icily.

‘Mr Stanford, it isn’t what you think!’ Hannah cried.

‘Then perhaps you would be as good as to tell me what it is. Or do you and your brother make a habit of kissing in such a way when you are alone?’

‘Hannah, go up to your room,’ Robert said in a quiet voice. ‘I’ll talk to James.’

‘I’m not sure I want to talk to you. Dear God, what kind of monster are you?’ Stanford said in disgust. ‘Talking of
love
to your sister.’

‘Mr Stanford—’

‘Hannah, please,’ Robert said, in an even quieter voice.

‘Do not worry, Miss Winthrop, I do not hold you responsible,’ Stanford said gallantly. ‘A woman and a sister will always be ruled by her brother.’ He glanced at Robert, and his lip curled in distaste. ‘There are numerous kinds of depravity in society, but I never thought to find them here.’

Robert flushed. ‘That’s enough, James.’

‘On the contrary, it’s not enough by a long shot! I’m not even sure I should leave you here with this poor woman. God only knows what you might attempt to do—’

‘I said that’s enough!’

Robert’s voice reverberated like a crack of thunder, causing Hannah to jump, and Mr Stanford to take a step backwards. But he was far too angry to be cowed. ‘Damn it, Winthrop, all these years and I never suspected anything like this. Is this why you’ve spent so little time in the country? Because you felt this…unhealthy attraction to your sister? And is it only your sister who suffers your perverted lusts? What about poor Miss Montgomery? Is she a target for them too?’

‘How
dare
you!’ Hannah cried, anger flaring at the hateful things Mr Stanford was saying. ‘You, who call yourself his friend. How could you accuse him of such infamy?’

‘I accuse him because I know what I saw!’ Stanford shot back. ‘He was
kissing
you! And not in a manner of a brother kissing his sister. I saw no chaste kiss on the hand, or an affectionate buss on the cheek. What I saw was the conduct of a man who was…dare I say it, in love!’

Robert clenched his hands into fists. ‘Stanford, I sug
gest you take your leave now, before any further damage is done.’

‘What—you think I am likely to inflict damage? God only knows the extent of damage you’ve already done to Miss Winthrop. Not to mention poor Miss Montgomery. What do you think she is going to make of you kissing your sister in such a manner—’

‘She will make nothing of it because I am not his sister!’

‘Hannah, don’t!’ Robert shouted.

‘No. I’ll not stand here and let him think such wickedness of you, Robert,’ Hannah cried, unable to stand it any more. ‘Lord Winthrop has done nothing wrong, Mr Stanford,’ she said, turning to glare at the man. ‘His conduct is not that of a brother to a sister because he is
not
my brother!’

‘Damn it,’ Robert muttered as he turned away. ‘Now you’ve truly cast us into the briars.’

She might have cast them into the briars, but at least she’d set matters to rights. Or tried to. At the moment, Hannah wasn’t sure that poor Mr Stanford hadn’t turned to stone.

‘Not your brother?’
He glanced in bewilderment from one to the other. ‘But…what kind of a lark is this? Of course he’s your brother. He’s always been your brother.’

Robert sighed as he sank down on to the sofa. ‘It’s no lark, James. Hannah isn’t telling you a lie. She isn’t now, nor has she ever truly been, my sister.’

‘But that’s impossible. She was born into your family the same as you.’

‘I’m afraid that’s where you are wrong, Mr Stanford,’ Hannah said, needing to be the one who told him. ‘Forgive me, Robert, but I could not allow your friend to go
on believing you’re some kind of monster. I was not born to Lady Winthrop, Mr Stanford. And Lord Winthrop’s father was not my father. It is shocking, I know. Indeed it was to me when I learned of it only a few months ago.’

‘A few months ago?’ Stanford’s mouth dropped open. ‘You mean…you didn’t
know
you weren’t his sister?’

‘I hadn’t a notion until Lord Winthrop told me a few days after the Viscountess’s death.’

Stanford glanced at Robert but, seeing no change in expression, looked back at Hannah. ‘My God. How? I mean, where…?’

‘I was left in Lady Winthrop’s carriage,’ Hannah told him. ‘I was only a few weeks old. Apparently, my real mother had…died and there was no one else to look after me. Whoever put me in Lady Winthrop’s carriage hoped I would have a better chance at life than if I’d stayed in Scotland.’

Stanford’s eyes grew wider still. ‘You were born in
Scotland
?’

‘So it would seem.’

‘And you only just found out…you
both
just found out…that you’re not really brother and sister?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Damn.’ Stanford abruptly sat down. ‘Then…what I just saw between the two of you…?’

‘Hannah, would you leave us for a moment?’ Robert said softly. ‘I think I’d like a moment alone with James, now that he’s heard the worst of it.’

‘Of course.’ Hannah got up, and the gentlemen rose with her. ‘I’m so sorry you had to find out the truth like this, Mr Stanford, but I could not allow you to go on harbouring such mistaken impressions about Lord Winthrop. It was imperative that you be made to under
stand the situation so that you could see he had done nothing wrong. Lord Winthrop has been a perfect gentleman to me the entire time.’

Then, with a tremulous smile in Robert’s direction, Hannah left, wishing, even as she did so, that she might have been able to hear how Robert was going to extricate himself from
this
one.

F
OR
all her curiosity, Hannah did not stop to ask Robert how his conversation with Mr Stanford had gone. She was far more concerned with her cousin’s well being, because Alice wouldn’t talk to her. She’d shut herself in her room and steadfastly refused to come out. And nothing Hannah or Lady Montgomery had said was sufficient to persuade her to come downstairs.

‘I don’t understand,’ Lady Montgomery said in some concern over dinner. ‘I’ve never known Alice to miss meals before. She’s always had an excellent constitution and a very healthy appetite.’

Hannah, who had done nothing more than pick at her own food, finally put down her fork. ‘Perhaps it is a touch of the megrime, Aunt. You said yourself that Alice suffers terribly with them.’

‘She does, but I don’t think that’s what it is this time.’

‘It isn’t,’ Robert said suddenly, appearing in the doorway. ‘Unfortunately, the real source of Alice’s reluctance to join us is far more serious than a mere physical ailment.’

Lady Montgomery put a hand to her heart. ‘Robert, my dear, whatever do you mean?’

Robert glanced at Hannah, and the expression on his face made her blanch. ‘Oh, Robert, please…’ she said, shaking her head.

‘I have no choice,’ he said bleakly. ‘I did my best to settle James down, but he left in a considerably agitated state, and I have no way of knowing what he might say
or do. I can’t risk my own family hearing something like this from the prattle-boxes.’

‘Prattle-boxes? Robert, what on earth are you talking about?’ Lady Montgomery cried. ‘What are you afraid we’ll hear?’

‘Just a moment, my dear,’ Sir Roger interrupted. ‘Thank you, Belkins, that will be all.’

The butler bowed, and signalling to the footman, quietly left the room. Robert waited until the door closed behind the two before saying, ‘I won’t risk either of you hearing stories about Hannah from anyone outside this house, Sir Roger. But the fact is, we can’t keep the truth to ourselves any longer.’

‘And what truth would that be?’

‘That I am not Lady Winthrop’s daughter,’ Hannah said quietly.

There was a moment’s shocked silence. Then, laughing, Lady Montgomery said, ‘Not her daughter! What nonsense, Hannah, of course you’re Charlotte’s daughter. Dear me, child, wherever did you get such a ridiculous notion?’

‘It isn’t ridiculous, Aunt,’ Robert said quietly. ‘Hannah isn’t my sister. At least not by birth.’ He glanced at Hannah and the look on his face made her want to cry. ‘Hannah was abandoned in my mother’s carriage when she was only a few weeks old.’

‘W-what?’

‘I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you, Aunt Prudence, but the fact is, Mama deceived all of us,’ Robert continued. ‘She found a baby in her carriage and, heartsick over my father’s death, took the child home and pretended it was her own.’

‘I say, sir, if this is some kind of a joke, I suggest you
desist at once!’ Sir Roger said, clearly angry. ‘It isn’t in the least bit funny.’

‘No, sir, it isn’t,’ Robert said, equally serious. ‘But the fact is, Hannah is not my sister, and Mama knew that all along.’

‘You mean…Charlotte
lied
to us?’ Lady Montgomery went as white as a sheet. ‘My own sister
lied
to me about such a thing?’

‘Yes, Aunt, I’m afraid she did.’

‘But how could she do such a thing? How could she deceive us in such a way?’ Lady Montgomery looked at Hannah as though she’d never seen her before. ‘Were you aware of this deception, Miss?’

Miss?
Hannah went white. ‘I…I—’

‘Of course she didn’t know,’ Robert said, biting off the words. ‘Hannah learned the truth only a day after I did. Mama gave her no indication at
any
time during her life that she was not exactly who she’d been brought up to be. If you’re going to be angry with anyone, it’s Mama you should—’

‘How
dare
you!’ Lady Montgomery interrupted. ‘How dare you even
think
to point the finger of blame at my sister! She would never do something so outrageous! And she would
never
lie to me.’

‘I’m sorry, Aunt Prudence, but that is exactly what she did. Until a few months ago, Mama and Lady MacInnes were the only ones who knew the truth.’

‘
Margaret
knew?’ Lady Montgomery blinked in dismay. ‘Margaret knew and didn’t tell me?’

‘No, because Mama asked her not to. The only reason she told me was because she felt I had a right to know,’ Robert said in the same calm voice. ‘That’s why I’m telling you now.’

‘And I suppose you expect me to believe this…ridiculous pack of lies?’

‘You may believe it or not, but it
is
the truth. As to Hannah’s true identity, I have told her I will do all I can to help find out who her real parents were.’

A long painful silence followed, during which Lady Montgomery held her handkerchief to her mouth and looked anywhere but at Hannah. Sir Roger slowly got to his feet. ‘Am I also to understand that your telling us the truth now has something to do with Mr Stanford being made aware of the information this afternoon?’

‘Yes. Unfortunately, James came upon Hannah and myself as I was…kissing her.’

‘
Kissing
her!’ Lady Montgomery cried out in shock. ‘You were
kissing your sister
?’

‘She is
not
my sister!’

‘Oh, I cannot bear it!’ And with that hysterical exclamation, Lady Montgomery abruptly departed.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the room once more.

‘Well, this is a fine bloody mess,’ Sir Roger muttered. He locked his hands behind his back and began to pace, finally coming to an abrupt halt in front of Robert. ‘Do you swear to me, sir, that what you have just told me is the truth in so far as you are privileged to know it?’

‘I swear, sir, that I have repeated the story faithfully as Lady MacInnes recounted it to me,’ Robert said. ‘And as much as I might wish to, I have no reason to doubt that anything she has told me is false.’

Feeling it incumbent upon her to add something to the conversation, Hannah said, ‘Sir Roger, if it helps at all, Lady Winthrop did tell me that there was…something she wished to discuss with me the very night she died. She said it was something she should have told me a
long time ago and that it was extremely important. But she did not tell me that night, and…well…’

‘Yes, yes, I understand.’ Sir Roger gruffly cleared his throat. ‘I imagine this has come as quite a shock to you, young lady.’

Young lady?
Was he not even willing to address her by her name now?

Hannah purposely averted her gaze, seeing all too clearly what her situation had become. ‘Yes, it has. But I fear there is one more thing you should know, Sir Roger. Your daughter was standing beside Mr Stanford when he happened upon Lord Winthrop and myself in the music-room. Miss Montgomery saw Lord Winthrop…kiss me. That’s when she ran away and locked herself in her room.’

‘Alice saw the two of you embracing!’ Sir Roger’s face reddened in a most alarming fashion. ‘Bloody hell, no wonder she’s staying in her room. I’ve never heard the like. A daughter who isn’t a daughter, a brother kissing his sister—’

‘She is not my sister,’ Robert repeated calmly.

‘But everyone
thinks
she is, sir! And that’s what makes this all so damned awkward!’ Sir Roger’s bushy white eyebrows rose in suspicion. ‘By the way, why were you kissing her? I say, what exactly is going on here?’

‘There is nothing going on,’ Hannah spoke up quickly. ‘Lord Winthrop was merely trying to…comfort me.’

‘
Comfort
you! Damned if I’ve ever heard it called
that
before.’

Robert’s gaze turned stony. ‘There’s no need for that—’

‘No, please, Lord Winthrop, it’s all right.’ Hannah’s
face was burning as she got shakily to her feet. ‘But, if you will excuse me, I think I shall return to my room.’

Hannah picked up her skirts and left, wanting nothing more than the privacy of her room. She heard Robert call out her name, but she didn’t stop to answer or to look around. She had no wish to see the look of pity on his face. She wanted to be alone with her shame.

The unpleasant scene in the drawing-room had just given Hannah her first taste of what her new life would be like once people learned the truth, and it was worse than she could have anticipated. She had not expected to feel so utterly humiliated. Mr Stanford believing that she and Robert were indulging in some kind of incestuous affair, Alice likely believing the same, and Sir Roger and his wife making it sound as though
she
was the guilty party. If it hadn’t been so heartbreaking, Hannah might have laughed.

Certainly, it would have made excellent fodder for a tragedy!

Robert didn’t come to see her before he left the house, and in a way, Hannah was glad. She didn’t want to see the expression on his face, or to hear what further speculations Sir Roger had made after she’d left the room. She’d never thought that her own family could have been so cruel. Of course, they didn’t think of her as family any more. Discovering that she had been abandoned as a baby in Lady Winthrop’s carriage had changed everything. And whether she was to blame for it or not, she would be the one made to carry the burden of shame.

No, there was no question she would have to leave the house as soon as possible. And she would, Hannah decided, as soon as she could make arrangements to go
elsewhere. Her presence here was clearly unwelcome, and staying on would only add to the strain everyone was already feeling. But where would she go?

The knock on the bedroom door made her jump. Heart beating, she got to her feet. ‘Come in?’ To her astonishment, it was Alice. ‘
Alice!
I mean, Miss Montgomery. What are you doing here?’

The girl held on to the doorknob as though for dear life. Her voice, when she spoke, was barely audible. ‘Robert…told me about you, but…I didn’t know whether or not to believe him. Is it true?’

Hannah swallowed hard. ‘What did he say?’

‘That you…weren’t really Aunt Charlotte’s daughter. And that you aren’t really…his sister.’

‘Yes, I’m afraid it is true.’

‘But how could such a thing happen?’ Alice finally took her hand from the door and advanced a few steps into the room. ‘Why would anyone leave you in a stranger’s carriage?’

Hannah glanced at Alice in amazement, surprised that she would be concerned by that aspect of her past, rather than with the one her parents had seemed so troubled by. ‘I wish I knew. Perhaps because…my real mother died, and whoever she left me with couldn’t take care of me.’

Alice frowned. ‘But that’s no excuse. There must have been someone who would have been able to look after you.’

‘I wish there had been.’ Hannah sank back down on to the bed. ‘Then none of this would have happened.’

Alice took another step closer, and to Hannah’s surprise, sat down on the bed beside her. ‘I’m so sorry, Hannah. Really, I am.’

Hannah looked over at her, and suddenly felt the tears
began to flow. She cried for the mother she’d never known, and for the one she had known but hadn’t had a right to love. She cried for everything she’d grown up believing in, knowing that it had formed the basis upon which she’d modelled her life, only now to be revealed as a lie.

She cried because for the first time in her life, she didn’t know what else to do.

Robert walked home in a towering fury.
Damn it! Everything was going so bloody wrong!
First he and Hannah had had the great misfortune to be caught embracing in the music-room, not only by his best friend but by his impressionable young cousin, then he’d had to tell James the truth about Hannah, before having to do it all over again to his aunt and uncle—with Hannah sitting right there.

Was it possible to think of anything more distasteful?

But he hadn’t had any choice. James had to be told the truth, and Robert knew he couldn’t have risked Sir Roger and Lady Montgomery hearing the news from someone else. But he had expected them to take the news calmly and rationally, as Lady Thorpe had.

Unfortunately, they had done anything but. To his astonishment, they had gone completely the other way, becoming angry and defensive. His aunt had turned cold, accusatory eyes towards Hannah—as though she herself was to blame for the predicament—while Sir Roger had gone so far as to address her as ‘young lady’.

Young lady!
Was it any wonder Hannah had fled the room in despair?

Then, to make matters worse, Robert had felt obliged to go and see Alice, who had clearly been overset by what she’d seen in the music-room, and to try to explain
the situation to her in a way that would enable her to understand. He’d sat down beside her and, using the same rational tone he’d adopted with Lady Thorpe, he had relayed most of what he’d come to learn about Hannah’s sad circumstances. He hadn’t bothered telling her that Stanford had come to the house to propose to Hannah because he hadn’t seen any point in hurting the girl any further. Besides, he had a sneaking suspicion she already knew.

Alice had been very quiet during the narration, and when at length Robert realised she wasn’t going to burst into hysterics, or cast herself upon the floor, he’d left. Poor girl. She’d had to deal with two crushing disappointments that afternoon. The fact that Hannah was not truly her cousin—the second, that Mr Stanford’s affections were definitely engaged elsewhere.

Or at least, they had been, Robert reminded himself. He very much doubted there would be any communication between Hannah and James now. The man might have been able to come to terms with the fact that she was not the natural born daughter of a viscount, but there was nothing he could say in light of the fact that Hannah was in love with his best friend—and he with her.

Robert had thought it only fair to tell James exactly how he felt about Hannah. And he’d known from the look on Stanford’s face exactly what he’d been thinking. Robert had warned him not to get involved with a woman whose background he knew nothing about—and now that was precisely what he’d done.