Brenda Joyce - Persuasion

“I am happy to show you our suite of rooms,” William said gravely, sounding like an adult.

“I have a soldier,” John announced with pride. “He’s a Prussian infant.”

Amelia smiled as William said, taking John’s hand, “He’s a Prussian infantryman. You can show Miss Greystone all of your soldiers, if she so wishes.” He looked at Amelia, and she saw the eagerness in his eyes.

“I cannot wait,” she said, smiling. And for the first time since she met him, William smiled back.

* * *

THE BABY HAD finally fallen asleep after nursing hungrily, while still in Amelia’s arms. Amelia had no wish to let her go, but she could hardly linger with Elizabeth’s child now. Smiling but saddened, Amelia stood and laid the sleeping infant in her crib, a beautiful affair furnished with white eyelet coverlets. As she covered her tiny body with a white patchwork quilt, she said softly, “She needs a name.”

“You are so good with children!” Mrs. Murdock exclaimed. “I have never seen her nurse as greedily, and the boys adore you when you have only just met!”

Amelia smiled. The boys were playing with the toy soldiers in their rooms. John had shown her every single solider that he had. “She was hungry.”

“No, she loves you already!” The governess sobered. “There has been too much turmoil in this household. I so wish you were not leaving us.”

Amelia started. “I have my own family to attend,” she said, but she wondered if Mrs. Murdock was right. Had the grief and upheaval in the house affected the infant? How could it not? But at least the blue-and-white nursery was a quiet sanctuary for the child. Clearly, Elizabeth had been hoping for another boy.

Mrs. Murdock sat down in a large blue-striped chair. “I am surprised that you do not have children of your own, Miss Greystone.”

Amelia felt herself tense. Of course there was dismay, after taking care of that beautiful baby. “I am not married, Mrs. Murdock, and as you have seen, I have my mother to take care of.”

“You could certainly take care of her and a husband,” Mrs. Murdock said. She seemed far too curious for comfort. “You are so pretty, if you do not mind my saying so. How could you be unwed?”

An image of Grenville, so dark and handsome, his stare impossibly direct, came immediately to mind.

Why had he looked at her that way?

And what could she say? That she had fallen foolishly in love with St. Just a decade ago, only to have her heart broken? There had been a few offers afterward, but none had interested her. Very carefully, she said, “There was someone once, long ago. He was not serious, and I was too young to realize it.”

“The cad!” Mrs. Murdock cried.

“Let us leave the subject for now. What’s done is done, after all.” She smiled firmly. “I am glad the boys are playing. I am glad they ate—and I am glad the baby nursed and quieted down. I imagine she will sleep for some time.”

“Thank you so much for your help,” Mrs. Murdock said, standing. But she seemed anxious. “Are you leaving?”

“I have to go.”

She grimaced. “What should I do if he comes here?”

It took Amelia a moment to understand. “Do you mean, if Grenville comes to see his child?”

She wrung her hands. “Maybe he won’t come. He doesn’t seem to like this child.”

“He will love this child, as he does his sons!” Amelia exclaimed, entirely distressed by such an unfounded accusation.

“He frightens me!”

Amelia started, “Mrs. Murdock, he is your employer and the Earl of St. Just. I suppose he is somewhat intimidating—”

The governess cut her off. “He frightens all of us. He frightened her ladyship!”

Amelia stiffened with displeasure. “Mrs. Murdock, I must object to such a discussion. I am sure that Lady Grenville held his lordship in the highest regard, and it was a mutual matter!”

“She changed whenever he was home. She was a happy woman—except when he was in residence. She worried about his returning. She told me how much she worried—she told me that she always seemed to displease him!”

Amelia sat abruptly down. Could this be possible? Could their marriage have been so strained? “I cannot abide gossip,” she finally said. She realized that she wished to defend Grenville. How could he have been displeased with such a wife?

“I am hardly gossiping. I heard them shouting at one another in November—when he returned for Lord William’s birthday. They argued last summer, when he suddenly appeared in town, surprising her so. And she left, within days of his arrival, she was that distraught. She did not want to be in residence with him, Miss Greystone, you may be sure of that. I do not think he cared very much for her, but she was afraid of him, I witnessed that firsthand!”

Amelia’s mind was racing. There was utter confusion. Had Elizabeth Grenville left town because her husband had arrived? Had she wished to avoid him? Had she been afraid of him? But why?

Hadn’t Mrs. Murdock claimed that Grenville was rarely in residence? She hadn’t wanted to believe that. Had there been another woman? She found herself wondering. Why else would he stay away?

As if on the same tangent, Mrs. Murdock lowered her voice. “Lady Grenville never knew where he was. Oh, she told me so herself many times, when she wished to write him and ask him for advice and guidance! Apparently when he stated he was going to the country, he never did. He would claim to be at someone’s estate, but he was never there. It is so odd, don’t you think?”

It certainly sounded as if there was another woman, Amelia thought grimly. But why should she be surprised? Hadn’t he treated her with utter disrespect?

“But perhaps it was all for the best, since he frightened her so with his dark moods and strange ramblings,” Mrs. Murdock said flatly. “We have wondered if he is a bit mad.”

Amelia stood, angered now. But she spoke with calm. “Grenville isn’t a madman. In fact, I do not think it helpful for you to even suggest such a thing!”

“Oh, I did not mean to make you angry. But I am worried about being alone in this house with him!”

“Then you must rein in your thoughts,” Amelia said, quietly furious. “Grenville will hardly murder you in your sleep. I imagine he will be in to see his child within moments.” She tried to soften. “Mrs. Murdock, the man I saw in that chapel was grieving. He was distraught. Perhaps he loved Lady Grenville, in his own way, and you simply misconstrued the nature of their relationship. After all, he would be very preoccupied with his affairs of state. Perhaps, now that she is deceased, you should give his lordship the benefit of the doubt.” Amelia firmly believed that this was all a huge misunderstanding. How could Grenville have not loved his wife?

“He walks in his sleep,” Mrs. Murdock said defensively. “Lady Grenville hated it.”

Amelia stared, speechlessly.

“She decided to move the entire household to Cornwall—when she had never once set foot in this house. How odd is that? Do you think she wanted to escape him, by coming here? That is what we all think!”

“I truly doubt she was fleeing her own husband,” Amelia said grimly. The gossip was too unsettling!

“Why else would she come to Cornwall in her condition—in the winter?” Mrs. Murdock nodded. “It was a very troubled marriage, Miss Greystone.”

Amelia looked down at the sleeping newborn. She didn’t know what to think. “I don’t think you should raise your concerns with anyone else, Mrs. Murdock. Especially not now, with the household in mourning. Such suspicions and doubts no longer matter.”

“You are right,” Mrs. Murdock said. “I wonder what he will do now? His sons—his daughter—need their father. I imagine he will take us with him, wherever he goes.” She seemed unhappy.