Davenport House 4: Heiress Interrupted

by Marie Silk

  Nellie removed her hat and lay on the bed next to the window. She could soon hear muffled shouts of “bon voyage” from other passengers on the decks below. Nellie did not feel like watching the ship pull away. After lying in bed, she became restless and decided to have a walk around the ship. She walked down the narrow hallway away from her room, and observed that a man was walking in her direction from the other end of the hallway. She recognized him at once as the Caswell’s nephew, but wondered if he remembered her since he had looked at his plate for most of dinner. Just as they were about to cross paths, Henry nodded toward Nellie. “Miss Whitmore,” he said in his deep voice.

  “Mr. Caswell,” Nellie returned the greeting. Henry looked down at the floor and appeared as though he would walk past her without saying another word. “Um—please—Mr. Caswell?” she said before he could walk away.

  Henry stopped walking and met her gaze. “Yes?” he asked.

  Nellie could feel herself blushing and realized that she had not planned what to say next. It was not often that she was speechless, but this was one of those moments. “How do you like the ship?” she finally asked.

  “It will get us to where we are going,” he answered.

  “Do you know your way around?”

  “I am just exploring for now. Most of the public rooms are on the boat deck.”

  “I was about to explore as well,” Nellie remarked. They stood there awkwardly while Nellie hoped that he would say something. When he remained silent, Nellie asked, “Would you mind if I walked with you?”

  “Does your friend wish to accompany us?” Henry asked, motioning for Nellie to walk beside him.

  “Abigail will not be coming. She decided to return to Pennsylvania, so now I am traveling alone.” Nellie walked carefully down the hallway with Henry. It was a funny feeling to walk in the moving ship. Every now and then she could feel herself leaning to one side or the other. Henry seemed polite enough, and Nellie did not feel speechless anymore. She gladly filled the silence with her chatter. “We were stopped at the pier by some friends of ours. They had come to warn us about boarding the ship, and Abigail went back with them. We are not really in danger, are we?”

  Henry was quiet to the point that Nellie was not sure if he would answer her at all. “I suppose you mean on account of the War,” he replied at last. “I hope we are not in danger. It would be irresponsible for the captain to set sail today, if that were the case.”

  “Why are your aunt and uncle upset with you? Have you done something terrible?” Nellie blurted.

  Henry chuckled. “You Americans just say what you are thinking, don’t you?”

  “Not all Americans,” Nellie giggled. “Sometimes I do not realize what I have said until after I have said it. Forgive me, Mr. Caswell. We can talk about the weather, if you’d prefer.”

  Henry laughed again. “I am sorry for my mood, which has been unusually dismal as of late. You may as well start calling me Henry. We will be on the same boat for the next six days after all.”

  “And you may call me Nellie. Oh, I am so glad to have made a friend already! I was worried that I would be bored the whole voyage.” They soon entered the first class lounge. It was an expansive room with stained glass windows and high ceilings. Henry motioned for Nellie to sit across from him in front of the green marble fireplace. Nellie glanced around the lounge in delight. “I do love this room. They’ve done a perfect job on this ship. The last one I took to Britain was not so fancy.”

  “Is your family in Britain now?” asked Henry.

  “My parents are sending me to my aunt who lives in London,” she answered. “We live in Lancaster, but my father is mad that I have not married yet. He thinks I am too old to be unmarried, so he is hoping my aunt’s matchmaking skills can be put to good use for me.”

  Henry smiled, but did not dare ask the question. “You cannot be so old,” he said.

  “I am twenty. My friend Mary is twenty-two and she has not married yet. Although I do believe she will soon, making me the old maid of my social circle.”

  Henry shook his head. “I don’t know why you ladies worry about such things. Men do not care when they marry. I am twenty but I do not feel too old.”

  “It is because you are a man. You could be sixty and marry a girl of eighteen years. No one would think anything of it. But If I was sixty and wanted to marry a man of eighteen years, it would be nothing short of vulgar.”

  Henry stifled a laugh. “But you have a beauty about you that will still show through at sixty, surely.”

  Nellie giggled. “If I should live to be so old. I have not given much thought to marriage for myself. There was a time that I would tease Father that I wanted to marry a stable boy. You can imagine his reaction to that.”

  “Yes, I can,” Henry replied. “I thought that all ladies were in a hurry to marry. It seems that some ladies think it is their only purpose in life.”

  Nellie paused thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose some do. But they also talk about marrying for love, and I am not sure I believe in it. Do you think there is such a thing?”

  Henry shrugged. “I only know that I do not like being sent here and there and told who my wife will be. The reason I was in America is because my parents arranged for me to marry a girl in New York. When I finally met her in person, I refused. So to answer your question, that is why my aunt and uncle are cross with me.”

  “Was the girl not to your liking?” Nellie asked curiously.

  “On the contrary, she was beautiful and kind. It is why I refused her. She deserved better than me.”

  “You speak as if it would be punishment for the girl to marry you,” Nellie said.

  “It would be, in my circumstances. My father selected this girl because her family has a vast fortune—a fortune that my father wishes for our family to take control of. I did not think it right to marry a girl under such pretense. Do you think it is right?”

  “I suppose not, but it is the way things are done,” Nellie answered. “It has happened to me countless times—suitors coming to me for my family’s money, I mean. I dismissed them all without a second thought. I would rather enjoy life than marry only for the sake of it.”

  Henry smiled. “I am glad to hear it.”

  Nellie turned her head to look around the room when their conversation reached a pause. Then she looked down at her dress and giggled. “I forgot that I would be wearing these old clothes until my traveling cases are delivered. They are not at all suitable for dinner.”

  “I’m certain they are fine,” said Henry. “No one changes clothes on the first night of a voyage anyway. Or if you’d like, you could have dinner in your suite, like I plan to.”

  Nellie blinked in confusion. “How do you mean?”

  Henry laughed. “Sorry, I meant to say that I will have dinner sent to my room. And you could request that your dinner is sent to your room.”

  “You won’t dine with your aunt and uncle this evening?”

  Henry shook his head. “You saw what last night’s dinner was like. I intend to make myself scarce around them for the remainder of the voyage.”

  “You could explain to them why you refused the girl, as you explained to me.”

  “They would not be so understanding. You were able to refuse your suitors—but people in my family are never given the option. My aunt married my uncle being under the impression that he would be heir to our castle and title. My father was the oldest born, but he was expected to pass away before he lived to have children. That would have made my uncle the new heir. To my aunt’s disappointment, Father is still alive today. And of course, I am his heir now. My aunt and uncle have more than one reason to dislike me, you see.”

  “How depressing it must be to marry on such terms, only to be disappointed in the end,” Nellie pondered. “Wait, do you mean that you live in a castle?”

  Henry sighed. “Indeed.”

  Nellie laughed. “A proper English castle? You must be nobility as well. Was I supposed to addre
ss you as Lord Henry?”

  “Don’t you dare. In fact, if you begin calling me Lord anything, I will stop speaking to you this moment,” he teased with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Very well,” Nellie replied, her own green eyes shining. “Then you are a paradox. A lord who does not wish to be called a lord, who turns down a lovely rich lady because she is lovely and rich. What is it that you want in life, if not the grand life you have already?”

  “No one has asked me before,” Henry answered. “I want to be a doctor. I want to help people so that my life might mean something. I hope that I am remembered for more than an entry in Burke’s Peerage.”

  “How wonderful! Have you studied medicine?”

  He frowned. “Not officially. I have studied every text that I could get my hands on, but my father never allowed my admission into medical school. Did you know there are great advances in medicine from the East? Only, the methods are not new but centuries old. My father calls it sorcery, but I think there is something to it.”

  Nellie smiled. She did not know how to respond, but she enjoyed watching Henry tell of his ambitions.

  “I am sorry, I have been speaking of myself for too long. You are a paradox as well, Nellie. You are a lady who does not care if she marries. I did not know such a thing existed. I suppose that you do not have a need to, since you are an American heiress.”

  Nellie forced a smile, but decided to change the subject. “Does your castle have a moat?” she asked abruptly.

  “It does. I have considered renaming our home ‘Mosquito Castle’ because of it.”

  Nellie laughed again. She had thought Henry to be so serious when they first met. Now that they conversed in the lounge, Nellie realized that Henry was as funny as he was delightful for company. It began to get late, even though it felt as if they had only spoken for a few minutes.

  “I should be going to dinner now,” Nellie excused herself sheepishly. “It would be rude of me to not dine with my chaperons tonight. They did offer to see me safely to London, after all.”

  Henry smiled. “Of course. I enjoyed chatting with you this afternoon, Nellie. As you say, it is good to have a friend aboard.”

  “It is, and thank you. Goodbye, Henry.”

  Nellie later arrived at the first class dining room. The raised dome ceiling was painted in marvelous frescoes, and both levels of the dining room exuded neoclassical luxury. Nellie and the Caswells were seated in the upper level with a balcony view into the lower level.

  “Why has Abigail not come to dinner?” inquired Mrs. Caswell.

  “Oh—I am afraid that she did not board the ship with me this morning. Abigail decided to return to her home in Pennsylvania.”

  “How ungrateful of her. Isn’t she here as your companion? I hope you did not pay her allowance in advance,” commented Mrs. Caswell.

  “I do not think she was being ungrateful. She became frightened over rumors of the War and turned back at the last minute,” Nellie explained.

  “I see. I am sorry for you then, Nellie. You must have been bored out of your mind waiting for dinner with us tonight. We met a family today with a girl your age who is also from Lancaster. Do you know a Priscilla Campbell?”

  Nellie’s eyes lit up. “Why, yes I do! I had no idea that Priscilla would be on this voyage. You have made my day!”

  Mrs. Caswell smiled. “Then you will have a friend aboard after all. Priscilla appears to be a lovely girl who can keep you proper company. She said she will spend most of the voyage in the reading room.”

  “Yes, she does love her books,” Nellie responded. “I will look for her first thing tomorrow.”

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, a steward brought the traveling cases to Nellie’s room. After he unpacked Nellie’s case, the steward was about to unpack Abigail’s case which he also brought with him. “That won’t be necessary,” Nellie said quickly, trying to hide her sadness. “Just put that one under the bed for now.” The steward obeyed and left the room. Nellie was grateful to have her choice of clothes again. She got dressed and went to the reading room after breakfast. She immediately recognized her friend who was sitting near a window. “Priscilla!” Nellie whispered excitedly.

  Priscilla looked up from the book she was reading. “Nellie?” she responded in surprise.

  “Oh, I am so glad you are here! My chaperons told me that they met your family yesterday,” Nellie replied.

  Priscilla still appeared to be in shock that Nellie was there, but managed to speak. “Yes, I am going to stay with my cousins in Brighton for the rest of the year.”

  “But how have you been?” asked Nellie as she sat down beside her. “I have not seen you in ages.”

  Priscilla looked down at the floor. “I have been well,” she answered slowly.

  “What is the matter? You do not look like yourself.”

  “You think I look different?” Priscilla asked suddenly.

  “I mean you do not seem happy to see me,” Nellie admitted. “Is everything alright?”

  “I am happy to see you, Nellie. I’m afraid that I am not feeling well today. It must be the motion of the ship.”

  “I am sick from the motion sometimes too, but so far this has been a smooth sailing. I am sorry you are not feeling well.”

  Priscilla forced a smile. “Did you come in here just to find me?”

  “Of course I did. I hoped that we could keep each other company this week.”

  “I would like that,” Priscilla replied. She closed her book and joined Nellie to explore the other decks of the ship. They enjoyed looking through the glass wall of the lift going up and down to the different floors. Priscilla did not seem to be having much fun and excused herself to retire to her room. Nellie was left alone once more, walking through the narrow hallways until finally settling into a sofa in the lounge. She sat near the green fireplace as she had the day before, in the hopes that Henry might find her and they could have another conversation. All through the day, Nellie expected see him, but it seemed as though she was only seeing the same twenty passengers over and over. Nellie had dinner with her chaperons that night, disappointed that she did not see Henry or Priscilla again. She hoped that she would see them both the next day.

  On the third day of the voyage, Nellie found Priscilla in the reading room again. Priscilla appeared to be getting up as if to leave. “Oh, good afternoon, Nellie,” she said. Even though her greeting was polite, Priscilla seemed distressed.

  “Dear Priscilla, are you feeling ill again? Here, come with me to my suite. You can lie down on the bed. My room is so much closer than yours is down all those stairs.”

  Priscilla nodded and they both went to Nellie’s room where Priscilla immediately lay upon the bed. “Your room is lovely. Thank you for bringing me here. I was worried that I might faint.”

  “Perhaps we should ask the ship doctor to see you,” Nellie suggested. “I am worried for you. The sea swells will be worst than this in the coming days.”

  Priscilla began to cry. “It is not the sea that is making me feel this way.”

  Nellie carefully sat on the bed beside her friend. “Please don’t cry. Tell me what is wrong. Clearly you are upset about something. Can I help?”

  “There is no help for what is happening to me,” Priscilla said through her tears. “Mother and Father will hardly speak to me. My sisters despise me. I only want to be home in Lancaster, but I have to be on this voyage instead.”

  “But why is your family being awful to you? You could never deserve such treatment.”

  “I’m afraid that I deserve it, and more. I am now disgraced. I planned to run away with Edward, you see—and I would have if my parents did not stop me.”

  “Edward?” Nellie asked, trying to think of who Priscilla could mean. Then she asked, “Edward Vanderbilt?”

  “No—Edward Brown,” Priscilla replied mournfully. “Our butler.”

  Nellie’s mouth hung open. “My word, Priscilla—the family butler! Your father must
have raked him over the coals!”

  “He did, and I have not seen Edward since. I miss him so terribly,” Priscilla sobbed.

  “You must care for him very much,” Nellie sympathized, putting her arm around her friend.

  “But Nellie, it is a hundred times worse than what I have just told you,” she cried.

  “How can it be worse?”

  “I am pregnant.”

  Nellie felt her arm fall to her side. She tried to not appear as shocked as she felt. “How did this happen?” she whispered with wide eyes.

  “We were planning to marry before anything happened, but—I cannot explain it. When you love someone, it causes you to do the most drastic things you never thought possible. Edward does not know about the baby, and now he never will.” Priscilla sighed as if her confession had lifted a weight from her shoulders. “Nellie, tell me the truth…do you hate me now?”

  “I am surprised. But I could not hate you over such a thing,” Nellie assured her.

  “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

  “I won’t say a word. But—should you be traveling in your condition?”

  “It is because of my condition that I am traveling. I am expected to stay in Brighton for my time of confinement, then return to Lancaster after the baby is born. As if nothing had ever happened.”

  Nelly’s eyes grew wider. “Without the baby?”

  Priscilla nodded. “I can never recover from this. I’ve nearly thrown myself over the side because of my misery. I must see Edward again, or I will die.”

  Nellie thought quietly for a while, not knowing what to say to help her friend’s sorrow. “If there is anything I can do…” Nellie trailed off, seeing that Priscilla appeared ready to fall asleep.