AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“A very distant cousin, I must add,” Eloise said. “Good evening, Mr Somerwell. I have seen you about, I am certain, although we have not been introduced before.”
Somerwell rose, a slender, elegant man who bowed with languid grace. “Your servant, madam. I believe you are correct that we have not been introduced, for I should certainly have remembered your charming face.”
Eloise had nothing to say to such flummery, seeing at once that Somerwell was just such another as Mr Fletcher himself, flirtatious and insincere. She looked instead at the other man, much younger, with features not unlike Mr Fletcher’s.
“This is my scapegrace younger brother, Johnny,” Mr Fletcher said, although he smiled as he spoke. “Hiding from Stepmother, Johnny?”
“I should rather think so! When she and Aunt Madge both turn against a fellow, there is no bearing it. How do you do, Miss Whittleton. I have heard a great deal about you, and all of it good, so I am very pleased to make your acquaintance at last.”
That was neatly done, Eloise had to admit. Johnny Fletcher was perhaps two and twenty, almost as tall as his brother but without the broad chest that made Will Fletcher such an imposing figure of a man. Johnny was slender, with hair so dark it was almost black, falling in careless waves about his face, which was… how to describe him? To call him handsome did not do him justice, for his features deserved a stronger description. He was beautiful, perhaps, if a man could be called so.
Not being minded to talk either to Somerwell or to Will Fletcher, she took a seat close to Johnny and engaged him in conversation about his purchases. He explained that he had been given the task of replenishing the library at Chadwell Park, their house in Hertfordshire.
“Is the library sadly depleted?” she asked. “Shall you need to buy a great many books?”
“It is empty!” he cried in such tragic tones that she almost laughed. “All the books belonged to the Plummers so although they sold us the house fully furnished, they took every last book and everything else of interest, so I have a great many shelves to fill. Fortunately, I have discovered a wonderful place, a veritable cornucopia of books of every description, and every requirement. Indeed, I could buy a complete library there, were I so minded. The Temple of the Muses, it is called, and never was a place more aptly described.”
“That would seem to solve your problem admirably,” she said. “You would merely tell them the number of shelves to be filled and they would supply you with a library of the correct size.”
He stared at her in horror. “Good heavens, Miss Whittleton, there would be not an iota of pleasure in such an undertaking. The joy of the enterprise is in the selection of suitable books, and I trust it will be the work of many years to achieve a satisfactory collection.”
Eloise listened with half an ear, for he was clearly happy to talk at length on his favourite subject without requiring much response beyond an occasional prompt, so she was at leisure to look around the room. Mr Will Fletcher leaned nonchalantly against the mantel, watching his sisters. The younger Miss Fletcher was engaged in sorting through a great pile of sheet music, perhaps another purchase from the cornucopia, while the elder sister was talking to Mr Somerwell. Or rather, he was talking to her, for she said little. Eloise had not taken to Somerwell, but Rosie seemed at ease with him. That was rather pleasing, for she was such a shy creature, especially with men. Perhaps there was already an understanding between them, and his position in the house, as a guest on a family outing, certainly suggested it.
Then she was assailed by a horrible thought. If Somerwell was so regarded, perhaps she too was seen as having an understanding, and was invited so Mr Fletcher might pursue her. He had certainly paid her a great deal of attention, with dances and drives in his curricle and now this evening at Vauxhall, which had been his own idea, she remembered. Had he some notion of courting her seriously? But no, surely not, for had he not made it plain his only intention was to convince her he was a gentleman? He liked her no more than she liked him, of that she was sure. Still, it was an unnerving thought.
Mrs Fletcher came in just then, still a little flustered. “Aunt Madge has retired to bed… one of her bilious headaches. Poor Madge, she is such a martyr to her headaches,” she said, with an unconvincing smile. “The carriage is ordered, so we will be off very soon. So sorry for the delay.”
“Think nothing of it, dear lady,” Mr Somerwell said smoothly. “We have been admirably entertained while we waited, and for my own part, I am in no great hurry to leave this room.” He threw a smiling glance at Rosie as he spoke, but she was watching Johnny.
“Johnny, are you coming with us?”
“Good Lord, no! I need to finish cataloguing my purchases so they can go off to Hertfordshire tomorrow. May I have the use of the travelling coach, Mother, or shall I arrange for a carter?”
“Heavens, Johnny, how should I answer you when we are on the point of leaving the house? Ask me tomorrow. Rosie, Angie, your cloaks, dears. Will, would you be so good as to watch for the carriage coming round. Ah, I think I hear it now. Come along, girls, bustle about, do!”
“Where is your own cloak, Mama?” Angie said.
“Oh! Now where did I leave it? It was in my hand a moment ago, I am sure of it. I have my gloves but—”
“I shall go and look for it,” Rosie said, making with quick steps for the door.
“No, it will be on the hall table, I dare say,” Will said.
“Oh yes, yes, perhaps it will,” she said helplessly. “Such an upheaval! I hardly know whether I am coming or going, I declare.”
“That is my fault, Mother,” Johnny said, uncurling himself from his chair and crossing the room to drop a careless kiss on his stepmother’s cheek. “I am a thoughtless creature to inflict so much trouble on you.”
Her expression softened under such conciliatory words, and she even gave a little laugh. “Oh, well, you are not the only cause, if the truth be told, but it is very disconcerting to have one’s long-made arrangements set at naught. I do like everything to be carefully planned.”
“I am sure you will all have a wonderful time, planning or no,” Johnny said easily. “Off you go and enjoy yourselves, all of you. Your servant, Miss Whittleton. Good evening, Somerwell.”
As she followed Mrs Fletcher down the stairs, Eloise pondered the two Fletcher brothers and their abundant charm, and wondered why the younger brother’s efforts merely amused her, when the elder brother irritated her so intensely. There was no accounting for it.
17: An Evening At Vauxhall Gardens
The travelling coach was rather a squeeze for six persons, despite none of them being particularly large. Will Fletcher looked the most squashed, trying to compress his broad frame into the corner beside Angie. On her other side, Mr Somerwell was as unruffled as ever. Being the only one of the party who had been to Vauxhall before, he beguiled the journey with colourful descriptions of all the delights to come. Angie was the only one who responded to this, but that was largely from excitement. Whenever a lamp or a link boy’s torch lit her face, her eyes were as huge as saucers.
Eloise in her corner opposite Will said nothing, holding the strap and gazing out of the window. Rosie and her stepmother were equally silent, but Mrs Fletcher’s tenseness finally leached away, and by the time they had embarked at Westminster and were settled in the wherry to cross the river, she had recovered her composure sufficiently to join in the conversation.
