Chapter 5
A Surprisingly Venturesome Lady
Miss Clara Halfpenny hurried down the street as she heard the church clock strike the hour.
The idea of having to enter the meeting after it had begun—and the dowager was always punctual—made her queasy.
Relief flooded her as she saw the hotel come into view, but her spirits dipped a moment later, and she braced herself as she saw Eustacia Foxworthy hurrying towards her.
They were both converging on The Mermaid for the next meeting of the Venturesome Ladies Club, but she knew Eustacia would be cross with her for having missed several sittings for the portrait she was working on.
“Miss Halfpenny! I am so glad to see you,” Miss Foxworthy said, striding up to her with a friendly wave and not looking the least bit put out.
She was a vibrant woman whose verve and energy were rather daunting to Clara, who envied her charisma and confidence.
Blessed with a figure Clara thought could only be described as statuesque, she was endowed with voluptuous curves which she had encased in a dramatic and rather mannish gown in the military style.
The cut was both conservative but so dramatically tailored to her magnificent shape that she made it seem desperately provocative.
“Miss Foxworthy.” Clara smiled hesitantly. “I’m so sorry, I know I have missed—”
Miss Foxworthy made an impatient gesture, brushing her wildly curling dark hair out of her eyes, where it had escaped the pins and the bonnet she wore.
“Oh, never mind that, and call me Eustacia. I can’t abide formality.
I know I’m a blessed nuisance forcing you to tromp up that wretched hill on my account, but might I prevail upon you to return with me after the meeting?
My housekeeper is making scones with strawberry jam and fresh cream, just in case that delight might be enough to lure you into making the effort. ”
Clara laughed, rather disarmed by the notion that such measures had been taken in order to tempt her.
It still seemed such a rare thing for anyone to want her company that these machinations were extraordinary to her.
Of course, Eustacia only wished to paint her—though heaven alone knew why—but all the same, it was flattering.
“Well, as you’ve gone to so much trouble. I should be glad to, thank you. But I can only stay for an hour. My aunt—”
Eustacia nodded at once, being well aware of the trouble Clara would get into if her aunt believed her to be enjoying herself.
“I know, I know. Your aunt will kick up a fuss. I’ll take what I can get, Clara, and I thank you. Now, come along, we’d best get inside, or her grace will scold us for our tardiness.”
She took Clara’s arm, marching them both up the steps and through the front door of the hotel. Clara smiled, finding herself entirely charmed by Eustacia and rather pleased at arriving on the arm of such a glamorous woman. People might even believe they were friends.
They entered the dining room of the hotel where the women had gathered, waiting for the meeting to begin. A table had been placed at the head of the room, and here sat The Dowager Duchess of Hawkney and Mrs Fairway.
Mrs Anne Adamson, now Mrs King and proprietress of the hotel, had left Mrs Fairway, the hotel’s cook and manager, to speak in her place during her absence.
As the other founding members no longer lived in the town, the dowager had taken the mantle of leadership upon herself and no one else had been brave enough to gainsay her.
Today, it appeared some foolish person had supplied the dowager with a gavel, or more likely she had supplied her own, and the old lady brought it down with several smart raps on the tabletop.
It was an undertaking she seemed to take a good deal of pleasure in, judging from the violence with which she employed the small hammer.
“Order! Order! Stop your gabbing, or we’ll get nothing done.
” Her voice, laden with many generations of breeding, and the implicit expectation that she would be obeyed or else, echoed about the room.
“Now, then, let’s see, the first order of business.
Ah, yes. The spring sewing circle and clothing drive is to be overseen by Lady Della, I understand? How is that coming along, my dear?”
Lady Della, looking lovely in a gown of deep rose pink embellished with black trim, stood and smiled warmly at the women of the club.
“We have already received many kind donations, both from residents of the town and from the surrounding towns and villages thanks to the ladies' indefatigable efforts. New clothes, as well as items that need a touch of repair or furbishing up, will be sewn over the next eight weeks. We have several sewing circles arranged, which shall be held every Wednesday. Some will take place here at The Mermaid, some at Hatherley Hall, and the Valentine Tea Rooms have also been so generous as to allow us to use the small assembly room over the shop.”
“Yes, Mrs Adie?” the dowager asked, responding to that lady raising her hand.
“The reverend says you are most welcome to come to the vicarage on a Wednesday afternoon when he is out paying calls, and that the church hall is also at our disposal for any event whenever it’s available.
However, if we’re to work there, it had best not be until the weather warms up, for it's perishing cold.”
The dowager nodded, gesturing to Mrs Fairway to make a note of it.
The women murmured amongst themselves until the dowager called them to order once more.
“Very good. Now, the May Day picnic. I know it appears May is a long way off, but we ought not to underestimate the work involved and, therefore, plans must be made now. I am glad to offer the grounds of Hatherley Hall for the event, but I understand there are to be games for the children, and these must be properly organised if we are not to have the little devils running riot.”
Clara listened attentively as the women of the town made suggestions and divided the tasks between themselves.
It was a rather extraordinary club, she knew.
To see the Dowager Duchess speaking to the likes of Mrs Muddel, or young Polly Tanner, the maid from the vicarage, was quite something.
Most women of her ilk would not notice the existence of those so far beneath her stature, but the dowager was a law unto herself.
Lady Della, too, was chatting quite happily to Miss Edith Brumley and her sister, the two elderly spinsters who lived together at Honeysuckle Cottage.
They were a kindly pair who had tried to befriend Clara’s aunt, though to no avail.
They might be kind, but they were not so foolish as to attempt to get blood from a stone.
“Did you hear about all the excitement last night?”
Clara turned to Eustacia, shaking her head. “Excitement?”
Eustacia’s blue eyes glittered with interest. “It appears Captain Underwood and his men hunted the notorious smuggler, Boreas, through Winsham Woods. A merry dance he led them, so I hear.”
“Oh, no!” Clara’s hand went to her heart as she remembered the beautiful man she had seen emerging from The Dog and Duck last autumn.
She did not know that he was Boreas, but she had heard tell of the handsome smuggler, who was a romantic figure and much admired for his charm and elegant manners.
Surely there could not be two such men along this stretch of coast. It was hard to believe there was one.
Eustacia looked at her with interest, startled by her outburst. “You worry for the man?”
Clara turned scarlet. “I worry for any man hunted like a fox through the dark. It must have been terrifying. Was… Was he hurt, or—?”
“No. So you may put your worries to rest. He escaped, disappearing without a trace.”
Despite herself, Clara gave a little sigh of relief. “I am glad. He was such a charming young man.”
This time Eustacia’s eyes grew wide and round. “Why, Miss Halfpenny, you’ve been holding out on me! Don’t tell me you know him?”
“Oh, no,” Clara said at once, though she felt a little glow of pleasure at having had the chance to speak to Boreas when he was such an elusive figure. “But we have met. He liked Benny very much and was very sweet to him. I—”
The gavel came down with two hard raps and Clara jumped, her cheeks blazing as she discovered the dowager staring at her. The old lady tsked.
“Now, the summer lecture series. I would like every single member to propose two subjects and two speakers who will come and give talks between May and September. I shall edit the entries down to twelve possibilities, and we shall then vote on the six we prefer with three contingencies should they not be available. I expect to have your proposals by the end of this week. Yes, Mrs Chesson?”
“Good day to you, your grace. Might I say how well you are looking today and how grateful we are for your condescension in hosting our little club? I would just like to enquire if we are to begin the book exchange and reading circle today as planned?”
The dowager’s eyes glinted, her jaw setting in response to this toadying speech. She said nothing, deferring instead to Mrs Fairway.
“Yes, Mrs Chesson. Once the meeting is over, The Mermaid will provide tea and cakes, and you ladies are at liberty to place all your books on this table and make a selection. Just ensure that you have put your name inside the book so there are no mistakes when it comes time to return them.”