The Seventh Suitor

by Laura Matthews

  “No wonder you are in the mopes,” he declared, enlightened. “Ralph has his farm, Miss Susan is going to London, and you are at loose ends.”

  “How well you put it, Lord Winterton. I am a great admirer of such needle-witted brevity. Perhaps you also prescribe for the ‘mopes.’”

  “In your case I could.” He watched her face set stubbornly, and continued in a more kindly manner. “There is a project here in Bristol I should like you to see. I think it would fascinate you. Is your maid enough of a chaperone to play propriety for us if I take you to a rougher side of town?”

  Kate looked uncertain. “What is the project?”

  “I would rather show you than tell you. Will you come?” He regarded her challengingly now.

  “Very well. But you must agree to turn back at any time if I ask it.”

  “Certainly.” He offered her his arm, which she took after a brief hesitation. As they walked along, Betsy reluctantly accompanying them, Winterton began to tell her of the poorer side of Bristol. He vividly described the lives of the destitute and the hopelessness of their future. As they progressed into a section of the town she was not familiar with, he began to point out the signs of decay and neglect, and ragged urchins importuning them for money spoke for themselves.

  “You understand, Miss Montgomery, that the long-term relief of this situation is not charity.” He supplied some short-term relief to several of the urchins as he spoke. “Over the years the situation of these children can only be improved by preparing them to earn a living which will support them. You know of Hannah More?”

  “I have read a number of her works.”

  “Miss More and her sisters assisted William Wilberforce in starting a school for girls. He was shocked by the poverty and lawlessness of Cheddar and the Mendips. The sisters taught their students spinning, knitting, and the catechism. Miss More’s ideas on education for these girls are limited to preparing them to work as servants and inculcating Christian principles. Quite admirable as far as it goes. She is a remarkable woman who must be nearing seventy by now, and she still superintends numerous schools and charities. She has no time for Mary Wollstonecraft’s diatribes on female rights, by the way.”

  “Then she must be lacking in foresight,” Kate retorted.

  “Be that as it may, she has devoted a great part of her life to doing something for women, which Wollstonecraft did not. In fact, considering Godwin’s description of her, I would say she did quite the reverse.”

  “I do not have to approve of her life to be in sympathy with her thoughts on women’s rights. In fact, hers was not a particularly well-written book, but in the long run someone must consider the status of women. It is all very well for those of us who have families and money to rely upon them for support, but the plight of those without is pathetic.”

  “I understand it was your expression of such a viewpoint that led to the wager my wards took part in,” he rejoined as he led her toward a building at the end of a dingy street.

  Kate stopped abruptly and glared at him. “And it did not occur to you that such a wager merely serves to illustrate a woman’s pathetic situation?”

  “Only yours,” he replied incautiously.

  “We will turn back now, Lord Winterton,” Kate instructed, her face grown pale with mortification. She dropped his elegantly clad arm and linked hers with Betsy’s.

  Exasperated, Winterton spoke sharply. “You are intent on misunderstanding me, Miss Montgomery. I admit that was carelessly spoken. What I meant was that few women are prepared to take on an equality with men. You are one who probably could.” He was talking to her back now and could not judge the response to this speech. There was a long silence; the cries of the street intervened.

  At length Kate spoke almost inaudibly. “The fact that they are not prepared does not necessitate that they could not be prepared.”

  “It remains to be seen. Are you an ardent advocate of female rights, Miss Montgomery?”

  “No, but I cannot bear to see women being treated like cattle,” Kate choked, her back still to him.

  “Then come with me, and I will show you how to improve the situation. Ignorance is at the base of it.”

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked quietly as she turned to face him.

  Winterton was struck forcefully by the lone tear-streak on her face. He was impatient of female hysterics, but there was nothing but dignity writ upon her countenance. Confound the woman, he fumed within himself. “I am taking you to a school where these street urchins you see about you can be taught a trade. Those who are capable and express an interest are also taught to read, something Hannah More would deplore, I fear, as her interest is in stimulating the lower classes to habits of industry and piety, not fanaticism, so she says. My own belief, for what it is worth, is that although the ability to read will broaden the possibilities of employment for the wretched children, it is hardly likely to inspire visions of grandeur. The enclosure laws have driven many from the land to the cities where they will try to find employment in trade. If they can read, they have a better chance to do so.”

  “Take me to your school.” Kate sighed with resignation and accepted his proffered arm once more.

  Winterton’s manner seemed softer and more enthusiastic once they were in the school and being greeted by Mr. Collins, the headmaster, who asked after Thomas Single. Winterton explained that he had hired Thomas away from the school when they had been able to find a replacement for him. The building which housed the school was older and not very large, but it was kept clean. There were several classrooms and a dining room. Kate was introduced to the two teachers, a woman of middle age and a young man. The school’s program was explained to her, with Winterton filling in the details of materials needed.

  “You see, there is little reading material which is suitable for our purposes. Hannah More’s writings for her schoolchildren are largely religious indoctrination. If we want the children to learn to read, the subject must be something which will interest them. It should relate to the lives they lead or could lead, incorporating simple lessons on economy and honesty and such.” Winterton stopped to wave out the window at the dirt yard. “They will do better morally if they have food in their stomachs and a roof over their heads.”

  When they had thanked Mr. Collins for the tour and stepped out into the sunlight once again, Kate did not know quite what to say to Winterton. They walked for some time without speaking, Betsy once again following. Kate was considering the various aspects which presented themselves to her. Winterton had just shown her a useful project, as he had hinted he would. The school fascinated her, and she was willing to help support it. Her legacy from Carl made it possible for her to interest herself in such endeavors without involving her family if she wished.

  Perhaps Winterton hoped she would give away the entire legacy and be done with it! No, he had described her as being at loose ends; therefore he must imagine that she would involve herself actively in the work, which was what most appealed to her in any case. But she could not journey to Bristol very often; it would have to be something she could do at home.

  “Why do you think I could write books for them?” she asked abruptly.

  “I don’t know,” he replied frankly. “I assume because of the interest you take in farming and your consideration of that print shop this morning that you are not afraid to undertake a project outside a woman’s usual scope. Don’t you think you could write books for the school?”

  “I would like to try. I was thinking just this morning about the fantasy Aunt Eleanor and I used to have of writing a book on our travels. How would I go about it? I cannot think I would know where to start.”

  “Talk to Thomas. He still involves himself with the school and knows more about it and its needs than I do. I will agree to spare him three hours a week to come to the Hall to work with you if you think that will help.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  Winterton laughed. “Yes, Miss Montgomery. I shall send him at
one.”

  They had arrived at the inn where her carriage had been left. Winterton offered to take her in to luncheon before she drove home, but Kate protested that they had been gone far longer than expected already. She impulsively put out her hand, and he took it in a firm clasp. “Thank you, Lord Winterton. I . . . well . . . thank you.”

  Chapter 12

  Kate spoke with her father about her meeting with the Earl and her interest in the school. He was rather puzzled by this enthusiasm on her part, but saw no harm in it. He himself had contributed to the school in the past on Winterton’s suggestion, but had never had any interest in seeing the place.

  Thomas Single arrived promptly the next day at one, dressed in his usual quiet style, with an earnest face and twinkling eyes. Kate had instructed that he be shown into the back parlor. As they shook hands he remarked, “I hear Lord Winterton has interested you in one of his hobbies.”

  “Is it one of his hobbies? He said you might be able to direct me if I tried to write some books for the children. Do you think I could? Would it be imposing on you to ask for your help?”

  Kate seated herself at the fine, inlaid writing desk and had Thomas take a comfortable chair near her. He had the facility of looking at ease and ready to be of service at the same time. “Yes, I would not be surprised if you could write for the children. Lord Winterton has a knack for recognizing appropriate talents for the school.”

  “I understand you were a teacher there and that you still take an interest in it. I cannot imagine where to start on such a project,” Kate admitted.

  “I’ve been thinking about that since he mentioned it to me. You already have some knowledge of the workings of the countryside. Perhaps a simple tale on the life of a child on a farm—where he lives, what he eats, his observations on the changing of the seasons and the crops, the various jobs he does and sees his parents doing. Something like that.”

  “Hm, yes, I should like to work on that. But most of the children are town-bred. Would it be more helpful to write something they would be familiar with?”

  “We need that, to be sure. First, though, I would start with something you know best. Then you might work on the town life—again where a child lives and what his parents do, and a description of the work that is done in various shops—the confectioners, grocers, carpenters, basketmakers, drapers, chandlers.”

  “I would need help with that, you know. I have not the first idea how a basket is made,” she admitted.

  “Lord Winterton knows I like working on pursuits for the school and has allowed that I may spend several hours a week helping you. That is, if you should like that . . .” He looked at her inquiringly.

  “I shall need your help if I am to do it. Tell me, Mr. Single, how simple should the texts be?”

  Kate and Thomas Single spent the next hour considering various questions with regard to the writing, printing, and use of the books before he prepared to leave, promising to provide information she would need. Before he left he handed her a small leather purse with a grin and said, “Lord Winterton hoped this would be private enough for the return of your loan.”

  “Tell him I am duly impressed with his discretion.” Kate laughed and handed back the purse after removing the money.

  Thomas refused this, saying, “You are to keep the purse. It is by way of interest, you understand.”

  Kate surveyed the purse, a gold-tooled leather pouch with drawstrings. “Very handsome interest his lordship pays.” She hesitated over accepting it.

  “It is the only way he could thank you. It was his mother’s,” Thomas explained.

  Kate fingered the delicate pouch, nodded, and said, “Thank him for me, Mr. Single, and thank you for your help.”

  “It was my pleasure, Miss Montgomery.”

  Kate put the leather pouch away carefully in the dressing table in her room and returned to the back parlor. She made notes for herself and gave considerable thought to the simplest manner in which to present country life to the town-bred children.

  Her work on the book became interspersed with efforts to assist Susan in preparing her wardrobe for the trip to London and organizing for her own shorter stay there. In fact it was necessary to arrange for the whole family in some matters, as they did not travel often. She had three weeks in which to accomplish this, so there was time for all of her endeavors, including the impending visit of her aunt with her new husband.

  Mr. and Mrs. Hall arrived only a few days after Kate had begun to work on the book and there were few people she would rather have set it aside for. The Halls planned a week-long stay, and Kate quietly assumed the extra duties in the management of the household. Her mother was pleased to see her sister and anxious to become acquainted with Mr. Hall.

  “Are you as fond of travel as my sister, Mr. Hall?” she asked as they sat around the tea tray on the afternoon of the visitors’ arrival.

  “Indeed, yes. It was in Dublin that I met Eleanor and Kate, though I live in Daventry. Have for many years. We had mutual friends in the O’Rourkes. Quite a clan of them there are, too. I know I counted twenty-three gathered under the same roof one afternoon.”

  “That reminds me, Kate,” Aunt Eleanor interjected. “Did I write you that young Patrick is with the Foreign Office now in London? We saw him on our way through and urged him to call on you, Susan, when you’re in town. Are you going, too, Kate?”

  “Only for a week or so until Mama and Susan are settled. Ralph expects to stay for a while, too, but Papa and I shall return shortly.”

  “Tell me about Patrick O’Rourke,” Susan begged.

  “He is the funniest man I’ve ever met,” Kate laughed. “He is forever dreaming up the most crack-brained tales, strewn with gremlins or leprechauns or some such thing, which he will cheerfully swear are the truth.”

  “And I assure you, Kate,” Aunt Eleanor said, “that the seriousness of his post has not in the least diminished that penchant of his. I think they have chosen very well in that young man,” she remarked thoughtfully.

  “Well, I hope to see him while I’m there,” Kate remarked. “I’m sure he’ll amuse you, Susan, for he is the greatest flatterer. He is not very tall but moves with the most incredible speed, so he is forever surprising one by being where he is not expected.”

  Mr. Hall nodded. “You can be standing in a group with him when someone announces the intention to leave, and before another of the party has even thought to move toward the door, he is there smiling and bowing the fellow out. It came to be a pastime among us to keep an eye on him to see how he managed it.”

  Susan was intrigued with the possibilities for sport provided by the young man and vowed she looked forward to meeting him. She must remember to alert her friend Laura to such a good game before ever they met him.

  When Kate and her aunt were alone after a while, Kate settled them in the back parlor for a real chat. They were not much closer in age than Kate and her mother, but their years together had put them on a more sisterly footing.

  “How is it with you, Aunt Eleanor? Mama has been worried that you would find it a nuisance to remarry at your age and have to accommodate a new husband.”

  “I have never enjoyed myself more. Your mama! But then, she is so accustomed to life here that she cannot imagine rearranging everything. It goes hand in glove with the love of traveling. You and I must be lost souls indeed in her eyes!”

  “She would never say so. But I am sure it gives her a great deal of pleasure to see me safe at home and leading the quiet country life.” Kate made a slight grimace.

  “I have spoiled you, my love. Is it so bad to be here?”

  “No, no, not at all. I am very fond of my family. Charity came to stay for some weeks while her mother was in Bath. It was a treat to have her here, for there are not many women my age in the area. I am considered quite the ape leader, I assure you.”

  “Do not say so, Kate!” her aunt retorted with concern. “I am sure you could have had many offers had you been the least bit en
couraging.”

  “Why, Aunt, indeed, I have had five since I returned,” Kate informed her and proceeded to tell the tale of the spurious suitors.

  “What a batch of beef-brains!” Her aunt’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “I imagine you have had something to say to the young men.”

  “I didn’t pursue a course of action for a while,” Kate sighed, twisting her locket pensively, “but something happened.”

  “Something you can tell me about?”

  “I have been debating that, my dear. I think I must tell you, for perhaps you can solve the problem where I cannot.” The locket fell off in her hand and she placed it absently on the mahogany end table, aligning it with the inlaid design. “Ralph fell in love with Charity while she was here. He asked her to marry him, but she refused him. I should be able to accept that, I know, but I cannot for the life of me rid myself of the idea that she loves him, too. And that I cannot understand at all,” Kate finished sadly.

  “And she did not confide in you, love?”

  “No. When the subject first came up, she begged me not to meddle, and I promised that I would not. I have never found it so difficult to keep a promise, Aunt Eleanor!” Kate exclaimed wretchedly.

  “She gave you no hint at all?”

  “Once she said, and I could not credit it, that she did not wish me to pity her.”

  “I see.” Aunt Eleanor sat lost in thought for some time before speaking. “Before you came to Daventry, Charity had two suitors, at different times, and I have long found it difficult to believe that neither of them offered for her. One of them I felt sure she was fond of, and I could not help but notice her agitation when he no longer paid court to her. Yet I have always believed that he offered for her and was refused.” She shook her head, perplexed. “Perhaps she will speak to me when I reach home, though if she would not talk about it with you . . .”

  “Poor Ralph is suffering, and I am sure that Charity is also. I felt so helpless not being able to do a thing.”

  “Mmm.” Her aunt smiled wryly. “I can imagine you did not like it one bit to have your hands tied. Let me see what I can do, my love. I am very fond of Charity.”