Dear Di,
Lady Leah and young Freddy and Peter have been here for three days now, and I thought it was about time to give you an update.
Aunt Diana was thrilled to see them; she took them right into her home and heart. She was all flustered before they arrived, wondering if Lone Willow Farm was elegant enough for an Earl's daughter, and worrying about her speech, but once I drove up with the trio, all she saw was a young woman with weary eyes and two confused and tired little boys, and she started "mothering" them at once.
All the old hens here in Avonlea have been by to see them, of course—they're all clucking and cooing over having aristocracy here. Why are people such snobs? Lady Leah is a perfectly nice woman who has had a horrible time of it these past few years, and just needs peace and quiet, but they all act as though the Queen herself had come to stay. Josie Pye (I know she's really Mrs. Sam Sloane, but I can think of her as nothing but a Pye) nearly drooled all over Lady Leah's lap, she was so busy fawning over her. It was quite sickening.
Aside from that, though—and Aunt Diana and Young Fred's wife Jessie are doing their best to keep the visitors down to a minimum—they seem to be doing well. As soon as I met them at the train station, a little sigh escaped Lady Leah, and the agonizing weariness in her eyes started to dissipate.
"I can see why your sister spoke of this place so warmly," she murmured. "It's simply delightful. I feel almost as though I've come home."
Freddy hasn't said much at all; I think he's still coming to terms with the fact he has a sister at all, never mind that he is an Earl—something that seems to escape the old biddies as well. In all their fussing over Lady Leah, they forget that her quiet younger brother is the Earl of Whitmore.
(I suppose I ought to call him Lord Freddy, but honestly, the child is eight years old!)
He and Peter—and it was a brainstroke of yours, Di, to send Peter along with him—have spent most of their time exploring the woods around Lone Willow Farm and Green Gables. Peter attached himself to my Meggie the moment he laid eyes on her. Not that I'm surprised by that—who could see my baby girl without falling in love with her? It does surprise me a little how well she responded to him, though. She's rather choosy with her affections, even at her young age, limiting them mostly to Matty and me—even Mother hasn't ever made much headway with her. Still, for whatever reason, as soon as she saw Peter, that great big smile of hers spread across her face, and she even let him pick her up. Now, whenever Freddy and Lady Leah are together, Peter is over here playing with Meggie.
In other news, Jack is back in Avonlea. He'd left for a little while to stay with Anne Cordelia on the mainland, but he wasn't any happier there then he's been here, so he came back. I worry about him sometimes, Di, he's so angry. I understand some of that—after all, I was in the War, too—but he's let it eat away at him until he's nearly destroyed. I know Aunt Diana and Uncle Fred worry about him too, and Young Fred can't even go near his brother, he's so guilt-ridden.
"If only I'd gone instead of Jack," he said to me once, watching Jack limp away toward Orchard Slope.
It's a mess, but I hope and trust God will work in his life.
As for the rest of us, we're doing well, and I think Lady Leah and Freddy—I beg his pardon, Lord Freddy—are starting to heal. I'll keep you updated.
Love always,
Shirley.
Di smiled as she folded up the letter. She'd had the idea of sending the newly reunited brother and sister to Avonlea after watching them awkwardly trying to get to know each other in the uncomfortable sitting room in the Home, with other children popping in and out, and Emma listening with her ear pressed to the keyhole.
Lady Leah had confessed that she didn't want to wrench Freddy away from his friends and everything he really knew until he was more comfortable with her, but she didn't know how to go about making that happen.
At first, Di had thought about sending them to the Glen to stay with Mother and Dad and Jem and Faith at Ingleside, but then she decided that having so many people around might be just as awkward and overwhelming as staying in Toronto.
Green Gables had been her next thought, but as Lady Leah was a single woman and Shirley a widower, that left them both open to all the censorious gossip Avonlea could muster.
One letter to Aunt Diana and Uncle Fred soon settled things. They would be more than happy to take in the two for as long as was needed.
The day before the two set off, Freddy came in to see her, misery written all over his face.
"Mother Di, do I really have to go?"
Di was caught off guard. "Whatever do you mean, Freddy?" she asked.
He shrugged, his delicate features looking pinched and white. "I just—I don't know anybody, and it's so far away…couldn't you come with us?"
"Freddy, the whole point of this is so that you can get to know your sister. If I'm there, how will you get to know her?"
He was too proud to admit he was scared, so he just stood there quietly, his soft dark eyes fixed on her in mute pleading.
Di thought quickly. "How about this. Why don't you see if Peter wants to go with you? That way you'll have a friend nearby, but you'll still have time to spend with your sister, just the two of you."
He looked relieved. "Oh yes, thank you!"
Lady Leah hadn't minded at all a third member of the party, and Peter's desire to spend a little bit more time with his only friend before Freddy was gone forever overcame his reluctance to leave Polly.
So the three of them had set off, and it seemed Avonlea was suiting them all, even if the "hens," as Shirley called them, were annoying.
My dear Miss Blythe,
I do so want to express my very deep appreciation for your kindness in arranging this trip for Freddy and myself. I shall be eternally grateful to you.
Everyone has been so charming toward us. Mrs. Wright—both Mrs. Wrights, actually—have seen to our every need, even before we have a chance to express them. Your brother, Mr. Blythe, was extremely punctilious in fetching us from the station, and has been over nearly every day to ask if there is anything we need. Many of the Avonlea housewives also have visited and told us how delightful it is to have us here. It has been rather a long time since I have met with such kindness and graciousness; I confess it is slightly overwhelming at times.
Freddy and I take long walks together and talk. I've told him all about the estate and our home in town—London, that is. He is surely our mother's son; every day I'm reminded more and more of her. we is still rather shy around me, but I do believe he is starting to open up.
Peter had been the ideal companion for Freddy—quiet, always willing to listen, and able to take his mind off all the overwhelming changes in his life. I do hope you will allow him to visit us once in a while after we return to England—I will take care of the expenses, naturally.
I shan't embarrass you by gushing, but I did want to thank you most sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for arranging this. I feel quite sure that Freddy will adjust to his new life as Earl much easier once we do return, thanks to this retreat. I hope and trust all is well with you at the Shirley-Stedman Home.
Sincerely yours,
Lady Leah Mercer.
Leah put her pen down and smiled. She thought she had been able to convey her thoughts rather well in that letter, without being too effusive. Born and bred to self-control, with the years of war and loss only strengthening her steely calm, she had a difficult time expressing her emotions at all.
Cupping her small chin in one dainty hand, she gazed out the window of her small bedroom and watched Freddy playing with the Wright children, Little Diana and Martin. She wondered briefly where Peter was before realizing that of course, he would be at Green Gables. Leah had rarely seen a young boy so attached to anyone as Peter was to Meggie Blythe.
A knock at the door preceded the entry of Jessie Wright, a cheerful, bustling woman with rosy cheeks and laugh lines surrounding her warm brown eyes.
"Am I disturbing you, your ladyship?" she asked peeking over the pile of fresh laundry in her arms.
"Not at all," Leah returned quietly. "I was merely finishing a letter.
"I'll have Martin run it out to the post for you, if you'd like," Mrs. Wright offered.
"That's very kind of you," Leah said, handing the letter over.
Mrs. Wright deposited the laundry and took the letter, tucking it into her apron pocket. "If you need anything else, Lady Leah, just let me know. I'll be downstairs baking."
"Might I help?" Leah asked impulsively. She had vague memories of helping the family cook in the kitchens of Whitmore, and remembered finding it both unusual and enjoyable, as well as comforting.
Mrs. Wright looked surprised, then doubtful. "Well, I don't know, I'm sure. I wouldn't want your ladyship to get mussed in any way."
Leah laughed. "Please, Mrs. Wright. I would so enjoy it."
"Very well, then," the other woman finally gave in.
As they went down the stairs, Leah surprised both of them by asking,
"Mrs. Wright, do you think you might dispense with my title during my stay here? It's simply so formal, and I feel it rather separates me from everyone else. My friends call me Leah, and I do wish I could consider you a friend."
A broad smile spread over Mrs. Wright's face. "Sure you can, honey, but only on one condition."
"And that is?"
"You must call me Jessie."
"Very well—Jessie."
The two women smiled at each other and entered the kitchen feeling that a true bond had been formed.
Jack Wright limped his way toward Lone Willow Farm angrily. For most people, the walk from Orchard Slope, the old Barry homestead, to Lone Willow Farm was nothing. For him, it was a major undertaking. He wouldn't be making it at all had his mother not called him up on the phone and begged him to come to dinner.
"We have guests staying with us—friends of Di Blythe's," she'd said. "I want you to meet them. Shirley's coming, and it will be such a nice family gathering."
He'd tried to get out of it, but she'd been unusually insistent, so he gave in, though ungraciously, and here he was. He knew Fred would have come fetched him in the car, but Jack hated any reminder that he wasn't as able as he used to be.
His mood grew blacker and blacker as he walked, reflecting the ugliness of the bleak November landscape around him, until he entered the kitchen at Lone Willow Farm in a positively foul mood.
He stopped short. His sister-in-law Jessie was finishing up the afternoon's baking, as usual, but there was another person in the room with her, someone Jack had never seen before.
She was an inch or two taller than Jessie, but still fell far short of Jack's burly six feet, with a lithe figure visible even through one of Jessie's voluminous gingham aprons. Her silky, perfectly straight hair—of a brown so deep it was almost black—was cut close to her well-shaped head, showing small ears and a delicate yet strong jawline.
Her features, smudged with flour and chocolate, could not be called beautiful, but they were even and regular, and she carried herself with distinction.
It was her eyes, though, that caught and held the stunned Jack. Almond shaped, clear greenish-brown, they held in the back of them sorrow and sadness that leaped out and spoke to the agony in his own heart.
He stood there silently for a few moments, dazed, before Jessie noticed him.
"Jack!" she exclaimed. "Goodness, you're here early. We weren't expecting you for another half hour at least."
Normally Jack would have made some sort of bitter comment about his injuries, but for now, he was still captured by this other woman, who had flushed upon seeing a stranger, but otherwise kept her composure.
Jessie noticed the direction of Jack's gaze. "Jack, this is Lady Leah Mercer, an acquaintance of Di's. She and her brother, Lord Freddy, are staying with us for a little while. Leah, this is my brother Jack Wright, who lives just beyond Green Gables."
The Lady held out her hand, ignoring her apron and general disheveled appearance. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Wright."
He shook her hand gently, marveling at how small and fragile it felt in his strong grip. "The pleasure's mine, Lady Leah."
Jessie's mouth opened slightly in shock, having never heard Jack speak so gently to anyone, but the other two didn't even notice her.
There was no telling what might have happened had not Diana, Martin, and Freddy burst in at that moment, all hungry and demanding cookies.
Jack wrenched his gaze away from Leah to greet his niece and nephew, and Leah as swiftly turned to her brother to tend his needs.
They didn't speak directly to each other for the rest of the evening, but Jack's gaze lingered longest on Leah as he said goodbye to everyone that night, and Leah herself went swiftly upstairs to her room once all the guests were gone.
Nobody made any comment, but Jessie's eyes met those of her mother-in-law's, Diana Wright, and the two speculated silently.
Author's Note: During my "no-internet-because-we-moved" break, I was able to get this chapter and two more written. I'll post them as quickly as I can, but I still have unpacking and organizing to do, so sadly I can't spend all my time playing. :( I will, however, do the best I can. As always, please review and let me know what you think!