by Abigail Agar
“Should I have any other instructions for my modiste?”
Percy grimaced. “I know nothing about ladies’ garments. When I read more about where I want us to go, I’ll pass along better information.”
Percy heard Louisa ask the clerk if he had a new ladies’ novel. Percy rolled his eyes. He had never read one of those books, but he thought they must be boring.
Imagine reading about the heroine attending balls. Louisa attended balls. What could she gain from such a book? He shook his head.
*****
“She said ‘yes’ this time?” Cecil asked with a grin.
“She did. Not only that, she seems pretty happy about it.”
Kent laughed. “I should have proposed to Gertie last week. It would have given her a few happy days being the centre of attention.”
Percy laughed. “Do you really think she will care? She’ll be so happy it won’t matter. Although why she would be happy marrying you I can’t figure out.”
Kent shook his head. “And this from a man who was rejected by the very same girl.”
Percy sighed. “I know. She paused when I asked her. I thought she might reject me again.”
Cecil moaned. “You would have been a mess, and we would have had to pick up the pieces again. Thank God she said yes.”
Percy cleared his throat. “Are you going to Harold and Inez’s wedding Friday?”
Both nodded and said yes.
“It’s important to Emma. Inez is a good friend. I’ll have to put up with it.” Cecil opened his eyes wide, “Don’t tell me you are going.”
“I couldn’t get out of it. I won’t be leaving before Friday, and she wants to wish Inez well.”
Kent groaned. “I thought it would be hard for me, but you? Louisa’s a lucky girl if you would do that for her.”
“Yeah, there was no way out without upsetting her, and the last thing I want to do before I leave is upset her. I don’t want to talk about it.
“I have a question for you, Cecil. Now that Harold’s out of the picture, Barton is back to looking for a wife. Inez made the right choice for husbands, but I’m not comfortable with Barton still trying to find someone.
“Frederick's planning to go to old man Tattersall to tell him what’s been going on. He’s going to recommend the old man fire Victor and banish Barton from the property.
“Frederick wants to ask Donny to come down and run the place. Victor would need replacing, and quickly. If he won’t agree to that, Frederick hopes he’ll take over until he can find someone to take Victor’s place.
“You know him better than anyone else. Could the old man convince him to come to London?”
Cecil breathed out and thought. “It’s a good plan except that Donny loves the country, and London is not his favourite place.”
Percy nodded. “He did make that clear. He and Hobart hit it off well the last time he was down here. He’s going to visit him in Essex. If anyone can talk him into it, I give Hobart the best chance.
“Frederick is going to wait for Donny’s answer before he goes to the old man. What do you think?”
Cecil shrugged. It’s worth a shot. He might not want the job, but he might know someone who would.”
*****
“You have heard from Winters?”
“Yes. I’ve ordered everything he needs, and Jakes is packing my trunk as we speak.”
Percy and Louisa were riding in Percy’s carriage on the way to Harold and Inez’s wedding. Louisa hoped her first public appearance, newly engaged, would be an exciting time with friends celebrating their happiness.
But it was overshadowed by Percy’s departure. He would be gone two long months. That was nothing to smile about.
“When will you leave?”
“Two days. If you want, we can keep that information to ourselves until after Harold and Inez’s wedding.”
“No. Then the guests will wonder if I’m truly happy to be betrothed.”
Percy nodded. “True enough. I don’t believe I’ve told you how beautiful you look this morning. I look at you now, and I think about how you will look on our wedding morning.”
He shook his head. “How will I live without you for two months? I’ve never been away from you for that long.”
“We are here. Please stop, or I’ll cry and ruin everything.”
Percy kissed her forehead. “Let’s put smiles on our faces and look like we are having fun.”
Percy and Louisa entered the church to a gathered group of twelve. Percy thought Inez looked nervous, breathing in and out in shallow breaths. He thought she looked pretty in her light blue gown.
Harold, in his morning coat, smiled at Inez in a tender way that surprised Percy. He didn’t think he had been capable of love.
Percy and Louisa sat next to Kent and Gertie.
The ceremony was over in a matter of minutes. The guests stood, and Inez’s father announced the breakfast meal would be at his home, giving the address.
Percy thought the celebration would be quick. Since he had told Cecil and Kent and Louisa had told Emma and Gertie, he and Louisa decided to keep their engagement from others. It was Inez’s wedding. Everyone in his or her inner circle knew.
After the meal, Percy had heard from Cecil that Harold would go to the bank, get in the carriage with his bride, and go to the Newton family seat in Pembroke.
Percy shook his head. There, Harold would straighten out his finances and come back to London.
For all of Harold Newton’s machinations to find someone who would bail him out of his financial problems, Percy thought he was lucky.
Inez was a very nice girl, and she went willingly into the marriage. Her fear of being alone, and his fear of financial ruin, may have just caused a match made in heaven. Or better, a match made in a safe haven.
He thanked God he wasn’t in the position of having to find a bride for her dowry. He knew Inez to be a nice girl, but it mattered only what Harold thought of her. As marriages of convenience go, this one wasn’t so bad.
The celebration was over soon enough. Cecil and Kent helped create a buffer between Percy and Harold so their interaction was at a minimum. Louisa hugged Inez and asked her to write. And as expected, she would be back in town soon.
Percy and Louisa got into the carriage. “What did you think?” Percy said.
“I think she seemed nervous, but once she has spent a few days as a married Lady, she will settle down. He seems to genuinely like her. I hope so.”
Percy asked, “Did you get any ideas from the wedding you can use?”
“You saw me looking around, did you?”
“I did.”
“It’s not the type of wedding we’ll be having so, no, I didn’t get any ideas.”
“We are here.”
“Where?”
“My townhouse.”
Louisa’s eyes flew open. She turned her head. “Percy, I think you have the wrong . . .”
He put his hand up to stop her. “I want to show you around. I thought you would be curious about where you would be living.” He hesitated. “And I need your help.”
“My help?” she asked as Percy helped her out of the carriage.
They climbed the stairs, and Jacobs opened the door. They walked in, and the butler closed the door. “Jacobs, this is my betrothed, Lady Louisa Haddington.” He turned to Louisa. “My Lady, this is Jacobs.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” she said.
Jacobs bowed, “And you, My Lady. Congratulations on your betrothal. May I call for tea?”
“Yes, Jacobs. Please do.”
Percy walked Louisa into the parlour. “I think you shocked your butler,” Louisa said.
“I think you’re right. So, while we wait for tea, I would like you to look around the room. My only visitors over the past few years have been Cecil and Kent.
“They know about as much as I when it comes to home decor.
“Ah, the tea.” Percy waited until the servant retreated.
“As I was saying, as soon as the wedding is over, I ask if you would take on the task of redecorating this entire townhouse. It hasn’t been done since I was a child. Now that we will be entertaining, it sorely needs your attention. You will, of course, have an unlimited budget. I want your home to be one you are proud to entertain in.”
Louisa looked around the room. “It is a bit dated. Is there a particular theme or colour scheme you had in mind?”
“Theme? Do houses have themes?”
Louisa laughed. “Yes. Roman, Greek, French, country . . .”
Percy put up his hand to stop her. “Can’t you see my eyes glazing over, Louisa? I want to know nothing about any of it. Including colours. I will not need to know the particulars. Except my office. We will tackle that last, I think.
“Do you think you could start a month or two after we return from our honeymoon?”
“I think,” Louisa said slowly, “there are rooms that should be started shortly after we come home from our honeymoon. Two rooms I would like to tackle would be this parlour and our bedchamber. If the bedchamber is as bad as this, I would be motivated to change it.”
Percy put down his teacup. “Let’s take a tour. Try not to gasp in every single room.”
She seemed to like the idea of redecorating the townhouse. Percy hoped so. It sorely needed it. He wanted her to be happy. And busy. It wouldn’t do to have his bride sitting around with too much time on her hands. She might decide it was a mistake to marry him.
By the time the redecorating was finished, Percy hoped she would have something else to occupy her time. Like an heir.
“And here is the nursery. It’s rather large. You always talked about having a small family, so if you want to knock down a wall to make it smaller, that can be arranged.”
Louisa looked up at him. “Not so small. At least two. Maybe three.”
He pulled her into him. “Whatever you want. I hope to have an heir if you can arrange it.”
She laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 33
Frederick was let into John Tattersall’s parlour expecting to see faded furniture and cobwebs in the corners. Instead, he walked into an airy room with bright flowers in vases and brighter pillows scattered on the furniture in the room.
It vibrated with life. The longer he was waiting, the more he noticed. Unusual pieces of artwork and an interesting off-centre clock on the mantle, plant stands made of intricate metal designs. John entered the room before he had an opportunity to explore more.
“Your Grace,” he said, then bowed.
Frederick turned to see an older gentleman who looked like he could beat him in a match of arm wrestling.
“Sir John,” Frederick greeted.
“Have a seat. I’ve called for tea.”
“Thank you, Sir John.”
“You caught me between trips. I just got back from a wonderful safari in Africa. In a few weeks, I head to the continent, the eastern continent. I have heard I must see Prague. And so I will. Ah, the tea.”
Sir John acted as host, passed Frederick tea, and drew his attention to a rather eclectic plate of refreshments. Thinly rolled bread and some kind of filling. Avocado covered in some sort of green leaf then rolled in rice. Four other offerings Frederick never saw before. No doubt, foods he learned of from his travels.
They talked about Sir John’s penchant for travelling while Frederick wondered if he was wrong. Maybe Sir John knew exactly what happened at his stables.
Both Sir John and Frederick knew it was the time in the visit where Frederick told him why he was there.
“Sir John, please forgive me if I overstepped my bounds, and you are aware of the practice of horse-trading on the side that goes on at Tattersall’s. I thought to bring it to your attention on the chance that you were unaware of the practice.”
Sir John leaned in. “I’m not sure without learning more. Please, go on.”
Frederick repositioned himself in his chair. “Quite by accident, I learned that your auctioneer, Victor, was engaged in a practice where he and a plant in an auction group drove up the price of inferior horses.
“The plant used his ‘expertise’ to convince the auction group around the horse that it was a superior animal or at least an animal far above its actual worth.”
Frederick stopped to let his words sink in. Sir John was pale, and his teacup was frozen midway to his lips. Frederick waited, hoping to find the appropriate time to continue.
Sir John gave a short shake of his head and put his cup down. “Pardon me for asking, but did you see this practice, or have you only heard that it exists.”
“I saw it. My brother saw Victor and his plant, Barton, splitting the excess money.”
“Barton, you say? Barton St John?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“Oh, I know him. Many years back, he and I had words over a horse I sold him. I remember the horse well. A beautiful, strong gelding. I suspected he went home and treated the animal more like a dog than a horse.
“He brought the animal back to me, accusing me of selling him an inferior horse. As I said, we had words. I took the horse back because I didn’t want it to continue to be mistreated. But I refused to sell him another horse.”
Frederick continued, “When I saw what was happening, I asked the horse seller a friend knows to take a look. He said there were horses being sold that should be put out to pasture.
“Instead, they were being sold, would come up lame, and be put down. This horse seller, Donny Williams, was upset that horses were ultimately put down that should be out to pasture. I know you value the name and reputation of Tattersall’s. Donny values his integrity as an integral part of his business.”
Sir John’s face brightened. “Donny Williams? Is his father Danny Williams? A nice man. A man with a heart. Loved his horses.”
Frederick nodded. “He sounds like Donny. May I ask, Sir John? Does your travel keep you from Tattersall’s? I think Victor and Barton have been working together for some time.”
A low growl came up from Sir John’s throat. “I passed the reins of the business over to my grandson. He sends me money every month like clockwork, and he tells me everything is fine. It seems I have been remiss in meeting with the boy.”
Frederick changed his position in his chair again. “It is said he doesn’t come to the site because he doesn’t want to get his shoes dirty.”
Sir John shut his eyes. Frederick sat very still.
“I will leave you Sir John except to say my brother Hobart just left to meet with Donny Williams. He wants to persuade Donny to come down and take a look at the stables. Hobart is as much a horse lover as Donny. Both want to avoid putting down a horse that should be out to pasture.
“I hope you don’t object. We didn’t know how my conversation with you would go, and Hobart got ahead of himself.”
Frederick stood then so did Sir John. Sir John bowed then walked Frederick to the front door. “I can’t tell you how much your visit means to me. Thank you for coming.”
Sir John bowed again, and Frederick left.
*****
Percy was uncharacteristically grumpy. He paced while his trunks were being hoisted to the roof of the second carriage, the carriage his valet and two additional footmen were travelling in. They were supposed to leave at sun up. At this rate, they would leave at sundown, if they were lucky.
He had said goodbye to Louisa over dinner last evening. She cried. She didn’t want him to go. He sighed. He should just take Gordon Castle apart stone by stone.
After two and a half days and two stops at coaching inns, Percy made it to Gordon Castle. Or maybe he should call it Gordon rubble. It was worse than he thought. He shouldn’t have ignored the place.
Winters met him at the carriage. They went straight to Percy’s office to talk.
“Where’s the whisky, Winters?”
Winters opened the cabinet near the desk and took out a decanter and a glass. “Take out a glass for
you. You’re probably going to need it.”
A servant he didn’t recognize brought tea and refreshments. When Percy raised an eyebrow, Winters said he needed to hire servants from the village for Percy’s stay. He had been living without them.
“We’ll take a tour. Before we do, what is your opinion, Winters? Should we dismantle this place and build something new from scratch?”
Winters leaned back in his chair. He had known Percy since he was a boy, so there was an informal rapport between the two that suited both of them well.