Chapter 20
‘No no no, this is preposterous! I do not believe it!’ exclaimed Mr Humbleton, striding backwards and forwards with an agitated look on his face.
‘But ’tis true! Max proposed to me, and I accepted him,’ I repeated firmly. ‘I did not say anything previously because I believed him to be ... fooling around, but he was not.’ I thought it wise to skip over the fact that Max had been blind drunk at the time!
Mr Humbleton did not look impressed. ‘Cousin, may I remind you, you signed a contract to marry me . And it is legally binding. I have it right here.’
He pulled the document out of his breast pocket with a flourish, and I felt sick. As I suspected, he was not going to let me go without a jolly good fight.
Max and I had arrived back at the house, muddy and exhausted, to find it in an uproar, thanks to Harriet spilling the beans at breakfast that I had run away to London rather than marry a man I did not love.
She told me that Papa had been so distraught at the news that he had shouted at her in the most alarming manner. Frightened, she had burst into tears, ran upstairs, and locked herself in her room. Aunt had been hastily sent for and, with Mary’s help, had coaxed her out. Next, Mr Humbleton had arrived to find his bride-to-be missing and had exploded in fury.
Now we were all ensconced in the parlour, facing his wrath. Max and I stood before him like we were in the dock. Thankfully, Max had his arm around me, for I was so tired I felt I might sink to the floor and never get up. Yet I knew I had to endure this horridness in order to free myself.
‘You, sir, have stolen my fiancée. And I demand you release her to me at once!’ spat Mr Humbleton, pointing an accusing finger at Max.
‘She is not your property, but a grown woman with her own free will,’ Max said in a calm voice. ‘And Felicity chooses to be with me. Don’t you, my dear?’
‘I do indeed,’ I said solemnly. ‘Of my own free will,’ I added in case that bit was needed. I glanced at Harriet sitting with Aunt on the sofa, and she clasped her hands to her bosom and gave me a sweet encouraging smile.
‘But all the arrangements have been made for us to marry,’ said Mr Humbleton, faltering.
‘Be that as it may,’ said Max steadily. ‘But they can just as easily be unmade. Besides, if my understanding of the events is correct, I think you will find that I proposed the night before she signed your contract. So I am actually her fiancé, not you.’
He looked down at me for support, and I agreed that was indeed true. Yes, point to Max!
But my cousin rallied and came back with a riposte of his own.
‘Do you have proof?’ asked Mr Humbleton.
‘Proof?’ echoed Max.
‘Yes, man, proof! I assume your proposal was done in haste. Who is to say it did not happen today when you accosted her on the road to London with only field mice as onlookers? You will need solid proof or at least a witness who can testify in court that your proposal came before mine.’ He smiled at us smugly, and I could tell he was deadly serious about taking the matter to court. I gazed up at Max, who was looking worried.
‘I have no witness apart from Felicity,’ he said slowly.
‘Well, her testimony is no good since she has already signed my contract. Have you none other?’
‘I ... I told Jane and Harriet,’ I said. ‘But that was after I signed the contract.’
Mr Humbleton shrugged. ‘Then it is settled. There is no engagement between the two of you, and the contract with me still stands. Cousin, if you would be so kind as to clean and tidy yourself.’ He looked with distaste at my mud-caked dress and rampant hair. ‘We will be leaving in an hour!’
Everyone looked a bit shocked, and Aunt clicked her tongue at his belligerent tone.
‘Max!’ I uttered, clutching his arm, feeling faint with despair (and hunger since I had not eaten anything but a roll and honey since early this morning). The thought of being parted from him and being stuck in a carriage with Mr Humbleton for many hours as we rolled towards Hertfordshire was agonising.
‘She is not going anywhere with you! She needs a decent meal and to rest properly!’ Max growled at Mr Humbleton. ‘You cannot just lug her off to wherever it is you are from!’
‘Hertfordshire,’ said Mr Humbleton proudly. ‘A small, but picturesque village with a lovely aspect—’
‘I don’t care what it looks like!’ Max cried, his face red and his fists clenched; I could practically see steam coming out of his ears.
Papa stood up then and intervened, seeing as things were getting ugly.
‘Felicity shall eat and rest and be ready in three hours,’ he said. ‘Harriet and her aunt can help her pack.’
My cousin considered and nodded. ‘Very well. We should still reach Reading by nightfall.’
I groaned inwardly. I was to go back the way I had just come! Mr Humbleton must have passed by Max and me in his carriage while we were sitting in that muddy field behind the hedge. We had been so caught up in canoodling we had not heard a thing.
Prompted by Papa gesturing to her, Harriet came over and held out her hand to me. ‘Come, dearest,’ she said, sounding pained. ‘Let us get you cleaned up and fed. All will be well.’
I was not so sure of that, but what else could I do? Mr Humbleton seemed to hold all the cards.
Max watched helplessly as I was extracted from him and led towards the door. But just as Harriet and I were about to exit, he shouted, ‘Wait! What is that?’ He was pointing at me.
Perplexed, I looked down at my person to see what he was pointing at but could not determine what it was.
He strode over on his long legs and plucked something from my sleeve. ‘This! I recognise it.’
It took me a few seconds to know what he was referring to; then I realised.
‘Oh, yes, it is the letter you wrote me,’ I said. ‘I had placed it in the bosom of my dress for safe keeping. It must have lodged in my sleeve when I fell off George.’
‘You fell off George?’ said Harriet, aghast. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I think so, just a bit of a sore back ... ’
‘You can tell her later,’ said Max, interrupting excitedly. ‘For I think this letter is enough proof to show that I proposed first.’
I snapped my fingers. ‘Of course! You signed and dated it, ever the consummate gentleman, even when you are hungover.’
Max bowed to me with a grin. ‘My lady. The honour should go to you, though, as you actually kept the letter instead of tearing it up as I so rightly deserved.’
‘Well, you wrote it,’ I said shyly. ‘Of course I was going to keep it.’
Max took my hand and kissed it, and we smiled at each other fondly.
‘Not so soon with the lovey-dovey twaddle. Let me see that!’ Mr Humbleton sneered. He snatched the paper out of Max’s hand and perused it intently.
‘It is written in crayon, not ink. It does not count!’ he cried triumphantly.
‘Sir, I think you’ll find if you look in any dictionary that a crayon is a writing and drawing implement, so it does indeed count,’ said Max. ‘It states plainly that I proposed to Felicity and she accepted the day before she signed your contract. You can have your lawyer check the document if you like, but I think you’ll find that mine will stand before a judge and jury. Any claim you have on her is now null and void. Besides, Felicity and I have done more than just kiss, so she is compromised—and we have to marry,’ he added.
Harriet stared at me, shocked, and Aunt shook her head and said, ‘Oh dear.’ I did not think Max massaging my buttocks was tantamount to being ‘compromised’, but I hung my head in mock shame and let them think what they liked.
By the look of pure rage on Mr Humbleton’s face, it was the icing on the cake.
‘What?’ he roared. ‘I have no wish to be married to such a ... a strumpet!’
‘Good!’ I retorted, not caring what he thought of me. ‘For I have no wish to be married to you either. I am sorry for your predicament, but I am not the one to solve it and bid you leave and look elsewhere for a wife.’
Mr Humbleton muttered something about not wanting the good folk of Hertfordshire to be polluted by the likes of me anyway.
‘But, Felicity!’ cried Papa. ‘Are you sure you want to be married to Mr Fitzroy? I did not think you liked him.’
‘I do like him, Papa. Very much so. In fact, I ... I love him, and he loves me.’
Max nodded, looking a touch embarrassed to be sharing such intimate feelings with my family.
‘Well then’, said Papa with a wide smile and an undisguised look of relief, ‘I offer you both my blessing and my hearty congratulations.’ He came over and shook Max’s hand.
‘And mine too. Congratulations,’ said Aunt and gave a low curtsy to Max and me as if we were the king and queen, which made me giggle.
Harriet clapped her hands in glee and gave me a hug. ‘Can I be your bridesmaid? Or will you have Jane?’
‘I’ll have you both,’ I said with a laugh. ‘And definitely a wedding dress!’
During this happy exchange, Mr Humbleton melted away out of the parlour without congratulating us or saying goodbye. But no one was really sorry to see him go, least of all me. I was much too busy gazing adoringly at my tall, dark, and handsome fiancé.
Soon afterwards, Max took me aside and said that he would leave for Ashbury as he needed to feed and water Apollo. ‘But I will call on you this evening, if that is all right?’
I nodded. ‘Yes, I believe Papa is planning an impromptu engagement party and inviting the Austens to celebrate with us.’
Max winced. ‘I will have to put on my socialising face then.’ He arranged his features into his trademark haughty expression, and I could not help but giggle .
‘Dearest, I think that may scare them off!’
Max chuckled too. ‘You may be right. Well, until then, my love.’ He took my hand and kissed it, and we gazed at each other for a moment. ‘I do not want to let you out of my sight,’ he murmured, holding on to my hand.
‘Nor I you.’ I sighed with pleasure as his fingers entwined with mine, but it soon turned into a smothered yawn. He released me, telling me to go and rest immediately.
‘Not that you need any beauty sleep,’ he added with a wink, and I blushed. Max Fitzroy becoming adept at flirting? Wonders would never cease!
Some hours later, after a sound nap and a thorough wash, I slipped into a clean chemise and my green evening dress. Harriet curled and pinned my hair, and I fastened a simple emerald necklace that had been my mother’s around my neck. I caught Harriet’s eye in the mirror, and she smiled at me, tucking a stray strand of hair into place.
‘You are glowing, dearest. I think being engaged to the right man agrees with you.’
It was true. I felt lit within, as if my soul might float through the window and into the dusk-filled sky. My heart danced with joy at the thought of seeing Max again shortly and even more so to be married to him in the near future!
‘Oh, Harriet, I am so happy that everything has turned out for the best. To think that Max had no intention of ever proposing to Rosalind Whiteley and that I was the object of his desire all along!’
Harriet placed a warm hand on my shoulder and grasped it firmly. ‘Of course, even though she would have you think otherwise. He loves you very much. I caught him looking at you earlier with the most drippy expression.’
I giggled. ‘I am sure mine was drippy too. I cannot help it. Underneath that stern facade is a sweet and kind man. Evan was right about him ...’
Harriet smiled, but I saw a glimmer of sadness in her expression at the mention of a certain gentleman’s name.
I reached up and touched her hand. ‘Everything will turn out right for you too. It must!’
‘Evan’s intention to write to me daily started off strong, but his letters have all but dried up,’ she said quietly. ‘I have not heard from him for nearly a week now. But I am sure he must be busy. After all, London is so diverting with its many social events, and he will have other ladies to attend to.’ She let out a tiny sob, and my heart constricted.
‘Harriet ...’
She swiped at her eyes and pulled herself together. ‘Do not mind me, Fliss. This is your happy occasion, and you deserve it. You have been to hell and back with all that business with our cousin, and it has been resolved in such a perfectly wonderful way.’ She smiled stoically and lifted her chin. ‘I will meet you downstairs shortly, where I will be pouring you and myself a large congratulatory glass of Madeira!’
I laughed. ‘All right!’
When she had left, I sat there a little longer, staring at the elegant young woman in the mirror, with her flushed happy cheeks and shining eyes. I touched my necklace gently.
You would like him, Mama. He is handsome, strong, funny, and very kind. And I love him so much. I wish you were here so you could celebrate with us.
Feeling like I might start sobbing myself, I quickly swiped under my eyes and gave my appearance one last check. This was not the time for wistful tears. I had a fiancé and an engagement party awaiting me downstairs!
***
When I walked into the parlour, Harriet cried out, ‘Here she is!’
Immediately, I was embraced; and my cheeks were kissed by Jane, Cassie, and Mrs Austen with excited congratulations offered. Mr Austen bowed and offered his too. But he stood to the side with Papa, drinking port, and left it up to his women to make a fuss of me .
‘We will talk properly soon,’ muttered Jane in my ear and sidled off to the pianoforte, where she began to softly play a classical piece. Meanwhile, Harriet poured glasses of Madeira, and Cassie passed around a plate of cakes that Sue had hastily baked for the occasion.
Max had been hovering in the background, but he came over when the initial flurry had subsided and handed me the glass of Madeira he had fetched. He looked resplendent in a black tailcoat, cream double-breasted waistcoat, and a snowy-white cravat. Knowing that everyone was watching, he bowed formally to me. ‘Good evening, Miss Blackburn.’
‘Good evening, Mr Fitzroy,’ I replied with a smile returning his bow.
‘I remember that dress from the assembly,’ he said. ‘You look as lovely in it now as you did then—and bear no resemblance whatsoever to a piglet,’ he added in a low voice, and I smothered a snort of laughter.
‘You look rather dashing yourself, I have to say, now that you have cleaned up.’
He chuckled. ‘Yes, I came over in the carriage to avoid any further mud baths.’
We exchanged a knowing smile.
To my huge relief, Max was mild in temperament and at eas e with me. I was anxious after my confession about not wanting children, that he may have thought about it and decided it was reprehensible. I had half expected a brief letter to be delivered outlining his change of heart and asking to break off the engagement.
But no. I could see by his deference and his smiling glances that he still liked me extremely and that I need not worry about his feelings cooling. In fact, his relaxed manner encouraged my own feelings to solidify further, and I felt a deep abiding trust starting to grow for him.
But we could not discuss anything remotely resembling our feelings at the present moment. That would have to wait.
‘I see Mrs Snelling has just arrived and wishes to speak to you. I shall make myself scarce for the meanwhile.’ Max bent to kiss my hand, his lips grazing the back of it. When he straightened, I saw that his look of frustration reflected my own wishes—to spend the evening alone together, to talk or kiss or whatever else we liked to do ... My pulse rate increased as he ran a finger delicately over the inside of my wrist, and I shivered—whatever else indeed! But propriety dictated that we could not be in the same room without a chaperone until we were married.
I sipped my wine and observed his well-built physique as he strolled away to talk to Papa and Mr Austen, my hand tingling from the touch of his lips. A scandalous thought about having a midnight tryst entered my mind. Would he be shocked? Or willing? After our rendezvous in the kitchen and the heated bout of kissing in the field this morning, I had a feeling he might be entirely amenable.
‘Congratulations, Felicity!’ Aunt swooped in and kissed me soundly on the cheek, her lips cold after the short walk from next door. ‘Well done, my dear! What an achievement!’
‘Ah, thank you?’ I said, not quite sure what she was getting at .
She leaned in and said in a low voice, ‘You have hooked one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, my dear. He is a much better catch than that clergyman cousin of yours.’
‘I would not use the word “hooked”, Aunt. It was more that we finally realised our feelings for each other,’ I replied, glancing quickly over at Max to make sure he was not hearing this exchange. He was now over by the piano with Jane, thank goodness!
But Aunt had more to say on the matter. She began to unpin her best hat, which had a peacock feather in it. ‘He has kept this quiet since he has been in Steventon, but I have heard it from good authority that Mr Fitzroy owns a very grand house. Well, actually ... it is more of an estate ... in Derbyshire—the Peak District to be exact. It is being refurbished, hence why he was lodging with Mr Pringle for the summer. Apparently, it even has a private lake full of fish!’
Max owned an estate and a lake! Gracious, he was a private person indeed as he hadn’t once mentioned it in any of our conversations. And I had been so caught up in our getting engaged today that I had not given any thought to where we would live. It appeared we had much to discuss!
Max, who was now chatting with the Austens, caught my eye as I looked over at him; and he raised his glass to me. I narrowed my eyes at the wine, and he grinned mischievously. Hopefully, he would not partake of too much and need to spend the night on the parlour couch again!
It was not until a little later that Jane and I managed to speak together. We sat on the sofa with cups of tea and helped ourselves to the second round of refreshments that Mary brought in.
‘These are quite delicious,’ said Jane, biting into an iced cake. ‘What are they?’
‘I gave our cook one of the petits fours I swiped from Rosalind Whiteley’s tea party. She has successfully replicated them, albeit larger versions. They are grande fours .’
Jane giggled. ‘But more satisfying if you are hungry. ’
‘Exactly.’
‘So your cousin has left then, I take it?’
‘Yes, in a most foul temper after he realised his fiancée now belonged to another. Papa ripped up the contract himself and apologised most profusely for ever subjecting me to him. Of course I forgave him as he was ultimately trying to do the right thing.’
‘Ah, excellent news.’ Jane ducked her head, and I saw that she was smirking to herself.
‘What are you smiling about?’ I asked.
‘Nothing.’ But her smirk deepened.
‘Pray, do tell, Miss Austen. My suspicions are roused.’
She sighed. ‘Oh, very well. I was not going to say anything, but I cannot keep it a secret from you . I may have written anonymously to Mr Humbleton and emotionally blackmailed him.’
I stared at her, feeling a bit shocked. ‘Jane! Whatever did you say? ’
She shrugged. ‘Just that you had a more desirable suitor and that he needed to break off the engagement immediately, or God would not look favourably upon a man who thwarted a couple truly in love.’
‘But it only made him try to marry me faster!’
‘Yes, that did not quite go as I expected,’ said Jane, looking sheepish. ‘I hoped he would see reason, but in truth, he is an unreasonable sort of person. I also did not expect you to run away, but it was a good thing you did as you met Mr Fitzroy coming back from London. So that all worked out ...’
I suddenly had a thought as to why Max was in such a hurry to return. ‘You didn’t write anonymously to Mr Fitzroy as well, did you?’
Jane averted her eyes and played with a few crumbs on her plate. ‘Um, perhaps ...’
I let out a breath.
‘You had better tell me exactly what you said to him,’ I scolded lightly.
Jane huffed. ‘Only what he needed to hear. That you had been forced into an engagement with Mr Humbleton and that he needed to make haste to Steventon immediately if he didn’t want to lose you forever. I thought that would put the wind up him, and I was right—it did!’
‘So, really, I should be thanking you,’ I said slowly. ‘If you had not written to Max ...’
Jane grasped my hand. ‘Flissy, I hardly did anything. I simply encouraged what was already there, and fate did the rest. You were meant to be together.’
Whether it was fate or her quill, I would probably never know as the subject was promptly dropped due to a commotion outside in the hallway. The parlour door was suddenly flung open, and Mr Pringle burst into the room, his face pale and stricken. From the stained and rumpled state of his dress, it seemed he had been travelling for days.
‘Forgive me, I came as fast as I could!’ he blurted. ‘My cousin bade me to go with her to Bath. But when the news came ... I left immediately, and the roads were horrendous.’
He stared wildly around the room, and his gaze fixed upon Harriet, who was staring at him like she had seen a ghost. He strode over to her. ‘Am I too late?’ he demanded.
Baffled, she shook her head; and he let out a groan of relief and sank to one knee before her, right there in front of everyone!
Harriet looked as if she might faint.
‘I’ve been an unconscionable idiot,’ stated Mr Pringle. ‘Harriet Blackburn, I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?’
Harriet let out a whimper of joy. ‘Yes, I will! Thank you!’ she said very quickly and very loudly, then burst into tears. Evan leapt to his feet, held her hand tightly, and beamed at everyone.
Amidst all ensuing hugs, kisses, and congratulations for the happy couple, I could not help whispering to Jane, ‘I can hardly believe it—Mr Pringle finally grew a backbone!’
‘Yes,’ Jane whispered back. ‘Though I suspect it may also be because I sent him an anonymous letter about Harriet’s impending engagement—fictitious of course ...’
I chuckled and shook my head. ‘Jane, one day, that quill of yours will get you into trouble.’
Jane smiled indulgently and touched my cup of tea with her own. ‘Indeed.’