The Steward of Hanbury

Chapter Seven A New Year

The year eighteen forty-four thus began like no other for Miss Laurentia Galindo. Had she been asked to foretell last January the events of the past twelve months, she would have had great difficulty in doing so. In the past half year alone there had been sudden deaths, terrible accidents and a myriad of engagements and she had unexpectedly found herself included in the latter group for she was now a woman betrothed.

After Mr Carter's visit that day, she had gone to bed that night, her mind still reeling from the events of that afternoon. What she had never expected to happen had happened and if he had been surprised at the outcome of their meeting, she had been even more so. She had accepted his proposal – impromptu and sudden as it was – in a likewise manner. It might have been regarded as flippant, after all, she really had no idea how such things were supposed to be played out, but she had meant it with all her heart and he had seen that immediately. She recalled how an expression of total delight had entered his face as she said that single 'yes' and it secretly thrilled her to know that she alone had been the cause of it.

Regardless of the certain joy there was in being betrothed, this did not mean that their relationship transformed overnight. Both had agreed that not a word of their engagement was to be let out to the town until later and from outward appearances, they continued as they always did, not for one moment hinting that in fact something momentous had occurred.

Although the period between Christmas and the New Year was a quiet time for the both of them, they each had their own duties to fulfil and apart from a glimpse of each other during the Boxing Day service, it was not until the end of the first week of January that they had the chance of speaking with each other again.

It was a bright wintry afternoon when she had been making her way across the parkland when a voice had called out to her.

'Miss Galindo!'

Stopping in her tracks, she saw him emerging from the trees to her right, hat upon his head and his walking stick gripped tightly in his hand.

'Mr Carter, I was just on my way to see you,' she said as he made her way towards her. 'I trust you had a good start to the New Year?'

'Indeed I did. I trust you had the same?'

'I did, thank you.'

'That is good to hear.' There was an odd look on his face as he was uncertain on how to proceed. It was a little bewildering to see him appearing flummoxed in front of her when he had not been so before.

'It is still a little early,' he said at length. 'I had intended to go for a walk about the grounds before returning to the office and the weather is very fine for walking. Would you care to join me?'

'Gladly,' she replied and he proffered his arm which she took.

'I am sorry for appearing a little stiff,' he said, when they began to walk together. 'It's very stupid of me to be so. It has been so long since I was betrothed, I appear to have forgotten what to do. No doubt you're longing for the return of my old cantankerous self.'

'Cantankerous would be a little extreme,' she replied with a little smile. 'But I can hardly call myself well-versed in matters of betrothal so the both of us may perhaps be excused. Seeing however that we are betrothed, perhaps we should begin to act accordingly?'

'Very well. Do you have any suggestions?'

'Well, addressing each other by our first names would be a start, at least in private. There are of course no strict rules regarding this but I think it may be considered a little eccentric if we choose not to.'

There was an amused sparkle in her dark eyes and he could not help but marvel at the ineptitude he had displayed so far. He was far from being what a proper fiancé should be and what made it more incredible was that he had already once been both a fiancé and husband in his life.

'If you wish, Laurentia. I only feared that if I did so I would have given you a greater shock than that I gave you for Christmas.'

'A shock undoubtedly, yes, but certainly the best kind, Edward.'

'Edward,' she said again after a while, unused to saying his first name. 'It is a common name.'

'I'm a fairly common man.'

'Oh, I didn't mean it like that,' she replied quickly, fearing that she had offended him but was soothed by the fact that he was smiling and she was struck at how a smile transformed his features entirely. She had hardly dared to think of him as anything else as merely Mr Carter until his proposal that it was only when they were now on such intimate terms that she could really appreciate how it brightened his countenance, the smile lighting up his blue eyes that he looked almost handsome.

'My father didn't have a great deal of imagination when it came to naming his sons,' he explained. 'All rather solid, perhaps dull names: Thomas, Richard and Edward. But he was a faithful man and I think it must have had an effect for I gather my brothers were named after Thomas Becket and Richard of Chichester. As for me, I believe I was named after Edward the Confessor. Whether or not we've managed to live up to our imposing namesakes, I have yet to determine.' He turned to her, his eyes enquiring. 'Yours is not common, of that I am certain.'

'Of that you are quite right. But as far as I know, there was never had any purpose behind it, apart from being rather grandiose. My father often had a weakness for such things and I suppose it even reflected in the choice of name for his only daughter.'

'I hardly think it grandiose. Its uniqueness fits you perfectly.'

Unable to think of anything to say to this, she instead tightened her hold of his arm affectionately.

'Do you intend to speak to Lady Ludlow?'

'In due course,' he replied. 'I have not yet decided when would be a suitable time. She has kept to herself these past two weeks and I have not seen her of late. But I think it would be good if we have some time to ourselves before we set the whole town agog.'

'Yes, the more we are able to delay Miss Pole and Mrs Forrester storming into my parlour the better.'

'I can imagine that very well,' he chuckled as he envisaged the scene. 'You will not have need of that parlour for much longer; that I promise.'

'So you intend to deprive me of my independence, Mr Carter?' she asked in a light-hearted tone.

'Indeed I do not, Miss Galindo,' he answered in kind. 'The decision rests with you, of course. But as I recall, a lady once sat in my office last year and declared openly that she did not long to stitch caps and sew feathers onto bonnets.'

She looked at him abashed and murmured, 'I was perhaps too hard on you that afternoon. It shames me a little to think how ill-mannered I was towards you in the past. I fear I might have irked you a great deal.'

'I think the both of us are guilty in that respect; I myself was not particularly welcoming when you first appeared in my office. But truth be told, I would not have you otherwise. Society offered you little opportunity and yet you persevered.'

'Once again you make my achievements sound more impressive than they really are.'

'I think I cannot praise your achievements enough.'

They walked a little longer in companionable silence, contented with the other's presence and the feeling of her gloved hand on his arm and vice versa. When at last the path they took became too deep with snow and made it difficult for them to continue, they headed back towards the house. As they weaved through the trees, they saw through them the lake which was still frozen over, the grounds surrounding it completely enveloped in white. Here they stopped awhile as her bootlaces had come undone.

'It is an impressive sight, is it not?' he remarked, his gaze fixed on the lake. 'Lady Ludlow admires Hanbury most in August but there is always something quite enchanting about it in winter –'

Something cold and white landed hard on his shoulder.

'What the devil?'

He turned round, preparing a harsh reprimand for whoever was hurling snowballs at him only to realise that it was Miss Galindo.

'I'm sorry, Edward,' she said. She did not look sorry in the least and she could not help laughing a little at how dumbfounded he looked. 'The temptation was much too difficult to resist.'

'Laurentia,' he said slowly. 'I never thought for one moment that throwing snowballs would be a pastime of yours.'

'I don't normally make it one but you were quite the unsuspecting target.'

'An easy one to be certain, a man with a wooden leg is obviously your first target of choice. And who also happens to be your fiancé. I thought I would receive at least some modicum of sympathy,' he replied before scooping up a handful of snow and throwing one of his own in retaliation. It missed her completely but within minutes, snow was flying about and if anyone was walking through the woodland at that moment, they would have heard soft laughter and be astonished at the sight of them taking cover behind trees as they attempted to get out of the other's line of sight.

'I wonder what Harry would think if we entered your office like this,' she wondered aloud when they finally stopped, their clothes peppered with snow and their faces flushed from both the cold and exertion.

'He would clearly think us out of our minds. Come, there is a fire lit in my cottage where we may dry ourselves a little before we return.'

'You don't mind, Edward?' she asked, a vestige of hesitancy in her voice.

'Mind? Why should I mind? Unless, of course, you require a chaperone,' he replied with an enquiring look.

She shook her head. 'Not at all.'

A ten minute walk found them in front of his cottage. She confessed to herself that she had always been curious as to where he lived away from his office and here she was at last. It was smaller than she imagined it would be; ivy grew on one side of the house which was built entirely out of dark and weathered brick but it as well as the rest of the house was well-kept and in good order. Another house similar in design but considerably larger was located nearby and she asked why he hadn't chosen that one.

'Lady Ludlow offered it to me when I became her estate manager but I declined. That house is big enough for a family of six and since there were only two of us at the time, I said it would be better to give it to those who needed it more than I did.' He paused as he unlocked the door. 'Which is just as well since I'm the only one left now. Come inside and out of the cold.'

He took her coat and bonnet and shrugged off his own coat and hat before directing her into the sitting room where a fire had been lit in the grate.

'I will go and make some tea,' he murmured and disappeared into the kitchen.

She looked about the room, comforted by the cosiness of her surroundings. Like his office, it was practical with everything within reach. Several volumes of novels and other works lay in a pile next to his chair by the fireplace. She thumbed casually through them, reading the titles before catching the glimpse of a small miniature on the mantelpiece, that of the late Sarah Carter. The painting was not the best of miniatures but even that could not detract from the fact that she had been a very pretty young woman with fair hair and blue eyes.

'I hope you'll excuse how small it all is,' he said as he re-entered the room, a tea tray in his hands. 'I keep a rather modest house and with only myself here, I don't have need for a housekeeper.'

'I think it's wonderful,' she said and as he seated himself opposite her, she was momentarily distracted by the sight of him in his shirtsleeves and waistcoat and was thankful that her slight blush was hidden by the glow of the fire. How silly it was that she had spent nearly her whole life quite indifferent to gentlemen only to be captivated by the simplest of things as she was now!

'Is the fire warm enough?' he asked.

'Oh, yes. So this is your home away from your work?'

'Yes. Well, as good a home as I can manage; it lacks a lady's care and attention, I know. Sarah was much better at such things, I can only imagine what her reaction might be at its condition now.'

'Was she very young when she died?'

'She had only turned six and twenty. There was a terrible outbreak of typhoid at Hanbury five summers ago. Within a week, thirty men, women and children alike suffered and died from it. Disease is rarely seen on the estate and the both of us were startled and alarmed at the development. We then went amongst the sick to help them as well as to find the cause of the outbreak but in the end, it was in vain. Soon after, Sarah contracted it and I proceeded to do everything to care for her only to be struck down with it as well. It was only four days after I was out of danger that Dr Morgan informed me that she had died.'

'I'm so sorry, Edward,' she said, tears welling in her eyes. She could well imagine the anguish he must have felt and it affected her greatly.

He bowed his head, haunted by the memory that he had failed his duty as a husband. 'I am sorry for her; I was unable to be at her side when she died. I always wonder what her last thoughts were of me.'

'I have no doubt they were the best. You did all that you could for her and no good husband could have done more than you did.'

He smiled up at her at that. As she sat there by the fire, her features illuminated by the flickering and vibrant light, the words he had been intending to say vanished and were replaced with a great desire to show his thankfulness in a more intimate manner.

'Should we attempt to return to the house?' he said, glancing at the clock which now read a quarter to two.

'Oh, good heavens, yes. Harry must be wondering what has become of us.'

They rose to their feet only for her to be gently caught up in his arms as they did so. She looked at him, her expression one of complete surprise but it disappeared when she saw the look in his eyes; one of earnest gratitude and appreciation. If any vestige of womanly outrage pulsed in her, it did not make its presence known to her as she relished the warmth and safety of his embrace.

They looked at each other for a long time until something told them that their staring must have a practical end. Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.

'Edward?' she said after a moment of delicious silence when she had managed to recover her senses.

'Yes, Laurentia?'

'Is that now your way of showing your appreciation?'

'Does it vex you?'

She smiled. 'If you please, Mr Carter, if you could vex me just one more time before we leave, I would be quite content.'

'Your wish is my command, Miss Galindo.'