Amy (The Daughters of Allamont Hall Book 1) (9 page)

There was one matter that distressed him still, and that was Sir Osborne Hardy. Even though he had not yet offered for Amy, he might be on the brink of doing so, and that would never do. He wanted no rivals to his own suit. What were Hardy’s intentions in the matter? Ambleside would know, and would know immediately. So it was that, not half an hour after entering his house, he determined on quitting it again, to the despair of his grooms who had barely finished unsaddling his horse and were now required to saddle him again at once.

He rode directly to Brinford Manor, and before he was half the way there, it had begun to dawn on him that Hardy was most unlikely to be at home. It was a fine day, with no risk of rain, and the lanes were almost free of mud. It was the perfect day for tooling about the countryside in a carriage, and going visiting.

Having set out, however, and not being of a mind to sit fretting at home, he carried on, and was gratified to discover on his arrival at the Manor that the ladies were out, but the master was at home.

Hardy and his friend were knocking balls about the billiard table in a desultory fashion, but they looked up with every appearance of pleasure as Ambleside was announced.

“Ambleside! Deuced civil of you to call,” Hardy said. “We’re bored to death here, so you will be the very thing to liven us up. Take a turn, will you?”

He accepted the cue, and made a couple of plays, quite at random. “I hardly expected to find you home on such a fine day,” Ambleside said.

“I wonder you troubled to come at all, in that case,” Hardy’s friend said in his laconic way.

Hardy laughed at this as if it were the greatest joke. “Daniel is so droll! He keeps me well entertained.”

“I can well believe it.”

“It is true, we had thought to go visiting with m’mother and m’sisters, for we have not been anywhere in an age. But Daniel felt a little unwell this morning, and we thought it best not to risk it. Eh, Daniel? So here we are. I say, Ambleside, take your shot, you know.”

Ambleside and Hardy had never been particular friends, despite having estates so close and moving in the same company. There was something too languid about Hardy, too little active, and too overdressed, for Ambleside’s taste.

Then there was his friend. Mr Daniel Merton was, he thought, the worst kind of parasite, who had latched on to a rich acquaintance and made himself indispensable. If Hardy needed a friend, he had cousins enough to fill that role, or any number of cronies of his own rank. Merton was a dark, dour man, sallow-skinned and lank-haired. He dressed well, no doubt at his friend’s expense, but without either taste or style.

With another ball or two moved around the table, Ambleside thought it time to broach the subject of his visit.

“So is it true, this rumour being put about, Hardy? That you are about to be betrothed to Miss Allamont?”

Hardy heaved a dramatic sigh. “M’mother’s got this bee in her bonnet, and you know what the ladies are like, Ambleside, once they sink their teeth into an idea. Won’t let go of it, no matter what. Always had her eye on Miss Allamont, actually, but the father — what a bear of a man! M’mother suggested the idea to him once, and he… well, Mama said she’d never heard language like it, not from a gentleman. Quite rude to her, in fact. But now…”

“Quite. So it is a settled thing? When am I to congratulate you, Hardy?”

“Lord, no! The girl’s still in mourning, for one thing. Haven’t actually spoken, don’t you know. But I shall have to, I suppose. No help for it.”

Ambleside moved around the billiard table, and played a few shots. The next question had to be very casual. “But you like her well enough, I daresay?”

“As much as I like any of them,” Hardy said gloomily. “Which is to say, she is no worse than any of the others. But m’mother’s choice, don’t you know. Nothing to do with me.”

“She is very suitable,” Merton said. “An old family, very respectable, even without a title. And rich enough now to improve your own fortune, Ozzy.”

“True, and timid as a little mouse. She’ll do everything m’mother says, don’t you know.”

Ambleside did know. What a life poor Amy would lead as Lady Hardy, constantly under the thumb of the Dowager, and her husband absorbed with his friend and caring nothing for her comfort. No wonder Lady Hardy had an interest in Amy, for what could be better than a wife who would never rival her in her son’s life? No, he could not condemn her to such a dreadful fate.

“But
you
do not have to,” Ambleside said. “You have full control of your estates and fortune, Hardy. You may do as you please.”

“Ha! You do not know m’mother if you think so. No, she will peck away at me until I do what she wants. Always does. Much easier to do it right away. Saves a world of inconvenience.”

“Besides, you must marry sometime,” Merton added. “No point putting off the inevitable.”

“True, true. Suppose I must. Always hoped I would have a few years yet, though. Take that tour to Italy we talked about, eh, Danny? See the world before I have to set up m’nursery, don’t you know.”

Ambleside took a few more shots, thinking that over. “What you need, Hardy, is a distraction, a lady you could pursue without…
risk
, shall we say. Someone meek enough to please Lady Hardy but independent enough not to tie you down. An heiress, perhaps, with estates in the north — no, a better idea, in Italy. Vineyards, probably, near Rome or Verona. Yes, that would do it. She would be touring England, but then she would have to go home to Rome. Or Verona, it hardly matters. And so you would naturally have to follow her, to seek her hand. So you would have your tour, you see, and Lady Hardy could not be displeased with the scheme.”

Hardy stared at him, confused, but Merton laughed. “An Italian heiress? Indeed, that would be perfect. But where is such a person to be found?”

Ambleside said, “Do you know, I believe I just might be able to oblige you.” And he began to laugh.

9: A Visit to Higher Brinford

“Well, girls, I have news for you,” their mother said to them one day. “I am obliged to go to London for a few days.”

“Is this to do with Papa’s will?” Belle said.

“The will? No, why should you think so?”

“I thought you might see if it could be overturned or set aside or whatever is done to peculiar wills.”

“Ah, I see. Regarding the will, Cousin Henry advised us that nothing might be done, and Mr Plumphett also. It is a little odd, to be sure, but it is greatly to the benefit of all of us, I believe. No, my visit is nothing to do with that. I shall be conducting some business, of course, but I also want to go to the warehouses. You will need new gowns for your half-mourning, and I must have something for the summer, too.”

“Is not Uncle Edmund in the country just now?” Belle said. “I thought the town house was shut up.”

“I shall be staying with your Aunt Tilly.”

Amy heard her with bewilderment. Aunt Tilly, who was never spoken of? Mama’s younger sister, who had never been seen at Allamont Hall? And to buy fabrics for new gowns! Papa would have been horrified at the unnecessary expense.

“Do we need anything new for our half-mourning, Mama? It is not so long since we put off our clothes for Aunt Hilary, and I am sure we can wear them again, with a little alteration. Hope, perhaps, will need something dyed—”

“Nonsense, Amy. Aunt Hilary was a much more distant relation. For your Papa, and in consideration of his station in life, we must spare no expense. I should be mortified to wear nothing but bombazine and crepe for a full year, you know, and Papa could not expect it of me. I shall not be gone for long — a week, perhaps, or two at the very most — and you will have Miss Bellows with you, so it will be quite proper.”

Amy had no idea what to make of the plan, so she took the first opportunity to find out Belle’s opinion, for Belle could be depended upon always to know the best way to go on.

“I believe Mama is a little bored,” Belle said. “Remember that she would often be invited to Hepplestone or Tambray Hall after Christmas. Grandpapa and Uncle Edmund have such gay parties, she always said, which restored her spirits for the rest of the year. But I imagine they felt they could not invite her this year.”

“No, indeed. It would hardly be fitting. But… Aunt Tilly?”

Belle smiled and shook her head. “I do not know why Papa disapproved of her so greatly, but naturally Mama hopes to see her own sister.”

“I do not think it right for her to go against Papa’s express wishes,” Amy said, but Belle just smiled.

~~~~~

A few days after Lady Sara’s departure in the elderly travelling coach, news came from the village: Mr Plumstead, the former gamekeeper on the Allamont estate, had died at the age of ninety nine. His cottage, at the furthest edge of the woods, was still part of the estate, even though the woods themselves and much of the shooting land had long since been leased out, the late Mr Allamont not having his father’s delight in such sport.

“The cottage will be empty now,” Grace said. “Is it not wonderful news? Not that I wished any harm to poor Mr Plumstead, and he might have lived there for another hundred years for my part, but it is the most excellent thing.”

“How so?” Amy said. “I do not think any of the servants to be in need of accommodation of that size, and the position, so far from the Hall, is most inconvenient.”

“Oh, I have no wish for it on account of the servants, for we have more than enough room for them here. We have hardly any these days, and plenty of room to sleep more of them, whether indoors or out. No, I have it in mind to start a school in the village, and Mr Plumstead’s cottage would be the very place for it, do you not agree?”

“A school? Whatever for?”

“Oh, Amy! You are the most maddening creature! Why, to educate the village children, of course. Mr Ambleside has his school at Higher Brinford, and I do not see why we should not have one here. Mr Endercott was used to teach a little reading and writing, you know, and now Mr Burford does the same. But with a proper school, so much more could be done.”

Amy nodded, remembering that Mr Garmin had sent his two sons to Mr Endercott to learn their letters and numbers, so that they might be able to manage the farm in their turn. And Mr Drake, too, whose woodcutting yard was in the village.

“Well, I think it is a splendid idea,” Belle said. “The miller out at Brafton was obliged to send his eldest son to board at Brinchester to gain an education, and the poor man was quite over-set by the expense. And then he had to take the boy away in great haste when he got into trouble there. A village school would be so much better for everyone.”

“I do not see the purpose of it,” Dulcie said. “There cannot be more than three or four boys in the whole village in want of such learning, and I am sure Mr Burford can easily take care of those.”

Connie nodded. “You may be right, sister, and it would be as well to think carefully before committing a great deal of expense to such a scheme. But as Mr Ambleside has already set up a similar school, we would be well advised to ask his opinion first.”

And on that point, all the ladies were agreed.

~~~~~

Amy had reached no satisfactory conclusion regarding Mr Ambleside. It was gratifying, naturally, for such a gentleman to express his admiration, however unworthy she felt herself to be, but she could not be easy about it, all the same. There was the natural daughter, a subject which made her uncomfortable to think about, especially as Papa had been so upset about it, and he should know more of such matters than she. And then there was Connie to consider. It would be a dreadful thing if she were quite in love with Mr Ambleside, and Amy were to whisk him away from under her very nose. No, that would not do at all! She could not deprive a beloved sister of her chance of happiness.

For herself, she liked Mr Ambleside very well, but she was certainly not in love with him. She was not at all sure what it would feel like, to be in love, but she recalled the housemaid who had fallen in love with the footman and had done nothing but weep in corners, and run out of the room wailing whenever she encountered him about the house. Since Amy could meet with Mr Ambleside without any urge to weep or to wail, she felt her heart was reasonably safe.

Yet when he came to call, as he so often did, she imagined she could detect a difference in his manner towards her, a softer tone and a gentleness that made her blush and stammer whenever he spoke to her. Knowing of his affection for her, and over so many years, made her composure crumble. He was so amiable, and would talk about nothing very much until her equanimity returned. Such an agreeable man! If only— But she could not settle her own state of mind at all. It was too difficult.

Grace lost no time in mentioning her plan for a school to Mr Ambleside. He entered into a discussion of the subject very readily, pointing out all the great advantages to the village of such a proposal.

“Should you like to visit my school, Miss Grace?” he said. “I should be delighted to show it to you — indeed, to
all
of you — and explain the features I have had installed. There is some expense to be incurred, to be sure, but it is not so great, and the benefits to the estate are such that I am satisfied Lady Sara will readily agree to the expenditure.”

Grace was happy to accept this offer. “But we will not all fit in the carriage. Only four of us may come.”

“And with your Mama from home, Miss Bellows must accompany you,” Mr Ambleside said. “But that need be no obstacle, for I have a carriage, too, which I should be delighted to place at your disposal for the day. If we invite Miss Endercott also to be of the party, then there can be not the slightest objection. I suggest that we set aside a whole day for the project, and I would be most happy to invite you all to Staynlaw House for refreshments. That way we may take as long as required to examine everything, with no need for you to rush away.”

Amy was not quite comfortable with this proposal, but Miss Bellows and Miss Endercott both agreed to it, a day was fixed upon and all was arranged.

“Is it quite proper? Do you not think we should write to Mama for her advice?” she said to Belle, as they set up their instruments for practice one day.

“Amy, how many times have you written to Mama since she went away?”

“Three — no, four times, I believe. No, I mistake, it must be five, because there was the question of whether the remains of the goose could be eaten in the servants’ hall.”

“Just so. And how many replies have you had?”

Amy sat at her harp, and scrunched up a handful of material in the skirt of her gown, eyes cast downwards. She had been worrying over this very point for some days now. “Perhaps my letters have gone astray.”

“Or perhaps Mama is too busy to attend to our domestic affairs. If Miss Bellows and Miss Endercott see no impropriety in the outing, I do not think we need be concerned. We shall be perfectly well chaperoned.”

“But I am persuaded that Papa would not have liked it.”

“Then it is a very good thing he is not here,” Belle said crisply. “
I
shall like it very well, and so will you, I wager.”

Amy discovered that her sister was quite right — on the appointed day, she found herself looking forward to the outing with keen anticipation. Mr Ambleside’s carriage arrived promptly at the hour set, their own was equally ready, and after no more than a few minutes of argument as to which sisters would ride in which carriage, they set off. Mr Ambleside accompanied them on horseback, to Amy’s relief, for she had been rather afraid of finding herself confined in the carriage with him. Such close quarters would have been too awkward for words! They collected Miss Endercott on the way, and then made their way to Higher Brinford.

Mr Ambleside’s school was a neat stone building, with two rooms for younger and older pupils, and accommodation at the rear and above for the schoolmaster, Mr Watson. They were introduced to him and to Miss Firth, the young lady who taught the younger children.

Mr Watson showed them every room in the house, and every appointment that could conceivably be thought of interest. Amy’s head was spinning long before they had exhausted their tour, but Grace had an endless supply of questions and so they stopped every few yards to discuss some detail in the design of a cupboard, or the type of slate to obtain, or the best hours for teaching.

Eventually, they returned to the larger of the two schoolrooms, where Miss Firth was reading aloud from the Bible to all the children, holding them enthralled in her rendering of the story of the Ark.

“I shall miss Margaret when she leaves,” Mr Watson said quietly to the sisters. “She began her education here, and is now helping me while she looks about for a post as a governess.”

Margaret — where had Amy heard the name before? At that moment, Miss Firth looked up from her reading, glancing across at the visitors, her face still animated by the story, and Amy saw such a resemblance to Mr Ambleside that she almost gasped. For an instant, she was quite overpowered. This must be his daughter! Her eyes flew at once to Mr Ambleside’s face, and saw such anxiety there that her sympathies were immediately aroused. Poor Mr Ambleside! Her heart went out to him. She gave him a smile, and was rewarded by the glimmer of a smile in return.

Eventually, even Grace ran out of questions, and they prepared to depart.

Amy made her farewell to Mr Watson, and then noticed Miss Firth standing unobtrusively out of the way. Amy held out her hand. “Good bye, Miss Firth. I wish you good fortune in your search for a post.”

Miss Firth shook her hand and curtsied composedly. As they stepped outside, Mr Ambleside smiled at Amy with such warmth that she coloured in confusion and turned her head away.

They returned to the road where the carriages waited.

“It is a pleasant day for a walk, and the distance to Staynlaw House is not great,” Mr Ambleside said with his charming smile. “Perhaps some of the Miss Allamonts would care to walk?”

“Excellent idea,” said Miss Endercott in her gruff way. “Good exercise, and it will do us good to take the air after so long indoors.”

“I have not shoes stout enough for such walking,” Hope said. “I will take the carriage.”

In the end, Hope, Grace, Dulcie and Miss Bellows set off in one of the carriages, while Amy, Belle and Connie decided to walk with Miss Endercott. Mr Ambleside left his horse in the charge of the coachmen, and walked beside them, gallantly plucking spring flowers from the hedgerow to make nosegays for the ladies and pointing out each time a bend in the road revealed a new vista of interest. It seemed to Amy that he addressed his remarks to her in particular, but perhaps that was just her fancy.

By the time they approached the gates to Staynlaw House, Amy and Mr Ambleside had quite outpaced the others, and stopped to allow them to catch up. The other ladies being hidden by the high hedges and walls bordering the grounds, Amy thus found herself quite alone with Mr Ambleside, for the first time since their conversation in the gardens of Allamont Hall. She blushed and hung her head, having no notion what to say.

She need not have been alarmed, for Mr Ambleside was all civility and said nothing to make her uncomfortable. “You will see, Miss Allamont, how the drive presses close upon the pasture beyond. I am determined to prevail upon Mr Deffin to sell me a portion of his land, so that I may extend the pleasure grounds here. A shrubbery, such as you have at the Hall, would be just the thing, do you not agree? Some winding paths and perhaps I may engage an architect to design me a ruined temple for the small hill at the side of the house. What do you think? Does it not sound delightful?”