Regency Buck Part III

Judith and Perry try to get on with Lord Worth but he is quite a strict guardian. Judith feels that he does not like any of her suitors, and particularly dislikes Bernard Taverner. She becomes uneasy, since Worth is a dandy and fond of gaming and she hears rumours that he might be looking out for a rich wife. She herself has a large fortune and if her brother were to die without an heir, she would inherit most of his fortune as well. She is concerned when Worth has them to stay at his country house for Christmas, Perry receives a jar of snuff as a present but does not know who sent it, and he becomes unwell while staying there. However he recovers and she tries not to worry. Lord Worth's brother, Charles, is a soldier in the Peninsula and he's home on leave due to an injury. He flirts with Judith and she likes him but does not take him seriously. She also receives a proposal from the Duke of Clarence (a real life royal) who was at that time looking for a rich wife. She turns him down, with backing from her guardian. Perry has been enjoying society life, and has fallen in love with a shy girl of modest means, called Harriet Fairford. Worth aftera time agress to an engagement and in due course Perry's engagement is announced. Judith has been uneasy about Worth, but his allowing Perry to become engaged shows that he is not trying to prevent his ward from fathering heirs. Worth asks Perry to come round to his house to sign some papers, and after that he does not return home. Judith is a bit worried when he does not come home, and tries to allay her worries. However, she then has a visit from Bernard Taverner, who tells her he can take her to Perry who has been injured. Judith goes with him, feeling uneasy, and he drives her to a cottage outside town, where there is a woman who takes her in. Judith now very scared asks what is going on... and Taverner tells her that he loves her, but he also needs a rich wife, and he is prepared to compel her to marry him. Horrified, she realises that if she is kept in this house, she will be compromised and perhaps may have to marry her cousin. She tells him that if he needed money, he had only to ask her or Perry and they would help him out. To her amazement, Worth breaks in and tells her that her cousin was not likely to settle for a bit of help when he could get hold of 2 fortunes by marrying her and killing Perry.