Janet Aylmer - Julia and the Master of Morancourt

“I am so sorry, Aunt Lucy,” said Julia. “Had you known each other a long time?”

“Yes, my dear, we had been at school together and kept in touch over all the years since then. So it seems that we have been friends forever.”

“Does the letter say anything else?”

“Yes, it does. In her will, she has asked that several friends should choose something from her house at Morancourt, as a legacy that they would like to remember her by. That is a very kind idea, Julia, isn’t it?”

“Yes, indeed. When are you planning to do that?”

“Her heir writes that he is to visit Bath soon, and plans to call on me so that we can make suitable arrangements.”

“Do you know anything about him, Aunt?”

“Very little, Julia. All I can tell you is that he writes a good letter, and is keen to carry out my dear friend’s wishes.”

Aunt Lucy had been very insistent that the new dress should be made for Julia during her visit to Bath. Much time had been spent deciding on the design and having fittings to make sure that everything was exactly as it should be. Emily was delighted that her friend was to have that and several other new things. Julia was rather more cautious, for the new patterns were rather more flamboyant than she was used to, perhaps a bit more “London style” than she felt comfortable with.

However, Aunt Lucy was having none of it. “Blue is so becoming to your slim figure and delicate colouring, Julia. It would be such a pity if such an attractive girl as you were not to be shown to the best advantage.”

Since Emily was of the same opinion, Julia did not argue any more, but agreed to select some simple jewellery, and other accessories, to complement her dress. Indeed, it seemed that Aunt Lucy had been right, since her new attire attracted many favourable comments, not only from the dowagers at the concerts and balls they attended, but also in the added attention she was receiving from all the beaux.

Julia and Emily heard no more about the legacy until the following week, when Aunt Lucy told them that a gentleman would be visiting her later that morning.

“Julia, my dear, be sure to wear one of the newer dresses that you brought with you from Derbyshire. Perhaps the yellow that is so becoming?”

Certainly, Julia did like the dress very much, and it seemed to be similar to the very latest fashion.

“What a pity,” said Emily, “that I have arranged to visit the dressmaker today at ten thirty, for I would dearly have loved to meet him. However, Julia can tell me all about it.”

As instructed, her friend took more care than usual in getting ready, with Martha, her aunt’s maid, brushing her hair until the golden-brown lights in it shone. Julia suspected that all this effort might prove to be wasted, since their visitor might be an elderly man indifferent to the charms of a young lady. But her aunt had been so kind to her that she did not wish to be a disappointment.

Aunt Lucy and her niece were ready in the drawing room at the time agreed, and Julia walked across the room to look out of the window at the passing crowds. The visitor was a few minutes late, but just after eleven o’clock they heard the butler announcing his arrival.

“The Master of Morancourt, Mr. Christopher Hatton, ma’am.”

“You are very welcome, sir,” said her aunt.

“Thank you, you are most kind, Mrs. Harrison.”

Julia heard his voice, turned, and looked at him with amazement. For there in the doorway, regarding her with an astonishment equal to her own, was Kit Douglas.

“May I introduce my niece, my sister’s eldest daughter, Miss Maitland?”

Her aunt did not appear to notice Julia’s confusion.

“Miss Maitland, I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” said the Master of Morancourt, bowing to Julia.

She did not know what to think. Did Kit Douglas want her aunt to believe that they were meeting for the first time? For the moment, it seemed best not to challenge this.

“Sir,” was all she said, curtseying to him.

He turned back towards Aunt Lucy.

“As you know, Mrs. Harrison, I am here to discuss Mrs. Hatton’s legacy. My godmother often mentioned you very warmly to me, and I know that you had had a very lengthy acquaintance—since your school days, I believe?”

“Please sit down, Mr. Hatton.” She gestured towards a chair and waited until he was seated before replying.

“Yes, that’s true; she was probably the friend that I had known for the longest. I’m very sorry that I did not know of her serious illness, for I would have liked to visit her.”

“I was there for the last week before she died,” he said, “but she was aware of very little for most of that time.”

She nodded and then pulled the bell cord. When he came into the room, Aunt Lucy asked the butler to bring some refreshments. Just as this was being arranged, they could hear the footman answering the door. The butler soon returned, looking rather flustered.

“Ma’am, there is a messenger at the door for you. I apologise for the interruption, but it might be easier if you could come and speak to him yourself.”

Aunt Lucy looked puzzled, but rose from her seat and, excusing herself, followed him out of the room.

Kit Douglas turned immediately to Julia.

“Miss Maitland, you must be surprised by the manner of my greeting to you?”

“Yes, sir.” She hesitated, then said, “Please explain.”

“I had a letter from my father last week. He passed on the news that you had gone away so that you could enjoy a change of scene and forget for a while all about your parents’ plans for you in Derbyshire. I had no idea that you were related to Mrs. Harrison, or that you were staying with her.”

“There is no reason why you should have done, Mr. Douglas.”

“My immediate reaction therefore on seeing you here was that you would prefer not to be reminded about Derbyshire at present, or for your aunt to know of our previous acquaintance.”

Julia smoothed her hands down the skirt of her dress, then again, then she composed herself and clasped her hands together in front of her with the appearance of calm, although her mind was racing. No one she had met in Bath had mentioned his family or Norton Place to her, and Emily had not met Kit Douglas, although she had heard of him.

Kit Douglas was looking at her intently. “You have reservations? I will do as you wish, of course.”

Julia paused. Perhaps a question could resolve her dilemma.

“Have you met many people of your own acquaintance here in Bath, sir?”

“No. On my visits to my godmother after the death of her husband, Mr. Henry Hatton, I had only passed through the city and not stopped here. And now, one of the requirements of my godmother’s will was that I should change my surname to hers. She had no children, you see. You will know that it is quite common with the bequest of an estate for the heir to be asked to assume the family name.”

Julia smiled to herself—a new name! Would she be able to remember that?

She could not realise what effect her infectious smile was having on him. He waited, regarding her gravely, admiring her neat figure, the way that her hair curled at the nape of her neck, and her clear grey eyes.

“How long will you be staying in Bath, sir?”

Suddenly, he smiled at her in return. “That depends, I suppose, on the company that I might keep, and what else I might find to do. Are you planning to be here with your aunt for long?”

Julia’s mood rapidly sobered.

“I don’t know. I am anxious for any news that comes about my father from Derbyshire. I am very concerned for his health, and only came to visit Aunt Lucy because he insisted that I should.”