Several months after they had lost the baby, Alan decided that it was not good to stay cooped up in their own home, away from the rest of the village. He decided that he would take the initiative and try to re-establish a good relationship with the villagers, the tenant farmers, and other people of the immediate district. His first step had to start right at the heart of where the slander had begun.
When Mrs Allyson saw Sir Alan Mellington standing on her doorstep, she was quite taken aback. Alan sensed immediately that she wanted to turn her back on him, but there was the ingrained sense of respect for the gentry that kept her looking forward, with a greeting that was barely civil.
“I would appreciate it, Mrs Allyson, if you and your husband would come to Mellington Hall for tea.” He could see that she was set to refuse him, but he hadn’t finished. “I have some matters concerning your future as my tenants that I wish to discuss with you. I know Mr Allyson will want to attend to this as soon as possible.”
He had left her no room to object, so she gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I look forward to your company this afternoon, then,” he said, nodding graciously before walking away.
If it had not been so hurtful, Sarah might have laughed when she saw the obvious struggle on the older woman’s face as she was welcomed into their drawing room. She showed every sign of being highly prejudiced, her mind firmly made up, and with no intention of ever changing her opinion concerning them.
“Thank you for coming, Mrs Allyson.” Sarah spoke with a warmth she did not feel, but persisted in the face of hostility for the sake of her husband’s plan.
The guests responded with the minimum amount of decorum required.
As Lucinda had not yet been replaced, Sarah took charge of pouring the tea that Mrs Evans brought into the room. The situation was both awkward and tense. Sarah couldn’t help but remember the morning that the Allysons had burst in upon them lying on the floor, and all the horrible accusations that had followed.
“Thank you for invitin’ us, Lord Mellington, sir,” Mr Allyson said. “I hope there ain’t any trouble regarding the tenancy.”
“Not at all,” Alan said with a smile, replacing his teacup on the saucer. “I am pleased with the way you have kept your parcel of land, and it appears to be yielding very nicely.”
Alan paused and took the time to drink some more of his tea, and Sarah could see this made the visitors even more nervous. He had obviously made them feel that their lease might not be as secure as they had always believed. For a little while she almost felt sorry for them.
“Mr Allyson, I have asked you both here today to settle some things between us.”
It was as if the older farmer sensed what was coming, and so he merely nodded, and drank his tea nervously.
“Perhaps you have heard that my cousin’s wife was recently arrested for murder, and several cases of causing serious bodily harm.”
“I had heard something of the sort, sir, indeed,” he admitted, not sure exactly whether he should be offering condolences or congratulations.
“Yes, you see her very first attempt was against me some twelve months ago now. Perhaps you remember something of it?”
Mr Allyson said nothing. He had already guessed where the conversation was going.
“If it had not been for your good young neighbour, I should have been dead and buried by now. You do realise that the Montgomerys were very kind to me at a time when I was quite vulnerable?”
“Phillip and Claire were not at home at the time!” Mrs Allyson could contain her indignation no longer.
“No, they were not, which made the job so much harder when Miss Sarah found me unconscious, bleeding and near death. Then with the huge storm that snowed us in, it was fortunate we both did not freeze to death.”
Neither visitor said anything.
“You see, I was delirious and burning with fever, and could not help Miss Sarah in anyway, not even to help her open the door against the snow drift when she needed to go and get more wood. At the time you came to help her, she would have been very relieved to know that some capable people had arrived to help her nurse a very sick man, to send word back to the hall, and most importantly act as the chaperone who was obviously missing. But imagine her horror and surprise when the people who should have been the answer to her prayers, became the instruments of her worst nightmare.”
“I saw you lying together on the floor, naked, sir!” Mrs Allyson could not help herself.
“Is that really what you saw?” Alan asked, looking so sternly at her that she struggled to hold his gaze.
For a few long moments, neither one was willing to give way.
“Miss Sarah was fully clothed, indeed, mother,” her husband said eventually. “I could see Lord Mellington was bandaged up, and not well, to be sure. We should not have rushed away without helping the girl.”
“Are you going to defend fornication?” his wife persisted stubbornly.
“I saw no fornication, and I never held to the story that you insisted on telling the Reverend, and half the county, mother, indeed, I did not.”
“We cannot condone such goings on... ”
“Woman! That is enough. Indeed, we have made a mistake, and I believe Lord Mellington and Miss Sarah deserve an apology.”
“Miss Sarah is now my wife, Lady Sarah Mellington,” Alan insisted to their further discomfort. “She has suffered terribly because of the lies you spread.”
Mrs Allyson was about to open her mouth to defend herself, but her husband held up his hand.
“Lady Mellington, ma’am,” Mr Allyson said kindly, “I am deeply sorry for the way we have gone on, and for the trouble we have caused you. Mebbe I can never make it right, but you have my word, that I will do all that I can to put right the wrong story that was spread about you. I always believed you and your family were good and upstanding, and I am very sorry I didn’t stay to help you with the emergency. Forgive me, ma’am, if you please, ma’am.”
Hearing her former neighbour speak with such humility she felt her eyes fill with tears. She found it hard to believe that at last someone was willing to acknowledge that it had all been a mistake, and that she had been an innocent victim of circumstance and slander.
“Thank you, Mr Allyson. Thank you for believing me.”
“Yes, Allyson,” Alan added, “and I should like to hold you to your promise. I wish you would go to every person who was ever led to believe that lie, and if you would correct the misunderstanding. Of course, I understand that retrieving gossip is a little like trying to retrieve a basket full of feathers that has been thrown to the wind. But I am sure you will do the best you can... ”
Unfortunately, while Alan had managed to get Mr Allyson to hear and acknowledge the truth, he was not so successful everywhere he went. It was as if, once the suggestion had been made, that it was indelibly etched into the minds of the villagers, whether it was true or not. The Reverend Mr Snead was stubbornly persistent, and changed his preaching to rail against the ills of the rich trying to use their money and power to buy favour, and insisting that only those who stood steadfastly against sexual immorality could truly hold up their head in righteousness.
Despite the timid attempts of Mr Allyson, and two or three others like him, the rumour persisted that Sir Alan Mellington had been forced to marry Sarah Montgomery because of the outrageous affair. In the village church, there was no forgetting their sin, and there certainly was no forgiving it. The fact that Mr Edwards accepted them into his congregation only confirmed the contention that the New Church was not a truly spiritual place, but rather a house that tolerated iniquity.
The whole situation was very sad, but there was nothing more that could be done. Even Simon Mellington, who was actually guilty of all charges against him, understood that his brother and sister-in-law bore the damages of one of the worst sins of all. Slander.
disagreement had broken out at Mellington Hall. It was not one party demanding their own way but rather that b
oth parties were insisting on what would be best for the other, and it had reached a stalemate.
“You are not happy here,” Alan said to his wife. “I know this house and this village both hold some terrible memories for you.”
“I am happy, my love, because I am with you,” Sarah replied stubbornly.
“Well, I shall be coming with you. A fresh start for both of us is what we need.”
“But Alan, if it were not for me, you would never consider leaving your family home. This is your inheritance. It is where you belong.”
“It is what my father left me, and what his father left him, but even that has caused so much pain, hasn’t it? My aunt’s bitterness at having been so ignored in my grandfather’s will, and Felicity’s having taken up that resentful cause. No, I’ve made my decision, my dear.”
“But who is going to look after your interests here? Who is going to look to the welfare of those who are dependent upon you?”
“I have decided to leave Simon in charge.”
Sarah was so surprised, she said nothing. She thought her husband must have been joking. But Alan did not laugh or change his mind.
“No, I’ve decided. If Simon is ever going to grow up and take responsibility for his life, it will not be because of the way I manipulate, holding control of his money. I plan to give him some freedom and responsibility. I shall leave him in charge.”
“Alan, do you think he will be able to do it?”
Alan smiled. “My dear, we are not showing much confidence in our younger brother, are we?”
“It is just that he has never expressed an interest, or shown any sense of responsibility before.”
“Yes, but I have been thinking about my aunt, and the way things turned out there, and I think that my grandfather and then my father, by showing preference to one of their children, and leaving the other to feel useless, perhaps unloved, has caused problems they never foresaw. I hope that Simon will realise what is being given to him, and the opportunity it represents, and I hope too that something noble and true will emerge.”
“And where will that leave you, my love?” Sarah asked seriously.
“I shall be with my wife and her family, and we shall begin a new chapter. One of security, love and respect.”
“I love and respect you now,” Sarah declared. “And I worry that you will be homesick.”
“The last year has been rather harrowing for me as well, you realise. And despite our chat with the Allysons, things have not changed with a certain core of villagers. Let us leave here and go and join your parents.”
“If you are sure, my dear,” Sarah said, moving closer to him on the chaise longue and allowing Alan to put his arm around her.
“I am absolutely sure.” He smiled at her, and then kissed her. “When our child is born, I want there to be a happy home, and a place of wonderful memories.”
Sarah smiled at him again.
“How did you know?” she asked. “I have only just confirmed it myself.”
“I didn’t,” he grinned at her happily. “But I had hoped.”
Mellington Hall Page 20