The Birthright (27 page)
The dappled mare Charles had hired from the Newport stables had a back wide as a table and gave a steady ride. As he climbed the hill leading out of town, the horse’s neighing and the gentle
clip-clop
of the hooves on the cobblestones lulled him into comfortable thought. Then he sighted the dark-clad figure walking toward him, and he doffed his hat. “A good afternoon to you, Mrs. Mann. I hope you are well.”
“It is a grand day indeed, Lord Charles.”
“I was actually on my way to your home,” Charles said. “I was delayed at a friend’s house, and returned to the inn to find Nicole had left.”
“She and Anne have gone into town. They will return directly.” The woman had the gentle smile of one used to facing adversities. “Climb down from your great steed and take a walk with me.”
“It would be an honor.” He slid down from the saddle and tied the horse to a nearby gatepost. “Shall I carry your basket for you?”
“I thank you, but it holds nothing save an excuse for me to depart.” She set a brisk pace over the lane’s uneven stones. “I find it easier to maintain peace in the house if I am absent when it comes time to prepare dinner.”
“I could not help but notice,” Charles said delicately, “there were some frictions between you and your daughter.”
“Daughter-in-law,” Judith Mann corrected. “Cyril’s two elder brothers have chosen good wives, with strong characters and hearts wedded firmly to God. But Donald’s wife is now the head of this house, as Donald is the head of the Mann trading house. And at times I fear she finds my presence wearying.” They walked on for a while, then she added, “Of course, someone in your position might say that is a small price to pay. After all, I have children and grandchildren of my own, a strong and believing brood to carry on the family name.”
Charles considered the woman next to him. She was perhaps six or seven years his junior, with attractive, even features. Rich brown hair with but a few strands of gray emerging from both sides of her small black cap. Despite the losses she had suffered, she carried herself with a calm strength. “You are a most perceptive woman.”
“I am also perhaps too outspoken. You will forgive me if I say that word has arrived in Newport of your assertion in the House of Lords.” When Charles did not reply, she said, “Might I ask why you spoke as you did?”
“I had no choice,” Charles replied tersely. “I felt called to do so.”
“It’s remarkable to find a man in your position who feels so strongly about his God and his obligations to the colonies. Few of the other Tories share your concern about freedom for the colonies.”
“I can speak for no man save myself,” Charles answered. “And I am a Tory no longer. But that does not change the fact that the Americas were settled by people seeking a place where they might worship their God as they saw fit. And this tenet is firmly at the heart of their Declaration. I have no choice as a believer but to support their cause.”
Judith gazed frankly at him. “I agree with you, Sir Charles. And I admire your fortitude.”
They continued their walk, passing through a square with a fountain in its middle. Children were scampering and spraying one another with the water, while mothers and nannies watched from a safe distance. They rounded the square in silence, then turned back toward the house. When they were once again within the lane’s relative quiet, Judith mentioned, “There is something else I have observed that is quite noteworthy. And that is how young Anne is settling into her position.”
This halted Charles in his tracks. “You mean Nicole.”
“No, I mean Anne,” Judith said quietly. “Nicole acts out of duty. With Anne, the proper responses come more naturally.”
Charles felt the familiar squeezing pressure in his chest. “But Nicole—”
“Is to become your heir. I realize this, as does she.”
“She has said nothing to me of her decision.”
“Nor to me. But one can see it upon her face. Nicole’s mind is made up. She will accept your proposition, and I have no doubt but that she will do you proud.”
Charles massaged his chest until he noticed the way Judith was watching his hand. He drew his arm back to his side. “You are certain of this?”
“I am certain of nothing save my Master reigns in heaven, and that I shall one day go to join Him and my beloved husband and son.” Her quiet voice rang with strength and dignity. “But I have watched the two young ladies for several days now. And I see in Nicole a woman who recognizes her duty and is determined to do it. Yet the decision is forcing her into a corset that I fear does not fit her well and will chafe all her life long.”
Charles compressed the hand upon his heart once more. “And Anne?”
“Yes, Anne.” Judith looked out over the sparkling water and the horizon beyond. “How long has she been in England?”
“Four months.”
“And yet already she seems of the manor born. She comports herself extremely well.”
“Yet Anne bears the responsibility of position with ease,” Charles said, giving voice to thoughts he had not allowed himself to entertain till now. He made a half bow to Judith and said, “Your husband was a very fortunate man to have such a wise woman at his side.”
Her face folded into dispirited lines. “Perhaps that is why it’s proving so hard to give my daughter-in-law the freedom to rule the house now as her own. It’s not just my husband that I lost, but my place in life.”
A thought occurred to him. “Why not come and stay with us at Harrow Hall for a time?”
The invitation obviously shocked her. “I beg your pardon?”
“Nothing would please Anne more, I am certain of that.” Charles felt strangely lifted by his proposal. “She would dearly love the chance to have young John become more attached to his father’s clan. And I am certain your presence in our household would do everyone a world of good.”
Judith’s brown eyes shone with a new light. “I see why the two ladies adore you so,” she replied. “I thank you for the kind invitation, Sir Charles, and I promise to think upon what you have said.”
On Sunday it seemed to Anne as though the entire town of Newport went to church. Every lane was filled with people on the move, the men in long dark cloaks, the women in fine dark jackets over dresses of gray or muted stripes. They were solemn yet comfortable in their greetings to the Mann family and their guests. Clearly the Harrows’ desire to worship with the Manns went far toward establishing their place in society, as did news of Charles’s stance before the Houses of Parliament. Conversations overheard in the market and at the table had revealed to Anne just how much the war against the American colonies was despised in Wales.
There were many reasons for this almost universal opposition. The Welsh had undergone two recent revivals and so sympathized greatly with the Americans’ desire to worship in a church not tied to the king. Many families also had kin who had settled in the southern colonies, and most understood their relatives’ need to forge their own course. And Newport, as all the trading ports of Britain, had suffered much by the enforced blockade of American trade. Thus the people of Newport went out of their way to tip their hats to Charles and the ladies, bidding them their Sabbath greetings.
Anne found the town’s central church to be a great blessing. The English services, both in Charles’s home village and in London, were coldly formal and often sparsely attended. This church, on the other hand, was packed. Every pew was full, and people crammed along the back and up both side aisles. The hymns were sung with great shouts of joy, so powerfully that they brought tears to Anne’s eyes. Here was worship in the spirit she knew at home, people bonded together by generations of shared faith.
On their way home, she drew Charles to a slower pace, permitting the others to walk on ahead. “I cannot help but notice, Uncle, how you are holding your chest more often these days,” Anne said.
Charles attempted to brush it off. “It is nothing. A mild ache that comes and goes.”
Anne halted him with a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s your heart, is it not?” When Charles responded by staring out over the cloud-draped harbor, she went on, “Have you seen a doctor?”
“I’ve been around enough to know there’s nothing anyone can do about such things.” For a moment he considered whether to continue, then added, “Besides, there’s too much risk of word spreading of my eventual demise.”
“Particularly at this point, after your address to the House of Lords,” Anne finished for him. “You don’t wish to reveal weakness to anyone.”
This brought Charles around. Anne continued, “First you wish to have the issue of your legacy settled, is that not so?”
“Judith Mann was correct,” Charles murmured, almost to himself. “You are a most remarkable young woman.”
But Anne would not be swayed from her course. “There are in fact several things which might help your discomfort. With Nicole’s help, I will prepare for you a cathartic.”
“My dear, I assure you—”
“A mild one should suffice. I shall boil rhubarb with brimstone and figs, strain it, and serve you the soup. You should feel better with just a few doses.”
Charles bristled. “You shall do no such thing.”
“I assure you, Uncle, I am well used to dealing with those who dislike being instructed in matters of their own health. But I have studied under a truly gifted medical mind and so I know of what I speak. A cathartic is what you need, and a cathartic is what you shall have. Do I make myself clear?”
Charles focused more intently on her, seeing her anew. “The Lord our God saw fit to compress quite an impressive spirit into your small frame.”
“Good, then that’s settled.” Anne suddenly felt uncomfortable under Charles’s gaze. “I shall make the necessary purchases in tomorrow’s market.”
Nine days later, they bid their farewells to the Manns and to Wales and then traveled by coach back to Harrow Hall. John spent the journey trying to pull the tassels from the window shades and shouting made-up words to everyone they passed. Charles found the hours flowed most easily when John was in his lap. The lad pretended he rode a horse, using Charles’s glittery waistcoat for reins. The longer Charles was in the company of the young child, the stronger grew his affections.
The first person they met as they passed through the gates was Will Days astride Charles’s dappled mare. He grinned widely as he bounced up and down in an effort to stay abreast of the carriage. Will tipped his hat and said, “I’ve just gone to meet the post coach. There’s mail and company both, Lord Charles!”
“Good day to you, Will,” Charles said. He reached out the window and accepted the leather packet. “Is all well with the house?”
“Aye, your honor, sir. Could not be better. The hound had her litter yesterday, and I’ve got me seven new pups to play with!”
Charles laughed at the youth’s simple delight with life. “Would the company awaiting us perhaps be Lord Percy?”
“That’s right, your honor. Lord Percy and Thomas Crow-ley. Came in the day before yesterday, said you had called for them.”
“That I did. Ride ahead and tell them I wish to see Lord Percy as soon as I arrive.” He fished out a silver farthing and passed it over. “A penny for the post, and more to give speed to your horse.”
“I shall fly like the wind, m’lord!” Then Will flapped his legs and reedy elbows and cried, “Hyah!”
John, who was sitting in Charles’s lap, loved the sound Will made. The child shrieked his accompaniment, causing Charles and Anne to bend over in laughter.
Nicole’s smile appeared strained. Charles started to say something about it, then decided it was better to leave things for a more private moment. Then he was struck by a thought from a different direction entirely. He asked Anne, “Do you think I might be permitted to carry John atop my saddle when I go for my morning rides?”
If Anne was startled by the request, she did not show it. “I should think he’d like nothing better in all the wide world.”
Charles was therefore beaming with coming pleasure as the coach halted before the manor. He stepped down and looked up at the old house. He had seen Harrow Hall in many different lights, often thinking of it as little more than an anchor tied around his neck—all the egotistical, grandiose desires of his forebears piled one on top the other. But today the late afternoon sun struck the edifice full on, making the stone and glass shine as if lit from within. The air was replete with summer fragrances and the fields bright with various shades of green.
“What a beautiful, splendid mansion,” a voice beside him said.
Charles turned around to find Nicole staring at Anne with utter astonishment. Anne did not notice, however, for her face was tilted up at the house.
The sun’s rays shone gently on her refined features, giving Anne a look of strength she did not in truth possess. “Often have I walked around this house and thought, this is how the houses of heaven will look one day.” Anne turned her open, happy expression toward Charles and added, “I would be so pleased to know Cyril lived in such a place right now.”
For some reason, Charles found it necessary to clamp down on his jaw. His voice sounded strangled as he replied, “You are ever welcome here, my dear. Please do me the honor of considering this home your own.”