by Abigail Agar
Edward went into the kitchen to see Penelope putting away the food they just received.
“Did we get good food?”
Penelope nodded. “I can’t believe it. We can eat again.”
Edward craned his neck to make sure his mother wasn’t listening. “Did we get any tea and sugar cubes?”
“Yes. She will never know we ran out. We have uncooked bread. Do you think you can cook it without burning it?”
Edward shrugged. “I’ll try.”
Penelope clasped both her hands to her heart. “Bread.”
They both laughed.
Cecilia walked into the kitchen. “Edward is going to attempt to make bread,” Penelope said.
Cecilia winced. “Don’t burn it.”
Edward and Penelope laughed again.
Edward said, “That’s exactly what Penelope said.”
“Penelope, would you make me some tea? You forgot the sugar cubes last time.”
Penelope smiled, “Oh, did I? I’ll make sure I remember today.”
Cecilia left to go to the parlour.
Edward said, “She’s doing better.”
Penelope nodded and smiled.
*****
A week later, Father Stevens knocked on the front door. Edward answered and asked the priest to join his mother and his sister in the parlour.
“Tea, Father?” Penelope asked.
“Yes, I would like that very much. I walked from the parish and, as you know, the hill can be a challenge.” He turned to Penelope. “Cream, no sugar.” She nodded.
“What brings you up the hill, Father?” Edward asked.
Father Stevens grinned. “ Do you remember I asked what to write to Avery Stanton on your behalf?”
Cecilia spoke up, “Father, my brother is named Avery Stanton. Did Lord Daniels write to my brother?”
The priest turned to Cecilia. “Yes, he did. It is customary for us to reach out to relatives of the deceased or the deceased wife’s family during this difficult time.”
Confused, Cecilia said, “But he lives so far away. Surely he is unable to offer help.”
The priest grinned. “He is coming to visit you. He should be here within three days. He looks forward to helping you in any way he is able. This is great news. Great news, indeed.”
Edward rose from his seat and walked to the Father. He shook his hand. “Thank you for arranging this, Father Stevens. You have been so kind. So helpful.”
Penelope rose and went to the priest. She hugged him, tears in her eyes. She whispered in his ears, “Thank you. You have saved our lives.”
Cecilia asked, “Is he coming here? We don’t have a guest room ready. What will we serve him for food?”
Penelope put her hand on Cecilia’s. I will prepare the guest room. Edward will find something to serve. Isn’t it wonderful? You will get to see your brother again.”
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Cecilia said. “But I don’t know why he’s coming.”
Edward made his voice upbeat, “Your brother loves you, and he’s coming to visit you. I, for one, am excited by his visit.”
Penelope jumped in. “I don’t really remember him, so I can’t wait to meet him again.”
Chapter 17
Three days later, Avery Stanton knocked on Cecilia’s front door. Penelope ran for the door and opened it to see her Uncle Avery and another man, much younger.
“Please come in. I’m Penelope. We’ve been expecting you. Thank you for travelling so far to visit us.” Penelope curtsied, and her uncle bowed. The man next to him did not.
Penelope said, “Let me take your things.”
“You don’t have a butler?” Henry said.
Avery turned to him and gave him a penetrating look.
“Penelope, may I introduce you to my son, Henry.”
Penelope curtsied again.
Henry did not bother to bow.
“Please, come in. My mother is in the parlour.”
Avery walked in and greeted Cecilia in a booming voice. She turned her head to Avery. “Avery, is that you? I didn’t know you were in this area. Are you visiting Lord Daniels?”
Edward came in carrying the tea tray. He put the tray down and bowed. “I’m Edward.”
Avery bowed, “I am your uncle Avery.” He turned, “and this is your cousin, Henry.”
Edward bowed again.
Henry didn’t bow.
Edward recovered quickly and said, “Please sit.”
Penelope said, “I will pour. How do you like your tea, Uncle Avery?”
He responded, “I like hearing, Uncle Avery, Penelope. Cream, no sugar.”
Penelope turned, “And you Cousin Henry?”
Henry said, “Don’t call me Cousin Henry. Henry will do. Cream, two sugars.”
Penelope blushed. “I beg your pardon.”
Avery took Cecilia’s hand in his. “I’m sorry about Albert. It was sudden?”
“Yes.”
“I came as soon as I heard. You have not been well?”
“No, Avery. I’m fine. Nothing wrong.”
Avery grimaced. “I was misinformed. Forgive me?”
Cecilia furrowed her brow, “Forgive you for what? It is wonderful to see you, and I know you came a long way. You should have told us. We would have prepared for you.”
Penelope put her hand on her mother’s arm. “Edward and I prepared. Don’t worry. Uncle Avery and Henry will be comfortable.”
Henry snorted. “In this house?”
Cecilia’s eyes seemed to focus. “I remember you. You are Henry.”
“That’s right, Cecilia. It’s amazing you remember after so long.”
Avery turned to Edward. “I’d love to see the rooms you have prepared for us. Could you show me?”
“Certainly. Follow me.”
They went into the guest room. “This is lovely. Thank you. Avery shut the door. How long has she been like this?”
“Since the funeral. She’s much better. The first five days she didn’t speak, she didn’t eat. Penelope and I had to take an arm each and help her walk.
“She still gets confused and forgets things, but she is much improved.”
“You have no servants. Who is cooking? Who is cleaning? You still have food?”
Edward grimaced. “We had to let the servants go. I cook, and Penelope cleans. We ran out of food, but the parish priest took up a collection, and the next day we got three potato sacks of food. I estimate it will last another ten days. I tried to get a job, but no one will hire me without skills.
“I searched every inch of this house for money. After mother started talking again, I asked her where the money was because I needed to buy food. When my father was paid, he used to send Mother into town to buy whisky. She skimmed a little off the top to buy food. She had a boy bring it to the back door. She came in the front door with whisky, and then he took the rest of the money and went gambling.”
Avery closed his eyes then opened them and looked at Edward. “So, you have no money, and your food will run out in ten days?”
“Yes. I go to town and ask around every day. I haven’t had luck yet, but I’m not giving up. Penelope may take in laundry. We are still arguing about it. She’s ten. I don’t want her to do it. She sees it as a way to contribute and bring money in.”
Avery nodded his head, which Edward thought was strange. “The three of you are coming with me. I can’t in good conscience leave you up here wondering where your next meal is coming from.
“Pack and prepare to leave tomorrow. I will hire a coach so there will be two. Plenty of room on top for your trunks. Your mother will ride with me. Henry will ride with you. My townhouse and my country estate have more room than I would ever need – even adding three more people.
“Don’t argue with me. Tell Penelope to pack herself and your mother.”
Edward furrowed his brow. “But what about this house?”
“I’ll go see Lord Daniels. You won’t get any value for it. Understand?”
Edward nodded.
“Go tell your sister and your mother. Penelope has a lot to do by tomorrow.”
“Uncle Avery?”
Avery turned back, having already headed for the door.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. This is the right thing to do. You’ll see.”
Uncle Avery was gone. Edward grinned and went downstairs to tell Penelope.
*****
Avery had taken care of the house through Lord Daniels; Penelope had run down to the parish and told Father Stevens that Cecilia, Penelope, and Edward were packed and ready to go.
Penelope was pleased that Cecilia had taken an active role in packing her things and knew she was going to live with her brother. It was as if the sun had come out from behind heavy clouds. Edward said it was from worry and stress about how they were going to live being solved.
Edward and Penelope were excited about their trip, their first one, and got into the carriage with smiles on their faces.
“What are you two smiling about?” Henry said, his voice surly.
Edward ignored Henry’s attitude. “We are happy for our new adventure.”
Henry snorted. “New adventure. Living off my father, you mean. Don’t think you’re going to live the high life. I’ll make sure my father assigns you jobs like shovelling the pigpen and cleaning the horse stalls. If you think it’s going to be fun and games, you are sorely mistaken.”
Penelope and Edward looked at each other. “We are willing to do whatever work is assigned to us. We are not afraid to work.”
Henry let out a short laugh. “You say that now, but you wait. You won’t want to do anything. I’ll be watching.”
Penelope spoke. “Tell me Henry, since we are going to be living together, what books have you read you could recommend for us? Is your father’s library well-stocked?”
“Well, Penelope,” Henry said in a smarmy voice, “I think reading is a waste of time, and I never go in the library so I don’t know how many books are in there.”
“I prefer to hunt. Do either of you hunt? No? It’s really quite satisfying. I like to shoot an arrow at an animal without killing it so it will spasm and die a slow death.”
Edward and Penelope looked at one another. Penelope tried again. “Do you ride much?”
Henry rolled his eyes. “God, no. Riding is so boring. Father will probably give each of you one of the castoffs to ride. You’ll be lucky if you can get it to gallop.”
Edward smiled. “We don’t care. Any horse is better than none.”
“Oh, that’s right. You two were poor until you latched onto my father. How did you manage that? He’s pathetic to let you come live with us. What did you do? Whine about how destitute you are? Tell him you are going to have to live in the street with your hand out for money? Penelope, did you tell him you were going to have to prostitute yourself if he didn’t help you?”
Penelope leaned back on her bench and closed her eyes. This was going to be a long trip if she had to listen to Henry’s voice all day and all night. She wasn’t going to let him bait her. She learned that one thing from living without. People wanted to bait.
He would tire of talking, eventually. They would spend days in the carriage together. Henry couldn’t keep up the stream of insults. It was impossible. Would living with him be like this?
Edward told Penelope at a stop to take care of their needs, and that he was furious listening to Henry picking on her. He wanted to shut the jerk up.
Penelope laughed. “Ignore him, Edward. Don’t let him bait you. He’s pathetic and scared his father will grow fond of us. If he is the price we have to pay for Mother living well, so be it.”
She looked up to see Henry on the other side of the carriage. He had done nothing but insult her for the whole trip. He seemed to be particularly annoyed by her. After hearing what he did to animals, Penelope thought, He is probably thinking of ways to kill me. Then she thought she was being ridiculous, and she was overtired. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.
When the carriages stopped at an Inn for the night, Cecilia and Penelope shared a room while Edward and Henry shared another. Uncle Avery had the luxury of being alone. As was his right.
The evening meal was welcome. In front of his father, Henry was a different person. Insulting and surly but with occasional breaks. Breathers that were welcome.
Cecilia and Avery got along well, and Penelope thought her mother much improved since Avery’s arrival the previous day. Penelope watched her mother eat most of her meal. Being on the road was helping her. Penelope wondered if Avery and her mother were close when they were younger, before her mother married her father.
“Mother, it’s nice to see you and Uncle Avery together. Are you enjoying his company?”
Cecilia smiled. “I lost touch with Avery when I married your father. Avery didn’t approve of him. Now, the years have melted away. We are catching up with a lifetime of births and deaths and everything in between.”
Penelope smiled and kissed her mother. “Goodnight, Mother.”
“Goodnight, dear.”
The carriages stopped at the foot of Uncle Avery’s townhouse, and Edward took Penelope’s hand. They looked out the window at stairs that went to a black door with a brass knocker. A brass knocker in the shape of the lion was attached to the door but it wasn’t used because the butler opened it and bowed as they entered. He took their overcoats and wraps.
Avery introduced his sister and her children with pride. He directed the butler to put their trunks in rooms he assigned to them and let the butler know they wanted tea. They all went into the parlour and sat with a collective, “Aah.”
Avery told them he would send up a tray of food to hold them over until dinner. They could bathe and rest.
Penelope loved her room, and it adjoined Cecilia’s so she could keep an eye on her mother.
Chapter 18
Penelope spent the next few days with her mother, planning her wedding, at the modiste’s for her trousseau and wedding gown or shopping for hats, shoes, and gloves and endless other things. The modiste talked her into some lovely shear underthings Madame thought Nash might like. She always thought Uncle Avery had taken good care of her needs as well as those of her mother and brother, but the things she had in her wardrobe were inadequate for her new station as a Duchess. She didn’t fault her uncle. She just realized how much more she needed.
One day when Coleman opened the door for Penelope, and a footman carried in the shopping bags, he told her Henry was in the parlour waiting for her. She gave Coleman her wrap and asked him to let Henry know he would never be welcome there. She went upstairs without a backward look.
***
Edward saw Nash and Penelope to the Dover docks so the newlyweds could get on a boat to Calais and begin their honeymoon. Nash gave Edward the name of three hotels they were staying at during their travels. Paris, Rome, and Catania, Sicily, if reaching Nash were absolutely necessary.
Penelope hugged Edward, and he slapped Nash on his back. The footmen moved the travel trunks from the carriage to the boat, and the honeymoon began.
Penelope was excited on the boat trip to Calais. It wasn’t as long a ride at around six hours, than the trip from Nantes to Rome would be, so it was an easy leg of their journey. When they reached Calais, the carriage ride to Paris was about two and a half days. Penelope hoped her enthusiasm would still be intact when they arrived in Paris.
Nash stole looks at Penelope, leaning over the boat rail, breathing in the sea air, and silently laughed. She was jumping out of her skin right now. Her head would be on Nash’s shoulder, too tired to keep her eyes open, during their carriage ride to Paris. No matter, after ten days in Paris, Penelope would be recovered enough for the grueling trip to Rome.
“Oh, Nash. This suite is beautiful. Our stay in Paris will be quite comfortable.”
“Yes. I stayed here before a few years ago. I was afraid it might have lost its appeal since then, but it�
��s still as I remembered it.
“What would you like to do first, Penelope?”
“I’d like to bathe then eat lunch. Maybe we can walk around after that?”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll call for water. See the tub in the corner?” Nash brought her to it. “There is a plug and a pipe. When you are done, you unplug it, and the water goes down the pipe. Clever, don’t you think?”
Penelope’s eyes widened. “There? Why don’t we do that at home?”
Nash gave her a smile, “We will. This hotel was built with the pipes planned in every room. Our bedchamber has the rock walls and no pipes.”
After a lovely late dinner at a café near their hotel, Nash and Penelope headed to bed. Nash lay in bed with his hands crossed, cradling his head while he waited for his bride. She was undressing behind the screen.
“Madame Leduc insisted I buy this nightgown. She said every woman on her honeymoon should have one. Promise not to laugh?”
Nash rolled his eyes. He would want her tonight if she were in a potato sack. But he would make sure to praise her when she joined him in bed no matter what she was wearing.
“I promise.”
She walked from behind the screen and stood in front of Nash in a sheer white nightgown with thin straps over her shoulders, no sleeves, and a very low cut.
He could see her birthmark right above her left breast, her bellybutton and her –
“Nash. Say something,” she said, a beautiful blush on her face.
Nash held his hand out to her.
“Come here wife. Madame Leduc is a very wise woman. Remind me to send her a bonus when we get back to London. You are an angel sent from heaven just for me.”
Penelope let out a breath, and her nerves settled. “I wasn’t sure if I should have brought it or if I should wear it.”
Nash grinned. “Will you wear it again for me?”
Penelope nodded and responded in a whisper, “Yes.”
“Good. Now let me watch you take it off.”
***
Their stay in Paris was magical. Nash knew the representative of the English embassy and a few other peers of theirs. They dined at the embassy a few times, whispering later about the ambassador. He was a rather rotund man, and his French was far from flawless. Penelope found Paris delightful.