Verity

by Liese Anning

  The ring consisted of a large emerald surrounded by beautifully cut, flawless diamonds. ‘It is a family heirloom,’ Lady Wrexham said, still staring at Verity, ‘it was especially brought over from England at James’s request. Does it not suit Lady Caroline’s delicate fingers?’

  Verity nodded. The ring was indeed beautiful, and it suited Lady Caroline’s slender hand.

  ‘We must not keep you any longer,’ Lady Wrexham then said, satisfied she had warned Verity away from her brother-in-law, ‘we have to finish packing up the house today.’

  ‘Are you leaving?' Verity managed to say.

  ‘Yes, tomorrow,’ Lady Wrexham replied, ‘the household is moving to Antwerp until James recovers, and then we are travelling straight back to England, where we can start to plan for the wedding.’ Lady Wrexham then smiled sweetly and walked over to the bell to summon the Butler. ‘I do hope that this has not been a wasted visit,’ she then added, ‘and I do hope that you understand your situation a little better.’

  Verity stood up. ‘You have made yourself perfectly clear, my lady,’ Verity then curtsied to both women and said, ‘Do not bother the servants, I can see myself out.’

  Verity did not know where she got the strength to go back to the Harrington’s, but she managed to summon it from somewhere deep inside. When she returned to their residence, Lady Harrington was looking very concerned. ‘My dear, where have you been. I have been beside myself with worry.’

  Verity fell into a nearby chair, and for the first time, since she had heard about her brother’s death, she began to weep uncontrollably. ‘I want to go home,’ was all she could say, over and over again.

  Chapter 28

  It was a dark grey November morning. The days were drawing in, and it was starting to get dark in the early afternoon. Everyone was complaining about the weather and the impending winter that was promising to be harsh. Everyone except Verity. She was grateful to be back in the place that she called home.

  ‘Why did Henry VIII execute Anne Boleyn?’ a voice called out from the back of the classroom, ‘I think it was very unfair and cruel.’

  ‘And,’ another girl said, 'she was not the only wife he executed.’

  ‘Who was the other wife?’ Verity said, looking out across the classroom of students. They all sat in neat rows, behind small wooden desks. The pupils, all aged between twelve and fifteen, were dressed in the identical dark blue uniform that was the same colour as their teacher's. However, they were identified by a crisp white pinafore, that they wore over their dresses.

  A few hands were raised, some more confidently than others, but Verity asked the girl, who had just spoken. ‘It was definitely a Katherine,’ the girl said confidently. Then she added, a little less sure of herself, ’I just do not know which one.’

  ‘Let us start naming his wives,’ Verity said, smiling at the girl, ‘and try and work it out from our list.’

  Verity looked at the piece of chalk on her desk. It was a strange feeling being back at the Bristol Academy teaching once more. In some ways, it felt as though she had never left, and that the last year had been a strange dream. As soon as she had walked through the door, it had felt once more like she was home. But, it was not quite the same. Maisie was no longer there to cheer her up when she felt down. She missed her old friend, but she had not heard from her since she had last seen her in Brussels. Even Miss Crawford, her one-time mentor, never mentioned her name.

  The Harrington’s had been very kind to her. They had travelled with her back to England, and she had stayed with them, over the summer, in their country estate in Somerset. Lady Harrington had wanted her to stay for longer. She had tried to persuade Verity to remain in Somerset with them and then, later in the year, travel to London for the season. Lady Harrington had said, ‘Verity, you would make an excellent wife and mother, but how are you going to find a husband if you go back to that school.’

  Verity could not countenance the thought of marriage. She had fallen in love with James, so very easily, that she doubted that she would ever be able to love like that again. It was far too painful. Lady Harrington had tried to persuade her that love was not the only factor that was important in a marriage; respect, a comfortable home and children, were also factors to be considered. They would make up for the absence of any love. But, to Verity, these, on their own, would never be enough.

  There were more important things than a comfortable home. Verity had always prided herself on her independence. Since the age of seventeen, when she had become a member of staff, she had always supported herself financially. After her time in Brussels, and what she had seen happen to her sister, her independence was now more important than ever to her. She was not willing to give that up for just any man, and certainly not for her own comfort.

  Therefore, Verity had insisted that she was going to go back to the school and work once more as a teacher. The Harrington’s had reluctantly agreed as long as she consented to spend the holidays with them in Somerset. Verity agreed, and in a few weeks, she would be travelling to their home to spend the winter holidays in their company. Verity was grateful for their friendship, it was one of the better things that had come out of her time in Brussels.

  She stood up, from her sloped wooden desk, and walked over to the blackboard that was on a wooden stand next to her desk. ‘Shall we list all his wives, in the order he married them?’ she said as she wrote the title Henry’s wives, at the top of the blackboard, and underlined it twice.

  As she finished underlining the title, there was a commotion at the back of the room. Several students were straining their necks to look out of the long sash windows at the scene outside. This was not unusual. Verity’s classroom overlooked the front of the school. Any visitors, who were important enough to use the front entrance, could be easily observed by the curious occupants within the classroom.

  One of the students stood up and gasped, prompting more girls to look out of the window.

  ’Emily, sit down,’ Verity commanded, in a strict and authoritarian manner. ‘I have told you before that you must not get distracted by what is happening outside.

  Emily, in her excitement, ignored the command and continued to look out of the window, ‘Oh, but, you must see this.’

  Some of the other girls, who were sitting near the windows, stood up and looked out to see what the commotion was all about. Soon, much to Verity’s chagrin, there were a group of girls huddled around the window, talking with excitement about the scene below.

  ‘He is handsome,’ one of the girls said, staring out of the window.

  ‘Look at the carriage he arrived in,’ another said, ‘I do not think I have ever seen such a fine vehicle. I wonder if he is a Duke?’

  ‘Do not be silly,’ came the reply from another member of the rabble, ‘what would a Duke be doing here? He has probably come to visit his daughter or niece.’

  ‘I do not recognise the crest on his carriage,’ another girl said, ‘I do not think he has ever been here before.’

  ‘Girls,’ Verity commanded, ‘you must sit down immediately, standing by the window, gawping at visitors, is not something we encourage at the school.'

  The girls, muttering to themselves, reluctantly returned to their desks. Not at all satisfied knowing that their curiosity, would remain unanswered.

  Verity continued the lesson, and she soon had a list of all the wives, along with their various ends, written on the board.

  Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the classroom door, and Miss Crawford entered the room. She walked over to where Verity was standing and whispered in her ear, 'you have visitors in my study.'

  'Visitors?' Verity repeated. 'Who are they?'

  'You will find out for yourself, Miss Stanford,’ she said avoiding the question. ‘Just go to my study.'

  'What about my class?' Verity then asked, reluctant to meet her mystery visitors.

  'Do not worry about them!' Miss Crawford said, 'I will finish the lesson for you.'

  A cou
ple of girls began to talk to each other at the back of the class. 'I suggest that you stop talking immediately,' the headmistress commanded. She then turned to Verity and said, 'now go.'

  Verity went down the stairs to Miss Crawford's study and paused outside, with her hand on the door handle. It was unusual, to say the least, for Miss Crawford to allow any interruptions to a lesson. Even visiting relatives would have to wait for their end, before their ward could be alerted to their presence.

  Verity took a deep breath, slowly turned the handle and opened the door.

  Verity was speechless when she, at last, entered the room, and two people stood up. One of her visitors was Lady Harrington and the other, Verity could not believe her eyes: It was Colonel Mitford.

  Lady Harrington, sensing her shock, went over to her and led her to a chair, 'sit down my dear,' she said gently.

  Verity sat down, still unable to speak.

  Lady Harrington looked over to James and said, 'I will go and find Miss Stanford a glass of water,' and with that, she left the room.

  There was a long silence, then they both spoke at the same time. Another awkward silence ensued, until Verity said, 'how are you? How is your shoulder?’

  ‘My shoulder is much better. It is still a little stiff, but I have almost recovered,’ there was a brief silence before he asked her, 'and, how are you? Are you well?’

  Verity nodded. 'I am well. I should offer you my congratulations,' she said quietly.

  'Whatever for?' James replied puzzled.

  'Your marriage to Lady Caroline,' Verity replied.

  'Lady Caroline?' James said dismissively, 'I never had any intention of marrying her.' He then added, 'that was a misunderstanding that my brother, without my permission, perpetuated.'

  'But Lady Caroline showed me the notice of your betrothal that was in The Times, and I thought...' Verity said.

  ‘You thought, like everyone else, that I was betrothed to Caroline.’ James smiled at her. ‘My brother and Caroline’s father tried to trick me into marriage. But, I have your brother to thank for intervening on my behalf. Without him, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to extricate my good self from the betrothal.’

  ‘I thought that it was Lady Charlotte who wanted you to marry her.’ Verity asked still puzzled.

  ‘At first, so did I,’ James replied, ‘but my brother had been conducting a clandestine relationship with Lady Caroline, right under Charlotte’s nose. She had no idea that her best friend and her husband were lovers. My brother, who should have known better, was careless and Caroline soon became with child. His solution, for his problem, was for me to marry her and bring up the child as my own. He knew that I would never agree to such a marriage so, with the Duke of Hittisleigh’s help, he came up with a plan to publicly compromise me into having to propose to Caroline. As I have said before, if it were not for your brother, I would have had to go through with the marriage.’

  ‘What about the announcement in The Times?’ Verity asked, looking at her hands that were resting in her lap.

  ‘The Duke had sent a message to The Times several days before they had planned to compromise me. When their plan came to nothing, I insisted that they print a full retraction and apology.’

  ‘When I was injured, my brother thought he could once more manipulate me into marrying Caroline. Fortunately, when I was recovering in Antwerp, Charlotte discovered for herself her husband’s infidelity. She also found out that Caroline was carrying her husband’s child. When she found out the only reason why Caroline was going to marry me was so that my brother could still be with his lover, she soon changed her mind about the marriage. You have heard the saying, “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?”’

  Verity nodded.

  'Charlotte was not only furious; she was also jealous. She had been married to my brother for many years and had been unable to conceive. Recently, this had been putting a strain on their marriage. Ultimately, my brother wants a son to be his heir, and his sole reason for marrying Charlotte was to provide him with one. She felt her position as Lady Wrexham and mistress of his household was under threat. She was not going to let Caroline, in her eyes now a young usurper, come and take her treasured position.’

  ‘What did she do?’ Verity asked curiously.

  ‘She threatened to make the affair public,’ James said, ‘she did not care what it would do to her immediate social standing or the scandal that such a revelation would no doubt bring. Charlotte wanted Caroline gone, and she did not care what happened to the poor creature.’

  ‘What did she do?’ Verity asked.

  ‘She contacted my mother, who was not at all happy about the state of affairs, and my mother quickly puts a stop to my betrothal.’

  ‘Your mother?’ Verity said, ‘I thought that she wanted you to marry Lady Caroline.’

  ‘My mother, for once, took my side. She exerted her influence and managed to get a retraction of the announcement. When I arrived back in England, she also took me from my brother’s care and looked after me until I was fully recovered.’

  ‘What are you going to do now?’ Verity asked curiously.

  ‘Well, my love,’ James said with a sigh, ‘that really depends on you.’

  ‘On me?’ she questioned as she looked up at him.

  He came over to the chair where she was seated and knelt on the floor next to her. He took his hand in hers and said, in a low husky voice, ‘yes, my love, it depends on you.’

  ‘I do not understand,’ she said in a whisper, looking into his eyes.

  He smiled and then kissed the back of her hand, ‘Miss Stanford, Verity, I have been in love with you since that day at Hadlands when I left you standing by the fireplace and went back to London. If I had any sense, I would have asked you there and then to be my wife, but, after all, I had been through with Isabella, I did not dare to ask. That was a mistake that I am not willing to repeat.’

  ‘But, Colonel Mitford,’ she said quietly, almost in a whisper, ‘I am a governess, not a grand lady. I do not know if I would make you a worthy wife.’

  James sighed, ‘I do not want a worthy wife, I want a woman whom I love and who loves me.’ He smiled at her once more, ‘and I do believe that you love me.’

  Verity nodded, ‘yes, yes I do,’ Verity then said in a whisper, ‘I do love you.’

  ‘Verity, Lady Harrington has told me that your independence is important to you. I do not want to crush your spirit, I want you to be a person in your own right, not just my wife. I love you too much to destroy what you have become.’

  A tear fell down Verity’s cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and agree to his proposal, but she still thought about her sister. But, Colonel Mitford was not at all like Major Ellington. All the time she had known him, he had always had her best interests at heart. He had proved time and time again that he was indeed an honourable gentleman.

  ‘Yes,’ she then said quickly, ‘I will marry you.’

  He stood up and pulled her up so that she was standing in front of him. He bent towards her and gently kissed her on the lips. Verity smiled, through her tears, and put her arms around his neck. She gently caressed the back of his neck with her fingertips and returned his kiss. Hers was not a gentle kiss that grazed his lips, it was deep and passionate, and betrayed the feelings that she had for him. He responded and held her close, not wanting to let her go.

  As they kissed passionately, the door to the office opened, and Lady Harrington stood at the doorway. She then said, with a big grin on her face, ‘now the pair of you will have to marry. And quickly!'

 

 

 
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