Sara Craven - Inherited by Her Enemy

‘You see, Lady Welburn.’ Rosina’s voice throbbed into the startled silence, reminding her there was nothing to laugh about. ‘You see how impossible it is to deal with this—creature. God knows what pressure he brought to bear on my poor Andrew. I know he would never have given up this house of his own free will, not when he knew how much it meant to me.’

She rounded on Ginny, who had risen to her feet, holding the unbroken china. ‘This is all your fault. I knew that inviting this Duchard here would be a disaster.’

Lady Welburn rose too. She said quietly, ‘I hardly think Virginia can be blamed for her late stepfather’s decisions, Mrs Charlton. Like you, she probably wasn’t consulted.’ She paused. ‘I feel we should leave you to think quietly about the situation.’ She gave Ginny a kind smile. ‘Why not go upstairs and take off that dress, my dear. Perhaps soak it in cold water.’

Or throw it in the bin, thought Ginny. Quite apart from its lack of appeal, it would always be a reminder of an evening best forgotten.

Up in her room, she quickly exchanged it for the ruby velvet robe which had been Andrew’s last birthday gift. She’d have given anything simply to go to bed, but there was still clearing up to be done, so she waited at the top of the stairs for the Welburns to depart before she ventured down again.

But as she reached the hall, the front door opened and Jonathan came in, white flakes of snow clinging to his hair and dark overcoat.

He checked when he saw her. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Dad forgot his scarf.’

‘It’s there on the hall table.’ She paused as he retrieved it. ‘Jon, please apologise to your parents. I—I had no idea the evening would turn out like this.’

He gave a short, harsh laugh. ‘That goes for me too. What on earth was Cilla doing—coming on to that man like that?’

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