Chapter Twenty
The Charltons gathered in the dining room for breakfast. The heavy, fringed draperies had been swept back to allow the scant December sun to penetrate the room. A fire burned in the chimneypiece, which was decorated with holly and ivy, red velvet bows and silken bunting.
Rather than the gilded candlesticks and bowls of flowers at the center of the long dining table, dishes of fruits, nuts, and boiled sweets lined the middle of the tabletop.
The siblings huddled around the sideboard, wishing each other “Good morning” and “Happy Christmas”.
Selwyn held her hand and fixed her plate, heaping eggs, toast, ham, beans, and bacon upon her until Aurelia felt certain she’d be stuffed.
Mr. Dowell and the duo of footmen served coffee and tea, looking only a little worse for wear after their merrymaking in the servants’ hall last night.
It was a pleasant, casual Christmas breakfast, filled with laughter and chatter, and lots of delicious food.
A dinner feast would follow in the evening, complete with goose and turkey, and all the trimmings of the season.
This would be a busy day of celebrating.
Aurelia looked forward to every minute of it.
Gifts were produced for Margie, Fannie, and Perry. Selwyn was a generous and indulgent brother. He winked at Aurelia as they opened their presents.
Lady Margery untwined a ribbon to reveal a folio of papers. She read them, stunned, and then she squealed with joy. “An application to the University of London!” She looked up at him, misty-eyed. “Oh, Selly, you’ve relented at last!”
“I was never against it, Margie, only cautious,” he said.
“A woman has a right to be educated, to seek knowledge. A right to live as she pleases and to be happy in those choices. I trust you will be happy attending university. I hope you chase every dream, take every risk—but do stick close to home for a little while, at least. You’ll always have a place here at Brantingham House. ”
Lady Fanetta received two tickets for a passage on the Channel ferry and a promise from Sewlyn to pay for an entirely new wardrobe, including a Court presentation gown from any French fashion house of her choosing. In Fannie’s eyes, he had just given her the world.
“Selly!” cried the younger sister, “This is so extravagant! Not even Mama would’ve done this for me!
Would you be offended if I invited Miss Goldsworthy to join me?
” She turned to Aurelia, explaining, “You’ll want new things, too—frocks and mantles, stockings and lingerie—perhaps even a presentation gown of your own.
Oh, do say you’ll come. You have such beautiful taste in clothes. ”
He nodded to both women. “You may order whatever you want, Aurelia. You’ll have earned it chaperoning Fannie in Paris.”
They all laughed.
Aurelia was so delighted for Margie and Fannie and their bold new adventures. She wondered what Selwyn had in store for Lord Peregrine.
“You know you’ve a place at Oxford if you want it,” said the Duke, “and I receive your tailor’s bills already.
There is little I can give you, Perry, that you cannot go out and get for yourself.
On this first Christmas without either Mama or Papa to guide us, I’m struck by the realization that we are all adults—or standing on the cusp of adulthood, at least—and it isn’t up to me to make decisions for you.
However, I shall happily guide you or give you advice if you want it. ”
Selwyn passed a small case down the table until it reached Perry’s outstretched hands. The youngest Charlton sibling lifted the lid to reveal a gold pocket watch on a long chain.
“Papa’s watch!” exclaimed the lad. “But he left it to you, Selly…”
He nodded. “He left it to me on the understanding that it would be yours when you were old enough and mature enough to look after it. That watch is very valuable, Perry, and oughtn’t to be left in your rooms at Eton for your friends to gawp at.”
“You know I would never put it at risk,” said Perry, holding the watch to the sunlight. It glimmered and glowed like the fine old thing it was.
“I do know that,” said Selwyn. “I give it to you now to remind you that whilst you may be the youngest of us, one day you’ll be grown-up, and your life will be your own. So make the most of your time and appreciate this privileged life with which you’ve been blessed.”
Everyone at the table—including Dowell, the ducal butler, who hovered behind the screen—sniffled and dabbed at their bleary eyes. A brother’s love was a dear thing, and Aurelia felt blessed to witness such a touching family moment.
She couldn’t have loved the Charltons more were they her own siblings.
After the New Year, they would be her brother- and sisters-in-law. Selwyn had given her a family, a home, and a purpose. Surely, the greatest Christmas presents anyone had ever received.
Fannie asked the obvious question, “What do you have to give to Miss Goldsworthy?”
He smiled slyly and extended his hand to Aurelia. “I thought it should be a surprise, though I doubt anybody will be shocked. Tell me, Aurelia, shall you choose your own betrothal ring or should you fancy a family heirloom?”
She grinned until her cheeks ached. “I want something that is precious to you.”
Margie clapped and said, “She must have Mama’s ring!”
“I had always thought it would be saved for you,” Selwyn told his sister.
Yet Margie shook her head adamantly. She held up her application paperwork and said, “I have my own plans.”
He looked across the table at the younger of the two sisters. “Fannie, then?”
She, too, shook her head, sending her brown curls bouncing. “I’ll manage my own ring, thank you.” Doubtless, she had high hopes for her debutante Season, and was looking forward to a vast selection of beaux desperate to bedeck her finger in diamonds.
“Very well,” said Selwyn, reaching into his sack coat pocket. He produced a velvet box from Garrards, a renowned Court jeweler. “You Charltons drive a hard bargain, and leave me no choice.”
He rose to his feet, circled the table, and then dropped to one knee beside Aurelia’s chair.
“Aurelia Goldsworthy,” he said, smiling at her, for they were nearly nose to nose in the dining room, within full view of his siblings and some of his servants.
“My love, my darling, my own beating heart, I humbly ask for your hand in marriage. I know you’ve prepared for life as a duchess, and I know you’re up to that challenge, but you see, I’m just a man.
A country fellow with fears, wants, and weaknesses like anyone else.
I need you, Aurelia. I love you.” He offered the pearl-and-diamond engagement ring to her, asking, “Will you join your hand with mine and make all of our lives complete?”
She allowed him to slip the ring on her finger, for he already knew her answer.
“Yes, Selwyn,” she said, kissing him. “I shall marry you.”
A mass of cheers, and laughter, and even more tears erupted from the group gathered around the table. It was a perfect proposal, though she’d accepted him last night when he had privately asked for her hand.
She wrapped every member of her new family in a tight hug, though she saved the deepest, longest, most loving embrace for her future husband.
Their lips met as the Christmas bells rang out across Mayfair.