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“Lady Bellingham, Miss Bellingham and Sir Hector Bellingham are in the hall, madam. Are you at home?”
Julia squeaked in surprise, and perhaps a little alarm. But Mama had been hoping that Lady Bellingham, at least, would seek her acquaintance, and so she answered swiftly.
“Yes, of course we are at home. Do show them in, and pray ask my husband to join us, if he is to be found. Well, this is a surprise. Julia, I fear you will have to make your apology all over again. I do hope he is not going to rant and rage at you.”
“Unlikely if he has his wife and daughter with him,” Julia said.
Mama’s face lightened. “Quite right. This must be just a social visit, and not before time, either. This will expand our list of acquaintances considerably.”
Angie, Will and Aunt Madge were elsewhere, but Mama, Rosie, Julia and Camilla all rose as the Bellingham family came into the room. Sir Hector was not a man who wasted time on unnecessary courtesies, for his eyes raked the room and lit on Julia. At once he strode across to loom in front of her. He was a large man in every sense of the word, and a brightly coloured coat did nothing to diminish his size. Julia quaked a little, but she lifted her chin to look him straight in the eye.
But he beamed happily at her. “There you are, young lady,” he boomed. “That was a fine letter you wrote me, a very proper letter. All your own work, was it, or did you have a bit of help, eh?”
“Every word was my own, and I meant it, sir. May I say again how sorry I am—”
“No, no, no more of that, if you please. We were neither of us quite at our best that day, so I offer you my own apology in return. Shall we shake hands on it?”
And just as if she were a man, he held out his beefy paw to her. She had no hesitation in taking it and allowing her hand to be vigorously pumped and simultaneously squeezed.
“There now, we can be friends,” Sir Hector said, sitting down on a sofa and patting the seat beside him. “I must say, I like a gel with spirit, and you have a devilish spirited nature, Miss Fletcher. Now, no colouring up, for I am sure you will not be missish over a compliment or two, and you will not mind my blunt speaking, I am sure. We have exchanged stronger words already, after all.”
He laughed heartily, and Julia felt obliged to smile slightly in return, for the sake of politeness. Mama was too ladylike to show any sign of displeasure at such unmannerly behaviour, but Julia knew her well enough to be sure that she felt it, nonetheless.
Fortunately, Lady Bellingham and her daughter fluttered delicately into Mama’s orbit, Aunt Madge and Pa came in not many minutes later, followed by Will, and then Keeble and a little procession of footmen with refreshments. In the general movement about the room, Sir Hector was captured by Pa, Will made a beeline for the Bellingham daughter and Julia was able to make her escape to sit a little out of the way with Aunt Madge.
The Bellinghams stayed for more than half an hour and Mama was so pleased with this excessive degree of attention that she almost forgave Sir Hector for neglecting her so comprehensively that she had not exchanged a single word with him.
“He is only a knight, not a baronet, but still he is the squire and local magistrate, and thus a person of consequence in the county,” she said happily. “I had thought Bellingham Green too far away for any acquaintance, but Lady Bellingham tells me there is a farm track they use to shorten the distance. Rather rough, of course, and impassable after too much rain for there is a ford to be crossed, but not too muddy at present. Hmm, three days, I think…”
“Three days, Lizzie?” Pa said. “What are you planning now?”
“I shall return Lady Bellingham’s call in three days,” she said complacently. “Any sooner would look too eager, but one must acknowledge the condescension of their visit with an early attention. And perhaps after that they will invite us to dine.”
“Ah, you have such a subtle way of going about these things,” Pa said, smiling fondly at her. “My father’s rule has served me well enough for all these years. If a man takes three weeks to call on you, then you can take three weeks to return it.”
Mama laughed. “That does well enough for gentlemen, I make no doubt, but ladies take more account of disparity of rank and the distinctions that must be made.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” he said. “You usually are. Have you seen my newspaper — the London one that came yesterday? I was sure I left it on my desk, but it’s nowhere to be found.”
“Everything disappears in this house,” Aunt Madge said darkly. “I have been all over looking for my scissors and where should I find them but in the library, and what they were doing there I’m sure I can’t say.”
Mama only smiled in her gentle way and shook her head. “It is this house, Madge. It has so many rooms that it is hard to remember where anything is. We shall grow accustomed in time, I am sure.”
But Aunt Madge grumbled steadily for the best part of an hour, and nothing would appease her.
10: A Card Party
“I thought you were determined not to go,” Thomas said to James, as they donned their cloaks at the rectory and awaited the Plummer carriage which was to convey them to Fairstead House. “Oh, never tell me that Mrs Reynell has cried off! And after I have been planning my assault on her affections these two weeks past.”
“I know nothing of Mrs Reynell, but I do know that a certain young lady of my acquaintance is to be there.”
“Miss Julia Fletcher? James, this is becoming a serious pursuit.”
“I am going to marry her, Thomas.”
“And does the lady know this?”
“Not yet. I do not intend to rush my fences, so I shall proceed in slow, steady steps. Then, when the time is right, I shall move in for the kill. Well… not an apt analogy, perhaps, but you understand me, I think.”
