AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Unfortunately,” Rodrick said disappointedly. “The number of times I have had to call upon your mother to reach out to her friends in other towns to see if they could take care of these young women in difficult situations is rather remarkable. If there were a way I could give these young women something they could take or use to prevent pregnancy, I would do so in a heartbeat. I find it appalling that they should have to ruin their lives to bring up a child they never wanted in the first place.”
Lydia put a comforting hand on her father’s shoulder and said, “Someday there will be, but not while you or I are living. And so we must go and do the best that we can, Papa.”
Having had that difficult discussion, Lydia and Rodrick climbed into their carriage that was practically falling apart and rode to Miss Eliza Derry’s home on Bletchfield Lane. Lydia did not know Miss Eliza well, but she knew of her enough to know that she was a kind young woman who didn’t deserve to be suffering from pregnancy. The father and daughter rode in silence until they arrived. Rodrick gave his daughter an encouraging smile as he disembarked from the carriage and said, “I don’t think I shall be very long. I will call upon you when I can get Miss Derry into a room by herself.”
Lydia nodded to him, and then Dr Seymour went inside the home. Lydia was about to pull out the needlework she had brought with her to pass the time while her father was speaking with the family when she spotted someone outside of the carriage she wished to greet.
“Edmund!” she called delightedly out of the carriage door, and at first, when he saw her, he looked quite vexed. However, after a moment, he seemed to realize who Lydia was, and he looked far happier to see her.
“Miss Seymour,” he said happily, “how wonderful it is to see you. I was actually just about to come to your home to see if you would like to take a walk with me ... but now that you are here, perhaps we could partake in one right here?”
Lydia was about to accept, but something held her back. If it had been Percy who had shown up on this street in town and asked to go for a walk with her, she would have accepted him instantly. But there was still something about Edmund that made her feel somewhat ... uneasy.
And yet, she had no real reason to feel that way. He had been so kind to her at those balls and parties, and he had only told her the gossip that he had heard about her, he hadn’t spread that rumour himself. So why was she feeling this way? Whatever the feeling was, she knew better than to ignore it, and so she decided to decline him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to sound as regretful as she could, “but I believe that my father is going to call me in to assist him with a part of his medical examination in a few minutes, and so I will have to wait out here. But we could speak like this if that is pleasing to you.”
Edmund looked disappointed, but he accepted Lydia’s terms. “Of course,” he said graciously, “I can imagine that you are a great help to your father, and I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from assisting him. I would be very happy to speak with you out here.”
And so, Lydia descended from the carriage, and she and Edmund spoke for another short while. Lydia ensured that they were positioned so that anyone on the street could see her, and so her reputation would not be questioned even though she was unchaperoned.
“You enjoy steamed fish?!” Lydia cried at one point, laughing. “I cannot believe that. I think that has to be one of the vilest dishes that are served at gatherings.”
Edmund smiled and chuckled, kicking a stone in the street with his shoe. “I am sorry to disappoint your taste buds, Miss Seymour, but I am afraid that I am telling the truth. If there is that variety of fish being served at any function I attend, then I always go straight for it. This does work out well, however, for the next time that we go to a ball together, you can put any steamed fish that you are served onto my plate!”
Lydia began laughing again but then stopped herself. “Sorry, did you say the next time that we attend a balltogether?” she asked him carefully. “As in ...”
As Lydia watched him, Edmund began going red in the face. “You have caught me out, Miss Seymour. I must tell you that I would very much like to continue to court you and ... and see how things come together.”
Lydia’s heart jumped into her throat.See how things come together?! As in ... marriage?!her thoughts screamed in her head.Goodness! I hadn’t expected this to come out so soon ... but perhaps that is because I have become accustomed to the pace that Percy takes things. Which, I’m afraid, is a snail’s pace.
Lydia was trying desperately to come up with some sort of answer that would evade Edmund’s comment, for she did not know if she should accept his offer. Thankfully, however, at that moment, Dr Seymour appeared out of the side door of the house.
“Lydia, my dear,” he called to her, “we’re ready for you.”
Rodrick looked briefly at Edmund, and the two men gave each other nods of acknowledgement. Lydia quickly bid farewell to Edmund and went inside the house. When her father closed the door after her, he said, “I have left Miss Derry in the kitchen. Her father and mother wanted to have a discussion with me about how best to treat her ‘intolerance for certain foods’.”
Dr Seymour gave his daughter a knowing wink and then went inside the sitting room. Lydia opened the door to the kitchen and saw Eliza sitting at the table, looking very sorry for herself.
“Good afternoon, Miss Derry,” Lydia said gently and politely. “How are you …”
But the moment that Eliza saw her, she looked furious. “You,” she said with venom in her voice. “Get out. I will not speak to you, and you will not stay in my family’s home for a moment longer!”
Lydia froze. “I ... I’m sorry, Miss Derry, did I do something to offend you?” she asked her, blindsided by Eliza’s reaction.
Eliza scoffed and crossed her arms in front of her. “If you do not already know, then it is not my job to inform you. Good day, Miss Seymour. I hope the door hits you with great force as you leave my home, you putrid waste of space.”
Lydia could hardly believe her ears, but she was so taken aback that she didn’t know what to say in response. And so, she simply curtseyed respectfully to Eliza and then went and waited for her father in the carriage.
While she waited, she tried desperately to think of a reason why Eliza would have been cross with her. She had only met her a handful of times, and there was nothing in their interactions that Lydia could think would have made her that angry. She tried to think of the relations that she and Eliza shared and could come up with not a single one.Why ... why on earth would she have spoken to me in that way?Lydia wondered to herself.She seemed to think I was the scum of the earth!
When her father came back into the carriage, he said, “How was she?” When Lydia recounted what had happened, Rodrick did not sound surprised. “I was afraid of that, and I am sorry that you had to endure her wrath, my dear. She seemed upset with me from the moment I entered. I’m afraid she must be far more upset with her state that we previously thought, and has decided to take her anger out on us.”
Rodrick began taking them home, but Lydia couldn’t help wondering if he was actually right. There had been something about the way that Eliza had spoken directly to Lydia that made her believe that it was her who she was really mad at. And though she already had a great deal on her mind, Lydia made a mental note to get to the bottom of whatever was upsetting Miss Derry.
