Chapter 15

"Ididn't expect to find you still awake, Philip," old Lady Walford said, entering the drawing room as the clock on the mantelpiece struck eleven.

Philip had been drinking a large glass of brandy, and he looked up at his mother and sighed. "Oh, I was just… thinking."

His mother looked at him curiously. "Is everything all right, Philip?" she asked, coming to sit opposite him by the hearth.

Candles had been lit around the room, and a fire was kindled, its flickering light casting long shadows over the walls. Philip did not usually like to close the curtains, even at night. But that evening, he had done so, mindful of Lydia's words about the threat she had warned him of.

It had unsettled him, and though he was skeptical, the thought lingered in his mind. It seemed incredible to think his cousin would threaten him in such a way, but as for Caroline, he knew so little of her—except what Lydia had told him—and he was beginning to wonder if perhaps his wife's concerns about her cousin's ambition were legitimate.

"It's been a long day, Mother. A lot has happened," Philip replied.

Old Lady Walford beamed. "It certainly has—a remarkable day. Joanna's so happy, and so am I. And I hope the two of you are going to be very happy together, too."

Philip nodded. He was not certain his mother fully understood what had occurred to bring about the situation he now found himself in. Did she understand how the marriage had come about? She and Lady Morton were friends, but if his mother had one flaw, it was her naivety. She had spent so long caring for his father—an admirable task for which she deserved much praise—that her ties to Society at large had become somewhat weak.

Philip did not expect her to understand why he had agreed to marry Lydia. He had told her the rudiments but had embellished his explanation with terms of a mutual bond, a realization of past feelings. But in truth, Philip and Lydia had married to avoid a scandal. That was the truth, and it was a truth they would have to live with for the rest of their lives.

"I'm sure we will do, Mother. Lydia is a… remarkable woman," Philip murmured. In this, at least, he could be truthful.

"Joanna told me she was beginning to worry about Lydia's prospects. It's not the same for men, of course. Lydia's three brothers are free to live their lives as they wish—apart from Ezra, I suppose. But you understand that well enough. But women have certain expectations placed on them. They have to behave in a certain way, and marriage is a necessity," his mother said.

Philip nodded. He did not know whether to share his fears over Edward with her or keep them to himself. He had not asked her what she thought of Edward marrying Caroline, but he was curious to know.

"Mother, what did you think of Edward marrying Lydia's cousin?" he asked.

Edward was old Lady Walford's nephew by marriage, but she had always taken an interest in him, for the late Earl of Walford had always lamented the lack of any real inheritance Edward had received from his own father after inheriting the barony.

Old Lady Walford looked at her son in surprise. "Caroline? Oh, well, she seemed pleasant enough, wouldn't you say?"

"But I was asking you. Lydia says she's an ambitious type, but that at first the two of them were very much in love. We've met them on occasion in the park recently, and it seems to me as though there might be… problems in their marriage already," Philip admitted.

His mother looked at him in surprise. "But they've only been married for a few weeks. It's hardly a good start, is it? And marriage takes some getting used to. You'll find that for yourself. It isn't easy. Perhaps they're still getting used to one another," she suggested.

Philip shook his head. He had seen newly married couples before. If an arrangement had been made, there was often an awkwardness between them. But with Edward and Caroline, things were different. At their last encounter, he had felt the open hostility between them—anger, even—and he was certain there was something going on between them. But whether it was as Lydia said, he could not tell.

"It's more than that, Mother. There's something not quite right there. I can't explain it. Lydia thinks… well, she thinks Caroline had ambitions," Philip ventured.

His mother looked at him curiously. "Ambitions? What do you mean?" she asked.

It sounded ridiculous to put it into words—an unfounded accusation, with no evidence to support it.

"That she wants him to… inherit my title," Philip replied.

"Inherit your title? But you'd have to be dead," his mother pointed out, laughing, as though the very suggestion was utterly ridiculous.

Philip nodded. "Yes, that's what I mean," he said somberly.

His mother's eyes grew wide with astonishment. "But… that's a dangerous thing to suggest, Philip. You can't possibly… and Lydia, too…" She shook her head.

Philip sighed. He knew how it sounded. It was extraordinary, even though Lydia appeared convinced by her own theory. He did not want to mention the incident with the horse—it would only upset his mother.

He finished his brandy and rose to his feet. "Forget I said anything, Mother. It doesn't matter. I was just being foolish, that's all. I'm sure Caroline is ambitious, but… I don't think there's anything to be done about it, is there?"

His mother looked at him with an anxious expression on her face. "Philip… I hope you're not regretting your marriage to Lydia," she said.

Philip shook his head. He did not regret it, even though it had not come about in entirely the manner he might have chosen. Had circumstances been different—had the past been different—perhaps he and Lydia might have discovered they had feelings for one another. But as it stood, they were strangers, and it would take some time to come to terms with their new circumstances.

"No, not for a moment, Mother. I couldn't be happier," Philip affirmed, and then he said goodnight and made his way upstairs.

In the corridor, outside Lydia's bedroom—opposite his own—Philip paused. He pictured his new wife in her pretty dress that morning at the chapel. To an onlooker, it might have appeared as though it was a wedding like any other, but to stand before the clergyman, to repeat the vows… it had all felt very strange, indeed.

And now we're married.

He shook his head in disbelief.

As he readied himself for bed, Philip thought again about what Lydia had said. It all seemed so extraordinary, and yet now that the idea was planted in his mind, it was difficult to rid himself of it. His own cousin trying to kill him…

"I just… I can't believe it,"he muttered to himself as he lay down in bed.

But try as he might to put it out of his mind, the idea remained, and in the coming days, the possibility of another "accident" occurring was foremost on his mind.