by Abigail Agar
Sergeant Chavers gave Gwyn a considering look. “Someone must have hurt you very badly for you to always see the negative side of things.”
“Nonsense,” Gwyn said reasonably. “I do not always see things so darkly. I just know they were fighting beforehand. The girl is truly okay, is she not?”
“She will be none the worse for it,” Sergeant Chavers insisted. “She just had a bit of a scare. Which is a good reason for the argument of daughters learning how to swim. Had the young lady known how to swim, then she would merely have gotten a bit of exercise instead of almost dying.”
Gwyn nodded. “I agree with you, but there are just as many who do not. Why I have even heard women who know how to swim are considered witches in some places,” Gwyn said in amusement.
“Ah, so the truth comes out,” Sergeant Chavers said with amusement as he picked up the oars and began to row them towards the docks.
Gwyn asked, “Do you want me to help? You must be dreadfully tired after all of that exertion.”
“Nonsense,” Sergeant Chavers said with a grin. “I do harder work than that every day in the army.”
Gwyn laughed. She had no way of knowing if it were true, but the man had certainly not shied away from work since Gwyn had known him, so it stood to reason that he was telling the truth. It took little time for the boats that had been involved in the incident to all be back at the dock or nearly at the dock.
Sergeant Chavers tossed the rope from the rowboat to a man waiting at the dock, who pulled them the rest of the way into position and tied the rope off to secure the boat. Sergeant Chavers and the man on the dock helped Gwyn out of the boat.
Despite that they had not been out that long, Gwyn still felt as if she needed new legs to walk on the land. She laughed at how wobbly she was. “You do all the work, and I end up exhausted,” Gwyn complained to Sergeant Chavers who just looked at her with good humour.
There was a distant roll of thunder, and a murmur of uncertainty when through the crowd along the bank, especially those with people still out on the lake. Sergeant Chavers helped Gwyn back over to where Lady Stanton was waiting.
Sergeant Chavers set down the picnic basket next to the chairs that Lady Stanton had saved for them to sit in. He collapsed down exhausted, and Lady Stanton looked at Gwyn in concern. “They brought a young lady on shore a few moments ago. She seemed quite hysterical. Did you know her?”
Gwyn shook her head and explained what had happened as best as she could with Sergeant Chavers filling in parts that Gwyn could not see from her vantage point on the rowboat. When they were done, Lady Stanton shook her head in dismay. The woman said sadly, “It sounds as if the couple might have been breaking off their betrothal from what the mother was saying. I certainly hope that young lady does well. She was most upset.”
Gwyn could relate to the young woman’s anguish. “She might need a bit of rest, but I am sure she will be fine.”
“Certainly,” Sergeant Chavers agreed.
***
Mary came over later on as the crowd was starting to disperse. Only a few couples remained out on the lake. Gwyn swiftly introduced Mary to her mother who seemed pleased to find that Gwyn had made some acquaintances.
“Would it be alright with you and Sergeant Chavers if I stole Gwyn for just a moment? I just need to relay some news to her,” Mary asked politely. When both Sergeant Chavers and Lady Stanton assented, Gwyn followed Mary a bit away from the crowds. “Did you see what happened between Gloria Yates and that scoundrel?”
Gwyn did not know the young lady’s name, but she assumed the arguing couple was what Mary was talking about. “I saw the young lady go into the water. Sergeant Chavers is one of the men who helped get her back on a boat. She nearly drowned,” Gwyn said in dismay.
“From what I have gathered, her betrothed had just told her that he was leaving her for his longtime mistress. Can you believe that? He already had a mistress, and he was courting her? The things men can get away with infuriate me.” Mary took a deep breath and nodded off to the side. Gwyn followed her gaze and saw Jack talking with Henry. “Miss Rayburne and Captain Shelton are apparently on the out as well. However, I think they may be getting close again very soon.”
Gwyn frowned. “Oh?” She knew she really should not care, but the curiosity was just too much for Gwyn.
Mary nodded and whispered, “I heard from one of Miss Rayburne’s close friends that the young lady is claiming inappropriate behaviour against Captain Shelton … among other things.”
“What sort of other things?” Gwyn asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
Mary continued in a low whisper, “You most certainly never heard this from me. Do you understand?” When Gwyn nodded, Mary whispered, “Miss Rayburne is claiming she is with Captain Shelton’s child.”
“That’s absurd,” Gwyn said as she shook her head. “Were they not chaperoned?”
Mary sighed, “If you can call her uncle a chaperone. The man drinks like a fish.”
“The Shelton family has certainly had enough awful lies spread about them. I hope for everyone’s sake that it is cleared up soon,” Gwyn said with disdain.
There was a smile on Mary’s face as she asked, “Are you certain that you are not more concerned with one particular member of that family?”
“Nonsense,” Gwyn said as she waved the young woman’s question off. It was a ridiculous question that hardly deserved an answer anyway. “I better get back to Sergeant Chavers and my mother.”
Mary smiled and waved at Gwyn as she went back to her own group to get ready to leave. Gwyn turned on her heel and went back to where her mother and the Sergeant waited while shaking her head. Thoughts and doubts swirled in her head. If Miss Rayburne’s story were true, it could give credence to Gwyn’s experience. The very idea of that thought made Gwyn feel awful for not speaking up when it had happened.
What good would it have done, though? Gwyn asked herself that question all the way back to where her mother sat waiting. Lady Stanton looked up at her daughter expectantly, “What did your friend need?”
“Gossip, mostly,” Gwyn said with disdain. “She told me what she had heard about the incident on the water, and it pretty much was what you thought it was, Mother.”
Lady Stanton pursed out her lips in a way that made Gwyn think that her mother was not really all that happy to be right in this one instance. Sergeant Chavers spoke up and said, “I for one hope we can all just put this incident behind us. The breaking of engagements is bound to happen, and the young lady clearly did not go into the water on purpose. Everyone will be better after a good night’s sleep, I am sure.”
“You are a wise man,” Lady Stanton said in agreement with Sergeant Chavers. “It is likely that this time next week everything will be back to normal, and everyone will be on to the next scandal.”
Gwyn grimaced at the mention of scandals. The next scandal would more than likely be the one involving Jack and Miss Rayburne. She wondered how many knew about it already. Surely Jack would know, would he not?
Gwyn’s eyes slid over to where Jack had stood earlier, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Gwyn sighed in dissatisfaction. “Come along, Gwyn,” Lady Stanton said as she rose.
Sergeant Chavers helped them put the picnic basket into the carriage. As they started to leave, Lady Stanton said to the man, “You should come by and eat dinner with us Monday, Sergeant Chavers. We would love to have the opportunity to get to know you in a more intimate setting.”
Sergeant Chavers was quite happy with the invitation and smiled broadly, “I would like that very much.”
Lady Stanton looked at Gwyn expectantly, and Gwyn chimed in, “Yes. It would be lovely to show you around the family home.”
“I look forward to it,” Sergeant Chavers said sincerely before he bid them a good day and shut the door to the carriage. Gwyn thought she should be happy with the invitation as well. This was one step closer to moving on with her life after all.
***
> Jack sat at his window. His mother rapped lightly on the door before she entered. Jack could always tell the way his mother knocked compared to anyone else.
“Jack, are you going to come down to eat?” Lady Shelton asked the question cautiously.
With a shake of his head, Jack replied, “I am not hungry, Mother.”
“You really do need to eat. We all know that what that girl is saying is false, and she will have to admit it sooner or later,” Lady Shelton said reasonably. “She cannot keep up a charade like that for long.”
Jack sighed, “It will still be more than long enough to ruin me. With the rumours, it will not take much.”
Jack felt his mother’s thin hands on his shoulders. “Come eat,” Lady Shelton coaxed. “You have to eat.”
“I will eat later,” Jack assured her. Right now he could not even fathom eating. It felt as if he might never be hungry again. Besides if he went down now, he would have to endure Henry’s jesting. Although Henry might consider it great fun to be considered a scoundrel and rogue, Jack wanted nothing to do with it.
At long last, Lady Shelton gave up and left quietly. Jack felt horrible for making the woman worry, but he just wanted to be alone at that moment. It was bad enough that most of society would think the worst of him; Jack pondered what Gwyn would think when she heard if she had not already heard the rumours. Perhaps she would feel vindicated in leaving Jack behind.
Jack shook off the gloom that settled over him. He had thought the worst was behind him when he returned to England from the war, but the war had done nothing to prepare him for the unscrupulous women that awaited him in society.
***
The night of the dinner, Gwyn helped her mother and the staff to get the house arranged with flowers from the garden. Gwyn even helped in the kitchen when her mother permitted it. There was much to be done, and Lady Stanton proved to Gwyn that she was not yet hostess material with the effortless way the woman listed off everything that needed their attention before their guest arrived.
Gwyn helped set the table, and she made sure the candles were in place. The smells from the kitchen made Gwyn’s mouth water. It had been a long while since the cooks had made lamb, and Gwyn thought it smelled like Christmas and festivals. It smelled of delightful and warm memories.
Just when Gwyn thought that perhaps there was nothing else to be done, her mother sent her upstairs to get ready. Gwyn laughed and realized she was still wearing one of the older dresses that she used strictly for cleaning or things that she might get dirty doing, such as gardening.
Upstairs, Gwyn and the newer chambermaid, Adrienne, picked out a simply yellow dress with a high waist that would be comfortable enough to sit for hours in, just in case the conversation ran long. Gwyn frowned at her curls that hung down in ringlets over her shoulders. Adrienne helped her to pin the hair up into a semblance of a controlled upswept style.
Adrienne gushed, “Miss you look like one of those Greek statues of the Persephone.”
“I do not know about that,” Gwyn said dismissively with a smile, “but it does look nice with this dress.”
When both Gwyn and Adrienne deemed her ready, Gwyn went downstairs to find her mother waiting in the sitting room. “He should be arriving at any moment,” Lady Stanton said with a smile.
Sure enough, a few minutes later the sounds of a carriage heralded the man’s arrival. Fulton answered the door swiftly and ushered the young man inside. “Come right this way,” Fulton said graciously. “They are awaiting you in the dining room.”
“Oh, I do hope that I am not late,” Sergeant Chavers said to the man.
Fulton chuckled. “Not at all, Sir. They just like being early, as most women do.” The man held open an ornate wooden door. “They are right through here.”
“Thank you,” Sergeant Chavers said with a dip of his head to the doorman.
Lady Stanton looked up with a pleased smile at Sergeant Chavers. “There he is,” she said cheerfully. “Sergeant Chavers, this is my husband, Lord Ian Stanton.” Sergeant Chavers nodded, and Lady Stanton patted her husband on the hand. When the man looked at her, Lady Stanton pointed to Sergeant Chavers. “Ian, this is Sergeant William Chavers.”
Lord Stanton narrowed his eyes at the man and then nodded. “Is he staying to eat?”
“Yes, Papa, he is,” Gwyn said loudly enough the man could hear her.
Lord Stanton looked a bit confused but shrugged and picked up his fork. Gwyn smiled over at Sergeant Chavers who took a seat across from Gwyn. Lady Stanton rang a bell and the cook, along with an extra serving girl brought out the plates.
“This looks delicious,” Sergeant Chavers said with a pleased smile. “I have not had lamb in a very long time.”
Lady Stanton said, “We do not have it that often either anymore. However, since we had your company tonight, I thought it appropriate.”
“I am honoured that you think that I am worthy of such a meal,” Sergeant Chavers said happily.
Lord Stanton squinted at the man again. He asked loudly, “Where is Jack?”
Gwyn shushed the man, “Oh, Papa. Jack is at his own house. Why would he be here?”
“He has to talk to me before there is a marriage,” Lord Stanton reminded everyone.
Sergeant Chavers looked curiously at Gwyn who shook her head at the man. Lady Stanton told her husband, “Do you not remember that I told you Gwyn was courting with Sergeant Chavers?”
Lord Stanton frowned. “I remember no such thing.” The man scoffed and said to Sergeant Chavers, “They think they can make me lose my mind, but they are wrong.”
Sergeant Chavers nodded slowly. “I do believe you have them on the ropes, Sir.”
“Yes,” Lord Stanton said enthusiastically. “Do you like boxing, young man?”
Sergeant Chavers admitted, “I do sometimes like to go a few rounds. It is good for the constitution.”
“Ah, now you are truly a man after my own tastes,” Lord Stanton said, his earlier comments about Jack clearly forgotten. “You want to court my daughter?”
Sergeant Chavers cleared his throat. “Well, yes, actually.”
Gwyn gave Sergeant Chavers a smile, but Lord Stanton was the one that answered, “She is a strong-willed woman, and I do not intend to see that beaten out of her. So you better not even lift a finger to her, do I make myself clear, Sergeant?”
“Yes, Sir,” Sergeant Chavers said with an eager nod. “I have no intention of harming one hair on her head, Sir.”
“Good,” Lord Stanton said, “Now let us stop jawing long enough to enjoy this meal. It smells good enough to eat for once.”
Lady Stanton gasped, “Ian!”
“Gets her every time.” Lord Stanton grinned at Sergeant Chavers who chuckled along with the man.
Gwyn could not help smiling at the way her father sought to interact with Sergeant Chavers. She ate as she watched the man happily chatting away to Sergeant Chavers who eagerly nodded and talked about whatever the older man brought up.
Gwyn wondered how different things might be right now if Jack was here instead, but she stopped that train of thought. Jack had a scandal to deal with, and Gwyn now had a promising new life lying out before her. She was better off with Sergeant Chavers at any rate. The man had no scandals to speak of and was right there waiting for her. Whereas Jack, well, Jack might very well be forced into marrying the pregnant young lady.
After the meal, Gwyn and Sergeant Chavers retired to the garden. She showed him all the secret hiding spots and alcoves in the garden proper as well as the surrounding informal gardens that spread out into the woodlands around the property.
