by Jane Charles
“Did you explain?”
“I tried, but they want to believe the worst.”
Matthew sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I will speak with Lord Crew. I already decided, after Mrs. Montgomery came to the house, that I would need to marry Grace.”
“I am glad to hear it.”
Matthew and Jordan turned to the door. The man was entering the room. What was it about this town that nobody knocked on doors and seemed to appear when they were being spoken about? It was happening far too much and Matthew vowed to keep every door locked even in the middle of the day.
Jordan stood. “I will leave the two of you to work out the details. Do let me know when the marriage is to take place.” He grinned and left the room.
Matthew stood. “Can I get you anything, Lord Crew?”
“No, I am fine.” He settled into the seat Jordan had vacated. “Are you marrying Grace because of rumors and her reputation?”
“Yes,” Matthew answered without pause.
The man leaned forward. “Do you care for her?”
Matthew thought for a moment. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you love her?”
Love? It was such a strong word. He liked her well enough. Desired her like no woman before. Thought of her constantly and worried that she was safe, or how she would get on if something happened to her father. He wanted to take her burdens away so she could have comfort and be cared for. He wanted her to have servants so she didn’t need to worry about the cows and chickens, or how she would have enough money to get by. Was that love?
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I do care for her deeply, however. I am not sure I’ve known her long enough to love her.”
Lord Crew smiled. “I think you do. You have my blessing.”
“Aren’t you worried that I can provide for her and her father?”
The man chuckled. “I knew your father, disagreeable fellow, and how financially set you are. That is the least of my concerns.”
“Then perhaps I should ride to the next town to engage the vicar in performing the ceremony.”
“Lad, I suggest you ride to Gretna Green posthaste and not give this town any more time to add gossip to the already growing inferno.”
“Miss Cooper will not wish to leave her father. Even if we do not stop along the way, it will take at least two days to get to Scotland and even longer to Gretna.”
“You don’t have to be married in Gretna Green. Anywhere over the border will do.”
“I don’t think Grace will wish to be away for the better part of a week, which it will take even if we only stop long enough to be married and return.”
“I will convince her it is for the best.” The man stood to take his leave.
“Please, let me speak with her first, and at least ask for her hand.” The least he could do was to actually ask her to marry him since nobody else had bothered to do so.
Grace wandered the house on Saturday, trying to find something to keep her busy. Her father was on his way to recovery and Mr. and Mrs. Trent had taken up residence and doing all manner of repairs, when Mrs. Trent wasn’t in the kitchen.
She corrected their names in her mind. They were John and Elizabeth, which they insisted she call them. It seemed odd that these two practical strangers had taken control of her home, but she could not find it in her to discourage them. It was a relief to not have to worry at the moment.
The back door had been repaired by Mr. Thomas before she retired last night and John had put new locks on almost every window and door. She didn’t understand the necessity, but she did feel safer for them being there.
It was strange milking the cows this morning on her own as well. She had done this for the past two years without anyone else about, yet in just two days Grace had become used to Vicar Trent’s presence in the barn. What was he doing today? He hadn’t returned since she asked him to leave yesterday. It was unkind given he had done nothing except take care of her and help these last days. He could have left that first night, but he stayed to help watch over her father and on the second night to protect her.
A shiver ran down her spine. Had he not been there the assailant might very well have succeeded in murdering her. She shook the thoughts from her mind. She didn’t want to think about that now. In the cold dark of the night it had been bad enough. Thankfully she had suffered only one nightmare. Elizabeth had come to check on her. Grace had felt silly after that. Grace would have much preferred it to have been Vicar Trent who came to her room, but that would never be again.
It was best if she distance herself from him. Enough damage had been done. He was a pillar of the community and had other parishioners to see to. They had gone without his counsel for over two days and it was unfair of her to demand more of his time and attention. Besides, if he remained in her company his reputation might never recover, though she doubted it would suffer as much as hers. Not that Grace cared. The people in this community had known her since she was born and if they chose to believe Mrs. Montgomery over her than they had never been her friends.
Of course that was easy to say now, but what if they shunned her when she went into town?
No, they wouldn’t.
“Excuse me, Miss Cooper there is a delivery for you.”
Grace accepted the letter from Mrs. Thomas and walked to the window where she tore the seal and unfolded the parchment.
Miss Cooper,
We regret to inform you that you are being relieved of your position as Sunday school teacher. Word of your recent activities, questionable company and behavior has been brought to our attention and we no longer feel you are a proper role model of high moral character for the children.
Mr. Thaddeus Thatcher, Mayor
She sank into the chair and stared at the letter. Grace wasn’t sure if she was more upset about losing the position and the few funds it provided, or the fact that the counsel actually believed the harmful gossip. Not one of them bothered to even ask her version of the events and simply believed a disagreeable woman.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she swiped them away before anyone could see.
If they sacked her from this position, had they done the same to Vicar Trent? She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out in anger. What would he do if he were let go. It was his only income? What if his superiors learned, would they assign him another church or would he not be given a parish again? He has known his entire life that he was to be a vicar, where would that leave him now.
No, they couldn’t. If he was relieved of his duties she would march right to his superiors and explain the truth, if any of them would listen.
In the meantime, she must no longer associate with Vicar Trent because that was best for him. No matter how much she missed him, and she missed him deeply for only knowing him for such a short time, and it had only been a day since she had seen him, she would not visit or talk to him. She must learn to face her problems on her own and not seek him out. She had gotten by before he moved to town and she would do so again. The only time Grace vowed to see Vicar Trent was on Sunday mornings for services. Nobody could fault her for going to church and if she did not speak with him then he would escape from this unscathed.
Banging on the front door drew her out of her thoughts and Grace wandered into the foyer. Elizabeth rushed from the kitchen, a hand in her pocket. John began down the stairs. It was as if they were here to protect her. In a way they were, but she couldn’t see how much help they would be except someone would be less likely to try and get to her or her father with more people around.
John paused in the middle of the stairs and nodded to Elizabeth. She opened the door and before anyone could utter a greeting her uncle stormed inside the house.
“What is the meaning of this?” he bellowed.
Given her uncle was the one given to fits, Grace had a moment of wondering if perhaps he should be the one in Bedlam, she couldn’t begin to guess what he was angry about this time. “You will need to be more speci
fic.” Unless he had heard about Vicar Trent spending the night in this house twice. He had been livid when she rode in the carriage with him. The latest might bring on an apoplexy.
“I will fight Crew over guardianship. He has no right to take what should be mine.”
Grace stiffened. “Yours? This is my father’s home, and mine. He is the one who worked for it, turned it into the home he wanted.” She had intentionally kept her voice calm and low as she had no wish to argue with the man.
“As his brother what is rightfully his should go to me. It is a right of inheritance.”
“Inheritance flows the opposite direction,” John said as he sauntered down the stairs. “As a lord you have little choice in what becomes of your estate and title. As the younger son, Mr. Cooper can name anyone he chooses as guardian over Miss Cooper, and you would have the right as well if you were her father, but nobody can dictate who inherits upon his death.”
“You, you…,” Stillwaite blustered, his face turning red with rage.
“And, my father is not about to die,” she added in a quiet tone.
Stillwaite wheeled on Grace, wagging his finger in her face. “I will fight this. I know what is best for this land, your father and you.” With that he wheeled around and marched out the door, slamming it behind him.
Elizabeth rushed forward and turned the lock.
“Do you think he will be successful?”
John chuckled. “By the time Stillwaite manages to get through the courts you will be married and probably have a child or two.”
It was unlikely those things would come to be but it gave Grace some peace in knowing her uncle would be unsuccessful.
Matthew stared out at the congregation. Two weeks ago there were barely enough seats for everyone. The second week it had still been full. Today there were barely two dozen people. Miss Cooper sat with Jordan and Elizabeth. John must have remained at the house with Mr. Cooper and Perkins. The sermon he had begun preparing last week lay on his desk in the parsonage. Given everything that had occurred, he had written a new one, but it was no longer necessary either. The people in the pews already knew this lesson or they wouldn’t be here. The ones who truly needed to hear it were at home or attending church in the next village.
Miss Montgomery sat toward the back, her mother was absent. Of all the people who needed to be taught it was Mrs. Montgomery but he doubted she would change. Matthew closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should not be judgmental, not in a church, but he was angry. Not so much for himself but for Grace. If the parishioners did not attend services because of what they had heard, how were they going to treat her? Even Mrs. Phillips was absent so there would be no music today either.
Matthew closed his Bible and looked over the faces once again. Grace’s was drawn and pale. He prayed her father hadn’t suffered a setback, but feared it was because of how she had been received and the lack of attendance this morning.
“I was going to speak on the damage of gossip,” he began. “But most of you already know the repercussions or you wouldn’t be here right now.” He felt a smile pull at his lips. “I had a great sermon prepared and it is a shame that those who need to hear it most won’t. I will not deliver it today. Instead, I will ask that we each pray for those who did not join us. Ask God to show them the error in their thinking, to see behind the deceit, to understand and see the truth.”
Grace looked down at her lap. Matthew wondered what she was thinking.
“I fear that my actions this week have caused harm to this church and the community, and for that I apologize.”
She looked up and opened her mouth as if to protest. Matthew knew she would not. At least not here in the church. “Some of you know what I am about to share, others do not.”
She closed her mouth and a contemplative look came upon her face.
“I am the third son of an earl. Before I could read I was told I would be a vicar. My father demanded that I be a perfect vicar, not just any vicar.” Matthew felt himself warming to this new topic, as if he were about to free himself of a burden. “I studied hard and received excellent marks. Nothing else was acceptable. I never allowed myself to consider doing something else. My father would have never allowed it even if I had. I would have only been wishing for the impossible and become unhappy. So, I accepted my lot in life and worked to become the best vicar I could be.”
Jordan began smiling, as if he understood what Matthew was about to impart.
“However, I never felt the desire to be a vicar.”
There were a few gasps in the room.
“If a man is to serve God with all of his heart, preach and counsel, shouldn’t that desire burn deep within him? Most of the vicars and ministers I have met in my life had that passion or need. I have never possessed it. Does that make me a bad vicar?”
There were a few that shook their heads.
“I love God and I pray, and my faith is strong, but I don’t have that deep burning need to get up before you each Sunday morning, to spend all my hours writing the perfect sermon, to call on the parishioners because I am concerned about their soul. I want to become friends with those whom I share a community, converse and share their life, not simply be present when there is a crisis, or I noticed they weren’t attending services. Few people wish to truly befriend a vicar because they don’t wish to be judged.”
There were a few surprised looks. “Look to yourself and you will understand. Do you behave the same, use the same words, and discuss the same topics with friends as you do your vicar?”
There were a few sheepish looks shared between husbands, wives and friends. They knew he spoke the truth as well as he.
Grace’s eyes grew wide and she was the only one who did not look away from him, other than Elizabeth and Jordan. He had shocked her, of that he was certain. Would she think poorly of him after he finished. Would she reject his offer of marriage in the end, because of this?
“Frankly, I don’t want to be a vicar.”
A few more parishioners gasped. Lord Crew began to smile, which helped relieve some of Matthews’s concern about his future with Grace.
“I could work to fix the concerns that have risen over the past few days. I could visit each member of this community and explain my actions until I brought everyone back to the church. But it angers me that I should have to do so. Miss Cooper has been a member of this community since birth. There was an attempt on her father’s life. While he lay in his bed, close to death, I remained by her side as her minister. The only other person in the house was Perkins, Mr. Cooper’s valet. I did not know if anyone would come back to the house and try to kill Mr. Cooper again, nor was I sure he would live through the night. What kind of minister would I be if I had left the family alone? It never occurred to me that Miss Cooper’s reputation might suffer because of my actions. She was barely aware I was there because she would not leave her father’s side.”
A few of those in the pew sat forward, as if listening to every word, taking it all in.
“Early in the morning she had finally fallen asleep by his bed and I dozed in a chair across the room while Perkins did as well. When she woke the next morning she set about her chores of milking the cows and gathering eggs. I helped her so that she might return to her father quickly, and because she was exhausted and fraught with worry.”
His voice was rising, but he didn’t care. Those before him needed to know the truth and hopefully they would tell others and Grace’s reputation would be repaired.
“It was upon leaving the barn that a certain member of the community, whom shall remain nameless, came across us and assumed the worst and wasted no time in telling others what she believed. In truth, given our appearance, most would assume the same since neither of us had repaired our appearance before seeing to the cows.”
He paused and looked at them. They still listened with rapt attention, more so than any sermon he had ever delivered.
“I did not leave the Cooper household that day. I
feared I would be needed as Mr. Cooper had not yet recovered enough to be certain he would live. It wasn’t until later that night that I realized I should have sent into town for someone to stay with Miss Cooper so that I was not in the house another night. Thankfully Mr. and Mrs. Thomas visited and decided to sleep in a room down the hall from Miss Coopers.”
There were a few murmurs and surprised looks. Clearly Mrs. Montgomery had forgotten to mention there were others in the house. Perhaps she didn’t even know. Matthew was certain he would never know as well. “I remained in the parlor in the event Mr. Cooper needed me and as a guard. Unfortunately I fell asleep and someone did get by me. I woke to sounds coming from upstairs and went to investigate. What I found was a man bent over Miss Cooper trying to smother her with a pillow.”
There were more gasps and murmurs.
“The attacker got away from me and I still do not know who he was. But, at least Miss Cooper survived, and I don’t believe she would have had I not been there.”
Some people nodded.
“I know you all heard that I was sleeping in her room when the same member of this community came to visit.” He paused and looked at them. Some leaned forward, as if waiting to see if he admitted to being there. “I was.”
The murmurs the congregation exchanged were louder this time.
“Following her attack Miss Cooper was frightened, and rightly so. The assailant had broken the back door into the house and it could not be sealed tight. As someone had gotten into the house before, I remained in her room to protect her. I slept in the chair in front of the fireplace. The door to her room remained open and Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were in a chamber one door away.” Matthew knew he wasn’t giving a full accounting of the night and hedged on the order of events, but he didn’t care. To tell them the truth would see Grace shunned from society. What happened between them was private and nobody need know. Especially since they would soon be married.
