Carrie Bebris - The Deception At Lyme

“Well, that went better than you ever could have anticipated,” Mrs. Smith said to Anne. “Your entire family thinks it was their idea.”

“I dared not speak much for fear they would change their minds.” Anne’s rocking of Alfred grew more pronounced. The baby was doing a remarkable job of containing himself, given the overstimulation, lack of nourishment, and wet clothes, but it could not be long before his fussing escalated to full-scale wailing.

“Oh, I believe there is little danger of that. They are all congratulating themselves at having dodged unwanted responsibility by foisting it onto you. Captain Wentworth will be impressed.”

“I must find him and tell him I am taking Alfred to Mrs. Logan to be fed.”

“Allow me to find him for you,” Elizabeth offered. “You have your hands full.”

Anne smiled. “I do indeed. And, I suppose, shall for some time.” She paused. “May I ask you something, Mrs. Darcy?”

“Certainly.”

“I understand you accompanied Mr. Shepherd to interview Mrs. Logan. What was your impression of her? I have heard only complaints from my father and sister.”

Elizabeth chose her words carefully, not wanting to insult Mrs. Wentworth’s family, but wishing to be fair to the wet nurse. “I believe she has a good heart and wants very much to do well by Alfred. At the same time, she is young and inexperienced. I suspect, therefore, that she lacks the confidence to question orders given by equally inexperienced persons of higher social rank, whereas a veteran nurse might manage matters with more authority.”

“I thought as much. My own experience with infants is limited to assisting Mary during her lyings-in.”

“You also appear to have sound instincts and a good deal of common sense, which is all I had when my daughter was born. Between you and Mrs. Logan, I believe you will get along fine.”

“With Mrs. Smith as our houseguest, we also have her nurse in residence.”

“Then Alfred is in excellent hands, not that I ever doubted. He is extremely fortunate to have you and Captain Wentworth as his godparents. So many occupy the role in name only.”

“I have been blessed with a good example,” Anne said. “Lady Russell has been an attentive godmother to me, taking her duty seriously and fulfilling it to the best of her capabilities. I lost my own mother at age fourteen, and I do not know what I would have done without her constancy and friendship.” Elizabeth followed Mrs. Wentworth’s gaze to the lady herself, who was disengaging from a conversation and looked to be headed their way.

“When my father asked her to stand for Alfred, she recognized that my new brother would be even more in need of steady direction as he grew up and prepared to assume the responsibilities of a baronet,” Mrs. Wentworth said. “However, she also recognized that she is considerably older now than when she stood for me and my sisters. So she wrote to me and Captain Wentworth, and asked permission to suggest to my father that we be named godparents, as well, in hopes that by virtue of the office we might exert more influence over decisions regarding Alfred than we otherwise would as mere sister and brother-in-law. We readily agreed, and afterward discussed between us offering to raise Alfred ourselves, so that our guidance might be constant and not occasional, and that we would have more power to execute decisions. Captain Wentworth and I had reached an understanding, but had not yet determined how best to approach my father, nor the precise terms of our proposal. And now—” A laugh escaped her, one that sounded disbelief and delight. “We are parents sooner than either of us ever anticipated.”

“So Captain Wentworth will not be surprised by this arrangement?”

“Only that our own wishes were effected so easily. In truth, I myself am amazed.”

“Then I shall go tell him he is wanted, but leave to you to share why.”

“Thank you. Let me take my leave of you now, and say that I have enjoyed talking with you. I doubt Captain Wentworth and I will return here after attending to Alfred—I think he has had as much celebration as he can tolerate for one day.”

“Alfred, or Captain Wentworth?”

She laughed again. “Both, I expect.”

Elizabeth longed to hear more of the history Mrs. Smith had been imparting to her before Mary Musgrove’s interruption—not out of a gossipy interest in scandal, but to better understand the events that had led to Lady Elliot’s death. Unfortunately, Mrs. Smith departed with the Wentworths, taking her trove of knowledge with her. Elizabeth and Darcy quit the Assembly Rooms soon after.

Later, she shared what she had learned with Darcy as they walked along the Cobb. It was a lovely, tranquil evening. The heat of the day had eased; both sea and sky were calm. Though a light breeze drifted across the bay, no wind caught her bonnet as it had on their first night in Lyme, when she had been forced to retreat into the alley beside the Lion to unknot its ribbons. Sunlight stretched long upon the waves, a golden contrast to the dark matter of their conversation.

“The relationships between the Clays and the Elliots are more tangled than we ever imagined,” she said. “I heard today that Mr. Elliot’s late wife had an affair with Mrs. Clay’s late husband.”

Darcy’s brows rose. “I thought I had interesting news to communicate, but you have trumped me. When did this occur?”

“I do not know. Mrs. Smith told me of the affair, but she cut her narrative short when Mary Musgrove joined us. Mary, however, revealed additional information about Sir Walter’s relationship with Mrs. Clay. Apparently, she openly pursued him last winter, hoping to seduce him into marrying her.”

“Ultimately, she succeeded, though one wonders why she ran off with Mr. Elliot in the interim. She could not have thought it would advance her suit.”

“Perhaps Mr. Elliot saw what she was about, and to end her scheme—and obscure the paternity of any child she might have conceived with Sir Walter—made her promises of marriage that he never intended to keep. He would certainly not be the first man in the history of elopements to do so. And Mrs. Clay, believing him, preferred the young heir to the aging title holder.”

“An aging title holder whose estate is hazardously close to bankruptcy.”

Now it was Elizabeth’s turn to express surprise. “How did you learn this?”

“From Mr. Elliot. He spoke of it while I was with Captain Wentworth.”

“Well, marrying either of them would procure her the title of Lady Elliot sooner or later—an improvement over her past affairs. Apparently, Mrs. Clay had a proclivity for naval officers before setting her sights on the Elliots.”

“Indeed? Then I am surprised Mr. Elliot would bring her to a seaside resort, with half the navy ashore.”

Darcy’s statement prompted a memory of the conversation she had overheard in the passageway of the Lion the night before Mrs. Clay’s accident. You are hardly guiltless yourself.… Half the navy is ashore. Though in your present state, you hardly present an enticing object.

Elizabeth stopped. Mr. Elliot was a guest of the Lion. And until that night, so was Mrs. Clay.

What of the promise you made me? Did you ever intend to keep it?

In time.

You have run out of time.

Where are you going?

Out.

Her own eyes wide with astonishment, she met Darcy’s gaze. He regarded her questioningly.

“I believe I might have overheard a conversation between Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Clay the night before she died.”

“How?”

“In the alley beside the Lion, when I stopped to adjust my bonnet. I heard a couple quarreling—I assumed it was a husband and wife, but now, knowing what we do about them both, I believe it was they.”