When we arrived at my back door, I turned to him. “Thank you for seeing me home and for sharing the news with me.”
“’Tis a pity you cannot be there to hear it for yourself.” He took my hand in his. “Good-night, Libby.”
The night was dark, but I could see him well. He lifted my hand to his lips, and I inhaled a breath as he kissed it. And then he was gone, and I was alone with only my thoughts for companionship.
I entered the dark hall, locking the door behind me, and took off my wet cloak. Slowly, I walked up the stairs to the room I shared with my sisters. They were asleep, cuddled together for warmth. Outside, the wind picked up and rattled the windowpanes.
I went to the chair near the window and sat, looking out onto our side yard. I was not yet ready to succumb to sleep and all that would greet me when I woke up.
The darkness was overpowering, and the rain made it almost impossible to see past the glass, but I knew what was out there, even if I couldn’t see it—much like my future.
I would need all the strength and fortification God could give me to endure the coming year, both here and away. I was on the cusp of my own great war—a war for my freedom and the choice to live the life I desperately wanted.
14
RMS AQUITANIA, NORTH ATLANTIC
AUGUST 5, 1914
“War has been declared.” Reggie handed the telegram to me during luncheon on our fourth and final day at sea. Within hours, we would disembark in Southampton, and our ocean voyage would be over. “Three days ago, Germany demanded passage through Belgium to attack France, but when Belgium refused, Germany invaded Belgium. The next day, Belgium invoked an old treaty with England, which states that England will protect Belgium’s neutrality, and England has, therefore, declared war on Germany.”
I sat with my back straight as I read the message from Prime Minister Asquith. The other passengers who usually sat with us at luncheon had not yet arrived. With Reggie’s status as the Marquess of Cumberland and one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, we had dined with several important people and had been guests at the captain’s table each evening.
“What does this mean for you?” I asked as I handed back the telegram, surprised he’d shared it with me. We had hardly spoken a word to each other since we’d come on board. Afterthe first night, I had slept in Edith’s cabin and had only seen Reggie during meals. I didn’t know what he did with his time, and he didn’t ask what I did with mine.
“I will not be able to accompany you to Whitby as we planned but will need to return to London immediately.” He folded the telegram and put it into an inner pocket of his suit coat. “London will be no place for you, especially in a time of war. When we disembark, we will take the train from Southampton into London, and then you will proceed without me to Cumberland Hall. I will send my valet as your chaperone. He will see that you are handed over to Mr. Wentworth, the butler, and then he will meet me in London a few days later.”
“I’m to arrive at Cumberland Hall without you?” The thought both pleased and frightened me. The sooner I could be out of Reggie’s company, the sooner I could relax—yet I was expected to arrive at his ancestral home, without him present, to meet his staff and start the renovations of Cumberland Hall without his guidance. Nothing I’d been taught had prepared me for such a daunting task.
“Mr. Wentworth will see that you’re made comfortable.” Reggie waved aside my concern as if it was of little consequence. “He and the housekeeper, Mrs. Chadburn, have been at Cumberland Hall for most of my life. They’re more suited to showing you about the place than I am.”
“How long do you think you’ll be in London?” I tried to hide the relief in my voice at the thought of being without him. I could endure almost anything that greeted me at Cumberland Hall if it meant I did not have to be in the presence of my husband. I was already consumed with fear that I was carrying his child, though I wouldn’t know for some time.
“There’s no way of knowing how long I’ll be needed in London.” He laid his napkin in his lap as a steward approached to fill our glasses with water. “The prime minister will need my assistance in the days and weeks ahead. It will take a greatdeal of work to mobilize the nation for war. He’ll need all the help he can get, especially from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. I’m sure he’s anxious for my return.”
No doubt he was. I had learned more about Reggie’s position in the British government and was surprised at his level of importance. Six men occupied the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, with the prime minister as the First Lord of the Treasury and the other five men in descending order beneath him. Reggie, as one of the lower-ranking Lords, was considered a whip in parliament. His main job was to make certain that the other men in his party voted according to their party line and did not vote their personal conscience. I could imagine that in a time of war, his party would need all the support possible.
After our brief discussion at the table, I did not speak to him again until the ship was docked and we were waiting to disembark. Because of his need to be at the prime minister’s side, we had been moved to the front of the line. With over two thousand passengers on board, it was an honor and a privilege, further solidifying in my mind the importance of Reggie’s position.
The next hour was a blur. An automobile waited to transport us to the train station with our many bags and all my luggage. When we arrived at Southampton West Station, there was a heightened sense of frenzy and confusion. We could not turn to the right or the left without reminders of war. Already there were posters up everywhere, calling on men to enlist. It was all anyone could speak of. Thankfully, Reggie’s secretary had arranged for our train tickets into London, and we had just enough time to catch the train.
When we were finally settled in the first-class car on our way to London, I could hardly keep my eyes open. It was late, and the day had been arduous—yet I could not fall asleep sitting upright. We would be on the train for several hours before I transferred to a sleeper car in London and said good-bye to Reggie.
He sat across from me, staring out at the darkening countryside of his homeland. I took the opportunity to study him while he was so deep in thought. My initial impressions of him had not changed. His looks were colorless and dull, though he was not unattractive. I suppose a woman might find him appealing—especially with his title and position in the government. He was almost twice my age, a fact that didn’t seem to bother anyone but me, although it was hardly the most bothersome thing about our marriage.
Until this moment, I hadn’t wondered much about him. But now, as I sat across from him as his wife, his personality and characteristics were all I could think about. Who was this person I had been forced to marry? Was he the jealous type? Did he have a short temper? Was he easily angered? He drank too much, but why? His parents were both dead, leaving him the sole heir of Cumberland Hall, but did he have other family? No one had come to our wedding or sent telegrams. My parents had thrust me off on a stranger and expected me to live happily ever after.
I hoped and prayed I wouldn’t have to worry about who he was. The longer he stayed in London, the less I had to concern myself with such things. I had ten months until my birthday, and then I would be gone from here forever.
We rode in silence all the way to London. Reggie had purchased every newspaper available at Southampton and read them from front to back. I did not feel like reading, so I simply sat and looked out the window.
The sun had set and the hour had grown late by the time we arrived at Waterloo Station. Once we had disembarked and Reggie had purchased my train fare to Whitby, we sat awkwardly beside each other in a crowded waiting room. He seemed like he wanted to leave me and go to Prime Minister Asquith, but he did not.
“Is there anything you’ll need?” he finally asked above the noise of the other passengers.
I was wearing a grey traveling suit with a hobbled skirt and a short jacket. My head felt heavy from the large hat upon my head, and my hands were clammy from wearing gloves all day. I felt grimy and uncomfortable from traveling, and I wanted to go to sleep so I could wake up in 1774 and have a reprieve from this nightmare. Which meant there was nothing Reggie could give me at the moment that would make things any better.
“No, thank you.”
