Page 56 of A Treacherous Treasure

“I have heard nothing from the authorities.” She was not about to tell her about all the things Thomas Westbrook had discovered—that the constable was the man who was digging on their property, that there was a pirate’s treasure buried somewhere around there, and that she had found the map showing where. She would tell her none of that. She did not trust the woman in the slightest, and especially since she hated Thomas so much.

“Well. I should think you would try to find out something, put forth the effort, but . . .” She shrugged her shoulder.

Once again, there was silence.

What would the servants think of Mrs. Heywood casting doubt upon her love for Arthur? They were listening, of course. The ones serving dinner were in the very room with them.

The rest of dinner progressed in much the same way, and thankfully, when the meal was over, Mrs. Heywood went straight up to her room with a bottle of Madeira.

“Rebecca, why don’t you sing something for us?” Mother was smiling as they retired to the sitting room.

“Margaret can sing for us tonight,” Rebecca said. “I don’t feel much like singing.”

“Dear, I understand why the things Mrs. Heywood says would wound you, but I think she only says those kinds of things because she is mourning. He was her only child, after all.”

“She said those kinds of things before Arthur died. But it doesn’t matter why she says them, it’s still difficult to hear her say things that are so untrue, to have her misunderstand my feelings and my motives, and for her to have so little concern for me, especially when I’ve tried so hard to be kind and understanding with her.”

“I think she is petty and cruel, like Elinor’s sister-in-law Fanny in the new novel I brought you,Sense and Sensibility.”

“I shall have to read it.” Rebecca smiled at her little sister. What a wise soul Margaret was, even though she was so young. She had already been praying that Margaret and their other sisters would never make the same mistake in marriage that Rebecca had made.

Margaret played and sang, and in the middle of her third song, a servant came and said that Mrs. Heywood had a headache and asked that they stop playing the pianoforte and making so much noise so that she could sleep.

Rebecca wanted to send the servant back upstairs to ask her former mother-in-law when she planned to move out to the cottage behind the house.

She wanted to. But she didn’t.

~ ~ ~

The next day, Thomas had no reason not to go with his family to call on Rebecca, so he went, still feeling the coolness in Benjamin’s demeanor toward him, and also feeling his brother’s low spirits. But better that Rebecca Heywood injure his feelings and put him on his guard now than later.

When they were informed by a conscientious servant, at the door, that Mrs. Heywood—not Rebecca Heywood, but Arthur’s mother—was home, Thomas exchanged glances with his mother.

“I had better go, I think. But you all can stay, if you wish.”

“You can stay too,” Mother whispered. “Rebecca is the lady of the house, nother.”

“I don’t want to cause any trouble for Rebecca, so I’ll go.” He turned and walked back through the woods and fields to Wyghtworth, leaving the carriage for them.

How unfair for Rebecca, to have to deal with that woman’s sharp tongue and cruel accusations. He had heard enough to know, and could well imagine, that that was how Arthur’s mother treated her—with contempt and a complete lack of empathy.

If you married her, she could live at Wyghtworth, away from Mrs. Heywood.

The rebel thought seemed to appear in his mind out of nowhere.

It is Benjamin who is in love with Rebecca, not I, he argued. Besides that, she was Arthur’s wife. Why would he marry Arthur’s wife? The thought just didn’t sit well with him.

How foolish would he be if he married a woman just so she wouldn’t have to live with her cruel former mother-in-law? It was his nature, it seemed, to try to rescue and care for people, often people for whom it was not his responsibility to care. He wasn’t sure why he cared so much and other people didn’t.

But even he could see that it was idiocy to rescue a woman who was herself independently wealthy and could marry any number of men, almost anyone she wanted. She didn’t need him to take care of her or rescue her. She could rescue herself. So why did he still wish to take her out of her situation, to protect her, to make her smile and laugh?

He would overcome this, and knowing that Benjamin cared for her would help.

~ ~ ~

Rebecca watched out the window as Thomas walked back across the yard, back toward his home.

He must have heard that Mrs. Heywood was back, and he of course did not want to cause trouble. But her heart sank at seeing him leave.