Free The Heiress Companion by Madeleine E. Robins

Lord
Slyppe?”
    Margaret giggled. “Wait until Susannah is old enough to offer
him!” she replied, cheerfully sacrificing her younger sister. Rowena, watching
the younger woman laugh a little painfully, thought that Ulysses Ambercot’s
presence and this same laughter were probably doing as much as Mrs. Teggetbury’s
salve and Dr. Cribbatt’s sedatives to speed her cousin’s recovery.
    The person Rowena found herself wondering about was Lyn
Bradwell. His interest in Margaret had been quite open on his arrival, and he
was a dependable visitor to both the sickrooms, telling Margaret and Jane
stories so outrageous that one or the other was bound to protest that he was
bamming them shamefully. After the first week in the sickroom, Jane fell into
the habit of spending the days with Margaret, so a visit to one became a visit
to both. Mr. Bradwell’s manner to both Margaret and Jane was friendly and
courteous, albeit a trifle amused. Rowena entertained the notion that perhaps he
had simply given up hopes of Margaret in the face of Lully Ambercot’s
persistence, or he was hiding a hurt beneath his facade of good humor and good
manners.
    “All of which is nothing to me, in any case,” she told
herself sternly, and went to consult Mrs. Coffee about the orders for tallow
and wax candles.
    Eliza Ambercot and her mother were frequent visitors too,
often driving over with Ulysses to spend an afternoon. Anne Ambercot would
usually stay a while in the invalid’s room, visiting with her daughter and the
girl she began to hope to have as daughter-in-law. Margaret, blissfully unaware
that she was being passed upon, exerted herself to be pleasant to Ulysses’
mother (insofar as she could exert herself,
flat upon her back and still swathed in bandages) and found herself liking the
lady extremely. But after an hour spent in the sickroom, Mrs. Ambercot was
happy to refresh herself in the company of Lady Bradwell, stating that she was
tired of forever stepping on her son, not to mention over Jack Bradwell. The
two older ladies sat and gossiped leisurely over biscuits and chocolate; if
having two invalids in the house to care for had returned much of her former
energy to Lady Bradwell, having an old friend immediately to hand to talk and
plot with very nearly completed her cure.
    Miss Eliza, on the other hand, never seemed to be satisfied
no matter where she was. If she visited Jane it was only for a few minutes, for
Jane would tire of her flutterings and airs, and ultimately would dismiss her.
Then she would flutter over to Margaret, where the good-humored Meg would
listen to her for an hour rather than send Ulysses’ sister away. Usually, it
was Lully himself who sent Eliza off, recommending that she pick flowers and
stay out of trouble, which recommendation did not endear him to the heart of
his younger sister. Again Eliza would visit Jane, in hopes that Mr. Bradwell
might be there. After all, she reasoned, if that odious Margaret was taken up
with Ulysses, perhaps Lord Bradwell or his brother would be found in Jane’s
circle.
    Jack Bradwell very often was, as a matter of fact. Both Jane
and Lord Bradwell, if asked, would have insisted that all they talked of was
the stables, and indeed, as Eliza and Rowena could vouch for, most of their
conversation did seem to center about depth of chest, good hocks, and a showy
coat. If Jane ever tired of the subject she did not say so, and if Rowena, Lyn
Bradwell, Ulysses, or Mrs. Ambercot thought the conversation in Jane’s corner
of the sickroom remarkably limited when Lord Bradwell was a visitor, they were
too well-mannered to mention it. Eliza Ambercot most adamantly thought that the
conversation was a bore, but knew better than to admit it. After all, Lord
Bradwell was Lord Bradwell, as well as
being Mr . Bradwell’s brother, and a wise
young lady took care of what she allowed the gentlemen to hear. Mrs. Ambercot,
in fact, sometimes wondered why Eliza seemed to be somewhat more restrained