‘The ball,’ Ralph offered.
‘Ralph, you are not helping here,’ Morgan snapped.
‘Well, someone has to tell her. He missed her; you see. Sissy, that is. When she didn’t attend the ball, he missed her more than he thought he would. Moreover, he found all the women Mariette invited annoying to say the least. It made him realise that he wasn’t getting any younger. Moreover, it made him realise that he is ready to settle down, and that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life escorting Mariette everywhere. He wants a life, a home, a family of his own. Sissy. Did you not realise?’
‘Well,’ Alicia blustered, quite clearly having not realised. ‘I knew he loved her.’
Suddenly, she beamed proudly at Morgan, as if he had just achieved some great feat of maturity.
‘God, don’t start,’ Morgan grumbled.
Alicia shook her head at him but chidingly. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she smiled at him and rubbed her hands together. ‘Well, we shall just have to see what we can do about getting Miss Sissy Finchley to contemplate life as lady of the manor then, won’t we?’
Morgan tipped his head back to look at the ceiling and emitted a low growl of frustration. ‘Please, please, please don’t start scheming. There has been enough meddling already. Just leave me to see to my own sodding courtship of her. I am perfectly capable of courting Sissy without anybody’s involvement, critique, opinions, or judgement. Just concern yourself with getting Mariette to Scotland. Leave the rest to me.’
Alicia launched to her feet. ‘I will go and get everything ready. We leave tonight. Just make sure that you don’t marry her before I get back. I want to be there at the wedding.’
For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Morgan’s lips twitched as a smile struggled to break free. ‘Oh, make no mistake, I plan to do everything properly with Miss Sissy Finchley. The announcement of our engagement is going to be formally made in The Times. We are going to have a proper courtship so everyone can see us out and about. We are going to accept invitations to dine and whatever but only with people I know can be trusted to behave politely in her presence. Then, we are going to have a proper wedding in the church on the estate. That has to be without question.’
Alicia nodded but still looked doubtful.
‘What do you want me to do? Sweep her off her feet and send for the vicar today?’ Morgan lifted a brow and
waited.
‘Have you ever stopped to contemplate that it might be best if you just marry her quickly and be done with it? I mean, you won’t have the gossips to worry about then, will you? They can hardly call her your mistress if she is your wife. If they suspect you have married her because she is with child then they can all do their sums when your first child is born, can’t they? The truth will come out eventually and they can all look like the gossipy fools they are.’
‘Anybody would think that you don’t care what people think about this family,’ Morgan mused. ‘You are the last person I thought would accept a hasty marriage. Why, it sounds to me like you are suggesting getting Sissy with child as soon as the ink is dry in the marriage certificate.’
‘If that is what you choose to do to solidify your marriage then so be it,’ Alicia countered with a shrug. ‘But it shouldn’t have to come to that. A child is something you have to both want. It cannot be a trap.’
‘Traps. Plans. There seems to be a lot of scheming going on here,’ Morgan replied in exasperation. ‘Why can’t things be straight forward? Why can’t it simply be a matter of falling in love, spending time together, announcing our engagement, and getting married before settling down to a life of bliss, hopefully with a child or two in a year’s time? It works for other people.’
Alicia paused in the doorway. ‘But Sissy isn’t other people, Morgan. Sissy has issues and it isn’t just with the gossips, the scorn of your peers, or Mariette. She might love you but the biggest problem neither of you are able to surmount is the fact that she considers herself to be lower than you. I don’t think any amount of love she has for you will ever persuade her otherwise.’
‘Do you think she might love me?’ Morgan asked. He had no idea why he felt the need to ask his mother that question. It was something he should be asking Sissy.
‘I can see no other reason why she would so willingly accept an invitation to dine with us, or take tea here when just a few short weeks ago neither her nor her aunt felt able to attend our ball, do you?’ Alicia murmured before quietly letting herself out of his house.
Morgan stared at the empty doorway and contemplated that. He was bolstered by the reality that Sissy had chosen to visit his house and spend time with him. He could take hope from it and was more confident as he returned to his study to talk things through with Ralph. What happened next, though, was completely dependent upon Sissy, and how much she did care about him because Morgan knew that only love could beat the odds that were still stacked against them.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sissy slowly lowered the pot back onto the holder above the flames when she heard rapping on the front door. Rather than hurry to answer it, she slowly turned to look at her aunt with fearful eyes.
‘There is nothing to worry about,’ Norma assured her as she hurried to the door.
‘I am not here,’ Sissy whispered.
‘But you are here, dear. There is no point hiding. Where should I tell him you have gone? He has only come to find out how you are. After the other day you cannot expect a man like him to do anything more than his duty.’ Norma hurried to answer the door because Morgan was already knocking again.
Desperate to avoid any more hurt, Sissy snatched her shawl off the peg and raced out of the back door. She had no idea where she was going, or why she felt the need to physically flee. It was probably because she knew that Norma’s sense of moral duty would compel her aunt to force Sissy to face the last man she wanted to see. As far as Sissy was concerned, she had to keep her distance from Morgan. Her survival depended on it. Just knowing he was on her front doorstep was enough to create an ache deep in her chest that wouldn’t budge. It grew and grew and seemed to rise into her throat, drawing with it the tears she thought she couldn’t spill anymore.
‘Miss Sissy, how are you today?’ a neighbour called.
‘Fine, thank you, Mr Pinton,’ Sissy replied as she hurried past.
‘I wouldn’t go too far if I were you. It looks like it is about to start raining,’ the older man warned with a wise look at the roiling black clouds overhead.