“Alfred!” Aunt Harriet scolded loudly. “Don’t talk about the girl’s mother so. She’s just arrived.”
Uncle Alfred turned to look back at his wife, as she hurried toward us having missed Whitney’s arrival. “How many days do I wait then until I may speak plainly in front of her? Miriam does not seem to mind. Do you, dear?” he asked me then.
Grinning, I looked over at Whitney who was watching the entire thing with a look of pure amusement on her face. She smiled brightly at me and then giggled. “One cannot mind what is the truth, Uncle. It is alright, Aunt Harriet. Whitney has lived in the same house with our mother just as I have. She holds no illusions of her.”
Aunt Harriet smiled softly then and took a step closer to Whitney. “Oh, you are as lovely as your sister said. She talked of little else. We are so glad to have you here with us. Our home is your home. We want you to feel comfortable here. I’ve had your luggage taken to the room across the hall from Miriam’s. However, Miriam did mention you shared a room at home. If you would prefer to sleep in her room then that is completely up to you. We are just overjoyed to have both of you girls here now.”
Whitney glowed under the warm welcome, and although I never doubted they would make her feel less than, I was so very grateful for their generosity. In her last letter, I could tell how excited she was to be coming, but she was concerned about her being a problem or in the way. Aunt Harriet would have one more daughter and it was clear she was ecstatic about it.
“We are happy to have you both in our London home. Harriet will see to your needs and then some. If you ladies will excuse me before the gossip magazines and the chocolates come out, I must retire to my office to handle some pressing matters,” Uncle Alfred announced.
Aunt Harriet ignored his remark about her two vices but her eyes did widen a bit as she asked, “Do you enjoy chocolates, honey?”
Whitney thought for a moment then nodded. “Yes, I believe so. I’ve only had them once at a Christmas party we attended a few years ago.”
“The Rockinghams,” I added, remembering all too well the abundance of food at the party. Until now that had been the most elaborate home and party I had attended. London, however, made it pale in comparison. Oh, if only Whitney could go to a ball.
“Yes! The Rockinghams,” she said happily. “They had an entire table of chocolates. All shapes and colors. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”
“You also went to bed with a very bad stomach ache,” I added.
Whitney blushed. “I was but only eight,” she replied.
Aunt Harriet laughed then. “Eight! I would have a stomach ache now if I were presented with a table of chocolates and I am… well, I will not disclose that number,” she then added with a wink. “Come ladies. Let’s go to Whitney’s new room and help her get things put away. Then we can have tea and chocolates. I must hear all about life in the country.”
I knew there wasn’t much for Whitney to tell. Our life at home did not compare to the life Aunt Harriet lived whilst in the countryside. I would wait to explain that though. For now, I was too anxious for Whitney to see the bedroom she would call her own while here.
“I didn’t get much chocolate in America. My family is large and very close, but we aren’t wealthy people. My father is a hard worker and always made sure we never went without, but I had never seen the side of life Alfred has shown to me. It is a miracle he still wanted to marry me after giving me my first chocolate on but our second outing. I must have looked like a wild animal given a fresh piece of meat. It had been the most wonderful thing I’d ever tasted. I knew I loved him then.”
Whitney was hanging on every word of Aunt Harriet’s story. I smiled as we climbed the stairs, wondering how long it was going to take for her to realize Aunt Harriet wasn’t wearing slippers or stockings. I had mentioned that habit to her in my letters, but she was so overwhelmed with everything on her arrival, I doubted very much she was thinking about our Aunt’s feet at the moment.
“That’s a lovely story,” Whitney said. “You married for love then? It wasn’t a match made by your father?”
Aunt Harriet laughed loudly. “My daddy knew better than to marry me off to a man of his choosing. He had raised his daughters to be strong and independent. When I met your uncle, he never said one word against him. He simply told me he wanted me to be happy. When your uncle asked him for my hand in marriage, he replied, ‘If she wants to marry you then yes. But I’ll be givin’ her to you to protect and provide for. The day you decide you don’t wanna do that no more or the day that mouth of sass makes you so angry you want to slap it, you just bring her on back to me. Don’t ever hurt my girl or that day will be your last. Make no mistake ‘bout that.’”
I had never heard this story, and like Whitney, I was paused at the top of the stairs, listening to Aunt Harriet talk with a strange accent as she repeated her father’s words.
“Your father said that?” Whitney asked, sounding as amazed as I was.
Aunt Harriet nodded. “Of course he did. He told the same thing to my five sisters’ husbands as well.” Then she began walking down the long hallway toward the door that would be Whitney’s.
Whitney looked over at me with wide eyes full of wonder. She had never been around anyone as colorful as Aunt Harriet. If that story entertained her, there were more where it came from. I was so happy to have her close to me again. Thinking of all I had to show her and all I wanted her to experience in London made my heart feel lighter than it had in years.
She was going to love it here.
Chapter Twenty-One
Earl of Ashington
Laughter rang down the staircase followed by Alice’s voice of correction. They were leaving two days early to go to the country and get settled in. I had struggled with this decision for several days, not sure if it was best for Emma to remain here or accompany me to Chatwick Hall. Leaving her here meant that anyone could stop by and there was that small chance she could be visible, even if the visitor never made it past the door. Nicholas being my primary concern.
Taking her with me could mean that she would need to be explained to the Wellingtons and to Miriam. In truth, I would need to test the ground with Miriam and Emma soon enough. See how Miriam responds to the idea that I have a ward and I would expect my future wife to aid me in proper rearing of Emma. However, I did feel it could be much too soon for that introduction just yet. I was still getting to know Miriam and now this was a chance to spend time with not only her but her sister, aunt and uncle. I knew little of them and they would be a part of her life. For Emma’s sake, I must measure all their worth. Relying on an attraction to a beautiful woman was not enough.
In the end, I had decided taking Emma to the country, but not keeping her inside Chatwick Hall, would be my best way to protect her. There was a former Dowager house on the grounds that hadn’t been occupied since my grandmother resided there. I had sent to have it spruced up and staffed for Alice and Emma. It sat far enough back on the land that the small light it would give off at night would seem as if it were a neighboring home.
There were, of course, holes in my plan, but of all my options, this was the one I was most comfortable with and having Emma close was important. I could protect her if she were there, while if she were here, I was too far away if someone were to see her, meaning I wouldn’t be able to do so. I hated having to keep her in this small bubble, but until I was married and the story was set into motion, she must live this way if I was to hope for her to have a future she deserved as a Compton.