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She laughed merrily. “I hardly think that likely. He would be very glad to see me so well disposed of, I imagine. Whatever did he say?”
“Very much that,” he said evasively.
“Hmm. Let me guess. That I was of age and so it was naught to him whom I married?”
“He did not word it so bluntly,” Will said, “but he will not put any rub in our way, certainly.”
“No, he would not,” she said, suddenly serious.
She lapsed into silence, so Will said carefully, “He had the care of you for a number of years. I would have expected him to take more interest in your prospects.”
She sighed, and then was silent again. He was not minded to disturb her reverie, but after a while she herself broke the silence. “After my father… left us, my uncle accepted responsibility for us all — for my mother and the four children. My brothers were sent to Eton, my sister and I had a governess, or rather, shared one with our cousins. But as soon as it was clear there was to be no scholarship to get my brothers through Oxford, that was the end of it. There was no further support. My brothers were articled to attorneys, and in time my mother, my sister and I went to live with Aunt Beth in Bath. Uncle Job would have not the least interest in whom I marry.”
Will could find nothing at all to say to this. She was so matter-of-fact about it all, detailing the events dispassionately as if it were some other family altogether and not her own. She neither expected sympathy, nor wanted it, he guessed. No wonder she had been so quick to snatch at the prospect of a comfortable marriage. He could hardly blame her for taking the sliver of an opportunity he had given her. Poor Eloise! His heart ached for her, not only losing her father at such a young age, but then being rejected by her last remaining male relative. It explained her distrust of men.
He let the silence grow between them for a while, then he said casually, “You were accustomed to driving a gig, I believe you said. Would you like to try my team?”
“You would trust me with them?” she said, startled.
“I trust you. Here — try what you can do. The fidgets are out of them, so they will not do anything dramatic, and I shall be here beside you if you need any help.”
She took the reins, and for a full circuit of the park she managed them with surprising skill. It was very pleasing, and Will returned home after their drive rather complacent about his situation.
20: A Musical Soirée
One day, Pa called Will into his office.
“Now here’s a convenient thing for you, if you like,” he said, waving a letter. “Here’s the attorney writing from Ware to tell me he has news from Danes Green. Orchard House is to be put up for sale.”
“Orchard House? Oh, Mrs Reynell’s house opposite the church.”
“Aye, that’s the one. The lady’s not returning — she’s to settle for good with a cousin in the West Country seemingly, so she wishes to sell the house. Simons says he can get it for a very good price, if I’m so minded, for he knows of no one else who might want it. What do you think?”
“Buying houses in the village? But why would you?”
“Why, for you and Miss Whittleton, of course!”
“I assumed we would live at the Park,” Will said, surprised.
“That would be a fine thing,” Pa said with a wry glance, “for my son and his family to be living cheek by jowl with his parents. No, the lady will want her own establishment, you may be sure, and when my time is up, and you and your wife move into the Park, my Lizzie will have a dower house to go to. I was considering building a house for you, but this will be more convenient. What do you say, Will?”
“It sounds perfect, Pa.”
“I’ve arranged to double your allowance at once, since you’ll have some expenses — you’ll want to order your carriage, for a start. New clothes, perhaps, and some jewels for your future wife. Something to mark the engagement, and something more serious for the marriage. After that, if you need more, you need only ask.”
“You are more than generous, Pa. I need not tell you how grateful I am for—”
“No, you needn’t.” He chuckled. “You’re my son, Will, everything I have is for you, eventually. It won’t hurt for you to have some of it now. You’ve always been sensible with money, so I’ve no fears you’ll run me into the ground, and I want you and that little lady to get off to a good start. I was worried about it at first, since she inveigled an offer from you, but she seems a capable girl, not flighty or silly, like so many are these days. And you seem reconciled to it — or am I mistaken on that point?”
“No,” Will said slowly. “No, you are not mistaken.”
“No resentment bubbling away under the surface?”
Will hardly knew how he felt about the prospect of marriage, but on that point he knew precisely how to answer. “No resentment,” he said firmly. “I have to marry some time, after all, and Miss Whittleton is perfectly suitable.”
His father looked thoughtfully at him, and Will had an uncomfortable feeling he saw more than he was saying. But what more was there to be said? However the betrothal had come about, it was done now, and they would be married and that was an end to it. Will could not honestly say he relished the prospect, but he had accepted it. Miss Whittleton was not the woman he would have chosen, but now that her antipathy towards him had been overcome by the prospect of his wealth, he had no serious objection to her. If only she were not such a dull, colourless character. Marriage to her would not be turbulent, but neither would it be particularly interesting.
~~~~~
