Lady Alexandra's Hunt Chapter 19, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Thank you for your comments and inspiration.

Sorry, I am a bit slow at the moment, but I was writing a few snippets for future chapters, which were more fun.

Things should pick up a bit after this chapter.

~~H~~

Courtship?

Lady Alex was at her wits' end. She could not make any headway with Sir Marcus.

Eventually she remembered her father's advice. If you have a problem which you cannot solve, ask for help. The obvious person to help was Aunt Beatrice.

The same evening, after their guest had retired, she went to see Lady Beatrice. 'Aunt, I need your help,' she said reluctantly.

'I was wondering when you would come to me.'

'You knew I needed help? Am I so very obvious?'

'Not at all, but I know you better than our guests. You are interested in Sir Marcus, are you not?'

'Yes, I am, but I cannot establish if he feels anything for me other than friendship.'

'I suppose that you would like me to find out how he feels.'

'Yes, Aunt. I would be most grateful if you could.'

'What if he only does feel friendship towards you?'

Alexandra sighed. 'In that case I will have to reconsider my future. I do not wish a marriage of unequal affection.'

'Perhaps if he knew how you feel…'

'No, Aunt. Please do not tell him that I am pining for him. I could not bear the embarrassment. I also do not wish for him to offer for me out of some feeling of obligation. I refuse to settle for second best.'

'That is a very fine line you want me to tread.' The lady hugged her niece. 'I will do my best.'

Alexandra gave her a tremulous smile. 'Thank you.'

~~H~~

A few days later, Lady Beatrice had a chance for an accidental seeming private conversation with Sir Marcus.

They chatted pleasantly, until Lady Beatrice enquired, 'I have noticed that you are spending much time with my niece. I hope you will not take it amiss if I ask your intentions.'

'I find Lady Daphne to be a fascinating conversationalist. She has a unique view on many subjects.'

'That was not the niece I was concerned about.'

'Lady Beatrice, please rest assured that I would never do anything to harm Lady Alexandra.'

'Sir Marcus, I know that you are intelligent enough to know that this house-party was intended to give all of you young people a chance to get to know each other, to see if you might be compatible with an eye towards marriage.'

Marcus could not suppress a small smirk as he replied, 'please forgive me if I say that, considering the composition of the guest list, it does not take exceptional intelligence to discern the intent of this visit. I am grateful to have been included, as it has been a privilege to become better acquainted with both your nieces. I must say that I am very grateful to have gained your niece's friendship.'

'Friendship you say?'

'Indeed, Lady Beatrice. I greatly admire Lady Alexandra and am proud that she considers me her friend.'

Something in the way that Sir Marcus expressed himself did not ring quite true to Lady Beatrice. But no matter how much she prodded and prompted, Sir Marcus was adamant in his admiration and friendship which he felt for Alexandra.

Eventually, the lady conceded defeat. As much as it hurt her on her niece's behalf, it seemed that Alexandra was correct in her evaluation of the gentleman's feelings.

She hoped that it would not take her niece too long to get over the disappointment of her hopes.

~~H~~

Sir Marcus was about to excuse himself, when their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the butler, carrying a salver.

'Pardon me for interrupting, but an express has just arrived for Sir Marcus.'

Lady Beatrice waved at the gentleman. 'Go ahead, read your letter. It must be urgent.' As she stood, to give him privacy, she noticed the black edge on the envelope.

Marcus too, had noticed the black edge, giving some warning of the content. He broke the seal and quickly scanned the message. He stood for a long moment; his face contorted in pain.

When he looked up, he noticed Lady Beatrice watching him with concern and sympathy. 'I am sorry, Lady Beatrice, but I must leave. My sister…' he trailed off, waving the missive.

'You have my sympathy, Sir Marcus. Of course, you must go to your family. I will make your apologies to everyone.' She turned to the butler, who had waited discreetly in the expectation of just this order. 'Have Sir Marcus' luggage packed and his carriage readied.'

Once the butler had gone, she asked, 'might I enquire…'

Marcus sighed. 'She died delivering her ninth child, a daughter, apparently.' He shook himself out of his reverie. 'My Lady, I thank you for your exquisite hospitality. I hope to see you again under better circumstances.'

'Travel safely, Sir Marcus. I too hope that we shall meet again when circumstances permit. Know that you are always welcome in our homes.'

Sir Marcus bowed to the lady, and with a final farewell left the room to ready himself for the journey, while Lady Beatrice made Sir Marcus' apologies to all their guests, but without going into details.

~~H~~

Earlier in the day, Lady Alexandra had been informed that Tom Bourke, one of her tenant farmers had had an accident.

She immediately sent for the doctor and set out to assess the situation for herself. When she arrived with Perkins, who usually accompanied her, she discovered that Mr Bourke had been replacing some shingles on the barn roof, when he had slipped and fallen. In the process he had broken his leg.

She sent Perkins back to the house to fetch one of the men to help out while the farmer was unable to work.

The doctor arrived at the same time as Perkins returned with the news that Mrs Martin would send the requested assistance, as well as a maid to help care for the farmer.

After the briefest of greetings, the doctor examined Tom Bourke. 'It is just as you said, Mr Bourke, the leg is broken. But you are lucky, it is a clean break.' He looked around and ordered, 'Perkins, you are just the man I want. Hold onto Bourke while I set the bone.' More politely he requested, 'My Lady, if you could take Mrs Bourke outside…'

Mrs Bourke, a woman in her late twenties, was kneeling beside her husband, holding his hand while quietly weeping. Alexandra coaxed her to stand and accompany her out of the cottage. On the way, Alexandra noted that the woman was heavy with child.

'What's going to become of us,' the woman whispered, as Alexandra encouraged her to sit on a bench beside the porch. 'Tom won't be able to work, and I can't do much right now.' She placed a protective hand on her abdomen, her tears flowing freely now. 'And the doctor. We had saved up a bit for the babe, but without the doctor, Tom's leg won't be fixed.'

'Mrs Bourke, do not worry. I have sent for someone to do your husband's work while his leg heals, and Mrs Martin is sending a maid to give you a hand with the house and him.'

'But we cannot pay for them,' exclaimed Mrs Bourke, her eyes opened wide in panic.

'You do not have to. Mr Brown, my steward, told me that your husband is a hard worker, exactly the kind of tenant we like to have. I want to be sure that he has a chance to heal properly, so that he can continue to work once he is fully recovered.'

That information brought a teary smile to the woman's face. 'My Lady, I don't rightly know how to thank you. I was so worried, not just about Tom, I must admit, but about myself and the babe. I'd heard that when tenants can't work, they usually get turned out. And Tom and I only got married less than a year ago, when we moved here.'

'Well, worry no more. Doctor Carstairs is a good doctor, and I am certain that your husband will be fine. In the meantime, just take care of yourself and the babe.' Alexandra smiled and patted the woman's hand. Spotting some towelling, she fetched it and handed it to Mrs Bourke to dry her face.

They looked up as the doctor and Perkins came looking for them. 'Mrs Bourke, I have set your husband's leg and splinted it. He needs to stay off it for several weeks. I will bring some crutches when I check on him in a couple of days. But as long as he is careful and does as he is told, he should be back on his feet in no time.'

'Thank you, doctor.' Mrs Bourke stood. 'Please forgive me, but I must see to Tom.' She dipped an awkward curtsy and rushed into the house.

Alexandra rose to her feet as well. 'Is he going to be well?'

'I never lie to my patients… or their families,' the doctor smiled. 'As I said, it was a clean break which was relatively simple to set. Although it was helpful to have Perkins to assist. But I must be going, I have another patient to see.'

~~H~~

On the way back, Alexandra considered what she had witnessed. The way Mrs Bourke worried about her husband and her child, made her think that the couple had married for love.

This thought inevitably made her think of Marcus. Since she had been called to the Bourke farm, she had not seen him today. She also had not seen her aunt, making her wonder if Aunt Beatrice had a chance to speak to the gentleman.

She suddenly felt exasperated. She was tired of wondering and she was tired of not having answers. Alexandra determined to get answers as soon as she returned.

Since Lady Beatrice was not in the drawing room, Alexandra went to look for her in the Mistress' suite. This too she found empty.

Irritated, she stormed into the Master's suite and with Sally's help she had a quick bath to rid herself of the smell of horse. As soon as she was properly dressed, she stalked to the guest wing, to the door of Sir Marcus' room.

She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Alexandra did not even get a chance to knock on the door, since it was wide open, and several maids were busy cleaning the room and putting covers on the furniture, as they always did when a room was to remain unoccupied for any length of time.

It appeared that Sir Marcus had left the building.

~~H~~

It took Alexandra a further ten minutes to track down Lady Beatrice, who informed her and Daphne of Sir Marcus' departure and the reason for his hurry.

Alexandra, distracted from her own concerns, commented, 'Sir Marcus was very fond of his sister. It must have been a great shock to him.' She shook her head. 'The poor lady. To have safely delivered eight children…'

As Alexandra trailed off, Daphne interjected, 'You have just given yet another reason why I have no intention of marrying. I do not like children in the first place but risking my life to bring another squalling brat into the world, is an excellent reason to remain celibate.'

'Daphne, have you no compassion?'

'I do. I feel dreadful for Sir Marcus' poor sister. But I cannot help but think that perhaps eight children would have been enough.'

'I believe that she wanted a daughter since all the other children were boys.'

Daphne sighed. 'I just hope that nobody will make the girl feel like she killed her mother. That should not be a burden any child should have to carry.'

'Did anyone ever make you feel guilty about the fact that your birth prevented mother from having more children?' Lady Beatrice asked, concerned about the distraught expression on Daphne's face.

Daphne nodded, and whispered, 'Grandmother Hunt.'

Lady Beatrice hugged Daphne. 'I know I should not speak ill of the dead, but my mother had some exceedingly silly ideas. She did not think that women had the ability to be anything but wives and mothers. She considered it her duty to produce an heir and a spare. When I was born, she could never reconcile herself to the idea that I was a girl, and that she would be unable to have any more children. Fortunately, neither of your parents suffered from that affliction. They loved you and did not care if you were male or female.'

'You understand.'

'Yes, I do. I would also like you to consider, if you had a younger brother, do you think he could do as well as Alexandra as Master of Herne? He might have grown up as a wastrel like many of the other so called noble sons.'

Daphne managed a weak grin. 'I suppose I did the Earldom a favour.'

~~H~~

Now that Sir Marcus was gone, Alexandra noticed that she had a shadow.

Mr Andrew Reddington's father owned a small estate in Kent, which his oldest brother was to inherit. Having to earn a living, he was studying law in London.

Alexandra had met him at several balls and dinners, and had found him pleasant, if insipid, company. He had been invited as a potential match for one of the other ladies, but he seemed to be fixated on his hostess.

As soon as Sir Marcus had absented himself, Mr Reddington saw his opportunity to woo the elusive Countess.

Even though he preferred town hours, he rose early enough to accompany Lady Alexandra on her morning rides. He was amazed when he discovered that the lady was taking the ride not only for the pleasure of the outing, but also to check on her tenants.

At mealtimes, he took the seat formerly occupied by Sir Marcus, and entertained the lady with amusing anecdotes about some of the cases he had dealt with.

Mr Reddington seemed impervious to Alexandra's attempts to change the subject to less disparaging topics.

It seemed that wherever Alexandra was, Mr Reddington was not far away.

The day before the scheduled end of the house-party, Mr Reddington took the opportunity of the morning ride to address a subject dear to his heart.

Unlike many solicitors, he came to the point immediately and did not waste unnecessary words. 'My Lady, I believe that my attentions have been too marked for you not to realise my devotion to you. I think you the most beautiful and accomplished lady of my acquaintance, and I would be honoured if you would allow me to officially court you.'

'Mr Reddington, while I am flattered that you think so highly of me, I do not believe that we would suit.'

'My dear lady, having had training both in estate management and in law, I believe that I would make you a most supportive husband. With me by your side, you would not need to trouble yourself with such mundane tasks as are required to properly manage an estate. You would be able to devote yourself to such tasks as are the preferred purview of ladies.'

'And what are those tasks that you believe to be suitable to the feminine temperament?'

'Why, embroidery and perhaps painting screens, when you are not busy managing the house and nurturing your children.'

'As I said, Mr Reddington, I do not believe that we would suit, since I enjoy managing my estate and I despise embroidery and painting.'

'But surely, you would not expect your husband to be subordinate to you?'

'Not at all, Mr Reddington. I expect my husband to be my partner; each of us taking care of our own responsibilities.'

'But that goes against the natural order of creation. You cannot expect a man to accept such a situation.'

'That is why, Mr Reddington, I said that we did not suit.'

~~H~~

Eventually, the time for the visit came to an end, a situation for which Alexandra was exceedingly grateful.

It looked like the house-party had been a success, since three couples were now courting.

Lady Theresa was being officially courted by Lord Paul Sanderson. The gentleman was quite tall and powerfully built; he was a gentle giant, who gave an impression of great strength and calmness. He had taken one look at the shy young lady, and all his protective instincts had come to the fore. Lady Theresa in return, had immediately responded to the security he offered. Her parents, seeing their daughter comfortable in the gentleman's presence, were delighted with the potential match.

Mrs Mornington's nieces also had potential suitors, which pleased both her and Lady Beatrice.

Regrettably, the gentlemen for whom Lady Beatrice had the greatest hopes to partner her niece, all had to leave for one reason or another. She was starting to get worried that her niece might have to settle for a marriage of convenience.

~~H~~