by Abby Ayles
It was clear that Miss Natalie was not in good spirits. He didn’t know how to lift them—and in fact it was making his own spirits fall quite low.
The strained atmosphere continued as they got their things loaded up in the carriage. By then everyone else was up to say goodbye.
John could see the easy way that Miss Regina and the Duke of Whitefern were around one another. There was something so relaxed about their manner and stance and they took care, he saw, to stand next to one another.
Or perhaps it was not so much that they took care to stand next to one another as it was they simply gravitated towards each other. As though it was only natural for them to be together as a unit.
Miss Hartfield seemed to be in high spirits as well, as was Miss Elizabeth. It only highlighted for John how quiet Miss Natalie was.
Her sisters were all clearly quite happy. John could see that. But Miss Natalie was not. Their happiness only highlighted her own solemn air.
After they had bid farewell and climbed into the carriage, silence descended again.
John did try, at first, to make some sort of conversation.
“I’ve always had a particular fondness for the English countryside,” he said. “Europe really doesn’t quite compare.”
“I suppose it’s nice for the first hour,” Miss Natalie replied. “But it does get so dreadfully boring, doesn’t it?”
“I think it’s rather peaceful,” John countered.
“I’d think you would be just as bored,” Miss Natalie pointed out. “You’ve seen all of Europe. Surely the English countryside is nothing compared to all the balls and entertainment there.”
“I did rather enjoy the culture of Europe,” John admitted.
“There, you see?”
“But I have always planned on settling down at Mountbank eventually,” John continued. “My plan was never to continue in Europe indefinitely. Unfortunately, my father clearly did not think so.”
“I think that is rather unfair of your father, to give you such an ultimatum.”
“Natalie!” Miss Louisa looked rightfully shocked at her sister’s bold statement.
John sort of felt like knocking his head against the wall. If Miss Natalie was so bold in front of his father, John knew there would be hell to pay for it.
He was supposed to bring home a responsible wife. Someone who could help him with the running of the house. Someone respectable, of whom he could be proud.
“But is it not true?” Miss Natalie asked. She looked John straight in the eyes. It was as if she was challenging him. “And is this not my future husband? We must get used to being frank with one another.
“And is it not unfair to you to give you so little time to choose a wife for yourself?”
“You forget, I think, that most men of my age are already engaged,” John said.
He was uncomfortable discussing things so frankly with someone he had just met. He did think Miss Natalie’s boldness was quite out of the bounds of acceptability. But she did have a point. She was soon to be his wife. He must get used to speaking with her frankly.
“I spent quite a long time in the Continent. It was selfish of me to be so long and so far from home. My father’s harshness is understandable.”
John knew that he had no one but himself to blame for his current situation. If he had heeded his father sooner and been more responsible, surely, he would have by now found a woman more suited to him, and he to her.
Miss Natalie looked as though she did not at all agree. She changed the conversation subject, however. Probably a wise choice. It would not do for them to argue.
“Are there balls frequently held? I should imagine that with an estate such as Mountbank there are often excuses for festivities.”
“I’m afraid not often,” John said. “Mountbank is rather out of the way. There are not often excuses for balls.”
“Oh.” Miss Natalie sounded disappointed. “And how far would you say we are from London?”
“Quite a ways I should think,” John said. He had to think about it for a moment. “Two days’ journey. If I am remembering correctly.”
Miss Natalie looked even more disappointed than before.
John could feel his stomach twisting with his own disappointment. It seemed that Miss Natalie was a lady who wanted the enjoyment of social gatherings and dances.
He supposed that he could allow her to arrange some balls. But Mountbank really was more out of the way. And as long as Father was alive he’d never allow so much festivity.
Silence fell once again.
Miss Louisa didn’t say much, but that seemed to be more in fitting with her nature than anything to do with the awkward atmosphere.
Miss Natalie, on the other hand, struck him as someone quite talkative. She had been full of energy at the ball last night. Now she was silent, staring down at her hands. She didn’t even seem to care for what was happening outside the window.
John sighed inwardly. He ought to try, he supposed. “There are many lovely walks about the area. I’ve always enjoyed the fresh air.”
“I much prefer the indoors,” Miss Natalie admitted. She sounded pained. Perhaps she was realizing, as John was, the unsuitability of their match.
Yet John was stuck with her. He had no time to find another.
Perhaps it was his own fault. He had built up a reputation for partying, so to speak, and it was a reputation that he had earned. He could not deny that.
He should have taken more care to prove that these were merely wild oats he was sowing. He didn’t wish to spend his whole life at balls or in dance halls. He had angered his father and now, apparently, misled his bride in the manner of his character.
You have made your bed, John thought to himself bitterly, and I suppose that now you must lie in it.
The rest of the journey was silent and stiff. John could only think to himself how this did not bode well for their marriage.
He’d have to find some way to deal with it.
Somehow.
Chapter 15
Natalie found the drive up in the carriage to be monotonous and awkward.
She had thought she was marrying someone exciting. Now it turned out that he loved the countryside and was taking her to a place where there were no balls and they were far away from London and all things exciting.
Lord Ridgecleff could clearly tell that Natalie was uncomfortable. Natalie tried to ask after the social life of Mountbank, but it quickly became apparent that there was no social life to speak of.
After that, well, what more was there to say?
It took some time but Louisa, always the peacemaker, tried to start up conversation again as the hours ticked by.
“Do you have any other family, Lord Ridgecleff?”
“Yes, a younger brother and younger sister.” Lord Ridgecleff smiled, obviously fond of them. “My sister will be quite excited for your arrival. She has not many female friends.”
“I can imagine, in such a small community.”
Natalie turned to look out the window. As she did so, she caught sight of a building through the pane of glass.
It was covered again in a moment by trees. But then they got to the top of a hill and she could see it once more.
Natalie could not deny that her breath caught in her throat a bit.
It was a beautiful manor house. A proper one, too, not one of those newer ones that the nouveau riche families had been building lately on any spare bit of ground. Natalie had seen many of those springing up. Ostentatious, in her opinion. Done by people desperate to show off how high class they were.
But this was a proper older home, stately, done up in good taste. She could see the grounds were well kept and complete with gardens and a hedge maze for walking.
For a moment she felt the swoop of elation. To be the mistress of such a place—oh, how all the other women would seethe with envy!
It was the kind of place that many a girl dreamed of living in. To become the mistress of such a pla
ce—why, one took one look at it and one knew that the owners must be people of great standing and respectability.
“Mountbank,” Lord Ridgecleff said, and such genuine fondness infused his tone that Natalie felt a pang of homesickness for her own house.
She would never live at that house again. The Hartfield manor was no longer hers.
It was a sad thing to think on. She hadn’t felt like a child for some time, so it wasn’t that. But she had always thought of home as, well, home. Now it wasn’t, and wouldn’t ever be again.
Sad, really.
But oh, there was Mountbank, and it was Mountbank in fact, spread out before her. She was to be mistress of this house!
And here was quite enough room for balls, she could see that just from the outside. Its remote location would be bothersome but surely she’d find a way to make it work.
Perhaps she did not love her husband, or her intended husband to be precise. But to be mistress of such a house allayed many a dismay she’d had while on the journey.
“Do you like it?” Lord Ridgecleff asked.
Natalie was surprised at the hesitance in his tone. As if he could be unaware of what a fine house it was!
“It’s beautiful,” she said truthfully. She turned to look at him. He had a look of such concern on his face, his forehead crinkling and his mouth set. She saw the moment that her words registered, for his face relaxed and he smiled, looking relieved.
“I am glad to hear you say so.”
It was a moment of—connection, or camaraderie, or something of the kind. She was not sure. Yet she felt for the first time that she truly was looking at Lord Ridgecleff, and being looked at.
It made a kind of warmth spread up her spine and throughout her body—a sort of affection with which she was unfamiliar.
She looked away quickly and stared out the window.
It was a lovely house, truly. She was looking forward to exploring its many rooms.
And perhaps…that moment of connection, it wasn’t much. But perhaps it was a beginning. Perhaps she and Lord Ridgecleff could find common ground after all.
Chapter 16
John had felt something in his chest loosen when he saw Natalie’s face as she watched Mountbank come into view.
Perhaps those of the lower classes did not feel this way, but growing up John had been taught that a man’s ancestral home was his castle. His pride and joy. It was as much a part of a man as his own arm, as his parents, as his children. Indeed, a man’s home was another child. Something to be looked after with just as much care and attention.
If Natalie had not liked Mountbank—John would have been beside himself, he could admit that, at least privately, in his heart. He loved Mountbank. Had indeed forgotten how much he loved it until now, coming home after so long a time away.
How could he have gone on without it for so long?
He breathed in the hearty air as he descended from the carriage. It had been far too long. He’d allowed himself to forget how much home had meant to him.
Well, this was what this return was for. To remind himself and his father—to remind everyone—that he cared for Mountbank and would see it continue its legacy. He would prove that he would and could care for Mountbank as well as any who had come before him.
The front door opened and two figures exited. One stopped at the front door, standing quietly. The other hurried down the steps towards him.
John smiled. He knew at once who they were—his younger brother Edward and his even younger sister, Emma.
Emma was the one hurrying towards him. Her face was a study in pure delight, her hands in her skirts to lift them up out of the way, allowing her to hurry towards him.
“John!” she cried out, smiling and catching John’s hands as he held them out to her. “Oh, it has been far too long! Your letters are never enough.”
“You received my packages, did you not?” he asked. “I thought that you would especially enjoy the lace.”
“Oh, I did most enjoy all of your lovely gifts!” Emma smiled, squeezing his hands. “But they rather don’t make up for your presence.”
“You’ve grown quite a bit,” John remarked.
When he had last seen her, Emma had been a mere slip of a thing. She had their late mother’s pale, almost white blonde hair, the only one of the family. Father had quite spoiled her because of the resemblance to Mother, in John’s opinion, but fortunately it had not ruined her. Instead it had given Emma the opinion that the world was a fine and lovely place where no harm truly could come to anyone.
A bit naïve, perhaps, but John loved her dearly for it. She was a breath of sweetness in the mire of frustrations with which he was struggling.
“Oh, yes, I do believe I’ve grown two inches since you last saw me,” Emma admitted.
It was more than that, though. Emma had been a girl when he’d left. Now she was clearly an adult woman. She must have no end of suitors, John was sure.
Miss Natalie and Miss Louisa descended from the carriage. Emma turned to greet them.
“Emma, this is Miss Natalie Hartfield, my fiancée, and her elder sister, Miss Louisa Hartfield. Miss Natalie, Miss Louisa, this is my sister, Emma Ridgecleff.”
“I’m terribly pleased to meet you!” Emma exclaimed. She took Miss Natalie’s hands in hers. “When Father said that John would be bringing home a bride I admit I was terribly worried. But you look like just the sort of person I could be great friends with.”
That was Emma—making friends wherever she went. Always believing the best about people.
Many people were overwhelmed by Emma. Miss Natalie, however, simply squeezed Emma’s hands and gave a small laugh. “Your brother was quite awful not to mention what a delightful sister he had.”
Miss Natalie sent him a look that one might almost call flirtatious. John had to stifle the smile he wanted to instinctively return.
She was probably just putting on a show for everyone. He couldn’t forget the contrast between the flirtatious, fun Miss Natalie at the ball and the sullen girl in the carriage.
Introductions were made to Miss Louisa, and then Edward walked up to them.
John shook his younger brother’s hand. “I’m sorry. I’ve left you quite alone here to handle Father and the grounds. That was unfair of me.”
“Nonsense.” Edward shook his head. “You were living your life the way that you wanted to. I cannot begrudge you that.”
“Perhaps. But it was still unfair of me. I hope now you’ll get the chance to travel as you wish.”
Edward gave him a small, grateful smile. John and Emma were the boisterous ones. Edward, the middle child, had always been quiet.
He turned now and bowed to the two ladies.
“This is Edward, my younger brother,” John introduced. “The Honorable one.”
“Forgive my brother’s terrible puns,” Edward said.
It was customary, although not mandatory, to bestow a courtesy title upon the younger children of titled men. ‘The Honorable’ was the most common version. And so Edward would, technically, be introduced as the Honorable Mr. Ridgecleff, even though he could not claim the title of Lord.
The fact that it made for an excellent pun about Edward’s character was, in John’s mind, merely a bonus.
“It’s an honor to meet you,” Miss Natalie said, smiling charmingly.
It seemed that Miss Natalie knew how to flatter and please when she must. It was only in private, then, that John would have to see the other side of her. He supposed he could handle that.
It was quite difficult to remember that other side, however, when she was in front of him now, smiling so prettily and being so sweet.
“Perhaps we should go inside?” John asked. “We must introduce her to Father, after all.”
“An excellent idea,” Edward agreed.
Emma smiled at Miss Natalie. “We’ll be great friends, I can tell.”
John could only hope that Emma’s optimism wasn’t misplaced.
Ch
apter 17
Natalie could only barely keep herself from gaping as they entered Mountbank.
Oh, it was lovely. Lovely beyond her dreams.
“Why, look how much room there is!” she exclaimed. “I could host as many balls as I liked in here.”
“I wish we could hold balls,” Miss Ridgecleff said wistfully.
She seemed like a rather lively young girl. Natalie liked her at once. Perhaps with a girl friend to gossip with, she wouldn’t be too terribly bored here.
“When I am mistress of this place,” Natalie assured her, “you may have all the balls you wish.”
“I doubt John would allow that,” Miss Ridgecleff said. “Father has never allowed it and John is rather like Father. I think that’s why they used to quarrel so much.”
“Quarrel? But Lord Ridgecleff seemed eager to obey his father’s wishes.”
“Oh, I’m certain that he is, what with Father being sick and all,” Miss Ridgecleff said quickly. “It’s only in the past. That’s why John went to the Continent for so long, you know. He’s always wanted to live a quiet life here in Mountbank.
“But he and Father quarreled so, John said to hang it all and that he would leave. And he hasn’t been back. Not until now.” Miss Ridgecleff smiled beatifically. “And he’s brought you!”
She shook her head. “But I’m certain that he’s told you all of this. I hope he hasn’t been too much of a burden. He does tend to brood. But you seem lively enough.”
Natalie felt her head spinning a little. This was another aspect to her fiancé’s relationship with his father that she hadn’t even considered.
What if Lord Ridgecleff’s father didn’t like her? Technically he couldn’t force the engagement to end but if he didn’t approve he could make her life miserable.
“Miss Natalie?”
Lord Ridgecleff was standing at the entrance to another room. “If you’ll come this way. I’d like you to meet my father.”
As if she had a choice in the matter.
Natalie walked with her sister and Emma down to join the two men. When she entered the other room, she was immediately struck by how dark it was.