by Kirsty Ferry
‘I am not very happy about it, but it could have been much worse,’ replied Ella.
It was very true.
ELLA
November 1865
Two months had passed since the marriage and Ella had to admit that many of her fears were unfounded. They had honeymooned in Scotland, a place Ella had never been before. Adam took great delight in showing her the sights, her absolute favourites being the raging waterfalls that tumbled over rocks and crags, splashing up into boiling pools of foam.
‘Who would have thought that these places existed!’ she exclaimed, hanging over a rail that ran along the edge of a rough wooden bridge and looking into the depths of one such pool.
Adam hung over the rail with her and stared down into the seething mass, then he tapped her hand. ‘You will have to shout up,’ he told her, pulling a face. ‘I can barely hear you.’
Ella laughed. ‘I can understand you perfectly,’ she said.
The leaves were changing colour with the autumn approaching fast, and all around them was the scent of fresh, open air and earth. It was an unspoiled few weeks, and they returned to Carrick Park with some regrets.
‘I would like to visit for longer next time,’ Ella told Adam as they journeyed home. ‘Perhaps next year, we could go again?’
‘I think that is a superb idea,’ he replied. ‘Well said, Lady Eleanor.’
‘Oh stop it! Stop calling me that!’ complained Ella. ‘You know my name is Ella. It will never be any different.’
‘And I hope that you are never any different either, my love,’ said Adam. He smiled down at her and took her hand. ‘I have already commissioned that portrait. Mr Landseer is to start work next month.’
‘Oh, no!’ cried Ella. ‘Can I not persuade you to change your mind?’
‘Not at all,’ replied Adam, ‘but I shall be happy to let you try your damnedest.’
Ella coloured, knowing exactly what he meant. In the end, her doubts had been laughable. As Lydia had told her, it was Adam and he knew her well.
Ella was still protesting at the portrait commission when they reached the entrance to the Park and Adam was still teasing her, when he suddenly stopped and gently pressed his fingers against her lips.
‘I must insist on a revered silence for this part of the journey,’ said Adam. ‘This is my favourite view of the house. And this is the first time you will have seen it like this, the first time you have returned from a long distance and know the Park is truly your home.’
‘It has always seemed like my home,’ said Ella. ‘From the first moment I set foot in the hallway, I never wanted to leave. I hated going back to York.’
She watched out of the window of the carriage as they turned a corner and the house came into view. The sandstone glowed warmly in the low, wintry sunlight and the windows sparkled. ‘I still cannot quite believe it,’ she said. She pulled the window down and hung out of it, feeling the coldness rush past her face and inhaling the salty air. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and enjoyed the feeling of being part of the moors and the coast once more.
The carriage pulled up in front of the house and the front door burst open. Lydia ran down the steps towards them, a vision in a heavenly blue dress. Ella was still halfway out of the open window and began to wave madly at Lydia, laughing at the joyous expression on the girl’s sweet, open face. Lydia flung her arms out wide and continued running towards them, shouting their names.
‘Adam! Ella! Welcome home!’ She finally drew to a halt beside the carriage and reached up, grasping Ella’s hands as she approached. She looked over Ella’s shoulder and frowned. ‘I will not fall, Adam, so stop insisting I will,’ she commented. Ella turned and saw that Adam was laughing.
‘You will, mark my words,’ he said.
Lydia pulled a face and turned her attention back to Ella. ‘Oh, I have missed you so much, sister,’ she said. She began to pull on the handle, trying to get the door opened until the coachman bowed and indicated she should move away. She stepped to one side, impatiently tapping her fingertips on the fabric of her skirt, and then surged back in towards the carriage when the door was opened. She reached up and helped Ella out, then tried to do the same for Adam, who, in his turn, waved her away.
Lydia pouted at him, then turned to Ella.
After embracing her, Lydia held Ella away at arm’s length. She looked her up and down critically. ‘You look just the same,’ she said.
‘Why would I look any different?’ asked Ella.
‘Because I have not seen you for so long!’ moaned Lydia. ‘I am so pleased you are home. We have a special guest as well. We will all be together again. Well, almost all of us.’
‘Who is it, Lydia?’ asked Ella, her smile faltering. If Helena has turned up … she thought.
‘I told you. A special guest.’ Lydia smiled beatifically. ‘You will see. Now come on.’
Lydia linked arms with Ella and walked with her to the house, Adam following them. It was when they stepped inside the door that Ella saw who the special guest was. Jacob was standing on the landing, his arms behind his back, waiting for them to come in. His appearance was immaculate again; that wild look had gone and he stood there, practically the image of the Master of the House.
Ella’s heart lurched. She felt Lydia tug her arm and dragged her gaze away from Jacob.
‘A perfect surprise guest, would you say?’ said Lydia.
‘A surprise, certainly,’ said Ella, trying to keep her voice steady. She took a deep breath and pulled away from Lydia. ‘Jacob. How lovely to see you,’ she said. She held out her hand and he came down the stairs and took it. ‘It was such a shame you could not make it to the wedding,’ she continued. ‘It would have been wonderful to see you. I can only think you were otherwise engaged during the ceremony.’ She looked him directly in the eyes, daring him to disagree.
Jacob gave her a queer little look that told her he understood exactly what she was doing, and he dipped his head in a small bow. ‘Thank you, Lady Eleanor,’ he said. ‘It is an honour to be here. I hardly dared hope I would be invited back to the Park.’
Now it was Ella’s turn to dip her head. She understood that one perfectly. ‘I do believe it was Lydia who invited you, Jacob, but we will certainly do our utmost to welcome you. Adam?’ She turned and drew him forwards. ‘Greet your cousin. Let us all be friends. Now, if you please, I would like to rest. It has been a long journey. I will leave you to catch up with one another.’
Adam and Jacob hardly looked thrilled to be thrown together and the two men faced each other, the air practically fizzing with animosity. Ella was awfully glad she was not going to be witness to any conversation they might have. Indeed, had they been stags, she thought, they would be locking antlers very, very soon. ‘Well,’ she said, quickly, eyeing up the two men, ‘I shall see you all at dinner.’
You will see me sooner, Lydia told her.
What about my husband? Ella replied.
He can talk to Jacob. I have not seen you, he has.
Ella laughed, then she kissed Adam, feeling a little guilty about leaving him to the mercy of his cousin, and nodded to Jacob. ‘Until dinnertime,’ she said.
Sure enough, it did not take long for the door handle to turn and Lydia to slip into the bedroom. Ella had left the door unlocked, knowing that of the three people in the house who would have cause to visit her that afternoon, two she would welcome with open arms. The third person would be wise to stay away.
‘Tell me all about it!’ demanded Lydia, sitting down opposite Ella on the sofa in the window. ‘Tell me about everything. I mean it.’
‘What is there to tell?’ teased Ella. ‘We had a marvellous time and the country was beautiful. Rather, you need to tell me how things have been here.’
‘Your news is far more interesting,’ said Lydia. She rested her ch
in in her hands and stared at Ella. ‘Far more interesting.’
Ella laughed and shook her head. ‘Maybe, but that will wait. I want to know about you.’
‘I plodded on. It was terribly boring and terribly dreary. I even went so far as to write to Helena but she did not reply. So I invited Jacob. I dislike my own company as you know. It was far too quiet about the place.’
Ella smiled. ‘Well, it will not be staying like that for long. We are all home safely.’
‘I know!’ Lydia suddenly brightened up. She clapped her hands. ‘You are all home. How exciting! Your letters kept me cheerful and I especially liked the last one, when you told me you were going to come home.’
‘It was time to return,’ replied Ella. ‘Adam needs to settle a few things regarding the estate and I was missing you.’
‘I am not the reason you came home and we both know it,’ Lydia retorted. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. ‘But I am glad to see you.’ She stood up and stretched. ‘I am leaving now. You do need to rest, you look terrible. Rather ill, in fact.’ Lydia made a great production of signing the word to emphasise her point. ‘I will see you later.’ She blew a kiss and headed out of the room before Ella could retaliate.
Ella rushed to the mirror, horrified. She peered into the glass frowning. Yes, she looked tired, perhaps, but that was only to be expected. She certainly did not think she looked terrible or indeed ill. She had looked worse, and she was fairly sure, she would look worse again. She narrowed her eyes. Thank you she said, aiming her comment at the door reflected in the glass. She had not anticipated that sort of comment from Lydia. But actually, the idea of resting did not appeal in the slightest. Ella decided she would much prefer to be outside.
Ella looked out of the window and saw Lydia dragging Adam around the gardens, pointing out what he had missed during the weeks they had been away. She was telling him off for missing the flowering season of something, apparently. Adam was nodding and agreeing, but more probably for the sake of peace than anything. Ella smiled and found a warm, fitted coat in the wardrobe. She put it on and started towards the door. A movement of the handle brought her up short. She hadn’t locked it after Lydia left, had she? She cursed herself and watched helplessly as the door opened.
Elizabeth, the little maid stood there with a tea tray and a shy expression on her face. ‘For you, miss,’ she said. ‘I’m pleased to have you back.’
Ella noticed that there was a posy of Gypsophila on the tray, neatly arranged in a small jug. ‘Oh, thank you, Elizabeth,’ she said. ‘And thank you for the daisies. I didn’t get a chance to see you properly to thank you before.’
‘You are very welcome, miss,’ said Elizabeth. The girl placed the tray on the small table and stood in front of Ella. Carefully, she held her hands out, palm upwards and slowly closed her fingers twice. You’re welcome. ‘I’ve been practising, miss,’ she said, blushing. ‘Just one or two things, to make it easier, like.’
Ella clapped her hands. ‘You clever girl!’ she said. ‘Remind me to give you some lessons soon.’
‘Oh, yes, miss, thank you, miss,’ she said. ‘That would be very kind of you. I hope the tea is all right for you. I put some of cook’s ginger biscuits there too, if you want them. Thank you again, miss.’ She curtseyed and backed out of the room, shutting the door carefully behind her.
Ella thought what a sweet girl Elizabeth was as she helped herself to a biscuit and some tea. It was so good to be back. Scotland had been wonderful, of course, but her heart lay here, most definitely.
The biscuits were very good and hence they did not survive long in the room. Feeling much restored, Ella started out again on her quest for fresh air. She headed out of the room and walked along towards the main staircase. She stopped suddenly, seeing a figure standing on the main landing, looking at a watercolour of Adam that Lydia had done years ago. She had thought it rather good at the time, and she had had it framed so that it could be displayed in the most prominent position in the house. Over the years, people had forgotten it was there and nobody ever took any notice of it; which made it all the more astonishing that Jacob had chosen exactly that spot to stand in. It meant that if Ella wanted to go anywhere at all, she would be forced to pass him. Then, she imagined, he would make some light conversation about it and she would be trapped with him, and then who knew what he would start a conversation about next. The thought made her feel sick and she truly did not want to be anywhere near him.
Instead, she turned and hurried back along the landing to the servants’ staircase – her secret route to her own private sanctuary in the courtyard. As she had done so many times before, she prised open the door and dashed down the stairs. The door was, as always, unlocked, and she darted outside, taking deep breaths of the cold air as it flooded her warm face. She leaned back against the door for a moment, letting herself calm down, and then went over to the statue. The water was not spouting out of the top today, which, she realised, was more than likely due to the fact that they had just returned and Adam had not requested it to be set up yet. Her heart beating fast, she went around the back to check on the wings. She hoped that two months of Yorkshire weather had not damaged the statue any more and she made a mental note to ask Adam if he could arrange for it to be dealt with before the winter really set in.
As she went around the back of the angel, Ella was brought up short. After a moment, she reached forward and traced out the carvings on the now-perfect wings. Each feather was fashioned perfectly and it was almost impossible to tell that there had been any damage at all. The new set of wings had somehow been keyed into the statue and Ella’s heart lifted. As she touched the wings, she sensed a strange pounding beneath her fingertips. She frowned and moved her touch quickly to the angel’s hands, where she felt a strange gurgling sensation through the lead piping that came through the upturned palms.
‘Goodness!’ she cried. She just had time to duck out of the way and run over to the bench before the first jet of water shot out of the top of the fountain and soaked her. The throbbing had to have been the pump gearing up for action. She looked around at the deserted courtyard, trying to see who she could blame for switching it on, and saw Adam’s face peering around a corner.
‘You beast!’ she cried, running over to him. ‘I thought you were with Lydia. How could you? I could have been soaked!’
He laughed, gathering her up in his arms. ‘You could have been,’ he said, ‘but you were not. Besides that, I thought you liked waterfalls?’
‘I never expressed any desire to bathe in one,’ she complained.
‘I had it repaired – again!’ he said. ‘I left instructions with Lydia. She did well, did she not?’
‘Very well,’ Ella replied. ‘Thank you.’ She laughed. ‘I seem to have done nothing but thank people since I returned home. People have been so kind and welcoming.’
‘That is because everybody loves you,’ said Adam, taking up a strand of her hair that had come loose and tucking it behind her ear. ‘Returning home, however, would have been much improved without some elements.’
Ella lowered her gaze, unwilling to engage in conversation about Jacob; she knew, of course, that he was the element Adam was referring to. ‘Well, now we are home,’ she said, trying to change the subject, ‘perhaps you should make that appointment we discussed with the solicitor.’
‘Yes, you are correct, of course. I shall go tomorrow.’ Adam smiled. ‘Practical Ella. Yes, let us get the important things sorted out.’
‘May I come with you?’ she asked. ‘I would like a trip into Whitby. It will be good to see the town again.’
‘That would be delightful,’ said Adam. ‘I shall arrange the carriage.’
‘Oh, no, I would like to ride,’ she said. ‘My horse probably needs some exercise and I have spent too long sitting in carriages these last few weeks. I feel the need for some exercise myself.’
/> ‘But—’
‘Indulge me, please.’
‘Very well, if you are certain.’
‘I am.’
Adam nodded, his brow creased just a little. ‘Then I will tell the groom to saddle him up.’
‘I shall tell him myself,’ said Ella, ‘just in case you conveniently forget. I have neglected the poor horse and I feel horribly guilty. I need to go to the stables.’ She reached up and kissed Adam. ‘I shall go now, in fact, and I will see you later.’ She turned and headed towards the stables, determined to make a fuss of the little black pony. She had, it must be said, missed him more than she thought possible.
Ella’s pony was a ridiculously fat little thing. He always looked rather stupid, Ella thought, but he was gentle and slow and that was what she needed. As she was now living here permanently, though, she needed to be more confident on him. It was far easier to get a horse ready than hitch up a carriage if she wanted to head into town; and she had resolved to start riding again as soon as possible after returning to the Park. Therefore, she would go out tomorrow with Adam by her side and see how she felt. She knew he wouldn’t rush her and that she would be safe with him.
The little black pony was apparently quite happy to see Ella. He snuffled into her hand and she laughed at the warm, ticklish sensation his breath had on her palms. She stroked him, feeling the flabby muscles under his skin and the easy rise and fall of his chest beneath her fingers. He was a lovely animal, she decided, and once again resolved to try and ride him more often.
She saw a shadow pass across the stable and assumed it was a stable hand. She turned to speak to them, to tell them that she needed her horse groomed and saddled tomorrow, and instead she realised she was face to face with Jacob.
‘Ella,’ he said. ‘I thought I might find you here.’
‘Jacob!’ she said. ‘Unless you were following me, I doubt that you would know where to find me. The stables are somewhere I rarely visit.’ She felt uncomfortable being in such close proximity to Jacob, and moved slightly, trying to put the horse’s flank between them.
