by Vikki Vaught
Once Elaine settled back in her seat, she looked over at Helen and said, “Thank you, Aunt Helen, for allowing me to come with you today. I enjoyed myself tremendously. Bigbury-on-Sea is a delightful place. In fact, I’ve quite fallen in love with this entire area. I loved spending time on the beach in Bristol, and being here has brought back some fond memories of my brother and his wife. It’s nice to remember the good times for a change.”
Kathryn was pleased to see Elaine so animated and hear her talking about Roderick and Allison without tearing up. Elaine was right—it did feel good to remember the good times for a change. Losing them had been dreadful for both Jonathan and Elaine, and of course, the children too.
Smiling, Kathryn said, “Elaine, I’m glad you’re able to remember all the wonderful times you had with them. Even though I only knew Roderick and Allison for a short time, I had grown quite fond of them. They were such vibrant people. Now, why don’t you try on your new bonnet? It’s quite fetching on you.”
Since it was a pleasant day, Kathryn went to the nursery and got Frankford and Jane and took them for a walk on the beach. Even though it was cold, the sun was shining brightly, so the children were able to run and play in the sand. Kathryn enjoyed watching them play. It was good to see Frankford so happy. He had been so withdrawn since Roderick and Allison had passed away. This was a good idea, bringing them on this trip. Jane had even stopped asking them to go to heaven and get her mama. Both children were beginning to move past their grief. Kathryn enjoyed watching the children play tag and was glad she had interrupted their studies.
When Elaine got back to the house after her visit to town, she decided to go out to the stables. Lord Collingswood had quite a few beautiful horses, and she wanted to ride one of them. While she was at the stables, she encountered Gregory, and he asked, “Were you planning on going for a ride? My brother has several gentle mares to choose from, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you riding one of them. I’d be happy to take you riding this afternoon.”
“Oh, I’d love to go riding, but I’d want a more spirited horse. I’ve been riding since I was six years old, and I’m a very accomplished horsewoman.” Elaine coyly smiled at Gregory as she asked, “Would you take me riding on the beach? I’ve always found the ocean fascinating, and I’m sure I would love riding along the shore with the wind in my hair. My brother Roderick used to take me out on his yacht before he died, and I found it exhilarating.”
“I’m sorry about your brother and his wife. I’m sure that you miss them terribly. I understand that you were visiting them when it happened. Please accept my condolences.” Then lightening the mood, Gregory gave her a charming smile. “Now, we can definitely go riding on the beach. Why don’t you go get changed while I have two horses saddled for us? We’ll meet back here in fifteen minutes.”
Elaine was thrilled that Gregory wanted to go riding with her. She again felt that odd sensation in the pit of her belly. Delighted by this turn of events, she replied, “I’ll be back in ten. Thank you, I appreciate you taking me riding.”
Elaine felt a rush of anticipation course through her veins. She’d been trying to talk to Gregory ever since he had kissed her the night of her birthday. He was an extremely handsome young man with his dark blonde hair with gold streaks running through it. His piercing blue eyes seemed to see down into her soul.
When she got to her room, she quickly pulled out her new riding habit. It was a good thing that it buttoned up the front, because she didn’t want to have to get her maid, Kitty, to help her. She didn’t want anyone knowing that she was going riding with Gregory. She knew that neither Jonathan nor Kathryn would approve. They treated her as if she were still in leading strings—especially Jonathan! She loved Kathryn, but since Jonathan had married her, he had practically ignored her most of the time, and she was getting tired of it. This was her chance to have some fun.
By the time she returned to the stables, Gregory was waiting for her with the horses, and he helped her mount. When he lifted her up by her waist, she felt that flutter in the pit of her stomach again. It was an odd feeling, but very exciting. She was disappointed when he let her go once she was in the saddle. Soon they were on the beach, and Gregory said, “Since this is your first time riding on the beach, we’ll start out at a walk until you get used to how it feels on the sand. Once you’re comfortable, we’ll give them a good run. My sister went to a school in Bath. Do you go to school there?”
“No, my brother doesn’t think I need to go to finishing school. I’m hoping that Kathryn will help me talk him into letting me go. Mrs. Manning’s School for Young Ladies is supposed to be one of the best finishing schools in England, and it’s not as if I would have to travel far away.”
As they slowly meandered along the shore, Gregory said, “That’s the name of the school my sister Margaret went to, and she seemed to love it. Of course, she only went for two years because she got married at sixteen. She married one of my best friends from school. At the time, I was very angry at Peter for compromising my sister, but they’ve been married for three years and seem to be happy. Let’s pick up the pace since you’ve had a chance to get used to the sand. Tell you what—I’ll race you to that post down there.”
Elaine laughed. “Get ready to eat some sand!”
And off she went.
The wind was blowing so hard that the cold stung her cheeks. Nonetheless, it felt marvelous. She was racing toward the post, and they were neck and neck. At the last moment, he inched ahead and won the race. Considering that Gregory was used to riding on the beach, she felt she’d done an excellent job keeping up with him.
As the wind ruffled Gregory’s hair, he said, “You really are an exceedingly good rider. You almost beat me, and I’ve been racing on this beach my entire life. What did you think of your first ride along the shore?”
“Oh, this has been the most amazing experience of my life! I must look a fright now that the wind has blown my hat off, and I’ve lost most of my pins. Thank you for bringing me riding,” Elaine glanced over at Gregory and added, “I’ve been a little bored during my stay here. Kathryn is always over at Lord and Lady Ralston’s estate, and Jonathan goes off with your brother. I love my niece and nephew, but I needed a break from them. How did you end up in the navy? Was it something you always planned to do? You seem quite young to be a lieutenant.”
Looking slightly embarrassed, Gregory said, “I hated school, and I joined the navy shortly before my nineteenth birthday. I hate to tell you this, but I was sent down from Cambridge for some misdeeds with some of my…ah…friends. Matthew was furious, and he gave me the choice of either the army or the navy, and since I have always loved the water, I chose the navy. I’m glad I did.”
Gregory reined his horse in. “Since I’m the second son, I needed to find a career where I could make money, and some of the prizes are very lucrative. I’ve gotten to see some of the world, and I love it. I’ve already been promoted once, and I plan to be a captain soon. I want my own ship. By the way, you look beautiful with your golden hair all around your face. I think you’re quite pretty. Of course, you already know that. I hope you didn’t think I was too bold the other night when I kissed you?”
“No, I didn’t think you were too bold. I enjoyed your kiss. It helped to make my birthday special. I’m glad you like the navy. If I were a man and needed to find a career, I would choose the navy too.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad you aren’t a man. You are far too lovely, and it would be a shame if this world weren’t graced by your beautiful countenance. We’d better get back before someone comes looking for us. I enjoyed our ride tremendously. We’ll have to do it again before I leave next week.”
Elaine and Gregory headed back to the house. When they entered the stables, since no one was there, Gregory touched her cheek, then lowered his head and gave her a gentle kiss. “I wish you weren’t so young. I’ll have to come look you up in a couple of years. Well, you’d better run along before your brother catches you w
ith me. He would have a fit if he knew I’d kissed you. I’ll see you at tea.”
As Elaine and Gregory left the stables, they ran into Jonathan. Elaine could tell by his expression that he was furious. “Who told you that you could go riding, young lady? You need to go to your room and change your clothes and straighten up your hair. It’s almost time for tea. We’ll talk more about this later.”
As Elaine went into the house in a huff, she heard Jonathan say, “I want you to leave my sister alone. She’s only sixteen years old, and she shouldn’t have gone riding with you. You should have at least taken a groom with you.” She stopped so she could hear Gregory’s response.
“You’re right, we should have taken a groom. I promise nothing happened. We just went for a ride on the beach. I’ll not spend time with her again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go change for tea.” Elaine felt a searing pain in her heart as she heard what he said. Her brother had to ruin everything for her. Now Gregory was going to stay away from her. Feeling despondent, she hung her head and hurried up to her room.
Jonathan watched as Gregory walked away. He was very concerned about Gregory taking his sister riding. Elaine knew she shouldn’t have gone, and she certainly didn’t ask permission. Jonathan was sure that Kathryn would never have given her approval for her to go riding with Gregory. Helen had warned Kathryn that Gregory was a wild young man, and of course, Matthew had told him some alarming things about his brother.
The last thing Jonathan would ever want was for Elaine to end up like Matthew’s sister and have to get married at such a young age. Jonathan knew that Elaine was easily influenced and could be quite impetuous on her own, without someone encouraging her. He would need to watch his sister very closely. If he’d had any idea that Matthew’s younger brother was going to be here, he would never have let Elaine come here with them.
Jonathan went up to his room, and Hatton was there, waiting to help him. He gave him his dose of laudanum and then rubbed ointment on his knee. He didn’t have time for the cold compresses, and he knew he would regret it later.
Jonathan had enjoyed spending time with Matthew. They had ridden his estate, and he was impressed with how well-run it was. In fact, he liked Matthew quite a bit and was glad that he was his brother-in-law. In fact, he liked both his brothers-in-law.
Henry had talked to Jonathan about some bills he was working on in Parliament and had asked him if he would join the committee. Now that he was married, he wanted to take a more active role in Parliament, so he told Henry that he would. Jonathan glanced over at the clock and realized that he needed to get downstairs now, or he would be late for tea.
When Jonathan saw Kathryn coming out of her room, he joined her and they headed downstairs. As they descended the stairs, he said, “Hello, darling. Did you enjoy your trip to the village? I had an enjoyable day with Matthew. At least I did until I found Elaine with Gregory. She went riding with him on the beach, and she didn’t take a groom. She didn’t ask me if she could go. Did she ask you?”
Kathryn gasped. “No, she certainly did not. I would never have given her my permission. How long were they together without a chaperone? You know Helen warned us that he wasn’t to be trusted. I hope nothing happened. Surely he wouldn’t try anything with her. She’s barely sixteen.”
“He promised he would leave her alone, but I just don’t trust him. He shouldn’t have invited her to go riding with him in the first place. We need to watch her closely so they don’t have a chance to be alone again.” Jonathan glanced around the drawing room and noticed Elaine was across the room talking to Gregory. He immediately walked over to them. “Elaine, we need to talk. Come with me.”
Jonathan took her upstairs to their sitting room. “Elaine, please sit down. We need to talk about what happened this afternoon.” Then he looked directly at her and asked, “Why did you go riding with Gregory? You didn’t ask permission from either Kathryn, or me. I’m sure you realized that we would have told you no. You promised me that if I let you come with us you would behave. I’m very disappointed in you.”
Her face growing flushed with anger, Elaine jumped up. “I’m so tired of you treating me as if I was still in leading strings. I’m sixteen now. The reason that I didn’t ask permission was because I knew you wouldn’t give it. I wanted to go riding on the beach, and since Gregory asked, I accepted. Nothing happened. He was a perfect gentleman the entire time. You’re making this to be much worse than it is.”
“Now, young lady, you need to calm down. I’ll not tolerate you speaking to me in this manner.”
Elaine put her hands on her hips and gave Jonathan a withering look. “I’ve spent most of my time here with Frankford and Jane. I love them, but I needed some time away from them. Is that really so bad? You spend every day with Matthew, and Kathryn is always over at Lord and Lady Ralston’s working on their portrait. It’s as if I don’t exist. You know, I’m grieving for Roderick and Allison too, but neither one of you have asked if I’m all right. Please understand that I’m bored. I just wanted to have a little fun.”
Jonathan stood there feeling horrible as he realized they had been ignoring her. “You’re right. I have ignored you. I guess I can understand that you wanted to have some fun, but Gregory isn’t a safe person for you to spend time with. Helen and Matthew told us that he’s a very wild young man, and he’s always getting in trouble. I’m just trying to protect you. I want your promise that you’ll not go anywhere with him again.
Calming down, Elaine sat back down. “I promise I shan’t go anywhere with him again.” Looking coyly over at Jonathan, she added, “I would like to talk to you about something else. I’d like to go to finishing school. I want to meet other girls and have some friends. I’m really getting too old for a governess. Please let me go to school.”
“I didn’t realize that you wanted to go to school. I don’t have a problem with sending you. I’ll look into it when we get back home. Now, we’ll only be here for another week, and then we’ll be going home. If you want to go riding, let me know, and I’ll take you, all right?”
“Oh Jonathan, thank you so much. I promise. I’ll do whatever you want. You won’t regret sending me to school. I’ll stay away from Gregory, but I hope you’ll take me riding this coming week. You know how I love to ride. Can we go on Monday?”
“If the weather permits, I’ll take you. Now, why don’t you go to your room and rest before dinner?” Jonathan watched as Elaine left the room and felt badly that they’d been ignoring her. He was so enamored with Kathryn that he hadn’t been giving Elaine the attention he used to.
After Elaine left, Kathryn came in. “I just saw Elaine leaving this room, and she looked elated. What is she so happy about? Did you talk to her about Gregory?”
“Yes, and I feel awful. She accused us of ignoring her, and she’s right. I’ve forgotten that she lost Roderick and Allison too, and misses them as much as I do. She’s promised not to spend any more time with Gregory, and I’ve promised that I’ll take her riding on Monday. She also said that I treat her as if she’s still a child. As she pointed out to me, she did just turn sixteen. It turns out that she wants to go to school. I never thought about it, to be honest with you. I told her I would look into sending her when we get back home. Did you go to school?”
Kathryn sank down on the sofa. “Oh Jonathan, I feel terrible. I’ve been so busy, what with the portrait and all. I just didn’t consider how Elaine must be feeling. To answer your question about school, no, I didn’t go, but I wanted to. I think that it’s a good idea to send her. There’s a very good school in Bath. My old governess teaches there. If you send her there, she’ll still be close enough that she can come home on weekends. I think it’s an excellent idea. They’ll get her ready for her come out much better than I could.”
“Well, I’ll definitely look into it when we get home. Since we’re speaking of home, when do you think we could go back? From what you told me, you should be finished with the portrait by the end of the foll
owing week. Can we leave then?”
“If all goes well this week, I should be finished by Friday or Saturday. We can go home the following Monday. As much as I’ve enjoyed doing this portrait, I’ll be glad when I’m finished. I need a break. I’ve done four portraits in a row, with very little time in between. I look forward to the quiet of St. John’s Wood. Well, I’m going to my room now. I’ll see you later at dinner.” She stood up and went over to him, gave him a quick kiss, and left the sitting room.
Chapter 23
Mid-November 1823
That evening, when Jonathan retired to his room, his knee was aching terribly. Hatton rubbed ointment on it and wrapped it as usual. He took his dose of laudanum, but it didn’t seem to help very much. He felt a strong temptation to drink, but he fought it. He didn’t want to go to Kathryn with liquor on his breath. Besides, if he took the first drink, he wouldn’t be able to stop, and he would end up drunk. Hatton retired for the night, and Jonathan sat there for a while with the cold compresses on his knee, and finally the pain eased up a bit.
Jonathan was making progress with Kathryn. She hadn’t told him she loved him, but he knew she had strong feelings for him, and he believed that if he could ever break through her shell, she would be a passionate woman.
Well, enough woolgathering, it was time to go join his lovely bride!
When Jonathan entered her room, Kathryn was sitting at her dressing table brushing her fiery red hair. He walked over. “Let me do that. I’ve always wanted to brush your lovely hair.” He took the brush from her hands and began to run it through her hair. It felt like the finest silk. As he continued brushing, he felt himself becoming aroused. He could tell she was enjoying it as well by the blissful expression on her beautiful face. He laid the brush down and ran his fingers through her hair, watching as it fell down her back.
