A Particular Circumstance (6 page)

She broke off, breathless with temper.

‘But you are not she, madam, for which I am profoundly thankful. And as we are speaking plainly, I would find it intolerable to conduct business with such a termagant as yourself.’

‘In business, sir, it pays to abide by one’s legal agreement, not seek to gain unfair advantage and then resort to verbal insult.’

‘That, coming from a skilled practitioner such as yourself, is rich, madam.’

Her colour high, she turned her head away from him and pressed her lips together, determined to say no more. They’d now reached the outskirts of Felbrook village and Lucy, who had been quiet during Charlotte’s heated exchange with Hugo Westbury, suddenly raised one of her hands from the saddle and pointed excitedly.

‘Oh, see there, miss, ’tis Ma come to meet me.’

Charlotte was obliged to turn towards him as he slowed the horse to a halt. ‘Kindly lift her down, Mr Westbury. Her
mama is waiting for her. Now, Lucy, say “good day” to Mr Westbury and thank him for the ride.’

She waited, stiffly silent, while Lucy obeyed. Then she clasped her hand and the little girl skipped beside her to her waiting mama, her torn dress completely forgotten as she told her mother of the magnificent horse and the kind gentleman who’d given her a ride.

When he’d gone a little distance from them, Hugo Westbury turned to look back and was oddly moved at the sight of the tall, dark-haired young woman walking hand in hand with the golden-haired little girl, before he rode off in the opposite direction.

To her relief, Charlotte didn’t run into Hugo Westbury again as she made her way back to Westbury Hall, but he dominated her thoughts all the same and she pondered on the recent events as she walked on slowly. What a puzzle the man was; so arrogant and domineering and yet so careful and sensitive with Lucy that he’d won the little girl’s confidence in next to no time. Finally, she sighed and had to acknowledge that he was extremely handsome and would no doubt become the heartbreaker of the neighbourhood.

Back at the Hall everything was still in a spin about the removal to Felbrook Manor. Papa’s books were now all safely packed in crates and Kitty and her mother were having a light luncheon in the breakfast parlour. Charlotte’s high colour and restless hands did not escape her mama’s notice, but she said nothing except, ‘Should you like a little luncheon, my dear? There are no hot meats as we are going out to dinner, but Mrs Palmer has prepared a splendid selection of cold cuts and a trifle, if you should wish for anything.’

Charlotte realized then that she was hungry and did justice to several slices of ham and beef with some of Mrs Palmer’s homemade bread to accompany it. She said nothing of her meeting with the obnoxious Mr Westbury, but spoke instead of little Lucy Baker and how pretty she was growing.

They were all pleased at the prospect of visiting Lavinia King and Jane declared cheerfully that apart from their clothes and personal effects, everything was now ready for Jimmy the carter lad, who could take the various boxes and trunks in stages to Felbrook Manor.

It was late afternoon when they all met at Primrose Cottage, to a warm welcome from Lavinia and Matthew.

‘Adam is expected any time now,’ Lavinia said with a blush, which added to her youthful appearance. ‘He is riding over from King’s Lynn so it is hard to say precisely how long it will take. But come, my dear Jane, and tell me all the news of Felbrook Manor and of Westbury Hall, of course. How goes the remove?’

Jane laughed and said in a very carefree tone, ‘Nothing to tell, Lavinia. We are packed and ready to go. It only remains to oversee the carter and to take ourselves to our lovely Felbrook. After all the frenzied activity, we shall not know how to sustain the next five days. There is nothing more to be done now, except to dust down the walls and windows and return the keys to Mr Hugo Westbury. Even the stables have been cleaned out. The horses have been taken to Felbrook by the stable lad and seem already to be quite at home there. Mr Westbury has even seen to the repair of the library wall and everything is neat and tidy.’

‘Why, that is famous progress indeed,’ Lavinia said. ‘What an admirable organizer you are, Jane, to have accomplished so much packing in such a short time.’

Charlotte bit her lip and said nothing as she listened to this conversation. She thought instead of the fuss she’d made to Hugo Westbury about the lease. What must he think of me, she wondered? Then she raised her chin and told herself
defiantly
that she didn’t care what he thought, but it was obvious to Charlotte that her mama was far from being the
downtrodden
widow as she’d portrayed her to Hugo Westbury and was, in fact, full of optimism and energy, completely ready for the move to Felbrook Manor.

It was towards six o’clock when Adam arrived at Primrose Cottage and as this was the first time that Jane and her
daughters
had become aware of the deepening relationship between Matthew’s aunt and their lawyer, they observed them closely. Although they didn’t discuss it with each other, Jane and her daughters all had their own opinions and perspectives on the romance between Adam and Lavinia.

Jane had been extremely happy with her unworldly husband and had no wish to venture into matrimony for a second time, but she knew that Adam had been married briefly, long ago and that his young wife had died of influenza after less than a year of marriage. She thoroughly understood his wish to share his rather solitary life with someone as attractive as Lavinia King and wished them well, particularly as it seemed that Miss King’s nephew, Matthew, would not be left high and dry, but was almost affianced to her elder daughter, Charlotte. After all, what was to stop Lavinia and Adam from living happily ever after, once Matthew and Charlotte were wed? She sighed and glanced across at Kitty. Her younger daughter was so different in personality from the forceful Charlotte, so much more shy and lacking in confidence. Perhaps the diffident curate, Andrew Preston, would prove to be the perfect match for her, if he were able to engage her interest, that is.

Charlotte viewed the romantic friendship between Lavinia and Adam without much interest. She liked Matthew’s aunt and Adam seemed a suitable suitor for her.

As for Kitty, she was totally indifferent to the idea of a mature couple such as Adam and Lavinia finding love. In her eyes, they were old and long past the magic of romantic passion. They’d had their day, whereas she was still young and desperately, hopelessly, in love with someone who was totally unattainable.

Adam approached the ladies very pleasantly and both Kitty and her mother were persuaded that they would enjoy a look round Lavinia’s garden, while Lavinia herself went to 
the kitchen to see how the dinner was progressing.

Matthew and Charlotte were left alone and for the first time since she’d known him, Charlotte felt somewhat ill at ease with him. Their friendship had been thus far so relaxed and easy-going. They’d seemed always to enjoy each other’s company and felt carefree when they were together. Now, for some reason, Charlotte was uncomfortable and almost critical of Matthew’s open expression and somewhat ingenuous remarks. There kept popping up into her mind’s eye the incredibly handsome face of Hugo Westbury, now smiling, now angry, but always arresting and interesting. She wondered what he was doing now. Probably gloating over his victory at getting Mama to move out early from the Hall, she thought bitterly.

She was roused from her thoughts when Matthew took her hand and tucked it into his arm.

‘Come, Charlotte, what do you say to a walk round Aunt Lavinia’s garden, while the evening is still so fine?’ he said.

She acquiesced willingly to this and they joined the others in the cottage garden, created painstakingly and lovingly over the years by Matthew’s beloved aunt. Here were traditional cottage flowers, interspersed with decorative runner beans, and divided by arches covered in sweet-melling climbing roses, and having here and there little secluded arbours with quaint seats and arches overrun with fragrant honeysuckle. There was much to see and admire and gradually Charlotte’s mood calmed and she sat for a few minutes on a stone bench with Adam Brown, chatting about the journey from King’s Lynn, while Matthew took Kitty to see Lavinia’s giant
sunflowers
, all turning their faces to the mild, late summer sky.

As Matthew stood beside her, he ran his eyes over Kitty as she smilingly lifted her own face to the sun. She never changed at all, he decided; still the bonny, good-natured girl he’d known ever since she’d come back to live at the Hall. She was such a gentle young thing. He would like having her as a sister, he decided.

As they walked among the roses, they chatted about the riding party which was to take place later in the month. Her two best friends Aurelia Casterton and Ann West had planned the whole thing, she informed him.

‘But of course, their mamas are behind all the organization,’ she said seriously.

These two young ladies were close friends with each other and almost inseparable. They were known collectively as ‘the girls’.

‘And how
are
the girls?’ Matthew asked, smiling
mischievously
.

‘Ann has just become engaged. Did you not know? To Squire Thorpe’s son, over near Walsingham way. He is very good-looking and is an only son. Ann’s mama is delighted.’

He imagined he saw a wistful expression in Kitty’s honest grey eyes. ‘No, I had not heard,’ was all he said. He was surprised. The girls were both the same age as Kitty and he hadn’t imagined they would be thinking of marriage yet.

‘Good Lord! I thought she was still a schoolroom miss. Not old enough to be married.’

‘She is eighteen,’ Kitty said rather stiffly and once more he thought he saw both envy and disappointment in her
expression
.

He smiled. He’d known ‘the girls’ for a long time and knew that even when Aurelia was a little girl, she’d been deliciously chubby, probably because she was always able to persuade her nurse to give her unlimited sweetmeats and delicacies. She’d somehow always been the one who secured the best of everything for herself and was seemingly sublimely
indifferent
to the needs of others. Ann West was quieter and more modest.

‘So, Matthew, if you are coming to the riding party, you will be able to see her for yourself and Robert Thorpe too, I expect,’ Kitty said, her face expressionless.

Mention of the riding party brought back a memory for Matthew of a similar event when Charlotte and Kitty were 
very new to the neighbourhood. Kitty really had been hardly out of the schoolroom then and, greatly daring, had given him a very girlish and inexperienced kiss. It had come as a surprise to Matthew, himself not skilled in the art of kissing, and he had been somewhat embarrassed. He wondered if Kitty remembered the schoolgirl kiss as well and, glancing up at her now, he saw that she was looking directly at him and smiling. Good Lord, she was remembering it too, he thought with a shock, but at the same time he smiled back at her, thinking what a very likeable girl she was.

Aloud, he said, ‘Yes, of course I should like to come. Nothing would keep me away, unless Adam has found another skeleton for me.’

They laughed together and then Lavinia called them in and greeted them with wine and little ratafia biscuits and made them so welcome that soon everyone was in the right mood for a delicious dinner. Lavinia had seated Matthew next to Charlotte and opposite Kitty and she and Jane were all set for a cose, as the young people chatted among
themselves
.

Just as the soup was being served, Adam Brown,
bright-eyed
and enthusiastic as usual, smiled round the table and said, ‘I am so sorry if I was a trifle late, Lavinia. But listen to this, Matthew, because after you left the office, I was able to collect together some papers for your perusal. I am not sure whether they will be of any practical use to us, but I think they might throw some light on the origin of the skeleton. You may be interested to read them.’

‘Yes, only later, Adam, after dinner,’ Lavinia said firmly, but Charlotte noticed that she gave him a most loving smile as she said it.

Everyone seemed in high humour, including Jane, in spite of having been so distracted with packing and complaints from servants. Charlotte was struck anew at the good humour and energy that her mama put into the most mundane and everyday activities and at how youthful and 
exuberant was her smile. Thinking back again to her encounter with Hugo Westbury, she felt faintly uneasy that she’d been so out of temper as to insist that her mother was a victim of the landlord’s oppression. But still, she thought, he is such an unpleasant man, it is only too easy to be out of sorts with such as he.

Neither Matthew nor Adam wished to linger over glasses of port once the ladies had left the dining-room and soon they were all of them settled in the drawing-room, agog to hear what Adam Brown had to say.

‘The first item I found in the strong box is a letter writ to my own papa, Edward Brown, nigh on sixty years since, when Sir Benjamin was about to set off for India. Read it to us, Matthew, if you please.’