60. Helena makes 'arrangements'

With all of my travelling around, some nights I slept alone, either when I was at Rogeringham Hall or staying somewhere else. I missed Helena greatly, and when I returned to her presence, her smile, her touch, the sight of her coral-coloured nipples and her alabaster breasts, never failed to arouse me.

However, on one occasion it was my mother and not me that had to leave our bed.

Helena received a note from her brother that her father was very ill, and he had asked that she travel out to Guildford, in Surrey to see him. She would be there for a couple of days, and it was decided that she would take Caroline and Hermione with her, as both of them were soon to be married, and Helena was concerned that her father might not be able to attend the weddings of his grand-daughters. Charlotte also went with them as she has great affection for the old man.

On the morning of her departure, with Mr Hopley, one of the footmen and Phoebe, her maid accompanying them, Helena leaned in and gave me a chaste kiss upon my cheek, before informing me quietly that "I have made arrangements, you should enjoy them."

I was busy myself that day. Mr Langton, my lawyer, was in town for the start of our court-case against Sir Montague Fellowes at the Old Bailey. I attended as the plaintiff, which was the reason I could not go with Helena. It was quite interesting and Mr Langton - assisting the barrister for the prosecution - appeared to actually be enjoying himself. He later confided to me that it was a pleasure to be out of his office and in front of a judge for a change, but for myself I could not help wondering what my mother's parting words meant.

That evening my sisters and I dined early because I was escorting them to a performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the newly rebuilt Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

It was a busy evening, we saw, and were seen with the Dorringtons; Her Majesty acknowledged us, and the twins drew the usual crowd of admiring young men, both before we were seated and at the interval. Herr Mozart's opera is one I normally enjoy quite a lot, it is clever and lively and if it is done well, most entertaining. Alas, I could not settle to it. My mind was constantly dwelling on my mother's words. Margaret noted my distraction and advised me that the opera was very well done - in case anyone asked me how it had been.

When we returned to Rogeringham House, there was a note from Mr Langton about the case and what had happened after my departure that afternoon. I spent some time reading it, in case a response was needed. Fellowes' lawyer had offered a settlement of the case, but Langton suggested that the offer was almost insulting and that we should reject it.

Mr Langton is a particularly intelligent sort of chap, and his arguments in the court, via Mr Black, the barrister - those I had followed when I wasn't distracted - were particularly insightful. Between them, they had run legal rings around the defence, whose main tactic had been to argue that the case that we had brought was no case at all, and had no merit, so it should be dismissed. Our argument was simple - Fellowes had conspired with Alfred Dodgson, pressuring him over three properties that rightfully belonged to the Rogeringham estate - which Dodgson had then fraudulently transferred into his own name. Fellowes knew that the properties had not been Dodgson's to sell, but he still planned to buy them off him and then sell portions of them to the canal company, of which he was also a part.

Fortunately, due to Emily Dodgson providing both sets of books and Dodgson's own habit of keeping all documents, we had the proof in the form of receipts; and because of that there was no need to bring Emily up to London from Rogeringham to bear witness. Apparently, Fellowes's lawyer did not see the need for that either; probably because she would have provided a better witness for us due to Fellowes attempts at coercing her, than she would have been for them.

Mr Black, the barrister, had dealt with all of the defence's arguments, dismantling the situation clearly and eloquently, and the offer by the defence to settle was clearly an attempt to avoid further pain and embarrassment, if Sir Montague was to be found guilty.

I agreed with Langton's assessment and sent him back a note saying so, to his chambers at Lincoln's Inn.