Janet Aylmer - Julia and the Master of Morancourt

Julia had assumed that Aunt Lucy would not stay very long at Banford Hall before returning home, for usually she and Mama found that a few days were enough in each other’s company, but so far no mention had been made of a date for her aunt to leave for Bath. Julia suspected that she was not only waiting for a reply to her letter from Mr. Hatton, but also to see if any news came from Freddie in town.

Mama took Julia aside one morning and told her quietly that the local doctor would be making one of his regular visits to the house in an hour’s time to examine Papa’s condition.

Julia asked her mother whether she thought that Papa was getting worse. Her mother did not often show emotion, but Julia could see that tears came readily to her eyes as she replied, “I fear so, although I have said nothing to your sisters. The physician does not tell me very much.”

The doctor came at the appointed time and went in to examine his patient. After a little while, he called Mama in to join him.

Aunt Lucy was in the drawing room and Sophie and Harriet were upstairs when Julia heard the noise of more carriage wheels on the gravel at the front of the house, and she went into the hall.

When the housekeeper opened the door, Harry Douglas was standing in the entrance, and Julia was surprised to see just behind him a tall white-haired gentleman, smartly dressed in city clothes and with a black bag in his hand.

“Mr. Douglas! How good to see you! It is so long since we met. Please come in, and your companion also.”

“Thank you, Miss Maitland. I am equally delighted to see you. Can we please go into the dining room?”

Surprised, she did as he asked, for she would normally have taken the visitors into the drawing room and then gone to find her mother.

There Mr. Douglas continued, “This gentleman has been most kind in travelling with me in my carriage all the way from Bath. Is Mrs. Maitland at home?”

Julia looked doubtful. “She is in the dressing room with Papa, Mr. Douglas, where the local physician is carrying out one of his regular examinations of my father’s condition.”

“In that case, the timing of our visit is most opportune. Would you please ask Mrs. Maitland and the local doctor to join us here? It is very important.”

Julia was surprised at this request, but did as she was asked.

Her mother was not at all happy with the interruption, but Julia eventually persuaded her to comply and to bring the physician with her.

When they entered the dining room together, Mr. Douglas said, “Mrs. Maitland, I do most sincerely apologise for not giving you any prior warning of my visit. However, I would like to introduce Sir William Knighton to you.”

Mama looked blank, but the local physician exclaimed without hesitation, “Sir William, I am so honoured to meet you!”

Julia and her mother waited for an explanation as the doctor continued.

“How exceptionally fortunate, sir! Your name and your excellent reputation for treating problems of the heart are well known to my profession even in this very rural location. Mrs. Maitland, if your husband is to improve, this is the gentleman who can achieve it.”

Sir William, Mama, and the doctor were soon closeted in the dressing room with Papa, and Julia found herself alone with Mr. Douglas in the dining room.

“I wish you to be assured, Miss Maitland, that none of the expenses for Sir William’s consultation will fall upon your family.”

Julia would have been inclined to argue this point, but something in his expression convinced her that that would be a total waste of time. Instead, she replied, “In that case, may I thank you from the bottom of my heart, for I have heard of Sir William’s excellent professional reputation.”

To her surprise, Mr. Douglas looked very embarrassed and, after hesitating, he said, “Miss Maitland, if you will promise not to tell anyone else? What I told you is not the full truth of the matter.”

She indicated her agreement, although perplexed at his remark.

“It was Kit who was adamant that I should take my own coach all the way down to Bath, though he would not tell me why. Only at the end of my stay at Morancourt did he inform me that he had arranged for Sir William to be available to make the return journey north with me to Derbyshire, to visit your father. Kit insists that I should take all the credit for the arrangements, but has refused to let me pay any of the expenses.”

Julia had to smile to herself at his barely concealed indignation at his son’s insistence.

“I do not like ‘sailing under false colours’ in this matter, but my only role has been to provide the transport for us back to Derbyshire, and then to return Sir William today to Derby, so that he can take the stagecoach south and get back to Windsor.”

“Why does he want to go to Windsor, Mr. Douglas? I thought that his main consulting rooms were in Bath?”

“It is true that he practices from there, but I have been told that he is the chief physician-in-residence to His Majesty the King,” said Mr. Douglas, this time with pride in his voice.

Julia was speechless at this information, for she had no idea of that connection. What would Mama say? Julia suspected that her mother’s opinion of Harry Douglas was going to increase several hundredfold when she heard all this.

“I have a commission from K—I mean from Mr. Hatton—to pass on some information only to you in private, Miss Maitland. Is your aunt, Mrs. Harrison, still staying here with you? If so, would it be possible for both of you to visit Norton Place tomorrow?”

Before Julia could reply, she heard her aunt and her sisters calling for her in the hall, and she took Mr. Douglas from the dining room to be introduced to Aunt Lucy. She was clearly very intrigued to meet him, although unable with both Sophie and Harriet within earshot to acknowledge her previous acquaintance with his younger son as she might have wished.

Upon hearing of the invitation from Mr. Douglas, she immediately agreed to go with Julia to Norton Place on the following day, and the only problem was resisting the protestations from Sophie and Harriet at the news that they were not to be included in the party. Mr. Douglas took their dissent in good part, and promised that they might visit him on another occasion.

Sir William did not emerge with Mama and the physician from the dressing room for some time but, when they did, it was easy to see from her expression that the news was much better than before.

On becoming aware of the eager audience waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs, Sir William said, in an avuncular style, “Well, ladies, Mrs. Maitland will tell you the details, but I am confi dent that Mr. Maitland’s doctor can carry out my instructions, and that the results should be beneficial. Now, Mr. Douglas, we had best be on our way if I am to catch the stage south from Derby today.”

Mama was indeed very gracious to Mr. Douglas as they left, as Julia had foreseen, and said as soon as the front door had closed, “My dear Lucy, it is such better news as far as Lewis is concerned. And Sir William has told me that he has strict instructions to render his bill for payment only to Mr. Douglas, who took all the trouble to arrange that consultation, and no charge at all is to fall upon us. That is so generous of him!”

Her eldest daughter then intervened. “Did you know, Mama, that Sir William is a personal physician to the king himself?”

There was a stunned silence, as Julia had anticipated, and then a hubbub of sound as everyone asked questions at once, and some minutes passed before order was restored. When Aunt Lucy told Mama of the invitation for Julia to visit Norton Place with her aunt the next day, Mama was all smiles and gracious agreement.