Madcap Miss Read Free Page B

wife ’ s grandmother. ”
    Grace, listening closely, discerned an inconsistency in his first speech. “ Was? Surely she is not dead. You said you were going to visit her. ”
    “ Ah, no, my wife is dead. Lady Healy is alive and kicking. She has come down from Scotland to see about being rid of Willowcrest. She is old, in her seventies, and not at all well. She has never seen Augusta and is eager to do so. It would mean a good deal to her. ”
    “ Then why did you not bring your daughter with you? ”
    “ She is out of the country. Lady Healy will think she is seeing her when she sees you. I ought to warn you, she is a — trifle eccentric. ”
    “ If you mean she is a raving lunatic, pray say so, ” Grace said sternly.
    A small smile parted his lips, to hear such authority issue from what appeared to be a child ’ s mouth. “ You will find I say what I mean. She is a trifle eccentric, no more, Miss Jones. ”
    “ My name is Farnsworth. ”
    “ So you say. ” Her chin jutted forth, but he spoke on before she could challenge him. “ I don ’ t blame you for lying to that wretched woman, I lied myself. ”
    “ If you are not Mr. Whewett, pray who are you? ”
    “ Mr. Dalmy, but it would be more proper to call me Lord Whewett. ”
    Grace was overcome with new doubts. She had never known a lord to hide his light under a bushel, but for a commoner to assume a handle to his name was nothing new. “ You don ’ t look like a lord. ”
    His head rose, his nostrils pinched, and he said “ Indeed! ” in what Grace concluded could only be a noble fit of pique. “ I am Lord Whewett, not that it is either here or there. About Lady Healy — she is not only eccentric, but very rich. It has been the custom in the family for the wife ’ s portion to go to the daughter. Lady Healy has managed to outlive both her daughter and granddaughter. If she doesn ’ t outlive my Augusta as well, her fortune will go to her. Lady Healy has expressed, rather imperatively, a desire to see her heir. Augusta was on holiday in Ireland with my sister when the summons came. As Lady Healy makes only a short visit, it is impossible to get Augusta back in time. ”
    “ Why do you not just tell her so? ”
    “ You have, no doubt, heard the old clich é , ‘ Oh, what a tangled web we weave ...' I have been lying to Lady Healy for years. She has often asked me to send Augusta to her in Scotland. First I made the excuse she was too young to travel, because I did not want to subject the poor child to such an ordeal. Augusta is shy, and Grandma Healy is — how shall I say it? She is autocratic, self-centered, a grande dame of the old school. She would frighten my Gussie to death, so I invented a weak constitution for my daughter. To hear Augusta is well enough to have jauntered off to Ireland might cause Lady Healy to settle the estate elsewhere for spite. I do not wish to lose my daughter her inheritance because of my doings. The money belongs to Augusta by rights, and I mean to see she gets it. I had intended to claim my daughter had taken a turn for the worse. It would be infinitely preferable if I could produce a daughter. ”
    “ You have chosen your new daughter poorly, sir. I do not have a frail constitution. ”
    “ Her grandmother will be delighted at the improvement. I receive long screeds of suggested treatments. You might claim a headache or upset stomach during the visit, ” he suggested.
    Grace felt her interest rising, almost in spite of herself. “ What does your daughter look like? ” she asked.
    “ That does not matter. Lady Healy ’ s never seen her. ”
    Grace was shocked at the lapse. “ Have you not even sent her a picture? ”
    “ Yes, of a three-year-old Augusta. Your coloring is not so different, except that Gussie has blue eyes. She is thinner, too. You are not so very unlike my late wife. You could pass for her daughter. ”
    Grace felt her fears lessen at this description. So long as Whewett considered her