“I think walking would be nice. I have been seated on a bumpy wagon for two days and it would be pleasant to stretch my legs. Also, it is easier to converse if we are walking—plus, I can offer you my arm.”
That suited Maria just fine. She linked her arm with Roger’s and they set out along a ridge that gave a good view of the estate.
It was nearly the end of August, and even though it was still summer, there was the faintest hint of the approaching autumn in the air. None of the trees had started turning color yet, but overhead a V formation of geese was flying south. The air smelled fresh and the color of the light had deepened as the angle of the sun was lower in the sky.
“Creassey is a very impressive estate,” Roger said.
“How does it compare to your land?”
“Ours might be a little more extensive, but we also have a larger herd than Harry has.”
“And your house?”
“Not as large as yours, but it is handsome in its own way.”
“I should like to see it sometime. Perhaps we could visit next year before the cattle fair.”
Roger looked at her. “Or even before that. I should love to invite the two of you to visit whenever you like. I believe you would like my family and I am certain they would enjoy meeting you.”
She glanced at Roger. “That might be possible at some point. But it would most likely be in the spring as travel can be difficult in the winter.”
Maria felt a breeze picking up and she snuggled in closer to Roger. She realized she liked Roger very much. But as she realized that, she also thought of Percy.
Dear Percy… she thought. They had been so close, but now with the horrible circumstance his family was in, he was being forced to woo Anna, and it seemed so very wrong. He did not love Anna and Maria felt badly for both herself and for Anna, as both would suffer if Percy was to succeed in marrying her.
Maria knew she should forget Percy, but she could not. He had been so dear to her… he still was. But perhaps it was time to move on. And maybe Roger would be just the person to entice her. However, it was too early to know.
They were coming to a wooded area and Maria asked, “I cannot remember if you have any sisters.”
“One sister, Matilda. However, she is frail and requires a lot of attention and supervision.”
“I am sorry to hear that. Then she is unmarried?”
“She is. Sadly, we do not expect her to be with us too much longer.”
Maria placed her free hand on Roger’s arm. “I am sorry to hear that. It must be difficult for your family.”
“It is an accepted fact. We do all we can to make her comfortable, but there is only so much we can do to ease her pain.”
They entered the woods and it became cooler. Maria hiked her summer shawl up around her neck.
“Are you cold, Maria? Do you want to return to the house?” he asked.
“No, I am fine. Unless you want to.”
“What is Harry up to this afternoon?”
“Most probably he will be with the new cows. He will want to make certain they are settled in properly.”
“Then I think I should join him—if you do not mind.”
“Not at all.”
Maria was a little disappointed they would not walk further. She had hoped to spend more time with him. Was she sensing a flagging of his interest in her, or was it merely a concern for Harry and the new cows?
As they headed back toward the house, Roger asked, “Forgive me, but might I enquire if you have a living attached if you were to marry?”
This startled Maria, for it was not customary to ask a young lady such a question directly. More appropriately he should be asking that of Harry.
“Ah… I am somewhat uncertain how to answer that. Perhaps you might discuss that with Harry.”
“Ah… yes. Very well,” he responded.
He offered nothing further. Maria was very confused. It was so obvious that was an important issue for Roger, but it was handled so indelicately. This did not bode well, and she thought she should discuss this with Harry when they were alone.
As they neared the house, they could see Harry in the distance in the field with the new cattle.
“Ah, there he is. Miss Maria, I think I shall join him now. Perhaps I shall see you later?”
“At tea. We usually have it in the drawing room.”
“Good-bye for now,” he said and trotted toward the field, leaving her alone.
Percy was at loose ends. Anna was to be gone for an unknown number of weeks. It would be far too awkward and inappropriate to spend any time with Maria. And his father was pushing him to travel to London to further his hunt for a wife, in case marriage did not work out with Anna.
He tried to avoid his father as much as possible, for once in sight, the Duke would begin hounding him about how lazy he was. Why was he not on his way to London? Or moaning about how desperate he was for money and how the creditors were beseeching him daily for payments.
Percy decided to visit Harry. He could use that as an excuse, and he might find a few moments to visit with Maria, since he had supposedly come to spend time with Harry.
He escaped from his room and rode over to Creassey. As he approached, he saw Harry with a man he did not know. He rode up to them as they were securing a gate from a field they had just exited.
“Percy,” Harry called out. “I have not seen you for some time.”
“Father has demanded my attention. But I was able to slip away and thought you might want to go fishing.”
“Percy, this is my friend Roger Dillon. Roger this is Percy Garvey, also my friend and fishing mate.”
Roger saluted. “Pleasure, Mr. Garvey.”
Percy nodded.
“I cannot get away to fish just now,” Harry said. “Mr. Dillon is visiting, and we are about to join Maria for tea. Care to join us?”
Percy was uncertain but said, “Certainly, would be a pleasure.”
The three went into the house and headed to the drawing room.
Maria was already in attendance, waiting on them before serving tea.
“Hello… oh, Percy… are you joining us?”
“If I might?”
“Of course,” she said, but she also felt a little nervous. She had not expected to see Percy again so soon.
He looked at her and smiled with a somber expression. He came to the tea table and sat on one side of her as Roger sat on her opposite.
Maria found her heart was fluttering and her hand shook as she began to pour the tea. Why had Harry invited Percy to tea? This was an awkward situation. Here were the two men in her life whom she had feelings for and she did not know how to speak to either of them right now—especially in front of each other.
“And how do you take your tea, Mr. Dillion?” she asked.
“Oh, please you may call me Roger. And cream only, please.”
Maria served everyone, and as she took her first sip of tea, she glanced at Percy. Her heart flipped as she saw how sad he was.
Fortunately, Harry came to her rescue by asking Percy, “Who do you favor in the by-elections?”
Percy seemed confused and stumbled out, “Ah… ah… Not given it any thought, Harry. I have been preoccupied with other matters.”
“We have a chap in our district I should like to see replaced,” Harry said filling his plate with biscuits. “But his seat is a solid one and I see little hope in ousting him.”
Harry caught Maria’s eye and she saw he recognized the awkwardness of the situation.
“Roger, you have not met our mother this time because she is in London visiting her sister. Do you get to London often?”
Maria was relieved that Harry had directed the conversation to Roger and away from Percy.
“Occasionally. Our family has ties to several banking operations and my father and I go down to see what is going on with our investments from time to time.” He turned his attention to Maria and asked, “I noticed there are a number of fine works
of art in your house. I should very much appreciate a tour. Do you think you could take some time and show me around the house after tea?”
Maria glanced quickly at Percy before answering. “I should be delighted to, but first I must confer with cook about dinner.”
Percy, without any word, stood up abruptly. He was shaking. “I really must go. I am so sorry.” He looked at Maria and she saw he was on the brink of tears.
“Percy…” Harry said trying to understand what was going on. “If Maria is going to show Mr. Dillon the house, you and I could go fishing after tea. Must you rush off?”
“Yes. I must. I am sorry I am not good company this afternoon. I should not have accepted your invitation to tea. Most sorry, Maria.” He tossed his napkin on the tea table and left quickly.
Roger seemed perplexed. “Strange fellow. Is he always so rude?”
Maria said gently, “His family is suffering a great crisis and I believe he is over-emotional at the moment.”
“Still… he seems like a real rotter to me. You say he is your friend?” he asked Maria.
“He is. In fact, we once considered marriage before his family crisis.”
“Huh… Then why was he here?”
“He is our friend, Roger,” Harry said firmly.
Chapter 32
Both Dorothy and Anna planned to go to their rooms to rest after tea. Even though they had slept fair enough at their stop the previous evening, they were exhausted from the two-day journey in the carriage.
As with many farming families, dinner was served early at the Stewart household.
“Dinner at six o’clock sharp,” Theodore announced as Anna and Dorothy were leaving after tea. “Breakfast from five o’clock, although as guests, we do not expect you before seven.”
The sisters exchanged glances as neither arose much before eight or eight-thirty. And for them, breakfast was at nine—at the very earliest.
They giggled between themselves as they headed up the stairs to their separate rooms.
“I might have to slip a dinner roll into my pocket to save for the morning,” Dorothy said, “For I shall never be able to make breakfast at seven o’clock.”
“I will try to make seven, and I shall save you a rasher or two of bacon to go with your roll.”
Anna left her sister, retiring to her room, and laid down for a rest. Before long, she drifted off to sleep but was awakened with the children running down the hallway outside her room shouting, “Dinnertime! Dinnertime!”
She sat on the edge of the bed. Perhaps that was the way dinner was announced in this household, but she thought it strange. She washed her face, brushed her hair, and slipped into her most comfortable shoes.
As she came out of her room, she saw Dorothy approaching, apparently also ready for dinner.
“The children are lively,” Anna said with a sly smile.
“An altogether lively family, if you ask me,” Dorothy said. “I find Theodore and Claribel most amusing too.”
“Well, you had better get used to them, for they will soon be your family and you will be sharing this house with them.”
The dining room was unexpected. Not only was the Stewart family present, but also a number of guests. Many of them appeared to be neighboring farmers—whose idea of dressing for dinner was slicking back one’s hair with a generous amount of spit on the palm of the hand. At least five additional children were also running in circles around the dinner table.
Claribel stood up as Anna and Dorothy entered. “I guess you missed the dinner bell, but you are right on time. Come, you two lovely ladies, and meet the guests we have assembled in your honor.”
Christopher came over, gave Dorothy a kiss on the cheek, and directed her to sit next to him at the table. Claribel patted the chair next to her for Anna. “Come sit with me, dear.”
Theodore stood at the head of the table and rattled off the names of all the guests, only a few of which Anna would remember. She looked at her sister who appeared to be as bewildered as she was.
“Did you have a lovely lie-down?” Claribel asked.
“Very nice. I was quite exhausted from our travels.”
Claribel patted Anna’s hand. “I expect you were, dear. But eat. We serve hearty meals here and you will get your strength back before you know it.”
Bowls of steaming meats, vegetables, and soups were brought out of the kitchen by staff and set on the table. No one served, but the bowls were passed from one to another and it was catch as catch can. There were already bottles of beer and wine where one merely picked up the nearest bottle and poured oneself a drink.
Anna began to wonder how Dorothy would fare in such a house but remembered her sister’s own exuberance and thought she might adapt from her more sedate, current lifestyle to this rowdier version.
Theodore stood and shouted out a number of toasts including one to the “two fine ladies who have traveled all this way from Wiltshire.” And another to the newly engaged couple.
There was no such thing as a quiet conversation, as everyone shouted across the table to everybody else—all at the same time.
Anna examined the food on the table. There was a ham, a turkey, a number of capons and something under a white sauce that might have been fish. The tablecloth was spotted with enough spills to create a tapestry to hang on the wall.
“You are very different from your sister,” Claribel observed. “You are very much a lady. Your sister is more rambunctious, it seems to me.”
“That is true, and I think it is because I am the eldest and have always been the responsible one ever since our mother died. As the eldest, the job fell to me, as father was away in India for long stretches of time.”
“Poor dear, and to lose your father so recently. Is there no one else?”
Anna shook her head. “No grandparents, nieces, cousins or nephews. We are a small family.”
Claribel roared with laughter. “Not when your sister marries into this family. We have relations crawling out of the woodwork, hanging from the chandeliers, and poking their snouts out of the ground like a parcel of hedgehogs.”
Claribel shouted across the table to her husband, “Honey, we need to invite all the relations to supper before these two fine ladies leave us.”
“Aye, just say the word and it shall be done, honey pumpkin,” he shouted back.
Anna caught her sister’s eye and they exchanged grins. They did not need to say a word. They both understood the mirth they shared at the moment.
A few moments later, the staff swooped into the dining room, removed all the serving platters, and began collecting the diners’ plates. Anna had barely started to eat when her plate was swept away by a kitchen maid with a dirty apron. Immediately following, another troop of servers entered and placed cakes, pies, puddings, fruit compotes and jellies on the table as dessert plates were plopped down at each place. The guests became noisy again and began passing the new servings around the table.
“Does your house have a good kitchen? We spare nothing for a fine gathering. As you can see, I like to eat,” Claribel laughed as she showed off her girth. “Here, eat up. You are as skinny as a snake,” and she spooned several dollops of pudding on Anna’s plate.
Anna was now more exhausted than she had been from the two-day trip in the carriage. The noise, the abundance of aromas from both the food and the guests, and the children again running around the table in opposing circles made Anna begin to doubt her sanity.
Then Christopher stood and announced. “Into the great hall. We have arranged a dance.”
Great cheers rang out from the guests as they stood and began heading to where the music was starting up. No sedate waltzes but rousing polkas and country dances.
Dorothy came over and took Anna’s arm as Christopher led the guests toward the dance.
Anna turned to her sister and whispered. “This is to be your family, Dorothy. What do you think?”
Dorothy smiled. “Very generous and fun. I am having a wonderful time.
Are you?”
Anna smiled slightly and nodded but did not speak.
Dorothy wrinkled her upper lip. “It is too much for you, is it not?”
“Perhaps a little…”
“You will get used to it. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to let go after all the solemn mourning of the past few weeks,” she said and letting go of Anna’s arm, danced on ahead, following the rest of the crowd.
The Scandalous Saga of the White Lady: A Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 22
