“Caroline is doing what every wife and mother must do,” their father said, “and that is her duty. She is no longer married to the earl, so she is stepping aside to allow him to marry a younger woman who will give him sons.”
“More sons,” Julia said.
“Legitimatesons,” her father said firmly. “And we must all be very thankful for it. I shall never have to assume the heavy burden of the peerage, your mother will not be obliged to leave her beloved home, and Bertram is spared a most unexpected inheritance.”
“Let us hope this second marriage is fruitful, then,” Julia said acidly. “Just imagine if Aunt Caroline makes this noble sacrifice, and all that happens is that the nursery at Corland fills up with girls… or perhaps no children at all. How bitter that would be!”
“There is never any bitterness in sacrifice,” her mother said complacently. “Caroline is doing the right thing to secure the succession, and may draw satisfaction from that.”
“And if her sacrifice is in vain, then Papa will be ready to step into the breach,” Penelope said, beaming at him.
“There is no need to look so gleeful, young lady,” Father said. “I shall do my duty, as we all must, but I cannot suppress a feeling of relief that it may not be necessary. However, this scheme is all very much in the air, so none of you must say a word to anyone about it. No doubt it will become known soon enough, but for the present say only that Lady Rennington is staying with her sister for a while, and nothing about the rest of it, or poor Charles will be besieged with hopeful maidens wishful to become a countess.”
6: An Evening At Highwood Place
Bertram had not thought at all about the evening party at Highwood Place until the time came to change and he found Bayley had laid out his silk knee breeches.
“Oh, Lord! Must I?”
“Her ladyship is very particular as to attire, sir,” Bayley said. “The mistress told me herself what you are to wear tonight.”
Bertram sighed, but resigned himself to the inevitable. At home, his evenings could be spent buried in a book, or he might even retreat to his library and carry on with his work, for his family understood him. No one asked him to sit and listen to the girls’ playing and singing, or insisted he make up a four at whist. He could disappear after dinner, and someone would bring him tea later. Sometimes, if the words were flowing, he would work on into the night. But he knew his duty. Tonight he must clear his head of all Latin, and be a good guest, dancing or playing cards or whatever was asked of him. It was only one night, after all.
He was in the second carriage with Julia and Lucas, and since the two of them bickered gently together, as brothers and sisters so often do, Bertram was left to his own thoughts. Sometimes he wished that he had been a second son, like his father. Lucas, with his sociable disposition, was far better suited to be the heir, to marry well and take on the stewardship of Westwick, while Bertram was only suited to his books. If he could have stayed at Cambridge and become a Fellow and later a Professor, he would have been perfectly happy. Not that he was precisely unhappy at home, but this business of perhaps inheriting the earldom was a complication he could well do without. And yet, he could not quite approve of the present earl marrying again, purely to get sons — that did not seem right! It was so difficult…
The carriage drive at Highwood Place was decorated with a multitude of coloured lanterns, which were not lit when they arrived, for it was still full daylight, but they looked very pretty. A small army of footmen materialised from the house to help them alight from the carriages, Bertram’s father and mother, Emily and Penelope from the first, and Bertram, Julia and Lucas from the second. Mr Franklyn, Lady Esther and Bea were waiting in the hall to greet them, but Bertram was relieved to find that Bea neither said nor did anything untoward. He bowed and bade her good evening, she curtsied demurely and bade him welcome, and he was permitted to move into the saloon. Or rather, the Gold Saloon, for the newly extended Highwood Place now boasted several drawing rooms and saloons.
The room bore an overpowering scent of roses, for there were vases and bowls of them on every surface, in the fireplace and arranged in tiers in the corners. The Strongs and Cathcarts were already there, deep in conversations, so Bertram loitered on the outskirts until the last guests arrived, the party from the castle. Bertram had not expected to see any of them, but although the earl had not come, Kent and Olivia were there, accompanied byMr Willerton-Forbes, the fashionable lawyer from London, and several others Bertram did not recognise.
Kent, the youngest of the earl’s three sons, immediately crossed the room to stand beside Bertram.
“Evening, cousin. Well, this is amusing, is it not? An excellent attendance.”
“Who are the three with Willerton-Forbes? The team investigating Nicholson’s murder, I imagine.”
“Exactly so. The little fellow with the military bearing is the leader. Captain Edgerton of the East India Company Army. No doubt we will hear some of his tall tales at dinner. The elegant lady is his wife, and the big blond fellow eyeing up Olivia is a Scotsman by the name of Alexander. A strange crowd. There is an elderly spinster, too — some kind of companion to Mrs Edgerton, but she does not go into society. Goodness me, these flowers are making me want to sneeze. Lady Esther always puts on a splendid show. There is to be dancing later, I understand, and all manner of delights. Shall you dance, do you think?”
“I imagine it will be unavoidable,” Bertram said.
“For you, yes.” He lowered his voice conspiratorially, drawing Bertram a little aside from the chattering groups. “Bea Franklyn will undoubtedly insist on it. Another chance for her to get her claws into you, now that she has thrown Walter over.”
“Is he upset about that?” Bertram said curiously. “I have not seen him since that day we were all told the news.”
Kent shrugged easily. “He does not seem unduly upset about any of it. You know he has gone off to town now? He is to take up a government post, seemingly, with Alfred Strong. Winnie has gone with them.”
“Winnie?” Bertram looked vaguely round the room, not having noticed Winnie Strong’s absence. She was not a person who stood out in company. “Well, that will be a pleasant littleholiday for her. She deserves a treat. But how are you all at the castle? I did not expect to see you here tonight.”
“That is Olivia, not me. You know how she is wild to be out in society, and now it is all up in the air. She cannot be presented at court, not as a bastard. She wanted to come tonight to prove that she is still a person of consequence in her own county, and Mother is away, so Mrs Edgerton had to be invited to chaperon her, and that meant Edgerton and the whole crowd. Still, Edgerton is amusing, the Scotsman will charm the ladies and the lawyer will dazzle us all with his tales of the Duke of This and the Marquess of That.”
Lady Esther came across to them with her polite smile. “We shall be going in to dinner shortly. Mr Bertram, may I call upon you to escort my daughter, as the highest ranking young gentleman present?”
“I?” Bertram said, startled, throwing a glance at Kent, who smiled and shook his head. “Oh… oh… of course, Lady Esther. Delighted, naturally.”
When she had moved on, he whispered to Kent, “Are you truly to lose all precedence because of this? You are still the son of an earl, after all, and I am only a nephew.”
“But you are legitimate, and the son of the heir presumptive, while I am nobody. Poor Olivia! She will not like it one bit.”
Bertram saw the truth of this remark as the dinner procession began to form. Lady Esther, being a duke’s daughter, was highly conscious of her exalted station, so the company lined up precisely in rank order, although Bertram was surprised to see the fashionable lawyer and Mrs Edgerton among the first. Kent and Olivia as well as the various Cathcarts were of so little consequence they had not even been assigned partners.
