When Julia awoke on her wedding morning the house was full of the Steyning folk, who had arrived the evening before, but Michael had not appeared. She and Mary had watched for him in vain, for he had been due for the past week. Throughout that time there had been fierce gales blowing along the Channel in some of the worst weather for years. Sea defences had been flooded, moored fishing-boats smashed to smithereens, and from wreckage washed up it was feared several vessels had been lost. It was her hope that his ship had stayed safely in Calais harbour and had not ventured out. Yesterday the wind had eased and now the morning had dawned with brilliant sunshine. From her pillows in the bed where she awaited Sarah’s arrival with her breakfast tray, she could see a late September sky of such a clear blue that it seemed to be pretending it had never shed the torrents of rain that had accompanied the rough weather.
Normally she was always up for breakfast, but this was a special day. She had spent her last night in this bed, for she and Adam were to have Katherine’s apartment for their own until such time as Michael came home for good. Then she would have to resign herself to being at Warrender Hall whenever she and Adam were not in London. Such an aversion to that house had built up in her that she did not know how she would be able to cross the threshold, but she would meet that obstacle when it came. In the meantime Katherine’s rooms, always fresh and airy from the handsome windows, had been refurbished throughout and the old wedding chair and footstool returned to the place they had first occupied in the Queen’s Parlour. Ned’s portrait had been removed to the Long Gallery where it hung side by side with Katherine’s.
Julia put her feet to the floor, pulled on a robe and padded across to the open window. She set her elbows on the ledge and rested her chin on her hands, her face turned to the sunshine. She wondered how much Adam regretted having to stay with her at Sotherleigh instead of her going with him to the Hall. He had made light of it since he would still be master there and would be keeping his horses in its larger stables, only a few riding horses and Charlie being brought to Sotherleigh. He would also continue to conduct affairs of the estate from his own study, even though his recently widowed sister, Meg, had moved in with her five children.
‘In any case the London house will be our main home together for the time being,’ he had said. Before settling on a property, he had taken her to see those he preferred and let her decide which it should be. Both of them had wanted spacious rooms, a garden for privacy and a house of pleasing appearance. He also wanted to be close to Westminster and Whitehall, while she had never forgotten her childhood wish to have a window from which she could see the King ride by. In complete agreement they chose a house on the south side of the Strand that looked out on the river and had high garden walls that kept at bay the street cries of those selling wares and the endless rumble of wheels. She had put from her that ideal of having a house built by Christopher. It belonged to the time when she had been able to love him and neither Adam nor Faith yet stood between them.
William Holder had agreed by letter to give the bride away should Michael be delayed by any whim of circumstance. By rights it should have been one of her father’s Steyning cousins, but although she and Anne had received the head of that family and the rest courteously, she did not want to go up the aisle on his arm. Those of her generation were a jolly bunch, only one sobersides among them, and she was glad Adam had insisted that she should invite that branch of the family. As soon as she had had breakfast she would send a note to William confirming that he would fill Michael’s role.
It had been typical of the Hanningtons that they should offer hospitality. She would miss them if they had to leave, for the original Royalist owners had applied for a desequestration order to regain their property. There were countless numbers of landless Royalists putting in these applications and Michael had had to send signed legal papers to ensure that Sotherleigh reverted to him automatically; because Makepeace had been a regicide there had been no delay in his claim, and he promptly received the royal seal granting it back to him.
Others were less fortunate. All the leading regicides, after trials of meticulous fairness, had been hanged, drawn and quartered. Others had been imprisoned and a few pardoned. It was not in the King’s nature to be vengeful and after his father’s murderers had been dealt with he was reluctant to penalize former enemies by uprooting them from properties now their homes, even when it meant that those who had been loyal to the Stuarts had to suffer. He had granted pensions to those persons who had helped him to escape after the Battle of Worcester, but the great rewards and honours that had been expected by many had not been forthcoming, only a few titles being bestowed. In certain cases where the holder and all his heirs to a title had been killed, some concessions were made.
It was apparent to all that he had turned his back on anything that reminded him of his exile and wanted only to look to the future.
There came a tap on the bedchamber door. Julia looked over her shoulder, mildly surprised that Sarah should announce herself, for normally she came quietly at this hour to awake her. ‘Come in.’
The door opened, the breakfast tray appeared and Michael was carrying it. Julia gave a cry of joy and ran across to him. ‘You’re here! Welcome home to Sotherleigh.’
He put aside the tray, which bore breakfast for both of them, and they hugged each other. ‘Nothing was going to make me miss your wedding!’
‘Have you seen Mama? She’s like a happy child as I wrote you.’
‘I went to her first. I’m glad she has grasped that I’m living in Paris.’
She stood back, holding him by the arms and looking anxiously at him. ‘Are you completely well again?’
‘I’ve never been fitter than I am now.’ His healthy colour and the extra weight he had put on since she had last seen him confirmed his words, ‘It’s lucky I don’t suffer from sea-sickness or else I might have been in a sorry state after yesterday’s crossing. I stayed last night at the George and Dragon at Houghton and made an early start before dawn this morning to get here in good time.’
‘I’m so thankful to see you. How is Jean-Robert? Is he a handsome baby?’
‘There’s never been another to match him,’ he declared with pride, ‘I only wish I could have brought my wife and son with me, but naturally it wouldn’t have been wise to expose him to infection on a ship.’
‘I agree.’ She hesitated for a moment in a change of mood, ‘I want you to prepare yourself for some bad news about the Sotherleigh fortune. Try to steel yourself.’
The skin seemed to tighten over the bones of his face. ‘Did Makepeace take it when he left?’
She nodded miserably, ‘I didn’t realize he had discovered the Queen’s Door. The blame is entirely mine. I can’t hope to make it up to you now, but I have devised a scheme by which over the years I can at least return to you some part of what was yours.’
‘Come now, Julia.’ He spoke in a kindly manner although the shock of his loss still showed in his face. ‘Let’s have breakfast while you tell me about it. I must say I need a cup from that pot of coffee on the tray and I’m sure you do too. But tell me first, how is Mary?’
In answering, she also enquired about Sophie and he said she had had a difficult pregnancy, having ailed most of the time. ‘That is the reason why I have to return to her as soon as possible. She was quite distraught at my coming away, although the baby is doing extremely well.’ He thought to himself how his wife had changed towards him as soon as it became clear that the Restoration was to become a certainty. She began to show a passion in his arms of which he would never have deemed her capable. It was almost as if she feared losing him to his roots at Sotherleigh, for when he talked eagerly of going home she had revealed a sudden panic at the prospect of moving to an alien land, needing his most firm reassurance.
Yet in spite of all he had said to her, promising her return visits to see her father, he believed his illness on the eve of his intended departure to join the King’s followers at Breda had been
a blessing in disguise for her. She had been the most devoted nurse by night and day, not letting anyone else care for him, although already pregnant from the nights extraordinaires they had shared beforehand. Then, as he had convalesced to a full recovery, she had virtually collapsed from the strain of her unselfish nursing. He could not in all conscience have left her at that time to come home to Sotherleigh, and had to wait until she had had the baby.
It had not been easy leaving her to come to the wedding. He thought it must have been a nervous reaction to her distress at his going that he had a recurrence of the stomach pains that had heralded his illness before. But he had hidden his condition from her and had been thankful that the few days of waiting for calmer weather in which to cross the Channel had given him a chance to recover and he was wondering why, if these pains were of nervous origin, he had not been reafflicted now. It was astonishing, for the theft of his fortune was an enormous catastrophe beyond even his sister’s comprehension for reasons he would have to break to her presently.
Over breakfast, which they ate at a table by one of the windows, Julia explained how she had wanted to tell him face to face about the loss of his fortune instead of letting him know in the letter she had written to describe Makepeace’s hasty departure. Then she spoke of her ribbon business. ‘You are my silent partner in the business, because I take out only the expenses and all the profit is banked for you.’
He shook his head slowly. ‘That I will not allow. I can’t see that Makepeace’s thievery lies in any way with you. Were you supposed to have eyes in the back of your head? Also, I consider I was equally at fault as I knew when I was last here — hiding in the secret room — that the treasure was concealed in the old chest. I should at least have suggested it should be split up and concealed in different places, or maybe buried again.’
‘But he must have spied on someone going through the Queen’s Door and it was likely to have been me.’
‘You have no proof of that. How do you know he didn’t just make his own investigations and chance upon the secret?’
‘Whatever happened, I was in charge of Sotherleigh in your absence. No matter what you say I shall continue to do as I have told you.’ She refilled his cup with coffee and then her own. ‘Don’t think it is going to be a burden to me. I’m keenly interested and I’m giving employment to a lot of women in need of it.’
‘If good is coming out of it, then I’ll no longer try to stop you, but your stalwart intentions won’t fill my coffers to the extent I’m going to need from now on.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Sophie has extravagant tastes. I could not turn her into a poor man’s wife here at Sotherleigh. I know Sophie. She would never stay. For the sake of our child the two of us must remain united even if it means I have to stay in France.’
Julia struggled with her disappointment. ‘This makes everything so much worse. I agree that you must do what is best for your baby. Nobody knows better than I what it meant to have Father away at the war and then to lose him. There’s a dreadful lack for a child when one parent is not there. What will your plans be now?’
‘The partnership you offered me in your ribbon business was the second proposition put to me in little more than a week. Just before I left Paris my father-in-law invited me to be his partner with full control of the Brissard silk business enabling him to more or less retire. It was something few men would have been able to resist, but I gave him no hope of my acceptance then. Now I shall take it up and trust to recoup the losses Makepeace inflicted on me until such time in years to come when it will be possible to come home to Sussex one day.’
‘I hoped that Sophie’s dowry would help you at this time.’
He smiled wryly and shook his head. ‘Her dowry was shares in the business. I have been very neatly trapped in one way or another.’
‘Makepeace has much to answer for!’ she exclaimed jerkily, deeply distressed.
‘Don’t upset yourself, Julia.’ He reached across the breakfast table and took hold of her wrist. ‘This is your wedding day. Let’s count our blessings. Sotherleigh could easily have passed out of Pallister hands for ever if any Roundhead other than Makepeace had staked possession here. I’m home now and in future I’ll be able to visit on a fairly regular basis to see to the estate. The bailiff’s reports and the copies of the accounts you’ve been sending show that at least everything is running moderately well, although naturally I aim for changes and improvements. There’s also great cause for celebration in your marrying a neighbour whose family was close to ours before the rift of the Civil War. I wish you all happiness and let it begin now. No more sad thoughts on this special day.’
When Michael left Julia he approached Mary’s door and had almost reached it when she emerged from the bedchamber, holding the hand of Patience, who was toddling beside her. She turned pale when she saw him and for a moment neither spoke as they drank in the sight of each other. ‘I’ve missed you, Mary, my dearest.’
‘It’s good that you are here.’ She had to establish a more distant footing immediately. ‘Does Julia know?’
‘I’ve breakfasted with her.’ His gaze went to Patience, who immediately closed in shyly against Mary’s skirts. Dropping to one knee in order to bring his face more on a level with the child’s, he smiled at her. ‘Greetings, my little half-sister. Now you shall see what I’ve brought you all the way from Paris.’ He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a wooden doll dressed in the cap, apron and bright blue gown that were worn by the stall-keepers of Les Halles where he had purchased it.
Patience’s eyes widened and she reached for it eagerly. ‘Dolly! Me!’
He drew her to him and kissed her round cheek as he handed the doll to her. As she amused herself with it he straightened up again. Then Mary saw such love for her in his eyes that her assumption that he had made a new beginning with Sophie through the conception of their child was swept away. He was about to reach for her when the clatter of footsteps and the clink of pewter jugs warned that maidservants were approaching with bath water for the bride.
‘Patience and I will see you later,’ she said, snatching up the child. ‘We’re going to have breakfast now.’
She almost fled from him, alarmed by the powerful feelings that had swirled between them like an invisible current. This was not as she had intended it should be and their desire for each other must be stemmed throughout his visit.
The cloud that had fallen over Julia since hearing that Michael must remain in France did not disperse during her bath or the drying of her newly washed hair afterwards. Sarah, in attendance, was in her element. To dress a bride was the pinnacle of the career of any lady’s maid and she had taken the greatest care in the preparation of all the garments that were to be worn. She had personally supervised the laundering of the undergarments, pressing the lace frills herself as well as every ribbon which she had removed from the eyelets to re-thread. The Elizabethan gown was free of any creases, having been arrayed on a wicker frame for days. It was now laid out across the coverlet of the bed and on the floor were the gold satin shoes with the white rosettes that Katherine had worn on her wedding day.
Julia sat in front of her mirror, the original frame of which had once been hurled at the man she was about to marry. Almost half-heartedly she emphasized her eyes with a line of kohl, then touched her lips with a coral salve prepared by Sarah. Like all the cosmetics that Sarah made, it was from floral or herbal ingredients that were harmless, unlike many cosmetics that were offered for sale. A light dusting of powder over her face and neck, her shoulders and breasts completed her beautifying. Lastly she added a few drops of rose-water to her wrists, behind her ears and at her cleavage.
Then as Sarah dressed her hair into shoulder-length ringlets bunched on either side of her face, she pondered sadly her brother’s plight. He had always been kind and loyal. Katherine had said many times he was too soft-hearted for his own good, but she had used an affectionate tone, showing that although he exasperat
ed her, she did not condemn him for his charitable nature.
‘There, Miss Julia! Your hair is done. Do you like it?’ Sarah held up a hand-glass to enable the bride to see the reflected back of her head in the mirror. Julia saw that her hair went smoothly up to her top-knot, the wisps at the nape of her neck formed into kiss-curls.
‘Yes, indeed.’ She tried to sound enthusiastic. It was a perfect coiffure, but nothing could shift her gloom. Standing up, she slipped off her robe and stood naked for Sarah to lower an undershift over her head without disturbing her coiffure, and then she tied the ribbons herself. Her six waist petticoats were stepped into and fastened at the back. Then she sat down again to pull on her white silk stockings to the knee, where she secured them with the blue silk garters that Mary had made for her and had embroidered with hearts and love knots. Next came the shoes. Her spirits lifted as she raised one foot and then the other to inspect them, the gilded heels shining as she rotated her ankle. She thought, as she had done when first seeing the shoes in childhood, they were like fairy footwear that would enable the wearer to dance on air.
The moment had come for the gown itself. When she had tried it on previously for Mary to inspect for alterations it had fitted her faultlessly. She would not be wearing the ruff, for Adam had given her a necklet of pearls as his wedding gift and she wanted to display them. Neither would she wear the farthingale, for it would have lifted the hems quite high, whereas without it the skirt fell softly from the waist to the merest fraction from the floor. She had experienced a sensuous pleasure in its satin softness against her skin and anticipation rose in her as Sarah lifted the gown reverently from the bed to hold it for her. As with the petticoats, she stepped into it and drew it up to put her arms into the sleeves. Sarah went behind her to draw it over her shoulders and began lacing it up at the back. A long mirror of Venetian glass, one that Robert had brought back from a voyage to the Adriatic as a present for Katherine, had been moved into Julia’s room, but she avoided looking in it, not wanting to see herself until all was done.
Circle of Pearls Page 48