Amy Lake (26 page)

  * * * *

And so it was. Dee and Eddie showed up at dusk, and after the doctor had examined Hobbs’ arm, he returned to the kitchen and announced, with Lady Edwin smiling up at him, that they were engaged to marry. The marquess then declared his own upcoming marriage to Mrs. Marwick, and Lady Edwina hugged Fiona as the sister she was soon to be.

The next day, somewhat more unexpectedly, Eleanor arrived with Lady Beckwith in tow, and Fiona found herself hostess to all three Ashdown sisters, and the cottage again full to bursting with guests. Lady Beckwith began ordering food for the expected nuptial parties, which would be close upon Christmas, and she was allowed to take over the job, as no-one else wanted it.

The Marquess of Carinbrooke slept in the stables.

Dr. Fischer eventually remembered the post, and brought a packet of letters which he had collected from Sally Chilcott; one for Madelaine and the rest for Mrs. Marwick. When Fiona read them, as she prepared for bed that night, she was moved to tears, and if she chose to feed Susannah and the chickens rather later than usual, ’twas merely to find his lordship and to thank him for the sentiments expressed.

  * * * *

Mrs. Marwick never asked what Lord Ashdown said to the baronet that day. Nor did she see Sir Irwin again—ever—although she knew that he remained at Marsden Hall, where his servants claimed that he became a subdued and much more considerate employer.

Lady Susan married Mr. Fetterwick. She had not a whit of interest in Eleanor’s Viscount Palmer, but by the time this was established the young man had visited the Earl of Winton’s home several times, taking his friend Lord Peregrine Faulks with him to bolster his courage, and Lord Faulks, who was confident, talkative, and providentially rich as well, fell head-over-heels in love with Katherine, the middle sister. His affections were returned, and all three of the earl’s daughters were then free of their father, who quickly spent himself into ruin, despite the settlement from Katherine’s marriage.

Lady Evelyn
was
in the family way, as it happened. She improved in her knitting, had a daughter, and was convinced to show some restraint in meals. Lady Eleanor, after another year attempting to make a match for Viscount Palmer, married him herself.

Dr. Fischer and Lady Edwina settled in Barley Mow, to everyone’s surprise, and raised a houseful of children. Dee took to having several pairs of glasses made for his wife at one go, and to leaving them at various places around the bedroom and salon.

Fiona and Colin lived forever after in love and perfect understanding, splitting their time between the Carinbrooke homes and County Durham. The new marchioness never acquired a taste for London society, but found that she adored the hunting lodge at Kirriemuir, which suited her husband extremely well. Two younger brothers arrived for Madelaine over the course of the next few years and the girl adored them. As for herself, Fiona’s daughter declared that she would ‘never marry!’, a vow which lasted until she was twenty-two, when she fell in love with a young man from Newcastle. She and her husband made their home at Tern’s Rest, where the Marquess and Marchioness of Carinbrooke were frequent visitors, where grandchildren played happily at Trow Rocks, and where no-one ever again fell down a cliff.

A Postscript . . .

I’ve saved Tern’s Rest from becoming a site for coal spoil, but the debris would have been dumped elsewhere, of course; the coal tips along the coast of County Durham were quite real. Widespread concern for the northeast seas of Britain would have to wait for another one hundred and fifty years, and debris from the mines continued to accumulate until environmental regulations were put into place in the mid-1970s.

Considerable degradation of both sea and inland ecologies had occurred by that time, but the situation is improving, and clean-up efforts continue.

Copyright © 2012 by Amy Lake

Electronically published in 2012 by Belgrave House/Regency

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This is a work of fiction. All names in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.