This man was the one who was trying to negotiate for Estelle’s hand for his son. People looked embarrassed but none interfered, none except one that is. Lord Summerville strode toward the couple, a look of fury on his face, his jaw clenched.
"You will leave, My Lord," he demanded. "And you will take your hands off your wife at once."
"She is my wife, Sir," His Lordship replied. "I will do what I want with her."
"Not in my house," replied Richard. "Now leave, take your barbaric ways with you."
Estelle’s heart was hammering. She had never seen him angry before and it was a terrifying sight. The Earl had released his wife, but made no move to leave. He smiled at his host as though it were all a misunderstanding which was now forgotten.
"We still have negotiations, My Lord," he said.
"Not for my daughter," Richard replied in a tone which would bear no argument. "If that is the example you have set your son, God help the woman who marries him. Now leave, please. I will have a servant pack your things."
With that he left and went to arrange for the Earl's boxes to be packed. Adrian squeezed his wife’s hand and smiled at the scene.
“I think our girl will be safe with that man’s son, do you not agree?” He said quietly.
Elizabeth nodded, a little satisfied smile on her lips.
Richard returned and positioned himself on the dais where everyone could see and hear him. He still looked angry; indeed Estelle had never seen such ferocity in his dark eyes, never heard him speak with such intensity.
"Any man who cannot treat his wife with respect, is not welcome in my house," he announced. "If anyone else wants to display his powerful masculinity by using his strength to intimidate a woman, I shall be happy to arrange for his boxes to be packed and loaded as well."
He left the hall, beckoning to his daughter to follow him.
"Where is your mother?" He asked.
"I believe she went upstairs. She seemed distressed."
"Distressed? Why?"
She shook her head.
"I could not say. She said something about letting you down again."
A concerned frown crossed his face as he walked toward the stairs.
"Thank God she did not have to witness that display, at any rate," he remarked as he went.
His announcement was the beginning of the end for the gathering, as many of the guests decided to leave at once and others who lived farther away, only stayed for one more night.
Estelle was pleased to see that Lord and Lady Roxham were among the guests who decided to stay a little longer. She was attracted to their son, Viscount Robin, and was not averse to seeing more of him.
They had danced together and talked, but she did not think he was the man she could adore. It seemed her brother had more success; she overhead him talking to her father that evening.
"The Lady Susannah," he said. "I trust you have not frightened her father away with your liberal ideas."
Estelle wanted a part of this conversation and she looked round the open doorway.
"May I come in?" She asked Joshua.
"Please. What do you think of the Lady Susannah?"
"She seemed very nice," she answered. "Much better than spoilt Lady Catherine."
"Her father is an earl, like mine," Joshua said, addressing his father, "but we should not hold that against her."
Their father smiled.
“Her father is an old friend of mine, from the time of Queen Mary,” he told them.
“He is not a Catholic is he?” Joshua asked with a frown.
Richard shook his head.
“No, quite the opposite.” He paused and studied his eldest son for a few minutes. Religion had caused so much heartache in his family, he had decided to leave the subject to their own consciences. He was a little surprised to learn that Joshua thought it so important. “His family are fiercely Protestant,” he went on.
Joshua nodded with a satisfied smile.
“I think the Lady Susannah exquisite,” he said. “I would like to know her better.”
He had spent the better part of the time dancing with her and talking to her; obviously they had developed a rapport.
"Then if you are certain, you should speak to her," Father replied, "find out how she feels. If she is amenable to the idea, I will speak to her father, provided I have not scared him away."
"I was watching him," Joshua said. "He seemed quite impressed."
"She may not want to speak her mind before her father," Estelle suggested. "Most of these people would not."
"Then you can go with him," Richard said. "Although I imagine Adrian has raised her to be her own person. Just be sure; that is all I ask and be certain it is what she wants. Trust me, Joshua, you do not want to tie yourself to a woman who does not want you."
***
Estelle had intended to position herself in the corner of the room while her brother spoke to the Lady Susannah. It was embarrassing enough for him, without his sister listening in, but he had to have a chaperone and her presence was better for them both than a parent.
There were only one or two families left downstairs. Most had gone to either pack for their journeys in the morning, or they had already left. Susannah sat alone beside the harp, simply playing about with the strings in a desultory fashion.
"My Lady," Estelle said quickly, leading her away to the window and out of earshot of anyone passing the open door. "My brother wishes to know if you like him. He wishes me to learn how you would feel about a marriage to him."
Her blue eyes opened wide and her cheeks flared red, then she ducked her head so her companion would not see. Estelle touched her arm.
"It is all right," she assured her. "If you do not agree, he will quite understand."
"I thought your father would make an offer to my father," she said timidly. "I never expected..."
"He will,” Estelle assured her. “But not until he knows your feelings. He insists; he says it is your decision who you spend your life with, not your father's. You must have realised that he is a little unconventional."
"I do like Lord Joshua," she whispered. "He seems a very amiable young man and he is very handsome. But I thought he was to be betrothed to Lady Catherine."
"Whoever told you that? Lady Catherine I suppose."
Susannah nodded.
"She takes too much for granted. My parents arranged this week so that all the young people could get to know each other a little better. Lady Catherine is no different even if her father is an important Duke."
"Does he really want to marry me?"
"Only if you want to marry him. When my father proposed marriage to my mother, he proposed to her, not her father. He believes the choice should belong to the couple involved, nobody else."
“I was greatly impressed by his announcement earlier, I have to say, and I believe my father was as well." She dropped her gaze before she went on. “My mother was not very keen for me to come here. I believe that changed her mind as well.”
"My mother and father are devoted to each other," Estelle replied. "They are still very much in love even after all the years they have been together. They both want a chance of that for their children."
Susannah’s eyes sparkled and she nodded and gave Estelle the most amazing smile. She lifted her arm and beckoned to her brother where he waited beside the door, then she moved away to where she could not hear their conversation.
She felt elated, really happy that Joshua might have found someone, but she met no one among the young men about whom she felt she could feel that way.
"There is plenty of time," her mother said. "It may be that you can go to London again, stay with Rachel, or even Lady Susannah's parents if the betrothal goes ahead. There will be someone for you, but he will have to be someone special."
***
The first contact Susannah had with Joshua was when he asked her to dance. She accepted, of course, but when the dance was over he led her outside and sat down with her to talk.
She could almost feel her father’s eyes following them and she saw him move to another part of the hall so he could keep an eye on them.
Susannah smiled. She was fortunate in her parents and she had been eavesdropping when her father got the invitation to this gathering; she knew her mother did not trust Lord Richard for some reason, but she also knew she wanted only the best for her.
"I hope you will tell me all about yourself, My Lady," Joshua said gently. "My father has arranged this gathering for young people like ourselves to get to know one another. He is trying to have a hand in the lives of other men's children as well as his own."
Susannah raised her eyes to look at him and for the first time realised just how kind he looked. She noticed how handsome he was when she first laid eyes on him, and he had a lovely smile, just like his father, but now she saw the kindness in his eyes and that kindness warmed her heart.
“Forgive my speaking plainly, My Lord,” she said. “But I was told that the Duke of Deeping had approached His Lordship, your father, with a proposal for his daughter. That being the case, I am at a loss as to what you can mean by talking to me in this manner."
He smiled then, that lovely mischievous smile which she had seen earlier on his father.
"The Duke did make an offer to my father," he assured her. "And I have spoken to Lady Catherine at length. My father and I are agreed that we could not make each other happy.”
"He refused? Your father refused the Duke's offer of his daughter?"
Joshua leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. He sighed softly, as though he were about to explain something and was not sure where to begin.
"You must have noticed that my parents are a little...shall we say different?"
“I can see they love each other,” Susannah replied. “But that is no different where I come from. My parents also walk about holding hands and kissing all over the place.”
"Yes," he agreed after a few minutes. "They do behave like peasants. I am glad I am not alone."
It was not an insult, it was not said with disapproval. He was still laughing, so was she.
“I think, Joshua, we have a lot in common. My parents have always loved each other.”
“Mine too, although it did not start off that way.”
“Perhaps that is what she meant,” Susannah murmured.
“Sorry?”
“No matter.” Susannah paused, slowly shook her head and look down at her hands once more. Joshua reached across the small space between them and took one of those hands in his own and was thrilled when she allowed the contact. “I am being too forward,” she went on. “Forgive me.”
“What would your mother say?”
“She would say well done,” she laughed.
They sat together in silence for a few moments, her tiny hand resting in his. At last he took a deep breath.
“If we were to marry,” he said. “Do you think we would be as fortunate as our parents; do you think you and I would fall in love?”
Her eyes met his and she smiled.
“I think we are half way there already,” she answered.
He looked over to where he knew Lord Kennington had been watching, and was relieved to see his view was blocked by a group of other guests. He smiled before he quickly kissed her lips, squeezed her hand tighter and watched that lovely smile light up her face.
“I think you are right,” he said. “I shall talk to my father.”
***
Lord Summerville had also been watching the young couple as they laughed together; he had seen the kiss as well and his smile was a happy one.
“She will be perfect for our son,” he told his wife.
Lord Kennington watched as his host approached him and his wife where they sat together. Most of the guests had already left, as the earlier unpleasantness had done little to make them stay. They both stood as Lord Summerville stopped before them and bowed.
“Adrian,” he said, shaking his hand. He turned and bowed to Elizabeth. “My Lady.”
He knew what Lord Summerville wanted to talk to him about, he could see the fond smile with which his wife looked upon their daughter and this man’s son.
“My son has asked me to talk to you about a possible match between him and your daughter. They seem to have developed a fondness for each other.”
Adrian smiled, looked down at his wife who was giving him that hopeful smile which she knew he could never resist.
“Others might have fled because of your treatment of Lord Cummings,” Adrian replied. “I, on the other hand, would have done the same. If you have raised Joshua to be a man like you and I, my wife and I would be proud to call him son.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
During the weeks leading up to the wedding, the east wing was opened up for the first time in years. People from the village were employed to clean it thoroughly and new furnishings were delivered to decorate it. The old furnishings were given to the villagers and the tenants, to take and use in their own homes, or to sell if they wished. This was overly generous even for Lord Summerville, but he said there was nothing there he wanted to remember; he said it with a note of bitterness that made his children wonder about the history of the place.
Bethany too was a little subdued and neither she nor her husband would talk about it, nor why it had been sealed off from the rest of the house. As they watched the activity they both looked wistful and somehow guilty.
"I am not sure I can watch, Richard," she said. "This place holds too many bad memories."
“For me, too. I separated this part of the house for Rosemary, because she was so unhappy with me. And she used the solitude to hang herself.”
She clasped his hand.
“Hush, my darling. It was not your fault. You did everything you could for her, no man could have done more.”
He knew that, knew he had done everything within his power to make her happy, but still he felt responsible for her death.
Joshua would bring his bride to live at Summerville Hall and he was being given the east wing to live in.
"So that you can have a private place," Richard told him. "You can still be part of the rest of the house if you prefer, but you should have a private place, somewhere your bride can call her own home."
The wedding was to take place at Summerville Hall; Susannah's father had agreed. Because the family lived in Surrey and there were more guests from Suffolk, it seemed sensible.
Joshua was given the only keys to the apartments so nobody could get inside without his consent.
Many titled people had been invited, although they were all people the Summervilles knew personally. Richard declared it a private affair, not an excuse to show off.
Charlotte and her mother were invited as well as Lucy and some of the other women who ran the orphan home.
There was one thing Estelle was longing to ask her mother.
"Has Lady Rachel been invited?"
"She has," Bethany replied. "I am unsure if she will come. I have a reply from her maid, Louisa, that she has been unwell."
Estelle was surprised to feel a little concerned at that. She was still not convinced her mother had not been deceived, especially after finding that necklace, but she had grown quite fond of Rachel whilst she stayed at her house and she wished her well. Rachel may well have been her father’s mistress, but that was a long time ago and if her mother could welcome her to her son's wedding, it was nobody else's place to object.
Her carriage arrived just two days before the wedding and Estelle saw immediately why she had left. Her mother's servants scowled at her as though she were some evil witch come to put a curse of the celebrations.
Both her parents went to meet her and to bring her inside. Richard hugged her, then Bethany did the same. It was all very mysterious.
"Thomas," Lord Summerville ordered, turning to that manservant. "Take Lady Rachel's things to her chamber, please."
Rachel looked ill; she had to hold on to Louisa's arm to steady herself and she wa
lked with difficulty. Her beautiful face was drawn and pale and there were dark shadows beneath her eyes.
"Rachel," Estelle said. "Are you unwell, My Lady?"
"The journey was arduous," she replied with a smile.
Then Richard stepped forward and offered her his arm which she took, leaving Louisa to organise her things in her chamber. Thomas came down to show her the way and he smiled at Louisa, but she only nodded in response.
***
The celebrations would go on for days and Joshua wanted to know how he could avoid the ritual putting to bed of the newlyweds. Estelle did not set out to eavesdrop, but nobody seemed to think these conversations should be private and she just happened to be walking past the sitting room when he asked. She waited to hear what was said.
"Simple," her father told him. "Take your lovely bride to the east wing and do not allow anyone else inside. She will likely thank you for it."
"What about her clothes? Will she not need maids to help her with them?"
"Why? She will have you."
"You mean I should help her to undress?" Joshua asked. "Is that not rather forward?"
"You should undress her," his father replied with a smile. "It is the most seductive thing a man can do to a woman. As to being forward, well my son, you will be a married man. There is nothing too forward when it comes to loving your wife."
Estelle could not suppress a small giggle, then her father appeared before her wearing a frown of disapproval.
"You, Miss," he said, "should not be listening."
"I am sorry, Father," she said quickly, but she noticed he was trying very hard not to laugh.
"Apologise to your brother, not to me. It is his privacy upon which you intrude."
Joshua walked past his sister as he left the room and he did not look in the least put out to have her listening to such a subject.
"He is incorrigible," he said, shaking his head.
"But he knows what he is talking about," Estelle answered. "You have only to ask Mother if you doubt it." She paused, wondering whether to go on. "Or Lady Rachel."
HOLY POISON: Boxed Set: The Complete Series 1-6 Page 91