Edward Knight, né Austen, being fully versed in his sister’s escapades in toying with time, seemed to find his visitors at least as fascinating as they did him.
Trying not to stare as she was introduced to him, Rose took the seat she was bid beside Jane. Thankful for the interlude, and the distraction from Jane’s strange reason for bringing her back in time, Rose looked around the great hall as surreptitiously as she could, trying to take in how the room differed from the present day, noting the stone floor and the heavy curtains hanging by the openings in the oak screen separating the room from the entrance hallway.
‘Miss Wallace?’
Turning her attention back to the company, Rose smiled at Edward. ‘Forgive me, sir. I was admiring the room.’
Edward straightened in his seat, looking pleased. ‘It is a fine one, is it not? Of course, it is nothing to the accommodations at Godmersham, but with my tenant’s departure, it was an opportune moment to assess the property and commence improvements whilst some renovations were carried out in Kent.’ His expression narrowed as he glanced at Jane. ‘We were due to return home after a visit to Henry in town. Fanny,’ he frowned at Jane, ‘was most put out when I sent her home to Godmersham instead of permitting her the promised excursion.’
‘My brother’s household has all returned to Kent after passing the summer here in Chawton, and Charles’ wife and family accompanied them.’ Jane looked from Rose to Aiden. ‘We are able to speak openly, for there are but we four here at present; Edward,’ she gestured at her brother, ‘is well versed in my travels.’
Rose looked over at Edward. Well versed he might be, but his face was disapproving. Jane, on the other hand, looked amused.
‘Edward does not consider it fitting behaviour, not least in a sister. He is, nonetheless, intrigued by it all the same. Indeed, when Charles first…’ She stopped and looked around. ‘Where is Charles?’
With a grunt, Edward got to his feet and walked over to the vast hearth where a fire burned merrily. ‘He took a tumble on his ride this morning. He has gone to repair the damage to his attire.’ Then, he turned to face the three of them, and Rose exchanged a quick glance with Aiden, who sent her a reassuring smile.
‘You have made my brother’s acquaintance, sir.’ He inclined his head towards Aiden, then looked back to Rose. ‘He shoulders great responsibility in his profession, with so many lives in his hands, yet it does not take much for him to revert to the foibles of childhood when at his leisure.’ He eyed Rose beadily for a moment, and she leaned back in her seat, wondering what he was going to say. ‘His foolish gift to Jane is a fine example of his recklessness. Such a secret we must now harbour in our breasts.’
Jane tutted. ‘All families have secrets, Edward.’
‘Ours is just more fascinating than most, is it not, Sister?’
Rose looked over her shoulder. The young man she had seen only briefly the night before had entered the room. Aged in his thirties, his dark hair cropped fashionably short, Captain Charles Austen was of lean build but his presence was such that he seemed so much larger.
‘I trust you rested well after your journey, Miss Wallace.’ He bowed formally. ‘I assure you, Mr Trevellyan was afforded every comfort we could offer him.’
‘And I appreciate your generosity, sir.’ Aiden looked to Edward, who smiled.
‘We are well supplied with produce from the estate, it is true.’
‘Speaking of which, Edward.’ Jane got to her feet and joined him by the fire. ‘With a visitor in the house, Mama asked if I might petition for some additional supplies.’
‘Of course.’ Edward waved a hand. ‘I shall send word to Parsons; the kitchen garden is at your disposal, as always.’ He turned to address Aiden and his brother. ‘We are lacking a hostess; otherwise, we would have you all to dinner.’
‘You know Cass would be more than happy to oblige, should you think to invite us, Brother.’ Jane’s expression was amused as she exchanged a look with her younger brother.
‘I fear we dine too late to suit Mama’s digestion, Jane.’
The conversation fell to discussing comparisons of dining habits, and Rose found her attention drifting and she got to her feet and walked over to one of the tall windows fronting onto the driveway. Her shoes were beginning to rub her heels sore. She’d been able to remove the bonnet, which had been making her head itch, and the gloves, for which she found the weather far too warm. If only she could shed with equal ease the discomfort swirling around inside her or the whirlwind of thoughts spinning in her head.
Should she pay a little more attention to Aiden’s approach to all this? He was an intelligent, well-educated man, but although she’d known him for three years, she didn’t exactly know him, did she? He seemed well-grounded, sensible and, like Jane herself, not given to flights of fancy. Yet how could he even be giving Jane’s incredible theory any consideration? It just wasn’t possible.
Nor is your being here in the first place. The thought whispered through her mind again, and Rose caught her breath, spinning around to face the room. Jane was at the nearby console table busying herself with preparing some tea now, along with a maid who had entered the room. Edward had returned to his seat, and he and Aiden were deep in conversation about the history of the house. Charles, in the meantime, sat a little apart from them and was studying Rose a little too intently for her comfort, and she stirred under his intense gaze.
‘Miss Wallace?’ With relief, Rose turned to Jane, who offered her a cup of tea.
‘Thank you.’
‘Dear Rose.’ Jane spoke quietly. ‘You really must begin to harden yourself to the idea of being worth looking at.’
Rose summoned a smile as Jane turned away to serve the others, then took a cautious sip of the tea. It didn’t taste exactly as she was used to, but it was certainly more palatable than the hot chocolate.
She turned back to look out of the window but had taken only one more sip of her drink when she became aware of someone beside her. Expecting it to be Aiden, she almost dropped her cup when she realised it was Charles Austen. He wasn’t looking at her this time, however, but out through the window.
‘There must be much that is alien to you, Miss Wallace.’ He glanced over his shoulder, then met Rose’s wary gaze. ‘My sister speaks very highly of you from her last… escapade. I confess to having been curious these many years.’
‘Curious, sir? Over what?’
‘Curious as to what sort of female could be even more bold than my sister.’
Rose couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I do not believe anyone has ever described me in such a way before.’
Charles’ brow rose, his eyes sparkling in a manner similar to his sister’s. ‘How else would you describe someone who, having been thrown out of the life they knew, would stop at nothing to restore it – even under threat of imprisonment?’
Rose’s eyes widened. ‘Jane – forgive me – Miss Austen has told you all, then. I admit it does sound rather daring when described as such, but much of it was chance. I was also spurred on by necessity. If your sister has told you everything, you will know her writing lives on to inspire millions.’
Her gaze wandering to where Aiden sat opposite Edward, Rose smiled slightly. ‘Circumstance can lead us to act out of our natural character, can it not?’
‘Most indubitably.’
Charles took a sip of his own tea, but Rose’s eyes remained on Aiden. They may only have become close in recent days, but she knew his face almost as well as her own. If she was any judge, he was half listening to Edward and half trying to commit the stonework to memory.
Charles turned to place his now empty cup on the console table. ‘Jane is a favourite amongst my siblings, yet even I struggle to imagine the extent of her fame in the future.’
The gentleman’s narrowed gaze fastened on Aiden. Why would he be interested in him, other than as a curiosity? She shifted from one foot to the other, but Charles then suggested they join the rest of the party, and Rose fell thankfully into a seat.
‘I believe, now we are refreshed, we should turn our attention to the matter in hand: my sister’s purpose in bringing you here.’ He looked to Rose, then Aiden. ‘Has she spoken of it? She was convinced of the necessity, yet Edward and I remain in the dark.’
Edward nodded. ‘I agree. I believe we have been sufficiently patient.’ His gaze fell on Rose, and she stirred warily. ‘What is so important it could not wait 200 years for Miss Wallace to work it out on her own?’
Jane threw him a warning glance, and Edward inclined his head towards Rose.
‘Forgive me, madam. With the exception of the rather dramatic occurrence of our sister being lost to us for a while, this is the first time we have had any interaction ourselves with this strange phenomenon.’ His gaze remained fixed on Rose. ‘At present, I am unsure if my sentiments tend towards aversion or fascination.’
Rose smiled faintly. ‘I am not certain how I feel about it either, sir.’
Edward’s expression relaxed a little, but Charles laughed, and Rose met Aiden’s concerned gaze and forced a smile, wishing he was at her side. Were they expecting her to explain their sister’s inexplicable action? She had no desire to make Jane look ridiculous in front of her brothers.
Jane placed her cup on a side table. ‘I have told you both several times, it is of a delicate nature.’
‘The rules of what should and should not be discussed have long become clouded when it comes to your adventures, Sister. I think it best we understand exactly what is afoot.’ Charles’ tone was pleasant but firm. ‘Would you rather I share my own?’ He didn’t wait for a reply, but turned to look at Rose. ‘Miss Wallace shares a family name with my friend, Wallace, who is a tenant here in Chawton.’ He turned to his sister. ‘Had you not interrogated me on everything I knew about the gentleman, I would be hard pressed to call it nothing more than a small coincidence, for it is a common enough name, is it not? But you sought every possible detail of my acquaintance with Wallace, and I would hazard you believe he and your friend here,’ he waved a hand towards Rose, ‘are related in some way.’
Edward’s face brightened. ‘Is this all? But, to what end? It would be a fine coincidence indeed, should the family be revealed so, Jane. But where lies the urgency or obligation to take such drastic action?’
All eyes turned on Rose.
‘It is… possible…’ She hesitated. ‘This man – he may be more closely related than you suspect. I… he…’ Rose floundered, and Aiden got to his feet and came to sit beside her, taking her hand in his and ignoring Jane’s pointed look before she turned to her brothers.
‘I believe Mr Wallace is not a distant relation, but Rose’s father, whom she has considered dead since she was a child.’
Edward’s eyes widened, and he sputtered, ‘Inconceivable!’ His gaze flew from Jane’s serious face to Rose’s anxious expression. ‘Is it possible? How? How could it possibly be possible!?’
Charles, however, leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. ‘Now that is a compelling thought.’
Rose gripped Aiden’s hand tighter, willing him not to give in to the strictures of the day and release her, but Jane had turned to Charles.
‘How long had Mr Christopher Wallace been in Gibraltar when you made his acquaintance?’
Charles shrugged. ‘As I once said, I am not entirely certain, but for some considerable duration. He had acquired a wife and young family. Mrs Wallace was born there, daughter to one of the Commissioner’s aides. It was at a gathering in the residence that we were first introduced.’
‘Yes, but when was this?’
Charles got to his feet and walked over to where his sister sat. ‘Around the time I acquired the topaz crosses – some thirteen years ago? Wallace and I got along famously, and we met several times before I once more set out to sea. He confessed his desire to return to England with his family. I would have given him passage but for our being bound for Ireland, but I was able to put him in touch with an acquaintance whose command was headed for Portsmouth the following month.’
Jane tilted her head to one side as she studied her brother. ‘When I asked you about him, you said he had been vague about what brought him to Gibraltar.’
Edward made an impatient gesture. ‘Where is all this going, Jane? I do not see—’
‘Nor will you, Brother, unless you open your eyes.’ Jane shook her head at him and turned back to her younger brother. ‘Did you not say he had been shipwrecked in the Straits?’
Charles was staring into the middle distance, and Rose looked from him to Aiden. She felt some sympathy for Edward in all this. Where exactly were they going with it? They could debate and dissect what little facts they had all day long, but it wouldn’t make it any more likely that Jane’s theory would be true.
Aiden sent her a small smile, but then turned his attention back to what Charles Austen was saying, and Rose, comforted simply by knowing he was there, did likewise.
‘…and pulled from the sea.’ Charles stopped, a faint look of surprise on his face. ‘I had forgotten! We did find an odd connection. It seems he was tended back to health by a native woman whom, according to local lore, possessed a talent for healing.’ He gestured towards Jane. ‘We later discovered her to be the very same woman who, some years later, sold me the charm with the mystical power, Jane, and enabled you to bring your friends here.’
‘But did Mr Wallace ever say whence he came, Brother?’
‘Yes, I wish to understand this too.’ Edward was eyeing his brother keenly. ‘Through your introduction, Charles, he is now a tenant of mine. I wish to know more on his background.’
Charles turned back to his sister. ‘He came from England, though the name of the vessel I know not. As I said, when I first met Wallace he had been in Gibraltar several years. But,’ Charles glanced at Rose thoughtfully, ‘I recall now that Wallace owned the loss of his first family. He gave no indication as to what had happened to them, but there had been a wife and a young daughter.’
Rose’s throat felt tight and a tear pricked her eye. It was all just too ridiculous… wasn’t it? Everyone’s gaze seemed fixed on Charles Austen, who looked around at them then smiled ruefully.
‘Hardly proof, I know. The conditions in Gibraltar could be harsh, especially for a child. But it does add to the mystery, does it not?’
A silence descended on them as all eyes turned on Rose. She tried to swallow, but a constriction had risen and instead she coughed. Were they expecting her to say something?
‘I— I cannot—’ She stopped, attempted to clear her throat, and Aiden placed his other hand over their clasped ones.
‘Miss Wallace, what do you recall of your father?’
‘Very little. I was only two when he died…’ She looked from Jane to Charles. ‘He went missing after a boating accident. He was never found.’
‘And your family? You have brothers and sisters?’
She shook her head, wishing she did. It would put paid to all this nonsense. ‘No. I was – I am – an only child.’
Aiden’s thumb stroked the back of her hand methodically, and Rose summoned a smile for him before her gaze was drawn back to the three Austen siblings eyeing her with avid interest. Was it simply the magic of being here, being with this incredible family in these ridiculous circumstances, or was she starting to consider there might be something in Jane’s outlandish theory?