Free The Lost And Found Girl by Catherine King Page A

a girl I shall swap her for a boy born to some local family. Milo tells me it has been known to happen where fortunes are concerned.’
    And there is a considerable fortune at stake here, Beth thought. She remembered from her marriage ceremony that Milo wanted the Redfern living and she wondered what other favours Edgar had promised him.
    ‘Dear God, Mama, she had better give me a son. It will secure me an income, for his lordship will consider it his duty to settle a trust on the boy that I shall control as the boy’s father.’
    If her dowry had gone, Beth wondered where his money was coming from at present.
    Beth’s favourite spot for her afternoon rest was a window seat on the landing that faced west. Not only was it sheltered from the cold easterly winds but it also had a view of the track down to the stream. While Mrs Collins slept, she curled up and watched for the surgeon’s trap to appear, constantly worried that he had not led it safely over the bridge.
    She had eaten as well as she dared for any excess gave her lingering heartburn and she hoisted her feet onto the ledge and covered them with a warm woollen blanket while she allowed her food to digest. Dusk came early as the days shortened towards winter and she had to peer through the gloom but, yes, two riders were approaching. As they neared she saw that it was Edgar and Milo. Milo’s carriage was following at a distance behind.
    When they swept into the farmhouse yard below her she heard Edgar say, ‘Leave the horses, Milo. Shipton has taken over from Roberts and he will see to them.’ She remembered that Milo was the clergyman who had married them and a long-standing friend of her husband. The draught from the door rushed up the stairs and riffled her skirts as they entered. She heard their boots echo on the floorboards and then the sound of sparks flying as he added logs to the fire. They were almost beneath her and she could hear their voices clearly.
    ‘Sorry about taking the carriage back, Edgar old chap, but you know how these things work. I shall need to impress the ladies.’ He laughed. ‘I should have kept Elizabeth Smith for myself.’
    ‘You’re a vicar with a good stipend. You’ll find an heiress, surely?’
    ‘I am the son of a brewer and my parish is on the edge of a middle-class town.’ Milo sounded doubtful. ‘Were it Redfern Abbey with its fine rectory and prosperous village, I might be able to tempt some minor aristocrat.’
    ‘The Abbey living will be yours just as soon as his lordship dies, I promise you.’
    ‘That could be years away. He is old but I am reliably informed he has a sound constitution. My vocation requires me to take a wife and I have put it off for too long already. Like you, I have no family trust to draw on so I must marry into money.’
    ‘What about one of the daughters from Fellwick Hall?’
    ‘I’m afraid they are too coarse and tweedy for my parish. They like their country pursuits too much to settle in a town.’
    ‘Then you must look to the towns for your bride. Redfern coal mines have been feeding manufactories all over the South Riding. Many fortunes have been made already.’
    ‘Indeed. Commercial and trades men like my father have prospered as a result. A successful merchant would pay well to see his daughter married to a respectable clergyman.’
    ‘I believe you’re right. Have you anyone in mind?’
    ‘Not yet. But I shall have invitations over the festive season. The town matrons hold
soirées
in town – musicians and singers, card tables and suppers. I am a presentable bachelor and with my own carriage I am sure I shall be popular with the well-off daughters in my parish. I plan to be wed within the year.’
    ‘Let’s sit by the fire and drink to that.’
    Beth returned to her chamber and heaved her bloated body onto the high bed. It was November and there was a good fire. She had been moved to a large bedchamber next to Edgar’s in readiness for the birth. Although he never