Sir James nodded. “And that is when you met your daughters.”
“Frankly, that wasn’t a consideration. The two girls would have been grown by then, around nineteen years old. As far as I knew, they could have been married or had positions somewhere. So we came here. And I quickly discovered my girls were living here.”
Cecilia’s attention perked at hearing him call his daughters “my girls.”
“They had stayed longer at the finishing school upon graduation to take on teacher positions there for a year. But by the time we came to Mertonhaugh, they’d decided they wanted to go out on their own, so they’d returned home to the Jones as they were searching for positions.”
“Would you have come here if you’d known they were here?” Cecilia asked, sliding a glance in Lady Mortlake’s direction.
“I’d like to think so. I was delighted to meet them. Both of us were,” he said, turning toward his wife.
She nodded.
“They were beautiful young ladies, and in my eagerness to get to know them, I confessed to them that I am their father. They had not known they were not the vicar’s natural children, and they did not take the news well. They became angry with their mother for not letting them know the truth.”
“Why should she have?” asked Sir James.
“Precisely,” declared Lady Mortlake. It was the first thing she’d said since the discussion began. “It was obvious to all that Mr. Jones loved them. He always felt as if they were his own daughters.”
“They’d seen evidence at the school of how the girls, who were known to be illegitimate children, were treated,” Mortlake continued. “And they were horrified that they fell into that same category. And from what I understand, they might have been guilty of teasing some of those girls in a way that was not Christian,” he finished slowly.
“Ah,” said Cecilia. “Their own guilt fueled their anger at their mother.”
“So we believe,” said Lady Mortlake. “They made the rash decision that they were going to find positions far away and never return. Miranda was quite distraught. I told her Mortlake would help them find positions, and that way, we could ensure they were safe. She was relieved.”
“And I did,” said Mortlake. “Faith is a governess for the Duke of Monteith in Devon.”
“Monteith!” Cecilia exclaimed while Sir James laughed.
“By your surprise, am I to assume you know him?” Mortlake asked, looking from one to the other.
Now Cecilia laughed. “I have not yet had the opportunity to meet him; however, it is only a matter of time.”
Sir James looked at Mortlake. “Monteith is my cousin. I purchased Summerworth Park from him.”
“Ah!” said Mortlake. “He was here at the time, looking over the property and what repairs needed to be done before it was sold. We invited him to dinner, and that is when we learned he was looking for a governess for his daughter, Chelsea.”
“I recommended Faith Jones, as I knew she wanted to be a governess,” said Lady Mortlake.
Cecilia nodded. “Well done.”
“Forgive my curiosity, how did you come to own Summerworth?” the earl asked Sir James.
“He wrote me telling me of his plans to sell Summerworth. I asked him to sell it to me before he tried to sell it out of the family. I could also give him a better price, and I did not need to have repairs made. That would have drained his pocketbook even more.”
“What of the other Miss Jones?” Cecilia asked. “Hope, I think?”
“I heard from some friends that Lady Falsworth was seeking a companion,” Lady Mortlake said.
“Lady Falsworth?” Sir James said. “I wouldn’t have judged her to be of an age to have wanted a companion.”
“From my understanding, she liked to travel and didn’t want to do so by herself. Hope had one time said to us, quite wistfully, that she would like to travel. It did not take much to pair her with Lady Falsworth,” Lady Mortlake said with a quiet laugh. “They’ve been gone quite a bit, not into Europe, but traveling around Scotland and England, for Lady Falsworth is quite a history fanatic, particularly about anything from the Roman invasion.”
“Lady Falsworth intends to write a book of her travels and observations. My daughter has also become her amanuensis,” said Mortlake.
“It sounds like you have paid attention to the activities of your daughters,” Sir James observed.
“Yes, I have. As we assisted them in securing positions, I wanted to make sure that they would at least have good lives. I would be happier if they could each meet some young man and marry. However, that is not for me to guide them. They must make their own way,” said Mortlake.
