At that remark, Jack looked angry. Under the table, Kate put her hand over his and squeezed tight.
“Why did Bella want Oxley Manor so much?” Kate asked.
“She’s Bertram’s half sister. Same mother, different father. Only back then, that was a secret. Bertram! Now there was a nasty little boy.”
“We didn’t know Bella was Bertram’s sister,” Kate said. “Could you tell us everything, please? From the beginning?”
“Who was Bella’s mother?” Jack asked.
Mrs. Thompson poured them cups of tea and sat down across from them. “That house! I don’t know what about it made them love it so much. It was cold and creaky. I like this place better. It’s always warm.”
“The Renlows loved it,” Jack said.
“They were a vain lot. They liked to say that the house and land were given to them by a king so they had to take care of it. That’s why the old earl married Sybilla. She was a shrew.”
“But a rich one?” Jack asked.
“Yes, very rich. But from trade, if you know what I mean. But she wanted something money couldn’t buy. She wanted a son. And his lordship couldn’t—not with her, anyway.” Mrs. Thompson got a wicked gleam in her eye. “One day he told me, ‘Edna, it just won’t go up when I’m with her. It lays there like a dead fish.’”
“It sounds like you two were close,” Kate exclaimed.
“Grew up together. Of course my pap was the gardener but that didn’t stop us from playing together. He—”
“And Bella’s mother?” Kate asked.
“That was Mary. Pretty girl she was, and we all liked her. Her husband had died in the war and she had a young girl to take care of.”
“That was Bella,” Kate said.
“Yes. She was an odd child. Rarely ever smiled. She wasn’t pretty, but she had airs about her as if she had always lived in a Great House. When Mary had a swollen belly, we never said a word. We knew where it came from. But so did the shrew. We thought she’d throw Mary out, but she didn’t. We should have known that she had something up her sleeve. She was always one for making plans.”
Mrs. Thompson took a sip of her tea. “She took Mary’s baby, and we were told to say that Lady Sybilla had given birth to the child.”
“I guess no one protested,” Jack said.
“Back then, things like that happened often. Adopted children were never told they were adopted for fear that they’d feel left out. Mary had a hard labor and she never really recovered.”
“So taking that baby looked like a kind and generous act,” Kate said.
“It did. And Mary died just four months later.”
“Of natural causes?” Jack asked.
Mrs. Thompson took her time answering. “There was talk among us. If Mary had recovered, Lady Sybilla might have had to give the baby back, but she doted on the child. Spoiled him horribly.”
“What about Isabella?”
“She was sent away to boarding school and never allowed to come back. I’ll never forget her screams the day she was taken away. Nearly broke my heart. She said she loved Oxley Manor and it was hers. Hers!”
Mrs. Thompson shook her head. “She came back only once from that fancy school she was in. Poor thing. It was like in that book... What was it?”
“Jane Eyre?”
“Yes, that’s it.” She paused. “They’re all dead now so I can tell you. His lordship used to secretly take clothes down to Bella at school, and he sent her to university. He was very generous to Mary’s daughter. But...”
“But what?” Kate asked.
“His lordship died suddenly, just as she was about to finish university. He fell off his horse and broke his neck. It was hard to believe since he was a brilliant horseman. Then we found out that he’d lied to Bella over the years. She returned to Oxley Manor for the funeral, thinking she was part of the family and that she’d be staying there. His lordship had told her that he was leaving her the dower house in his will. But there was nothing in the will for Bella, and Lady Sybilla threw her out.”