Late the next morning, Virginia was supervising the cleanup of the house when there was a knock on the front door. She opened it to find Thomas standing on the verandah. She stiffened when she saw him but invited him in.
"How are you feeling my dear?" he asked, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. He looked at her with surprise as she avoided his lips and took his coat instead.
"I'm feeling much better, thank you. Is that why you're dropping by?" she asked, leading him into the sitting room.
"Yes, I was a bit concerned since you didn't say goodnight before you went to bed last night. And you said you were suffering from a headache earlier."
"Yes, I had something on my mind, that was causing some worry," she murmured.
"I tried to see you before I left, but Stratford wouldn't let neither I nor Doris up to your room. He quite rudely insisted that we leave, as a matter of fact," he said indignantly.
"And why did he do that?" she asked him.
"I'm certain I have no idea," he replied.
"Yes you do, and so do I," she snapped.
"My dear, what do you mean?" he asked nervously, worried that Drake had told her about his confession and that she believed him. Well, he could easily turn that to his favor.
"You know very well," she said evenly.
"Dearest, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he replied calmly.
"Do you deny that you're only courting me for my money?" she asked bluntly.
He looked at her, affecting an expression of profound surprise and shock. "Of course I deny it! I care about you a great deal and am not interested in your money. I'm sure you know that I'm quite well off myself and am not in need of any money that you may have," he assured her.
"I did suspect that you were wealthy, but I'm beginning to think otherwise."
"You're beginning to think otherwise? Whatever would give you that idea?" he asked, doing his best to appear thoroughly baffled.
Looking him straight in the eye, she stated simply, "You."
He now was truly confused. "Virginia, what are you talking about?"
"I was on the upper terrace during your conversation with Drake last night. I heard everything," she said, watching for his reaction.
The blood drained from his face and he felt sick. He had known how he would handle it if she had said that Drake had told her, but she had heard it all straight from him. His mind worked feverishly, desperately trying to think of an explanation for what he had said. "My love, I only said those things to anger him. I'm sure you know there is no love lost between he and I and I was only trying to get a rise out of him."
She rose and looked down at him. "I don't believe you. And I think you should go."
"Please Virginia, listen to me. I truly didn't mean anything I said. I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression, but..."
"I would like you to leave now," she said interrupting him.
"I demand that you listen to me," he stated, refusing to rise from his seat.
"And I demand that you leave," she replied firmly.
"I am not leaving until we resolve this misunderstanding," he said, his voice rising. He heard a quiet cough behind him and turned to see Drake standing in the doorway.
"I believe Miss Templeton asked you to leave," he said quietly.
Thomas took one look at the anger burning in Drake's eyes and decided not to press the issue any more today. Finally rising, he turned back to Virginia. "Please, my dear, give it some thought before you make any rash decisions. I'll come back in a few days and we can talk about it."
"I don't need to think about it. Good bye Thomas." She turned and swept out of the room, leaving through the door leading to the back hallway.
"Ogilvy," Drake said, standing aside so that Thomas could pass.
He roughly brushed past Drake and retrieving his coat from a couch in the foyer he quickly left the house, climbed into his waiting carriage and was gone. Drake watched him leave and then went to the library, suspecting that he would find Virginia there. She was curled up in a chair, with a blanket pulled around her.
"Is he gone?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, kneeling by her chair and stroking her hair.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"I thought he might not like what you had to say and would need some encouragement to leave, so I made sure I was around."
There wasn't a fire in the grate, so he quickly set about lighting one and soon a rosy glow settled over the chairs and sofas gathered around the fireplace. He sank into the chair next to hers.
"Drake, I was wondering. Since Billy's going to be gone for such a long time, would you mind staying on in the house with me?"
"Stay here? Just the two of us?" he asked, surprised that she would risk such an impropriety.
"Yes. Just the two of us. Oh, I know it isn't proper, but I don't care. I'd feel safer with you here. Especially now, with Thomas likely so angry with me. Both of us really."
"Yes, I'll stay, if that's what you want."
"Thank you," she said, looking at him gratefully.
He smiled back at her but was wondering in his mind how long it would be before she was mad at him again.
Thomas stormed in the front door of his house, shouting for Doris. He quickly strode into the library and poured himself a large brandy. Doris calmly walked in the door and saw him gulping the liquor.
"What is it Thomas?" she asked worried. Her usually flustered manner was nowhere in evidence, she was calm and very much in control.
"That damn Stratford! Ruined, it's all ruined!" he exclaimed, taking another gulp of his drink.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, still calm, but beginning to feel a sense of dread creeping over her.
Trying to catch his breath, he said to her, "Do you remember the conversation I overheard at the Christmas Ball between Stratford and Virginia?"
"Yes, but..."
"He knew I was below! He arranged it so that I would hear them. So that I would know about what happened between them!" he almost shouted.
Puzzled at what he was talking about, she asked, "But I don't see how..."
"Then last night, I foolishly told him that we're destitute and I'm only interested in her for her fortune..."
"But you said that even if he told her, she wouldn't believe him," she reminded him.
He looked Doris straight in the eye. "He didn't have to. She was on the upper terrace. She heard everything."
The blood drained from her face. Trembling, she sank into a nearby chair. "How did you respond?"
"I tried to talk my way out of it, but she wouldn't listen. And then he showed up and told me to leave." He took another large gulp from his glass.
"Thomas, what are we going to do? She was our only hope," she said with despair.
"I know sister, I know." He poured himself another drink. "Do you know what upsets me the most? I was very much looking forward to breaking her. She's so strong willed and that moment when she fell completely beneath my control would have been so sweet. Now I shall never know it."
Doris was lost in thought for a moment and said slowly, "Perhaps you still have a chance." She looked up at him, hope glimmering in her eyes. "Appeal to her romantic side. Tell her it was the money at first, but now you've discovered that you've fallen in love with her and can't live without her. Say you don't care about the fortune, that it's hers and always will be. Then when you marry her, you simply change your mind and take it for yourself. She'll belong to you and therefore will have no power to get it back.
He looked at her thoughtfully. "That just might work. I'll give her a few days before I go talk to her." He smiled to himself as he took another sip of his drink.
"Well don't wait too long. I'm going to have to let some more maids go this week. If I have to let many more go, I'll be doing the laundry myself."
"Can't you just fire the senior servants and hire new, young ones at a starting wage to save money?"
"You're only suggesting that because you've deflowered every maid we have and you want a fresh batch to prey upon," she said with disgust.
He laughed wickedly. "Oh sister, you know me too well. Who were you planning on dismissing?' he asked.
"Some of the chamber maids. We don't really need so many."
Taking another long sip of his drink he said, "I'll take care of it."
"You?" she asked surprised. "You've never taken part in any staffing functions before."
"Well, this time I shall. Let's begin right now. Send in the first one."
She stared at him suspiciously before leaving the room. A few minutes later there was a timid knock at the door. At his summons a young maid of about twenty entered. She bobbed a quick curtsey.
"You wished to see me sir?" she asked, clearly nervous at being summoned.
Thomas looked her up and down, trying to recall his previous encounter with her. He suddenly remembered, it was in his study. He smiled at the recollection. She had put up quite a struggle.
"What is your name, lass?" he asked.
She looked up at him with surprise, obviously startled that he didn't remember her name after what he had done to her. "Rosy, sir," she said, her face coloring.
His arousal was evident as he asked her to close the door behind her.
Ten minutes later he was buttoning his breeches as the young woman lay across a large desk, pulling down her torn skirts and quietly sobbing. Thomas had been rough with her, venting his frustrations with Virginia.
"Quit your blubbering," he snapped at her. "And get off my desk."
