Chapter 17

Grace entered William's chamber, moving straight to the window and opening it. As it was dark and snowing, the room was immediately chilled.

"Have I been so bad a patient that you are trying to freeze me to death?" William asked, pulling the covers under his chin.

"Listen!" The sound of a strong baritone rang out across the night. It was singing a melancholy song in another language. "It is James. What a beautiful voice he has," Grace whispered, not understanding the Gaelic words but moved by the melody.

William was silent throughout the song and applauded, along with Grace, at the end of the rendition. "Is he singing to Alice?"

"No, to us. They are all gathered below," Grace answered as the whole group started to sing ‘The Sinners Redemption' followed by ‘Adeste Fideles' . She leaned on the window frame, letting the words flow over her and bringing her some peace. Knowing it was a kind gesture designed as an apology or a request for forgiveness, she smiled down at them all when the songs ended. "Bravo! That was beautiful. We both thank you."

The group entered the house, and Grace closed the window, moving to stoke the fire. She was aware of William watching her but said nothing. After what had happened with Fanny and the feelings the serenade had evoked, she was emotionally drained. Standing, she smiled at William.

"I am sorry that we argued," William said. "Especially as it has put you out of sorts. I hate that I am the one who can upset you above everyone else when all I want to do is make you happy."

Grace grimaced. "It is not the argument that has troubled me, but thank you for your apology; it means a lot. I, too, need to beg your forgiveness; we both revert too easily to sniping at each other. What is the saying, there is no fool like an old fool? I think we both excel at being foolish."

"In that case, come and sit down and tell me what has happened to trouble you so much," William said gently. "We have spent years apart, but I can tell that something has happened to hurt you deeply."

Grace sighed and sat down. She wanted to speak to someone and knew that he was the perfect person to confide in. He would keep a confidence, and he was reasonable enough that she would listen to his counsel. Starting to speak, she told him everything that had happened, grateful that until she had finished the tale, he did not interrupt; he just took hold of her hand and listened.

"What a complicated mess!" William said. "I now want to kill him twice over, but by the sounds of it, your cousin could very well do the job for me."

Grace could not stop the smile. "You never were so violent."

"That is because the only person hurting you then was me." William squeezed her hand. "Are you going to tell everyone what has happened? The truth, I mean."

"I do not know. One moment, I feel that Arabella has a right to know; the next, I refuse to cause her any more anguish."

"You will make the right decision."

As if their conversation had summoned her, Arabella knocked on the bedchamber door. When Grace answered and invited her in, she stepped into the room as if unsure of her welcome.

"I hope you do not mind me intruding," she started. "But we thought it was a shame that you were both stuck here on Christmas Eve. James has offered to carry Mr Marsh downstairs for a little while if you like."

"Oh, I am not sure that would be wise," Grace said. "It is still early days as yet."

"I know you might not wish to be in our company."

"It has nothing to do with that." Grace smiled at her. "What you did was not so bad, I overreacted because of the proposal."

"Talking of which, do you know where my uncle has gone? Sullivan said that he left in his carriage some time ago."

Grace glanced at William, who gave her a reassuring nod before she turned back to Arabella. "I only found out by accident. I saw Fanny leaving her chamber with a bandbox. She was leaving with Mr Betez. I think it is their intention to elope, but that is my presumption; she explained that he had proposed to her before he offered me the fake proposal. I was not aware that they knew each other so well in the past, but it seems there was some affection there." She did not want to tell Arabella all of her fears but needed to explain at least some of what had gone on.

"He had proposed to you both? At the same time?" Arabella grabbed the bedpost to keep her steady. "Oh, Grace, I am so sorry."

"If I had any feelings for him, I would accept your apology in a heartbeat, but I did not, so there was no harm done to me. The only real harm in this whole situation is that William has been hurt in such a way to affect the rest of his life, and that is unfair, for he had done nothing wrong."

"Mr Marsh, I am mortified that my uncle behaved so shamefully."

"It is not your role to apologise for the actions of a grown man," William said, but there was no ire in his voice. "You had nothing to do with his foolhardy scheme, and at the end of the day, I should not have stormed off like a petulant child."

"You were not to know that there were still traps out there," Arabella said.

"And neither were you," William countered.

"Uncle Julian never mentioned that he knew Mrs Thompson prior to this house party, although I had noticed that he sought her out quite a bit."

"Both of them acknowledged the previous acquaintance to me, and from what Fanny said as they were leaving, they had been very close, but Fanny's parents had demanded she marry someone they had chosen."

"What an utter mess!" Arabella groaned. "I am disappointed that Uncle Julian did not have the decency to tell me that he was leaving. He is quite happy to interfere with the lives of others, but not so much when it is to do with his own business."

"Do not be too hard on him, my dear. He did get some things right, one of which was introducing Michael to you."

"I will always be thankful for that, but to propose to both of you at the same time! What if you had accepted?"

"Thankfully, I did not," Grace said. "Now go back to the others. Enjoy your evening; we are fine here."

"It would be lovely to have you join us, but I do understand it is early days. Grace, will you please join us at the Twelfth Night ball?"

"You are to have one?" Grace was fully aware that there had not been a ball held on Twelfth Night for years.

"Yes, but it is to be different. We are inviting the local families who are not in town, but it is doubtful that they will attend when they realise that we have also invited the tenants and their families."

Grace laughed at the look of glee on Arabella's face. "That will certainly raise a few eyebrows, but good for you."

"I decided that I wanted to celebrate Twelfth Night with the people who have accepted me into their mix without a flicker of condemnation. In fact, in many cases, they have gone out of their way to help me," Arabella said. "When I mentioned my feelings to Michael, he was fully supportive, as was the rest of the group, so everyone is staying until after the ball."

"That is lovely," Grace said. "I know everyone will be reluctant to leave, for it has been good that you are all together at last."

"Will you be as eager to stay?"

Grace sensed Arabella's tentativeness though her words were said teasingly. "I will."

"Oh, what are you going to do about your trip now that your cousin has left? That was badly done of her."

"Those are questions for another day." Grace had realised that her plans were now in disarray, but she consoled herself with the thought that William would need a lot of nursing, and she was not going to run away from him this time. At least not while he needed her.

"If I could be bold, Mrs Follett," William interrupted. "I would love to join the ball if at all possible. I know my dancing days are over"—he patted the space where his lower leg should have been—"at least for the moment. But the ball sounds like the type of event that I would enjoy watching. Perhaps there is a comfortable chair that I could use?"

"Of course you could join us!" Arabella said eagerly. "In fact, if we placed a day bed in one of the alcoves, we could decorate it so it looks more like a throne than a bed, and you could watch everything from there without being at risk from the more exuberant dancers. I doubt the country dancing will be as refined as those in a genteel ballroom."

"I like the sound of a throne." William grinned at her.

"Then it is settled. I will go and tell the others; they will be delighted that you are staying, Grace. If you will allow us, we would love to spend some time with you. We are all fully aware that we have some making up to do."

"Perhaps if she were to be offered a matching throne?" William teased.

"One of us with ideas above his station is quite enough, thank you," Grace responded.

Arabella laughed. "I will leave you both in peace, but if there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," William responded. He held his hand out to Grace, and she sat by his bed, putting her hand in his when they were once more alone. "You were kind to her, told her enough to not distress her, but did not hide from what had happened."

"If I had not, who knows what they would have revealed on their return, for they will at some point."

"I just hope we have left by then," William ground out.

"If I have come to realise anything about Fanny, it is that she will let the dust settle before she agrees to venture here. She would not come to visit for a while when I invited her; I thought it was because she was in mourning. I now think that it had more to do with seeing if there were any repercussions after Stewart's death."

"She must be one cold woman."

"It is strange, I always thought she was the one being hurt by Stewart, but I cannot believe that she only snapped when he was ill, or perhaps she did. If he was calling for her and not his ladybird, then it must have really stung. He did not want her in health, but he wanted her to nurse him. That must not have sat well with Fanny, but I do not suppose we will ever find out the truth of their marriage."

"I am so glad you did not embark on a trip with her. Goodness knows what would have become of you."

"I had never thought of that. She must have been worried that if I accepted the proposal, then her hopes would be dashed for a second time. She was always keen to know if I had made a decision. In a way, I do hope she finds happiness, although I no longer want any contact from her."

"Thankfully, you made the right decision." William lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Are you becoming maudlin again? I can see how tired you are; time to go to sleep." Grace had felt every second of the touch of his lips. Warmth had flooded through her body, but she could not respond as she wished. It would not seem right to start encouraging his advances if that was what he was making. He was still far from well, and she was not about to take advantage of that.

She just hoped that she could remain stalwart, for all she wanted to do was climb in bed beside him and forget the rest of the world. It seemed that the years apart had turned her into a wanton woman.