4.
~ "Well, I must say you Americans are the sort to go against convention." Lady Percy said as Cobb and Mal joined them for breakfast that morning. Juniper was not invited to the conservatory as the party sat down to enjoy the morning meal and bid farewell to Cobb and his bride.
Ariadne looked at Lady Percy who realized she had said something offensive.
"However, it's not unheard of for a man of middle class means to marry a proper ladies maid. The middle class has far more freedom than the rest of us at times." the older woman added.
Ariadne smiled as she watched Cobb kiss his bride's hand.
"With this dreadful news of war, Arthur dieing; a marriage is just the good news we need." the old lady told them. "Are you certain you won't have the ceremony in the chapel here?"
"We want to be married on the ship back to America." Cobb said. "Both of us are at an age where we don't have the luxury of time to waste."
"Well spotted." Lady Percy agreed.
Olivia let out a cry for attention and demanded more of the toast her mother was eating.
Ariadne shushed her little girl and gave her the bread, which the baby only gummed.
"I'm very glad to hear that you are not leaving us, Ariadne." Lady Percy said as she observed them. "It would be a lonely house if you and Olivia weren't here."
"We're not planning to leave, Aunt Percy. Arthur wanted this to be our home." Ariadne said and tried not to look at Eames.
He had been full of energy all morning, eating his breakfast quickly, saying little and seeming in far too good a mood for her liking. She felt sure everyone would know what they had done together. She and Eames were both capable of keeping secrets, but Ariadne was sure that the little looks they stole back and fourth would give them away. That Lady Percy, with her ever so sharp eyes despite her long illness, would see them trying to avoid each other.
She stole a look across the conservatory at her friend. He was standing behind Phillipa, showing her how to use the brownie box camera to take a picture of a blooming orchid.
"Hold it steady, now click the shutter. Very good." he said as he knelt beside the child.
"I want to see the picture now." Phillipa whined.
"We have to develop them first, darling." he laughed. "I've built a little dark room in the servant hall, we can develop them before I leave for Army."
"Eames, you can't really be thinking of going to war. It's barbaric and you're a proper gentleman." Lady Percy scolded.
"Oh, what lies you tell, Aunt." Eames chuckled as he took the camera from Phillipa, snapped a picture of the breakfast party at their table and rolled the film back so Phillipa could take more pictures.
"Eames, I won't stand for you going off to get killed. I know you feel it is a duty to country, but your duty to your family is much greater. You must find a wife and do so very soon." Lady Percy told him.
"What is all this hurry to get me married off?" Eames grumbled as he returned to the table. "I'm a confirmed old bachelor whom no proper lady could want."
"Eames, remind me to have a talk with you later." Lady Percy scolded. Not looking at Ariadne, Cobb or Mal.
~ "Are you sure you don't want to come back to America with us?" Cobb asked Ariadne she carried Olivia out to the driveway to say goodbye to her friends. "It might be better for you. You know you're welcome."
"With honeymooners?" Ariadne teased.
Cobb gave her an embarrassed smile.
"Alright, I see your point. But I want you to think about making the trip soon. I think Arthur would have wanted you and Olivia safely back in New York with the war." he said.
"I'll think about it." she promised.
Cobb looked around them. As if expecting to see someone other than the two of them in the driveway.
"Lady Percy has every reason to want Eames married soon." he whispered.
"What do you mean?" Ariadne asked him.
"The entail. It's conditions of marriage hasn't changed." he explained. "In order for Eames to fully inherit the title and the money Arthur left behind, he has to be married within the year.."
"What?" Ariadne asked.
How could she have forgotten about that irritating stipulation? About the whole reason Arthur married her in the first place.
"Arthur was the kind of man who wanted that technicality taken care of before he even made the claim to the title. He married you to get things settled right away. Eames, obviously, has never married. The entail states he has to find a wife within a year after the last heir's death, or forfeit the title and money." Cobb explained.
"Wait, so if Eames doesn't marry..." Ariadne asked.
"Then the money goes back to you and Olivia." Cobb explained.
"Eames wants to marry me. He says he won't go to war if I marry him." she whispered.
"He'll know about the entail provision. If he doesn't, the dragon lady or his mother will inform him. If he marries someone else, you really will be at his mercy as well as the new mistress of Blue Rivers."
"What should I do?" Ariadne asked.
Cobb looked troubled.
"You could marry him. You could marry someone else or come back to America when you're ready." he advised.
"If he were to go to war and... and dies... with no wife or heir..." Ariadne breathed.
"Then the entail would be broken; you would get all of Arthur's money back, and Blue Rivers as well." Cobb told her.