An Inadvisable Wager (The Curse of the Weatherby Ball Book 2) Eliza Lloyd (reading books for 7 year olds .TXT) 📖

ill of Cousin Harold. He was the one who provided my dowry, which made it possible for me to marry Fortenay. For some reason he believed that a bluestocking was unable to obtain a husband without the benefit of a monetary reward,” Lady Fortenay said. Her smile seemed to reflect some past satisfaction.

“Harold, dear,” Lord Fortenay said. “Carlow wants to know about Harold and Henbury Hall, not our courtship.”

“Oh, he had such a humor. It’s one of the things which made him so popular with his men in the military. George inherited those characteristics. And, of course, inherited Henbury Hall after his older brother, John, died. George was the third earl of Wargrove, and a more ill-equipped young man there never was. At least for running an estate.”

“What about the end of George’s life?”

“Carlow, we don’t need to talk about Papa,” Nora said. “He was a petty thief. We all know that.”

“Petty thief?” Lord Fortenay said. “He was accused of treason. One too many trips to France, if you ask me.”

“James!” Lady Fortenay snapped.

Gabriel sat up. “Is that why he was hanged?”

“That’s not true, Grandy,” Nora said, still determined to stand up for her father.

“He was legitimately accused. George couldn’t rightly disprove the accusations. And then there was a question of where he got all the money. Bribes, some said.” Lord Fortenay nodded solemnly.

“Treason? Papa was a thief. Nothing more.” Nora’s lips were pressed together, and her face had gone white. “And there is no money!”

“No, dear. There are no earls hanged without an overwhelming criminal charge. Overwhelming,” Lord Fortenay emphasized.

“Even with the accusation, he still had time to dispose of his properties and make arrangements for his children?” Gabriel asked.

“George was wicked clever but with a practical streak a mile long,” Lord Fortenay said. “He had his reasons.”

“James, enough. This story doesn’t need to be relived. Not at this late date.”

“It is time. Nora has a husband now and they are asking for the details. The truth. We should share what we know.”

“What other reasons? What else is there to tell? There’s something about my mother, isn’t there?” Nora questioned.

“Lord and Lady Fortenay, I have made certain promises to Nora and it would be best if all that you know is revealed. Nora has spent her life believing specific things that impact my life and our future together.”

“Shouldn’t Timothy be here?” Nora said.

“Forgive me, Nora, but I think it best if it is just the four of us for now.” Carlow turned to Nora’s guardians. “Is there any truth to the Henbury properties being illegitimately obtained, that you know of?”

James cleared his throat. “We don’t know for certain, but we don’t believe so.”

“My mother’s diaries…”

“Dear heart, your mother was less than reliable when it came to anything pertaining to your father,” Lady Fortenay said. “And I am capable of fair judgment, equally related to both of your parents.”

“What do you mean?”

“When the accusations arose, your mother decided to abandon your father.”

“That is another lie! How can you say that? Mother loved us. She made sure we were taken care of. She wouldn’t abandon us or Father.”

“Your mother…was gone by then, true. She had left Henbury before you came to us.”

“I was given her diaries as a remembrance.”

“No, dear, they were sent to us after she died, and I gave them to you.”

Nora turned to Carlow, her eyes wide with anxiety. Tears would follow if this conversation continued to deteriorate. But truth was often the only antidote. He took Nora’s hand in his and squeezed.

“Your father, Lord Carlow, had become friends with the earl, I think from childhood. I don’t know when or how the properties were sold, but I do know after the earl was hanged, your father went to Henbury Hall and made arrangements to get the children to us.”

“No!” Nora exclaimed, and pressed her hands over her mouth.

Carlow stood and walked away, rubbing his brow. At her words, a memory assailed him. Crying children. The girl screaming for her father and mother. His father carrying the girl to a carriage. The little boy scared witless.

“I think I was there,” he said, glancing from Nora to James and Hester and back again. “I was there.”

Chapter Nine

“I don’t believe any of this,” Nora said. “And I cannot listen to another word of it.”

“What reason do we have to lie? What reason do any of us in this room have to lie?” Lady Fortenay said.

“I don’t know. If this is the truth, what reason did you have to lie for the last fifteen years?” Her memory of that day was clear, and it was Lord and Lady Fortenay who had loaded them in the carriage and traveled to Whitmarsh with them. “You brought us to Whitmarsh. I know it was you.”

“It was your governess who traveled with you. Unfortunately, she could not stay with us.”

Carlow had taken a chair away from the group, legs crossed and brow drawn. Whatever he was thinking about worried Nora. He roused himself enough to say, “I think we’ve had enough discussion for today. And we don’t want to say anything that cannot be taken back.”

Nora dabbed at her eyes. She’d felt alone many times over the years. Today might have been the worst.

“Oh, there is one more thing. I believe it was the right thing to do at the time, but you’re of an age now and hiding it from you no longer serves to protect you. My hope was to shield you from some of the more painful aspects of your young life,” Lady Fortenay said. “It was your mother’s last diary. The one she started when she left Henbury Hall. James, can you collect it for me? In your bottom desk drawer, toward the back.”

“Certainly.”

Gabriel came to stand behind