A Loving Family (47 page)

‘I'm just seeing it as others will,' Stella said seriously. ‘I know you mean what you say, Kit. But I'll always be that servant girl who married above her. I don't make society's rules.'

Kit lifted her hand to his lips and brushed it with a tender kiss. ‘Rules are made to be broken, my love. I intend to shatter this one and prove it to be without substance. You and I will marry and be damned to them all. Is that understood?'

‘Yes. I want it to be true more than anything else in the world.'

‘Then we'll make it so.' He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. ‘We'll have the banns read in the New Year and we'll be married before January is out. That's a promise, Stella. A solemn promise. I'm not letting you get away from me again.'

‘But you'll have to return to duty when your leave is over.'

‘The war in Afghanistan can't go on much longer, and in any case I won't be sent back to active duty for a while. That bout of cholera did me a favour. I'll probably end up resigning my commission or maybe I'll have to buy my way out, but as far as I'm concerned it will be money well spent.'

‘You might need the money I'll be making in my little bakery,' Stella said with a mischievous smile. ‘And I haven't told you about the open days we organised to raise funds. You'll be surprised at the changes Rosa and I have made in your absence.'

It was almost dark when they arrived at Heron Park. Stella had wanted to go to Fleur-de-Lis Street to see Belinda and make sure that everything was going smoothly at the shop. She had been absent for more than three months and anything could have happened in that time, but Kit insisted on going straight home, saying that one more day would make little difference. She could see that he was tired and she did not argue, but when she saw the lights shining from the windows of the old house and how happy the Turpins were to see them, she knew she had truly come home.

Noakes admitted them with tears in his eyes as he welcomed the new master, and Kit patted him on the shoulder. ‘It's good to be back where I belong, Noakes. I'm glad that you are here to make it even better.'

‘Thank you, Master Kit.' Noakes eyed him anxiously. ‘I'm sorry, sir. That just slipped out. I was thinking back to old times.'

‘They were good times,' Kit agreed. ‘I like the sound of Master Kit. There's no need for you to call me anything different, Noakes.'

‘Thank you, sir. I'll go and tell Miss Rosa that you've arrived. Everyone is here to welcome you home.' He glanced at Stella and smiled. ‘And you too, miss, and Mr Freddie.'

Stella smiled in acknowledgement as he took her cloak and bonnet. She stood for a moment gazing at the familiar surroundings. The portraits of the Rivenhalls' ancestors seemed to be smiling down at them from their lofty positions on the walls, crowned by sprigs of holly and trailing fronds of ivy. In the centre of the marble-tiled floor, reaching up as far as the first landing, was an enormous Christmas tree complete with tinsel and baubles. ‘Look at the tree, Kit. It must be twenty feet tall at least, and Rosa has put tiny candles on almost every branch. It looks so festive.'

Freddie hurried over to warm his hands by the roaring log fire. ‘I never thought I'd miss the heat of India, but this comes second best.'

Stella's reply was lost as Rosa appeared at the top of the grand staircase and shrieked their names. She ran down with Tommy following close behind. Stella looked up in amazement to see Belinda, Spike and Perry, followed more slowly by her mother, Thaddeus and Harry Sparrow. Bob came last with Aunt Maud on his arm, and Stella would not have been surprised to see Timmy prancing along behind them, but he was nowhere to be seen. She could imagine him stalking the vermin in the stables and marking his new territory.

‘Everyone is here for Christmas,' Rosa said happily. ‘We've come to welcome you home, Kit, and of course my brave Stella, and not forgetting Freddie.' She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. ‘I must set about finding a young lady for you, my boy. The rest of us have found our hearts' desires so you can't be the only one left out.'

‘Where's Bertie?' Stella asked, looking round. ‘Everyone is here except him.'

‘He volunteered to remain at Chalkhill Farm,' Bob said cheerfully. ‘He's fallen for a village girl and couldn't bear to be parted from her for even a few days. He's really in love this time,' he added, winking. ‘There'll be an addition to the Hendy family in nine months or I'm a Dutchman.'

‘There'll be a new member of the family in less than seven months,' Thaddeus said, having overheard this last remark. He winked at Jacinta, who blushed and pulled a face.

‘Now, Thaddeus, I thought we'd agreed to wait a while before we told everyone.'

‘I'm too happy a man to keep quiet about such a thing,' he said, puffing out his chest.

Belinda nudged Stella in the ribs. ‘Ma can't be in the family way. She's too old.'

‘Hush, she'll hear you,' Stella said, chuckling. ‘Ma was only fifteen when she had me. She's still in her prime and I for one am delighted for them both.' She hurried to her mother's side and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Congratulations, Ma. It will be lovely to have a little brother or sister.'

Jacinta smiled. ‘I'm as surprised as you and Belinda. I never expected it to happen at my age.'

‘You're only thirty-six, Ma. Lots of women older than you have babies.'

‘I'm thirty-seven and it's a long time since I gave birth to Belinda.'

‘Well I think it's lovely, and Pa Hendy looks as though he'll burst with pride.'

Kit had been chatting to Tommy but he left him and came to join them. He kissed Jacinta's hand. ‘Wonderful news.' He grinned. ‘But I don't know what I ought to call you. You were my aunt by marriage and soon you'll be my mother-in-law.'

Jacinta beamed at him. ‘I've always answered to Ma, plain and simple.'

‘Then Ma it is.' Kit leaned down to kiss her cheek. ‘I'm glad you've found happiness. My uncle treated you shamefully.'

‘He made up for it by leaving everything to me in his will,' Jacinta said, smiling. ‘Perry found me a reliable lawyer and I've transferred everything to you, which is as it should be, although I'm afraid there is very little money.'

‘Isn't it a good thing that your future wife will be contributing to the household?' Stella said mischievously. ‘Perhaps people will say that you married me for my money.'

He was prevented from replying by Rosa, announcing that dinner was served. ‘You must lead us in, Kit,' she said firmly. ‘You're head of the house now.'

He proffered his arm to Jacinta and she accepted with a smile, leaving Thaddeus to escort Stella. ‘Who would have thought it?' he said in a stage whisper. ‘That small girl sitting so disconsolate by the roadside is going to be mistress of all this.' He made an expansive gesture with his free hand. ‘You've grown up to be a remarkable young lady, Stella. Just like your dear mother. Beautiful, and brave too.'

‘It's Christmas Eve tomorrow,' Stella said thoughtfully. ‘I think we should adopt your village tradition of carol singing. Heron Park lapsed into disrepute locally while Gervase was master. I want to prove to the village that things will be very different now.'

‘Then may I suggest you pay a call on the vicar first thing tomorrow morning, Stella. Get the church on your side and the rest will follow.'

‘We have that poor girl's death to atone for. It won't be easy.'

The vicar folded his hands across his chest. His expression was guarded. ‘How may I be of service to you, Miss Barry?'

Stella shifted from one foot to the other. The parlour at the rectory was crammed with oversized, oddly assorted furniture. A stuffed owl peered at her through the glass dome that seemed to have trapped it mid-flight, and daguerreotypes of stern-faced men and women glared at her from silver frames. She felt as if they were judging her before she had had a chance to speak. She cleared her throat, suddenly nervous. ‘We need your help, vicar. I'm speaking for Mr Rivenhall and his sister and all of us who are fortunate enough to call Heron Park our home. The misdeeds of the past have affected us all and we want the people of the village to know that that sort of thing is never going to happen again. We can't alter what has gone before but we can try to atone by doing all we can for the village and its people.'

‘Sit down, Miss Barry. Tell me what you have in mind.'

Early that evening the gates of Heron Park were flung open and a lantern-lit procession filed through them. Kit and Rosa, wrapped up against the chill of the frosty night air, welcomed each individual with a gift of a small cake. Spike and Connie had spent all afternoon in the kitchens baking fancies and biscuits while the rest of the kitchen staff prepared a feast for later.

It seemed that almost the entire village had turned out for the occasion, and the vicar led the procession to the caves. Harry had placed flambeaux along the path to light their way and the caves were ablaze with oil lamps and candles. Kit made a short speech of welcome and the vicar blessed the caves, announcing that from now on their use would be for the benefit of all. ‘Mr Rivenhall will continue to hold open days but part of the profits will go to a fund which will be set up in the name of the poor child who lost her life so tragically, and will be used for the good of the whole community.'

A ripple of surprise ran through the crowd. ‘Will it give us more work?' someone in the crowd demanded.

Kit stepped forward. ‘It will take time, but I am determined to run Heron Park as a business and there will certainly be chances for future employment. I can't make extravagant claims until I've made a study of what needs to be done, but I promise to be a better landlord than my uncle and a fair employer.' He turned to Stella, holding out his hand. ‘This lady has agreed to be my wife and together we will do what we can for the benefit of the village. The vicar has agreed to read the banns from next Sunday onwards. You are all invited to the wedding.' A shout of approval greeted this last remark and Kit held up his hand. ‘But now it's getting cold and you're all invited into the house for refreshments.'

The vicar cleared his throat. ‘And don't forget midnight mass. I expect to see you all there and reasonably sober, although I must admit a glass of hot punch would be most welcome at the moment.' He proffered his arm to Aunt Maud. ‘May I escort you, ma'am? It's too chilly for a lady of your years to be outside in the cold night air.'

Maud slapped his hand. ‘Nonsense, vicar. I'm not so senile that a breath of chilly air is going to kill me. I've survived all this time and I don't expect to expire any time soon.'

Kit took Stella's hand and led the way towards the house. ‘This was a good idea, my darling. I have you to thank for everything.'

She squeezed his fingers. ‘You've announced our wedding and called for the banns to be posted but I don't think you've ever actually proposed to me, Kit.'

He held the lantern so that its light shone on her upturned face. ‘I must have. We've had an understanding for such a long time.'

She smiled. ‘I think I would remember it, Kit.'

Rosa and Tommy were close behind them. ‘We're going to name the day now,' Rosa said happily. ‘Aren't we, darling?'

Tommy nodded vigorously. ‘We certainly are. We were only waiting until you came home, old chap. Now we can go ahead.'

‘Make it a double wedding,' Thaddeus suggested, lengthening his stride so that he and Jacinta caught up with them. ‘Spike and Connie can make the wedding cakes.'

Harry and Belinda hurried up to them, hand in hand. ‘Could that be a triple wedding?' Harry asked, chuckling. ‘I've just proposed to my dear girl and she said yes.'

Kit stopped suddenly and everyone came to a halt. ‘I must be a stupid dolt of a fellow not to have done this before.' He passed the lantern to Harry and went down on one knee on the frosty path. Taking Stella's hand in his, he gazed up at her. ‘Stella, my darling. I love you more than life itself. You are the most amazing woman I've ever met and I would deem it an honour if you would agree to be my wife.'

She bent down to kiss him on the lips. ‘I will,' she murmured.

A round of applause filled the night air and cheers resounded in the grounds of Heron Park. Kit rose to his feet and took Stella in his arms, twirling her round to the imaginary strains of a Viennese waltz. He came to a halt, facing their appreciative audience with a smile. ‘Come inside, everyone. My future wife and I welcome you to our home.'

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Epub ISBN: 9781448135592

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Published by Century 2013

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Copyright © Dilly Court 2013

Dilly Court has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

First published in Great Britain in 2013 by

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