“About what?”
“Her. I thought you would ferret it out before now. Especially given what you asked him that first day.”
“Ferret out what?”
“Why he wanted to avoid the Marriage Mart. All those balls and soirees, young women prancing about as if they were on sale in a jeweler’s window.”
“He insisted he did not have the time.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon gave a dismissive wave. “Nonsense. He could have secured a willing bride at the first ball if he had set his mind to it. Or at least a willing prospect.” She took another sip, then clasped her hands together, a sly smile on her face. “They call women the weaker sex, my girl, but the truth is that men are far more fragile. They bully and bluster and rampage, but it takes very little to lay one low.”
“Who is she?”
“Who she is, Sarah, is quite irrelevant. What she was is far more to the point.”
Sarah squeezed her hands together in frustration. “Sowhatwas she?”
“Her father had a courtesy title, one of those King George hands out every New Year’s. They had money but no real position. They had friends who invited them to some events of the season, but she was after something loftier, more secure.”
Understanding settled over Sarah. “I have known such women. You are saying she set her sights on Matthew Rydell.”
“Or his brother Mark. The others were too young at the time. Normally fathers instruct their sons about such women, but she was sly, quite coy. Caught all three men unaware.”
“I bet the duchess saw through her.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon smiled. “So you have met the Duchess of Embleton?”
“She is a remarkable woman.”
“A fierce ally and a formidable enemy. Yet her sons do not always listen to her.”
“More fools they.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon gave a low laugh. “Indeed.”
“What happened?”
“Truth be told, Matthew is no fool, never was, but he has always been somber, of a serious nature. He was young and still believed that young women were more interested in love than ascendency. She captured his heart, and his suit was a beautiful thing to watch. Fortunately, his brother was not so blindered. Mark was a cynic out of the womb. He caught her in one lie after another. He went on a campaign to expose her, and the brothers eventually came to blows. Her manipulations almost tore the family apart before Matthew saw her for what she was. The fact that she took joy in the drama, the damage she caused, was almost as devastating to him as her betrayals.”
“His family is his world.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon nodded, then sipped more tea, watching her. Sarah let out a long sigh. “You knew all this.”
“I have been watching you for years, Sarah. Your father was a dear friend. I have watched your devotion to him, to your servants. Even to that bastard you married. Most women would have taken relief in a lover. You did not. I know what you are capable of. Matthew has eight surviving siblings of whom he is now in charge. The duchess can oversee Daphne, the daughter, but they need another strong presence in that house. His heart may never heal, you need to accept that. But I have not seen two more well-suited people in a long time.”
“And how much is he paying for this well-suited partner? I know he will pay off the mortgage on my home, but how much more am I worth to you both?”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon stilled. “I never discuss finances. I will say that a man who has his life planned out and is determined to make that plan come to fruition does not see money as an obstacle.”
“Not if he has it to spend. So we have come full circle. He has bought a bride in the same way that my father sold me to Owen Ainsworth.”
“It is hardly the same—”
“Does he know I cannot have children?”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon pursed her lips a moment. “He knows you did not have children with Crewood.”
Sarah blinked. “You think that it was Owen who could not sire children?”
“Just as I know you, Sarah, I knew Crewood. You did not take a lover. He did. Several over the years. None of them have children.”