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Rosie squeaked again, and Angie silently handed her a handkerchief.
“AndIhope she will never agree to marry merely from obligation,” he said icily.
“Why not?” Stepmother cried. “It is precisely what you did yourself, after all.”
This time it was Angie who squeaked.
Will jumped to his feet, so angered that he was tempted to stalk out, but that would be to abandon Rosie to her fate, and he could never do that.
“Whatever may or may not have occurred between Miss Whittleton and myself, madam, is a private matter.”
“But you are in love with her!” Rosie wailed. “Itcannotbe true, Will!”
Will softened at once, for no anger could be sustained in the face of Rosie’s tears. “It is complicated, Rosie,” he said gently. “I was not always so much in love with Eloise as I am now, it is true, but whatever gentlemanly code of honour I may subscribe to cannot possibly apply to you. For a woman, who puts herself entirely into the hands of her husband, there must be more than duty involved in marriage. There must be affection, too, and if you feel none for Tranter then you must turn him down.”
“Fine words,” Stepmother said stiffly, “but what is to become of her if she never meets a man for whom she can feel affection?”
“Then she will be loved and cherished by her family for the rest of her life,” Will said.
“And that would be such a waste!”
Pa came back into the room just then. “Well, Rosie love, here’s another one with hopes of getting you to the altar. But tears already? Is it as bad as all that?”
“Pa, you will not make me marry him, will you?”
“Make you, my pet? When have I ever made you do anything? If you don’t want him, there’s an end to it.”
“Really, Harry!” Stepmother said crossly. “What was the point of coming to town at all if not to see Rosie suitably married, and surely an earl’s son is suitable? I cannot see that she wants to marryanyone, and that means we have done all this for nothing. It is too bad of you, Rosie, altogether too bad.”
“Not for nothing,” Pa said firmly, patting the weeping Rosie on one shoulder. “We’ve made some new friends and had a lovely time and Rosie’s been admired wherever she’s gone, aye, and Angie and Will, too. I’m proud of all of them, Lizzie, because they’ve mingled with all these great people as if they were born to it. But we didn’t come here to find Rosie a husband.”
“What! Then what was it all about, if not that?”
“We came here to introduce her into a wider society than she’d find back in Yorkshire, so she could have more suitors to choose from. But she has to make her own choice, Lizzie love. This Tranter fellow would make her a fine husband, right enough, but not if she’s miserable about it. I’ve seen Ted and Allie wed, and now Julia too, and each of them walked out of that church smiling from ear to ear. That’s what I want for all my children, for them to be as happy in their marriages as I am in mine, and why would any of us want anything different?”
Stepmother could hardly object to such reasoning. She gave a little smile, and a shrug of one shoulder. “I suppose you are right, Harry. As usual,” she added, without rancour.
Pa nodded, and then planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “That’s my girl. I’ll explain it to Tranter, Rosie love, so you’ll not be troubled by it, and next week we’ll go back to Hertfordshire and plan what we’ll do next. Because there’s a man out there somewhere for you, I’m sure of it. All we have to do is find him.”
29: Leaving London
There was one final evening of pleasure before the season finally wound to an end. The Armitages were to hold another musical soirée, and the Fletchers were invited to dine there beforehand, even Mr Fletcher. Mr and Mrs Armitage called to issue the invitation personally, and insisted that he be of the party.
“If the music is not to your taste, sir,” Mrs Armitage said, “then you may creep away home if you please once the performances begin, but we must and will have you dine with us before we part ways for the summer. But I hope you will take Mr Bravington’s house again next year, for we have greatly enjoyed having you as neighbours.”
“Especially since the dog was sent away, I’ll wager,” Pa said cheerfully. “But we may indeed take Mr Bravington’s house next year, and every year thereafter, I hope. Mrs Fletcher likes it, and that’s enough for me.” Lowering his voice so that Stepmother would not overhear, he added, “According to his man of business, Bravington sees little prospect of his health improving, and plans to settle permanently in Bath. So I may see what sort of price he’ll want for this place, but not a word to Mrs Fletcher. I’d like to surprise her.”
The dinner was of the very best kind, where the company is so lively and the conversation so absorbing and the food and drink so plentiful that all were satisfied in one way or another, and accounted it a capital meal. Will sat through it all in a glow of delight, for Eloise was by his side again, where she belonged, and their future happiness was assured. Later, he sat beside Pa and listened to his love sing and play, and decided that he was the luckiest man alive.
At supper, he and Eloise, together with Stepmother and Pa, found themselves seated beside Mr and Mrs Dalton, who were fearsomely fashionable in the London style, but very friendly and open.
“Mr Fletcher, I do hope you will encourage Miss Whittleton to continue her musical work after your marriage,” Mrs Dalton said. “Her compositions are so refreshingly different that I should be loath to have no more of them.”
Eloise said nothing, but turned her lovely eyes on him, not beseechingly but with a hint of anxiety in them. They had quarrelled over the matter at Marford House, but he had had time since to consider the matter more dispassionately.
“If it brings her pleasure, then she may continue with my good will,” he said. “I have no intention of interfering in the arrangement.”
Mrs Dalton smiled. “Spoken like a true gentleman,” she said. “But tell us about the wedding. When is it to be? And where?”
