by SL Figuhr
“And the countess? Where is she?”
“She is working in her garden. Shall I tell her you are home?”
“No, I will tell her myself.” The earl made his way through the house and out back.
His wife sat at the white painted iron table in the middle of the denuded garden, directing the slaves on how she wanted it prepared for winter. The slaves saw him coming and bent their heads, working even more assiduously. Dennala’s eyes widened in shock. The countess didn’t even look around; she sat rigid, and continued her instructions.
“Elizabeth, we need to talk.”
“I said I wanted the paths raked in straight lines; those are curvy. Re-do it, properly this time.”
“Elizabeth, now is not the time to punish me with one of your silences. We need to have a private discussion.”
“Dennala, my juice is insufficiently cold. Have a slave re-chill it and bring me a cold bottle at once.”
“Yes, mistress,” Dennala scurried off with the bottle, having seen the new look in the Earl’s eyes, which boded ill for all nearby.
“Damn it, Elizabeth! If you don’t agree to talk with me in private, I will be forced to shout the matter aloud for all the slaves to hear. Do you really want your daughters to know the lengths you are willing to go just to punish me?”
“I am doing what needs to be done to prevent further humiliations to our family. I wouldn’t need to do so if you were even half the man your father had been.”
“What you are planning is not right; leave the children out of our quarrel. They have done nothing to deserve the fate you seem determined to bring them.”
Finally she turned to look at Chadrick; her eyes flashed with the force of her emotions and her voice shook. “Surely that vile man told you what is being said about our family. Am I the only moral member of this family?”
“Please, talk to me, instead of condemning me for whatever it is you think I’ve done. You cannot betray our family this way.”
She gave a short bark of laughter which swiftly segued into weeping. The earl, helpless, tried to speak comforting words but her tears soon turned into shouts of rage.
“How dare you talk to me of betrayal! I should have known when I married you I would only get children who were capable of being traitors themselves. Both your brothers were traitors, and now you, after everything your father did to save you.”
“My father,” Sydney interrupted coldly, “did nothing of the sort. He was a bully. He cared only for his precious reputation and the honor of the family name.”
“Which all three of his sons have now firmly ground in the mud! I will not let our daughters drag the name down any further.”
“Why did you marry me if you thought I would turn out to be a traitor, and our children as well?”
“Why? Because your father swore he had finally gotten you to see the need for being an honorable man of good repute. If he had lived, he would have kept you on the right path. I see now all my attempts to guide this family were in vain. You ignore my good counsel and insist on acts which bring shame upon us all. Well, I will put it right.”
“You are not selling our children into slavery. I don’t know what it is you think they have done to disgrace us...”
“Of course you wouldn’t!” the countess cried contemptuously. “You only see what you wish to. I will have our honor and good reputation back.”
“What is it you want?” Sydney roared, startling her for a moment. She sniffed and straightened her spine.
“You will stop sleeping with that wretched woman, you will stop staying at the sheriff’s office and move back home. You will stop your whoring. All those trollops! Our daughter will marry Lord Nicky. As for our eldest, she is beyond redemption.”
“And why is that?” the earl asked icily.
“I cannot speak of it, it makes me ill just knowing about it.
“Elizabeth...”
“No. I don’t care what you call it, it’s disgusting. We are too old to have children. I will not be confronted in my elder days by possible by-blows claiming they are yours.”
“Elizabeth,” he began again in desperation, as he had back in his office, when his world was falling to pieces, and still was.
“You will do what I say, or when Lord Nicky returns, I will go to him and denounce you as a traitor. He knows I am loyal.”
“You can’t, you don’t dare.” Words failed him. He felt old and worn away.
He sat down heavily, and placed his head in his hands. He loved his children dearly, and would do anything to see them safe, but he was being asked to give up the one person who had brought a bit of light back into his life. How could he stay away from her?
“I do and I will. I will tell your whore myself. I don’t trust you will do the job properly, or be further seduced by her.” The countess stood. “Do not think of leaving this house, Chadrick. If you are not here when I get back, I will go to His Majesty.” With those parting words, she left the garden to dress for her battle with the whore.
* * *
Sydney sat in his office, a half-empty bottle of wine to one side. What was the point of trying to remain sober? He was not sure the duchess would defend their love; ever since the attack at the Harvest Ball, she had become distant. Surely he had not misread her intentions? She loved him, as he did her; this affair wasn’t just a diversion, but something deeper. The earl drained his glass, then with slightly unsteady hands, he poured another drink.
He was sipping and staring at the wall, only hearing the commotion in the hallway when it stopped right outside his sitting room door. His daughters’ and his wife’s slave’s voices rose.
“You are being punished! You get back to your rooms this instant! Your mother will hear of your disobedience!”
“No! You get your hands off of us or I’ll tell mother and she’ll have you whipped!”
“How dare you! When I am Countess, I will make sure you regret every single unkind thing you have done to me!”
“Dennala!” the earl called out. “Bring my children in.”
The two girls flounced in, satisfied smirks on their faces. “Father! You’re home! Mother has been just beastly! We don’t know what she is upset about, but she keeps us locked in our rooms! She won’t even let me see my own children!”
Their voices intertwined in complaint as the slave defended her mistress. “Your Lordship, the ladies are being punished for their sins. Surely her ladyship explained to you why she told me to do as I have been trying to do!”
“I will have silence. At.Once.” The earl drew himself up as he gave his commands.
His daughters and slave fell into startled silence, never having heard his army voice directed at them.
“I will have no lies in this house. Your mother wishes an even harsher punishment laid upon you than the one you already endure. She is concerned your actions have brought great shame upon our name. If you wish that punishment to not happen, you will tell me what I want to know.”
He singled out his slave to begin first. She drew herself up, curtsied, then launched into her tale. His daughters tried to interrupt, but he silenced them with curt commands or hard glares.
“And that is the whole truth of it, your lordship. I have told all to her ladyship, and she has learned I bear no ill tales. All I have said is true. I wish it were not. You may order me punished if you like, but I will not change what I know and have heard.”
Sydney gripped the chair before him, more horrified than he let on. While his daughters tried to deny or make light of the slave’s tale, he realized they were indeed guilty. He felt heartsick; had his need to find even temporary solace and companionship in whores, and then Her Grace, let his daughters think it was permissible that they behave like loose women? They must be shown the error of their thinking, but not in the way his wife wanted.
“Sally, you will return to your room, and continue your lessons on being a proper lady. Caroline, I am...disgusted. You have two children to raise. This type o
f behavior is beneath you. I must consider what is to be done about this state of affairs. As it is, your mother is correct in keeping your children from you.”
“But, Father,” the two began.
“Out. Not another word, or I will consider methods more drastic. Dennala, see to them, please.”
The slave curtsied again and ushered the women out the door. Sydney couldn’t return to life with Elizabeth as it had been before the duchess, but neither could he let his children’s mother continue her mad plans. He did love them dearly, after all. His idea on how to put things right would be the hardest thing he had ever done, but it was time for him to stop being a passive spectator in his own life.
A firm knock on his door brought him out of his reverie, and at his invitation, his son stepped into the room. The young man, around Lord Nicky’s age, was being groomed to inherit the earldom.
“Father.” The young man stood before the desk, hands clasped behind his back at parade rest. His hair was combed, and his clothes pressed. “I was hoping to speak with you about the family. I am...concerned over what has been happening to us.”
“Tell me, Martin, do you feel our family has lost honor? That the family name has been dragged irreparably into the muck?”
His son hesitated. “I have heard disturbing things of late, sir.”
“You will inherit the Earldom when I am gone, including public opinion of our family.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You are old enough to understand what I mean, and old enough to have an opinion on the matter. There may come a future time when events such as the one troubling our family now will trouble yours; I wish to know how you’d handle the problem.”
The young man gulped, and moved his head to ease the strictures of his shirt about his neck and looked embarrassed yet apologetic. “Well, sir, by current social mores, my sisters have behaved in immoral ways. Also, as head of the household, it would be your responsibility to see their actions are corrected, unless your behavior has contributed to the problem, in which case the corrections to behavior should be shared by all.”
“I see. Then you would support your mother’s decisions on how punishment should be meted out?”
“I have not heard what Mother plans, other than what was said earlier in the garden,” he said uncomfortably.
“Let us imagine for a moment you are the earl. Your mother and sisters must obey your decisions without question. What would they be?”
Martin opened his mouth to speak, shut it, and a smiley type of grimace crossed his face. “In that case, sir,” he took a deep breath and plunged on. “If the rumors are even partially true, Caroline should not be allowed near her children unsupervised, so she does not poison their minds with her immoral ways.”
The earl raised his brows, and his son bowed slightly and continued, “Furthermore, it seems to me she is unrepentant and like to remain that way. I would cast her out of the house; perhaps if she is denied the comforts to which she has been accustomed, the consequences of her actions will be better impressed upon her.”
“You suggest she be forced to make her own way? Penniless and homeless? Would it not bring more shame upon the family if she chooses to make her living as an immoral woman?”
Sydney felt his heart sink as his son spoke.
“No. Send her to our country estate to contemplate the error of her ways. Ensure that the slaves see she leads a plain and simple life.”
“Your youngest sister? What of her?”
Martin’s cheeks stained red a moment before he said, “Some men would not marry her, considering her damaged goods, but she is not so far gone down Caroline’s path that she can’t be saved. If a small dowry was settled upon her, with a small piece of land as well, perhaps one of the lesser nobility would not mind taking her to wife. I think Mother is wrong about the advisor; he will not marry Sally.”
“His Majesty could command it of him. Your mother is certain she can ask the favor of him.”
His son bowed and replied, “If it was anyone but the advisor, I would agree. In this instance, I think we would all be wrong. He is an ambitious man, seeking power and wealth, neither of which Sally will bring him.”
The earl sat back and contemplated his son. The young man was wise, but saying what he would do, and having it obeyed was not the same. “And I, Martin. What would be my punishment?”
“I’m sorry sir? Your punishment? I don’t...”
“I know you are aware of my transgressions, as it seems the whole town is, I was not as...prudent as I should have been.”
The young man, miserable, colored red and wished himself anywhere but where he was.
“Come, come,” his father said, “I would hope you do not repeat my failings, but in the unhappy event you do, what would you do to correct it?”
Again Martin opened his mouth and then closed it and contemplated the floor for several minutes in silence. The earl waited while his son struggled with his thoughts. The young man lifted his head and took a deep breath in and spoke.
“If there was a bargain made, it would be dishonorable to ignore it; such a thing should be honored to the letter of which it was written, or renegotiated to the best benefit of both parties.”
“And what if one of those parties refused to either honor it or re-negotiate? What then? What route would you choose?”
Martin tugged at the collar of his shirt. “I don’t know, sir. It would be selfish to ignore the other’s wishes and do what made oneself happy. But it also seems selfish to insist there is only one solution. I suppose I would try to do whatever would leave both people with as much dignity and honor as possible.”
Father and son looked at each other a moment. Sydney gave a small nod. “You are wise beyond your years, despite my failings.”
“Thank you, father.”
“That said, it’s one thing to say what one would do, and quite another to see it carried out.”
“Mother has a forceful personality. The slaves listen to her more than they do you; some would say honor had been lost the moment your words and wishes became less than hers.”
“Thus we come to the crux of the matter,” the earl murmured.
“I’m sorry, sir? I didn’t quite catch that.”
“Nothing, son. You may leave me now, I have much to consider.
“Yes sir.” His son walked to the door and, hand on the knob, said, “I have always thought you had honor, sir, and I still do. I’m sorry, about everything.” He left, closing the door behind him.
“So am I son, so am I.”
* * *
Supper that night was a silent affair. The air hummed with unspoken recriminations, bitter resentment, and uncertainty. The countess had returned from her visit with the duchess in a foul mood, and had found fault with everything the slaves did. The only words she spoke at table was harsh ones, ordering the slaves about, or remonstrating with one of the children concerning their manners, or castigating the earl. Just when the children thought they would escape, their mother crushed those hopes.
“It is time for a discussion. We will repair to the sitting room.” Elizabeth rose and left the room, confident her family would obey.
The children looked toward their father, who nodded and followed his wife. The three young people glanced at one another nervously and hurried to join their parents before their mother sent slaves to drag them in. The countess was sitting poker-straight, ramrod-stiff in an equally stiff-backed chair, lips nearly invisible with displeasure. The earl stood behind a chair across the room from her, resting one arm along the back. Once the offspring had chosen their seats, their mother spoke.
“It is time for this nonsense to stop, we have lost enough honor as it is.”
To everyone’s amazement, Sydney interrupted her. He straightened up and walked forward a few paces, hands clasped behind his back. “That is the only thing we may agree upon, my lady, that the nonsense will stop.”
“Now is not the time...”
“I am no
t done,” the earl replied icily, “and you will remain silent until I have had my say. I am still head of this family, despite what you may know or think of past and current events.”
Elizabeth stared at her husband a moment and opened her mouth for another sharp retort but he merely held a hand up and turning to his family, began to speak more forcefully than they had heard him do for some time.
“I have come to a decision regarding our family and the behaviors of various members, myself included. We cannot change the past, but it is clear we cannot continue on as we have been. Caroline, you will be sent to live on our farm. I have put new slaves in charge. You will reside in the cottage, and live a simple life. I am hoping without the temptations of the town, you will reconsider your actions. Your children shall not be joining you.”
“But father! This is ridiculous! How am I to find a father for my children and a husband for myself out there? It’s Sally...”
“You presume to dictate which slaves shall join our daughter...”
“You’re the whore! All the army men...”
“SILENCE!” the earl roared.
His family’s squabbling halted at the unexpectedness of the command and stared his way in startlement. “You will leave immediately, Caroline.”
“But.” Her outrage ceased as the door to the hallway opened and the family steward stepped inside, followed by slaves they had never seen before, and the family guards. The guards broke off and came over to the eldest daughter.
The countess began angrily, “How dare you make these decisions about our daughter without consulting me!”
“Caroline, the men will drag you, kicking and screaming if need be, if you do not go voluntarily.”
“But, Father! My children? My clothes!”
“You will have no need of fancy outfits at the farm, and your children will be cared for by those with a stronger moral sense than you’ve exhibited. You are excused.”
He turned from his eldest and pinned his youngest with his stare just as she stuck her tongue out at her sister; she hastily covered guilty surprise at being caught with downcast eyes. Caroline was still protesting, and at a motion, the guards stepped forward and grabbed her arms. She began to scream.