Apple Blossom Bride

by Marina Oliver

  'I – it has been altered, my old gowns were not fashionable,' she managed. 'I – I did not wish to disgrace Caro – Lady Montgomery, by wearing those.'

  'And since when has fashion been of importance to you? It's disgraceful, and so I shall inform her ladyship if she permitted you to desecrate your modest gowns in such a fashion.'

  How could she tell him that Caroline had ordered her to dress more fashionably, and had indeed given her gowns that would offend him even more than this one? It must be for Caroline to tell him.

  'You will be married to Nicholas as soon as it can be arranged, and he will teach you to behave with more decorum.'

  'No!'

  'What do you mean, no?'

  Eve took a deep breath. She rarely defied her father openly, and on the few occasions when she had he had punished her severely. Here, though, she thought, what could he do? She supposed he might force her to go home, but Sir Bernard and Caroline would plead her case.

  'I won't marry Nicholas!'

  'You will, my girl. It's time you were behaving sensibly. And don't imagine I will permit you to visit Rachel in London, now I have seen how immodestly you behave here.'

  Eve closed her eyes. Her father had never before stated his intentions so bluntly, but argument now was not going to help her.

  'Why are you in London?' she repeated. 'I understood that Stephen, the Earl's brother, went to a new tutor last month.'

  'He did indeed, the ungrateful wretch, who spurned my teaching. If he fails to pass into Oxford now it will be his own fault. How can a young man so recently in orders impart the sort of knowledge I can?'

  'The Earl says he did amazingly well at Oxford. He was one of the most brilliant students there.'

  'Pshaw! That sort of flashy brilliance when he was young does not mean he is a good teacher. But Stephen's defection inspired your brother to rebellion. James, I am sorry to say, stole some money from the Parish funds and left a most impertinent letter to inform me he was going to volunteer for the army. I have found no trace of him at the local recruiting offices, so have come to London to discover where he is, and to stop his insubordination. Has he contacted you?'

  Silently applauding her brother, Eve shook her head. 'No, Papa. I know nothing about it. Have you been to the War Office? Perhaps the Earl of Newark can help you.'

  'I will go in the morning. I came here first merely to inform you of my arrival, and now I am going to my hotel. I am staying at Fenton's, it is close to the Horse Guards. Not that James can afford to enlist in a cavalry regiment, but they may be able to help me. Then I will go to the War Office, in Whitehall, where the Earl can assist me. After encouraging his brother to complain of me, and believing him, he owes me a great deal.'

  To Eve's relief he then rose, having refused the refreshment Thompson came to offer, and announced he was leaving.

  'I will report what I discover to you, and then deal with your insubordination,' were his final words.

  *

  The Earl was somewhat surprised when he was told a clergyman wished to speak with him. He wondered who it could be.

  'Show him in.'

  It was odd for any clergy to visit the War Office, but when Eve's father was shown in he understood. He had heard of the man's visit to Albemarle Street, and guessed what his business might be.

  He was correct. The Rector came to his business at once.

  'My lord, my son has run away from home, and I believe he is intending to try and join the army. He is only sixteen, and does not have my permission. How can I find out where he is?'

  'Where have you tried so far?'

  'Local recruitment offices near my home, and the barracks here in London. But they all deny any knowledge of him.'

  'Could he have tried to enlist under another name?'

  The Rector sighed. 'He may have done, in which case how can I ever find him?'

  'Why do you wish to prevent him from becoming a soldier? From what I have heard it's all he wants to do.'

  'He will not disobey me! He is going to Oxford, if he can study harder than he has done so far, and then into the Ministry. The life of a soldier has nought to do with that.'

  'But if that is not what he wants, have you the right to force another way of life onto him?'

  'I have every right! I am his father!'

  'Then, if you are determined to search for him, all I can suggest is that you ask at all the barracks and camps along the south coast. That is where most of the regiments still in England are. I will arrange for you to have a list of them. But from the news we have here from France, I believe the war will be over shortly. James is not likely to see much action, even if he does manage to enlist. You need have no fears for him.'

  'I am not afraid for his life, my lord, but for his immortal soul when he is forced to mingle with the rough men who join the army because they have no other skills, and no wish to earn an honest living.'

  Justin barely refrained from disputing the Rector's view of the British army, or from reminding him that he himself, though currently working in London, was an officer in that army. After all, the man knew nothing about the army, but was prejudiced, and perhaps, though he doubted this, and the wretched man denied it, afraid for his son.

  'I will send you that list later today. Where are you staying?'

  *

  Later that day the Earl met Sir Peter at White's. He was engaged with friends for some card games, and was sitting waiting for them when Sir Peter arrived and sat by him, calling for wine. He had heard from Amelia about the Rector's visit to Albemarle Street and his threat to force Eve back home and into marriage with his curate, and was concerned.

  'What is this Rector like? Would Eve submit to such a decision about her future?'

  'I sincerely trust not.'

  'What is this curate like? Did you ever meet him? You went to see Stephen at the Rectory, didn't you?'

  'Yes. I only saw the man for a short time when I visited the Rectory on the first occasion, but he struck me then as a weak fellow who would always agree with the man who had the loudest voice,' Justin said.

  'And that, from what Amelia tells me, is the Rector.'

  'And that curate is hardly the right husband for Eve. Can you imagine a girl with her spirit confined to a Rectory, busy with good deeds in the parish, visiting the sick because that was what she was expected to do rather than what she wanted, and married to a nonentity like the man I saw? She would be driven either to madness or rebellion.'

  'Would it be different if she were married to someone who had sick tenants she would be expected to visit?'

  Justin gave a crack of laughter. 'I cannot imagine her being a lady bountiful, taking soup. She would be doing more practical things.'

  'Like teaching them how to make cider?'

  'Not in Buckinghamshire. There she would have to teach them to make cowslip wine.'

  Peter raised his eyebrows. So that was how his friend was thinking.

  Justin read his mind and grinned. 'Somehow I don't think she would marry him, even if she were dragged to the altar,' he said.

  'Let us hope not.'

  'Will Eve agree to go home?'

  'Not unless he forces her by binding her up and carrying her to a carriage,' Sir Peter said. 'At least, that is what Amelia says.'

  'Well, I suggested he made enquiries at all the camps along the south coast. That will take days. Perhaps his fury will have lessened by then, and Eve be permitted to remain in London until the Montgomeries go home. It's not long till Christmas. And she tells me her sister has invited her to London for the Season, so she will be back in the spring.

  At that moment Justin's friends arrived, and Peter made his farewells. He shook his head when invited to join them, saying he had another appointment and was already late.

  For some reason Justin was not concentrating fully on the card game. He was thinking about Eve and her brother, and their implacable, irascible father. He must, if the Rector succeeded in finding James, try to persuade him to
permit the boy to join Stephen. The boys were friends, and would work better if they studied together. He was so busy framing arguments he might use with the Rector he rose from the table at the end of the game a considerable loser.

  *

  It was two days before her father reappeared in Albemarle Street, when the ladies were having breakfast, only to report failure.

  'There is no record of James having enlisted in London, so I must go to where the various regiments are stationed and enquire directly. I am determined he will not disobey me!'

  'Will you not sit a while and have some coffee?'

  'Thank you, Lady Montgomery, but I must be on my way. I will go first to Brighton, and then along the south coast. As for you, Eve, you cannot return home while only Nicholas is in residence, so you will go to Rachel's instead until I can arrange your marriage.'

  'Marriage?' Caroline asked. She looked startled and cast a querying glance at Eve, who shook her head.

  'She will marry Nicholas North, my curate, as soon as I have brought James home.'

  Amelia looked at her in astonished dismay. She knew how much Eve disliked the man. 'Does Eve want to marry him?'

  'Her wishes are irrelevant. There will be no argument. First, though, I must find James.'

  'What if James has enlisted under a false name?' Amelia asked.

  The Rector frowned. 'If he has so dishonoured me and my family, I will disown him!'

  'Which would be better for poor James than to be hauled back to Herefordshire in disgrace,' Eve said after her father had been shown out. 'I wonder what the Earl said to him?'

  'He and Sir Peter are coming to dine tonight, so we will discover it,' Caroline said. 'What is this nonsense about a marriage to that curate? I didn't know it had been proposed.'

  Eve was almost incoherent with rage. 'It has not! Only by Papa. But I'll not ever marry Nicholas! I never want to be tied to any other rectory. He can't make me, even if he does lock me in my room like he did when I was a child and disobeyed him!'

  'Perhaps, if you are firm, he will change his mind. Or Nicholas, knowing your reluctance, will not cooperate. But for now, do you wish to go to Rachel's, or would you prefer to remain with us for Christmas? Or at least until your father is back at home?'

  'Could I? I would so much prefer it. Rachel will be for ever complaining about James and his disobedience, she has no feeling for what he has suffered while being tutored by Papa.'

  'Then you will come home with us. We need not tell your father until he is back at home. Write and tell Rachel I have invited you.'

  Eve impulsively threw her arms round Caroline and kissed her. 'What should I do without you?'

  At dinner the Earl reported that he could discover no trace of James, and the only way to find him was to ask at all the enlistment centres. 'The Rector will be busy. The ones on the coast are the most likely, but it will take a good many days to search at all of them. And there is also the possibility that James would have gone straight to France.'

  'But he would not have known how to.'

  'If he has been following events on the continent, which he seemed to have been doing when I saw him, he will soon discover what he must do. But would he have enough money for a passage?'

  'Papa said he stole some, but I have no notion how much, and he would have to pay to travel to the coast.'

  'We will no doubt hear soon,' Sir Bernard said. 'Do you have leave over Christmas?'

  'I do, but I will only be spending a few days in Buckinghamshire,' the Earl replied. 'I am planning some alterations at the house in Grosvenor Square, so I will need to be there to supervise them.'

  Were these alterations because he was planning to make an offer to Amelia, Eve wondered. Had he consulted her? She had never seen the house, for when he and Sir Peter returned Caroline's hospitality they took them to restaurants.

  Then Caroline asked Peter whether his mother would be going to the country during the Christmas weeks.

  'Yes. I will escort them to Brighton, to stay with one of Mama's old friends, leaving tomorrow, but I do not intend staying. I have an invitation from a distant cousin on my father's side, in Norfolk, so I will be coming straight back to London and then travelling to Norwich.'

  'Has Talia found a suitable wealthy and titled husband yet?' Sir Bernard asked, grinning.

  'No, and I think it is partly this failure that has made her wish to retire for a few months. She says she hopes there will be a better selection of noblemen in London during the Season.'

  They laughed. 'Perhaps, when Napoleon is defeated, which we hope will be soon, the French nobility will return to Paris, and she might try her luck there,' the Earl suggested.

  'But will they be wealthy enough?'

  'Some managed to save their fortunes, and I assume their estates will be restored. Poor Paris!'

  'When do you plan to leave?' Sir Peter asked Sir Bernard.

  'In three days. But we will be back in March, and look forward to you both coming to dinner then.'

  Eve wondered whether she would be back at the Rectory, with or without James. It seemed now that her father would not permit her to spend the Season with Rachel. She sighed. It had been a wonderful few weeks, and she would never forget it.

  *

  James was only a few miles from Winchester. He was weary, and when a cart with two men in it stopped and offered him a lift he climbed gratefully into it.

  'Off to Winchester, lad?' one asked, and James nodded. 'Not far now, you'll see it when we get past that clump of trees.'

  They drove the cart alongside the spinney for a few yards, then halted the cob pulling it.

  'Let's get down and stretch our legs,' the older and bigger man suggested, and sprang down from the cart..

  James looked at him in surprise, but before he could speak the man had grabbed his arm and was pulling him down onto the ground.

  'Now, my lad,' he said, his voice suddenly changing from the affable tone he'd used previously. 'Where's your blunt?'

  James looked up from where he was sprawled on the ground. 'Blunt? What are you doing? Let me up!'

  'Blunt, brass. Or if you're too finicky for that, your money.'

  James fought, but they were too big and strong, and too well versed in dirty fighting, for him. He managed to get to his feet, but by now both of them were punching him and trying to drag his greatcoat from him. Then one of them picked up a fallen branch from the side of the track and started to belabour James with it.

  'Your blunt! And while we're about it, we'll have this coat too. Good quality, it is.'

  He swung the branch at James's head, and the boy instinctively raised his right arm to parry it. The branch connected, and he heard and felt bones breaking. For a moment his only emotion was surprise, and then the agony hit him, and he made no more resistance when they dragged off his greatcoat and searched the pockets of his jacket, finding his last guinea.

  'Is this all? Tell me, where's the rest? You must have more, you've got good clothes,' the smaller one said in disgust, pushing him to the ground.

  James felt too sick to reply, and only half-conscious watched in resignation as he raised the branch again. Then the other man uttered a warning.

  'There's someone coming. Let's go.'

  They were out of sight before two horsemen rode up. The newcomers stopped, and dismounted, and James was half expecting another attack. He really didn't have the strength to care, so when they spoke pleasantly to him, asking him what had happened, he found it difficult to reply.

  'We're for Winchester, but that's too far for you. There's a couple live near here who used to work for me. If we put you on a horse, can you hold on? You won't faint? Then they'll see to your arm and look after you. The man was always good at setting broken bones.'

  James almost fainted as they lifted him onto one of the horses, but after a few minutes was able to tell them what had happened.

  'We'll report it to the constable, but I suspect they'll be far away for now. Look, here's the cottag
e. You'll be well looked after here.'

  *

  On the following morning Eve came down to breakfast to find Caroline still in her wrapper, and looking distracted.

  'What is it?' she asked.

  'Bernard. He had another seizure last night. Only a mild one, but I am afraid the journey home will be too much for him. I've sent for Sir William, to see what he advises.'

  'How can I help?'

  'Keep Amelia amused. Take her shopping, or for a walk in the Park. She frets him by her anxiety.'

  'Of course.'

  'Then pray excuse me. I must go back to him.'

  Amelia was difficult to persuade, saying she did not wish to purchase anything more until they came back to London.

  'Fashions will have changed,' she declared.

  'But I must buy some white muslin and have it made up to suit my father's views on modest gowns.'

  'Oh, poor Eve! But surely he will not prevent you from coming to London with Rachel?'

  'I think he will try. Can I leave all my new clothes here?'

  'Don't you want to show them in Herefordshire?'

  'Papa won't permit it. I know that if I take them home he will destroy them and that I could not endure!'

  'Oh, he's a wicked old man! I'm sorry, Eve, I know I shouldn't say that about an older man, and your father too, but he is!'

  'Yes,' Eve said sadly. 'So can we go and buy me some material? I think I have just enough money left to buy two lengths of the cheapest muslin, and that will do for me back at home.'

  'And if you have not enough money I will pay.'

  Eve, thinking of Caroline, did her utmost to keep Amelia out of the house for as long as possible. She spent a good deal of time over her choice of one white and one pale blue lengths of muslin she knew her father would approve of. When they returned to Albemarle Street Amelia immediately ran upstairs to see her brother. A few minutes later she came to Eve's room to say he was sleeping, Sir William having treated him with castoreum, and saying he would be sure to be better by the following day.

  'And Caroline has sent for the sewing woman, so if you and I help with the simple stitching, we can have your gowns made up by tomorrow, and we are moving on the following day.'