“And these horses you want to buy?” George asked. “Are we under any deadline to purchase them?”
“Unfortunately, I must make a purchase within the next couple of weeks or we will lose them. They are fine steeds, and I know there are other buyers interested.
“Then I shall stay on top of my father, so he does not drift away with his indecision.”
“Good man, George.”
Chapter 18
George was running late. He put his horse to the gallop and finally reined up in front of Aunt Rosemary’s house.
He was promptly shown into the parlor were Helena and Aunt were already having tea.
“You are late, young man,” Rosemary scolded.
“Yes. I am sorry, but Thomas and I were with my father, discussing our new business proposition. If he were to invest with us, it would give us a huge step up.”
“Young man, your darling Helena has been telling me the terrible tale of the way my brother has been behaving toward the two of you. Most distressing.”
Helena looked adoringly at her beau. “Shall I pour you some tea, my dear?”
“I had tea with Father but thank you.”
“What a fuss and bother,” Aunt said, rising from her chair and going over to her desk. “My brother—though I love him dearly— has become increasingly mean and cranky in his old age. I would love to poke him with my stick, but then I fear he would never speak to me again.”
Rosemary wrote briefly on a paper and came back to her chair and sat. She took a moment to rearrange herself and her skirts. Then sat back and sighed.
“My dearest Sebastian was a very good provider, although he could be a terrible husband at times. After his death, and after I returned to England, I have lived a most comfortable life.” She picked up the paper she had brought with her to her chair.
Turning to Helena, she said, “I am most distressed to hear that my cruel brother has threatened to disinherit you if you marry George.” She then turned to him. “Mr. Edgerton, in all the time I have spent with you these past few months, I have found you to be honorable, caring, and a young man with drive and a modicum of wisdom.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Broadbent.”
She waved the thanks away and continued. “My dear, niece, I am getting on in age, and it has prompted me to consider my demise and how I want to dispose of my property.”
“Aunt it is far too early to be having those thoughts,” Helena said.
“Nonsense. I may have a rather strange outlook on life, but I am also knowledgeable and practical. Now, I have previously decided to leave you a generous amount of money in my will…”
“Oh, Aunt…”
Rosemary raised her hand to stop Helena speaking farther. “However, I have decided to make a change.”
“Oh…” Helena exclaimed, now disappointed. “You are angry with me for my break with father.”
“Will you stop putting words in my mouth, Niece? That is not what I wanted to say at all.”
“Forgive me,” Helena added.
“What I want to say is that I have decided to settle that money on you now. I want the two of you to be able to marry even if your father disinherits you.”
Helena and George were stunned into silence.
“There, that is what I have to say.” She handed the paper to Helena. “This is the amount I will be leaving you. I shall meet with my bankers and make arrangements for the money to be put into an account just for you. You can see it is a sizable amount and the interest should give you a modest, but comfortable, living if you manage it soundly.”
Helena jumped out of her chair and ran to her Aunt and threw her arms around her.
“Oh, dearest Aunt, how ever can I thank you? You have saved us.”
George went over and vigorously shook Rosemary’s hand.
“Very well. Very well. Enough of the fuss. Now I am going to leave the room to you for a while and let you make your plans—as I know you are longing to do so.”
And with that, she rose from her chair and left the two of them alone.
George and Helena sat opposite each other holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes.
“Can you believe this?” Helena said breathlessly. She handed George the paper so he could see what Aunt had left her.
“Oh, my darling. This is wonderful!”
“Now we can get married!” Helena said, clapping.
But George frowned slightly before saying, “Not quite yet.”
“And why not?”
“While I am very grateful and happy this has been bestowed upon you, it does not change the fact that it is I who wants to be the one to support you. My feelings have not changed from when you were to have the living from your father.”
Helena pouted. “Oh, Georgie, how stubborn you can be. You are already working with Thomas to create our future, but why wait? There is no reason we cannot get married, settle in a decent house, and begin our family. Why are you being so stubborn?”
“I am the man of our family and it is so because I say it is so.”
Helena arose in a huff. “You are as bad as my father. Now I am going to have to decide whether I really do want to marry a man like you or not.”
She charged over to the window and stood looking out, her back to George.
George panicked, and went over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He laid his head on her shoulder and said quietly, “I am so sorry. Please forgive me. You mean more to me than anything in this world. Please, let us not fight. But you need to understand I have my pride. I want to be the one to care for you.”
She turned to face him. “I understand that, but if we are to have a decent marriage we must both cooperate in making decisions.”
“You are right. Then let us discuss this further and see if we can come to an agreement.”
Aunt Rosemary came back into the parlor and stood at the door and asked, “So, have the two of you set your date for the wedding yet?”
The ball was fast approaching, and Jenny was struggling to continue on with her daily work at the bakery and, at the same time, organize for her week of baking at Pemberton. She had enlisted Claudia to cover for her while she was gone, and Jenny was doing her best to get Claudia ready to take over all her duties.
Claudia was learning but she was not the accomplished pastry baker that Jenny was. At times Jenny wondered if she had made the right choice in accepting the Duke’s offer. But this was her dream and her break from the family would have to come at some point if she ever wanted to live her own life.
“You are rolling the crust too thin. It will break in the pie tin and you will have to patch it. And you must keep the dough cold before you roll it out or it will not be flakey.”
Claudia threw her hands in the air. “I am trying. I am trying. Am I doing nothing right?”
Jenny impulsively hugged her sister. “Of course, you are. You are doing a splendid job. It is just that our time together is short, and I want to be certain you will do the best job you can. Now, let me help and we can roll out the next six crusts.”
As they were working, Claudia said, “I talked to Jeremiah and he would love to go to the picnic. When are you thinking?”
“It will have to be this next Sunday because Evan is soon off to Bristol and I have my week at Pemberton coming up shortly after.”
“What should we wear?”
“Something comfortable. Autumn is soon upon us and I notice the late afternoons are starting to be a little chilly as the sun declines.”
Jenny cast a look at Claudia and asked, “Has Jeremiah said anything further to you about his intentions?”
“I think because he is the vicar’s son he is a bit shy, so we have not discussed much beyond the fact that he is off to the university soon. I know he thinks beyond that, but we do not discuss it very much.”
“I hope he is the right one for you, Claudia. What if you meet someone else before he graduates and takes his calling?”
Claudia ga
ve a sly smile. “Well… there is a young man who winks at me when I am out and about.”
“Oh, and who is that?”
“I do not know his name, but I believe he is the son of the cobbler.”
“Well, at least he could keep you in shoes.”
They giggled before Jenny insisted they get the pies in the oven before the customers came clamoring for their treats.
The day of the picnic dawned cloudy and Jenny and Claudia stared out the window to see if it was likely to rain. They had church service first, and they figured they would know by then whether the picnic could happen or not.
As the service let out, Jeremiah joined Jenny and Claudia who were waiting at the church gate to see if Evan would appear. The clouds had substantially subsided, and it looked to be a fair afternoon.
And sure enough, Evan drove up on the produce wagon and jumped down to greet his fellow picnickers.
“Are we all ready for a glorious afternoon? My Mama worked all morning to prepare us a fine lunch and I am happy to say the weather seems to be welcoming us.”
Evan and Jeremiah shook hands and the two men assisted the ladies onto the wagon where Evan had secured two comfortable chairs for the ladies to sit in during the ride.
“Where are we headed?” Jenny asked. “I hope you have chosen a pleasant spot for us?”
“I have indeed. Do you know the falls below the Arian Peaks?”
“I know of them but have never been. It is outside my normal walking range.”
“Then you are in for a pleasant surprise.” He snapped the reins and the horse bobbed his head, and they started out of the village, Claudia waving to her mother and father who were watching them leave from the church porch.
The group was in high spirits as they left the village and, before long, they were boisterously singing local country songs as the wagon rattled through the countryside.
It took nearly an hour before they reached their destination and pulled up by a pleasant glen next to the river and just down from a rather robust waterfall.
“My, this is splendid!” Jenny exclaimed, glad she had worn layers of clothing as the spray from the falls cooled the air.
Evan and Jeremiah unloaded the picnic basket from the back of the wagon while the sisters ventured toward the falls. There were a lot of large boulders at the base of the falling water and some were covered in moss and others were swept clean by the force of the water rushing over them.
“Be careful,” Evan called out. We do not want to pull you out of the river.”
Jeremiah spread out a blanket while Evan opened the basket and began taking out the containers containing the picnic lunch.
Eventually Jenny and Claudia came back and sat down on the blanket.
“I hope you do not mind, but I have brought several bottles of my father’s home brewed ale.”
“No need to apologize,” Jeremiah insisted, as he secured the horse to a tree.
“You can let him graze, he will not roam,” Evan said.
The clouds continued to disappear and within half an hour it was becoming quite warm and Jenny shed a jumper.
The lunch was quite marvelous. It was clear that Betsy was an excellent cook, and Jenny especially enjoyed the head cheese with dollops of whole grain mustard.
“Would you care to take a stroll to the top of the falls after lunch?” Evan asked Jenny.
“I would. There must be quite a fine view from the top. I cannot believe I have never been here before. It certainly deserves repeated visits.”
Jeremiah had had a little more ale than he should have and before long he was stretched out on the blanket, with his arm behind his head and snoring.
“Will you come with us, Claudia,” Jenny asked, as Evan stood and offered her his hand.
“I think not. I find I am feeling uncommonly lazy and do not fancy climbing all the way to the top.”
“Very well. We should not be too long,” Jenny said, taking Evan’s arm and letting him lead her to the path to the top.
It was an arduous climb. It was steep, and the path was covered with pebbles, and the walking tended to be slippery. But they reached the top without a lot of conversation. They stood by the river as it emptied over the edge of the cliff and looked down at the picnickers below and waved.
“Come,” Evan said as he headed along the cliff’s edge to where a vista opened up as they cleared the trees.
Jenny could see Chatsworth way off in the distance and the rolling hills and dales of the Cotswolds spread out farther than she had ever seen before. It was breathtaking. As she was enjoying the view, Evan took her hand and smiled at her when she looked at him.
“Thank you for this wonderful outing, Evan, it has been just delightful, and just the break I need before I launch into my week of cooking.”
“I hope this is just the beginning of many fine experiences,” he said. “I know we shall be separated for a period of time, but I trust you will not forget me, nor find another.”
Jenny smiled shyly. “Oh, Evan, I cannot say. You have your work and I have mine and they are both our dreams. Who knows where we shall be led. But I promise not to forget you. And I look forward to your return in time.”
Evan seemed saddened by her answer, as it was not what he hoped to hear. “I understand, Miss Jenny. But know that I shall forever keep you in my mind and heart.”
Jenny smiled and headed back toward the falls. Evan continued to hold her hand, and as they arrived at the edge where they could see the others, they looked down.
Claudia and Jeremiah were clambering over the rocks near the base of the falls.
Evan called down, “Be careful!”
Jeremiah looked up and waved. “We best go back now. It is still an hour’s drive back to Chatsworth and I do not want any of us to catch a cold.”
Evan led the way back down the trail, and in returning, they lost sight of the others until they reached the bottom of the path. As they walked out into the glen, Jenny was shocked to see Jeremiah, with a stricken expression, carrying Claudia carefully over the rocks back toward the picnic site.
Evan broke into a run. “What happened?” he shouted out.
“She fell and hurt her ankle.”
“Is it broken?” Jenny asked as she reached her sister.
Jeremiah was laying her on the blanket and Claudia’s face was twisted in pain and tears were streaming. Jenny kneeled beside her.
“I do not know,” Claudia said between sobs. “But it hurts horribly. I cannot walk.”
Jenny looked up at Evan and Jeremiah. “Do either of you know what to do?”
They both shook their heads.
“But we need to leave immediately,” Evan said.
“Maybe we should wrap her foot and ankle,” Jeremiah suggested.
Jenny turned to Claudia. “Do you think that will help?”
“We can try,” Claudia said wincing, as Jenny gently felt her ankle.
Evan took a napkin, folded it and wrapped it around Claudia’s injury.
“There, let us know if it causes you greater pain.”
Jeremiah then picked Claudia up in his arms and took her to the wagon where he sat her down on one of the secured chairs.
Jenny and Evan hurriedly packed the picnic basket, loaded it onto the wagon, and with all aboard they headed back toward Chatsworth as fast as possible.
Chapter 19
Wilcox was having tea with the widow, Lady Elizabeth Monmouth, at her house in Eaton Square. They were seated in her first-floor parlor overlooking the park—the room, south facing and sunny.
Her Ladyship had been a widow for over three years and had transitioned from wearing black to darker colors of grey, blue, and, on occasion, forest green. Her husband had been one of the directors of the British East Indian Company during his lifetime, and she was known by Wilcox to be one of the richest and most eligible elder ladies in London. However, she was plainer than a post—with a horsey face and large arthritic hands.
Wilcox beg
an, “Lady Elizabeth, it was such a pleasure running into you at the opera the other evening with Lord and Lady Cartwright and your dear friend, Amelia.” She smiled as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. Wilcox leaned forward as if to impart a secret. “But you were very naughty, Your Ladyship,” Wilcox said teasingly.
Elizabeth gasped. “What are you saying?”
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