Chapter 9: Repercussions

November 1825

In the next morning, after a good night’s sleep, Ellen sat down at her desk to finish the letters according to Harriet Carter’s advice, and she sent both of them by messenger. That done, Ellen busied herself with other affairs that she had neglected in the past, tumultuous days. She and Richard had agreed not to visit that day to allow both of them to catch some breath and to allow their families to adjust gradually to their developing love affair. However, Ellen wrote a short letter to Richard, telling him about her day and to let him know that she thought of him.

Her peace of mind slowly returning, Ellen went to bed early and slept long during the next night. She only woke up when Lucy entered her room.

“You have two letters, Ellen. I thought it best to bring them.”

“Thank you, Lucy. I’m sorry I overslept.”

“You needed that after those dreadful days,” Lucy replied.

Ellen broke the seal of the first letter. She saw that it was from Lord Wynchelsea.

“My dear Miss Wilkes (he wrote),

thank you for your letter of condolence. I find it testimony to your good heart that you try to assume responsibility for the dreadful event. Since I was present on that fateful occasion, I have to contradict you however. It was my late brother’s tasteless scheming that was the sole cause for the altercation that ended in his deplorable death. Given your youth and Mr. Carter’s unassailable conduct, I fear that the blame rests solidly with my late brother, may the Lord have Mercy on his soul. I ask you, therefore, not to blame yourself, but rather to learn from this affair that men can act rashly when a beautiful woman is involved.

I am your obedient servant

Malcolm Finney,

3rd Viscount Wynchelsea

“That is a very nice response from His Lordship,” Lucy commented. “Although, if you read it carefully, he admonished you to be careful. Very tactfully done however. Well, let’s see what Mrs. Binnings has to say.”

Ellen opened the second letter

Dear Miss Wilkes (she read),

thank you for your letter of yesterday in which you accepted responsibility for the dreadful affair between our lamented James Finney and young Richard Carter. I agree with your realisation that most of that dreadful affair was caused by your woeful lack of discretion. Whilst I am confident that Lady Wilkes will see to it that those deficits will be corrected over time, please understand that neither I nor any of my friends will see fit to invite to our social functions a young woman so prone to causing scandal. Whilst I accept your apology, I must ask you therefore to refrain from calling upon me until such time when you will have received some much-needed schooling.

Your servant

Marjorie Binnings

Ellen felt her cheek burning with shame at the uncompromising rebuke, but Lucy became outright angry.

“How dare she lay the blame to you! What about Finney? He fought three duels before that, all of them over women, and she still invited him to her soirees! Let us see how popular her salon will be when my friends will not attend anymore!”

Ellen had calmed down in the meantime. She put her hand on Lucy’s arm.

“Lucy, don’t make things worse. Actually, it’s all right. I had not planned to go to those silly functions anyway. Like it or not, I made a mistake, and it would be in bad taste for me to just pretend nothing happened. Perhaps, I should learn a little bit more before I’ll move in those circles again.”

“That’s beside the point, Ellen. Look at the difference between those two letters! Lord Wynchelsea gives you a very subtle hint to be more careful in the future, whilst acknowledging the undisputable fact that his brother’s behaviour was worse. Marjorie Binnings just lays all the blame at the feet of a barely eighteen-year-old girl whom she brought together with a notorious womaniser who was ten years her senior. You are right though. Let us respond to this in a more subtle way. Marjorie always has this big New Year’s Eve reception that we always attended. Well, it would not seem right to go there without you, would it?”

“Lucy, it isn’t worth it.”

“Oh yes, it is. Don’t you think that between Harriet, Moira and myself, we should be able to have our own, very nice New Year’s Eve soiree? What if we can talk Anita Heyworth into attending? You know, she rarely attends such social functions and if she came, our party would be the talk of the City. She will also bring along Elizabeth Anson, the writer.”

“Wouldn’t you alienate some of father’s clients and benefactors?”

“Don’t you think Anita’s presence will suffice to draw them to our party? Well, maybe not, but if I ask them to attend the engagement of my lovely daughter with a certain young gentleman, how could they resist?”

Ellen’s eyes got big.

“Really? Lucy, are you speaking in earnest? But what about...?”

“I have spoken with your father already. The way your relationship with Richard is moving ahead, we must act fast or risk scandal.”

“What do you mean by that?” Ellen asked in a strangled voice.

“My dear child, neither Harriet nor I are dumb, nor have we forgotten the urges felt by young people. Well, we still feel them ourselves mostly,” Lucy grinned. “Your undergarments had a distinctive smell these last days which I happen to know well. It tells me that you and Richard are discovering the physical nature of your love. It is a matter of time only before your restraints will prove too weak, and we want you to be married before that.”

“Aren’t you angry with me, Lucy?” Ellen asked, confounded by the matter-of-fact attitude of her mother.

“Are you certain that you love the boy, Ellen? That you are not trying to assuage a feeling of guilt?”

Ellen shook her head.

“Lucy, we talked about that. We both made mistakes, and we regret them. We both know that we do not want to live without the other, or rather apart from each other,” she added hastily. “I did not mean it like it sounded. If Richard had found another woman, I would still want to live on, even if my heart would break.”

Lucy nodded. “I am not angry with you, Ellen. You are lucky to have found the right man so early in your life, and both Harriet and I feel that you should not have to wait as long as she was forced to wait.”

“Does Richard know about your plans? The engagement, I mean?”

“No. He will ask for your hand on Christmas Day and then we shall surprise him with the news. Don’t spoil the surprise!”

“Oh, I wished you had not told me then. What if he asks me if I know something? I would feel bad lying to him.”

“If he asks you outright, tell him the truth. Tell him though, to act surprised for your father’s benefit,” Lucy laughed. “Not telling is not a lie. Now, if you will go over to Richard’s, will you give a little billet to Harriet from me? We shall have to start on our plan of action as soon as possible. Would you mind if I showed this letter to Harriet and Moira? No? Wonderful! Now get dressed, dear.”

Arriving at the Carters’ house to deliver Lucy’s billet, Ellen received an invitation to share a small luncheon with the family. Ellen’s mood improved as it became clear that the Carters had again taken her in as part of their family. If anything, Eleanor was slightly withdrawn. When Ellen shot her a questioning look, Eleanor blushed slightly. ‘Not about you,’ she mouthed.

“So Ellen, can you tell me what this ‘war council’ at Lucy’s is all about?” Lady Carter asked curiously.

Ellen looked for an excuse, but then she decided to be completely honest.

“You remember how I showed you those letters I had written, to Lord Wynchelsea and Mrs. Binnings? I rewrote them as you suggested and I sent them yesterday. I received two answering letters today, a very polite one by Lord Wynchelsea, just telling me it was not my fault and that I should simply be more careful in the future. Don’t I know that!”

There was a light chuckle all around the table.

“By contrast, Mrs. Binnings wrote me that it was all my fault and that my education was wanting, and that I should refrain from calling upon her or her friends in the future, ‘until I had some much-needed schooling’. Lucy was really angry at Mrs. Binnings, but she calmed down when I said that I would not go there anyway.”

“Methinks that the good Mrs. Binnings should have been wise enough not to invite certified troublemakers such as Finney to her evenings in the first place,” Sir Anthony opined thoughtfully.

“But what is Lucy planning?” Harriet Carter was still not satisfied with Ellen’s explanation.

“She said that since we would not be able to go to Mrs. Binnings’ big New Year’s Eve reception, she wanted to have one herself.”

Harriet face lit up. “But of course! We should have one! Not for that reason though. We should have it to spend a wonderful evening with all our friends, and without those who are not our friends.”

“Ellen,” Richard spoke up, “I have received a very similar letter from her, telling me in no uncertain terms to refrain from visiting her evenings until I managed to control my youthful intemperance.”

“But Richard, she was all over me and accusing me and calling you ‘that poor boy’. Why this change of heart?”

“Because Richard survived and Mrs. Binnings’ paramour did not,” Sir Anthony said calmly.

“Ellen, darling, she probably kept inviting you at his request,” Lady Carter said softly. “I have heard a few things from friends — they have done that before with young, naïve girls. It was their little game. I would have told you had I known that you were seeing the man. Remind me to lend you one of my books, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by de Laclos. You’ll find it enlightening and you will recognise certain behaviours.”

The red colour in Ellen’s face was from anger now.

“Is that true? She made a fool of me? What have I ever done to her to warrant such a treatment?”

“She wanted to keep her paramour who may have grown tired of her. So she fed him young girls to keep him at her side. She also probably hates you because of your beauty. You have to expect that with other women, my dear,” Lady Carter explained patiently.

“Not in this house though, where all the women are beautiful in their own right,” Sir Anthony added kissing his wife’s hand. “My wife is right about that. Lord Wynchelsea more or less hinted at the same when Richard and I delivered our condolences. Don’t worry about him. Finney died without an heir and intestate. His Lordship will stand to reunite the family fortune. He did not seem to be in deep mourning.”

“How could I be so stupid?” Ellen asked. “Well, I shall learn from it, but it makes live so miserable to be distrustful of everybody.”

“Welcome to the good society of London,” Sir Anthony offered sarcastically. “That’s one reason why we prefer to live in High Matcham. Anyway, my dear wife, where do you propose this grand reception to take place?”

“For certain reasons that I’d rather not discuss now, we should have it here. Lucy’s home will not be big enough and Moira is not directly involved. No, I think this house will be perfect.”

“We need to hire additional help then, at least temporarily. Nadine will be in charge of course, but we shall need more servants and cooks.”