see for himself that I am settling down, so we will have
to play the merry couple. But I fear he’ll not be with us for longer than a
fortnight, at most a month. He has no one calling on him, so no one will know
of our charade.
“I will introduce you as the family of my comrade at arms,
Gilbert, should anyone visit. I’m certain my aunt will agree to sponsor Miss
Seton next Season, if I tell her of some great service your son did me on the
battlefield. You see, this will work to everyone’s benefit. I will get my
inheritance without being leg-shackled, and Miss Seton will have her Season.”
She was to have a London Season. Jean held her breath in
anticipation of Mama’s agreement. Although she knew Mr. Tilbury only a little,
from his visits with her brother in recent years, she trusted him to protect her
reputation in such an arrangement. Visiting Sir Waldo’s estate would be a
holiday of sorts, a chance to live in the comfort she hadn’t known since she
was a child.
Truthfully speaking, she’d never known the sort of comfort
Sir Waldo must live in. His income was said to be far above any her father
could ever have claimed. And the meager inheritance Father had left them meant
she’d have to work, or marry a local man, if there had been any men nearby she
would consider. Hambledon didn’t have a lot to offer no matter how pretty or
accomplished a young lady was.
“Mama, will you allow it? May we tell Sir Waldo we are
engaged?”
At her mother’s quick shake of her head, her dark ringlets
bounced about her neck. “I do not like this. There are too many ways it can go
wrong, and it could ruin you if it did. Then there are the specifics. Your
wardrobe. You do not have enough fashionable gowns to dine at Sir Waldo’s table
for weeks on end. He will wonder why his grandson has chosen someone beneath
his notice.”
Mr. Tilbury approached in long strides. “I will buy Miss
Seton some gowns, if she needs them, and anything else either of you require.
But Sir Waldo doesn’t leave his bed, so we needn’t dress as formally as he
might expect. I daresay Miss Seton is beautiful enough that my grandfather
won’t notice her attire.”
“But the servants will notice. And the servants will talk.”
“I will inform his butler to expect the mother and sister of
my dear friend, who have come to enjoy the sea air while recovering from an
ailment. If Sir Waldo says differently, it can be blamed on his feeble mind.
But he isn’t able to speak clearly, so it’s unlikely he’d contradict anything
we say.” Mr. Tilbury remained standing in front of Mama, watching her response.
She looked at Jean for a long moment. “Are you certain you
wish to do this?”
“It would mean so much to me to have a Season, Mama. And as
your father was a gentleman, no one would look askance at Mrs. Granderson
sponsoring me. I will have the chance, at last, to change our circumstances by
being exposed to such gentlemen as we might meet. Do say we will go with Mr.
Tilbury to Three Gables.”
Her mother’s features softened as she let a sigh escape her.
“If it’s what you truly wish, I will go along with you.”
Jean grinned and turned to Mr. Tilbury. “When do we depart?”
Chapter One
May 1817, Greater Yarmouth, Norfolk
Ben stared past the trees skirting the walled garden,
watching a bird float on a current. Its wings spread, it hovered in the sky as
if held there by some invisible hand.
That same hand pinned Ben to a piece of linen under glass.
An insect to be examined, a lifeless shell with no purpose other than to be
displayed when the right callers visited.
Such was his life since taking over Sir Waldo’s enterprises
six months earlier. Ben was a figurehead, leader in name only. No one cared to
hear his opinions on how the end of the war might influence the fishing market,
or whether they should consider diversifying in shipping. He might as well be
carved from wood and bolted to a ship’s bow for all that was
to play the merry couple. But I fear he’ll not be with us for longer than a
fortnight, at most a month. He has no one calling on him, so no one will know
of our charade.
“I will introduce you as the family of my comrade at arms,
Gilbert, should anyone visit. I’m certain my aunt will agree to sponsor Miss
Seton next Season, if I tell her of some great service your son did me on the
battlefield. You see, this will work to everyone’s benefit. I will get my
inheritance without being leg-shackled, and Miss Seton will have her Season.”
She was to have a London Season. Jean held her breath in
anticipation of Mama’s agreement. Although she knew Mr. Tilbury only a little,
from his visits with her brother in recent years, she trusted him to protect her
reputation in such an arrangement. Visiting Sir Waldo’s estate would be a
holiday of sorts, a chance to live in the comfort she hadn’t known since she
was a child.
Truthfully speaking, she’d never known the sort of comfort
Sir Waldo must live in. His income was said to be far above any her father
could ever have claimed. And the meager inheritance Father had left them meant
she’d have to work, or marry a local man, if there had been any men nearby she
would consider. Hambledon didn’t have a lot to offer no matter how pretty or
accomplished a young lady was.
“Mama, will you allow it? May we tell Sir Waldo we are
engaged?”
At her mother’s quick shake of her head, her dark ringlets
bounced about her neck. “I do not like this. There are too many ways it can go
wrong, and it could ruin you if it did. Then there are the specifics. Your
wardrobe. You do not have enough fashionable gowns to dine at Sir Waldo’s table
for weeks on end. He will wonder why his grandson has chosen someone beneath
his notice.”
Mr. Tilbury approached in long strides. “I will buy Miss
Seton some gowns, if she needs them, and anything else either of you require.
But Sir Waldo doesn’t leave his bed, so we needn’t dress as formally as he
might expect. I daresay Miss Seton is beautiful enough that my grandfather
won’t notice her attire.”
“But the servants will notice. And the servants will talk.”
“I will inform his butler to expect the mother and sister of
my dear friend, who have come to enjoy the sea air while recovering from an
ailment. If Sir Waldo says differently, it can be blamed on his feeble mind.
But he isn’t able to speak clearly, so it’s unlikely he’d contradict anything
we say.” Mr. Tilbury remained standing in front of Mama, watching her response.
She looked at Jean for a long moment. “Are you certain you
wish to do this?”
“It would mean so much to me to have a Season, Mama. And as
your father was a gentleman, no one would look askance at Mrs. Granderson
sponsoring me. I will have the chance, at last, to change our circumstances by
being exposed to such gentlemen as we might meet. Do say we will go with Mr.
Tilbury to Three Gables.”
Her mother’s features softened as she let a sigh escape her.
“If it’s what you truly wish, I will go along with you.”
Jean grinned and turned to Mr. Tilbury. “When do we depart?”
Chapter One
May 1817, Greater Yarmouth, Norfolk
Ben stared past the trees skirting the walled garden,
watching a bird float on a current. Its wings spread, it hovered in the sky as
if held there by some invisible hand.
That same hand pinned Ben to a piece of linen under glass.
An insect to be examined, a lifeless shell with no purpose other than to be
displayed when the right callers visited.
Such was his life since taking over Sir Waldo’s enterprises
six months earlier. Ben was a figurehead, leader in name only. No one cared to
hear his opinions on how the end of the war might influence the fishing market,
or whether they should consider diversifying in shipping. He might as well be
carved from wood and bolted to a ship’s bow for all that was
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