Page 45 of Searching for Mr Tilney

‘I must admit I’ve been doing a little research. I know how much you like her writing, and I wanted to show you some of Bath you might not have seen before. She wrote to her sister about how she’d walked to Lyncombe and Widcombe with a friend in 1801.’

I felt so pleased that he’d gone to so much trouble, and found I could hardly look at him. We were quiet for a moment or two as we strolled along in the sunshine. We walked closely side by side, but he didn’t attempt to hold my hand or anything like that, and I actually felt glad we weren’t rushing back into behaving like ardent lovers.

It was impossible not to remember Cassy in Spring Gardens or her handsome Mr Fowle, as we walked by the river where the pleasure boats were filling up with passengers, though I knew Harry had mentioned a much later time in Jane’s history. As we passed the pub and restaurant, and the recreation ground where the gardens used to be, I thought how different it all looked. However disappointed Jane had been with the gaudiness of Spring Gardens, I couldn’t think that what had replaced it in modern times was better.

‘We’ve so much to catch up on,’ he said. ‘I hope you had a good Christmas.’

‘It was lovely, just Mum and me, but how did you get on? I kept thinking about how strange it would be, and hoped you were all getting along.’

‘It was really bizarre at first, to be back in Wales, and with our uncle who can be very severe at the best of times. However, his bark is worse than his bite, and he’s not half as frightening when he becomes angry as he used to be when I was small. I think he was pleased we’d been able to join him. There were even Christmas gifts, though I suspect his housekeeper had been the one sent to do the shopping. We feasted in the usual way, and played charades, though Uncle Geraint watched from his chair through a fog of cigar smoke. But, he was certainly in a better mood by the time we left, and even said he hoped we’d go again soon.’

‘And how is Elsa? Did she enjoy her holiday?’

‘Elsa is very well, and sends her love. She’s dying to see you, and wanted me to tell you that she was hoping to get to see you first. I hope you don’t mind, but I couldn’t wait another day. So, she has to wait her turn.’

We fell into silence again, the sun beating down on our heads, and I wondered if he felt he’d said too much, but I was singing inside, my tummy dancing with butterflies.

We followed the river, soon arriving at Widcombe where we walked through the village, Harry pointing out the little cottages climbing the hill and explaining that Ralph Allen who built the house at Prior Park had built them for his workers. He said we weren’t going to take the most direct route up that hill, but the views would be far more picturesque.

‘Mr Tilney would be able to instruct us on matters of natural taste in landscapes, foregrounds, and perspectives,’ I said. ‘I love the way that Catherine dismisses the whole city of Bath as unworthy to make part of a landscape, once she knows the principles of the picturesque.’

‘I must admit, I’m not sure I’d know natural taste in landscapes if I was examined,’ Harry replied. ‘You must teach me, Caroline - I’m sure as an artist you’re far better qualified and know just what you’re talking about.’

‘Perhaps if I were using fashion models in a landscape setting, I might be able to demonstrate a certain style, but I’ve no more idea about the picturesque than you. Do you think Jane was having a bit of fun and mocking the art establishment of the day?’

‘Undoubtedly, and it makes me laugh to think times haven’t really changed. Theorising on art is as open to ridicule as it’s ever been, don’t you think?’

‘Oh, yes … you wouldn’t believe some of the lectures I’ve attended where I’ve despaired at some of the current thinking. But then, I suppose it’s what makes discussion so entertaining.’

It didn’t take long before we were striding up Lyncombe Hill. Harry pointed to the cliff of Beechen Hill soaring upwards to our right, and I thought about Henry and Catherine walking along the top looking down at Bath below them. As we carried on, the road inclined further, and was much steeper than I expected. I’m ashamed to say I had to stop a couple of times, but pretended I was looking at the pretty Georgian houses lining the road.

‘I’m not as fit as I used to be,’ I admitted in the end, ‘I spend far too much time sitting down sewing.’

‘Well, we can change that while you’re here, though I don’t want to tax you too hard. I read that Glandular Fever makes you tire very easily. We can stop and sit down as we go along if you like.’

‘If Jane Austen took this walk in her stride when she was considerably older than me, I’m sure I can do it too.’

‘She would only have been twenty five, twenty six in the December of that year,’ Harry said, ‘so just a few years older, I’m guessing.’

‘I’m twenty one this year … in October.’

‘So, have you plans for a big party?’

‘I don’t think so … I know Mum wants to organise one, and I might agree to it to please her, but I’m not really one for parties. I’d prefer just a meal out with one or two friends, that kind of thing.’

‘Yes, I know what you mean, I wanted to celebrate, but I’m not one for huge gatherings. I worked for a couple of years in an orphanage in Africa before I decided to study. I celebrated my birthday out there.’

‘Did you really? That must have been a great adventure.’

‘It really was an incredible experience, and Africa was not at all what I expected. It sounds naïve, but I hadn’t realised African countries were so developed. I’ll never forget the first time I saw office blocks and motorways like we have here - I thought they didn’t exist over there. We’re fed such a different view in newspapers or on television, and while I witnessed extremes of wealth, vast riches and the direst poverty, I found there were many building better lives to help those in need, and met plenty of people dedicating themselves to the service of others.

‘It sounds as if you’d like to go back again,’ I said, and thought how much I should like to see Africa too.

‘Yes, I’d love to … find some way I can do more … perhaps help to build a school.’

‘Was it in Africa that you became interested in Theology?’

‘Yes, though I think I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the divine, and theories about God, as well as the relationships humanity have with both divinity and religion. I always used to think there were so many differences between the religions, but the more I’ve studied them I’ve come to know how very similar they are, and I wanted to explore that a lot more.’