by Lucy Langton
“I shall sign them as soon as I receive them,” Isaac promised. He suddenly looked towards the house and nodded to someone. “And now, I am very sorry to have to leave you, but I believe that I must collect my half-undressed brother and make sure that he returns home in a respectable state; otherwise, I fear what the rest of town might have to say about our visit here today.”
Louisa followed Issac’s eyes and saw that Gregory was pacing in front of the carriage, still wearing only his undershirt as his top, and looking rather ... hot and bothered. She smirked, turned back to Isaac, and said, “Yes, I do believe you had better get him into a cold bath before he makes a fool of himself.”
Isaac looked to Louisa when she said that with a look of delighted surprise on his face. That soon dissolved into unbound laughter, until they both managed to collect themselves enough to bid farewell. They stood in front of each other, unsure of what to do to say goodbye, until Isaac hurriedly took Louisa’s hand and kissed it quickly, saying, “Until we meet again, Miss Louisa.”
Isaac sounded so nervous and did not make eye contact with Louisa as he retreated from her side. When he was finally standing by the carriage with Gregory, Louisa shook herself from the love-induced daze that the kiss had created and waved goodbye to the brothers. They both waved back, and as she watched them mount the now-empty carriage and head off towards home, she only wished that they could take her with them.
Chapter 11
When Louisa awoke the next morning, she was vaguely aware of a knocking on the door. She did not, however, rise to answer it. She thought that because she had been up so late with her father going over the corrections that he had wanted to make to the bill of sale for the house that her mother could take care of the early morning visitor. However, when she heard another, more urgent knock on the door, she bounded out into the front entranceway. She silently cursed her mother as she did this, for she knew that it shouldn’t have had to be her responsibility.
When she opened the door, a slender, tall, attractive older man with long, straight blond hair was standing in the doorway. He was wearing exceptionally fine clothes, far too expensive for anyone visiting their home, especially at this hour of the morning, and he wore a smile that unnerved Louisa.
He had a long, slim face with a small nose and big eyes that seemed to swallow Louisa whole when they landed upon her. Immediately, Louisa got the feeling that this man wanted to see her, but she was very certain that she did not wish to see him for some reason.
“Good Morning, Miss Louisa,” the man said. He had a strange way of over-accentuating his s’s that made him sound like a snake in Louisa’s mind. “And what a fine morning it is to have found you on. Might I come in? My name is Stephen Strandmere, and I am an old friend of an acquaintance of yours.”
Louisa was very wary of this visitor, especially considering he did not mention exactly how he knew her and that she was not yet properly dressed. “I do apologize,” Louisa said in an overly-polite way, “but I have not yet had time to prepare myself or our home for the day ahead. Might you come back at a later time when I have …”
“Oh, do not worry yourself with presentation or any silly thing such as that,” Stephen hissed. “But if you are truly concerned about the state of your home, then I shall wait for you in the garden so that you might ... freshen up.”
In the pause before he said his last two words, Stephen had looked down at Louisa’s body in a way that made her want to conceal every part of it so that he could not look at her. But as she was still trying to remain polite, she simply said, “Thank you. I shall be with you momentarily.”
Louisa closed the door sharply in Stephen’s face; her one small act of resistance against his eerie demeanour. She could still feel his eyes upon her, even though she knew that was impossible, and so she shook every part of her body in an attempt to rid herself of it. She then scurried into her room, quickly dressed and washed her face in the basin, and then steeled herself for whatever it was that this mysterious visitor was going to say to her.
Ever since her sister had disappeared with that married man, Louisa had become accustomed to people she had never met knowing her entire life’s story. It seemed that when one was cut out of society, their personal life did not remain their own.
When she used to go into town to fetch supplies that her family needed, she would return home feeling like carrion that had been picked away at by vultures. She had heard so many whispers every time she caught anyone’s eye while she was out that eventually, she found she could no longer convince herself to go into town. Sophie had been incredibly understanding, which was why she now did all of the errands.
However, the way Stephen appeared to know her was somehow different from the way all of those people did. There was something about him that seemed to warn Louisa right from the start. Underneath that handsome, rich exterior, he seemed to have an air of cruelness.
When Louisa entered the garden, she saw to her dismay that Stephen had chosen to sit on the same bench that she and Isaac had yesterday. She should have expected it, as it was one of the only places to be properly seated in the small garden, but it still made her rather sad to think that her pleasant memories from sitting on it yesterday would be erased by whatever was about to unfold on that bench.
She came around the corner, and Stephen kept his eyes on her the whole time. She sat as far away as she possibly could from this creepy man, and yet it still did not seem far enough. He began speaking as soon as she had made herself comfortable.
“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Miss Louisa,” Stephen said, crossing his hands into his lap. “While I am sure that you must have many questions as to who I am and what I stand for, I promise that if you are patient in listening to what I have to propose to you, I shall reveal all.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Louisa quipped. “Did you want me to get my mother so that she might hear …”
“No one else,” Stephen barked sharply, and when Louisa jumped at the sound of his voice, he retreated. “I do apologize; I did not mean to frighten you. I only wish to speak to you right now, so I hope that you shall oblige me.”
Louisa nodded warily but did not smile. She was beginning to feel the need that she had previously experienced to be polite quickly ebbing away.
“I shall begin by telling you that I heard of your father’s most unfortunate attack when I was at the market yesterday,” Stephen told her, looking out into the field beyond the garden. Louisa closed her eyes for a moment and thought Sophie. Why did you have to go and open your big mouth when you went into town? Now look what you’ve got us into! “I was most distressed to hear of such a development, especially that it happened to a family in a situation such as yours.”
A menacing smile crept across Stephen’s face, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Well, Louisa thought, I had a feeling that this day would come. Stephen seems to be exactly the type of person to try and take advantage of my family in this trying time, but thankfully he seems dull enough to be able to reject quite easily.
“And so,” he continued, taking one of his hands and placing it upon the old wooden bench so that it was slightly closer to Louisa’s, “I thought there had to be something that I could do to assist you in your miserable state. I am nothing if not charitable, after all.”
You were right! Louisa congratulated herself. And now, here comes the ‘I shall assist you if you will assist me’ proposition. But I do wonder what he might ask of me and offer me. Perhaps he would like me to discover secrets of others in the village, and in return, he shall pay me. Or maybe he’s got a nice position lined up for me as the housemaid for some rich but absolutely miserable old man. Whatever it is, I must refuse it, as it is never a good idea to become connected with men such as this.
“How kind of you to think of us like that, Mr Strandmere,” Louisa said, this time layering on the fake gratitude. “I never dreamed that someone of your status would come to us in a time like this and be so generous.”
S
tephen lapped up everything that Louisa gave him. “I am so glad that you see it that way, Miss Louisa, for I know that others in the past have been far less ... open to my assistance and things between us have turned out ... most unfortunately.”
The way he said those last two words made Louisa’s whole body clench. She knew now that she had to listen to Mr Strandmere’s proposition for the sake of her family’s reputation. And the worst part of all was that she was likely going to have to accept it, or everyone around her would suffer even more than they were right now.
“I cannot imagine how anyone could be so foolish as not to hear out your proposition, Mr Strandmere,” Louisa said. “Please, do go on.”
Stephen bowed his head in gratitude. “Miss Louisa, you are, if you don’t mind me saying, a beautiful young woman,” he started explaining, and immediately, Louisa wanted to be sick. Do not go there, please do not go there, Louisa begged inside her head. “And I frankly find it a shame that you have so few suitors who are looking to marry you. I, however, intend to change that.”
Perhaps he has a friend who he wishes you to meet, and perhaps that friend is actually quite nice, Louisa hoped. But she knew in her heart of hearts that there would be no friend that Stephen would be offering to her ... it would be him.
“For you see,” he continued, “I have remained a bachelor for my entire life, and I do not wish to be one anymore. And so, I have decided to ask for your hand in marriage. That will gain you and your family entrance back into society, and your parents will be well cared for for the rest of their days.”
Louisa had to turn away from the visitor, as tears were forming in her eyes. She had known this was coming, and yet it still appalled her to her very soul. To think that a person could even suggest that another might marry them as a sacrifice to save the rest of their family was beyond Louisa’s comprehension.
“Absolutely not,” Louisa said harshly. “I will not hear the rest of your proposition, and I demand that you leave at once.”
Louisa stood up and began making her way back inside the house, but Stephen called after her. “Miss Louisa,” he said with a certain amount of warning in his voice, “I think you should very much like to hear the rest of what I have to say. When else will you receive a generous, selfless offer like this again? And what will become of you if you truly refuse me?”
Louisa’s blood positively boiled in her veins as she stopped midway back to the house. She balled up her fists and bit her tongue to stop herself from turning back to Stephen and yelling at him for his behaviour. But if you do not hear him out, Louisa rationed with herself, how will you ever care for Mama and Papa? How will you live? What will this wretched man do to ruin you further if you refuse?
The last thing Louisa wanted to do right now was return to that bench, and yet she knew she must. And so she pushed aside what little pride she had left and stormed back to where Stephen sat and sat down again. She did not, however, give him the pleasure of looking at him.
“Continue. There must be something that you are going to ask of me in return,” Louisa said gruffly, looking straight ahead and focusing intently on the marigolds that were swaying in the wind.
“Good girl,” Stephen practically growled in a way that made Louisa’s skin crawl. “Of course, there is, my kindness does not come for free. However, my request is rather simple ... all you must do is ruin that fellow who you have recently become acquainted with ... Isaac Quince.”
The sound of Isaac’s name in Stephen’s mouth was so alarming that it made her look to him in shock. But that only pleased Stephen more, for that was the reaction that he had been hoping for. “Does that surprise you?” Stephen said, stroking the ends of his hair with one of his hands. “I should think it would not, for you have only known Isaac for such a short time that there cannot be any emotions attached to your relationship ... or can there?”
Louisa turned away from Stephen and grabbed the arm of the bench, tightly. She could not believe that not only did this revolting man want her to marry him, but he also wanted to take down the one person in Louisa’s life who had seen through her family’s reputation. Their acquaintance had been so wonderful and romantic that Louisa had often felt that it was rather like a dream ... and now, of course, it was about to turn into a nightmare.
“No,” Louisa lied through her teeth, “of course I do not have an emotional attachment to Isaac. What is it that you need me to do?”
“When Mr Quince comes to purchase the house, I need you to stall for me,” Stephen explained. “You must draw out the process for as long as possible to try and drive up the price. I know that Isaac has a great deal of interest in this property, and I plan to take advantage of that. I want to make it expensive enough to stop some of Mr Quince’s other investment plans and waste his time as much as possible.”
“Then,” Stephen went on, “when you have driven up the price as much as you can, you will have to publicly accuse Isaac of not paying. At that time, you and I shall announce our happy engagement, as this will welcome you back into society and give your accusation more credibility. I shall arrange the paperwork and make sure that there are banking records to support your claim so that no one will even think to question you. Now ... what do you say to that?”
Louisa couldn’t help herself. She could feel her laughter at the preposterousness of his proposition building inside of her, and before she could contain herself, she laughed in his face. Immediately, she knew that she had made a poor choice, for Stephen’s brow knit together, and he looked as though he might explode.
“Why ... are you ... laughing ...” Stephen growled, and Louisa fought to compose herself.
“There is absolutely nothing comedic about anything that you have just said, Mr Strandmere,” Louisa responded, dabbing the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief she always kept up her sleeve. “However, I find that the combination of my own exhaustion, the incredible stress that I am under, and the utter ridiculousness of your proposition have all come together to make me feel ... rather hysterical!”
“Then I demand that you control yourself this minute!” Stephen ordered, standing up and shouting at the young woman. “I will not tolerate this type of mockery in my presence, especially when I am trying to save you from the brink of ruin!”
Louisa stopped laughing – and even breathing, for a moment – and looked at Stephen with her eyes unblinking. She found it nearly impossible to wrap her head around the fact that the one person who it seemed her reputation might hinge upon was him.
Louisa cleared her throat. “So this is why you wished to speak to me alone, isn’t it?” she asked, her voice calm and level. “You knew that was my mother here, she would not stand for a moment of your nonsense, but you knew that I would have to hear it, as I understand the direness of my life’s situation. You were also aware that you hold enough power in our community that as soon as you came to offer me this option, I would have almost no choice but to accept you, lest you decide to punish me for denying you.”
Stephen, still standing and remaining furious, responded, “You are far more intelligent than you appear at first, Miss Louisa. But do not let my flattery of you go to your head, for you must remember that you will only ever be as good as your runaway sister has allowed you to be.”
Louisa did not entirely understand what Stephen was trying to say there, but he seemed to want to just bring up Evelyn at every chance he got to remind Louisa of her place, or lack thereof at the moment, in society. She knew that she could not answer him right now, for her head was swimming, and her father was likely already waiting for her to help him dress for the day. And so, she decided to stall.
“I will need some time to think about it, Mr Strandmere,” Louisa said finally, looking up at him defiantly.
Stephen rubbed his hands together, as though that alone had been the answer that he was looking for. “Splendid. I will give you time to think, but only twenty-four hours – no more, no less. I expect to see you in person at my estate tomorro
w morning at half-past eight. Good day to you, Miss Louisa.”
Stephen walked down the family’s laneway to his waiting carriage without a second glance back at Louisa. When she saw that his carriage had driven out of sight, she stood up, bent down, and undid her boot, and with all the force she could muster, she threw it after him with an anguished cry. It landed a good distance from her, and the force of the shout caused a flock of birds that had nested in a nearby tree to take flight.
