by Ann Barker
‘No, as you have obviously noticed, the only fountain is the one in the centre, and it’s deuced ugly. In fact …’ He turned to Lady Agatha. ‘Would you mind, Aunt, if I took Miss Hope outside to see the fountain?’
Lady Agatha waved her assent, and Ilam invited Eustacia to leave the library by the door which led into the drawing-room. Once there, he opened the French door and they stepped out onto the terrace. It was a beautiful summer evening after the rain. The sun was only just setting behind some of the bigger trees, and there was a wonderful smell of rain-moistened earth and fresh vegetation. Eustacia sniffed appreciatively. She glanced up at Ilam. Although he didn’t say anything, she got the feeling that he, too, was enjoying the scent of the gardens after rain.
‘Come to the end of the terrace,’ he said. ‘You can just discern the fountain from there.’
She walked beside him, and looked towards where he was pointing. ‘No you can’t,’ she said. ‘Not when you’re my height.’
‘It’s too wet underfoot for your slippers,’ he remarked. He turned to look at the stone bench which was just behind them. ‘If you got up on there, you’d be able to see.’
Eustacia took his hand and, decorously turning her back on him, lifted her skirt so that she could climb up onto the bench. ‘I see it now,’ she said. ‘It is ugly, as you say. What do you plan to do about it?’
‘I’ve had a workshop near Derby recommended to me, and I plan to commission a new one, together with four smaller pieces, one for each of the segments. I don’t think I want four more fountains, though.’
‘You don’t want to go on a Grand Tour to get some?’ Eustacia asked him.
‘I’d rather encourage British craftsmen. I’m not sure what I want yet.’
‘What about statues depicting the four seasons?’ Eustacia suggested.
He wrinkled his brow. ‘Possibly,’ he murmured.
She looked down at him. This new perspective suddenly tempted her to tease him. ‘Too orthodox for you, my lord? What about the four apostles? Or even the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?’
‘Or I could be very daring and go for the four last things, couldn’t I?’ he replied, in a similar teasing manner.
‘The four last things?’ she echoed.
‘Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell, according to the church’s teaching,’ he replied, grinning. ‘Wouldn’t that make a fine display? Shall I help you down, now?’
‘I don’t know,’ she answered him. ‘I rather like being this tall.’
‘What, seven foot?’ he demanded.
‘No, but you cannot imagine what a trial it is to be small,’ she answered. ‘It is impossible to see over the heads of people, and one gets overlooked.’
‘Believe me, that’s sometimes an advantage,’ Ilam replied ruefully. ‘If I misbehaved at school I was always spotted. There was no one to hide behind, you see.’
‘No, but just a few more inches would be lovely,’ said Eustacia regretfully. ‘I suppose it is because Mama is so tall and elegant. I always feel little and insignificant next to her.’
‘Comparisons are always odious,’ he replied seriously. ‘We’d all like to be other than we are. Shall I help you down, now?’
Suddenly she recalled his father’s sneering remark about his ‘coal-heaver’s shoulders’. Was that what Ilam was thinking of? She put her hands on his shoulders and he put his around her waist so that he could lift her down. How strong he was!
Once down on the ground, she became conscious of her own diminutive size once again. ‘Thank you,’ she said, smiling up at him. The light was now beginning to go, and parts of his face were in shadow so that it was harder to read his expression. They paused briefly, his hands still on her waist, and hers on his shoulders. Then voices from inside told them that Lady Agatha and Dr Littlejohn were coming out to join them. They stepped away from one another, and walked towards the others; but the warmth of Ilam’s touch at her waist stayed with Eustacia long after he had released her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The following day was much improved and, mindful of the fact that Ilam had promised to go riding with her on the next fine day, Eustacia donned her riding habit. She was not to be disappointed. He appeared at nine o’clock with Butternut in tow, and threw her up into the saddle as before. With the memory of the previous night still in her mind, she was conscious of his strong hands on her waist as she had not been when they had ridden last, and she hoped that she was not blushing.
‘I thought you might like to visit the Crossleys at Valley Farm today,’ he suggested after he had climbed into the saddle himself.
Eustacia willingly agreed. ‘I believe that you said they are tenants of yours,’ she remarked.
He nodded. ‘Some of the most hard-working and prosperous,’ he told her. ‘The family has farmed the land for several generations now.’
After they had been riding for perhaps half an hour, Ilam brought his horse to a halt at the top of a gentle rise and pointed to a group of farm buildings which nestled in the lee of a hill. ‘Valley Farm,’ he said. ‘It’s where I spent my childhood until I was sent to Harrow.’
As they made their way down the track that led to the farm, Eustacia reflected that the whole place showed signs of very good management. The outbuildings were in good order, the Derbyshire dry stone walls were well maintained, and all animals that were in the vicinity looked clean and healthy. The farmhouse itself, which they approached from the front but then skirted round the back, gave every appearance of being a gentleman’s residence.
Their arrival in the yard seemed to be the cue for a number of different persons to descend upon them from various directions. A lad came running out to help Briggs take the horses saying, ‘It’s good to see you, m’lord,’ with a broad grin on his face.
‘How are you, Bert?’ Ilam asked, clapping him on the shoulder, before turning to help Eustacia down from the saddle. Mr Crossley appeared from the side of the house with a dog at his heels, saying cheerfully, ‘This is a fine surprise, and no mistake, my lord! And with Miss Hope as well. Has Mother seen you?’
Before Ilam could answer, a girl whom Eustacia recognized as Anna Crossley came out of what appeared to be the kitchen door with a bowl in her hands. Ilam was still speaking to his foster father when she emerged. Eustacia, however, saw the unguarded expression on the young woman’s face, and knew her suspicions had been correct. Anna was deep in the throes of what was probably her very first romantic attachment. As if aware that she was observed, the farmer’s daughter turned her head towards Eustacia. For a moment, the two young women’s eyes met, and in those of Miss Crossley there was quite unmistakable hostility. Then the moment was gone as Gabriel turned to greet his foster sister and she put down the bowl and ran over to him with arms extended, clearly asking to be picked up.
‘Gabriel!’ she exclaimed. ‘I didn’t think we’d see you so soon after church!’ Ilam lifted her as though she were no heavier than a feather – although she was quite a substantial young woman – and swung her around two or three times before he set her down.
‘Forgive me for appearing unannounced, Uncle Tobias, but I thought as the day was fine I’d bring Miss Hope to pay that promised visit.’
‘You’re very welcome, Miss Hope,’ said the farmer, with simple dignity. He was in shirt sleeves, with a leather waistcoat, homespun breeches and stout shoes. Clearly he was dressed for work, but his clothes were clean, and of good quality, and his lack of embarrassment about his working attire impressed her. ‘Anna, mind your manners,’ he added sharply. ‘You haven’t greeted Miss Hope yet.’
‘Pleased to see you again, miss,’ said Anna, dropping a reluctant curtsy, but not looking noticeably gratified. Eustacia smiled at her, but although Anna smiled back, her expression was a little wary. Eustacia wondered how often they had visitors in this corner of Derbyshire.
‘Is Aunt Bertha in the kitchen?’ asked Gabriel. Anna nodded. ‘Don’t tell her. I’ll surprise her.’ The expression on his face was
mischievous, delighted, almost boyish. He hurried inside, leaving Eustacia with Tobias and Anna. Moments later they heard a shriek proceed from the kitchen.
‘He’s managed to catch her unawares,’ said Tobias, grinning. ‘Next thing, she’ll be out scolding us all for bringing you to the back door.’
‘It was Gabriel who brought her to the back door, Father,’ said Anna with a little defiant glance at Eustacia, as she used the viscount’s Christian name.
‘That’s quite true,’ agreed Eustacia. ‘We are none of the rest of us to blame.’
Clearly Anna had no idea how to reply to this piece of banter, so it was as well that Mrs Crossley came hurrying out at that point. Like her husband, she was dressed for work in a starched white cap, her gown covered by a crisp, white apron.
‘Miss Hope, what you must be thinking of me, greeting you at the back door; but there, his lordship, who should know better, is to blame!’
‘We have just resolved that same thing, Mrs Crossley,’ replied Eustacia, coming forward to greet her hostess.
‘I do not see what can be done to remedy matters,’ said Gabriel. ‘If I take Miss Hope to the front door now, you will only reprimand me for trailing her through the farmyard.’
‘Yes, but you should not have brought her to the back door in the first place,’ Mrs Crossley pointed out.
‘Gabriel could hardly be expected to be knocking at the front door of his own home,’ put in Anna.
‘That’s enough from you, miss,’ frowned Mrs Crossley reprovingly. ‘Go inside and tell Lottie to put the kettle on. Miss Hope, please step this way; if you don’t mind the kitchen that is. I don’t know what his lordship can have been thinking, bringing you through the farmyard. Thank goodness it’s not muddy, that’s all I can say.’
Anna looked as if she might say something more, but in the end, she went back inside with something suspiciously like a flounce.
‘I don’t mind the kitchen at all,’ said Eustacia cheerfully. ‘I often go round the estate with my father, and we frequently end up in people’s kitchens, and sometimes go home covered with mud as well.’
Perhaps by way of making up for the fact that Eustacia had been brought to the wrong door, Mrs Crossley hurried her through the immaculate kitchen into the passage as quickly as possible. From there, they entered the drawing-room at the front of the house. This was a fine, square room with thick green velvet curtains, a green patterned carpet, and chairs upholstered in a similar design. Looking at the well-polished woodwork and gleaming glass of the windows, Eustacia could see, if she had not been able to guess before, that Mrs Crossley was a meticulous housekeeper.
‘Please to sit down, Miss Hope,’ said the farmer’s wife. She looked round and saw that the others had not followed. ‘Now where have they got to?’ she declared. ‘Tobias always has to show his lordship the least little thing that’s been done in the house; and here am I, still in my apron and without a chance of taking it off to entertain you properly.’
‘You can take it off now, if you like,’ suggested Eustacia.
‘Take off my apron and cap in front of a lady?’ replied Mrs Crossley in horrified tones, for all the world as if Eustacia had suggested showing her garters.
‘It’s very natural that your husband should want to show Lord Ilam what he has been doing,’ replied Eustacia, in order to change the subject. ‘I understand that he was brought up here.’
‘Yes, he was,’ agreed Mrs Crossley. ‘I hope you don’t think that any of us is too familiar with him, miss,’ she added anxiously.
‘I think it very natural that you should be quite informal with him when you know him so well,’ Eustacia replied.
‘Yes, but I know what’s fitting, and so does most of the rest of the family. Sometimes I worry—’
‘Worry about what, Aunt Bertha?’ asked Ilam, strolling into the room.
‘Sometimes I worry that Tobias will find so many things to show you that I shan’t get to see you at all,’ answered the farmer’s wife. There was a glow in her eyes as she looked at him. In just such a way, Eustacia reflected, might she look at a son of whom she was very proud. ‘Now, if you’ll entertain Miss Hope for a few moments, I’ll go and make myself fit to be seen by decent people.’ She cast a darkling look at Ilam before leaving the room.
His lordship chuckled. ‘Aunt Bertha always has to find something for which to scold me,’ he said. ‘She’d feel that she was failing in her duty if she didn’t.’
‘Is the house much as you remember it from your childhood?’ Eustacia asked, wandering over to the window.
‘It sometimes seems to me as if the place and the people have changed remarkably little,’ he replied, joining her. ‘Uncle Tobias and Aunt Bertha welcomed me into their family as if I was one of them. They made no distinction between me and their own sons. I was here with the family on the night when Anna was born, and I was included in their celebrations.’
‘Did you not spend any time at all with your father?’ Eustacia asked curiously, turning to look at him.
His face lost the relaxed expression that it had worn since their arrival and took on the shuttered look that she had now come to expect to see whenever the earl was mentioned. ‘Ashbourne came from time to time dispensing largesse,’ he said scornfully. ‘He usually managed to remember my birthday. No doubt Aunt Bertha prompted him. I spent more time at Illingham then later at Ashbourne after I started going to Harrow, but nobody could ever stop me from coming here.’
Eustacia wondered what it must have been like for a boy brought up to all intents and purposes as a farmer’s son to go to Harrow and mix with those who had not had that experience. Had he been teased or bullied? She felt a sudden rush of sympathy which almost caused her to reach out and grasp hold of his hand. She was glad that she had not done so when, moments later, Aunt Bertha came back, this time without her apron and cap. She was closely followed by Anna, who had taken the opportunity of changing hastily into a different gown.
‘Whyever have you put that on for?’ asked Mrs Crossley. ‘That’s your party dress.’ Eustacia could think of two possible reasons why the young girl had gone to change her gown. One might be that she did not wish to look unfashionable beside the family’s lady visitor; the more likely explanation, Eustacia believed, was that she wanted to impress Gabriel.
Anna muttered something about the other one being soiled, whilst Gabriel said, ‘I think she looks very pretty. You seem to have grown up all of a sudden, Anna. No doubt Uncle Tobias will soon have to look out for young men beating a path to the door.’
‘I hope I would have more sense,’ replied Anna, tossing her head.
At this point, Mr Crossley came in, having donned a coat, and a clean pair of shoes. His wife turned her head to make a brief inspection of his appearance, and whilst she did so, Anna took the opportunity to slip over to Ilam’s side and tuck her hand into his arm. ‘It’s so good to have you home again, Gabriel,’ she said, smiling up at him.
Eustacia casually took a step away to look carefully at them. Ilam was looking down at Anna indulgently, and he seemed to regard her as the young sister he had proclaimed her to be. She had already made a guess at Anna’s feelings. The adoring way in which she was now looking up at his lordship would appear to confirm this opinion. Observing the two of them, she could only see heartache ahead. One swift glance at Mrs Crossley’s anxious expression told her that the farmer’s wife felt exactly the same way.
‘Anna, what are you about?’ said Mrs Crossley in a sharp tone. ‘Let go his lordship’s arm, and don’t talk so familiar. “Gabriel” indeed!’
Anna looked as if she might make some kind of defiant response. Fortunately before she could do so, a maid came in carrying a tray with a pot of tea and some warm scones. ‘I hope you’ll have some refreshment, Miss Hope,’ said Mrs Crossley.
‘Thank you, I should be glad of some tea,’ replied Eustacia smiling. ‘Did you make the scones yourself, Mrs Crossley? They smell delicious.’
‘Aunt
Bertha is one of the best cooks in the district,’ Gabriel told her.
‘Yes and many’s the time I’ve had to count my baking and then count it again when you’ve been through the kitchen,’ said Mrs Crossley scolding gently.
The rest of the visit passed very pleasantly, and at the close, Anna asked if she might take Lord Ilam to see the new chicks. A look passed between Mrs Crossley and her husband, whereupon the farmer said easily, ‘I’ll come along as well. I’m a little concerned about one or two of the birds.’
Eustacia made as if to go with them, but the farmer’s wife said, ‘Perhaps you would like to see some of the lace that my grandmother made, Miss Hope. Tobias laughs at me for showing it off but it’s very fine.’
The farmer’s wife took her lady visitor across the hall and into the dining-room, which showed the same signs of excellent housekeeping as did the rest of the house. Mrs Crossley opened a drawer in the heavy oak sideboard that was set against one of the walls and took out some cloths to show her visitor. Eustacia was very ready to admire the fine workmanship, but before she could give voice to more than one sentence, Mrs Crossley spoke.
‘Oh dear, I am so worried and I hesitate to burden you with it, only I think you see quite a bit of his lordship at present, and that’s as it should be. I don’t want you to think that I had any ambitions in that direction.’
‘You are talking about Anna,’ Eustacia surmised.
‘You’ve seen it too, haven’t you? The trouble is, she’s been growing up without his realizing it, and although to him she’s just a little sister and always will be, to her, well, she’s getting foolish ideas, and I’ve had no idea of how to get her out of them – until today, that is.’
‘Today?’
Mrs Crossley looked a little self-conscious. ‘I hope you don’t think I’m being over familiar, having just met you, Miss Hope, but you’re the very first young lady that Gabriel – Lord Ilam, I should say – has brought here to the farm.’
Eustacia blushed. ‘Oh no,’ she exclaimed hastily. ‘There is nothing of that sort between us, I assure you. I am a guest of Lady Agatha and Lord Ilam is taking me about just to be polite.’
