AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mrs Fletcher greeted Eloise politely but with no warmth. She could understand that. The heir to the estate in Hertfordshire and a sizeable fortune should not be thrown away on a penniless nobody. Alongside the plan to marry Rosie to a title, there must have been the hope that Will would likewise improve the family’s position with a judicious match. But Mrs Fletcher said all that was proper, even expressed her hopes for their happiness, and only a somewhat stilted tone to the words and a certain set of the mouth betrayed her disappointment.
The aunt, Miss Paton, was a different matter. She sniffed disparagingly as Eloise was introduced as‘Will’s future wife’,offered no felicitations or congratulations, and made the merest gesture of a bow, without rising from her seat.
Dinner was rather a grand affair, with an array of dishes that would not have disgraced Marford House, footmen everywhere and so many candles lit that Eloise was dazzled. Now that she saw the Fletcher family all together, she was struck by the quality of their attire — the most expensive fabrics, the most fashionable styles, the array of jewels. The ladies were a trifle overdressed, to be sure, and had not Connie’s sure sense of elegance, but there were some improvements since they had first presented themselves at Marford House with the other families of cits and nabobs. Rosie and Angie sported shorter hair, and Mrs Fletcher displayed less lace on her gown. As for Will — no, he had always had a certain style about him, she realized. He could pass in any company as a gentleman, if appearance were the only guide.
Eloise was seated in the place of honour, on Mr Fletcher’s right hand. She found him a sensible man, perfectly understandable despite the strong accent, and not at all out of place amongst his better educated and better spoken family. His clothes were as expensive as theirs, although somewhat old-fashioned. He asked a great many questions about her family, but was not persistent when she turned them aside, instead willingly talking about his own family. She discovered there was a natural son who had taken over a part of his business in Yorkshire, and she rather liked the open way he was spoken of, and had been accepted into the family.
But then the whole Fletcher family was open-hearted, she could see. The brothers and sisters joked and teased each other, the betrothed couple gazed frequently into each other’s eyes, and between Mr and Mrs Fletcher lay a warm and steady affection. Mr Fletcher spoke often of his wife, as if he could not bear to keep her out of any conversation for long, and then he would glance down the table with a look of such affection that Mrs Fletcher, who must be close to forty, blushed scarlet.
And Will… Will was everything that Eloise could ever have hoped for. He was gently solicitous towards her, paying her the occasional compliment in the most natural manner, and without a hint of insincerity. He and his father both spoke about Chadwell Park, their estate in Hertfordshire, describing it in terms designed to interest its future mistress.
“You will enjoy the walks there, I am sure,” Will said to her. “And there is a lake, too. Nothing, of course, to the lakes in Westmorland and Cumberland, but I hope ours will remind you just a little of your former home.”
Such kindness was unexpected, and once or twice her voice wobbled precariously as she answered.
Then Mr Fletcher would pat her hand and say, “Ah, you will be a wonderful addition to the family, my dear. We are all so happy for you and Will.”
Which only made her feel worse. She was consumed with guilt and could not look any of them in the eye. What a dreadful thing she was doing!
Miss Paton rolled her eyes at these exchanges from across the table, and grumbled in a mild way about the food, the tardiness of the footmen in refilling her glass and the clumsiness of Julia, who contrived to splash sauce onto her gown and knock over a dish of nuts. But even that did not make Eloise feel better, for surely every family had an aunt like Aunt Madge, who was never pleased, but who was a much-loved part of the family anyway. Eloise could feel herself being drawn into the affectionate embrace of the Fletcher family, as one might sink into the comfort of a warm bath. Treacherous heart, that made her yearn to belong to this lovely family!
When the ladies withdrew, Eloise was summoned to sit beside Mrs Fletcher and regale her with every detail of her illustrious cousins. There was nothing said that was not common knowledge, but it served to soften Mrs Fletcher considerably. Before the evening ended, Eloise found she had been accepted into the bosom of the family so well that she had agreed to a shopping expedition with Mrs Fletcher and the sisters, another drive with Will in his curricle and accompanying them to church on Sunday.
“Perhaps you will be able to join us on Tuesday, after all,” Will said, as they waited in the hall at the end of the evening for the carriage.
“Tuesday?”
“The first ball of our own. We sent an invitation to Lady Carrbridge, which she was unable to accept, but she will not mind now if you come, will she?”
“I cannot say for certain but I suspect she will not mind,” Eloise said, realising with a sinking heart that Connie would undoubtedly agree to it in an instant. Her services as secretary were useful, but Connie always had a mass of relations to accompany her on her evening engagements.
“Excellent. I hope I may venture to engage you for the first two? That would be expected of a betrothed couple, you know, but after that I will take my lead from you. If you want me to dance every dance with you, I shall be delighted to oblige, but if not, you must tell me precisely how I am to act. Shall I conduct other young ladies into the dance with every appearance of pleasure? Or should you prefer me to glower from the perimeter at every man who dances with you? I shall engage for either — I am completely at your disposal in the matter.”
“How absurd you are, Mr Fletcher,” she said laughing.
“All to entertain you, Miss Whittleton,” he replied with a graceful bow.
The carriage arrived within moments, and since they were also to convey Mr Tibbitt and Mr Hattersley home, and Marford House was the first to be reached, there was no more opportunity for any private conversation with him. Nevertheless, the evening had gone off a great deal better than she could have anticipated.
~~~~~
‘To Miss Jupp, St Peter’s Road, Sagborough, West Riding. My very dear friend, I have such surprising news - at least, it surprises us. Will is engaged to be married! It is true, to Miss Eloise Whittleton, and although he had been seeing something of her, no one suspected there was anything serious between them. You know what Will is like, there is always some lady or other who is the object of his attentions but it never means anything. Or at least, it never used to mean anything. She is distantly related to Lord Carrbridge, although a quite humble branch of the family, seemingly, for she has no dowry. Pa says it does not matter a bit, but Mama is a little disappointed, although she tries not to show it. She would have liked a dowry or a titled family, if not both. Miss Whittleton came to dinner last night and she seems a very agreeable and pleasant person, and I am sure we shall like very much to have her as our sister. But it is such a shock that I do not know what to think about it, and they do not seem at all affectionate together, not like Julia and James, or even Pa and Mama. But then Miss Whittleton is a proper lady, Mama says, and not someone to wear her heart on her sleeve, and there must be some strong attachment or they would not be betrothed, would they? I am afraid you must console all our friends in Sagborough who were hoping that Will would return for one or other of them. Now he never will. Your affectionate friend, Rosie.’
~~~~~
Will found that his betrothal had changed his life beyond recognition. He still rose at the same time, dressed with the same care, pursued many of the same morning activities. He went to Tattersall’s sometimes, or watched the sparring at Jackson’s Saloon, or wandered about the more masculine of the shopping districts, and for hours at a time he could pretend that all was just as it was. But then a chance encounter with an acquaintance who offered his congratulations would remind him. Even his tailor ventured, somewhat tentatively, to felicitate him and suggest a new coat for the wedding, and all of this before the announcement had even been placed in theGazette.
One of the first consequences was that he was invited to dine at Marford House, which was a strange experience. It was not merely that Lord Carrbridge and his family were so far above Will in rank, nor even the excesses on display, which offended Will’s Yorkshire soul. Back home, no one would put so many exotic dishes on the table, or use so much gold plate. The ladies’ jewels were dazzling.
He could have stomached that, if not for the fact that the company they kept was quite out of his league. Several government ministers were pointed out to him, and he even recognized the Prime Minister, largely from the caricatures in the satirical circulars. One or two persons from the outer reaches of the royal family were present and several from the acting or musical professions. There were two poets and a very famous, or possibly infamous, artist, not to mention numerous renowned members of the peerage. Will felt like a veritable rustic amongst such stellar personages.
More pleasurably, he took Eloise out in his curricle almost every day. He flattered himself that these outings were as enjoyable for her as they were for him. At least, she no longer raised any objection to them. She preferred the quiet times of the day, when there was no risk of meeting any of their acquaintances, and they tooled about in amicable conversation.
“I have had a reply from your uncle,” he said one day as they entered Green Park.
“My uncle!” she said, sounding startled. “I did not know you had written to him.”
“I felt it proper, since your father is not to be found, and you once mentioned his direction. So I wrote to him, to apprise him of my circumstances, in case he should be minded to post down from Westmorland and forbid the banns.”
