Chapter 14
A few hours later, Lady Julia's family arrived. Her brothers, the Earl of Stafford and Captain Talbot, and her mother the Dowager Countess were announced. Kitty was a bit nervous as she had never been in the presence of an Earl or a Countess before, and she wondered how they would behave towards her and Mrs Owen. She should not have worried, for they were mostly concerned about Lady Julia. All proper introductions were quickly made and Mrs Owen updated them on the health of the young lady without delay. Her mother asked if she could see her, and Kitty accompanied her upstairs. Their reunion was heartfelt, but the Countess did not linger in, as she noticed that her daughter was still very fatigued. She re-joined her sons and Mrs Owen in the drawing room and profusely thanked their hosts for all they had done. Kitty remained quiet through all this and observed their guests. She thought the Countess was all that a Countess should be. She sat very straight, had distinguished manners, but had a pleasing smile and her whole demeanour spoke of kindness. Her sons were very imposing gentlemen, though very different, she thought. And handsome, exceedingly so. The older, the Earl of Stafford was about five or six and twenty and looked very serious, although it could just be the current situation that made him so. He was quite tall and intimidating, but had spoken to them with gratitude and concern in his voice. His brother Captain Talbot seemed to be younger than him by a year or two, but he was fair while his brother was dark-haired, which gave him a less forbidding presence. Kitty noted that he was very tanned, probably his time at sea, she thought, reminded of Lieutenant Lucas.
Kitty wanted to make a good impression on the guests, so she was fidgeting on her seat, and afraid to speak. The Earl, however, requested a recount of the accident, so she told him the entire story rather uneasily, but became less nervous as she went on. He listened carefully, asked a few questions, and when she finished, he smiled and told her his sister was lucky to have come across someone as level-headed as her. Many young ladies in her place would have panicked and be of no use whatsoever.
"Many young men too!" added his mother.
"I grant you, many young men too," he chuckled.
"Or older ones" added his brother in a laugh.
Kitty beamed. She had been praised by a peer no less, and for the first time in days, she felt good about herself. Captain Talbot suggested they visit the parsonage to check on their servants, so Mrs Owen gave them directions and the gentlemen left. Their mother stayed, as she wanted to be near her daughter, and she spent the afternoon in Lady Julia's room. Lord Stafford and Captain Talbot came back two hours later, and stayed for tea. Both men were very pleasant company, but Captain Talbot seemed to be of a more joyful nature. He mostly spoke with Kitty, enquired about her family, her interests. Mrs Owen recognized her charge's nervousness at speaking about her, so she gave her a nod, barely perceptible to everyone but Kitty, letting her know she was free to talk. She gradually became more comfortable and asked him many questions about the Navy, and compared his tales to those of Henry Lucas. She was disappointed to learn that they did not know each other, but Captain Talbot explained they rarely got to meet other Navy men while at sea. She was very surprised to hear he had enlisted when he was eleven years of age. Henry Lucas had joined when he was thirteen.
"That is so very young! I cannot imagine myself having left my family when I was eleven."
"It is very common in the Navy. My Uncle is an Admiral, so he talked a lot about it every time I would see him as a child, and it quite convinced me this was the right life for me - To my mother's greatest pleasure," he added with a grin.
"I dare you to find a mother who is happy to see her little boy go at sea! You wait until you have children! You will see how the only thing you do, is worry about them" she said outraged.
"Then it is lucky I do not intend to become a father any time soon" he laughed.
"You should do well to try and find yourself a young lady to marry. You do not have any pity for your poor mother. You will be the death of me, the both of you!" Her mock-hurt tone did not leave any doubt to anyone that it was a discussion they had had before.
Lord Stafford came to his brother's rescue "Mama, when would he have the time to find himself a wife? He is only in England a few weeks at a time. Or would you rather he find a wife overseas?" he teased.
"You are in England and I do not see you rushing to the altar, so it is no excuse. Besides, he is here now. And he could quit the Navy and be safe here with us."
"And live off of my brother's goodwill? You know he would leave me penniless"
His mother glared at him, and his brother replied with a wink "You know me too well."
Lady Stafford turned to Kitty and Mrs Owen. "You see what I have to deal with? Boys are ungrateful!"
Kitty laughed at that, and tried to stifle it.
"It seems Miss Bennet does not agree with you, Mama" teased Captain Talbot.
"No, forgive me, I did not mean to laugh. But you just reminded me of my own mother. She always says that my sisters and I are ungrateful daughters because we are not married!" she explained.
"You have one married sister now" remarked Mrs Owen.
"Yes, but I doubt it will calm her. It may even do the opposite" she trailed.
"I heard you say earlier that you have four sisters?" inquired Lady Stafford.
"I do. I am the fourth daughter, Mary, who has married Mr Owen…" she smiled at Mrs Owen "is the third" she explained.
"It is surprising that the older did not marry first, but then it would not be fair to deny one the chance to marry because the others could not find a husband" she said more to herself than to the rest of the group. "How old are your sisters?"
"Jane is two and twenty, she is the kindest and most beautiful young lady you could ever find. Lizzy is two years younger, and she is the clever one. Mary, Mrs Owen now, is nineteen, she is the studious one. And then there is Lydia, she is fifteen, and she is the lively one" she answered.
"And which one are you Miss Bennet?" asked Lord Stafford.
"Me, I … I am just…, there is nothing very special about me" she said embarrassed.
Captain Talbot's eyebrows rose "I beg to differ, Miss Bennet."
"Kitty is the one who is still unconvinced of her own value" added Mrs Owen "she will eventually come to realize that she is a very worthy young woman."
Kitty went red. She opened her mouth but did not know how to respond to that.
"I do not doubt that" Lady Stafford smiled kindly, "at least, in my books you will always be a very worthy young lady seeing how you helped my daughter. Speaking of which, I think I will go check on her."
She came back looking grim a few minutes later. Lady Julia's fever was back. "It is not so very high, but I am not reassured. And she still coughs so much" she mourned. "Mrs Owen, I do not wish to impose any further, but would it be a great inconvenience if I stayed here tonight? I would like to keep watch on my daughter" she asked uncertainly.
"That is no bother at all. We only have one free bedroom left, otherwise I would offer that you all stay here for the night" she said apologetically.
"Do not worry about us, we can stay at an inn, you have done more than enough. My man has already gone into town in search of lodgings." reassured Lord Stafford.
"If you don't find anything, I am sure my son will welcome you. His estate is but a few miles from here."
"You are very kind Mrs Owen" thanked her Captain Talbot.
"Besides, I do not need a room, I will stay with Julia" added Lady Stafford.
"In that case, we can give it to one of the gentlemen, it is not the kind of accommodation you must be accustomed to, but if you want to stay you very are welcome" offered Mrs Owen, and looking at Lady Stafford "Catherine can also come and stay with me, I am sure it will be no trouble for her to let you sleep in her room." Kitty nodded her ascent.
"I am used to sleeping in a cot on a ship, so a room is quite a luxury for me. I am sure my brother and I can share. We are not so difficult" went Captain Talbot.
"Then it is settled. Mrs Owen and Miss Bennet, thank you, sincerely. I will go back to Julia now."
"The doctor said this morning that the fever could come back at night" tried to comfort Mrs Owen, "I will have willow bark tea brought to her, but try not to worry too much, I am sure she will get better soon."
The fever lasted but a few hours, so supper was quite subdued. Lady Stafford and her sons alternated beside Lady Julia's bed until very late in the night. Kitty woke up early in the morning and went to check on her progress, and found her awake, while her mother had fallen asleep on the sofa. They spoke in whispers so as not to awake her, but she was soon startled by the noise. Tea and biscuits were brought up some twenty minutes later, and the young lady took to eating, as she was a bit hungry, all the while chatting with Kitty. Everyone was relieved to know that she was on the mend. She still stayed abed that day, for she was still very tired, but they all came in turn to keep her company when she was awake.
Feeling much better herself, Kitty wanted to go for a walk to see if she could salvage her painting kit. She had quite forgotten she had left it behind after the accident, but she hoped she could at least recover the brushes. She applied to Mrs Owen over breakfast, but the older woman was not keen on letting her go outside alone, for Kitty had been a bit ill herself.
"Why don't you play the pianoforte? I have been quite remiss in my lessons these last few days, but you can still practice on your own for a bit" she suggested. "I have to go and call on Mrs Stuart to see how she and her baby are faring, it would not do to leave our guests alone."
Kitty was a bit disappointed but still decided to practice her music under the watchful eye of Lady Stafford, for Captain Talbot had surprisingly offered to turn pages for her. They had a merry time, as the gentleman always tried to make jokes and tease her. She found that she felt no qualms in bantering with him. Lady Stafford did not seem to object, and she even joined their cheerful chat. Lord Stafford had gone out to check on his footman at the parsonage, and to see if they could organize his going back to Staffordshire for his convalescence. Mrs Owen came back with good news of the Stuarts, and Kitty occupied herself by making the baby linens she had already been working upon for a few days. Lady Stafford offered to sew something as well, for her daughter was now being entertained by Captain Talbot.
Lord Stafford was announced right before dinner, and he came in carrying a large bundle, giving a knowing smile to his mother. He then presented Kitty with new brushes, watercolours, charcoal, pencils, paper and a very pretty sketchbook. She was speechless, for the materials were of the best quality, and she had never owned anything so fine. "My mother heard you talk about your drawings this morning. I hope these will replace what you lost" he said, "I am afraid your art will not be recovered, but I hope they can make up for it in part."
"I cannot thank you enough. These are… perfect, absolutely perfect! My painting was not that good, I assure you, so I can always do another one"
"I do hope we will get to admire your work, Miss Bennet" said Lady Stafford.
"I do not know about admiring it, but if you want to see what I do, I will be happy to oblige", she said with a big smile.
Dinner was quite joyful. Kitty loved to witness the playful banter between the brothers, and their teasing of their mother. It also made her long for her own family and Hertfordshire. She wondered how Lydia was doing, if her mother was still wailing over the lack of eligible bachelors, and if Mary had grown used to being a wife. She wondered if her father was still hiding in his library now that his "silly daughters" were out of the house. She was interrupted in her reverie by Captain Talbot.
"Have we been boring you, Miss Bennet?" he asked.
"Do not worry yourself. You would have me yawning and complaining if I had been bored" she replied playfully.
"What had you so contemplative then?"
"Why, that is quite impertinent of you! A lady does not share her thoughts with just anyone", she was astonished at her own boldness. Mrs Owen looked at her with wide eyes, and Lord Stafford was stifling a laugh.
"I will have you know, Miss Bennet, that I am not just anyone, I am a reputed member of his majesty's Royal Navy!" he countered with twinkling eyes.
"Forgive me Sir, I was only joking. I was just thinking of home" she said shyly.
"Are we such poor company, Catherine?"
"You know you are not, Aunt. I just have not received a letter in a while, I wonder how they all are faring, that is all. I am quite content here as you know."
"How long are you planning on staying here?" asked Captain Talbot.
"I do not know. As long as I am wanted, I suppose."
"Are you planning on coming out this year Miss Bennet? You are of age" inquired Lady Stafford.
"I am not quite sure. Probably."
"Will you not have a London Season."
"No, my father does not care for London, so I have never been there. I have an Uncle and Aunt in London, but if someone visits them it is usually my elder sisters" she explained.
"My late husband was the same, he would have abandoned London happily, I am sure, if it wasn't for his Parliament duties" she said with a faraway look. "Well, if you ever come to London, you should visit us, I am sure I can introduce you to many nice gentlemen."
"See what you have done, brother?" said Captain Talbot smirking, "You will not marry, so now she has taken to matchmaking for Miss Bennet! Go and find yourself a wife already, Mama wants to have grandchildren, you are making her desperate."
Lord Stafford choked on his wine. His mother glared at them. "If your brother does not care to do his duty and give an heir to the Earldom, you still can Philip!"
He shrugged "A trap of my own making! I should have known not to cross you" replied the Navy man.
Lord Stafford tried to deflect "I have not had the pleasure of hearing you play the pianoforte, Miss Bennet. I am told you are quite proficient."
"I would not go that far. I just know enough not to embarrass myself" she replied hesitantly.
"It is more than I can say for myself. Will you indulge us in some music?"
"If you wish, my lord."
Kitty played the latest pieces she had practiced. They were simple enough, but suited the mood quite well. She was congratulated on her effort and all that was appropriate was said. That ended the evening on a happy note. Lady Stafford returned to her daughter's side, and everyone retired for the night.