After the others had left her, Julia took her watercolour picture of La Passerelle out of the bottom of her trunk, unrolled the paper, and pinned it up inside her clothes cupboard, where she would see it every time that she opened the door.
She was about to get ready for bed when there was a knock on the door. Julia had grown so accustomed to her aunt saying good night to her that it came as a surprise that the door opened and Mama came into the room.
As always with her mother, there were few preliminaries.
“You will not be surprised to know, Julia, that I was very unhappy indeed to learn that you did not visit the Brandons’ town house on your way home,” she said in her determined way. “Your aunt’s explanation did not seem to me to justify the disrespect to a family who wishes you to marry their elder son.”
Julia sought to speak, but was ignored.
“You will have already realised how much your father’s health has deteriorated over the past few weeks, and it is imperative that the alliance with Lord Brandon be concluded as soon as possible. With help from Emily, we have an appointment at Cressborough Castle tomorrow morning, to meet the Earl and Countess. Please make sure that you are at the front door at nine o’clock, ready to leave.”
And with that, she swept out, without waiting for any comment from her eldest daughter.
Julia was very tired after the long day travelling, and was longing to fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. Instead, she lay there fuming at her mother’s total disregard of her own wishes. She concocted various plans to avoid visiting the castle the next day, only to discard them as unrealistic and unlikely to succeed. Eventually she fell asleep and dreamt of chasing smugglers through the woods at Morancourt with Kit Hatton. When she woke with a start, it was already eight o’clock, and she had to hurry to be ready in time.
There was very little conversation between Julia and Mama on the journey to the castle, and the discomfort of travelling in their old coach on a rather dull morning was in stark contrast to the pleasant journey that she had made several weeks earlier with her father in the Brandons’ barouche.
And it proved to be a rather confusing visit once they arrived at the castle.
The welcome they received was very similar to before, with the Earl and Countess awaiting them in the drawing room, but there was no sign anywhere of Dominic Brandon, much to her mother’s dismay. Instead, Emily was sitting on the chaise longue close to her uncle and aunt.
“Julia, my dear, how are you?” said the Countess. “You look very well, and Emily has told me all about her stay with you and Mrs. Harrison in Bath, and what she knows about your visit with your aunt to Dorset.”
Julia’s quick glance at her friend reassured her that no confidences would have been passed on about the latter, but there was something in Emily’s expression that cheered her. And so it proved.
“I must apologise most profusely, Mrs. Maitland,” said the Earl, “but it seems that our elder son has been detained in town. He had promised us that he would be here to meet you in Derbyshire today, but that has apparently not proved to be possible.”
Behind his back, Julia could see Emily silently mouthing the word “Christina” to her.
Her mama’s disappointment could be heard in her voice (Mama is not a good liar, thought Julia), as she replied, “Please do not trouble yourself, my lord. It is just that my husband’s ill health . . .” She stopped, and did not go on.
“I quite understand,” said the Countess quietly, “and we will ask you to visit again as soon as Dominic arrives. We have sent urgent messages to town, and hope that Julia may soon be able to meet him here.”
At this point, Emily asked her uncle and aunt if Julia could be spared for a few minutes to look at a new gown that she had acquired. The two young ladies sped away to the family’s private rooms, where Emily produced the dress as promised, but indicated that it had really been a ruse to speak to Julia privately.
“Freddie’s regiment has unexpectedly returned from the Peninsula. Dominic has not been seen at the house in town for several days, and Freddie guesses that he is with Christina. He also says that, during the past week, several acquaintances have called in search of my cousin. Apparently he has not been seen in any of his usual haunts for some time.”
“Did his friends say what they wanted?”
“Some did, saying that Dominic had borrowed money from them that was now overdue for repayment, and another was looking to collect some ‘fine goods from Dorset’ as he put it.”
“Oh!” said Julia. “That sounds like contraband. Did Freddie take any note of who these people were?”
“Yes, some of them, including the one waiting for the fine goods. We had better go back to the drawing room now, but I thought that you ought to know.”
Emily and Julia went back to join the others and, after a further exchange of pleasantries and some light refreshments, Mrs. Maitland and her daughter took their leave and began the return journey.
Julia was disinclined to talk, but her mother spent much of the time before they reached Banford Hall regretting their wasted visit and urging Julia to keep her informed of any news that Emily might convey about her cousin’s return to his ancestral home.
Julia had forgotten how lively it was sharing a house with her younger sisters, and she was glad that Papa’s dressing room was tucked away at one end of the house so that they did not have to worry about disturbing him. It proved quite difficult to find an opportunity to speak to him privately. However, Aunt Lucy had brought with her a magazine showing the latest London fashions, and she persuaded Sophie and Harriet to join Mama in the drawing room so that they could all examine it.
Julia then went to the dressing room and found her father, as always, happy to talk to her.
“Did you enjoy your stay in Bath, and then in Dorset?”
“Oh, yes, Papa, you were quite right. I really needed a break from Derbyshire, although it would have been so much nicer if you could have been there as well. But I did my best to enjoy myself, and I had great fun with Emily in Bath. And when we went to Dorset, Aunt Lucy was very kind to me, and Mr. Hatton was a very civil host.”
Her father asked her to describe the house at Morancourt, and he liked her account of its condition and furnishings, and the surrounding countryside. She mentioned the ruined abbey, and the view to the sea, and told him about Sir James Lindsay and their visit to his house. She hinted a little at the possibility of there being smuggling in the area, and this did not seem to worry him as much as it would have done her mama.
In reply to her question about his health, he looked rather more serious and said, “Julia, I have not told your mother, and I have asked the doctor to say very little to her. There is really no easy way to tell you, but he has warned me that I may not be here this time next year.”
At this news, tears welled into her eyes, and Julia tried to turn her face away.
“No, my dear—please do not upset yourself too much, for there seems to be nothing at all that we can do about it. But, as the eldest in the family now, I feel that you should not be kept in the dark, as we may need to make financial plans for when the family can no longer live at Banford Hall.”
Julia could not think of anything to say to this and put her arm around him, trying to put her strength into his weak frame.
When she had left him to have his rest, she found Aunt Lucy alone in the hall, opening a letter. After she had read it through, she turned to Julia.
“This is from Mr. Hatton, in reply to my note of thanks that I sent from Bath. He asks me to pass on a message from Sir James and says that you will know what it means. He says that the name that you wanted is François Jepson Labonne, and that his mother lived locally in Dorset at the time of his birth, but that she came from northern France. Do you understand all that, Julia?”