by Darcy Burke
She was prettier than he’d thought with that ugly grey bonnet obscuring her hair, Thomas realised, though the plain dark grey gown she wore did nothing for her. She was still in mourning for her parents, of course, but then so was Lady Louisa for her father, and she had managed to find a gown that flattered her.
As soon as he thought it, Thomas kicked himself for such insensitivity. Louisa had an unlimited budget and probably a seamstress dedicated to her wardrobe, whereas Ellen had only a paltry legacy. Undoubtedly she was making do with whatever she had.
“Won’t you sit down, my lord?” Ellen said eventually, taking a seat herself. Thomas sat down, still taking her in. She looked thin, although Bledsloe had said she ate with the family. There were hollows in her pale cheeks and shadows beneath her eyes, a dark chocolate colour quite unlike his own blue-grey. Her hair was darker than his, almost black, though the sunlight pouring in through the window behind her brought out some mahogany-red glints in it. He saw little resemblance in her features to either his own or Louisa, and wondered if she resembled her Havers grandmother at all, or whether her looks favoured a different part of her family.
“Bledsloe told me something of your situation,” Thomas said awkwardly after a moment of silence. Ellen was just sitting, her hands folded in her lap, not looking at him. “I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your parents.”
“I am sorry for your loss too, my lord.”
He blinked in confusion.
“The Earl and Lord Oliver?” she prompted.
“Oh, I see. I never knew them, I’m afraid. My grandfather corresponded with them to some extent while he was still alive, but since his death five years ago I heard not a word until a representative from my uncle’s London solicitor contacted me in New York.”
“I see,” Ellen said colourlessly, and there was another brief silence before she said “Do you have other family, back in America?”
“No, my parents died when I was very young. A fire. Gramps raised me.”
She nodded silently, and Thomas wondered where the friendly, smiling girl he had seen in the garden just two days ago had gone. She didn’t know who I was then, he realised in a flash of enlightenment. She’s afraid of me, of how my actions may upset her little world.
“May I call you Ellen?” Thomas asked, trying to make his voice as quiet and gentle as he could. “And I should like it if you will call me Thomas, if you will. I have only three living relatives in this whole world, and you are one of them.”
Wide eyes lifted to his face, and he noticed lighter amber glints in the dark chocolate of her eyes. She said nothing for a long moment before finally saying “I do not want to appear disrespectful in front of others, but I suppose if we are in private conversation, as we are now, I could call you Thomas.”
“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She smiled at last in response to his teasing tone. “Not so hard. I have never had a cousin before.”
That raised his eyebrows. “Of course you do. Lady Louisa…”
“I have seen Lady Louisa every Sunday at church since we were both old enough to attend and I am quite sure she has no idea what my name is.”
Thomas sat back, studied her thoughtfully.
Ellen looked down at her hands, biting her lip guiltily. “I should probably not have said that,” she murmured. It had been decidedly snippy and un-Christian. Her mother would have sent her to wash her mouth out with soap.
“No, you have every right to be resentful. I can hardly believe the way the family has treated you myself. That changes now.”
Her eyes were still wary as she looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“What do you want, Ellen?”
“Excuse me?” Startled, she blinked at him.
“What do you want? To do with your life, I mean? What are your dreams, what could you do if you could do anything at all?”
She hesitated, staring at him. “I… don’t know. Nobody ever asked me that question before. I don’t think it’s a question that many girls are asked, really. We are expected to want nothing more than to be a wife and mother to some man…”
“That’s not what you want?”
“Maybe.” A tinge of colour touched her pale cheeks. “I haven’t ever met a man who made me want those things.”
“Fair enough.” Thomas steepled his fingers, tapped his fingertips together thoughtfully. “Do I take it, then, that becoming a governess or a schoolteacher, or companion to some wealthy lady, is not in fact your life’s ultimate dream?”
“It is not. Until this meeting, though, I thought it was the only future that might possibly be open to me!”
“Are you happy here?” he asked, seeing that she seemed a little more relaxed and easy with him.
“Here?” She looked puzzled. “In Haverford? I have never known anywhere else.”
“Staying with your friends, I mean. Mr and Mrs Bledsloe.”
“Oh, I see… well, Demelza has been so very kind. I had nowhere else to go after Mr Ellis told me I had two weeks to vacate the Vicarage.”
Arrested, Thomas blinked. “Wait. What, Mr Ellis, the steward?”
“That’s right.”
“My uncle’s steward… ordered you out of your home? Within days of your parents’ deaths?”
“The very day of Papa’s funeral. Mama died two weeks before… she was not very strong, and once she died I think Papa just gave up the will to live.” Ellen blinked back tears, remembering those awful weeks. She had fallen ill first, and was just recovering when Mama caught the illness. Exhausted and still recovering herself, Ellen did her best to nurse her mother, but to no avail.
“I’m so sorry,” Thomas said. “I can’t believe Ellis took that upon himself.”
“Oh, Thomas.” She gave him a world-weary look. “Mr Ellis would never have taken any such action without the direction of the Earl. I had already moved here by the time I heard that the Earl himself had caught the influenza and fallen ill.”
Thomas buried his head in his hands, feeling utterly ashamed of his late relative. “Dear Lord, how could he be so cruel? To you, to a young female relative, all alone in the world?”
Ellen had no answer for him. She had asked herself that question many times, how a man who called himself Christian, who attended church, could behave in such a way.
“I think you should come and live at the Hall.” Thomas dropped his hands from his face to look at her again. She gaped at him in utmost astonishment.
“I… do not think that the Countess would care for that very much.”
“Since it is not her house, I do not particularly care what she thinks,” Thomas said sharply. “Do not tell me that she could not have done anything for you, even if her husband was the veriest miser! I saw the household accounts yesterday; a single month’s worth of her pin money could have purchased you a cottage of your own outright!”
He seemed quite outraged on her behalf. There was really nothing Ellen could say; she just sat looking at him, hands folded in her lap.
“I am below the age of majority,” she finally offered hesitantly. “I suppose… technically, as my closest relative, you are my legal guardian.”
“Am I?”
“We could ask John. He is a solicitor, after all, I am sure he could advise on the legality of the matter.” Ellen gave him a little smile. “Thomas, truly, I am grateful that you want to do something for me. I don’t really want to be a governess or a companion. I suppose I had always hoped I would find some nice gentleman farmer or perhaps a curate who liked me well enough to offer for me.”
“If that’s what you wish, Ellen, I will see that you are introduced to every gentleman farmer and curate in England until you find the one who can make you happy,” he promised.
She actually giggled at such a ridiculous statement, hand flying up to cover her mouth, her eyes sparkling. “I am sure it would not take so very many!”
Delighted to have made her laugh, Thomas smiled broadly at her. “Is it
settled, then? You will come to live at the Hall… with your family?”
She nibbled on her lower lip, considering it. “I think that you should speak with the countess first,” she said carefully at last. “While you are of course correct that it is your house, I do not wish to be the cause of contention between you and your family.”
“If I do, will you prepare to remove to the Hall within the next few days?”
She nodded at last. “I will. And Thomas… thank you.”
Reaching across the table, he took her hand between both of his and pressed it gently. “We are family, Ellen. That means something to me, and I should have wished to see you comfortable even if I had not inherited the title. My grandfather made himself quite the fortune in the Americas, you know.”
“Did he?” Ellen looked genuinely interested. “I should very much like to hear about your grandfather.”
“He was a character, to be sure. I’d be delighted to tell you some of his stories. He was your relative too, after all.”
Footsteps at the door made Thomas let go of her hands and look around; the twins came darting in, their mother behind her and John Bledsloe on their heels with a tray in his hands.
Any serious conversation had to be cut short as the boys promptly annexed Thomas and bombarded him with questions about America. Laughing, he attempted to answer them as best he could while Demelza poured tea and handed around a plate of biscuits.
Walking back up to the Hall an hour later, it occurred to Thomas that he had not enjoyed himself so much in a very long time. Ellen had relaxed further with her friends in the room, and he had enjoyed hearing her merry giggle ring out at the twins’ antics. The two boys were obviously very fond of her, and she of them. After a little while, Bledsloe had quietly asked Thomas to step out, and the two men adjourned to a small study to converse privately.
Thomas began to whistle again as he walked. Bledsloe had indicated his pleasure that Thomas wished to bring Ellen into the bosom of the Havers family.
“We shall be sorry to lose her, I know Demelza quite relies upon her, but it is not fair to Ellen. She is a good, sweet girl and she deserves the opportunity to make something of her life. I must say, Havers, I am very glad that you are not of the same mind as your late relative in this matter.”
Thomas was honestly ashamed that a relation of his could have treated a blameless young woman so shabbily. Ellen clearly had no great expectations, but his uncle could have made her life comfortable with barely any inconvenience to himself. Why, a dowry of a few hundred pounds would have had every gentleman farmer and curate in the county queueing up to court Ellen!
Merely dowering her did not feel like enough to Thomas now that he had met Ellen, though. Doing so would push her down that narrow path into marriage, and he wondered if she even wanted that. As she had said, women were rarely asked what they wanted from life, it was merely expected of them that they would want to be wives and mothers.
Ellen deserved a chance to discover what she really wanted to be in life, and by God, Thomas was going to give it to her.
Chapter 5
“You want to what?” Clarice’s voice rose shrilly as she stared at Thomas, her eyes wide with incredulity.
“I want our cousin to come and live here at Havers Hall.” He kept his voice even, glancing sideways at Louisa as he spoke. She was sitting with a piece of embroidery in her hands, but had not placed a stitch since he began speaking. Her face was as still and cool as a marble statue; he could not read what she was thinking.
“She is a vicar’s daughter.”
“She is my cousin.”
They stared at each other in a silent battle of wills, Clarice every inch the noblewoman. Thomas finally broke the deadlock by saying;
“I am not asking your permission, Aunt Clarice. Should you find that you are unable to reside beneath the same roof as Miss Bentley, you have life rights to the Dower House as stipulated in your marriage settlements, I believe.”
Clarice’s mouth opened with shock. Louisa made a small sound, and when Thomas looked back at her, he found that she had laid down her embroidery and was looking at him directly.
“Of course that will not be necessary, Thomas,” she said in her sweet voice, smiling at him. “I am delighted by the opportunity to get to know Miss Bentley. As you say, she is my cousin too. We shall be pleased to welcome her to the Hall, will we not, Mama?”
Relieved that Louisa was on his side, and pleased by her compassion and eagerness to meet Ellen, Thomas smiled happily at her. She returned her attention to her embroidery, a smile playing about her lips, becoming colour in her cheeks.
My God, she is so beautiful.
Lost in gazing at Louisa, Thomas barely noticed Clarice’s put-upon sigh, and her eventual remark of “Fine, then. If you must.”
Clarice’s reaction once Thomas had left the room was telling, however. She rose from her chair and stalked up and down, scowling. “I cannot believe he means to foist off this girl upon us!”
“He is American, Mama,” Louisa placidly set another stitch. “I understand they have very different ideas about the lower classes, indeed they do not seem to think that there are any lower classes.”
“Utter nonsense,” Clarice harrumphed. “There is a natural order to things. Bringing Miss Bentley to live here indeed! Whatever will he do next? The sooner he comes to his senses and marries you, the better.”
“These things cannot be rushed, Mama,” Louisa snipped a trailing end of thread neatly. “You told me that. Slowly, softly, so that he does not know he is in the trap until it is already closed. He is already sniffing about, ready to take the bait.”
“Must you speak in those crass hunting terms, Louisa? You sound positively bloodthirsty.” Clarice wrinkled her nose with distaste. “Be very sure that you do not allow Thomas to know you have a ruthless side until you have his ring upon your finger, my dear.”
“Never fear, Mama. I have things well in hand. Miss Bentley will be no obstacle to our plans, I assure you.”
Mollified and reassured by her daughter’s calmness, Clarice sighed and took a seat again. “Very well, dear. For your sake I shall try to pretend I am pleased by the girl’s presence.”
“I do not think that you need to go that far, Mama. Let me befriend her while you act as though you tolerate her merely because Thomas has ordered it. She will want a friend and she will soon be willing to do anything I ask, never fear.”
“And then what?”
“Why, then I find some suitor to marry her and take her off our hands.” Louisa shrugged. “Thomas can dower her with a few hundred pounds or so, and we will have minor squires crawling all over her in eagerness to be connected to the Havers family.”
“Hm.” Clarice looked thoughtful at that. “I suppose she might even be useful, that way. I shall have a think about who might be suitable.”
“As you say, Mama.” Louisa picked up her handiwork and resumed stitching, the very image of a well-bred lady filling her time.
For the second time in the space of a year Ellen found herself uprooted, but this time she was moving up in the world. She had never been closer to Haverford Hall than seeing it in the distance when walking up Wyck Beacon; the Earl had not exactly been the type to welcome the residents of the village to his home. It truly was quite magnificent, she thought as she walked up the avenue, Demelza beside her holding her hand, John slightly ahead of them.
Thomas had sent a baggage cart to collect her belongings and invited the Bledsloes to accompany her to tea, doubtless hoping that their presence might help ease her transition to residing at the Hall. He had stopped by almost every day during the previous week, assuring her that the countess and Lady Louisa were eager to welcome her to the Hall, asking when she could be ready to move. His enthusiasm was irresistible, and Ellen found herself quite excited about what the future might now hold for her.
As they approached the Hall, however, Ellen found herself holding tighter to Demelza’s hand.
“Just remember, you belong here,” Demelza said in an undertone as they walked up to the great doors. “You were named for Lady Eleanor, your great-grandmother, who was born under this very roof. You have every right to be here.”
Sucking in a deep breath, Ellen squeezed one more time before letting go of her friend’s hand. She would not be seen clinging on like a child to her nursemaid.
The door opened almost immediately upon John’s knock to reveal a formally-garbed, stern-faced butler. Ellen knew who he was, of course; the Allsopp family had been in Haverford as long as the noble family they served, and she had seen Allsopp in church on many occasions.
“Good afternoon, Mr Bledsloe, Mrs Bledsloe,” Allsopp intoned, and then to Ellen’s surprise, he bowed to her. “A very great pleasure to have you here at last, Miss Bentley.”
Was Allsopp smiling? Stunned, Ellen mumbled something unintelligible in response. She hadn’t even thought the poker-faced butler knew how to smile.
“The family are gathered in the Oriental sitting-room,” Allsopp informed them. “Please, allow me to escort you there.”
Another shock; Ellen would have thought that task might be delegated to a footman, but apparently they—she—was considered a significant enough guest to merit Allsopp’s personal attention.
Thomas fairly leaped to his feet as the party entered the sitting-room, beaming a smile. “Here you are!”
“Havers.” Bledsloe shook his hand in greeting, bowed formally to the countess and Lady Louisa, who were rising to their feet. “Lady Havers, Lady Louisa.”
“Mr Bledsloe.” Clarice nodded regally at him. “I do not recall that your wife has ever been presented to me.”
Demelza was not in the least overawed. “We have seen each other many times in church, your ladyship,” she said rather dryly, dipping into a curtsy that was just barely low enough to show respect to a peeress.
