“Yes. It’s miraculous.”
“And you know what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to pick yourself up. You’ve got to start all over again. Dear child, you have had a very bad time … blow after blow …”
“One leading to the other, of course.”
“That is how life works. It’s a pity you didn’t marry that young man.”
I was silent.
“If you had,” he went on, “it would have cushioned the blow. I gather his Manor estate is growing and prospering. I remember your father’s saying some time ago that it would rival Cador in a few years’ time.”
“You always think of the material side of everything, Uncle Peter.”
“My dear, it is always a side to consider. All your creature comforts depend on it, and they are not called comforts for nothing. They soften the impact of the slings and arrows. If you had married him you would have a home.” His eyes gleamed. “You could have found a soothing balm in rivalling your neighbour. What does this woman know about great estates?”
“She’ll have Bob Carter to look after it for her.”
“A lot depends on the one at the top. It would have been just what you need. It would have added a zest to life. Zest. That’s what you want, Annora.”
I said: “You would have enjoyed it. I know you would have found means of getting the better of her.”
“And, you are thinking, in a none too scrupulous way.”
“Perhaps.”
“You don’t trust me, do you? You have a long memory. You are thinking of what I did to Joseph Cresswell. It was fair enough to my mind. He wouldn’t have been any good in that post. What did he know about the vice of underground London? I do know of it. I thought I was right in what I was doing. Oh, you are not going to agree with me, of course. It is amazing, Annora, how you have become involved in my affairs. Look at the good I am doing now. They are working wonders at the Mission—all due to my support. That can’t be bad, can it? Does it matter how the money is come by if it does good in the end?”
“That is a question which has often been discussed.”
“And have you found a satisfactory answer?”
I shook my head. “You have been good to me, Uncle Peter,” I said.
“I’ve told you I always had a soft spot for your mother … and now for you. Listen to me. What you will do now is go with Helena and Matthew down to Mobury. There is a lot to do. We must get him in, you understand. You’ll work for him. It’s hard work. You’ll persuade people why they’ve got to vote for Matthew Hume … the reformer. Read his book. It’s illuminating. He’s done a good job. He somehow gets right into the minds of those convicts and some of the stories are pretty grim. It’ll carry you along for a while. Stop your brooding. I’ve told you before that you have to pick yourself up when life knocks you down. You’ve got to think about those poor devils who have been sent into bondage for some petty crime or perhaps for some political attitude. Then you’ll realize how much you have to be thankful for.”
“I’m thankful for you, Uncle Peter. You do me so much good. Talking to you, listening to you, has always helped me.”
“Odd, isn’t it, an old villain like myself?”
I said: “You are a very lovable villain and you almost make me feel your villainies are virtues.”
“That, my dear Annora, is the very essence of villainy.”
I supposed I felt happier in London than I could anywhere else. It was an interesting suggestion that I should travel down to Mobury with Helen and Matthew. My reunion with Jonnie had been rapturous. At first he had not known me but after a while he seemed to, and it soothed me considerably to play with him.
A great deal had been happening in the world. The Queen had married most happily.
“It’s rather put Lord Melbourne’s nose out of joint,” said Uncle Peter. “But he doesn’t seem to mind and I think all of us are glad to see the Queen happily settled.”
She had regained the popularity she had lost over the Flora Hastings and Bedchamber affairs.
“There is nothing the people like better than a wedding,” said Uncle Peter. “A royal wedding makes the people forget the intrigues of the boudoir.”
There had been a hint of my having a season. I would have vehemently declined if the hint had been pursued. I think it was feared that the scandal which Uncle Peter had skillfully managed to divert might be resuscitated and it was well known that the Queen’s husband was, as Uncle Peter said, most definitely prudish.
I was sure Prince Albert would not have agreed with Uncle Peter’s views about directing dubiously acquired money into good causes.
I heard of the alarming incident when an attempt had been made to assassinate the Queen. True, it was only a brainless potboy and he had been declared insane, but it was sobering. The Queen behaved magnificently, of course, as most of her ancestors had in similar circumstances. But it was an indication that life could never be smooth for anyone.
In Mobury I got caught up in the excitement of electioneering, and it became to me a matter of the utmost importance that Matthew should win the seat.
I sat on platforms listening to his speeches. He was turning out to be quite an effective orator. He burned with zeal when he spoke of the necessity of prison reform. He harrowed his audience with stories of what he had seen firsthand. He wanted the laws drastically changed; he wanted better conditions for the poor. He had visited the Mission run by his brother-in-law and his wife, and he knew what he was talking about. People listened to him and were moved.
Helena would sit on the platform smiling and admiring. She reminded me of Aunt Amaryllis; and when I thought of how their marriage had come about I was truly amazed.
She had grown into marriage—and if ever there had been a marriage of convenience that had been one. But now she was contented, reminding me so much of her mother.
To see her thus set me longing for Rolf. What a fool I had been! I had allowed myself to turn away from happiness because of a dream … and something which had happened long ago. He had said he was not there and I had chosen not to believe him. Then I had convinced myself that he wanted to marry me to get Cador.
Perhaps I should go back to Cornwall. I could go to Croft Cottage. I should see Rolf often. Perhaps we could talk about Midsummer’s Eve and perhaps I could explain how deeply it had affected me, how I had lost my illusions, for I had seen ordinary people turn into monsters of cruelty. It had had a great effect on me. It had changed me from a trusting girl into a doubting woman.
If I could see Rolf … if I could break through this barrier between us … if we could be together … if I could forget Midsummer’s Eve … if I could believe him … if he again asked me to marry him now I no longer owned Cador … how happy I should be.
I would go back. But not yet.
Helena sat there, her hands on her lap, obviously pregnant. Uncle Peter had said: “That’s a good thing. It shows a nice family life.”
I thought of Joe Cresswell and wondered what he was doing now. This was where he would like to be. He had been very ambitious to follow in his father’s footsteps and get into Parliament.
Uncle Peter had prevented that. I wondered afresh why I was so fond of Uncle Peter. He was such a ruthless, amoral man. Yet he always had answers to explain his wickedness, and he never failed to show me another side which differed from the obvious one.
Election day came. There was an air of excitement in the town. I drove round in a carriage with Helena waving banners. “Vote for Matthew Hume. Your Member who cares for the Unfortunate.”
Uncle Peter came down in the afternoon. He expressed his pleasure with the manner in which the campaign had gone.