Edwina said, sinking down onto the bench. “John.”
“Precisely—now the curse is upon the life of my son.”
“But surely you don’t believe that,” Edwina said, unable to do anything but gape at Richard, trying to read his face. “Or in the ghost.”
“I don’t know what I believe,” Richard said. “So far, the evidence points one way and rational thought the other. But that’s not the point.”
“No, the point is that you’re encouraging your children to accept all this utter nonsense as fact. If you would but tell them, and insist, that there are no such things as curses and ghosts…”
“I tried, but John has always been a sensitive boy with a powerful imagination. He’s also extremely stubborn, and once he gets hold of an idea, he doesn’t let go.” Richard shook his head. “ He believes in the curse, and that’s all that matters. Lizzie believes as well and fears for her brother’s life.”
Edwina tried to think what to say, what to do .
“Belief is a significant factor in one’s thinking,” Richard said. “John doesn’t sleep as well as he used to, and he is not as robust now as when we first heard the news that I had inherited. Telling John not to be foolish, and that he has a full life ahead of him, only makes him worse. I fear that he will sicken and die merely from believing that that is what will happen.”
“But death can happen to anyone at any time.”
“Ah, but there’s more to the curse,” Richard said. “The first John Ballister died at Christmastide, and so have all the firstborn sons since then.”
Anger and disbelief swarmed up inside Edwina. This whole story was completely, utterly absurd, and she intended to tell him so and then leave this place.
Then she saw the anguish on Richard’s tired face, and her fury died away. “That’s why you’re in such a hurry to find the necklace, and why Mrs. Cropper says you must marry quickly. John fears he will die this Christmas.”
Richard nodded.
“But not every heir died as a child, so even if there were a curse, it might not take him until he was quite old!”
“And had a son of his own to fear for,” Richard said. “Believe me, we’ve been over this ad nauseam. If he dies young and I have no more sons, the curse will end by default.”
“He sees himself as a sacrifice ?” The cold of the stone bench seeped through Edwina’s gown, but it was nothing to the horror in her heart.
Richard hunched a resigned shoulder. He lowered himself to sit next to her. “Perhaps it makes the prospect of dying young less dispiriting. At least he will be doing some good in the process.”
“But he cannot guarantee that you will have no more sons,” she said.
“I shan’t remarry if I don’t find the necklace, so he can guarantee exactly that.”
“You don’t wish to marry again?” Now why, of all the questions she might ask, had she chosen that one?
CHAPTER FIVE
“N ot at all,” Richard said. “Why saddle myself with a wife if I don’t need to?” Mary had been a good wife, but she’d never got over her jealousy of Edwina. It didn’t matter that Richard was a faithful husband. What mattered was that he had loved Edwina passionately, while for Mary he felt only affection. Their marriage would have been far more pleasant if Mary had never known about Edwina, but after that day in the park, she’d made it her business to find out.
He’d only ever wanted to marry one woman—the one sitting next to him—but there was too much mistrust between them now. If they could manage to get along for a while, it would be accomplishment enough.
For now, but not for the future. He tried to imagine another woman here, his new wife, while Edwina stayed as governess, and knew at once that it was impossible. Despite all commonsense, his passion for Edwina had wakened from its long dormancy and clamored for his attention.
He must ignore it. “However, a marriage of convenience is a minor sacrifice compared to the one
“Precisely—now the curse is upon the life of my son.”
“But surely you don’t believe that,” Edwina said, unable to do anything but gape at Richard, trying to read his face. “Or in the ghost.”
“I don’t know what I believe,” Richard said. “So far, the evidence points one way and rational thought the other. But that’s not the point.”
“No, the point is that you’re encouraging your children to accept all this utter nonsense as fact. If you would but tell them, and insist, that there are no such things as curses and ghosts…”
“I tried, but John has always been a sensitive boy with a powerful imagination. He’s also extremely stubborn, and once he gets hold of an idea, he doesn’t let go.” Richard shook his head. “ He believes in the curse, and that’s all that matters. Lizzie believes as well and fears for her brother’s life.”
Edwina tried to think what to say, what to do .
“Belief is a significant factor in one’s thinking,” Richard said. “John doesn’t sleep as well as he used to, and he is not as robust now as when we first heard the news that I had inherited. Telling John not to be foolish, and that he has a full life ahead of him, only makes him worse. I fear that he will sicken and die merely from believing that that is what will happen.”
“But death can happen to anyone at any time.”
“Ah, but there’s more to the curse,” Richard said. “The first John Ballister died at Christmastide, and so have all the firstborn sons since then.”
Anger and disbelief swarmed up inside Edwina. This whole story was completely, utterly absurd, and she intended to tell him so and then leave this place.
Then she saw the anguish on Richard’s tired face, and her fury died away. “That’s why you’re in such a hurry to find the necklace, and why Mrs. Cropper says you must marry quickly. John fears he will die this Christmas.”
Richard nodded.
“But not every heir died as a child, so even if there were a curse, it might not take him until he was quite old!”
“And had a son of his own to fear for,” Richard said. “Believe me, we’ve been over this ad nauseam. If he dies young and I have no more sons, the curse will end by default.”
“He sees himself as a sacrifice ?” The cold of the stone bench seeped through Edwina’s gown, but it was nothing to the horror in her heart.
Richard hunched a resigned shoulder. He lowered himself to sit next to her. “Perhaps it makes the prospect of dying young less dispiriting. At least he will be doing some good in the process.”
“But he cannot guarantee that you will have no more sons,” she said.
“I shan’t remarry if I don’t find the necklace, so he can guarantee exactly that.”
“You don’t wish to marry again?” Now why, of all the questions she might ask, had she chosen that one?
CHAPTER FIVE
“N ot at all,” Richard said. “Why saddle myself with a wife if I don’t need to?” Mary had been a good wife, but she’d never got over her jealousy of Edwina. It didn’t matter that Richard was a faithful husband. What mattered was that he had loved Edwina passionately, while for Mary he felt only affection. Their marriage would have been far more pleasant if Mary had never known about Edwina, but after that day in the park, she’d made it her business to find out.
He’d only ever wanted to marry one woman—the one sitting next to him—but there was too much mistrust between them now. If they could manage to get along for a while, it would be accomplishment enough.
For now, but not for the future. He tried to imagine another woman here, his new wife, while Edwina stayed as governess, and knew at once that it was impossible. Despite all commonsense, his passion for Edwina had wakened from its long dormancy and clamored for his attention.
He must ignore it. “However, a marriage of convenience is a minor sacrifice compared to the one
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