Vice and Virtue (26 page)

“No, my dear Flora,” said Edward hurriedly. “Do you remember enough of this man’s looks to describe them more fully?”

Flora tapped her chin with her finger, happy to be the centre of attention. “He wore a suit like any other man, and a wig… Oh! I believe his coat cuffs were decorated with a great deal of gold. I remember how they glinted when he raised his arm to shield his eyes from the sun. I thought he must be very rich. And his hat was very fine, with white plumes.”

“Good God,” said Edward blankly, “Joe Deede.”

“He must have been following you,” said Aurora. “He knew from the start that you were suspicious of your father’s actions. That day in the park, he saw you looking at us, and watched you and Richard follow us out of the park gates. So when he saw me at the Theatre Royal, he had his sister intercept Mrs Fellowes so he could meet me. Not because he thought I was beautiful, as he said, but because he wanted to find out if I was up to mischief.”

“Hah!” interjected Flora. “All the time you thought you were deceiving him, he was deceiving you! How funny!”

“It is not funny, you
child
,” scolded Eleanora. “Aurora was in danger. This is the man who murdered Edward’s father and tried to murder Edward too, remember? I think she is lucky to have escaped with her life. Do you not agree, Edward?”

“Indeed,” said Edward. “But the danger is over now.”

“Unless Celia Deede decides to return with another phial of poison,” said Eleanora, who had been most fascinated by this part of the story.

“She will not,” Edward assured her. “She has nothing to gain by it.”

“Except revenge on you for her brother’s death,” said Aurora, who had also pondered on this. “She loved him every bit as dearly as I love my sisters.”

Edward nodded. “We will be on our guard. The case against Celia will never be tried in court – her flight is an admission of guilt, but there is no proof that Henry Francis was poisoned, or that she administered the poison. However, if she comes within ten miles of her father you may be confident he will put her in the convent and turn the key on her for ever.”

“Then let that be the end of it,” said Mrs Eversedge. An ever-vigilant hostess, she stood up and indicated for Aurora to lead the way out of the room. “A cold collation awaits us downstairs,” she announced. “Roast beef, pies, fresh baked bread, cheese, jellies, sweetmeats, everything. Now, let us have no more talk of crime and punishment, but eat with our hearts at rest. Everything turned out well in the end, though if I had known about it, I swear I would have died myself, of anxiety.”

“I could not tell you, though I longed to,” confessed Aurora.

“Dearest girl!” said Mrs Eversedge with affection. “You are so thoughtful, and very worthy of your husband’s love.”

Flora caught Aurora up, and whispered to her as they entered the dining room. “Speaking of husbands, Richard is not the man I saw in the park, to be sure. But that is not to say he is any less handsome than the man I
did
see. And you know, now I look at Edward more closely, my dear Aurora, and know that he is a skilled horseman and can wield a sword, I consider him quite the hero!”

Aurora took her sister’s arm. “He
is
a hero,” she said. “But his heroism has nothing to do with a horse or a sword.”

Flora frowned. “You do say some odd things sometimes, Aurora,” she said accusingly. “I do not understand you.”

Aurora thought how strange and wonderful it was that her disappointment at her first sight of Edward had become in so few weeks an unbreakable bond. Her feelings had twisted their way through fear, suspicion, horror, triumph, sorrow, compassion and, finally, affection. They had met crossroads and blind alleys; she had taken wrong turnings. But now a clear road lay ahead of her and her dearest Edward, for ever.

“You will,” she said, squeezing her sister’s arm, “when you fall in love.”

Books by the same author

Angelmonster
The Boy-Free Zone
Cassandra’s Sister
Fish Feet
Monkey

Shakespeare’s Apprentice

For younger readers

Dandelion and Bobcat
The
Poppy Love
series

Author biography

Vice and Virtue
is the latest addition to Veronica Bennett’s list of historical novels (
Angelmonster
, based on the life of Mary Shelley;
Cassandra’s Sister
, about the young Jane Austen; and
Shakespeare’s Apprentice
). Inspiration for its heroine, Aurora, came from Sarah Egerton (1670–1723). “Sarah,” explains Veronica, “was an early champion of feminine independence, publishing a feminist pamphlet at the age of sixteen. Extraordinarily, only a year later, she entered into an arranged marriage with a man ten years older than herself. In view of her condemnation of society’s treatment of women, we can only ask … why?”

Veronica Bennett was an English lecturer for several years but now writes full-time. In 2011 she was elected a Hawthornden Fellow. She is married to a university professor and has two adult children.

Find out more about Veronica Bennett and her books by visiting her website at
www.veronica-bennett.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated, as they may result in injury.

First published in Great Britain 2011 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ

Text © 2011 Veronica Bennett
Cover design © 2011 Walker Books Ltd

The right of Veronica Bennett to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-4063-3956-7 (ePub)

www.walker.co.uk