“Two years you have been working on designs for Mr Thwaite, and for all his great fortune, we have seen not a penny piece from it, nor has he actually commissioned any of your designs. But this… transport provided… a private carriage, Simon, just think! And suitable accommodation on the way. Oh, to be eating at someone else’s expense! And when we arrive, we might even be invited to stay at the house itself. Staineybank… I have never heard of it.”
“Campbell,” Simon said. “English Palladian style. Built 1722.”
She chuckled. “Yes, but who lives there?”
“Duke of Brinshire.”
Her eyes widened. “Aduke!Oh, Simon, we must go! Even if nothing comes of it, we must go.”
“Yes,” he said. “Campbell’s houses are always worth seeing, and I have never seen that one. Of course we must go.”
She shook her head, smiling. “You are incorrigible, brother. Very well, I shall write to this… what is his name? Mr Goodenough, attorney at law, and make arrangements, and you will be able to see Staineybank. And I… I shall endeavour to take as long as humanly possible to discuss this orangery in the hope that the duke will feed and house us both in the meantime. A fortnight, at least, surely, or even a whole month. And if he likes your designs, and who could not…” She shivered in anticipation. “Just think, Simon — we might see out the whole winter in comfort.”
“And warmth,” he said with feeling. “I hope Staineybank is warm.”
1: An Unexpected Arrival
STAINEYBANK, BRINSHIRE; JANUARY
Miss Sophia Merrington gazed at the image on the page before her and sighed. Such elegance! Such exquisite details! And, sadly, such extravagance.‘A light blue, or grey chemise robe, of gossamer net, imperial crape, or Spanish gauze, worn over white pealing satin, ornamented up the front with French bows and knots of silver’,quoth the journal. White satin? Six shillings a yard at the very least, and possibly twice as much. The gauze would be a little less, and the bows and knots… she could make them quite small.
Then she read the next lines and despaired.‘ A full melon sleeve, formed of the same material as the dress, and alternate stripes of white satin; finished with bows and knots of silver. A double roll of white satin round the neck of the robe, by way of tucker’.Full sleeves in stripes of two materials? A white satin tucker? And then the journal went on to describe the diamondcomb in the hair, and diamonds for necklace, armlets and ear-rings.
She sighed even more heavily.
The slumbering figure on the sofa stirred. “Georgie? Oh, it is you, Sophia. Have I slept for a long time?”
“An hour or so, no more. Georgie went to see about the jellies. The duke came in to look at you, but I chased him away.”
“He fusses so, but I am perfectly well. Just… tired. And enormous.”
“Not much longer to wait now, Rowena,” Sophia said briskly. She was very fond of her sister-in-law, and was delighted that Richard had married such a pleasant, unassuming woman, but the whole household revolved around her. If she should happen to fancy a certain dish at dinner, an army of gamekeepers and poultry maids and gardeners and still room maids would be mobilised to provide the ingredients. If she sneezed, the servants were thrown into a frenzy of possets and tisanes and tinctures, followed by a stream of midwives and apothecaries and physicians, who all recommended different remedies and stood in the hall roundly disparaging each other.
And the duke was the greatest worrier of them all. Now that Richard was his official heir, the child Rowena carried would be the next in line, and oh, the hopes and expectations that rested on her to produce a son. Sophia could only hope for that, too, for then perhaps the trembling excitation that infected Staineybank would dissipate and they could all settle back into their usual activities. Not that there was much to look forward to in January, with the Christmas festivities past and not so much as an evening party on the horizon for months. It was dispiriting.
She sighed again.
Rowena heaved herself into a more upright position. “Now, what is making you sound so out of sorts? No ball to plan for, I imagine. What are you reading? Oh, this is pretty,” she said,taking the journal from Sophia’s hands. “White satin… French bows and knots of silver. That sounds quite delightful. Shall you have one like it made up?”
“I cannot afford it,” Sophia said dejectedly.
“Not even with the additional allowance from the duke? He is very generous.”
“Oh yes, thedukeis generous, but Richard is not. I do not like to speak ill of my brother, for he is an admirable man in every other respect, but he is a nip-farthing, Rowena. Even you must admit it. He insists I must not overspend my allowance, not even by the cost of a single ribbon, and how can anyone be sure to keep to a specific sum? One must have clothes, after all.”
“He is careful with money, it is true,” Rowena said with a little smile. “Being a man, he does not quite appreciate the benefits of a new gown or slippers.”
“Or diamond armlets,” Sophia said with another sigh. “Just imagine how glorious that would be. With every movement, I should glimmer and sparkle.”
She held her arms in the correct position and executed a complete figure with all the steps, and then sighed again. “When, oh when will there be a ball? I cannot tell you, Rowena, how I long for a proper ball, but not when I have nothing to wear.”
“There will be no balls before Lady Day when your next allowance will arrive, but perhaps the seamstress might begin work a little early? She will know she will be paid, after all.”
“Richard will not permit it,” Sophia said dejectedly. “We are never to buy anything for which we could not settle the bill immediately, if required. Nor are we allowed to borrow money, and we are never, ever to gamble to defray debts. Oh, it is hard! There is nothing like a new ball gown to lift the spirits.”
“Then you know the answer, Sophia,” Rowena said with a quick laugh. “You will just have to marry a vastly rich man whodotes on you so much that he gives you all his wealth to spend on ball gowns and diamond armlets.”
“Allhis wealth? But then we should be destitute and how should I survive without any new gowns at all?”
