AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Has not so far.”
The door opened and Solomon hefted up and out, pausing on the pavement as Philip did the same. “All I can say, my boy, is that you will get past it. We all do, sooner or later.” Without waiting for a response or to see if Philip followed him, Solomon trudged up the steps and disappeared into the house.
Chapter Five
15 April 1792
Eton
My dear E—
I cannot conceive of a situation in which I would be disappointed in you, especially if you were following your conscience. So I admire your choice to move this correspondence from the realm of the clandestine, especially if it puts poor Mary at risk. She has been too loyal to you for us to make her position any more precarious than it is.
I, too, have stepped out of the dark—I told my father of our affection for each other as well as our acknowledgment of the difficulty of such an attachment. He took it well, or seemed to. We shall see.
Your letter of 27 February took more than six weeks to reach me. So by the time you see this, I will be in the Easter term here—my last, starting tomorrow!—but will be heading back to Ashton House in July, in the midst of the annual season of balls and soirees. Although I will not arrive in London until mid-season, my mother is already arranging for me to attend several events. Even though I am not yet considered “marriageable”—despite my recent birthday, I am still far too much of a lanky hound!—Mother wants the mothers of thetonto be aware of my presence among them. She calls it “laying the seed,” which sounds far more lewd when I say it than when she does.
The concept dismays me more than I can express. I cannot help but contrast each girl with you, and they all suffer from the comparison. None have your vibrance or intelligence and all pale against your beauty. I do not have Mr. Shakespeare’s gift for expressing my adoration of you, so I will (forgive me!) borrow liberally from him when I say,
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
I await, my love, for more words from you.
Ever,
N
*
1 June 1792
Venice
My dear N—
Your sweet missive—which I shall cherish to the end of my days!—arrived the day before we departed Prague for Venice. My father’s plans for the year have changed, and instead of Prague into summer, we are headed back to England via some southern route that makes sense only to my father. We will be bouncing from pillar to post for a few weeks, so best to not write to me at this time.
I do know our return to England was prompted by a message he received from someone in the government. After receiving it, he immediately turned our household on its ear to start packing. Someday I plan to write about the tumultuous journey that has taken us through Vienna—where we paused for only three days before beginning the arduous trip over the mountains to land in Venice. We are here for a fortnight, only because he could not book passage for us any faster. We will depart by ship on the 18thand may arrive in late July, but at the rate my father is pushing us, I doubt the ladies of the house will recover for at least a month. My mother is presenting an excellent and refined façade, but it is crumbling around the edges. When I inquired about attending the theater one evening, the snip in her voice could have severed a nautical rope.
I do wish I could have helped you celebrate your birthday. I will turn seven and ten while we are at sea. And while your mother is scheduling you for quadrilles, mine is starting lists of eligible gentlemen among my father’s business acquaintances. One at the top of her choices is a young widower with two small children. Apparently, she is determined that if I cannot forget you while unmarried, I will be too busy as a new bride to think about you.
Such a foolish woman. I will never be without thoughts of you, without the longing to feel your arms around me.
You occupy my thoughts day and night. Especially at night, when I dream of rosemary trees, fresh snow, and wassailing through the village.
Ever yours,
E—
Chapter Six
Sunday, 26 August 1792
Ashton Park
Five in the afternoon
