Joan Smith (10 page)

It was pretty clear to Nick that Aurelia saw Willie as an eligible gentleman, despite the fifteen-year difference in their ages. Only Willie noticed the stiffening of Jane’s spine to be charged with playing chaperon.

“You will keep me in line, Jane,” he said, laughing. “But who will chaperon the chaperon?”

“You are quite safe from me, Willie,” Jane replied.

“Pity,” he murmured, with a flashing glance.

Nick was not amused at this bantering. “You might ask Pel to go with you, Jane,” he said. Safety in numbers.

As soon as breakfast was over, Aurelia herded the group into Nick’s carriage and they drove off to Amberley. This quaint spot was considered a pattern card of village beauty. The cottages, with their facades of timber, brick, clunch, and flint, were typical of the area. Smoke streamed from the chimneys of the tidy thatched and tile roofs, lending a homey touch.

“That is my church, where you will be married,” Pelham said, pointing out the same church they had attended the day before.

“It is very small,” Aurelia said, frowning.

“It’s a small village,” Pel said.

“Indeed it is.” She looked forlornly at the small houses and few little shops. “I doubt I will be able find decent carpets here.”

“Carpets?” Sir William asked, staring. He looked at Jane, who was also showing alarm.

“I am ashamed to have my family see those horrid threadbare things at Clareview. I must smarten the place up before they come. I daresay there is not time to have new draperies made.”

“That would take a few weeks,” Jane said firmly.

“Jed Williams sells all kinds of furnishings, along with carpets,” Pelham said.

Jane gave him a meaningful look. “It might be best to consult with Lady Elizabeth and Nick before buying carpets,” she said.

“Oh, I don’t want Nick to know. It is a surprise,” Aurelia said, “but I told him I wanted to smarten the place up, and he thinks it is a good idea. It won’t cost him a penny. Papa is giving me money for a wedding gift. I can put it on his account, and he will pay for it when he comes.”

Jane tugged at Sir William’s sleeve, as he seemed to have some influence over the girl.

“No harm to look,” he said, with a wink over Aurelia’s shoulder to reassure Jane he would not let her buy anything.

Jed Williams’s goods were purveyed to villagers and the more prosperous farmers with a taste for finery. They were gaudy, cheap imitations of Persian carpets, with a price to match.

“I am surprised Aunt Lizzie has let the place go to rack and ruin when these nice carpets are going for an old ballad,” Aurelia said, gazing in satisfaction at the floor coverings. “A pity they are so small. It will take two or three to cover the Gold Saloon. What do you think, Willie? Handsome, are they not?”

“Very handsome,” he said, in a choked voice, “but let us look around before making up our minds.”

“There’s no other place that sells carpets,” Pel-ham told them. “I bought one of these myself to brighten up a spare bedroom. It holds up well. Mind you, no one has used the room yet.”

“I think if we buy two, they will do nicely,” Aurelia said.

“Do you know, I have just been thinking,” Sir William said, with a well-simulated air of spontaneity, “we are only a stone’s throw from Brighton. Why do we not jog over to Brighton tomorrow, Aurelia? They are bound to have a better quality of goods there, and more variety.”

“Could we not go this afternoon?” she asked. “There is no saying. My family may be arriving tomorrow.”

“I doubt they will come quite that soon,” he said. “If I know Marie, she will want to have a new gown made up for the party.”

“That is true,” she said, nodding. “I shall have Nick take me to Brighton tomorrow. You must come with us, for I fear Nick hasn’t much taste in household decorating. I am so glad you are here to advise me, Willie. I don’t know what I should do without you.” She walked along with Willie. Drawing ahead of the others, she continued in a confidential tone, “Those two, you must know, are quite hopeless. Jane has worn the same afternoon gown ever since I have been at Clareview. I expect she is poor, but I like her. I do not lord it over her, I promise you.”

“She is not so well to grass as yourself,” Willie allowed. Really the chit was impossible. His instinct was to give her her head, let her buy up every tawdry item in town and dump them at Clareview.

That ought to be enough to show Nick what he was in for. His innate taste prevented him from following this course.

He tried another tack instead. “The one you really ought to consult is Aunt Lizzie. She is the mistress of Clareview. You and Nick will be staying there as her guests, of course, but—”

Aurelia gave an exasperated sigh. “When Nick said he wanted me to see his home, I assumed it belonged to him. I cannot like to think of living in another lady’s house. Eleanor—you have not met my second oldest sister yet—Eleanor had to live with her mama-in-law for a year, until she started her nursery. She said it was the worst year of her life. She cried so hard, Papa had to build her and Samuel their own place.”

“Then you can always try tears, if you find you cannot stay the course at Clareview.”

“The whole point of marrying Nick was to be a countess, and have a country estate. Now it seems— Not that I do not love him!” she added. “Indeed I am very fond of Nick. Did you see him in his regimentals at church yesterday?”

“Yes, he looked magnificent.”

“Everyone was staring at us.”

“I fancy everyone stares at you, wherever you go,” Willie replied. “Just look at how the villagers are staring now.”

She looked around and saw that it was true. She didn’t require Nick to claim attention. Everyone was gazing at her in admiration. It put her back into spirits.

Jane suggested they go into Codey’s Drapery Shop, hoping to limit Aurelia’s shopping to personal items. Aurelia was easily diverted by this ploy. As long as she
could be buying something, she was happy.

“Look at the lovely blue silk stockings,” she said, snapping them up. “They will just match the blue suit I am having made for my trousseau. And silver buttons! I did not think to find such treasures in a little place like this. Dear me, I cannot remember whether the suit takes six buttons or twelve.”

“Surely not so many as twelve,” Jane said.

“It has a double row of buttons. You must have seen the suit in
La Belle Assemblée
—the one with the small waist and flounced jacket. I had best take a dozen, to be sure.”

She found other treasures, enough to endear her to the hearts of the Codeys, and provide gossip in Amberley for a fortnight, for it is not to be expected the local ladies were content with one glance at her on the street. Several of them followed her into the store to spy on her.

When she had relieved Codey’s of its more elegant trifles, she suggested they take lunch at the inn.

“We did not tell Lady Elizabeth we’d be away for lunch,” Jane reminded her.

“I shall take her home a box of bonbons. That will turn her up sweet, if she is a little out of curl.”

“The bonbons are an excellent idea,” Willie replied, “but it would be unladylike to remain away for lunch without informing your hostess.”

Eating at the inn was not mentioned again. Aurelia was a quick enough learner, but she did insist on stopping for a cup of tea at least, since there’ were so few shops to entertain her.

“There is an antique store at the far end of town,” Jane mentioned. “They have some rather nice things.”

Aurelia gave her a cool look. “I don’t buy secondhand merchandise, Jane. It will be more convenient shopping in Brighton, actually. We spent a month there last summer, and the merchants know me.”

Willie directed a wink at Jane.

“That’s that, then. Let us have a nice cup of tea,” Pelham said, and headed across the street to the inn.

When they returned to Clareview, lunch passed without incident. Aurelia gave Lady Elizabeth her bonbons, saying, “We wanted to take lunch in town, but as we forgot to mention it to you, of course, we could not. I should mention that tomorrow we will be away for luncheon. I must go to Brighton to do some shopping.”

“More shopping?” Nick looked a question at her.

“Can you come with me, Nick?” she asked.

“I am pretty busy. Perhaps—”

“I don’t want to interrupt your work. You attend to all the farming details so that you are free for our honeymoon. Willie has offered to take me, if you are too busy.”

Nick was torn in two directions. He disliked shopping quite as much as most gentlemen, yet he felt he should accompany her, and felt even more strongly that Willie was seeing too much of his fiancée. He assumed that Jane and Pel would be along. He would ask Jane to keep an eye on Aurelia.

“Why Brighton?” Lizzie asked. “You will find it cold and damp in December, my dear.”

“I have so many items to buy, with my wedding coming on, you know, and the shops there are wonderful.”

After lunch, Nick spent the afternoon in the study going over the books with Fogarty, while the others began arranging the New Year’s party.

“Perhaps you would be kind enough to deliver the invitations, Willie,” Nick suggested, to keep him away from Aurelia. He knew that Willie liked visiting.

Willie accepted this chore with alacrity. He spent a sociable afternoon going from house to house, drinking a glass of wine at each one, flirting with all the eligible ladies, and answering questions about Miss Aurelia.

The ladies and Pelham discussed arrangements for the party.

“I would like the entrance hall and ballroom full of flowers,” Aurelia said.

“There aren’t that many flowers in bloom in December,” Jane pointed out. “We can go to the conservatory and see what the gardener can do for us. I’m sure he can arrange a few vases.”

“Why don’t we order them from a florist?” Aurelia asked.

“There is no florist in Amberley,” Jane replied.

“Oh. It is very difficult arranging a party in a place like this, is it not?” Aurelia asked with a
tsk
of impatience.

“It will look very nice. You’ll see. We shall leave up the evergreens. James—that’s the gardener— will bring in palms from the conservatory, and find enough flowers that we are not disgraced.”

“Is there anyone who can play music for us in Amberley?”

“Oh, yes, that will be no problem. Pel, perhaps you could arrange that with the Wolfe brothers? They have a group who play at all the parties,” Jane explained to Aurelia.

Food and drink, at least, were no problem. Lizzie took charge of that. “The usual, Mrs. Hancock,” she said, and it was understood that lobster patties would be served, along with stuffed fowl, ham, raised pigeon pies, and other dainties.

After dinner, Pelham suggested a game of whist. Aurelia said, “I don’t play cards.”

Upon hearing this, Nick also declined. As he knew his aunt Lizzie dearly loved a game, however, he urged the scheme on. Jane agreed to partner Pel against Lizzie and Sir William. Mrs. Lipton, who did not wish to interrupt her knitting, said she would go abovestairs and keep Goderich company.

“You two won’t mind being alone,” she said archly to Nick and Aurelia.

“Alone—at last,” Nick said, settling in with his fiancée by the grate.

Yet the interval was not as enjoyable as he had hoped. His beloved did a deal of complaining about the lack of shops in Amberley. When this subject was exhausted, she took up a ladies’ magazine to hear his opinion on various gowns and bonnets she planned to purchase.

“For I don’t want to look a dowd on our honeymoon,” she said. “I wager the ladies in Paris think of nothing but fashion.”

“I am afraid it will be difficult to get away—”

“Nick! You
promised
you would take me to Paris.”

“I meant in the spring. Winter in Paris would be—”

“It would not be any colder than London. Oh, we must go to Paris, Nick. I have told all my friends and family we are going. It will be marvelous. Wellington there as ambassador, and you close as inkle-weavers with him. He will introduce us to everyone. It is too good a chance to miss.”

“But there is so much to do about the estate. I have been away for three years, and with Goderich ill—” Nick had had enough of travel. He had been looking forward to coming home and settling down.

She pokered up. “I have agreed to be married in the country, when you know perfectly well I wanted to have the wedding at St. George’s. You must let me have something my own way.”

“We’ll have the wedding in London,” he said, opting for the quicker way of getting home.

“Oh, thank you, Nick!” she said, and placed a kiss on his cheek. “And we shall leave for Paris the next day.”

“I meant have the wedding in London instead of going to Paris.”

Her lower lip began to wobble. “Oh, I see. Why can’t we do both? Have the wedding in London and go to Paris? I have never been to Paris. I have never been anywhere. I would rather go to Paris than be married at St. George’s.”

Nick felt a perfect brute. He was being selfish. Just because he was tired of travel was no reason to rob Aurelia of a visit abroad. But he really could not leave immediately. Goderich, in his senility, had taken some freakish notions about managing the estate. When Nick had written him about using donkeys in Spain as they stood up to the hot climate better than horses, Goderich had insisted on raising donkeys, to the detriment of the cattle. He had three dozen donkeys in the barn, eating their heads off and offering very little possibility of profit.

Fogarty had told him of some excellent milchers going up for auction in January. Nick wanted to attend that auction, and pick out the prime ones for breeding. There were dozens of other matters that needed immediate attention as well. Fields to be drained and marled, the barns to be repaired.

“I’ll take you to Paris in the spring,” he said. Whether this would give him his wedding in Amberley was not mentioned. “That is a promise, Aurelia. I cannot leave now. There is too much to do. We don’t want to run the estate into the ground. It is our future.”

“Yes, if old Goderich doesn’t marry and have a son. You don’t have to worry about money, Nick. Papa—”