Lady Vernon could not conceal her surprise. Where had Charles Vernon, always in want of ready money, got the funds to purchase any property at all? Had he profited from his brother’s loss and having deprived Sir Frederick of money now meant to take his property as well?

“And why is he so eager to settle now, pray?”

“He is engaged to be married.”

“Charles? Engaged?”

“Yes, it all happened only in the last fortnight, it seems. Even our friend Mr. Lewis deCourcy has written to me of his surprise at how speedily it all took place. But Charles is nearly five and thirty, you know, and ought to have settled before now.”

“But how is Mr. deCourcy involved in the matter?”

“It is his niece, the daughter of Mr. deCourcy’s elder brother, Sir Reginald, whom Charles means to marry. Their sister is Lady Hamilton, so the connection is an excellent one for my brother. I have been told that Mr. deCourcy means to extend to Charles the same patronage he did to your father.”

“To place him in a banking house?” Lady Vernon inquired with some surprise. She did not add that she would not have put Charles Vernon where he might have a free hand over other people’s money. “I wonder, then, that Charles would purchase an estate so far from town. And what sort of offer has he made you for Vernon Castle?”

Sir Frederick named a price that seemed so shockingly low to Lady Vernon that it took all of her self-command to keep from expressing her indignation. “And what do you mean to do?” she asked Sir Frederick.

“My dear Susan!” he cried. “It was through your efforts that we found Vernon Castle and I would not let it go to anybody without your consent. Our affection for the place, and our intimacy with our good neighbors, the Clarkes, would make it very difficult to surrender entirely. I thought that it might be of some comfort for you to know that Vernon Castle has not gone to strangers.”

Lady Vernon wisely refrained from remarking that she would not be comforted to see a property that was to be settled on their daughter pass down to Charles Vernon and his children. After a moment’s consideration, Lady Vernon observed, “My dear Frederick, it is not always wise to enter into business with family. If matters go wrong, there is so much ill feeling, and you would not want to risk that, particularly when the occasion of Charles’s marriage may bring us all together more. Surely Miss deCourcy will bring something of a fortune into the marriage, which ought to allow them to purchase. Let us look elsewhere. My Aunt Martin has a very wide acquaintance, and I am certain that she can help us find a purchaser, and if she cannot, we may reconsider your brother’s offer.”

“Your advice is excellent!” agreed the amiable Sir Frederick. “I am quite of your opinion. When you next write to your aunt, lay our situation before her, and I will wait upon her reply before I give Charles my answer.”


Lady Vernon to Lady Martin

             My dear Aunt Martin,

             I know that some word of our circumstances will have preceded this letter, for it seems that anything in the way of misfortune can never be kept to one’s self. To be sure, it would have been more interesting if I had run off with the groom, or some natural son of Frederick’s had turned up at our door, but alas, it is only money that distresses us, or the lack of it at least.

             We must, it seems, give up Vernon Castle if we are to remain above water, and will be compelled to spend our country months at Churchill Manor. I can only hope that you and James will overlook the informality of the neighborhood and come to visit us there. You need not worry about its being too lively, or of falling into a crowd that demands that you always appear to advantage—those people will certainly drop us, and the only excitement that is likely to occur will be for someone to be mistook for a stag or a grouse and to be shot by another in his hunting party.

             In the meantime, if you or my cousin happen to know of a purchaser for Vernon Castle, one who would give us a price that would be fair enough to alleviate our present distress, I hope that you will be the means of an introduction. We have had one offer made to us, one that is so small as to be insulting, and I cannot allow Frederick to be taken advantage of, not even out of fraternal affection. But of that, I will say no more.

             I remain,

             Your affectionate niece,

             Etc. etc.


Lady Martin gave this letter to her son, who immediately responded with an offer to forward whatever money was necessary to ease Sir Frederick’s distress. A succession of letters followed in which the matter was argued back and forth with all of the lively antagonism that had marked the youthful quarrels of the cousins, for Lady Vernon had a strong aversion to accepting charity while Sir James was determined to bestow it. The genteel arrangements between her father and his creditors, and the more vulgar maneuvers by which Charles Vernon had remained solvent, had given Lady Vernon a thorough disgust of indebtedness.

Convinced that his cousin would not yield, Sir James wrote to Sir Frederick.


If you are determined upon the sale of Vernon Castle, allow me to be your surrogate. I promise that I will find you a purchaser who will not offer a penny less than what is fair. Devote your energies to my dear cousin, whose recent loss must make your obligation to her uppermost in your consideration. Give me the power to act for you in all the rest.


To this Sir Frederick consented and Sir James acted with discretion and speed. Before a month had passed, Sir Frederick was informed that a gentleman named Edwards, with a wife and two sons, had taken a fancy to Vernon Castle. Sir Frederick gave his wife’s cousin power to act in his stead and the business was concluded without the necessity of Sir Frederick even going to Staffordshire.

Charles Vernon was very angry when he heard that he had been cheated out of Vernon Castle, and he confided to Miss deCourcy that it had all been Lady Vernon’s doing, implying that she had come to regret her choice and as she could not bear to see Charles happily married to another, she meant to thwart him in everything. This left Miss deCourcy with no fond feelings toward her future sister-in-law, and with no desire to ever know her.

chapter four

Frederica Vernon had not reached her eleventh year when her family was obliged to give up Vernon Castle. Still, she possessed the strength of understanding and superior abilities that supported her in the loss of all that was familiar and reconciled her to the move from Staffordshire to Sussex.

She was not disheartened by the prospect of a quieter style of living, for she had never been easy in any company outside her family circle. She had not yet learned to feign an interest in conversation or mask her desire to retreat to a book. Under the tuition of her mother and an excellent governess, she became diligent and accomplished, but nothing was acquired for praise or show. She learned to play upon the harp and the pianoforte with considerable proficiency, though never with the élan of one who means to perform before company. She learned to paint and sketch but confined her subjects to flowers and wildlife, for she would not impose upon a human subject to sit for her. When the weather was poor, she was happy to pass the day in Churchill’s superior library, and when it was fair, she was equally pleased to explore the grounds for some curious specimen of moss or leaf, or to attempt to improve the flower beds and greenhouses.

Her parents and governess approved this activity, which was particularly suited to Frederica’s patience and curiosity, and given complete liberty to do as she liked, she brought the forcing garden back to use, laid out a convenient kitchen garden, cultivated a variety of flowers, and coaxed the pear trees into bloom and yield.

That winter, the Vernons went up to town with every expectation that their society would not be as eagerly sought as when they did not have to practice anything like economy. Sir James Martin, however, had resolved that his cousins should not be slighted by anybody, and they were not two nights in London before he gave a grand party in their honor. He had a spirited set of companions to supply the gaiety, ladies and gentlemen picked up before he had come into his title and who could not be got rid of afterward; the elegance was furnished by the distinguished families who had a sister or daughter of marriageable age, for Sir James was considered to be one of the most eligible young men in England.

At this gathering, Lady Vernon was introduced to a Mrs. Johnson. Mr. Johnson had made his fortune in trade, which had put him at variance with his lady. She believed that her husband’s wealth entitled them to know everyone of distinction, while Mr. Johnson was of the opinion that it relieved him of the necessity of knowing anyone at all. He contrived to be at his club when his lady received visitors, and sent her to balls and parties when he wanted to spend a quiet evening among his books. Her accounts of gaiety and noise, meant to tempt him out of his misanthropy, had the reverse effect and always left him very glad that he had stayed at home.

“What an agreeable party!” Mrs. Johnson began. “Sir James brings together such lively company. I am sure that Mr. Johnson, if only he would come out, would not find it at all tedious.”

“Does Mr. Johnson not like dancing?”

“He would like it well enough if it could be accomplished alone and in silence and with a book in one hand! And if I tease him for being so dull, he will threaten to give up London altogether and move to the country! Perhaps he would come out if Robert Manwaring would stay away,” she declared with a nod in that gentleman’s direction. “But that will never happen, for Manwaring is as determined to seek pleasure as my bon mari is to avoid it.”

Robert Manwaring was a comely and engaging fellow whose attraction toward lively company had drawn him into Sir James’s circle. He was ruled by impulse and too readily led by sentiment rather than sense, and the most grievous effect of this was his marriage to a very dull wife. It was rumored that he would never have proposed if there had not been some opposition on the part of the lady’s guardian, which had inflamed Manwaring’s romantic nature. He had pled his case to the lady with energy, won his point, and now lived to regret it. He was not the first man to err in his choice of a partner, and he would not be the last, and in the meantime he sought relief in society where he played at cards with men more imprudent than he and flirted with women who were prettier and more pleasing than his wife.

“How do you like Manwaring?” Mrs. Johnson persisted. “His manners are very handsome, are they not? You must be aware, for he will flirt with you if you are not on your guard, but he means nothing by it.”

“If he means nothing by it, then I need not be on my guard,” Lady Vernon replied with a smile. “He was giving me an account of his estate in Somerset.”

“Oh, it is a pretty little bit of property, but not as great as my bon mari wished.”

“Does Mr. Johnson have an interest in Mr. Manwaring’s property?”

“Oh, yes! My bon mari was Eliza Manwaring’s guardian and a very great friend of her father. Mr. Johnson was entrusted with the administration of Eliza’s fortune, and when she married Manwaring against his wishes, he withheld all but an allowance—fifteen hundred per annum. He was very angry that she married Manwaring, when she might have done so much better, but if Manwaring’s sister catches Sir James, perhaps there may be some ground for rapprochement. Of course, Maria Manwaring is only seventeen, but she has no older sisters to hold her back. I met my bon mari when I was seventeen and I caught him before he had the time to look elsewhere! What is Miss Vernon’s age?”

“Frederica is not yet in her teens.”

“Well, it is not too early to start looking,” Mrs. Johnson advised. “The best matches will often be set up well before a young lady is out, particularly since young men nowadays are so fickle and teasing. They will put young ladies of good family through the trial and expense of season upon season and then run to the altar with the governess!”

Sir James approached the two with a smile and an outstretched hand. “Ladies, I come to separate you. I am obliged to begin the dancing and must have a partner.”