Captive Splendors Read Online Free Page B

something I found very hard to accept. Camilla tells me that all young girls are impressionable and devious; she calls it women’s wiles. What I’m trying to say to you is that Wren fancies she is in love with and wants to marry a man named Malcolm Weatherly. She plans to have him ask for her hand. The young man is a dandy, a fop of the worst sort.”
    â€œWhat’s this tale you’re peddling, Sinclair?” Regan demanded, leaping from his chair. His intentions were clear to Sirena, who reached out for his arm.
    â€œRegan, hear him out,” she pleaded.
    â€œThank you, Sirena,” Tyler said quietly, grateful for her interference. All signs of inebriation gone, he proceeded to tell them what he knew. “You see, I was unaware of this affair until very recently, and then I learned about it quite by accident From what I’ve been able to gather, Wren met this Weatherly while at the academy. She was shopping in town when she happened to make his acquaintance. She continued to see him without the knowledge of her teachers or the headmistress. This is what I meant about her being devious, or wily, if you prefer. Now that I have the straight of it, I can tell you the whole story. After the nightly bed check made by the dormitory housemother, Wren would slip out and meet Weatherly somewhere on the grounds. It seems that one night the headmistress couldn’t sleep and decided to go to the library for a book. It was there that she discovered the two lovers in what she termed a ‘shocking embrace.’ The headmistress then questioned Wren, who had the good sense to tell the truth. In turn, the matter was brought to my attention with the request to remove Wren from her classes. She came here with a friend of hers, Sara Stoneham, who was a party to the affair. Sara would let Wren back into the dormitory at night after the lovers’ tryst. Her parents are due to arrive in London within the next few days to take her home. I’m afraid they’re quite shocked by the whole matter. They’re Puritans,” he added, as if that explained everything.
    â€œYour Wren is a very determined young lady,” he went on, “and we’ve had to allow Weatherly admittance to see her. If we didn’t, Wren announced that she would run off with him. What would you have had me do, Sirena? Right or wrong, I thought it best to keep her here till you arrived and took matters in your own . . . capable hands. God only knows what would become of her if she ran off with that fop. That’s it,” he concluded, turning about, a high flush on his cheeks.
    â€œDamn your eyes, Sinclair!” Regan roared. “I trust you with my daughter and look what happens! One small favor, that was all we asked, and you couldn’t handle it! It’s a damn good thing you aren’t a parent!”
    Tyler’s eyes were tortured. “I know,” he said morosely, “but now I find that in a few short months I will be. All I can say is I’m sorry for this other news.”
    Sirena leaned back in her chair, her eyes thoughtful. “It’s not your fault, Tyler. I see how it happened, and you’re right. Wren is an impressionable child—at least she was when she left us. I had hoped she would outgrow that quality as time passed. And it wasn’t only I who filled her with tales of the Sea Siren. Frau Holtz allowed the child to cut her teeth on the tales of my derring-do. I place no blame on your shoulders, old friend, nor does Regan. Right now he’s a trifle upset, but when he has time to think on the matter, he’ll realize you are not responsible. We’re at fault. It was a mistake to have sent her here at such an early age. She needed more guidance, more parental love. No, it is Regan and I who are to blame. What we have to do is to look at the matter calmly and arrive at some sort of solution. We cannot alienate Wren; we love her too much. A talk with the man of