“Julia, my dear, be sure to wear one of the newer dresses that you brought with you from Derbyshire. Perhaps the yellow that is so becoming?”
Certainly, Julia did like the dress very much, and it seemed to be similar to the very latest fashion.
“What a pity,” said Emily, “that I have arranged to visit the dressmaker today at ten thirty, for I would dearly have loved to meet him. However, Julia can tell me all about it.”
As instructed, her friend took more care than usual in getting ready, with Martha, her aunt’s maid, brushing her hair until the golden-brown lights in it shone. Julia suspected that all this effort might prove to be wasted, since their visitor might be an elderly man indifferent to the charms of a young lady. But her aunt had been so kind to her that she did not wish to be a disappointment.
Aunt Lucy and her niece were ready in the drawing room at the time agreed, and Julia walked across the room to look out of the window at the passing crowds. The visitor was a few minutes late, but just after eleven o’clock they heard the butler announcing his arrival.
“The Master of Morancourt, Mr. Christopher Hatton, ma’am.”
“You are very welcome, sir,” said her aunt.
“Thank you, you are most kind, Mrs. Harrison.”
Julia heard his voice, turned, and looked at him with amazement. For there in the doorway, regarding her with an astonishment equal to her own, was Kit Douglas.
Five
“May I introduce my niece, my sister’s eldest daughter, Miss Maitland?”
Her aunt did not appear to notice Julia’s confusion.
“Miss Maitland, I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” said the Master of Morancourt, bowing to Julia.
She did not know what to think. Did Kit Douglas want her aunt to believe that they were meeting for the first time? For the moment, it seemed best not to challenge this.
“Sir,” was all she said, curtseying to him.
He turned back towards Aunt Lucy.
“As you know, Mrs. Harrison, I am here to discuss Mrs. Hatton’s legacy. My godmother often mentioned you very warmly to me, and I know that you had had a very lengthy acquaintance—since your school days, I believe?”
“Please sit down, Mr. Hatton.” She gestured towards a chair and waited until he was seated before replying.
“Yes, that’s true; she was probably the friend that I had known for the longest. I’m very sorry that I did not know of her serious illness, for I would have liked to visit her.”
“I was there for the last week before she died,” he said, “but she was aware of very little for most of that time.”
She nodded and then pulled the bell cord. When he came into the room, Aunt Lucy asked the butler to bring some refreshments. Just as this was being arranged, they could hear the footman answering the door. The butler soon returned, looking rather flustered.
“Ma’am, there is a messenger at the door for you. I apologise for the interruption, but it might be easier if you could come and speak to him yourself.”
Aunt Lucy looked puzzled, but rose from her seat and, excusing herself, followed him out of the room.
Kit Douglas turned immediately to Julia.
“Miss Maitland, you must be surprised by the manner of my greeting to you?”
“Yes, sir.” She hesitated, then said, “Please explain.”
“I had a letter from my father last week. He passed on the news that you had gone away so that you could enjoy a change of scene and forget for a while all about your parents’ plans for you in Derbyshire. I had no idea that you were related to Mrs. Harrison, or that you were staying with her.”
“There is no reason why you should have done, Mr. Douglas.”
“My immediate reaction therefore on seeing you here was that you would prefer not to be reminded about Derbyshire at present, or for your aunt to know of our previous acquaintance.”
Julia smoothed her hands down the skirt of her dress, then again, then she composed herself and clasped her hands together in front of her with the appearance of calm, although her mind was racing. No one she had met in Bath had mentioned his family or Norton Place to her, and Emily had not met Kit Douglas, although she had heard of him.
Kit Douglas was looking at her intently. “You have reservations? I will do as you wish, of course.”
Julia paused. Perhaps a question could resolve her dilemma.
“Have you met many people of your own acquaintance here in Bath, sir?”
“No. On my visits to my godmother after the death of her husband, Mr. Henry Hatton, I had only passed through the city and not stopped here. And now, one of the requirements of my godmother’s will was that I should change my surname to hers. She had no children, you see. You will know that it is quite common with the bequest of an estate for the heir to be asked to assume the family name.”
Julia smiled to herself—a new name! Would she be able to remember that?
She could not realise what effect her infectious smile was having on him. He waited, regarding her gravely, admiring her neat figure, the way that her hair curled at the nape of her neck, and her clear grey eyes.
“How long will you be staying in Bath, sir?”
Suddenly, he smiled at her in return. “That depends, I suppose, on the company that I might keep, and what else I might find to do. Are you planning to be here with your aunt for long?”
Julia’s mood rapidly sobered.
“I don’t know. I am anxious for any news that comes about my father from Derbyshire. I am very concerned for his health, and only came to visit Aunt Lucy because he insisted that I should.”
They heard in the distance that the voices in discussion at the front door had ceased, and her aunt came back into the drawing room.
“Please excuse me, Mr. Hatton, for that unfortunate diversion—only a domestic matter. I really do think that my butler could have dealt with it himself. However, now, where were we?”
“I suppose that we were about to discuss how and when you might visit my godmother’s home to choose your gift. You will recall that Morancourt is more than a day’s drive from here. I have kept on her servants at the property, and I should be delighted to offer you hospitality for as long as you might wish to stay.”
“That is most generous of you, sir. I have my own travelling chaise, so I could use that for the journey. But at present I have Julia staying with me, and her friend Emily also. Julia was to return to Derbyshire with her. Do you have a particular date in mind?”
Julia could see that Kit Douglas—no, she should think of him as Mr. Hatton—was considering the options. Before he could speak, her aunt continued.
“Of course, sir, Julia could accompany me if you did not object to that.”
Julia said nothing, but he read her expression accurately.
“Miss Maitland may prefer to continue in Bath. I cannot offer her any comparable social delights at Morancourt, delighted though I would be if she were to visit.”
She was grateful for his thoughtfulness, and amused at the different levels on which his words were being received by her aunt and by herself.
Aunt Lucy, unaware of this, clearly considered that a visit to Dorset would be a pleasant diversion for her niece. She looked to Julia, but could see that for some reason she was not keen to accept the invitation.
“Let me leave you now, ma’am, and I can return when you have considered the matter further. There is no particular urgency, from my point of view, to have a decision now.”
The subject was pursued no longer and, after a few more
minutes of easy conversation, he left.
“What a most agreeable young man, Julia. So cultured and with such a stylish manner—so superior to some of the young men you will have met in Bath. I do appreciate that it was your intention just to visit me here, but a few days away in Dorset might be very pleasant as a change of scene.”