Adoration Page 13

  ‘Is there something I can help you with, ma’am? We have a good selection of stock in today,’ the grocer offered. ‘Of course, I am due to make my delivery as usual on Friday.’

  ‘Yes, about that delivery,’ Alicia murmured, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from an uncomfortable looking Sissy. She speared the grocer with a condemning look. ‘Cancel our order.’

  The grocer froze and slid a worried look at Sissy. ‘C-cancel it, ma’am? Would you not be wanting as big an order, ma’am? You are quite welcome to come in and order whatever you like.’

  Alicia eyed the doorway as if going inside was something she found quite offensive. She suspected it was the way the spiteful grocer’s wife was looking spitefully at Sissy. Alicia, hating to see someone being treated so appallingly, used all her experience of moving about in high society to put the arrogant grocer and wife in their places.

  ‘No, thank you. I wish to cancel the order permanently. We shall be getting our groceries from somewhere else from now on,’ Alicia announced. She turned her back on the man and offered Sissy a smile. ‘Climb aboard, my dear. We have much to discuss. We are going to do our shopping in-’ She lifted delicately arched brows in Sissy’s direction, silently asking her where Sissy intended to get her groceries from.

  ‘Conley Bridge,’ Sissy murmured.

  ‘Come on then. Hargreaves, Conley Bridge grocery store if you would.’ Alicia climbed into the carriage and busied herself with draping her knee blanket over her legs. When she looked up she saw the grocer and his wife whispering to each other looking shocked and somewhat horrified. As far as she was concerned they got everything they deserved. She knew that Morgan’s order was huge and delivered to the estate every Friday. Losing the business was going to have a heavy financial impact on the grocer but as far as Alicia was concerned it was a lesson the man needed. He had to learn not to offend the family.

  Sissy had no choice but to climb aboard the carriage. She took a seat opposite Alicia and accepted the knee blanket Morgan’s mother held out to her with a nod of thanks. The footman folded the step and closed the door but, before the carriage could depart, Alicia turned to lean out of the carriage.

  ‘Oh, by the way, you should cancel all of the orders from our estate workers from now on as well. Everyone is going to do their shopping in Conley Bridge.’

  The grocer looked about to faint. When his wife moved forward to grab his arm, he shook her off like she was a pesky child. ‘Ma’am, is there something we have done to offend you?’ The grocer asked, stepping forward to peer into the carriage at her. He slid a look at Sissy which effectively made it clear he considered his loss of business all her fault.

  ‘I just don’t condone your conduct, sir,’ Alicia snapped. ‘Sissy is a long-standing family friend of mine and I don’t accept the slur you and your wife have put on her good character by spreading malicious rumours about her, and my son. She is not my son’s mistress, no matter what your crones think they saw. Now do your spiteful gossip elsewhere and consider our business with you concluded. Good day, sir. Hargreaves, move on.’

  The carriage immediately lurched into action leaving the grocer gaping after her in stunned disbelief. Sissy watched the last of the houses on the road disappear in consternation.

  ‘I suppose you are wondering why I have just done that,’ Alicia murmured, seemingly completely unaffected by what had just happened.

  ‘You do know that you have probably just ruined his business, don’t you?’ Sissy announced.

  ‘Do you care? Would you like me to go back and tell him it was all a mistake? I shan’t you know. I truly don’t condone gossips,’ Alicia retorted. ‘Nor should you.’

  ‘It is difficult to ignore it,’ Sissy replied.

  Alicia sighed. ‘I don’t understand because I live in my ivory castle in the Dowager House, you mean? I am rich and wealthy and don’t understand what the scorn of people like them are like? You think that I don’t understand how much you are watched everywhere you go and criticised sometimes just for being alive if someone takes a disliking to you. That whenever you go out, you are forced to put on a front that is rigid and stiff, overly formal and suffocating, not because it is the polite way to behave but because you daren’t put a step wrong in case the parasites tear your life, your good name, your reputation, your character apart just for something to do.’

  It was indeed how Sissy had lived her life thus far. She was stunned that Alicia understood.

  ‘You know what people have been saying about me being Morgan’s mistress.’ It wasn’t really a question.

  ‘I know that they have been besmirching your reputation. I know that most of the gossip has stemmed from the grocer’s wife, whose sister lives in one of the riverside cottages you walked past with Morgan the other week. I know that they are discussing you having ideas above your station and they are all waiting for Morgan to make a fool of you so they can piously declare that they knew all along that it was all going to end in tears.’

  ‘How? How do you know all this?’ Sissy cried, struggling to contain her distress.

  ‘Because I have house staff, my dear. Staff who live near here and listen to the gossip for me. I don’t have to come to the village to listen to it myself. I cannot come to the village and listen to it myself because each time I do I end up like you. People gossip and stare but rarely gossip in front of me. They wouldn’t dream of taking me into their confidence. People look pointedly at me, as if questioning why I should be amongst them. I know that as soon as my back is turned, they will consider me scornfully wealthy and criticise me even without bothering to find out who I am. People like that never change no matter how much money they have in their pockets. It is who they are. Our lives, our experiences, are not really all that different. Being locked in a gilded cage can be just as confining as walking amongst a crowd of strangers all prepared to condemn you just because they feel like it.’

  Sissy stared at her in amazement. ‘I had no idea.’

  ‘No, because you were too young to move about the ballrooms of ton. Even if your father had allowed you to frequent them, you would have been too young to really understand what goes on behind gossipy hands. I do. I am sad to say that I too have traded my fair share of juicy gossip, but I only gossiped about people who I knew really behaved scandalously. Tearing apart someone’s character for fun is nothing short of criminal, and so debase that the people who do it aren’t worthy of even the time it takes to scorn them.’ There was something final in Alicia’s voice, as if she had long since come to the decisions she had and had no intention of ever seeing anything differently.

  Not that Sissy could persuade her that anything had to be considered in any other way.

  Because I have never moved about in the ballrooms Morgan frequents.

  ‘You really do need to spend more time with him, you know. He doesn’t like going to balls and the like either. I think that is what has caused so much discord between him and Mariette. As she has matured she has taken to dragging him wherever she wants to go. She has, unfortunately, just assumed that he would be happy to escort her, and of late has taken it upon herself to accept invitations on their behalf without even asking him. He detests it and has told her to stop, much to her disgust. I think that might be why she has taken so verbally against your presence in the house. It stops her having Morgan free to escort her wherever she wants to go. It is purely selfish, I agree, and something we do intend to put a stop to given Morgan shouldn’t feel obliged to escort Mariette everywhere. You have seen Morgan. He is a mature man who is firmly in command of his own world. You have also seen Mariette’s friends and how childish and brash they are. Can you really see Morgan tolerating spending his evenings in their company? He has tried, bless him, but even he has his limits.’

  ‘How is he?’ Sissy asked.

  Alicia sighed. ‘Doing his best to stay away from you. It is my fault, I am afraid. I warned him after the picnic that he was going to cause you problems if he called upon you too often.
I had hoped that absence would make him contemplate what he was doing but he is thoroughly miserable.’

  ‘Miserable?’ Sissy whispered, her heart lurching.

  ‘Yes, he is miserable. I had hoped that he would-’

  ‘Have second thoughts,’ Sissy finished for her when Alicia looked as if she was struggling to find the right words to use that would cause the least offense. ‘I am not offended. I have told him that there can be nothing between us.’

  ‘Whatever for?’ Alicia cried, openly shocked.

  ‘Well, because people are going to gossip about him. The idea of a marriage between us is so preposterous that people have already assumed that my connection with Morgan is founded on my being his mistress. According to the locals I am worthy of nothing more than being his lover.’

  Alicia sighed. ‘Morgan isn’t the blind fool you think he is. He wouldn’t be the kind of man who would approach you if he didn’t see a way through all of this. If he tells you that he is prepared to accept something it is usually because he is genuinely prepared to accept something. He doesn’t lie. In fact, Morgan is about the most straight talking person I know.’

  Sissy smiled. She secretly knew that he got that trait of his equally forthright mother but didn’t mention it to Alicia.

  ‘That journey didn’t last very long,’ Sissy said when she looked out of the window and saw the huge grocery shop window in Conley Bridge.

  ‘I am going to place our order for Friday. I do hope he can deliver it or Morgan is going to have a conniption,’ Alicia sighed.

  ‘I am sorry to throw your plans out,’ Sissy murmured before Alicia could enter the grocery shop.

  ‘You haven’t. I have cancelled the order with that grocer because I don’t want to do business with anybody who is likely to gossip about me, my friends, or anybody on our estate. We have a responsibility, not to just our workers but to our friends as well. I do hope that you can consider me a friend. We have known each other for many years now.’

  Sissy nodded. ‘It is very gracious of you that you want to continue our connection seeing as my father is no longer around.’

  ‘Why would that influence my decision to be your friend? Your father knew my husband and they have both passed on but that doesn’t mean we should stop talking. If your father had sorted a will before he passed away I am sure he would have made provision for you somehow. But what happened cannot be changed now. We must all learn to live with it,’ Alicia replied.

  Sissy jumped in surprise when the shop doorway was suddenly yanked open and a rotund gentleman, dapperly draped in a pristine apron, stepped outside, his round face wreathed in a delighted smile that made his moustache wobble.

  ‘Good morning, ma’am. How are you this fine day?’ he called, his voice a deep rumble.

  ‘Very well, thank you. I have a huge order for you, and it needs to be a regular one. But first, please see to Sissy.’

  Sissy eyed the man warily. Startlingly, his demeanour didn’t alter when he looked at her. The man smiled again and bowed at her. ‘Now, miss. What might I get you today?’

  Sissy dutifully gave him her order and preceded him into his shop.

  A good hour later, Sissy and Alicia returned to the carriage.

  ‘Care to take a wander?’ Alicia offered with a nod to the bustling main street beside them. ‘I haven’t taken a look at the shops here in an age. We always ride through the village for some reason.’

  ‘I have only ever come this way when we have needed something the grocery in the village doesn’t have,’ Sissy replied. ‘It would be nice to see what shops are here.’

  Together, the women ambled down the main street. Sissy was very much aware that people looked at them but in contrast to the village she called home, the locals in Conley Bridge gave them nothing more than a cursory look, a curtsey, or a bow. Everyone was polite. The atmosphere had none of the deep suspicion or watchfulness the village at home had.

  ‘See? Not everyone is going to condemn you,’ Alicia gushed.

  ‘If you are sure,’ Sissy murmured warily.

  ‘I am positive. Now, about Morgan. I should like it if you would come and take tea with me this afternoon,’ Alicia said companionably as she linked arms with Sissy. ‘I am due to leave for Scotland the day after tomorrow and would like to have a chat before I go. Morgan is going to stay at the estate because he has business matters to attend to so if things do get harsher, or there is a problem then you are to call upon him. He will help you seeing as he is the one who has caused all of the problems.’

  ‘Oh, but he hasn’t,’ Sissy countered, feeling protective of him.

  Alicia smiled at Sissy’s ready defence of her son. ‘Well, he hasn’t been hiding, or ignorant of what has been going on. I do believe there have been a few problems with one of the tenant farmers who has taken a little too much to the drink. Needless to say, the farm has fallen into disrepair and Morgan has had to find a solution. Consequently, the occasions when he has planned to call upon you to see if you are all right have been thrown into turmoil. I am sure he will be delighted if you could make it.’

  ‘I should love to. I am sure Norma would be delighted as well,’ Sissy replied with a smile.

  ‘Good, that’s settled then. Now, let’s go and take a look in the haberdashery then I really must get back. I hate to say it, but I think there is trouble afoot at the Dowager House.’ Alicia’s voice faded when four rather resplendent gentleman turned into the main street and trotted past. They tipped their heads at Alicia, having clearly recognised her but Alicia appeared less than thrilled to see them, or the large Barouche which carried four young women along behind them.

  ‘Oh, dear.’

  ‘Mariette looks to be entertaining again,’ Sissy murmured.

  ‘Morgan is going to have a conniption when he sees them. We have told her not to invite anybody else to the house,’ Alicia whispered.

  ‘You go on. I am sure that you will be able to head them off if you leave now,’ Sissy urged.

  ‘What, and leave you at the side of the road like unwanted baggage? I shouldn’t say so. I asked you here and I am going to see you home,’ Alicia announced flatly as she eyed the travelling trunks perched precariously on the back of the Barouche.

  ‘It looks as if they are planning to stay for a while.’

  ‘I doubt Mariette has had the chance to warn them that plans have changed since she invited them,’ Alicia grumbled. ‘Come along then. If you don’t mind cutting the visit short today we will return. We can come back when I return from Scotland.’

  Sissy was more than happy to agree, and soon found herself being returned home with a promise that Morgan’s carriage would fetch her later.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘Damn you, Mariette,’ Morgan hissed. ‘I told you.’

  ‘I didn’t get the chance to inform them that the invitation had been rescinded,’ Mariette cried. ‘Besides, it isn’t as if they are going to avail themselves of your house.’

  ‘But you have been told not to entertain anybody either here or at the Dowager House. I don’t care when you invited them. Get them out of here. Now. Today. No excuses,’ Morgan ordered.

  With a disgusted snort and a petulant stomp of her foot, Mariette clutched her fists and stormed out of the house. Morgan watched her go and shook his head in disgust.

  ‘Your departure for Scotland cannot come too soon,’ he growled, thoroughly disgusted that he had, yet again, made plans to see Sissy only for something to stop him. Morgan began to wonder if he was going to have to just walk out of the house and go anyway.

  There has to be a damned conspiracy going on.

  ‘Damn it, I miss her,’ he grumbled.

  Sissy was always in his thoughts. She haunted his dreams. She had swiftly become his obsession since he had kissed her. The yearning to see her again grew a little bit worse each day. He had to do something, or he was going to go quietly out of his mind.

  ‘God, not again,’ Ralph growled in disgust when Morgan
wandered into his study.

  ‘What?’ Morgan turned and looked out of the window to check that Mariette’s friends weren’t already coming up the driveway.

  ‘You. For God’s sake, marry the chit,’ Ralph growled. ‘You are moping about like a love-struck puppy.’

  Morgan slumped into the chair behind his desk and took a sip of his brandy. ‘What gives you the impression that I am thinking about Sissy?’

  ‘Because you always have that love-struck expression on your face. You look as if you are miles away. It’s not the look you usually have when you are pondering over a business problem, or an issue with the estate. Those kinds of problems come with a deep frown. Whenever you are thinking about Sissy you have that vague smile on your face, and that far away expression in your eyes as if you are with her but not physically so. God, it’s obscene.’

  ‘You sound bitter, my friend,’ Morgan teased. ‘Maybe one day you will understand what it is like when you are in love.’

  ‘I don’t intend to be in love if that is what happens to me,’ Ralph snorted. ‘I rather like me as I am, thank you.’

  Morgan smiled. ‘Well, word is out that we are courting. People are gossiping.’

  ‘Speculation is rife that she is your mistress,’ Ralph corrected before Morgan could make the situation sound better than it truly was.

  ‘They will learn otherwise when we marry, won’t they?’ Morgan mused.

  Ralph squinted at him over the top of his goblet. ‘Do you know something? If I didn’t know you better I would be inclined to think that you had planned for the gossips to do their worst just so you could exert a little pressure on the delightful Miss Sissy, and persuade her to marry you to stop them speculating.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be that calculating,’ Morgan murmured unconvincingly.

  ‘God, you old reprobate,’ Ralph growled. ‘I hope you know what you are doing.’

  ‘I am going to marry the woman I love,’ Morgan announced calmly yet firmly. It was then that his attention was drawn to movement in the doorway. ‘Now what?’