The House

by A. O'Connor

  “I’m not carrying on any vendetta. I stay out of his way as much as I can. As we agreed, he runs the estate and I don’t get involved in that. But, Edward, now he is trying to run my house as well!”

  “He was trying to ensure his wedding ran as smoothly and graciously as possible, so his guests would enjoy themselves.”

  “The wedding we paid for!” spat Anna.

  Edward looked at her, slightly disgusted. “Now you’re just being mean. I think I’ll sleep in a guest bedroom – if I can find any vacant!” He put on his dressing gown and marched to the door.

  “Edward!” she called after him as he slammed the door.

  He didn’t come back.

  “Ahhh!” Anna shouted in frustration and fell back onto the pillows angry.

  Chapter seventeen

  News of Diana’s pregnancy came soon after the wedding. How quickly Diana had conceived mesmerised Edward. As the months rolled by, and his and Anna’s second wedding anniversary came and went, he was puzzled as to why there was no baby for them yet.

  Then one day, only eight months after the wedding, Edward and Anna received the news that Diana had gone into premature labour. Riding through the estate that afternoon, on his way to visit Hunter’s Farm to lend support to his cousin, Edward gazed across the luscious green fields of cattle and thought about the changes Sinclair had made on the estate. Sinclair had wanted to move into cattle-rearing as he saw it as a good source of income for the future. Sinclair and Edward had rowed over it, as it had meant clearing tenants from large parts of the estate, pushing them into smaller shareholdings. Sinclair had argued that the peasants could cope on smaller acreage withthe potato as their main crop which more than fed their large families and allowed them to pay their rent. And as the tenants continued to have larger families, the potato was allowing them tosubdivide their farms to their children as well. Sinclair had eventually got his way. Profits were up, which were the main thing, as Sinclair would say.

  Edward couldn’t wait to have a son of his own. Children and heirs he could spoil and teach to love the estate as much as he did. But now Sinclair was the first to have a child.

  As Edward neared the house, he saw Sinclair come galloping down the avenue, his cloak flying behindhim.

  “Good day, Edward,” said Sinclair.

  “I thought you would be back at Hunter’s Farm today,” said Edward. Even though Diana Hunter was now Mrs Armstrong, the name Hunter’s Farm had stuck.

  “The baby probably isn’t due for hours. No point in me hanging around there all day, waiting for him to arrive.”

  “Him? You seem certain you’ll have a son?”

  “Of course!” said Sinclair arrogantly. “The first of many, no doubt. I’m just off to the Miller place. They are being evicted today.”

  “Another one?” Edward’s face showed his frustration.

  “Yes.” Sinclair’s voice was sarcastic. “Do you want to join me?”

  “No, thanks. Watching people’s misery gives me no pleasure.”

  Sinclair smirked at what he saw as his cousin’s weakness. “You need to behave like a man, Edward!”

  A maid from Hunter’s Farm came rushing down the road to them.

  “Mr Sinclair! Mr Sinclair!” she cried out.

  “What?” snapped Sinclair.

  “Your wife, Mr Sinclair,” the maid gasped, trying to catch her breath after running. “She has had a baby boy!”

  Sinclair smiled broadly. “See, I told you!” He winked at Edward.

  “Congratulations,” said Edward. “Let’sgo to Hunter’s Farm to see your son.”

  “In time,” said Sinclair. “You go up. I’ll be along a little later. Once I’ve attended to this business.” Sinclair struck his horse and rode off.

  Edward watched him disappear into the distance.

  In all her time there, Anna had never been in Hunter’s Farm. As she and Edward stood at the front door waiting for it to be answered, she felt wildly curious about the house that harboured her nemesis. A servant answered and they stepped in.

  “In here!” called Sinclair from the small drawing room, and the servant showed them in.

  Anna was impressed with the inside of the Hunter’s Farm. It was smallcompared to the Big House, but beautifully laid out and furnished.

  Sinclair lookeddelighted as he poured them all a glass of wine from a decanter.

  “To my son and heir! Harry Armstrong!” declared Sinclair as he raised his glass and they chinked glasses together.

  Heir of what exactly, Anna mused as she sipped her drink.

  “And how is the baby?” she asked.

  “We have to be very careful with him as he’s so premature.We have a nurse tending to him day and night.”

  “But he’ll be all right?” checked Edward, concerned.

  “The doctor says he’ll be fine once he gets the right attention.”

  “And Diana? How is Diana?” asked Anna.

  “Diana is in perfect health and delighted with herself, as she should be.” Sinclair raised his glass again.

  Anna and Edward were eventually led into the nursery where a nurse was on duty by the baby’s cot.

  “I’m afraid because he is so fragile you can only stay a brief minute,” warned the nurse.

  “And you can’t go too close,” added Sinclair, blocking them from getting anynearerthe cot.

  Anna and Edward just about glimpsed the top of the baby’s head in the cot, as he was wrapped up in so many blankets, before being ushered out by Sinclair.

  Then, while the men drank a few more toasts to Sinclair’s good fortune, Anna made a visit to Diana’s bedroom and found her in excellent health and spirits. She stayed but a few minutes, however, for fear she might tire the new mother – and because, in truth, she found Diana as unfriendly as ever and twice as smug as before.

  “Did you get to see the baby?” asked Seán, as he drove Anna in the carriage to a visit to the Foxes’ house.

  Sinclair and Diana’s baby had thrown her somewhat. Everybody had been saying it would be her turn next. But surly it should have been her turn first, since she was married so much longer than them?

  “I did see the baby,” said Anna.

  “Not many have. Visitors aren’t welcome at Hunter’s Farm for now.”

  “Well, with the baby being so premature, they can’t risk him picking illness up from visitors. Even Lord Edward and I were only allowed stay a few seconds.”

  Seán had that smirk on his face that Anna had grown to dislike and be drawn to simultaneously, as it usually resulted in him divulging some intriguing and secretive news.

  “According to anyone who’s seen the baby it’s the oddest premature baby they’ve ever seen.”

  “And who do you know who has seen the baby?” she asked dismissively.

  “All the servants who work at Hunter’s Farm, of course.”

  “And what do you mean an odd-looking baby?” she asked, concerned.

  “What I said was an odd premature baby,” he smirked again.

  “I don’t understand. What’s odd about him?” She shook her head in bewilderment.

  “Well, he’s a fine big fat healthy baby. There’s nothing premature about him.”

  Anna looked at Seán, confused and not knowing what he was meaning.

  And then suddenly it all came together in her mind.The reported screaming rows between Sinclair and Diana the weekend they got engaged. The quick marriage within two weeks. The quick announcement of a pregnancy. And then the supposed premature baby. The scandal of what had happened and what Sinclair and Diana had quickly covered up hit her and she felt nauseous. The child had been conceived before the marriage.

  Chapter eighteen

  The months passed by for the Armstrongs in their usual whirlwind of social engagements. Anna looked on as Baby Harry seemed to grow bigger and healthier by the day. And every day more similar to Sinclair. Anna grew more and more to dislike Diana, whose confidence and arrogance seemed to grow by the
day as well. She would often visit Anna at the house, and Anna would be forced to endure polite conversation with her as Baby Harrylay beside them in his perambulator.

  Diana was also becoming quite the socialite. She obviously had assumed that her marriage to Sinclair had given her full-blown membership of the ascendancy.Hunter’s Farm, although small in size, had gained a reputation as beinga hospitable house, with Diana presiding over many a celebrated evening. The Foxes were at Hunter’s Farm more than they were at the Big House these days, Anna mused. And as Diana’s confidence grew, Anna felt her own being diminished. She began to dread hosting parties at the Big House, as inevitably the ladies would discreetly ask her when could they expect an Armstrong heir. A few times she feigned illness to avoid attending weekend parties at other great houses. Herself and Edward remained as close as ever. She loved him more than she’d thought possible, and she knew he returned it. But he too wasn’t as carefree and jolly as he used to be. He seemed preoccupied, his mind sometimes drifting. And she guessed only too well what occupied his mind. The unspoken issue between them of wanting but not having a child.

  She was sitting in her room one afternoon, writing a letter to her father, when she saw Diana’s carriage draw up in front of the house. She sighed to herself as she blotted the paper – she would continue her letter later. Another two hours of afternoon tea withDiana beckoned. She went downstairs and waited in the drawing room. Half an hour later, there was no sign of Diana. Curious, Anna got up and walked out into the hall to see where she was. She checked the drawing room across the way and the library but there was no sign of her. Surprised, she was about to look outside when Bartonappeared from the dining room.

  “Have you seen Mrs Armstrong, Barton?” Anna asked.

  Barton seemed to hesitate, then answered, “She went into the kitchens, ma’am.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “I don’t know, ma’am.”

  Anna walked to the back of the giant staircase and through the doors into the servants’ work quarters. She rarely went there. The kitchens, sculleries and servants’ dining room were in a large semi-basement that ran along the back of the house. She walked down some steps and headed for the main kitchen.As she approached she heard Diana’s voice inside and on reaching the door she peeked in.

  The kitchen was a giant, stone-flagged room, with large stoves on one side for cooking, and dressers filled with delph and copper pots and pans against two of the other walls. On the right-hand side was a row of deep stone sinks, above them four tall windows which allowed a lot of light to enter despite the fact that the room was halfbelow ground level.

  In the centre of the room was a long wooden table which that day was covered with cooking-apples, rhubarb and blackberries, ready to be made into pies by the cook and kitchen maids. But there were no pies being made at the moment. Instead Diana was inspecting different meats being brought out of the larder by the cook and the maids for her approval.

  “That should be thrown out,” said Diana, looking at a side of beef. “It’s not fit to serve.”

  “But it only arrived in this morning!” exclaimed the cook, surprised and insulted.

  “Don’t contradict me,” snapped Diana unpleasantly. “I said to show me your best meat, not your worst!”

  Amazed, Anna walked into the kitchen, giving everyone a start.

  “Diana, is there something I can help you with?”

  “Oh, em, no, I’m perfectly fine. We’re having a dinner party tonight, and Edward insisted I come up and select some meats for it.”

  “I see!” said Anna, angry but trying not to show it.

  “I do hope you’ll be able to come?” asked Diana.

  “It’s a little short notice,” said Anna. “I’ll check with Edward if we can make it.”

  “It’s simply not right, Edward!” Anna raged at her husband that evening in the parlour. “Coming in and helping herself to our kitchen produce and ordering our servants around.”

  “Look, what’s half a leg of lamb to us?” Edward tried to calm her down.

  “That’s not the point! We are not that woman’s personal larder!”

  “I don’t know what you have against her.”

  “We know nothing of her background, Edward! She’s tricked Sinclair into marriage with that child!” She regretted saying it as soon as she had said it.

  “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

  “I’ve heard rumours about Baby Harry. That he wasn’t premature at all. That she was pregnant before marrying Sinclair.”

  Edward looked at her. “You’ll destroy that woman if you spread lies like that, Anna. I’m shocked at you.”

  “I’m not spreading lies. I’m confiding the truth to my husband!”

  “I don’t want any scandal coming near this family, Anna. I won’t have my cousin or his child involved in any besmirching because of your jealousy.”

  Anna was indignant. “Jealousy! What do I, with my pedigree and background, have to be jealous of the likes of her for?”

  “Her child!” Edward shouted. “You’re jealous because she has a child!”

  His words were like a slap across the face.

  He lowered his voice. “A child . . . Anna . . . a child . . .whichever side of the marriage vows he was conceived on.”

  Edward turned and stormed out, leaving Anna staring after him.

  Chapter nineteen

  A coolness descended between Anna and Edward after their confrontation. She was very hurt by what he had said. And he seemed in no mood to discuss it or sort it out. His words spun round and round in her head until they brought on persistent headaches.

  Anna and Edward began to avoid each other. Finally she decided she needed a holiday and arranged to visit her home in Dublin, before going on to visit Georgina at Tullydere.

  Although Edward and Anna expressed pleasantries over breakfast and dinner, they were awkward with each other and she felt they were trying too hard to be nice to one another. Their natural closeness had evaporated. On the day she was leaving for Dublin, Seán brought her trunk down to the carriage and Edward cameoutside to say goodbye to her. It was the first time they had been separated since their marriage. Edward looked suddenly very sad as she climbed into the carriage and his eyes began to well up. Looking at him like that made her heart melt and she felt her eyes become tearful as well.

  “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks,” he said. “Take care, my love.”

  She nodded and smiled at him, trying not to show how upset she felt.

  She looked at Seánwho was standing behind Edward.

  “Seán, you’re to stay out of trouble until I arrive back, do you hear me?” she said.

  “Yes, Lady Anna!” He nodded at her and smirked.

  “And you’re to look after Lord Armstrong for me in my absence, do you hear me?”

  “I’ll make sure he hardly misses ya until ya get back,” said Seán.

  She smiled at him and the carriage took off. As the carriage headed down the avenue, she looked back at Edward, a lonely solitary figure waving after her.

  It took two days and two nights to reach Dublin. She stayed overnight in friends’ houses along the way.

  Dublin seemed so busy and metropolitan as the she drove home to Merrion Square.

  She was delighted to be back home with her father and family. But she felt so different from the girl who had left there.

  The first few days were spent shopping and dining out, but she had made an important appointment on the fourth day that she had told nobody about. And she arrived for that appointment with Dr Malcolm LaSalle full of nerves and apprehension. Dr LaSalle was the one of the finest physicians in the country and had been Anna’s mother’s doctor before her.

  He asked her many questions, all of which she found utterly embarrassing though she realised they were necessary – about her periods, whether she had ever had any infections and even the frequency of her intercourse with Edward.

  “Well, that is all
satisfactory,” he said then. “Now let’s do a physical examination.”

  This was even more embarrassing but Anna gritted her teeth and got on with it. She’d endure anything if it could give her a baby.

  After the examinations he said, “You’re a young healthy woman, Anna. There is no apparent reason why you cannot conceive and become a mother.”

  She felt relieved at the news and managed to breathe again.

  “That is comforting, Doctor, very comforting. I feared there might be a problem.”

  “No, you’re perfectly fine as far as I can see, Anna.”

  “So why am I not pregnant then, Doctor? My husband and I desperately want a child. We need an heir and if there’s no problem with me, then why have we not got a baby?”

  “There can be many reasons why you haven’t conceived. The problem might not necessarily be with you.”

  “I don’t understand.” She felt bewildered.

  “The problem may rest with your husband.”

  “With Edward!”

  “Yes.”

  “Could it really be so?” Such a thing had never occurred to her.

  “I’ve tended some of the best families in Ireland during my long career, including the Armstrongs. And there’s one thing I will tell you about the Armstrongs – they are not breeders.”

  “What?”

  “It was the same for Edward’s parents. They only had the one child, Edward. They wanted more. His mother came to me on many occasions. A lot of Edward’s relatives have been childless or had just one child.”

  Anna’s mind raced through Edward’s family. It was true what the doctor said. Even Sinclair was an only child. In comparison, her own family and relatives’ families were all large.

  “I’m not saying this is indicative that there is a problem with Edward fathering a child. I’m just saying in the absence of a problem with you, the problem could rest with Edward.”

  Anna walked back to Merrion Square almost in a daze. He had put her mind at rest and in turmoil all at the same time. It had never even dawned on her that there might be a problem with her husband. She had just assumed the problem was with her. She suddenly felt great tenderness and a need to protect Edward. But most of all she felt fearful for the future, for their future.