"Philip sent us a letter," Mrs. Crane said at breakfast, reading it over, eyeglasses perched on her nose. "He says he will be returning tomorrow – he will stop here to pick you up." She looked over the rim of her glasses at Marina. "That is, if you're ready to leave."
Marina smiled. "It has been lovely being here with you, but we are ready. Celeste is not used to this house still – she will be calmer back in her house." Marina would feel calmer too.
Mrs. Crane nodded and put down the letter, returning to her meal. Marina waited for her to say more, but when no more seemed forthcoming she asked, "Did he say anything else?"
Mrs. Crane shook her head and passed the note to Marina. Marina read it briefly – it was a quick read. Just an impersonal notification of his return, and the estimated time. Nothing personal. No mention of Celeste, or of the outcome of the trial decision. She put the note down, and told herself there was no reason for the small twinge of disappointment she felt. What had she expected? This was Philip after all.
"Why don't you leave Celeste with me for a little while this morning?" Mrs. Crane asked. "You can take some time to walk the grounds."
Marina left Celeste happily dozing with her grandmother and went walking out onto the property, enjoying a little solitude. She would be forever grateful to Mrs. Crane for her kindness, but she was glad she lived with Philip after all.
Having been away from the house in town for a week, she found that she was missing it. She missed her room, and her rocking chair, and the small garden she was slowly nurturing in back. She missed the quiet afternoons she could spend just reading a book, eating whatever she pleased with no one to bother her. If she was being honest, she missed having Philip around as well.
It was clear that Celeste missed Philip as well. She had become more and more moody as the week progressed, crying more easily and taking longer to calm when she did cry. Mrs. Crane had a hard time soothing her, and even Marina felt she wasn't up to the task. She'd nearly broken down last night when Celeste had refused to sleep, crying for hours until finally she tired herself out and fell asleep. Marina had been in tears as well, and had fallen asleep just as quickly, once Celeste had settled.
Yes, she missed having Philip around.
"Mrs. Crane!"
Marina almost ignored the call, but after hearing the name called three times she realized that she was the Mrs. Crane in question, and she looked down toward the road to see Ms. Braithewite riding up on a lovely blood bay horse.
"Ms. Braithewite! I'm sorry – I was quite lost in my own thoughts."
"Of course. Am I intruding? Shall I leave you to them?"
Marina grinned. "Not at all – I welcome the distraction."
"Ah, good! I have missed seeing you at dinners; I was hoping you would be up for conversation." Ms. Braithewite dismounted and pulled her mare behind her. "I have heard that you are to be congratulated," she said. "No doubt your daughter will be as lovely as you are."
"Thank you. She is sleeping back at the house now," Marina explained. She studied Ms. Braithewite nervously for any sign that she disapproved, that she was suspicious about te timing of the birth.
"Ah, I see. Perhaps I can call on you when you are back at home to visit?"
"Certainly."
"Actually, I have received word from my brother… He will be on leave shortly, and plans to return to Hampstead for some time. I shall have to put on some soiree for him no doubt. Can I count on you to come, and make the evening bearable for me?" She asked with a grin.
Marina returned the expression. She wondered if Ms. Braithewite's brother could truly be so awful, or if the woman was just appealing to Marina's pride. Either way, she would be happy to be invited out into company again.
She shifted her attention to Ms. Braithewite's horse, looking her over and smiled at the beauty. "May I touch her?" she asked, and when Ms. Braithewite nodded she put her hand on the horse's nose, letting her smell her. She felt the tickle of her velvet soft hairs on her palm, and the warm huff of the horse's breath and she couldn't help grinning like a child. "What a beautiful mare," she said, stroking her nose, and moving down to her neck. "She steps so prettily."
"Do you ride?"
"I love to – though I have not in a long time," Marina answered. Not since she had gone to London. "My family has a couple of horses – workhorses though, not nearly so beautiful as this one."
"You should come ride with me, once you are fully recovered of course. As long as you don't find yourself in a delicate condition again too soon."
Marina laughed – it wasn't likely. "For the sake of riding, I will try!"
Ms. Braithewite joined in her laughter. "Your husband won't be happy to hear that."
Marina grinned and muttered, "He'll live."
They walked on in companionable silence for a while, then Marina asked, "Have you know the Cranes for long? You seem well acquainted with Philip – did you know his brother as well?"
"Yes, I've known them since childhood. We have never been close, but we've frequented the same wider social circles all our lives. George – Philip's brother I mean – was a closer friend to me than Philip. He was much more lively, easier to get on with. I think you would have liked him very much."
Marina made a small sound of agreement, not trusting herself to speak on the matter. It was a sweet kind of pain, to listen to Ms. Braithewite praising George while having to pretend she didn't know him. It occurred to her that she would go the rest of her life pretending she had never known him, not intimately.
"It's strange – the more we grow acquainted, the more I think you and Philip are an odd match. You would have gotten on better with someone like George I think. How ever did you and Philip meet?"
"Oh we… we met in London. Philip was there dealing with some business his brother left behind."
"And he won you over immediately I suppose?" Mrs. Braithewite teased.
Marina rewarded her joke with a laugh. "No, not at all. I refused at first, in fact." It had seemed like a victory then, like she had been able to choose her own life. How stupid she had been, to think she could make her own choices. "But he won me over in the end. He has been very kind."
Ms. Braithewite nodded, and she smiled wistfully. "Yes. He does have a charming kind of softness to him, once you know him. When we were children George was the favorite with everyone, the one everyone wanted to play with, but Philip has always been the kind one, quietly making sure everyone was alright."
Marina studied her friend's profile, wondering at the wistful tone in her voice. It sounded like she had been closer to the Crane brothers than she initially let on. But it wasn't Marina's place to probe her further – she had her own secrets, and she would let Ms. Braithewite keep hers.
They spent some time together that morning, chatting amiably about various topics, but Marina soon turned her feet back towards the house, nervous about leaving Celeste alone with Mrs. Crane for too long.
"I will call on you in town," Ms. Braithewite promised, "and we will arrange to go riding together as soon as you are able."
Marina smiled gratefully at her. "I look forward to it." Ms. Braithewite swung herself gracefully back into the saddle and they parted ways. Marina watched her ride away, a wonderful mix of hope and gratitude in her chest. She had been afraid that she would lose her tenuous friendships in Hampstead after the birth, but it seemed she had at least one friend still.
Mrs. Crane greeted her happily on her return; Celeste was being fussy and difficult to please. Marina managed to settle her a little by taking her outside and feeding her, and finally managed to put her down to sleep in time to be able to enjoy a quiet lunch with Mrs. Crane.
Philip arrived in the afternoon, weighed down with luggage and looking bone tired. Mrs. Crane fussed over him and insisted he stay for dinner at least before returning to Hampstead.
He greeted Marina perfunctorily, and Marina found herself wishing Mrs. Crane was not there, so she could speak to him more freely, though she wasn't sure what exactly she wanted to say to him. She told him Celeste was sleeping, and he looked disappointed not to see her.
"Come have some tea before dinner – tell me everything that is going on in London," Mrs. Crane bossed him. "Have you brought me the newest Lady Whistledown?"
Philip nodded and produced the pamphlet for her. Mrs. Crane grabbed it up gleefully and went to sit herself in the parlour, Philip following behind her. Marina followed them as well, seating herself and taking the cup of tea offered her by Philip, pouring for himself as well. Mrs. Crane made a small noise of surprise, her eyebrows rising almost comically at something she had read. She lifted her head and seemed about to say something, but upon seeing the black look in Marina's eyes she closed her mouth, and folded away the tract. "Well, I shall just read it later…"
Marina nodded grimly. She was not a fan of Lady Whistledown and her rumors, having been a victim of them herself.
She sat and half listened as Philip relayed what little gossip he had from London. Mrs. Crane found him a wholly unsatisfactory messenger – he had no ear or interest for the best gossip, and his work and social status kept him away from most of the information she was interested in. Marina herself was determined not to care about the goings on of those odious people in London anymore, so she kept an ear out for Celeste's waking, and was the first to hear, though she noticed Philip's head turning towards the sound of her cry. She smiled at him.
"Shall you surprise her with your return? She will be pleased to see you."
Philip nodded and they went up to George's room, where Celeste had begun to cry in her bassinet. When Philip leaned his head over the baby, she made a surprised noise and reached out to him. He laughed with obvious pleasure to see her and lifted her into his arms, and Marina felt oddly like she was intruding on a private moment between them.
When they returned downstairs with Celeste, Mrs. Crane was reading Lady Whistledown's gossip rag, but she put it down to observe Philip holding Celeste. "You are excessively adoring to the child, aren't you?" she asked, surprising Marina.
Philip ignored her tone, smiling down at Celeste. "Of course I am – she is my beautiful little niece." Marina felt a twinge at his words – somehow it didn't sound right for him to call Celeste his niece.
Mrs. Crane shushed him. "Watch how you speak about her!"
"It is only the three of us here," Philip said. "The information is no surprise to any of us."
Mrs. Crane nodded, mollified, but kept watching him. "Your father rarely held you boys when you were babes."
"That doesn't mean that was the best course of action," Philip said drily.
"Are you saying William was a bad father?" Mrs. Crane snapped.
"No mother, only that I need not act exactly as him."
"Hmph. You do insist on arguing with me on everything don't you? I suppose this is what comes of being a lawyer's mother," Mrs. Crane said with a long-suffering sigh.
Philip just smiled indulgently. Marina got the feeling they had this argument often, and decided she'd do better to stay out of it.
"Well, you'd best put her down now – it's time for dinner," Mrs. Crane told Philip.
Celeste did not want to be put down. She screamed in protest when Philip tried to do so, so that he ended up eating dinner with Celeste on his lap, trying to dodge her grasping hands as he brought food to his mouth.
"I see how it is – Philip will indulge her in everything when she is with him," Mrs. Crane said, and Philip looked at her warily, but she smiled. "And I shall indulge her in everything whenever she is with me. I apologize Marina, for she is sure to be difficult, and always expect to have her way because of us."
Marina laughed, and Philip relaxed at the change in his mother's tone. "Perhaps she'll be as headstrong as I am then, and woe to us all," Marina said.
Mrs. Crane looked out the window and then gestured to her maid to begin clearing the table. "You two had best be off. I don't want you traveling in the dark and getting into an accident." Marina laughed to herself as Mrs. Crane bundled them into the carriage, hurrying them along as though it wasn't she who had insisted that they stay for dinner in the first place. Philip leaned down to kiss his mother on the cheek before climbing into the carriage with Marina and Celeste.
He sat beside Marina, as he had covered the opposite bench with his boxes of documents on the way here, and in Mrs. Crane's sudden rush there had not been time to move the boxes around. He sat leaning away from her, his knees pressed up against the side of the carriage. Marina relaxed, and let Celeste's feet hang down to rest against his arm to try to soothe him. It had been some time since they had last seen each other, and clearly he was feeling freshly awkward in Marina's presence.
"Did you enjoy your time in my mother's house?" he asked.
"It was very pleasant," Marina replied. "We spent plenty of time out of doors, enjoying the fresh country air."
"Good." Philip stared out the window, determined to be silent.
Marina however, was still determined to be friends with him, if she could. "How did the trial go? What was the judge's ruling?"
He finally turned to look at her, and she could tell he was excited about the ruling. "He ruled to let her file for divorce, and to do so in a common law court."
"That's wonderful!" Marina exclaimed, reaching out to squeeze his hand in an unconscious gesture of encouragement.
"Indeed! The divorce and custody suit is still to be settled, but this decision is truly momentous. It is the start of a new movement, I believe. If women are allowed to file for divorce, then it is because they must have rights within a marriage. And if they must have rights, it is because they are people." As he spoke on the matter his body relaxed. Marina kept her hand on his, excited for him, and finding herself excited about the potential ramifications of this case as well, but he hardly seemed to notice her touch.
"Equal rights for women…" she murmured.
"It is incredible no?"
She nodded, smiling wryly. "Certainly. It is a good step. But just because a woman can file for divorce legally, doesn't mean she can do so practically. Women are still financially dependent on their husbands. A divorced woman still faces social ruin, and a loss of her stability. It is much harder for a woman to be independent than for a man." As she spoke he deflated a little, and she wondered why it was that she always seemed to be the one poking holes in his idealism. She knew the way to be a man's friend was to agree with him on everything, but she just couldn't stop herself from pointing out flaws in Philip's reasoning.
Perhaps it was because, instead of being put out and angry with her for her argument, Philip considered her words, and he nodded in agreement after a moment. "Too true. You see it so clearly. It is only a first step – it can not be the last."