Chapter Twenty

"I do not think we should have left so hastily."

"Please, Townsend!"

Abigail watched through dulled eyes as her mother rose from her chair, lifting her chin in the air as she spoke with a great deal more firmness in her tone than Abigail had heard before.

"Your daughter is most upset. Why then must you go on in this fashion?"

"Because I think we may have made a mistake!" Lord Townsend exclaimed, throwing one hand out towards Abigail. "At the very least, I should have spoken with Lord Crestwood. I left without doing so because of my anger but now that we have returned to London, I feel as though I was too hasty." He gestured to the window. "We drove through this dreadful summer storm and that perhaps, in itself, is an omen."

"Why should you have any concern, father?" Abigail threw herself out of her chair, the sorrow in her spirit suddenly turning to anger as she listened to her father speak only of himself and his concerns rather than giving her a moment of consideration – despite the fact that her mother had asked him to do that very thing. "Your debts will be paid regardless!"

Lord Townsend blinked.

"Debts?" Charlotte who, thus far had said very little, looked up at Abigail with wide eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that father decided I should marry Lord Crestwood so that, in exchange, Lord Crestwood would settle the many debts our father has brought upon himself by his foolish gambling and ridiculous investments," Abigail returned, as color flooded Lord Townsend's cheeks though he did not look angry, more embarrassed at the truth being offered to Charlotte.

"What?" Charlotte got to her feet, her hands clenched. "You asked Abigail to do this, father? Why should you trade your daughter for such a thing as this?"

"It does not matter," Abigail replied, before their father could do so. "I did it because I wanted you to have a good future, Charlotte." Her eyes began to flood with tears as she turned to her sister, reaching out one hand to her. "And though I found Lord Crestwood to be a confusing and indeed, dark natured gentleman, over the last few weeks I have found his character to be entirely different from the one he presented and, indeed, I have felt my affection for him growing steadily." Tears began to course down her cheeks as Charlotte too began to cry. "And now I find my heart entirely broken but all our dear father can think upon is himself and his own position in all of this rather than giving me, his own daughter, a modicum of consideration! "

"How can you speak to me like that?" Lord Townsend flung up his hands, his face now scarlet. "I am your father and – "

"And is it not precisely as she says?" Abigail did not need to say a word for her mother, much to her surprise, interjected before she could even think of what to say. Lady Townsend drew closer to her husband, her eyes narrowing and her hands going to her hips. "I came to you with the thought of Abigail marrying Lord Crestwood, I will admit to that, but I never once thought that you would attempt to swap her for your debts being repaid! In all of this, you have never once mentioned Abigail's feelings, have never once seemed to think to ask her about her present state of mind. Instead, you think only of yourself and it is little wonder that Abigail feels as she does. I am horrified by your selfishness, Townsend. And it is time that I spoke about such things clearly."

Charlotte pressed Abigail's hand as their father took a step backwards, the color fading from his face as he looked at his wife. Abigail herself could say nothing more, looking back at Lord Townsend and seeing how he fell back now that his wife's support had faded.

"I did not know about your debts, father." Charlotte's voice was filled with tears. "How could you do such a thing to Abigail?"

"None of us knew the true extent of your father's debts, Charlotte," Lady Townsend replied, still gazing at her husband. "I did not know where they had all truly come from, though I do now and I am both horrified and deeply disappointed to hear of it all."

"My dowry?" Charlotte asked, as Abigail squeezed her fingers. "What about my dowry?"

Abigail made to say that even if she had no dowry, she was sure they would find a way to improve it, only for Lord Townsend to say something so wonderful and yet so utterly shocking, weakness stole away every bit of strength from her.

"Lord Crestwood has made certain that your dowry is even better than it was, Charlotte." Lord Townsend passed one hand over his eyes. "Though I have never taken a penny from either of your dowries, I can assure you of that." His hand fell back to his side. "I may be something of an unfeeling fellow but I have some awareness of my responsibilities towards you both."

Abigail stared at her father, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to take in what he had said. Perhaps seeing her shock, Charlotte asked the very question which was now on Abigail's mind. "What do you mean as regards Lord Crestwood, father?"

Lord Townsend sighed. "I mean that he has taken the dowry I was to give him for Abigail and insisted that it be added to yours, Charlotte." His gaze went to Abigail. "He does not want a penny of it. "

Abigail sat down hard, her hand loosening in her sister's grip. What could such a thing mean? Either Lord Crestwood had decided he did not want her dowry due to his sympathy over her father's present standing with his debts and the like, or he did not want to take it because he had true compassion, true consideration and had wanted both her and Charlotte to be happy.

The rap at the door made her jump and though they all turned to it, the butler came in at once, apologizing profusely for his haste.

"Forgive me, my lord, but it could not wait. Captain Harrington is here and requests your urgent assistance."

"Captain Harrington?" Abigail asked, as the butler nodded.

"What is the matter?" Lord Townsend frowned, looking irritated at having been so interrupted. "What is it that cannot wait?"

"It is Lord Crestwood," the butler said, making Abigail's heart leap in surprise. "They rode through the summer storm and Lord Crestwood is now rather unwell. I believe he would not stop and the cold and the wet have brought on a fever."

Abigail's hand flew to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.

"Then have him settled in a room at once!" Lady Townsend took charge of the situation, striding across the room. "Have the maid build up the fire in his room also. Send a footman for the doctor and have another bring the brandy." Turning, she looked back at Abigail. "Abigail, wait here until he is settled. Charlotte, look after your sister."

Abigail could do nothing but nod as Charlotte came to sit beside her. Their father harrumphed and quit the room, thereafter, leaving the two sisters alone. Lowering her head, Abigail closed her eyes tight against the swell of tears though she could not fully hold them back. With her sister's arm around her shoulders, she dissolved into tears, crying over the pain, the confusion and the uncertainty which wrapped around her like a shroud.

"He came to speak with you, I am sure of it," Charlotte whispered, though Abigail could only fight the sobs rising in her throat. "He chased after you."

Though might he have come to end our engagement? Abigail wondered to herself, her whole frame shaking now as tears took hold. What drove him towards me with such fervency that he would not stop for the storm? And what if he does not recover?

"Once the doctor has finished his examinations, you will be able to see him." Lady Townsend put an arm around Abigail's shoulders as she fought to hold back her tears. "All will be well, my dear, I am sure."

Captain Harrington, who had been given dry clothes to change into, nodded fervently. "Of course he will be. It will take him a day or two to recover his strength, perhaps, that is all. "

Abigail looked to Captain Harrington, seeing how he did not smile, how the lines by his eyes did not crinkle and how he clasped his hands behind his back and began to pace up and down in front of the fire place. That did not show a man who was contented, who was safe and secure in the knowledge that his friend would be quite all right. That was a man who was concerned but who did not want to let the true depths of his concerns be made known.

"Why was he coming here?" she asked, stepping away from her mother and moving towards Captain Harrington who immediately stopped pacing and turned to her, giving her his full attention. "Why did he ride after me so furiously?"

Captain Harrington smiled and, keeping his voice low, tilted his head a little. "Can you not guess, Miss Townsend?"

Hope flared in her heart only to die away as she recalled what she had seen with Lady Clara at the ball. "But Lady Clara – "

"All a great misunderstanding and, I should say, deliberate confusion on the part of Lady Clara and her mother." Captain Harrington scowled, his expression dark. "Lord Crestwood did not know that you had taken your leave and could not understand why. A good deal of consideration later, we soon realized what had happened, followed by the shocking revelation that Lord Drover had been involved also."

Abigail's eyes flared in surprise. "Lord Drover?"

"He has always been eager to injure Lord Crestwood in any way he can, though the truth of it has come out now."

"And what is it?"

Captain Harrington dropped his gaze. "It should be Lord Crestwood telling you this but, given the circumstances, I shall do so." Taking in a breath, he spread out both hands. "Lord Drover was the one who introduced Lord Crestwood to Lady Clara. Thereafter, there grew an interest between Lord Crestwood and Lady Clara, to the point of engagement. During that time, however, Lord Drover did all he could to injure Lord Crestwood by spreading rumours about him. Lady Clara promised that she did not believe any of them and thus, their relationship remained strong. Lord Drover, it seems, was himself in love with Lady Clara and was broken hearted – and angry – over Lord Crestwood's connection to her. Therefore, he sought to pull them both apart by any means necessary, even by spreading rumours that were entirely untrue."

Abigail's breath caught. "But how could he do such a thing to a gentleman he considered a friend?"

Captain Harrington shook his head. "I do not understand it and Lord Crestwood, on learning this, told Lord Drover that he ought to have spoken honestly with him rather than bearing so great a burden. He would have stepped away from Lady Clara had it been asked of him for the sake of Lord Drover."

"And it might have been better for him if he had," Abigail murmured, looking away from the Captain. "Goodness, how sorry I am for it."

"Lord Drover spoke to your father," Captain Harrington continued, as Abigail's gaze drove itself back to him. "He stated that he knew there was to be a reaffirming of the connection between Lord Crestwood and Lady Clara and he did so solely to drag Lord Crestwood's name and reputation into the dirt. He wanted there to be nothing but pain and suffering and all because he had never once chosen to be truthful with Lord Crestwood about his feelings as regards Lady Clara."

Abigail let out a sigh, shaking her head as clarity came to clear her mind. "I see. I thought… I thought as regarded Lady Clara that there was something between them. After all, she stood up with him in place of my waltz."

"Ah but Lady Clara convinced Lord Crestwood that you had gone to lie down, that you were fatigued or unwell or some such thing. Thereafter, she was eager to force herself into your place, using all manner of words and manipulations to do it. Lord Crestwood was convinced that he should step out with her for what would be the one and only time so that the ton would no longer believe there was any animosity between them only for Lady Clara to make more… overt remarks and to then try and kiss him when he refused them all."

Her heart twisted. "I did see that. He told everyone that she was unsteady on her feet after the waltz and required some rest."

"He did his best to cover up her obvious intentions," Captain Harrington agreed, "but do you not see how desperate she was to cling to him again? Lady Clara would have forced herself upon him – and had not Lord Crestwood acted with such haste, she might have succeeded!"

"Goodness." Lady Townsend put one hand to her heart. "Then all that Lord Townsend was told was quite wrong?"

"Certainly it was," Captain Harrington replied, as Abigail closed her eyes in relief. "That is why Lord Crestwood rode here with such speed." His eyes went to Abigail's just as she opened them. "There is more to be said but I would not say it on his behalf. Those words need to be spoken by Lord Crestwood himself, though I should like to reassure you, Miss Townsend, that Lord Crestwood's heart has not attached itself to any other. The reason he rode here with such haste, the reason he rode through the summer storm, was because of his affection for you. I have never seen him so upset, so angry and so desperate at the same time – desperate to reach you so he might set everything to rights. "

Abigail clasped both hands to her heart and closed her eyes again as tears began to burn. "I must pray he will recover quickly, then," she said, hoarsely as her mother pulled her close again. "So that we both might share the feelings present within our hearts without any further delay."