“Goodness!” Letty exclaimed. “Do you suppose that is kept lowered unless a visitor is expected? It will not be convenient if one is obliged to ask someone to raise it every time one wishes to stretch one’s legs.”
“I daresay it was only lowered so that it could be raised when we arrived and thus impress us with the grandeur of the place,” Aspasia suggested.
Servants rushed forward as the carriage crossed the bridge and drew up beside a business-like-looking cannon in the courtyard, followed in a moment by a man who was clearly the lord of the castle.
Lord Stonegate proved to be neither infirm nor disfigured. He was, on the contrary, a fine figure of a man with dark hair cut in a modish fashion and a handsome face. He was well dressed but by no means a dandy.
“I am delighted to welcome you to my home,” he said with a genial smile, holding out his hand to Aspasia.
“My lord,” she responded, according him a small curtsey.
“Letitia.” He greeted his fiancée by taking her hand and kissing it.
“Everyone calls me Letty, sir.”
“Letty. You have hardly changed since I last saw you.”
“Have I not?”
“No; you are as beautiful as I remembered. I hope you do not find me too much altered.”
“No.”
“Not grown too old?” he asked with a little self-deprecating smile.
“No, sir.”
In truth she was quite surprised by his looks and wondered if she would have known him if she had met him anywhere other than at the door of his own castle. As she had confided to her aunt, when she last saw him she had not looked at him, had noticed nothing about him except the strength of his arms and the restraint of his manner. Now she saw that his features resembled his brother’s all too closely and felt the familiar lurch of the heart, followed this time by crushing disappointment.
“Pray come in,” he said, offering his arm and holding out the other for her aunt. “You are very alike,” he continued. “I would have known you for relatives immediately.”
“Oh, yes,” Letty said at once. “My aunt is but twelve years older than I.”
“Indeed? I would not have guessed the gap to be as large,” he said politely.
Neither woman answered this sally although Aspasia opened her mouth but managed to shut it again without saying anything. She was determined to behave in the sort of repressive manner that she believed proper for a chaperone.
“I see you have not brought your maids with you,” his lordship observed as he led his guests into the hall.
“No; there was no room in the carriage,” Aspasia explained. “But I have arranged for them to follow us; very likely they will arrive tomorrow.”
“Until they do, I am sure my mother’s dresser will be willing to do anything that is required,” the Earl said. “I daresay you would like to be shown to your rooms first and then I will introduce you to my mother.”
By this time the aged butler, who had been hovering near the door but whose job had been usurped by his employer, had bowed and shuffled off to stand guard in front of what Aspasia assumed to be the door leading to the servants’ quarters and an almost equally antique female dressed in black had sidled forward and greeted the guests with a decorous little bob.
“Baxter,” his lordship said, “Mrs Ripley and Miss Denton are, for the time being, without a maid. I am sure you will be able to help them with anything they need. Perhaps, in the first instance, you could show them to their chambers.”
“Certainly, my lord,” the venerable servant agreed with another bob, this time a smidgen deeper, in the direction of the Earl.
She inclined her head and addressed the two women with the words, “If you would like to follow me, Madam,” before leading the way to the back of the hall and beginning to climb a stone staircase.
This was circular and went round and round in ever tighter circles so that both guests had begun to feel dizzy by the time the handmaiden branched off through a stone archway into what appeared to be another – upper – hall. There were several doors leading off this large circular room, two of which had been assigned to the guests.
The Castle had the usual narrow windows of its period but the view which could be glimpsed from them was a fine one of the surrounding country. It was apparent that it was not only the ground floor hall which had been brought into the present day with its elegant furniture and fine floor coverings because these apartments were also beautifully accoutred. Handsome carpets covered the wooden floors and tapestries adorned the walls.
Baxter, having led them into the first of the bedchambers, indicated a small room at the side which housed a modern water closet. Another door led into a dressing room equipped with a large wardrobe and a number of shelves.
They were inspecting the second of these rooms and peering through the narrow windows, where they could see a river winding its way through fields into the distance, when there was a knock upon the door which heralded the arrival of a pair of maids carrying large jugs of steaming water. Two manservants brought up the rear with their baggage.
Having washed their faces and hands, they found Baxter waiting by the door which gave on to the stairs. She afforded them a thin smile before leading the way down.
No doubt the Earl heard their footsteps on the stone steps for he emerged from a door to the left of the hall as they reached the ground floor.
“I hope your chambers are to your liking,” he said.
“Yes, indeed; they are – or look as if they will be – excessively comfortable,” Aspasia replied brightly, “although I own I felt almost dizzy by the time we reached them.”
“It is a long way up,” he conceded. “The thing is, you see, that the ceilings are so high. I thought you would be more comfortable on the top floor and would have an excellent view of the surrounding country. You can see the sea on a clear day. But, if the stairs are too much for you, I can easily arrange for some rooms lower down to be prepared for you.”
“Oh no, pray do not go to so much trouble; I daresay I shall soon become accustomed. The view is indeed stupendous.”
He smiled. “Let me make you known to my mother; she has been impatient to meet you.”
Chapter 7
He opened the door of the saloon and stood back to allow his guests to enter. This was another fine high-ceilinged room, ornamented with tapestries upon the walls, several carpets – some on top of each other – and a number of handsome, probably French, pieces of furniture dating from the previous century.
Reclining upon a sofa and wrapped in a quantity of diaphanous shawls was a woman of forbidding aspect. It occurred to Aspasia that here was the explanation for what she supposed must be the difficulty the Earl had experienced in finding a wife. Lady Vanston’s hold upon him was, she suspected, as nothing compared to this female’s.
“Mama,” he said in a tone of extreme gentleness, “I have brought you Miss Denton – and her aunt, Mrs Ripley.”
The Countess cast off the draperies, several of which fell to the floor, and got to her feet.
“Lud!” she exclaimed, putting up her lorgnette and glaring at the two women advancing towards her. “Which is which? They both look very young! I hope you’ll be able to tell the difference, Frederick!”
Letty stepped forward. “I am Letty, my lady.”
“Letty? I thought your name was Letitia!”
“Yes, it is, but most people call me Letty.”
“Hmn. I shall not, and I hope Frederick will not. I always think shortening a name – usually to something mawkish - diminishes the dignity of a person. The Earls of Stonegate are a long line – they have lived in the Castle for nearly four hundred and fifty years - and have always been respected. Letty sounds feather-brained. I hope you are not, although it’s my experience that girls as pretty as you generally have very little in the way of a brain.”
Letty flushed with anger and opened her mouth to rebut this wholly unwarranted criticism but shut it again with
out emitting a sound.
“Do you generally open and shut your mouth like a fish?” the Countess asked, frowning at her.
“No, my lady. I was about to say something but thought better of it.”
“Afraid I might snap at you?” the old woman asked with what could only be described as a smirk.
“Yes.”
“Well, what was it? Let’s hear it and I’ll soon tell you what my opinion of your opinion is.”
“I was only going to say that one cannot help one’s name, my lady – or indeed any abbreviation one’s elders impose on one in infancy. I hope I am not feather-brained but, if I am, I promise I will try to – to mend my ways.”
“Mmn. Perhaps in the end I shall come to like you; you don’t seem to be afraid of expressing your view – so many females are. Come closer, child. How old are you?”
“Twenty, my lady.”
“Good God – you look younger. Frederick is almost double your age but I daresay you’ll not have much difficulty providing him with an heir – and that, after all, is the purpose of the exercise. You look healthy although rather thin. We’ll try to feed you up a bit. You are a surprisingly pretty creature though. I suppose that’s what made you choose her,” she added, turning her venom upon the Earl and accompanying the words with a look of contempt.
“We have not met for four years,” he said mildly, answering her accusation in a somewhat elliptical manner.
“So what? She must have been pretty four years ago although I daresay she may have been a bit ungainly, especially if she’s always been so thin. You haven’t lost weight have you, child? That would be a bad sign. Why didn’t you offer for her then? Thought we’d all think it was evidence of your libidinous nature I suppose if you evinced an interest in a girl who was little more than a child.”
Having thus upbraided her son in front of his guests, the Dowager turned to Letty again and said, quite kindly, “I suppose there aren’t so many pretty females in your situation to choose between, but I still find it hard to understand why he lighted upon you unless it is, as I suspect, due to a distasteful degree of licentiousness, especially if you haven’t met for four years. I suppose he must have been thinking about you all that time, which is enough to give one a disgust of him.”
“I own I do not know either,” Letty muttered beneath her breath, but it did not seem that Lady Stonegate, although somewhat gone in years, suffered any impairment in her hearing for she picked up on it at once.
“The usual one, I imagine,” she said, answering her own question. “And perhaps the fact that you come from the country – never been to London, have you?”
“No, my lady.”
“There! What did I say? Naïve, I should think. The truth is most of ‘em wouldn’t have him,” she went on. “They don’t like the idea of Lady Vanston hanging around all the time. I should think the first thing you should do is tell him to get rid of her. You can’t start a marriage with a woman like her under your feet.”
“I am not acquainted with Lady Vanston,” Letty said, standing her ground and, curiously, seeming to become less afraid of the Countess as the old woman’s waspishness increased.
“Huh! Neither, thank Heaven am I!” her ladyship exclaimed. “She’s his peculiar, my dear. I suppose you know what that is.”
“I believe so, my lady.”
“You believe so?” The old lady’s voice rose. “I suppose you do know what men and women get up to together? Of course, it has to be acknowledged that there is often a deal of difference between what a wife is expected to endure and what a bit of fluff appears to enjoy – although Lady Vanston is far too old to be described as a bit of fluff.”
“Come, Mama, pray do not upset yourself!” the Earl said, taking his mother’s hand and trying to persuade her to sit down again. She resisted and snatched her hand away.
“You’re a fool!” she snapped, stamping her foot, probably intentionally, upon her son’s. “He’s bound to misuse you,” she continued to Letty. “Are you prepared for that and do you think it a fair exchange for becoming a Countess?”
Again Letty opened her mouth and shut it without finding a suitable answer.
The Earl, abandoning his attempts to control his mother, nodded at the guests and said, “Mama is a little disturbed – most likely due to fatigue and, in this instance, excitement, I think. Pray do not refine upon her manner of speaking, but you might prefer to withdraw for the time being.”
Aspasia, who had looked on with increasing horror as the Countess excoriated her son and tormented Letty, took her niece by the arm and tried to draw her away but the girl resisted.
She said, “I don’t particularly want to be a Countess; I just want to escape from my stepmama.”
“I shouldn’t think you’d find this precisely a safe haven from acid-tongued females,” the Earl said sotto voce with a wry smile, adding more loudly. “Is she unkind to you?”
“Yes; I think she wants my papa to herself although I own I cannot conceive why for he is horrid too.”
“Ha!” the Countess exclaimed. “Luckily for you, Frederick has no children, which will make your life a little easier. Stepchildren can be exceedingly disagreeable. I should know for I am Stonegate’s stepmama, you see. He is not my son although I have seen to his upbringing since he was an infant. I have a son of my own – Archibald – whom Frederick sent into the army for no reason other than because he was jealous of him – hoped he’d be killed I don’t doubt. I will never forgive him for that!”
“Is – my lady - is your son, Lord Archibald, still in the army?” Letty asked, her voice trembling.
“No! He was very badly wounded – almost died – indeed we thought he was dead for some time. He was brought home a few weeks ago. He, Frederick,” the old woman tilted her chin rudely at her stepson, “was clearly disappointed that he was still alive.”
“Is he – has he recovered, Ma’am?” Letty, avoiding the restraining hand of her aunt, approached the Dowager with an anxious expression.
“Not altogether,” the Countess answered, frowning. “He never will, you see.”
“Yes, of course. Is he ...?” She stopped and looked at the Earl, who had stepped aside.
“He was badly hurt,” he confirmed, “but there is no good reason why he should not – in time – recover most of his faculties. He has only recently removed to his own house. Mama insists I have driven him out but that is not why he left.”
“Oh!” Letty said, unable to hide her disappointment that he was not in the Castle.
“He is not far distant,” the Earl said. “It is only ten miles along a good road and he visits frequently.”
“He tried to poison him,” the Countess explained. “That was why he left.”
“Oh!” Letty said again but this time in a different tone.
“Come,” the Earl said, taking her arm. “Mama likes to make a drama out of what she insists is a bitter rivalry between us. He ate something which disagreed with him – but that was not why he left. He wanted to go back to his own house where he is able to run things how he likes. We are to take luncheon with him tomorrow.”
Letty nodded and allowed herself to be conducted out of the room.
When they opened the door, they found the ancient butler hovering outside. The Earl, consigning his guests to the servant’s care, returned to the saloon.
Crabb ushered them into another, smaller, room on the other side of the hall and, promising refreshment, withdrew, closing the door quietly behind him.
“Oh!” Letty exclaimed on a long-drawn sigh. “I do not think I like this place at all. Do you think Stonegate really tried to kill Archie?”
“No; why in the world would he want to? He does not strike me as the sort of man who would put up with his brother behaving badly – he would surely ask him to leave! I cannot say that I would be surprised if he tried to kill the old lady though.”
“He did send him off to fight. I am persuaded that, tormenting though she is, living with m
y stepmama would be preferable to living with a murderous husband.”
“No, I am certain he did not – and would not. It’s my opinion that Lady Stonegate may be becoming senile. I do not think you should refine upon what she says, particularly when it takes the form of a really quite grave accusation. In any event, she seems bent on causing as much dissension as possible. Stonegate is extraordinarily patient with her but I cannot help feeling it would be preferable if she were to live with Lord Archibald, who is, after all, her son.”
“Why can she not go to a dower house somewhere?”
“I expect she can – and if you do decide to marry Stonegate, I should think that would be one of the first things you should demand of him.”
“Yes – far more pressing than giving Lady Vanston her congé.”
Aspasia had no time to reply to this provocative statement for the door opened to admit the butler, accompanied by two footmen bearing trays of drinks and comestibles. These were laid out on a table in the window.
“The refreshments are on a par with the furnishings,” Aspasia said, looking with pleasure upon the array of little cakes, fruit, tiny patties and exquisitely decorated pastries that had been arranged upon the polished table. There was a large jug of lemonade, a pot of coffee and a bottle of wine, which the butler opened before he withdrew.
“Come and eat something, my dear,” Aspasia said soothingly. “I daresay you are famished.”
“Well, I am not; I have done nothing but sit in a carriage all day. It is all very well for you to look so happy, Aunt: you are not contemplating spending the rest of your life in this gloomy place.”
“Oh, I must take issue with you there,” Aspasia said lightly, getting up again and choosing another tartlet with care. “It is really not at all gloomy – rather it is almost excessively comfortable – and beautiful. Why, we might be in Versailles!”
Letitia Or The Convalescent Heart Page 6