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ONCE I HAD DELIVERED Lady Morland’s tea to her and blown out the candle, I emitted a great sigh of relief as I stepped into the corridor only to find Nancy Jane waiting for me to emerge from Lady Morland’s bedchamber. As I was now in quite a rush to reach Miss Featherstone’s suite, Nancy Jane fell into step beside me as I hurried toward the stairs, questions tumbling from her lips as she struggled to keep the empty coal shuttle from hitting her shins as we walked.
“Why was you in Lady Morland’s bedchamber? Why did you turn back the bed? I’m the one ‘spose to turn back the bed, I’m the chambermaid. I heard it was you what found Temple on the stairs. Gor’ Blimey! What a nasty turn; and how sad for Lady Morland. Is that why you was helping her? I’m ‘spose to turn back the bed,” she said again.
“I only did what she told me to do, Nancy Jane,” I flung the explanation for my odd behaviour over my shoulder as I hurried away. “I wish I could talk to you now but I must tend to Miss Featherstone. She hasn’t a clue where I’ve got off to.”
* * *
EVEN BEFORE I REACHED the wing of the house where the ladies’ bedchambers were located, I had already drawn the conclusion that the heir’s signet ring now being in Lady Morland’s possession was very likely why Temple had flung herself down the back stairs, why she had taken her own life. No doubt, Lady Morland found the ring, and perhaps also the diamond stick pin, in Temple’s room and confronted her, thereby forcing Temple to confess that she had been the one who stabbed the heir in the back and stolen the stick pin and the ruby signet ring, that most precious family heirloom. It also explained why Temple went into hysterics the day the constable instructed every person of a height to re-enact the crime. Poor woman probably hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since due to a guilty conscience. Which might explain why Lady Morland needed the laudanum; perhaps Temple had also lifted her ladyship’s supply of that, too.
I truly did want to tell Nancy Jane all I had only just learned about the crime tonight, and also about everything else, meaning the part about Mr. Talbot and me. But I knew I was already in the suds for being alone with him this evening; plus Lady Morland had certainly not treated me in a kindly fashion just now, so unless I wanted to be given the boot tonight and sent on my way without a character, I’d best do as the doctor said and keep the contents of Temple’s suicide note to myself.
Still, I could hardly believe it. In the note, Temple had not offered any sort of reason for killing the heir, she had simply confessed to the crime, begged Lady Morland’s forgiveness and ended her admission of guilt with her signature, first name only. I don’t know where the note was found, probably in her apron pocket.
It truly was a nasty business. Made me wonder if there wasn’t a mad man loose in Morland Manor and if the killing spree would never end?
When I entered our suite, Mrs. Collins barely glanced up from removing her shoes as she prepared for bed. It was Caroline who looked up and spoke to me.
“Oh, I heard the dreadful news about Temple and that you were the one who found her, is it true? You were there?”
“Indeed.” I nodded as I crossed the room as if nothing were amiss. “Consequently I was obliged to wait until Doctor Morgan arrived and relay what I had seen to him and after that, Mrs. Fullerton sent me up to Lady Morland’s suite with a tea tray. And then, her ladyship wanted laudanum. It was all very distressing.”
“You poor dear,” Caroline commiserated. “Would you mind terribly helping me with . . .?”
“I will be glad to help you, Caroline.” I reached to begin undoing the hooks that marched down the back of her dress. Because she stood nearer my own height meant to help her posed no problem. “I am so sorry I could not get here sooner.”
“How is Lady Morland bearing up?” Mrs. Collins asked in a dull tone.
“Still complaining of her stomach ailment,” I replied. “And, of course, she is quite overset over Temple’s death.” Suddenly, it struck me that beyond sniffing into her handkerchief as she hovered in the doorway of the scullery, Lady Morland did not seem one bit overset regarding Temple’s death. But, then . . . the dead woman did confess to killing her son.
“The entertainment in the drawing room tonight has quite jangled my nerves,” Mrs. Collins was saying. “I daresay Lady Wentworth rather overstated her daughter’s talent as a songstress.” Directing a speaking look at her younger sister, Mrs. Collins added, “It did not escape my notice that you and Edward Morland, and Juliette, ducked out before the caterwauling drew to an end. If I had had the courage, I would have done the same.”
By this time, Mrs. Collins had already donned her nightdress and was crawling into bed. “Good night, girls, I confess I am fagged to death.”
Given the manner in which the older woman had indicated that the three of us, myself, Caroline and Edward, had ducked out of the drawing room made me wonder if she did not know that I had been left alone in the solarium with Mr. Talbot?
A few minutes later, after I had helped Caroline into her nightdress, she took a seat on the bench before the dressing table and I began to unpin her hair. Catching my eye in the mirror, she put a finger to her lips, and turning to face me, whispered, “Let us go into your bedchamber, where we might talk freely.”
The hairbrush in my hand and a candle in Caroline’s, we slipped through the dressing room and into my little room where, after she carefully pulled the door to, we both sat down upon the bed, Caroline with her back toward me so I could continue brushing her hair. As I was quite curious to learn why Mrs. Collins had not chastised me about not returning to the drawing room that evening, I asked in a low tone, “What did you tell your sister regarding my whereabouts tonight?”
“I told her I sent you below-stairs to inquire if my blue plaid afternoon gown had been pressed.”
“Oh. I would never have thought of that. Thank you for not telling her the truth about me being with Mr. Talbot.”
Caroline aimed a smile over one shoulder. “We are friends, Juliette. I do not wish to have you snatched from me. To say truth . . .” she turned full around, her hazel eyes sparkling, “if Edward offers for me, I wish you to stay on as my lady’s maid! Will you consent to do so?”
“Oh!” I sucked in a breath. Her offer had caught me off guard. “Thank you, indeed, Caroline. You are very kind. I had hoped that you, or your sister, would provide me with a character when the fortnight is over. B-Beyond that, I cannot say for certain what my plans are.”
Caroline’s face fell. “Perhaps you do not wish to remain a lady’s maid. I understand that before coming here you were a companion. Perhaps you would rather stay on as my companion, that is if . . . if Edward and I are to be wed.”
“Is Edward close to declaring himself then?”
“Quite close, I believe.” With a smile and a nod, she resumed her position before me on the bed and I returned to brushing her hair. “I shall tell you all that happened between us tonight. After I saw you and Mr. Talbot together in the solarium, Edward took me upstairs to a lovely picture gallery where we were deliciously alone. Not another soul was about. Arm-in-arm, we strolled up and down the gallery as he pointed out various portraits of his ancestors and told me about each one of them.”
“That sounds delightful. I am so happy you had the opportunity to be alone with him.”
“Well, if Mr. Talbot had not arrived in the solarium and begun to kiss you . . .” again she turned to grin at me, “it never would have happened.”
I yearned to ask if Edward had yet kissed her, but didn’t dare. I was pleased that she felt comfortable enough to confide her innermost thoughts with me, but I did not wish to pry. She soon turned full around and taking the brush from my hand, we both scooted back to lean against the wall at the side of my bed and continued to whisper secrets to one another like schoolmates.
“Did you know there is not a single female cousin still living amongst the entire Morland family?” Caroline marveled. “Which is why Lady Morland wished to see the heir wed, so that he might begin to fill up his nursery, hopefully with little girls, and of course, another heir.”
I did know there were no living female cousins as Mr. Talbot had told me so, but for the nonce, I let Caroline go on uninterrupted.
“Edward showed me a portrait of the first Lady Morland, the heir’s mother . . .”
“The first Lady Morland, the heir’s mother?” I exclaimed. “Are you saying that Lady Morland, the present Lady Morland, is not the heir’s mother?” The news quite astonished me.
Caroline nodded. “The present Lady Morland is Sir Morland’s second wife. The first Lady Morland died of childbed fever soon after giving birth to a baby daughter. I find that terribly sad. Sir Morland then married this Lady Morland, and they had Edward. But, because William was still a tot when she and Sir Morland married, I rather think she considers herself mother to them both. Wouldn’t you agree?”
What I thought was that this rather put things in a completely different light. Earlier I had wondered what could possibly be Temple Bradley’s motive for killing the heir, now it appeared that the person who stood to gain the most from William Morland’s death was Edward Morland! But, since I did not believe he murdered his older brother, I now wondered if another member of the Morland family might have done so for him, in order that he might inherit the entire Morland estate?
Much, much later, after Caroline had sought her bed and I was lying in mine, I began to wonder if that same member of the Morland family might have had a hand in Temple’s death? A hard shove at the older woman’s back would be sufficient to send her tumbling down the stairs. Then, all one would have to do was walk down to the landing where the dead woman lay and slip a scrap of paper into her apron pocket, turn around and retreat back up the stairs, no one the wiser. Even if he, or she, met a footman or chamber maid upon the stairs, a bit of play-acting would likely convince the innocent party that one was going in search of aid for the fallen maid, and not that she, or he, had had a hand in causing her to fall.
The signet ring now in Lady Morland’s jewel box did rather raise disturbing questions. Or, perhaps not. Perhaps it just confirmed that Temple Bradley did commit the crime. Lady Morland discovered the heir’s ring in her maid’s possession, confronted her about it and Temple confessed to killing him. But, why? Why would Temple kill a young man she reportedly doted on?
* * *
WEDNESDAY, 25 OCTOBER 1820
By morning, I ached to talk things over with Mr. Talbot, but knew I would require Caroline’s help in arranging that.
While we maids were seated at the servant’s dining table for breakfast, Constable Wainwright arrived below-stairs to inspect the body still laid out in the scullery and make the final determination as to the cause of the woman’s death, suicide; or another murder. Of course, the maids were all wide-eyed over the news about Temple’s tumble last night, all of us speaking in hushed tones and at this point everyone (save me) still believing the elderly maid had simply fallen down the stairs. Of course, as I fully expected, it wasn’t too very long before I was called away to speak with the constable.
“So . . . you again, Miss Abbott,” was his friendly greeting. He had apparently just concluded his cursory examination of the body and sent a scullery maid to fetch me before he left the premises in order to file his official report. “Understand it was you what found the body lying dead on the landin’ last night on the stairs. What was you doin’ there at that time of night?”
Feeling as if I were once again at an official inquest and being interrogated for a crime I did not commit, I said, “Generally speaking, sir, all the maids are required to use the back stairs both day and night. As it happened last evening, my mistress had sent me down to inquire if one of her frocks had been pressed. I assume she wished to wear it today.”
“And, had it been pressed?”
A pang pierced me. “I-I do not know, sir. Once I came upon Temple lying on the landing, I forgot my errand at once and ran for help. After that, everything fell into a jumble of confusion. I-I never did ask about the dress.”
“And did your mistress not ask you about it?”
“Sir, I have told you all that I know regarding Temple Bradley’s death. The stairwell is quite dimly-lit at night. Truth is, it is always dimly-lit, anyhow, I stumbled over the . . . the body thinking it was perhaps a mound of soiled laundry, then when I saw that it was . . . not laundry, I panicked and ran to get Mrs. Fullerton.”
“You did not first go in search of Lady Morland? I understand the dead woman is, rather, was her lady’s maid.”
“I started to go for her, then I turned and ran back down to ask Griggs to send for Doctor Morgan, and also to get Mrs. Fullerton.”
“So, are you saying you fell over the body a second time on your way down the stairs again?”
“I did not fall over her, sir, I stepped over her. Once I had alerted Mrs. Fullerton, I never went back up the stairs again. I remained in the kitchen awaiting the arrival of Doctor Morgan. When he came, I told him exactly what had happened . . . just as I am attempting now to tell you, sir.” The man’s manner of twisting my answers around to where it sounded as if I were hiding something was quite annoying.
“Is there anything else you would like to add to your statement?”
“No sir, I have told you everything I know,” I said again.
“Very well. That will be all, Miss Abbott.” He turned to jot down something in the small notebook he always carried with him. “Try to stay out of trouble.”
The constable’s parting remark made me wish it had been his lifeless body I had found lying on the stairs instead of poor Temple.
If I had not been so off-put by the constable’s reprehensible manner toward me, I would have asked if he, or Doctor Morgan, might have noticed a bruise on Temple’s back, such as might be got from a hard shove, but I dared not. The man would probably decide then and there that I had pushed Temple down the stairs in a fit of anger, or something equally as ridiculous, and was now attempting to fob off my guilt onto someone else. Best to keep my thoughts on that score to myself. Still, I did notice that he said nothing about the suicide note, or the fact that the heir’s murder had now been solved. Perhaps, for some unknown reason, he was electing to keep that new turn-up under wraps.
For my part, I did not truly believe the mystery surrounding the heir’s murder had been solved. The uneasy feeling that had gripped me last night about both Temple and the heir’s deaths still gnawed at me today. Something was simply not right and I desperately needed to talk over my feelings with someone possessed of rational thought and an unsuspicious mind. Meaning unsuspicious in regard to me. I resolved once again to find a way to speak with Mr. Talbot as soon as possible.
Soon after luncheon, I, along with the other lady’s maids, and the pair of Morland cousins, gathered in the drawing room, along with most of the young girl’s chaperones, all of us talking quietly amongst ourselves. Henry Morland was boldly seated alongside Miss Hester Grant and her mother, Lady Stanhope, on a sofa, the three of them appearing to share a congenial discussion about something, quite possibly Miss Grant and Henry Morland’s plans to marry.
Reginald Morland casually lounged against the mantelpiece, one leg drawn up before him, his boot resting behind him on the stone façade of the fireplace. As usual, he was wearing a bored look on his face as he directed a gaze up and over everyone’s heads and through one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, as though something of interest on the lawn was garnering his rapt attention.
Miss Featherstone’s chaperone Mrs. Collins was seated beside her friend, Lady Wentworth and that woman’s beautiful daughter, Miss Banes, all three sorting through and commenting upon loose sheets of music, perhaps deciding upon which melody Miss Banes should next attempt to sing. More’s the pity.
I lowered myself to a seat beside Miss Featherstone wishing to quietly alert her as to what I had earlier said to the constable in regard to why I was on the stairs late last evening, just in case he decided to question her by way of challenging my statement.
“You have nothing to worry about, Juliette. That is precisely what I told Alice regarding your absence last evening; it is what I will tell him, or anyone else who might ask.” She inhaled a long breath. “I do wonder what is keeping Lady Morland today? I have also not seen Edward since last night. Neither he nor his mother were at breakfast or luncheon. Both of them being absent on the same day is most peculiar.”
“Indeed,” I murmured. Part of me fervently hoped that Lady Morland was not still abed and did not suddenly send for me and demand that I wait upon her today as she had last night. So far as I was concerned, to become Lady Morland’s personal maid would bring my career at Morland Manor to an abrupt end. Yes, I would consider, and be very grateful for, Caroline’s kind offer to become her lady’s maid, or better still, her companion, in the event she and Edward Morland were to wed, but I would never accept such an offer from Lady Morland, not even if I had no where else in the world to go and less than a penny in my pocket, which was very nearly the case just now.
A quarter hour later, it appeared that Miss Banes and her mother were coming quite close to entertaining us yet again with another splendid rendition of another popular song of the day, made all but unrecognizable coming from her lips when both Mr. Edward Morland accompanied by Mr. Talbot entered the drawing room.
“If I might have everyone’s attention, please,” Edward Morland began, taking up a position before the polished mahogany table in the center of the room upon which afternoon tea was often laid out. “I have an announcement to make, and also a message from my mother, Lady Morland.”
A bit of shuffling ensued, Lady Wentworth and Miss Banes returned to their seats from the pianoforte; Mr. Reginald Morland straightened up, both feet now on the floor, although his arms remained folded across his chest, and the expression on his handsome face remained as disinterested as ever.
Edward cleared his throat. “Firstly, my mother sends her regrets. She is not feeling well today and will not be joining us. I have taken the liberty of sending for Doctor Morgan to attend to her.” Concern for his mother’s health was evident upon the young man’s face. He sucked in a breath before continuing. “As I am sure most of you know by now, mother’s beloved personal maid of many years, Temple, passed away last night.”
A collective murmur of sympathy arose from those of us seated in the room.
“Thank you, ladies. And gentlemen.” Edward cast a long look across the room at one cousin, then his gaze searched out the other. “What many of you may not know is that, this morning, Constable Wainwright has determined from a . . . um . . . note found in Temple Bradley’s apron pocket that . . . she took her own life.”
“Oh-h!”
Following that disclosure, everyone’s eyes widened as they all, save me, exchanged astonished looks. When the cries of alarm had died away, Edward continued to speak. “In her note, Temple also explained that the reason for taking her own life was because she . . . with her own hand . . . murdered my brother, William Morland.”
A sharp chorus of horror followed this pronouncement.
“According to my mother,” the young man went on raising his voice a bit in order to be heard, “there had been a long standing feud between Temple and my brother, which evidently escalated the night of the ball, or perhaps before. At any rate, in her note, Temple admitted to having committed the awful crime and then, rather than be hauled off to gaol and brought up on charges, she flung herself down the stairs, where she was found . . . last night.”
“How perfectly dreadful!” Caroline exclaimed. “Did you know?” She turned to me, her eyes wide.
My lips tightened. “I was instructed to say nothing to anyone regarding the contents off the note until the constable was consulted this morning.”
“How very, very shocking!” cried Mrs. Collins, at that moment lowering herself to the sofa beside us. “On the other hand, it is comforting to know the truth at last.”
“I am going to sing now.” Most of us were startled as we glanced up to watch Miss Banes once again charge toward the pianoforte, her mother fast upon her heels.
“I shall attempt to stop her.” Mrs. Collins bolted up again to rejoin her friend Lady Wentworth and Miss Banes who seemed intent upon lightening the gloom that had engulfed the room.
The rest of us fell again to murmuring about Temple’s untimely death. Below-stairs earlier that morning, a plan had been got up between we maids to wear a black ribbon tied about our arms in our fallen comrade’s honor, but even then, I thought it a rather silly notion since our frocks are black and no one would notice a black ribbon tied about our arms; now, I rather expected that following Edward’s announcement revealing the reason for Temple’s death, the plan to honor her would never be brought up again.
My musings were interrupted when both Mr. Edward Morland and Mr. Talbot approached Caroline and myself. “Afternoon, ladies,” Edward said. “I daresay now would be a good time to head for the garden.” A gaze slid toward the pianoforte as he stretched forth a hand to Caroline.
His lips twitching, Mr. Talbot addressed me. “Will you join us, Miss Abbott?”
As if seeking permission I looked toward Caroline, but finding her gaze fixed upon Edward, I rose to my feet. “Indeed, sir. I will. Thank you.”
At long last, I thought as Caroline and I both hurried up the wide sweep of stairs to fetch our bonnets, I was about to be accorded the opportunity to speak privately with Mr. Talbot.
* * *
IN NO TIME, WE FOUR had vacated the manor house and were following the stone path around the side to the rear, but this time rather than enter the knot garden, Edward headed off down the hill toward a lovely meadow, the far end of which dissolved into a thick copse of trees, their leaves now splashed with brilliant hues of Autumn orange and gold. Morland Manor was surrounded on all sides by picturesque scenes, the tranquility of which now seemed at odds with the turmoil and anxiety marring the interior of the beautiful manor home.
Almost at once, Mr. Talbot and I lagged far behind Edward and Caroline, who were walking at a swift clip and were already a good distance ahead of us, deeply engrossed in one another. At length, I gazed up at my handsome companion, who was today wearing a chocolate brown coat atop his buff-colored breeches, only to find him earnestly studying me.
“Last evening you declared that Miss Featherstone’s chaperone had forbidden you to speak with me. Has the ban now been lifted?”
A nervous giggle escaped me. “I am uncertain what Mrs. Collins will say today. Such a great deal has happened since you and I last saw one another . . . in the solarium,” I finished softly. Remembering the gentleman’s sweet kiss, I felt a blush creep to my cheeks and quickly looked down. “It seems as if a full sen’night has passed rather than a single night.” In an effort to compose myself, I lifted my chin and inhaled a deep breath of the crisp October air.
“So, what do you make of the events of last night? I refer to Lady Morland’s maid confessing to the crime.”
I worked to bring my thoughts around to the topic I had so ardently wished to discuss with him, rather than the ardent topic of him, which my heart keenly wished to linger upon. “To say truth,” I tested my voice, “it all seems a bit troubling to me. When the constable was here on Sunday last to stage the reenactment of the crime, Temple could scarcely go through with it. As the rest of us sat around the table in the servant’s quarters listening to her reluctant cries coming from the corridor, I clearly recall one of the housemaids saying that Temple had doted on the heir, that she had known him since he was in leading strings. If that is the case, it seems unlikely to me that she would be the one to . . . hasten his departure from this earth.”
Nodding, Mr. Talbot glanced down at me. “Both Edward and I are of the same mind. Edward is deeply troubled by the news, despite his mother professing that Temple’s confession is true and genuine. However, living as close as Lady Morland has all these years with the woman, I expect she knew her maid far better than the rest of us. But because Lady Morland is . . . not well, no one wishes to draw her into an . . . unpleasant discussion.”
“I am so sorry she is still not feeling well,” I murmured with genuine feeling. “I took tea up to her last night. She complained then of stomach pains.”
“Edward is quite alarmed regarding his mother’s health. So much so that he sent word to his father asking him to return home as quickly as possible.”
“Oh, my, is it so very bad, then?”
Again, Mr. Talbot nodded. “Has been coming on a good many years. The doctor declared her stomach ailment is becoming progressively worse.”
“Oh dear, and now all this dreadful business with William and now Temple. It’s no wonder her ladyship has taken to her bed.”
“Let us hope there will be no more . . .” His words trailed off. “Given Temple’s suicide note and what Constable Wainwright declared this morning, I daresay, the case is now settled and done with. No need for further investigation or an official inquest before a magistrate or judge.”
I could not help thinking that Mr. Talbot did not seem convinced, nor was I, for all that, but how to tell him of my feelings? In an attempt to prolong the topic begin discussed, I said, “Well, if what Temple said is true, I can understand why she would rather end her own life than suffer the embarrassment of being arrested, and locked up in a cell, then brought before the Assizes next Quarter.”
“I quite agree.” Mr. Talbot nodded. “A quick tumble down the stairs would indeed be preferable to the prolonged agony of a trial, one that is certain to end with a noose about one’s neck.”
I gazed up at him. “What does Edward say about it?”
“Not a great deal he can say. He is torn. He was also fond of Temple, but I believe he is reserving final judgment until his father returns from London. See if he turned up anything there. William Morland had a good many enemies in Town, you know. Everyone agrees the heir was a scoundrel. Fellow had a nasty way of alienating folks, men and women alike. ”
I hesitated before revealing what I knew of Kenneth Grimes, then decided to forge ahead with that, as well. “Did you know about him . . . ruining Kenneth Grimes’ sister? And, about the babe?”
He turned an astonished gaze on me. “How did you learn of that?”
“My cousin Nancy Jane told me. She’s a chambermaid up at the manor house. It’s because of Nancy Jane that I’m at Morland Manor. When I arrived here from London, she told me Lady Morland was looking to put on a new lady’s maid for a fortnight, just for the duration of the house party. I hadn’t anything else to do since my mistress, Lady Carstairs in Town had just passed on, so . . . I thought surely I could bear residing in the country for that length.” My head shook with wonderment. “Given all that’s occurred, it seems I’ve been here far longer than that already.”
“Does seem that way.” Mr. Talbot reached to pick up a stick and began to beat back the taller grass we had come upon. “Appears we’ve walked as far as the goats have eaten.”
We both grinned. It also appeared we had exhausted the topic under discussion, but because there was still a great deal about him I wished to know, I said, “Tell me about your family, Mr. Talbot.”
“I will if you’ll call me Philip, at least when we’re alone together. Mr. Talbot sounds far too formal between friends.”
I smiled up at him. “Very well. Tell me about your family, Philip. Do you have brothers and sisters?”
“My family, or what’s left of it, is a bit scattered, which I suppose explains why when I met Edward at Eton, he and I fell in together and after that, I rather finished growing up here at Morland Manor. I do have an older sister who is still living. Emma resides in Bath. Our parents are both dead, passed on due to what was then called the wasting fever by the old folks. My parents died soon after Edward and I became friends. An uncle took in Emma and continued to pay my tuition so I might remain in school.”
“Has your sister married? Does she have children?”
He shook his head, one hand still waving the long stick back and forth as we walked. Up ahead I could see that Caroline and Edward had stepped onto a small arched stone bridge that spanned the width of a narrow stream. At present, they had stopped in the middle of the bridge and were standing with their elbows resting upon the railing as they gazed out over the placid water. And, at each other.
“Emma is . . . unwell. An invalid, actually.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I murmured.
He looked down at me. “She is a kind person, like you. You remind me a great deal of her actually.”
“Do I?”
“She also likes to read. The day you came upon Edward and me playing billiards and you asked about the library, you put me in mind of my sister. When she was a child, her hair was the same color as yours.”
By then, we had reached the bridge and in seconds had caught up to Caroline and Edward. The four of us talked quietly a bit, all leaning against the somewhat rough wall of the bridge, enjoying the peaceful sound of the water gurgling around the jagged rocks and pebbles beneath us.
“Talbot and I used to come here as boys,” Edward said with a grin, “and see who could toss a stone the farthest.”
“We angled here, too,” put in Mr. Talbot.
Edward laughed. “Until father informed us that the fish we were using as bait were larger than any we might catch in the stream.”
We all laughed. Recalling that the heir had wanted to go angling in the lake the day we all set out to visit the ruins, I asked, “Did you also go angling in the lake down by the road, where we all walked the day of the picnic?”
Both Edward and Mr. Talbot nodded.
“Caught a good many fish there, too,” Edward said. “We’d bring them back up to the house and sit in the kitchen and anxiously watch and wait while Cook prepared them for us to eat.”
“We’d eat them right then, too.” Mr. Talbot laughed.
I smiled up at the handsome man at my side. “When I was a very small child, my uncle Abbott, Nancy Jane’s father, allowed the two of us to tag along with the boys when they went angling. I always enjoyed the fresh taste of the fish that we, or rather, the boys caught. I don’t believe I ever caught one.”
“I have certainly never caught a fish,” Caroline said.
Edward gave her hand a squeeze. “I shall have to take you angling, my dear. Would you like that?”
“I would enjoy doing anything with you, Edward.”
At that moment, we all heard the deep rumble of thunder overhead. Mr. Talbot hurried to the opposite end of the bridge, from where he could look up and clearly see a patch of darkening sky through the thick canopy of trees overhanging the bridge where we stood.
“Unless we want to get drenched, I’d suggest we all head back up to the house! The sooner, the better!”
* * *
A HARD RAIN BEGAN TO fall mere seconds after we entered the marble tiled foyer of the manor house. When Edward spotted Doctor Morgan only just descending the wide front stairs, he hastened toward him. Our escorts bid us a hasty good day and the three men advanced to the small chamber adjacent to the drawing room while Caroline and I slowly ascended the stairs to our suite. Coming from the drawing room, we could still hear the muted sounds of both male and female voices and assumed some of the ladies and perhaps both the Morland cousins were still sequestered within.
Reaching our suite, we found Mrs. Collins seated on the cushion before the bay window watching the rain pour in torrents, the cold, wet droplets making wavy rivulets down the windowpane. She turned as we entered the room. Spotting me, her lips pursed.
“Thanks to you, Miss Abbott, Lady Wentworth and Miss Banes are at this very moment preparing to leave Morland Manor. Dear Miss Banes is mortified over the fact that Mr. Talbot prefers the company of a mere lady’s maid to her.”
Caroline came at once to my defense. “Juliette is not a mere lady’s maid, Alice, she is a companion. As you well know, there is a great deal of difference between the two.”
“Nonetheless, her status at Morland Manor is that of a lady’s maid and nothing more.” Mrs. Collins fastened a disdainful gaze upon me.
Not knowing how to defend myself, I turned a helpless look upon Caroline.
“For your information, Alice, I have asked Juliette to become my companion.”
Her sister snorted. “Have you now? And, how do you propose to compensate your new companion? Or will she work for nothing, since that is all you can afford to pay her.”
Because Caroline had now removed her bonnet, I did the same whilst breathlessly awaiting her reply.
A stubborn gleam appeared in Caroline’s eyes. “Once I become Edward Morland’s wife, I shall have the means to afford anything I like.”
“Very well, then, if and when Edward Morland does ask you to become his wife, I will concede defeat, and allow you to employ anyone you like as your companion.” Mrs. Collins’ tone said she was skeptical that anything of the sort would ever come about.
Wearing a very self-satisfied expression now Caroline turned toward me. “Juliette, my dear, I would like it above all things if you would consent to become my companion.”
Mrs. Collins blinked. “Caroline, does this mean . . . has he?”
“Yes, Alice, he has!” Caroline squealed. Both women ran toward one another and Caroline flung her arms about her older sister as both began to dance joyfully about the room.
“How wonderful, my dearest, child! Father will be beside himself with joy!”
Though I felt equally as pleased for Caroline, I quietly looked on rather than say anything to interrupt the sisterly exultation.
“When did he ask you?”
“Just now! We came upon a pretty little arched bridge and as we were standing there, looking out over the water, my sweet Edward began to tell me of his deep feelings for me and then, he asked if I could be happy living at Morland Manor . . . as his wife!”
Certainly, I was thrilled beyond words for my mistress, but the bald truth was, I could never be happy living at Morland Manor either as Edward Morland’s wife, or as his new wife’s companion. But again, I did not wish to dampen the joyous moment by expressing my feelings on the matter.
“I was not going to say anything to you just yet, Alice, but I confess I did agree to become Edward’s wife without the least bit of hesitation!”
“Oh, my dear!” As the two sisters exclaimed again and again over their immense good fortune, I stole quietly from the room.
Even if I wanted to stay on as Caroline’s paid companion, I could, and would, not do so, not so long as Lady Morland lived. For reasons unknown to me, I was convinced the woman had taken a strong dislike of me and that given the opportunity she would do all in her power to make my life miserable.
* * *
MUCH, MUCH LATER THAT evening, as Caroline and I once again sat upon my little bed in my windowless room after her sister had already fallen into a contented sleep, Caroline whispered to me that following Doctor Morgan’s attendance on Lady Morland today, Edward now feared that his beloved mother was not long for this world.