“Yes,” he said quietly. “Miss Fitzgerald, I do hope that my suggestion is not insulting to you.”
“It is not insulting at all, Lord Addison. I am not keen either to ever feel so very low again.”
“But I think it is important if you and I finally do agree to what would be, essentially, a marriage of convenience, that we at least get on. So far, I must admit, that I think we get along very well indeed. But perhaps you would be comfortable with a brief period in which we could come to know each other enough to be confident that such a marriage would work between us.”
“Yes, I think that very sensible, Lord Addison.”
“Although I am very aware of the need for a conclusion very soon, for your own sake. I would not keep you waiting when I know that you have but five months left here at Tarlton. I think it would be a very good idea for us to see much of each other in the coming weeks, if you find that you are, finally, agreeable to what I suggest.”
“Lord Addison, I shall give everything you have said very thorough thought, and I shall let you know as soon as I am able. And please understand that I shall not think of anything else until I have come to a conclusion and that I will not keep you waiting either. If you authorize me to do so, I should like to discuss the matter a little with my mother and sister.”
“Oh yes, of course. You must discuss it with them and take their opinions to your heart, Miss Fitzgerald. I would not seek to do anything which would hurt you, for I realize that you have been hurt enough already. And if you decide that you cannot go through with such a thing, I should like to assure you of my friendship in the future. I will understand entirely if this is something which your heart cannot support. After all, what I am asking of you is a lifetime of simple, loveless companionship. That is an awful lot to ask a person.”
“But perhaps it is not so much to ask of somebody when they truly seek nothing more themselves.” She smiled and turned as if to walk them both back towards the house.
“Perhaps you would write to me, Miss Fitzgerald when you have come to your conclusion?”
“I will write you immediately, Sir. You may expect my answer very soon.”
Chapter 9
As Emmeline, her sister, and mother, set off in the carriage on their way to Addison Hall, she felt a little nervous. Within a day of her writing to him to confirm that she would be willing to go ahead with a most unromantic courtship, he had written back to invite Emmeline and her family for afternoon tea with himself and his cousin, Algernon Rochester.
“I wonder why it is he has invited Algernon Rochester also,” Rose said inquisitively as their carriage bumped along.
“Well, Mr Rochester is his cousin,” Emmeline began. “And perhaps it would be nice for him to have a little family support today. After all, I think that Mr Rochester is his closest living relative. The Earl is not as fortunate as I am.” She smiled.
“Yes, it is not such an easy thing to receive the family of a woman you have recently proposed to. There is bound to be all sorts of awkwardness as there always is in these things,” Constance chattered happily, and Emmeline wondered if her mother had chosen to view the entire circumstance as something very much more romantic than it really was.
When she had first told her mother and sister of the Earl’s very open and honest proposal, she had seen how relieved they were. At that moment, they had been saved, and any ideas of romance and happiness were very far from their minds. Actually, it was very much the same for Emmeline herself. She had had to hold back a little from saying that she would immediately agree to marry him and that he need only name the day. The moment he spoke, the moment he made his proposal, she saw her saviour right there in front of her, and she felt the greatest sense of relief. But of course, she knew she ought to consider the thing properly, or at least appear to be doing so.
And she had not felt at all sacrificed by her mother and sister, despite the relief in their eyes. It was for all three of them that she would marry the Earl. At least then, Rose would have the opportunity to find a suitable husband, safe in the society they had always known, with the Earl’s financial backing.
Of course, he had not said as much, but she knew the thing did not need to be said. The Earl of Addison was offering to rescue the three women with such a marriage; that was plain. And that he wanted an heir to his estate was something that he had not hidden at all.
It had been his honesty, more than anything else, which had given her the greatest sense of security. He had been honest in that he did not want to love again, nor would he seek to. And he had been honest in telling her that his hope above all things was to produce an heir. It struck Emmeline firmly that they both knew very much where they stood, each having been extraordinarily honest with the other, given the times they lived in.
Perhaps, in the end, to be able to be so honest and speak so freely was a privilege that she never thought to have in her lifetime. If only she could have received such honesty and plain speaking from Christopher Lennox and Clara Lovett. If only they had not sought to avoid the whole thing by treating her so cruelly that she could not possibly speak her mind, or even speak at all. Still, the thing was done now, and she knew that it would not help her to continue to dwell on it. She had a chance of a life after all, even if it was a life without love.
Having tasted real love once before and suffered its cruel blows, Emmeline would never, ever wish to love again. And for that to be the Earl’s object also was very comforting. They would get along perfectly well without love. In fact, it would surely take a great deal of pressure off them both.
“I suppose the circumstances are not quite so common, Mama,” Emmeline said cautiously. “I mean, I have no doubt that Lord Addison has discussed the thing with his cousin as I have discussed it with the two of you. We shall none of us be under any false impressions that this is anything other than a marriage of convenience.”
“Oh, my dear,” Constance objected gently.
“No, Mama, we must all be very clear on this from the beginning. There is no romance to speak of, and there never shall be. The Earl and I each have a need, and we have both been very honest about it. We cannot now drift into thoughts of romance, Mama, because I should not like you to be disappointed. I do not want love, and neither does Lord Addison. We neither one of us wish to tread that path again.”
“But my dear, as hurt as you have been, time really does heal all.” Constance looked sad.
“But we do not have time, Mama. We have but five months, and that will not be enough to wipe away the pain of what happened to me. I would never wish to repeat that as long as I live, and yet, if I hold on and hope to feel better, we will be living in such poor circumstances that neither Rose nor I will be agreeable to any man. Let us accept things as they are; I am to marry an Earl, at least if the whole thing goes well. Let that be enough for us all. In truth, it was not a thing I ever expected and so, looked at under a proper light, the whole thing has worked out very well indeed.”
“Of course, my dear,” Constance relented. “And I should not like to put a moment’s pressure on you, not after everything you have been through. But I should like you to know that I would not sacrifice you for anything. It is not your job to save us from what is coming. There are three of us, and I cannot bear to see you carry the burden of it all alone.”
“But I do not carry a burden now, Mama. I am quite convinced that the Earl and I shall get along in these next few weeks and that we shall both come to the conclusion that a marriage of convenience would suit us both very well indeed.”
“I am glad that Algernon Rochester will be there,” Rose said as if to disrupt the conversation entirely and spare her mother and daughter from simply going around in circles. “I do not know him particularly well, but I have always found him very amusing. He is quite light-hearted, I believe.”
“Yes, I think he is,” Emmeline said, grateful to her sister for her intervention.
By the time they arrived at Addison Hall, the Earl’s butler
was already waiting at the top of the steps to receive them. He smiled warmly at them and was not anywhere near as austere as Emmeline had expected him to be.
“Good afternoon, ladies. His Lordship is expecting you in the drawing room if you would care to follow me.”
“Thank you kindly,” Emmeline said, thinking so warm a welcome deserved an acknowledgement of some sort.
She had never before been to Addison Hall, and the building was barely visible from the outside world as the house and grounds were surrounded by the densest woodland. The sheer size of the house itself was something that she had not expected. Emmeline had been to a social event or two at the home of an Earl before now and had been greatly impressed by such grand surroundings. However, she had never seen a mansion quite as big as Addison, or such extensive grounds.
“I think this must be the largest estate in the county,” Rose whispered into her ear as they made their way through a long, oak panelled corridor.
The floor of the entrance hall and corridor was tiled in an immaculate black-and-white chequerboard pattern which she could easily see was made of marble. It shone to perfection, and there was not a trace of dirt or a speck of dust upon it anywhere.
When they finally entered the drawing room, Emmeline had to guard against looking so impressed. The ceiling was so high that she felt as if she were in a ballroom, rather the drawing room, and she could not help comparing it to the small and homely drawing room at Tarlton Manor.
There were four fireplaces, although it was too warm a day to have any of them lit, and she imagined that they would have been greatly needed in the winter to warm so large a space. The windows were so tall that she thought them as tall as Tarlton Manor house itself. In fact, the deep red curtains were so immense that she could hardly imagine how complicated a thing it must have been for the seamstresses to make them up.
“Good afternoon, Miss Fitzgerald,” the Earl said and bowed deeply. “I trust you are well?”
“I am very well indeed, Lord Addison, I thank you,” she said and bowed in response.
“You are acquainted with my cousin, I believe?” He smiled and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes, of course.” Emmeline turned to smile at Algernon Rochester. “Good afternoon, Mr Rochester. What a pleasure it is to see you again.”
“The pleasure is all mine, my dear lady,” he said with a bow.
“And please do come in and make yourself comfortable, Mrs Fitzgerald.” As the Earl showed her mother and sister to a seat, Emmeline thought his manners very nice indeed.
He was an Earl, of course, and likely raised with the utmost care. But title was not always a guarantee of good manners, and she knew that well. She had not known the old Earl but thought that he must have been a very steady and sensible sort of a man to have raised a son to have caring manners, rather than simple etiquette for etiquette’s sake.
“What a very fine drawing room, Lord Addison,” Constance said, and Emmeline was pleased to note that her mother seemed perfectly well at ease in Addison Hall. “The plasterwork on the ceiling is quite exquisite.”
“Thank you, Mrs Fitzgerald.”
As they all settled themselves down, two maids and a footman brought in a very extensive afternoon tea. There were cucumber sandwiches and small savoury pastries. There were little cakes and sweets and two immense teapots.
The maids immediately set to work pouring tea and handing it around, and Emmeline took the opportunity to look about her a little more, albeit surreptitiously. The drawing room really was spectacular. On every wall, there hung portraits in oil, immense portraits so much bigger than the sitters must have been in life. And the frames were gilt and gleaming, giving the whole room a very grand and impressive air.
The walls, where there were spaces between the numerous portraits, were painted a simple cream, as was the ceiling, albeit the scrollwork on the ceiling was picked out in as rich gold as the picture frames.
Together with the great windows, the pale walls gave the room a sense of vastness, even though it was well filled with much furniture. There were countless couches in cream and deep reds and armchairs and low tables everywhere.
“Perhaps after we have taken tea, you might all care to be shown around the place?” Lord Addison said in a light and friendly manner.
“Oh yes,” Constance said with such enthusiasm that Emmeline almost laughed.
“We shall have to hold one another tight, I am afraid,” Algernon Rochester said with a broad grin. “I have been coming here since I was a child, and I still find myself lost on occasion. I should not like to think of any of you ladies wandering the place lonely and searching for the exit.”
All present began to laugh, and Emmeline was very grateful for the break in tension that the Earl’s cousin seemed to provide. And when she looked at the Earl himself, she could see that he was similarly pleased.
The afternoon tea had gone very well and, with the help of Algernon Rochester, the conversation had never fallen flat for a moment. Clearly finding herself most comfortable, Constance had also spoken at length and been most interesting as well as interested. All in all, Emmeline was beginning to think the thing a resounding success.
When they had taken to walking around the house, Emmeline smiled to herself when she realized that Algernon Rochester was doing what he could to keep her mother and sister well entertained.
“And there, you see, is a portrait of my cousin as a very much younger man. I think you will agree, he is now quite unrecognizable.” Algernon laughed, and Emmeline could hear her mother and sister laughing also.
“You hear how my cousin mocks me, do you not?” the Earl said with a smile as he and Emmeline walked ahead of the rest of them.
“Mr Rochester is very amusing, Lord Addison. I think my mother and sister are most at ease in his company.”
“In truth, that was why I invited him this afternoon. I suppose our circumstances are so unusual that I was concerned that your mother and sister might feel dreadfully uncomfortable.”
“That is very thoughtful of you, and I thank you for your care.”
“And I must thank you for agreeing to give this most unusual courtship a chance. If I am honest, I had expected that you might come to think better of it. I had worried that I had perhaps been a little blunt about it all.”
“Not blunt, Sir, just honest. And I have come to appreciate honesty more than I could ever have imagined, so you must not concern yourself about it.”
“Do you think you might be happy here? I mean, do you think that you would be content to live here at Addison Hall?”
“More than content, really. It is a beautiful place, Sir, but I must agree with Mr Rochester about the possibility of one finding oneself completely lost.” She laughed and was pleased when he seemed amused also.
“You would, of course, be free to amuse yourself in any way you saw fit in your day-to-day life. There is nowhere in the hall that would be barred to you, and you might have your mother and sister over to visit you as often as you like. And friends, also, of course. I would not seek to deny you your friends.”
“I am not as keen to trust friends as I once was, Sir. But I thank you kindly for the offer, it is most generous.”
“Of course, forgive me,” he said and winced. “I spoke without thinking.”
“Not at all, you must be as free to speak today as you were on the afternoon in the garden at Tarlton Manor. I think it a most unique thing to be able to live in honesty, and I am greatly comforted by the idea that I might speak openly with you.”
“Then you must have been most sickeningly disappointed in Miss Lovett,” he said and drew her over towards one of the windows so that she might be impressed by the view.
“It was a very great betrayal, Lord Addison. Clara and I had been firm friends since we were girls, and I had looked upon her almost as a sister.”
“Then you have been doubly hurt, Miss Fitzgerald. I could not begin to imagine how I would feel if Algernon had treated me similarl
y. That would be the same thing, would it not? I have always looked upon Algernon as a brother.”
“I could not imagine Mr Rochester behaving in such a fashion,” she said with a smile.
“But I suppose we never know what goes on in the heart and mind of another, not truly.” He looked out towards the lake. “After all, you likely never imagined Miss Lovett behaving in such a fashion.”
“No, indeed I did not.” She stared out towards the lake and wished herself there at that moment. The water looked clean and clear, and she should have very much liked to stand beside it. “I think that is what frightens me most about life. The fact that I had never before considered that those closest to you could be so cruel. And that you would have no indication of it, no sign of any kind.”
“I understand,” he said, and when he turned to look her full in the face, she felt suddenly a little disquieted. His hazel eyes with their flecks of gold looked so very striking by the light of the window. She assumed it to be merely a facet of their proximity, for she had never stood quite so close to him before. “In the end, I do believe that there is some comfort in less intense relationships.”
“Yes,” she said and looked away from him and out towards the lake. She felt she needed to break their gaze for a moment if only to return to her ordinary senses.
“Would you care to have a walk in the grounds? It is only a few minutes to the lake if you would wish to stand beside it for a while?”
“Yes, I should like that very much indeed.” Emmeline smiled and felt herself returned to normal.
Chapter 10
Hunter had only chosen to accept the invitation to the summer ball at the home of Mr Giles Calloway at the last minute. Mr Calloway was new to the county and had rented Croston Hall for a year at least and, because of the length of his stay, he was keen to get to know the local society and to take part in as much as possible.
Hunter had met the man on a couple of occasions and found him very pleasant, amiable company. However, he was aware that an invitation had been extended to the Duke and Duchess of Galcross, and it was not until he had secured Emmeline Fitzgerald’s attendance that he had accepted the invitation himself.
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