Chapter Seventeen
It was already late in the day when they arrived, so a note was sent to Seaview Cottage that they were welcome to come to supper, but otherwise they would have them to breakfast in the morning. Gigi was tired, so answered that they would come first thing in the morning for breakfast.
Mrs. Young preferred town hours, so she begged off the breakfast meeting.
She needed to send her compatriot a message to the agreed upon place.
There was a pub down on the docks that was run by her distant cousin.
All messages were to go through him. She had assured her friend that she would come up with another plan, but so far, nothing came to her.
The original plan had been so simple! That cousin had ruined everything!
Wait! Maybe they could abduct the cousin.
She was an heiress, from what the little mouse said.
He brother owned ten thousand acres in America.
Oh, but how do you ransom someone to a brother that lives all the way across the ocean?
Drat it! That would take months. Hmmmm, maybe the Bennet’s had more money than it appeared.
That youngest girl looked ripe for the picking.
She had a chip on her shoulder, and likely would be looking for trouble and adventure.
Bernice shrugged on her nightrobe and sat to write her note.
It was only the beginning of June. There was plenty of time to figure something out.
~~~~~
“Ohhhh. I love my cottage, but this is simply beautiful! You even have a lawn! There is only a little garden at my place with a gate in the hedge to go to the beach. Are those stairs that lead down?!”
“Yes! The lawn slopes downward. You can see the stone fence and there are wide steps leading down to the beach. Lizzy and Lydia were the only two with enough energy to go down yesterday, and John of course.”
“We must go! Beth, were you awake to see the sunrise this morning?”
“I was! All the rooms on this side have a balcony, which I was lucky enough to get one, so I sat and watched the sun come up in my night robe! Haha!”
Kitty pouted and Lydia looked annoyed. “Now, now girls. We have the floor to ourselves. You can come visit any of our rooms and sit on our balconies in your nightrobes too. We will visit your rooms at sunset to watch the sun spin away.” Jane, always the peace maker.
Mary was too circumspect to complain that her room did not have a sea view.
Lizzy and Beth just smirked at the younger girls.
“Age before beauty, girls! You’ll get your chance. Maybe we can switch halfway through… with a sufficient bribe.” Beth winked and Lydia almost smiled.
It was going to be quite a warm day, so all the ladies decided it was time to go walk the beach while it was still cool.
John and Jackson, and both Wainwright twins who were the Darcy footmen, would accompany the young ladies.
Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Russell, and Mrs. Greaves would sit on the terrace and watch from there.
“So where is your companion this morning, Gigi?”
“Mrs. Young keeps town hours, Beth. She thinks country hours are for savages.”
“Did she actually say that?!”
“She can be rather sharp tongued. I figure it is good practice for when I am out and meeting the ton. My cousin Marie has the same opinion.”
“I am looking forward to meeting your cousins. You, William, and Richard tell such interesting stories of them.” They were giggling as Lydia caught up to them.
“What’s funny?”
“Some of my other cousins.” Gigi smiled and grasped Lydia’s arm. The three young women walked together telling funny stories of family foibles until Jane called them back.
Lydie huffed and frowned, “Such a mother hen.”
“If I had younger siblings when mama died, I would likely be a great deal worse than Jane. Keeping my older brother in line was hard enough!”
“I miss mama. Do you miss yours?”
“Every day, Lyddie. Papa too.”
“I’m sorry! I forgot you have lost both parents. I guess I am still selfish and thoughtless. My sisters are right.”
“When was the last time they called you that, Lydia?”
“I…I do not know. It has been a while. You have lost both of your parents too, Gigi. I am sorry for just thinking of myself.”
“It is alright. I never really knew my mother, so I cannot really miss her, can I? I miss my father. I think you are too hard on yourself.”
“I do too!” Beth pulled them both forward. “Lizzy! Ask Jane if we can all go into town this afternoon and check out the shops.”
~~~~~
Mrs. Bernice Young was the daughter of a parson.
She ran off with a soldier when she was only sixteen and was a widow by eighteen.
Whether she in fact married the man was in question, but her parents disowned her.
She had made her way however she could since then.
The cousin who owned the pub down by the docks was the only family that would recognize her.
For a short time, she had worked at that pub. That is where she met her friend.
Bernice was more than a bit arrogant. She thought of herself as a great actress who could fill any role.
She had trod the boards in some smaller venues.
Usually playing a princess or someone of the aristocracy.
One of her male friends had written her a recommendation as an experienced and reliable governess, which is how she got her current position as companion to Miss Darcy.
The rest of her references were all forged.
She was very lucky Miss Darcy’s guardians were in a hurry to hire someone for the little mouse.
She had grown up well educated, so she assumed she had all the qualifications.
Unfortunately, she was not quite as clever as she thought.
She sent her note to the pub with one of the house footmen.
The younger son of the butler and housekeeper.
“Father, that companion, Mrs. Young wants me to run a note down to the Grey Gull.”
Mr. Riley grimaced. “That’s not a good place. Did she say why?”
“No, she treated me like a bit of dust on her shoe. ‘Take this, boy, and wait for an answer.’ That’s all.”
“You take your brother with you. I won’t have you down on the docks alone. Don’t eat or drink down there. Men have been known to disappear. You’ll find yourself on a ship out to sea when you wake. Be careful. Take note of everything. The Colonel doesn’t seem to trust the woman.”
“Yes, father. We’ll be back as quick as we can.”
Tad went to find his brother Todd and left on his errand. To the relief of their parents, they were back within an hour.