Mellington Hall

by Meredith Resce

  Lady Felicity was very attentive, and fussed over Sarah as if she were as delicate as a china doll. Alan felt very pleased that his cousin’s wife was showing so much hospitality and friendliness. He didn’t want to overstay their welcome there, but at least he knew that for the present they had somewhere safe they could stay.

  Once Sarah had been carefully settled in her room, Alan returned to the drawing room to sit with his cousins.

  “Your wife has been unwell?” Felicity asked, appearing to be genuinely concerned.

  “Yes,” Alan couldn’t help but smile. “She is expecting.”

  “Oh!” Felicity said quickly. As it was not a topic of general discussion, that was all she needed to know. Leighton saw Alan’s delight, and felt pleased for him, but nothing more was said on the subject.

  The next day, Lady Claire Montgomery arrived very early, having received the note from Alan the night before. She was eager to see her daughter, and a little concerned to hear that she was unwell.

  But once she heard the news, she was thrilled, and began to talk about things Sarah would need to arrange in view of the blessed event.

  “And one thing you must keep an eye open for is a good nursemaid,” Claire said.

  “I shall look after the baby myself when it is born,” Sarah said stubbornly.

  “You will do more than a normal lady of your station, no doubt, but you will have to learn what is proper in a house like Mellington Hall.”

  Sarah was aware that her mother knew the proper protocol, but she couldn’t help but rebel against it to a small degree. She didn’t want to become a useless figurine that just sat and looked gracious. She had already experienced too much in the world of doing for herself to be satisfied to just sit and observe. She recalled the day where she first found Alan, wounded and unconscious. If she had behaved as a gracious refined lady that day, Alan would have been dead.

  “Has Alan spoken to you about the Pennerly Estate?” Sarah asked, eager to tell her the news.

  “He said that he wishes to talk to us about it, but he will wait until your father comes. I assume that he will arrive later this afternoon, after he has seen to the estate business.”

  Sarah was chafing to tell her all about it. She wanted to see just how her mother would react to the news. She hoped Claire would be as thrilled as she was.

  “Welcome back, sir!” Philip nodded to Alan, in the way he was used to doing. “I trust you had a pleasant journey.”

  “Thank you, Phillip. We did. It was everything we could wish for, and my wife has some news she would like to share with you.” Alan spoke to Phillip as if he was an equal. It was somewhat awkward, as Phillip was uncertain about what status he should assume, and how he should therefore behave.

  Sarah stood and kissed her father affectionately, and Phillip was pleased to see her, though a little concerned that she looked so pale, and also as if she might have lost a little weight.

  “Father, I have already shared it with mother, but you are to be grandparents,” Sarah announced. “I hope you are pleased.”

  Phillip was stunned. He was unused to open talk of this nature, almost as much as he was unused to relating as an equal to his employer.

  “And there is other news as well,” Sarah said. “Shall we all sit down?”

  She looked to Alan, who took her cue.

  “Mr Montgomery, sir,” Alan began, once again deferring to him. “I have an opening I believe would suit you and your wife very well, and I hope you will be pleased to consider it favourably.”

  Phillip nodded to indicate his interest.

  “He wants you to manage Pennerly Estate. Both of you!” Sarah could not wait for the details. “You will be in charge of the house, mother, back where you started!”

  Both parents were stunned by the news. Claire wanted to be delighted, but she could tell that Phillip was hesitant.

  “What is it, sir?” Alan asked, recognising reluctance.

  “Why would you give us such a position, sir? I have not the experience in managing an entire estate.”

  “You would be my manager,” Alan explained. “You will have capable men under you, and we will be in constant communication. But I trust you. You have always served me well in your current position. I have no reason to believe you would prove to be any less competent in this one.”

  Lady Claire looked anxiously between her husband and son-in-law. She very much desired that it would work out.

  “And besides,” Alan went on, in a less formal manner, “we are family. You are going to be my child’s grandparents. Why should I not wish to give you a good position when it comes along? Indulge me in this, Phillip. It is a great thing for all of us, and I believe you deserve it.”

  Both Sarah and Claire held their breath for a few moments, wondering how Phillip would respond. Then he looked at both of them, and finally he smiled his acceptance.

  “Well, if we put it to a vote, I would be alone if I were to decline, would I not? Since you have considered it so carefully, I must not disappoint you now, must I?”

  Sarah could not believe how happy she felt. Watching her mother and father discuss the Pennerly Estate business, her mother’s eyes alight with eagerness and joy, her father’s face reflecting the gratitude he felt at having been recognised and promoted to such a position of responsibility. Sarah was thrilled. To see Alan conversing with them as equals, as if they were all of equal rank, made her heart sing with gladness.

  For a brief moment Alan turned from looking at the papers that were spread out on the large desk and gave her a warm smile.

  Even with the constant nausea, Sarah had an overwhelming sense of being cherished, and considering the despair she had felt several months earlier, she couldn’t help but thank God for having turned the situation around so completely.

  “Are you happy, mother?” she asked after they had put the papers away and sat on the sofa to drink tea.

  “I never thought that I should ever return to Pennerly Hall. I understood that once I had chosen your father, I was foregoing the right to ever set foot on the property again. You cannot know what this means to me.”

  “What about father? How does he feel now?”

  “It took a few moments for him to see the sense of it, but now he is very impressed by your husband’s graciousness, and the respect he is showing, and he is thrilled to be given the opportunity to serve you both in such a position of responsibility.”

  “I shall miss you both, when you move to Pennerly,” Sarah said honestly, for to her this was the one sad point of the whole plan.

  “I’ve been thinking, dear,” her mother replied, “perhaps, with the baby coming, and still no clear conclusion to that other business at Mellington Hall, it might be better if you were to come with us.”

  “I could not come without Alan,” she said immediately.

  “Of course not,” Claire smiled. “But if he sees his way clear of responsibility here, then perhaps you can both come. It would be a good situation in so many ways.”

  Sarah was actually thrilled with the idea, considering that her time at Mellington Hall held only memories of severe distress, but she was determined that she would not go unless Alan could go too.

  “You know you are welcome to stay here as long as is necessary,” Lady Felicity said clearly, when they were discussing the forthcoming changes. “Please do not feel that you need to rush away. With the mystery still unsolved, it would not be wise.”

  “But we would be safe at Pennerly,” Sarah said, eager to promote that option now that she had thought about it more.

  “Perhaps in a month or two,” Alan said evenly. “I have neglected estate business so much over the past few months, with one thing and another, and now with one of my best men leaving,” he gave a friendly smile towards Phillip, “it is only sensible I should make sure everything is in good order before we consider staying away.”

  Alan sounded satisfied with the decision but he didn’t notice Sarah looked a little disappointed
.

  “But if we might stay here a little longer,” Alan addressed his cousin, “I should feel much more comfortable, knowing that Sarah at least is safe.”

  And so Claire and Phillip left within the month, and went directly to the Pennerly Estate where they were to be installed, for all intents and purposes, as the lord and lady of the manor.

  Sarah missed her mother terribly. She had so many questions she wanted to ask regarding the baby, and though Felicity was very attentive, and constantly offered her advice, Sarah would much rather it had been her mother.

  She frequently asked Alan how the Mellington Estate was making progress, and how long he thought he would be before he felt confident to leave for a while. Alan was patient with her at first, but then became a little annoyed.

  “I cannot leave at the moment, Sarah,” he said, rather shortly. “I wish you would stop asking me about it. When it is the right time, I will let you know, and we shall go to Pennerly.”

  Of course Sarah was disappointed.

  “What about the staff at Mellington Hall. Have you seen any signs of trouble, you know, from before?”

  “Do you want to return to Mellington Hall? I must confess it would be much easier for me to conduct business without having to spend so much time travelling between here and there.”

  “Do you think it is safe? Do you sense any threat?”

  “I have not felt the least bit threatened,” Alan answered. “The staff are much as they always were, whether that is because they know that everybody is under surveillance, or because it wasn’t anybody from amongst them in the first place, I cannot tell.”

  “If you thought it would be safe, I think it would be nicer to be closer to where you are working, and to be in charge of my own home. I appreciate your cousin’s kindness, but it would be nice to be on our own, don’t you think, dear?”

  “Let me just observe a few days more, and then if all is well, we shall arrange to go back.”

  arah had been less well than usual for a few days, and Alan hardly had an opportunity to speak to her. He left early before she woke, and she would be in bed very soon after he returned. She was really beginning to miss him as well as her parents, but her tender condition was dictating terms.

  One morning, she had tried to rise two or three times, only to be driven back to her bed by overwhelming nausea. She had only just lain down again when Felicity came to her door in a panic.

  “Come quickly, Sarah! It’s Alan. There has been more trouble!”

  All thought of her misery disappeared, and she got up immediately, found a robe to put over her nightgown, did not pause long enough to even think about dressing, and followed Felicity out of the room, and into the long dark corridor.

  “What has happened,” Sarah called out to her hostess. “Is Alan all right?”

  But Felicity was already descending the stairs.

  Full of anxiety, Sarah hurried to the top of the stairs, heedless that she would appear downstairs without being properly dressed.

  She was not thinking about herself at all or taking care how she went. She began to descend the stairs very quickly, when suddenly her foot tangled in something that had been strung tightly across the third step from the top. In her haste Sarah had not been holding onto the rail, and she was tripped by the cord that had been placed there with obvious intent. Arms flailing, she fell hard, bouncing and tumbling down the fifteen steps to the bottom. She had been unable to recover her balance as she fell, and when she came to the bottom, there was nothing to stop her head from hitting the flagstone floor.

  Felicity was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, but made no attempt to help her houseguest. Quickly, she ascended the stairs, stopped near the top, and expertly released the cord that had been strung across the third step. Within seconds, she had coiled it into a small ball and tucked it in her skirt pocket. Then she rushed back down the staircase, calling loudly.

  “Simmons! Clara! Quickly! Lady Sarah has fallen! Help!”

  Alan had been interviewing several men for the position vacated by Phillip Montgomery. He had narrowed his choice down to three, but still was not quite sure. He had considered having Sarah’s opinion, but she had been so unwell of late that he realised it was neither sensible nor necessary.

  Working from his desk at Mellington Hall, he had begun to feel his old self again, and there had been no sign of any threat. He had all but made up his mind that he would bring Sarah back here. He wanted to be close to her. He wanted to stop in to see her whenever the notion took him, but with her at his cousin’s home, some forty minutes ride away, it simply was not possible.

  He had just decided that he would ride back to Lydbury’s earlier than usual, when he was disturbed by Rupert rushing into the study.

  “Pardon me, sir, but you had better leave quickly. There has been an accident!”

  Alan was instantly alarmed. Rupert would never just blurt something out without waiting to be acknowledged.

  “What is it, man?” he asked desperately.

  “Sir, your cousin’s man has just ridden in to say that Lady Sarah has taken a fall. He said it was serious.”

  Alan did not wait to hear more. He hurried out into the hall, down the front steps, across to the stable, and all but tore the reins of the horse from the stableboy’s hands. He did not pause to offer his usual word of greeting or thanks, but immediately mounted the horse and took off at a bone-jarring pace.

  Sarah was in terrible pain. It was not just the bumps and bruises resulting from her fall, but her lower abdomen seemed to be in spasms, and she began to realise that she was losing the baby. There was nothing she could do, even if she had been more than barely conscious. The head injury had rendered her unconscious for some time, she had no idea know how long, and by the time she became aware again, she realised that she was lying on a chaise longue, and that Felicity was bathing her head with a damp cloth.

  “I have sent for the doctor, my dear,” Felicity said smoothly, once she saw that Sarah was awake. “Just lie back and relax.”

  “But what about Alan? You said he was in trouble!”

  “Shh!” Felicity said soothingly. “The poor girl is delirious,” she said aside to somebody Sarah could not see.

  Sarah’s head hurt too much to argue, and then within a few minutes, the stomach cramps had started. Sarah didn’t want to lose the baby. She had been so happy, and even more so knowing how pleased Alan had been about it. She felt she was about three months, and even in that short time, she felt great love for this child. But her body was certainly behaving in a manner that would soon see her lose the growing baby.

  But in amongst all the fog and confusion caused by the pain, Sarah was convinced that Felicity had called her to come because Alan was in trouble, and then she had tripped. It had felt as if a string or cord had caught her feet. But the pain kept coming in vicious spasms, and she could not piece her thoughts together. Eventually, she began to cry out.

  “What in heaven’s name is going on?” Alan shouted angrily at Lydbury’s butler, Simmons, as he ran inside the hall.

  “Lady Sarah has taken a fall, sir. The doctor has been called.”

  “What do you mean, man?” Alan grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him aggressively. “Which room is she in?”

  But Simmons had no chance to answer, as Sarah’s cry of pain echoed in the hallway from the drawing room, just near the bottom of the staircase.

  Alan was about to go in, when Simmons took a strong hold on his arm.

  “You had best wait here, sir,” Simmons cautioned. “It is the baby. The doctor is with her.”

  Alan’s face paled and he turned to the serving man. “What do you mean?” he asked anxiously.

  “She is being delivered of the child.”

  “Not yet. It is too early!”

  Simmons just looked sadly at the worried husband.

  There was another cry of pain, and Alan pulled away to go to Sarah’s side, but was turned away by his cousin Felicity, as he op
ened the drawing room door.

  “There is nothing you can do, Alan. Leave her to the doctor.”

  Helpless, Alan reluctantly turned around, then walked swiftly out of the front hall, and angrily kicked the gravel on the driveway before mounting his horse and riding back from the direction he had come.

  Sarah’s mind was a fog. She just wanted to curl up and cry, knowing that the baby was gone. She wanted Alan, but Felicity told her that he had left when he heard about the baby, and it hurt her more than anything else.

  The doctor had told her she had a concussion, and that she must be watched, so there was someone sitting by her side all the time, checking constantly to see that she could be roused. But in her despair, she didn’t want to be roused. She wanted to sleep so that she could not think about the pain and the loss.

  Alan had returned to his cousin’s two hours later, after having visited the Reverend Mr Edwards for a short time. The minister had prayed with Alan for his wife and child, but they both knew that it was unlikely the child would survive.

  “I want to see Sarah now.” Alan said to Felicity the moment he came inside.

  “I’m sorry, Alan,” Felicity sounded full of sympathy. “Sarah does not wish to see you.”

  “What! Why?” Alan was both hurt and confused.

  “I do not know why, my dear, but she was adamant that she did not want you to come in.”

  “I cannot believe it!” he all but shouted. “I need to see her, regardless of what she said!” He pushed past his cousin toward the drawing room, where he knew Sarah had been before. He wanted to burst into the room and demand answers, but common sense caused him to slow down and breathe deeply, as he tried to infuse some calm into his shattered feelings.