by Sally James
She roused herself from gloomy thoughts when Julia came into her room.
‘I came to see how you are, and say goodbye for a while,’ Julia said after she’d kissed Fanny.
‘I’m much the same as always,’ Fanny said. ‘At least I haven’t yet lost the child, and previously it was almost always before this stage.’
‘So you must take extra care if it seems you can carry this one,’ Julia said bracingly.
Fanny nodded, wishing Julia’s energy did not always make her feel weak and incompetent.
‘You’ll know how I feel when you’re pregnant yourself,’ she said. If Julia suffered from nausea and lassitude she might have more sympathy with her.
Julia was blushing slightly. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘We set off tomorrow, but I’m not sure how long we’ll be staying at Courtlands. Sir Carey wants to be back in London fairly soon.’
‘You’ll meet his sisters. Does he have any other family?’
Julia laughed. ‘A cousin, a most unpleasant man I had the misfortune to meet two days ago. He is, Sir Carey tells me, miserly in the extreme, spending only on a couple of dozen cats, and commissioning paintings and statues of the creatures. He was not pleased with our marriage.’
‘Oh? Why not?’
Julia hesitated. ‘I suppose he may have thought he would lose any inheritance. Apart from his sisters Sir Carey has no other heirs, so he might have expected to inherit something.’
‘Well, you’d better hurry up and produce a couple of sons.’
Julia nodded, then said she had so much to do she really ought to be getting back to Upper Brook Street. ‘Take care,’ she said, and kissed Fanny. ‘I’ll come and see how you do, and whether you have heard anything, as soon as we are back in London.’
* * * *
Julia breathed a sigh of relief as she went back home. She didn’t want to keep secrets from Fanny, but she knew her sister would be likely to pass on anything she was told. It wasn’t malice, simply that she did not think before speaking. If she knew the marriage was in name only, a business arrangement, she would not be able to refrain from speculating aloud about it. If she knew of the condition regarding Sir Carey’s thirtieth birthday and his inheritance, she would instantly suspect the marriage had been arranged solely with that in mind.
Julia had wondered about it herself. It seemed odd that Sir Carey, who had apparently been much courted ever since he had graced the ton, should choose to marry Angelica, a girl so much younger than himself, just months before his birthday. From what he said, his attachment had not survived the long separation while he had been in Vienna, but he had swiftly provided himself with another wife, and without any pause to allow her a chance to reflect and refuse.
She had to thrust these speculations to the back of her mind when she reached home. Molly was fretting about which clothes to pack, and Julia, not knowing whether they would be entertaining at Courtlands, or visiting neighbouring families, decided she had better take everything.
‘I don’t have such a great deal,’ she said.
‘We’ll need another trunk, though, if you take the clothes you had when you arrived.’
‘I think they might be more suitable to the country than London, so yes, we’ll take them. There must be some spare trunks somewhere. In the attics, I expect.’
‘I’ll ask Mrs Carter, and one of the footmen can bring it down.’
Julia left her to it, afraid she would begin to interfere. She had been so used to doing everything for herself it was difficult to remember she had people to do things for her. She went downstairs to the library. She’d been reading one of the new novels, Waverley, and wondering who the anonymous author was. She had just picked up the book when Sir Carey came into the room.
‘Julia, how is Lady Cunningham? You were planning to visit her, I believe?’
‘She’s fretful, but beginning to get angry with Frederick. I’m not sure if I want him to come home and discover he can’t treat her so badly, or whether it might upset her so much she’ll lose this child.’
‘We’ll be back in London soon, and you can support her. I understand Elizabeth Pryce is being a great help.’
‘Yes. I don’t know what we would have done without her. In all probability we’d still have been in Vienna, without any money, and only Frederick’s dreadful grandmother to depend on. And if Napoleon recruits another army, we’d have had little chance of getting back to England. Is there any more news?’
‘He’s marching north, towards Paris. I believe the King is preparing to flee.’
‘Giving up without fighting?’ Julia asked, disbelieving.
‘He probably suspects the citizens of Paris are not wholly with him.’
‘The rest of the European powers won’t want Napoleon restored. They are bound to mobilise against him.’
* * * *
Sir Carey chose to drive his curricle, saying it was a fine day and Julia would appreciate the countryside better in an open carriage. His valet and Molly could follow with the luggage.
‘You don’t have much,’ he teased Julia as they watched the trunks being loaded into the carriage the next morning.
‘I have all my clothes,’ she replied, startled.
‘All? Then did you obey my instructions to purchase three times what you thought you needed?’ he asked as he helped her into the curricle and gave the horses the office to move.
‘No, for that would have been far too much.’
He laughed. ‘Please, Julia, accept that I am wealthy, I can well afford to clothe my wife in a fashionable manner. Or are gowns much more expensive than I thought? Did you spend all the money I gave you?’
‘No,’ Julia admitted, ‘I will buy more later, when I am sure of what I need. But I can change the appearance of many of the gowns with different trimmings, and minor alterations,’ she pointed out. ‘I have been used to doing that in the past, and it’s quite easy.’
‘But it is not what you will be doing now. My wife will be a credit to me, with fashionable clothes. I think I had better accompany you on your next visit to the modistes.’
His tone was light, almost teasing, but Julia could hear the steel beneath the surface. Until now he had seemed mild, always calm, and she had a sudden realization that he could, if necessary, be implacable, even angry. She shivered. She would not wish to be the object of such anger.
He misunderstood. ‘Are you cold? Do you want another rug?’
‘No, thank you. Tell me about your sisters. I’m looking forward to meeting them.’
‘Caroline is fifteen, an indefatigable letter writer. She will be sixteen in September and has been plaguing me for months to let her make her come out next year. But she is still a child, and sixteen is too young. I’d like to delay it until she is eighteen, but I doubt I’ll be able to withstand her pleas. She won’t sulk, that’s never been her way, but she will mention it at every opportunity, telling me of all her friends who are going to be in London, and sighing that it would be so enjoyable to be there with them, and mortifying if she were left behind in the schoolroom while they were getting married.’
Julia laughed. ‘Friends? Does she go to school? Is that where she made friends?’
‘She has a good friend at the Rectory, Penelope, who was also at the school. Last year there was some trouble. One of the older girls eloped with an infantry officer, a lad not much older than herself, who had been billeted in the town with his regiment. The school was not sufficiently vigilant. Caroline is a romantic, and I could not risk her following suit. I took the girls home and they have had a governess since then. Penelope is two years older and no longer needs one. But Caroline writes endlessly to all her other schoolfriends.’
‘And her sister?’
‘Susan is twelve, much quieter, utterly absorbed in music. She plays the pianoforte, violin and harp, and has been asking if she could learn to play the flute.’
‘Goodness, she sounds talented. She was at the school too? Did they not mind leaving?’
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‘Caroline objected for a while, until she realized she could have far more freedom at Courtlands, to walk in the park or ride. Fortunately she likes her governess, Miss Trant, who is an excellent rider and can always accompany her. Susan much prefers it at home, for she can spend as much time as she likes on her instruments.’
He fell silent and Julia did not speak. She was enjoying the countryside, for they were driving through the Chiltern hills, and there was fresh new growth on the beech trees, and carpets of bluebells beneath them. There was a lot to think about. Would his sisters welcome her? And the rest of the household, would they accept her? Could she be the sort of wife Sir Carey wanted, or would he, one day, regret his impulsive marriage?
* * * *
It was almost dusk when Sir Carey drove between some gateposts, and smiled as the woman who had opened them bobbed a curtsey.
‘I will take you to see Mrs Saddler one day soon,’ he said. ‘If we stop now we will not reach the house before it’s dark. Her tongue runs on forever.’
They were following a slightly curving drive, lined with chestnut trees which reminded Julia of the avenues in the Prater, and up a slight incline. When they breasted the summit and Sir Carey drew to a halt Julia gasped in delight.
‘It’s beautiful!’ she breathed.
The house, built of golden stone, was in a slight hollow, and the low hills behind were framed by a glorious saffron and apricot and pale green sunset. The long frontage, two storeys high, with many windows, had a central portico, and stood behind an ornamental lake. The drive swept round this, dividing so that one arm led to the back of the house. As Sir Carey drove on Julia’s gaze was drawn upwards, and she could see beyond the house a square tower, of darker stone.
‘Is that the castle?’ she asked. ‘But I thought castles were built on hilltops, so that they could see who was coming.’
‘Not all. You can’t see it from here, but the river is just beyond the house, and this castle must have been built to guard a crossing.’
‘It’s beautiful. And such a peaceful setting. I know I shall love it here.’
As she finished speaking the peace was broken as the front door opened, and what seemed like a whole pack of barking dogs erupted, followed by two girls who were frantically calling them to heel.
Sir Carey’s grip on the reins tightened, and his tiger, muttering an oath, leapt down to run to the horses’ heads. Between them they restrained the attempt to bolt, and within seconds two grooms arrived from the back of the house and held the bridles, persuading the horses to take the final few steps to the portico.
Sir Carey leapt down and held his hands up to Julia. Before she understood his intention, he grasped her by the waist and lifted her down.
‘Welcome to Courtlands, my dear.’ Then without raising his voice he commanded the dogs to lie down.
They obeyed instantly, but their tails continued to wag, and instead of barking they were giving excited, panting squeaks. Julia saw there were only three of them, a slender greyhound, a spaniel, and a terrier.
He turned to the girls, who were looking rather abashed. Both had dark, curly hair, and they were holding hands as though for mutual protection.
‘We will discuss this later,’ Sir Carey said sternly. Then his voice changed, became softer, and drawing Julia forward he said, ‘Before then, you must meet your new sister, Julia.’
She had not been aware that he held his arm round her waist, and she felt herself grow warm from embarrassment.
‘I’m so pleased to meet you,’ she said. ‘You must be Caroline? And Susan?’
They bobbed curtseys, both scrutinising her eagerly.
‘You’re pretty,’ the older one said. ‘You’re older than Angelica, but just as pretty in a different way. Carey wrote he was married, and we couldn’t imagine what sort of girl he’d choose after her. It must have been so romantic, meeting in Vienna. I wonder if I will meet my husband in some romantic city like that, or just the usual way during the Season?’
‘You won’t be having your come out for ages and ages,’ the younger girl said. ‘Julia - may I call you that?’
‘Of course,’ Julia said, suppressing a smile. She quite saw what Sir Carey had meant when he said Caroline mentioned her come out at every opportunity.
‘Thank you,’ Susan said politely. ‘Do you play the pianoforte? If you do, perhaps we could play duets? If you are good enough, that is. Miss Trant can play but she is so precise! She cannot improvise, or make up tunes like I can.’
‘I hope you will find me adequate,’ Julia said, struggling not to laugh. Were all girls their ages so plain-spoken?
Sir Carey, when she glanced at him, also seemed to be trying hard to suppress smiles. ‘Come, let us go inside, and Julia can meet the rest of the household. Take those dogs round to the stables first.’
The girls grasped hold of the dogs’ collars and dragged them, unwilling, away. Sir Carey, whose arm was still about her waist, turned towards the front door.
‘I thought I had come to a household with a couple of dozen dogs instead of cats,’ she murmured, and he laughed, and suddenly bent to kiss her briefly on the lips.
‘Welcome,’ he whispered, as he led her up the shallow flight of steps.
* * * *
Julia watched Sir Carey, accompanied by three ecstatic dogs, ride away on the following morning. He needed, he said, to visit some of his tenants, but Julia might find the talk rather tedious. He would take her to meet them another day, when there would be time for proper introductions.
‘So I suggest Caroline and Susan show you round the house.’
The girls were only too willing, and took Julia on an extended tour of the modern wings. The rooms were elegant, but the only rooms Julia felt were homelike were the schoolroom and the parlour which the girls and Miss Trant used. There, books and needlework and music sheets and painting materials were scattered in profusion.
Miss Trant was a tall, elegant woman in her thirties, and Julia took to her at once.
‘Go and wait for Lady Evelegh downstairs,’ she told the girls briskly. ‘I wish to have a few words with her first.’
‘You will ask?’ Susan whispered loudly, and Miss Trant smiled and nodded. Julia wondered in some amusement what it was Susan had not liked to mention herself.
‘I’ve been in charge of these girls of necessity, while Sir Carey has been out of the country,’ Miss Trant said bluntly. ‘Now you are here, I hope you will tell me if there is anything you want me to do, or not to do.’
‘I’m sure you are doing everything necessary,’ Julia said, somewhat taken aback.
Miss Trant smiled. ‘I hope so, but what I meant was that I shall not be offended if you have any suggestions or criticisms.’
‘I really don’t know enough about how to bring up girls of Caroline’s and Susan’s ages,’ she confessed. ‘I’m more likely to be coming to you for advice!’
‘They are both very promising girls. Caroline needs to practise her French, for I am afraid she does not consider it a necessary accomplishment. I tell her that everyone with any pretence to education or culture speaks French, but she does not believe me. Perhaps you could mention how everyone in Vienna could converse in French even if they knew no English? Susan, however, has already outstripped me in her music. I think she would profit by having a specialist music teacher.’
‘Do you know of anyone you could recommend?’
‘My own old music teacher lives nearby, and though he does not take many pupils, he would take Susan if I asked him. My late father was the Rector here,’ she explained.
Julia had been told by Sir Carey that she was to supervise the education of his sisters. She took a deep breath. ‘Then I think that is settled. Could we go and see him, take Susan?’
Miss Trant smiled. ‘Good. Now I believe they want to show you the older part of the house.’
‘The castle? I’m looking forward to that. Is any of it habitable?’
‘They will show you what
is safe, mainly what used to be the keep. The rest of it, the original gatehouse, is blocked off.’
Julia went down and found the girls in the kitchen, sitting at the table drinking cups of milk and eating freshly baked cakes. She smiled at the cook and took another chair. ‘Those look delicious. May I have one?’
‘And some milk, my lady? Fresh from the cow we keep for the household milk.’
All Sir Carey’s servants seemed polite and friendly, by no means subservient, and she compared this to Fanny’s household, where they had all trodden warily, afraid of offending Sir Frederick. After just a few hours she felt at home here.
The castle, or what remained of it, consisted of a three-storey keep and a few stretches of wall that had once enclosed the inner bailey. The gatehouse, fenced off, was on the far side of this old courtyard.
‘We have to go in up these outer stairs,’ Caroline explained. ‘They always had the entrance on the first floor, so that it was easier to defend from invaders. This was the great hall. It’s never used now, which I think is a pity. It would be wonderful to have meals here.’
‘It’s too far for the servants to carry the food,’ Susan said. She seemed much more prosaic that Caroline, Julia thought, amused. ‘It would be cold when it got here. Carey had new kitchens put in after our parents died, nearer the dining room.’
‘Well, it would be romantic,’ Caroline insisted. ‘There used to be rooms up here, but none of them have any furniture left,’ she went on, leading the way up a narrow circular stair.
Julia looked into the small rooms on the next floor, and shuddered. She would hate to have lived in them, with the narrow slit windows that let in so little light. There were shadows and narrow passages which led, Susan told her, to the guard-robes. ‘The necessaries, you know,’ she said, and giggled.
‘Come on, let’s go on the roof,’ Caroline called, already half way up the next spiral staircase. ‘There’s a lovely view of the river from up here.’