Isabella had no idea what Lord Bellfourd had meant on that warm Sunday by the pond. Indeed, he was the teasing sort, but his words distinctly bordered on flirtation.
Before she really had time to address the matter, or even think it over much herself, Lord Bellfourd was off for London. In the end, she surmised it was for the best.
Lord Bellfourd was dashingly handsome with his sunny blonde hair and tall stature. She didn’t imagine he would last the season without finding at least one lady who would be more than willing to attach herself to the future Duke of Wintercrest.
Isabella told herself once that happened, Lord Bellfourd would turn his teasing attentions elsewhere, and she wouldn't have to ponder the confusing emotions she felt when he was near.
“Come, Jackie. Today, for our nature walk, we will be picking wildflowers in three colors of your choosing. We will be pressing them into a pattern for your arithmetic today.”
“Oui, Miss Watts,” little Jacqueline said as she picked up the woven basket they had become accustomed to taking on their walks.
Now that Isabella had been teaching her pupil for just over three weeks, Jacqueline was utterly fluent in understanding English and did her best to solely speak the language. Isabella was proud of how far she had come, and how quickly.
With spring now in full bloom around them, Isabella chose to extend their nature walks to much longer than the cold weather had allowed before.
Often, Isabella would bring a book with her, and they would find themselves sitting by the same pond where Lord Bellfourd had taken them before his departure. They would often spend an hour or two reading and making clover flower crowns.
Today, however, they would be traveling in the opposite direction of the pond, to a small meadow Isabella had discovered on one of her explorations of the property.
She found herself now wholly comfortable in the country life, more than she had ever imagined possible. Though she wasn’t sure she would ever be acclimatized to the chilly weather that seemed to persist as spring marched on, Isabella was willing to ignore it on account of the beautiful landscape that she never seemed to find an end to.
“Aunt Abigail!” Jacqueline exclaimed as she exited the school room.
Isabella gave a respectful curtsy to the lady as she too stepped out of the schoolroom.
“What are you off to do today, my sweet Jackie?” Lady Abigail asked of her niece.
“We are going to pick some flowers. Miss Watts is going to show me how to press them.”
“How lovely,” Lady Abigail said.
She had evidently come to the west wing of the estate to see the child.
“Would you like to join us, Lady Abigail?” Isabella asked.
“I would like that very much, if you don’t mind, of course.”
“Not at all. Both, Jackie and I, would enjoy the added company. Mrs. Murray has a bit of a cough and will be staying indoors today.”
“Oh, how terrible,” Lady Abigail replied, looking around to the rooms behind. “I hope she isn’t too ill.”
“Not at all,” Isabella said reassuringly. “She assured me it was just a small cough and she would be right as rain in a day or two.”
“Oh good,” Lady Abigail said with a sigh of relief. It was clear she cared deeply for her old nurse. “If you would wait just a moment for me, I will change into more appropriate shoes.” She motioned to the silken slippers under the hem of her cotton dress.
Ten minutes later Lady Abigail met her two companions in the foyer, booted adequately for the adventure. She had a rosy glow of excitement to her cheeks.
It had been so disappointing for Lady Abigail when her brother had gone to London without her, that for the first few days after his departure, she could do nothing but sit and feel melancholy. Isabella was happy to see the sharp look back in her blue eyes as they made their way out.
For much of the journey, the two ladies walked side by side in silence on the soft dirt path while Jackie skipped ahead. Once they were entirely out of view of the manor, Lady Abigail slid back her summer bonnet with a sigh of relief.
Her vibrant red hair looked almost brown in the grey shadows of the dreary sky. Isabella imagined her a great beauty at a London dance hall, her hair genuinely shining as it reflected red rays off the candlelight.
“Did you attend many events in London, Miss Watts?” Lady Abigail suddenly asked, as if reading Isabella's thoughts.
“I wouldn’t say an excessive amount, but perhaps three or four a week during the height of the season.”
Isabella could tell that Lady Abigail was again dwelling on all that she felt she was missing.
“But surely you have gone in years past? And you have many years yet ahead of you to go.”
“I was able to travel with mother last year for the season. I was only fifteen at the time and mother didn’t let me attend many events because of my age.”
“I’m sure things will be better for you next year.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Lady Abigail said sullenly.
“You must have some friends you can write to, to pass the time? Of course, you are always welcome to join us, too,” Isabella added.
“I do have a cousin that I correspond with. She is a few years older than me. Probably about your age. It is my mother’s sister’s family.”
“Was that who you were visiting before we met?”
“Yes. She is very close and dear to me. She is in London for the season and promised to write me all the details. I fear that will only sour my disposition even more.”
The path opened to a clearing and the subject was dropped. Isabella laid out a blanket to sit on that she had carried in her own basket while Jacqueline pranced around the meadow like a fawn.
“Don’t forget to find three different colors,” Isabella called out to her student. “We will be using the flowers for our math lesson today,” Isabella explained to Lady Abigail.
“Oh, how very smart to incorporate some lessons into the excursions.”
“I know it is not the most popular method of education. I, myself, was trained as most children, with memorization and recitation. I had one particular teacher, though, Mrs. Wentworth. She always seemed to find a way to relate our studies to the world around us or even tales she told. I found that, in this manner, I was able to remember my lessons better.”
“I would have certainly loved such a teacher,” Lady Abigail agreed. “My governess was from London, like yourself. She, however, was very somber and talked so dully that I would struggle not to fall asleep.” Lady Abigail giggled at the memory of her governess.
“One time, just before Christian left for his officer commission, he found a small brown mouse that a barn cat had caught. He stuck it in the governess’ chamber pot! She screamed something awful, waking the whole nursery in the process. I don’t think I had ever heard her speak above a soft whisper up until that point.”
“Truly?” Isabella said surprised to hear that Lord Bellfourd would do such a thing. “And you heard her scream all the way across the west wing?”
“What do you mean? The governess’ room was just next to the school room. Is that not where you are staying?”
“Oh,” Isabella said not realizing that she had been treated differently than the governess’ in the past. “Um, no. I am just above in the far tower.”
“All the way over there? Why, that is an awful distance away from the rest of the household.”
“I rather enjoy the room. It is a bit of a walk, but I find it to be good exercise. The window overlooks a beautiful view of the side of the estate as well.”
“I shall talk to Mrs. Peterson about it, none the less. It is silly to make you stay so far away. I find her to be an utterly ridiculous woman.”
Lady Abigail spoke as she twirled a lock of her auburn hair that hung to the side of her beautiful plaiting.
“Do you know, just last week, I heard her scolding my lady’s maid?” Lady Abigail continued in her comfortable conversational tone.
“Nancy was just trying to be helpful when the poor chambermaid spilled a box of coal. Mrs. Peterson first yelled at the chambermaid for being so clumsy and then at Nancy for helping her! She didn’t know that I was just in the other room in the bath when she did so. I can't stand the way that she speaks to the other staff, always telling them to stay in their place.”
“She is harsh in her manner sometimes, but shouldn’t the job of the housekeeper be to maintain order, especially in such a large estate?”
“I understand that. Of course I do,” Lady Abigail agreed. “Things just didn’t used to be so strict. Father has always been very prim and proper, and James was much like him, but Father really left Christian and me to our own devices. Things were much more comfortable and, honestly, happier here."
"I remember,” Lady Abigail continued after a moment, “one summer, Mother had accompanied us on a walk after school. It was just the governess, Nursie, mother, and I. We were by the main road and found some of the kitchen maids struggling to carry baskets home. There was to be a large dinner party that night and the wagon they were riding in had been damaged. They were struggling to get the goods back to the manor in time for the meal. My mother,” Lady Abigail continued with a smile, “simply grabbed a basket and beckoned for me to do the same. She always said we are all God’s creation and, as such, should treat each other with the same love and respect that He would bestow upon ourselves.”
“What a beautiful thought," Isabella encouraged.
They sat and watched Jacqueline for a few minutes and Isabella considered the story that had just been told to her. It wasn’t a typical upbringing for the daughter of a duke. Usually, with such high status came a self-proclaimed distinction between any lesser than themselves.
***
From the few weeks that Isabella had already spent at Wintercrest Manor, she could see that such separation had not been the case here. Lady Wintercrest seemed, not only warm and caring to her own children, something not often a trait of an elegant lady, but from what Lady Abigail had just expounded, she shared that grace and kindness to all around her.