Lady Rose's Education (13 page)

There had been some fears that the devastating news delivered by Mr. Wyndham might cause a relapse in Lady Rose's illness. Surprisingly, this was not the case. She was distraught after seeing Mr. Wyndham, but her fever did not rise again. She continued her slow recovery and was soon firmly restored in the land of the living.

Mr. Perry had visited on Lady Rose every day since the news. He had been as constant as the morning star.

”I peg you pardon?” Mr. Perry said. Lady Rose hadn't realised that she had said it out loud.

”I said that you are as constant as the morning star,” she said bravely.

Mr. Perry took her hand and squeezed it with both hands.

”So I want to be, Lady Rose. In fact... there is something I have been wanting to say to you.”

Lady Rose had an inkling, what it might be, but still she waited as anxiously as she had ever waited for anything.

”Brevity is the soul of wit. I will try to say this as concisely as I can... Lady Rose, I think you are the perfect combination of wit, beauty and depth of thought. I admire you most ardently.”

He readjusted his glasses and straightened his posture.

”No, I want to say it more boldly. I love you. I want you to be my wife.”

Lady Rose's face was alive with different emotions.

”I can't only be a wife,” she said. ”I have set my goals so much higher. I want to be a writer, an artist, an original thinker.”

”Why would you have to choose?” he asked.

”Because no man wants to marry a woman who strives to be as learned or as accomplished than he is.”

”That is simply not true.”

”I am such a person, Mr. Perry, that I find it difficult to believe in things that I have not seen with my own eyes. I'm afraid a happy marriage is one such thing.”

”Happiness follows love that is based on truly knowing the other person, not love that is based on
not
knowing the other person, if you see what I mean.”

He looked at her in such a way that she could almost feel the warmth on her skin.

”And that is the way I love you,” he said, 'love' flowing more easily from his lips each time he repeated it. ”I know all of your faults and merits, and I love all of them.”

”My faults? What do you think are my faults?” Lady Rose asked, unable to stop herself.

”At this moment I would rather talk about your many merits,” Mr. Perry said. ”I have never been bored or discontented in your company, nor do I ever imagine to be.”

”When you say
love
,” Lady Rose said, pronouncing the word shyly as if worried that she might say it wrong, ”are you speaking of romantic love?”

Mr. Perry leaned closer and most gently placed his lips onto hers.

Lady Rose had never felt such a thing. They had spent plenty of time talking, on countless occasions, but never had their lips reached such clear communication. A question was posed and unequivocally answered.

When Mr. Perry pulled away from the embrace, he looked as happy and flustered as she felt.

”My love, my love – am I really allowed to say that?” he said.

Lady Rose could only nod her consent. For once she could not think of a quotation that would make the moment fuller.

”I have come to say goodbye, My Lady,” Norah said.

”So it was a magic cape, like Charles once suggested,” Lady Rose said. ”Under it you were turned into something that is half grand and half lowly. Half dragon, half fly.”

Norah stared at her with her eyes black and large. ”I hope you mean that my mother was the grand one, for she was the best woman that ever lived.”

Lady Rose refrained from making a comment and her expression was conciliatory.

”You should stop calling me 'My Lady',” Lady Rose said. ”Please, call me... well, I don't know. What should you call me? I cannot think of you as my sister, not yet, but you certainly are no longer my maid.”

Norah had flinched at ”sister”.

”I can still hardly believe it, any of it.”

”Five thousand pounds in his will says it is true,” Lady Rose said.

Norah couldn't argue with that.

”Where will you go?” Lady Rose asked.

”To my aunt's and uncle's to begin with. After that... I haven't really decided on a plan.”

Lady Rose didn't look at her in the eyes, when she asked, ”And Mr. Cowley? How might he fit into your plan?”

”I haven't really decided on that either.”

Lady Rose smiled. She would have liked to tell Norah that her interest in Mr. Cowley had waned strangely quickly after he had left. Now it almost seemed like her infatuation had been part of the disease that the fever had burned away from her body. Clearly it had not been true love. However, she and Mr. Perry had decided not to share their news until after the funeral.

”Are you waiting for the gentleman to contact you?” Lady Rose asked.

”I would not say that,” Norah said.

”Or do you want him to stay away?”

”I would not say that either.”

Lady Rose could see that her questions were causing Norah pain, so she abandoned the topic. Time would tell, one way or the other.

”I wish you well, Norah,” she said and held out her hand.

”And I you, My Lady,” Norah said.

”Until we meet again,” Lady Rose said.

”Yes, until then.”

***

Norah had gone and Lady Rose had Mr. Perry by her side once again.

”I feel guilty about my happiness,” Lady Rose said, ”when mother is so unhappy. I want to try and help her overcome it.”

”So you should,” Mr. Perry said. ”You are a good daughter.”

”How little you know of me,” she said, laughing. ”But I would like to be a kinder daughter. I will try harder. I want to be better. If I am to be the vicar's wife, I have to be much better.”

”I should think there is room for improvement in all of us,” Mr. Perry said, but from the way he looked at her one could gather that he didn't find her very short of perfection.

”In what terms did you part with Norah?” he asked.

”In somewhat awkward terms,” she admitted. ”I think it a good thing that she went away for now. We all needed some time to take a breath. When I will see her next, our relationship will be quite changed. To what, I couldn't tell you.”

”Will you ask her to come to the wedding?”

Lady Rose's heart made a little leap. She had not had a chance to think about the wedding yet.

”It is not impossible,” she said. ”Yes, I think I should. Don't you?”

”Yes, I do.”

”I want everyone to be as happy as we are.”

”That
may
be impossible,” he said.

The sun peeping in from the window was forced to turn away, abashed.

Cover design: Toni Laiho.

First eBook edition: November 2015