An Unmarried Lady

by Willman, Anna

  She made plans to meet with him in the library at one o’clock, and with the Captain too, if he should deign to join them, so that she could introduce them to Chudleigh and begin the process of acquainting them with the House and the land that Captain Howard would inherit in the not so distant future.

  The Captain did make a brief appearance in order to meet Chudleigh, but then excused himself, saying that his Cousin Anne had promised to show him about the house. Elaine thought she detected a note of repressed disapproval in the quick glance that Mr. Merrival shot at him, and could not help but feel Mr. Merrival was in the rights of it. The Captain’s hasty departure spoke all too eloquently of an idle disposition.

  Her thoughts were soon directed towards the business at hand, which was to acquaint Mr. Merrival with the financial realities of the estate over which it seemed he would eventually assume some considerable responsibility. As Chudleigh was quite competent to explain the basic elements of the estates, the overall condition of the lands, both leased and not leased, the orchard, the various buildings, the extensive stables once filled with prime stock racing and hunting horses, now standing near empty, the small herd of dairy cows, and all that was in place, Elaine was able to sit back and observe the two men.

  She found Mr. Merrival disappointingly ignorant as to the management of lands but was nevertheless impressed with the directness and intelligence behind his questions. In a short time she was forced to concede that her cousin had indeed chosen wisely when he had asked his friend to act for him, for the man of business was quick to grasp the complexities of the situation and not only to understand what was explained to him directly, but also to pick out threads which were implied but not spoken. At one point, when Chudleigh had gone to fetch a document for his perusal, he turned to Elaine and said quietly, “I cannot help but notice that all of these improvements described by Mr. Chudleigh have occurred since you came here and took things in hand. I believe my…my friend’s inheritance remains intact largely due to your hard work and diligent economy. You are a remarkable woman, Miss Howard.”

  “I could not have done any of it without the guidance and knowledge of Mr. Chudleigh.”

  “Nor he without your advocacy, I am sure. However I do not dispute Mr. Chudleigh’s competence nor his dedication, and I assure you that I will make certain to do all that I can to persuade him to stay on at Lynnfield when it is, well, handed on.”

  “That is kind in you. However my cousin may have other ideas.”

  “He will do as I advise,” Mr. Merrival said briefly, and relapsed unexpectedly into a silence that was strangely uncomfortable.

  What an awkward man he was to be sure, Elaine thought. Just when I thought he had begun to be more easy with me, too. And because she could not avoid feeling quite charitably towards him at this moment, instead of being annoyed, she thought rather that it was a pity such an intelligent young man should be burdened with such overwhelming shyness.

  Chudleigh returned then, bringing a lease which he had particularly wanted to use as an aid in explaining one of the more complex issues confronting them. Mr. Merrival untied the cord that held his spectacles in place, replaced them with a pair of reading glasses drawn from his coat pocket, and bent to inspect the document closely. Elaine noted with amusement, that once the shy gentleman was distracted by business, his manner became once more relaxed and comfortable.

  It was decided that the three of them would ride out the next morning before breakfast to look at some of the land under discussion and to inspect the latest drainage ditches. In the meantime, Elaine got out the ledgers and invited Mr. Merrival to study them as long as he liked, promising to answer the questions he was sure to have later, for this was a school day and it was now time for her to go down to the Dower House. The gentleman expressed both surprise and great interest in this enterprise, and requested permission to go with her another day to meet her young scholars.

  “Of course you are welcome. You will find them a rambunctious group, I am afraid, but one or two of them show great promise, and the others will at least have learned how to read and do simple arithmetic and so will be able to avoid being cheated by scoundrels, besides being able to write letters to loved ones. In some cases they may even be able to improve their condition in life by taking up a trade.”

  “I admire your enthusiasm,” Mr. Merrival said simply. “I once thought I would be a teacher. My father was, you know.”

  “No I did not. How could I? So that is how you came to know my cousin? I understand his father was in the business of education as well.”

  “Oh. Yes. That is, we met at school, and our…our fathers knew one another.”

  “And what made you decide not to follow that pursuit?”

  “Well, as to that, it may well still be. Only there was Napoleon on the move and I became a soldier, you see, and now there is this…this opportunity at Lynnfield…” His voice petered out in some confusion, and once again Elaine wondered at the shyness that could so suddenly overcome him without warning.

  “And you think you might prefer the world of business?” she prompted, trying to put him at ease once more.

  “Perhaps. Well, not really, but it seems…” His face was quite red now and he seemed unable to face her. His eyes wandered instead across the papers that were spread out before them on the desktop, seeming to search for something on which to fasten.

  “It seems you are undecided after all,” Elaine intervened at last to end his apparent confusion. “Well, I hope you will at least stay on at Lynnfield with my cousin long enough to get his affairs into order and to make our little tutorial worthwhile.”

  “Oh yes, of course. I shall stay at Lynnfield. There is no question…”

  “Well, that is excellent. Now I really must be on my way, or my pupils will abandon me.” And she grabbed her school papers and hurried out of the room, thereby terminating a conversation that had become increasingly burdensome to both of its participants.

  CHAPTER TEN: In which a Treasure Hunt is Proposed

  “It is insupportable, Charles! We must tell her the truth. Miss Howard is not at all what we thought her. I cannot speak to her without tripping over my tongue, forgetting that I am not me but my man of business.” The ladies had retired for the night and the two gentlemen were ensconced in two comfortable overstuffed chairs which they had pulled up before the fireplace in the Blue Drawing Room.

  The Viscount ignored his friend’s tirade, stretched out his leg and inspected the glossy shine of his boot. “Tibley does well enough in general as my valet, but, you know, James, he has no art at all for polishing boots. Well, just look at these! It is enough to break one’s heart. My man Barnes will be most displeased with me, I fear, when I return to Challon.”

  “Your boots look the same to me as always, Charles. What I would like to know is how I am to go out riding around the estate being introduced to my future tenants as Mr. Merrival, and then expect them to understand later how it is that I have all at once become James Howard. I must have been mad to agree to this.”

  “Yet agree you did. Don’t be so pudding-hearted, James. These matters will sort themselves out. But my unfortunate boots! How can you say they are the same? I am sure Barnes will insist upon my discarding them altogether after a few more weeks of such poor treatment. He will never be able to bring them back to what they ought to be.”

  “I see nothing amiss with them. They have quite a nice shine n the firelight.”

  “I am accustomed to seeing my face reflected in them.” Lord Derring shifted his outstretched leg so that the firelight caught the other side of the boot, and shook his head in disgust.

  “You are accustomed to your boots being all covered with the mud and grime of Spanish soil.”

  “Well that is altogether different. I endured what I had to in the service of my King. But now there is no excuse. Do you think I ought to speak to Tibley?”

  “I think you would be wasting your time. Tibley does well enough and is not one to
take kindly to unreasonable demands. I expect your Barnes uses some special formula for his boot blacking. Good God, man, what do I care about your boots! It was your idea to use my batman instead of your valet. Do stop playing the coxcomb for one minute and attend to what I am saying. What am I to do about Miss Howard? She must be told the truth.”

  “Her beauty got to you, James? I must say it has quite gotten to me. If you’re not interested, I think I will have a go at courting her. Just think of all that loveliness tied up to a great fortune! It’s enough to win any man’s heart!”

  “Don’t be so vulgar, Charles. I’m not talking about her beauty or her fortune. There’s an Intelligence there so sharp it takes my breath away. Just think what she has managed to accomplish in the few years since she has taken charge of Lynnfield. The property was literally on the brink of ruin, so loaded with debts and mortgages that Chudleigh told me it brought in not a penny above what was required to meet the interest payments. And then her father lost nearly every other asset he owned on the exchange. Why he could have ended up in prison were it not for Miss Howard’s gift at economy!”

  “You’ve no romance in your soul, James. I’m dreaming about those golden brown eyes, that delicate complexion, those chestnut curls, that hint of a dimple when she represses a smile, and you drone on about her nip-farthing ways. Good God man, she’s an heiress! What does she need to know about economy?”

  “Oh, she’s a stunning beauty, no doubt about it, but what of that? I’m telling you Charles, she has a Mind, and Courage and a sense of Honor to boot!”

  “Well, so what if she does? No harm in any of that, or not much at any rate. The point is that the lady has a fortune, one that will put all your affairs into order, my friend. And you’d better get her now before she goes out of mourning and hits the Town in April. For I can tell you, you’ll have no chance at all of winning her with your poor address, once you have any competition.”

  “I’ve no chance whatsoever, and nor do you! Do you imagine she will look kindly upon our charade? This is a creature of integrity!”

  “I’ll charm her out of that, believe me. Remember I know women, have done so all my life. Integrity can be no more than a superficial trait in a woman. They are quite romantical creatures and love to be swept off their feet. If you won’t give it a try, then just give me the go ahead, and I’ll wrap her around my finger, no doubt.”

  “Oh, do your worst, Charles, you’ll not win her whatever you do. But tell her the truth we must, for I cannot and will not continue to deceive her.”

  “You’ll do as her father bids you. He’s the head of this family and he knows what he’s doing. And if he doesn’t, well, then I’ll elope with the fair lady and let her save my estate as it appears she already has yours.”

  “I must speak with him. We must tell her.”

  But James discovered that Mr. Howard, hidden away in his little parlor and jealously guarded by his ancient valet, was most reluctant to have any further private speech with him. And positioned as he was, in the capacity of Mr. Merrival, a man of business and in fact no more than an employee of the heir presumptive, there was no way he could cut past the gentlemen’s polite excuses and insist upon such a meeting without stepping beyond what was seemly.

  Reluctant to go against Mr. Howard’s carefully laid plans without first warning him of his intentions, James gradually found himself easing into his role as plain and hard working Mr. Merrival. He went over the accounts, admiring Elaine’s careful and painstaking work, the economies she had taken and the sacrifices she had accepted to make the estate begin to pay once more. He went riding with her most mornings, noting her accomplished horsemanship which caused the sad cob on which she was mounted to perk up and step out as if that was its pleasure. He admired the strength of her ties to the Lynnfield tenants, how they almost universally showed her respect and liking but had no hesitation about speaking their minds either. He accompanied her down to the Dower House and sat enchanted as she and Miss Miles took the children through their lessons, taking turns working with the slower students and encouraging the more gifted to move at a faster pace, and with a quick look settling the more boisterous ones before they had a chance to disrupt the others. He asked if he might join them next time and share in the teaching and was granted permission with a welcoming smile.

  He wondered at her unceasing energy and at all she was able to accomplish, and would have wondered even more had he known that each evening after retiring, she still spent an hour or more with her sister, sewing gowns for Anne’s Season.

  While James was at work, Charles remained idle. Some days he wandered restlessly about the house, peering into unused rooms and poking into empty dressers and closets, excusing himself gracefully when he encountered Edgar or a maid in his perambulations by saying he had always been interested in the architecture of fourteenth century manor houses. He took his chaise out to see the countryside, exploring the roads, commenting to James one night that he had discovered a lane that looked as if it went no where but that in fact led cross country straight to Challon, saving several hours over the conventional route they had taken in coming. “We shall almost be neighbors, no more than two hours apart by horseback, and perhaps three and half by carriage, taking that country lane in good weather.”

  Once or twice he rode out with James and Elaine to see the extent of the estate, and somewhat more frequently he took Miss Anne for a ride in the yellow chaise. He found that he rather preferred her innocence and warmth to her more beautiful sister’s cooler, reflective disposition, yet he was also tantalized by the challenge of winning past the elder’s polite hostility, reveling in each smile he tempted from her, letting his charm work its way until she could not help but respond with a kind word or a quiet little snort of glee. He knew that at best she considered him an amusing rattle, but he bided his time, knowing that laughter was often the best way to win a lady’s friendship or even her heart.

  Her superior intelligence did not alarm him, for he remained wholly oblivious to it, recognizing in her no more than an unfashionably bookish version of the conventional style of lady to which he was more accustomed. James had been misled, he thought, by the chit’s facility with words and her somewhat unusual familiarity with estate management, for he saw no signs of a great mind. He failed to consider that she had dismissed his intellectual capacities as readily as he had dismissed hers and was not inclined to discuss issues of any depth with one so obviously intent only upon his own pleasures. Still, his charm and good natured humor were unmistakable, and Elaine gradually let go of her initial prejudices enough to allow herself to find enjoyment in his company, though she did not go so far as to seek it out.

  The company of Mr. Merrival she did seek, finding herself unaccountably wanting to learn his opinion on some matter of the estate that once she would have handled quite competently on her own. Despite his inexperience in matters of estate management, she found his mind quick to grasp the essentials of a problem. He asked such excellent questions that the solution became obvious once she started to formulate a reply. A footbridge needing repairs got precedence over the replacement of one already washed out, for example, because he asked who used the bridges and for what purposes, and what were the alternative routes.

  Once he had conquered his unreasonable shyness, she found him more interesting than any man she had ever before encountered, his mind so well matched to her own that she seldom had to explain herself to him. He immediately grasped the subtleties of her thought processes, comprehending her perfectly where previously no one but Mary would have seen where her train of thought was taking her.

  And perhaps best of all, he saw humor in the same odd things that she did, never once asking what it was that had made her laugh, but joining his shout of glee to hers. They shared a slightly dark turn to their humor and also found particular joy in oddities of language, when some absurd twist of phrase chanced their way. They enjoyed not so much the village boy’s pratfall, which landed him unexpectedly
in the mud, but reveled in the rich language he used to express his outrage.

  They spent one whole afternoon in the library, distracted from business by a debate on which poet told a better tale, Sir Walter Scott or Samuel Coleridge. They took turns pulling one book after another from the shelves to prove their points, and the issue was at last resolved in favor of Coleridge. They both preferred Robert Burns to William Wordsworth, admired the poetry of John Donne, and of course were united in their delight in Shakespeare’s comedies. Elaine introduced him to some of her favorite geography books, and he went in search of titles that had enchanted him in his youth. When at last Roberts came to warn them it was time to change for dinner, they were astounded to learn that the entire afternoon had passed with no business at all accomplished.

  Elaine realized with great pleasure that she had found a true friend, and she felt exhilarated to sense that he felt the same, though he did still occasionally lapse into that puzzling awkwardness.

  She wondered a little at his friendship with Captain Howard, but supposed the habit of childhood acquaintance would account for it, and admired his loyalty though she might regret his intention to abandon his plans to become an educationist in order to serve his friend.

  She noted the Captain’s preference for Anne’s company and wondered if his charm might not appeal to her sister. She hoped it did not, for although she knew nothing to his discredit and indeed could not help but find the Captain’s light-hearted humor and easy address appealing, she wished for rather more depth of character in her sister’s husband.

  She asked Anne what she thought of their guests and was relieved to hear that although Anne was quite understandably taken with their cousin’s striking beauty, she seemed to regard him as an amusing acquaintance rather than as a dashing courtier. She gave rather more credit to Anne’s common sense for this than was perhaps due, for the Captain had taken great care to behave towards the young girl in an almost avuncular manner, believing quite correctly that even the slightest suggestion of romantical behavior towards the younger sister would alienate the elder and lose him any chance at winning the heiress should the fumbling efforts of his friend fail to win her over.