Chapter Sixteen #2
They both nodded, everybody rose, and followed Smuckers, Jimmy, and Johnny out the front doors.
All remnants of the terrible snowstorm were gone, as was any hint of Mr. Smuckers ice on the step.
Though, Pansy did note a lone agate marble at the base of a bloomless rosebush, a memento of Lord Burkhart’s and Mr. Lelander’s send-off, courtesy of Teddie and Bertie.
It was Smythesdon’s carriage trotting up the drive so Pansy assumed these gentlemen did not have their own carriage. Some young gentlemen did not keep a carriage; Henry never had while he was at Oxford.
Their brother-in-law bounded out of the vehicle without waiting for the steps, just as he’d done on that very first day he’d arrived all those years ago. Pansy remembered that Violet had condemned him for it and named him a showoff. Of course, her sister did not hold that same view now.
“Pots and Pans,” he said. “Viscountess, Mrs. Granger.” He helped Violet down just in time for Bertie to fly out of the house.
“Mama,” he said, “Did you hear Teddy and I ringing the bell?”
“Loud and clear,” she said. “How are you, Bertie? What will my report from Miss Millthorpe be like?”
At the mention of Miss Millthorpe, Bertie’s face fell. “It is grueling, Mama. She never stops with it. Sometimes, our lessons go on for three hours!”
“Excellent,” she said, laughing, “the lady has not changed a bit, then.”
A gentleman descended next, followed by another one.
They were both of middle height and average looks, seeming very much alike.
They both looked rather boyish. Smythesdon had mentioned he found them young but it looked as if he’d robbed a schoolroom.
Neither of them had the manly presence of Lord Burkhart.
They were not even dressed as well as Lord Burkhart.
Their coats were…fine. But they did not have the elegance of cut that the lord’s did.
Or they did not wear them as the lord did.
Their knots were…fine. And in fact looked very like Lord Burkhart’s knots, but they still did not look as well.
Pansy was certain Lord Burkhart’s neck was simply superior and could carry it off better.
Pansy glanced at Poppy. Poppy shrugged. They were agreed—there was nothing to distract them there. They had not imagined there would be, even if it had been two very dashing gentlemen arriving. She did not have the exact descriptor of these two brothers, but it was not dashing.
“Viscountess, may I present Mr. James Wilderman and Mr. William Wilderman, sons of Viscount Harrowby”
Both Gentlemen bowed low. “Viscountess,” Mr. Wilderman the elder said, “charmed, I'm sure."
"So charmed," Mr. Wilderman the younger added.
So charmed? Who ever said “so charmed,” it was very odd.
“You are welcome to Chemsworth,” Lady Mulholland said. “Please do be introduced to my daughters. Miss Pansy Granger and Miss Poppy Granger.”
More low bows. More charmed and so charmed. Gracious, what were they supposed to do with these boys?
“This is my son, Bertie, that you’ve heard so much about,” Violet said to the two gentlemen. “And here comes Teddy, too.
“Ah, the boys with the marbles,” Mr. James Wilderman said.
“Shall we tell you how we did it?” Bertie asked.
“We can tell you all about it,” Teddy added.
“Indeed, we should be most interested. We often play jests on one another at Oxford.”
“So many jests,” Mr. William Wilderman said. “It is always quite funny. We just laugh and laugh over it. Then you can tell it the next day to people who were not even there.”
“And it’s still funny in the telling.”
“Yes, they just laugh and laugh.”
With that assurance of the hilarity occurring at Oxford, they all proceeded into the house. Bertie and Teddy had promised to tell their new arrivals how they had gathered up every marble in the place and spread them out on the step. And they did just that.
Perhaps she and Poppy would not have to entertain these two fellows at all. Perhaps they’d be satisfied spending all their time with Bertie and Teddy. They could think up jests they could take back to Oxford. And then laugh and laugh.
Smuckers wore his best stiff-lipped expression and Pansy guessed he did not understand the Oxford hilarity any better than she did. He directed Jimmy and Johnny to take up the trunks while he arranged a tea tray.
And so began a long and tedious afternoon in the drawing room.
The viscountess had suggested that perhaps the gentlemen might wish to retire to their rooms to get settled.
They did not. They had much rather stay in the drawing room, thinking up jests they could play at Oxford.
They were determined to purchase piles of marbles and put them outside Mr. Hellwig’s room, whoever he was.
Pansy supposed they would laugh and laugh about it. She was less certain if Mr. Hellwig would laugh and laugh about it.
After that, the Wilderman brothers had a long conversation about how they were to explain the bill for marbles to their father.
They settled on describing them as necessary for a natural history inquiry having to do with the placement of planets.
As they were determined to purchase hundreds of marbles, Pansy was not certain how many planets they thought there were.
Lord Smythesdon did his best to turn the conversation to something more rational, to no avail.
The viscountess excused herself to speak to Mr. Moreau about dinner, which everybody who lived in the house knew was nonsense. If she wished to speak about dinner, she would speak to Smuckers. Pansy was certain her mother had made her escape back to her sitting room, her letters, and her dog.
Finally, the first gong had rung and Pansy and Poppy made their escape too. They’d practically run up the stairs.
Pansy slammed the door behind her. “They are so tedious!”
“Impossibly tedious,” Poppy said. “What in the world was Lord Smythesdon thinking?”
“As if two youngsters like that could possibly capture our attention after Lord Burkhart and Mr. Lelander.”
“Not a single chance of it.”
“And to think, the younger is to be a vicar. Neither of us are suited to be a vicar’s wife.”
“We are not pious enough by half.”
“Can you imagine one of us, looking down our nose at anything untoward happening in church?”
“It could not work, as it is always us doing the something.”
“Oh yes, the vicar really does not like it when we squirm in our seats, but he does go on too long.”
“I bet this one will go on too long too. He’ll even go on too long at home.”
There was a quick knock on the door and Violet slipped in, closing the door behind her. “I know, I know,” she said, waving her hands to stop their complaints before they started.
“Really, Violet,” Pansy said.