– Well, in that case, I will not insist on my interference," he said quietly after a pause.

The cousins left the chambers and walked slowly down the long corridor.

– But tell me, why have you forgotten your best friend? – young Cranford asked, remembering Charlotte's letter.

– Did she write to you? – Mrs. Wington replied in a faint voice. – What exactly did she tell you?

– That you have not seen her for two months, that she misses you, but that without realising it, or perhaps even on purpose, you are pushing her away from you.

– No, no, she's wrong… I miss her too… Anthony, you have no idea how much I miss my funny, kind Charlotte," Vivian sighed, but, anticipating more questions from him, continued: – But the last few months have been unbearable, with migraines following me almost every day! And this unnecessary cold I don't need? And the heat? I could not leave the house except to go into the garden, let alone visit Charlotte.

– She was ready to come to you herself," Anthony said, completely unsatisfied with his cousin's story.

– But how would I have accepted her when the only thing that saved me was my bed and wet towels? – shrugged her shoulders. – What would poor Charlotte think if she saw what you saw? I'll tell you, she would have been mistaken in believing that I had married a tyrant.

– Are you so afraid that you cannot convince her otherwise that you hide from her like a hen in her henhouse? – grinned young Cranford.

– What a flattering comparison! – Vivian giggled playfully. – By the way, have you heard that Lady Marlborough's daughter Alexandra is now engaged to a German nobleman? All London is talking about it!

– Don't try to confuse me," Anthony said grimly, and cringed at the thought that the other Alexandra, his sister-in-law Agnes's sister, must have been in Devry by now, wondering why the man she had been promised to meet, or even betrothed to, had disappeared.

– I'm not trying to confuse you, Anthony, I'm just giving you the latest news," her cousin said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Vivian didn't like the fact that he'd guessed her intention to divert the conversation.

– Well, I apologise. But how are you feeling now, with the wind playing outside and the November chill? – Anthony smiled conciliatingly.

– Today? Fairly good.

– Fine. Then we're going to Lillehus.

This announcement so astonished the landlady that she immediately stopped and looked at her cousin with a stunned, disbelieving gaze.

– To Lillehus! – she exclaimed. – For Charlotte to see me like this?

– You forget that it is autumn, my dear, and no one would be surprised to see you in a long-sleeved dress. You can hide your neck under a scarf, as you are now," Anthony said in a firm tone, and led her back to her chambers.

– But what will Jeremy say when he comes home from hunting and doesn't find me at home? – The girl asked worriedly. She was desperate to see her friend, but she was afraid that her husband would be angry at her uncoordinated action.

– We'll leave a note for him. I'll tell him I've taken you to your best friend's house. Call the maid and change your dress," Anthony replied.

– 'But, what if he gets the wrong idea? What if he doesn't believe it?

– He knows my handwriting very well. Besides, your butler has seen me here more than once and will be able to confirm that it was your cousin who took you from the house.

– But…

– No buts. Your friend needs you and would be over the moon to see you tonight.

Anthony's voice was so firm that Vivian believed him, and her soul was filled with joy: she was going to Charlotte! At last! Anthony, her knight, would take her away from the dragon's lair, if only for a little while!

While Jane, radiant at seeing her beloved mistress smiling after long days of sadness and sorrow, was dressing Vivian in one of the beautiful, new dresses which had recently been made for her by the visiting modifiers and seamstresses at the house, Anthony wrote a short note to his friend.

"Dear friend, I am glad to report that I have at last returned to London. The first thing I wished to do on my arrival was to welcome you and my cousin. Alas, however, you are enjoying the hunt at the moment, so I am taking your wife to her friend Miss Salton. There is no need to worry: I will have Vivian home safely by eight o'clock this evening," said the note which Anthony handed to the butler.

Soon, full of happiness, Vivian was sitting in the Wingtons' handsome closed carriage, beside her cousin, who was taking her outside Wington Hall for the first time in three months. She wore a sumptuous muslin dress, long-sleeved but rather low-cut, but the blue stains on her neck were safely hidden by a green scarf, and the half-covered sleeves concealed the bruises on her wrists. A long warm cloak was worn over the dress, and the girl's head was adorned with a pretty hat.

"And why didn't I realise to dress like this earlier? Fool! I could have visited poor Charlotte at least twice… At least once a week! Even bloody Jeremy wouldn't have found anything to object to that!" – Vivian thought, grudgingly to herself.

– I think my husband doesn't like Charlotte," she said, wrinkling her nose to break the silence in the carriage.

– What makes you think so? – Anthony raised his eyebrows.

– I think so," Vivian shrugged her shoulders. – And he told me once that Charlotte was a bad influence on my behaviour. He said she was too free-spirited and frivolous.

– Jeremy said that about Charlotte? – Young Cranford squinted his eyes: this was not pleasant news for him.

– Well, who else would? Who am I married to? – Vivian replied sarcastically. – But I don't care what he thinks. I won't betray my friendship with Charlotte. Jeremy will have to accept the fact that from now on I'll be coming to her and she to me," she added in a firm tone.

– Charlotte? Flippant? – Anthony grinned derisively. – She may be a little naive, but she is not frivolous.

– Tell him that! – Vivian threw her face towards the window. – And please, dear cousin, don't mention Richard in your letters to me. Don't even hint at him: Jeremy once said he wanted to read my correspondence, and I'm afraid that if he found out about Richard he would make an unimaginable scandal, and it would cause me a great deal of inconvenience or even a divorce. And another thing: don't tell him that you saw my bruises, because it will embarrass him.

– Sometimes I feel like we're talking about two different gentlemen. Because the Jeremy Wington I know would never read another man's letters," said Cranford coolly. – But how did you manage to make him fall so in love with you that he married you against all common sense?

– It's simple: when your mother threw me out on the street, it was he who picked me up and fell in love. And when Jeremy's father found out that his son wanted to marry a penniless girl, he sent him away," Vivian said, staring out of the window in an indifferent tone. – But when his father died, Jeremy came to me, confessed his undying love for me, and made me an offer I could not refuse.

– Of course you couldn't, because the marriage had made you so rich," Anthony said ironically. – But do you have any warm feelings for him, or does your heart remain loyal to Richard?

– Do I love Jeremy? – she asked quietly. – Not a bit. But I am grateful to him.

– Grateful? Is that all?

– That's all. Do you think I'm insensitive? – Vivian shrugged her shoulders. – 'This is marriage, my dear cousin. Marriage needs anything but love. And you yourself wish to marry my good Charlotte only for her dowry.

– I was going to," Anthony corrected her gently. – It was at Devry, my brother's estate, that I realised my affection for Miss Salton.