– '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.

Vivian looked at her cousin's face with interest, trying to determine whether he was lying about his love for her friend, but Anthony had such a calm and happy smile on his lips that she believed his words and sincerely congratulated him on his truly honourable choice. They were unable to discuss this savoury subject, however, for in a few minutes the carriage stopped and the coachman shouted loudly, "Here we are, ma'am!"