Nancy was pleased. “You see!”
Joy considered it all. She glanced at her friend and with an air of conspiracy said, “Let’s go down to the cottage!”
“Tonight?”
“Why not?”
“I don’t like going after dark! There might be animals in the bushes!”
“Silly! At the worst there might be an old hunting dog who wouldn’t harm us!”
Nancy still hesitated. “I think it’s a silly idea. Why do you want to go down there?”
“Because I think Jenny will be meeting Ben Weston there!”
“I don’t think so,” Nancy protested. “She probably turned down his bed ages ago.”
Joy eyed her young friend with disgust. “Not to turn down his bed or anything like that! I think she’ll go down there and kiss him!”
“Kiss him!”
“I’ll bet that’s what they do! She pushed herself against his leg and they both looked at each other as if they quite enjoyed it.”
“I’m afraid!”
“You’re afraid of your own shadow!” Joy said.
“Suppose they see us?”
“Not if we’re quiet!”
“And I don’t think it’s nice. You know we’ve been taught not to spy on people!”
“This isn’t the same,” Joy protested. “Anyway, if you don’t go I’m going alone.”
Nancy said, “I think you’ve become fond of that old Ben Weston!”
“He isn’t old,” Joy argued. “I don’t think he can be much over twenty!”
“Seven years older than you, at least!”
Joy said, “I don’t want to talk about it any longer. Are you coming or aren’t you?”
“I’ll go with you. But I don’t think it’s right.”
“Get your cloak,” Joy told her. “It may be cool out there and we might have to wait for a little while.”
“In the dark?”
“We’ll be near the cottage and there’s bound to be a light inside. It will shine out the window so it won’t be all that dark.”
Nancy unwillingly got into her cloak. First they had to make their way down the stairs and out of the house without being seen. They were lucky in this. They quickly crossed the lawn — hugging the bushes by the path leading to the several guest cottages. An owl cried out from somewhere and Nancy let out a tiny scream.
Joy rebuked her. “It was only an owl!”
“It sounded like a ghost,” Nancy said, with a tremor in her voice. “And it’s so awfully dark!”
“We’re almost to the cottage,” Joy promised.
“I wish we’d gone to bed,” Nancy lamented. “Anything could happen to us out here and there’d be no one to help us!”
“Stop being such a scared creature!” Joy said angrily. “I want to see if Jenny and Ben Weston kiss! I want to see them do it.”
“What’s so important about kissing? I hate it when old people come and kiss me!”
“This is different!”
“I can’t see how!”
“Quiet!” Joy warned her friend. “The cabin is just ahead. Don’t make a sound or say a word. We don’t want them to hear us.”
They crouched below the lighted window of the cottage. Joy was breathless, and her heart was pounding with excitement as Nancy knelt beside her. They had a clear view of inside.
After a moment Ben Weston came into view. He was nude from the waist up — wearing only his breeches. There was a slight frown on his heavy-set, but good-looking face as he began to pace back and forth slowly.
Joy whispered. “He’s terribly good looking.”
“No more so than James,” Nancy whispered back.
Joy whispered. “I wonder where she is. He must be waiting for her.”
As if in answer to her words there was a scuffling sound from the area in the front of the cottage. The cottage door opened and closed, and a flushed, excited Jenny — without cap or uniform, rushed into the room. Ben Weston took her in his arms, and began to kiss her ardently.
Joy gasped. “He’s smothering her with kisses!”
“I call it disgusting,” Nancy said.
As they watched he stopped kissing the lovely Jenny, and began to disrobe her. They watched wide-eyed as he stripped her of layer after layer of her clothing. At last she stood naked before him!
Joy was impressed by the development of Jenny’s breasts, and her well-rounded figure. Then she gasped, for Ben Weston loosened his belt and dropped his trousers. This total male nudity shocked Joy. Next Ben Weston lifted Jenny, and the naked couple went to the bedroom, where they could not be seen. The telltale piles of clothing were left behind on the floor.
After a few seconds Nancy whispered, “Did he take her away to kiss her some more?”
Dry-mouthed Joy said, “Yes, I suppose so.” She was certain there was more to it than that.
The next morning, both girls sat up in bed, in their nightgowns, and discussed all. They were waiting for Jenny to appear with the usual pitcher of hot water for their morning ablutions.
Nancy asked, “What are you going to say to her?”
Joy said, “I’ll tell her the truth: we were by the window, and saw as she and Ben Weston stripped off their clothes and kissed!”
“She might be angry!”
“I don’t care!” She picked up her pillow and struck Nancy with it. Thus began a pillow fight between them, both screaming and laughing. The battle ended abruptly with the entrance of Jenny and their water pitcher.
Jenny sat the pitcher down and said, “Come now, you two! Enough of that! You know what Miss Kendall will say if I tell her.”
Miss Kendall was Joy’s elderly spinster governess. Presently, she was on her summer vacation. Joy said, “Miss Kendall isn’t here. And you know it!”
“When she returns I’ll tell her,” Jenny threatened.
Joy gave Nancy a smile, then told Jenny, “I shall then tell my father and mother something about you!”
Jenny’s pretty face turned scarlet. “Pray what could you say to them?”
Joy got out of bed and faced her. “I could tell them I saw you in the cottage where Ben Weston is staying.”
Jenny gasped. “They wouldn’t believe you!”
Nancy, still in bed, said, “Tell her the rest!”
Jenny looked shattered. “The rest?”
Joy nodded. “We saw you take all your clothes off and you really have a pretty figure.”
Jenny was brick red. “The living nerve!”
“Yes,” Nancy went on. “Then we saw Ben Weston strip off his breeches and take you in his arms.”
Joy said, “You both went into the bedroom after that!”
Jenny moved close to her, and pleaded in a low voice, “You mustn’t be saying such dreadful things!”
“You were both stark naked!” Joy said.
The maid warned her, “You’re talking about one of the family’s respected guests. You’ve been prying. That could cause a deal of trouble.”
Joy asked, “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Mr. Weston could take action against your father in the courts for what you girls have done,” the maid went on glibly. “And Mr. Weston has a bad temper. He might come after you and whip you for spreading such tales!”
Nancy panicked, and sprung out of bed to Joy’s side. “I knew it! I knew we’d get in trouble!”
Joy said, “I promise we won’t tell anyone else. We won’t say a word!”
Jenny grimly regarded them both. “I don’t mind for myself. But Ben Weston is a proper gent. He and I expect to marry one day soon and that is why you saw us like you did. It’s all quite respectable for the married you know.”
Joy said, “I’m sorry we spied on you. We won’t do it again!”
Jenny became more stern as it was apparent she had the upper hand. “I should hope not. I shall have to warn Mr. Weston, and I’m afraid you must take the consequences. If he decides to go to your father and make a complaint about you, I’m sure Sir
Richard and Lady Susan will be enraged!”
Nancy was now in tears. “We meant no harm!”
“I shall try and make Mr. Weston understand that,” Jenny said. “Mind you both keep mum. Not a word to anyone!”
“Not a word!” Joy echoed her.
“If Mr. Weston will forgive you, I’d say you can think yourselves lucky. I’ll let you know what he has to say.” And she quickly left the room.
As soon as she had gone Nancy turned to Joy and asked in a woeful manner, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Joy said.
“I told you it was wrong,” Nancy reminded her.
Joy decided, “I think she wants Ben Weston to hate me because she didn’t like his paying attention to me.”
Nancy said, “He treats you like a child!”
“He has often held me close to him,” Joy boasted. “And he has kissed me full on the lips several times!”
Nancy worried, “What are we going to do?”
“Keep quiet and hope it all passes.”
“I’m not sure about Jenny! I don’t think she’s one to be trusted.”
Joy went to the commode, and poured some warm water into the basin as she prepared to wash. “I expect we’ll have to hope she plays fair with us.”
Nancy gave a worried sigh. “I think this began when we went to visit that wicked old Gypsy! She’s the one who put all that talk about loving and husbands into our heads!”
Actually, things were not as bad as they expected. At breakfast they learned all the men had gone off riding. So at least they were safe for the moment from Ben Weston.
Joy’s mother had to journey to Guildford to visit the drygoods store, and pick out material for a new dress. The girls were glad to join her. They went to the stable to see the horses hitched up, and Joy flirted with one of the groom boys — a handsome, dark-haired lad. The boys vanished when Lady Susan appeared.
On the drive Lady Susan sat across from them in the open carriage, her parasol up and over her head. She said, “This is historic country, girls. Guildford dates back to King Alfred.”
Joy’s mother, attractive in her blue dress and fancy, blue bonnet, continued, “All Surrey has links with history. Nelson stopped at the Talbot in Ripley, and dined in the parlor on his way to Portsmouth and the Battle of Trafalgar.”
Joy asked, “Didn’t Oliver Cromwell once visit the town?”
Her mother looked pleased. “It is bright of you to remember. You are right. Many famed people have come to Guildford: King John, Queen Elizabeth, Cromwell, and James the Second.”
They reached the ancient town. Its steep High Street was lined with picturesque houses, and a castle overshadowed all. As they left the carriage, Lady Susan told Joy, “Take Nancy to see the old Guildhall and its clock.” Then she went on to the drygoods store.
Joy and Nancy walked to the Guildhall and studied the clock which projected over the street. Joy said, “My governess told me it dates back to 1683.”
They stopped at a sweets shop and made some modest purchases. Munching on their candies, they halted at a toy shop, and at another shop which sold groceries. Outside, two elderly men talked earnestly; one smoked a long, clay pipe, and the other stuffed a pinch of snuff in his nostrils at intervals. When the snuff taker sneezed vehemently, the girls ran off in gales of laughter.
They rejoined Lady Susan, and the carriage had them back at Canby Hall in time for luncheon. At James’s suggestion the meal was served as a picnic on the lawn behind the house. A near by balcony made it easy to move the food and drink outside.
A white cloth was spread on the green grass. The men drank ale; and there were all kinds of cold cuts, breads, and jellies. Even cold pheasant. It was a jolly, relaxing occasion. Only Joy and Nancy were tense. They could not bring themselves to look directly at Ben Weston.
He was elegantly dressed in sleek, fawn breeches, dark fawn vest, and a brown jacket. He sat next to Lady Susan, and paid her court in a most obvious fashion. It upset Joy, who worried that he might be planning to take off all his clothes with her mother.
Her father seemed to be paying no attention to his wife and the bold fellow. Instead, he mostly talked with Roger, saying, “When we were riding along the river today I passed by the old Gypsy, Peg. I had no idea she was still on the estate.”
Roger nodded. “She’s old enough to be bones!”
“I know,” Sir Richard agreed. “But she is much alive. She even had the gall to curtsy to me as I rode by!”
James laughed. “Proves you’re not too old to please the ladies, father.” He picked up some slices of bread, and some thin cuts of ham.
His father tugged his white mustache. “I should hate to make a conquest in that direction.”
Roger said, “She lives in an old shack near the river bank.”
“Yes,” Sir Richard said. “She was going in that direction when I rode by her.”
James left off munching his sandwich to say, “I remember her when I was a lad. She gave me a good luck omen.”
His father frowned. “I fear she has made her living off the superstition of the simple farm folk.”
Roger said, “We could tear the hovel down. But that would not be right. She is old and needs some place to live. She does no harm. I say, let her remain there.”
His mother spoke up, “You know she has somewhere found herself a crystal ball, and pretends to read people’s futures in it.”
Ben Weston laughed. “I’d hate to have her read mine. Once she told me about the scaffold awaiting me, I’d collapse!”
James joined in his friend’s laughter. “Perhaps she might instead see you shot at a gaming table!”
Sir Richard glared at the two young men. “I do not find your humor pleasant. Especially not in the presence of ladies. Two of them are of a tender age!”
Joy protested. “We are not so young we do not know a bit about life, father. I’m aware of gaming and hanging.”
Ben Weston delighted her by winking as if nothing had happened at all. “I tell you this girl is ready for romance. She is chafing at the bit!”
It was then that Joy saw Jenny arrive to replenish the tea. The servant deliberately knelt close by Ben Weston, and again Joy saw a certain look pass between them. She was grimly reminded of the previous night, and that she was not completely out of trouble yet. Jenny finished changing the teapots and walked swiftly away.
The afternoon had begun quietly enough. Sir Richard retired to his study to work on a proposed speech for the House of Lords. Lady Nancy put her seamstress to work on the silken material she had purchased for her new dress. James and Ben went off somewhere on their horses; and Nancy dutifully went up to the bedroom to write an overdue letter to her parents.
Joy was seated on the balcony overlooking the lawn where the picnic had been held when her older brother, Roger, came out to join her. He smiled as he sat with her.
“You’re looking terribly gloomy, Joy!”
“I’ve a slight headache. It will pass. It’s so good to have you here, Roger.”
“I’m happy to be here,” he said. “Some of the fellows wanted me to join them on a grand tour of Europe but I preferred to spend the summer at home.”
She said, “Don’t you want to see Paris and Venice and all those places?”
“In time,” he admitted. “Just now I’m interested in my own country. England is on the brink of a new age, Joy. There is going to be an industrial expansion the likes of which people have never dreamed.”
“Will it be a good thing?”
“Good and bad. I want to understand the meaning of it more. If I’m to take father’s place one day, I must understand the changes going on.”
“Does father keep up?”
“Not as well as he should,” her brother sighed. “Most of the older men think of Wellington, Napoleon, and Nelson. Even King Billy dotes on the past. And what will happen when he dies I can’t guess.”
She looked at him earnestly. “When do you plan
to marry, Roger?”
“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“You are twenty-three.”
“Men tend to marry at an older age than women,” Roger told her. “I may even find myself cut of the cloth of an old bachelor.”
“You should have a wife.”
“Thank you,” he smiled. “I hope you have a fine husband one day.”
“What if I should have more than one?”
Her older brother showed surprise. “Where did you get such an idea?”
Joy found herself having to improvise hastily. Flustered, she said, “Miss Kendall says some women have three or more husbands and some men marry many times.”
Roger laughed. “For a prim governness she shows imagination. For my own part, I say if one is able to find one mate who is true and loving, he should be well satisfied.”
“James would call you sentimental.”
“James may be your brother and mine, but he is a hard, reckless man. Don’t ever forget it.”
“You don’t approve of him?”
“No. Nor of his friends like that Ben Weston,” her older brother went on. “They are squandering their lives and their money.”
“Father encourages Ben Weston to come here. He gives Ben a cottage to himself.”
Roger said, “I prefer him out there than in the house. I’ve heard some stories about him in London. Tales I won’t repeat to one of your innocence. But his presence here upsets me.”
Tensely, she asked, “You think him dangerous?”
“Yes,” her brother said. “I do not like the lascivious looks he offers your way. He is much too interested in you. A man like Weston could be your ruin. Remember that!!”
A chill ran through her. “I’ll remember!”
As soon as she could, she excused herself from Roger’s company and raced upstairs. She found Nancy sealing her letter, and went over to her. “I’ve been talking with Roger and he says Ben Weston is a dangerous man!”
“Oh, no!” Nancy said, looking terrified.
Joy nodded. “I guess that is what Jenny meant. I only hope he isn’t too angry at us.”
“Maybe we’d better tell your mother and father so they can protect us.”
“I don’t want them to know!”
“But if Ben Weston tries to harm us?” Nancy worried.
Vintage Love Page 159