Before she could follow her instincts and go to him, Uncle Alfred saw her and drew her into the room. She found herself in a corner with only her parents and her uncle.
“I am glad you are here, Winnie, for I have had a letter from London, from your Uncle Edmund.”
Uncle Edmund was the handsome young man who had swept Aunt Sofia off her feet just three years ago, when she was thirty-nine. She had seemed destined to remain unwed, spending her time helping Uncle Alfred with his Treasury work, but now she had her own house and a baby, a beacon of hope for ageing spinsters everywhere.
Winnie was puzzled, for although Uncle Edmund worked with Uncle Alfred at the Treasury, she could not see that he would have anything to say that might concern her.
“He writes that there is a small situation brewing at the Treasury, and he would like my assistance. Since I shall have to go to town to deal with it, I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce Walter into my circle. I can show him what I do, and he can see if such work might interest him.”
“So you and Walter will be going off to London?” Oh. So she was not to have Walter around for very long. Her spirits sank instantly.
“Yes, if his father agrees. The change of scene will do him good, rather than brooding on his situation.”
“Oh yes! Something active to do — that is an excellent idea,” Winnie said.
“Then we are all of one mind on the subject,” her father said, his eyes twinkling. “Everyone needs a change of scene from time to time, do you not agree, Winnie?”
“Certainly I do. Especially when Walter’s home is so unsettled at the moment, it will do him a great deal of good to travel, and leave his troubles behind for a while.”
“What about you, Winnie?” her uncle said. “Should you like a change of scene?”
There was something in her father’s manner and his beaming smile that aroused all her suspicions. Could he be asking her the question she thought? Was it merely a general enquiry or… something else? But she could not make presumptions, so she answered circumspectly.
“I am not dissatisfied with my present situation, but it is always refreshing to visit a new place… or simply a different place.”
The men laughed and exchanged glances, but Mama frowned, becoming apprehensive.
“Perhaps you could come with us, Winnie,” Uncle Alfred said. “You are so helpful with writing notes and letters, and making lists. We should be very glad of your assistance, and it would be a little holiday for you, too. Would you like that?”
“Oh, I should like it of all things!” Winnie said without hesitation.
“Go to London?” Mama said sharply. “Why would you want to?”
“I shouldloveto see Aunt Sofia again, and Baby John and their new home, because descriptions in letters, no matter how detailed, do not convey what a place is truly like. And the sights, Mama! St Paul’s and the Bank of England and Hyde Park and the Tower and… oh, so many places! And the theatres and musical performances… are the theatres still open?”
“Many of them, yes,” Uncle Alfred said.
“Oh please, may I go, Mama? Papa?”
“I have no objection,” her father said quickly.
“ButLondon!”Mama said, in shocked tones. “I understand why you might want to see Sofia again, Winnie, for you were always close, but she will come here… sooner or later, she is bound to. And as for the rest, we have churches and theatres and sights enough in York to satisfy you, if sights are what you crave. You might go there with Minna and John when they go home, you know.”
Winnie’s face fell. “I have been to York many times, Mama, so nothing there is new to me. I should very much like to go to London, but only if you can spare me. I should not wish to go away if I am needed here.”
Her father’s smile broadened. “I think perhaps she might be spared for a short visit, eh, Kitty? You have Lily for company, after all.”
“But London!” Mama said again. “It is all dissipation and frivolity! Balls and routs and gambling and nothing but selfish enjoyment.”
Uncle Alfred shook his head. “You need not be concerned about that, Kitty. Sofia and Edmund live sober, respectable lives, not in the least dissipated. Besides, at this season, almost everyone of consequence has left town to pursue their frivolities in Brighton or Bath or their country estates. Absolutely nothing of a frivolous nature will occur, you may be sure.”
“Church… what about church?”
“Sofia and Edmund attend St Margaret’s every Sunday, and occasionally the Abbey.” Gently, he went on, “You must know that Sofia would not let any harm come to Winnie. Two or three weeks in London will not turn her head, you may be sure, and it will do her a world of good. I can employ her to take notes for me, which she does so well and so accurately, and Sofia will see that she has a little gentle amusement while she is in town. Really, Kitty, even you cannot suggest that a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral is frivolous.”
“No, no. Perfectly unexceptionable. But what about chaperonage? It is a journey of several days.”
“She will take Martha, I suggest,” Sir Hubert said. “She has plenty of sense, and will share Winnie’s chamber when they stay at an inn, and in London, Sofia will be her chaperon.”
