by Debra Brown
He now spent late hours in his study. Only a few short nights had passed since the ball, before everyone clambered into their coaches and left. He had not had the privilege to speak with his newly discovered daughter. Someday we will, she had said.
Nor had he felt able to refuse his younger daughter permission to go along to Holmeshire Hall. Genny had taken the time to go upstairs to comfort her anguished mother. She had brought her flowers and promised her devoted support in the form of a letter every day and a pleasant future together. She had asked if her mother would like to assist at Chenbury. Upon receiving a weeping, but solidly affirmative reply, she had sent a note to Helena, who had stayed in Town to tend to the dear lady. It would be appreciated, she said, if the two of them could oversee things at Chenbury together until she returned, and many gracious thanks.
***
A telegram had made its way up the hill to Holmeshire Hall, and the household was laughing and cheering. Even the stolid Barreby was dancing around in circles for a moment. But things had to be polished like never before, the windows quickly rewashed, the dog bathed and trimmed, and not one person was to put a foot out of line! Extra birds and a lamb were slaughtered, and potatoes were boiled, for they knew that even the servants would eat heartily that night. Horses were brushed and groomed smartly and were brought to stand at attention with their uniformed stable hands, an utterly classy backdrop for the welcome home. Every living thing at Holmeshire was well turned out!
Barreby watched below and saw the village, too, all turned out and waiting. And finally the coaches were seen coming apace in the distance! The household went to the great front area and lined up neatly on the cobblestones to wait. The spaniel was out front with Barreby and whimpering with excitement, though she had no idea why.
***
The passengers pulled the curtains aside and peered eagerly through the dusty windows ahead to the town. They could hear excited shouting and the music of a small band striking up well known melodies. As they drew nearer, they could see hastily made banners and crowds of people waving! Children were hoisted up to see. A few Scottish men brought out and played their bagpipes.
Emma waved and waved, smiling hugely, out the window at her dear villager friends as they passed through the town. Nicky slept through it all. And finally they arrived at the entrance of Holmeshire Hall, where the servants just could not stand straight and still as they ought!
***
“Did you see the Princess?” Lucy asked, half exhausted as she took off her cap that night to let down her hair. “I’m so tired!”
“No, Lucy, we did not. We had to go find us a telegraph office.”
“What’s that?” She turned around with a quizzical look.
“It is amazing, girl, you can send a message to London just as quick as a flash of lightning!”
“No!” Hands on her hips, she cast a dirty look at Charles the Liar.
“You can, it is new! A new invention!” Lucy postponed deciding whether she could believe what he was saying. Perhaps the next question would help.
“And what message did you send to London?” she inquired, in a tone revealing her suspicion.
“Well,” Benedict broke in, having shoved his way past her to the bottles and goblets on a ledge. “We had to wait till the fool Princess went past for the telegraph men to return to their shop, and then we sent a message to John Brown to find out just how much of this kingdom we can have for ourselves!” He and Charles broke out laughing at the perceived possibilities, and Charles joined in the drinking. “Imagine us slugging down scotch in our fine smoking jackets,” he went on, “and servants waiting on us day and night!”
Lucy, her hands on her hips, stood back and scowled.
***
Morning came, and Winnie showered gifts on her servants. Ribbons and pretty, initialed kerchiefs had been bought for the dazzled girls, and colored wax and seals were given to the men. Few mistresses were so generous!
Wills asked Barreby to call his mother to the dark wood bookcases, endless books and white walls of the library. The butler went down the hall to find her talking and laughing about humorous events in London with Emma and Genevieve, but she happily arose and went to meet her son. She found him up on a ladder reaching for a book on Chancery law.
“You called for me, Son?” She had her embroidery in her hands and continued working.
“Yes, Mama! Thank you for coming.” He was back on the floor and motioned her to a silk divan. He appeared worried and sat down beside her. “You know, do you not,” he began, “that before we left London I filed papers to become the legal guardian of Nicholas?”
“Yes, I do.”
“I have been kept up to date on Lord Breyton’s pursuit of the Chancery situation. But just now, I received a telegram stating that there are others making a claim for him! Do you have any idea who that could be?” Winnie thought for a moment, and then her countenance dropped.
“I’m sorry, Son, but I do believe it must be the father or the brother of Alexander!” He nodded agreement, having had the same sorry thought. She remembered the letter from Barreby that she had received while in London. “I do believe, oh dear, I do believe that they are here in the village, and I know they have tried to take positions in this household! I forgot to tell you, but I never thought of them as trying to take Nicholas!”
“And they may have the right to him, Mama! That is the horrid thing! Wentby is looking into it.”
***
Emma took Genevieve walking in the summer evening sunlight, pointing out her favorite trees and laughing with her over revealed childhood memories. Going on about the grounds, she showed Gen where she thought Wills might be putting in a pool, filled with the lily pads that she so fancied, for a beautiful Italian garden. Genevieve replied with her thoughts about the garden and plans for her own, with every flower white, at Chenbury. And they talked of the wonderment of all that had transpired. Eventually, Emma asked Genny to travel with her to Tremeine when she would eventually go. “The King, dear Gen, is your relative, too, after all!”
“So he is, dear Ems!” she giggled. “Though I fear that he will not at all approve of my pedigree!”
“That could be possible, but it is partially the same as mine, is it not, and the part that he may not approve of, at that! But he cares to have me come, and so you will be accepted, too. Should there be an uprising, I shall protect you. I will see that you are fed and not thrown into a dungeon,” Emma laughed, and then became pensive. After a quiet moment, she said, “Genny, I wish to tell you a secret of mine. Please prepare yourself. You have another unknown relation, my dear sister. You see,” Emma revealed cautiously, “Nicholas is my son!”
“Your son? Oh Emma!” Genevieve was astounded and shocked and did not know how to reply to the disclosure. She had once been concerned that he was Wills’ son, but never dreamed that he might be Emma’s! How had this come about? Who was the father? Why hadn’t she guessed this, with Nicky being so close to the family? Genny stood with her hands over her opened mouth.
Wills and Winnie were approaching to bring their unpleasant news to Emma, and they heard what had been said. Wills hurriedly took over to reassure Genny and rescue Emma’s reputation. “You see,” he interjected, “Emma came here as a servant. Mother knew the truth from Princess Emmanuel, but was ever so cruelly allowing Ems to work on her knees scrubbing floors as a convincing disguise. We also had a wonderful, and very handsome, stable hand named Alexander.”
Winnie could not wait for his words to come out. “I never dreamed that they would secretly be married, but bad little Emma and Alex, they were! I do suppose that scrubbing floors forever was not the life a young girl would choose. And without marriage, it would have seemed to have been her only future. They married and somehow, how I cannot imagine, they spent time together secretly. But lovers can manage those things, I suppose, one way or another. They had made plans to go to London, where Alex thought he could surely have a better income and free her from
serving. Here I thought I was protecting her so well, what with household rules, you know. I thought I was keeping her tidy for her future as a princess, but you just cannot watch someone all the time, can you? I could not yet inform the two of them of Emma’s regal position, but I quietly offered Alex better pay to remain here. Barreby has never understood why I wanted him paid so well! He is concerned over it to this day. And I made Emma’s life more leisurely, more pleasant. I began making her my companion. I am sure that I can credit her generous and kindly nature with keeping the other servants from becoming angry and jealous! I am surprised, though, that none of them ever suspected anything about her and Alex.”
“And now you know why I was so committed to a life of loyalty to Her Ladyship, after she forgave my disloyalty so kindly,” Emma explained.
Wills continued with the story. “Mother allowed the two of them to keep their positions, but no one else was to ever know. Anyone else would have been sent away by the stalwart Barreby. With Emma and Alexander, Mama would have had to interfere, had he learned of it, and tell him to let them stay.”
“That, you know, would have set a terrible precedent, but I could not let this little Princess disappear, could I! So,” Winnie continued, “we hid the marriage from all the servants. Only the official who married them knows, and he has sworn to never speak of it. That will not be a matter of concern, now, as the facts are being revealed. I began to have Emma stay upstairs with me more, as I desired a companion and we needed to seclude her from the normal day-to-day life downstairs. Furthermore, I was trying to think of how to succeed in making a princess of her, even then. A princess with a stable hand as a husband.” Everyone smiled. “And the difficulty continued until now, as I feared just a month past that she would again wish to marry a commoner.”
“Marry again? What has become of Alexander? I have never met him. Is he living?” Genny’s concern was evident.
Wills went on with the story. “I had to go to London a few months after we learned of it. I wished to go on horseback, so I brought Alex along with me to care for the horses. We had a pleasant ride and stayed in inns along the way. We spent a few days in London and then headed back. We were riding through open country, just enjoying the wind in our faces, when suddenly my horse spooked! She reared and bolted. Alex rode to my side as she tried to throw me and flung himself on her neck to settle her down.” Emma dropped her face into her hands. Winnie reached over to comfort her, and Wills went on, “I was saved, but Alexander was killed.” Genevieve put an arm around Emma, though thoroughly numbed herself by the tale.
Winnie picked up the story as Wills gave out. “We let his family know, and meant to help them, but they screamed abuses at our solicitor so severely that he could not discuss it with them. We could not locate them again, after that occurrence. Back here at home, Emma was in her second month with child. We all mourned terribly over Alex, but I also saw the importance of moving Emma away to have her baby in secret. The idea came to mind to send her to my former governess, who was retired in her own home. And so I used the excuse of finishing Ems for her new role as my companion. It was perfect, as it freed her from such hard work during her pregnancy, and it helped to ready her for her future role as a princess. We planned to bring the child here, not saying whose he was so that he would be safe even if Emma were ever found. Wills brought little Nicholas, and Emma’s own white blanket, home with him one day. Emma stayed in London for a good bit of time, sad, no doubt, to be parted from her tiny chap, but she expressed great joy that he would grow up in our home. It was very helpful, as well, to assure that Emma would choose to stay here with us until we could tell her of her situation! Such a loyal companion she became!” Winnie smiled.
Emma weighed in on that thought, “I do love it here, though; I love everyone and everything here. And I loved that my son would grow up with such a fine life. I had thought that he was to be just the child of a widowed servant girl, perhaps in the almshouse, destined for hardship. How thankful I was that he was to be the ward of Lord Holmeshire instead! Very few people know who Nicky really is, which created quite a stir in London just recently.”
“You have me to thank for that, I’m afraid; it all had me quite distraught!” Genny moaned. “But I am so happy, now!”
“It is fine; it does not matter anymore,” Wills comforted her, as well as himself, over memories of having to inform her of the news, while being unable to provide evidence of his loyalty. “We knew it would be hard for you to accept a child under such obscure conditions. But we’ve been very excited, because the King of Tremeine has only one heir in his own family, girls being unable to ascend the throne there. Nick is second in line to the throne after only the Crown Prince! Our Queen has informed him of Nicky’s birth, and the King has responded by announcing the birth of a new Prince to his country.”
“And he is a legitimate son!” Emma stated, just to make certain that it was clear, “I do have all the legal documents. He is a Prince in good standing.”
“Now, however,” Wills reached out and took Emma’s hand, “it appears that Alexander’s father or brother is trying to claim him in Chancery, and someone else is, as well, dear Emma!”
“Oh, no!” She was horrified! “So he did go tell his family that I was expecting a child! There is no doubt, then, that he is the cause of their seeking work in the household!”
“At first, they likely just wished to ascertain whether Nicky is yours and find a means to make money from the situation,” Wills opined, “with Nicky’s being in my care and all. Perhaps they intended to blackmail me! The 7th Earl of Holmeshire had taken in the child of a household servant who had quietly left the home, you know! What would people, with their wild imaginings, naturally assume? Now that it is becoming known that he is yours, and that he is a Prince, they cannot blackmail me, and they wish to take him! Perhaps they believe that they can have more money from the King than they ever could have had from me, or perhaps they expect to be given a grand home and an income to raise him. And they likely will have the right to him. He is in England, and under English law.”
“Oh, no!” Emma cried out, “I could not bear that!”
Everyone comforted her, for though it was English law, her circumstances were unusual. Perhaps they would succeed in court, they said, or if it must be, she and little Nick could don servant’s clothing and flee to Tremeine. Each of them reiterated promises to do whatever they could. They were most thankful that the Queen had sent guards for Emma and Nicky, and that he was safe in his bed.
***
Down in the village, Benedict stumbled around town, knocking on doors. He busied himself, breaking the news to everyone he found that he was the father of Alexander Scott, and that the Princess was his daughter-in-law. Best of all, he said, the future King Nicholas of Tremeine was his grandchild, and that soon he would have enough money off it to buy drinks for the whole lot of them. And that more than once! Surely, for that he would have their support. The people, though, did not believe him, and their protective feelings for their Emma took a form. They began to watch this inebriate’s every move.
***
An English widow had no rights to her husband’s property, or even to her own child, and Alexander had not left a will. Chancery would establish a male guardian for Nicky. Wills had hoped to be that guardian, but he had not brought Chancery into the matter previously, which might now work against him. More than ever, he hoped to find a way to keep Nick at Holmeshire Hall, and he prayed with all his heart that he had. He approached the anxious women at their tea.
“Hello Mama, Emma, Genny.” Wills asked, and attempted to raise the spirits of the women. “Do you have something here for me to eat? Hmmm, let me see what is on Mama’s plate.” He took all that was on it and left only crumbs.
“And now you know why gentlemen are not invited to tea,” his mother responded, grateful for his efforts to cheer, but now without a tart.
Wills ignored her. “Ems, or rather, Your Highness, would you be so kind
as to come have a walk in the garden with me?”
She promptly set down her china, shook her head at the incorrigible Wills and went with him out the door of the Drawing Room. They left the house through the western door and passed through the wisteria enclosed landing. They walked down the terrace stairs and entered a secluded area surrounded by privet hedges. The garden around them was filled with sweet-smelling, red roses, purple and white petunias and beautifully created animal sculptures. They took the time to breathe deeply and to allow some of nature’s good into their day. Wills seated Emma on a stone bench, and he sat down beside her.
Emma had in her hands a letter that her mother had once written and left with Winnie, to be given to her once her grandfather had died. She shared it with Wills. It explained many things to her, including who her father was. She wrote that she had left the matter in the hands of Helena and Winnie because the Duke of Trent had kindly helped her. She had felt she could entrust all her precious things, most of all the destiny of her newborn daughter, to them. She had written a bit of her own life story to Emma and told her to seek out her Uncle Julian’s help, and to trust him, as soon as she knew of her grandfather’s death.
“I am so happy for you, dear Emma, and I know you must be eager to see your uncle.”
“The fact is, Wills, my life has been here, and it has been delightful. I very much wish to continue my life here. I realize well that I have a position in Tremeine, but I hope the King and the people will understand my situation. And I shall surely visit there and spend a good bit of time. My only concern is that Nicky might be taken from me before I can go.
“Ems,” he suggested, “I am so happy to know that you care to stay here. It would break my heart to see you leave us! That hope expressed, I see a possible solution to the threat of Nicholas being given to the Scotts.” Wills went to his knee on the ground and looked up at Emma with a most devoted expression. “Though it is inappropriate for an earl to propose to a princess, this is a matter of gravest importance. Would you consent to marry me? I do love you, you see, with all my heart. I have loved you for a very long time, even much before I should have.” Hoping to persuade her, he forgot the required position and moved back up to the bench. He took her hands. “As for Nicky, we could prove that I, an earl, would be married to the mother of the child, a princess, and the courts may see fit to leave him with us! That is, dear Emma, should you accept me as your husband, and should the King of Tremeine allow it.”