Chapter Sixteen #2
Suddenly everything fell into place, as if she had turned the dial of a kaleidoscope and all the pieces shifted to create a picture full of light and clarity.
The tension she hadn’t realized had been keeping her shoulders stiff evaporated and the stone in her heart transformed into a shooting star.
She wanted to fly out of her seat and throw herself at Roland’s feet, begging him to marry her.
But she knew that would not be necessary.
She knew without a doubt that Roland loved her and his scruples would no longer prevent him from declaring his intentions. She just had to wait for the right moment.
When the lawyer stood up, so did Gwendolyn and the others. Freya looked at her strangely. “Something has changed. You look lighter, happier. Surely you’re not that keen to open a haberdashery?”
Gwendolyn tucked her hand through Freya’s arm as they left the office. “I admire the people who run shops but I’m not sure that the tedium of being stuck behind a counter all day suits me very well. I do, however, believe that something wonderful is about to happen.”
“Oh?” Freya’s one word answer was half a question, half an exclamation.
Gwendolyn looked a little chagrined. “I am very grateful to Lady Maynard for offering to finance the shop but…” She didn’t know how to express the epiphany of the last few minutes.
Mariana fell in beside the other two girls as they followed the lawyer to a place nearby that had until recently, been a rag and bone shop. She looked thoughtfully at Roland’s back as he walked beside the lawyer and then back at Gwendolyn. “It’s about time the two of you realized the truth.”
“What truth?” Freya asked and then laughed. “Oh, Lord Montgomery loves you, and you love him.” She clapped her hands. “How wonderful!”
Gwendolyn smiled. “I have always heard that a young lady should not presume on a gentleman’s love until he declares it.
But he is so determined to do what is right and proper that he might need a big push to make him follow his heart.
I know he can make me happy and perhaps I can make him happy, too. ”
The lawyer had stopped at a low doorway in a cramped, dark side street.
The door creaked as he turned a large iron key in the keyhole.
He stood back, allowing Gwendolyn and Mariana to enter first. A rat scampered across the floor and they had to brush aside cobwebs.
Lady Maynard entered behind them and coughed lightly as a cloud of dust rose into the air.
“There isn’t much space here to display goods,” she said when her eyes adjusted to the light.
Mariana had wandered to the tight space behind the counter.
She dragged her finger through the dust on one of the shelves and looked at Gwendolyn who was near the only window, peering out into the grubby street.
“With a bit of cleaning and some fresh paint, we could make this quite cheerful,” she said, although there was not much conviction in her voice.
Freya was staring up a very narrow staircase. “Where does that go?”
“The living quarters are above the shop, with a bedroom and living room,” Mr. Murray said. “There is a water pump at the end of the yard.”
Lady Maynard held her handkerchief which had been lightly scented with perfume in front of her nose. Through the wall they could a baby crying and a man’s voice shouted, “Shut the bloody bairn up, will ye, slut, and bring me some gin before I take me hand to ye!”
“Mr. Murray,” Lord Montgomery said, speaking for the first time since they had entered the shop, “I am sure that there are more salubrious places where two young ladies can live and work comfortably. There are numerous pleasant shops along Castle Street and the new mills are bringing prosperity to the town. I am not sure why you have brought us here, unless it was to awaken our philanthropic sensibilities for the inhabitants of this area.”
Gwendolyn almost giggled at the shocked look that crossed Mr. Murray’s face, but the first part of Roland’s speech played through her mind.
He sounded determined to settle her and Mariana in Carlisle.
She must have imagined the tenderness and affection that had been in his eyes in the lawyer’s office.
Disappointment overwhelmed her and her feet dragged as she followed the others back into the street.
When they reached the corner of the main road, Lord Montgomery said, “Mr. Murray, I thank you for your time today, but I believe that we will follow a different course. Good day.”
Mr. Murray stammered a greeting, realizing he might have offended one of his most prestigious clients, but Roland hardly waited to hear the lawyer splutter that he hoped to be doing business with the baron soon.
Roland looked over the gaggle of girls gathered on the pavement, Lady Maynard standing behind them like a guardian angel. He nodded. “Miss Burroughs, would you do me the honor of walking beside me? The riverbank offers good views of the castle and the new developments.”
Gwendolyn gaped at him and didn’t move until Mariana shoved her forward.
She walked in silence beside him, her hand resting lightly on his arm, until they reached the river.
Gwendolyn was unaware that Lady Maynard dawdled behind with the other two girls, ensuring that she and Roland could have some privacy and yet still providing a suitable level of chaperonage.
“Why don’t they talk to each other?” Mariana wanted to know. “Perhaps we should go and prompt them.”
Lady Maynard laughed. “Give them time.”
“Time! Gracious, how much time do they need? They’ve had hours and hours when they could have talked about their feelings,” Mariana protested.
Roland watched the water of the Caldew River lapping the banks. Gwendolyn stood beside him, calming her thoughts as birds called to one another and the sun sparkled off the water.
“This is a pleasant town and it is growing rapidly,” Roland commented, still gazing out over the view.
Gwendolyn swallowed. “I believe if, when, we find a good venue, we will be comfortable.” But her words were hollow even to her own ears.
Roland turned to face her. “Is that what you want? To live here above a shop, even a bigger one than that hovel Mr. Murray showed us?”
Gwendolyn looked at him and then dropped her eyes.
“I cannot see any other option. I love my baby, but I am aware that my indiscretion has cast me out of the ranks of Society and made it impossible for me to keep Laura.” She swallowed.
“And Robert has made it clear that he has no interest in me or his child.” She looked to where Mariana was standing with Lady Maynard and Freya on a low stone bridge.
“I am only sorry that Mariana has lost any opportunity of finding joy for herself.”
“Gwendolyn.” Roland’s voice was so intense, so rough with emotion that she raised her eyes to his.
“I cannot offer you the glamor and excitement of the life Robert has in London, but,” he had to clear his throat and as he did so, he took Gwendolyn’s hands in his, “but, I will care for you and give Laura a good home and a good name. And if Mariana cares to live at High Fell Manor, there is plenty of space for her, too.”
Gwendolyn smiled. “There are hundreds of books in your library she hasn’t read yet.”
Roland laughed. “Indeed, she will be happy there, little bookworm that she is.” He tucked Gwendolyn’s hand under his arm and rejoined the others. “I will speak to the vicar tomorrow and arrange for the banns to be read and we will be married next month.”
Gwendolyn nodded. Relief flooded through her. She would spend her life with the man she had learned to love, and who cared so much for her. Only, some stubborn female part of her heart wished that he loved her, even a little bit and that his proposal could have been a little more romantic.