CHAPTER SEVEN
When Anne told Miss Bonteen that she had accepted Daniel Dereham’s offer, her companion smiled with approval. “I didn’t wish to influence your decision, dearest, but it is far better to be married than to be a spinster. I would not wish my situation on you for all the money in the world.”
Anne was stunned. She had never thought Bonny felt such a dislike of her position, and she said as much.
“I am not unhappy!” Miss Bonteen hastened to reassure her. “I did not mean for you to take my words that way. I have been very fortunate, Anne. Because of your dear mother’s early death, I have had a long-standing position with you. Governesses are commonly dismissed when their charges reach a certain age, which makes it necessary for one to find a new position. And when one is too old to be employed as a governess, one can only pray that some relative will step forward and give one a place to live out her days.”
Anne had never thought about Miss Bonteen, or about governesses in general, in such a way. “It sounds like a grim life, Bonny,” she said.
“It can be. And think, my dear, about yourself, and about what might have happened to you if Mr. Dereham had not made you this offer. Your father cannot afford to maintain you, and your brother ….” She shrugged. Obviously, she felt the less said about Percival the better.
Anne was aghast. “Do you think I might have been forced to become a governess, Bonny?”
Miss Bonteen patted her hand. “I doubt it would have come to that, dearest. But what I am trying to say is this: For a woman to have a secure life, she needs a man to marry her.”
Anne lifted her chin. “Mr. Dereham may be saving me from a life of poverty, but I am bringing him Grex. If he thinks he will find a poor, grateful and indebted wife in me, he will find himself much mistaken!”
“Of course he won’t think that, Anne. He may have money, but without you he is only a wealthy interloper.”
“That is true, Bonny,” Anne said, and felt better.
# # #
Lady Moresack sent an announcement of the marriage to the Morning Post, setting off a flurry of gossip amongst the ton. The general consensus was that Lord Grex had done the only thing left open to him, and was fortunate to have landed such a wealthy husband for his daughter.
Lady Moresack was not pleased with the match. She felt that Anne should have waited. “If your father had not been so precipitous, Martin Abbey would have made you an offer,” she said to Anne, as the two women took tea one afternoon. “He told me his father was softening.”
“Please don’t think you have failed me, Aunt Julia,” Anne said. “I am not unhappy. This marriage means I can live the rest of my life at Grex, and that is what I want to do. And Mr. Dereham told me he plans to breed Arabian horses. I’m very excited about that.”
“Horses are fine, but your uncle tells me Dereham has built a factory.” Lady Moresack was close to weeping. “A cotton factory, Anne! You are marrying a man who owns a cotton factory!”
Anne had to suppress a smile. “It’s very bad, I know. But none of my friends at home will cut me, Aunt Julia. The rector, the squire, the local gentry…. I can assure you they will all behave as the kind friends they have always been. They will accept Mr. Dereham for my sake.”
Lady Moresack waved her hand in dismissal. “Of course the squire and the rector will receive the husband of Lady Anne Grex! But what of the other great houses in your neighborhood?”
“Mr. Dereham has been accepted by a number of London hostesses, Aunt Julia. But even if he weren’t – please understand that I don’t care. All that matters to me is being able to live in my beloved home.”
Lady Moresack heaved a long sigh, patted Anne’s arm and told her she was a brave girl.
# # #
Daniel wanted to be married at Grex, but he had a few requirements. “Before we tie the knot I would like to make at least a small attempt at sprucing the place up,” he said to Anne. “Perhaps we could paint some of the downstairs rooms. They’re quite depressing you know.”
The young couple were sitting on a brocade sofa facing Lady Moresack, who occupied a tall wing chair close by. They had gathered to discuss the wedding. Anne, acutely conscious of her fiancé’s closeness, was trying not to seem nervous. She said pleasantly, “What a good idea. Which rooms are you thinking of?”
“The rooms that still have intact ceilings,” he answered in an equally pleasant tone. “I was petrified the ceilings in the dining room and library would come down on my head.”
“Surely Grex can’t be that bad,” Lady Moresack protested.
“It is, Aunt Julia,” Anne said sadly.
Daniel turned his crystalline gaze toward Lady Moresack. “The entire roof and most of the ceilings need to be replaced, as does most of the furniture. And the walls are bare. The paintings that must have hung there once are gone.”
“Papa sold anything of value,” Anne told her aunt. “We still have some pretty paintings, but, unfortunately, they aren’t worth much.”
Daniel looked at the painting that hung over Lady Moresack’s chimney piece. “Is that one of your ancestors, my lady?” he asked.
“My husband’s great grandfather,” she replied loftily. “He was the first earl.”
He nodded, his eyes still on the picture.
Lady Moresack said, “What servants do you still have, Anne, dear? Besides Miss Bonteen, that is.”
“Bonny is not a servant!” Anne replied, her eyes flashing with indignation. “She is a part of my family.
Lady Moresack declined to pursue the matter of Miss Bonteen’s position. “I merely wished to know how many people you employ, Anne. I rather think you will have to hire more.”
“We just have the Hardings,” Anne said in a low voice. “Papa lets him work the home farm and, in exchange for what he makes on the farm, Mr. and Mrs. Harding live in the house. She cooks for me and Bonny, and he fixes things when he has to.”
Appalled silence from Lady Moresack.
Daniel, who had grown up with a mother, a stepfather and no servants, was less perturbed. “If we’re going to have the wedding at Grex, then you had better hire some more servants,” he said to Anne. “I’ll open an account for you at my bank and you can draw on it as you need.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
Her head was bent and the tender nape of her neck looked pink. Daniel realized his intended was embarrassed. “Don’t worry,” he said lightly. “The renovation of Grex is going to be a long project. Once this wedding is behind us, we’ll have a better idea of where we stand.”
She gave him a grateful smile. She really was very young, he thought, and wondered if he was asking too much of her. “Are you all right with this? Hiring people and fixing up the house before the wedding?”
Her chin lifted and the gaze that met his was steady. “Of course I am.”
He believed her.
“May I ask where you intend to be while Anne takes care of things at Grex?” Lady Moresack’s voice was dangerously calm.
“I have business in Ireland,” Daniel returned. “I’m thinking of buying some land over there and I need to take a look at it.
Lady Moresack’s eyes bulged and veins stood out on her neck. He heard Anne stifle a giggle. Her aunt said in dire tones, “You’re going to Ireland?”
“It’s not the ends of the earth, Lady Moresack,” he said reasonably. “Why don’t we set the wedding date for – oh six weeks from now? That will give Lady Anne time to get the house in order and I will be able to transact my business.”
“That’s fine with me, Aunt Julia,” Anne said quickly. She looked worried that her aunt might have an apoplexy if she didn’t take a breath. She turned to Daniel. “Just give me a list of the colors you like and don’t like.”
“I don’t like gold,” he said. “Or red. I like lighter colors – yellow, blue, green. I like a room to look as if it’s filled with light.”
“I’ll have all the windows washed,” Anne said. “You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes.”
He looked at Lady Moresack’s frozen face and decided it might be a good idea to charm her a bit. He bestowed his most beguiling smile upon her and fifteen minutes later, as he was leaving, he heard that lady say to Anne, “Well. Mr. Dereham might not be the kind of man I wanted you to marry, but he can be remarkably agreeable when he chooses.”
Daniel closed the door behind him and let the hovering footman show him to the door.
# # #
Anne and Lady Moresack remained behind to discuss the wedding in more detail. “Thank goodness Mr. Dereham did not insist on a London wedding,” Lady Moresack said. “I was afraid he might wish to parade his conquest before all of the ton.” She shuddered. “Like that dreadful cit who married the Ashville girl.”
“Where did they get married?” Anne asked curiously.
“It was in St. Margaret’s and the Ashvilles invited everybody. The groom had earned a fortune in some sort of trade and was very pleased with himself. Poor Amelia looked like a martyr going to the lions.”
“Did you go to the wedding Aunt Julia?”
“Of course,” came the satisfied reply. “It was truly horrendous.”
“Well then, Mr. Dereham showed sensitivity,” Anne said, happy to find as many good points about her future husband as possible. “He really loved Grex, Aunt Julia. He wants to spend a ton of money to bring it back to what it should be.”
Lady Moresack sighed. “That is a good sign, I suppose. And he certainly is a handsome man, Anne. At least he will be pleasant for you to look upon. One must hope that you won’t have to look upon him very often, however. With his factory,” a shudder accompanied this word, “and his property in Ireland, let’s hope he won’t be around to bother you too often. Give him a son and he should be happy to leave you alone.”
Anne felt her cheeks grow hot. The marriage her aunt was describing sounded dreadful to her, but Aunt Julia was right. Daniel Dereham was hardly marrying her because he liked her, let alone loved her. He was marrying her for Grex, and she was marrying him for the same reason. They may turn out to have little in common, but at least they would be as one in regard to Grex. And that was what was important.
Wasn’t it?