by Abby Ayles
“Your plan has some merit,” he said. “But how shall I know what to write? There is still the matter of bringing the paperwork here.”
“If you have a man you can trust working in London, perhaps he can bring the letters to the house on a regular basis – or to the nearby town, where I could fetch them. Once a day, or once a week, whatever you may feel is suitable. Then you can see everything in a timely fashion and I can write the responses that you compose.”
“You would volunteer your time for this?” he asked. “I will not pay you more because of this. It will be on your own head. Since it is a temporary engagement and not a new position for you, you will be paid as a governess still.”
“I shall be a governess still,” Miss Warrick smiled. “Wild dogs could not convince me to abandon the children. They must continue to learn. But a period of shorter lessons will not harm them. Why, I knew a family who would summer abroad without their governess every year, and those children turned out very well.”
“Don’t convince me too hard, Miss Warrick,” Edmund smiled. “I might begin to think that your employment as a governess is unnecessary for several months of the year, and dismiss you forthwith.”
Miss Warrick shook her head with a smile. “I think you jest with me,” she said.
“That I do,” Edmund laughed.
He, too, was thinking hard. The only other person who might be suited to run the company in his absence was the one person he could never allow to take control: Christopher.
The boy – still a boy, not at all a man in his behaviour – would run the place to the ground in the space of three weeks, let alone six. There was no possibility that Edmund would ever send him in his place.
And yet, who else was there?
“Fine,” he said, decisively. “It is settled. Miss Warrick, you shall play the role of secretary while I need you. Your first order of business will be to write me up some instructions for those at the office. We had better do it now, so that it can be run up to London post-haste, and then we shall begin in earnest on the morrow. Are you up to the task?”
“Certainly, my lord,” Miss Warrick said, sitting daintily in the chair at his desk.
She took out the quill pen and ink, and a leaf of fresh paper, and paused, looking at him expectantly.
Edmund dictated the letter, feeling quite unused to speaking his own words out loud like this. It was strange to see them appearing like magic on the paper, and he wondered if perhaps there was some idea to be had in the thought of getting a secretary for the longer term.
Maybe, after all this was over, he would look into the idea.
Miss Warrick took down the whole letter quite expertly, and when she showed it to him for a check, he found not a single error. He had to admit that he was impressed.
That was the moment he truly decided – she really would be his secretary for a short while. It had been a secret test of his, something for her to complete so that he might try the measure of her abilities.
In this, as in almost every other thing, he did not find her wanting.
Chapter 16
Life had been comfortable again since Joanna had volunteered to work as Edmund’s secretary.
The awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere that had lingered after Christopher’s last visit had at last been dissipated.
It was, however, inevitable that he would visit the house again sooner rather than later.
Perhaps it was only the children that looked forward to seeing him again, but Christopher came, all the same.
He had reason to celebrate with his family, for he had finally been given a promotion from his grade of Second Lieutenant.
He was now serving as a full Lieutenant, though Edmund expressed his doubts as to whether such a position could have been fully owned by his wayward brother.
Joanna knew that, as merely an employee of the house, she should not have heard such a sentiment; though it seemed as though Edmund could not hold back his frustration when Christopher arrived at the home again.
The main bone of contention, it seemed, was the fact that Christopher had insisted upon bringing his friend Jasper Rivers along with him once more.
“Little sister, have you missed me?” Christopher asked loudly as he swaggered into the main hall, leaving Jenkins and the coach driver to transport several bags of his belongings into the house. “I stand before you a ranked officer.”
Patience squealed with glee, making the others present in the hall wince as she ran to embrace her brother. “Christopher! You’re back!”
“Yes, and I have a few days to spare for once,” Christopher said, looking up as Edmund entered the hall, no doubt alerted by the noise. “I hope you don’t mind Jasper coming along with me, brother.”
Edmund gave him a dark look, but nodded his assent.
It was hardly possible for him to turn the man away now, with him standing in the hall and evidently having been promised hospitality.
Joanna watched from the side of the hall, keeping an eye on Patience. She shared Edmund’s misgivings, though her focus was on this new man, Rivers.
Her worry was that Patience, still young and naive in her approach to the world, would be swept away by the glamour of this soldier’s arrival.
How many times have they heard a similar story whispered in scandal, shared among the residents of the local town or passed like wildfire around a ball?
Joanna was also unhappy to see Christopher again, decked out in his newly badged uniform. He had clearly come only to show off his new rank, as well his friend, who he seemed to be rather impressed by.
Such braggart behaviour did not sit well with her.
“I thought that we might engage in a few days of fun,” Christopher said, and immediately began a reason for Joanna to dislike him.
He clearly had no regard for the children’s lessons, and thought that he could take them away from their study whenever he felt like entertaining himself.
She was not the only person who felt this way, as she could see from Edmund’s expression immediately.
“The children are already engaged in their lessons,” Edmund said. “Do you mean to interrupt their education so freely?”
“You take everything so seriously,” Christopher said, laughing. “It will not harm them to have just a few days of fun. This house has become so dour. Allow them to smile and laugh like children for once, will you?”
Edmund bristled, and Joanna noted that his hands were clenching into fists and unclenching again. But his eyes darted towards Rivers, and he swallowed whatever angry words he had been about to say.
“I suppose you leave me no choice,” he said. “The children are already excited by your offer. I will have to allow it.”
The children, who had all gathered around to witness their brother’s arrival, simultaneously cheered. Joanna did not hold that against them.
After all, when offered the chance to play, a child will always take it.
“First, let’s get us settled in our rooms,” Christopher said. “Jasper and I have had a long journey.”
He gestured towards the bags that Jenkins had brought in, as if to say that they should now be put into their proper places.
Edmund snorted. “We have only one room prepared, since you did not see fit to inform us that your friend would be accompanying you. You will have to wait for Mary to set it up. In the meantime, perhaps you would like to rest in the sitting room.”
Christopher stretched his arms above his head.
“No, we have been sitting for a long journey. I’d rather go down to the lake and perhaps indulge in some sports. What say you, Samuel?”
Samuel nodded vigorously, his face lighting up at the idea.
“Fine,” Edmund said, curtly. “Miss Warrick, you will go with them. You are excused from your other duties today.”
Joanna looked at him with some surprise, but when she caught his expression, she understood.
He wanted her to watch over the children, and ensure that C
hristopher was not too reckless in his suggestions. She would not put it past him to allow them to drown in the lake while he admired his own reflection, and Edmund clearly felt the same.
“First we must change,” Joanna said. “Miss Patience, Miss Amy, you will require sun dresses and bonnets. Come with me now and we shall prepare.”
Christopher attempted to protest, but Joanna lifted little Amy onto her hip and took Patience by the hand so that there could be no argument.
She led them up the stairs, turning both her back and a blind ear to whatever Christopher had to say next.
Joanna changed her own clothes quickly, then rushed to help the children.
She was despairing at Christopher’s decision to bring his handsome friend along. Where once she might have thought it good fortune to be in the presence of a dashing young officer, now, with little hope for her own future prospects, she was concerned only for protecting those of Patience.
With her family name, she ought to make a much finer match than Lieutenant Jasper Rivers – and quite easily so, given that he had no money besides his army wage.
Patience insisted on finishing fixing her hair and bonnet by herself while Joanna helped Amy, and the two of them arrived downstairs well before she had finished fussing.
Joanna took the opportunity to rearrange a vase of flowers in the hall, conveniently close to where Edmund was standing.
“My lord, I am anxious to keep Miss Patience apart from our guests as much as we can manage,” she said, keeping her voice low so that only Edmund would hear.
He gave her a look of surprise, but soon regathered his composure and pretended they were discussing something no more serious than the weather. “You think she will be poorly influenced?”
“I cannot help but remember the pianoforte,” Joanna said, casting her eyes over to the sitting room.
She hated to bring up the occasion which had left Edmund so disappointed in her, but the point had to be made.
“I think she will become rather giddy with this officer if she is allowed to spend time in his presence.”
Edmund grunted. “But he is from no kind of family. I gather he worked his way into training from Private. Patience will not be swayed by the kind of man who has no fortune to offer her.”
Joanna bit her lip. “My lord, forgive me, but she is just a girl. She may be swayed by much. I think I would have been, when I was her age.”
Edmund gave her another look, this time lingering for longer. She did not dare meet his eyes to see what kind of expression he was regarding her with.
“At any rate, we cannot be inhospitable to our guest,” he said, at length. “We must allow Christopher his folly. I know he has done this only to irk me, but I refuse to bend to his level and throw our family name into disrepute by turning someone away. You will have to keep a close watch on Patience.”
Joanna nodded, though a terrible anxiety was taking hold of her.
She knew well the way a young girl’s heart could run. It would not be easy for her to keep them apart, nor to stop any affections from growing.
Down by the side of the lake, buried a long walk away from the house, they settled down with blankets and parasols. Amy, Patience, and Joanna rested on the shore while Rivers, Christopher, and Samuel began throwing around a cricket ball.
“Do you think we have fwogs in the lake?” Amy asked, her eyes trained keenly on the water.
“I should think it likely,” Joanna told her. “There may be fish, too. If we were quiet and still, I have no doubt we would also meet a great many birds.”
“Do the birds eat the fishies?” Amy asked, moving over to peer more closely at the lake’s surface.
Joanna quickly followed her, resisting the urge to take hold of the back of her dress just in case. Her hands hovered nearby, unwilling to risk her falling in.
“Yes, many of them do. But it depends on the size of the fishes. A small bird cannot eat a big fish,” Joanna explained. “Do you see, over there on the far shore? There are some small birds playing near the reeds.”
Amy exclaimed with delight, and watch the birds frolicking and picking at the ground for worms.
Joanna smiled to herself. The child was easily amused, but she hoped that natural curiosity would not fade as she grew older.
“Watch out!”
Joanna looked around in alarm, to see the cricket ball sailing perilously close to her face.
She ducked instinctively, and heard it hit the water with a loud splash.
“Oh, Samuel, why did you do that?” Christopher complained. “We’ll have to fish it out now. We only brought the one ball with us.”
“Sorry, Christopher,” Samuel said, clutching his hands together. “I didn’t mean to.”
Joanna took one look at Samuel’s piteous face and felt a righteous fury spread through her.
How dare Christopher tell him off like that? He should have known that Samuel’s athletic gifts were much affected by his illness – besides which, he was only a child.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Samuel,” she called out. “It was only an accident. Perhaps you ought to take your game further from the lake. It was only a matter of time before the ball would go into the water, no matter who threw it.”
Samuel looked a little cheered at her words, which helped ease the anger she felt.
Still, she gave Christopher a hard look as he passed by to try and find the ball. She did not care at that moment if he would start a fuss, or try to have her dismissed for insolence.
She would not have him talk to Samuel in that way.
Rivers walked by to join Christopher on the shore.
Both of them had spotted the ball, resting at the bottom of the lake in an area where the water was a little shallower. Now, their discussion seemed to centre around who would go in to get it.
“It’s not too deep,” Christopher said. “You can probably just wade in.”
“I think you might even be able to reach it from here,” Rivers argued. “If you lean, say.”
“It’s impossible to reach it that way without getting wet,” Christopher argued. “You would be up to the shoulder.”
“I don’t mind,” Rivers countered.
He shrugged off his vibrant red jacket quickly, placing it with some reverence a clear distance from the muddier shore. In his shirtsleeves, he began rolling up the bottom of his breeches and taking off his shoes.
“Miss Patience, perhaps we should get some gentle exercise,” Joanna suggested quickly. “A walk around the lake would do.”
“I’m tired,” Patience said, not taking her eyes off Rivers as he continued to prepare for his wade.
“Nonsense,” Joanna said, getting up and standing over her with her hands on her hips.
“Come along, young lady. A good walk will do much for your health. If you are tired, it is because we have not walked enough in the past. Come now.”
Patience got up reluctantly, and trailed along behind Joanna as she led Amy by the hand.
Joanna watched her closely, but could not find any way to dissuade her from staring at the men, even as they rounded the opposite side of the lake.
Rivers stood bare-footed with his breeches pulled up to his knees, and even rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, before wading into the water.
He gave a shout at the low temperature of the lake, causing Christopher to laugh until Rivers kicked a spray of water back towards him.
“Look at these birds over here,” Joanna said, pointing to a clutch of them sitting closely to the shoreline. “See how they do not move when we approach? I would bet they are protecting something, likely a nest. If they had nothing to stay for, they would scatter as soon as they heard us coming.”
“Where’s the nest?” Amy asked eagerly, looking amongst the reeds for some sign of it.
Patience, however, still had not looked away from Rivers, and Joanna found herself running out of tactics to distract her.
He waded further out into the lake, until the bottom of his
breeches was wet even despite the rolling. Then he reached down, plunging his arm in up to the shoulder and emerging with the ball clasped in his hand.
“He found it,” Patience said, excitedly.
On the other shore, Samuel and Christopher both whooped and cheered while River waded back, carrying the ball aloft as if it were a great trophy.
“Perhaps we should rest here awhile, and take a look at these trees,” Joanna said, taking Patience by the arm. “We may be able to gather some wildflowers that would look darling in a vase in the main hall.”
