Chapter Twenty-three
The carriage pulled up in front of the townhouse in the Royal Crescent. Jonathan espied the Duke just seeing his wife in the door. He flung open the carriage window and called, "Thomas, I need to speak with you!"
His friend stared at him. "Yes, of course. But let us at least see the ladies safely out of the coach and into the house first."
Thomas moved forward and took Pamela's hand. She grasped it and thanked him. As soon as her feet were once more on terra firma, she tearfully bolted past Jonathan in through the door and straight up the stairs.
Jonathan looked at Thomas resignedly, and went upstairs to his own chamber to pack.
"Oh, dear, it's like that, is it?" he said to Vanessa.
"Worse. He has told her he can never love her. That there are too many impediments."
Thomas frowned. "This is too bad."
"You will speak with him, won't you?"
"I've tried, but he remains obdurate. He knows it's impossible. I'll never let them marry, for his own protection. But he won't consider marrying anyone else either."
"He still loves Jane so much then, even though it's hopeless?"
"I cannot tell. Perhaps he does? Love often hopes foolishly for that which it cannot have. Or perhaps he no longer loves my sister, but simply feels guilty. He blames himself. Thinks he should have been there. Or that perhaps this is the price he had to pay for the miracle that he begged for on the battlefield. The miracle which brought back Clifford and myself from the brink of death."
"For which I thank God every day, as you well know. But you Rakehells always have to take everything to such extremes. Your nobility is almost a curse at times. You try so desperately to be fair and decent to everyone, you put yourselves through Hell."
Thomas opened his mouth to deny the accusation, but Vanessa pressed on, following him into the inner sanctum of his study to continue their discussion.
"You and Charlotte went through Hell because you didn't want to tell her just how dreadful that man Herbert Paxton really was. You almost lost her over a cliff when he kidnapped her! Clifford nearly lost me because he didn't want to expose my brother as a notorious highwayman and murderer for fear of what the revelation would do to me. Don't think I'm not haunted every day of my life by what nearly happened, and the bitter regret I feel for having mistrusted Clifford so badly.
"Now Jonathan is doing the same thing. Tell him he is a free man! Tell him you will take the responsibility you should have done, and the consequences. Unless of course Charlotte..."
The Duke frowned. "We believe she's pregnant at last. It's very early days yet. I would not have her take on too much responsibility at this time."
Vanessa smiled. "I'm so pleased, and wish you both well. I understand, really, and I don't blame you. But there's no longer any danger from Paxton, is there? He's dead and buried. And you are after all a Radical politician. If you really cared what other people thought of you, you would play it canny, be a Whig or even a Tory. It has been selfish of you to let Jonathan take responsibility for Jane for so long. Not when you know they can never possibly marry."
Thomas sighed. "Well, what would you have me do then? Forbid him to see Jane and Sophie?"
She shrugged. "It is for you to decide. Perhaps an institution where she will be kindly treated? Where all of her needs will be met by trained people who understand her medical condition? Blake Sanderson recommended a number of excellent colleagues."
"And what about Sophie? She loves Jonathan."
"She can love you, too. You're her uncle, after all. Jonathan is no relation to her. And living in a madhouse, however luxurious a one, is no place for a child. Let go of the past, Thomas. You've done your duty. But as long as you harbor hatred and resentment of Paxton, he will still have power over you. You will never be free of him if you seek to sweep it all under the carpet.
"You're a Duke, for Heaven's sake! Better equipped than most people to ride out any storm of scandal. Jonathan is not so well equipped. This could ruin him. Ruin the career he's sought so hard to forge for himself ever since that fateful day on the battlefield in Spain."
Thomas nodded. "True. I hadn't thought--"
"But there should be no scandal. None of you have done anything wrong, other than been too trusting of a man who deserved nothing but contempt. And been too overprotective towards the women you love."
"She's right," Charlotte said from the doorway. "You've sought to protect me. Not spoken of your sister more than strictly necessary, nor let me visit but the once. Jane is no danger to me. She's a simple wounded soul. But you didn't want me to see anything so disturbing. And you don't think I should be forced to see every day the child of the man who tried to rape and murder me. But it wasn't their fault. We've all been paying for Paxton's crimes, yet we're blameless. It's about time it stopped."