Trevennor’s Will, page 34
The question sent the housekeeper into her dither again and she pulled on Isabel’s arm. ‘Oh, yes! There’s a gentleman come to see you. It’s Captain Richard Grenville.’
‘Richard! Here?’
‘Aye, he said he got your letter and he’s sorry to call at such a late hour but he felt he had to come at once.’
Isabel felt a moment of panic. ‘Mrs Christopher, I know this will sound a strange question, but what does he look like?’
Mrs Christopher was completely taken aback. ‘Don’t you know? He’s your betrothed.’
‘I know but I simply can’t remember. It’s as though he belongs to another time, another life.’
‘Well, he’s a fine looking man, tall and dark, I believe. I was so surprised to know who it was myself I didn’t stop to have a good look at him. Silly really, he was bound to come here sometime, I suppose.’
‘I’d better go down then,’ Isabel murmured.
Mrs Christopher frowned at her simple dress, slightly crumpled from the walk across Gwithian beach and made grubby by Morenwyn’s sticky hands. ‘Aren’t you going to change out of that dress first?’
She tut-tutted when Isabel said in a surprised voice, ‘Whatever for?’
‘But it’s your young man downstairs, he’s a gentleman. You haven’t put on one of your fine gowns since they arrived from Truro, and that was only a few then. Don’t know why you sent for them in the first place.’
Isabel sighed impatiently, lifting her eyes to the ceiling in an expression Mrs Christopher had seen often in another young man who’d frequently called at this house in the past, a man with a wilder nature and not such particular ways as the one waiting downstairs.
Isabel squared her shoulders and leaving Mrs Christopher to shake her head and mutter, she pattered down the stairs and walked into the parlour in business-like fashion.
Richard Grenville had been stroking and talking to her uncle’s bloodhounds and had got them in a playful mood. He left them immediately, ordering them firmly to lie down as he held out his hand to Isabel. She put hers on his and he kissed it lightly, then she took it away.
‘It was good of you to come, Richard, but you should not have troubled yourself at such a late hour. All manner of vagrants and cut throats are abroad at this time.’ She furtively studied his face to see if she remembered anything about him and, with the wariness she had acquired since her adventures, to make sure he really was Richard Grenville. It was like looking at someone she vaguely knew from her childhood. ‘Please sit down,’ she said. ‘Can I offer you anything?’
Richard Grenville considered his fiancée with humorous dark eyes. ‘My dear Isabel, I set foot on land but four hours ago. I went straight to my aunts’ house and was regaled with the accounts of your adventures along the North Cliffs. They showed me your letter to them – they are most put out that you have not called upon them since your sudden rising from the dead.’ He let out a hearty laugh, one that belonged to a seaman working only with other men. ‘And there was me believing you were waiting for me to come back to marry you, concerned only with the wedding lace.’
Isabel could not help but respond to his smiling face, his dark complexion made even darker by exposure to sea winds and burning sun. ‘I hope you are not angry with me too, Richard. Please do apologize to your aunts on my behalf but I hope they will understand that I have been in no mood for socializing and I will not leave my young orphaned cousin who has had a greater need of me.’
‘I am not in the least bit angry with you, Isabel. Rather, you have me greatly intrigued.’ He surprised her by pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arms about her. ‘I like your smile, it is much more open and friendlier than I remember.’ He brought his face to hers and kissed her lips. He would have made the embrace longer and more intimate but Isabel struggled out of his grip.
‘Come, my dear, no need for coyness. Our wedding date is but a few days away now.’
‘I have something to say to you, Richard,’ she said firmly.
Richard put his head slightly to the side and his eyes were full of wicked glints. ‘I know all about the time you spent with the handsome man – Nancarrow, I think his name was. If anything happened between you, I don’t really mind, as long as he hasn’t left you with child. These things are understandable, Isabel.’
‘Oh, are they, Richard? Well, nothing like that did happen though I don’t suppose you kept yourself to yourself while you were at sea.’
‘Surely you didn’t expect me to,’ he said, laughing. ‘You are not that naive, are you, Isabel?’
‘I was naive, Richard, but not now. As for what I expected of you, the fact is I hardly gave you a second thought.’
‘Oh.’ He looked crestfallen but only for a moment. ‘You’ve acquired quite an acid tongue, my dear, but never mind, I rather like the idea of returning from sea to find my wife has completely changed every time. It will make for a less predictable kind of marriage.’
Isabel stood very straight and looked determined. ‘Richard, listen to me closely, I will have no argument on this. I am not going to marry you.’
You’re not—’
‘I’m sorry but my mind is quite made up. I cannot marry you and I hope you will be gentleman enough not to make a fuss. I’ve cancelled the wedding plans and nothing you can say will make me change my mind. From now on I intend to live here quietly with my cousin. I realize of course I owe you recompense for breach of promise and I hope you will accept my mansion and grounds at Truro.’
Richard stared at her for a few moments then nodded his head and gave a huge grin. ‘I thought you’d say that somehow. Well, no matter, we weren’t in love or anything and one bride is as good as another to provide a man with a home port and a family. Pity though, I should have liked to boast about you to my comrades.’
Isabel was suspicious. ‘You are very understanding, Richard.’
‘It can be a life of danger and sudden misfortune at sea, my dear. You learn to live with it and accept it and adapt to it and we must all look to our own destiny. You may keep your property, Isabel. As long as I can feel a ship’s boards under my feet, I shall be content.’ He gave her his endearing grin again. ‘Actually I rather think the old aunts will be somewhat relieved that you don’t want to marry me. Word has got around about your adventurous spirit and I don’t think they knew how they were going to cope with it. You’re the talk of the county, my dear.’ Isabel found his amusement infectious and laughed with him. ‘Thank you so much, Richard. You have made telling you so much easier, in fact almost a pleasure.’
‘You said in your letter you wanted to see me as soon as possible and I thought I might as well ride over and get it over with. I will take you up on your earlier offer now, if I may, and would gladly accept a large tot of rum.’
When they were seated and chatting amiably, Richard winked and said, ‘I rather think on my next leave from the briny I will be looking forward to my nuptials again. Since your “demise”, the old aunts have been cultivating another young lady for me.’
Isabel had been thinking that if her circumstances had not changed, this attractive man wouldn’t have made her a bad husband. She lifted her glass of wine to his glass of rum. ‘I’m sure that whoever that fortunate lady is, you will make her a fine husband.’
* * *
Isabel rode through Crantock, delighting the villagers she had known briefly by acknowledging each one with a friendly greeting. Jack Rejerrah was in the stocks and rolled his drunken head when she called to him, a stunned look on his wizened face. Isabel didn’t linger, she couldn’t wait to see Kitty and Benjamin again.
Kitty’s house was ominously silent. Isabel felt a sense of foreboding as she dismounted and tethered her pony to the garden gate. Talland was sitting outside the back kitchen door with his great head down heavily on his paws. He didn’t jump up excitedly when he saw her but plodded towards her with large sad eyes, whimpering when she knelt to stroke him. Isabel looked up sharply. The windows at the front of the house were curtained over. She ran to the door, didn’t knock, walked straight in and made her way to the hub of the house, the kitchen.
Kitty was sitting there, dressed in black, beside the fire in the chair she had first put Isabel in. She looked up and smiled wanly.
Tears sprang to Isabel’s lashes. ‘Benjamin?’
Kitty looked into space. ‘I found him when I woke this morning. It was peaceful, in his sleep.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ Isabel put her arms round Kitty and they hugged and cried.
‘I should have come before this,’ Isabel said as she made tea. ‘I would love to have spoken to Benjamin again. But Morenwyn wouldn’t let me go. She was afraid I would leave her like her mother and father. I left her playing at the parsonage and she doesn’t realize I’ve slipped away.’
Kitty smiled through tear-soaked eyes. ‘Your first duty is with that little maid, like mine was with Benjamin. You came on the best day for me, Isabel. It’s good to have a friend here. I need that right now. I hope everything has settled down for you. Tell me all about yourself. When are you going back to live in Truro? I’m still waiting for my wedding invitation.’
Isabel put her cup down. ‘You won’t be receiving one, Kitty.’
‘I’ve gathered that much. Well? Why not?’
‘I’m going to live at Gwithian from now on, for good. I’m making a home for myself and Morenwyn there.’
‘And what did Richard Grenville say about that? I take it you’ve seen him?’
‘Richard came to Trevennor House as soon as he’d come ashore. His aunts had told him the story of my “death” and sudden reappearance. He was fascinated by the whole affair and couldn’t get over how I’ve changed. He said he liked the idea of having a wife who might have changed for the better every time he came home.’
‘And then you told him you didn’t want to marry him. I thought you might do that. What did he say?’
‘He was very good about it, he said it was all the same to him because we weren’t in love or anything. I offered to settle my Truro mansion on him for breaking off our engagement but he refused. I shall keep it for Morenwyn, then she will have the opportunity of making up her own mind what kind of life she’d like for herself when she grows up. I’ve been very careful making out a new will. I’ve settled a large sum on Morenwyn and after her the rest goes to charity. I don’t want her to grow up being in the same position as I was.’
‘That’s very sensible.’ Kitty looked at Isabel in approval, she hadn’t credited her with much common sense when she’d first met her. ‘I must say I like the sound of Captain Richard Grenville. He must be a good man to have let you go like that, no anger, no recriminations. I’d like to have met him.’
Isabel grinned. ‘Richard will soon be snapped up by someone else. You’d like a bevy of sailors turning up at your door, would you, Kitty?’
‘Oh, you mean James Leddra. I had quite a shock with him turning up here again that day. He’s got a certain charm for a simple sailor but I won’t be counting the days till his ship docks again in Cornwall.’
A silence grew and Kitty waited for the inevitable question. ‘Have you seen Nick?’
‘Only briefly. He called to see if James Leddra had told me everything. Have you seen him?’
‘Not since that day.’
‘So he doesn’t know you’ve decided to live at Gwithian.’
‘No, not that it would make any difference.’ Isabel moved quickly on to something else. ‘While I mainly called to see you and Benjamin, I thought I’d collect the clothes Charlie Chiverton loaned me. I’ll take them back to him and take Morenwyn with me. Charlie makes little carved animals for her, I think she’ll love to see where he lives. I called in on Mundy Cottle on the way here. I wanted to show her my gratitude for helping me, as I want to with all of Nick’s friends who helped me. I was almost too afraid to ask if I could have a set of Sunday-best clothes made for her children. But I should have known I needn’t have worried over Mundy, she said working clothes would be more practical and if the good Lord wanted to provide for her family through me, who was she to argue with Him. I’m going to take Charlie a few little things for his shack. It’s too late to do something for dear Ben, but I’d like to do something for you, Kitty, if you’ll allow me. Please say you will.’ Isabel wiped tears from her eyes and Kitty smiled encouragingly.
‘Ben didn’t need anything, Isabel, but you gave him so much in the few weeks you were here. He had someone else to talk to, to keep him company, someone to listen to his dreams.’ Kitty’s eyes overflowed. ‘Pour me another cup of tea, will you, please? I think there’s some saffron cake on the dresser shelf. I haven’t had a thing to eat today.’
‘Would you like me to stay with you, Kitty? I’m sure Morenwyn will be happy to stay with her nurse and Mrs Christopher if I go home and explain that I’m staying with a friend just for a little while.’
‘No, I’ll be all right, Isabel. I’ve had Benjamin to myself nearly all his life and want it to be that way until the funeral. Then after that perhaps I could stay at Trevennor House for a while until I adapt to life without him. My gentlemen can do without me during that time. Who knows, I might decide they can do without me for good.’
‘It will be wonderful to have you stay with me and you must stay as long as you like.’ Isabel took Kitty’s hand and squeezed it. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, Kitty, but if you don’t want to work for a living, I have enough money to provide for you well for the rest of your life. I could do it for all of Nick’s friends.’
You have his friends but not Nick himself, Kitty thought. Perhaps I shouldn’t have interfered…
‘We’ll wait and see what happens, shall we? But I’ll always provide for myself.’
‘As you please… Can I go in and see Ben?’
‘Of course. I left his curtains open. He liked to look over the river… you go in by yourself… just the two of you, he would have liked that.’
Chapter 28
Kitty was out on the beach when Talland barked and ran away from her. She watched the tall fair-haired man who was waving and running towards her but did not go to meet him. He had a dog with him, not quite fully grown, a smooth-coated creature, mainly white, with a long face. Talland chased it round the beach in a circle then it stopped to make friends.
‘So you’ve come at last,’ Kitty said, keeping her eyes on the dogs. ‘I thought I might have heard from you at Christmas but winter’s come and nearly gone again, Nick Nancarrow.’
His face was pained. ‘I don’t know why but I went into the churchyard first to visit little Jeremy and it was a shock to see Benjamin’s grave there beside his. When did it happen, Kitty? If I’d have known…’
Kitty walked along the bank of the Gannel. ‘There was nothing you could have done, Nick, and I didn’t know where to send word to. Benjamin died about a month after you left, peacefully in his sleep.’
Nick put his arm round Kitty’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. ‘I’m sorry, Kitty. Thank God he didn’t suffer at the end. How are you coping without him?’
‘I’m getting used to it, all my friends have been very good to me. I’m just grateful I had Benjamin for so long. What have you been doing with yourself – apart from getting a new dog?’
‘I took up as packman around the county and beyond.’
‘But not down this way?’
‘No.’
Kitty looked back at Talland scampering about with his new friend. ‘So, what’s the dog called? He’s an ugly little thing, hope he hasn’t got a vicious streak in him like Gutser had.’
‘It’s a she and her name’s Cassie and she’s as gentle as a lamb,’ Nick said petulantly.
‘I’m glad to hear it and I’m glad you’ve given her a decent name.’ Kitty eyed him critically. ‘Getting lonely, were you?’
Nick ignored the question. ‘Things the same as usual with you?’
‘No, actually I’m getting married at the end of the summer.’
‘Are you indeed! Not James Leddra by any chance? I knew he’d taken a strong fancy to you.’
Kitty scoffed. ‘A woman doesn’t want to marry a man who’s like a ship passing in the night.’
‘One of your gentlemen then?’
‘No, someone I met… when I was staying at a friend’s house last year.’
‘Are you deliberately trying to be mysterious, Kitty?’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘He’s a gentleman, I first met him while I was staying with Isabel after Benjamin’s funeral. I shall be selling the house here if you’re interested.’
‘What would I do with a house?’ Nick said, gazing up the river.
‘You have the money, you’ve been putting your earnings away for years and never spending much. You must have a tidy sum if you decide to settle down.’
Nick grunted and sighed. ‘How is Isabel?’ he said, as he sighted the turning into Penpol Creek.
‘She’s living at Gwithian now.’
‘For part of the year?’
‘For good.’
‘Oh? Does Grenville mind? Then I suppose he’s at sea for most of the time.’
The tide was out and the rock pools were getting too wide to skirt round so Kitty turned back, bringing the sea wind fully in their faces. Against the noise of the surf she said glibly, ‘Isabel didn’t marry him.’
Nick walked straight into a pool of freezing cold water. ‘Damnation! Why not?’
‘She wasn’t in love with him.’
‘I knew that, it doesn’t explain why she didn’t marry the man.’
‘Oh, Nick,’ Kitty said despairingly, ‘Isabel’s changed. She sees things in a different light now, you should know that too.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ He kicked at the hard sand, sending it towards the two playful dogs.
‘Don’t growl at me, Nick Nancarrow. Those few weeks spent in hiding from the Kempthornes changed Isabel so much she couldn’t possibly go back to her old way of life. Why don’t you go over to see her?’
