AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The procession up the grand, stone staircase was tediously slow. When we reached the top, I avoided looking at the man who was obviously Henry Bradwell, his eyes watching me earnestly. James paused before a woman with gray hair pulled back into a knot, a few curls left dangling near her temples. Her burgundy muslin gown was immaculate, and her movements graceful. She reminded me of my mama in her bearing, but in little else.
“Mother, allow me to introduce Felicity Bradwell.”
I looked to James sharply, but he was correct. It was my name now, though it still sounded odd to my ears.
“Felicity, this is my mother, Lady Edith.”
We each curtsied in turn and moved forward down the line as James introduced each person by name.
“My brother, Benedict.” The man bowed. He was taller than either of his older brothers and equally as handsome, with a thick head of curly brown hair and a decided twinkle in his blue eyes.
“And my brother, Henry.”
Henry dipped his head, but when he raised it again, he sent James a soft smile. “We have met before, actually, just last summer. How do you do, Miss Thur—Mrs. Bradwell?”
My stomach flipped under the scrutiny of his blue eyes. His curly hair was slightly mussed, and he looked just as handsome as he had last summer. “I am well, I thank you. The ride was long, however, and I am grateful to have arrived.”
James looked from his brother to me. “You’ve met?”
“Yes, last summer in Northumberland,” I said.
He appeared confused by Henry’s revelation but gave a nod and continued down the line. He gestured to the final woman. She was tall and thin, her black dress hanging from a bony figure, and her gaze, while severe, was not unkind. “Meet our housekeeper, Mrs. Prescott.”
I dipped in another curtsy. “It is a pleasure.”
“Do not let us keep you outside any longer, my dear,” Lady Edith said, moving to my side. “If you would like to come with me, I will show you to your room and send for some dinner. I imagine you would like to take it in your chamber this evening? Prescott can manage your things.”
Was it so obvious that I desired a reprieve already? “That would be lovely, Lady Edith.”
James remained behind with his brothers as his mother led me into the house, and Mrs. Prescott started down the stairs toward where footmen were unloading the carriage.
We stepped indoors, and I did my best to cover my awe. The ceiling was tall enough to reach the attic, with a black and white checkered floor that spread across a gargantuan hall and opened up to an enormous staircase. Gilded, baroque-style carvings adorned the ceilings and alcoves on either side of the stairs, and I immediately felt small.
Tall windows punctuated the wall and doors opened into what appeared to be an enclosed courtyard. It looked peaceful and serene, a square space with only a shallow fountain in the center.
“It does take some getting used to,” Lady Edith said softly. “But I promise it will come to feel like home.”
How this massive building could ever earn the descriptor of home was beyond my comprehension. It ranked among the museums and palaces in London in my mind, for I had never seen such opulence or grandeur in any other setting.
And I was to be its mistress? I felt more suited to donning a gray gown and white cap and scrubbing the checkerboard floor.
But perhaps I would not be called upon to take up that role, for Chelton already had a mistress. Lady Edith began up the carpeted steps, and I followed her. She turned her head to speak over her shoulder as she ascended. “I did not realize you and Henry shared an acquaintance. Tell me, how did that come about? He does not go to Town often.”
“My aunt has an estate in Northumberland. On our way to visit her last summer, our carriage broke an axle. The rain was awful, and the roads were unpassable, but Mr. Bradwell allowed my family to take refuge in his hunting box for a few nights.”
“Hmm,” she said. “He’s never mentioned it.”
My back straightened, and I swallowed the initial umbrage that followed her remark. Perhaps Henry had not mentioned it because it meant nothing to him. If that was the case, then I was exceedingly glad I had never posted him the letter that my cousin pressed me to write. It would have been forward, indeed, and worse still when the recipient was uninterested in pursuing an acquaintance.
I wanted to shift the conversation away from myself, and away from my connection with Henry. “I’ve been told you have a nephew nearby.”
“Yes, he lives with his family on the other side of Bakewell. It is not very far, so we must include them when we go about delivering your cards. You have brought them with you, I assume?”
We moved across the landing and through another door. “I haven’t had any cards made yet.” In truth, I had been hoping to avoid bride visits. I realized I would need to find a way to introduce myself to local society, of course, but I had not realized I was marrying into such opulence. I needed time to readjust my perspective before presenting myself as a member of such a family.
James had never before made his wealth clear to me, and it was plain, after looking at his house, why he had not pressed Papa for a larger dowry. If he had not needed money from me, then his estate must be flourishing. It was a level of wealth I had never before contemplated for myself—I had never even imagined it.
“Well, it is no matter. I can see it done tomorrow.”
