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Authors: Ashleigh Bingham
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Victoria out of her clutches. I warned you that she would ruin Victoria just as she did Caroline. And now look at what that wretched old harridan has done to us!’ His voice broke and he shook his fist.
‘No! Don’t say that, Papa! Please listen to me, please listen ! You have always understood me, so I beg you to hear me now when I tell you about Peter and what a truly fine man he is. Then you’ll understand how I fell in love with him. Here, Mama, please open his letter and read what he has to say. He is strong and handsome and clever and brave. Here, please take it.’
Her mother’s lips curled. She took the envelope between her thumb and finger, then holding it at arm’s length as if it was filled with something contagious, she swept across the room and flung it into the fire.
‘Now, this is never to be mentioned again, do you hear me?’ She turned and pointed a finger accusingly. ‘Think of the scandal; think what delight it would give Lady Marchant and her ilk to hear that you had eloped with such a low-class creature! Do you hear me, Victoria? I will not have another word about it! This marriage never took place!’
‘Papa!’ Victoria looked pleadingly towards her father for understanding. But when she saw none, her dismay flamed into anger. ‘You have always been the one person I thought would never abandon me. Papa, I thought you loved me!’
She unfolded the marriage certificate and held it towards him. ‘Well, look at this. Look, look! No matter what Mama might say, here is the proof that my marriage certainly did take place! This document shows that I am the lawfully wedded wife of Peter Latham, Master Mariner,and here are the signatures of eighteen witnesses who will testify to having seen us make our vows. It’s a perfectly legal certificate and any court will agree, as you know.’
‘No!’ Her mother’s eyes filled with venom. ‘No, no, no!’ She rushed forward, snatched the paper, tore it, screwed the pieces into a ball and threw it, too, into the fire. ‘Now where is the proof that you’re married, you shameful creature?’ Her voice developed a harsh, metallic ring. ‘No, no, no, I will not have it. It – did – not – happen!’
‘It’s no use, Mama.’ Victoria glared at her defiantly. ‘You can burn all the papers you like, but the captain has recorded our marriage in the ship’s log. I am, and always will be, the legal wife of Peter Latham. He’s coming back for me one day, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life at sea with him, sailing the world, seeing the wonders—’
‘ Noooooo! ’ Lady Mary’s screams reached a pitch that brought the butler and a footman bursting into the room in time to see their mistress swing her hand and strike Miss Victoria hard across her face.
‘Get out of my sight, you wanton! Get out!’
The heavy blow threw Victoria off-balance and sent her stumbling backwards. She was forced to grasp the edge of a table to stop herself from falling when her father stepped aside and turned his back to her. His rejection hurt even more than her mother’s blow had done.
‘Papa, please, please don’t do this to me! Hear what I have to tell you. You’ve always listened to me!’ But he remained slumped in his chair with his chin on his chest and his shoulders shaking.
The startled servants rushed forward in time to support Lady Mary as her legs began to buckle.
Victoria stiffened her spine and clutched the remnants of her dignity as she walked silently from the room, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her cheek, as well as the pain in her heart.
Her night was filled with a sense of unreality. How could her life have been turned so completely upside down within the space of half an hour? When she closed her eyes, the appalling scene with herparents in the drawing room triggered old images of the day that she and her sisters had been travelling with their governess in a carriage which broke a wheel and overturned on a country lane. She
‘No! Don’t say that, Papa! Please listen to me, please listen ! You have always understood me, so I beg you to hear me now when I tell you about Peter and what a truly fine man he is. Then you’ll understand how I fell in love with him. Here, Mama, please open his letter and read what he has to say. He is strong and handsome and clever and brave. Here, please take it.’
Her mother’s lips curled. She took the envelope between her thumb and finger, then holding it at arm’s length as if it was filled with something contagious, she swept across the room and flung it into the fire.
‘Now, this is never to be mentioned again, do you hear me?’ She turned and pointed a finger accusingly. ‘Think of the scandal; think what delight it would give Lady Marchant and her ilk to hear that you had eloped with such a low-class creature! Do you hear me, Victoria? I will not have another word about it! This marriage never took place!’
‘Papa!’ Victoria looked pleadingly towards her father for understanding. But when she saw none, her dismay flamed into anger. ‘You have always been the one person I thought would never abandon me. Papa, I thought you loved me!’
She unfolded the marriage certificate and held it towards him. ‘Well, look at this. Look, look! No matter what Mama might say, here is the proof that my marriage certainly did take place! This document shows that I am the lawfully wedded wife of Peter Latham, Master Mariner,and here are the signatures of eighteen witnesses who will testify to having seen us make our vows. It’s a perfectly legal certificate and any court will agree, as you know.’
‘No!’ Her mother’s eyes filled with venom. ‘No, no, no!’ She rushed forward, snatched the paper, tore it, screwed the pieces into a ball and threw it, too, into the fire. ‘Now where is the proof that you’re married, you shameful creature?’ Her voice developed a harsh, metallic ring. ‘No, no, no, I will not have it. It – did – not – happen!’
‘It’s no use, Mama.’ Victoria glared at her defiantly. ‘You can burn all the papers you like, but the captain has recorded our marriage in the ship’s log. I am, and always will be, the legal wife of Peter Latham. He’s coming back for me one day, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life at sea with him, sailing the world, seeing the wonders—’
‘ Noooooo! ’ Lady Mary’s screams reached a pitch that brought the butler and a footman bursting into the room in time to see their mistress swing her hand and strike Miss Victoria hard across her face.
‘Get out of my sight, you wanton! Get out!’
The heavy blow threw Victoria off-balance and sent her stumbling backwards. She was forced to grasp the edge of a table to stop herself from falling when her father stepped aside and turned his back to her. His rejection hurt even more than her mother’s blow had done.
‘Papa, please, please don’t do this to me! Hear what I have to tell you. You’ve always listened to me!’ But he remained slumped in his chair with his chin on his chest and his shoulders shaking.
The startled servants rushed forward in time to support Lady Mary as her legs began to buckle.
Victoria stiffened her spine and clutched the remnants of her dignity as she walked silently from the room, trying to ignore the stinging pain in her cheek, as well as the pain in her heart.
Her night was filled with a sense of unreality. How could her life have been turned so completely upside down within the space of half an hour? When she closed her eyes, the appalling scene with herparents in the drawing room triggered old images of the day that she and her sisters had been travelling with their governess in a carriage which broke a wheel and overturned on a country lane. She
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