Reluctant Widow Part II

 The discussion is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Carlyon's youngest brother Nicky, who is at Oxford.  He had been sent down for a prank, and on his way, he met Eustace in an inn.. Eustace was drunk and made unkind remarks about Carlyon, which infuriated the young man.  They got into a fight, Eustace tried to attack Nicky with a knife and ended up stabbed himself.

Nicky, shocked and scared, tells his brother that their cousin is dying. Edward Carlyon tells Elinor, that if she comes with him to the inn she and Eustace could be married, and it would save him from having to inherit his estate.  Elinor is in a state of shock and agrees.  She and Eustace are married, by special licence and Edward sends her back to the house, Highnoons, while he helps his  cousin to make his will, and leave his property to Elinor. 

The following morning, she wakes up to find she is a widow, and owner of a badly run estate and a shabby house.  She sets about getting it cleaned up, and hiring more servants. A couple of days later, she finds a man in one of the rooms, who tells her that he is a friend of Eustaces, and he had come in through a private door, to see his friend.

He is a French emigre, named Louis de Castres who had been brought up in England, and Elinor is highly suspicous of her late husband's conduct.. as it seems odd that he would walk into the house as he has done.  The Carlyons wonder if possibly Louis is a French spy, and if Eustace has been selling information about Wellington's war plans to a  Bonapartist.  His uncle, Lord Bedlington, is an ADC to the Regent  and has access to the War office. 

Elinor is concerned about the danger to herself  if she stays in the house until it is sold, with strange people coming in and out through secret passages, but the Carlyon family, particularly Edward are very cool about it.  Eventually, it emerges that Lord Bedlington has been selling information, as he is not very bright and not very well off... Francis, his dandified son, persuades him to retire from his job with the Regent and sell off the family mansion.. 

Edward proposes to Elinor, who although she finds him exasperating has fallen in love with him.   She decides to sell off the estate as quickly as possible, and to marry Edward when her period of mourning is over. 

The book has its fun moments, a lot of them related to Elinor's common sense reactions to the intrusion of spies and over large dogs into her house and her desire to concentrate on her housewifely duties.