Aunt seemed shocked. “John… I had no idea. Why have you said nothing to me about this?”
“It’s a recent development, and I was hoping to solve the problem quickly. I felt there was no need to tell you.”
“Can you tell me now?” Aunt asked.
“I’d rather not. There’s too much flux and too much at stake. I’ll tell you privately when I know more.”
He stood up. “I’m sorry I can’t move forward with your suggestions, but I must get back to work now.”
Aunt stood and took hold of John’s arm. “John, stop, please.” He turned to her. “What if I paid for Elizabeth’s care and later on, when you’ve solved your financial issues, then you could move forward with the school. In the meantime, Susan could develop the new curriculum and prepare to start the school when you’re ready.”
John seemed stunned. “You’d do that? Does Elizabeth mean that much to you?”
“Of course, she does. I’m shocked you would ask me that.”
“I’m sorry. You must forgive me. I’m in a great deal of turmoil just now. Please move forward with your plan for Elizabeth, and when I get this financial mess straightened out I’ll reimburse you for your expenses for Elizabeth.”
“I will.” She put her hand on John’s arm again. “And my dear nephew, please open your heart and spend some time with your daughter. You have shut her out so thoroughly she almost doesn’t know who you are anymore.”
John turned to Susan. “Miss Susan, welcome to the household. I’m sure Elizabeth will benefit greatly from your careful care.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my very best.”
After they left the Duke, they headed upstairs toward Elizabeth’s room.
“Aunt Clarissa, are you comfortable with this arrangement? Aren’t you an employee of the Duke’s?”
“Oh no, my dear, I came to live here after the death of my husband. I have a very nice inheritance, and not wanting to be idle, I offered to run the household. You need not worry for me. I can easily afford your services.”
“But as we’ll not be starting the school for a time yet, I don’t feel right accepting the full salary you promised me. After all, I’ll not be running the school right away.”
“But you will be planning it. And that work deserves compensation.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Not really. John said he’d reimburse me later. That’s sufficient for me.”
They came to Elizabeth’s room and went inside. Charlotte was seated by the window as before. Elizabeth was seated at a table playing with blocks. Susan went directly to the center of the room and sat on the floor. She leaned forward, stretching her arms out in front of her, and began to make little barks like a puppy. Elizabeth had not had time yet to hide and was puzzled by Susan’s action. She stared at Susan, curious as to what she would do next.
Susan reached over and grabbed a ball about the size of a dinner plate and rolled it toward Elizabeth’s chair. The ball hit the chair and started to roll back. Susan reached for it when it returned and rolled it back toward the chair. This time Elizabeth caught the ball with her foot and kicked it back to Susan.
After several such exchanges, Elizabeth climbed off the chair and sat on the floor opposite Susan. Now, when Susan had the ball, she would roll the ball toward other objects in the room, in such a way, that the ball would bank off the object and roll toward Elizabeth from another direction. This made the girl laugh. But she didn’t know how to bank the ball like Susan did, so she just rolled the ball directly back to Susan.
Finally, when the ball came to Susan, she held on to the ball and leaned forward and whispered, “My name is Susan. Will you be my friend?”
Elizabeth stared at her wide-eyed for a moment. Then she said, “I’m Elizabeth, will you be mine?”
“I would absolutely love that.”
“Do you know how to draw?”
“I do. But I’ll bet you’re a better drawer that I am.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“I’ll tell you what. I have to go for now, but I’m going to come back and be here all the time. I’m going to be your friend and we’re going to play together every single day. Would you like that?”
Elizabeth nodded furiously. “When will you be back, Susan?”
“Tomorrow or the next day. I need to pack my things and move in here.”
“In this room?” Elizabeth asked.
“Not here. This is your room. But I’ll be nearby and we’re going to study and play together each and every day. How does that sound?”
Elizabeth got up and rushed over to give Susan a hug.
As Aunt and Susan walked down the hallway toward Susan’s new suite, Aunt said, “What a lovely connection. I can see you are going to be a great asset in Elizabeth’s life.”
“Thank you. I really love her already, and I’m excited to be working with her.”
“Here’s your suite. I hope you like it.”
It was just down the hall from Elizabeth and close to Aunt’s suite.
It was every bit as lovely as Aunt’s—with a fine view of the park and with comfortable and pleasant furnishings. Susan knew immediately she was going to like it. It even had a window seat like the one she enjoyed so much at home. She could just see herself sitting there reading Daniel’s letters and seeing her hero out at sea.
Susan turned to Aunt. “It’s lovely. And now I’m going to return home and wrap up a few loose ends, and I should be back late tomorrow or the next day. Will that be all right?”
“Yes, dear. Do what you must.”
Susan thought for a moment. “Do you think John’s going to be all right? I worry that he seems so troubled.”
“I don’t know. I was taken by surprise at his announcement. But I know he is a resourceful man, and I feel certain he’ll find a solution to whatever’s troubling him.”
* * *
It was Susan’s last day at school. Peggy Alexander, the new teacher, was to work alongside her all day, following along with the established curriculum. Susan attempted to answer all her questions, but the thing she most dreaded was introducing her to the boy’s class. She was afraid the poor, timid seeming, Peggy would be eaten alive by the afternoon wolves.
And, indeed, the morning with the girls did go well. About half way through the class, Susan let Peggy take over the teaching. She showed Susan she knew how to teach and the girls seemed to like her.
Then it was time for the boy’s class. And Susan braced herself for the onslaught. And sure enough, when the boys came in, they took one look at the petite Miss Alexander and sensed red meat.
Susan clapped her hands for the boy’s attention and when they finally quieted down, introduced their new teacher, Miss Alexander. This set the classroom into a howl. The boys were jumping up and down, calling out names, and jeering.
Peggy just stood in front of the class and stared at them, as though sizing up the enemy. She waited and waited for them to quiet. She said nothing but looked at each boy in the eyes, one at a time. And slowly, one by one, the boys quieted down and sat at their desks.
And when the room was completely quiet Peggy said, “Well, it took you long enough. And I hope you got it all out of your systems, for I am your teacher and you are my pupils. I am here to instruct and you are here to learn. And let me make this unequivocally clear—I will harbor no nonsense or misbehavior. Is that understood?”
A boy at the back of the room gave Miss Alexander a verbal raspberry. That set the classroom laughing. Peggy had seen who the culprit was and marched right up to the boy and flicked his nose hard with her forefinger. He cried out more in surprise than in pain and the class immediately quieted.
“Did I not make myself perfectly clear?” Peggy asked, as she again scanned each face and pointed in warning. The class was perfectly silent.
She marched back to the front of the class and said, “Now, take out your chalkboards and let’s practice our cursive writing.”
Susan nodded.
She had found the perfect replacement.
* * *
Papa was going to drive Susan and her luggage over to Haverford House after lunchtime. Susan was mostly packed and she took a moment to write Daniel. She told him all about her new position and how excited she was to be teaching the young child, Elizabeth. She touched upon Daniel’s efforts to find a way for them to be together longer if he was to stay in the Navy. And she gave him her new address and promised to write regularly with news of her new job and home.
Susan wanted to mail the letter to make sure it went out before she left for Haverford House, so she decided to walk into town, mail the letter, and stop by to see Katherine and say good-bye. Not that she was going to be so far away that they couldn’t see each other—but it would be less often, as it required transportation to get into Ash from the estate.
Katherine was in the back garden harvesting beans for supper when Susan arrived. Katherine was wearing a large sunhat and was on her knees amongst the bean vines.
“Don’t you look stylish,” Susan called out as she approached.
Katherine looked up and brushed the perspiration from her forehead with her sleeve.
“You like my au courant fashion statement—kitchen chic?” She laughed and pushed herself up to standing.
“I was just posting a letter to Daniel so I thought I’d stop by. Don’t let me interrupt your gathering,” Susan said.
“Oh, I’m finished. Come inside with me. I believe Mother made some lemonade, would you like some? It’s a warm day for September, isn’t it?”
They went into the kitchen and Katherine set the basket of beans on the table.
“Would you like me to help string those,” Susan asked as she sat at the table and began cleaning the beans.”
“Aren’t you nice?” Katherine said as she poured two glasses of lemonade.
“How do you get ice this time of year?” Susan asked as she took a swig of the cold drink.
“Ah, we have an in with the mayor who has a root cellar where he stores ice he takes from the lake during the winter. Don’t tell anybody though. It’s supposed to be a secret.”
They sat for a moment in silence, snapping beans and savoring the lemonade.
“When I was getting the ice, the mayor’s wife told me about the railway coming through Kent from London. Have you heard about it?” Katherine asked.
“Jasper mentioned something to me about a new railway line, but that’s all I know.”
“Seems the big mucky mucks are buying up property for rights of way from London to Dover, so it’s unknown if it will come our way or not. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a station in Ash? Then we could go visit the King and Queen.”
“I think of my carriage ride to London when I went to visit Jessica. How much nicer and faster it would have been on a train,” Susan said.
They worked on the beans a bit longer then Susan said, “I’m off this afternoon.”
“Oh, honey, I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll be back. And maybe you would like to visit sometime. There are wonderful walks on the property and you could stay a couple of days and meet the adorable Elizabeth.”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
“But I’ll need to settle in and get my bearings first. But I’ll drop you a note.”
Katherine looked like she wanted to say something. Susan studied her. “What?” she finally asked.
“We got the strangest letter from Daniel the other day,” Katherine answered.
“Oh?”
“He’s talking about taking a shore job with the Navy. That’s so unlike him. He loves the sea. He loves being a captain with his own ship. Why do you think he’d say such a thing? It’s not like him at all.”
Susan felt a little embarrassed, as she knew she was the cause of that thinking. “I may have something to do with that.”
Katherine looked surprised. “How?”
She told Katherine about her discussion with Daniel regarding the long absences of a sailor.
“Ah, that explains it, then.”
“I’m afraid so. I don’t want to take him from what he loves, but at the same time I have concerns.”
“I can understand that, Susan. But don’t all sailors’ wives suffer the same fate? What if the entire navy just up and quit to be with their families? We’d have no fleet and the barbarians would come pouring across our shores.”
“And you have a point. But I’m not trying to get Daniel to quit the Navy. We’re only discussing options. And besides, we’re not even near being a couple yet.”
“Well, I know for sure, that he certainly does think highly of you. If I told you what he said in the letter about you, you would blush as red as a beet.”
Susan glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantel. “Oh my, is that the time? Papa is to take me to Haverford House in an hour. I must get back.”
Susan stood and brushed down her lap. Katherine also stood. They looked at each other, realizing this was to be good-bye for a while.
“Ah-h-h,” they both said at the same time and fell into each other’s arms for a good long hug.
Chapter 10
John Chamberlain, the Duke of Lennox, read through the letter for the third time. It was not ambiguous. Ezra Burk, the Earl of Pembrook—and his ex-father-in-law—was calling in the loan he’d made to John. No reason for the request was given in the letter.
Blackleg disease had raged through his sheep the winter before his wife died, wiping out over half of his flock. He’d urgently needed capital to rebuild his stock and to get the estate through the rest of the year until he could sheer the new sheep. He had workers he needed to pay, and he was not about to let go of those people who depended on him for their livelihood.
He had fully intended to pay off the loan, but when Annabel died he was devastated and pleaded with Ezra to extend the loan until he recovered from his grief. Ezra had agreed and John had been making regular payments on the loan since then.
But that had been more than five years ago and he had still not paid off the loan in its entirety. This letter had come as a shock and he realized he would still be unable to pay off the loan at this time.
He had already contacted his bank about a new loan to pay off the Earl, but they had refused, sighting the fact that he already had a mortgage on the estate, and his current income was insufficient to warrant a new loan.
The only thing he could think to do was to go up to Pembrook Hall and plead with Ezra not to call in the loan at this time. His new flock had been well established and he would be sheering in the late-autumn. Perhaps he could convince Ezra to wait for his payment until after the sheep were sheered and the wool was sold.
He checked the calendar. It was now mid-September and he figured he would have the wool sold by mid to late November. That was only two to three months. Surely, he could persuade Ezra to wait that long.
It was a day’s ride to Pembrook Hall, and he set out without telling his Aunt the reason for his travel. Nor did he stop in to say good-bye to his daughter, which was not unusual for him.
The weather was fair and he made good time, arriving late evening after making an early start. He had the most conflicted emotions as he approached the Earl’s home, for it was here he had first met Annabel, his wife to be. And while the marriage was arranged, it soon blossomed into a great love. He could not help but be flooded with images of her and their happy life together as he approached the house.
John had not written ahead to warn Ezra of his visit and when he knocked on the front door, he was uncertain how well he would be received. Ezra and he had not met again since the day of Annabel’s funeral at Haverford and had not corresponded since then, except for John making regular payments on the loan.
The door was opened by the butler.
“Ah, Your Grace, we were not expecting you,” he said.
“Is the Earl at home?”
“Yes, he is. Come in and I shall announce you. One moment, please.”
John w
ent inside and stood waiting in the entrance hall as the butler went to find the Earl. He soon returned.
“This way, Your Grace.”
The butler led the way to a drawing room where the Earl and his wife, Hester, were seated at a card table, playing dominos.
Diaries of a Heartbroken Duchess: A Historical Regency Romance Collection Page 10