Read Online Wickham's Diary by Amanda Grange - Free Book Online

myself.’
    She laughed at me.
    ‘Pockets to let as usual, George?’
    ‘You know me too well,’ I said, turning them out so that she could see how empty they were.
    She raised her eyebrows and went back to her ice, but after a minute or two she said seriously, ‘We’re both getting older, George, even you are not as young as you were. You ought to be thinking of settling down. Marriage is easier for a man, not as restraining. With your silver tongue you ought to be looking for an heiress to marry.’
    ‘I have been thinking in just the same way.’
    She turned and looked at me appraisingly.
    ‘What is it?’ I asked.
    ‘Only this. That I am engaged to be a companion—’
    ‘A companion! I had no idea your salaried position would be so respectable,’ I said. ‘You will never keep it, Belle. You will not be able to hold your tongue when some old harridan starts telling you what to do.’
    ‘I’m not engaged to be a companion to an old harridan, but to a young girl—’
    ‘A young girl!’ I exclaimed. ‘You, Belle! Why, who would employ a woman like you to be a companion to a young girl—begging your pardon, but you know what I mean.’
    ‘Don’t worry, George, I know exactly what you mean. But you see my employer doesn’t know about my history, and who is going to tell him? You?’
    ‘No, of course not, but how did you come by such a post in the first place?’ I asked curiously, for I could not imagine any way in which it could happen.
    She took another spoonful of ice and let it melt slowly on her tongue, then said, ‘I met an old school friend by chance in the circulating library. I went to an elegant seminary, you know, one of the best, a very respectable establishment it was, and frequented by some very good families. My family were respectable, God bless them, when they were alive. But when my parents died, shortly after I left the seminary, I had to fend for myself and—well, you know the rest. Well, I met this friend again, Amelia Campbell, and we exclaimed over the chance and then caught up on all the news, only my version of my history was, as you may well guess, a slightly altered one.’
    ‘Did she not suspect anything? Had she not heard anything of you in the meantime?’
    ‘No, not she. She had married a man in the diplomatic corps and so had spent many years abroad, and she and her husband had only just returned to this country. So she had heard nothing of my years in the demimonde . She saw what she expected to see: an old school friend, somewhat shabbily dressed but as respectable as ever. I quickly saw she could be of use to me, and so I spun her a tale about how I had married a wonderful man, how happy we had been until his tragic death in a carriage accident, my brave struggle to manage since his death, and my poor but respectable life. She, bless her, was full of sympathy and said she knew of an excellent position that might suit me, and before the week was out I was employed. So tomorrow I am to take up my new appointment and in a few weeks we are to go to Ramsgate, where my young lady is to spend the summer; her brother thinks it is too hot for her in London and he wants her to have the benefit of sea air.’
    ‘And you have a plan in mind?’ I asked her.
    ‘Yes, I have, George. This young woman is an heiress.’
    I saw where her thoughts were tending and I began to take more interest in her story.
    ‘An heiress, under your influence,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘And she is to spend the summer at a seaside resort, where she will not be watched very closely. She will be away from her family?’
    ‘She will. She will be there alone with me. She is an orphan,’ she said by way of explanation.
    ‘Better and better. If she is all alone in the world—’
    ‘No, not that. She has a brother, a careful guardian, but he will not be going with her to the seaside. He will, for the most part, remain in London. He has property in the country as well, and he spends his time between the